‘I WANT TO SEE EMOTION ON THE DANCEFLOOR’ Motsi Mabuse on becoming Strictly’s new judge
New Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse reveals how she feels about filling Darcey Bussell’s shoes and judging her sister, Oti
It’s one of the most glamorous shows on TV, and now, Strictly Come Dancing has upped the stakes even higher with the arrival of new judge Motsi Mabuse. On her debut on Strictly’s launch show, she went all-out with a dramatic look in a one-shouldered ruffle top and layered skirt. When she meets GH, she looks just as striking in vertiginous red stilettos and a floaty printed dress.
While she’s not yet a household name in the UK, this is far from her first rodeo. A judge on Let’s
Dance, the German version of Strictly, and a professional dance champion, Motsi is warm, friendly and bubbles over with enthusiasm and excitement as she talks about her new role.
The recruitment process started in April, when Dame Darcey Bussell, who sat on the judging panel for seven series, announced her decision to step down from the show to focus on other commitments. Motsi was revealed as her replacement in July. ‘It took a while,’ she explains. ‘I put the possibility aside and I said, “This is down to destiny; if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, so just be cool with it.”’ After she did get the call, for two weeks she had the tough task of keeping it a secret from friends and family, including her younger sister, Oti, who is a professional dancer on the show.
With a 14-month-old daughter, Motsi is juggling motherhood and the dance school she runs in Germany with her new appointment, but she’s relishing the challenge. ‘It’s all still quite unbelievable for me,’ she says. ‘It’s something I never thought would happen. It’s so exciting.’
Darcey was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Motsi, 38, is taking the task in her stride and trying to avoid comparisons. ‘I’m a completely different kind of character,’ she says. ‘I’m just me, and Darcey is Darcey. She’s so beautiful and elegant, and I’m just different to her.’
So, what does Motsi plan to bring to the panel? Aside from the full force of her enthusiasm, she is on a mission to help contestants really give their all. ‘I hope I can give people the confidence to put their hearts on the floor,’ she says. ‘On a show like Strictly, you can’t pretend. I want to see emotion. I’m not really interested in the perfect technique; I want to see who you are on the dancefloor.’
I ask who her money is on to lift the Glitterball trophy. Motsi believes, like last year’s winner, Stacey Dooley, the women will triumph again. ‘We have strong women in the lineup, so I have a feeling that a woman might win,’ she says.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Motsi was born in Mankwe, South Africa. She began dancing at nine years old, when she realised she loved performing, but found her opportunities were limited. At the age of 18, she came to the UK to pursue her passion. ‘Where we lived, we didn’t have cultural things for young people and, after seeing dancing on TV, I knew I wanted to be part of it,’ she says. ‘My mum helped us. She worked at a kindergarten, where she knew a few people who danced, and they taught us the basics. I went to my first competition, and it was like fire. I was engulfed. That was it. I’ve been burning all my life. It’s been my everything, but it’s been hard.’
Leaving South Africa was tough, as Motsi had never been more than two hours away from her parents before. But her determination to succeed and her dream to dance took over. ‘Jumping in was scary, but I felt if I was going to do it, I had better go through with it,’ she says. ‘If I start something, I always do it with passion.’
Aged 18, she met her first husband, dancer Timo Kulczak, in Blackpool, the home of ballroom. They moved to Germany, where Motsi set her heart on becoming German champion: and she did, nine years later. She also learned a lot about herself during the process. ‘I learned that it’s not all about winning, it’s about the love for dancing,’ she says. ‘I had to learn to let go of just competing. I’ve had some setbacks along the way and now I’ve focused my career on my dance school and TV work.’
In 2007, she joined Let’s Dance as a professional dancer, before becoming a judge on the show in
2011, an experience that stands her in good stead for Strictly. ‘Having danced on the show and having that background makes me more empathetic to the dancers,’ she says. ‘You know what they go through. I’m also very aware of the words I use, because words have power.’
It’s not all about winning, it’s about the love for dancing. I hope people put their hearts on the floor
FAMILY TIES
Motsi is now married to Evgenij Voznyuk, a professional dance champion. She admits her priorities have shifted since becoming a mum. When we speak to Motsi, it’s the first day she and her daughter have spent apart in just over a year, as she’s flown in from her home in Frankfurt. ‘You become more vulnerable,’ she says. ‘Before, I just used to worry about me. My husband is old enough to take care of himself, but with my daughter, it’s different. I know my priorities. There’s no question about what is number one in my life now.’
If Motsi knows she’ll be away longer than a day, her daughter (whose name she is keeping private) will come along, too. Grandparents help with babysitting duties and at Let’s Dance, she had her own changing room backstage, away from the hustle and bustle, while she was breastfeeding. ‘It was really relaxed,’ she says. ‘I don’t want our baby feeling any kind of stress. So, if she comes to the Strictly shows, my mum will come with her and she’ll be in a quiet place.’
THE STRICTLY MACHINE
Motsi is realistic about the criticism she might face over the next few months and she’s ready for it. ‘Once you’ve been in the public eye, you are always going to be criticised,’ she acknowledges. ‘Strictly is the master of all dance programmes. It’s so big. I’ve been watching the German show grow, but in the UK, I’m coming in when it’s already huge! I’m a girl who lived in the hard times in South Africa and then moved to Germany, which wasn’t easy. You grow with that and you get stronger, and you learn not to take things personally, but it can be hard.’
A household name in Germany, Motsi is regularly mobbed by fans when she’s out and about and was even stopped by policemen for selfies recently when she was shopping for groceries. It’s surely just a matter of time until the same happens here, though Motsi reckons she’ll be able to avoid the melee. She’ll be splitting her time between London and Frankfurt and is sure that her family will keep her grounded. ‘My main purpose has always been to make them proud,’ she says. ‘I’m still working on it.’
Strictly Come Dancing is on Saturday and Sunday evenings on BBC One.
Strictly
is the master of all dance programmes. It’s huge!
OTI AND ME
Motsi’s younger sister, Oti, has been a professional dancer on Strictly for five series, and now the pair will be reunited. There’s an age gap of nearly 10 years between the two (Oti is 29), and it’s not the first time the sisters have worked together (Oti had a stint on Let’s Dance when Motsi was a judge on the show).
‘I’m not nervous about working with Oti, because we’ve done it before,’ says Motsi. ‘I’ve been teaching her since she could walk, and we have a big sense of trust as sisters. We’re professional at what we do and we want to get that professionalism across.’
Motsi is adamant that her judging will be fair, despite family ties. ‘We’ve spoken and it feels free between us, so we can give our best,’ she says. ‘If we hadn’t, we’d have a kind of pressure. We want to go into this with fresh energy and have fun.’
Her admiration for her sister is clear. ‘Oti knows what she wants,’ Motsi laughs. ‘Her best quality is that she’s driven. Do you know what her name means? “I have arrived”. And she really has!’