Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova
from England
We planned this interview very carefully. It was supposed to start with a small
photo session and continue with questions and answers. We planned the location,
the time, everything... apart from the traffic on the motorway. Because of an
accident on the M25, around London, Darren and Lilia spent 4 hours stuck
in traffic, all our plans had to be changed, and we had to improvise. Instead of
a photo session, I watched their lesson, which was a pleasure in itself.
Afterwards we sat down, and started with the standard questions.
Who are they?
Lilia Kopylova [from Russia] started dancing when she was nine,
but by then she was already an experienced competitor. She held the title of
Moscow champion in figure skating, having started when she was four. She also
did ballet and gymnastics.
Darren Bennett [from England], on the other hand, had been dancing from
the age of six � having dance professionals as parents, this did not come as a
surprise.
They are both professional Latin dancers, who represent England.
Darren and Lilia danced as Amateur, and earlier this year they turned
Professional - see their results page
How did they get together?
Darren had danced with his previous partner for sixteen years (she had been his only
partner), but then she decided to give up dancing. His twin brother Dale had
been to Denmark and met Lilia who, at the time, was looking for a partner as
well, and he arranged for Darren and Lilia to meet.
In July 1997, they had a 15 minute try out. These 15 minutes were enough for
them � five months later they were on the competition floor. That�s how one of
the most promising Latin couples was born. Eighteen months later they got
married, and are now not only a very good dancing couple, but also a very happy
married couple.
Opinions, views....
When we last saw you, we noticed an incredible difference in your style of
dancing. Why?
Darren: "We are now [as Professionals - Ed.] much happier in the
way we dance. We are now performing in a way that we always wanted to. In a
period of 6 months, from November of 2002 till May this year, we have made a lot
of personal changes � we changed the choreography, the way we look at many
things. People see more of us now, not just our dancing, but also our
personalities. We also found people to teach how to find the feelings
we'd wanted to show. It is not easy to show your feelings � even if you have them,
it's not always easy to bring them out"
Do you think that Amateurs should be allowed to teach?
Darren: "Definitely yes. Teaching others teaches you a lot � you gain
experience and knowledge when explaining it. All the countries where Amateurs teach
have had great successes in dancing. Of course there should be some examination
system, so only experienced Amateurs would be allowed to teach"
What do you think about the declining popularity of dancing?
Darren: "I disagree that dancing is less popular. Competitive dancing,
yes � but there are thousands of social and medal dancers. The problem is that
they are not moving to competitive dancing. I think one of the problems is that
if more experienced Amateurs would be teaching, competitive dancing would
become more popular � like in Italy!"
How does your personal relationship relate to dancing?
Darren and Lilia: "We have two separate lives � professional and private.
We may fight a bit on the floor during the practice, but when we leave the dance
hall, everything is behind us: it�s gone, it�s forgotten. With your
professional and private lives, one is one and the other is the other, and when
you get home, that�s it."
What is, in your opinion, the best country to dance in?
Lilia: "England, especially Blackpool"
Darren: "England has the best three competitions in the world:
International, Blackpool and UK Open"
What would you like to do if you were not dancing?
Lilia: "I cannot imagine myself not dancing. If I could not dance now � I
would still have Darren. If I stopped dancing before I met Darren, I don�t know
what I would do."
Darren: "I would be involved in some other type of art; not
necessarily dance, but something else artistic, like in the theatre. I
definitely wouldn't be a banker"
Personality....
What is your favourite dance?
Lilia: "I don�t know: I like all the dances."
Darren: "Waltz! [laughs] � seriously though, I think it�s Samba"
So now what is your favourite ballroom dance?
Lilia and Darren: "Foxtrot!"
What is your biggest dream?
Lilia: "A dog. I dream of having a dog, every minute, every night! But
I�m afraid I will have to wait till we retire from dancing"
Darren: "My biggest dream... [long pause]. I don�t really have any
special dreams � I like to live by the day; I have goals not dreams"
What is your biggest nightmare?
Lilia: "Nothing really..."
Darren: "Not being able to dance, not having a connection with somebody,
especially like you can do in Latin"
What is your favourite food?
Both: "Italian!"
Lilia: "Darren loves trickle sponge cake with custard!!"
Any food you hate?
Darren: "Sprouts"
Lilia: "Shellfish"
What would be your favourite pet?
Lilia: "A dog of course!"
