Dancing Out of Darkness

by Kristina Rhianoff

  Family and friends are so important to me and I try to visit them as often as I can. Here I am with my aunt’s children, Andrey and Ksenia in Russia.

  My best friend Alex and her son Maxim, who is my godchild. Alex lives in Seattle and I met her when she came to me for dance lessons.

  I loved working with John Sergeant. He was the only celebrity I have worked with who never seemed nervous – he just wanted to have fun!

  The infamous drag in our paso doble, which had the Strictly audience whooping and cheering.

  I won my first Strictly trophy dancing the quickstep with John Barrowman in the Christmas special in 2010.

  © BBC

  Backstage with Jason Donovan, with whom I made it to the final in 2011.

  Performing the Viennese waltz with Colin Salmon in Week 2, 2012.

  Waltzing with Ben Cohen, my partner in Strictly 2013.

  Backstage with Simon Webbe in our costumes for the Charleston, which we performed in the final in 2014.

  Posing with Ola Jordan and Anya Garnis.

  Backstage with other professional dancers (left to right) Artem Chigvintsev, Pasha Kovalev, Katya Virshilas and my partner Robin Windsor after a group performance.

  Rehearsing with Robin during a trip to South Africa in 2015, where we represented BBC Worldwide at corporate events.

  Jazz hands! Rehearsing for Burn the Floor, which ran at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2013.

  Performing a dramatic routine during a photocall for the show.

  Robin and I at the after party, held at the Trafalgar Hotel, following the press night performance on 11 March 2013.

  © Getty Images

  My work with Dot Com Children’s Foundation means the world to me, and in 2014 I decided to hold a fundraising event in London.

  Inside Mansion House with (left to right) Anton Du Beke, Iveta Lukosiute, Judy Murray, Aljaz Scorjanec, Janette Manrara, Thom Evans and Karen Hauer. I had to give a speech straight after Cherie Blair – not daunting at all!

  Robin and I with charity founders Sharon and Neil Evans, Kathryn Blair and Tony Blair.

  Courtesy of Dot Com Children’s Foundation

  Sharon and I with her Best magazine Bravest Women Award.

  With my best friends Alex and Irina.

  Me and my mum, Larisa, the strongest woman I know.

  © Best Magazine

  Simon and I were ecstatic to become champions of Strictly’s live arena tour in 2015, winning the Glitterball trophy.

  © Matrix Pictures

  In many ways, I feel I owe my existence to dancing. The dance floor is my home and where I feel most comfortable.

  Copyright

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  ePub ISBN 978 1 78418 864 1

  Mobi ISBN 978 1 78418 865 8

  PDF ISBN 978 1 78418 866 5

  This edition published in 2015

  ISBN: 978 1 78418 773 6

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

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  © Text copyright Kristina Rihanoff 2015

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