Robin Jamie Windsor (15 September 1979 – 19 February 2024) was an English professional Latin and ballroom dancer, best known for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing.
Early life
Robin Jamie Windsor was born on 15 September 1979[1][2] in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in the Spring Road area.[3] He attended Clifford Road Primary and Copleston High School.[4][5] He began dancing at the age of three, when his parents took him to the Ipswich School of Dancing.[6] At the age of 14, Windsor moved to London to pursue his career as a dancer.[7]
Career
Competitive career
Windsor's interest in dance was initiated by his parents when they enrolled him at the age of three in a local dance school in Ipswich. From the beginning, he studied both Latin and Ballroom dance, eventually competing in those disciplines at the highest levels. His skills eventually led him to represent England, amassing numerous World Championships, both on the domestic and international level. Windsor competed successfully in the juvenile and junior ballroom dancer categories. He represented England in the World Championships.[8]
Professional partnership
In 2010, in Windsor's first season with Strictly Come Dancing, Kristina Rihanoff became his professional partner.[9] They performed solo routines on the show and also took their partnership off the Strictly dance floor, both headlining Burn the Floor in London's West End in 2013.[10] The partnership took them all over the world, including charity events and Strictlycruise ship performances.[11] They performed in the South African version of Strictly Come Dancing and taught large groups at this special event.[12]
Dance shows
Summer 2015 saw Windsor and Rihanoff in a touring production of Puttin' On the Ritz, featuring the most famous song and dance moments of the last 50 years of the golden age of Hollywood, recreated live on stage.[13]Puttin on the Ritz involved song and dance and featured music from George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and others, with a cast of award-winning singers and dancers.[14]
Windsor and Rihanoff also took part in dance weekends around the county.[15]
Dance lessons
Windsor started his own branded dance lessons with "Beginners Ballroom" in March 2015 with a music hall feel at Cecil Sharp House in London[16] and same sex ballroom lessons in a music hall setting, starting at Wilton's Music Hall in Shadwell, London, in April 2015.[17]
Theatre
From 2003 to summer 2010, Windsor was part of the cast of Burn the Floor, one of the leading ballroom-based shows in the world.[18] Two tours with Burn the Floor (2003, 2004) and three with FloorPlay (2006 to 2008) took him several times around the world, leading up to the highlights being a stint on Broadway (2009) and in the London West End (2010).[19] In Windsor's last season with Burn the Floor in London, he was engaged in the role of Swing having to learn all male dancers' parts, to step in for anyone who was unable to perform.[20] From Broadway, Windsor's abilities took him to Dancing with the Stars Australia and So You Think You Can Dance in Holland. He was also asked to assist in the choreography for the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance.[21]
In 2012, Windsor starred in Dance To The Music Tour along with his professional partner Kristina Rihanoff, fellow pro-dancers from Strictly Come Dancing, Artem Chigvintsev and Kara Tointon, who won the competition in 2010.[22] With music from the Strictly Come Dancing Band, the show toured the UK.[23]
From 6 March to 30 June 2013, Windsor – along with his professional partner Rihanoff – returned to headline Burn the Floor, at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End.[24] In 2022, Windsor returned to Burn the Floor for their UK reunion tour.[25][26]
Charity
Together with fellow SCD dancer Artem Chigvintsev, Windsor posed for the Cosmopolitan December 2010 centrefold, raising awareness for male cancer.[27] In January 2011 he took part in the Greater Manchester Police's campaign against domestic violence, together with the cast of the SCD Tour 2011.[28]
Windsor supported the Stonewall campaigning for gay, lesbian and bisexual equality[29] and supported the Mad Trust with its West End Bares charity event seeing the theatre community coming together to raise money for HIV charities.[30] Windsor hosted the auction in 2013 ending up completely naked on stage.[31]
In September 2010, Windsor joined the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing as one of the three new male professional dancers.[33] For his first year Robin was partnered with actress Patsy Kensit. Robin's professional partner was Kristina Rihanoff. Both performed for many celebrities including Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart and Katherine Jenkins.
His first series (Series 8), with his Celebrity partner Patsy Kensit, he reached seventh place.[34]
On 17 December 2010, Windsor won the Grand Piano Pro Challenge on Strictly Come Dancing's sister programme It Takes Two with 3548 points in front of Brendan Cole (1907) and Natalie Lowe (1091).[35]
Windsor and Kensit also took part in the Strictly Come Dancing pro/celeb tour in January and February 2011, dancing the Salsa and the Viennese Waltz, reaching respectable scores of between 60 and 53 out of 60 (including a few 10s for their Viennese Waltz towards the end of the tour).[36]
On 15 June 2011, the BBC announced that Windsor would again be competing in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing.[37] In the launch show on 10 September 2011, Windsor was paired with actress Anita Dobson,[38] with the couple being named "Team Dobbin" by Robin Windsor on Twitter.[39] They were eliminated on 27 November 2011 after Windsor had been unable to dance for a week due to an injury. Dobson therefore rehearsed and danced the Cha Cha Cha and the Swingathon with Brendan Cole.[40] Windsor also won this year's Children in need special and was partnered with BBC Breakfast's Susanna Reid.[41]
In June 2012, it was announced that Windsor would return to be a professional dancer for the third time. This time, he was paired with actress and presenter Lisa Riley. Windsor enjoyed his most successful series of Strictly Come Dancing to date when he reached the semi-final dancing with Riley. The pair were the people's favourite and wowed audiences in the UK as part of the Strictly Come Dancing live tour in 2013.[43]
In June 2013, Windsor confirmed his return as one of the male professional dancers for the eleventh series of the show. His celebrity partner was Dragon's Den panellist, businesswoman and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden. The couple were eliminated in week 5. The pair went on to compete in the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.[44]
Windsor was unable to perform in Series 12 due to a back injury, and was replaced by Trent Whiddon.[45] He returned to the show in week nine, on 23 November 2014, in the opening professional sequence, as a policeman, dancing to "Rock This Town" by the Stray Cats.[citation needed]
Windsor lived in London with his partner Davide Cini, to whom he announced his engagement on 21 August 2013.[46] The relationship ended shortly after, and in February 2014, it was confirmed that he was in a relationship with The X Factor runner-up Marcus Collins.[47] The couple split up in February 2015, after 18 months together.[48]
Death
Windsor was found dead in a hotel room in London on 19 February 2024,[1][49][50][51] aged 44.[52][53] A cause of death was not revealed; however, his former dance partner Kristina Rihanoff said in a tribute to him that it was "an absolute tragedy he felt there was no way out".[54][55][56]
His former employers Burn the Floor and Strictly Come Dancing paid tribute to Windsor, the latter describing him as "an exceptionally talented dancer and choreographer [...] as well as a considerate and kind person both on and off the dancefloor".[32]Lisa Riley and Deborah Meaden, who had been partnered with Windsor on the show, also paid tribute, with the latter describing him as "kind and incredibly generous", adding "he lit up a room with his fun and energy and certainly his sparkle ... he was never happier than when he was covered in crystals!".[57]
Windsor's funeral was held on 26 March 2024 in his hometown of Ipswich.[58][59][60] On 14 September 2024, the first episode of the 22nd series of Strictly Come Dancing was dedicated to the memory of both Windsor and former contestant Dave Myers.[61]
