This Friday, September 9, TF1 kicks off the 12th season of Dancing with the stars, in which David Douillet participates. The Olympic judo champion talks to Télé Star about this extraordinary adventure.
TV Star: Between Mask Singer, Traitors and now Dance with the starsare you bored at home?
David Douillet: Not really [rires]. Moreover, I participated in traitors with my wife so I was not bored at all. I have a super rich, engaging and captivating professional life. And I must say that having the possibility of making these emissions is a real oxygen. It is the discovery of the unknown.
What do you expect from this adventure?
Apart from discovering the unknown and building a relationship with my dance partner, which is very rewarding, it’s maybe unlocking things. I hope, very modestly, to be able to show that a strong guy can dance and stop forbidding himself to do it.
Are you complexed while dancing?
Yes. I accepted to take up this challenge also to say “Shit, it’s not because I weigh more than 100kg excluding taxes and with a very high VAT that I shouldn’t dance”. I have the right to dance like the others. I do it, like it or not. And maybe some people who, like me, were sitting on their chair watching the others, will say to themselves I’m going!
David Douillet: “I had to pass an important milestone: accept my image”
How do you judge your level in dance?
It’s about the negative. I am in South Antarctica. Under the ice, even. I am the antithesis of dance because of my physique, my weight and my sport. Admittedly, my feet are anchored to the ground, but the problem is that in dancing, you have to move them. Me, I moved them to bring down an opponent, but here, it’s me who falls, there is a small problem [rires]. I would have preferred to start from a blank page rather than from my past as a judoka.
Did you encounter any other difficulties?
I had to pass an important step: the fact of looking at myself in a mirror. To accept my image – and I still don’t accept it. It’s a shock. I’m not used to that at all, but that’s part of the challenge. And in addition to what we don’t like physically, we have our flaws as dancers on which we focus. So much so that you lose the overall vision. My wife attended a few rehearsals and I was not happy, I thought I was useless. It was she who made me understand that the whole thing was harmonious.
David Douillet: “My dance partner? We slept together”
Did you manage to form a relationship easily with your dance partner?
We slept together from the start [rires]. Apparently that’s what happens every year. So I said to myself that we do this from the start, so we will be quiet [rires].
Are you going to follow the course of Clémence Castel in particular, with whom you have established a strong relationship in Traitors ?
I will follow what I do, it will already be good [rires]. I’m happy to share Dance with the stars with Clémence, because we lived a special moment. We have gone far with Clémence in our relationship of trust. It is for this reason that I have great pleasure in seeing her again. She’s a great girl, who I trust completely and who will express something wonderful when dancing with a woman.
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© Pierre Perusseau
3/12 –
David Douillet
“I accepted to take up this challenge also to say ‘Shit, it’s not because I weigh more than 100kg excluding taxes and with a very high VAT that I shouldn’t dance'”, explains David Douillet.
© COADIC GUIREC
4/12 –
David Douillet
And to add: “I have the right to dance like the others. I do it, whether you like it or not. And maybe some people who, like me, were sitting on their chair watching the others, will say I’m going!”
© DOMINIQUE JACOVIDES
5/12 –
David Douillet
Despite his past as a high-level athlete, David Douillet does not leave with an advantage in Dancing with the stars
© Stephane Lemouton
6/12 –
David Douillet
“I am the antithesis of dance because of my physique, my weight and my sport. Certainly, my feet are anchored to the ground, but the problem is that in dance, you have to move them. Me , I moved them to bring down an opponent, but there, it’s me who falls, there is a small problem”, laughs David Douillet
© COADIC GUIREC
7/12 –
David Douillet
“I would have preferred to start from a blank page rather than from my past as a judoka”, confides David Douillet
© COADIC GUIREC
8/12 –
David and Vanessa Douillet
Above all, David Douillet had to “pass an important milestone: looking at myself in a mirror. Accepting my image – and I still don’t accept it. It’s a shock”
© Pierre Perusseau
9/12 –
David Douillet
“I’m not at all used to this, but it’s part of the challenge. And in addition to what we don’t like physically, we have our faults as dancers on which we focus”, explains David Douillet
© CYRIL MOREAU
10/12 –
David and Vanessa Douillet
And to develop: “To such an extent that you lose the overall vision. My wife attended a few rehearsals and I was not happy, I thought I was useless. It was she who made me understand that the whole was harmonious”
© Bruno Bébert
11/12 –
David Douillet
As for his relationship with his dance partner? “We slept together from the start”, laughs David Douillet
© Claudia Albuquerque
12/12 –
David Douillet
And to continue hilarious: “Apparently, this is what is done every year. So I told myself that we do this from the start, so we will be quiet”