As you may be able to tell from my lack of posting in the past few months I have been rather busy (with work and dance) but regular updates about someone's lessons aren't particularly interesting! This weekend however is a little bit of a busy one. My partner and I are in a show ... albeit not for very long, however for the second year running we are taking part in the DAPA show. Our theme is Back to the Future and all 3 movies & time periods are covered in a mixture of dance styles, song and acting with around 230 people of all ages taking part! As well as ballroom and latin sections (to which we belong, dancing a mambo) there is contemporary dance, jazz, tap dance, ballet, belly dance and a bit of street, too! It's a mammoth task to put it all together and we have had about 9 weeks of rehearsals for 3 shows, 1 tonight and 2 tomorrow. I can't wait, although I'm not sure getting roped into working the car park on these rainy days was my finest hour!
After the shows are done I hope to try and relax a bit on Sunday ready for Sunday evening when I take 4 exams, 2 ballroom and 2 latin across 10 dances. I will be taking President's Award and Majestic Award for each, to add to the other 8 exams I have already taken for each! I would normally take them every 6 months however a busy schedule at the end of last year meant cramming 2 this time round!
Showing posts with label ballroom dancing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ballroom dancing. Show all posts
Friday, 16 July 2010
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Strictly Common Sense!
What a difference a week makes! Whether it's because Strictly Come Dancing came from the most famous location for ballroom dancing in the World, or whether people have woken up to reality, but the outcome was right! And for the 1st time in 4 weeks, the 3rd place couple weren't in the dance off! A-ma-zing!
I still haven't watched the full programme yet, but I have seen some of the dances and the results! Although Ali and Brian's Viennese Waltz was excellent, I couldn't see that it was better than Ricky Whittle's Quickstep last week. But it is hard to create the same level of impact from a Viennese Waltz as it is from a Quickstep. Technically, yes it probably was perfect but I felt it lacked some of the emotion whereas Ricky Whittle's Quickstep really captured the fun and spirit of the dance.
I was pleased for Chris Hollins too who made the toughest ballroom dance look rather easy with his best performance of the series, and a showcase of his real ability and potential. The fear of going wrong seems like it may have left him too as he didn't make any mistakes. Once again Jade Johnson proved her all round abilities by performing a lively and light jive with good flicks and kicks. It can't be easy at her height, but she made it just that. I am hoping she will make it to the final.
Everyone I have seen so far seems to have enjoyed the larger and more vocal audience too. And just seeing the magnificent Tower Ballroom in all it's splendour makes you just want to get up and join in! Oh how I love the Tower Ballroom, there is nowhere more magical, and no better buzz than dancing at your best on that floor! Though it does seem they may have loosened the springs for Strictly Come Dancing as normally when I have danced there you can't tell it is sprung until there's 100+ people on it!
I still haven't watched the full programme yet, but I have seen some of the dances and the results! Although Ali and Brian's Viennese Waltz was excellent, I couldn't see that it was better than Ricky Whittle's Quickstep last week. But it is hard to create the same level of impact from a Viennese Waltz as it is from a Quickstep. Technically, yes it probably was perfect but I felt it lacked some of the emotion whereas Ricky Whittle's Quickstep really captured the fun and spirit of the dance.
I was pleased for Chris Hollins too who made the toughest ballroom dance look rather easy with his best performance of the series, and a showcase of his real ability and potential. The fear of going wrong seems like it may have left him too as he didn't make any mistakes. Once again Jade Johnson proved her all round abilities by performing a lively and light jive with good flicks and kicks. It can't be easy at her height, but she made it just that. I am hoping she will make it to the final.
Everyone I have seen so far seems to have enjoyed the larger and more vocal audience too. And just seeing the magnificent Tower Ballroom in all it's splendour makes you just want to get up and join in! Oh how I love the Tower Ballroom, there is nowhere more magical, and no better buzz than dancing at your best on that floor! Though it does seem they may have loosened the springs for Strictly Come Dancing as normally when I have danced there you can't tell it is sprung until there's 100+ people on it!
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Strictly Lost It!
