Louise. Lou. Loulabelle. Loulabelle44. Louby. loulabelle44@outlook.com.
Proudly blogging about Strictly Come Dancing ALL YEAR ROUND since 2006. Always spoiler-free.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Move It: Dance London 2007
Move It: Dance London 2007 is a big event at London Olympia, featuring performances, workshops and a whole host of dance-related exhibitors.
On Friday 16th March there will be a performance from Matthew & Nicole, and on Saturday 17th Darren & Lilia will perform.
Not only that, but Matt & Nicole will also be teaching ballroom and latin taster classes across all three days (but please note that Saturday's class is now sold out).
Channel 4 has just launched a series of programmes featuring the word 'strictly' in the title. Last night's Strictly Lady Sumo certainly did not have any relavance to our SCD obsessed lives.
But next week sees the broadcast of Strictly Baby Ballroom. The show follows the world of juvenile ballroom dancing over the course of a year.
It's got to be worth a look. It's on Channel 4 at 9pm next Tuesday night (6th February).
After three years of thinking about it, and several months of decision-making, I finally got to my first ballroom lesson last night.
After much deliberation, I elected to go to Expressions in Kentish Town. It's easy to get to from the office and the day and time suited me. And as an added bonus, the class is taught by Anton.
I was pretty nervous. But after filling out some paperwork I headed into the studio and put on my shoes.
The class began with men on one side, ladies on the other. It was time to waltz. We learned the basic step, and worked our way around in a personal circle, first to the right, then to the left.
Then we were able to dance with a partner. As there were more men in the class than women, the men chose a lady to dance with. It was the most mortifying experience, like being picked for games. Being the fat kid, I was always picked last for games. But I did get to waltz with a couple of men, including Anton.
After waltz, it was cha cha. I loved the cha cha. Although the steps were almost as basic as the waltz, the direction was more varied and I enjoyed it a lot more.
As I have danced all my life, the class wasn't too taxing. I think I'll do it until we've covered all the basics and then give the improvers class a try.
The class was very busy, but not uncomfortably so, and I'm sure numbers will drop off in a few weeks' time once people decide if they will continue or not.
I can't believe I have to wait a whole week for the next class!
Another interview with Mark Ramprakash, this time from Daily Telegraph.
It's page two before they really talk about Strictly.
"[Karen] has to take the blame for some of the open-neck shirts. She was colluding with the ladies in the costume department and they just started getting lower and lower."
I looks like Anton & Erin might be on CNN International this weekend.
There is a programme entitled Quest, and in this month's edition, journalist Richard Quest is on a quest to dance.
According to the CNN website, he visits Las Vegas, meets Patrick Swayze, meets New York choreographer Twyla Tharp, meets the man on which Take The Lead is based and visits the Bolshoi Ballet. Finally, he decides he needs to learn to dance himself, and gets a waltz lesson from our Anton & Erin before joining the Dancing With The Stars tour.
Quest is on CNN International this Saturday at 7am, 3pm and 8pm, and on Sunday at 7am and 8pm.
According to the press release, the competition would include ballroom, latin and freestyle. It says that the first competition will be hosted by the BBC, indicating that it will be held in the UK.
According to independent ESC news website ESCToday.com, the contest will take place on Saturday 1st September at 8pm. It will be interesting to see if the BBC put in on BBC1 or BBC3.
This is the most exciting Eurovision news since I won my own ESC office sweepstake!
Unsurprisingly, the Dancing With The Stars rumour mill is now in full flow.
According to gossip site TMZ.com, participants lined up include...
**SPOILER SPACE**
...Billy Ray Cyrus (does he realise it's not a line dancing competition?), Ian Ziering (he was in Beverly Hills 90210 if you can remember back that far) and Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila. This year's token ex-boy band member will be Joey Fatone of N*Sync.
Of course, this is all unconfirmed at the moment. Watch this space. Or TMZ. Whatever.
For over two years I have had a self-composed monotone version of the Strictly Come Dancing ringtone on my phone. I was pretty proud of it, actually.
I got a new phone on Saturday. Finally. It has a camera and does real tones. This is a big thrill for me.
So, after sending my monotone to my new phone and deciding it sounded really crap on such a lovely new phone, I thought I'd have a look around to see if I could fine a better one.
