Dame Arlene Phillips - ‘I know the power of love’

May 15, 2024

Internationally celebrated jazz and musical theatre legend, Dame Arlene Phillips, opens up about her challenges, such as losing her mother at 15, being dropped from Strictly Come Dancing, and overcoming a fear of flying. She reflects on aging, regrets in her career, and finding resilience through dance and personal strength.

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ANECDOTE

Early Jobs Fueled A Dance Dream

Arlene Phillips took part-time jobs to fund dance training, including cleaning for a film director and folding mothballed army greatcoats in Dagenham.
She endured embarrassment and long travel but persisted because dance was her passion and livelihood.

ANECDOTE

Ballet Rejection Shaped Her Style

Phillips dreamed of being a ballerina but felt her body didn't match classical ballet ideals and was relegated to the back rows in class.
She later found power in modern jazz, using her strengths and unique skills to excel despite early exclusion.

INSIGHT

Mindset Can Steal Your Joy

Phillips realized that disliking her younger body was a wasted mindset and now views past photos with pride.
She calls mindset powerful and regrets letting negative self-image steal joy from her life.

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Oh my. I can’t tell you how moving I found this interview. That doesn’t mean it’s a weepy one - sometimes, the most powerful exchanges are the ones where you witness the sheer strength it takes someone *no*t to cry.

Dame Arlene Phillips is defined by her strength: strength of mind and of body (at 80, she’s still hard at work as a hit choreographer). You’ll know her as an internationally celebrated jazz and musical theatre legend, who has worked on some of the biggest-selling musicals in West End and Broadway theatre, as well as a number of blockbuster movies. But you might not know she lost her mum to leukaemia when she was just 15, had a challenging upbringing and had her second baby when she was 47 years old (she thought the pregnancy symptoms were signs of perimenopause).

Then in 2008, Dame Arlene was unceremoniously dropped as a judge from Strictly Come Dancing amid accusations of ageism. She only found out when it was reported on the next day’s radio news. We talk frankly about how this affected her - and how she’s never had an apology from the BBC. We also discuss Dame Arlene’s failure to become a ballerina and how this made her feel about her body, her fear of flying and her past inability to stand up for herself.

WHAT. A. WOMAN.

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