Give it A TWIRL!
The dancing queen’s steps to a better life
Beyond the excitement of the dance floor, Dancingwith
the Stars judge Camilla Sacre-Dallerup loves to meditate, and be still, calm and quiet.
The Danish-born 44-year-old uses a mix of meditation, visualisation and affirmations for her own wellbeing, plus in her other career as a trained life coach and hypnotherapist.
While Camilla loves New Zealand, her time here is no holiday. When she’s not encouraging and critiquing this year’s crop of Kiwi celebrity dancers, she’s in touch with life-coaching clients all over the world.
Camilla’s business, Zen Me, based in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles, specialises in using mindful living to help people find a way through anxiety, stress and a lack of confidence.
The first thing Camilla did after being offered the job as chief judge was talk it over with her clients.
“They’re important to me,” she says. “I didn’t want them thinking that I was leaving them to go flouncing about on TV.”
Considered to be “the kind” judge on the Three dance show, Camilla also gave careful consideration to what sort of character she wanted to be in her first TV judging role.
“That’s the one thing I was worried about,” she says. “I want to always find something positive to say because I know what motivation can do to someone. I hope my honest, authentic and constructive feedback influences people in a positive way.”
In 2008, Camilla won the British version of the show, StrictlyCome
Dancing, with HolbyCity and Casualty actor Tom Chambers. She became well-known from it but quit dancing at the top of her game.
“Happiness is a state you flow in and out of,” she says. “Being content is much deeper. One mission after Strictly was to find out what makes me content.”
This led to her moving to LA to do life-coach training. “Things can really start to happen if we are willing to throw ourselves into something new and be a novice again and learn,” she explains.
Camilla then penned her self-help book Strictly-Inspirational, in 2015. Her latest book, ReinventMe (available from zenme.tv), is an eight-step programme for transforming your life and career, using the dancer’s tried and tested tools. The book provides practical exercises and advice, as well as case studies and success stories.