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Vincent and Natalie did a good tango with passion, accuracey. Alesha said that Natalie needed to be more connected to her partner (right on Alesha!)-6 6 6 6=24
Zoe and James did waltz to Someday My Prince will Come. Very pretty, with simple readable basics, a few switches and a standing spin at the beginning and then some nice stationalry pivots at the end. Len asked for more movement. She looks very elegant to me.Alesha loves the waltz and she said it was romatic, and a joy to watch. Bruno complimented James on the simplicity and elegance. Craig agrees. This waltz was perfect for the first dance. I think that if it were presented the same way on DWTS, it may have been considered to be boring. 7 8 7 8=30 That's the same thing they gave Ali and Brian. I like this waltz too, but not quite as much.
Craig and Flavia di tangoHe says he likes to lead. Flaviea's gown is stunning. their music is a bollywood number with lots of whip crack sounds. He is hunched forward a little but the overall effect of the music, movement, outfits is good. Craig wanted more drive and a nicer PP and a little less leading with the L hand. Len says he attacked it, but that made it lose some finesses. Alesha noticed he made noises to get into it, and appreciated that he gave it his all. Bruno agrees with Len and appreciates that Craig did more and not less. I agree with all of them. 5 6 5 6=22
Richard and Lilia are doing waltz ( I thought when they said he was a racing champ they meant cars-it's horses! OK, that's more promising) He says nothing matters but Strictly. Lilia looks positively 1930 ish.Opening is pretty but he looks uncomfortable as soon as approaching dance hold. His timing is good and and he seems to have the routine down. Thee posture gets almost every one, though. It's too bad that ruins it. Audience seems to like him best so far. Bruno is impressed with his improvement from last week's group number. Craig thought it looked very nervous and the rise and fall, kbalance and control were not well expressed . Len likes his standing spin and is impressed that he can even walk after all the years on a horse. Alesha says everyone has an opinion and thinks that the one thing he needs to work on is his back and being more up right. 4 5 5 5=19
Laila and Anton (she is gorgeous and very exotic looking). Anton has been saving up his dancing for years for her. They are doing the tango. Right into dance hold and into the dance with no "messing about" as Len says. It is not sharp and she also is a bit forward for a woman. Whoops, a mistake- he cannot get her to PP. Some cobra's and a simple corte to end. Alesha thinks she looks incredible and it is good to dee Anton with a dancer who could go all the way. She comments on the droopy hand. Bruno said she had a halo of tangoness, basically. Craig picked up on the hand, and remarked on the following being good except for the bizarre moment which Anton claims was planned (ha ah). Len saiys you know what I like and you gave it to me. He is not bothered by the mistake. Evidently Len likes the straightforward dancing and isn't going for (or ever did) trying to get OTT. 7 8 7 8=another 30!
Phil and Katya He is here to prove that not all criketers can dance. He's is funny. He says he has a mountain to climb. they are doing Waltz. Pretty dress!!!! I love this song, Sam Sam. He is keeping the posture better than the other men tonight!. He is doing well. Andy likes him best of all the dancrers tonight, including the women. Len is bowled over. It is charming, natural, best footwork. Alesha appreciates that he is a joker, but that he took this seriously and he did it well. Bruno says he is easy does it Phil. Well done. Craig says the show is always full of surprises and Phil is one of them. 7 8 7 7=29 andy insists he is the best one, but we are concerned for the cha cha tomorrow
Jo Wood and Brendan She has been hanging out with bad boys all her life so Brendan is a piece of cake. Brendan thinks he's met his match. Tango is their dance. Right into dance hold just like Anton and Laila Let's dance (david Bowie)Jo has a great dress with red shoes. ilov e red dance hoes. But It's a bit rough but cedrtaninly credible. Craig has a list of corrections and compares her to Joe Calzaghe. Len says she started well, but well-done. He's the nice judge tonght. Alesha says maybe the dance doesn't suit her as well as tomorrow's dance. Don't show errors with your face. Bruno says she kept up to Brendan and he tempers the other judges' blows and hopes she will be more comfortable next dance. Brendan popes in and gives her credit for working the hardest of anyone. H thought she was brilliant and made great improvements. 3 5 5 5=18
I would like to do tango to that song.