Once again I have been left wondering what I have just watched after watching the recording of last night’s Strictly. Craig should almost certainly be gone after that performance again … not Craig Kelly either, no, Craig Revel Horwood! A judge shouldn’t be affecting people’s opinions by being overly personal and massively underscoring contestants, which Craig evidently does. I like to think I am a pretty mentally tough person, but when he laid into Ricky Groves I had to think that I wanted him to stay because he had been so badly under-marked. Once again Len Goodman hit the nail on the head in that rumba is hard for a male celeb as you tend to either be too masculine and stiff or too feminine, basically because you overcompensate.
It is hard to say who should have been in the dance off because so many couple were so close, and the ones who weren’t as good in the judges eyes were under-marked, or like Craig Kelly, had made a massive leap forwards. There was another couple under-marked. Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe should have had straight 10s, especially after Craig’s comments that bandy legs and pigeon toes hadn’t stopped Brendan Cole becoming World Champion. I think he may just have lost a bit of touch with reality. Out of the 2 couples in the dance off I would have chosen Zoe and James to stay. Once again James has gone far too soon, I don’t know what he has to do to get further, once again he’s had a great partner. Maybe the judges were right with the bottom two. But Craig certainly doesn’t encourage sensible voting from the public!
This is turning into a bit of a rant over one of my favourite TV shows! Yes, I was left less than impressed by the professional group too! They didn’t quite look as polished as you might expect for much of the routine, but particularly in the lifts! And poor Aliona’s life must have flashed before her eyes when she nearly went flying over Matt. The situation was redeemed though by their excellent demo when they were left alone, which seemed like it may have had the hours put into it. Even the BeeGees took some warming up, and Robin was never quite on the note!
There were some real positives too though. The standard of dancing was actually very high, and overall the judges scores did reflect the closeness of the pack. Then there was Ricky Whittle’s quickstep which was probably the best quickstep I have ever seen by a celebrity, and one of the best dances overall. Craig? 9? What? I would like to see you do that routine better! So in summary I really enjoyed the show but the result and pro group dance were an anti-climax, and Craig should be sacked!!
Monday, 12 October 2009
Dancing through injury!
I started dancing over 4 years ago now, partly because my mates had better moves in the clubs, partly because of Strictly having gained fast popularity and also because it was recommended as a way to improve a foot injury. In December 2003 I was at rugby training and my right foot gave way whilst running on it. The pain was pretty intense, and I had to pull out of the exercise for a while. However I was enjoying myself a little too much, and when the pain went, I joined in training again. After about 5 minutes running, my foot went again, but this time I could barely walk on it. I sat out for the rest of training then went to hospital later for an x-ray fearing that I had broken something. The nurse told me it was likely to be ligament damage, gave me treatment and sent me on my way. After a while, I went to my GP because it wasn't improving, who advised me that it might benefit from physio but there was a 6 month waiting list, not saying that without this it wasn't likely to improve at all.
Moving forward to around Easter of 2005 and I took up a ballroom and latin american dance class, and low and behold, some of the pain started to ease as my foot gained some strength back. All was going well until the cold and damp weather set in, when my foot started playing up again, and swelling. This was a recurring problem anytime there was dampness in the air, be it cold or warm (England doesn't get hot!) but I stuck with it, taking some supplements and aspirin. I started taking glucosamine sulphate at first, which had a slight effect on my foot, with it's natural anti-inflammatory properties. This still didn't help on dancing exam days though where my foot was pretty much guaranteed to swell!
The next supplement I added was Devil's Claw, a natural pain killer and anti-inflammtory and once again there was further improvement. I had been taking solely these two until earlier this year, when I was introduced to alkaline water. At first I was very sceptical that changing the water I drank would make a difference to my foot (as you would be), but Paul invited me to try some, and to my amazement you could really taste the difference between the alkaline water and tap water. As time has gone by I have moved from 8.5pH to 9.5pH water as gradually my foot has improved, and weeks where I have drank purely tap water, that pain has come back! Many scientists have tried to play down then benefit of alkaline water, and as a non-scientist I can only speak for the experience I have had of it, which when I have taken it in conjunction with my supplements, there has been a vast improvement in my foot.
