The gallant competitors in Limmud’s dancing competition on Monday — including our own reporter Anna Sheinman – received a good luck message before they took the floor from none other than Strictly Come Dancing champion Louis Smith.

Although the Olympic gymnast was not able to blitz the ballroom in person, he sent a video greeting to the conference which was recorded before he clinched the trophy in the BBC final at the weekend.
His agent, as it happens, is Gab Stone, son of Maurice Stone of the Israeli Dance Institute, which organised the Limmud event.