It Takes Two - Tuesday 26th October

On today's show: Michelle, Ian & Brendan; Karen Hardy Choreography Corner; Pamela & James; Gavin & Katya.

So first up are Michelle & Ian, fresh from their bottom two finish on Saturday night, joined by Brendan Cole back from his father's funeral.  Brendan reveals that he felt a little jealous watching Michelle dancing with Ian on Saturday night.

Ian felt nervous about the responsibility of making sure that Michelle made it through to the next week so that she could go back to dancing with Brendan.

Michelle has the Jive this weekend, I'm guessing it's going to be a disaster and this could be the week Michelle goes, but I will have to wait to see the training videos to be sure.

I'm afraid I always skip past the "Out of the Glitterball" section so I can't tell you much about that.

Now onto Karen Hardy's Choreography Corner,

Karen reveals she likes the added extras and props, so long as it's not overboard and doesn't last too long. 

First for analysis is Felicity & Vincent: Looking at their floor spin with Felicity balanced on one leg.  Karen applauds the trust between them and also Felicity's flexibility.

Jimi & Flavia: Claudia felt they were undermarked.  Karen doesn't agree with Bruno that Jimi was out of time with his cane work and actually felt he was "masterful".

Matt & Aliona: a "brilliant" double cartwheel though Tina & Jared performed the same move slightly lighter.

Scott & Natalie: great "light and shade" in their dance, really using the music to express the dance.

Gavin & Katya: Gavin's strength in his legs allowed them to do a throwaway oversway all the way down to the ground, when they could've done a much easier movement.

Ann & Anton: Whilst everyone wants to talk about the "flying hippo" Karen concentrates on the outside swivels and her basics and body contact, something Ann is improving at.

Patsy & Robin: "Great Charleston, classic".  She doesn't need any gimmicks or gizmos.

Pamela & James

Pamela reveals she wasn't worried about the score itself, but rather James' reaction to it.  James wasn't disappointed by the scores as apparently in training they'd only managed to get through it once out of three attempts.

Also it appears that this was the first Tango that James has performed on Strictly.  This weekend they will be dancing the Jive and I look forward to seeing their training.

Gavin & Katya,

Gavin is a bit of a mixed bag for me, some weeks he seems to be really developing and then one thing, like the slip at the start on Saturday, throws him back into himself.

It looks like Gavin will be the first person this series to visit an acting coach and let's hope this increases his confidence.

Personally I don't tend to touch my hair after I first do it in the morning so I can't quite understand the fascination, though I must admit his hair is looking quite good today!

They have Paso Doble this weekend, which requires even more acting than the Tango so if Gavin doesn't start coming out of his shell this could be another poor performing week.

I'll update tomorrow with some of the training videos, and I might actually be able to do that one live this week!

Strictly Get Dancing

There are a number of "Strictly Get Dancing" events taking place throughout the country in October and November.  Karen Hardy has choreographed a simple 20-step Cha Cha Cha routine for people to learn:



Personally it's not my cup of tea in a Cha Cha routine but if it gets people up and dancing who am I to complain.  I'd have thought Time Steps would have been easier rather though, that's how we start our under 10's off.

For something trying to encourage people with two left feet to get up and dance I think the music could have been quite a bit slower too.

Karen had the following to say though,

"Everybody can learn to dance, They can start at a young age and go right the way up to the other end of the scale. It doesn't matter, the great thing about dancing is that it's in everybody. We get those excuses I've got two left feet" - it's rubbish!. Some people take a little bit longer than others but it's easy, just get up and have a go and before you know it - you'll be dancing!. What encouragement or advice can i give you about learning to dance? it's quite simple, in every town, every city there is a community or church hall or places where you can learn to dance. The Strictly Get Dancing routine has been made so simple - 20 easy steps, most of them repeated and you can even dance them in a box! I've Imagined you in nightclubs, at school with your friends in a gym even out in a beautiful park. These steps are so simple I want the whole nation up and shaking their hips around - its so easy but unless you have a go, you'll never know!"

In case you want to see the steps and take your time with them you can see all 20 movements below

Details of where the events are being held, and how to apply for the London event can be found here.