Elly Roberts reviews
Strictly Come Dancing
Distributed by
Sony Music TV
- Released: November 2004
- Rating: 8/10
- Cat. No: STVCD 193
What goes round comes round – in this case it’s ballroom dancing.
It takes two to Tango – ie the programme makers and the public – and Strictly Come
Dancing has certainly captured the public’s imagination with this flagship
prime-time programme.
Song and danceman Bruce 'Bonus' Forsyth takes the
lead on this dance compilation to accompany the highly successful BBC
television series. Once again television has proved to be a powerful
vehicle. Since the programme began in the spring, there has been an
explosion in people attending dance classes across the UK.
In effect, this a
new slant on an old favourite Come Dancing. With the added glam of Tess Daly
and Natasha Kaplinsky and a host of celebrities like Welsh singer Aled
Jones, Countdown’s brain-box Carol Vorderman, Olympic athlete Denise Lewis
and former That’s Life presenter Esther Rantzen all thrown into the mix, as
they try their luck at some pretty deft footwork and moves. Just in case
you’re not familiar with the format, each celeb is given a professional
dance partner who will put them through their paces during rigorous daily
rehearsals,making sure they’re in the best shape possible for the live
Saturday night show on BBC 1. They then face being knocked out by a studio
and public vote.
Most of the cover versions of well known songs work well, like The Bee
Gees' How Deep Is Your Love, the Gypsy Kings' Bamboleo and Norah Jones' Come
Away With Me, whilst some are mediocre – Labelle's Lady Marmalade and the
Contour's Do You Love Me.
However this is targeted at fans of the show who
fancy their chances at home. Forsyth himself clearly loves singing the old
standards, particularly Mr.Bojangles, Let's Do It and The Lady Is A Tramp.
So come on and join in the fun – shift the sofa, move the tables and chairs and
get Quickstepping, Rumbaing or Tangoing. All songs are performed at the
correct dance tempo so you could be the next Fred and Ginger!
The full list of tracks included are :
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.