Darren: "It has to be the same; otherwise she�d kill me [laughs]"
What is your favourite hobby?
Darren: "Reading books... it sounds really old fashioned, doesn�t it! I love
reading, mainly books which have no relevance to real life. I like the science
fiction genre for example"
Lilia: "Dress design."
Your nicest memory?
Both: "Meeting each other!"
Partnership...
What is your partner's biggest virtue and biggest flaw?
Lilia: "Kindness, and caring. He�s very kind and caring. But he�s not
aggressive enough. He�s not laid back - no, that�s not right word for it - he�s
not chilled"
Darren: "Her biggest virtue? It has to be her honesty - It can be painful!!!
But it�s good - it�s always the best way to go. And her greatest flaw? She likes sleeping
too much [laughs]"
What is yours biggest virtue and biggest flaw?
Lilia: "My character [laughs] is my virtue. But my flaw? [long
pause] Nothing! [laughs]"
Darren: "I keep going, I never stop. But I am too diplomatic, that's my flaw"
Passion...
What was your biggest argument about?
Darren: "Who turns the lights off!"
Lilia: "We have no switch by the bed and one of us has to get out of bed
and turn the lights off [they both laugh]"
Do you fight often?
Darren: "Privately � hardly ever"
Lilia: "We�re both not very aggressive. On the floor, we fight no more than other
couples, but as we said before, we leave our problems in the dancing hall."
Darren: "We argue much less, now that we are professionals, than before.
We have better defined roles and responsibilities, and there is no blaming each
other for faults"
Friendship...
What is the most important thing for you in friendship?
Darren: "I think that the best thing in a friendship is to retain that
"are you/aren�t you" type of thing � that you can work off each other. You
don�t always have to agree on everything..."
Lilia: "Yeah, you can have arguments, you can agree, you can disagree,
it�s all about questions."
Are your best friends dancers as well?
Darren: "Actually, our best friends are ballroom dancers � so there is no
competition between us. I�m not going to name them; they know who they are
[laugh]"
Have you got a time for friends and activities other than dancing?
Darren: "Not a lot of time for friends, but I like the gym very much"
Lilia: "We love going to the cinema and restaurants"
Darren: "There's no point in clubbing after whole day of dancing! [laughs]"
Fun, holidays, relaxation...
What do you like to do for fun?
Lilia: "I like drinking games!"
Darren: "I like going to the gym, it's relaxation for me. After the drinking
games that is! [laughs]"
What is your favourite book or film?
Lilia: "Braveheart is my favourite film. I don�t read much, I only read
on planes, and I�m not as much a reader as Darren is"
Darren: "Star Wars - the old ones, not the new ones! I love the books as
well, I�ve got something like 50 books"
Could you describe your dream holiday?
Darren: "A hot, white beach with not a lot of people. In fact, with nobody on
it at all!"
Have you got time for holidays?
Darren: "No � not really. Last year�s holidays were our first for three
years! In fact, we have no days off. Half of the time we are at home; the other
half we are in London. During the weekend we teach, during the week we learn.
Yesterday was my first day off for the last 3 months
Lilia: "We have breaks in normal work when we fly somewhere, but this is
not really a day off, isn�t it?
You compete abroad a lot � do you try to make a holiday out of it?
Lilia: "Yes, and it depends where we go to"
Darren: "It�s important that when you get given the opportunity you use
it. You have to have been everywhere at least once. We try to stay a day or
couple of days after the competition or show, and go sight-seeing. It's always
after the comp though, never before"
What is your favourite place on Earth?
Both: "Home"
Darren: "It�s because we don�t spend enough time there, it�s like a
magnet"
Future...
How do you see the future of computers in dancing?
Darren: "Oh � they will be used more and more, especially for
communication. Email so much easier than any other form of communication. I
think they will also gradually gain additional use in other areas. For example,
when we did the Gladiator Show in Assen, the organisers used computers to
combine our music for the show � it was so fast and efficient"
What about the Internet and dance webpages?
Darren: "Yours, of course, is my favourite, you have results before anyone
else. I also visit dancesport.uk
Plans for the future?
Lilia: "To get a dog [laughs]"
Darren: "To get to the top, so that we can retire and she can get a dog [laughs].
More seriously, we want to work twice as hard as this year, so we can achieve
better results. We have met people who came to our shows because they like
watching us. We want to give them more pleasure from that. Competition results
are of course important, but they are not everything"
Thank you very much and good luck for the future!