Strictly Come Dancing: Dance your way to fitness

On paper, it must have seemed like a gamble: reviving a long-forgotten ballroom dancing show with a 79-year-old host, lots of sequins and a brace of pro dancers rarely seen on TV beyond the confines of Eurosport.

But five series on, nine million viewers are taking Strictly Come Dancing ¨C and dancesport in general ¨C to their hearts.

Everyone¡¯s a winner, from the oft-criticised BBC board to the C-list celebrities that get a profile boost and a crash course in fitness, to boot.

But the show¡¯s success is no surprise to the professionals, who know people fall in love with dance given half the chance.

Last year¡¯s winner Karen Hardy feels now is the time for the nation to embrace dance as the fun route to fitness.

¡°It¡¯s the nicest reality TV show on telly,¡± she says. ¡°The celebrities really bond as a group, enjoy the journey and fall in love with dance.

¡°It¡¯s so nice to show people what I¡¯ve known for years ¨C dancing means the world to me; I can¡¯t imagine life without it.¡±

A former British National Champion in Latin, Karen has competed across the globe, initially in amateur competitions before turning pro with Bryan Watson in 1994.

Watson, a highly respected South African pro, was the perfect partner for creative Karen ¨C their innovative choreography and competition success earned them the BDF Award for ¡®Most Outstanding Couple¡¯ as well as a Carl Allen Award for ¡®Services to Dance¡¯.

And Karen¡¯s passion for teaching continues, not just with Strictly but also classes for the masses ¨C she¡¯s opening a studio in Chelsea in the New Year.

¡°We¡¯re going to run classes for everyone, from kids to grannies,¡± she says. ¡°They¡¯ll be group classes, private tuition ¨C all levels will be catered for.

¡°The studio will also have a coffee shop and wine bar. Dancing is such a social sport. My parents used to go to dance then go out for dinner and I¡¯d love to see couples today following that example.

¡°We¡¯re right by the Thames, so you can have a meal on one of the floating restaurants there ¨C talk about romantic!¡±

Karen¡¯s also launched a fitness DVD, Strictly Come Dancersize, in which she and fellow Strictly pro Erin Boag, show how dance can target body zone and firm up those wobbly bits.

¡°I¡¯m going to feature routines from the DVD in my new classes,¡± Karen says. ¡°That way, if anyone¡¯s intimidated by a class, they can try the routines at home so they know what to expect.

¡°It¡¯s ideal for children ¨C all these news stories about overweight, even obese, kids just breaks my heart. They¡¯ll lose weight in no time without even realising it with regular dance classes.¡±

Karen¡¯s personal fitness regime depends on her schedule, but during the Strictly run it takes care of itself ¨C she was rehearsing for seven to eight hours per day on route to the title with Mark Ramprakash last year.

After a week of rehearsals, there¡¯s no let up on Saturday.

¡°It¡¯s a long day,¡± Karen says. ¡°I get up at 6.30am, because I¡¯m picked up at 7am, and we¡¯re dancing all day while producers check camera angles and the technicians check the lighting.¡±

¡°Each couple will do four or five run-throughs of their dance, and that¡¯s before the dress rehearsal, where we run through the show in full.

¡°Then there¡¯s the show itself, after which we film the results show, which includes the professionals¡¯ showdance.¡±

So there¡¯s real graft going on behind the sequins and smiles- but the professionals wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.

¡°Strictly means the world to me,¡± Karen says. Her and at least nine million other Britons, of course.

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