High-profile divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt is making a good case for dance as the best therapy for the recently separated.
Ms Lloyd Platt, who has had a rough year following an acrimonious split from her husband of 16 years, accountant Daniel Lloyd Platt, has taken up ballroom dancing — and she says it has completely transformed her life.
Now, the mother-of-two is sharing her journey in documentary London Tango, which premiered at the Notting Hill Film Festival on Sunday.
Ms Lloyd Platt is one of three non-professionals whose experiences with ballroom dancing are followed in the film. It also features BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing aces Ian Waite, Hanna Haarala and Andrew Cuerden, Ms Lloyd Platt’s dance partner in the film.
She tells People: “I danced my way through the hard times and out of them. It really has changed my life. It gives you such a sense of wellbeing.” She adds: “They paired me with Andrew, a European champion, and I thought: ‘I’m going to die,’ but he was incredible with me. Dance makes you feel like you can achieve anything. I did go through a rough time but am determined to put the negatives behind me and turn them into a positive.”
Ms Lloyd Platt was introduced to ballroom dancing through her friend Jenni Kravitz, who runs Simply Dancing Partners, the dance school where the film takes place. “Jenni kept persuading me to join but I was a bit coy at first. Now, I am never going to give it up.” Would she now appear on Strictly Come Dancing? “No. It involves stamina that is beyond me.”
Ms Lloyd Platt, who lives in Mill Hill, north London, is now in a relationship with entrepreneur Stewart Moss.
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