Ah, two dances. Either double the fun, or a gruelling reminder that these people have lives and jobs and adding a cha cha to a Viennese waltz at the end of a long series is just asking for a nervous … Continue reading
Ah, post-Blackpool Week – Strictly’s annual hangover show. Lower the lights, pass the Berocca, and for god’s sake don’t make too much noise. Not generally a vintage night, and so it proved, with several celebs stuck with styles that didn’t … Continue reading
Welcome to Blackpool, where, according to Strictly, the beaches are positively balmy in November, time has stood still since Len’s Fifties heyday, and the local scoring exchange rate is approximately 1:1.5 – 9s and 10s for all the vaguely good … Continue reading
We need to talk about music. Strictly precariously straddles the worlds of ballroom and entertainment, so it can’t – and shouldn’t – be wall-to-wall Victor Silvester, but we’ve reached a crisis point. Song and theme choices (as I understand it, … Continue reading
It’s almost worth having bonkers Strictly theme shows just to make us really appreciate the relative sanity of a non-theme show. Well, almost. We’re into “I keep whacking myself with a hammer because it feels so good when I stop” … Continue reading
Yes, it’s that dark week of Strictly. The week when our first couple is thrown out of paradise, and also the week when at least one blogger develops crippling RSI. Still, at least 15 dances meant marginally less filler. Just … Continue reading
It wouldn’t be Strictly without the epic trolling that is the scoring. Welcome back to judgement as alarmingly random as Caligula’s hiring policies. Some celebs benefitted from the Week 1 Magic 8-Ball, others have cause to grumble, with particular howlers … Continue reading
My articles in the October issue of the new Dancing Times magazine, out now: Strictly Speaking The class of 2015 assessed, from ringers and dark horses to marmite celebs and comedy acts. Stepping Out Is it time for a same-sex couple on Strictly? New in the Dance … Continue reading
As we hunt for renewable energy sources, has anyone considered Balé de Rua? The hard-working company maintain their feverishly frenetic motion throughout an ambitious 85-minute show that – in line with the social conscience of co-directors/choreographers Marco Antonio Garcia and … Continue reading
After seemingly decades of celebrity reveals on every BBC outlet known to man (“Now the ident hippos will announce ‘Peter Andre’ via synchronised swimming!”), Strictly has finally begun in earnest and the pairings unveiled to an eager nation. Well, ish. … Continue reading
