Snippets: Strictly Come Dancing; X-Factor

Dancing With The Stars professional dancer, Lacey Schwimmer, has been choreographing for the Strictly pros. As reported previously, the launch show will be on September 15th, with the first live show scheduled for October 5th.

Chris Hoy and other sports stars to mentor on the X-Factor? Not according to the man himself! Although, while they couldn't advise on showbusiness, I bet their contestants would be the fittest, mentally and physically, and we'd see a much better calibre of performance - it's not as daft an idea as it sounds!

Katherine Jenkins scores perfectly for runners up spot on Dancing With The Stars

Team Kama had to be content with the runners up spot on Dancing With The Stars, losing out to American footballer Donald Driver in the final.

Both couples enjoyed perfect scores across the two night final, which saw actor William Levy come third.

Kama's dances included a Proper Paso Doble a properly proper Paso, always a favourite when the music is spot on, as in this, but the name escapes me - Foxy, help! Anyway, you don't need me to explain it, just watch Bruno!

and a bubbly, jumpin' jive ... 

... and their freestyle was a wonderful mix of lindyhop, jive, quickstep, tap - a Broadway number, if this was So You Think You Can Dance - same song as Matt&Charlotte's with Sing Sing Sing - which Kath did at the beginning. Joyous!

Katherine took to Twitter to thank her fans for all their support, and a "humongous" thank you to Mark for his patience and sense of humour. According to a US talk show host, she's won an army of fans in the country and should be well on her way to cracking it there. 

Well done Kama, it'e been a pleasure following you this series :)

Dancing With The Stars: Team Kama through to final

Katherine Jenkins and partner Mark Ballas made it through to the final of Dancing With the Stars - despite suffering an injury to Katherine's back at the very end of their performance.

They were nearing the end of their belly-dance themed salsa when the injury hit, bringing tears from Katherine as they messed up the final move. However, the judges reassured her they'd seen enough and awarded 27 out of 30 points, with Bruno saying: "You unleashed the harlot, which is good to see - handle with extreme care, because it bites - so don't worry about what happened, because it happens to everybody. Up to that point it was absolutely wonderful darling, so don't beat yourself up."

And Len Goodman added: "I just wrote, 'Katherine the great, the world's wonder woman'. You absolutely came out and gave that 100%."

Watch it here - it looks like Mark caught her leg as he turned and threw them both off balance, and heading up the stairs you can see she's taking them gingerly. Aside from that though - this was one totally wicked Beyonce-esque salsa! Forget the ballroom, Kath's next move should be Streetdance, the next sequel!

Katherine subsequently tweeted her concerned fans the following message: "Thank you for all your concerned tweets ... I'm with the doctor, he says it was a reflectorical spasm in my lower back."

Kama had earlier performed a quickstep, which scored 29 out of 30, giving them a combined score of 56. I saw the little stumble there, like Len, but really, her characterization and movement every week has been spot on.

In one of the closest semis ever, it was Derek Hough and Mania Menounos who missed out on the final, with William Levy & Cheryl Burke and Daniel Driver & Peta Murgatroyd going through with Team Kama.

Snippets: DWTS (Katherine's trouser trouble) Ex-Strictly champs; aspiring theatre stars

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas made it through to the semi final of Dancing With The Stars - despite the best efforts of a wardrobe malfunction!

A beautifully swirly and romantic Viennese Waltz netted them 26 points - I must admit the getting in and out of the floor lift detracted a bit for me too - but it was still a lovely VW with plenty of movement.

They then took on the challenge of a feisty triple cha cha with an interloper - starting in a suit which made way for the normal fringy number, one of the trouser legs wrapped itself around Kath's pin and refused to let go! How she managed to keep on the beat was brilliant and she picked her moment to kick it away perfectly. The judges scored them a  near perfect 29, excellent technique and sassiness, a cool head too.

Tom Chambers received the blessing of Fred Astaire's daughter, Ava, in his West End show Top Hat.

Kara and Artem will be taking part in the Jubilee Family Festival in London.

West End Kids will be running the WEK: Summer Intensive this summer, in London from 31st July -5th August, for young musical theatre performers in the UK, aspiring for professional careers within Musical Theatre, Dance and the performing arts.

The West End Kids reflect individual talent, hard work, training, athleticism, teamwork, dedication and dazzling performance skills to young performers aged 10-21 years.