If you research alkaline water online, you will no doubt read scientific reports suggesting that it is a placebo effect, and that there is no evidence to show that alkaline water has benefits. However before I drank alkaline water my foot used to physically swell and become painful to the point some dances I had to stop, however I have not had any swelling since drinking alkaline water and the pain has been cut down to a minimum! Physical swelling I'm sure, cannot be affected by a placebo! I would suggest to anyone else who has an injury to ligaments etc that they try alkaline water. The water ionizers aren't cheap, but may well be worth the investment.
Moving forward to around Easter of 2005 and I took up a ballroom and latin american dance class, and low and behold, some of the pain started to ease as my foot gained some strength back. All was going well until the cold and damp weather set in, when my foot started playing up again, and swelling. This was a recurring problem anytime there was dampness in the air, be it cold or warm (England doesn't get hot!) but I stuck with it, taking some supplements and aspirin. I started taking glucosamine sulphate at first, which had a slight effect on my foot, with it's natural anti-inflammatory properties. This still didn't help on dancing exam days though where my foot was pretty much guaranteed to swell!
The next supplement I added was Devil's Claw, a natural pain killer and anti-inflammtory and once again there was further improvement. I had been taking solely these two until earlier this year, when I was introduced to alkaline water. At first I was very sceptical that changing the water I drank would make a difference to my foot (as you would be), but Paul invited me to try some, and to my amazement you could really taste the difference between the alkaline water and tap water. As time has gone by I have moved from 8.5pH to 9.5pH water as gradually my foot has improved, and weeks where I have drank purely tap water, that pain has come back! Many scientists have tried to play down then benefit of alkaline water, and as a non-scientist I can only speak for the experience I have had of it, which when I have taken it in conjunction with my supplements, there has been a vast improvement in my foot.
If you research alkaline water online, you will no doubt read scientific reports suggesting that it is a placebo effect, and that there is no evidence to show that alkaline water has benefits. However before I drank alkaline water my foot used to physically swell and become painful to the point some dances I had to stop, however I have not had any swelling since drinking alkaline water and the pain has been cut down to a minimum! Physical swelling I'm sure, cannot be affected by a placebo! I would suggest to anyone else who has an injury to ligaments etc that they try alkaline water. The water ionizers aren't cheap, but may well be worth the investment.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Strictly Come Dancing Week 2 Preview
Strictly Come Dancing week 2 will feature the 8 couples who didn't dance in week 1 performing a ballroom dance and a latin dance each. We have been given an insight into each celebrity's ability with the group dance and there were some obvious ones to watch for the right and wrong reasons! The training footage shown on It Takes Two usually sheds some more light as to the level of dancing. Tonight's training footage showed some extra surprises to me in the form of Jo Wood performing far better than in the group dance, and Phil Tufnell showing some real ballroom promise! Hopefully we will get more of the training footage later in the week.
I am going to hazard a guess at some of the celebrities, as far as their dancing standard goes. However to guess who will go out would be crazy due to the public vote which doesn't always follow the dancing alone!
The Good
The one that really stands out in this section has to be Ricky Whittle. He has natural rhythm and movement as well as an understanding of shapes and lines. From the brief glimpses so far he can go a long way. He has many attributes of a great latin american dancer already, let's see what he can do in ballroom too!
The Not So Good
Having seen the group dance there were a couple of celebrities who you have to worry for, Richard Dunwoody and Jo Wood. I think the wood in their surnames may sum the problems up a bit! Richard didn't seem to know where he was or what he was doing in the group dance, and Jo was all out of sorts too. However in training footage, Jo Wood appeared to improve somewhat!
The Surprises
There could be a few in this section! Jo Wood's improvement in training footage was a surprise, whether it lasts or not will be the key! There were 2 who had a hint of style about them that I would never have expected. Phil "Tuffers" Tufnell showed some real promise in both the group dance, with his aerial heel taps, and in training he looked a rather refined dancer! Again Natalie Cassidy looked fantastic in training. It's hard to believe that it's only coming up to week 2. And does Anton finally have a good partner?? Let's hope she's as good as she looks because his latin american has come on a lot from last year.
