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The Partnership Best known to the public as professional dancers on the hit BBC1 programme Strictly Come Dancing, Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag first made their names in the highly competitive world of international dance competitions as both amateurs and professionals, winning many highly prestigious titles. They have danced together since their first meeting in 1997 when Erin moved to London from her native New Zealand. The couple had already established themselves as one of the most popular on the professional circuit even before they were one of the first couples invited to create the hit BBC programme, Strictly Come Dancing in 2004. Their celebrity partners have been Lesley Garrett, Esther Rantzen, Patsy Palmer, Jan Ravens, Kate Garraway, Gillian Taylforth and Laila Rouass for Anton and Martin Offiah, Julian Clary, Colin Jackson, Peter Schmeichel, Willie Thorne, Austin Healey and Ricky Groves for Erin. Erin reached the Final of the second and third series with Julian and Colin respectively and was the winner of the 2006 Christmas Special with Colin. Early in 2009 Anton and Erin made a two part series for Sky 1 Ballroom High in which they trained teenagers from one of London’s more underprivileged areas to dance well enough to appear in a show at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom in less than a month. Other notable appearances, both as couples and individuals, include the 2004 Royal Variety Performance, BBC TV’s Test the Nation, Celebrity Star Spell, The Weakest Link and ITV’s Loose Women and GMTV. Anton has been featured as a guest presenter in City Hospital and King of the Waltzes with Lesley Garrett and took part in the BBC2 series Underdogs and Let Me Entertain You. In 2008 he became the presenter for the BBC1 daytime series Step up to the Plate and also Team Captain for BBC1’s Hole in the Wall, returning to the 2009 series as presenter. Erin was the anchor woman for The Big Dance 2008 in Trafalgar Square, was the face of and participated in the 2009 Playtex Moonwalk, created educational exercise for Improvement through Movement a DVD for osteoporosis sufferers, appeared in the BBC Science programme The Truth about You and is ambassador and spokesperson for Move It 2010. Both Anton and Erin have appeared as regular guests and coaches on BBC’s Strictly Dance Fever. The couple have also choreographed the hit show, Simply Ballroom - directed by Alan Harding – which is now available on DVD. In the autumn of 2007, Anton’s teach yourself to dance book Anton’s Dance Class was published and Erin’s DVD Strictly Come Dancersize was released. They regularly host dance events for a wide range of corporate clients and the general public and in January 2009 they toured the UK with their own show Anton and Erin – Cheek to Cheek and returned with a new tour Steppin’ Out in early 2010. Last updated: 11th Jun 2010 |
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