9 hours ago
She's still got it! Fans go wild as Sonia Kruger recreates her breakout role in Strictly Ballroom with a showstopping waltz on Dancing With The Stars
Sonia Kruger took a spin down memory lane on Sunday night as she paid tribute to her breakout role in Strictly Ballroom.
The Dancing With The Stars host returned to the floor for a magical waltz with reigning champ Ian Waite – a dream moment for fans.
The television host played Tina Sparkle in the 1992 Baz Luhrmann -directed romantic comedy - and Tina's spirit was alive and well in Sonia's performance.
Fans were delighted, with many praising the performance, and the throwback, on Instagram.
'Beautifully danced - you definitely haven't lost your sparkle Sonia' commented one person.
'BRAVO BRAVO, Ian is fabulous, but Onya Sonia, haven't lost a thing, all class girl' another raved.
'Tina Sparkle needs to appear every episode' someone else chimed in while one more said, 'you just schooled everyone.'
Sonia looked back at her time in Strictly Ballroom when the film reached its 32nd anniversary last year.
Sharing a series of images from the film to her Instagram, Sonia got misty eyed remembering the iconic flick.
'It was the movie that had the whole world dancing! Happy 32nd Birthday Strictly Ballroom!' she wrote.
'It's where his career started,' the 59-year-old previously told Ben O'Shea on The West Live podcast of Luhrmann.
'And same with mine, too. If it wasn't for that movie I probably wouldn't be in television today,' she added.
Sonia explained how she landed a speaking role in the film after initially being cast as an extra due to her ballroom dancing background.
Fans were delighted, with many praising the performance, and the throwback, on Instagram. 'Beautifully danced - you definitely haven't lost your sparkle Sonia' commented one person
'I had heard through a friend of mine, that there was a moving being made about ballroom dancing,' she said.
'And because I was at that point a professional dancer, I thought I know they're gonna use me as an extra, but I would really like a role. So I went and found out who was casting it.'
Sonia worked out that the casting agent was Faith Martin, and went and knocked on her door.
'I said, "Hi I am Sonia, I would really like a role!"' And she said, "Well there is this character, Tina Sparkle, but we aren't casting it for another year. "
'A year went by and I got a phone call to go and audition for Baz. So they were true to their word.'
The Dancing With The Stars host said that when she spoke to Baz and he told her she was 'perfect' for the role of clueless Tina Sparkle.
'And yet I only had six lines in the movie,' Sonia said with a laugh.
She explained that Baz replied: 'Think about it, Brad Pitt only had six lines in Thelma and Louise and look what happened to him!'
In the comedy, Paul Mercurio stars as Scott Hastings, an Australian ballroom dancer who pairs with beginner-dancer Fran (Tara Morice).
The two bond when his maverick style earns him the disdain of his conservative colleagues.
Together they set out to win the National Championship dancing title and show the Ballroom Confederation that they're wrong when they say, 'there are no new steps!'
Sonia was also a ballroom adviser in the movie and helped teach her fellow cast members how to dance.
