Dancing and Rugby - what a weekend!!

The Six Nations Championship starts on Saturday so I will be torn between the dancing and rugby!! I will be watching my boys dancing across the field on Saturday and Sunday! Thank goodness I have a small portable TV that I can take to the classes!!!

We're off to Jive Addicition's Southport Jive Weekender!!

We are off to Southport to join around 1,500 dancers from every region of the UK and abroad who come together to give Southport an atmosphere and friendliness that’s unmatched!

There are 4 dance floors (Jive Addiction Ballroom, The Blues Lounge, Latin Quarter and Mini Ballroom) all playing different genres of music.

With around 40 hours of dance classes to choose from we will had loads to report on Monday - watch this space!

Oh yes and we will be taking plenty of blankets and warm clothes - this is Southport as in near Liverpool!!!

Red, Black & White Valentines Ball

Our 5th Red, Black & White Valentines Ball is on Saturday 9th February at our Dartford venue.

Look at our Gallery where there are photos of previous Valentines Balls. You will see it's a great night of colour (red, black & white to be precise!).

* DJ Colin Shaul *

* Jim & Nicky's fun class *

* Dancing til 1am *
* Fun Dance Game with prizes *

* Great night out! *

Tickets are available from all our venues – be quick. This is always a sell-out night!

Wednesday night at Crayford - BLUES CLASS with Clem & Tracy

Back by very popular demand!!!

Blues dancing can take your dancing to another level, it enables you to dance to slower types of music and learn musicality in the process.

Clem & Tracy will be teaching a routine with slinky hip rolls and stylish arm and footwork to help you get in the Bluesy mood. DJ Dwain will incorporate some more blues style tracks throughout the night to help you get in the mood. See you at Crayford on Wednesday night!

"Blues Dance enables intense individuality in expressing the music. It really is all about communication, emphasizing that the music, not the dancer, leads the dance; we are simply the interpreters. Blues Dance demonstrates the passion of the entire range of human emotions, not just the sensual ones. When done well, Blues Dancing can be one of the most rewarding and indescribable experiences any level of dancer can have" a quote from http://www.bluesdance.org.uk/.

Say goodbye to Ice Dancing on TV Sam!

After a clean sweep of saves from the judges for ex-javelin thrower Steve Backley, Sam Mumba was the third star to be voted out of the show, in this week’s nail-biting skate off.

After holding off the splits in rehearsals on account of her hamstring, Sam went for it big style in her live show performance. "My problem with you is your performance is always 'nice', it’s never spectacular..." Ruthie sighed, clearly not impressed by the gesture.

Looking lovely in lemon, Sam told Phil and Holly: “I did my best”, after her nervous performance to You Can’t Hurry Love. But unfortunately, her best wasn’t quite good enough on the night, as Mr Backley returned to the ice seconds later and put in an Olympic performance. With Jason’s words: “He gave a 100 per cent, I’m saving Steve,” the shocked singer realised she was out of the competition for good. Samantha then thanked the judges with a smile and told the audience, “I’ve really enjoyed myself. This is something I’m going to keep up”, before clutching her flowers and doing a lap of honour with her partner Pavel.

Ice Dancing - Week 3 - getting complicated!!

Tougher performances and faster routines, so how did the celebrities skate this week?
Gareth Gates and Maria Filippov skated to September Ends (Green Day) and scored 19.5. Jason said “This week you have improved but you need to lift your head. Have more energy when you present”.
Linda Lusardi and Daniel Whiston skated to Candyman (Christina Aguilera) and scored 16.5. Nicky said “More skating on your own would help your overall mark”. I thought she had the best outfit and thats why she is pictured!
Samantha Mumba and Pavel Aubrecht skated to You Can’t Hurry Love (Diana Ross and the Supremes) and scored 16.0. Robin said “The lifting is great. What is lacking is the skating quality”
Chris Fountain and Frankie Poultney skated to Rule The World (Take That) and scored 23.5. Jason said “For the first time in the competition, there is a connection with your partner. Thank you!”
Aggie McKenzie and Sergey Malyshev skated to Total Eclipse of The Heart (Bonnie Tyler) and scored 12.5. Ruthie said “I thought it was a huge improvement, but work on the lifts.”
Steve Backley and Susie Lipanov skated to Mony Mony (Billy Idol) and scored 14.5. Jason said “You have no energy whatsoever. You are brontosaurs-ly slow.”
Greg Rusedski and Kristina Lenko skated to License To Kill (Gladys Knight) and scored 15.5. Jason said “You’re not believable Bond, but it’s the best number you’ve done so far…”
New Girl Zaraah Abrahams and Fred Palascak skated to Take A Chance On Me (ABBA) and scored 18.5. Nicky said “You have demonstrated footwork which shows you can skate on the ice, it could take you a long way”.
Tim Vincent and Victoria Borzenkova skated to Under Pressure (Queen) and scored 16.5. Robin said “You have confidence, you look great and you can skate, but it’s making those three things come together…”
Suzanne Shaw and Matt Evers skated to Something Stupid (Nancy and Frank Sinatra) and scored 20.5. Jason said “Suzanne, I was expecting better from you this week.”

