Mel B For DWTS?

Former Spice Girl Mel B could be taking to the dancefloor in the US.

According to PR-Inside.com, Mel's spokesperson has revealed that Dancing With The Stars executives have already signed up Scary Spice to participate in 2008.

Perhaps she was inspired by seeing Emma Bunton on SCD...

New South African Magazine

Dancing in South Africa has had such a boost by shows like Strictly Come Dancing and So You Think You Can Dance? that a new dancing magazine is set to launch.

BizCommunity.com reports that Dance Expressions is launching in June 2007.

The reason I mention this is because Issue 1 will feature SCD1's Hanna Karttunen and her partner Victor da Silva.

TV Quick/TV Choice Awards - VOTE!

It's your chance to make a difference.

Stictly Come Dancing is nominated for Best Talent Show in the TV Quick/TV Choice Awards 2007.

Get voting!

You can also vote for SCDer Jill Halfpenny (Waterloo Road) for Best Actress.

Cheryl Burke Interview

OK, so I don't usually do Dancing With The Stars, but I happened across a lovely interview with dancer Cheryl Burke on SheKnows.com. It's woth a quick read.

"No longer is ballroom dance the kind of sport left open to mockery. Everyday I can see the effect that the show has on America. It's gratifying to see people embrace something that I've loved my whole life."

Ruth Wilson's Guilty Pleasure

In a recent Observer Magazine interview, Jane Eyre's Ruth Wilson admits that Strictly is a guilty TV pleasure.

"I love Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday night. Embarrassingly, it almost made me cry."

Nothing to be embarassed about, Ruth. I'm with you all the way!

Lesson 13

We did quickstep for the first time in ages last Monday. It was so much fun. I found the routine easy to pick up. Probably a first for me and quickstep! I loved covering so much of the floor.

Like Matt the week before, Anton was into technique too, last week. He talked about when one should be leading with the heel, and when one should step straight onto the ball of the foot. Fabulous. He also told a tale from an early competition, when he got told off for not going through the balls of his feet after lock steps.

Then we did a bit of jive, doing Spanish arms. Which was fine, but for one of the men wanting to spin you totally the wrong way. And he didn't get that he was wrong! Then I watched him do the same with one of the other women. Ha ha ha!

Craig Article

Here is an interesting interview with Craig Revel Horwood from New Zealand Woman's Weekly from 30th April 2007. Thanks to ShellBell and Dvj140 of the DS Forum for supplying it.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Lesson 12

No Anton last week, so we had Matt again.

Matt tends to focus on technique, which is great. Again, we did exercises to aid rise and fall in the waltz, followed by a waltz routine.

After that, we moved on to tango. The routine was challenging, but I enjoyed it. Matt spent the last part of the lesson focusing on the hold. It was a brilliant thing to do, and I hope the lads remember his tips.

There is one guy in the class who really knows how to hold a woman. It's so nice to be held well. Some of the guys are a bit shy about holding you close, but on the tango it's so much better if you do have a more intimate hold.

I only realised that I didn't mention my lesson last week, and now it's almost time to go again. It's been a crazy week...

Len Praises DWTS Contestants

In an interview with TVGuide.com, Len Goodman discusses the chances of the remaining three couples left in the US Dancing With The Stars competition.

He says this is the best season to date.

Now, I have to admit I haven't been able to follow the current season, but can Len's comment really be true?

"The standard set by the top three couples here is the highest I've ever seen. I've certainly never seen anything like it in the UK".

Really, Len? Not even Jill & Darren? Perhaps I need to spend some quality time on Raphael's site.

Strictly Come Dancing: Israel

Here is a clip from the Israeli version of SCD.

Model Ilanit Levi and her dance partner Dennis Belotzerkovski perform the samba.

I love seeing how all these international versions look identical to our own. It's so odd...

Bolton Gets Bashed

Another goofy video on YouTube, which made me chuckle.

Michael Bolton gets critiqued by the SCD panel.

This is even funnier if you watched Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive the other night.

