Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri argues against dance experience criticisms
Tasha Ghouri has hit back against claims that she has an ‘advantage’ for this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The former Love Island finalist was recently announced as a contestant for the upcoming new series of Strictly, which will also see the show celebrate its 20th anniversary.
However, despite many fans being thrilled by Tasha’s casting, others were quick to judge her for her previous dance experience.
Tasha, who was born deaf and now wears a cochlear implant, is known for her dancing skills after achieving a dance degree.
Now, ahead of the launch of Strictly’s new season later this week, Tasha has spoken out for the first time about the negative comments she has received.
Speaking to The Sun, the 26-year-old insisted that she is not at any advantage compared to her fellow contestants.
“I’ve had commercial dance training, but I’ve never trained in Latin or ballroom. Commercial is very different – it’s what you see backing dancers do behind pop stars,” Tasha explained.
“You are very grounded to the floor and you are very in yourself, whereas ballroom is completely the opposite of that. I’ve never danced with a partner, either,” the reality star reflected.
“We did a chemistry day with the professionals, and even holding that form felt so odd to me. It’s something I’m not used to and will be a whole new challenge. Obviously, with my dance experience, there will be some elements that will help me, like picking up choreography, but it’s not going to be the same,” Tasha continued.
“Even in my audition for Strictly I struggled a bit as my brain was like, ‘Oh, this is a whole new dance style,’ and there are so many steps and so many counts. There might be some habits that I’m going to have to unlearn and relearn, too,” she detailed.
“It’s a whole different ball game, but I’m excited just to give it a go. I might not be good at it – you never know!” Tasha teased in conclusion.
Tasha will make her Strictly debut this Saturday (September 14) on BBC One at 7:20pm.
