A Milford Haven dancer will be turning on the glitz next month after winning a place in the finals of ‘Dance Floor Heroes’ at the Blackpool Winter Gardens.
The judges will include strictly ex-professionals Lilia Kopylova, Kristina Rihanoff, Pasha Kovalev, Flavia Cacace and Ian Waite, plus the current professional, Nikita Kuzmin.
Anne Jackson has already danced her way through a gruelling selection process to emerge as one of the 12 finalists who will be competing for the trophy on February 24. She is also the only finalist from Wales.
“Yes, it’s a pretty impressive line-up but I can honestly say that the thought of dancing before them is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done,” said Anne from her home near Milford Haven.
“It’s the last thing I think of when I go to bed at night and the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning.”
Anne has felt passionate about dance since she attended her first ballroom class in Oxford at the age of eight.
“I was painfully shy but as soon as I started dancing, I felt completely different.”
Throughout her career as a nurse, 20 years of which were spent at Withybush Hospital, Anne never stopped thinking about the magic of ballroom.
“I religiously watched Strictly, but at the time there was nowhere local where I could dance. But I then found out about dance lessons in Pembroke and I haven’t looked back.”
But when Anne learnt about ‘Dance Floor Heroes’, she doubted whether she would have the confidence to sign up.
“I really didn’t think I could do it,” she continues.
“But I got through the heats and was then called to Bristol for a six-hour dancing session as well as loads of interviews so the judges could gauge how I would interact with people.”
Anne obviously wowed the panel, because last month she found out she had been selected for the finals next month.
Her partner will be professional ballroom dancer Martin Rycroft who, as luck would have it, lives in Hundleton, which is just 11 miles away from her home. The couple will begin rehearsing their foxtrot routine later this week.
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‘Dance Floor Heroes’ will be raising money for Tia’s Crown, the charity that supports mental health issues. Donations can be made via Anne’s JustGiving page http://www.justgiving.com/Anne-Jackson15
Tickets to the live show can be bought from http://eventbrite.co.uk, price £38.
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