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Faking It Til We Make It - NZ's Next Dance Stars!

  • Busy Weekend

      5 December 2011

    So this is my first blog update! Obviously because I spend all my spare time practicing now that I am a dancer :p? This past weekend has been full of busyness!?Saturday's practice at Johnny's in Albany was early (9.15am)... but good, my dress had arrived, so I was able to wear it for some practice.? Loving my hot pants! Which I most definately need under that super swishy skirt.?The short practice was followed by an ENTIRE day of shopping for dancing related items...Cam, Kristen, and I all followed under the supervision of Bex, as to what we would need for the competition.? Some of the items we came home with are certainly not your everyday shopping outcomes, one being a gigantic tub of super hold hair gel!?Bex is not joking about the bun, we now have all the resources to make sure we have the required concrete hair-do!? Not only do we soak our hair in gel and tease up the bun, we also have to wear a bun net, and literally lacquer ourselves with 10 carat shine super hold hairspray!? Apart from the traumatic hair treatments, we also came away with massive madonna eyelashes, jewellery,?some white eyeshadow to cover?right up to our eyebrows,?and some red lipstick for Kristin to top it all off.? Bex and I then proceeded to get our nails done and find some ribbon to edge my latin dress with.? By this time it was 4pm, and we were exhausted!? Who knew shopping could be so tiring... most faking products?i've bought in my life!?I think we may just fit the part :)

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  • Less then ONE week to go!! performance faces, posture and hairstyles!

      2 December 2011

    Well we really are getting down to the fine line this week! They have less then a week to go, Ghaz and Cam still don't have ballroom shirts and the girls nearly have their dresses ready to go! I arrived home on Thursday and went to practise with them last night. They seemed quite confident and even as if they had been doing some productive practise while I was away! Cam and Shreena had been to Sweat session by themselves which I was VERY impressed with and apparently Jonny was lovely enough to give them? a few extra sneaky cha chas and Merrilyns to practise with :) Kristin had a few days off as she has been getting a cough and we CAN'T have her sick for Melbourne but she was back into it on Thursday night. We only had a small studio available on Thursday so we worked on some technique and STRAIGHT legs in the Cha Cha. I also made them practise their performance faces which was quite hilarious...up to now they have kind of been taking the piss out of performance faces and doing highly exaggerated faces.. last night i was like no SERIOUSLY what are you going to do with your face when you perform?? They all started giggling and then kind of looked a bit worried.... !!!! I made them practise their smiles and they didn't do TOOOO bad ...although I had to check them on their giggling quite often!! I also made them practise their ""walk on"" to the floor and reminded them they were being judged the minute they walked on to the floor so they had to make sure they had their awesome posture going right from the start! Lastly we worked on the end of the Merrilyn and not overturning it too much. We will work on it more on Saturday when we hopefully have a bigger floor space. We also talked about the girls hair styles... THIS was a convo not to be missed. Shreena thought she would have a lovely messy bun to the side... Kristin wasn't really too sure. Then I broke the news they would be having GEL and HAIRSPRAY and buns!!! They were less then impressed!!! We are going to go shopping on Saturday for some bun nets and exciting stuff like that! ONLY TWO days until their pre Melbourne performance at Limelight studios make sure you don't miss out !!? ( and we are so ?close to covering their entry fees so any contribution to their give a little sight would be sooooo greatly appreciated!! ) Becksxx

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  • Weekend rehearsals, skirt trials and pre Melbourne Performance!

      27 November 2011

    TEN days to go!!! The countdown is on and I had a little talk with them about their fights on Thursday and they all seemed to have calmed down by Saturday ( This could also be due to the fact that Shreena and Ghaz came to practise with quite a mighty hangover!!!). When Shreena and Ghaz arrived half an hour late with hangovers in tow I was ?a little worried it was going to be a bit of a useless practise.... but with some coffees in them they were actually pretty productive! ( well Shreena definately was...Ghaz not so much..) We put the girls in practise skirts for the cha cha and off they went getting used to the movement and tassles. We worked on straight legs and foot pressure for the girls and hips for the boys. After this we did some Merrilyn and I was pretty impressed with the end of Cam and Shreena's it had improved! We just need to get more definition in Shreena's arms and keep their steps moving. They still need to make their Cha Cha sharper and more confident but im sure they will work on it throughout the week. Ghaz and Kristen had some great arms in the Merrilyn but need to work on their hold in the end part. The girls said they felt like Nanna's in their ballroom skirts!!! They must be latin girls at heart hehe.. On Sunday they came along to dance at Candy Lane Studios and Kristin got to dance with YET ?another Professional ( she really is getting around with her dance partners!!) Matt TB helped and danced her through some Cha Cha ( Ghaz was busy Crayfish Diving!) and we worked on sharpening their heads on their turns ( this made them all very dizzy so practising this throughout the week without me should be interesting!! ) and keeping their chest over their toes in the cha cha.? I am off to do some GREASE Lightening shows for the next three days in Wellington Christchurch and Auckland so am leaving the dancers to their own devices until Thursday!! I hope they keep the practise up and i have told them to work on their own dancing and not anyone elses and also that LOOKING DOWN is now unacceptable with ten days to go!!? We have also booked in a pre Melbourne performance practise for 7pm next Sunday for anyone who is keen to come and have a look at them strut their stuff and show their support. This is the link if you want to attend :) https://www.facebook.com/events/182798385142853 Until Thursday!! Becksxx p.s check out the new pics and vids from the weekend!

