Ipswich PGA Professional swaps drives for jives

11/04/2023

Last autumn Ryan Wingate took up the challenge to dance in a ‘Strictly’ charity fundraiser for Essex & Herts Air Ambulance. At the time, he was a complete novice who had never done more than throw a few shapes in the nightclub as a teenager. Dance-wise, he was a complete novice. The PGA professional from Ipswich Golf Club summed it up neatly: “It was like someone saying ‘I’ve never held a golf club before – how do I hold it?’

Six months down the line and – again applying a golfing comparison – he has a rather different assessment of his dancing ability. ‘I’d like to think I’m single-figure, approaching scratch!’ he says, laughing. Maybe that’s one for the judging panel. But what is for sure is that the 35-year-old is a winner on the dancefloor after he and partner Crystal Main from Feather Steps Dance Academy triumphed in front of an 850-sell-out crowd at Charter Hall in Colchester. And Wingate played his part, along with all the other contestants, in raising almost £20,000 for the charity.

Read on to find out more about how Ryan came to strut his stuff…

How did the opportunity to dance arise?

“The Charity contacted the golf club – they had six contestants and one had dropped out. They said, ‘Your club has raised funds for us in the past and we were wondering if you’d like to get involved and do you have anyone who’d be willing to be a contestant…a male dancer?’ So it went round the committee and – long story short – I put my hand up and said, ‘If no one else is going to put their name forward I’d like to have a go’. So that was it.”

Was there a part of you – an inner dancer – that had watched Strictly and thought, ‘I can do that’?

“Something like that. I like to think of myself as a bit of an all-rounder when it comes to many sports. And dancing was something I’d never even considered, tried; apart from the obvious stuff when I was about 18 going out with some friends. So it was a case of, ‘I’ve never done anything like this before, a great opportunity with a professional dancer on a one-to-one basis, and it’s a coaching style that I might be able to pick up some tips and apply to my everyday PGA coaching’. So that was another reason to get involved: from a complete beginner, how would I feel on the other side of it and how would I apply myself to something I’ve never done before?”

When did the process start?

“It all kicked off in October. We had a pre-meeting with the charity just before Christmas and they gave us a run through of what was expected; they wanted us to try and raise £1,000 as a minimum. Then I was introduced to my dancer, Crystal. We chose a couple of dances and the format of the show was explained to us.”

How did the process leading up to March 25’s final unfold?

“The first week of January we had our first lesson together and we tried to continue at least once a week up until the show. But unfortunately Crystal was in hospital for the best part of three weeks in February. We didn’t actually know if we’d be able to continue. She owns a dance studio near us in Ipswich and her dance partner helped me out for a couple of weeks – I had some lessons with her. Fortunately we were able to get started again just before March and were trying to practise a couple of times a week just to be ready for the show.”

A real rollercoaster ride…

“It has been quite a journey from start to finish; highs and lows, is it going to happen, who am I going to be dancing with? Fortunately we were able to complete it together. It was just brilliant.”

How nervous were you stepping out in front of so many people?

“It was definitely up there with the highest nerve-wracking things I’ve ever done. Certainly the first dance. I was probably most nervous driving to the venue – ‘okay, this is actually happening’. Then coming out of the curtain, you’re introduced to the crowd; that was pretty intimidating. The first dance, my heart was pounding out of my chest, if I’m honest. But my first dance, I felt, was probably my best one of the night.”

Tell us about the dances you performed?

“We had one ballroom dance, which was a foxtrot, and one Latin dance, for which we chose a jive. The format on the night was we did each dance for a minute and a half; they were judged by the panel of professional dancers. Your points for your two dances were added up and the top three scores got into the final where we chose one of those dances to do again on a clean slate. Then the best dance was awarded the winners’ trophy. It was great.”

What dance did you do in the final?

“We chose the jive for some two reasons; it was our highest-scoring dance on the night and we didn’t’ have to change our outfits!”

Was the final the best you’ve ever danced?

“I think we both were like, ‘Well we made some small timing errors with it,’ that I don’t think the crowd will have picked up, but we both noticed. We thought we did it pretty well, no major mistakes but that the judges might pick up on something that may have made the difference. But we didn’t actually get to see the other dancers on the floor because we were behind a curtain, so we couldn’t see what we were up against. But lots of friends and family I spoke to said, ‘You must have relaxed – you really went for it on that last dance’.”

What do you put the winning formula down to?

“Crystal has danced all over the UK and beyond. She was on Strictly Come Dancing herself as one of the backing dancers, so she comes with an incredibly high pedigree. She wanted to win and I, coming from golf, wanted to do things as well as I can – it was quite a well-made match, I think. We also put in the time.”

How enjoyable was it?

“The game-face was on throughout the night as concentration levels were really high. The judges kind of alluded to that; about my facial expressions, through a couple of the dances, went through every single emotion! I think that was kind of concentration at its peak. Those times when you’re not on the floor you’re chatting away to the other dancers, those doing the stage production – you’re having a real laugh, trying to distract yourself, taking the mickey out of each other. That eases the pressure. So there’s enjoyment all the way through. Then the elation afterwards of actually winning just gets you to that extra level and I’ve been on Cloud 9 ever since, really.”

Are you going to keep dancing?

“Yeah definitely. We’re just trying to work out how I can fit it into an already busy schedule as I have two girls under six. But we’re going to see what we can do.”

What’s the reaction been like in the golf club?

“It’s been really good. The members have loved it – we’ve had a glitterball in the shop!”