By Tim Kelly
In the highly competitive worlds of ballroom dancing, theater, film and television, Emma Slater has thrived.
Her will to compete will be in evidence May 11 in Ocean City, even though the show Slater will headline then, “Ballroom With a Twist” won’t have judges or a scoreboard.
“I’m a very competitive person,” allowed Slater, a professional choreographer and dancer and the “Dancing With the Stars” 2017 champion.
“It’s not like I want to go out and try to outdo the other dancers,” she continued. “We’re all great friends. I do want to represent (DWTS) in a way that reflects what has made it (so popular).”
“Ballroom With a Twist” is a smash hit touring stage production that brings together Slater with DWTS castmate Tristan McManus and dancers from “So You Think You Can Dance?” as well as vocalists from “American Idol” in a mash-up of some of the most successful network entertainment reality shows.
It makes a stop in Ocean City at the historic Music Pier on Saturday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets, ranging in price from $25 to $40 are available by calling 609-399-6111 or by visiting http://www.ocnj.us/boxoffice/ or at the website www.oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice.
It’s a rare chance for fans used to seeing Slater on TV paired with a celebrity partner, as she was with former New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings to win the 2017 DWTS title, up close and live.
“Ballroom With a Twist” showcases the moves of samba, waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, jive along with the hit songs performed by the “Idol” vocalists.
The show represents the latest steps in the 30-year-old Slater’s rapidly and still ascending career path. She has been in formal dance training since the age of 10, and won a string of ballroom competition titles en route to earning a Top 10 world ranking and representing her native United Kingdom in international competitions.
In 2008, she was a featured dancer in the film “Mama Mia” starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan and sang on its Grammy-nominated soundtrack album.
In live theater, she performed in the hit shows “Simply Ballroom,” “Dirty Dancing” and “Burn the Floor,” which included an extended run on Broadway and a world tour of seven countries.
Despite such a well-rounded resume, “Dancing With the Stars” is what made Slater herself a star. She joined the show as a troupe dancer in 2012, and three years later was named as one of the professional dancers for the show’s 17th season.
“That’s the usual route (to earning a starring spot on the show),” Slater said during a phone interview with OCNJDaily.com.
That period was also notable because Slater choreographed the opening numbers for each of the shows and did partner work with male troupe dancer Sasha Farber, whom she dated for years and married in 2018 following Farber’s on-air proposal.
“On our show you must constantly come up with new things and re-invent yourself,” said Slater, who referenced the show’s staying power in the ratings and with its loyal fanbase.
Slater’s latest re-invention includes a move one might not expect.
“I just earned my real estate license,” she said, noting her spouse had done the same.
One of her celebrity partners, Drew Scott of the HGTV show “Property Brothers” with whom Slater finished fourth in season 25, may have planted the seed.
“I’m living in one of the top real estate markets of the world,” Slater said of her Beverly Hills address. “We’re having some great experiences, and we might try to develop a real estate show of some kind.”
Over the years she’s been paired with a diverse group of celebrity partners, including actor-comedian Bill Engvall, former presidential candidate Rick Perry, actor Billy Dee Williams, ex-NASCAR race car driver Michael Waltrip, former baseball player Johnny Damon and ex-“Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider.
In the process, she developed her own star power and became one of the more popular professional dancers to appear on the show.
“I kind of developed into the professional who seemed to be paired with the celebrities who were either older or not considered to have a real chance to win,” she said. “It never that I thought I couldn’t win, I thought I wouldn’t win.”
That changed when she was paired with the young and athletic Jennings to win her first DWTS title.
So where does she keep the famed mirror ball trophy?
“It’s in a spot in our dining room where you can see it from any angle,” she noted.
And does the highly-competitive Emma ever needle her spouse that Sasha has yet to pick up a DWTS crown of his own?
“Never,” the suddenly non-competitive star said. “I look at it as we both won it. What’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine. When he does win, I will consider it my victory, too.”
