Well, that shows how much I know doesn’t it! I can’t help thinking that “my” Denise would have scored higher, had she not been the first one out? How gorgeous is that David Ginola?! Wonder why Darren wore that vile red suit. It did however remind me that I had to post some letters the following day!
My favourite was actually Matt Dawson, and I have never really bothered too much about him. He really dominated his partner, so much so that I felt she was getting dragged around a little bit - and for a split second I was reminded of when Erin and Colin had those puppets as partners! But apart from that, I absolutely loved it. Fingers crossed Elaine Paige will take part as a full competitor in a future series.
I felt sorry for Jade - she was brilliant - and there was no need for Arlene to be the way she was.
Winner of course being Ramps - about time too!
Good job I am not a gambler though, isn’t it!
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - March 19th, 2008
Posted in Strictly Come Dancing - No Comments »
Don’t forget to turn your dial to BBC1 on Friday 14 March at 7pm, where you will see some old favourites as well as some new people who hope to impress us with their nifty footwork. The dancers are as follows:-
From past series:-
• Darren Gough
• Denise Lewis
• Roger Black
• Mark Ramprakash
• Matt Dawson
New faces:-
• Kara Tointon
• Gemma Bissix
• Elaine Paige
• Jade Johnson
• David Ginola
My money is on Darren Gough to win (again!), but secretly I am going to hope for Denise Lewis,(Runner Up Series 2) who I think was an absolutely brilliant dancer and I think it is fair to say that if she had not been up against the mighty Jill Halfpenny - she could have raised that disco ball! Still, what do I know!
Did you know, Strictly Come Dancing was originally meant to be a “one-off” for Sport Relief. Lucky for us dance people, the BBC know a good thing when they see it, and the magic that started with Brendan Cole and Natasha Kaplinsky blossomed into our favourite show!
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - March 11th, 2008
Posted in Strictly Come Dancing - No Comments »
No excuse, I know - but I have been SO busy lately I just haven’t had chance to update! Would you like to hear about our “Liverpool” experience? Yes, of course you would!! haha!
We live on a small island, so any dance competition we attend in the UK is quite a big deal, and as this particular one was the first comp for my daughter and her new partner, it was an even bigger deal for us. Anyone who wants to feel pressure should attend a couple of dance lessons about a week before a big comp… there is nothing like it! The screaming, shouting, tears, hissy fits and tantrums have to be seen to be believed, and that was just from the dance teachers and the mums……… the kids themselves seemed to be quite blase about the whole thing?! I suppose the fact that it wasnt them spending £500+ and (losing two days holiday entitlement for travelling) for a day’s dancing made the difference?
The competition we attended was the Ellesmere Port and Neston Dance Festival, which was held on 3 February 2008 (last month, I know - but i’ve been busy!) My kids took part in the Junior Beginners and Junior Novice, in both the latin and ballroom sections. The hall itself, whilst being bigger than lots I have seen, was not a patch on what we have here for our dancing, there was a few complaints about the changing room etc - but it was what it was! What I did like was that you could get a nice cup of coffee and a baguette and sit and watch the dancers at the same time. There was stalls with lovely jewellery and even some dance dresses for sale.
As for the dancing, the standard was varied to say the least. There was children that looked like something off “baby ballroom”, all matching tracksuits etc. My kids were a bit intimidated by them - until I said I would buy them tracksuits if it meant that much to them - and they quickly realised that they did NOT want to wear matching clothes!!
The dancers - The Sunday Times used to run an article called “1664″, by which the writer meant aged 16 from the back and 64 from the front! There is a lot of this in dancing…. I was admiring a gorgeous dress being worn by a fabulous figure - imagine my shock when she turned around and her face bore a strong resemblance to a chewed up toffee (fake tan/wrinkle combination, yuk!) The same worked in reverse - lots of 12 year olds in padded bras and inch thick make up that could pass for women in their twenties!
Dance Results - Laura and Todd came first in two comps, third in another, DISQUALIFIED in one, and nowhere at all in the last two.
However, the one thing they did come away with from this comp was an understanding of how to work in a partnership, one does not blame the other, and if he does blame you and then swiftly apologises, you should accept the apology with good grace and then forget about it. Don’t drag it out and cry longer than necessary!
Our flights were with Euromanx and were safe, uneventful and at the bargain cost of £80 return, I would of course use them again - not that we have real choices in our travel arrangements.
We stayed in the Cheshire Oaks Holiday Inn, which as the name suggests is an excellent location to go shopping at this good value outlet village. I think it was about £150 for two nights. I really liked this hotel, it was nice and quiet, and was a typical “chain” hotel, which I like because you know roughly what you are going to get. Breakfast was lovely, it is on a canal and you can go outside and feed the swans bread, they took it right out of our hands.
If you dont know, when you are in Liverpool, you can get a bus ticket for about £4, and using this you can travel on the buses, trains and the famous Ferry. (restrictions apply, eg after 9am and before 4pm) I thought these were excellent value, we were like locals jumping on and off buses, trains and Ferries all over the place!
Liverpool is undergoing a renaissance at the moment, capital of culture and all that. We had a brilliant time hope to go again soon.
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - March 4th, 2008
Posted in Ballroom Dancing - No Comments »
Hi readers
If you were wondering why i havent posted, I have been away in the sunny Canary Island of Tenerife… I won’t bore you all with the details, and I know a dancing forum is not the “right” place to write such a thing, but even if I “save” one person from going through what I did - it would have been worth posting it here!!!!
