Oti Mabuse, dancer

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

Oti Mabuse is a dancer, choreographer and TV talent show judge. She has enjoyed great success on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing and is one of only two professional dancers to win the glitterball trophy twice. Oti was born in South Africa in 1990, the year that Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and dance was a central part of her life from a very early age: her mother had set up a dance school so that black children could learn ballroom and Latin dancing. Oti followed in the footsteps of her two older sisters, winning dance competitions in South Africa and taking part in international events. She competed in Blackpool when she was just 11 years old, and retains strong memories of the elegant Tower Ballroom and the poor weather. Oti's father trained as a lawyer and her mother worked in education, and they felt that their youngest daughter needed the security of a professional qualification, so Oti studied civil engineering at university. Shortly before qualifying, she decided to abandon her degree and become a professional ballroom dancer, joining her sister Motsi in Germany. She first appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 and has recently announced her departure from the show. She lives in London with her husband, the dancer Marius Lepure. DISC ONE: Lose My Breath by Beyoncé (with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams) DISC TWO: My Afrikan Dream by Vicky Sampson DISC THREE: A Song for Mama by Boyz II Men DISC FOUR: Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross DISC FIVE: Un-break my Heart by Toni Braxton DISC SIX: I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman by Britney Spears DISC SEVEN: It’s My Life by Bon Jovi DISC EIGHT: Survivor by Destiny’s Child BOOK CHOICE: Will by Will Smith LUXURY ITEM: A photo of Oti and her Grandma CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: It’s My Life by Bon Jovi Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.9	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.8	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.2	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.6	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.9	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:44.4	My cast away this week is the dancer and television presenter, Ultima Busy.
0:49.0	Her adventures on the dance floor have captivated millions.
0:52.5	She's the only professional in the 20-year history of strictly-come-dancing to lift the
0:56.9	glitter ball two years on the trot.
0:59.3	She was also the winning mentor on both series of BBC One's greatest dancer, won the South
1:04.3	African Latin American Championships eight times and recently made her debut as a judge
1:09.6	on ITV's Sunday Night Spectacular, dancing on ice.
1:13.7	The story behind the sequence is less well known, however.
1:17.2	She was born near Pretoria in 1990 and grew up during Nelson Mandela's presidency, following
1:22.5	her two elder sisters into dance.
1:25.0	She made her first appearance at an international competition in Blackpool when she was just
1:29.3	11.
1:30.3	The first trophy she won was made of a collar bottle and her mother, a primary school teacher,
1:35.0	worked extra jobs and even learned to sew to support her passion.
1:38.9	However, she drew the line at allowing her youngest daughter to embark on a career
1:42.8	as a dancer without a backup plan.
	...

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