Register now for Auditions in Manchester on Wednesday 6th June and in London on Thursday 7th June.

For further info call 020 8123 2025 or send an email to: auditions@westendkids.co.uk

Purestar Productions Summer Workshop: Learn to dance like the stars of MTV with a workshop on Saturday, 25th August that will end in a showcase!

Open to all dancers: 7-10 yrs, 11-15 yrs and 16+.

Times: 9.30am to 6pm. Cost for day: £35.

Venue: Barrington Theatre, Ferndown, Dorset.

Features the Purestar Dance Team who have worked with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

For more info send an email to : timnoble@purestarproductions.com or call 07886 969 713.

Team Kama's classic rumba sees them through

Week 7 on Dancing With The Stars was Classical week, which, if you'd had a waltz or a paso was probably great. But a rumba? It was very strange. Watch it without sound and you'll see a beautifully interpreted rumba but I found the music very distracting. Kudos to Kama for delivering scores of 9 across the board, which put them joint second on the leader board.

However, I loved the attack and the energy from each couple in the team Tango, where the music allowed the professionals' creative choreography to shine. The team scored 27 and Kama duly sailed through to next week.

Strictly Come Dancing With The Stars: Viva La Divas!

It's been confirmed following months of agonising, stress and manic discussions (not here, obviously) that the new Strictly Come Dancing judge will be former star Royal Ballet principal ballerina, Darcey Bussell.

Photo:BBC

Darcey guested on the judging panel at the end of 2009 and also had a taste on the dance floor too, partnering Ian Waite in a jive.

Purists will be pleased to have an experienced dancer on the panel; I remain to be convinced, as I found Darcey a little too nice and proper then - I'm hoping to see a more feisty side to her! I may be the only one, but I'm going to miss the Bruno/Alesha double act. And I can see them having to put Bruno in a straight jacket, because it just wouldn't seem right to let him manhandle Darcey the way he did Alesha! Maybe they'll put her the other side of Len; I think they may have done before.

Across the pond, Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas are still hanging around at the top of the Dancing With the Stars leader board, having performed a truly fantastic funky samba: Kath's timing is awesome and she really let herself go. I loved it, the most enjoyable celebrity samba I've seen in a while. And Motown night on DWTS means the big Motown stars actually performing live for the dancers - how cool is that? Team Kama, accompanied by the Temptations, scored 29 out of 30 points.

There was also a Motown marathon with all the couples on the floor at the same time; this added a further 10 points to Kama's score, as they saw off the rest of the competition. With the viewer votes added, they made it safely through to next week.

Back to the top of the leader board for Katherine in Dancing with the Stars

An excellent Argentine Tango saw Katherine Jenkins and dancer partner Mark Ballas head back to the top of the Dancing With The Stars leader board in Week 5.

Although it threw me initially, with them being in light rose coloured costumes, the choreography was exquisite and every one of Katherine's extensions were perfect. Full of intent and purpose and a well deserved score of 29 (Len being the meanie!) saw them tie at the top and progress safely through to next week.

Katherine's Power Paso keeps her in DWTS

Week 4 on Dancing With the Stars was Rock Week and luck of the draw gave Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas a Paso Doble to perform.

The Welsh Warrior showed up and a feisty, angry performance full of attack ensued, although it lacked a little precision and finesse. This dropped them from the top of the leaderboard, scoring 24/30. The judges were pretty spot on with their comments I thought, but happily Team Kama (I've decided; full names are too long) made it safely through to next week.

Snippets: Kath Jenkins on DWTS; Jersey Salsa Slam; Street Battle 2012; DVD offer

Katherine Jenkins and dance partner Mark Ballas are still topping the Dancing With The Stars leader board, this week scoring 29 out of a possible 30 for a gorgeous, romantic and emotional waltz to Josh Groban's To Where You Are.

Both song and dance were a tribute to Katherine's dad, who passed away in 1996, as the stars this week were asked to think of the most poignant year of their lives to celebrate. If you're not blubbing even before they begin then maybe you're having an exceptionally wonderful day. Or you have a heart made of granite mixed with concrete and steel.

Fancy a weekend away in Jersey? Salsa Fever present Jersey Salsa Slam on the weekend October 19th to 22nd. Staying at the Metropole Hotel in St.Helier, this second weekend is hosted by Rohan Brown and brought to you again following the success of the first last year. Deposit is £50, with an early bird half board offer of £154 or weekend passes for just £40. That sounds pretty good to me! Visit the Salsa Fever website for full details.

