One Last Time |Dreams That Glitter

The amazing Christopher Dean

The beautiful Jayne Torvill

Nina Ulanova ❤

The gorgeous Karen Barber

Joe with his penguin…

The ice panel

The iconic ending…

Ray Quinn ❤

The one and only Bonnie Langford

Jason Gardiner!

Bolero ❤

“It’s not goodbye, it’s goodnight”

Joe and Andy…

Headbanger!

Ok, so you know I said that was the last Dancing on Ice post you’d ever get? Well I lied. Well technically it wasn’t a lie I suppose, since I didn’t know there was going to be another one at the time… I was lucky enough to get hold of extra tickets on Tuesday evening for the last performance at Wembley Arena on Thursday evening. It’s a long story but basically it was very much luck that I got to go again, but I’m so happy I did. It was great to see the show again in Wembley, because it was where I saw the show for the first time and would have been weird not going back for one last time, but I really was not expecting to. 

It also meant I got to meet up with Leah again, which was perfect because we wouldn’t be friends if it wasn’t for Dancing On Ice, and now we’re like best friends and I don’t know what I’d do without her. It was the best thing ever to get to see it for the last time with her and I’m very grateful that I got to. Isn’t it amazing how a simple tv show and something like twitter can bring people together that wouldn’t have interaction with each other otherwise? 

The show was fantastic, again. I really don’t think there’s much more I can say about it other than I thoroughly enjoyed it. Start to finish. The seats were really good, not too high and near the middle of the rink so we had a brilliant view throughout. Jayne and Chris’ “It’s not goodbye, it’s just goodnight!” almost had me bawling though… 

I wasn’t expecting to go to the stage door again either even when I found out I was definitely going to see the tour again, because I went with my Gran and I didn’t see it fair to make her stand out for an hour or so after, and I had to get back from London at a decent hour for school the next day. But I ended up going again anyway with not a care in sight about school (if I can survive a day of school after getting home at 2:30am after an Imagine Dragons concert, I could do it again, right?) So when the show had finished, me and Leah made our way right around the other side of the building to the stage door and had a pretty good spot, but there was so little people there that I don’t think there could have been many with a disadvantage. Beth came out first, followed by Nina (Ulanova), and Ray Quinn (who is lovely) and Jason Gardiner came out too because he’d been sat in the audience, so we nabbed a picture with him too!

Before we knew it Jayne, Chris and Karen came out and we got photos and had brief conversations, I think Chris recognised me from the Sunday which was pretty cool. To sum up, it was the perfect way to end what seems like the end of an era to us fans. I don’t know what I’ll do with my Sunday evenings now from January – March every year, or what I’ll do for my birthday now I don’t have the tour to go and see… All I can say is thank you to everyone who was involved with the show and everything it’s done for me, much more than any of them will ever know. I’ve met so many amazing people and they’ve helped me through all sorts, many of which they’ll never know about. I’m looking forward to what Torvill and Dean are going to get up to next because it’s obvious they’ve got something hidden up their sleeves. Hopefully there’ll be lots more ice shows involving all the pros which I can go see, but nothing will quite be the same as the last nine years. 

Dancing On Ice Tour 2014 |Dreams That Glitter

9 years later…

Karen and Nicky ❤

Kyran and Nina

Alex and Luke

Jayne and Chris

Bolero

Let’s Face The Music

Ray – Champion

Bonnie and Andrei

Ray and Maria

Bolero

Front row seats!

Prepare yourselves, this is the last Dancing on Ice post you’ll ever get!

Yesterday I went to see the Dancing On Ice tour in Birmingham, for the last time ever. It’s the fifth tour I’ve seen so I kind of new what to expect, but this one was different because it was the last one. It was kind of a different atmosphere to previous years because it was the last time and the audience there was fantastic, everyone was very enthusiastic.

I went to the stage door after the matinee show and unfortunately only Beth Tweddle came out but I got her autograph. I also got to meet my lovely friend Leah again so it worth going early for that if nothing else! ❤

The show itself was amazing as expected. Ray won, and everyone skated twice and there was some breath-taking professional performances too. I got to see Jayne and Chris skate Bolero for the second time, and that was the best experience ever. I saw them skate it in 2009 on the 25th anniversary tour, but this time seemed even more magical. The entire arena was completely silent all the way through and I was completely transfixed by their beauty on the ice. At the end, when they slid onto the ice in that iconic position, the arena exploded with a roar of applause and everyone was on their feet.