Happy Birthday Laura!

Happy Birthday to lovely dance coach Laura (Dartford). We hope you have a wonderful and special day and night out. We hope that Dominic spoils you lots, as deserved :-)

Love from all your dancing friends at Dance Riviera.

xx

News on Jenni

We have some sad news to report, Jenni Ludlam passed away on Friday 18th January. Jenni was a regular at Swanley and Dartford, and may also be remembered for organising the coach to take everyone to the Herne Bay Christmas party (Dec 06). Jenni absolutely loved her dancing and made many good friends through Dance Riviera.

For those of you who didn't know, Jenni had been battling against secondary Breast Cancer for the past year. Jenni was an incredibly bubbly, vivacious lady and she will be greatly missed.

There will be a condolence card at Swanley on Monday if anyone wishes to sign this - or if a comment is left against this blog entry then that will be included in the card.

The funeral is being held on Thursday 31 January in Otford. Please contact us if you want further details.

Rest in Peace Dancing Queen Jenni

Happy Birthday Ann

Happy birthday to Herne Bay Coach Ann for today.

We hope you have a wonderful day and are spoilt rotten - as deserved. Keep smiling and thanks for all you do!

Love all your friends at Dance Riviera x

Injured GMTV star Underwood pulls out of Dancing on Ice

'GMTV' presenter Michael Underwood has been forced to pull out of 'Dancing on Ice' after breaking his ankle during a training session.

He was in the middle of practising a dance routine with his partner Melanie Lambert when he came crashing down on the ice and fell awkwardly on his ankle. The TV personality was taken to hospital after the accident, where X-rays revealed the break.

The GMTV presenter said he was "devastated" to be leaving the competition after falling over during a training session. "I'd like to say that I was attempting some amazing triple axel or something, but I was just trying to stop".

But this will not be the last that Dancing On Ice fans will be seeing of Underwood. The TV star will be in the audience cheering on the other contestants in Sunday night's live show.

Was Michael your favourite? Do you have to choose another one? Dancing on Ice is back on Sunday evening at 6.15pm

Move It 2008

The UKs biggest dance exhibition 'Move It' will be held at The Olympia in London on 7th-9th March.

At MOVE IT 2008 you can catch 100 spectacular performances, take part in 160 exciting dance classes which includes Ballroom, Salsa, Modern Jive, Street Dance and Hip Hop and learn more about dance at a series of in-depth seminars. Also meet up to 150 exhibitors offering the latest dance information, advice and products.

For further information visit www.dance-london.co.uk

Specalist Leans and Dips Class at Herne Bay on Thursday

Want to add style to your dancing, learn a few leans and dips to add to your dance repertoire and take your dancing to another level?

Pop along to Herne Bay on Thursday night where Keith and Frances will teach you a few lovely moves in their Leans and Dips Specialist Class.

Rochester - Third week at our new venue

TONIGHT!
Our Rochester venue is open - come along and see what a great new venue this is if you have never been before. If you have been before welcome back!

Smooth Lounge at our new venue - what a great night!

What a fantastic night everyone had at the Smooth Lounge on Friday night. The new venue in Rochester is stunning and has one of the best dance floors I have ever danced on! Jim and Nicky started the night off with a wonderful lesson and DJ John Miller from Jag Jive kept the floor filled all night.

Great to see so many wonderful dancers there and we had several people who were new to dancing, but true to form the friendliness of Dance Riviera made for an enjoyable night for everyone.

Come along to the next Smooth Lounge on Friday 15 February.

Natalie skates off "Dancing on Ice" but were the judges wrong?

After a spectacular skate off with Tim Vincent, Natalie Pinkham became the second contestant to be voted out of the ice rink. Both stars put on great performances, but it was Tim’s ‘magic’ that wowed three out of the five ice judges, saving the ex-Blue Peter star because of his performance potential and relegating the plucky sports presenter to the rink side benches.

