Anne Laxholm

Anne Laxholm is a Danish Standard ballroom champion, coach, entrepreneur and television personality who helped establish Denmark as a world-level competitive dance nation. Born in 1951 in Humlebæk, she built her competitive career with Hans Laxholm, her dance partner and husband. The couple dominated Danish amateur competition, winning six consecutive Danish amateur championships from 1975 through 1980. Their amateur peak came at the end of the 1970s: Hans and Anne won the European Amateur championship in 1979 and the World Amateur championship in both 1979 and 1980, becoming the first Danish dancers identified by their academy as world champions in Standard.

After turning professional, the Laxholms spent many years in Britain and remained at the top of International Ballroom. A Royal Albert Hall programme places them in Denmark's entry for the 1983 International Professional Modern Championship. Their competitive record includes United States Open wins in 1984, 1985 and 1986, a European professional championship in 1985, and runner-up finishes at the World, International, United Kingdom and British Open championships during the mid-to-late 1980s.

Dance also became an entrepreneurial field. Anne was identified as an entrepreneur in the London dancewear company Chrisanne, whose history names Hans and Anne Laxholm among the dancers whose knowledge helped form the company's early foundation. After 28 years abroad, the couple returned to Denmark and in August 2004 opened Dance Academy Laxholm, where they continue their teaching and further-education work.

In 2005 Anne joined the judging panel of TV 2 Denmark's *Vild med dans*, the Danish *Dancing with the Stars* franchise. She served as a regular judge from 2005 through the programme's twentieth season in 2023, bringing elite Standard knowledge to a general television audience. The Laxholms' recognition includes the Ballroom Dancers' Federation Overseas Award in 2010. Anne also co-authored *Giv mig et år*, a book and lecture project about the couple's dance career and entrepreneurship in London and Denmark. Her influence spans four connected arenas: championship performance, specialist coaching, dance-business infrastructure and popular television.