At the end of the show in the party bit, I got to shake the hands of Robin Cousins, Gareth Gates and Brianne Delcourt… I also got extremely close to Ray Quinn 😉

After the show I went to the stage door and met Robin and Andy (two of the pros) and then I went round to the gates to wait for Jayne and Chris. After an hour or so (which included a lot of squealing and panicking on my behalf) they came out in the car and were lovely enough to stop for us. There was only about a group of 5 of us waiting, and it was chucking down with rain so we got a bit wet but it really didn’t matter afterwards! They’re the most lovely people and Karen smiled and winked at me as I said thank you and goodbye. To be able to look your idol in the eye and say ‘thank you’ is absolutely amazing and everyone should be able to have that opportunity. 9 years ago the show started, and i remember watching it so clearly, I’ve been in love with skating and admired these people ever since. To finally meet them was absolutely the best way to end the DOI experience. And I think it’s quite an achievement to say that even though I’m only 16 I’ve seen Torvill and Dean skate Bolero live twice, and I’ll be forever thankful for that.

Lauren x

Dancing On Ice All Stars: The Grand Final |Dreams That Glitter

I really can’t believe how quickly this night has come around, it’s quite ridiculous how fast it’s gone. It seems like only yesterday the series started and I began writing about it every week wondering if I’d keep it up. Well I have, and after an incredibly emotional night you can expect this post to be even more of a rambling and gushing than the previous ones.

Source: @torvillanddean’s twittter

First things first, congratulations to Ray and Maria, our final ever Dancing On Ice champions. They fully deserve it without a doubt. Ray has so much talent and enthusiasm for what he does on the show it’s really amazing and his skating ability has just soared through the roof of this competition, I could watch him all day and never get bored. Maria deserves just as much credit (I really don’t think the pros get enough recognition and credit for all the amazing work they do on the show behind the scenes as well as everything we see in front of the camera, she has done an amazing job partnering Ray and she’s been part of the show for so many years that’s really special. When she skates with Ray it’s different from with her other partners because she can really let go and relax and skate like she knows how because that’s the extreme levels of trust involved with their partnership.

@dancingonice: Let the #DOI celebrations begin!

I’m going to talk about the showcases first… all three of them were amazing. Beth started off the competition to Run The World with a cheer routine, and I simply must comment on just how happy Lukasz looked throughout the entire thing let alone Beth. I feel like she finally reached the top of her game and her performance was way up there with the skating skills. 40 from the judges well deserved.

Hayley’s showcase was equally amazing, they went for a tango style routine and the choreography involved her using all the pros really well and she really was the star. Again, it was spot on perfect and I don’t think they could’ve done any more.

Ray’s showcase was also fantastic. Did the wardrobe department run out of material…? Not that this is a complaint in any way, shape or form 😉 I literally have nothing else to say it was just amazing again and I think the judges needed the sprinklers on again 😉

After the showcases each of the couples performed their favourite ever routine, so Beth did her Scottish dance routine, Ray his flamenco and Hayley inevitably did Jai Ho, the public’s favourite and their favourite as a couple. She’d been dressed for it every week and since I found out that’s what they were doing should they have been put in the skate off part of me wanted her to get to do it, but now I’m very glad that it was saved for the last show. It was weird seeing it again because I remember the first time so clearly and that was four years ago, it’s crazy. Ray’s routine had so much energy and passion it was just perfect and there’s literally no other way to describe it, it was just so good. Beth’s was really good as well.

I’ve just realised I missed out the opening, how could I… I was completely blown away by it, the fact that that was the last time they’re ever going to perform Bolero on tv… that made me want to sob there and then. I like to put myself in their shoes and wonder how they’re feeling as they step onto the ice to do that for the very last time, I can’t even imagine the emotions that would be running through you. The choreography was just flawless as usual and you’d expect nothing less but at the same time you wonder how they keep going year after year and somehow pull everything together and deliver something so beautifully magical every time, and yet it’s always so different. If there’s one thing I cannot wait for it’s to see that again on tour right before my eyes, it was magical in 2009 on the 25^th anniversary tour and I expect it will have the same effect on me again. I think it’s really a privilege to see them skate in front of you, they’re such legends.

