Shirley Ballas - Behind the Sequins

Shirley Ballas is one of the most renowned dancers in the world. A former British Open to the World Champion, and European, German, UK, USA and International Latin American Champion, her list of accolades is vast and extraordinary.

Born and raised in Wallasey, by the age of 21 Shirley had won nearly every major title she competed in. She is still the youngest ever female to reach the British Open to the World Dance Championship finals and the only woman to win it with two male partners. Shirley continued to compete at the highest level after giving birth to her only son musician, Broadway star and entertainer, Mark Ballas in 1985.

In 1996, Shirley retired from competitive dancing, becoming the highly acclaimed teacher and coach she is today, as well as being the head judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.

To my amazing and beautiful mother, Audrey. You truly have always been a shining star in my life. I love you to the moon and back.

What makes a perfect Ballroom dancer? As with everything else in life, theres no such thing as complete perfection in dance, only a series of hopefully perfect moments. You can study, train, practise, find great teachers and learn their lessons, but at some point, you must prepare yourself, body and soul, surrender to the process and simply enjoy yourself.

In many ways, dance is like everything else in life, and yet it has a magic all of its own. It is demanding of you. It requires musicality, technique, synchronisation, coordination, and the discipline of constantly practising and perfecting.

Technique is just the beginners framework. To communicate through dance, you have to learn how your body works, then decide how best to tell your story. Some people are naturally born performers who can walk straight on to a dance floor and shine, while others have to learn and work hard at it.

The work required to look effortless on the floor is immense. Underneath the beauty, the poetry, the strength, the glamour and romance are hours, months, years of training, preparation, blood, sweat, tears, thousands of hours of individual effort and extraordinary teamwork. And for what? Two minutes of intense beauty. It is very, very difficult, and if it looks like youre working hard, youre not working hard enough.

Lots of students believe that dancing only requires a few key skills, that there are only a couple of boxes to tick, but its a lot more complicated. It demands authenticity, reading, watching, understanding, study and learning the lessons of others. Most importantly, it requires courage.

There is no such thing as the perfect dancer, but any true dancer must have a huge heart and be prepared to reveal it.

I knew joining Strictly Come Dancing was a very big deal. Not just for me but also my family, my students, my rivals in the dance industry and all those who had previously followed my path to the top of the dance world for 30 years.

Id discovered it was also incredibly, sometimes surprisingly, important to the fans of the show, the millions whod tuned in for every Rumba, every Waltz, every smile, every tear, through all the years that Strictly had become such an unmissable highlight of the countrys Saturday-evening television schedule.

In May 2017, when it was first announced I would replace Len Goodman, everyone seemed incredibly excited for me. I was going to be the head judge on the countrys biggest entertainment show not bad for a 57-year-old woman whod never appeared on British TV before! However, I quickly discovered that everyone was also a little nervous for me, particularly whenever they lowered their voices, which I soon realised meant they were about to mention Lens footwear. Big shoes to fill was the phrase I heard most often.

Now here I was, taking part in my first ever live show. Id already danced a Samba with the professionals and that had gone wonderfully, far better than I could have hoped, considering it was years since Id performed in front of an audience. Nevertheless, I knew my real baptism of fire was still ahead of me. I had to walk across the glittering dance floor to where the hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were standing, waiting for me. Id already had a bit of drama backstage. For that evening, my very first night as a judge, the wardrobe ladies had given me a beautiful long evening dress, with black and white stripes and little white petals at the top. It was so tailored, theyd had to squeeze me in, and in fact, it was so tight the zip broke, so theyd had to quickly sew me into it, finishing just seconds before I was due to walk on. I love that dress wearing it that night is a very special memory, and it still has pride of place in my wardrobe.

I smiled at the audience as though this was just like any other Saturday night for me and finally I took my place with the rest of the judges on the panel. On the outside, I was desperately trying to look natural, as though I didnt have a care in the world. On the inside, all I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears and my knees knocking.

I gazed down under the panel and imagined Lens shoes there on the floor, and in my head I placed my dainty slippers next to them. There was no filling Lens place and Id already decided not to try. I could only bring my own.

Throughout my first few weeks on Strictly, in truth, I was over-awed. If it looks simple being a judge, believe me when I tell you, theres an awfully long list of things you have to remember. Even walking on is a high-wire act in itself. You only have so many seconds to get to your seat, and I always seemed to get there late, which meant I was flustered right from the beginning. Once youre in your seat, you have to work out where to look, what to say, when to press your scoring button, plus all the time youre very aware its going out live to millions of people at home, so there really is no place to hide.

The format is the same for every couple who come on and do their number. For me, judging the dance routines is by far the most straightforward part of the programme after all, thats what Ive been doing professionally for decades. The minute each couple has finished their dance, thats when I have to press my scoring button so the score can go up to the computer and be programmed to show up on peoples TV screens when the couple are upstairs with Claudia and the whole Strictly entourage.

The reason we have to press our score buttons so promptly is so theres no confusion later. Well, of course those first few weeks I kept forgetting to press my keypad. Nicola the floor manager would call out from the production gallery, She hasnt pressed her button, press the button, oh my god, she hasnt pressed the button. She had to keep frantically gesticulating to me. I thought she was just waving at me to be encouraging, so I was happily smiling back at her, and all the while she was having kittens! It took me about three weeks to get everything together the paddle, the key pad, the cameras and the more I was trying to do it right, the more I was perspiring and losing my train of thought. All those years of dancing in front of the worlds harshest judges hadnt prepared me for this. Trust me, it was a hundred times more nerve-wracking.

People dont believe me, but when youre dancing in competitions as Id been doing for all those years, its a lot easier to concentrate on your routine. Once you step out on to the floor, its just you and your partner in a world of your own. Everyones watching, but you can lose yourself in the music and relax in your own little fish bowl. On the other hand, when youre a judge on