2021 Tango's 'Little bit of Honesty'

Here's hoping Tango manages to get his bone pain sorted this year.

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to our thread namesake. If you're reading this Tango, hope you're having a lovely day

Hi Everyone'

Just thought I'd drop in to say Hello.

For some reason I haven't been getting the notifications that the forum is 'active' again, so I've logged in and made sure all is ok with my account.

Seems a good day to have come back online - Wishing Mr T a very Happy Birthday!!

I must admit I'm not quite up to speed yet on SCD 2021 - I've had a lot going on with work, home and another eye op (although only a minor one). I now feel I'm ready to 'zone in' on this year's show.

Hope everyone else is all ok and raring to go

Mauve
xxx

Looking forward (as always) to the new series in what is an interesting line-up. I am away for this weekend so will catch the creating of the couples on catch-up so will look to avoid the forum until after viewing it.

A couple of newspapers articles saying that nine of this year's celebrities have had dance training . Me, well I will be rooting on Dan Walker and Adam Peaty and one or two others no doubt once it all gets under way.

Hi CC
(it
Hope all's well with you. Enjoy your weekend away.

I'm rooting for Dan Walker too. I enjoyed Robert Webb when he did 'Flashdance' a few years back (it was either for CIN or Red Nose Day). I haven't had a lot of time to see a lot of the preamble about the contestants this year so I'm looking forward to 'going in cold' as it were and discovering whos and who and whats what at the weekend.

mauveangel09 wrote:Hi CC
(it
Hope all's well with you.   Enjoy your weekend away.

I'm rooting for Dan Walker too.  I enjoyed Robert Webb when he did 'Flashdance' a few years back (it was either for CIN or Red Nose Day).  I haven't had a lot of time to see a lot of the preamble about the contestants this year so I'm looking forward to 'going in cold' as it were and discovering whos and who and whats what at the weekend.

Thanks Mauve. Yes Dan just comes across as a real decent bloke. Up for fun and game for anything. I can't wait to see how he does. Katie McGlynn is one I felt I would be rooting for but she is one with years of dance training. Tom Fletcher too went to dance school. The refreshing thing this year is there are no 'joke' entrants that we invariably always get.

Here are those listed as having dance training though some are ambiguous links to training.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/16115101/strictly-fix-nine-contestants-dance-training/

Belated birthday greetings to Tango.

I hope you managed to get your hip pain sorted, bone pain is the pits!

Hi all, and thanks for your good wishes. My problem is my knees and the arthritis is quite bad, but enough of that.

I haven't been keepi ng track of contestants , preferring to watch them first. I'll do what I can with comments, but am looking forward to all yours as ever. Strike up the band then Mr Arch, and off we go...

p.s. Amongst my birthday cards this week was a printed invitation to a ball at Netherfied Park. Unfortunately, it's dated 1813.

Well, not much to comment on till next week. I'm hopeless with names, but there are a few with dance shapes standing out. Be interesting to watch the male with male pair and it may work fine if they dance as two males sort of in competition with each other rather than one take a defined woman's part or play romance angles. That's a bit "Coal to Newcastle" for me.The Rumba might be better omitted here. . The deaf young lady is worth keeping an eye on too. Already I fear for the likes of Adam Peaty as his Olympic feats will be hard to outscore the soap queens. A Buddy Holly record (Peggy Sue ?)is a cert for the McFly lad.

Being a massive Jane Austen fan,I remember Emma Thompson's husband well from "Sense and Sensibility" where he played an absolute rotter, but I won't hold that against him. Might be a few surprises once the G.B.P get involved, but we'll see. Too soon to say much more except good to be back.

An interesting bunch of c.elebs, good to see some new pros and glad Nancy and Graziano are off the bench.....can't wait for the live show now!

Based on the group dance I'm going to make an early prediction for my final three (haha! I'll probably get this totally wrong) being Rhys, Adam and AJ. Personality wise, I'm also drawn to Ugo, though not sure if Oti will be able to make it three in a row.   Predictions for early exits include Nina, Sara, Katie, Greg, Judi and Dan.  