Despite Natalie’s glittering routine, where she managed to capture the connection with partner Andrei that was missing in her earlier performance, Nicky, Ruthie and Jason felt that Tim's was the better skate. “Honestly I’ve had the best time," Natalie told Phillip and Holly as she clutched her flowers. "The guys are the best and everyone says it, but its true.”

BUT ‘The judges made a mistake’
Judge and resident coach Karen Barber says Natalie should not have been voted off the show. On Sunday night we were all on the edges of our sofas as the second skate-off of the series saw Natalie and Tim go head-to-head. But as they both completed their routines, it was just Robin and Karen who had plumped for Natalie to stay in the competition, leaving the votes 3-2 in presenter Tim’s favour.

And Karen wasn’t happy. Speaking on GMTV the morning after the show, Karen revealed that she still believes it should have been Tim who left the competition. “We made a mistake as a panel this week,” she told Fiona Phillips. “Tim made mistakes in his skate-off. He missed a lift and the pair’s skates were touching in the compulsory element.”

So a judge is up in arms... but the show must go on!

Everyone has their favourite - who is yours??

“Dancing on Ice” and Feeling Good!

Another week, another dazzling array of dances on ice starting off with Jane Torville and Christopher Dean dancing to Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good” – reminiscent of both Jim & Nicky and Mikey’s routines! Less hip cracking and wriggling though – shame!!!

With only five days to rehearse their routines, the pressure was on for our 11 couples. Here's how they fared with our frosty panel of judges:
Linda Lusardi (lovely in white) and Dan Whiston skated to I Love to Love by Tina Charles scoring 16.5. Nicky Slater accidentally gave Linda a ‘6’, but the points were taken away as he only meant to give her 3.5! Jason said “I bet you’re a real goer on the dance-floor!”
Chris Fountain (in slinky black) and Frankie Poulteney skated to Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T’s scoring 20 Ruthie said “You are comfortable up there and as contrast to last week it’s great but more going on in your face please. Look alive”
Natalie Pinkham (in the Pink) and Andrei Lipanov skated to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis scoring 14. Jason remarked “It looks like someone has Velcro-ed you onto him!”
Greg Rusedski (grinning all the way) and Kristina Lenko skated to Dance the Night Away by The Mavericks scoring 11.5 points. Robin said “There is a lot of work to be done but it doesn’t feel comfortable and natural. Kristina, he is meant to be leading you round the rink. You need to step back.”
Aggie Mackenzie (wearing a feather duster around the bottom of her skating skirt!) and Sergey Malyshev skated to I’m a Woman by Bette Midler scoring 10 points Jason said “It was an improvement on last week as you weren’t so catatonic out there. I’m going to be straight with you. You’re not very good … I don’t think you are going to last very long in this competition.”
Tim Vincent (in blue) and Victoria Borzenkova skated to Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police scoring 16 points. Robin said “A completely different person. The charisma was the only thing you had last week. This week the skating is so much better and the charisma is there but there must be focus. “
Suzanne Shaw (In bright pink so Matt can spot her when she is on the floor – he cut her head with his blades in training) and Matt Evers skated to When You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne scoring 20.5 points. Nicky said “I’m really excited by your grace out there on the ice. There were a couple of little stutters but by the end you were doing a death spiral is amazing.”
Steve Backley (tall and sparkly) and Susie Lipanova skated to Stand by Me by Ben E King scoring 15 points. Jason said “I wanted to stand by and give you a shove, You were that slow into everything. Lifts are supposed to impress us and be magic. You need to move your performance on a bit more. It’s just all at one level. Its safe but its dull.”
Samantha Mumba and Pavel Aubrecht (on first looks were they wearing anything!) skated to What’s Love Got to Do With It by Tina Turner scoring 16 points. Karen said “I think the skate off last week was a bit of a shock and it’s made you work hard this week. You do need a bit more trust and you need to believe us when we say you can do these things.”
Gareth Gates and Maria Filippov (both in flaming red) skated to Hard To Handle by Otis Redding scoring 19.5 points. Robin said “I don’t think any of us expected this. It was a completely different person. Very strong, convincing, Timing was on, the ending was perfectly controlled.”
Michael Underwood (resplendent in braces which got caught and cut by Melanie's blades!) and Melanie Lambert skated to Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton scoring 16.5 points. Nicky said “Well the start, it was all going wrong and you pulled yourself back together again. It’s a quality to have that. Your edges need to flow a bit more but I love the entertainment value.”

