All about Craig Revel Horwood
I must be one of the few people that has never watched Strictly Come Dancing. It has to be said though, that at my age, I am aware of the inspiration, Come Dancing, the ballroom dancing show which was a hit from the 1950s until the late 1990s.
Fortunately my colleague was on hand to put me out of my misery. Within a few minutes of asking her who Craig Revel Horwood was, and wondering about his importance and relevance to my life, I had an instant picture of him, his judging style on Strictly, and a pretty good summary of what I was missing by not watching the show. It helps that she is a keen ballroom dancer herself, and is often found at local tea-dances and similar gatherings with her friends.
Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British guy and you can see Craig on Twitter. He’s a dancer, choreographer and well-respected theatre director who is arguably best-known for his judging slot on Strictly, where he has been a judging panel member since the start of the show in 2004. His reputation precedes him, and while fellow judge Bruno Toniolli often becomes very animated when describing the contestants, Craig Revel Horwood has a reputation for a sharp eye and a crushing markdown. These two are the only members of the judging panel who have served throughout the history of the show, so their input is often given extra weight by the contestants.
Outside of Strictly, Revel Horwood is well known for his patronage of the UK’s National Osteoporosis Society. He suffers from the disease and has already had a hip operation, despite only being in his early 50s. Strictly only takes a few months to film, and the rest of the year, he is in demand as a director and choreographer.
Craig Revel Horwood’s family was profiled on the ancestry show ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, and he flies back to Australia for two months every year to see his relatives. He has also revealed battles with body dysmorphia and anorexia as a younger man.
But it seems like this fellow I’ve never heard of is something of an inspiration to many, both within and outside the dance community. Maybe I am missing something after all.
