Sonya & Sean's blog

August 14, 2008 by Sonya

I am knackered. I've just got back from lesson 5, one more to go. Lessons 3 & 4 all happened in a blur as they were immediately after each other. Part of me thought that would be really helpful but by the end of the 4th lesson, both Sean and I felt terrible and very confused. Confidence was low, especially as Ralf took us for the 1st time and was a little surprised to discover we only had 2 lessons left. Speaks volumes really.

I spent the whole weekend listening to the song again, trying to put the whole dance together and almost cracked it. Simon took us for our lesson today and it was very weird doing it in front of someone new.........how the hell are we going to feel on the night in front of 300 people? He was really good (as they all are!), but my posture is an ongoing problem. He ended up doing a few sections of the dance with his hand on my neck, forcing my head back. He also kindly allowed me to slap his wrist after. Made an excellent point though.

Ralf then stepped in and showed us the ending of the song which is good fun, quite cute. Sean and I managed to walk away with smiles on our faces as we finally, finally managed to put the steps to the music. Just as bloody well considering we've got 1 lesson to go. We keep messing up on a few bits but as least we can put the thing together. Isn't looking overly pretty or graceful either but who knows what can happen in a couple of weeks. I live in hope.

August 08, 2008 by Sean

So, Sonya and I have just finished our 4th lesson and we know the whole dance. There are definitely a lot of tricky spots, however with a bit of practice we should be able to nail then. Full steam ahead and all on schedule. That was the impression we got from our dance teacher Kele anyway. Then we had a lesson with Ralf to improve our posture. Positive noises coming from him too. Right up until the end when he said: “I think you guys are doing pretty well considering its only your third lesson”….cue heart break…. cue panic….cue I’m not sure I really want to do this anymore.

I have a new found respect for performers/dancers/singers, they may look like attention seeking knobs, but they’ve worked hard to get there…so I tip my hat…

August 01, 2008 by Sean

Dancing is not a girls past time. Official. In fact, I’m feeling more and more like a man as each lessons goes past. You’d understand me even more if you know my partner Sonya Arthur. That woman wants to be lead by NO MAN!! Haha In all seriousness, Sonya’s a great partner, and very understanding of all my mistakes. I thought playing sport all my life would’ve helped me somewhat, I’ve been sorely mistaken.

Is the dancing going well? Good question, if two people grappling with each other while hop, skipping and jumping is dancing? Then yes, wonderful thank you! If however, its two people totally in tune with each other while gilding across the dance floor in time with the music while wowing the crowd is dancing? Then no, its not going exactly according to plan.

Sonya and I are doing the Quickstep which along with the Samba is meant to be the most difficult for beginners to pick up and master within such a short period of time, and boy can you tell. We’re afraid, very afraid at the moment, and are both thinking that extra practice sessions is a must if we don’t want to embarrass ourselves come the big night……

July 29, 2008 by Sonya

I spent most of the weekend going through the steps from Lesson 1 in my head so thought I would be OK for our second lesson. Kele started us as soon as we put our shoes on (not a second to waste) and Sean and I very poorly had forgotten everything.....stance, steps, timing, arms, everything. We need to practice, and lots. I never thought it would be so easy to forget things in 5 days! Quite shocking really. We have 4 lessons after this and are only 2/3 of the way through the 1st section of the dance, and the dance has 3 sections......don't panic, don't panic. There was no time for rehearsal of the previous week so we charged on to the hoppy/Skippy bit.

This was actually quite good fun, dare I say it. I think my 5 year old Irish dancing might have been an influence, except for the fact I'm meant to have Balloon arms for the whole dance, not arms that are clamped to my side. Also, it completely means poor George Clooney doesn't get a look in over Sean's right shoulder. Have no idea how I'm meant to do all the skipping, kicking, hopping and "pepper-potting" without even looking where I'm going!

