Strictly reactions to pairings

Well they were never going to say "God I've drawn the short straw this year" were they?!

Strictly Come Dancing launch show

Strictly’s back, we’re back, everyone’s back…well except for a few of our favourite professionals.

What do I think of this year’s lineup?  Quite a good lineup even if the average age is apparently now 45.  There’s a few people (as usual) that I have no idea who they are but there does appear to be more potential here.

So first partnerships are Scott Maslen and Natalie Lowe and Scott doesn’t appear to know where to put his lips.  Matt Baker is up next and is paired with Aliona Vilani (something she doesn’t look entirely ecstatic about surprisingly).  Finally Peter Shilton (I’m predicting Kristina Rihanoff), but no he get’s Erin Boag.

The transfer to ‘the tower’ seems a little bit awkward and far too staged but hey, this is Strictly after all. 

Now to meet the new professionals Robin Windsor, Artem Chigvintsev and Jared Murillo.  First impressions are Artem and Robin have good promise, though Robin looked a little shaky, however Jared looks completely out of his depth in the first dance and will certainly have to step it up if he wants to prove the producers were right to drop the established professionals.

Now our first female celeb partnerships are Michelle Williams and Brendan Cole – a very promising partnership on paper, Pamela Stephenson gets James Jordan, watching Jared in the lineup further supports my theory that he’s not at home up there but I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t pair him with Tina O’Brien…not a bad guess it turns out!

So some VT showing the celebs trying their first group dance and a few potentials but not really enough shown of each celeb for me to comment on.

Our next round of partnerships; Paul Daniels and Ola Jordan; Patsy Kensit gets Robin Windsor; and Goldie is paired with Kristina Rihanoff.

Let’s see how Jared performs in the next group dance…complete with a flying Vincent and Flavia and a leaping Brendan Cole.  Someone’s definitely been working with these guys to make it more of a show than a ballroom demo and I must admit it’s not a bad choice in this instance.  Didn’t get to see much of Jared but he is starting to look more at home.

So we’re over halfway through our celeb partnerships, who’s next?

Kara Tointon proves she’s starting as a beginner when she thinks her Salsa with Mark Ramprakash is actually a Samba, so Artem has his work cut out for him! Jimi Mistry has Flavia Cacace and Gavin Henson is left with Katya Virshilas – not a bad girl to be left with.

For once I agree with Alesha…you can’t predict how all the partnerships are going to work until we see them actually dancing.

Our first look at the ‘Strictly Show Dancers’ and I’m hoping to see a reason why they’re on the show.  A good performance but I’m struggling to see what the point is when the preceding pro dance was more of a show dance.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Ian and Darren but they’ll need to step it up!

Our final two pairings are Felicity Kendal (a personal boyhood fave!) with Vincent Simone and Anne Widdecombe is ready to get her claws into Anton Du Beke (a no brainer based on his past partners).

I really can’t call this one just yet; it’d be nice to see how their training is coming along.  After seeing the group dance, Gavin and Peter have a mountain to climb, but Anne should have public support.  Felicity is looking promising as is Pamela.  Jimi will be interesting but Matt and Scott show a bit of promise.  Out of all that I’ve seen so far I’m tipping Matt, Pamela and Felicity to do well.

What did you guys think of the opening show?

Win tickets to watch the Stictly Come Dancing launch show

If you want a chance to go and watch the launch show for this year's Strictly Come Dancing, where the professionals will meet their celebrity partners, you have until tomorrow to enter the random ballot on the BBC website.

Only one entry is allowed per household and the show will be recorded on Wednesday 8th September to be shown on Saturday 11th September.

During the afternoon there will also be a red carpet event capturing the arrival of all this series stars including the hosts Bruce and Tess, the professional dancers, the judges and of course the 2010 competing celebrities.
On arrival at the BBC some people will be given the opportunity to watch this red carpet event before going into the studio.

Please be aware this will be a filmed event with flash photography, involving standing for around 45 minutes and you should bring appropriate clothing with you as it will be outside.

Tickets for this extra event will be allocated on a first come first served basis on arrival.

