What does this book say about you?
Christophe Licata; It's a way of putting people behind the curtain, of telling a little bit about what happened in my adventure. Dancing with the stars for 13 years now. I wanted to tell the story behind the scenes. There are sleepless nights, doubts… It's true that I asked myself the question of whether I was going to do another season or not: the answer is yes. I explain the details in my book.
We feel you moved…
Yes, very. Talking about all this means a lot to me. I didn't think writing a book was going to be so powerful and therapeutic, it's a revelation.
“Viewers don’t realize everything that’s behind it”
Did this work also allow you to find answers?
Yes, and to understand a lot of things. While writing the book, I realized that nothing was finished. It's a huge emotional burden to experience an adventure like Dancing with the Stars. It's almost superhuman. Viewers don't realize what's behind it. We are constantly evolving in a parallel world, we no longer know what day or time it is. We're out of time for three months.
You also talk about your family life…
Yes. Authorship has had an impact on my perception of the show. I no longer have the same life as before. Today, my son allows me to review my priorities. I learned to say no.
Do you remember your first steps in Paris?
Yes ! I was 23 years old, I arrived from the South of France, I had the impression of arriving in Hollywood! (Laugh). I was a little naive, a dreamer even. I stopped school to devote myself to dance. I wanted to live from my passion, I didn't know where it would take me.
“At first I thought the show would last one season.”
How did the Dancing with the Stars adventure begin?
I was competing with my wife Coralie who left everything to come dance with me. Together, we traveled the world, we were very well ranked. Then we received the casting announcement. I found myself there, among all the best dancers in the business! And I was selected. Initially, I thought the show would last one season and then I would go back to my normal life.
Despite the competition, have you created links?
Yes, particularly with Grégoire Lyonnet. A friendly crush. He became my best friend, my son's godfather. I was his best man at his wedding, he was mine. It's a great story of friendship.
Christophe Licata without filter on the last season of DALS: “I was traumatized, I was physically attacked…“
What significant memories remain of this adventure?
I think of my first finale with Amel Bent, in season 3. That's when everything changed for me and in particular, my relationship with the public. It's one of my fondest memories…The worst? The last season and the media relentlessness that I experienced with the story between Natasha St-Pier and Inès Reg. It was very difficult to live with and incredibly violent. Everything went too far, I was traumatized, I was physically attacked… I have always done this program for dance. The star system never interested me and there, I went through an ordeal. Journalists called my parents, my sisters, me, 80 times a day to get my version. My version is in my book.
Anthony Colette told us that he too suffered a lot from this experience…
Yes, but he verbalized it, unlike me. I closed myself in my shell because I had to complete the program in good conditions, to do my work. But the aftermath was very hard.
Are you still in contact with Inès Reg?
Yes, as I am with all my partners in Dancing with the stars. It’s an adventure that binds us forever. At the end of writing my book, I called them all to thank them for changing my life.
What are your plans today?
I have a lot! I would like to put on a show, travel, see the world, take care of my son, make sure I am more present for him. I closed the last page of one chapter of my life to open a new one.
“I would love for everything to go back to the way it was…”
You appeared in Star Academy a few weeks ago, alongside Ebony. Professor at the castle, would you like it?
Honestly, yes, even if Malika Benjelloun does her job very well. This show rocked my childhood. I found there the kindness of the first seasons of Dancing with the stars. I would love for everything to go back to the way it was…
* Revelation(s) (Ed.Leduc). Available