Ricky and Natalie- he looked FAB in the group number last week. They are doing waltz. He says he is living and breathing dancing. They begin with a box step and an over sway. He moves nicely but overshapes to the R. He looks very talented and musical he slips but I hope the judges don't make an issue. This dance must be good, it seems really short. Bruno makes issue. GEEZ! but he says it is incredible. Craig compliments Natalie for choreography. Len says he is the one to beat, if his latin is up to par, they will be the best couple ever. Alesha compliments that the music without such a pronounced beat was hard to dance to, so congrats. We think he may get some 9's. He says he was Prince Richard, cause Ricky can't dance like that and tomorrow he will be Pablo.8 9 8 8=33
Group number to MJackson music. He comes my Brian showing off. This is a very good routine and the celebs are dancig well. Jade has a feature. Bri and Ali are in the front Ola leads the vertcal line. Too many changes of camera to appreciate fully for me - probably that is the idea. I think it is going better than last week's number. Best part is Brian's butt slide at the end.
Sunday Sept 27-yesterday afternoon I came home and Andy was anxious for me to see the Saturday program, but I was falling asleep in front of the screen, and had to take a nap. After coming home from the evening's studio outing to Atlantic City, I thought I would watch the show, but I was too sleepy, so now I am behind already. I guess I missed at least one ITT, and one SCD show so far. And I completely missed SYTYCD and almost all of the second DWTS. Maybe there is more to life than dancing.
I have been looking for ballroom schools in San Antonia, but it doesn't seem anyone I ever heard of teaches there; but I will keep looking. The pictures of the city make it look very attractive, so I am really excited to see and visit it.
Tuesday Sept 29-I caught up with Brian today. He said that he never had such a whirlwind week in his life. He and Ali were in the papers every day, according to him, and the photographers actually chase them. He was still in rehearsal with Ali and says that he is pleased with the dance they have prepared for this week. He had a lot of things to tell me, so I never got to ask about their music and costumes, but Saturday will be here soon and I guess I will find out when everyone else does.
I watched part of ITT today and saw James and Zoe. She is very beautiful. I forgot to look for Claudia's shoes.
I am not sure if I will be back in time to see the show live on Saturday, but I hope so. I get back right about the time the show starts, so it depends on the flight being on time and Brian and Ali's order for the dances.
Monday Oct 5- I got home just in time to miss Brian and Ali dancing live, but I did watch the show a couple times since then. I thought that Ali did a great job and she looked very elegant. I would do her hair differently. A group of smaller curls instead of the bun would appeal more to me. I guess they are working on the salsa, now. I wonder whether they will dance the break on 1 or on 2? I think it is smart to call it salsa rather than mambo. I would like to see lindy, hustle or west coast swing. No maybe not-it would be too difficult for most of the dancers.
Speaking of salsa, I thought the salsa group was actually pretty good. They would have looked better with more sophisticated costuming. The men's outfits were appropriate for a show in a club, but for tv, men's Latin wear would've been more flattering. Two of the girls' fringe dresses were close in color and then the third girl had bright gold. It made it look like they were missing a couple. Then it seemed like maybe they were not in sync when they were supposed to be. I figure every time the camera goes off one or two of the couples, it is because the couple not in the shot is messing up. I guess that isn't possible for the camera to do that on the spot on a live show. I guess I resent not being able to get the group effect, because I am constantly subjected to a change in camera angle and the camera selects who I can watch at any given moment. That is my only negative impression of the entire show. I still think that Alesha is the best judge and commentator on the performances. We don't have any plans to visit, but I really woud enjoy seeing the show in person.
I was surprised that Andy Williams was a guest. I thought he was long gone. We play a lot of his music in the studio. He sounded like it was difficult for him to sing, and his rendition of Moon River reminded me of Wayne Newton's performance on DWTS when he sang the same song and Brian danced with Kym Johnson.
So I just read on a forum that some of the dancers are doing the foxtrot. I only heard "salsa" and was wondering why they decided to make everyone do the same dance. I guess that maybe Ali and Brian are more likely to be assigned the foxtrot, since hardly anyone would be able to beat them in salsa. She might be better doing foxtrot though. She did say that she was more secure in hold, and salsa would definitely require at least some solo work.
I also read that they will be on ITT again today. Wow! Maybe they will show us some training and I can find out what dance they are actually doing. Last year, I usually knew what was going on since we had a Skype call most afternoons, but we aren't using Skype this year, and I feel like I hardly ever get to talk to Brian.
Oct 6-So I finally reached him! He was telling me about the dance for this weekend. He has no idea what Ali's costume will be like and won't see it till the day of. Andy and I are telling him about who we think are the front runners. What we don't know is how the voting public feel, and that is where it counts.
I told Brian about my trip with Monica to San Antonio. He wanted to know what the next trip will be. Andy and Brian are talking about baseball and base ball hats.
On ITT this afternoon, Karen Hardy talked about the couples, the advantage that some have because they got the quickstep out of the way already. Brian and I talked about that a lttle. He has a lot of admiration and respect for Karen.
