Not sure on the head movements and her steps are still a bit too big for my liking but I do feel a lot more energy this week...though I still feel there's something missing from the performance.
Her arms can be a bit lazy at times but it wasn't bad still don't think I can give it more than a 7 though at this stage.
Craig: 7 "Some timing issues...great hip rotation...whole routine really great"
Len: 7 "You wanted to go faster...kept losing the timing...I thought it was great"
Alesha: 8 "You move your body so well...only thing for me is please just let go"
Bruno: 8 "You are a stunner...still have a few gremlins that you have to work out"
As Holly says in her intro, she's dancing with last year's winner so there's definitely a lot of pressure there. Holly's not looking too bad in training so let's see how the performance goes.
I'd like to see a bit more hip action and a little less posing, Holly also needs to keep her eyes up and stop looking at the floor.
It kind of feels a little lacklustre at times and Holly needs to keep her posture upright. I can't say the performance was too bad, but neither did it excite me - there didn't seem to be a lot of variety in the routine.
For me I'm going to say a 6 but she does have potential.
Len "It's not the best first dance I've ever seen, but I'll tell you what, it was close"
Craig: 6 "Sharper arm placement...flexed knees throughout...lacked hip action"
Len: 7 "Could have been crisper...leg's need to straighten more"
Alesha: 8 "You are a very good dancer...technique is already at a very high standard"
Bruno: 7 "Flowingly sensuous...needs more bite...go for it because you've got it"
Total 28
As usual I seem to side more with Craig than the other judges, but then students always call me 'bad cop' so I suppose they must be right.
Holly can definitely improve from here but too early for 8's I would say Alesha.
So Strictly 2011 started last night, Bruce's jokes return, some questionable outfits on show (not quite sure what they've put Robbie Savage in for example) and hopefully a whole new audience will be looking to learn to dance...you know where to find us!
From watching the launch show I made the following predictions of couples that could do well:
Harry & Aliona (though how much help his previous training will be is debatable)
Chelsee & Pasha (I predict they'll do really well)
Lulu & Brendan (both feisty)
Rory & Erin (though not all the way I fear)
Holly & Artem (could definitely give Kara food for thought)
The training videos so far seemed to have supported that but we'll see how they all perform this weekend.
There are no couples going home this week, but the scores will be carried forward to next week too.
Enough of an intro, let's get on with the dancing. First up is Holly Valence & Artem Chigvintsev (on a side note it was originally supposed to be Alex Jones & James Jordan dancing tonight - no official word on why the switch was made and whether they're dancing tonight or not!)
Thought I better get the last few training videos up asap before the show starts at 9pm tonight. First up tonight is Holly Valence & Artem Chigvintsev with their Cha Cha Cha.
Holly has a nice hip and arm action developing but I haven't seen enough of the dancing in this video to make a judgement, however they will be dancing tonight so we'll get to see the result soon enough.
I'll have to go back to having a social life after tonight (well on my one day off anyway!). It's been one of the best series of Strictly ever and any three of these finalists would have been deserved winners.
The phone lines are closed...the hearts are beating...either way Artem's going to cry!
It's the moment of truth...
The Strictly Come Dancing champions of 2010 are.........Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev.
Well deserved and a brilliant end to the best series ever!
Go on Artem, have a cry, you know you want to!
Did the best couple win, would you have given it to Matt or Pamela, how about Ann?
Until next year (or the Christmas Special next week anyway), just remember KEEEEEEEP DANCING (PS contact us for details of our classes in the New Year lol)
Kara has a dodgy arm, and Artem probably still a dodgy neck, it's going to be an interesting American Smooth!
I can see now what Emma saw in her arms earlier, she's doing extremely well to keep smiling. It's going really well but then it's head down just before the standing slide and a very shaky section.
A true professional to keep going but unfortunately not perfect, just a 9.
Craig: 10 "I would kill to be able to dance like that"
Len: 7 "Hint of Tango, bit of Foxtrot...unfortunately should be a certain amount in hold...think your dancing is brilliant"
Alisha: 10 "You have been a delight...I think you are a beautiful woman...together you are first class"
Bruno: 10 "Whatever happens, this was an inspired performance...blend of what you did in this dance was incredible"
I still wish Kara would keep her head up during spins, she always looks off balance, and this is a very shaky start, there doesn't appear to be any confidence there. She keeps dropping her head.