Then there was of course Phil and Christine finally on the ice shortly followed by the judges… Karen and Jason skating together – there’s something you never thought you’d see right? Amazing.

Where did I get to… Right. After a short appearance from the class of 2014 which brought back mixed emotions from wondering how far Jorgie would’ve got with a different partner, to being devastated that David and Gary went so soon, to the heart break of Suzanne and Matt not making the final… it’s crazy to think that it’s been nearly three months and all that has happened and it feels like it’s only been a few days. It was then time to announce who was in third place and who was going through to perform Bolero… Beth came first of course and I can’t say I was surprised, although she may arguably be the strongest skater she’s not as popular as Hayley or Ray.

Bolero. I’m not going to go off on one again right now because I think I’ve done that plenty of times already in the past and this blog post is taking me a long time to get through, it’s really hard to put everything into words how I want to… I’m not even going to comment on the two Bolero routines separately because I really think there was not a lot between it and I couldn’t choose between Ray and Hayley. They were both breath taking routines and by this point emotions were running high triggered by the amount of times Phil had to say ‘this is the last ever skate on Dancing on Ice’. It was really neck and neck and I imagine the votes were quite close, but Ray did have that special edge from the very beginning. He just has the whole package. Hayley is an amazing performer and a fantastic actress and has a lovely personality and her partnership with Dan is strong it’s beautiful to see, but Ray has that extra something on the skating side of things which is ultimately what the show is down to and the best skater and performer and dancer has won.

Ray’s reaction to his name being called out as the champion… to anyone who thinks he is cocky and expected to win because he thinks he’s the best, what are you even on?

It has been a complete emotional rollercoaster of an evening and so much over the last couple of months has built up to tonight’s show and the standard has been so high, and tonight has not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of it and can’t thank the entire cast and crew and producers enough for the last nine years. It does feel like the end of an era and I can’t believe it’s all over. I can’t believe how young I was when it first started in 2006 and the fact that I’m still following it so strongly now is pretty impressive, its grown to mean so much to me and I’m thankful for all the opportunities it’s given me as well as all the fabulous people I’ve had the chance to meet.

Now I’m counting down the days until I get to go and see the tour which is the 20^th April, aka 42 days away. I know it’s going to be one of the best experiences ever and it really couldn’t come quick enough.

If you have anything you’d like to say about the show or to any of the cast members then I’m putting together one last video project which you can read about here http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s0pebd and I will except any contributions until Tuesday.

I really hope I haven’t missed anything out of this post, but for now it’s goodnight ❤ 

Dancing On Ice Quarter Finals |Dreams That Glitter

Tonight each celebrity skated twice, once with their partner and a solo skate entirely by themselves. Some coped better than others and the competition was really heating up as the final five champions battle it out.

Opening the show was Kyran and Nina performing together and they really had to up their game after making a few mistakes in their choreography last week and ending up in the skate off getting through only due to Suzanne’s minor mistakes I’m sure (completely non biased I swear). Tonight there was very few mistakes that I noticed and there was some interesting lifts in the routine that I’d not seen before. They ended up with a score of 34.

Kyran’s solo skate included some pretty impressive jumps – a toe loop, flip and loop jump all in there. His scores from the technical end of the panel were higher than the performance side proving that performance is definitely something that he needs to work on. I thought that there needed to be a bit more speed across the ice too.

 

Hayley was next with the first up to skate solo. There was one unfortunate trip on one of the jumps and a little more speed across the ice was needed but she performed well (maybe not as well as she can but it was still there). She did fall in rehearsals when practising her spin which was impressive, and I think that could’ve knocked her confidence a bit. Not her best performance. She ended up with the lowest score on the solo skates of the night.

Hayley and Dan’s routine to ‘Conga’ was a million times better than her solo skate, it really showed how much Hayley’s confidence grew when she had Dan back on the ice with her. I wonder if she had done the couple skate first then that would have put her confidence right up there for the solo and she would’ve delivered even more? Anyway, the song reminded me of Heather Mills’ and Matt’s routine a few years back… anyone else? Back to Hayley and Dan though. I really loved Hayley’s costume for starters, it reflected the music and atmosphere perfectly. There was so much energy put into it and it looked like they were having a really great time, the timing was absolutely perfect. All that landed them two 9.5s and two 10s with the performance being overruling to the technical side of things as always with Hayley.