Sadly, if you go to Jersey then you can't attend Street Battle 2012, which takes place on the same weekend at Butlins in Skegness. There's over £25,000 in cash prizes plus workshops from some of the hottest talent in the street dance industry. See more info on the Street Battle website.

Dancing in the UK has 15 different DVDs for sale, at just £6 each, including P&P.  They cover waltz, samba, rumba, tango, mambo, cha cha, foxtrot, Latin jazz, Argentine Tango, salsa and street dance - email them for full details, there's a discount for anyone purchasing three or more. dvds@dancingintheuk.co.uk

Katherine Jenkins topping DWTS leaderboard!

Katherine Jenkins has started amazingly well on Dancing With The Stars, finishing joint top of the judges leaderboard two weeks running.

An emotional Katherine and partner Mark scored a record 26 points for a premiere show, dancing their beautifully Hollywood style foxtrot:

They followed up on the second week with similar score for a rockin' jive! Really, her technique was Fab-U-Lous. So fab-u-lous I bet Craig wished he could have been there just to stretch A-Maz-Ing or Some-Such word! Week 2!  Enjoy both vids :)

Katherine Jenkins Joins Dancing With the Stars

The US version of Strictly Come Dancing have signed Mezzo Soprano and Strictly fan, Katherine Jenkins for their next series.

A good move I think, as over here she'd have been hit with the old "previous experience" rubbish (Viva la Diva with Darcey Bussell). She'll feel right at home with Len and Bruno on the judging panel, and a spokesman said she's very excited to be taking part. Her partner will be former champ Mark Ballas, returning for his tenth season with the show. He's also very musical; sings, plays guitar and has a band with fellow champ Derek Hough, so it seems a perfect match!

The rest of the stars include the wonderful Gladys Knight, without her Pips sadly, Melissa Gilbert (Laura in Little House on the Prairie ... she's probably done a few other things by now) and Wimbledon legend Martina Navratilova - they're the ones I've heard of! The ones I haven't heard of, who are probably huge in the US of A are: Actor Jack Wagner (Melrose Place); Sherri Shephard, co host of The View; Jaleel White from Family Matters; TV host Maria Menounos; Disney star, Roshon Fegan; Donald Driver, NFL wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers; singer Gavin de Graw and Telenovela actor, William Levy.

The new series launches on March 19th and Katherine will be following fellow Brits Mel B, Heather Mills and Kelly Osborne in the attempt to lift an overseas glitter ball. Good luck Kath!

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two - Robbiola Relegated

Robbiola on the sofa and Robbie (Mr. Blonde rockin' in a roll neck) knew it was their time to go, the others deserved to go through. Ola (It's Ola-over Robbiola) saw such a massive change, Robbie improved so much, he could never have done that quickstep in week one. Were Craig's final words "loved the concept, loved the performance" a consolation to leave with? "No!" says Robbie "Yes" says Ola, but Robbie's still bitter! Robbie takes his hat off to the older, less obviously fit contestants on how strenuous Strictly is - he lost 9lbs! I won't ask where, it might be rude, says Zoe. His mum's extremely proud (get well soon to his dad - she was with him at hospital today, he fell and broke a hip) his kids bawled their eyes out. Generous tributes from Holly and James, and Ola - and she's gone, says Zoe! Apart from the free spray tans, what will you miss? Everybody - from runners to judges (even Craig) make up and contestants. Harry to win. Or Alex. Or Chelsee. Or Jason. Or Holly!

Backstage Pass: Alex in agony; Harry, alternately feeling insignificant and then inspired, watching the pro dance; James, Vincent, Brendan and Erin picking on new boy Pasha, pinging his braces; Technically, Robin was never voted off - he's hooking up with Rent-a-Pro Brendan. It's fun tinged with panic tonight, says Len - it all comes down to this one performance!

Pasha in for the Pro Dance Challenge, not at all confident but he's very quick, nearly tripped himself up though and lost form, may be some disqualifications! Only three disallowed but some incomplete - he still scores 65 and edges into the lead! Only one above the girls, points out Zoe. Thanks, I didn't like to say so, he says! Not sure Flavia won't take him tomorrow "she's a fast cracker!"

Points of You: Julie from Didcot tells Len to Lighten Up! Face like a pickled walnut when Bruno's doing his thing. And Pork Pie hat bass man in the band is Trevor Barry!

