Darren Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Darren Lee Bennett 14 February 1977 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Spouse | Lilia Kopylova (1999–present) |
Darren Lee Bennett (born 14 February 1977) is an English professional dancer. With his wife Lilia Kopylova he has a successful career in professional Latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the Samba and the Foxtrot. They teach private lessons in their own studio at Sheffield, England.
Bennett was born in Sheffield. He first met Kopylova after his twin brother Dale, also a dancer, introduced them. In November 2005 Bennett and Kopylova won the British Championships for Professional Latin, coming first in all five dances. In November 2006 they successfully defended this title against a challenge from Olga Rodionova and Paul Richardson, who had been competing for the USA but had recently registered as a British couple. Bennett and Kopylova triumphed winning all five dances to retain the title.
In February 2008, Bennett and Kopylova were winners of the Carl Alan Award for Ballroom, Latin and Sequence (performers)- a prestigious title described by the IDTA as 'the Oscars of the world of dance'. [1]
The couple starred in a West End dance show, Latin Fever, which they choreographed themselves, as well as choosing the music and costumes to reflect the mood of each Latin dance.
Bennett is a consultant creative producer for the Dancing with the Stars (Irish Edition) TV show working alongside his wife and choreographer Lilia Kopylova. [2]
He was one of the professional dancers on the BBC dancing television programme, Strictly Come Dancing . This is a summary of how well he has done in the show:
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Emma Bunton | 34 | Letitia Dean | 31 |
| Argentine Tango | 36 | |||
| Cha Cha Cha | Jill Halfpenny | Lynda Bellingham | 23 | |
| Foxtrot | Emma Bunton Letitia Dean | 34 | 24 | |
| Jive | Jill Halfpenny | 40 | Gloria Hunniford | 19 |
| Paso Doble | Jill Halfpenny Emma Bunton | 37 | Lynda Bellingham | 25 |
| Quickstep | Emma Bunton | 33 | Jessie Wallace | 19 |
| Rumba | 34 | Gloria Hunniford | 17 | |
| Salsa | 33 | Jessie Wallace | 20 | |
| Samba | 36 | Jill Halfpenny | 35 | |
| Tango | 35 | Lynda Bellingham | 21 | |
| Viennese Waltz | 34 | Letitia Dean | 32 | |
| Waltz | 37 | Gloria Hunniford | 22 |
| Year | Celebrity partner | Week # | Dance | Judges' scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horwood | Phillips | Goodman | Tonioli | Total | ||||
| 2004 | Jill Halfpenny | 1 | Waltz | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| 2 | Rumba | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | ||
| 3 | Jive | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| 4 | Foxtrot | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | ||
| 5 | Samba | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| 6 | Quickstep | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | ||
| Cha-Cha-Cha | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | |||
| 7 (semi-final) | Tango | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 | ||
| Paso Doble | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | |||
| 8 (final) (Winner) | Foxtrot | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 34 | ||
| Jive | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | |||
| 2005 | Gloria Hunniford | 1 | Waltz | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 22 |
| 2 | Rumba | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 17 | ||
| 3 | Jive | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 2006 | Emma Bunton | 2 | Quickstep | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 |
| 3 | Jive | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | ||
| 4 | Foxtrot | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 30 | ||
| 5 | Viennese Waltz | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | ||
| 6 | Samba | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | ||
| 7 | Cha-Cha-Cha | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 | ||
| 8 | American Smooth | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | ||
| 9 | Waltz | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 37 | ||
| Paso Doble | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| 10 (semi-final) | Tango | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| Rumba | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | |||
| 11 (final) (3rd place) | Argentine Tango | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | ||
| Salsa | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 33 | |||
| 2007 | Letitia Dean | 2 | Rumba | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| 3 | Tango | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | ||
| 4 | American Smooth | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | ||
| 5 | Paso Doble | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |||
| 6 | Salsa | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 25 | ||
| 7 | Foxtrot | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | ||
| 8 | Viennese Waltz | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 32 | ||
| 9 | Quickstep | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | ||
| Cha-Cha-Cha | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | |||
| 10 | Waltz | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| Jive | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | |||
| 2008 | Jessie Wallace | 2 | Salsa | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| 4 | Quickstep | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | ||
| Year | Celebrity partner | Week # | Dance | Judges' scores | ||||
| Craig Revel Horwood | Len Goodman | Alesha Dixon | Bruno Tonioli | Total | ||||
| 2009 | Lynda Bellingham | 1 | Tango | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 21 |
| Cha-Cha-Cha | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 23 | |||
| 3 | Paso Doble | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 25 | ||
| 4 | Foxtrot | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | ||
Darren along with wife Lilia have been heavily involved in the "Essentially Dance" scheme, with the intention to give all children within the UK a chance to experience ballroom and Latin dance, the scheme is funded by the Aldridge Foundation and was officially launched on 22 June 2009.
Darren joined the judging panel of the Lebanese edition of Dancing With The Stars for its first series in December 2012 and second series in November 2013 and third series in March 2015 and fourth series in November 2016.