 

Beth and Lukasz did their routine before Beth went it alone, and you could tell from the VT she’d had a particularly tough week battling this virus. I think she was quite lucky not to be bed ridden but the Olympic athlete inside her definitely came out this week and she did her best. Unfortunately the performance was lacking some and you really can’t blame her as she was not on her game at all.

Her solo skate was technically very clean but again lacking in performance and energy, probably due to the sickness. I think Jason used that as an excuse to be even more harsh than usual which wasn’t fair because it’s not like she looked really awful like he was making out. Not her best week, understandably.

 

Sam skated by himself first off and did an amazing job. The routine he was given was lyrical and he performed so well, perhaps the best he ever has even without his partner. Skating alone did not phase him whatsoever.

Sam and Vicky’s routine was absolutely stunning and beautiful. They skated to ‘All of Me’ by John Legend and it was a real goosebump routine. I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on Sam in his series but this time around him and Vicky have really grown on me, their relationship translates onto the ice so well and they’re the perfect pairing, they get on so well and are ready to tackle whatever is thrown at them (I don’t know whether I’m talking about their relationship on or off the ice at this point). The routine had some brilliant tricks in it including the bounce spin and platter lift which were done wonderfully. As the judges said, it was really ‘exquisite’.

 

Last up: Ray and Maria. Now that Suzanne and Matt have departed the competition (but I don’t want to dwell on that subject too much, it’s not good for my emotional stability), I’ve decided I’m backing Ray. They skated to Counting Stars tonight which I absolutely love, and the routine was just as beautiful. They got 39.5 and I’m sure that Jason just knocked .5 off his score just to be annoying, I’m sure of it. they fully deserved 10s, so well done.

Ray’s solo skate was something else. He’s been given a lot of lyrical routines lately so it was very nice to see him do something a little different. He skated to Kiss and really I don’t have much to say other than it was possibly my favourite of the night and can he please do it on tour. He finally got his perfect score of 40 and it was very well earned and deserved. Bravo.

 

The skate off was a really close call between Sam and Vicky and Kyran and Nina with Riverdance and Chasing Cars. I don’t think there’s much that can beat Riverdance, and although Kyran skated very strongly Sam just beat him with his amazing energy and skating standard. So now we have our four semi- finalists in the battle to be champion of all champions: Sam Attwater, Beth Tweddle, Ray Quinn and Hayley Tammaddon. I can’t believe there’s only two shows left!

 

Dancing On Ice Week 6 |Dreams That Glitter

Tonight we went back to 1984! It started off with an opening from the professionals in leotards, legwarmers and there was a hell of a lot of pleather involved with the show tonight. The crew are getting more and more fancy with their clever technology every week, and all the projections and images that are used to make the routine all fit together are looking fabulous. That really set the mood for the night.

The first couple of the evening to skate tonight was Suzanne and Matt, who skated to Let’s Hear It For The Boy. Straight off you could tell the hair and make up department along with wardrobe were really outdoing themselves with all the amazing looks tonight. Matt’s hair makes a fine example… very 80s. I thought the choreography was a little basic when you think about what Suzanne is capable of but I do think that Jayne and Chris know what they’re doing so hopefully they’ve got some more complex routines lined up for them.

Next up was Sam and Vicky who are definitely growing on me as a skating partnership and I love how their real life relationship comes across when they skate together. I thought he made a great Freddy Mercury with the moustache and all, and yet more pleather. The routine caused a little disagreement with the judges, Jason was the odd one out with his score which was .5 lower than the rest of the panel. It then resulted in yet another Karen/Jason episode where he came across rather rude with his comments. What he says a lot of the time is mostly true, he just words it in more horrible ways than necessary.

Following them were Gareth and Brianne, and in all honesty I can’t even remember much about the routine right now which is probably quite bad… I can’t say I’m overly disappointed in their departure either (oops?). Don’t get me wrong I think that he is a strong skater and he’s come on a long way since he started, but the standard is just so high he’s not at the same level as the likes of Ray and Sam.

