I haven’t been dancing so much lately but I’ve recently picked up on some things. Plus, I’m excited about this project that I’ve just started. Will post more about it soon.
The new season of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) had started in the US. Unfortunately, it is not shown here in the UK so I rely on YouTube to see some of the dances. As I was browsing, I came across this video of the DWTS pros tribute to Michael Jackson last year.
Michael Jackson
1958 – 2009
Dancers come and go in a twinkle of an eye but the dance lives on. ~ Michael Jackson
By the way, Buzz Aldrin is on Season 10 of DWTS! Could he be US’ answer to John Sergeant?
British people are natural philanthropists. I’ve never seen a nation so eager and willing to do something for a good cause — even if it makes a fool out of themselves. Here are some examples:
Let’s Dance for Sport Relief is back this year and has been airing on BBC One since 20 February. This programme shows celebrities and sportsmen put on their dance shoes as they recreate famous dance routines like Flashdance, Dirty Dancing and recently, Cheryl Cole’s Fight for this Love (see video below). Grand finals is scheduled on 13 March.
Dancing in Ealing for Marie Curie is very much less in the limelight but not diminished in any way for the cause. Swingland will be dancing swing, also on 13 March, while collecting for the cancer charity, Marie Curie. If you are interested to join and/or for more information, contact Martin Ellis of Swingland at martin2010ATswinglandDOTcom or check out the event page on Facebook.
Last night was the first night of the ice dance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. It was the compulsary dance where all couples would do the same routine to the same music. Must have been mad for the audience, and perhaps the judges, listening to the same tune at least 20 times!
Normally, I wouldn’t watch the ice dance competition. I prefer the figure skating because of the throws and jumps. Ironic since I love dancing. Anyway, the compulsary routine for this Olympics was titled “Tango Romantica” – inspired by, as the name implies, tango. This prompted me to watch the performances. Luckily, and thankfully, the BBC only showed about 6 couples, which included the 2 couples from America, 1 from Russia, 1 from Italy and 1 from Great Britain. As mentioned in the beginning, all couples performed the same routine to the same music.
Since tango’s basic step is the walk and this is usually projected as if you were gliding on the floor, I thought that dancing it on skates, whether on ice or not, would be fantastic. But since the skates really makes one glide, it is challenging to put on staccato movements. I know I could be mistaken here but watching the ice dancers, I really didn’t see anyone put on accents to their steps and with tango, this is quite basic. All except the Russian couple, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. Not only did they look the part (although that backwards in front jacket for Oksana was a bit questionable) but to me, they rendered the tango quite beautifully and the closest to the dance itself. It wasn’t a surprise, therefore, that the judges gave them the highest marks of 43.76.
Oksana and Maxim from Russia | Photo credit: YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images
Perhaps it was just my expectations of the dance and not the dance on ice so I may be completely wrong. What about you? Did you see the dances? Who is your favourite?
I know I haven’t been blogging about So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) since it was introduced in the UK last January but here’s a breaking news, which might interest those who follow it.
Robbie White has withdrawn from the competition due to injury during rehearsals. He will be replaced by Alastair Postlethwaite, who was eliminated by the judges in the semi-final round.
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- Alastair Postlethwaite
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- Robbie White
The final of SYTYCD UK is on BBC One this Saturday, 13 February 2010, from 7.45pm.
(Image credits: Taken from the respective fan pages on Facebook.)
