A Little Bit of Honesty.

Sofajudge wrote:He's been on fire this year. I wonder if his imminent tour is having an effect? If she can just control her middle body tremor (not sure of the technical term) she could be wonderful. I hope so, I want her in the final and she has been my favourite from the get go.

I'm a Sophie fan too Sofes, and I think her middle body tremors are nothing that a stiff G&T (4 parts Gin, one part Tonic) wouldn't fix.   I think her only issue is confidence; when she's confident she's as good as anyone.  When she's not you can see the concentration written all over her face.  

Mark and Iveta were my favourites; I'm still in mourning.

To me, Sophie is simultaneously a bit too stiff and a bit too loose. Stiff in the sense she could probably be more uninhibited (nothing a G&T wouldn't sort out, as Dave suggests!), loose in the sense her frame can lose it's firmness and shape if she has to do a sharp turn in hold (and I think only practice can fix that). But even with her shortcomings, I still get the most pleasure out of watching Sophie dance because she has that special mesmeric quality that the others just don't have and which can't be taught.

saxonsiren wrote:Id love more classical music played & no lyrics but just the beautiful tempo,beat,rythmn of the notes to carry the dance for us the viewer.

I'm all for this sax. Would make the dances more atmospheric I think.

Dave - I really missed Mark & Iveta last weekend. It was all very serious and intense. We needed them.

Im all for Sophie loosening up but not a fan of G & T! Can it be a Vodka Martini shakennot stirred! Miss Mark for his personality & ability to make all relax

Steady on with the white spirits folks, remember Mick Miller and Little Noddy.    Don't want the girl legless before she starts. Drop of Baileys and ice should do it without any bad effects. Just enough to stiffen the backbone without either turning it to steel, or worse, jelly.   

If just had an awful thought. Imagine if the producers did let the public vote on the music to be danced to. Dear, dear, it would be too terrible to contemplate. We'd have No Direction or whatever the baby boys are called, fighting with Take This, X Factor fans joining in and worst of all, Celine Dion back on the scene and The Spice lot reforming......aaaaaaaghhhhh!  

TANGOLERO wrote:Steady on with the white spirits folks, remember Mick Miller and Little Noddy.    Don't want the girl legless before she starts. Drop of Baileys and ice should do it without any bad effects. Just enough to stiffen the backbone without either turning it to steel, or worse, jelly.   

If just had an awful thought. Imagine if the producers did let the public vote on the music to be danced to. Dear, dear, it would be too terrible to contemplate. We'd have No Direction or whatever the baby boys are called, fighting with Take This, X Factor fans joining in and worst of all, Celine Dion back on the scene and The Spice lot reforming......aaaaaaaghhhhh!    

    

Sid wrote: I'm all for this sax. Would make the dances more atmospheric I think.

It's really showing my age Sid, but we danced to the big band sound in my youth and the last waltz was always Glen Miller playing Moonlight Serenade. That was dance music.   

TANGOLERO wrote:Steady on with the white spirits folks, remember Mick Miller and Little Noddy.    Don't want the girl legless before she starts. Drop of Baileys and ice should do it without any bad effects. Just enough to stiffen the backbone without either turning it to steel, or worse, jelly.   

If just had an awful thought. Imagine if the producers did let the public vote on the music to be danced to. Dear, dear, it would be too terrible to contemplate. We'd have No Direction or whatever the baby boys are called, fighting with Take This, X Factor fans joining in and worst of all, Celine Dion back on the scene and The Spice lot reforming......aaaaaaaghhhhh!    

Brilliant!

TANGOLERO wrote:

It's really showing my age Sid, but we danced to the big band sound in my youth and the last waltz was always Glen Miller playing Moonlight Serenade. That was dance music.     

Now that's music to fall in love to...

Wouldn't it be lovely for a Strictly couple to evoke those memories by Waltzing to Moonlight Serenade sometime...

No Direction  

My mum and dad did fall in love to the wonderful Glenn Miller music, so for me it's very evocative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Moonlight Serenade isn't a waltz rhythm is it? How did you manage to waltz to it Mr T?

You are right allse! It's a 4/4 beat song, so it's actually more suitable to be a foxtrot than a waltz.

But when it comes to beats, you can still 'force' a four (or even five!) beat per bar song into a waltz as long as the basic rise and fall is choreographed into the dance. So for this particular song, if you MUST dance a waltz to it, you have to hold the third and fourth beat as one so, instead of 1-2-3-4 beat, you do 1-2-THREEEEE, 1-2-THREEEEE...

Great conversation about the music choices - I've been out tonight so no chance to take part. I think music is so so important in boosting mood and performance or bringing it down. I was thinking why I enjoyed Nathalie and A rtems paso at the weekend, when I knew there were some obvious flaws but it was the music - I got so carried away with the fact that it was a proper paso track that I automatically related better to the dance. As Mr T says - you can't dance every Tango to 'Jealousy' or every paso to 'Espana Cani' but there are plenty of more suitable tracks than those we have heard for many dances this year and the potential for manipulation has certainly been demonstrated - many of you have given good examples. I don't want to sound like a total purist I do agree with Mr T that for many of the ballroom dances it is the rhythm that is important and a range of different tunes can be used to create a mood for the dance - modern or traditional - but for some dances - especially those in the latin stable then the sort of music associated with that dance is always the better music to use IMO.

