Kyle Shilling was crowned the winner of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) 2025 after performing a powerful dance that celebrated Indigenous culture alongside partner Lily Cornish.
Kyle, who is a proud Widjabul man from the Bundjalung Nation, played the didgeridoo before joining Lily for a freestyle dance to Native Tongue by Mo’ju.
The Home and Away star explained that the dance represented the relationship between First Nations people and non-Indigenous people in Australia.
“At the end of the day, in this world that we’re currently living in, people are really focusing on what’s happening in their own backyards,” he told Chattr.
“There is a lot of disconnect from First Nations and non Indigenous people in Australia. I was very fortunate to grow up in a beautiful family of both, and I saw what it could be and what it should be.
Kyle explained that, in the dance, he represented earth, and Lily represented water.
“Earth and water coincide with each other, and they help regenerate each other, and they help each other to live on, because without either one, neither of them would have an existence,” he said.
“It shows these beautiful entities of how those two things can help each other, and that is the same as us, as human beings.
“If you see another human being struggling, you help them, and that’s what helps people get through. And it just showed this beautiful connection of what it should be, and what could be First Nations and non Indigenous people of Australia.
Kyle added that it was “very special” to be able to “bring that pride and that sense of belonging visually, with everything from the animations to a dance movement and the music.”
He added that he was extremely grateful to be paired with his partner, who worked with him to develop a dance that he felt appropriately represented his culture.
“I’m just glad that I got to do it alongside Lily, and she gave me the opportunity to be able to tell that story.”
Kyle Shilling on how he and Lily Cornish planned the performance
Generally, on DWTS, the professional dancers have a huge input into the choreography of the dance. However, Kyle said that he and Lily worked together on their final performance to ensure it reflected both of them.
“We had a moment of just playing the song, and we just workshopped movement. A lot of the traditional, contemporary stuff was my stuff, and then when it came down to the ballroom and the Latin, that was obviously Lily’s field of expertise. So, we had this beautiful balance, this beautiful mixture of both of them,” he told Chattr.
Kyle said that Lily encouraged him to include his didgeridoo performance in the dance.
“Lily straight away, when she found out that I played the didgeridoo, she’s like, ‘Oh my God, we need that in the performance.’ And, I didn’t even hesitate. I was like, ‘Yes, we do, and we are going to do it.'”
Congratulations to Kyle and Lily!
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