Happy Birthday David (belated)

Happy birthday to Dartford Dance Coach David for yesterday.

Hope you had a great day and wore a birthday hat!

Love from all your friends at Dance Riviera

Happy Birthday Lynne (belated)

Belated Happy Birthday to Ramsgate Dance Coach Lynne for Friday.

We hope you had a fantastic day and got spoilt rotten - as deserved!!

Love all your friends at Dance Riviera

SMOOTH LOUNGE IN ROCHESTER TONIGHT

Come along to our wonderful new Rochester venue for our Smooth Lounge tonight!

In case you havent been there before come to:

Dance Junction
671 Maidstone Road
Rochester
Kent
ME1 3QJ

Click on the "venues" page for a map!

Apologies for this short message - lots of technical difficulties! My first (and only) since taking over this wonderful role!

By way of an apology I will give you all (as ever) a wonderful dance tonight!

Christine
x

DJ Jules at Dartford tonight ...

Super DJ Jules of Evolution Jive in Brighton and Worthing (known to many due to his fabulous Flapjack Fridays) will be playing his fantastic array of sounds tonight at Dartford. DJ Jules is becoming a fast favourite at Dartford and works well with the Dance Riviera team.

Nicky and Jim will be teaching this evening so look forward to another great night at Dartford.

Have fun

Christine x

Herne Bay TONIGHT

Have a fantastic night all who go to Herne Bay TONIGHT!

Christine

Don't forget that during January you get a double stamp on your loyalty card at every venue you attend.

Have a great night - wish I could be there with you!

Christine

Crayford is open tonight!

The first dance at Crayford of 2008 is not to be missed! I have certainly missed dancing at Crayford - hope to see you all later!

Christine

Hang up your TV Ice Skates Sarah!

After such a glittering first performance in which all of our celebrity skaters dazzled us with their new-found skills, it was back to the hard fact that we would have to lose one contestant tonight and each week hereafter. But when the public vote left Samantha Mumba and Sarah Greene in the bottom two, the dreaded skate-off suddenly became very real.

Both of their routines were flawless, but the judges all decided to keep Sam in the competition on the basis of her skating content. She also, in my mind, seemed to be the more fluid skater of the two (all that bearing in mind she was ill with flu last week).

One thing Sarah refused to accept was that she would be "hanging up her skates" now that the competition is over for her and Fred however. "It is a fantastic sport," she said once the decision had been made. "I can't wait to meet my friends down at Slough ice rink and carry on skating without the pressure!"

Who will hang up their TV skates next week?

The Ice Judges were back in action ...

The first show saw the skaters' first tentative performances …

• Greg Rusedski and Kristina Lenko skated to “I got you Babe” and scored 13 (all scores are out of 30). Jason likened him to Herman Munster!!
• Suzanne Shaw and Matt Evers skated to Shakira’s “Hip’s Don’t Lie”, scoring 19. Suzanne looked a natural on the ice.
• Aggie McKenzie and Sergey Malyshev skated to “Build me up Buttercup” scoring 10.5. Jason said “It looks like Sergey is pulling round an OAP at the minute.” Karen defended Aggie: “The marks do not reflect your fantastic effort. You were fantastic in training and you deserve respect.”
• Tim Vincent and Victoria Borzenkova skated to Tom Jones’s “She’s a Lady” with some nice bottom wriggling Tim, scoring 13.5. He was told to get some rhythm and work on the dancing (Ruthie) and Robin loved his bravado.
• Natalie Pinkham and Andre Lipanov skated to The Sugababes’ “About You Now” scoring 15. Jason said “I’m going to name you Natalie Pinky. You’ve got to lose those pointy fingers.” Natalie tripped slightly but moved on which Karen complimented her on.
• Steve Backley and Susie Lipanov skated to Frank Sinatra’s “For Once in My Life”, scoring 15. He impressed Nicky with his posture but he did look nervous! Ruthie loved their “interpretation of the music”.
• Sarah Greene and Fred Palascka skated to Petula Clark’s Downtown scoring 11.5. Nicky said “Actually I was inspired to write a poem for you…” (mmmm?) Robin congratulated her on her “wonderful enthusiasm like Aggie but we can’t mark you on that”
• Chris Fountain and Frankie Poultney exploded onto the floor skating to The Arctic Monkeys’ “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance floor” scoring 20. Jason told him he was “a diamond in the rough, You have no finish you are very messy.”
• Samantha Mumba and Pavel Aubrecht skated to Amy Winehouse’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” scoring 15.5. Jason told her “The split lift you did it looked like you’d fallen on top of him uncomfortably from a great height”
• Michael Underwood and Melanie Lambert grinned as they skated to Katrina and the Waves’s “Walking on Sunshine” which when Michael finally finished spinning earned them 16.5. Nicky told him “You have the entertainment value. You have the Kyran factor.” Jason said “It’s unsightly in so many ways but it’s infectious to watch. You do have a ventriloquist’s doll expression but tone that down and you are so much fun to watch.”
• Linda Lusardi and Daniel Whiston skated to Robbie William’s “She’s the One” Ruthie told her “I felt you were being carried round by your partner and I would like to see more of you on your own.” Linda received a serious injury to her foot which meant she had only been able to re-start training recently and Karen said “A big part of your recovery has been laughter and you and Dan work so well together and there is so much more to give.”
• Gareth Gates and Maria skated to U2’s “Beautiful Day” scoring 17.5. Jason told him “your negativity and the way you view your skating has to change. You can skate.”

