How old is helen from dancing with the stars
Helen Richey and her husband Robert's love story was written in the stars
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The Dancing With The Stars judge found a professional and romantic partner in Rob. - by Catie Powers
Helen Richey is all class when she shares her years of knowledge on Dancing With The Stars.
And while she and fellow judge Todd McKenney might lovingly bicker like a married couple, off-screen, Helen’s romantic life looks a bit different.
WATCH: Celia Pacquola screams in disbelief as she winning DWTS 2020
After being born around 1945 in Melbourne, Helen donned her dancing shoes from a very young age, studying Ballet and Tap.
At the age of just 15, she won the coveted Lily Ellison award. Two years later she met her now-husband Robert, who was also a dancer, competing with his sister in the styles of Ballroom, Latin, and New Vogue.
When he turned professional and started teaching part-time in a studio, one day, the owner’s daughter brought a friend to the studio.... and Robert was instantly smitten.
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“I looked at this girl and thought that she was ‘a bit of all right’,” the dancer told DanceTraks.
“She was a very talented ballet & stage dancer and had been dancing and competing very successfully in that field since she was very little. Her name was Helen.”
From there, things got serious between the couple, who would go on to become engaged and then married.
After Rob’s sister announced that she didn’t want to dance anymore, Rob’s teacher Fred Jenyns suggested that he and Helen dance together.
“Helen’s reaction was that she could never be good enough (Actually the opposite was the case, as she went on to become one of the greatest Latin Ladies of all time). In any case, we did try and the rest is history.”
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Soon after, the couple won the Australian Rising Stars Ballroom Championship. After this, they headed over to the UK to widen their careers, and they ended up staying there for 27 years.
“One of the greatest Latin Ladies” is an apt description for Helen, who has been dubbed “Australia’s first Lady of Latin Dance”.
For over 10 years, Helen was Australia’s official representative in Ballroom and Latin World Championships, and she won many accolades in the process.
Most notably, she became the undefeated All England Latin Champion, as well as placing third in the World Professional Latin Championship, equal third in the British Professional Latin Championship, runner-up in the UK Championship and twice third in the Internationals.
When Helen and Robert announced their retirement from competitive dancing in 1980 during the Blackpool Dance Festival, they received a rare standing ovation, according to Outside Change.
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While she may have parted with her dancing shoes, Helen since became one of the world’s most sought-after dance coaches and adjudicators, having reportedly judged national dance championships in almost every country worldwide.
As we know, the former dancer also judges on Dancing With The Stars. Interestingly, many of the professional dancers that have appeared on the series are said to have been, at least in part, trained by Helen herself.
In 2017, Helen revealed that she and Robert had left Melbourne to move to the Laurieton Residental resort in NSW.
“My husband Robert and I relocated from Melbourne to the peace and tranquillity of this stunning location,” Helen said in a video promoting the resort. “We are living our retirement dream.”
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Catie Powers As a digital writer for New Idea, Catie Powers covers all things entertainment, lifestyle, and royals.
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Subscribe NowWho is Helen Skelton? Meet Strictly Come Dancing 2022 contestant
After a few weeks near the top of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard, Helen Skelton and dance partner Gorka Marquez put in another strong performance last weekend.
Their week 8 Salsa to Despacito was a crowd pleaser and saw them score a very respectable 32 points, however they moved slightly down the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 leaderboard in fourth place.
Now, the Blue Peter star is hoping to blow the competition away as she and the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 line-up take to the dance floor in Blackpool.
This weekend, Helen and Gorka will be Quickstepping to Valerie by Mark Ronson ft Amy Winehouse. But will it be enough to see them soar to the top of the leaderboard again?
As we wait to see, here's all you need to know about Helen's career and her time on the dance floor so far.
Who is Helen Skelton?Helen Skelton Lia Toby/Getty Images
Age: 39
Job: Presenter
Instagram: @helenskelton
Twitter: @HelenSkelton
After taking on supporting roles in Coronation Street and Cutting It, Skelton became a reporter on Newsround in 2007, before becoming co-presenter on Blue Peter from 2008 to 2013.
She also started presenting Countryfile in 2008, which she still does to this day.
Skelton has since presented numerous sporting events for the BBC, including the 2016 Olympic Games, has taken part in major Sport Relief challenges in which she has secured world records, and was a contestant on the 2020 season of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. She also has previous experience with Strictly Come Dancing, having taken part in the show's 2012 Christmas Special.
