At "Das große Promibacken" Ekaterina Leonova meets ex "Let's Dance" partner Pascal Hens. How about your comeback in the dance show?
Ekaterina Leonova (33) is a candidate for "Das große Promibacken" (from Wednesday, February 17th, at 8:15 pm on Sat.1). In the backshow she meets her former "Let's Dance" partner Pascal Hens (40), with whom the dancer won the dance show in 2019. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, she talks about her baking skills and her homeland Russia, to which she has not been able to travel for over a year due to the pandemic. Leonova also reveals how the reunion with Pascal Hens went and whether she could imagine a return to "Let's Dance".
Are you passionate about baking?
Ekaterina Leonova: Before "The Big Celebrity Bake" I could only bake one cake. So far, I haven't had time to bake because I was either at university, school or doing dance training. Unfortunately, I missed the time to learn how to bake from my mom. That's why I'm doing it now and learning how to bake really nice cakes and pies so that I can surprise mom with them. Especially in lockdown, when you've been at home for so long, you have time to bake. I baked a cake that I worked out during coaching at home to see if I could do it on my own. Baking has now become my second passion.
You have been dancing since you were ten. As a dancer, have you always had to pay special attention to your diet or are sweets just a part of it?
Leonova: I have been dancing since I was ten, but as a professional dance I never really paid attention to my diet. Rather the other way around: you burn a lot of calories and use a lot of energy so that you can eat anything. That's why I sometimes ate a bar of chocolate in one piece. Pizza and cakes were also part of the dinner. During my dance career, I ate a lot of unhealthy foods, so at the time I didn't think about it having an effect on my figure. More in retrospect, when I quit professional dance, I noticed that you don't burn as much as before. You have to be careful now and then.
In Russia people like to eat sweet things. Which recipes and dishes do you associate with your home country?
Leonova: In Russia you really eat a lot of sweet things. They make amazing cakes and the selection of desserts is so large that you don't know what to take because you want to try everything. I associate a lot of cakes with Russia, but the one I remember most is the honey cake. My mom baked it very often. A honey cake is simply part of the Russian tradition. And cheesecake too – it's not really Russian now – but we ate a lot of it in Russia. I associate part of my childhood with that.
You haven't been back home for almost a year. How are you doing with that?
Leonova: I was last home on New Year's Eve 2019 – so I haven't seen my family for over a year. I miss her incredibly. Fortunately, there are many ways to stay in touch: WhatsApp, video calls so that I can at least see my parents virtually, or just make a phone call. Nevertheless, this cannot replace personal contact. You can't hug, squeeze, kiss, touch – that's simply absent. I hope that it will get better soon so that I can visit my family or my mother can come to me – that would of course be terrific!
How was the reunion with Pascal Hens on "Das große Promibacken"?
Leonova: I was very happy that Pascal was part of "Das große Promibacken". In "Let's Dance" we were a team – if you do a show together with a kindred spirit, it's just twice as much fun. Even our baking tables were right behind one another. In "Let's Dance" we were a team – it stays forever. That's why it's difficult for me to see him as a competitor. We were actually a team again – but unfortunately some of the tasks were very complicated and you hardly have enough time to help yourself. Whenever I had time, we would exchange ideas or give each other tips. But of course we couldn't really bake together.
What are the most beautiful moments for you that you experienced on "Let's Dance"?
Leonova: There were so many great moments on "Let's Dance" that I cannot list them all. I've experienced a lot and stored it in my head forever. Every victory is an indescribable feeling. You briefly lose the ground under your feet and are in a world that you do not want to leave. This feeling is just indescribably beautiful and I will always remember these moments with a smile on my face. But not only the victories, but also certain choreographies, which I made with all my heart and which also meant something to me, were very special to me. Especially when the audience not only understood these choreographies in the end, but actually experienced them. You can see the feedback in the eyes of the audience. You see, this message has arrived. That's the best compliment a dancer can get.
You won with Ingolf Lück, Gil Ofarim and Pascal Hens. What were the biggest differences between the men?
Leonova: All three dance partners were completely different with different requirements. What they have in common: they all couldn't dance at the beginning. Nevertheless, there were different challenges: Gil had never danced before, but discovered dancing in his body. Through various passionate dramatic dances, we made it to victory. Ingolf had different challenges due to his age. He couldn't do many moves that Gil did, for example. I couldn't say: 'Could you please do a split?' But we still managed it really well. Pascal's challenge was his height of two meters. You have to move the large parts of the body just as quickly as a smaller person – it's not that easy. I'm incredibly pleased that all three of them made it to victory in the end.
What do you think of the new "Let's Dance" celebrities, do you already have a favorite?
Leonova: I haven't seen a participant dance yet, so I can't say who I see as the favorite. Maybe after the first show, when I've seen the dance skills of one or the other. I would be incredibly happy to be there. I would dance with anyone! I miss my "Let's Dance" family.
Many would like you to make a comeback on the show. What do you think?
Leonova: A comeback would of course be incredibly nice. I've read some comments that a lot of people would like me to come back. I wish for a comeback, to be back with my "Let's dance" family, to experience this show, to stand on the dance floor, work out choreographies and see how a dance partner changes from a non-dancer to a dancer. That’s something special. You can't describe that.