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Strictly Sophia Archives
Beauty and the Beard
Brucie sat bewildered last Saturday evening, as it was all change in his ballroom. Women were swishing capes, professional dancers were making mistakes and Dominic did not try to grab Lilia’s bottom once during his dance routine! Some star pupils saw themselves slipping down the judges’ leader board and some shaky beginners suddenly crept up towards the top. The biggest twist of all however, was delivered by our very own Kate and Anton. By the end of the evening, they had proved once and for all that you should never question a ballroom master and that change can definitely be a good thing!
Anton has been promising us for weeks that if we could just delve through the layers of nerves, self-doubt and tendonitis, we would find a real dancer in his celebrity partner. He had seen it many times in the training rooms, but Kate has previously found it difficult to produce her best when she performs on the night. For some reason, the sight of the vultures sharpening their claws behind the judging desk and the knowledge that millions of viewers are monitoring every single step she makes, seems to normally put her off her stride. I can’t think why!
However, Kate’s inner-dancer was definitely on display as she fox-trotted around the floor last week. There were no stumbles in sight and some exciting flashes of real elegance, as she completed her routine with real class and fewer slip-ups than ever before. Perhaps this was the sign of a woman determined to prove to all of the doubters out there that she deserves to still be in this competition, it could have been simply a sign of her improvement or maybe her pretty purple and pink dress was the inspiration for her purple patch of dancing, which left her partner tickled pink!
As Anton began to glow with pride, the judges began to begrudgingly praise Kate’s fabulous performance.
“Best dance so far!” enthused Len with a broad smile on his face, “It’s a miracle! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” said Bruno with a stunned shake of his head, “I never expected what I just saw!” admitted Arlene with a dazed look in her eye. Craig of course chipped in with his usual gloom and doom, by pronouncing “it still wasn’t good enough,” but who actually listens to that bloke on the end anyway?!
A combined score of twenty-six points meant that Kate and Anton found themselves in seventh heaven at the end of the evening, out of bottom place on the judges’ leader board for the first time in the series. Safely through and still delighted with their dance, they have excitedly since turned their attention to the next hurdle on their impressive run - the salsa.
The word “salsa” is actually Spanish for “sauce” and the dance is supposed to be just as saucy as it’s name suggests. It is a fusion of many latin rhythms and should be sexy and flirtatious. The main requirement of the salsa is to let yourself go and to become consumed by the rhythm, with plenty of hips and feverish fun.
Unfortunately however, fun has been replaced by fear in Kate and Anton’s training room this week. Rather than a mixture of spices and latin flavours, the dance has presented our favourite couple with a combination of problems they have already encountered with previous routines.
Kate has found it difficult to let herself be overtaken with passion and sexiness, just as she found in the tango. She has shown that in fact, she is actually quite shy. Kate also finds the rhythm and speed of the salsa challenging and she finds it daunting to dance alone out of hold. This also proved to be difficult for her in the samba and after a disappointing performance of this dance, Kate and Anton will both be hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself this week.
It is not only Kate who has been struggling this week however, as Anton has also been showing signs of a man in turmoil! It seems he has been taking the challenge of letting himself go a little bit too literally, as he has shocked the nation by not bothering to shave for days. The usually clean cut ballroom maestro has instead been somewhat ‘stubbled’ and it seems this beard has awoken his inner-beast!
The usually soothing Anton has actually been shouting and the cheeky humour has been replaced by a more serious tone in training. After famously calling the samba “a load of old nonsense,” perhaps we should not be surprised for his apparent dislike of the sexy salsa, but as Anton explains, there is actually a lot more behind his stern approach and shocking facial hair growth.
“I’ve never been this firm with anybody that I’ve ever danced with,” he says, “We’ve had a tough week. We all think that Kate is quite good. The only person who doesn’t think she is good is Kate herself. She is so much better than she gives herself credit for and this affects our training. I try to keep her focused, but she is easily distracted. I love Kate so very much and I really want her to do it and dance well. We are dancing without a safety net though this week and it is do or die for us. The pressure is really on!”
Kate has also been feeling the heat of more than just the salsa and has been getting more emotional than she is used to. “Last week it was a different me,” she reveals” I felt that we had really turned a corner. This week however, it feels like a standard is required that I can’t really reach. Things I was getting right, I suddenly get wrong and the more I try, the worse it gets. I get very stressed. It’s physically demanding, tiring and frustrating. I get cross with myself, then I just think ‘come on Garraway, get a grip!’”
Although things have been a little difficult this week, they have been steadily improving and they are going to give it their best shot tonight with some daring spins and hoards of hip-wiggling! They are also looking forward to a group jitterbug - especially after being called ‘naturals’ at this style by expert Ryan Francois.
As Anton has said, tonight there will be nowhere to hide in their routine and they definitely have no safety net. They both very much hope that you will help to catch them however, should they flourish or fall. After turning a corner in their dancing journey, they are desperate to continue along their road. There may be a few bumps along the way, but they feel they have certainly begun to travel in the right direction - wherever it may take them. Don’t forget to pick up your phones tonight to help them progress. They will be stopping off in Cuba for their salsa this evening, but they are hoping not to get out and instead to continue to the next place, next week - wherever it may be!
Sophia…
10/11/07
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