As Emma puts it, there's just something not quite right there, she injured her arm in the Show Dance and Emma can see she's just throwing the arm out rather than placing it. The look on Artem's face at the end suggests things were not quite to plan and Kara was obviously dancing through the pain.
I didn't enjoy the performance like I thought I would, and actually think I can only give it an 8.
Craig: 9 "An occasional wobble...missing most, if not all of your heel leads...spot the floor [during turns] which is a no-no"
Len: 9 "Such musicality when you dance...truly lovely to watch...few foot things"
Alisha: 10 "Constantly pushing yourself...so relaxed and at ease watching you dance"
Bruno: 10 "It's quality, quality of movement...a pleasure to watch."
I actually think these guys could produce the best Show Dance tonight, but let's see what happens.
I LOVE QUEEN!
A bit of a strange section after Kara's backflip with Artem randomly sliding across the floor, but they soon get back on track. A missed hand during one of the final lifts and another couple who's end timing was all wrong.
Better than Matt's Show Dance but only a 9 for me.
Craig: 9 "Sadly you missed a lift...timing at the end looked like it was off...courage to do a routine like that"
Len: 9 "Routine did have the potential to get top marks...just one or two little incidents"
Alisha: 9 "Fantastic combination of dance...think you're a true athlete"
Bruno: 9 "Going beautifully...some incidents, you lost timing...work you did was splendid"
Kara struggles to get through her opening VT discussing Artem, so it's fitting that they have the Rumba to perform tonight, a beautiful dance we got to watch first hand last week.
Kara's looking a bit emotional at the start, most likely as she's just had to watch that whole first VT on a massive screen above the band.
There's a few wobbles but it's another excellent performance. Can't be less than a 10!
Craig: 9 "Bruno is absolutely right...was an illegal lift in their sadly"
Len: 10 "The more you see it, the better it gets"
Alisha: 10 "I need a tissue...I think you just raised the bar even more"
Bruno: 10 "Glorious Rumba of hypnotic beauty...sensuous, romantic, technically always pushed to the limit"
A lot to follow this week after Pamela's 40 last week. Needs to watch looking down during the spins at the start as she just looked slightly off balance.
Some of the transitions from in and out of hold look a little messy. They obviously tried to put more in than Pamela and James last week but I think they could've done an even better performance if they just toned it down a little bit.
For me just a 9 I'm afraid.
Craig: 9 "Concerned about the end, your foot came off the floor twice...technically a lift"
Len: 10 "If I'm dreaming don't wake me up...fabulous"
Alisha: 10 "You mirror each other perfectly...don't think you realise how good you are...simply beautiful"
Bruno: 10 "Beauty...quality of movement...expression of musical phrasing...work of art"
Total Score: 39
Normally the judges allow a slight leeway if the foot is only just off the floor, feels like Craig had a bone to pick with that one!
So they have confirmed Artem will ask Kara out after the series has finished, not that I personally actually care, though it could make for a good Tango.
I'm not so sure about the massive stamp action they're both using, but it's obviously a style thing. It's passionate and intense and I think we'll see some more 10s for this.
Not quite a 10 for me, but close enough that I think she'll get them. I'd give it a 9 though.
Craig: 9 "Fan-tas-ma-gorical"
Len: 9 "I wasn't keen when you did the close promenades, every one was a stamp...I liked it"
Alisha: 10 "Together you are mesmerising...personally best Tango ever on Strictly"
Bruno: 10 "Spectacular, spectacular"
Salsa starts as a basic and quite easy dance but can soon progress into very complex and intricate moves...and I'm guessing these guys won't have shied away from that.
They start with a cartwheel over Artem's shoulder...yet another example of how the Strictly rulebook has gone out of the window!
I feel Kara looks a little wooden at times and her basics are pretty awful, looking laboured and lost. Add in another cartwheel and then a lift to finish and the whole routine just feels forced rather than flowing...Mark Ramprakash it ain't!
I'm only going to give it a 7.