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  • The honeymoon is over!!! There is a reason they have a teacher ( and some dress decisions)

      26 November 2011

    FINALLLY it has happened. I left the couples alone for a two hour practise on Thursday ?and the next day I had all of them ringing me upset that they had a bad practise and had been FIGHTING!! Unfortunately they still liked each other enough to not want to post about this practise themselves so the neutral teacher has to do it lol!! I think the stress of less then two weeks to go has started to hit them and Shreena mentioned that its starting to get serious, with such a short time left until performance and the pressure of this has made this whole project not quite so ""funny"" any more!!? From what I can gather all of them started trying to help each other out with moves on Thursday night, people got upset and Cam nearly got on his bike and rode home nearly half an hour into it!! They should really be focusing on their OWN dancing and not focusing on what each other is doing, ?this is why they have a teacher!! I am a little scared as I am away for three nights next week doing a show and will have to leave them to their own devices for the start of the week.... I am thinking that Saturday's practice is going to involve a little talk from the teacher about that with less then 2 weeks to go they NEED to be getting on with each other because if they go out on the floor either worried about their partners dancing or feeling down and out then they may as well not dance at all.... when it comes to performance, its time to forget all the little things you have to work on , go out on the floor give it your all and ENJOY it!!? I gave them Friday off and it sounds like all of them are in a better state already so hopefully Saturday will be more productive and we can get them back into a better frame of mind!? In other news Shreena had a few dress dilemmas and decided to buy a black latin practise dress instead of skirt and top from June designs which is GORGEOUS. Leona is going to sew a ribbon of colour around the bottom and on to the straps to brighten it up a bit. We were thinking maybe hot pink? In the process Shreena was thinking of wearing her own dress ( which I put a video of her up of her swishing!) but decided to splash out on the one from Australia!! ?So now we just have to wait for the beautiful dress to arrive! Kristin is sorted now with a cute short black and red latin skirt with TASSLES! She now just has to find something appropriate to wear underneath it ...hahahaha the joys of dancing! As for the boys, next weekend we are going to have to get them sorted!! I think this sunday I will go with Cam to get him a ballroom shirt and a tie to match Shreenas ballroom skirt . Fun times ahead!! ( and hopefully less fighting!) Becks xx p.s a BIG thankyou to the person who donated $100 to our cause! We nearly have enough to pay for their entry fees out of our fundraising now ?($50 australian each!!) ?and also a BIG thankyou to Shreena for the Chocolate goodies she sent to me and my family for helping her out!! xxx

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  • Dresses , dancing with the stars and sweat session!!

      23 November 2011

    Woah what a Wednesday!! It started with a lovely meeting with Leona who hooked Kristin up with a STUNNING red silk ballroom skirt with which she is going to wear a black lace leotard - going for the spanish look! She is probably going to go red for latin too so she has got her black and red theme and is going to look gorgeous all tanned up! hehe (don't worry we have the extra orange dancing fake tan ordered and on the way hehe) Shreena opted for a silk skirt similar to Kristins but a deep purple, very royal! Shes gone for a bright blue flicky latin skirt which looks great on her! She even managed to think of a way to wear tassles - she has a black singlet with fringing on the front so she is gonna have plenty of movement going on! Cam however is NOT so happy about having to wear a purple tie...hehe hopefully Ghaz will be ok with the red tie he is going to have to wear.... We then headed over to limelight studios for a sweat session - Cam and Shreena were regulars as they had been last week, ;), however it was Kristin's first time so was a good experience for her! Ghaz was busy with soccer and unable to make it so when it came to dance the Merrilyn I asked Jonny to step in last minute which Kristin handled very well!! ( this was her first dancing with the stars experience! She said he was very light to dance with haha watch out Ghaz!) Kristin has to work on sharpening up her cha cha and getting her posture correct when doing backwards locks. However she did a short cha cha with me and is working on it!? Cam and Shreena got off to a sheepish start with the Merrilyn looking a bit scared of all the other couples ( and worried they were going to knock out the little kids dancing lol!) but warmed into it and were out there dancing three cha chas in a row with no problem. They didn't even look too scared of all the other couples! They need to work on sharpening up their cha cha now and still keeping their heads up, we will put some good time in on the weekend with Cam's arms and perfecting Shreenas technique. They did some awesome work on the end of their Merrilyn though and if Shreena just keeps out to the left and cam holds his posture they will be away. Shreena even managed to break in her beautiful new ballroom shoes ( although I warned her they don't really break in as much as latin shoes and she may just have to put up with the pain for a while.. hehe) These hard outs have booked a hall for two hours practise tomorrow after work so I hope to see their hard work put into practise when I take a look on Saturday again, I have uploaded some awesome pics and vids so make sure you check them out!! ( and if you want to help them on their journey a little donation would be GREATLY appreciated!! :)? Becks xx

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  • Cam and Shreena get chatty and Ghaz and Kristin master the Merrilyn!

