“Strictly” star Natalie Lowe is dancing her way round the world!
“Strictly” star Natalie Lowe tells Wendy Glass how she is dancing her way around the world.
STRICTLY Come Dancing” stars and professional ballroom dancers Natalie Lowe and Ian Waite are currently wowing audiences with their new show, “Somewhere In Time”.
“We want our audience to smile – and dance,” Natalie says. “Ian and I love dancing together and we want everyone who comes to see us to have as much fun as we have.”
Performing now until June 11, Natalie and Ian are taking their show to venues across the United Kingdom.
“I really enjoy being on tour,” Natalie, who is from Sydney, continues. “I’ve been travelling the world since I was eight years old, when I represented Australia at my first international ballroom dancing competition.
“I’ve danced my way across the globe! I love discovering different places and cultures – and this tour is a wonderful opportunity to explore the UK.
“Last year, Ian and I did fifty-two shows on our tour and many of our fans asked why we’d missed out their town so, this time, we’re doing sixty-nine shows.
“It’s a whole new show but with the same format as before – lots of laughs, a few tears and everyone up on their feet, dancing!
“And as well as our UK tour, we’re about to launch online ballroom dance lessons for beginners of any age. We want everyone to have the same opportunities the celebrities have on ‘Strictly’.”
Natalie has been dancing with Ian since she joined “Strictly Come Dancing”.
“They put Ian and me together as we’re both tall,” Natalie tells me, adding that she is five feet ten inches. “We hit it off immediately and have been dance partners since 2009.”
Natalie started ballroom dancing at the age of three.
“My neighbour gave my brother and sister ballroom dancing classes at our local veterans’ club and I often went along, too. I didn’t know my left from my right but I wanted to join in!”
All three of the Lowe children were soon having ballroom dancing lessons and, by the time Natalie was five years old, she’d mastered the basics and was competing.
“My first dance partner was perfect for me and we went from strength to strength, winning every championship we entered – and it snowballed.
“I have a lot to thank my neighbour, and first dance teacher, for – and a lot to thank my mum and dad for,” Natalie stresses. “My parents gave us all so much support.
“My dad was a motor mechanic and he loved watching the three of us dance, but he was a real grafter.”
Although Natalie’s fancy
footwork looks effortless when she glides across the “Strictly” dancefloor, she admits this hasn’t always been the case.
“Ballroom dancing didn’t come easily to me,” she admits. “I was a natural performer but I had to work hard at technique. A lot of my success comes from having the right teachers, and excellent dance partners, including my brother, Glenn.
“When I was sixteen and competing at junior level, I had a huge growth spurt,” Natalie recalls with a laugh. “Suddenly, I was taller than all the boys my age, so I paired up with my brother Glenn, who was considerably taller than me.
“As Glenn is four years older, I had to move into adult competitions, dancing against people who were ten to fifteen years older than me, but we were soon winning. My brother is an amazing performer and he helped me go from good to special.”
After winning the Australian ballroom dancing championships four times and dancing in competitions and shows all over the world, in 2004, Natalie was snapped up by Australia’s version of “Strictly Come Dancing” – “Dancing With The Stars”.
“My five years with ‘Dancing With The Stars’ gave me the chance to spend more time in Australia, but I was rarely at home in Sydney.
“I was always in Perth or Melbourne teaching my celebrities to dance – I’ve been constantly living out of a suitcase since I was eight!”
In 2007, Natalie was asked to audition for “Strictly Come Dancing”.
“I flew over for the day.” Natalie laughs. “It was a case of ‘take it or leave it’, so I took a flight to the UK, did the audition and flew back.”
Two days of almost continual air travel became worth every minute when Natalie was named one of the professional dancers in the 2008 series, although she had to pull out due to
family illness.
“I thought I’d missed my opportunity, but a year later, I rang the producers and said ‘Please – will you give me another chance?’”
The “Strictly” team welcomed the Australian champion with open arms and Natalie danced her way to the 2009 final with Ricky Whittle from “Hollyoaks”, becoming Ian’s professional dance partner, too.
“I wish I’d met Ian earlier in my career,” Natalie admits. “We would definitely have competed together – and we would have been fabulous! But better late than never.”
Natalie has appeared in every series of “Strictly” since, apart from 2013, when she broke three bones in her foot.
“All my dance partners have been great,” Natalie says, adding that Olympic ace Greg Rutherford, with whom she danced in 2016, has become a good friend.
“It makes a difference when you get to dance with a celebrity who’s keen, hardworking, fun and wants to put their best foot forward.
“That’s a lot to ask for in a highly pressurised situation, where celebrities who are good at their everyday jobs come into the world of
dancing and discover they don’t have a clue!
“Being a professional dance partner is about much more than dancing – it’s also about mentoring, coaching, supporting, nurturing and appreciating.
“I need to get the best out of my partner not just on the dancefloor but when the judges are making their comments. I also have to pick them up if we don’t get positive comments.”
So – who would Natalie’s ideal “Strictly” partner be?
“My fiancé,” she says, with a dazzling smile. “James is such a lovely person, so much fun – and he can definitely dance. He is a company director of a medical company, but I think his body is itching to jump out of his everyday life and dance – we often do a quickstep round the kitchen.
“In fact, I taught James the Charleston the other day and he has a better swivel action than Craig Revel Horwood!”
With that, Natalie turns on her high heels and heads off to meet Ian for rehearsals.
“I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for the incredible opportunities that have arisen over the years,” she says, dashing along the corridor. “I’m living the most wonderful dream.” n