He told me some funny stuff about the celebrities and the pros and the training. I am glad they have so many laughs. What a great job he has!
Oct 7-We skipped the gym this afternoon and stayed home to watch Claudia's show. It was good and we laughed out loud several times. They showed a little of Brian and Ali practicing salsa. The salsa expert says Brian and Ali will be doing LA, authentic salsa and the other couples will be doing great stuff with theatrical interpretations, or something like that, so it should be a good show to watch. I don't think that there could be two dances more different than foxtrot and salsa. I think that some of the dancers doing foxtrot probably wish they were doing salsa, because the training footage looks less than great. Then again, maybe the dancers deliberately dance poorly so everyone thinks they improved phenomenally in two or three days. They showed Natalie and Vincent doing a lot of stuff that didn't look like practicing. I guess that when you enjoy spending time with someone who you can feel relaxed with, you forget to work and start relaxing. That wouldn't be me. I would want to just practice, practice, practice. Lilia was a guest and she seems like such a calm and easy going person. Actually, the whole group seems very calm and unpressured this year. Is it me?
Oct 8 - I skipped the gym again (!) to watch Claudia's show. There was a little bit about statistics regarding the points the celebrities have racked up the last 6 seasons. Most of the records, low and high scores for foxtrots and salsas, were from last year. The two new female dance pros look to be pretty smart about selecting material and teaching it. I am impressed, and maybe a little surprised, at how much the celebrities claim to like the foxtrot! Phil is my favorite male celebrity. Of course, Ali is my favorite female celebrity followed by Natalie and Lynda. Of course I like Jade, too, but maybe that's just because I am fond of Ian. Who knows? I guess I like them all-I certainly am enjoying watching their progress.
They showed some of Brian and Ali-not much-but it was something.
Claudia was funny. It is hard to believe she is so unskilled at dancing. Maybe her shoes are just too high.
A reporter from NYC called today to get some background on Brian and his childhood and connections to the studio, etc. I may have an interview with him tomorrow. We will see. I talked with Brian and he said he had a photo shoot today with some magazine or paper. Probably it was with Ali. He told me about her dress for Saturday-evidently he found out what they dressmaker is putting together, afterall. He is not the best at descriptions, especially since his description must be second hand from Ali and I can't put a picture in my mind of one thing he described, except "It's on a slant," which I take it to mean is the skirt.
I was thinking about how difficult it is sometimes to get it all together in time for when it counts. Nick came to Philly today to do wheelchair danicng with Aubree. They have a show on Sunday for a fundraiser for breast cancer. A local news reporter will be announcing the dancers, so that is exciting. My senior competitive couple, Bill and Patti Underwood, who are American style National 9 dance Champions, another one of my favorite couples, Joe and Linda Voytilla (he hand made the wc we use for dancing), Josh (who started with me as a wc dance partner) with Jane Baginski who dances in our silver and gold classes, and the former Australian Champion and a partner (who I know very slightly) will perform. Hopefully, the event will get some news coverage. I am just happy that my students will be doing four of the showcases. It will be a long day, and I hope it all goes according to plan and schedule. I have the baby juniors 10:30-1pm, the fundraiser til 5:30pm and another class for a local dance club at 6-7pm.
Anyway, there are so many ups and downs, and there is so much that can go wrong and just make getting it altogether more difficult. Nick flew in today, but Aubree is too sick to practice. That means they have just tomorrow and Saturday to get the three dances ready for their show. Now besides dealing with Aubree being sick, they will be risking injury by trying to put three days of rehearsal into two days. I imagine the SCD couples having to work around the inevitable illnesses, injuries and personal setbacks, including worries about abilities, or lack thereof, confidence, or lack thereof, etc., knowing that millions of people will be tuning in to watch it all go well or go less than well.
Josh and Jane are joking about how they are trying to get their demonstration together in just a few days, just like DWTS and SCD. We are not accustumed to having such short deadlines. Bill and Patti, Joe and Linda are pretty much always prepared, because they perform and compete regularly. Nick has only ever danced in my studio. This will be pretty nerve-racking.
Oct 12-Well, that weekend is finally over. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but sometimes a person just needs to chill out. Nick and Aubree were awesome. The Voytillas as always, hit just the right note with the mood and musicality of their dance; Josh and Jane did an excellent job with the cha cha and just need to make the whole thing more compact for more speed; the Underwoods did one of their best performances.