Darren & Lilia official statement

Taken from http://www.darrenandlilia.com/News/scd2010pr.htm

From Jillie Bushell Associates Ltd

Agents to Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova

Statement from Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova ref Strictly Come Dancing 2010

10^th June 2010

We are in contact with the BBC regarding the proposed changes to our role within the show this year. We are unable to comment on our decision at this time until we have further understanding of the actual requirements.

 "We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the fantastic response we have received on email, Twitter, facebook & forums. Dance is our passion & life and whatever we decide that will never change"

Strictly Professionals for 2010 announced

So returning to compete with celebrities this year are:

Anton du Beke, Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Vincent Simone, Ola Jordan, Flavia Cacace, Erin Boag, Kristina Rihanoff, Natalie Lowe, Aliona Vilani, Katya Virshilas

Added to this are three new professional dancers (3 girls were added last year so 3 guys are added this year):

Images courtesy of BBC Strictly mini-site

ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV, a Latin Champion who is a graduate of 'So You Think You Can Dance' in the US and has unique experience of very different dancing genres in addition to his ballroom champion-level skill.
JARED MURILLO, who at 21, was a US open Swing Youth champion. Trained in America, Jared was a principal dancer in the movies 'High School Musical' 1 & 2.
ROBIN WINDSOR has completed five world tours of the worldwide ballroom dancing phenomenon 'Burn the Floor', in which he has starred and choreographed routines.


The BBC have reduced the number of celebrities from 16 to 14 this year (I think a good move as last year did feel like there was just too many).  This has meant however that 5 of the existing professionals are now not going to compete this year - Darren & Lilia, Ian Waite, Matthew Cutler and Brian Fortuna.  They have been offered the opportunity to form a 'dance supergroup', along with some other as yet unnamed professionals, that will come on each week and perform a dance spectacle for the audience.

At present Brian has confirmed that he will not take part, and will concentrate on the West End production of Burn The Floor with Ali Bastian, and it is rumoured that Darren & Lilia have also declined - they may also wish to concentrate on their Latin Fever tour.  Ian and Matthew have yet to respond, neither have a show on the side as they are both on the Professionals Tour, so may both agree to take part this year.

So, the BBC tinker with the formula again and only time will tell whether they have more luck than last year.  Amid rumours last week that Alesha was due to quite as judge (yay!) the Daily Star and Sun have stated that she is due to re-sign for another year (boo!).

Have any of your favourites been ditched this year, or are you looking forward to some new blood?

Learn To Dance Newsletter - 01.06.2010

In this newsletter: Brendan Cole: Live and Unjudged; June and July private lessons; Practice on June 25^th; any questions just contact us. 

 

Brendan Cole: Live and Unjudged

Brendan Cole will be at New Theatre Oxford at 19.30 on Thursday 10^th June bringing his live show to the stage.
As there’s no classes that week we thought we’d arrange a trip to go and watch the show.  Tickets start at £32 including booking fees. They have said that they'd be happy to sign autographs for our students afterwards.
If you’re interested in attending please let us know asap, the New Oxford Theatre is around an hour away by car but if there’s enough people interested we might look at hiring a minibus/coach.

Private Lessons

Private lessons cost £35 for 45 minutes (for an individual or couple), or a special price for 6 lessons of £200, and I have the following slots available at present:

June		July
Date	Time	Date	Time
Tue 1st	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 21.45	Fri 2nd	10.15
Fri 4th	10.15
Sun 6th	11.15 12.00	Sun 4th	10.30 11.15
Tue 15th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 17.45 20.15 21.45	Tue 6th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 21.45
Wed 16th	14.00 14.45	Wed 7th	14.00 14.45
Fri 18th	10.15 11.00 11.45 12.30	Fri 9th	10.15 12.30
Sun 20th	12.00 12.45	Sun 11th	10.30 11.15 12.00 12.45
Tue 22nd	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00	Tue 13th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 20.15 21.45
Wed 23rd	14.00 14.45	Wed 14th	14.00 14.45
Fri 25th	10.15 12.30	Fri 16th	13.30
Tue 29th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00	Sun 18th	17.15
Wed 30th	14.00 14.45	Tue 20th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 20.15 21.45
		Wed 21st	14.00 14.45
		Fri 23rd	10.15 12.30

Please let me know if you would like to book any of the above private lessons as slots tend to go very quickly.  Please note that 1 weeks notice will be required for any cancellation of private lessons or a £10 charge is payable, if less than 48 hours notice is given then full lesson cost is due.  We reserve the right to cancel lessons if we deem this necessary, or circumstances arise that are outside of our control.
All private lessons take place at the Eton Wick Village Hall, Eton Wick Road, Eton Wick, SL4 6LT.