Hayley and Dan were next and I thought their performance was brilliant. For some reason certain people *cough* Jason *cough* think that Hayley can only do the overly exuberant, enthusiastic, cheesy, jazz hands routines. This is not true at all. This week Jayne and Chris gave them a bit of a challenge and they skated to Here Comes The Rain Again, a much slower routine filled with emotion and storytelling. I loved the passion it was performed with and it came across very dramatic, particularly in the facial expressions which were fantastic as always. Hayley got quite emotional at the well-deserved high scores too which I thought was sweet. And you know a routine is good when Nicky says ‘it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end’ – it’s like his catch phrase much like Len Goodman ‘pickling his walnuts’ on Strictly.

Marking the mid-point of the show came Jayne and Chris’s spectacular skate to The Power Of Love. The pure emotion and passion they express as they perform gets me every time. I shall never tire of watching them, and I really hope this is one of the routines they do on tour because it was beautiful.

Following the legends were Ray and Maria. They skated to Jump and did exactly that, their routine had the most jumps in any routine previously on Dancing On Ice. I have to say I was not too impressed with his look this week, especially the hair… but whatever, it was just one week right? Can we have his actual beautiful hair back next week please? I also think it’s time Ray got to incorporate some more intricate partner work and big lifts in his routines because he’s mastered the jumps and is a brilliant solo skater now. He got a near perfect score tonight which was also deserved, then along came Nicky comparing him to Olympic skaters and deducting him points on that basis, which I thought was ridiculous.

The penultimate couple this week were Kyran and Nina. He had a bit of a boost this week from winning the duel last week and I think that really helped his performance. Or maybe it was just the wig. There was a few challenging lifts in the routine which looked pretty fantastic, but I think it’d be interesting to see how he’d get on with learning some solo tricks similar to what Ray is doing, while Ray conquers Kyran’s speciality lifts.

Beth and Lukasz closed the show with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. There was a couple of slip ups but I think that’s because she finally managed to let go a bit and actually have fun, maybe under the influence of the song? There was also a bit of choreography off the ice including a cartwheel and a handstand which I didn’t really see the point of, other than giving us the delight of seeing Luke’s improvisation behind Beth which was quite amusing and possibly my favourite part of the routine. I’m pretty sure she spent at least half of the routine in some form of the splits which I’m not sure how I feel about. I really liked the splits roll at the beginning though that was rather impressive.

I think I’ve already voiced how I felt about the end result of Gareth leaving the show, but I’d just like to add that Sam and Vicky’s ‘Save me’ skate was absolutely beautiful and they completely nailed the step sequence and performed it in perfect unison. Claps to them. Next week it’s the Team Challenge which I can’t wait for! 

Dancing On Ice Week 5 |Dreams That Glitter

The week we’ve all been waiting for, the duels! All the scores since the first week of the competition were added together and then the top two couples were paired up and every two after that. This meant that Ray and Suzanne were paired up, Sam and Kyran, Gareth and Bonnie, and Hayley and Beth. It was incredibly tense tonight as the competition was definitely heating up and there is so much talent. The judges voted for who they thought skated best and therefore deserved to win their duel and that couple was then automatically through to next week, while the loser had to perform again, a routine that they choreographed themselves. This All Stars thing is taking its toll on me, I’m getting too attached to them all!

I’d like to make a quick comment on the opening routine which I thought was beautiful, bravo to Alex and Luke, Andy and Robin and Matt and Brianne. I loved the Evanescence song choice too! Those angel wings looked like a pain to work with but the effect they had under the lights and everything was stunning – one of my favourite openers I think.

The first two couples to compete were Sam and Vicky vs Kyran and Nina. In my opinion Sam owned that routine, I think it played to his strengths a lot more than Kyran’s particularly with the dance elements within it. I thought Sam’s skating appeared cleaner but the panel was split with two votes for each, but the skaters of the panel went and saved Kyran meaning he was through.

Gareth and Brianne vs Bonnie and Andrei were the next up and they did brilliantly. Gareth tried his best to put his performance face on but in my eyes and I’m sure many others will agree, no one can beat Bonnie Langford when it comes to performance. Though thinking about it now, I think Hayley could probably give her a run for her money in that department. I love watched Bonnie skate, she’s fabulous. Gareth is strong on the ice but he’s definitely on a lower level than some of the others still in the competition (maybe even some who are already out…) but he is trying really hard and that is coming across in his performances. He can have the award for most improved.

