The Scottish Mail on Sunday - You
COVER STORY
Former Pussycat Doll turned fitness campaigner Kimberly Wyatt wants to transform children’s lives through dance
Kimberly Wyatt is on a mission. The former Pussycat Doll, 35, wants to get every school-age child dancing. This might sound ambitious, but Kimberly has never been one to dream small. Born in Missouri in America’s so-called Rust Belt – ‘My whole family voted for Trump. That’s probably part of the reason we’re not that close,’ she says – Kimberly fell in love with dance at a young age. It was her ticket out: first to Los Angeles, where she was discovered (dancing in a Black Eyed Peas video) and signed to the Grammy-nominated girl band in 2003, and then, after leaving the group, to the UK, where in 2010 she became a judge on Sky’s Got To Dance, then met her British model husband Max Rogers on stage at Clothes Show Live in Birmingham. The pair live in Surrey with their two-year-old daughter Willow.
Kimberly, who speaks with a mid-Atlantic lilt, looks every inch the dancer in grey leggings and a hoodie, with her hair swept back. She guides me to a rail of stretchy sportswear in blues, purples, greens and greys with subtle geometric patterns and mesh panelling. This is her new line for the label Zakti Activewear, a UK-based company (with branches in the US and Canada) that sells competitively priced dance, yoga and workout clothes. Kimberly Wyatt for Zakti Activewear includes pieces for girls aged five to 13 and is inspired by ‘being a dancer my whole life, the outfits I’ve worn on stage and the need to have a cool aesthetic in the gym. These days people jog, practise yoga and do the school run in the same clothes, so they have to look and feel good. Zakti’s mantra is “positive energy” and that was the first thing that made me want to work with the brand.’
Positive energy is something Kimberly has in spades. As well as designing for Zakti, she has thrown herself into Well-Fit, her initiative to get
primary schoolchildren dancing, with the support of the Youth Sport Trust, for which she is an ambassador. ‘I started dancing when I was seven – gymnastics, ballet, hip -hop, jazz – and loved it straight away. Studies have shown that a child decides between the ages of six and eight how they feel about their body, and that lasts a lifetime. I know from my childhood how dance can help you get through tough times [Kimberly has previously spoken about being molested at the age of three, an experience that was exacerbated by her parents’ refusal to talk about it] and feel good about yourself.’ In addition to this abuse, Kimberly’s childhood was marred by severe acne, which has thankfully now cleared. ‘It gave me low self- esteem. As well as being caused by poor diet, which I have changed, it was driven by my emotions. Dance allowed me to manage the stress and anxiety that led to my acne, and to unlock my confidence. Now I want to help that magic happen for other kids.’
To that end, Kimberly has been going into primary schools to get children moving. She has released an inspirational video, recorded with the help of the Youth Sport Trust, to persuade pupils and teachers to come on board, and piloted the initiative in schools. ‘Some of the boys were unsure at first, but then they were going for it more than anyone,’ she says. ‘I think dance has entered our collective consciousness as a positive, happy thing to do. Billy Elliott has been amazing for showing boys that it’s OK to dance.’ And what of Ed Balls’s turn on Strictly? ‘I love the buzz it generated.’
While Kimberly is reserved in her praise of reality television shows – ‘I think they make fame the end goal, rather than encouraging you to do what you love’ – she is willing to concede that shows such as Strictly and Britain’s Got Talent have allowed everyone’s enthusiasm for dance to ‘bubble over’. And it has certainly given her an outlet for her own passion. Following her stint judging Sky’s competition show Got To Dance (which was presented by Davina McCall – ‘I adore Davina, her confidence in her body, her willingness to speak up and how she juggles it all’ – until its cancellation in 2014), Kimberly is now a judge on CBBC’s Taking The Next Step. The show follows a group of young fans of dance-drama series The Next Step as they compete to win a guest role on the show. Filming for the next series begins next month. ‘Reality TV is a double-edged sword. It doesn’t always give our youth the best people and lifestyles to look up to,’ she says. ‘But, then again, it has given dancers what they most need: a stage, lights and an audience. And it has allowed young people to watch and be inspired.’
Kimberly is less forgiving of that other scourge of modern adolescent life: technology. ‘It is 100 per cent more difficult today to get children to be active because of the screens sucking their attention. Baroness Susan Greenfield [a prominent writer and neuroscientist] is a hero of mine. She has done a lot of work researching what is going on in kids’ brains as a result of social media and it’s scary. There can be real shutdown and numbness in the frontal cortex – that’s the part of the brain that gets you out there, buzzing and being creative – from too much screen time. I see dance as a way to balance that.’
Kimberly has written a trilogy of children’s books called World Elite Dance Academy about a 13-year- old dancer called Billie, based on herself and inspired by her own diaries. ‘Journal-writing is something I’ve found incredibly cathartic; getting what I am feeling down on paper so that it feels manageable. I had these stories, poems and doodles, and I went through all of it when I was brainstorming for the first book.’ The books are about ‘trying to fit in and to stand out at the same time’ and will be released in May, July and September this year.