I got to talk with Brian twice today. We discussed the paparazzi, the dance for next Saturday, the plans for next year, the sky walk I plan to visit in the Grand Canyon, a restaurant's food he enjoyed that made him feel like he was at his grandmother's house, the show he did last week with Kristina, Kristina, his car, and on and on, the wheelchair dancing and how much it means to me, how excited I am to teach the dance club class at Dance Haddonfield. He was stunned at the size of the class when I told him. He says all classes should be like that. Would that they were, but dancing isn't that popular here and still the competition for students is very keen. New schools open all the time.
Brian wanted to know what I thought of the salsa he did with Ali. We discussed the marks, the dances, the dancers. I let him know that any comments that I heard that said Ali was not down and dirty enough, or sexy enough are so ridiculous to me. I think that classy, sophisticated, elegant, are always in style and suit every situation and every dance. I never heard a woman volunteer to be down and dirty, but lots of us want to be classy, sophisticated and elegant.
Oct 14-Brian and Ali were on Claudia's show today. They will be doing the jive on Saturday. There was a little of it on ITT. It looks good!!! I read that some of the fans are concerned that the choreogroaphy will be too difficult. It looked pretty straight forward to me. I am going to watch it again tonight when I come home from work. I was hoping that they would be assigned the Viennese waltz. I can picture a gorgeous, frothy gown, an elegant and princess like dance. Guess we will have to wait on that. Brian told me the music for the jive-I LOVE IT!
The dress makers were on with Shirley Ballas talking about the dresses. I like that feature of Claudia's show. I would enjoy more of that...maybe them doing a fitting, showing the gluing of the rhinestones, steaming the wrinkles, cutting the pieces....I like to see it all. It would even be fun to see a section on the discussions during a design session and see the drawing evolve and then maybe show the dancers' reactions to the designs.
I know the group numbers for the pros sometimes take many hours. I think it would be fun to see a little of the pro group number training sessions. But maybe they don't want us to know what their training lessons are like? Or maybe they don't think we will appreciate seeing one? Maybe we public should only see the finished product.
A man called today to talk to me about the Dancing On Wheels show. I have plenty to say about that, but I think he was just as, or maybe more, interested in Brian's love life. Nosy. Since when is any man/woman relationship more important than a show that might end up being historically significant in terms of social conscience and awareness for people with disabilities? I love all the attention that Brian is getting but I think that it can get to be intrusive and I think that the focus may not always reflect the important things in a person's life. The reporter asked if I was proud. That's a bit obvious. Who wouldn't be proud of a son who grew up and carried on his family business, and who was able to take the wheelchair dancing to a new and higher plane?
Anyway, I am getting anxious about the Dancing On Wheels, anxious about deciding if I am comfortable swinging another trip to London again already, and anxious about Brian continuing to do well on Strictly.
So the question is, "What's it all about?" It's about more people getting involved in dancing, more people appreciating the beauty of ballroom dancing, more people being exposed to the benefits of ballroom dancing.
Oct 16 We talked with Brian briefly. The Phillies superceded SCD during this conversation. We watched Claudia's show. Interesting that Natalie and Vincent are on just about everyday. Natalie is the most positive of all the celebrities, to me. Most of them are worried about messing up, not pleasing their pro partners and the judges. I would feel the same if I were to try to learn something well enough to put it on TV for everyone to scrutinize. I loved Claudia running into Brian backstage and then into Ian in between sets of spray tan.Claudia had Bonnie Tyler as a guest. I thought she was American, but she has an English accent.
I know that Brian went to see the International at Royal Albert Hall last night, but I was on my way out the door when the subject came up. Last year, Andy and I went to that with Heather and him. All the SCD pros and most of the celebrities were there, too. It was a wonderful evening. Probably they all went this year, but I will have to find out. Last year, we ran into a young woman who partnered with Brian for one summer. It was funny to run into her at a competition, and happen to be in same city, the same hallway at exactly the same time.
After lessons tonight, I went to the local ballroom with one of the dancers from Universal. We do some dancing, but we also do a lot of socializing and catching up. A student of mine who was recently vacationing in California told me that he was at Cheryl Burke's studio for their ballroom party night. What he told me surprised me. I need to get the rest of details, like who was there, how was the music, did they have snacks, how much was admission, were the dancers good, etc.
I won't be watching SCD live tomorrow, since lessons don't finish til after the show. I am hoping it all goes well, and I will be casting my imaginary votes. Last year we would do a huge "Go Bri and Heather" right when we knew the show was starting. This year, the dancers are less excited and interested. Many of them don't even know Brian, since he has been gone so long. They have a certain amount of interest because they are attending his school and taking lessons from me, but most of the ladies who used to take private lessons with Brian left when he did, unless they had their own partner. It isn't the same without his energy and social nature.