Following them was Hayley and Dan vs Beth and Lukasz. This was a no brainer right away, Hayley was bound to win. Hats off to Beth for trying really hard and trying to up her performance side but next to Hayley she didn’t stand a chance because Hayley is just as good technique wise across the ice. They both wanted to win but Hayley wanted it more and you could see it in her face as she was skating. They were both trying so hard that they both made mistakes and it was definitely the most tense. The judges made it a clean sweep for Hayley and she sailed through to next week leaving Beth in danger.

Last but not least was Suzanne vs Ray. This is the duel everyone was waiting for let’s be honest, and what I treat it was. Full of energy and tricks it was an amazing performance, but Ray beat Suzanne with his impressive jumps, and the whole panel agreed on putting him straight through.

The second half of the competition seemed like a lot of fun, the remaining four celebrities who didn’t win their duels battled it out with their own choreography. First went Sam and Vicky who skated to Dream Catch Me which I really love, and it was a beautiful routine, it was such a shame about the slight musicality mishap on the step sequence because other than that it would’ve been absolutely perfect.

We got to see a completely new side of Bonnie tonight which was a rock chick, and to start with she looked stunning, then pulled that amazing performance out of nowhere. She managed to let loose and have fun at the same time and still not put a foot wrong. In my eyes she can do no wrong. I especially loved the judges’ reactions to that performance and I would have loved to see the scores (10s across the board no doubt).

I felt like Beth’s performance was just meh… fairly average. Maybe that was because she followed Bonnie who is the performance queen or what, but it just wasn’t as exciting or entertaining (sorry). She just doesn’t come across as interesting personality wise as some of the others who can be exceptionally eccentric.

Saving the best till last again, came Suzanne and Matt. A lift went wrong fairly early on into the routine which sent Suzanne tumbling to the ice almost pulling Matt down with her and my heart was in my mouth. But she didn’t let it stop her performance she got right back up again and carried on like a true professional, she was amazing. I really loved the twisting headbanger towards the end, it was a bit of a mind blow! And she managed to come out of it and land it on one foot pretty much perfectly as well, just to top it all off. A definite finalist.

In the skate off it was Sam against Bonnie and Bonnie seemed to know right away that her time had come and I think everyone did. But I’m really glad they performed Big Spender as their last routine because it was one of my favourites in the first series and she did it wonderfully again tonight.

The competition is getting serious now as we reach the half way point and it’s getting really exciting. It also means I’m getting too attached to the celebrities and the couples too, and I’ll probably start crying through the results show pretty soon. Anyone with me?

Dancing On Ice Week 4 |Dreams That Glitter

I’m a little late getting this up this week but I’m determined to get this done every week without fail so here we go!

This week was the first of our themed weeks of the competition, and it was ‘Dance Styles’. From ballet to street dance, we saw it all on Sunday and some of the contestants got on better than others. Everyone was out of their comfort zone as they were all given totally different styles. Dance week brought a clear divide to the ice panel as well, as you may have noticed, there’s Karen and Robin the skaters of the panel, looking for technique and quality of the skating itself, and then there’s Ashley and Jason who are much more involved with the performance side of things. I definitely think that Jason only focuses on this, whereas the other three judges are slightly more balanced and do look at the performance as a whole.

First up was Kyran, a big, strong rugby player up to do rock and roll, which is a fast, upbeat, bouncy kind of dance with lots of tricks. I think he did a brilliant job with Nina, especially with the tricks but I think the dancing part was pretty good too.

Next up was Suzanne and Matt doing ballet, which I was really excited for. First of all I’d like to comment on how sweet it was of Suzanne to get Matt’s parents over here, and I can’t believe they’ve never seen the show in the ten years that Matt’s been on it! I think they did a fantastic job together, there was a few ballet elements in there that I recognised but I do think there could have been a bit more. That’s not Suzanne’s fault though (it drives me crazy when the judges – it’s Jason 99% of the time – comment and insult the choreography when it has nothing to do with the celebrity, they’re given a new routine each week by Jayne and Chris themselves, and I’m sure they take everything into consideration when they are choreographing. I also think they’re amazing for choreographing everything themselves each week, just think about how many routines they’ve put together in the duration of the show since it started in 2006. Anyway – back to Suzanne and Matt – it was a shame they messed up the lift but they covered it up extremely well because I didn’t notice at all until they said afterwards.