Top hit when Googling "Strictly Come Dancing ringtone" was the BBC Shop. It seems that since 21st December, you've been able to buy your own SCD ringtone for the bargain price of £3. I decided it was worth it, so I'm finally the owner of the proper theme tune on my phone.
If anyone has a composer on their Nokia phone (remember those?) and would like my self-composed SCD monotone, please email me and I'll send you the notes.
I've mentioned Everything To Dance For a few times recently. It stars Sasha Jackson and features Brendan Cole.
The DVD is released on 14th February, and you can now pre-order your copy. There are details on how to do so on the Everything To Dance For MySpace blog.
For those that need reminding - here's the trailer.
There is a lovely little interview with Karen in the Croydon Guardian. In it she says she didn't know who Mark was when she met him.
"When I put his number into my phone I asked him what his surname was. He replied: 'Oh, it's long'. I typed in 'Long' but he stopped me and said: 'Actually, I meant that it's a long name. My name's Ramprakash'. I was so embarrassed."
It's worth looking at the interview, if only for the lovely piccie of Karen holding her Strictly trophy.
My heart skipped a beat when I first heard about Dancing With The Stars: The Tour. Was there any way I could see it? Would it coincide with my holiday to California? Despite not really having watched that much of DWTS, I needed something to ease the pain of missing the Strictly final. Could this be it?
I managed to manipulate my trip so that I could catch the tour in Fresno on 20th December.
The stage set recreated the studio as best as possible, but on a much larger scale, complete with stage-side table seating. I was lucky enough to book one of these floor-side tables. The exact location of our seats was not available when I booked, and I couldn't believe it when we walked in. Our table was front and centre. There was not one single better seat in the house.
Before the show, as a warm-up, local couples competed in a special DWTS competition, for a chance to come back and dance later in the show.
The show proper commenced soon after. It was so exciting hearing that familiar Strictly music and the familiar voice of our own Alan Dedicoat. To begin with, the couples were introduced and performed a group Vienese waltz.
After this, each couple performed their own number.
First, Joey Lawrence and Edyta Sliwinska did a cha cha.
Next up was Joey McIntyre and Kym Johnson, who also performed a cha cha.
There were followed by an excellent jive by Lisa Rinna and Louis Van Amstel. Lisa and Louis seemed to be front and centre for most of the night. Lisa is by far the strongest celebrity on the tour.
Harry Hamlin and Karina Smirnoff followed them with a striking tango.
Finally, the last couple took to the floor. Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke did their famous Thriller paso doble.
As well as the celebrities and their professional partners, there was also a company of professional dancers. The company included Christian Perry, who was familiar to US viewers for teaching a member of the public to dance in a series of Slim-Fast advertorials. The company demonstrated how each of the different dances should be performed, in a similar way to how our pros do on the show.
There were vaious other routines throughout the first half, including a few songs from Joey Mac. It Takes Two fans will be pleased to know that Joey was using the show to promote his latest album of swing songs. It made me feel at home!
The first half ended with a big group number.
The second half began with the pros performing a group paso doble. My clip doesn't really do it justice.
There were various routines in the second half, including a number with Joey L and the pro girls, Joey Mac doing a tango to the James Bond theme, the second part of the local competition and lots of other routines.
One of the most moving parts of the show came when Harry took to the floor. Harry and Lisa did not get to dance together on the show, both being celebs and being on different seasons. But they get asked about it on a regular basis. So, as a special tour treat they did just that. They performed a beautiful and romantic waltz to With You I'm Born Again. Here's a clip...
I enjoyed the show immensely, and I was very pleased I went.
But a part of me spent the whole show wishing it was Ian & Camilla or Anton & Erin performing. I kept wondering what it would be like to see Louisa & Vincent instead of Drew & Cheryl. And that killed it a little bit.
I can only dream that the BBC would consider putting something like this together for Strictly Come Dancing. Come on Auntie, you know you want to!
Getting Strictly withdrawal symptoms? Perhaps Dancing With The Stars can fill the void.
It seems only yesterday that Bruno and Len were to-ing and fro-ind to LA LA Land to judge the dancers across the pond. It looks like they'll soon be off to America again.
According to Allheadlinenews.com, the next season of DWTS will premiere on ABC on 19th March.
I can't help wondering if two seasons a year might be overkill. The BBC are always worried about re-commissioning shows, but the advertiser-driven US networks will flog something until the viewers turn off.
