I’LL DO WHATEVER I NEED TO SUCCEED
Fears about skimpy dresses and muscly legs, being sexy and serious and setting an example... behind the scenes with camogie legend Anna Geary, the life and soul of the Marty Party in Dancing With The Stars
‘I have to punch Kai in the face’
THERE is a famous scene from Dirty Dancing where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey are rehearsing in a dance studio to Love Is Strange by Mickey and Sylvia, with tantalising sexual tension. The iconic film highlights the importance of ‘spaghetti arms’ in order to protect personal space within the confines of a dance routine.
It’s also beautifully portraying the importance of the trust needed to pull off certain dance routines. As Anna Geary and her dance partner Kai Widdrington warm up on a cold Thursday morning, you can see that they have gone through a similar rite of passage. As Kai carefully brushes Anna’s hair away from her face and clasps the nape of her neck, she stares into his eyes before breaking into a tango.
But unlike Dirty Dancing, this is very much a business arrangement, a partnership built on respect with a mutual goal of becoming better each week. The thoughts of falling foul of a Strictly curse have not entered this room. And it is very clear from the off that Kai won’t be putting Anna in any corner.
‘The personal space thing is just that, a thing in your mind’, she says of their closeness. ‘I thought it would be uncomfortable but it is less so now. I have a lot of really close friends who are guys, so working in a small space with someone over a period of time doesn’t really bother me. I am a bit of a messer and I don’t take things too seriously which really helps. If you are bumping and grinding off a stranger you have to make a laugh out of it. We quickly established that would be the case and Kai is the same.
‘There is no awkwardness and when I sat down with Kev my boyfriend, we talked about it before I said yes because he is probably getting more slagging than I am. You can be sure the lads are on the WhatsApp groups sending him pictures of me and Kai and the way I am looking at him.’
You only have to put Anna’s name into Google before several pictures of her wrapped around her dance partner pop up on your screen. Such is the nature of Dancing With The Stars that you spend eight hours a day in direct physical contact with, well, a buff champion dance partner.
But Anna and her boyfriend Kev are comfortable with this new challenge. ‘He had to be comfortable with it because he is the guy I have to go back to when the show is over,’ she says.
‘It is important that there is no tension or hostility after. But he is really supportive and some of the pictures that turn up when you are staring deep into the person’s eyes could be uncomfortable for a partner — I get that. But he encouraged me to do it and said that if I was going to do it, I had to give it 100%. I look at this like I am going to work and I do whatever is needed to succeed. Even in the Tango my two legs had to be gripping Kai’s and we would make a joke about it and get on with it.’
Being able to play the part is definitely a huge bonus — Anna says she doesn’t mind being sexy, serious or mysterious.
‘Some of the other contestants do struggle with it a bit more,’ she admits. ‘Probably some of the older ones. Like, Rob Heffernan would say to me that he wishes he could switch off worrying how he looks and just do it. That’s probably the biggest challenge — it is not just about the routine, it is about becoming whatever character you need to play. Whether it is sexy and steamy, or serious. One of my dances coming up I have to dance like I am about to punch Kai in the face. So you have to row in and do what you’re told to give the audience what they have come to expect.’
Even though this is just the fourth week of competitive live dancing, you can tell that there is a bond between both performers. This bond is built on respect that oozes out through practice. The former Cork Rose, though, is anything but a pushover and you can tell from her resolve that she is not here to take part, but to take over.
If she does have an Achilles heel, it is a mental hang up over her muscular physique. Many of the costumes are quite revealing; short dresses with open midriffs. And Anna admits some of the outfits have led her to freaking out backstage before dress rehearsals.
‘Everybody has got their own hang-ups and areas that they aren’t comfortable showing off’, she says. ‘My legs bother me. Because of the camogie they are really muscular and I don’t find them attractive. Then you have Alexandra Burke on Strictly — she is the same and she looked phenomenal, so that gave me confidence.
‘Genuinely one of the reasons I was nervous about doing the show was being lifted because I look very different to most of the other women the show. I weigh a lot more than I look and I was genuinely afraid that the dancer might not be able to lift me. What if I became the first woman on Strictly and DWTS who simply couldn’t be lifted?
‘And it was a genuine fear. Think of all the women who are on the show — Erin, Maia — they are all tiny. Even Alannah who is tall — there isn’t a pick on her. But then the other side of that is that I can put across a good message for young girls and women in general. Just because Up close: (left) on the floor with Kai and at rehearsals you don’t fit a mould and look like other girls, it doesn’t mean it is worse. It is just a different body shape.’ Anna is keen to get this point across to encourage more girls to get active. ‘You find now that more younger girls are dropping out of sport,’ she explains. ‘I work with young girls and it is like body dysmorphia. They see social media and think they should look a certain way. There is also the belief that strong is the new skinny and my body epitomises that. So I decided to do the show to prove that I can work out and be fierce on a pitch, and yet put on a dress and be feminine and dance my socks off. You can do both.’