Dancing on Ice - Get the Party Started ...!

WOW! Yes they did! Dancing On Ice is well-and-truly here for another year and what a way to open the show! Having reunited with Take That choreographer Kim Gavin after their special performance alongside the band last series, Jayne and Chris were lowered onto the ice inside an enormous pink glittering chandelier, before bursting out to join the professional skaters in a gob-smacking whirl of spins and spandex.

The rink was on fire (quite literally, in places!) as Jayne and Chris and Co careered around, wowing us all silly as dancers in showgirl outfits and fireworks flanked the spectacle.

So no pressure for our 12 twitchy celebrities then, as they slid on to the ice with dazzling smiles glued to their faces… a few wobbles but that must have been first night nerves. But, as they say, show must go on! And what a show it was ... cant wait for next week. So who is your favourite?

Christine

'Dancing on Ice' starts on Sunday 13 January ...

The celebrities due to take part in the new series of 'Dancing on Ice' have been revealed ...

So which star are you most looking forward to seeing on ice? It seems there have been a lot of bumps, crashes and injuries during training and also Samantha Mumba has been struck down with flu … watch this space!

Former Olympic skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean will once again coach the stars during their time on the show. Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby will return as presenters of the series and those razor-sharp judges Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Nicky Slater and Jason Gardiner are back with their eagle eyes, frosty comments and a brand new panellist in tow … Ruthie Henshall.

So start watching on ITV1 on Sunday 13 January at 5.50pm ... I know I will be (and not a Rugby player in sight, but there is a local javellin player ...)

Christine

Happy (belated) Birthday Helen

Belated Happy Birthday to Herne Bay Dance Coach Helen for yesterday. We hope you had a fantastic day and got spoilt rotten!!

Love all your friends at Dance Riviera

RAMSGATE OPENS TONIGHT

HERNE BAY IS CLOSED ON THURSDAY 10 JANUARY!

Come along to our new Ramsgate venue - opening night Thursday 10 January.

Its a lovely cozy, friendly and warm venue - everything you expect from Dance Riviera but at a new venue. Clock on the image above for a more detailed look at the map.

Don't forget that during January you get a double stamp on your loyalty card at every venue you attend.

New Ramsgate venue - Red Arrow Club, Newington Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 6EE (next to Ramsgate Swimming Pool)

Come along and have a great night

Christine

Rochester - First Night Review

Thanks to everyone who came along to Rochester last night to make our return to the Medway towns a fantastic night!

What a brilliant venue - fantastic floor, cosy lighting, parking right outside and and a great buzz. It was great to see the return of our Medway dancers along with a whole crowd of new dancers - some new to dancing!

Jim and Nicky were back on teaching form and DJ Steve Strong kept the floor filled with his wonderful array of dance tracks.

Remember the success of any venue is dependant on regular support. We look forward to seeing you at Rochester again next week.


Christine (New Queen of the Blog)

Rochester Opening Night! TONIGHT! Tuesday 8th January

FLYER

Herne Bay Last Night

We're sorry to everyone (including our crew) who travelled to Herne Bay last night. We expected it to be open as I had confirmed with the venue manager at the Christmas Party.

I'm expecting a call back by Sunday (as the manager is on holiday), so will keep you informed.

I think they just forgot to put us in the diary with all the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Just a reminder that we're not open at Herne Bay on Thursday 10th January as there is another event in the venue. Please tell all your friends.

LAST THING....our website is not updated at the moment as our hard drive has almost died, we're working on it, but the blog is the best place to see updated information.

Nicky