Me too. Lovely way to start the day. Janx.

If we're talking of love
There's the collared dove
And our own dear Jay
Who has flown to LA

I hadn't realised that the other 'battles' were also changed. That makes sense. As I understood the format, Jay will face the Sci-fi winner next. Alycia has a huge fanbase so I doubt he will get further...won't stop us trying though

I'll get back to reading last night's thread once the poll has closed. Hope we get a rest before the next 'battle'!

Or so handsome to the eye
The wondrous magpie
And not forgetting the robin
Who sets pulses throbbin'

The radiant plumed chest
Of the glowing goldcrest
And the elusive chuff in
The isle of the puffin...

Yes, I've seen that at close hand - a young girl at Elmhurst who went from being an exquisite dancer full of promise to a skeletal wraith. Tragic.

You will enjoy it I promise yutub.live/watch/QFlTNFg5OXRfWGpN/aliona-leonid-demo.html << this is the only way you can view it as I've tried to watch this on normal YouTube lol but it says video unavailable so when I saw it worked here I was chuffed enjoy Guess the link doesn't show just copy an paste the link and it'll pop up I think

According to the Radio Times I understood the winners of groups 1 and 3 fight the next round out and 2 and 4 compete against each other.
So Jay would probably be against Poldark next.
Is this not right??

I can't make that link work, unfortunately.

A shame it's a great routine they both perform I'll see if I can make it work for all of you to view

http://yutub.live/user/UCm57RGLKvbnE3arDJSX5_0Q/CB4QAA If this link doesn't work feel free to ignore lol It works all you need to do is click the link scroll all the way down until you find a video called Aliona and leonid of demo

You're right, Hannah:

http://www.radiotimes.com/tvchampion2016

Jay is Battle 1 and looks like Mr Poldark will win Battle 3.

Keeep voting
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-...-jay-mcguiness

Try this link for the Aliona demo with Leonidas

http://youtube.gs/watch/83NyOSYcsAQ

So I've done night shift and early shift voting...going to learn some Maths now

Thanks DD and Ano. That's the slick, professional Aliona alright, very competent and confident, whereas what I saw with Jay was on a different level, so many more layers of meaning.

I'm not a fan of that slick genre of dance, and that's probably why I wasn't so keen on Aliona before last year's Strictly. What really peaks my interest is the depth of the dance, maybe that's why I'm such an AT nut.

I've just been reading through the Beeb blog after the semi-final - almost unanimously in praise of J&A, because they added that something that people hadn't experienced on Strictly before and will probably never see again.

Thank you Ano and DD.


Ooh, a grudge match then, after what happened in the last Jay/Mr Poldark contest.

It was very close until the last hour when all of the Poldark fans swooped in. Best dance ever against a photo of a bare chest?

Hi Toasted Toad and Bionic Bard - yes Gelsey Kirkland had a very messy relationship with Baryshnikov - she left Balanchine's company to dance with him at ABT, and they were lovers, but because of her anorexia and drug problems it was a disaster, and she wrote a very uncomplimentary book about it all. I gather she later recovered and is now OK, but it was all very nasty at the time. Kiss and tell, always a bad thing.

Yep, I'm not holding my breath on that one!

hello and thanks to all the stalwart Jalionistas keeping the thread alive.
Have not been posting because
a. RL has been a bit full
b. Nothing interesting to say

Caught up at last so popping in to say
Well done Beth.
Hope the "ladies with legs" all progress well
Love the Becks video jnb
Have been doing my voting duties religiously
July 24 is the birthday of a James in my family so, sorry Dancing Delight you are number two on that one!!
Looking forward to the KD reports and, hopefully pics if they can be achieved.

BIG hugs to those in need.

Now back to lurking when I can
X

I'm glad she regained her health and equilibrium enough to write that warning - her own career was blighted. It doesn't help that the Russians, generally held to be the best dancers, are so thin - I don't know how they manage it. Maybe the Russians are more delicately boned? Or maybe they just rely on drugs! Darcey always looked so glowingly healthy - extremely slim, but not bony.

Some may look askew
At the cheeky cuckoo
But oh! that speckled starling
The iridescent darling

I've always been a fan of Aliona's her clean technique and perfect precision never fails to impress me that's why I'm such a big fan of this particular demo, never focus on her partner always focus on her, everything she does is so smooth and natural she seems to hit the rhythm and beat of the music perfectly so hard to put into words, which is so so rare with some female and male strictly pros, obviously with Jay she got to stay a little longer so I got admire her dancing a little longer too lol.

Would it be very craven
To say I'm a fan of the raven?
Or would you loudly squawk
Because you'd prefer a hawk?

I don't think Russians are a particularly thin nation - think Babushka! Maybe it's just incredibly rigorous training, bullying and starvation. Don't know about drugs - maybe, maybe not. Steroids are a no-no because of weight gain and potential for bone damage. Maybe the odd snortski before a performance?

Sylvie Guillem's pretty sturdy too, and so tall for a ballerina. I love watching her, a bit edgy and different.

Oh yes, her dancing is so fluid and so on the beat as you say, just like J!