I was completely shattered by the end of it to the point where I could barely remember my name, but onwards and upwards. Sean & I have promised we'll put lots of practise in before next week. My legs should just about have recovered by then!

July 24, 2008 by Sonya

It was quite a while since our initial group session so I felt bit like a lamb to the slaughter. Kele wasted no time in getting us started and before we knew it we were stomping around the dancefloor......I don't think "stomping" was EVER meant for the Quick Step. There must have been a lot of nervous energy because Sean & I kept talking over poor Kele, then she kindly reminded us, she'd been doing it for 17 years and we'd barely been doing it for 17 minutes. That put it into perspective, so we shut up. It really helped for a while and before we knew if we were cha chaing, turning (sort of) and feeling quite good about things.....until we realised we weren't even 1/2 way around the dance floor and only about 15 seconds into the dance. Gulp.

The next challenge was to try and actually dance together, which took about 10 attempts. Then the music came on and it was as if the previous 2 hours of dancing had never happened. Oh, worth noting, I say dance in the loosest term, it's more of a stepping action, similar to that of a toddler. We finally managed to remember the 18 separate things before the end of the lesson and got our way round without falling over.

My main problem is that I'm dancing backwards for almost 90% of the time and not allowed to look where I'm going. Kele has kindly created a George Clooney imaginary picture over Sean's right shoulder. Quite funny when she's yelling out, "Clooney....look at Clooney!".

July 02, 2008 by Sonya

The first dance lesson for happened on Monday and I had a complete drama - for those that know me there will be no surprises there.

I had to head home to Northern Ireland for that weekend so booked a 6.30am flight on the Monday morning, which ended up being delayed by 4 hours. Panic set in as I didn't want to let the side down, so I booked myself on another flight (let's ignore the cost) and ran into the dance studios at 11.30am, 1/2 way through the lesson.

I managed about 10 mins of cha cha cha then the Strictly Dancers arrived. All very strange to have them there and I suddenly felt very nervous about the whole thing and how much work we all had to do. We were given our dance and Sean & I are doing the Quick Step. I think most of us were hoping for something along the lines of the Samba as it's slightly more familiar - however, looking at Andy giving it a whirl, I'm not so sure!

Camilla & Ian took 6 of us on the Ballroom lesson for the last hour which was brilliant. They make it look so easy. They were a good laugh and Sean & I managed to figure out that basically, we do the exact mirror movement from each other, which is very (very) difficult. It complete goes against your natural instincts. We did manage 2 actual dance moves, one of which was a turn, so it was high fives all round. There was one point however that I got told off as I uttered the words "I can't do this". Kele pulled me aside and told me "can't" was a word that was never used in the studio, so one to remember!

That session has made even more nervous but still excited. I think we all know we're in the same boat so it'll be interesting to see what the next couple of months bring.

Looking forward to the next session!

July 02, 2008 by Sean

Being the confident ginger knob I am (I know I really shouldn’t be but I just can’t help it, I think I’m great for some unknown reason (well I do know why but I can’t be arsed to go into it now)) I wasn’t nervous at all turning up to the first lesson on Monday. I said hello to everyone, and was generally quite excited about it all. Then we got going……not being funny, but I’m pretty good at most things, or at least if I practice a few times I reckon I can hold my own. Some of this stuff I just couldn’t do. Thank god the ‘jive’ is consigned the dance bin of hell. Jiving malco-gingers is just not a good look.

This was not made easier by having to do all the couple manoeuvres on my own like some ‘friend free’ Shermanator in the corner. Sonya’s flight had been delayed unfortunately, so for the first few hours I was flying solo, and not enjoying it. Then, like an angel out of the dark abyss of me reliving my first parties as a spotty teenager dancing on my own and just wishing someone would say that we could go home, Sonya turned up to rescue me in the corner.

Sonya and I just clicked, before you knew it we were pulling off turns, chasse’s and shimmeys like we’d been doing it for years….bring it on people, bring it on…..