Graziano Di Prima was dismissed from Strictly Come Dancing this week after expressing deep regret over allegations of abusive behavior towards his celebrity dance partner and ex-Love Islander, Zara McDermott, during training.
Similarly, Giovanni Pernice has been suspended while the BBC investigates claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other former celebrity dance partners, which he has denied.
Both dancers attended Team Diablo, known for rigorous 12-hour practice sessions and reports of dangerous weight loss.
Former Strictly professional Joanne Clifton, who won the Glitterball trophy after competing in the 2016 series, disclosed that she was hospitalised after her time at the academy.
She said: “The problem was there were too many dancers — including me — who thought being skinny was good.
“As well as doing my best to limit my intake of pizza and pasta, and drinking up to ten espressos a day, I cut out meat, which led to me being hospitalised with anaemia.”
“That feeling of low energy was horrendous and impacted on my training.
“For a period of four months, I remember collapsing unexplainably — my body was telling me to change something.”
Team Diablo school, which has 11,000 members, has created many champions in the world of Latin American dance.
Joanne left her home in Waltham, North East Lincolnshire, to study there in 2000 when she was aged around 17.
Meanwhile Giovanni, 33, was 14 when he joined the school on an industrial estate, cried due to homesickness.
Giovanni said: “It was hard as I was just a boy, and without my family by my side daily, I felt as if I lost 50 per cent of my strength. At first there were times where I did cry on the phone to my mamma.”
For Graziano, 30, there was the very real prospect of returning to Sicily to pick grapes on a vineyard if his dreams of becoming a dancer did not work out in Bologna.
The Italian, who competed for the Glitterball on Strictly four times, did everything it took to earn a living in the world of ballroom dancing.
The BBC have dismissed him after reportedly viewing video evidence of an inappropriate incident.
Graziano said in an Instagram statement that “my intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime”, apologising for his actions.