Okay I am combining half a dozen things into one post here so please bear with me while I race through them all.

First the September round up is up on the site and you can read that here. Because I chose to do the writing Resolutions and subsequent monthly posts as pages I don’t think you get email notifications so I have to let you know via other posts until I find a way round it.

The second thing even more exciting is I have been published…. my poem My Child has been published in Zest Journal which you can go to by clicking on the title page below (after you read the rest of my post obviously lol)

Now you may have noticed the title of this post, yes I have dusted off the sequins and feather boas and can now be found prancing round my living room on a Saturday evening.  I have decided normally I post book reviews on a Monday but for the next few weeks they will be suspended while I share my love of dancing with you all.  Now I know some of you might not be dance fans but I hope my comments will amuse you enough to get you through the run up to christmas and the glitterball champions being crowned.  I shall scratch out people from the sweepstake picture below as they are booted out

I promise as there are quite a few people in at the beginning I shall keep my comments brief, for today I shall do a brief intro for each couple what they danced, quick thoughts plus a couple of extra features I intend including each week. No one goes home this week and all scores are carried over to next week.

  Celebrity; Ashley Taylor Dawson, soap actor

  Professional; Ola Jordan

  Dance;  Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 25

  What I thought; loved the outfits, Ola of course was amazing and at times so was he but at times he looked a little bit too much like his Hollyoaks character Darren and was a little smarmy.  Potentially a front runner if he learns to move his hips in future Latin dances. The routine was okay but nothing that made me want to jump out of my seat, I did wonder if the fact that his girlfriend is expecting any day might be a factor in that,

  Celebrity; Tony Jacklin. ex-Golfer

  Professional; Aliona Vilani

  Dance;  Waltz

  Judges Marks; 16

  What I thought; I know the theme for this was supposed to be something along the lines of a Brief Encounter but it reminded me of a dad dancing with his daughter at her wedding,  Ailona of course looked stunning and graceful but I already hate to think how he will look doing Latin.  Craig was a little harsh with his comments and his mark giving just 2 but if I am honest I cannot see it getting much better.

  Celebrity; Mark Benton, Actor (starred in Doctor Who)

  Professional; Iveta Lukosiute

  Dance;  Tango

  Judges Marks; 24

  What I thought;  Loved this, from the humorous start it had me hooked, for a big man he is light on his feet and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I do worry that his build will effect his ability to do the Latin dances but I think he will certainly be one of the most entertaining after this opening performance.  I think that he will do very well at ballroom just hope he can survive his Latin weeks.

  Celebrity; Susanna Reid

  Professional; Kevin Clifton

  Dance; Jive

  Judges Marks; 28

  What I thought;  I loved this.  It may not have been technically perfect but the energy and fun levels were off the scale.  You could not watch this without a smile on your face.  I also love the fact she looks like a normal woman she has curves but still looked sexy and was not dressed in the frumpier dresses they normally choose for curvier ladies. They also got the first 8 of the series,

  Celebrity;  Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Singer

  Professional; Brendon Cole

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 28

  What I thought; Beautiful, elegant, I loved her dress but hated her tattoo showing, don’t get me wrong I love tattoos I have my own hers just did not go with the dress or the feeling of the dance.  Loved the song choice of Moon River.  Possibly my favourite ballroom of the week. It will be interesting to see how she copes as from her dancing I have seen in her videos she is more of a stand and wiggle type dancer than one used to moving her feet.

  Celebrity; Natalie Gumede, Actress, ex-dancer

  Professional; Artem Chigvintsev

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 31

  What I thought; Okay let me first say what I am about to say is not a slight on her I get she loves dancing and would jump at the chance to appear but she is a trained dancer, she only went into acting when an injury at 19 ended her dancing career, the judges are already singing her praises, though Darcy pretended to be surprised by her placement and finishing.  I do not know what the injury was that ended her career and whether that will prove to be limiting in some way but I do feel she has an unfair advantage on the others.  Right rant over, I was not actually thrilled by this routine, she was dressed in a Cleopatra style dress, he was a shirtless Russian dancing to Boney M, I like Bruce kept expecting him to burst into cossack dancing which was a little distracting, I think a different music choice or costume choice for Artem would have served them better and I don’t often think Artem should have more clothes on lol.

  Celebrity;  Ben Cohen, ex rugby-player

  Professional; Kristina Rihanoff

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 19

  What I thought; First I think it is worth mentioning that Ben only has 50 percent hearing, which I think may have played a part in him losing his timing on this first dance, while I have no doubt that confidence will help him compensate as he progresses I would imagine that for this first number it did play a part.  I am also thrilled to see he had his chest on show and it had not been waxed, hopefully his chest hair will be allowed to remain.  It was not the best dance but it was okay and I think Craig was overly critical but nothing new there.  Loved the outfits, liked the song choice, think he will be good in ballroom.