      23 November 2011

    Well Tuesday practises are always a little hard - they are at the start of the week and the E graders have only had one day off since the weekend's practises!? I worked with Ghaz and Kristin for an hour while Cam and Shreena practised in the background ( although we did hear a LOT of chatting and laughing from them throughout the hour! lol guess they are allowed to have fun in the process right!)? I started working on the end of the Merrilyn with Ghaz and Kristin. Kristin has to STAY LEFT and Ghaz has to not chasse off without her and keep his shoulders relaxed. It was really starting to improve, they just need to practise it more to get it consistent. When I got them to perform the Merrilyn at the end I was super impressed! Kristin was doing some awesome arms and they were dancing together well! Just need to work on the end bit and they will be in business!! We then did half an hour on the Cha Cha getting kristin to speed up her ams and keep her posture and Ghaz to calm down his top half. He was doing some impressive hips though! They are looking pretty sharp now and just need to practise their technique and ?performance and give it lots of energy!? Cam and Shreena when I got glimpses of them were doing some well intended practise on the end of their Merrilyn, cam was doing a good job of keeping his shoulders down and now needs to focus on keeping his left elbow up! Ghaz did make the comment that if they practised as much as they talked they would be professionals lol!! Some competitive rivalry talk going on here maybe??!!?! The girls are excited tonight as Leona is coming round with some materials for them to choose their dresses out of and then they are off to Sweat Session at limelight studios for some practise with other couples on the floor! We might even have some dress colours to announce next week and check out some new photos I uploaded from last nights practise :) Becks xx

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  • Background - What is this all about?

      21 November 2011

    Who Are We Four friends (two partnerships - Shreena & Cam, Ghaz & Kristin). All with minimal dance experience and none with any ballroom and latin experience. Each overcoming our own obstacles - Shreena trying to make 'sexy' dance arms look casual, Cam trying to get his hips to work, Kristin trying to listen to the music so the dance starts in time, Ghaz having to overcome his creepy Movember moustache facing him in the mirror while we practice. What Are We Doing? It started as a bit of a joke, but somehow turned serious - we've entered the Australian Dancesport Championship, and have a total of 2 months to learn the Cha Cha and Merrilyn - ready to perform on the 8th of December. We may be entering the lowest grade, but ask any dancer - NO ONE enters the Australian nationals as their first comp, and certainly not without a year or more practice time beforehand. This stuff is scary! Why should you help? We are really facing our biggest fears here but at the same time its all pretty exciting! Getting there costs though - flights, entry fees, practice fees, dresses, fake tan, fake eyelashes, fake nails (at least the dancing is real!). Get behind a great team jumping in and doing something totally outside their comfort zones - this is the kinda attitude we all should support right? And there's even a chance we could beat those Aussies while we're at it! We'll update this page with videos and photos as we get closer... And of course the main event - Four non-dancers dancing their little feet off in front of a big crowd and against some real dancers - and winning of course!

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  • Background - Who Are We?

      21 November 2011

    Who Are We? Four friends (two partnerships - Shreena & Cam, Ghaz & Kristin). All with minimal dance experience and none with any ballroom and latin experience. Each overcoming our own obstacles - Shreena trying to make 'sexy' dance arms look casual, Cam trying to get his hips to work, Kristin trying to listen to the music so the dance starts in time, Ghaz having to overcome his creepy Movember moustache facing him in the mirror while we practice.

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  • Teacher Update from the Weekend!!

      21 November 2011

    A weekend of Cha Cha.. Well this weekend I decided to give the Cha Cha a good blast!! It has quite a few more steps then the Merrilyn and plenty of arms to go along with it! Ghaz and Krisitn put some fabulous effort into their arms and working on the second half of their routine which they hadn't quite perfected yet.. I was a little worried about the timing with these two at the start but they seem to have it down pat now! ( and so they should since they only get one chance to get it right come December!)? Shreena and Cam had a breakthrough this weekend. They started LOOKING UP!! Shreena also practised her arms while out at a the Long Room on Friday night which seemed to help her on the Saturday feel more comfortable with her arms!!! lol (I wouldn't usually prescribe going clubbing as good practice but in this case it helped...also Shreena is moving to Palmerston North and should probably get as much clubbing in as she can while she is up here lol) Cam discovered standing upright and now has to put it through the WHOLE DANCE.? Special mention to Kristin and Shreena who stayed an extra HOUR after the boys on Saturday practising their cha cha arms! Dedication I tell ya? Shreena also gets brownie points because she brought us CAKE!!! it helped us start our Sunday in a much Yummier way. So this week we are going to work on the end of the Merrilyn get some dresses designed and put in some HARD YARDS!! ?Just over two weeks to go AND plenty of work to go to get it up to standard !! Until next time... Becksxx

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