SCD 2013 #4: We're off to Blackpool!

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Thread four here we go! Link to the last thread here.

So, Natalie's through to next week and we'll see who's going to be joining her in the Tower Ballroom So much nicer than Wembley.

Well they must get SEB to dance to it of course mrsjay !!!!

Well they must get SEB to dance to it of course mrsjay

goes without saying really

Quite glad Fiona went; she messed up a lot in the dance-off, whereas Mark raised his game like a true pro. I hope he gets a nice ballroom dance this week to give his knees a break!

I would like to see Mark do his best dance again - the Waltz -before he goes.

TheHeadless I reckon fiona just didn't have the stamina for the lifts (you have to 'jump' into a lift it's really hard from standing) She was ready to go IMO.
Mark was in a 'Hairspray" dance it was the only dance I actually enjoyed him in!

Yes, she had lost a bit of interest, I felt

Soup it depends really where you are, who you have dancing and how many people there are.

For competitions they don't want to be playing the same songs over and over again (because the judges will go to sleep ).

Some songs as well aren't suitable for all levels of dancer- they'll give beginners ones with a good strong beat to follow.

I would say it's generally more traditional though. is a university comp, but the reason I've linked it is this is the ballroom section and if you flick through you can find all the dances and all different levels and hear the music.

Also, look out for couple 145 (he's very blonde, she's in bright pink and has a row of jewels down her parting, they're in the first set of dances). They're the current British amateur champions.

And 350 are the Scottish amateur champions. They were some really good dancers there!

Soup certainly in classes a lot of teachers try to use up to date music to keep pupils, particularly kids, interested. We tend to stick to traditional stuff for Ballroom (think lots of big band and Rat Pack) but Latin has more leeway because a lot of modern stuff follows the right beat counts. I love to Samba to the Black Eyed Peas version of Mas Que Nada!

Thinking about it, the only dance I've danced to traditional music only is Paso Doble. It's very hard to get the right speed and phrasing in any song bar Espana Cani"!

Wow Polkadots Thanks for the link. that's what I call ballroom dancing brilliant and the judges were standing soo close (that's how it should be) tiring for all of them though!

Sophie is dancing the Rumba this week. She'll need to express some passion/seductiveness for this dance of love. Hope she manages it.

Yes digerd I don't feel that she's strong in the 'passion/seductiveness' stakes though . Cute but not a lot of sex appeal.

I really want her to do well - we need someone to slip her a bottle of champagne before performing.

she did say at the start of strictly she struggles with the sexy thing I hope she is ok maybe brendan will organise the dance so she doesn't need to be too seductive Sophie isn't shy I dont think just a bit introverted

I think she's a cold fish and her rumba will suffer for it. I'm finding her dancing really boring, I have to say.

I dont think she is a cold fish reserved maybe she seems to be loving it all

I reckon it' s between her and Suze; Natalie hasn't been on a 'journey'.

I cannot see what the judges see in Patrick. (hello! lurker on this thread, usually. No dance knowledge whatsoever!) Most of that Samba he seemed to be dangerously close to Dad-dancing, there were points when Anya was creating a distraction (I always look out for when the pro partner does that, it's a dead giveaway) and he was almost standing still. I thought he was stiff really.

I think Ashley is getting better and better, and having fun too - there was a moment in the opening sequence on those rolling platforms where he and Mark were having a right lark about.

Natalie will do well on the Strictly tour. Since they started that, I reckon that some of the celebs enter it not so much as a competition but as a year or so's contract to do the tour, opens up different career avenues for them like the odd West End show.

I always wonder whether they (or the pro partners) get told their share of the audience vote, or even just the order they came in, to know whether they were close to the danceoff even though the judges put them near the top. I suppose as you get into the second half of the series, the maths-prone fans work that out for you - diff permutations of audience vote turning the leaderboard around...

Natalie's dancing impressed me - a very natural dancer. Suzanne's dancing is not bad but seems a bit forced to me, and not sure why she gets such high marks most weeks - the judges seem to like her.

I was hoping Fiona wouldn't forget her steps and make mistakes because I think she's a better dancer than Mark - technically. I notice that Mark has great concentration and never forgets his steps but shame he's not more agile - most of the celebs usually lose some weight in training but he doesn't seem to have done.

Mark said on ITT a while ago that he'd lost weight. I think he said three stone.

Sophie's dancing definitely comes across as cold and detached and I think she's always self-conscious, which makes her movement wooden.

Ashley might have broken through and just soar from now on. I hope so, because up until now he's been rather forgettable.

Has Mark lost 3 stone!

I really want Sophie to do well. And I hope they dance Murder on the Dance Floor - with the tempo remixed to suit the dance.

I'm sure that's what he said. Without wanting to be rude, he is still quite substantial... but I guess he has a lot of weight he could lose before it changed his shape and size dramatically.