Everything is better with sequins, spray tan and a bit of sparkle!

At 10:53pm on 19th February 2024 I received a phone call that made my world stop. I had lost the man I called my “stunt husband”. My best friend, my dance partner and my plus one. My world has been very quiet ever since. 

No silly videos, no thirsty photos asking if they were suitable for posting on social media (invariably not!), no calls throughout the day, prep discussions for interviews or excitement about upcoming plans. It’s quiet and a lot less sparkly without him. 

Many of you in the UK and global dance community will know Robin from the TV show Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars in some places in the world) where he was one of the professionals, and from the long professional dance career he had with the show Burn the Floor where he headlined on Broadway and the West End.

We met on holiday and became fast friends. During lockdown we became very close. He looked after me, and we danced both online and in my living room (definitely not big enough for a waltz), we laughed, bubbled and holidayed together. I lived every high and low moment of the West End opening up again and pretty much every performance of his show ‘Here Come The Boys’ at the London Palladium and then ‘Come What May’ and the 25 year reunion of Burn the Floor. 

Our friendship formed and lives intertwined. We spoke daily, often multiple times. While I feel his loss acutely, I am also grateful for the time I spent with him and for the huge impact he made on me: 

1. He taught me that sometimes your biggest areas of growth are when you take a leap of faith and really go out of your comfort zone. Cue an intense, two week, six plus hours a-day immersive dance training experience. I learned choreography for a full Cha Cha routine, learned to rumba walk like a ballroom dancer (who knew your ankles and calves could hurt that much) and laughed ‘til I cried trying to embrace my inner diva on the ballroom dancefloor.

2.  He taught me that while in my professional life my role is to lead, that in ballroom my role was to follow. That it’s important to be able to do both in life. He blindfolded me the first time we danced the waltz and taught me to listen to the cues from him. “I’m in charge here babe. You move when I tell you and only stop when I say so - or when you hit the wall."

3. He taught me to take up space in a performance (and life) and to be confident being bold and owning my fabulousness. An hour of Beyoncé strutting to the mirror with a wind machine and "who run the world" will do that for you. 

4. He taught me that the things you love make you shine inside-out. He was never happier than on a stage performing to an audience and his blue eyes always sparkled with a cheeky grin when he did so. Find the people and things in life that make you light up and don’t settle for less.

5. He taught me that choosing to see the positive in a situation and championing others was always the right thing to do. He’d learned that from years of competitive successes and knockbacks.

He loved hard and always told me how much he loved me. I’m glad that those were the last words I also said to him. 

And finally, he taught me that everything is better with sequins, spray tan and a bit of sparkle. 

Robin Windsor you will be very missed. x