I hope A.nton lives up to his promise of being a constructive and fair judge. He already looks at home on the panel, I'm glad to see him there.

Just one tiny niggle.....I do wish Tilly hadn't prefaced every sentence with 'my dad this...my dad that....'  She needs to be there in her own right, not as 'daughter of'.  

To be honest I haven't had the usual sense of anticipation for Strictly this year, but am beginning to perk up a little bit now. Bring it on!  

[quote="TANGOLERO"]

p.s. Amongst my birthday cards this week was a printed invitation to a ball at Netherfied Park. Unfortunately, it's dated 1813.  [/quote ]

Hi all

Just read your excellent comments.

I really enjoyed the show - I think there is some good potential there and some interesting pairings. Good mix of ages and backgrounds. Although I did think (the same as B4P has said on the 'Launch Show' thread) that there are some strong characters this year which could mean fireworks with their pros and/or behind the scenes!

I liked most of the pairings except for Rhys and Nancy. I did not take to him at all (although I grant he could have been nervous with all that babbling and gyrating around) - Nancy is an unknown quantity of course as a teacher/choreographer but was also bouncing off the wall and I wanted to tell the pair of them to calm down Felt a bit the same about AJ whatshername but let's reserve judgement until we've seen some real dancing.

Feel concerned for those who have new Pros - that's always a risk as I think these days the popular pros ( eg Aliash, Katya, Oti) are able to perhaps garner some votes on their merits initially as well as their celeb. I think Nikita was the obvious choice for Tilly. I note that Luba is on the bench this year, but nice to see Graz getting another chance - let's hope he does better this time.

I'm genuinely interested in quite a lot of them so looking forward to the first show, although alarmed to see a samba in the first show - mind you the judges are more forgiving with the difficult dances at this early stage aren't they?

I loved the Donna Summer n umber at the beginning and turned the TV up !! I thought the group dance was much more professional looking than usual but that was because they mainly danced in their partner's arms rather than separately I think. I also much preferred the format of how they meet their partners now - it is good to see that conversation and learn a little bit about the celebs. It just used to be like a cattle market when they all stood around in the studio - hope they never go back to that.

So that's it then.........we're off.............bring it on xx

mauveangel09 wrote:

I liked most of the pairings except for Rhys and Nancy.   I did not take to him at all (although I grant he could have been nervous with all that babbling and gyrating around) - Nancy is an unknown quantity of course as a teacher/choreographer but was also bouncing off the wall  and I wanted to tell the pair of them to calm down  
Feel concerned for those who have new Pros - that's always a risk as I think these days the popular pros   ( eg  Aliash, Katya, Oti) are able to perhaps garner some votes on their merits initially as well as their celeb.    I think Nikita was the obvious choice for Tilly.  
I'm genuinely interested in quite a lot of them so looking forward to the first show, although alarmed to see a samba in the first show.
I also much preferred the format of how they meet their partners now - it is good to see that conversation and learn a little bit about the celebs.  

Nancy reminded me a bit of Karen a few years ago when she was in her hyper phase. Maybe as they're both a bit hyper, they'll cancel each other out manic wise?
Kai has danced in the Irish version of Strictly for years and has also been a background dancer on the UK Strictly for a couple of years, so I would hope his choreography would be ok. Then again, Karen has been on the team for around 10 years now, yet she still seems to have other people doing her choreography for her, which I'm not sure is entirely fair. Yes, ok for one particular dance if it's not their forte, but surely by now she knows how to Salsa and Street dance? When I saw that Greg had been partnered with Karen, I thought 'oh no!'.
I thought Tilly was completely in awe of wonder boy Nikita. I think if she'd seen him at a party, she'd have been in there like a shot, but the thought of looking less than her best during training sessions may be a hindrance! I can imagine Gordon hovering in the background like that old song 'and her mother came too'.
Samba with it's 7 different rhythms must be the hardest latin dance. Week 1 material - no! Got to be a tactical move to get it out of the way?
How many cheesy songs will be lined up this year? I'm guessing they'll release the whole list in the next day or so. I'm putting a fiver on Tom Fletcher being dressed up as either Harry Potter, Joe 90, or Austin Powers for Film Night!