Darren And Lilia And Dennis

During their coverage of the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible last week, the BBC went in search of Sheffield celebrities.

Former Strictly participant and snooker commentator Dennis Taylor sat down with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova to talk about life in the competiton's host city.

I had no idea they were going to be on, so if like me you missed it, KatieP has come up trumps again.

Anton Du Blair

Cherie Blair took a spin around the dancefloor with Anton Du Beke at a charity dinner last week.

According to The Sun, the Prime Minister's wife was a little worried.

“He’s an excellent dancer, so I was slightly nervous.”

The Mirror reports that their twirl was only 90 seconds long, although that's long enough to participate in Strictly Come Dancing!

Cherie told the paper: "It's been great fun and Anton's an excellent teacher. He's taught me a good partner can make dancing effortless, even for those like me with two left feet."

Anton, ever the gentleman, praised his partner: "She's never done ballroom dancing before, yet grasped it quickly. I feel very privileged to have been asked to dance with the wife of the Prime Minister."

Gabby Logan For SCD5?

According to a report last September, Gabby Logan wanted to participate in the last series of Strictly Come Dancing, but her ITV bosses banned her being on the BBC show.

Now Gabby has moved to the BBC, her dreams may be realised.

In a Metro article, Gabby says she'd like to be given another chance to take part.

"I would love to learn to dance - it's something I've always wanted to do, but never had the time, so hopefully they will consider me at some point."

Inspiring Rumba

This morning I was sent an amazing video clip.

Dancers Robin Horn and George Velasquez gave an exhibition performance at the City of Roses Ballroom Classic in Portland, Oregon in March 2007.

I think you'll agree that George is an inspiration to any dancer.

Click here for the clip.

Arlene Phillips Interview

There was an interview with Arlene in the Daily Record last week. In it, she talks about her search for talent for Dance X.

She also talks about her days in Hot Gossip.

"I was a tyrant and didn't make life easy. I made Sarah [Brightman] cry all the time. I had a terrible temper. I saw her a few years ago and said 'I was so harsh with you'. She just smiled."

Sian Williams For Strictly 5?

Arlene Phillips was a guest on BBC Breakfast last week, talking about the upcoming Dance X programme.

Vix from the Activeboard writes:

*clip of hot gossip*

Dermot: "You'll be picking up tips from that when you do Strictly, Sian." (he says that in a teasing kind of way ... I didn't read anything into that.)

Sian: "I'm terrified! I'd be too frightened!" She then suddenly stops herself talking as if being told in her ear to shut up.

Interesting stuff.

Lesson 11

There were lots of new people in the class again last night, so we stuck to waltz and rumba. Although, as so many of us are not new to the class, we did move it beyond the very basic stuff. But I don't think we did anything that we hadn't done before.

The tough thing is that the new people were couples who did not dance with anyone but each other. As someone who doesn't have a partner, I do find it frustrating. Especially as one of the ladies warned her man off choosing anyone else to dance with. But two novices dancing together doesn't always help them to learn (unless you're in a private lesson situation). If people think they'll learn enough at a group class for a first dance (unless it's a couples only class), I think they might be mistaken.

Anyway, rant over. I enjoyed the class as always, but I get a teeny bit frustrated if I'm not challenged. But I don't feel ready for intermediate class yet.

Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive

Anton Du Beke and Claudia Winkleman will be guest stars on Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive next week.

For those unfamiliar with RBAR, the mockumentary follows Rob both in front of the camera hosting his own panel game and the behind the scenes. If you are familiar with The Larry Sanders Show, you will understand the concept.

In the current storyline, Sara, the ace celebrity booker from the last series, has left the show for a position with Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. In next week's episode, in an effort to lure Sara back to his show, Rob agrees to be a guest on ITT. Cue the usual comparisons between Anton and Rob.

The show will be on BBC Three on Monday at 10.30pm. If you can't wait until then, or you don't have digital TV, you can watch the episode on the BBC website now.