Helen's Strictly journeyScoreboard
Week One: American Smooth (6+7+6+7) = 26
Week Two: Cha Cha Cha (5+7+7+8) = 27
Week Three: Viennese Waltz (7+8+8+8) = 31
Week Four: Paso Doble(6+8+7+8) = 29
Week Five: Charleston (8+9+9+9) = 35
Week Six: Foxtrot (7+8+8+9) = 32
Week Seven: Jive (9 +9+9+10) = 37
Week Eight: Salsa (8+8+8+8) = 32
Helen Skelton kicked off the competition with an American Smooth to Aretha Franklin's You Send Me, then performed an energetic Cha Cha Cha to Rain on Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande.
She stepped things up in Week 3, with the former Blue Peter star receiving a score of 31 for her Viennese Waltz to Hopelessly Devoted To You from Grease, but scored slightly lower for her Paso Doble.
Her partner Gorka Marquez paid tribute to her afterwards, telling her: "If you don't believe in yourself, I believe in you. Everybody here believes in you."
Week 5 saw Skelton top the leaderboard for the first time, tying with Hamza Yassin. The judges branded her Blue Peter-themed Charleston (a nod to her stint on the classic CBBC show) as "an absolute delight" and her best dance yet.
In Week 6 – the show's famous Halloween Week - Helen's Foxtrot to Lil' Red Riding Hood scored her her second highest mark of the competition with 32. After she performed, Helen said she loved getting into character for the routine and was "very happy" with what the judges had to say.
The following weekend, Helen scored her best mark yet - a whopping 37 for her energetic Jive to Janelle Monae's Tightrope.
She climbed the leaderboard once more, coming in in joint second position with Kym Marsh, and even landed her first 10 from Anton Du Beke.
While Week 8 saw Helen and Gorka Salsa to Despacito - an energetic performance, complete with lifts, that scored them 32.
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What has Helen Skelton said about joining Strictly 2022?Speaking about joining the show, Skelton said: “I’m really excited to get stuck into a fun adventure."
She continued: "My family and friends have always loved the show and can’t wait for me to get started.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 19th November at 7:45pm on BBC One, with the results show airing on Sunday 20th November at 7:20pm.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Evgenia Tolstaya - biography, personal life, photo, news, "Dancing with the Stars", dancing, Vladimir Marconi 2022
Biography
Evgenia Tolstaya - Russian dancer, winner of international tournaments, children's coach. Thanks to the charm and charisma, the woman got on the TV project "Dancing with the Stars" on the channel "Russia-1". Now she skillfully combines her professional career with the filming of the show.
Childhood and youth
Evgenia Tolstaya was born in Moscow on April 19, 1986 years old. Mother worked as a deputy director of the Art-master studio, and in the future this made life much easier for the dancer, since costumes for performances could be sewn right there.
Tolstaya started training at the age of 7 in the ballroom dance studio at the school, although at that time she did not think about her professional biography. A conscious attitude to classes appeared in Evgenia in the 5th grade, when the girl moved to a stronger team.
In 2008, the girl received her higher education at the Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Dancing
In September 2008 Evgenia started her career performing in pair with Nikolay Govorov under the guidance of Yulia Spesivtseva and Evgeny Ryupin. Foreigners Hannes Emrich and Mirko Gozzoli also worked with them. In addition, the dancers studied choreography with Natalya Nikolaevna Ershova in order to better feel their body. Since then, Russians have taken part in the Autumn Star competition, the Great Catherine's Ball, the Winter Star, and the Empire Cup. Already at the level of amateurs, young people won the RTS championships and became vice-champions of the world.
The year 2010 was especially important for the dancers, when they won the Moscow Region Star competition, took 2nd place in the Tica Tica Cup and 3rd place in the MOTL Open Championship and the Friendship Cup.
In 2015, Evgenia Tolstaya and Nikolai Govorov became the winners of the European Championship in ten dances among professionals, losing the championship in jive to the Italian couple Giuseppe Esposito - Roberta Lodato, and in the Viennese waltz - to the Russians Dmitry Nakostenko and Alina Oshchepkova. In other dances, the couple showed the best results.
In the same year, Evgeniya and Nikolai became fifth in Latin at the Professional Rising Star Ballroom in England and fulfilled their dream of dancing at the Albert Hall. They also took part in the World Cup together with Evgeny Smagin, Polina Kazachenko, Valentin Voronov and other masters from Russia, the USA, Europe and Asia.
In 2016, the duo presented rumba at the European Championship among professionals.
