Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has spoken candidly about the racism she faced as a young dancer in South Africa, and the influence of her dance mentor Olga Muller, in a new BBC Radio 4 programme.
Motsi, who grew up in South Africa, showed immense talent from a young age but, like other black dancers, encountered significant racism when competing. 'It was really tough,' she admitted. Her mother, who ran a dance school, fought hard for fair treatment, but Motsi recalled that they would 'straighten our hair almost to the verge of our hair falling out' to fit in.
At 18, Motsi postponed her law studies and moved to Germany to pursue dancing. The gamble paid off: she became German champion and, with her husband, now runs a dance school there. She joined the German version of Strictly, Let's Dance, as a professional in 2007 and became a judge in 2011, before joining the British Strictly in 2019. Both Motsi and her sister Oti said Oti's Strictly win was a huge moment, representing more than just personal success. 'It was about fighting apartheid; it was about a continent… It was about being a dark-skinned woman with natural hair,' Oti said.
The programme also profiled Olga Muller, a Russian-born dancer who originally wanted to be an ice skater but turned to ballroom and Latin dancing after being deemed too old for skating at ten. She met her husband Ralf Muller while competing in Germany, and after he paid for her passport, she stayed in the country. The couple became one of Germany's top dancing pairs, winning the World Amateur Latin Championships in 1996 and the World Professional South American Showdance Championship three years running.
Motsi described Olga as 'very mechanical but so elegant' and 'very independent'. When Motsi first moved to Germany, Olga initially did not want to teach her but relented. 'After that lesson she made me feel like I can't put two feet together,' Motsi recalled. 'She gave me a lot of love. She gave me a lot of attention. She was quite strict with me also but I used to say she was my dance mum.'
