[Loukas]

first half rehersels


SWITZERLAND

The first country to rehearse today was Switzerland who will be represented by the couple Sven Ninnemann and Denise Biellmann. Denise is a very popular figure-skater who even went on to win the world championships and is still remembered for her graceful Biellmann spins which were named after her. The couple will start their first dance, the highly-dramatic Paso Doble based on the Malaguena music in a corner of the stage and Sven makes uses of the whole stage at the beginning of their dance. The couple’s free dance will be a Freestyle swing including a chair on stage with Sven sitting on it while Denise slowly is moving forward. The sensual dance to Michael Buble’s Feeling good includes some spectacular lifts which remind a bit of Denise Biellmann’s past as a successful figure skater. The Swiss’ free dance ends in a very dramatic way as Sven drops to the floor.

RUSSIA

Second on today was Russia’s hope Vladislav Borodinov & Maria Sittel. Maria, a well-known newsspeaker on Russian television, impressed everyone with her elegant dance steps and Vladislav is a perfect partner for her. The tall and stylish couple had many surprising elements in their first dance, a rumba based on the Balcony Scene from the soundtrack of the movie Romeo & Juliet. The music fit their dance steps in every little detail and the ending generated a big applause from the audience. The Russian pair revealed their clothes for this first dance too, Maria will be dressed fully in white while Vladislav will be contrasting her in his black clothes. For their second dance, RTR’s representatives went for a more uptempo approach with choosing the Freestyle Paso Doble to the music of Andrey Petrov’s Tzygansky Tanetz. For this dance, Maria will wear a black and orange, flower-tinted dress and will be barefoot while Vladislav will wear black boots which strengthen the Gypsy-feeling of their presentation. They also use a cape very effectively in their choreography which has been designed by Victor Nikovskij.

THE UNITED KINGDOM

The home country’s team for the 2007 Eurovision Dance Contest, Brendan Cole and Camilla Dallerup (photo) had a hard task following the Russians, but they had no problem solving this with a tender, elegant and faultless rehearsal of their two dances. For their first dance, a rumba to Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were, they effortlessly mastered all their difficult steps while obviously being at ease with their surroundings. The couple were using the 10 x 10 metres stage to its whole extend and one can see that they have been in the top dance scene for years. Brendan and Camilla also hugely impressed with their second dance, a Freestyle James Bond-themed medley which will be familiar with lots of the TV viewers in the 24 countries broadcasting the event. The successful couple incorporated lots of dynamic, surprising lifts into their performances and confirmed that they are an outstanding team.

THE NETHERLANDS

Redmond Valk and Alexandra Matteman will defend the colours of the Netherlands and they did an excellent job so far. Starting off in a corner of the stage, they also chose a known song and singer for their first dance: Tom Jones’ Sexbomb! Their Cha Cha Cha looked very rhythmic and sexy and the young pair looked very confident on the glamorous London stage. Unlike all the other pairs before them, they are starting their second dance in a lift position which later turns out to be a sensual rumba which they delivered passionately and which also ends with Redmond lifting Alexandra. The young couple had won the Dutch national selection in early August and they have chosen Amy Winehouse’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow as the theme for their excellent free dance despite having less than 4 weeks to prepare it in time for Saturday

AUSTRIA

The Alp republic of Austria have decided to enter their best known dance couple – and a couple in real life - to the prestigious 2007 Eurovision Dance Contest: Andy and Kelly Kainz. Seen by many as the favourite to win the event, they didn’t let anyone down during their first showing in the BBC Television Centre today. Both their first and their second dances immensely impressed everyone. The professional pairing rehearsed their Jive Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy faultlessly and had a lot of the viewing audience tapping their feet to it. For this dance, hey will wear 1940s-army-flavoured clothes in beige and light-blue. Their free dance, a Paso Doble to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, was even more thrilling with lots of difficult steps and spins. Just like the Russian couple, they are using a cape for their Paso Doble which will have an Austrian gimmick, so look out for it very closely on Saturday night! •