Helene Spilling

Helene Spilling[2] was born on 17 April 1996[3] in Gjerdrum,[4] to Anne Stenseth Spilling and business developer Pieter Spilling.[5] Her eyes were opened to dance when, at a young age, she would watch Skal vi danse at home.[6] Spilling began to dance at the age of 12, progressing quickly as she showcased her potential.[7] Before deciding to pursue a career in dance, she also had an interest in gymnastics and excelled in many other sports.[8]

Between 2013 and 2017, Spilling won twelve NM titles in the U19, U21 and adult classes with her then-dance partner. In total, she would go on to secure 17 gold medals, four silver medals and two bronze medals from the NM. She also won the Kongepokal.[9] In 2017, Spilling moved to Lithuania alone to venture further with a new dance partner who hailed from the country. Representing Norway, she competed in both European and world tournaments, and in 2018 became the Northern European Champion in standard dance. In addition to this, Spilling also contested in the Latin and 10-dance categories, and made it to the quarter-finals in Grand Slam competitions.[10] After two and a half years in Lithuania, she returned to Norway. Spilling has since candidly spoken about her personal struggles while abroad, revealing she battled with depression and eating disorders. She recalled, "It was scary to leave all my family and friends to go to a place where I didn't know anyone and didn't speak the language. There weren't many people there who spoke English either, so it was demanding." She added that while she did have her dance partner at the time, they had many disputes and found it difficult to agree on what a partnership should be. "There was a two-year period where I wasn't doing well, but I chose to ignore it and thought, 'I'm going to make this happen. It will get better.' But it never did. It just affected my own mental health." She suppressed her emotions, unaware of the implications of doing so. In spite of this, Spilling was determined to continue achieving adequate results in dance. Slowly, she began to eat less, developing an eating disorder in the process. "I noticed that I was able to do that, and it gave me a sense of mastery. It wasn't until later that I understood what I was dealing with was an eating disorder," she admitted. Spilling returned to Gjerdrum for a brief visit in late 2019, and simultaneously opened up about what she was going through. Her family insisted that moving back home would be the best option, which was something Spilling was reluctant to do. "For me, who was so invested in dance and wanted to be the best, it was much more difficult to realise that it was the best choice."[11][12][13]

In 2020, Spilling received an offer to be one of the professional dancers in the forthcoming season of Skal vi danse. In her debut season, she partnered television personality Nate Kahungu. A month in, the pair received 38 points for their show dance to "Axel F" from Crazy Frog.[14] Soon after, they earned 40 points, the highest possible total, for another show dance - this time to "Ghettoparasitt" by Norwegian rapper Hkeem.[15] They once again were given 40 points for their Argentine tango dance to "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man.[16] Halfway through the season, there was some controversy as the pair lost in a dance duel against Michael Andreassen and Ewa Trela and were forced to return home, but viewers contacted the broadcaster TV 2 saying that they were no longer able to vote. TV 2 investigated the problem and found that there had been a system overload which caused many votes to not be submitted. Thus, Spilling and Kahungu were allowed to return and continued to impress the judges.[17][18] They would go on to earn themselves a place in the final, but missed out to physicist Andreas Wahl and Mai Mentzoni.[19][20]

In her second season, she and sports journalist Simon Nitsche began their Skal vi danse campaign with a Cha Cha Cha dance to "Dynamite" by BTS, earning 24 points.[21] Their second dance, a foxtrot, to Postgirobygget's "En Solskinnsdag" earned them 27 points.[22] Their sixth dance of the season to the James Bond song "Writing's On The Wall" was rewarded with 29 points.[23] Spilling and Nitsche would go on to receive 30 points, the new high total, for their Viennese waltz dance to "Ein farfar i livet" by Odd Nordstoga. The song choice was a tribute to their late grandfathers.[24] For their tenth dance, they opted for a samba dance to Elena Tsagrinou's "El Diablo" and earned 30 points.[25] Their first dance in the semi-final, a salsa, was given 30 points.[26] They would pick up 29 points for their Argentine tango dance in the second semi-final dance.[27] In the final, they were given 30 points for their Cha Cha Cha dance, which bore resemblance to their opening dance of the season.[28] The following week, their foxtrot dance was described by one of the judges as the season's best dance.[29] They would once again receive 30 points in the last Skal vi danse duel, and were crowned the 2021 winners, defeating skier Magnus Moan and Ewa Trela.[30][31]

