Strictly stardom: The meteoric rise of Oti Mabuse

It has been an incredible 12 months for professional dancer Oti Mabuse. From winning Strictly Come Dancing with her stand-in celebrity, Kelvin Fletcher, to being a judge on The Greatest Dancer, she is now set to become the first female Strictly professional to star in her own live show. “I feel blessed,” says the ever smiling Mabuse. Even lockdown turned into a positive for her and her husband, Romanian dancer Marius Lepure. “Marius and I met in Germany when we were both appearing in the German version of Strictly, but then I got headhunted to appear on the UK version. We have spent a lot of time apart in the last five years and so lockdown was actually lovely in many ways as we got to spend so much time together,” she says.

The dancing couple became online sensations during lockdown with their live dance classes. “One of the amazing things about Strictly is that it has more than 10 million people watching it of all ages. We really felt for parents during lockdown trying to keep the children entertained and homeschooling,” says Mabuse.

“When I was growing up my mum was all about discipline, structure and keeping us busy. We thought who wouldn’t like to have a dance lesson from a Strictly professional? We thought if we do a live dance class for kids it would give some focus for their day and also give parents a little bit of time to get on with some work. It proved a big hit not just with the kids but with their parents and so we decided to do an adult class, too. It was something that parents could do with their kids to help them connect during what for many was a really, really difficult time.”

It proved such a success that Mabuse and Lepure have just opened their own dance school. “We are so excited about it,” she enthuses. “It is something we have thought about for a long time and it is for people of all ages and abilities – above all, we want it to be fun.” She says that if it is successful they will open dance studios in other parts of the country, including Leeds.

Mabuse is actually in Leeds to appear on Steph’s Packed Lunch with Steph McGovern on Channel 4. She has already done guest presenting on the BBC’s One Show, has just landed the job of presenting Boogie Beebies and finds it easy in front of the camera, probably due to all her years performing in front of audiences and judges.

Mabuse grew up in Pretoria, South Africa the youngest of three sisters. “Both my sisters, Phemelo and Motsi, went to Latin and ballroom classes and so I suppose I just tagged along. I was four when I started dancing and I just loved it,” she says.

Not only did she love it but she was good at it and from the age of 11 was travelling the world to take part in competitions which saw her achieve third place in World Cup Freestyle Latin in 2014. She was crowned the South African Latin American champion eight times.

Mabuse’s parents, a judge and a school principal, had high academic expectations for their daughters. Mabuse wanted to be a cartographer but ended up taking civil engineering at university. It wasn’t the obvious training to be a sequin-clad Latin dancer, but she loved maths and physics. Her first job, however, left her cold, and the hours meant she had to give up dancing – which is when she realised where her heart really lay.

She decided to concentrate on her dancing and moved to Germany to take part in Let’s Dance – its version of Strictly – only to be headhunted after a few years to appear in the BBC programme.

“Everyone knows that the UK is the place to be when it comes to dance and so when I got the opportunity to take part in Strictly it was a dream come true.”

Mabuse quickly made an impression and last year won the show for the first time with Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher. “I just love working with the celebrities whatever their ability – my job is to make them the best they can possibly be,” says Mabuse, who is known as a hard task master when it comes to training celebrities.

She is taking part in this year’s Strictly, which is finally due to be back on our screens on October 17 and which will be a very different programme from the previous series.

“When we heard that it was going ahead we were all thrilled,” says Mabuse. “Not just for the audiences who really need a bit of joy in their lives at the moment, but also for all the people who work on the show whose livelihoods depend on it.”

The professional dancers stayed in a hotel for four weeks, so that their group dances could be filmed before the series. The show will continue until December 19, meaning it will run for 10 weeks compared with 13 in 2019. As soon as training kicks off, all participants will be given coronavirus tests and will have their temperatures checked daily. That could lead to professionals doubling up with celebrity partners.

For the first time, Strictly will also have a same-sex couple competing, after Leeds boxer Nicola Adams asked to be paired with a female professional when she was invited to take part in the show. “I think it is great Nicola is in the show, not just because she is the first same-sex partnership but because of who she is,” says Mabuse. “Strictly isn’t the type of show where we will talk about it, it will be more about the dancing. But there really isn’t anything unusual about two female dancers dancing together. Formation dancing is massive in the UK and they are all girls.”

As well as preparing for Strictly, Mabuse is busy working her first solo live tour, I Am Here. Scheduled to start on April 16, next year, the tour will cover all corners of the UK, including Sheffield, City Hall on April 24, Hull New Theatre on June 3 and Leeds Grand Theatre from June 10 to 12.

I Am Here (a direct translation of Mabuse’s name in the language Setswana, spoken in South Africa) is a celebration of the influences and inspirations that took her on a journey from growing up in South Africa to following her dream. Mabuse will also be joined by some of the world’s greatest dancers and the West End’s finest singers and musicians, including her husband.

“This is something I have always wanted to do and it is such a privilege to be the first female Strictly professional to have a solo show. It is great to be dancing with Marius again. It’s like a dream come true to be announcing my first ever tour. Performing on stage is something I feel so passionately about, and I can’t wait to get out on the road and share my story.

“It is the type of show that people really need at the moment, a joyous celebration of dance. We all could do with some joy at the moment.”

For more information about the I Am Here tour visit www.otimabuse.com