Competitions for pro tour tickets

The Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals tour is well under way, having just arrived in Cardiff after visiting Dublin last week, and the reviews have been brilliant.
Audiences are "extremely lively and always give a standing ovation at the end of each show," Brian told the Formby Times.
Kristina explained that the professionals have had a lot of input: "We’ve been able to choose the music for our solo pieces,” she said.
The Formby Times, based on Merseyside, interviewed Brian and Kristina ahead of the tour arriving in Liverpool on 21 June. The newspaper has a competition running to win four pairs of tickets - the deadline is Monday 31 May.
The Mature Times also has a pro tour ticket competition - the lucky winners will be able to see the show on Friday 9th July in London.

Don't forget to rock your shades

Ali is supporting Rock Your Shades, the first all day mass participation event by the Teenage Cancer Trust tomorrow (Friday 14th May). Wear your shades and donate £1 to this charity that aims to improve the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer. http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/get-involved/rock-your-shades/

Dancing "fixed my brain inside"

This isn't about Team Awesome and it isn't about ballroom dancing but I was left awestruck by a recent BBC3 documentary about Jimmy Hobley, a 10-year-old disco dancer from Redcar in the north east. The film followed Jimmy and his family as he competed in national competitions and he just sparkled with natural talent and a love for dancing. Oh, and he also has autism, as do his two brothers.
Two years ago, Jimmy could not read or write, and found eye contact with others difficult. After developing a passion for dance, his reading and writing skills improved dramatically, and he also began to interact more.
His mother Sheila believes that dancing has been the key to transform her son because it required him to improve his concentration in order to master the routines.
"I think since he started dancing there's been a massive improvement. It's like someone switched the light on," she says.
"Before the dancing, I was a nobody," says Jimmy. "I was a regular school kid with special needs. Dancing makes me feel like I'm normal… like all the other kids… it's like somebody's fixed my brain inside."
But Jimmy's success has also has repercussions in his family - his twin George and older brother Alex look on as Jimmy shines in his new-found passion.
The film sees Jimmy visit a ballet school and ends with the World Disco Championships in Blackpool Tower.
For more, see links below.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8660356.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcthree/2010/05/autism-disco-me-how-dancing-saved-my-son.shtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWHQa_zXEx0
On a slightly bizarre note, the documentary is narrated by Craig Kelly, the infamous celeb dancer on Strictly 2009, who was finally ditched by the public at, yes, Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

Burn the Floor video

A promo video for Burn the Floor has been released featuring Ali and Brian looking gorgeous together - the pair are guest stars in the dance show which opens in London on 21 July. See the video here.

Two journalists from the Daily Mail are put through their paces on the dance floor by Kristina and Brian - and find themselves succumbing to the pair's charm and all-round gorgeousness. The story, published today, was part of publicity for Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals tour.
To see the extended pro tour trailer, click here.

Hello captain!

Brian and Kristina look mighty fetching in their military outfits in the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals tour which opened last night in Brighton.
The two-hour event features professional dancers from Strictly Come Dancing and has been choreographed by the dancers themselves to showcase their best talents. Here is a review from Brighton magazine Gscene.
The tour will travel across the UK and also to Dublin, ending in Bournemouth on 17 July.
For more information about dates and venues, click on the link on the right.
Facebook pics by Alfie Hitchcock and Liverpool Empire.

I was fortunate enough to see Brian and Kristina perform in a sold-out show in Yeovil in March - the dancing was simply stunning and it was a wonderful evening.
So I can understand why the cancellation of several Brian and Kristina shows because of contractual problems with the pro tour has left some fans upset and disappointed.
It must also be incredibly difficult for Brian and Kristina to be forced to cancel shows knowing the disappointment that will cause to fans whose support they have worked so hard to earn.
I hope those fans will be able to see Brian and Kristina, or Brian and Ali, at another event in the year. Hopefully, new events can be arranged once the contractual problems have been sorted out.
I was not able to see the Strictly tour and I don't know if I will get to see the pro tour or Burn the Floor. But even so, I am still inspired by the qualities that Ali and Brian showed during Strictly last year - grace, elegance, commitment, consideration for others, and a striving for excellence.
I hope Brian and Kristina will not be too downhearted - this too shall pass, as they say, and the Fortuna Fantastics and Team Awesomers will still be queueing up to see Brian, Ali and Kristina in whatever shows they perform in the future - and bringing their banners, pompoms and watermelons along too.
As Brian says, go big or go home.