Hi B4P

I was going to put bits of your post in quotes and then I thought not because I agree with 100% of it - excellent post.

Yes about Karen in particular and about Gordon Ramsay, but the Gordon Ramsay thing could become quite funny.

Love your comment about Tom Fletcher and the cheesy songs! I was also wondering who they would get to dress up in the daft costumes on theme nights, now that Janette has gone. It's got to be Nancy and Rhys methinks.................

TANGOLERO wrote:

Being a massive Jane Austen fan,I remember Emma Thompson's husband well from "Sense and Sensibility" where he played an absolute rotter, but I won't hold that against him. Might be a few surprises once the G.B.P get involved, but we'll see. Too soon to say much more except good to be back.

I thought Greg Wise played Willoughby - the nice guy who Emma Thompson married in the film? As well as in real life!)

diamondsandpearls wrote:

I thought Greg Wise played Willoughby - the nice guy who Emma Thompson married in the film? As well as in real life!)

Hi, D &P. Yes, Greg Wise married Emma Thompson in real life, but in the film version of Sense and Sensibility  (2005) he is the villain, John Willoughby.   Hugh Grant played the good guy, Edward Ferrars that Elinor Dashwood ( Emma Thompson) marries.
It  is the younger sister Marrianne (Kate Winslett) who Willoughby "disappoints" (what a splendidly "Austinesque" description),  but the late, great Alan Rickman is there to console her...

Gosh. I got really confused, didn't I?!!!

diamondsandpearls wrote:Gosh. I got really confused, didn't I?!!!

Easily done D&P, especially as film versions don't always follow "Canon". (A term beloved of the Austen academics). I'm hoping the producers might throw in an Austen scene on Film Night, in preference to modernity, although I'm also hoping for something from the new version of West Side Story (which I know nothing about yet) where I'm sure "America" could be worked into a samba/salsa..?? Hope springs eternal...

Tilly is about to start at Uni, so I'm not sure how she's going to organise her Uni study, dance training, TV work and keeping Co-vid safe. It made me smile when a lot of the other pro dancers were warning their celebrity of 12 hour training days. I'm not sure they'll be enough hours in the day for Tilly's schedule

TANGOLERO wrote:

Easily done D&P, especially as film versions don't always follow "Canon". (A term beloved of the Austen academics). I'm hoping the producers might throw in an Austen scene on Film Night, in preference to modernity, although I'm also hoping for something from the new version of West Side Story (which I know nothing about yet) where I'm sure "America" could be worked into a samba/salsa..?? Hope springs eternal...  

No, this one's on me - I've seen two adaptations (the film and a BBC one from the noughties) [i] and[i] read the book, but in my head Willoughby was the nice man, rather than Ferrars.

Kevin and Frankie did a Paso to America on Strictly Movies Night a few years back : https://youtu.be/2VvQiiZvrdI so they might not repeat it.

[quote="diamondsandpearls"]

Ah, yes, I remember it. I did this at the time...

Wow - what a start.

Good job they're wasn't another two contestants or we'd have been seeing 10s. Definitely a case of the earlier dancers getting harsher marks and comments. I need some time to collect my thoughts after such a long show.

I will undoubtedly have more to say in he next day or two (lets face it, a LOT more...) but as I have to be up at 6am for work tomorrow and it is going to be a long and tiring day I thought I would get some words out about my impressions of the first show befoore we start.

First of all, a word about the frockage: disappointing. Nancy was doing a VW and there was not a godet or feather in sight. No crin, no waft. It's enough to make you cry. The best ones were the latin fringey tasselly affairs: unicorn rainbow for Rose and gold for AJ - both looked sensational. I will expand at more length some other time (and possibly on the right thread...)

(In case you were wondering, I embarked upon the show channeling my inner Ginger, with a shell pink, bias cut, satin gown, plentifully trimmed with maribou feathers and a smattering of pale apricot crystals. Hair was pinned up, earrings were spangly and dangly and lashes thick and long.)