There are many websites that give UK viewers a DWTS fix. I might follow the series this time around to keep me occupied in the Strictly downtime.
Winning the quiz meant that I secured a pair of tickets for the Strictly Christmas Special.
It was recorded on a Monday afternoon, and becuase we had production guest tickets, we didn't have to be there all day to make sure we got in.
I was extra excited, becuase I knew that Zoe was going to dance with Ian again.
Louisa had been knocked out on the previous Saturday, and Vincent was working the studio queue, canvassing for votes. I told him that I didn't think he and Louisa should have been knocked out. He said "Now you have the chance to vote for us again". It was so sweet that he was trying to make Louisa feel better in this way. I bet she has no idea he was doing that.
At first, our seats were at the back, but once it was nearly full we managed to find a better seat, on the second row in front of the floor.
I spent ages scanning the floor, seeing who else was in the audience. Nicholas and Spoony were there, as well as Norman Cook and Gloria Hunniford. There were some of the pros too - Camilla, Nicole and Matthew.
The first thing recorded was Marti Pellow's performance of Luck Be A Lady, with Vincent, Flavia, Anton and Erin dancing in front. It was a brilliant routine, and funny too. They did two takes, so we got to enjoy it twice!
After that, Bruce came out to do his little warm-up. He usually sings a song, and grabs someone from the audience to dance with during the instrumental. This time, he grabbed Camilla. I understood why when I saw the final, as Bruce danced with the female pros.
Then we were off. The judges were extra-nice to all the contestants. There were no Scrooges here!
Although I was sad that Zoe and Ian didn't win, Colin and Erin were worthy winners. I was pleased for them. They came so close to winning last year, and their quickstep was excellent.
The highlight for me was Zoe and Ian's rumba. I was so pleased to see Zoe and Ian dancing together once again. I was so gutted that I wasn't in the audience when Zoe joined the pros samba demo during the series, but this totally made up for that. I was surprised that they did a rumba, as it's very difficult to sell to the audience. But it was lovely, and of course, it got my vote.
This isn't strictly about Strictly, but I loved it too much not to mention it.
Claudia Winkleman (there's the vague Strictly link!) has written a piece for The Independent about the Harrods post-Christmas sale, and the madness of it. It's so typically Claudia, and it made me laugh out loud.
In an interview on Your Local Guardian, Lila says she would love to participate in another series of Strictly Come Dancing.
"If there are more series, I'd love to do them. I love doing it and people love watching it so why not?".
Lilia says she loves being involved in the show, despite how gruelling it can be.
"I absolutely love the show - it's a brilliant thing to do but it's exhausting. It takes everything out of you. We are involved in it 24 hours a day. We have to prepare the choreography, we have to have dress fittings and we have to choose the music. The mental stamina required is immense. You have to keep building people up all the time and get them ready for each performance."
Mark Ramprakash: "I Would Never Have Won If Karen Had Not Been My Partner"
There is a lovely post-Strictly interview with Mark from The Independent.
In it, Mark reflects on his Strictly experience and how it was a chance to do something so beyond his comfort zone.
"Dancing was such unknown territory, and with the show being live, you fear that you'll freeze or forget the routine. Also, the audience was so close, you could see their faces. In cricket they're 70 yards away."
He is very complimentary about Karen, and her coaching skills.
"I would never have won if Karen had not been my partner, and as well as being a great dancer, she's a great coach. If I go into coaching at the end of my career, I'll have learnt a lot from her, because she made it such fun."
Hazel Newberry was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List.
Hazel was a highly sucessful ballroom specialist until her retirement from competition, and was World Champion with her partner Christopher Hawkins between 2002 and 2004. Hazel is now a techer and judge, and according to the Richmond & Twickenham Times, she has not ruled out a return to Strictly Come Dancing.
"Quentin Wilson was lovely, but unfortunately nerves got the better of him on the show. He said he had never danced before and found it very hard to change from foot to foot, but he did get the routine in the end and was so proud of himself."
Boxer Ricky Hatton has stated that he turned down Celebrity Big Brother in "all of three seconds".
According to The Sun, he dislikes most reality shows, but sees the value in skill-based shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice.
“With Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, you feel like everyone is putting it on just to get votes. But on Strictly Come Dancing you are at least trying to perform and show you have a degree of talent. So that’s one I wouldn’t mind having a go at."
