Words matter. These are the best Oti Mabuse Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
In the rest of Europe, dance is seen as a sport and in the UK it’s seen as an art. And art isn’t subsidised in the same way sport is.
If something doesn’t go your way, then look for another way. If something’s broken, fix it.
Although I won many titles on the competition circuit, my first professional audition was in 2015 for the popular German version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, called ‘Let’s Dance’.
I was born and raised in Pretoria. Nobody ever really talked about Santa because the whole concept just didn’t make sense to us. Think about what South Africa looks like: I mean, we don’t even have any chimneys for him to come down!
I have different styles of shoe for different dances and I love sneakers, flats, platforms, heels, boots. Especially my thigh-high black leather boots from Kurt Geiger.
At the end of the day, a show like ‘Strictly’ is not about what colour you are, or where you come from. It is about how hard you are prepared to work and how well you can dance.
I’ve dedicated my life to competitive dancing, so I’d like to pass that on to others. You can’t be half-hearted about competitive dancing, you have to be prepared to give your whole life over to it.
I don’t do anything I’m not going to enjoy.
When you are different, that can lead to judges not marking you right because they think you look ‘odd’ – and that’s in any competition.
Off the show, I still wear my £5 leggings.
I’m obsessed with ‘Wicked’, and I’d love to play Nala in ‘The Lion King’. Some of the songs from ‘The Lion King’ are performed in my native tongue, so when the cast performed an extract from the show in ‘Strictly’ in the language I grew up with, it made me cry.
I like to be so good, that no-one can have anything to say about me; my dancing speaks for itself.
I wouldn’t do anything I don’t enjoy.
The first dance we did for ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ was five minutes and I was like, ‘What? Five minutes!’
It’s really important to always have a positive mind-set, no matter what people have been through.
In London, I live with one of the other ‘Strictly’ dancers, Amy Dowden. She got me a chocolate advent calendar and I had no idea what it was. I’d never seen one before!
I can make a beginner, anyone with no dance experience, look amazing if we put in the hours.
I know first-hand what it’s like to be judged and to have someone criticise your creativity, your hard work and your art.
My sister loves to play Christmas music – especially Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ – that’s definitely the best to dance to.
I had been dancing in competitions in South Africa since the age of four, before going on to compete internationally.