And that's probably the understatement of the year!

Yes, I loved Karina. It was a great dancing partnership despite the "difficulties".


Happy New Year Bendy.

Are any of the dancers or professionals going to any of the tour dates ?
Personally I have never felt the need to, but having said that, I did go for the first time last year ( Birmingham) out of curiousity.
Quite enjoyed it, but even though I was front row, it was far too far away for me to see the dancing in the detail that I like too. I like to watch the body action, feet etc.
I suppose it was to be expected but I got a little bored seeing routines that I had already seen .

Nothing booked this year. I've been about 4 times to the O2 shows. First year I was in row W of the top tier in the O2 and spent the whole show frightened to move. It was like watching a pinball machine beneath me. One year I was very near the front (about 4th row) and that was much better.

With some exceptions, I find the dancing a bit disappointing. I think it really brings home the fact that Strictly is aimed at the home viewer and very few of the celebs are taught to move with any power. I appreciate that this is just the nature of Strictly where celebs are not learning the dances in depth, but the problem is magnified in a stadium as large as the O2.

That said, I enjoyed the shows I saw. It works as an experience, but not as a dance show, for me.

I agree with everything you say Ann. I wouldn't bother going again, but I can see why fans of the show ( probably non dancers mainly) go to see it time and time again. For us of course, this is part of our every day life isn't it.
On a different note, a non dancing friend of mine has "won" a dance lesson, in a charity auction, with Robin Windsor which she's absolutely delighted about....hope he sticks to latin.

I've never felt the need to go to the Strictly tour either. TBH for what they charge for tickets I would rather pay to watch quality pro or top amateur dancing. For seeing close-up, one of my favourites is the Latin championships held at Grays in Essex in April, Always a great atmosphere.

Is that run by Mick & Lorna ?
Think I may have actually danced in that competition, in the dim and distant past. Been to Grays many times though, nice square floor, little on the short side for ballroom, but good width so not too bad.

Ha ha, yes. . He seems nice enough though.


I've danced at Grays in a friendly comp (nothing serious) and am due to dance there again soon. I've not been to watch a serious comp there though. As Jennifer says, the floor is nice but the square shape of the floor is unusual. (Sadly when I was there, some of the floor space was taken up with seating.)

What comp is it Ann ? Is it medallist or Pro Am ?
Very good luck in any case.....are you dancing both ballroom and latin?

Yes it is; it's the "All England Latin Championships". Latin amateurs and pros only.A great comp.

John Donaldson also ran regular Open comps there for bb & Lat of all grades, and all age groups. Not sure if he still runs them.

And at other times there are medallist competitions.

The All England Latin Championships are held at Grays this year on Sunday 24th April. Your studio/school should be able to get tickets if you were interested, or you can contact Mick Stylianos & Lorna Lee via their website which is bestcomps.net It's a good comp if you like watching Latin.

Yes, it was the All England, I was thinking of, but couldn't quite remember the name . Danced many years ago, but I have been to watch there too. Loved it. Also danced in the JD comps too, many times over the years. Quite a good venue with lots of free parking, which is a bonus. Remember going to a comp at Cheltenham once, think it cost £20.00 to park, just for the competition !

We've done a couple like that as well - not funny if the comp lasts several days (such as UKs, Blackpool, etc) and you have hotel to pay for as well. Plus the cost to enter a comp nowadays can be astronomical.

Add to that the cost of dresses, shoes etc. you almost need a mortgage! Love it though.

Jennifer, it is just an informal inter schools medallist (not even a qualifier or anything) but probably my last comp as I can't see me ever competing professionally (I guess I could partner). Both ballroom and latin.

I've noticed there have been more open pro am comps recently. Used to be more of a US thing, I think.

I enjoy watching comps and may look at kaycee's suggestion regarding the All England, although Grays is a bit of a trek.

Yes as you say, the Pro Am comps are taking off. I know they do them at the annual Freedom to Dance comp at the copthorne Effingham Hotel in May, also some Pro's I know were competing at the Wintergardens recently in Pro Am events with their students. I am also glad there are also more Professional events up and down the Country on Sundays.

Yes, I know some pros who competed, and did well, with their students at the Wintergardens. Copthorne is a bit nearer to me and one of the schools I go to and so I guess they are likely to be competing there too. I think it is a good thing, since it gets away from the rather fixed medallist circuit structure.

Absolutely; competitive dancing at a higher level is nothing if not cosmetic! I have friends who have danced the Opens - including the likes of both Blackpool festivals - who have now returned to the medallist scene purely because of costs. They know, for example, if they wear a neat presentable outfit, perhaps a designated "practice outfit", they will be judged on the quality of their dancing, as opposed to the Open comps where, if you don't look as if you have bought your outfit from ChrisAnnes (or similar) the judges won't even bother to look at you!

Pro-Am is huge in America. A lot of professional dancers worldwide, who stop competing, go to America to do pro-Am - they can (and many do!) earn a fortune. Very often it is the student who decides when and where they are going to compete & he/she will then be expected to cover the cost of not only her/his own travel expenses (usually air travel) & hotel bills, but even the cost of the lessons the professional may have had to cancel! Cheap it is not!!!

Pro-am in UK is still very much along the lines of a teacher dancing with his/her student, not so different than when a teacher partners at a medallist comp. Having said that, I welcome the idea of pro-am in UK.

A couple of years ago, I sold 3 of my dresses to a lady in California who competed in Pro- Am. In her emails, she told me how expensive it was. She only does 1 or 2 comps a year because of the expense, she could not afford to do more. Not only did she have to pay her own expenses of course, but that of the Pro she selected to dance with her. She then had to pay him PER dance ( not round...per dance). So you can imagine the costs if she had to dance 4 or 5 dances each round, over a few rounds. The comp that we were discussing - The Emerald Ball -was going to cost her over $3500, just to cover all the costs of that comp. !! I'm not sure as to whether this is the norm or the exception but I was staggered at the expense,

And I thought my hobbies were expensive!
But I suppose what brings you joy it's worth it. and I don't think that anything can bring you as much joy as dancing.

Wow, I didn't realise Pro Am was so expensive in the US! I hope Pro Am develops but doesn't go in that direction in the UK

(My friends are shocked by how much money I spend on dance lessons but as marinamau says, it's about doing what you enjoy most, within your financial limits of course.)

I think that is quite normal - paying per dance. Imagine doing a 10-dance and getting into several rounds! Ouch!!! To be fair, not ALL pro partners charge per dance, and my 2 friends in USA don't charge their am-partners for revenue lost through cancelled lessons. Even so, Am partners can always expect to have to find in excess of $1,000 dollars per comp.

But these comps are not like our Sunday Open Circuit, they are more on the lines of Blackpool Open - but with events for just about everyone - medallist, amateurs of all grades, pro as well as pro-Am. They usually last several days, and take place in beautiful venues, frequently top hotels in which the dancers stay. When you consider how much it costs to compete at Blackpool - especially if doing ballroom and Latin - it doesn't make the US comps that much different.

What brings you joy IS worth it - providing you can actually afford it! I've seen so many really talented dancers give up competing because they simply can't afford it any longer. Social dancing is cheap, but the thing is, once someone has been a competitor, social dancing often fails to bring the "joy".

I agree!
bib that is sad in a way, i suppose that means that they enjoyed the side of the competition as much (or more) than the dancing itself. (Which I can understand, any type of competitions are very thrilling for some.)