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Emma shares the stage with Adam Cooper |
Emma finally goes to the ball
IT was with some hesitation that Emma Samms walked on stage at Sadler’s Wells on Thursday night, to dance in public for the first time in her life – a remarkable moment for the actress so widely known for her roles as Holly and Fallon in the 1980s American TV soaps Dynasty and The Colbys.
As a child she was sent by her ballerina mother, Madeleine White to the Royal Ballet school. But six years later, aged 15, a hip injury forced Emma to give up the great ambition of her life.
Acting replaced that thirst to express herself. And Emma, now 48 and a mother herself, never expected to dance. Yet, thanks to the invitation of Royal Ballet guest dancer and choreographer Adam Cooper, she has made the amazing transformation in Shall We Dance.
She dances on stage with him in the show, based on the magnificent musicals of composer Richard Rodgers, as well as with his wife, Sarah Wildor, a former Royal Ballet principal.
Sitting expectantly in the audience to see Emma’s dancing debut was, of course, her mother, who had herself danced at Sadler’s Wells in Royal Ballet productions such as Swan Lake, Coppelia and Pineapple Poll.
“It was all so exciting,” Emma told me backstage. “And so wonderful to have my mother there to see me dance. She gave up the ballet to have children. It couldn’t have been better. It was so heart-breaking when I had to give up dancing after six years. And I thought I would never ever get the chance to dance in public. I may have had to wait 32 years for it to happen, but now my dream has come true.”
And apart from the poignant first night with her mother in the audience, it was the first time Emma had performed on stage, her career as an actress, including appearances in shows like Holby City and The Bill, always being before TV and film cameras.
Emma confessed that she was shocked when she met up with Adam Cooper while finishing a movie in Los Angeles in May this year and heard about Shall We Dance. It was something so unexpected for the girl from Cricklewood, whose father’s firm was also in show business, providing essential equipment for film and TV productions.
“But Adam did know of my background,” she explained. “So I started off doing two weeks’ working out with a personal trainer. Then, back here, I went to Tring Park School where the head of dance is a friend of mine.
“I joined the classes with the students who are training for the stage for a month. I thought they would be saying, ‘Who’s this old lady you’ve given us?’ But they weren’t cheeky at all.”
Now you can see her dancing spectacularly to the melodies of Richard Rodgers – in Wild West, New York jazz and Viennese ballroom scenes.
GERALD ISAAMAN
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