I always thought that the music choices and dance choices were all plotted out at the start of series - I think the couples know the basic order in which they will do the routines because you often hear an eliminated couple talk about the dance they 'would have been doing' the following week. I also think that the band probably don't need that much time to rehearse the basic music as they are jobbing session musicians who are used to picking things up quickly. ' It's interesting about the 3 song choices - perhaps the production team have the say on the 'theme' nights and the pros/celebs get more input on the other nights - I find it fascinating and would love to know more...................

allsewnonbyhand wrote:My mum and dad did fall in love to the wonderful Glenn Miller music, so for me it's very evocative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Moonlight Serenade isn't a waltz rhythm is it? How did you manage to waltz to it Mr T?

Now then Allsewn. If you could get mum and dad to be strictly honest they'd admit that the last Waltz was but a smoochie shuffle around the Palais and any half-decent dancers could sway their way around without thinking about it. You just sort of, well, moved to the music. To be honest you'd start off in the middle, slow waltz a bit, foxtrot a couple of steps, quickstep your way out of the corners then sway back in there.   

David Tee wrote:

I'm a Sophie fan too Sofes, and I think her middle body tremors are nothing that a stiff G&T (4 parts Gin, one part Tonic) wouldn't fix.   I think her only issue is confidence; when she's confident she's as good as anyone.  When she's not you can see the concentration written all over her face.  

Mark and Iveta were my favourites; I'm still in mourning.

I really hope Brendan can boost her confidence then. I agree with aside that even when she's less than perfect she's the one I watch, she does mesmerise me, she's beautiful, of course, but it's more than that.

I too miss Mark and Ivetta they were a delight and had Mark been his younger lighter self he would probably still be there as the guy had musicality and could dance.

TANGOLERO wrote:

Now then Allsewn. If you could get mum and dad to be strictly honest they'd admit that the last Waltz was but a smoochie shuffle around the Palais and any half-decent dancers could sway their way around without thinking about it. You just sort of, well, moved to the music. To be honest you'd start off in the middle, slow waltz a bit,  foxtrot a couple of steps, quickstep your way out of the corners then sway back in there.   

Wonderful description Mr T! I'm almost there in the palais... Mum and dad would no doubt be mortified to be spied on by yet -to -be -thought -of youngest daughter!   

Oh to have a big band night on SCD an old fashioned tea dance maybe? I am conjuring up images of Mr D dancing (a VT of your footwork woukd be lovely! big hint ) My nan used to love Saturday tea dances & getting up as she advused to dance.A lovely band & only light refreshments. In the first three series did we not have better music choices more suited to the style of the dance?

Actually wouldn't that be so much better for theme nights? Great idea Sax! We could have big band night, jazz night, orchestra night, then we wouldn't have to put up with stupid props and dressing up. Hope you are reading this, Beeb researcher!!

cellar-door wrote:You are right allse! It's a 4/4 beat song, so it's actually more suitable to be a foxtrot than a waltz.

But when it comes to beats, you can still 'force' a four (or even five!) beat per bar song into a waltz as long as the basic rise and fall is choreographed into the dance. So for this particular song, if you MUST dance a waltz to it, you have to hold the third and fourth beat as one so, instead of 1-2-3-4 beat, you do 1-2-THREEEEE, 1-2-THREEEEE...

You got me thinking with this one C.D. So much so that I finished up whistling Moonlight Serenade and stepping around the room. In reality, it's the simplest and most effective way ever to learn the slow foxtrot. We just danced it without thinking about it, but that's what it is. For me the three greatest examples of ballroom classics are Moonlight Serenade for foxtrot, Anniversary Waltz for its namesake and Mister Sandman for the quickstep. For Vienese Waltz, just stick Andre Rieu on and choose one.   

Just the other day I was dreaming up a QS routine with the music Mr Sandman!   

Alls I love the sound of Jazz night & Orchestra night! with Big Band night & WW2 oldies night be four fantastic weeks!

cellar-door wrote:Just the other day I was dreaming up a QS routine with the music Mr Sandman!   

I have a Victor Sylvestre CD somwhere with it on. It was the very first tune I learned to dance to in our school youth club, when I was dragged up unwillingly by some well-meaning girl who said it was fun. She was so right.   

TANGOLERO wrote: Brendan will do a good job on choreography. I'm just hoping he gets Spohie out of her nice-girl shell for a few minutes and lets her crush a grape or two. She can handle the dance so I'm hopeful. Come on Sophie.

I noticed that Sophies on the current cover of Marie-Claire magazine looking fierce and ready to crush whatever dares cross her path. She looks amazing.

TANGOLERO wrote:

I have a Victor Sylvestre CD somwhere with it on. It was the very first tune I learned to dance to in our school youth club, when I was dragged up unwillingly by some well-meaning girl who said it was fun. She was so right.   

I can't dance even if my life depends on it, but I do have a vivid imagination!   

I think Fairytale of New York would make a lovely VW, if the dancers had speedy enough footwork.

Surely, the most ideal music for a waltz has to be 'The Blue Danube'.

True CC I don't see the BeeB letting a thing like tradition ruin their plans.