Craig: 9 "Extremely ambitious routine...did absolutely brilliantly...second part...the choreography let you down"
Len: 9 "Full-on, high energy, flat-out Salsa...absolutely brilliant...sometimes you lose a tad of control"
Alisha: 9 "One of the best openings to the show...did miss the 'armography' that I expect"
Bruno: 9 "Never seen anyone put so many head [flicks]...made a mistake...eliminate the little things"
Total Score: 36
Hmm, interesting...to me that really wasn't a good Salsa with head-flicks that seemed out of place and footwork that was all over the place...maybe it's just too early in the morning for me?
Kara needs to stand up a little straighter but she has good Spanish arms. Looking a little unstable at times though, especially with the lean away in front of the judges.
Definitely playing the part well. Technically a lift at the end so should be docked points so I'm going to give them an 8.
Craig: 9 "I really loved it. Finally had some passion"
Len: 9 "Last two weeks...bit of a spark...tonight a fire!"
Alisha: 10
Bruno: 9 "Luscious drama, oozing with passion"
Coming up on tonight's show: Kara & Artem; Len Goodman's Dance Clinic; Ian Waite with the midweek report; Matt & Aliona
Kara & Artem,
They loved the dance, though Kara felt at the start of the week that the music was slow and boring. She's scared by the fact that even with letting go it wasn't enough, so where can she go from here?
Kara isn't naturally very competitive but Artem (as any professional dancer would be) is very competitive (just ask any of my friends!!!)
I think they could perform a very good Paso Doble this weekend.
Karen Hardy on Paso Doble
Karen makes a slight error I think in saying that the Paso originated in Spain, although the music is Spanish the dance itself originated in France.
However the rest of her VT and tips are great.
Ian Waite and the midweek report.
Paso Doble
Jimi & Flava: Should be no hip action in Paso. Needs to bring some shaping into his arm movements, curving the arms round above his head.
Gavin & Katya: Poor cape usage, looks like a dishcloth. However could be a great dance for him.
Ann & Anton: All the steps are correct...though she looks like she's treading through mud.
Jive
Pamela & James: Looks like she's done some dancing previously, an inner sense of posture and finishes her hand movements.
Patsy & Robin: Similar character as the Charleston so should be good for Patsy.
Viennese Waltz
Felicity & Vincent: Their beginning is all about Felicity's acting skills.
Scott & Natalie: Brilliant, free-flowing movement. However needs to keep himself upright rather than tilting his head towards Natalie.
Argentine Tango
Tina & Jared: Need to be closer in the top half of their hold.
Len's Dance Clinic
Where should I start learning to dance? Latin - Salsa, as you can then move onto Rumba and Cha Cha Cha easily; Ballroom - Waltz.
Why do you keep knees flexed in Tango? The Tango is characterised by the stalking of prey. I also think that it allowed the Gaucho to get closer to his Lady of the Night.
How can I make my dancing more flamboyant? Upper body - the lower body deals with the rhythm, the upper body is the affectation of the music.
Matt & Aliona,
Over the moon to have upped their score from 31 in the first 3 weeks. Previously Aliona felt Matt was not expressing the dances as well as he could, up until the Charleston and that's why they got such high scores.
We'll be seeing Argentine Tango from them on Saturday night.
Another of the front-runners, I felt some of the others haven't performed quite as well this week so a chance for Kara to jump up the table.
Kara really isn't wearing a lot is she?! Needs just a little more swivel at times but a good performance, not sure whether the lifting of Artem from the floor went quite to plan though.
Not bad at all, still prefer my Charlestons with a bit more comedy and energy though. I'm going to give it an 8 though.
Craig: 8 "Would've liked to have seen a bit more quirk"
Len: 8 "Lacked a bit of impact...danced it very well"
Alisha: 8 "Bit more fire...bit more spirit...routine was amazing"
Bruno: 8 "Put a bit more welly to it...more fire...more sex"
The tipped 'hot couple' there should be lots of chemistry there, and Artem impressed me in the training videos so I'm expecting great things, even if there is a dominatrix theme apparently going on there.