Bruno on the sofa with the dance debrief - we have a montage of his colourful performance appraisals first, and Alesha being mauled on a regular basis! He and Len are zonked throughout the two months of Dancing With The Stars, but he feeds off the contestants energy, they provide his material. Even the bad performances have been good - those from the less technically adept, he means. Bigs up Robbie - he took it like a man, great posture! Harry's rumba was almost there, the basics just needed to be more slinky, figures were fantastic, simplest things are the hardest and it is a woman's dance, the man is just the frame, very difficult dance for the men. Alex so much more confident, movement and fluidity fantastic, at ease with herself; Holly's flamenco correct, the penny dropped, she had to ignite everything, good at Latin and ballroom, good arms and legs, needed the extra fire. Loved the concept of Jason's - did their own version, took inspiration rather than copy. Chelsee on fire, timing just brilliant, just performing, dancing and enjoying. Zoe's up with him now, dancing around. I love Claudia but I love Zoe's enthusiasm for all things dance, any excuse and she's up!

In other news: Emma Bunton and Jason Gardiner will not be returning as judges on Dancing on Ice - Pineapple Dance's Louie Spence and former Olympic champion skater, Katarina Witt, are replacing them. David Beckham is touted as a potential contestant!

Stevie Wonder may sign up for Dancing With The Stars - when he thinks he's lost enough weight!

Interview with Arlene Philips, which I think someone forgot to proof read, but still, it's an interview with Arlene.

Yvonne School of Dance Win Barclays Live Norwich

Nine tap dancers from Yvonne School of Dance have been crowned Norwich dance champions after picking up over 40,000 votes in an intense public vote online.

Nationwide dance competition Barclays Live took place in Norwich on 26 February at the Forum. Despite the wet weather, a large crowd gathered to watch the ten local acts chosen to battle it out for the title and £1,000 prize. Yvonne School of Dance, based in Hethersett, bucked the trend of street dance acts that have so far dominated the competition by delivering a retro tap dance performance that beat off tough competition in the form of street dance troupe Dem Bratz and the current world junior ballroom dance champions Luke and Hanna.

Speaking after hearing that they’d won, Yvonne Cutting, owner of Yvonne School of Dance, said: “The girls were thrilled to make it through to the final of Barclays Live so this win has put them over the moon. We’d like to thank everyone who voted for us as the prize money will go a long way to boosting our fundraising for the year. The girls will now have even better costumes in their upcoming shows as they continue to improve their dancing and raise as much money for charity at the same time.”

The Barclays Live competition celebrates continued investment in branches across the country and will pull up at a host of regions in 2011. In addition to the events sweeping the nation, Barclays Live has also teamed up with StreetDance 3D star Brooke Milliner to create Your Name in Dance, an interactive dance tool showing a users name in choreographed dance form. Check it out at www.barclayslive.co.uk/interactive.php. For all the latest news and upcoming events, ‘like’ Barclays Live on Facebook www.facebook.com/BarclaysLive and follow @BarclaysLive on Twitter

Also in Tap News: An interview with Charlie Baker, winner of Let's Dance for Comic Relief - there is some bad language, you have been warned!

And a pretty stunning alternative jive from Mark Ballas and partner Chelsea Kane on Dancing With The Stars. Personally, I think it's terrific and certainly enough jive content for me! But the judges didn't like ...

Snippets: Strictly Come Dancing, Black Swan, Comic Relief, Dancing on Ice, Got To Dance, Dancing With The Stars

Rachel Stevens will be covering the BAFTAs from the red carpet for Orange and dressed accordingly to announce the fact - as Natalie Portman in Black Swan!

Last season's Strictly Come Dancing champion Kara Tointon and Xmas Special participant Ronni Ancona will be joining almost Dancing on Ice contestant, Nadia Sawalha, X-Factor's Olly Murs and Dermot O'Leary, and singer Craig David, amogst others, trekking through the desert to raise money for Comic Relief.

We can but live in hope ...

Got To Dance Live that should have opened at Excel London has been postponed until later in the year. And Turbo and Dance Dynamix have made it through to the final of Sky's Got To Dance.

Dancing With The Stars Louis Van Amstel has put together what looks to be a stunning show - Ballroom With A Twist, featuring dancers from DWTS and So You Think You Can Dance and singers from American Idol.

Dancing With The Stars, Local Legends!