Next were Gareth and Brianne with street dance, and I think Gareth is probably the least suited to that style in the whole competition. However, he gave it a good go and you could see that he’d put a lot of work into it. The difference between the footage from the beginning of the week and the final performance was excellent. Saying all that, I do think that Gareth is not at the standard of some of the other skaters he’s up against, and I think he could be in danger next week. But like Holly Willoughby said on This Morning last week, it’s not that he’s a bad skater, it’s just because everyone else is amazing and therefore makes him look worse.

After Gareth came Bonnie and Andrei, who were given the waltz. Now, everyone just assumed that Bonnie was going to be fantastic and have an advantage because of her profession but actually ballroom dancing is very different to say, the kind of dancing you do in west end shows, for example. Just because someone is good at one style of dance does not give them an automatic advantage at being good at every other style. I do think that she did a fantastic job though and she’s just as good as she was in the first series and I don’t think enough people appreciate her talent on that show.

This marks the half way point of the show, where we took a break from the competition and saw Jayne and Chris skate a beautiful routine to In My Life by Rebecca Fergusson who sung live. The routine was so touching, and I loved the projections at the beginning. If they do that on tour, then half the arena will be in pieces, guaranteed. I found out this week that Jayne and Chris are skating Bolero in Serajevo again to mark the 30^th anniversary at the winter Olympics, on the 13^th February, just a couple of weeks. I can’t explain how excited I am to see that. You can read more about it here.

Back to the competition – Sam and Vicky with their Bhangra routine. Sam was back on form this week and performed brilliantly with Vicky, the movements were sharp and precise and the routine looked like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Next up was the couple who were sadly later eliminated from the competition after losing the skate off to Kyran. It was Zaraah and Andy skating a jazz routine. I thought this was one of their best yet, it was different from her other best routines which tend to be the lyrical kind. I really enjoyed watching them skate together (but I do miss Fred) and I’m disappointed to see them go. It’s got to the point where all the couples I didn’t really care too much about is gone and every skate off from this point onwards I’m going to be watching from behind a cushion. That’s when we know it gets serious.

Beth and Lukasz got quite an unusual dance style – Scottish. I thought this choreography was great because you could clearly see the elements from the dance style within the routine. And you’ve got to love Lukasz in that kilt, flashing Phil at the end, who knows what he saw 😉

Hayley and Dan were the penultimate couple to perform and they did a Charleston which I  personally (and I’m sure others will agree with me) deserved full marks. It had tonnes of energy and lots of fancy tricks and clear Charleston choreography which was executed wonderfully. 

Last but certainly not least, there was Ray and Maria performing a flamenco routine. It was quite different from what I was expecting but it was quite frankly outstanding and fully deserved the incredibly high marks that it got. He just never stops, who knows where he’ll be by the final (assuming the public don’t lose their minds and get rid of him)! 

If you missed any or simply want a recap all of the performances are available to view on the Dancing on Ice website.

Bring on next week!

Dancing on Ice Week 3 |Dreams That Glitter

Now look at that for speed getting this written and posted! Only just over an hour since the show finished… claps for me. Anyway, before I go into that I’d just like to mention that I made a separate twitter account to go with my blog which you can find under @laurenhollie_, so if you follow me here you should follow me there too. 😉 

Opening the show this week we had last week’s stars, Suzanne and Matt. It was strange not having an opening routine from the pros or Jayne and Chris to start it all off but next week we having a Torvill and Dean performance to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what they bring us, as none of their routines are ever the same. However I think that Suzanne did a brilliant job opening the show to Applause, which I love so that’s always a bonus. I loved the choreography at the beginning and how they ended in the same position lying on the ice. I still think they should of stuck by the rule that they had in earlier series that no one wore purple until the final though, it kind of kept the colour special for bolero.

Next up was Sam and Vicky, who performed brilliantly and there was no trip ups this week which is always good, but the performance didn’t necessary stick out for me tonight as they have done before.

Zaraah and Andy’s routine I think was quite underrated by the judges tonight, she did amazingly with that new lift never done before on the show. If you couldn’t see the strapping around her ribs through the costume then no one would have known she was injured because she acted like a true professional after having popped a rib open only this morning! Amazing courage and perseverance, a worthy competitor.

Bonnie obviously had a bit of a tough week after being in the skate off in week one, and that showed in training but I think after she let it all out of her system she must have felt better and she carried on practising until she had nailed the routine which I think she did tonight. I’m rather jealous of her amazing leg extensions.