A fall there from Kara, I hope she hasn't injured herself, she does look in a lot of pain. Good to see that Artem has worked on her arms and they look a lot better. She needs to keep her neck straighter, she seems to be sticking her chin a bit forward near the end.
A good performance though and I think she'll get 7's.
So Strictly Come Dancing is less than a week away from starting, the spray-tanners are spraying, the dress makers are sewing and the celebrities are shaving; and we're being treated to our last few training videos.
Up first is boyhood favourite Felicity Kendal & Vincent Simone. I read a great blog post about calculating your Ballroom or Latin quotient and apparently Felicity Kendal is a borderline case, so should in theory cope quite comfortably with both disciplines. Let's see how the training is coming along...
Dancing on heels really does make a huge difference to your dancing. Latin American dances should be danced with the weight fully over the balls of the feet - the heels lightly touching the floor - and higher heels push your weight forward. This then allows for easier hip action and even guys wear 1 1/2 inch Cuban heels (as opposed to the Ballroom 1 inch).
For someone who isn't used to dancing in heels this can take quite a bit of adjustment. I must admit that I've never tried anything higher than the Cuban heel, but if a student ever ordered a pair of ladies shoes in size 10 I'd be tempted to try them on. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a cross-dressing fantasy or anything, but how can you truly teach someone else about the importance of high heels, and also understand a students limitations, if you don't know how it feels yourself?
Anyway I digress, Felicity has a Cha Cha Cha as her first dance, and I think she has the personality to produce a fun and cheeky performance. However it does look like she is struggling with those heels and I'm sure she could have had slightly lower ones - they look nearer to 3 1/2 inch to me when I'm sure 2 1/2 inch would have been a good starting point!
Standing still Felicity excudes a very naughty sexy side (I'm thinking 48ish seconds in!) but she needs to be able to do that whilst moving too, which seems to be an issue right now. Her shoulders are too high during the natural top but I actually think Vincent could hold her a little lower and that would help.
I still have high hopes for Felicity but there is quite a bit of work still required I'd say.
Training clip number 2 this week is Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev. Kara was restricted from training in week 1 to make up for the 20-odd hours of training she received taking party in Strictly for Sport Relief, will be interesting to see how that's affected things.
So, one of the 'hot young girls' paired with one of the new 'hot young professionals', can't imagine what the Strictly producers were thinking when they came up with that one?!
From the launch show I felt Artem was the strongest of the new professionals, and looked more at home than either Jared or Robin and the training video doesn't disappoint.
Kara is looking like she's picking up the steps quickly and does appear to have a good natural balance during those spins. I wish I could see more of her dancing as it's difficult to see how well her hips are moving during the lock steps, obviously the body roll seems to work well. She probably should have her arm up, rather than down, during the locks away from him...but I'm sure it's not polished yet.
Our third video of the week is Peter Shilton & Erin Boag. Peter is Erin's second goalkeeper celebrity and whilst Peter Schmeichel didn't exactly trip the light fantastic, Erin did wonders considering the starting material.
Peter is definitely going to excel more at Ballroom than Latin American I'll wager. He does need to work on keeping his shoulders down and level, especially in promenade position (when the guy opens his left side and the girl the right side so that they are both looking in the same direction - see 25secs in). I also think more work is required in softening his rise and fall action.
I don't think Peter will do too bad a performance on Friday, but I also don't think he'll stay long in the competition on current evidence.
Our final couple is Tina O'Brien & Jared Murillo. Jared didn't impress me much in the launch show so I'm hoping to see a bit more potential in the training videos.
Not looking too bad as a starting point, though Tina does need to keep her toes in contact with the floor during her back locks and should concentrate on more separation between her top half and bottom half of her body.
Still there is some potential there so will be interesting to see how she performs this weekend.
Strictly Come Dancing is back with a vengeance on Friday 1st October, hope you're looking forward to it?!
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.
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?
Antony started dance lessons when he was 3 years old. After finding an apparent natural aptitude he continued dancing, progressing through medals and competing.
With the start of Strictly Come Dancing the demand for a local teacher gave him the impetus to set up his own school.
Now he provides beginner through to advanced tuition via classes and private lessons, and also runs corporate events and choreographs wedding first dances.
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