Paul Killick
Encyclopedia
Paul Killick is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 former professional ballroom dancer, specializing in Latin dance. He appeared in the first two series of the television show Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...

.

Career

He was invited to join and study at the famous Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...

 in London, but chose instead to enter into the world of competitive Ballroom and Latin American Dancesport. Under the guidance and tuition of the fourteen times undefeated World Latin American Dancesport Champion, Paul's career was shaped and developed in Dancesport representing Great Britain throughout the world in the divisions of Juvenile, Junior, Youth and Amateur. Paul won the title of World Amateur Latin Champion 1993, dancing with Inga Hass.

In 1994 Paul began dancing professionally with Oksana Forova. He began to dance with Vibeke Toft in 1996, and they became grand finalists in all major competitions. In October 1998 Paul began dancing with Karina Smirnoff
Karina Smirnoff
Karina Smirnoff is a Ukrainian professional ballroom dancer. She is best known for her appearances on Dancing with the Stars, where she held a runner-up title, a semi-final title, and several quarter-final titles...

, and again became finalists in all major competitions. This partnership ended in July 1999. Paul them teamed up with Hanna Karttunen
Hanna Karttunen
Hanna Karttunen is a professional Latin American and Exhibition dancer. She also trained in Ballet as a child, having a love of dance from a very early age....

. They danced together for five years and were consistently ranked as one of the best couples in the world, winning numerous world titles, until Paul retired from competitive Latin dancing in 2004.

Post retirement

He now runs his own dance studio in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. After retirement he also took part in the first two series of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...

. In series 1 he danced with Verona Joseph
Verona Joseph
Verona Joseph is a British actress. She played the role of Jess Griffin in the BBC drama series, Holby City between 2002 and 2006 but made reappearances during 2006, 2007 and 2010. In 2004, she appeared in the first series of the BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing with her professional...

, reaching the fourth round. In series 2 he danced with Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....

 and reached the second round.

Charity work

As well as his contributions to dance, Paul has also been involved with numerous charities including Childline
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...

, Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...

 and Variety Club.

External links

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