THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast Facts:

Pursuit: Professional dance couple

Definition of success: “Being able to do what you love every day.”

If you’re a Brit like me, you probably know Trent Whiddon as the professional dance partner of Pixie Lott on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. But this is merely a veneer, below which you’ll find layer upon layer of achievement and success. You’ll also find a real-life partner, Gordana, whose role in the duo is every bit as impressive. In fact, Gordana’s impact on the couple’s fortunes is so paramount that I couldn’t possibly interview one without the other. So never one to compromise, your intrepid host now brings you yet another pair of guests in a sparkling double-act: national dance champions, choreographers, world tourers, husband and wife, Trent Whiddon and Gordana Grandosek.

“We are a husband and wife ballroom dancing couple,” Gordana begins when I ask her to explain a bit of what she and Trent do. “We both grew up competing internationally and have both been national champions and British finalists as well as Ten Dance Australian champions. We have toured the world with the show Burn The Floor for thirteen years as lead dancers and the last six years as company managers. We have also choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance Australia seasons three and four, and choreographed and taught Kevin Spacey how to dance in the E-trade commercial. We have appeared on Dancing With The Stars Australia, Slovenia, USA and England. We have produced, choreographed and designed the show Satisfaction On A Dance Floor.” 

Sort of leaves you short of breath just reading it, doesn’t it? It’s a lifestyle both have grown up with though. I ask Trent how he got into dancing.

“I was seven and a jazz troupe performed a Grease Lighting number at my primary school fete,” he explains. “There were a couple of boys my age and they had leather jackets, and I thought that was cool. So my Mum saw this and got me a gift certificate for my birthday. My oldest brother’s best friend was dancing there at the time so I went along with him.”

“I started dancing because of my older brother,” Gordana says. “At that time he was one of the best Slovenian couples in ballroom, and at the time ballroom dancing was very popular. So I went along for classes and soon became one of the top ballroom dancers in Slovenia and later in the world.”

Do you ever hear people say something like, ‘I love my husband/wife, but we could never spend all day together’? (Just in case my wife is reading this: it’s not a view I subscribe to, honestly!) But the truth is, it takes something special to be able to live and breathe a career, as well as a marriage, together. Work, play, ups, downs: you go through them all hand in hand – quite literally in Trent and Gordana’s case. So I’m interested to know how the typical day pans out for them.

“Every morning we take our dog Buddy for a walk and have breakfast,” Gordana says. “When we are preparing for a show or maintaining our physical condition we practise ballroom for around three hours a day in the morning, then we go home for lunch which I normally cook. In the afternoon we will do ballet class, play frizbee with our dog or go for a walk along the river. Usually when we do all this we are together twenty-four hours, except when Trent goes to the gym. When we are on holidays we are usually at the beach all day and have plenty of food and drinks and relax.”

Anyone else get the impression Trent and Gordana have mastered the work/life balance? In other words: lots of both. Those efforts have brought rewards too. I ask Trent what his most satisfying achievement to date is, but it’s clear there have been too many to label just one.

“Getting third in the British Youth Latin Championships after only preparing for two months,” he enthuses. “Making the semi-final was a massive surprise and buzz and then getting into the final was awesome. Also when Gordana and I competed together for the only time and were the Australian professional Ten Dance champions. Also the first time we performed in Japan with Burn The Floor. It was like a rock concert with ten thousand people screaming our names. Gordana and I weren’t dancing together then but I was crying and hugging her after the show.”

“For me it would probably be winning the German Open in Latin Youth,” Gordana adds. “And being runner up in Ballroom at Blackpool. Also dancing on Broadway with Trent and producing our own show Satisfaction on a Dance Floor.” 

Such a deluge of performance and production – I wonder how many hours they put in and what they’ve sacrificed to achieve so much.

“When we do a show we practice twelve hours a day for ten days,” Gordana explains. “And later on around six hours a day including the show. The biggest sacrifice when I was young would be not playing or attending children’s parties and living as a normal kid, leaving family at home and leaving our dog at home when we travel – sometimes she can’t come with us.”

“And now we have had to get into the social media more,” Trent adds. “This wasn’t something I was interested in but Goga convinced me and signed me up for Twitter and Instagram, so Goga spends a lot of time on it as well as doing the website and Facebook. The biggest sacrifice would be being away from my family. I pretty much left Australia when I was seventeen to join Burn The Floor so I missed them, and now my nieces and nephew.”

Still, neither of them would change a thing it seems.

“No,” Gordana affirms when I ask her if she’s ever hankered for a more routine vocation. “I used to think I wanted that, that’s why I finished university. But I’ve never regretted my decision or where I am now.”

“Not at all,” Trent concurs. “I love living spontaneously and being somewhere different every day.”

Since Trent and Gordana seem to have found the elixir of happy living, it seems fitting to ask them for their definition of success.

“To get to somewhere where you always wished for and at the same time to be satisfied and happy with your life,” Gordana decides.

“Being able to do what you love every day and be happy,” Trent says.

And finally, the Trent and Gordana recipe for successful achievers:

“They should believe in their dreams and go for it,” Gordana says simply.

“Be fearless,” Trent contributes. “Don’t worry if things don’t go to plan because most of the time it ends up being better. As long as you believe in yourself and have faith, life will take you to where you want to be. Just love what you do and enjoy every step ’cause it’s all a lesson that you need to learn to be ready to achieve your dreams.”

My thanks to Trent and Gordana for taking the time out of what can only be described as an exhausting schedule. To keep up to date with their latest news, including shows, go to www.trent-gordana.com. You can follow Trent @TrentWhiddon and Gordana @GordanaGW, and both are available on Facebook at facebook.com/SatisfactionOnADanceFloor 

All images from www.trent-gordana.com Photos by Tibor Golob www.tiborgolob.com