Joachim Llambi turns 60: Interesting facts about the “Let’s Dance” juror

The “Let’s Dance” world can celebrate a special birthday on July 18th: jury veteran Joachim Llambi turns 60. How did he become the star of the RTL dance show (also ) and what are his other passions?

Spanish roots

Joachim Llambi was born on July 18, 1964 in Duisburg. “I am a completely normal working-class child,” Llambi said in 2023. “My mother worked in the tax office, my father was – before his serious illness – a locksmith.” When he was eleven years old, his father, who came from Barcelona, ​​”became a nursing case due to his severe brain tumor.”

He and his mother received financial support from his grandfather. “It was still a tough time. When I started my banking apprenticeship at the Sparkasse in Duisburg, we pooled our money and looked at how we could make ends meet.” At that time, he experienced first-hand “how quickly a family can suddenly find itself without money in the middle of the month and how stressful that can be.” The two of them looked after their father for nine years until his death.

Career on the stock exchange

After graduating from high school in 1984 and training as a banker at the Stadtsparkasse Duisburg, Llambi went to the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange as a stockbroker in the late 1980s. From 1997 to 2012 he worked as a stockbroker at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

“Working on the stock exchange every day was not compatible with my other commitments,” Llambi explained in 2013 when he ended his career. However, the dance floor and the stock exchange floor have some similarities: “On the stock exchange you need a lot of discipline when you’re juggling numbers and you also need training discipline when dancing, as well as for the performance on ‘Let’s Dance’. In addition, when I started on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the late 90s, there was more of a show here and there is that on the dance floor too.”

Size in the dance world

Llambi immersed himself in the world of dance at the age of 16. He took his first course at a dance school in Duisburg, where his mother worked as a secretary. In 1989 he switched from amateur to professional. As a professional tournament dancer, he was particularly successful in the “10 Dances” section and took part in world and European championships. He also began a career as a judge and was chairman of the Professional Division in the German Dance Sport Association (DTV) and sports director of the international dance sport association WDSF.

Llambi revealed that he “actually owes his image and thus his success in the dance show to Hape Kerkeling.” “Because I came on this show and nobody knew me in Germany. Hape introduced me as ‘Mr. Llambi.'” Kerkeling (59) hosted the first two seasons of the RTL dance show and always teased the jurors with his stern look. His appreciated and feared style of criticism also made Llambi a book author: “I always wanted to tell you that: the courage to criticize honestly” was published in 2014.

Big passion

Away from the dance floor, Llambi doesn’t just spend his time golfing or cycling. The dance judge, who has around 113,000 followers on Instagram, regularly reports from the football stadium. His heart beats for FC Barcelona and MSV Duisburg. As a celebrity fan, he regularly gives his opinion on the latter club and has also been very critical, especially before the club’s relegation from the third division.

But he still stands by Duisburg and the club, he explained. In this context, the audience were also able to witness Llambi’s soft side. When handing over a jersey to the outgoing candidate Tony Bauer (28), the juror wiped away tears.

He also shows his soft side as a family man. “My father is a completely normal father at home. Like everyone else, down to earth and always wants the best for me and gives me advice,” daughter Helena Llambi (19) recently enthused. The duo have a father-daughter relationship “on equal terms”. Helena Llambi, who has already hosted several dance events with her father, is the daughter of Joachim Llambi and his second wife Ilona. The couple married in 2005. Ilona brought a daughter, born in 1999, into the marriage from a previous relationship.

New job

The “Let’s Dance” juror’s professional success continues. Joachim Llambi recently wrote on Instagram about his new engagement in response to a “Bild” headline: “Now it’s out earlier and what a great joy for me! I’ll be part of the great talk show ‘Riverboat’ on MDR from autumn!” He is really looking forward to seeing his colleagues Kim Fisher (55), Klaus Brinkbäumer (57), Matze Knop (49) and Wolfgang Lippert (72), Llambi continued. He is also “looking forward to the great viewers who have made ‘Riverboat’ one of the most successful shows on MDR and the ARD Group. Thanks to everyone who has put their trust in me for this.”

What about his position on the jury? “Well, ‘Riverboat’ is also on Friday evenings – just like ‘Let’s Dance’ – live,” RTL quoted Llambi as saying. “And the ‘Let’s Dance’ family doesn’t need to worry. It’s already timed so that I can always be part of ‘Let’s Dance’!” In February it was announced that the tried and tested trio of Llambi, Motsi Mabuse (43) and Jorge González (56) had extended their contracts with RTL. “Last year we extended the current contract early by several years, I think we can safely reveal that,” said González. The jury “will not be changed like a pair of underpants,” added Llambi.

Llambi is unlikely to earn extra money through advertising. He told the “Bild” newspaper: “I’ve already been asked on Instagram for bleaching toothpaste for particularly white teeth or for sports clothes. But I don’t do that for such products, that makes me untrustworthy as an independent juror. I’ve never been greedy for money.”