Karen Hauer: I love the connection to other humans that dancing brings

If you look at Karen Hauer’s success as a dancer, you might assume her beginnings had been formed in a pristine studio, toes perfectly pointed and tiny tutus gracefully leaping across the floor.

That couldn’t be much further from the truth.

“I started dancing when I was living in the Bronx in New York at eight years old,” said Karen.

“It was kind of by coincidence. I didn’t speak English because we had just moved from Venezuela and there was a school programme called Arts Connections. Because I couldn’t speak the language and didn’t have friends, they wanted to see if the arts could help me build confidence.

“It wasn’t pink tights and buns, nothing like that. It was hardcore dancing in the gym, barefoot with a T-shirt and leggings on. I loved it, it was to live music with drums and I think that’s what made me connect with dancing even more. It reminded me of home.”

A life of dance

It was clear from that moment that dancing would be an integral part of Karen’s future, but she didn’t realise just how quickly her career would take off.

“I knew it was something I wanted to do, I just didn’t know in what capacity,” said Karen.

“I had the knack for it; I loved paying attention, I loved learning, I loved the structure. I had a lot of great support from teachers. It pretty much happened that one day I was dancing in the gym, then the next I had a scholarship to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.”

© Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire

Then came the Fame School before her first big break aged 27 when she made it to the top 20 in So You Think You Can Dance in California.

“That was when I thought ‘maybe I do have something’,” said Karen.

“It was like a snowball effect. I found myself on Broadway, then I was in the UK on a huge show called Strictly Come Dancing. I was just in the right place at the right time and I was prepared. My journey wasn’t planned, but I wouldn’t change it.”

Strictly stardom

Now 42, Karen is the longest serving female dancer on the BBC’s popular show, having first competed for the Glitterball Trophy in 2012. She has trained 13 celebrities, each bringing with them new challenges and journeys. Part of the reason she loves the show so much is helping people see dance as a means of expression in the same way she discovered as a child.

“I love the connection to other humans and I love helping people,” said Karen. “It comes back down to how my teachers and the arts helped me evolve as a person. Also, I am good at it, and it is okay to say you are good at something. I am good at my job and I enjoy it. I have loved every second of seeing how each one of my dance partners has evolved. The show has grown too, and so have I. I am a completely different person to who I was when I first started.”

© PA

She added: “I don’t think people necessarily find the power of dance, I think they find the power of themselves. Anyone can dance, you put on a song you like and you move your body around, it doesn’t matter how you move it. A lot of people say ‘I don’t dance’, but you do, you have a heartbeat ticking away, there is already a beat there.

“What I love is seeing people find this other level of themselves, whether that is through listening to music, dancing with a partner or even just learning something new. They let go and discover this new self that is daring, someone they never thought they had within them.”

The variety that comes with a job like Strictly means no day at the office is ever the same. Some of Karen’s favourite memories from her time on the show demonstrate that perfectly.

“I will never forget when my wig fell off when I was dancing with Chris Ramsay; it got stuck on his sock,” she said.

“It was Halloween and we were dancing to Backstreet Boys. That is a highlight for me, when my scalp was almost ripped off. There are so many amazing memories to pick from, from dancing with Dave Myers the Hairy Biker and him standing on a trolley to Jeremy Vine in a bathtub, or getting my first 10 in Blackpool with Charles Venn.

“I will always carry these memories with me. On Strictly, you will do anything and everything and you will always have fun.”

Speakeasy tour

With Strictly taking up a large portion of the year, plus the tour that follows it, you might think Karen would be looking forward to taking a little time off. But no. She is on tour again, this time with fellow Strictly professional Gorka Márquez in their new show, Speakeasy.

“Speakeasy is completely different to anything we have done in the past – we are taking it down into the underworld of dance,” said Karen.

“We start in the 1920s; very Peaky Blinders. That underground scene and vibe is what Gorka and I are about. We like researching all these different ideas and learning about where dancing really began. There’s the beauty of that old Hollywood glamour, then we move into the 70s with disco and clubs with mirrorballs, exquisite places that normal people weren’t allowed into. It’s an enchanting era of different styles.

“We don’t talk during our performances, it’s purely dance. I think people know enough about us now, we just want to show dance at its best.”

© Speakeasy

Karen said she and Gorka work well together because they respect one another’s ways of working and are “cut from the same cloth”. They had limited time to choreograph the show – around two weeks with their busy schedules – so it is important they have that professional bond.

Remembering and honouring the eras of dance that came before is something Karen feels passionate about. She didn’t hesitate when deciding which she would go back to if she could.

“I would have loved to have been part of the Fosse era,” said Karen.

“I am very much that weird dancer. I love making strange shapes, the way you articulate your limbs and even the way you rotate your ankles and wrists. I just love how different it was and the influence it had. I would have given anything to have been part of that era, being choreographed by him.”

© Speakeasy

The Speakeasy tour will take Karen and Gorka across the UK, ending with a West End gala performance. That might not be the one Karen is most excited for though.

“Glasgow is one of our favourite cities,” she said.

“There is an amazing restaurant there called The Spanish Butcher that Gorka found. We absolutely love going there. It’s definitely one of our top places and it’s always so welcoming, the people are incredible. It feels like a second home, I would love to move up there.”

‘It’s fun to take a leap’

Signing up to compete on Strictly means stepping outside of a comfort zone for most celebrities who decide to do so. Even though she has become comfortable on stage, Karen finds other ways to push herself too.

“I did a panto in December and it was the first time I was ever using words on stage, it wasn’t just movement,” she said.

“It put me into a place I had never been in before. Of course, I am used to being on stage, but it has always been dancing and connecting to the music, but connecting to a script and lyrics was a completely different challenge. That definitely showed me that I can do more than what I do naturally. I think that is what Strictly does for people too. It’s nice to put yourself out of your comfort zone in any way.”

© Shone Productions

While many people curl into their comfort zone the older they get, Karen said she does the opposite.

“It’s nice to have a comfort zone, it’s a lovely warm blanket,” she said.

“But I actually find the older I get, the more adventurous I want to be. I want to feel a little danger and that fear I had when I was younger and didn’t have the platform I have now. That enhances the things you are already good at, and brings new ideas and energy into you. It’s fun to take a leap.”

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Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez Speakeasy Tour is at Perth Concert Hall tonight (Wednesday), Aberdeen Music Hall on Thursday, and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Friday, and runs through to April in theatres across the UK. Tickets and more information at speakeasylive.co.uk