Willow may be only two, but Kimberly is taking no chances with her. ‘She has little ballet shoes and she loves practising walking on her tiptoes and doing twirls, drops and splits.’ Kimberly’s trademark move with the Pussycat Dolls was her standing oversplit, a seemingly unfeasible feat of flexibility where she lifts one leg straight up in the air while standing on the other. ‘I can still do it. Willow isn’t quite there yet, but we’re working on it. We always have music on in the kitchen and she loves dancing with Mummy and Daddy. It’s impossible to dance and not smile, so it’s a great thing to do as a family.’
Life in the Wyatt-Rogers household sounds idyllic. First, there is the fact that Max is a model who loves to cook and is environmentally minded. ‘I’ve learnt so much about sustainability from him,’ says Kimberly. ‘We’ve got a compost bin and a wormery and we try to buy our produce from the farm next door.’ They also have a home gym and are in the process of building a dance studio. ‘Max’s body is important for his modelling, so it’s crucial for both of us to work out. He’s also an amazing dancer. He thinks he’s rubbish, but he can bust a move.’
The pair recently relocated from London to leafier surrounds in Surrey. ‘I would have gone to the deepest countryside, surrounded by cows, horses and land, but Max loves London, so we compromised.’ As well as Willow, they share their home with a rescue dog called Ty and a chihuahua called Cupid.
Kimberly has fully embraced British life – particularly her beloved Sunday roasts. She won Celebrity MasterChef in 2015 with a lamb dish. ‘I served it with a celeriac purée and artichokes,’ she says, as if to underscore her healthy credentials. ‘I was totally shell-shocked to win. I put it down to my dancer’s training: I was able to stay focused and did lots of rehearsals so nothing caught me out on the day.’ The highlight of winning, she says, was Jamie Oliver – her and Max’s food hero – congratulating her on Twitter afterwards.
But the ease with which she has settled in the UK goes beyond food. ‘I don’t miss my life in the US. My parents and I have never been close. My dad is a truck driver and my mother works for him. They love riding Harley-Davidsons, and my life is very different. I am closer to my siblings – though none of them shares an ounce of my
4( passion for perforniing. I was always the weirdo in the family! I have one sister and two brothers. one of whom is staying with us now and helping to build the dance studio. I miss friends [in the US] but I feel more at home in England. And with everything that's ping on politically -I mean Trump, I am flabbergasted. I feel proud to be here with the Queen and Theresa May, two strong women, in charge. I love the message that sends to society and to our children. The only positive [to the situation in the US] is that Trump is motivating more people than ever to stand up for their rights. I see how distraught my friends in LA are and I feel for them. London is a wonderful melting pot of cultures and people, and I feel so lucky to live here. 'I also love Comic Relief and Sport Relief. What this country does by coming together with a sense of humour to raise money and awareness for issues is unbelievable and so uniquely British: Kimberly's stint in the Pussycat Dolls seems like another lifetime, she says. After leaving school she worked on cruise ships and as a telemarketer. 'There was no money for university and I wanted to dance. so I knew I had to make it. My first big gig was dancing at the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City [in 2002], and that led to jobs in film and television, and then to the Pussycat Dolls. It was an amazing experience. Hook back on those seven years fondly. It was a crazy boot camp. I gave it my all and tried hard to be a good role model for young girls, but in the end, it sometimes felt like all we were being judged on was how we looked in latex costumes. I suffer from social anxiety and fame terrifies me - and probably always will - so the experience of being thrust into a high-profile band was good for me. I would transform on stage, put the shyness to one side and become a beast. In the end, though. I was drained. I gave it everything I had and it was starting to take away my love of dance, so I left. living in LA was insane, too. If I had listened to all of the pressures there. I would have a nose job, a boob job and a tummy tuck. Luckily. I stood strong and found ways to accept myself.' Kimberly remains close to bandmate Ashley Roberts - 'she helped me celebrate my 35th birthday' - and she has tried to maintain a relationship with Nicole Scherzinget; who is perhaps the most famous of the group thanks to her role on The X Factor and relationship with Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton. 'She's a tough on& says Kimberly. 'She's busy and likes to keep to herself. I do my best to support her through ups and downs via text and email? Kimberly won't rule out a Pussycat Dolls reunion. 'It would be fun, but I have nothing to confirm or den For the moment, she is happy rolling out her campaign to get young people dancing. She has launched a series of workshops called Kimberly Wyatt's Dance Academy (where her Zakti range will doubtlessly be put through its paces), with classes in London and Manchester; and possibly more to come, and is hoping that Well-Fit will take schools across the nation by storm. 'I'm hoping to be a leader and an inspiration, to empower people. I had no self-confidence as a child, but by going into the studio, putting together routines and getting last in the storytelling of movement, I found my way to fit in. That is my driving force now: to give those moments to others. This isn't just a passion, it's my life: El • Kimberly Wyatt for Zakti Activewea4 kids wear from £12, womenswear from .£1$ in store and online at zaktiactivacom from 25 April World Elite Dance Academy: Billie's Big Audition will be published by Egmont Books on 4 May price ECM To pre-order a copy for £4.89 (a 30 per cent discount) until 2 April, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640*