Cork’s All-Ireland winning camogie champion and fitness advocate hopes that her femininity can shine through as much as her athleticism.
‘I am a real girly girl behind it all’, she says. ‘I love the fake tan and the high heels. If I could play camogie in heels, I would give it a go.
‘When I was young, I was using my body as a tool to perform rather than something to look at. Nowadays bodies are seen as things to look at rather than what you can achieve with them. I think it helped me not having social media when I was growing up.
‘It frightens me now seeing what 14-year-olds have to look at. They are bombarded with fad diets and how to get the perfect body in ten days. I have hips and an ass and there is no hiding it. And the amount of messages I got from parents saying it is so refreshing seeing their daughters saying I look really good and it is not some-
‘I teared up when I saw the dress’
one who is stick thin but has a real body shape. I was 30 last year and I am only now starting to put aside my body insecurities and this show is helping me do that too.
‘I would be lying if I said I didn’t panic and freak out when I saw last week’s costume. My eyes teared up and my mouth dropped because I didn’t think I could wear the dress and dance because I worried my body would be moving and jiggling in ways I didn’t want it to.
‘But again I have to walk my own talk so I can’t preach about the benefits of having a fit and strong body and then be petrified to show it. Up until last weekend I had never worn a crop top on live TV and I certainly haven’t done it dancing so it was a first, but the response was really positive.’
The four-time All-Ireland winner is not used to under achieving. But during last week’s show, she failed to dazzle the judges with her Samba routine. Today, the wellness coach is refusing to let negative thoughts impact on her progression in the competition.
‘The Samba was a blip’, she says. ‘I am a positive person in general but I am not here to be an expert and I am not here to look fantastic. But you do get a high when you do well. When I came off the dance floor after the Tango knew I had done it — and Kai — justice. I knew coming in to the Samba I was in trouble. Because it is a Brazilian dance and Brazilian women, they shake in ways that Irish women will never be able to shake.
‘I did my best with it but I knew it wasn’t going to live up to the heights that I would have loved it to. We only had four days to rehearse it whereas we had weeks to do the Tango. We all have dances we are not looking forward to and for me at least it is out of the way.’
And tomorrow night Anna is determined to bring the softness back into her step. ‘This week is contemporary ballroom and it is a mash up of the various ballroom styles,’ she says. ‘There is an element of acting in it as well and I am dressing up as Elsa in Frozen, dancing to Let It Go, so it is a huge number. It is the first dance we have lifts in and I did get a little bit sick in my mouth when I heard that. I am learning that there really has to be a trust with your dance partner. If you don’t have that and you know your limitations then you are always going to be stand-offish and not give it your all.’
Her Cork rival, former Irish rugby star Tomas O’Leary stoked up controversy last week by hinting that the male contestants had gelled more than the girls. She smiles when I bring this up but isn’t taking his bait. She is well used to mind games in sport and uses them to her own advantage.
‘The guys live together above in Dublin and that has to help. It is like a bachelor pad and they are married with kids (Jake asides). But they are still getting to bond and have the craic with the lads in the evenings. They are not at home putting the kids to bed.
‘A lot of people think that the friendships are only for the cameras and that there is real competition between all of the celebrities. Of course there is competition because you want to do well. But for me, when I play camogie I have an opposition and I have to beat them to win. With the dancing the only person I am in competition with is myself.
‘So in a weird way, even though it is a competition we are all very supportive of one another. Any of the contestants from last year I talked to all warned me not to get consumed by the process and let it fly by. So that’s why I am trying to do. To take it day by day and not let the nerves and worry consume me — and to have fun.’
Perhaps that is why Anna has become an intricate part in the show’s social side. Every Sunday night after the show she keeps her dancing shoes on and heads out on the town with the other performers. And while Marty Morrissey might be getting all the credit, the Marty Party is more than just the RTÉ sports commentator.
‘Marty is gas and I set up the group WhatsApp group and called it the Marty Party. Marty doesn’t drink and everyone thinks he is such a party animal but in reality he isn’t out as late or as long as people think. It is a light-hearted way to get to know everyone.
‘You do need a release after the live show. In the dancing you go through such an adrenaline buzz and a rush that there is a come down after and you have to unwind.’
And getting it out of her system is important to Anna’s home life as she doesn’t want to be talking DWTS shop all the time. ‘I am really conscious with Kev and my family and friends,’ she admits. ‘On the night out you can digest the night’s dancing and go through it and then leave it behind. I debrief now on Sunday nights in Coppers with Marty.
‘And then I go home and I can be just Anna.’