I was presuming so........

I thought someone told me no elimination first week. I hope so, could be wrong though.........

Since they do the launch show now I'm not sure they skip week 1 anymore. They just go head first into it. I think

Is there a dedicated Aliona and Tony thread? I thought their BBC interview clip was luvverly. He has a lot of self-knowledge -- the way he knew that he needed her to be stern -- and I liked her response that her gentle way was going to be quite tough enough! Pretty sure they will be able to respect each other's professional characters

(Btw, read a few positive comments about their clip Out There )

I thought they did two weeks now to make it fairer so everyone gets a ballroom and Latin to show off?

I thought that was the case, amazed no one seems to know

Johnny did cha cha and foxtrot before he & Iveta were knocked out

He was first out so that would indicate they are all safe week 1

Just got back off holiday what a nice surprise to find out Aliona's back on strictly. I wasn't going to watch strictly after the treatment of Aliona but I'll have to watch and support her with Tony he seems such a lovely man and they make a great couple.
Sorry for Natalie she's my 2nd favourite.

That would be great if all are safe week 1. I will be around for week 2 and able to vote and keep them in!

Just catchin' up after my hols.

Seems there is chemistry brewing and a team forming, so things are moving in the right direction. Aliona likes the song, so I hope they are allowed by the PTB to do things the way Aliona would like.

I'm pleased with what I have seen so far.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-...vilani---video

I'm pleased how warm they are together! If Tony can sort out his footwork, let's hope Aliona can come up with the kind of routines he needs. She picked out two good things, his smile and his hips -- positive thinking -- and I think she seems happy with her guy.

I bet he'd be good company too. A lot of stories and much strength of mind...

Hi all


It looks like Aliona and Tony had a good day!

@AlionaVilani: Tough rehearsal with @jacklin_tony ...I'm pretty sure I squeezed the last ounce of energy he had but in the end we got there #greateffort 👯👍

An expert opinion on how good Aliona is at the Strictly job. Good man Harry.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/s...d-hits-2291608

Seems like they have the Waltz first.

http://www.express.co.uk/entertainme...nst-back-flips

little bit in the Radio Times today

http://alionavilani.co.uk/gallery/di..._display_media

Aw, love both Tony and Aliona in their First Steps. They have a hell of a challenge, but I loved 'em. I've laughed with Aliona before, and she is a funny girl. She just has a sweet funny-girl face... And I've enjoyed her sometimes crazy choreography... But this is the time I just got why you guys like her. There's something heart-warming in their tutor / pupil relationship. I can see they would be mates if they lived close by.

Tony of course is a lovely guy, so easy tempered yet determined.

Tony is going to be a challenge, he has new hearing aids that work however Tony is finding sounds are very loud. Dancing shoes will hopefully will improve his confidence and balance.

Aliona has demonstrated great patience in the past with Harry who was so bashful and shy. Aliona also followed Matt Baker around the country fitting in rehearsals alongside Countryfile filming. Once Matt stayed in once place long enough to learn his dance we has some memorable routines.

Much of the early training footage for Harry was IMO heavily edited to exclude problems with his pigeon toes and the exercises that were painful hence minimal dance content until Harry was able to learn more steps. This brought much criticism on the MF about their training and Aliona was pilloried (what's new)

I am sure the BBC will be mindful to protect Tony in the same way and I really hope that Tony is able to learn, from the clip he seems to be having fun and up for the challenge. It would be nice to see an elderly gentleman progress through for a few weeks. We have had the comedy with AW and Nancy who were awful and did not try at all.

Aliona is a character. Sweet and always ready to have a laugh, but tough and competitive too.
I think it was very good for their bonding and teamwork to go to the USA as they have both spent a lot of time in Florida. With Aliona having recently been persuaded by her boyfriend to take up golf, and going about it the right way, Tony can connect to that and gets to show what he is good at.

Maybe they can surprise us with his dancing but this year the celebs dance-wise are a pretty strong line-up.
Its 43 years since Tony was at the peak of his fame, maybe there are enough who remember and will vote? I hope so.

I do, just

It is a concern, no Tony and Aliona thread makes me wonder if Tony can attract the votes.

I have very limited functionality on the forum and can't actually start a thread myself. Can't be bothered finding out why and deciding if I want to accept what changes would be required.

We can treat this as the Tony and Aliona thread anyway.
I just LOVE their first steps video. they are great together an I love Tony's attitude. I'm getting to like him more and more.

The 'Hello! Pleased to meet you. I'm Thick Scull!'

and the little sequence at the end leading to the low five and Tony's fall-away - brilliant!

He is actually a funny guy!

The First Steps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01hd807

I notice that when I have to do things while up on my toes it helps my balance to mainly focus on my feet rather than what I'm doing with the rest of my body.

Its a pity we don't have ITT yet but hopefully there will be some good video of the pair of them getting along well before they dance on (Friday?).

Tony is also a skilled artist - in wood.

http://tonyjacklin.com/marquetry

Aliona and Tony are dancing on Friday

Tonight's the night!

Like I said before, training is like the backswing in golf. The dance is when you have to have confidence that you have done the backswing as well as you could and let the training flow back out in the swing.
I hope the ball flies straight down the fairway.

At least they have a good song. Some of the other songs are less suitable.

Its a lot for Tony to adapt to. He seemed to me like he hasn't known much about the show, so he will have to be relaxed and also lively at the same time after the dance is over.

They have come across well in the videos so far and it will be a big help if they get a favourable video before they dance.
Even Harry struggled in his first ballroom dance, so I hope Tony can clear his head of doubts and worries, be confident and just show how much he has learned over the last few weeks.

I'll cross my fingers and even try crossing my toes.

Good luck Tony and Aliona!