New "Come Dancing" format...

[Jayne]

So did we all hear about this on the radio this morning then?

see here

What do you think?

A tired show jumping onto a tired bandwagon?

Or a refreshing concept that will revitalise partner dancing?

J

[Divissima]

Oh, good heavens.....

Am I getting confused - are there two new dance shows from the BBC, or is it just this one? I had thought they were bringing back a variation on the old format, showing dancers of all kinds of dance and not just ballroom and latin, maybe travelling around the country to different dance events/comps.

If there is only one and this is it, it makes my heart sink... I'm definitely of the opinion this is a 'tired bandwagon'.

Doesn't mean I won't watch it, though

[TheTramp]

Oh my. So, we get to watch half-celebrities learning to dance.

I suppose that there might be some laughable value. Maybe. Though, maybe they should get them to eat beetles too!!

Wasn't quite what I was hoping to see though. Still, they may do the other part of what you're suggesting as well, Jayne. Which would be nice.

And we'll all be watching the night they have Ceroc on there, anyhow, won't we?

Trampy

[Bill]

Oh good..........another reason for giving telly a miss

[uk-jive]

I received an e-mail from a BBC researcher about this last week... I'm waiting for a follow-up reply atm, but here's the original e-mail.

Dear Sir / Madam

I am working on BBC1's new Saturday night prime time show. We are bringing back "Come Dancing" which ran on British television for 50 years. The new series will be called "Strictly Come Dancing" and hooks into the international resurgence of ballroom dancing by creating a live family entertainment programme based around a strictly ballroom-style competition.

Presented by Bruce Forsyth, the format is an old favourite with a new twist. Eight high-profile celebrities will be paired with eight professional dancers. Over eight weeks they will learn and perform both Latin American and Ballroom dances in a battle to be crowned ‘Strictly Come Dancing Champions 2004’.

Each live Saturday night performance will be judged by a jury of professionals and personalities from the world of ballroom dance. The fourth judge will be the general public, whose votes could change the league profoundly. All profits made through phone calls will go to charity.

The reason that I am contacting you is that I have been browsing your website www.uk-jive.co.uk We have a show that goes out on BBC3 every night of the week for the eight week run that will work as a Fanzine show for both our show and the world of dancing. One of the segments that we would like to do is a dance partner section where we help viewers find a suitable partner.

I was wondering whether we could post some information on your website about the show and the dance partner segment of the show. It would be great to start getting people interested as soon as possible as the show goes out in May and June. Could you let me know your thoughts and whether this is a possibility.

If there is anything else that you think might make an interesting feature for the show then let me know. Don't hesitate to contact me on either of the numbers below or drop me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Laura Buckwell
Strictly Come Dancing
BBC1 Live Team Runner
Rm 3317 TVC
Tel: 0208 225 9422
Mob: 07970 068 039

[Divissima]

That sounds more like it!

Shame I don't have BBC3

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Divissima
Shame I don't have BBC3

Ah. Well, you can come round my place and watch it if you want

Trampy

[ElaineB]

Might be useful to watch as they may include tips, such as where to get your teeth whitened and how much carotene you can safely take to turn your skin yellow..........


Elaine

[spindr]

Originally posted by uk-jive
I received an e-mail from a BBC researcher about this last week... I'm waiting for a follow-up reply atm, but here's the original e-mail.

Howabout, Frankie Manning -- Lindy Hopper extraordinaire and inventor of the airstep -- will be in Gloucester over the May bank holiday at "Jumping At The Woodside" (www.jazzjiveswing.com) celebrating his 90th birthday.

SpinDr.

[Gadget]

Originally posted by uk-jive
Over eight weeks they will learn and perform both Latin American and Ballroom dances in a battle to be crowned ‘Strictly Come Dancing Champions 2004’.
Each live Saturday night performance will be judged by a jury of professionals and personalities from the world of ballroom dance. The fourth judge will be the general public, whose votes could change the league profoundly.

So there are eight different styles of dance being performed, but the judges all come from "ballroom"? Does anyone else think that the judging may be bias towards 'structured' moves and 'over-rehersed' routines? Which is kind of the opposite to the whole MJ thing.

I wonder if all the celebs are doing all the dance styles, or whether it's one per week. And then; if it is, does that mean that people will be voting for which dance style they like? If so, MJ could be in for a huge boost in popularity.

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Gadget
So there are eight different styles of dance being performed

but all 8 styles are from Ballroom & Latin. At a guess they will do Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba & Ballroom Jive.

[Sheepman]

Originally posted by Divissima
it makes my heart sink... I'm definitely of the opinion this is a 'tired bandwagon'.

I'm still in this camp too, I can't see this format providing much inspiration.

Of course we'll all be watching out for the programme with the Ceroc content, but is there anyone who thinks, like me, that what we do doesn't make great TV? OK there are partnerships out there that bring MJ onto another level, and especially to the knowledgeable dancer, we can see how fantastic they are. Though IMO the general level of technique, style, and dedication doesn't seem to match that at the top level of ballroom. (I'm talking as someone who knows very little about the ballroom scene.) I'm basing this on the various bits of modern jive (including that shown on Come Dancing) I've seen in the past, I hope to be proved wrong when this programme appears.

Of course we do have one big advantage - the grins in MJ are (usually) natural!

Greg

[RobC]

Originally posted by Sheepman
I'm still in this camp too, I can't see this format providing much inspiration.

Sorry, but this stinks of another poor rip-off reality TV format program, of which there are far too many already.

(But I'll probably still set the video )

[uk-jive]

Further details of the BBC3 program are now available from http://www.uk-jive.co.uk/news-detail.asp?NewsID=276.

It'd be nice to see modern jive receive the exposure it deserves

Jon

[Minnie M]

Originally posted by ElaineB
Might be useful to watch as they may include tips, such as where to get your teeth whitened and how much carotene you can safely take to turn your skin yellow..........

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by Sheepman
Of course we'll all be watching out for the programme with the Ceroc content, but is there anyone who thinks, like me, that what we do doesn't make great TV?

I agree - except maybe at the very highest level.

Amir and Kate's "Big spender" showcase is visually pretty good, and would probably be getting on for being flash enough if televised, but apart from "they seem to be having fun maybe I could have a go at that", I don't think that a short extract from the Intermediates comp would be at all impressive.

Depends on what the programme's angle is, I guess - if it's "here's a type of dance that's a bit more accessible than all that difficult stuff and still fun", then a few clips of some of the better MJ would be Ok.

Chris

[Debster]

[Gadget]

Originally posted by DavidB
but all 8 styles are from Ballroom & Latin. At a guess they will do Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba & Ballroom Jive.

But I thought Ballroom Jive was(is) miles appart from modern jive?
So what are they doing televising the champs? (unless, as Chris A suggests, they are showing it as a "look, you can do it too!" thing)

[Sheepman]

Originally posted by Gadget
So what are they doing televising the champs?

In the past Come Dancing have had "guest spots" a diversion from the rest of the programme, where a different style of dance gets a few minutes airtime. The only ones I can remember are the Jiving Lindyhoppers (or was it Zoots & Spangles?), and some Ceroc, (including Viktor!) I'd assumed they might do something like this again, but with the new format, who knows?

Greg

[DavidY]

Originally posted by Sheepman
I'm still in this camp too, I can't see this format providing much inspiration.

Of course we'll all be watching out for the programme with the Ceroc content, but is there anyone who thinks, like me, that what we do doesn't make great TV?

I think maybe Chicklet came up with a better TV format in this post.