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Darren Lee Bennett (born 14 February 1977) is an English professional dancer. With his wife
Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Andreyevna Kopylova (russian: link=no, Лилия Андреевна Копылова; born 18 June 1978) is a Russian professional dancer.
With her husband Darren Bennett, she has been competing as an amateur since July 1997 and as a p ...
he has a successful career in professional
Latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
and the
Foxtrot
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...
. They teach private lessons in their own studio at Sheffield, England.
Bennett was born in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
. He first met Kopylova after his twin brother Dale, also a dancer, introduced them. In November 2005 Bennett and Kopylova won the British Championships for Professional Latin, coming first in all five dances. In November 2006 they successfully defended this title against a challenge from
Olga Rodionova
Olga Rodionova (born 25 June 1974) is a Croatian-Russian model, actress and TV presenter.
Career
As a model, Rodionova has worked with some of the best fashion photographers in the world, including Helmut Newton, David LaChapelle, Peter Lindberg ...
and Paul Richardson, who had been competing for the USA but had recently registered as a British couple. Bennett and Kopylova triumphed winning all five dances to retain the title.
In February 2008, Bennett and Kopylova were winners of the
Carl Alan Award Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
for Ballroom, Latin and Sequence (performers)- a prestigious title described by the IDTA as 'the Oscars of the world of dance'.
The couple starred in a West End dance show, ''Latin Fever'', which they choreographed themselves, as well as choosing the music and costumes to reflect the mood of each Latin dance.
Bennett is a consultant creative producer for the Dancing with the Stars (
Irish Edition) TV show working alongside his wife and choreographer
Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Andreyevna Kopylova (russian: link=no, Лилия Андреевна Копылова; born 18 June 1978) is a Russian professional dancer.
With her husband Darren Bennett, she has been competing as an amateur since July 1997 and as a p ...
.
''Strictly Come Dancing''
He was one of the professional dancers on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
dancing television programme, ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
''. This is a summary of how well he has done in the show:
* Series Two: Won with his partner, actress
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...
.
* Christmas Special: Won with his partner from series two,
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...
.
* Series Three: Knocked out in the third week with his partner, TV presenter
Gloria Hunniford
Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...
.
* Series Four: Knocked out in the semi-final after competing with singer
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million recor ...
. They also competed together in the 2006 Christmas Special, finished in third place overall (the remaining couples were not ranked).
* Series Five: Knocked out in the quarter-final (fourth place) after competing with actress
Letitia Dean
Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...
. They also competed together in the 2007 Christmas Special, but were not placed in the final two overall (the remaining couples were not ranked).
*Live Tour 2008: Competing at a series of venues during January and February 2008 with Series Five partner
Letitia Dean
Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...
, they won once (31 January 2008), and were runners up on two further occasions.
The tour was based on a similar format to the main series, with each couple performing two routines which were marked by the judges, and the audience being invited to vote for their favourite.
* Series Six: Knocked out in the fourth week, dancing with
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'
Jessie Wallace
Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kat Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' since 2000. Her role as Kat won her the Natio ...
. Won the 2008 Christmas Special with
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...
, meaning they became two of the select few couples to win the Christmas Special twice.
* On the 2009 Strictly Come Dancing Tour Darren was re-united with his Series 2 partner and champion
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...
.
* Series Seven: Knocked out in the fourth week, dancing with Actress and
Loose Women
''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...
presenter
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. S ...
Performances
Other work
Darren along with wife Lilia have been heavily involved in the "Essentially Dance" scheme, with the intention to give all children within the UK a chance to experience ballroom and Latin dance, the scheme is funded by the Aldridge Foundation and was officially launched on 22 June 2009.
Darren joined the judging panel of the Lebanese edition of ''Dancing With The Stars'' for its
first series in December 2012 and
second series in November 2013 and
third series in March 2015 and
fourth series in November 2016.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Darren
1977 births
British ballroom dancers
English male dancers
Living people
People from Sheffield
Strictly Come Dancing winners