New DWTS judge Arthur Gourounlian on his new role, past life and dancing with Kylie

Few things pull us out of a January slump like Dancing With The Stars. This year, we have a new judge in our midst; dancer, choreographer and all-around charismatic dynamo Arthur Gouroulin. Kate Demolder caught up with the Kildare-based 41-year-old to talk all things ballroom, waltz and pasodoble

Dancing with the Stars, new judging panel member — dancer and acclaimed choreographer - Arthur Gourounlian

‘It’s just so epic... I can’t wait to start’

The past few weeks have been mental for Arthur Gourounlian, 41, but that’s just how he likes it. A new judging addition to Dancing With The Stars (DWTS), the Armenian-born and Ireland-based (thanks to husband, former Big Brother winner Brian Dowling) choreographer is one of the most sought-after international creative directors in the industry today.

He’s worked with everyone — and we mean everyone — from Beyoncé and Girls Aloud to Banarama, and has fronted campaigns for Puma, Christian Louboutin, and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

However, don’t let the impressive CV fool you, he’s modest and generous with his time in equal measure, boasting the excitable nature of a puppy.

“I have been very lucky with my career,” he beams. “I’ve been working for the past 21 years straight, and only for Covid, I actually had my first ever time off.”

He’s thrilled about the new role, ecstatic even, he tells me over a spritely Monday phone call.

“I honestly can’t believe this is happening to me,” he gushes. 

“My dream when I was a kid was to dance with Kylie Minogue and Geri Halliwell. I didn’t even dream to become a judge for a show like this because I didn’t think it was possible. This is more than a dream, I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s just so epic.”

He began his career in Belgium back in 2000, by total accident — as you do. At 19, he was spotted dancing by a manager in a nightclub in Antwerp, who asked him to fill in the role of a male dancer who hadn’t turned up for work.

A teenage Gourounlian couldn’t believe his ears.

“I thought she was hitting on me,” he laughs.

She told him: “We will pay you to dress up, dance four times on a podium throughout the night, and your friends will drink for free.” He had to pick his jaw up off of the floor.

“What 19-year-old is going to say no to that? I came back the very next week!”

Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian at the Irish Premiere screening of The Suicide Squad at Cineworld,Dublin.

This new path led him to tour the clubs of Europe dancing, pivoting between Italy, Spain, and France for work.

Finally, he realised that, to fulfil his dream of dancing professionally, he would have to move to London, so he sold his furniture, packed a suitcase, and arrived at Waterloo Station in February 2002.

“You must remember, at the time I had no English, no training, and no contacts in the UK but, because of my background, I knew what it was like to have nothing, so my main motto became, ‘what was the worst that could happen?’”

The background he references speaks to his adolescence as an asylum seeker, fleeing Armenia with his family in 1994 due to the conflict with Azerbaijan. Just 13 at the time, Gourounlian has spoken about the topic at length, both in-person and online, in a bid to put a face to the refuge issue that remains prominent today.

“We went from Russia to Cologne and then to Brussels, where we claimed asylum and it was just so difficult. It was just my parents, sister, my aunt, and my cousin,” he said. “When my father died [when I was] 16, I decided to... make it happen. I moved to Brussels, got over my chronic shyness and trained as a hairdresser, secretly hoping I could live out my true passion of dancing, singing, or acting someday.”

When he finally reached the English capital, the then 22-year-old ended up securing a job at a leisure centre in Great Yarmouth.

“That’s where I started learning English, picking up phrases from television and stuff like that. I eventually left three months later because I just didn’t see myself working there. Then I heard about a casting for Stars In Their Eyes. They were looking for one male dancer and I got it. I’ve been working ever since.”

Gourounlian’s performance credentials are as impressive as they are extensive, as is his hunger for success. He booked almost every job the UK could offer, often not grasping the weight of the opportunities as he accepted.

“I remember calling my mother and asking what the Royal Variety was. I was dancing for the Queen and had no idea.”

He took every part in his stride, with his trademark determination and gusto. “I once booked a job for Blue Peter and went for it even though I had torn a ligament in my knee. I was suffering in silence throughout, but it’s just not in my nature to give up,” he says.

He is, of course, no stranger to the DWTS franchise, as husband Brian competed on the 2020 series, making history by doing the first same-sex dance on the Irish show with Kai Widdrington.

“I remember he was so afraid because he’s not a dancer, but I pushed him to do it because I wanted him to realise how hard it is being a dancer. He did really well, despite having no musicality and two left feet,” he laughs.

The pair met in London in 2002 and have been in each other’s sights ever since.

“I really think it’s true love,” he says, smiling. “But I do want people to know that it wasn’t him who got me the job; I auditioned just like everyone else.

“When I got the call [for DWTS] I couldn’t believe it. I just think, as a foreigner and non-English speaker, to be on a primetime show on RTÉ is incredible. Did you know it’s never happened before? I’m so delighted,” he says.

“The cast and crew have also been so, so welcoming, I just can’t wait to get started.”

• ‘Dancing With The Stars’ returns to RTÉ One on Sunday, January 9.