Eight long beats…
…that was the nightmare that I faced on Saturday. Let me take you back to the dress rehearsal. After four days of training, Flavia and I were very excited and proud to finally deliver a performance that would improve our marks and show people what we could do. All was going well until the dress rehearsal (and bear in mind that’s only a few hours before the actual show). A strange thing happened, as I was doing the dance (which as you can imagine being the quickstep, is quite lively with little room for error) I, on a few occasions had a second or two where I had no idea what the next step was. This alarmed me but I didn’t tell Flavia because after all, I got through it and it was pretty good. But if I’m honest with myself that’s the first time the little gremlin had appeared on my left shoulder. I zoned into one particular part of the dance which I felt could be the stumbling block. So when it was my turn to walk the plank on the live show, that gremlin was parked firmly on my left shoulder but I thought it best to try and ignore him. All I can remember of my dance on the Saturday night was thinking that we made a great start until I did a turn and went to give a little wink to the audience (which in a rehearsal when no-one’s watching seemed a great idea) but as I turned right and looked a little to the left I found myself winking directly at Bruno who was looking back intently. The gremlin got a real buzz off that.
Gremlin Time
What happened next was the strangest feeling. I got into hold, started to do the dance and I can remember thinking I’ve done this better and even though my timing was probably a little out I thought I could still pull it off. But because I was concerned about a move twenty seconds in the future, I actually forgot my favourite bit of the routine which was a double pivot followed by an Astaire-like glide. I knew I’d done something wrong but wasn’t sure what. I dropped my hands a little like a boxer, stunned by a smashing jab to the jaw from my mate Joe Calzaghe. Just when I thought I was out for the count Flavia, like an angel, looked me right in the eye and somehow brought me back from the brink. She quickly raised my arms, looked me right in the eye with complete calmness and that brought me round. Suddenly I was back in the room.
At the time I felt like I was in a war zone for those eight long beats and was just pleased to get off the battlefield. Any marks that the judges gave me after that, would be a bonus because, as you can imagine, I was slightly shocked and disappointed. In hindsight the dance and my mistake were not as bad as I feared and I almost got away with it.
New week, new dance, new tan. Bye for now. Craig.
Stumble it!
Themocracy
Keep going Craig – believe in yourself – it works wonders! It was great to see you on It Takes Two last night with Flavia. We are cheering you on all the way. I am so glad Len saved you – although I feel that neither couple should have been there…..lets not get me started!! LOL. All the best for this week, keep your head up and think positive thoughts xx
Talk about keeping us on the edge of our seats, Craig. Saw so much improvement this week. Not any easy dance. Your confidence must be raised now, what with that 7 and Len’s decision to save you and Flavia. Hope it’s been boosted, we’re all still rooting for you. Hope this weeks training is going well. Good luck for Saturday..
Congratulations on getting through the awful dance off on Saturday. You definitely have potential and the fox trot, one of the hardest dances to do, is now out of the way, hooray! My observation, for what it’s worth, is that you need to relax more, you seem very tense both in your frame and face, and Craig, for once, is right your right elbow is too low – Flavia is a fabulous dancer/teacher and with her in your arms, you should be on top on the world. Enjoy the music, the dance and the moment, go for it – you can do it. Good luck for this weekend.
Congratulations on getting through the awful dance off on Saturday. You definitely have potential and the fox trot, one of the hardest dances to do, is now out of the way, hooray! My observation, for what it’s worth, is that you need to relax more, you seem very tense both in your frame and face, and Craig, for once, is right your right elbow is too low – Flavia is a fabulous dancer/teacher and with her in your arms, you should be on top on the world. Enjoy the music, the dance and the moment, go for it. Good luck for this weekend.
Good luck with the Foxtrot tomorrow Craig. Hope you can get rid of the Gremlins and enjoy the dance.
Craig you did really well on Saturday. Our hearts were in our mouths. We even dug the T. V from under the bed to watch it live without internet breakdown interference. You are there. You are doing it. No-one can see your Gremlin. You are dancing! You have nothing to lose now.
You love your training…..embrace that and your own grace. There is a spanish expression which is used for dance but can be used for anything….its called duende (dont know if thats the correct spelling) it means to go beyond the dance to go beyond the spirit of what you are doing.
Duende Duende
do it do it!
since i have just found out you are doing the foxtrot and not the salsa, i wanted to wish you luck in doing that, you seemed happy on ITT and i hope you can dance it like you want to this weekend.
Good Luck X
Agreed with everyone..Lucky you got the Quickstep out of the way early, as all the pro’s have been saying..So good watching you and we’re rooting for you all the way..The Foxtrot training looks great and we’re sending ‘evil stare’ vibes to that Gremlin! Wish you all the luck in the world Craig! xxx
I have just seen that you are doing the Foxtrot – looking very good too.
Relax and enjoy!!
Good luck.
You could tell from your training that your technique in the Quickstep was really really good. It went wrong but at least now the worst has happened and you got through it – you know you can handle anything now!
Just saw your foxtrot training on ITT and it looks absolutely fantastic! Smile, enjoy it and let that little gremlin know who’s boss! Best of luck, we’ll all be voting like mad again! xxx
I agree with Dilly, you have the hardest dances out of the way and so the rest you can enjoy, and the salsa is a very cool dance and i am sure you wont help but smile all the way through it
Good Luck to you both, have a great weekend and throw the gremlin in the furness X
Thats another very difficult dance you’ve now got out of the way Craig,and you should take confidence from the fact that the public saved you this week. You and Flavia have lots of support and try and bring that fun side you show in training onto the dancefloor on Saturday night.
Dance like no-ones watching, and just enjoy yoursef.
Good Luck to you both and hopefully the Salsa will be the one to get those scores up and boost your confidence a bit….Dont let those Gremlins get to you. xx
Well done for getting through, Craig. People are supporting you.
You just need to punch that Gremlin out of the picture and believe in yourself.
Stop thinking so much and just go with the flow – especially for the Salsa. Pretend you are in a club and not on TV, maybe? What do I know? I would probably run a mile in the opposite direction when they called my name!
Have some fun!
Good luck to you and Flavia on Saturday.