In the 2022 Skal vi danse: All Stars season, Spilling was paired with swimmer Aleksander Hetland, who had won the 2019 edition of the competition.[32] Their jive dance to Jimi Hendrix' "Fire" earned them 27 points.[33] Spilling and Hetland were then rewarded with 30 points for their Argentine tango-style pole dance to "Mother" by Highasakite. It was described as their best dance up until that point.[34] Their pasodoble dance to 2WEI's "Warriors" was given 29 points.[35] They picked up 26 points for their Argentine tango dance to "River" by Bishop Briggs in the semi-final, but finished in third place at the hands of the remaining dance pairs, influencer Jørgine Massa Vasstrand and Santino Mirenna, and actor Cengiz Al and Rikke Lund.[36][37]

In the 2023 premiere of Skal vi danse, Spilling and stylist Harlem Alexander's tango dance to David Guetta's "I'm Good" was given 23 points, second only to singer Alexandra Joner and Ole Thomas Hansen, who received 25.[38] Their fourth dance, a pasodoble, earned them 27 points.[39] Skal vi danse was presented in a slightly different format the following week, with certain pairs assigned to perform a unique type of dance. Spilling and Alexander received 27 points for their bhangra dance to "Mundian To Bach Ke" by Panjabi MC.[40][41] The pair later revealed that this was a dance they were both unfamiliar with, which made the week leading up to the episode difficult. Spilling said: "I had a tough week choreographing something I can't do, stressing that it would end up being wrong. It is a cultural dance with a lot of history," She stated that there is a lot of pressure when it comes to trying to produce the perfect dance, knowing there are millions of viewers watching. "In a way, I don't want to make a mistake. So I probably put a little extra pressure on myself with that in mind."[42] A week later, they were rewarded with 30 points for the first time in the 2023 season, impressing with a rumba dance to "Når Snøen Smelter" by Astrid S.[43] A new concept called "Tour de dans" was introduced by TV 2 for the first two weeks of October, combining the traditional partner dance with a group dance and dance duel. It saw no pairs eliminated in the first week of its usage; however, the participants would take their points tallies and votes with them into the following week.[44] Spilling and Alexander were given 25 points for their quickstep dance to Fatboy Slim's "Because We Can".[45] The remaining pairs were split into two groups, with Spilling paired with Alexander, Stig-André Berge, and Aslak Maurstad, as well as their professional partners Norunn Ringvoll and Marianne Sandaker. Going by the name of "Kalsas Disipler", they opted to dance to "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman, earning 27 points.[46] Spilling and Alexander faced off in a salsa-themed dance duel against Maurstad and Sandaker, and were rewarded with an extra five points as a result of their victory in the duel.[47] In the second and final episode featuring the "Tour de dans" concept, the pair picked up 29 points for their samba dance to "Hip Hip Chin Chin" by Club des Belugas.[48] Slightly different from the first week, the three judges would each choose one dance that stood out to them, with those pairs receiving an extra five points. Judge Merete Mørk Lingjærde opted for Spilling and Alexander's samba, citing their ability to get creative.[49]

In 2021, Spilling opened her own dance studio in Oslo called The Zone Dance Studio. It has been used as a place to train and practice for Skal vi danse participants.[64][65]

She is also the founder of the dancewear brand DAVAY. The inspiration for the name comes from her stay in Lithuania, where it was a commonly used Russian phrase in dance training.[66]

Spilling is currently in a relationship with the Norwegian footballer Martin Ødegaard.[67] She is close friends with Paralympic athlete Birgit Skarstein, with the pair having met on Skal vi danse in 2020.[68][69]

Spilling has one older sister.[70] She is the granddaughter of the late Internet pioneer Pål Spilling.[71]