I am going to hazard a guess at some of the celebrities, as far as their dancing standard goes. However to guess who will go out would be crazy due to the public vote which doesn't always follow the dancing alone!
The Good
The one that really stands out in this section has to be Ricky Whittle. He has natural rhythm and movement as well as an understanding of shapes and lines. From the brief glimpses so far he can go a long way. He has many attributes of a great latin american dancer already, let's see what he can do in ballroom too!
The Not So Good
Having seen the group dance there were a couple of celebrities who you have to worry for, Richard Dunwoody and Jo Wood. I think the wood in their surnames may sum the problems up a bit! Richard didn't seem to know where he was or what he was doing in the group dance, and Jo was all out of sorts too. However in training footage, Jo Wood appeared to improve somewhat!
The Surprises
There could be a few in this section! Jo Wood's improvement in training footage was a surprise, whether it lasts or not will be the key! There were 2 who had a hint of style about them that I would never have expected. Phil "Tuffers" Tufnell showed some real promise in both the group dance, with his aerial heel taps, and in training he looked a rather refined dancer! Again Natalie Cassidy looked fantastic in training. It's hard to believe that it's only coming up to week 2. And does Anton finally have a good partner?? Let's hope she's as good as she looks because his latin american has come on a lot from last year.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Strictly Come Dancing News
I was very pleased to find out that Strictly Come Dancing will be filmed from Blackpool Tower on 7th November, for the 1st time in 5 years! As with many BBC shows, there is a draw via the website, with limitations on tickets. As you may have guess I have entered myself into this draw!
As the BBC website says, Blackpool Tower is the spiritual home of Strictly Come Dancing, as the original Come Dancing was filmed there too. It is also a fabulous location for dancing, boasting a huge floor, as well as a magical you will only ever understand if you dance there. Sitting in an audience is great but when you actually take to what many say is the World's best dancefloor, you can begin to realise what they mean.
I will keep you posted as to whether or not I manage to get tickets to this. There will apparently be 9 couples remaining at this stage. Maybe one day they will film another final there too, as they did in 2004. Having never danced on the BBC studio floor it will be hard to say, but the Tower Ballroom has a very unforgiving floor and it will be interesting to see if this will affect the celebrities, especially at a relatively early stage!
As the BBC website says, Blackpool Tower is the spiritual home of Strictly Come Dancing, as the original Come Dancing was filmed there too. It is also a fabulous location for dancing, boasting a huge floor, as well as a magical you will only ever understand if you dance there. Sitting in an audience is great but when you actually take to what many say is the World's best dancefloor, you can begin to realise what they mean.
I will keep you posted as to whether or not I manage to get tickets to this. There will apparently be 9 couples remaining at this stage. Maybe one day they will film another final there too, as they did in 2004. Having never danced on the BBC studio floor it will be hard to say, but the Tower Ballroom has a very unforgiving floor and it will be interesting to see if this will affect the celebrities, especially at a relatively early stage!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Strictly Come Dancing Lineup
It's a couple of days since the lineup for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing was released, and once again it seems full of face I know but few names I recognise! Maybe I don't keep up with the world of celebrity enough?? Again there's the mix of sports stars, soap stars and assorted others, and once again they have an awful lot to live up to.
The standard of dancing has risen throughout all the series' as the public demand more and the professionals become more competitive. However with 3 new lady pros and one or 2 format changes we will see what happens with the standard. Each year it improves and the dancers get better, dancing more complex routines but you wonder if it has to peak sometime, or if it has.