Oct 17 So I got to watch SCD. One the top couples ended up in the dance off-Zoe and James. What can I say? Joe Calzaghe, also in the dance-off, did a pretty good job with his jive. You have to hand it to Kristina. She does some amazing work with her partners. The audience really responded to Joe and Kristina-especially for their dance-off dance. I am not going to remark on anything today....
Oct 22-We watched Claudia's show everyday. Brian called. I can tell he isn't feeling well. It is a shame. This SCD series is requiring a lot of effort and it has to be really difficult when you are feverish, achy and congested.
On Claudia's show today, the pros all made a big to-do about the "technique" and "footwork" for the samba. This is news to me. Technique and footwork are important in all dances. I will be watching Ricky's feet in the samba, since they showed him with his toes turned out and made a joke about Charlie Chaplin. I will be watching the lady's arms in the American smooth, since that would be an identifying and necessary characteristic of the American smooth division, so I think that maybe that will be a point for comparison.
The students are still asking when am I going to London. We have pretty well decided not to travel to UK this year.
Brian told me about his music for Saturday. I laughed, because last year he didn't get approval for this same song. I think it is perfect and can think of some nice ways to "Americanize" it, but he plans to be plain and simple.
Andy bought Brian some commemorative baseball caps since the Phillies are doing so well. If Brian ever comes home to the US he will have to pre-ship all the caps in his collection. He must have scores of caps by now.
I want to ask him about the Christmas show for SCD. I wonder who he will be paired with? I liked what he did with Kelly last year. I wonder if they ever have the same celebrities back or if they only come back one time?
Oct 23-The studio website gets more hits everyday. I think that just about half of them are from the dancers in our area. Probably the other half comes from UK fans of SCD. Too bad we are not using Sype this year-it has really cut down on communication with Brian; otherwise I would have more to report, remember and write down.
I noticed that some of the fans on the BBC forum noticed that Brian and Ali are a little scarce on ITT compared to the other celebrities. I plan to go through the shows and create a chart to see who is on ITT, how often, which days, etc. Katya was on today with Ricky. This girl can give Brian a run for his money in the fashion department. She looked great. When dancers dress conservatively they look off to me. I dress pretty conservatively, but I think it is appropriate for my age.
I learned today that the SCD definition of American Smooth is to do two lifts in the routine. I have also learned that some of the fans believe that the dancers on DWTS do a different style. I have a few things to say about this. We also learned today that there is a postal worker strike in UK so it is unlikely that Brian will get his Phillies caps anytime soon, or maybe ever. We should have used UPS. Live and learn. I think I will chalk up October 2009 as the month of learning.
Oct 25-I learned some more important things yesterday. One-when you make it a point to give your all, you get a response. this is in regard to teaching. I have been trying REALLY hard to be the best teacher I can be to the students who dance at my school. The effort is certainly worth the reward. Two-people will come to a studio or dance hall that offers what they are looking for, regardless of the price or distance. I learned that from Bill Sapp. Third-everyone is susceptible to the doldrums-even people doing something as exciting as participating in a TV dance show like strictly. I read a forum thread that said "..... interpreted "another day at the office" kind of atmosphere. I thought I picked up on some tiredness or wearyness like it's just a job. Well it is just a job - you can't expect passion and inspiration everyday at work. Some "wow factor" was lacking for me - except for the pro. dance and Ali and Brian. Maybe they're just pacing themselves - not even half way yet (talking of presenters, judges and singers too.)" I was relieved to see that Brian was excluded from the generality they were discussing. He was very sickly last week, but I know he still gave it the best he could.
Another impression I have this year, is that SCD seems to be more focused on the difficulties of putting dances together every week, with pressure, confusion, lack of skills, etc. Even Natalie of Natalie and Vincent, who is the very best at expressing the fun she is having, gets dissappointed with herself. By the way, I loved the red dress. The stoning gave her a nice shape at the waistline. Are these the same dress makers as last year? Anyway, dancing is a diversion for most people. It takes enough concentration that it takes your mind away from whatever else is going on in your life. It can transport one to a fantasyland for a little while. When the dance studio door closes, it can close out the entire rest of the world. When dancing isn't a diversion, when it is your life, the way it affects you can change. After a while it takes a very deliberate effort to feel the same level of joy and thrill about dancing.
I have so much to say about the dancing, the "technique" they went on and on about, the tempos, the marks that didn't reflect the differences in competency of the contestants, but I won't. I am going to save my marks, comparisons, and judge's reports for America's Ballroom Challenge, coming up in just a couple
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