Strictly star lines up daughter to be Strictly pro dancer after impressing judges
Since leaving Strictly Come Dancing at the end of 2015, Kristina Rihanoff has set up her own dance school and yoga business in Northampton with her partner Ben Cohen, 46, who she met on the show. It was a conscious decision to leave the world of TV behind, although she admits she missed the show at first.
“I really, really missed it the first couple of years,” admits Kristina. “You have a withdrawal. It was so vibrant and fun working together to make something really cool and amazing. Then you get busy with your life and now I have a dance school which has grown so much. I dance every day with the kids, and I have different ages and levels from ages four and five to adult couples. I take them to competitions constantly.”
One student who competes is her eight-year-old daughter Milena – who she and Ben call Mila for short. “I never thought she would take to ballroom dancing,” admits Kristina. “She didn’t want to do it at first. Then other kids were winning trophies and she was like, ‘I want a trophy too!’ I was like, ‘Well, you have to learn some dances.’ Then she got into it and loved it.”
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However, teaching her own daughter can be difficult. Kristina says, “It’s a very funny dynamic when you teach your own kid, it’s not that easy at all. She’s like, ‘Oh Mummy you are so mean!’ I’m not mean! It’s challenging but it’s also wonderful as it’s something we have together as our little thing.”
Their “little thing” is thrusting Kristina back into the spotlight. Last month, Mila was cast by former Strictly contestant Sophie Ellis-Bextor in her upcoming music video alongside another pupil from Kristina’s dance school.
“Mila and Matei got cast for that, so we had to go to London and do a few days there with them for the filming,” says Kristina, who proudly posted a picture of herself reunited with Sophie on Instagram. Now, as Mila starts to make a name for herself in the ballroom world, producers and choreographers are already tipping her to become a Strictly professional dancer when she grows up.
“It was crazy, because we were in the same ballroom where I’ve done other dance events, and there were even the same producers and choreographers, and everyone was saying, ‘Oh, she’s gonna be on Strictly like you in a few years!’ I said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ Same people, same place, but now it’s my daughter who is dancing! If Strictly exists in 10 years she might as well have a go!”
Mila has been competing since she was in the Under Six category, just like her mum, but Kristina thinks extra curricular activities build character and strength – something she’s had to draw on herself in both her professional and personal life.
She says, “Ballroom dancing or any after-school activities, this is your real school of life. That’s where you learn teamwork, that’s where you learn about yourself. You learn to lose, you learn to win.”
