Thought with this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition being the strongest I have ever seen and feeling there are several great contenders for the final show, that I would give you some top tips you must be looking out for when you are making your voting choice on a Saturday night.  Obviously there is a lot of intense information that only the trained eye can see but I hope the following will be a quick reference guide to further develop your adjudicating eye:

Characterisation & Technique:  These are the two main and most obvious points you will need to assess in a one minute and thirty second glance and will form the essential ingredients of the all round performance.  

Characterisation – Each dance you see on the show has its own individual characterisation (or personality) that must be present.  For example take the five Ballroom dances, if not given character they will all simply merge into one and all look quite boring and have no raison d’être!

Here is a simple and brief character required for each dance:

Ballroom

C – Waltz: An image of the man and woman circling the dance floor with romance and sophistication.

T – Waltz: A strong rhythm of 1,2,3 count must be seen.  Strong sense of Rise and Fall. Top line and ballroom hold maintained. Clear heel leads.

C – Foxtrot: Long sweeping lines across the dance floor, graceful, light and enchanting, like a monkey swinging through the trees my teacher once said to me!

T – Foxtrot: A strong rhythm of SLOW, QUICK, QUICK must be seen. Top line and ballroom hold maintained throughout.  Ladies hand rests gently on man’s right arm just before shoulder.  A good use of heels and toes will aid in the gliding across the floor effect rather than stomping.

C – Tango:  Strong staccato, assertive actions across the dance floor, with a sense of passion.

T – Tango:  Knees very flexed much lower towards the floor than other ballroom dances.  Ladies hand is not on top but rather maintained much further behind the man’s arm with a flat strong hand palm down.  Strong head flicks.  Mans right hand further around the ladies back than other Ballroom dances. Strong heel leads.

C – Viennese Waltz: Circles, after circles, after circles, moving around the dance floor. Light and with ease.

T – Viennese Waltz: Natural turns (meaning turning to right) feet do not cross, Reverse Turns feet cross.  Do not swing with the shoulders but rather with the hips.  Full body contact throughout.  Use of heels and toes.  Good positioning of the head for man and woman must be maintained throughout.

C – Quickstep: Fast, dynamic, intricate actions including kicks and flicks and a sense of running with ease around the dance floor.

T – Full body contact maintained throughout, use of knees and ankles to create a light spring throughout. Feet to achieve direction changes and not the arms.  Frame upheld throughout.  Contrast of timings essential as too many Quicks will look erratic!

Latin American

C – Cha Cha Cha: A relationship of fun interaction and play between a man and a woman with a sense of cheekiness.

T – Cha Cha Cha:  One leg MUST be straight whilst the other is released to create a strong hip action.  Stong hip actions must be seen throughout.  The dance is open and free but where possible the dance is preferred mostly with some form of contact.  NO heel leads at anytime. Timing 2,3 cha cha cha must be noticeable as the rhythm.

C – Samba: It’s carnival time. A sense of fun and happiness with a strong progression around the dance floor as seen with the progression of a carnival down the streets. It should be one big party experience.

T – A sense of bounce through the knees must be present throughout this dance.  NO straight legs.  Progression around the floor is essential.  Head and eyes up at all times to ensure a good poise maintained with weight in the balls of the feet.

C – Rumba:  A romantic, intimate relationship between the man and the woman.  Sensuality with vigorous hip movement to further enhance the pantomime of the provocative Latin gestures from Cuba.

T – Strong hip actions throughout.  Good poise with extended use of arms to further enhance the slow movements.  Timing is a challenge as there are four beats with only three steps and so no Rumba walking action on the ‘1’.

C – Paso Doble:  The picture of a bull fight seen with the Torero (Matador) and the Capa (cape) being seen through the great story and shapes created through the choreography.  Never is the woman a ‘BULL’…. but rather more likely the strong character of a gypsy woman.

T – Paso Doble:  The only dance of the Latin division where heel leads must be seen to ensure strong body flight across the dance floor.  As like the Samba this dance must also be seen to progress around the dance floor addressing all the audience.  Strong arm shaping, a lifting of the chest and the pelvis maintained in a strong forward position must be seen throughout this dance.

C – Jive:  The time of the great GI soldiers in the big dance halls of the war times letting all their stresses go and enjoying enthusiastic times of throwing their ladies around the dance floor.  Fast, exciting with flicks and kicks makes this the dance of the fittest.

T – Jive:  Soft knees throughout to ensure a spring from foot to foot.  A swinging of the hips with lots of underarm turns and spins. A strong rotational non-stop dance.  Presented as a more central dance on the dance floor without the progression of the Samba or Paso ensure stronger images of turning and swirling.  Arms must be finished in this dance or it will tend to look a bit messy due to the speed of the dance needing to be maintained throughout.

 Other 

C – Salsa:  A hot party atmosphere in a tightly packed club in Cuba is what we are looking for here. 

T – Salsa: Knees flexed throughout.  Lots of intricate arm patterns.  Lots of side to side patterns further enhances this dance. Lifts are allowed in this dance. 

C – Argentine Tango: A man and woman meeting with intensity and closeness.  There should be a clear relationship and to a point of battle of the wills.

T – Argentine Tango: The upper bodies should aim to remain close together and their lower bodies apart.  The lady can even rest her head on the man’s chest.  The use of decorations – where the lady will rub her ankles up and down the man’s leg or sandwich where the man will block the ladies foot with his are great to look for. 

C – Charleston: A live and vivacious dance, with over acted, theatrical actions facially and through the body language.

T – Charleston: Strong twisting and kicking of the feet must be seen with feet often going in one direction and the feet the other.  Great poise throughout must be held.

C – American Smooth:  The ultimate Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance.  A graceful moment of dance that breaks in and out of hold with the inclusion of three lifts allowed.

T – Technically the information remains the same as above for the ballroom dance used as the foundation typically a Foxtrot or Waltz.  Attention will be drawn to the ease at which lift work is entered and exited with grace and ease.

C – Showcase:  The dance of all dances, where anything goes.  Any style of dance can be used from the Ballroom to the Latin categories and even an amalgamation of dances.  As much lift work as possible can be chosen or even a theatrical theme.  It is whatever is going to bring that ultimate standing ovation.  Audiences should be left wowed, speechless and blown away from the unbelievable showdown performance.

T – Technique will be based around the chosen dances for the showcase, if Ballroom good top lines and body contact etc, if Latin great shapes and lines with dynamic appeal.  The closest attention will be paid to the story line with it growing to a grand finale as well as the accuracy and ease at which any lift work is carried out.

These are just some very small tips to use in helping you choose your winner on a Saturday night.  You can even print them out and use them as a quick reference point then write your marks and see how well you do.

Happy dancing….