Darren Bennett (dancer)
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Darren Lee Bennett (born 14 February 1977, in Sheffield, England) is a professional dancer, as were his parents. With his wife Lilia Kopylova he has a successful career in professional latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the Samba and the Foxtrot.They teach private lessons in their own studio at Sheffield, England. Bennett 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 and Paul Richardson, who had been competing for the USA but had recently registered as a British couple. Although they were pushed hard at every stage, Bennett and Kopylova eventually triumphed, again winning all five dances to retain the title.
In February 2008, Bennett and Kopylova were winners of the Carl Alan award for Ballroom, Latin and Sequence (performers)- a prestigious title described by the IDTA as 'the Oscars of the world of dance'. [1]
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[edit] Strictly Come Dancing
He is a competitor on the BBC dancing television programme, Strictly Come Dancing. This is a summary of how well he has done in the show:
- Series Two: Won with his partner, actress Jill Halfpenny.
- Christmas Special: Won with his partner from series two, Jill Halfpenny.
- Series Three: Knocked out in the third week with his partner, TV presenter Gloria Hunniford.
- Series Four: Knocked out in the semi-final (third place) after competing with singer Emma Bunton. They also competed together in the 2006 Christmas Special, but were not placed in the final two overall (the remaining couples were not ranked).
- Series Five: Knocked out in the quarter-final (fourth place) after competing with actress Letitia Dean. 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 of 2008 with Series Five partner Letitia Dean, they won once (31 January 2008), and were runners up on two further occasions[2]. 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.
[edit] Strictly Performance
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole |
Strictly Come Dancing Champion (with partner Jill Halfpenny) Series 2 (Autumn 2004) |
Succeeded by Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova |
[edit] References
- ^ The Oscars of the World of Dance. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Previous Winners. Strictly Come Dancing Live!. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