He says he was approached by the Dancing On Ice producers, but was unavailable. He'd rather do Strictly, anyway.
"[I'd] be scared of breaking a leg, so the dancing one is the best bet. Sportsmen have a good record at that and the only risk you run is maybe showing yourself up.”
Erin Boag: "I Had To Order Peter To Get Closer To Me"
There is a lovely interview with Erin on ThisIsLocalLondon.co.uk, in which she talks about her experience on Series 4 of Strictly Come Dancing. It's well worth a read.
"I had to order Peter to get closer to me and be more sexy on the dance floor."
She talks about the to-ing and fro-ing to Copenhagen to train with Peter, and how she tried to coax him out of his shell.
She also says how chuffed she was to with the Christmas special with Colin Jackson.
"We chose to dance the quickstep and were awarded a perfect score of four tens for the first time to win the trophy. It was about time after four series, and made up for Colin and I losing out in the third series to Lilia and Darren Gough."
As many of you know, I was honoured to be invited to participate in a Celebrity Fans vs. Forum Fans quiz on It Takes Two before Christmas.
Now that it has been broadcast, I can say a bit more about my day and what happened.
When I arrived at the studios, I was taken to a room which had lots of people popping in and out. I met the researcher who had been talking to me on the phone, and met various other people who worked on the show. I was soon joined by the lovely Aquapana, who was to be my team-mate for the quiz.
We were sequestered for ages in this room, as the production team didn't want to risk us meeting the mystery guests.
We were briefed on the format of the quiz and what the rounds would be. I started to wonder if I really knew enough to be there.
After what felt like a lifetime, we were taken into the studio. I had been in the studio last year to be in the ITT audience, so it wasn't a big shock to be in there again. We were greeted by Michael Ball, who was opinting at us and chanting "You're going down!", and Pauline Quirke. I wasn't at all surprised that this duo would be our opposition.
We were mic-ed up (no Mark & Karen style incidents!) and finally got to sit on the sofa, which is softer than it appears!
Then it was pretty much straight into the quiz.
The quiz went like a blur and was over far too quickly. The "Mystery Guest" round was easily my favourite part. I will admit that I thought we got the easier one, and presented with Ola, I probably would have guessed Lilia!
I was absoultely gobsmacked when I discovered that the prize would be a pair of tickets for the Christmas special. I was even more determind to win. And thankfully, the recording was before my holiday so I was able to attend. If they'd have said the prize was tickets for the final I would have been stuffed. It could have been an expensive flight home from my holidays.
I was delighted to win the quiz. It was quite frustrating at times, as I often felt I knew their answers but not my own. But between us, we did enough to win. Here is the final edit, in case you missed it.
Here are my thoughts on the final of Strictly Come Dancing.
Ballroom
Matt and Lilia chose to do the waltz. This was the right thing for them to do, as the waltz was their best scoring dance of the series. Their reprise of it was elegant and smooth.
Mark and Karen took a calculated risk by deciding to dance the tango in the final. Buoyed by their Argentine tango in the semi-final, their second go at Eleanor Rigby was easily better than their first performance and all the tango training lead to a slick performance. I actually think their Vienese waltz was their best ballroom, but they were unable to use it becuase of the group dance.
Latin
Latin has never been Matt's strong point, so chosing the fun samba was a good idea. Matt and Lilia got the crowd onside with their performance, and I don't think Matt could have put in a better performance.
Mark andKaren's salsa wiped the floor with everyone last time, although part of the crowd's energy came from 'micgate'. But this reprise was as Hot, Hot, Hot as the first go. There was no doubt that latin was Mark's strength, and this showed in the salsa.
Judges' Choice
The judges' choice was an interesting addition to this year's Strictly final. Both professionals were given Jackie Wilson's Higher And Higher to choreograph a routine to.
Lilia opted for a quickstep. This was a good choice. It played to Matt's ballroom strength, and quickstep is one of the most exciting ballroom styles to watch from an audience perspective. As I've said before, Lilia has a real flair for ballroom choreography. I loved the musicality of the choreography, especially the grande jetés on the line "higher and higher". That was wonderful.
And while Lilia went for ballroom, it was no shock that Karen went for samba. The samba allowed Mark to showcase his latin strength. The samba wowed the crowd, and was very strong.
Group Vienese Waltz
There was absolutely nothing to split the couples. They both performed the Vienese waltz well.