On the last day of the holiday - like millions of others, we went souvenier shopping. I was in the middle of buying a camera – I had gave the man the money and was waiting for him to wrap it, then with the sleight of hand of a magician, my camera was swapped with one for three times the price – which of course I didn’t want, so I demanded my money back – he insisted I hadn’t gave him any money and he then got threatening up in my face “get out of my shop” that sort of thing. I said I would get the Police and he just laughed at me and said they wouldn’t want to know… then another man came out and tried to grab my mum’s arm so all hell broke loose……………I started shouting about him being a thieving scum, a crowd formed outside the shop so I made sure they knew all about my 50 euro being stolen – and NOT to buy from this shop – I even shouted the name of the shop dead loud so people not nearby would know which shop it was! I thought he was going to stab me….. . After about 20 minutes of this carry on - he snapped, and I got my money back – after my mum, my young daughter and myself were all called a “prostitute bitches”, that is!! I told him he should have his hands chopped off!! I have since found out a lot of these camera places are run by crooks.
So PLEASE be careful… don’t hand over your money until you are sure you are getting what you want, and try to get recommendations of who is reputable in your area. I feel lucky that we got away with our lives and our euros, and I would hate to think what would have happened if i had been on my own, elderly or less gobby.
Ciao!
Suzanne
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - February 20th, 2008
Posted in Personal Ramblings - No Comments »
“Pink is the colour, cha-cha is the game” !! Good news, dance fans!
I read this in the Sunday papers so it could/could not be true! (disclaimer and get out clause)
Chelsea midfielder “Fat” Frank has been linked to an appearance on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. (he is called that by my hubby who is an avid Man U fan - not by me!)
I should imagine Mr Lampard to be a natural at dancing. He is of couse no stranger to waxing his chest and getting a tan! He is also obviously not averse to wearing bright colours - that yellow they wear defies explantion!
But seriously - football and dance have a lot in common - both need high levels of fitness and agility.
However, he will have to remember a “deflection” is a hip movement in indian dance and not a way of winning the game!!
Good luck Mr L.. I will be voting for you!
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - January 31st, 2008
Posted in Strictly Come Dancing - No Comments »
Last weekend at the Villa Marina my daughter took part in her first competition with her new dance partner Todd. (I am hoping to put some photographs up when I figure out how to do it! They were definitely the cutest couple on the floor)! Laura wore a full length white silk and chiffon number which was heavily encrusted in diamante, and Todd looked equally gorgeous in his white tie n’tails combo!
“Old Time” or sequence dancing is the sort of thing you might see when you watch a BBC period drama such as Pride and Prejudice. Forget your hips, leave your “groove thing” at home, stand tall and LOOK POSH! This type of dance originates from the days when everyone could dance a bit, but only the “elite” had the time or money for lessons where they would be taught the exacting steps that Old Time is made up of.
What you will notice straight off is everyone is following the same “sequence” of steps. So – if everyone is doing the same – how can a judge decide who is doing it better – why is the “winner” better than everyone else?
Here are my suggestions:-
Timing is very important in all dance, but even the tiniest error shows here! If a “sequence” lasts 16 bars (4 beats to a bar) and you are dancing slightly ahead of the music you will be doing your 16th bar moves, but everyone else will still be doing their 15th – this is perhaps the most obvious thing to spot
Old time dance is predominantly about the position your feet are in at any time, and you will be expected to do ballet type things like the Pas De Basque! (the first thing 4 year olds learn at dancing!)
“A step in which the dancer swings one foot to the side, springs onto it, and swings the other foot against it.
Or more precisely — Slight CCW ronde movement with left foot and arched instep on “and” count and step side with slight hop, ball-flat. Close R to L with right heel to left toe on the second “and,” soften both knees and lift left heel on an “a” count, and step L raising R slightly toe pointing down. Done over two beats of music.
And finally a little more fancifully — Jeté to Second Position with Demi-Rondé. Assemblé to Fifth Position Front. Slight Plié and Coupé in place, finishing in Fifth Position en l’air with toe pointed down. (such music!)”
(from Silvester & Whitman, 1967)
No problem!
and the bug bear of all beginners the “old time waltz” – “into 5th,” etc….. and there are many, many different things your feet need to do! However, this footwork has to be exact – this is what separates the men from the boys!
When you are not doing this “waltz” bit, you will be holding one of your partner’s hands, and both progressing forward. Throughout the dance there are times when you must look at your partner, then look away –being quite sharp in this movement. Also you need to be able to move your joined arms forward and back in the prescribed manner!! (remember to look at your partner at the back of these joined hands!)
Complicated stuff eh!!!
However if you think, “Oh, I can’t dance”, you still might want to give Old-time a try. Because it is so structured there is no guess as to what you will do, or where you will go next. This can be very relaxing, and even has some meditative qualities. And, if you get stuck, you can just follow the person in front!
I personally LOVE old time… it is exercise without the exertion – just my cup of tea!
Have you got an opinion? Please don't be afraid to share it, I love getting comments!
Related Posts
Posted by Suzanne - January 22nd, 2008
Posted in Ballroom Dancing - 2 Comments »
« Previous Entries Next Entries »
