Born in South Africa, Johannes Radebe was a Latin dance champion in his homeland before taking the UK by storm on Strictly Come Dancing. As half of the first male pairing on that Saturday night BBC staple, he’s continued to change the world for the better one high-heeled strut at a time. 

^{Picture: Danny Kaan}

In 2022, you stepped away from Strictly to create and tour your own show, Freedom. Why was that important to you? 

Throughout my years of dancing, I aspired to be part of a show that represented me and told my story, and I found none. Strictly gave me heels but the funny thing is I’ve been wearing heels all my life! I’ve just been doing it in secret. And the fact that I can now do that publicly is so liberating. For much of my life I tried to blend in, to not bring attention to myself, and just live a protected life as a gay boy who knows how the world treats them. So Freedom forced me to really let go of that shame. It tells a different story, of where I come from as an African boy, and I’ve grown to realise that the show is inspiring and brings a lot of joy to people.

Your partnership with John Whaite on Strictly was a landmark moment in the programme’s history. And in Freedom you stated how many countries it’s still illegal to be gay in. It feels like you’re really using your platform to try and affect change? 

That’s what I’ve realised and it’s a little overwhelming. I was talking to my mum recently and said ‘oh mum, all of a sudden this responsibility has fallen on my shoulders’. I’m no activist. And she said ‘our generation had purpose, we were fighting for your freedom; and now that you have it, what are you doing with it?’ So I realise the importance of educating, of showing a different narrative. I always say that you can’t be what you can’t see, and being on a public platform I’ve realised more and more that representation is important. And with that season of me and John on Strictly, we have left the world a better place. But until everyone is free and has their basic rights, I don’t think we should be sitting by.

Last year’s show was called Freedom, now you’re back with Freedom Unleashed. You were pretty unleashed last time, so what can we expect now? 

When I was thinking about the new tour, I wondered if I should get rid of Freedom and do a whole new show. But then it dawned on me that not everybody saw it last year, and people who didn’t see it told me they felt robbed of the opportunity. And it’s true, we toured to some places but we didn’t go everywhere. So I thought I’m not going to get rid of Freedom. If people saw it last year, let them come again and have that same experience plus more. More sequins, more costumes, more dancing! Everybody who comes along is blown away by the production values and the amount of costume changes, especially for a one-night show that’s travelling around the country. I’m really proud of the team and what they’ve done, because it really is a feast for the eyes.

Freedom Unleashed jumps from one dance style to another. You trained as a Latin dancer but you can turn your hand to anything. How? 

I’m grateful for the teachers in my past because they insisted that we do everything and be versatile. They would go out and ask young professional dancers to come back to the townships and teach us how to point our toes properly. People from African contemporary companies in Johannesburg would come to give us a class on a Saturday. So I was really blessed with people sharing what they know, which didn’t limit me to only being a Latin and ballroom dancer. 

^{Picture: Danny Kaan}

Your show is about giving ‘little Jojo’ a voice. If you could speak to your younger self now, what would you say? 

Just be yourself and the world will adjust. 

But how did you manage to be yourself in a world that sometimes didn’t want to adjust? Y

ou know what, darling, it was finding a tribe of people that would really nurture me that helped little Jojo. And that’s what I think I got right. I stayed away from anything that took from me as a person. So if that meant I had to either be at home or at dance practice and ignore the world, that’s what I had to do. As I say in the show, it takes a community to raise a fabulous child. 

Johannes Radebe: Freedom Unleashed is on tour until Sunday 28 May.