Tess looking gorgeous for the second week running in a red halter neck, and Clauds clearly has it written in her contract that everything should be too big - her white trouser ensemble kept to the letter.

To the dancing!

It was all very enjoyable, with some pleasant surprises, some wildly disparate scoring (so actually, no surprises there then) and some beautiful burgeoning partnerships.

Best partnerships are:

Sara and Aljaz - I am Afor her - she seems likeable
Rose and Givoanni - she is quite feisty with him and he is a veryy caring teacher
Daniel and Nadiya - utterly adorable together (we must ALL call him Daniel now)
John and Johannes - a genuine connection

Most annoing partnerships:

Adam and Katya - unlikely that he is ever going to lose his Agin from me (and I WISH he would put his tits away)
Dianne and Robert - she has a tendency to be grating and Robert doesnt temper it
Karen and Greg - He is SO lovey and Karen has gone all silent (someone pass her some Skittles)

The rest... we'll see.

Best dance for me was the Blue Monday Tango - I predict it will get as many re-watches from me as Danny and Oti's Samba. It was so powerful, yet elegant. Spellbinding and gave me goosebumps. This was, as Johannes siad he wanted it to be, all about the dancing. What gender they are was neither here nor there. They achieved what Katya and Nicola could not (partly because Nicola had no fluidity and wasn't the greatest dancer and partly because they had no real connection or chemistry - it was all very instragram). Tempted to just give them the glitterball now.

AJ and her amazing legs which carry on until the end of time was phenonenal. But she talks even more than me - and much louder - which is... an achievement. And still Agin the very young, 26 year old Kai.

Gorka doing the Tango was MAGNIFICENT. Rumour has it he was dancing with someone; I didn't see them.

Rose looked fantastic and seemed like she was having a ball, which is what I like to see. I think she will go from strength to strength and have a proper j word.

Daniel was much less Dad dancey than I feared and I still have a crush on him (sorry, but I like lanky and slightly geeky so much more than muscley and hewn out of rock)

Loved Nina (very Afor), but thought the Samba itself was... a bit weird. Glad the judges loved it though. Not sure how I feel about Neil this year.

Robert was terrible (not just because I am Agin - I am capable of seperating the dance talent from the person)

Adam was better than I imagined, given that he is a chunk of granite with tattoos, but not as good as the judges thought he was (Shrilly has the hots, so...)

Tom was very meh, which surprised me. Thupafan Amy may get annoying, which is a first for me as I am historically very very Afor Amy.

Didn't think Judi was great, but Graziano was SO endearing when they were talking to Clauds, so I don't want to see them go.

Tilly was very nervous and it showed. SO Agin Mr 'Im so cheeky' Flopy Fringe, who, as our Sid pointed out on the twitters could be anywhere between 17 and 36.

Rhys... hmm. For a ringer I was very disappointed. It wasnt helped by the costuming, but I expected more.

Greg - I glazed over. Was busy admiring Karen's feathers - one of the only proper ballgowns of the whole show. (Apparently Shirley has seen Greg's fundementals - has anyone told Emma Thomson?)

I expect there were another nine couples that I've left out, but time is marching on and I think we've covered anough for now.

I forgot how long the first couple of shows are, but in all it was a great opener to the series and glad to have it back to add some sparkle to my Saturday night.

My feathers are a little bedraggled now, quite a few crystals are missing, my hair is adrift and I can't seem to locate my right shoe.

Time for bed. xxx

diamondsandpearls wrote:(In case you were wondering, I embarked upon the show channeling my inner Ginger, with a shell pink, bias cut, satin gown, plentifully trimmed with maribou feathers and a smattering of pale apricot crystals. Hair was pinned up, earrings were spangly and dangly and lashes thick and long.)

I adore Manneskin.... Their not-on-stage styling is to die for - am channeling my own interpretation of the look (sort of mid 1970s Art student meets Rolling Stones and their girlfriends of the same era) via all the charity shops I can find. Doing quite well so far.)

Now I've been in some posh charity shops in St John's Wood, but didn't realise they had such a wide choice in the Lake District charity shops!