Arthur Gourounlian on Loraine Barry: 'I have so much respect for her and she gave it back to me'

Arthur Gourounlian’s journey to showbusiness has been anything but ordinary. He talks to Deirdre McArdle about how a challenging childhood inspired the joy and resilience at the centre of his first children’s book

Arthur Gourounlian. Photograph Moya Nolan

‘Bonjour, bonjour!”

Arthur Gourounlian bursts onto the phone call. There’s no other way to put it. A ball of positivity and energy, he greets me like a long-lost friend. It’s a refreshing positivity that doesn’t feel forced or manufactured.

“I’m absolutely a glass-half-full person,” the Dancing With The Stars judge says.

“I grew up always seeing the bright side of things. It’s how I am.”

We are meeting to discuss Gourounlian’s first children’s book, Little Arty and the Happy Dance, but news has just broke that the RTÉ show’s head judge, Loraine Barry, is stepping down. I am forgiven for getting slightly sidetracked.

“I’ll always remember how Loraine welcomed me to the show when I started,” Gourounlian says.

Dancing with the Stars judges Karen Byrne, Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian. Pic: Kyran O’Brien/kobpix

“She really took me under her wing; she filled me in on what to expect, how things were going to happen. She was always there for any questions I had. I started calling her the queen, because she is the queen, you know, queen of the ballroom.

“She’s incredible. I have so much respect for her and she gave it back to me. We have the most epic time, so I’m going to be sad she’s gone.

“It’s the end of an era, for sure,” he says, “but we have to move on.”

And with Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse joining the panel in Barry’s place, Gourounlian is sure she will “fit in like a glove”.

“When I heard the news, I was overjoyed. Oti will be a breath of fresh air. I cannot wait. It will bring another vibe to the panel, and that’s always good for shows like this. I think we’re gonna have so much fun. The only thing I will say is to Brian Redmond: ‘God help you.’”

Gourounlian had just finished his second season as a judge on Dancing With The Stars when Gill approached him with the idea of writing a children’s book. 

“At the time, I was reading so many books for Blake; she was only 15 months. I loved all the imagery and the colours in the books we were reading, and I could see the joy they brought to Blake. When Gill mentioned it to me, I thought this would be a dream.”

Arthur Gourounlian with his daughters Blake , 3, and Blu, 15 months. Photograph Moya Nolan

While the book was initially inspired by his first daughter Blake, Gourounlian says, deep down, the book is for him — or rather, the younger version of him. Growing up in Armenia during a difficult period in the country’s history, the 45-year-old had a very different relationship with books.

“Before we had Blake, the last time I had any kids’ books was when we were burning all my children’s books to keep us warm,” he says, emotion in his voice.

“I think I’m writing this book for me. My daughters, of course, I have them in my mind, but this is for young Arthur.”

Immediately, Gourounlian says, he knew he wanted to write a book celebrating dance.

“I knew I couldn’t write about a hippopotamus dancing or a little pig dancing — it had to be little Arty, a happy boy, spreading joy, positivity, and magic.”

That optimism and zest for life is at the heart of Little Arty and the Happy Dance. With his big mass of curly hair and colourful clothes, Arty is unmistakably Gourounlian.

The illustrations, created by Dan Taylor, do a wonderful job of capturing the essence of Arthur.

“When I saw the whole book with the illustrations and the colours, I literally cried. I was like: ‘Oh my God, is this real?’”

Arthur Gourounlian pictured at the opening night of the musical Little Shop of Horrors at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre Dublin. Picture Brian McEvoy

Gourounlian is serious when he says: “Dancing saved my life.” As refugees fleeing Armenia during the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Gourounlian family sought asylum in Belgium.

Living in Belgium, Gourounlian trained as a hairdresser — but his passion was always for dance.

“Back in Armenia, I was always dancing in our living room. As a kid, I was discovered and joined a massive dance company. I remember the choreographer in the company loved my energy and how I moved, even though I had no dance training at all. But being in the dance company only lasted a couple of months before the war started.

“Then I never did anything to do with dancing again until much later in my life. Being a refugee, travelling here and there in Belgium, it just wasn’t going to happen.”

He eventually made his way back to dance, working as a go-go dancer in Italy, and then travelling around Spain and France dancing in clubs. But he had greater ambitions.

“I remember being in Milan, and a group of us were sitting around watching MTV. Geri Halliwell’s It’s Raining Men came on, and I thought: ‘Oh my God, I want to do this!’ My friends at the time said: ‘But they’re professional dancers with training — that’s next level.’ I listened, but I’m stubborn. So, after five months in Italy, with everything going well, I told my friends I was moving to London.”

And the rest is history, or so they say.

Going for what he wants in life is part of Gourounlian’s core philosophy — and something he is keen to pass on to his two daughters.

“I’m going to teach them the value of life — that if you want to do something, go for it. Be confident. Some people are gonna say, ‘you can’t do this,’ and you should say, ‘why can’t I do it?’

“People told me so many times I couldn’t be a dancer because I never trained, but I didn’t listen. Failure is only because you don’t try. And I want the girls to try everything.”

Arthur Gourounlian with his daughters Blake , 3, and Blu, 15 months. Photograph Moya Nolan

It's little wonder, then, that this book centres around a dance routine, with cute little step-by-step instructions at the back.

It’s in this “happy dance” where Gourounlian says Blake really inspired him.

“When I was actually trying to create the dance, I was using the park as the setting with all the different animals you find [there]. And then Blake came home, and I wanted to see how she would translate my ideas. So I mentioned the ducks shaking their feathers, and she turned around and wiggled her bum. Then I said ‘how can we shine like the sun?’ and she spread her arms and opened her fingers. I looked at her, and I thought my heart would burst.

“I wanted to create a routine where parents or guardians can have a moment with their children that’s full of joy, positivity, and imagination. I want people to think, I’m going to pick up this book, and we’re going to have fun.

“Look, dancing is good for the soul. So I want to put smiles on everybody’s faces, and I want to include everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re a dancer or not — you can still move your body. I don’t want to restrict anybody.”

As for the future, Gourounlian’s hope is readers will connect with the book and there might be more to come from Little Arty. “I would love to do that Little Arty and the Happy Dance as a TV series — a very short series.”

Chatting with Gourounlian and hearing his life story, I don’t doubt him for a second. His grab-life-with-both-hands approach is infectious.

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get, and if you don’t try something, you will never know. I’m excited about this book, but I’m also a little nervous because I’m presenting myself on the page, and you can’t control what people will think of it.

“I’d love people to love it, and for it to be successful, but really I just want people to take this book home and enjoy it with their families.”

• Little Arty and the Happy Dance by Arthur Gourounlian, published by Gill, is out October 16