Derek Hough is taking Season 12 off from Dancing With The Stars to make a film, where he plays a streetdancer, but will return for Season 13. At least it'll give the other pros the chance of winning!

And as you may know, I'm the community publisher of a local website, Rochester People, where we're currently running a campaign to find our local legend - and as yet, there are no dancing related nominees - so if you're reading this from the Medway area and you know of someone who deserves a bit of recognition for services to dance (or anything else for that matter) then do head on over and nominate! Here's a flavour of what we're looking for:

Snippets: Kara and Artem, Julianne Hough, Davina McCall,

The News of the World reports that Artem's mum Anna is as smitten with our Strictly Come Dancing winner too! She said: "She (Kara) looks really great. They make a beautiful couple which fills my heart with pride and joy." The couple pretty much confirmed last night in front of millions that they are indeed a couple, and Kara says they get on brilliantly and are looking forward to doing normal things like going to the cinema or for a meal, after being stuck in a studio for three months. Photo and quotes courtesy of the NOTW.

Ex-Dancing With The Stars professional and future Cheryl Cole sister-in-law (possibly) Julianne Hough's new video has been banned for being too sexy! Choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance's Adam Shankman - decide for yourself - I thought it was no worse than many many others and tame compared to the X-Factor final!

An interview with Davina McCall ahead of Got To Dance 2.

Dancing With The Stars, Dancing on Ice

Trav's Final Thoughts are in - the main show here and the recap and result here. He's feeling how I know I'll be feeling in a few weeks time - bereft!

Dancing on Ice rumours - Jeff Brazier and Denise Welch (I thought we already knew about her?!) Angela Rippon - that's ruffling a few feathers, sequins and general glittery things! And Robbie Keane's missus is also said to be er, keen.

Snippets: Dancing With The Stars, Strictly Come Dancing, Matthew Bourne

Trav's Thoughts are in, they're down to their final four! Here are the results and vids! Kyle brought it to the floor again, brilliant, and Derek's choreography in the hands/feet of Jennifer is awesome, those one-legged spins are gorgeous!

Business Secretary Vince Cable is to partner Erin Boag in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special - and as a social ballroom dancer performing an American Smooth and a Foxtrot, the only common denominator with Our Ann will be politics! It's also apparently been confirmed that Fern Britton is taking part, but no news on who she or John Barrowman will be partnered with, though Kristina Rihanoff has said she has met her partner!

Arlene thinks we still miss her on Strictly - sorry, not with comments like "salsa ... like cold soup" and "feet treading treacle" “She started off like a flying bedspread and at the end Anton was mopping the floor with her.” How is that constructive criticism? Give me Alesha looking for the positives, any day of the week. Arlene, you're best in So You Think You Can Dance, where you do give constructive criticism and praise where it's due, where you're dealing with proper dancers. The last audition for that, by the way, is in London on Sunday - see the website for full details.

A brilliant interview with choreographer Matthew Bourne - he's a huge Strictly Come Dancing fan who agrees with me! About everything - what Strictly is, Arlene, Tom Chambers, Ann - I love you, Matthew! Apart from the boys on SYTYCD last year doing a snapshot of Matthew's Swan Lake, I've not seen a full production - that will definitely be rectified in the new year!

Dancing With The Stars

Trav's Thoughts are in on Dancing With The Stars and here's another theme we'd best look out for on Strictly - Instant Dance! The couples have to prepare a dance - without the music! Sounds like a daft gimmick doesn't it, but it's actually how professional competitions are run - all couples doing a jive or whatever to the same piece of music. And it sounds as though these couples all did a fantastic job!

And here are the results and vids - can I just say, I want Jennifer's dress and I loved that quickstep ... then I watched Brandy's waltz and actually became quite emotional - and wanted her dress even more! Kyle's jive was brilliant and fun, adored it (but think I'll give Lacey's dress a miss!) Can't believe they did that without knowing what the music would be - just shows how fabulous the pro dancers are!

Dancing With The Stars

Trav's Thoughts are in for this week's show and the results and videos are here. Now compare Kyle's attitude and attack in his Paso (I loved it) - that's want we want to see from our contestants on Strictly! Unusual theme this week: ex-celebrity contestant on the panel having one of their classic routines recreated, eg, Helio's quickstep by Rick and Cheryl! A gorgeous foxtrot from Brandy and Max and beautifuly choreographed tango from Derek and Jennifer.