Next up was Gareth and Brianne. Gareth’s skating ability and performance skills have improved massively since he was on the show the first time around and that really came across in his performance tonight. I think he’s doing really well with Brianne, but having said all that I do think he is quite a way behind some of the other celebrities such as Ray and Suzanne.

Ray and Maria were absolutely amazing tonight, a real stand out performance I felt. Skating to the slightly controversial Blurred Lines (some interesting music choices tonight) he certainly came out with a bang and showcased some fantastic dance moves and tricks with Maria. He proved all week in training that despite was Jason may think, he is definitely not complacent about any of this and he will work hard at everything he does. If he continues with that attitude and the public keep him in (he got my vote tonight) then he could have a lot more to bring to the competition.

Todd and Alex. What even is there to say? I literally did not stop laughing throughout the entire performance from the moment I saw Andy pushing out that boat. I did for a few seconds think that he wasn’t actually going to get onto the ice for the whole thing, but then eventually he got out and left Alex lying leisurely in the boat (what a week it must have been for her) and skated a solo, which you have to give him some credit for even if it was a tad… limited, shall we say. 10/10 for entertainment. They shall be missed.  

Beth is a good solid skater, capable of a lot on the ice especially with her flexibility that allows her to try some very interesting lifts in which she bends her body in all sorts of different ways. Having said that she’s never really particularly interested me in her performances and they’re all quite same-y in my opinion. One thing I did notice tonight was her trying to do sensitive looking hands and fingers and as a dancer looking at a gymnast I have to say they did look slightly banana like which no one else probably picked up on.

I’m so glad Kyran brought back his body popping tonight! I was watching the series two dvd earlier and was just thinking about how he needs to bring that back and then he did. I thought it was a brilliant performance, excellent skating, strong lifts. Jason needs to lay off him a bit please, and if he could stop insulting the choreography when addressing the celebrities that would be brilliant, because it has nothing to do with them, it’s given to them by Jayne and Chris who are fantastic for choreographing that many different routines every single week.

Hayley and Dan! This week’s performance was so much better than their performance in week one, they had some amazing lifts and tricks in there and Hayley has so much energy in her performances from start to finish. Her facial expressions were brilliant and very fitting for the song and the whole feel of it.

 

Dancing on Ice 2014 |Dreams That Glitter

If you’ve been here a while then you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Dancing on Ice, therefore I’m rather disappointed it’s all coming to an end… It’s going to be an amazing series and really competitive between the contestants because of the all star line up including 6 previous champions. The full line up is: Hayley Tamaddon, Kyran Bracken, Ray Quinn, Bonnie Langford, Jorgie Porter, Joe Pasquale, Gareth Gates, Todd Carty, Gary Lucy, Zaraah Abrahams, David Seaman, Suzanne Shaw, Beth Tweddle and Sam Attwater.

The first show of the series was last night and we lost Jorgie and Joe in their new surprise double eviction. I’m not all that surprised Jorgie went as everybody else seems to be, yes she’s a fabulous skater but after all the speculation about her being with Sylvain etc and their VT really didn’t help the situation. Although it was only a joke them all making fun of Sylvain for his reputation in the past few years of dating his skating partners I think maybe it was taken a little bit too far and you could tell he wasn’t happy about it. I think everything was blown out of proportion on twitter about the whole thing though and some people don’t seem to realise that at the end of the day it is still just a tv series and things like that will be played on for the sake of viewers, just like the whole Karen/ Jason situation.

My favourites last night were definitely Hayley, Kyran and Ray, I’d love for Hayley or Kyran to win. I love Ray and he’s really talented on the ice I’m sure he’s got a lot more tricks up his sleeve to come as well but I’d love to see some of the other winners give him a run for his money because everyone seems to be convinced that he’s the best and will definitely win. Even Jayne and Chris said themselves that had he started skating when he was younger, he’d be a world champion by now.

Ray Quinn’s all famous split jump making a reappearance in training

I can’t believe the show has been going so long, it’s been a huge part of my life since I was 7 years old and to this day I still clearly remember sitting down with my parents to watch the first episode, being completely transfixed by Torvill and Dean and I’ve watched obsessively ever since. The tours have given me so many amazing memories and I’m telling you now ice dancing is one of the most breathtaking things to experience live in front of you.

My favourite tour memory from 2012 – meeting Sean Rice