Nikolai Govorov admitted that this is his favorite dance.
In 2018, Tolstaya and Govorov took 15th place at the WDC World Championship in European Dance, which took place in the Kremlin Palace. 47 dance duets from Russia, USA, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Poland, China, Japan and African countries took part in the competition.
In 2019, the couple received awards from WDC President Donnie Burns at the annual gala in Blackpool. In the same year, they took part in the World Championship in Yekaterinburg, organized by the Russian Dance Union and the government of the Sverdlovsk region. The competition program included samba, paso doble, rumba, waltzes, tango, quickstep and cha-cha-cha.
In November 2020, the duet of Tolstoy and Govorov, together with their students, participated in the International Dance Festival at the Severnaya Zvezda Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. Photos from the competition appeared on Evgenia's Instagram page.
On December 19, 2020, the “World Cup of European and Latin American dances among professionals” was held in the Kremlin.
The participants presented numbers to live music performed by the group of the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Georgy Musheev "Seven Winds". Nikolai Govorov and Evgenia Tolstaya fought Artemy and Marina Katashinsky, Sergey Sutyrin and Natalya Sazhina, Fedor Isaev and Anna Zudilina, and many others at this tournament.
Dancing with the Stars
January 17, 2021 saw the premiere of the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Tolstaya danced in tandem with rapper Alexander ST Stepanov. In the past, the musician was engaged in break dancing, although he admitted that this was not enough to win the competition. The man praised his partner girl in every possible way, who “pulled out” the numbers.
Their joint performance, combining elements of hip-hop and ballroom dancing, delighted jury member Nikolai Tsiskaridze. In an interview, Stepanov admitted that he did not tell his friends about participating in the show, fearing condemnation. The couple gained a lot of fans, but did not manage to reach the final.
Personal life
The dancer managed to combine professional and personal life. In 2014, Evgenia married partner Nikolai Govorov. Their feelings arose soon after the start of joint classes. A man proposed at The Shard restaurant after a tournament in England. For the wedding, they rented a small institution in the suburbs, celebrating the event at home with family members. International class dancer Mikhail Shchepkin acted as the toastmaster.
The couple admitted that they fully correspond to the descriptions of their zodiac signs. Evgenia, like Aries, is stubborn and fights to the end, it is impossible to argue with her. And Nikolai, like Gemini, is changeable, the mood of a man changes several times a day.
Tolstaya called Greece the best holiday destination, her favorite film is The Devil Wears Prada, she admired the actress Marilyn Monroe. In her free time, the dancer enjoys cooking and skating.
Evgenia Tolstaya now
Evgenia skillfully combined her professional activities with the filming of the 13th season of the Dancing with the Stars project, which premiered in the winter of 2022.
This time, her partner was the famous showman Vladimir Marconi. The popular show attracted celebrities such as Dmitry Kharatyan and Maria Mironova. Among the young stars Vanya Dmitrienko was designated. And the duets' dancing abilities were to be judged by the regulars of the project. True, a new face appeared among the jury - the chance to decide the fate of the participants fell to the choreographer Vladimir Varnava.
Interesting facts
- In 2016, Tolstaya and Govorov acted as coaches, representing Nikolai Kalinin and Evgenia Telitsyna at the Moscow Championship among beginner dancers. In addition, now the duet is preparing thirty other couples and sixty soloists in their own club "Asteria".
- Eugenia's favorite dance is the foxtrot, and her idol is Edita Daniute.
- The dancer trains every day, working out two different programs in the morning and in the evening.
Who is Vanya Dmitrienko - a participant in the show "Dancing with the Stars"? | QUESTION-ANSWER
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
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"AiF on the Yenisei" No.
03 (2148) 19/01/2022 Category: Archive Q&A from the newspaper: "AiF on the Yenisei" №03 (2148) 19/01/2022
I'm watching the show "Dancing with the Stars", there is a musician from Krasnoyarsk Vanya Dmitrienko. Never heard of him. Who is he and how did he get on the show?
16-year-old singer Vanya Dmitrienko became the youngest participant in the show "Dancing with the Stars" for 13 years of the project, which started on the channel "Russia-1" on Sunday, January 16th. Vanya's partner is 24-year-old dancer and choreographer Lyubina Kuznetsova. In his profile, he described himself as follows: “I was born in a very beautiful city of Krasnoyarsk, and now I live in Moscow. I could have become an actor, but I became a musician.” And he admitted that he had no musical education, and he learned to play the guitar, piano and other instruments on his own.
