How Strictly Come Dancing stars stay confident under the spotlight
Visualisation, deep breaths and letting go of what they can’t control has helped this year’s Strictly cast navigate moments of self doubt.
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Gliding across a huge dance floor and being lifted in the air in front of a live audience and millions of viewers at home takes a sprinkle of courage and a large helping of confidence.
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing cast donned some spectacular outfits on Saturday night for this season’s first live show and have spoken to us about how they overcome moments of self doubt, both on and off the dance floor.
Dr Punam Krishan
Going from surgery scrubs to sparkly dresses on Strictly has certainly pushed Dr Punam Krishan, 41, out of her comfort zone, and she has spoken about how her confidence has taken a dip in this new environment.
“I do struggle with self-confidence,” admitted the resident GP on BBC’s Morning Live. “I think in this space, that’s probably been a big challenge for me because it’s so different to the world that I know.”
Slowing down and blocking out all the noise helps Krishan navigate these moments of low self-esteem.
“It’s just about being able to protect my own energy, and block out the noise…and take deep breaths,” said the TV doctor.
And sometimes, you need to fake it until you make it.
“Gorka has tried to get me, even if I’m not feeling confident, to perform confident,” revealed Krishan.
Gorka Marquez
Spanish Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, 34, believes that confidence comes from working hard and believing in yourself.
“Being confident is being sure of what you’re doing, being sure of what you have worked for and why you do it,” said Marquez. “People often go ‘You are so lucky’. No, you aren’t lucky. The more you work, the luckier you are in life.”
The passionate dancer also recognises the impact other people’s opinions can have on your confidence, but encourages people to ignore them.
“Being on a show like this which is really popular and so public, I think sometimes the audience, or opinions can throw your confidence away,” noted Marquez. “You need to be very – not thick-skinned – but you know, not take the bad opinions too close, as they are just opinions.”
Focusing on the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives, can also do wonders for your self-esteem.
“Sometimes we focus too much on the things that we can’t do instead of celebrating all the wins and the victories,” recognised Marquez. “Remember to celebrate all those real things because that’s going to make you feel more comfortable and confident.”
Nick Knowles
DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles has described himself as an “incredible shy child” but said that practice and time considerably helps bolster your confidence in your own abilities.
“When I was 14, I had to read at my brother’s wedding and I was shaking so much I thought my legs were going to give way,” recollected 62-year-old. “Then, weirdly, I ended up doing amateur dramatics and ended up doing TV.
“For me, confidence comes from knowing what you are doing.
“I used to rehearse my Saturday night shows more than any other presenter I know. They say, if you do something 10,000 times, then you become expert at it.”
However, the TV host revealed that he still gets nervous before going live on air. To overcome these feelings of imposter syndrome, he often visualises himself putting all his worries into a box.
“When I do live shows and hear the 10 second countdown to go live on air in my ear, I always go through this routine of asking myself, What the hell am I doing here? How the hell did this happen? But then I picture myself folding these concerns into a box and putting it aside,” shared Knowles.
Neil Jones
British dancer and choreographer Neil Jones’, 42, trick to staying confident is to stay calm and let go of what he can’t control.
“Don’t think about anything you can’t control and keep your mind only on the things you can,” advised the laidback Strictly pro. “This allows you to come away from everything and feel more settled.”
Jones said that exuding confidence is “everything” when it comes to dance and live performance – and triumphs over technique and choreography every time.
“We spend so much time working on content and getting the correct steps. A lot of people think that’s 90% of it, but it’s not. We could do the full routine and do it all correct, but without confidence it won’t look right,” reflected Jones. “Whereas, you could see somebody else come in with all the confidence in the world doing the wrong steps and it looks brilliant.”
Tom Dean
Triple Olympic gold medallist Tom Dean, 24, is no stranger to high-pressure situations, and has experienced first-hand the impact confidence has on performance.
“Confidence helps in dance because then you can relax into it,” says the swimmer. “Even in swimming, if you start a race really cagey and uptight you use more energy and won’t be able to have a good finish. But if you’re confident and execute it smoothly on that first 50m, it really helps.”
However, he revealed that he was much more nervous about Saturday night’s live show than he was for his races at the Paris Olympic Games.
“I’m used to high-pressure situations where I really know what I’m doing, but this is so different,” says Dean. “What Nadiya said earlier was really helpful. She said ‘Just focus on you, because not only does it make it look better but it also gets all the extra stuff out of your mind’.”