  Celebrity; Fiona Fullerton, Actress and Bond Girl

  Professional; Anton Du Beke

  Dance; Tango

  Judges Marks; 24

  What I thought;  This was one where I was torn. They certainly got my vote for music of the week using Duran Duran’s View to a Kill, the theme to the bond film in which Fiona appeared, and she certainly played the character well within the dance.  For the most part I loved it there were just a few moments where it was almost as if her mind had gone blank and Anton was throwing her into place.  It is good to see Anton with a partner who can actually dance and I think with time Fiona will improve, should be interesting to see if she can get her bond girl attitude back for the sexy Latin dances,

  Celebrity; Dave Myers, Hairy Biker Celebrity Chef

  Professional; Karen Hauer

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 16

  What I thought; Dave describes his dance style as dad dancing crossed with a gyrating troll,  I have to say in technical terms it was pretty close to a car crash but you could not take your eyes off him and it was fantastic, totally crazy, energetic and fun.  I challenge you to watch it without a grin on your face.  I really hope he stays in for weeks as I can;t wait to see what he will do next. I am not sure what he would be capable of dancing wise if Karen could rein him in but I am not sure that will be even possible,

  Celebrity; Rachel Riley, TV presenter and Maths Whizz

  Professional; Pasha Kovalev

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 27

  What I thought;  Beautifully elegant but it felt a little sterile, I know it is obviously early days they have only been dancing together a couple of weeks, and the fact she is not an actress means she can’t fake a bond between them and I just didn’t feel any connection between them.  I hope that they will get better as they get to know each other more, they look like they will be a great couple, the costumes were great just needs a spark to bring the partnership to life.

  Celebrity;  Julien Macdonald, Fashion Designer

  Professional; Janette Manrara

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 20

  What I thought;  First I think he suffered this week from trying to organise his fashion show and train at the same time so possible it is unfair to judge him too much on this performance.  The music choice and the catwalk setting were perfect for him, he definitely looked to be having the time of his life and I can see potential there it will be fun to watch him develop, though the costume department will probably by squirming every time they have to show him costume designs.

  Celebrity; Deborah Meaden, Businesswoman and Dragon’s Den Investor

  Professional; Robin Windsor

  Dance; Tango

  Judges Marks; 24

  What I thought; Deborah could not have a better partner than Robin, last year he took Lisa Riley almost to the end of the series and showed that personality teamed with some dance ability can compete with technical perfection.  I think she will de really well in the ballroom I am not sure if her age might not count against her in the Latin unless she plays it with character rather than trying for outright sexy.

  Celebrity; Patrick Robinson, Actor

  Professional; Anya Garnis

  Dance; Jive

  Judges Marks; 28

  What I thought; They drew the short straw getting this dance first on so many levels, fitness levels, Patrick’s dodgy knees and the general speed especially for a bigger guy but all that said I enjoyed it, it was fun and fairly fast although he looked to be tiring towards the end.  It could be a blessing that he has actually got this dance out of the way week one with a decent first performance rather than later in the competition when more will be expected for him as he definitely has potential to go to the end.

  Celebrity; Vanessa Feltz, TV Presenter

  Professional; James Jordan

  Dance; Cha Cha

  Judges Marks; 19

  What I thought;  Okay it was amusing but a dancer she is not.  I think that James will have to take off more than his shirt to cover up Vanessa’s failings when it comes to the Latin dances.  I think she will do a little better in the ballroom but I fear she does not have the acting ability to put enough character into performance to compensate for the lack of technical competence.

 

  Celebrity; Abby Clancy, Model and Footballers Wife
Professional; Aljaz Skorjanec

  Dance; Waltz

  Judges Marks; 32

  What I thought; Truly beautiful. elegant, serene, as a model it is to be expected that Abby would have a degree of poise but as has been proved on previous series that is no guarantee of the ability to move.  Many other models have failed in impress on Strictly and I hope that the public can forget any preconceptions they have about her as a footballers wife and judge her on the dancing.

My Dance Of The Week

Costume of the Week

 

 

I confess I do rather love the Latin costumes with all their frills, tassels and glitz, and of course am envious of the figures in them lol but one can only aspire to Kristina curves in my dreams so I shall have to leave the cut out dresses to her for now lol

 

Frocky Horror Picture Show

I have no idea what Darcy was thinking with this dress, it actually reminded me a little of a WWF Diva’s wresting costume and does make Darcy look a little butch, maybe she upset the stylist but her boobs were rather distracting trying to work out what was actually going on whether it was a wardrobe malfunction or the squashed in look was intended.