 

Practice Night

Our practice nights take place on Friday 25th June & 9th July at The Baldwin Institute Hall, Eton Court, Eton, SL4 6BQ.
The practice starts at 8.30pm and costs £6 per person (£5 if you pay in advance).  The session lasts for 2 ½ hours and is a chance for you to come along and dance as much or as little as you like.
Please feel free to bring your own food and drink (alcoholic or non).

Contact Us

If you need any further information, or to book, please feel free to email me back or call me on 07736 272225.
Thanks,

Antony Holeksa

Learn To Dance

p: 07736 272225

w: www.want-to-dance.co.uk

e: info@want-to-dance.co.uk

fb: http://facebook.com/learndance

tw: http://twitter.com/learndance

Learn To Dance Newsletter - 24.05.2010

In this newsletter: Brendan Cole: Live and Unjudged; May, June and July private lessons; Practice on May 28^th; any questions just contact us. 

 

Brendan Cole: Live and Unjudged

Brendan Cole will be at New Theatre Oxford at 19.30 on Thursday 10^th June bringing his live show to the stage.
As there’s no classes that week we thought we’d arrange a trip to go and watch the show.  Tickets start at £32 including booking fees.
If you’re interested in attending please let us know asap, the New Oxford Theatre is around an hour away by car but if there’s enough people interested we might look at hiring a minibus/coach.

Private Lessons

Private lessons cost £35 for 45 minutes (for an individual or couple), or a special price for 6 lessons of £200, and I have the following slots available at present:

May		June		July
Date	Time	Date	Time	Date	Time
Tue 25th	21.45	Tue 1st	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 21.45	Fri 2nd	10.30
Fri 28th	10.15 11.00 11.45 12.30	Sun 6th	11.15 12.00	Sun 4th	10.30 11.15
Sun 30th	10.30 11.15	Tue 15th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 17.45 21.45	Tue 6th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 21.45
		Wed 16th	14.00 14.45	Wed 7th	14.00 14.45
		Fri 18th	10.15 11.00 11.45 12.30	Fri 9th	10.15 12.30
		Sun 20th	12.00 12.45	Sun 11th	10.30 11.15 12.00 12.45
		Tue 22nd	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 21.45	Tue 13th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 21.45
		Wed 23rd	14.00 14.45	Wed 14th	14.00 14.45
		Fri 25th	10.15 12.30	Fri 16th	13.30
		Tue 29th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 21.00 21.45	Sun 18th	10.30 11.15 17.15
		Wed 30th	14.00 14.45	Tue 20th	14.00 14.45 15.30 16.15 17.00 17.45 21.45
				Wed 21st	14.00 14.45
				Fri 23rd	10.15 12.30

Please let me know if you would like to book any of the above private lessons as slots tend to go very quickly.  Please note that 1 weeks notice will be required for any cancellation of private lessons or a £10 charge is payable, if less than 48 hours notice is given then full lesson cost is due.  We reserve the right to cancel lessons if we deem this necessary, or circumstances arise that are outside of our control.
All private lessons take place at the Eton Wick Village Hall, Eton Wick Road, Eton Wick, SL4 6LT.

 

Practice Night

Our practice nights take place on Friday, 28th May, 25th June, 9th July at The Baldwin Institute Hall, Eton Court, Eton, SL4 6BQ.
The practice starts at 8.30pm and costs £6 per person (£5 if you pay in advance).  The session lasts for 2 ½ hours and is a chance for you to come along and dance as much or as little as you like.
Please feel free to bring your own food and drink (alcoholic or non).

Contact Us

If you need any further information, or to book, please feel free to email me back or call me on 07736 272225.
Thanks,

Antony Holeksa

Learn To Dance

p: 07736 272225

w: www.want-to-dance.co.uk

e: info@want-to-dance.co.uk

fb: http://facebook.com/learndance

tw: http://twitter.com/learndance