Very few celebrities start off by looking at all like dancers then the surprise comes when they start getting very good at dancing, a few weeks in. I am looking forward to seeing their 1st tentative steps, and am currently wondering who he ones to watch will be. I have to say that without seeing any dancing I would guess at Joe Calzaghe and Jade Johnson to be 2 strong ones, due to their competitive nature and excellent partners. Having seen Brian and Kristina dance live, it will be exciting to see what she can come up with for Joe. While Jade is dancing with Ian Waite, and does anyone remember how far he went last time he had an athlete. Even that may not have been far enough! Ian and Denise Lewis were something else on most dances. Only 3 weeks until the 1st show. We will see how they all go. Can't wait!
The standard of dancing has risen throughout all the series' as the public demand more and the professionals become more competitive. However with 3 new lady pros and one or 2 format changes we will see what happens with the standard. Each year it improves and the dancers get better, dancing more complex routines but you wonder if it has to peak sometime, or if it has.
Very few celebrities start off by looking at all like dancers then the surprise comes when they start getting very good at dancing, a few weeks in. I am looking forward to seeing their 1st tentative steps, and am currently wondering who he ones to watch will be. I have to say that without seeing any dancing I would guess at Joe Calzaghe and Jade Johnson to be 2 strong ones, due to their competitive nature and excellent partners. Having seen Brian and Kristina dance live, it will be exciting to see what she can come up with for Joe. While Jade is dancing with Ian Waite, and does anyone remember how far he went last time he had an athlete. Even that may not have been far enough! Ian and Denise Lewis were something else on most dances. Only 3 weeks until the 1st show. We will see how they all go. Can't wait!
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Ballroom Dancing at the Muni
| What: | Ballroom Dancing |
| When: | Saturday, August 22, 2009 8:00 PM to Sunday, August 23, 2009 12:00 AM |
| Where: | Colne Municipal Hall Albert Road Colne, Lancashire BB8 0BP UK |
We will be dancing at the monthly ballroom dancing night on Saturday. These nights include ballroom dancing, latin dancing and sequence dancing. There’s always a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at these popular dance events. You tend to find you get dancers of all ages from children right up to grand parents attending, all at different level but all who love dance.
Being so friendly, no-one is afraid to get up on the dance floor either and join in. With some of the sequence and social dances you are encourage to join in, as there are a number that 1st timers could quite easily pick up. There is also free parking on a decent sized car park round the back of the Colne Muni which is really handy with a lack of on-street parking. You don’t always want to have to walk too far after a few hours of dancing!
This is one of a few regular ballroom dance nights that happen in Lancashire and I will post details of others when I get them. There is a dance night in Lower Darwen every fortnight on a Saturday that we need to try yet. But it’ll probably be a few weeks off until we make it to that dance.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Evening of Dance
| What: | Evening of Dance |
| When: | Friday, August 7, 2009 7:00 PM to Saturday, August 8, 2009 12:00 AM |
| Where: | Blackpool Tower Ballroom Promenade Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 4BJ United Kingdom |
We will be attending the Evening of Dance on Friday 7th August.
It will be exciting to see James & Ola Jordan for the first time at the Tower. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the names, they dance on Strictly Come Dancing, and specialise in latin dancing, with extremely sensual rumbas. These nights tend to be great as there is a mixture of dances from the professionals, along with dances from some of the best junior formation teams in the country, and the rest of us get to take to what is arguably the best dancefloor in the World too. There is certainly a magic atmosphere and buzz on the floor and always some great dancers in attendance. It is usually a pretty well packed night with little space on the dancefloor, despite its huge size, but it just teaches what is commonly known as floorcraft, i.e. learning to avoid other couples!
Photos from the Evening of Dance will follow.
You will be treated to regular updates including discussions about classes and steps, which will hopefully be useful and/or inspirational!
Ballroom and Latin Dancing Intro
The Ballroom and Latin Dancing blog is the view of dancing from an amateur!
I have been doing ballroom and latin dancing for 4 years now, taking exams through UKA. My partner and I like to help beginners along the way too, as it is a very daunting experience dancing for the first time, especially if there are more advanced dancers in your class! I have found however that dancing classes generally have friendly people in them that understand that starting to learn dancing is a tricky step to take. Ballroom and latin dancing are particularly so as they are structured forms of dancing, I.e. each one has certain set moves that you will learn, and the timing is strict.
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