Showdance
The showdance can make or break the competition. I always felt that Matt and Lila might have an advantage, due to Lilia's size and Matt's strength. Lifts were going to be easier for this couple. I was surprised by the music choice. Say A Little Prayer is not the high-energy stuff that Strictly showdances are usually made of. But this made the routine nice and controlled. The couple seemed to be really connected throughout the dance. At times, however, it did feel like a series of lifts with little content in between.
Mark and Karen went for the much more up-tempo Shout. When the routine started, I wasn't sure the first lift was going to come off, but they got there, and the drop was sensational. The smile on Karen's face showed that she was pleased it had come off. I really liked the bit where Mark pushed Karen across the floor on her feet. The routine contained all of Karen's hallmarks; finger pointing, the clapping from the cha cha, those famous shimmies. Getting into the lift midway through looked a little laboured in my opinion, but once Karen was above Mark's head, it was fine. I loved the lift on the end.
The Result
I don't think anyone was surprised by the result. I thought that, although Matt showed elements of greatness, there was no way he could have beaten Mark. Mark had had an edge throughout the competition. I'm not sure if he was the best dancer in the series, but he was a worthy winner.
I'm more delighted for Karen. It was clear from the moment she stepped on the floor last series how much a Strictly title would mean to her. I admire her passion for dance. There were rumours early on that Karen would not be back for Series 4, but I'm sure she's now glad she made the decision to return.
So, that brings us to the end of another series. So many wondeful routines, so many personalities, so many highlights. Let's hope there will be a Series 5.
Here are my thoughts on the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing.
At the time of writing this, I have not yet watched the final. I wanted to post my thoughts about the semi- first, so the final doesn't cloud my view when I write. I know that it's been a couple of weeks, and the debate must have died down now, but here's what I thought.
It was tough for Matt and Lilia to go first, especially with a foxtrot, which is a difficult dance. Matt coped well, and gave a strong performance. I liked it. It was simple, and Matt performed it well.
Their Argentine tango was also good. It was simplier than the other two couples' in my opinion. I thought the judges undermarked Matt and Llila. The dance was well-presented. Perhaps it was a bit "formal", as Len suggested, but I thought they did a good job.
It was tough for Emma and Darren to be the first to perform the Argentine tango first, but they nailed it. I think it was one of Emma's best dances. She looked totally in control. The routine was complex and intricate and they pulled it off. The couple were very in sync with each other.
Their salsa didn't live up to their Argentine tango. It was well performed routine, but Emma still lacks hip action, aside from in the places where it is obviously choregraphed. I don't expect her to have the hip action of the female pros, but I would expect more at this stage in the competition.
Mark and Karen put in a competent quickstep. It wasn't as electric as some quicksteps we've seen over the year, but it was solid and well-performed.
But they made up for everything with their Argentine tango. The only thing I didn't like about it was the music. Where the others had traditional tango music, Mark and Karen opted for Tina Turner's Goldeneye, which didn't work for me. That aside, their routine was excellent. The dance suited Mark perfectly, and Karen was wonderful to watch. It had all the passion and attitude that you need. It was great. And bless Karen for becoming emotional after the scores. It just shows the comittment the professionals make to the competition.
I think it was clear that Emma was not going to make it to the final, due to several weeks in the bottom two. In my opinion, Emma should have gone through, and Matt should have left.
Matt has had an incredible journey (yes, I used the 'j-word') and has improved leaps and bounds. But Emma is the stronger dancer and should have been the one to take on Mark in the final.
I can't wait to watch the final, but I can't help thinking that I already know who won. And that is the flaw with a two-couple final. There is the potential of it being a one-horse race. But then, as we saw last year, it's not over until the showdance.
Speaking of showdances, it was great to see Hanna Kartunnen back on the show. Her showdance with Victor Da Silva was showstopping.
I'm back from my holidays and Strictly Come Blogging is back online.
Over the next week or so I'll be catching up on the the news and gossip on the last two weeks of Strictly Come Dancing, as well as the magical Christmas special.
I'll be telling you all about my day at ITT (apologies to those who missed it, it got brought forward by a day). I wonder if anyone YouTube'd it...
And I'll be telling you all about my trip to see Dacing With The Stars: The Tour in Fresno, CA.
So please keep checking back from now on, as it's back to business as usual.
