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| Eurovision Dance Contest [Day 4] |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Saturday, 01 September 2007 | |
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How are the dancers coping with the dress rehearsal of the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest. It's the EBU fanfare, that never fails to send a shiver down one's spine with excitement, then the lively Latino-flavoured opening credits roll, and we get our first sight of the chequer-board set covered with dancers...and on stroll on our hosts Graham Norton - a popular TV comedian, and Claudia Winkelman, a well-known presenter and reporter. Graham and Claudia explain the format of the show, with the usual reminders about not voting for their own entrant and the unveiling of the telephone numbers. In a departure from usual ESC procedure, and the lines are open from the beginning. The postcards - which are excellently produced - show a shot of the performers dancing in front of landmarks from their own country and a quick comment from the dancers. And we're off! SWITZERLAND Sven and Denise have the honour of opening the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest, and their Paso Double certainly sets the tone for the show, Dressed in bright scarlet, they move gracefully and elegantly across the stage - although maybe they just need to look happier with what is undoubtably a good performance. RUSSIA A much more sedate offering now from Vlad and Maria (who is herself a newsreader!), with a gentle rumba. However the performance is marred by a couple of slight stumbles. However this of course is just the rehearsal so plenty of time to iron out any last minute glitches. A good looking performance however, dressed elegantly in black and white. NETHERLANDS Tom Jones's hit Sex Bomb provides the backing music for Redmond and Alexander's Cha Cha Cha. This is probably the best of the three entrants so far - and they look fantastic in gold and black. UNITED KINGDOM It's the home team effort now, and Brendan and Camilla have put their past behind them for one last dance - and what a dance it is. They glide across the dancefloor, dressed in black and pink to their rumba, performed to the hit musical song "The Way We Were" It'll be interesting to see what effect home advantage has on this effort. AUSTRIA You know what I was saying about the best so far? Well that's now been surpassed by husband and wife Andy and Kelly from Austria (Kelly is in fact originally from Liverpool in the UK). Unsurprisingly there's great chemistry between the two, and they really look like they're enjoying themselves! There performace is a traditional jive, performed to the 40s classic Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy. Excellent. GERMANY Across the border to Germany now, and a cheeky little samba from Oliver and Wolke. They dance well, although some of the lighting is a little dark. It must be said however that overall, the standard so far has been very good, it will be interesting to see how the viewing public pick a winner. Graham and Claudia then give us a reminder that this a bit of TV history, with the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest. Well done to the production team, as it's a very slick show so far. GREECE It's another jive entry now, from Spiros and Irania. You can certainly tell they're having fun, as the pair wear cheeky grins throughout the performance, which is done to the music of Everybody Needs Somebody, of course from The Blues Brothers. The costumes for this dance are pink.....very pink. LITHUANIA ...although you'd be forgiven for thinking this was the entry from Spain. Gabriele and Gintaras are dressed more like people from Valencia rather than Vilnius. It's a great, sensual performace of a Paso Double, but will it be remembered in amongst all the jives and sambas? Visually stunning however. SPAIN A tempestuous entry from the Spaniards, performing a Cha Cha Cha. It's another good performance, although Abraham (wearing a flesh-coloured top that makes him seem as if he is wearing very little) seems to have better chemistry with the TV cameras than with his dancing partner Amagoya. Great sound on this one though. IRELAND It's back to the jive again (how popular this dance seems to be this year!), and there's something irresistably cute about Nicola and Mick. They're both seasoned professionals and it shows. Maybe I just have a bias towards the jive - but this for me is the best so far along with Austria, although of course the viewers may have a different opinion! POLAND Another couple who really look the part, Marcin and Katarzyna give a solid, if rather static performance of their Cha Cha Cha - let yourselves go guys! However being performed to the popular latino hit "Sway" should make this performace stand out when it comes to being remembered by the viewers. DENMARK Dressed in bright aquamarine, David and Mette perform the third rumba of the night. It's a sensual performance, and what is good to note is that there is obviously great chemistry between the dancers, something that really gives the performances a lift. PORTUGAL We're jiving again! This time it's to the music of Madonna's Hanky Panky - and while this is another strong performance, it's perhaps the weakest of the jives so far. However this may be more down to the lighting, which appears to need a bit of adjusting for this performance. Another couple however who look great and are obviously having fun. UKRAINE Ilyia and Julia perform the first and only Quickstep of the night, and this on it's own means that it could well stand out when viewers decide who to vote. Interestingly enough many people in the press room were still tapping along to this well after the performance finished. Could this be the dark horse? But remember each entrant will perform two dances, so everything could change when it comes to the freestyle. SWEDEN The biggest cheers of the first performances are reserved for Cecilia and Martin, who manage to pull off the interesting combination of a Pasa Doble with the music of cheese-rock classic "The Final Countdown". Given the rockier nature of the performance, they maintain serious facial expressions throughout, which is perhaps somewhat at odds with the sparkly sequinned outfits! FINLAND And it's a hop across the Baltic for the final performance in the first round, from Finland. It's a latino Rumba, gently yet elegantly performed by Jussi and Katja. A good end to a varied and entertaining series of latin and ballroom dances. It's a recap of the first performances - and if the public were voting on these online, then my money would go gon Austria, Ireland, Greece or Ukraine - although Lithuania or Sweden could be a dark horse. Graham Norton then chats to some of the performaces live from the Green Room, which for this show is situated in the BBC's Star Bar. OK let's go with the second round of dances - and this time it's freestyle, in order for performers to refelect their own national identity. SWITZERLAND A swing number, done to the music of the Nina Simone classic "Feeling Good". A classy performance, although this is slightly marred by a rather stumbling striptease midway through, which will need some work on before the final performace. RUSSIA This is as Russian as vodka! A very traditional Russian dance, which reminded me somewhat of Poland's 2005 Eurovision entry. Cheers from the audience at the end, and this was certainly the stronger of the Russian's two performances. NETHERLANDS Well not a clog in sight for the Netherlands! What we did get however was a very sensually performed rumba, to the music of "Will You Still Love Me". When people vote, it will be interesting to see how much they vote based purely on the dancing skills, or whether the choice of music will end up being a factor. UNITED KINGDOM The music of James Bond provides the backdrop as the home team take to the floor with their second effort. This Latino (yes seriously a Latino Bond!) looks great on camera, and Camilla and Brendan really look the part - a very strong performance here. AUSTRIA Could we be looking at the first winners of the Eurovision Dance Contest? Another strong performace by the Austrians, technically oustanding, and this receives the biggest cheers of the rehearsals so far. GERMANY A technically very demanding number here, with lots of flips, lifts and throws. However this doesn't seem to faze the Germans, with Oliver and Wolke smiling all the way through this performace, backed by Bonnie Tyler's greatest hits. GREECE Taking the national identity theme to its logical meaning, Spiros and Irania dance to Zorba The Greek. It's a strong and lively performace, and this really shows why the Greeks are one of the favourites to win the first ever EDC. LITHUANIA Well this is different - it seems to be a combination of a number of different folk and pop numbers. It's well performed and the dancers look happy, but it may just all be a little too confusing for some viewers. SPAIN Back to the Spaniards for their second performance of the show, Amagoya and Abraham give what is perhaps the most traditional so far of the freestyle dances. IRELAND Well Ireland is obviously well-renowned for its dancing culture, so it's no surprise that Nicola and Mick have chosen to do a traditional Irish dance, albeit with a Latino twist. Not as strong as their first performace, but they should still have a good chance of taking away the trophy. POLAND It's dancing to the music of Ricky Martin here, and an excellent performance it is too! They look happy and obviously enjoy doing this dance. It's certainly one of the liveliest dances so far, helped by good sound and lighting by the production team. DENMARK The stage is bathed in red and gold, as Mette and David perform a freestyle version of the hip-hop song "Lovestoned". This starts well, and they look good, however the ending needs to be stronger, in fact it felt as if the audience had been taken by surprise. Claudia and Graham appear together again to give a rundown of the phone numbers - remember they're open all through the performances. Also note that during the second run of performances there are no postcards between the entries. PORTUGAL Another country with a proud history of dance, and for the Portuguese's second effort, Sonia and Ricardo perform a tango. It's technically adept, and is well received by the audience. UKRAINE Off to the land of the Cossack, so it's no surprise that the audience are treated to a traditional Hopak dance. It's a breathless performance with some very snappy moves - full marks to the Ukrainian's for their outfits!! SWEDEN A lively and energetic disco number from the Swedes full of flips and strips. "Skin and hair flying in all direction" as a certain UK commentator may have said. It gets the crowd going, and will certainly be memorable for the viewers. FINLAND Now for the final dance for the night, and this is a very passionate paso doble by Jussi and Katja. This is a very strong ending, and if viewers go for technique and passion over glitz and glamour, then this could be getting a few votes! And that's it! Now it's time for a quick recap of both dances from all sixteen competitors. Really hard to pick a winner, but overall Austria and Greece were the strongest, with Ukraine a good outsider. But who knows! Over to Claudia now in the Star Bar for another chat with the performers, then Graham does the final countdown until the close of votes. A rehearsal now of the voting - firstly let me just say what a clear and readable scoreboard, something YLE could have learnt from this year! And it's a slight difference here, the points 1 - 7 are read out....then they are added to the existing points to see how it affects the leaderboard, then the top 3 points out, affecting the scoreboard live. Slightly confusing at first, but it actually increases the suspense. And the results are in - we've spoken to all the jury spokespeople (some of them could do with speeding up a bit!), and Spain has to go twice (leading to comments of the second coming of Jésus by Graham Norton!). And the winner....(of the rehearsals)....is....the United Kingdom Source |
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