Episode 43 Strictly - It Takes Two

Hello. Welcome to Wednesday's bumper edition of It Takes Two. You

wanted sunshine. They gave you sunshine. Lisa and Robin are here.

You wanted tens, they gave you tens, two tens, it's Lisa and Flavia.

This week we have dance fusion. To talk about that and the training

rooms, Ian Waite is here, in his Dickie bow. And it's very exciting.

We finally get to see our pros go up against each other. I love it.

The launch of the Pro Challenge 2012. This is It Takes Two

Live, from Television Centre, this is Strictly It Takes Two. Please

welcome your host, Zoe Ball. Hello and welcome. A jam-packed

show tonight. First, some Strictly Thank you. Time for a very special

announcement. Strictly Come Dancing needs you. Yes, over the next

couple of weeks, Strictly wants the whole nation to learn a very

special dance. We'll be teaching you the Strictly Shimmy. Oh, yes.

During the grand final on Saturday, 22nd December, we want all of you

up on your feet dancing along at home. Here are Robin and Christ

teen with a quick demonstration. -- Shimmy! Oh, thank you, Robin and

Christine, very, very nice. You lot ready? Take it away. Five, six,

Ladies and gentlemen, our A team. Our runners and our dancers, led by

Ian Waite. See, it's easy. You just have over two weeks to perfect the

dance at home. All the details with a step-by-step video and all the

moves can be found on the Strictly website. We'll readvice the

Strictly Shimmy later to see how you are getting on. -- revisit. I

can reveal very big news indeed now. For the first time, ever, in

Strictly history. There will not be two, not three, but four couples in

the final. That's awesome news. And that was

Strictly breaking news. Thank you. You were good. You were good. Back

to tonight's show. It's fuegs week with our couples tackling two dance

styles in one performance. -- fusion. Lisa and Robin will be

blending a tango with a cha-cha-cha. But first, here's a quick recap of

Saturday's quickstep. What you bring to this show every week is a

bit of sunshine. I bet you Eric and Ernie are look down, cheering you

on. Well done. Your personality couldn't be more bride. I need a

sunshade. Off zest for life it. Comes across in your performances.

You had a messy incident before the second Charleston which got you out

of sync but the energy is incredible. Sunshine. Sunshine.

was like we were a lightbulb flying around the floor. It was a really

good feeling. Really overjoyed with the score. I'm a very, very happy

girl. Please welcome Lisa and Robin. The

brilliance of sunshine. It was awesome on Saturday night. We loved

it. Did you enjoy yourself? You looked like you were having a

better time than ever. It was brilliant. I loved it too much. I

made two whopper mistakes which the judges thankfully didn't see. I'll

admit I did. What were they? I just started bouncing on my own, like a

little bounce ball. I kept moving at least. That bit there. A little

hiccup there, but carried on going. That is the main thing. Everyone is

just look at the joy of the dance. We didn't notice. However, was it

quite nice actually to have gone from the rumba to a faster-paced

dance? Yes. We enjoyed the rumba, but to come back to the rehearsal

room to fun, fast, furious choreography and having a ball, it

was great. We just hope we brought a ray of sunshine to good old Great

Britain on Saturday. You jolly well did. Even Darcey loved it. She said

it was absolutely beautiful. Was it good to get her back on side after

the week before? Completely. Everyone does like us doing the

fast and furious stuff. All dressed in yellow. The panel were gorgeous

on the weekend, they really were. Even Bruno saying he wanted

sunshades on. We loved it. It was great. Let's talk about the rolly

polly moment. It was so good. We have put it in slow motion.

tongue is out, I'm concentrating. Oops. She puts the G in graceful.

Did you slightly misfire? We'd not practiced in the frock. My back is

covered in crystals and satin on the leather. I go for it and whoosh.

The thing that made me laugh was, you looked at each other and

laughed - did that just happen? are not supposed to laugh but I

giggled. You did seem genuinely touched when Len said Eric and

Ernie would have approved of your performance. I have watched them

since I have four. They were comedic geniuses. For Len to say

they were shining down on me, that was the result I wanted, more than

any comment. If you lip-read, I said, "Can you believe that

comment?" I couldn't believe it. Last week, nobody nue, you two had

bad chest infections. You were poorly. -- nobody knew.! The

quickstep is so fast. We lost training on Thursday and couldn't

do anything on fri. You lose two days. When you dance the quickstep

breathing is a problem but half way through the dance I felt I wanted

to stop, the oxygen wasn't going in. We got through it. That was the

main thing. Everybody seemed to enjoy it. We left very happy that

day. You think chest infections is something you have been battling

until the training room. Check this for a list of ailments, Lisa Riley.

I currently can't feel my legs, my knees, my shins, my calfs, my feet,

or the balls of my feet. What if I die. The biggest hypochondriac I

have ever met. A splinter in my foot. I thought I broke something.

You had a broken toe that healed miraculously. It hasn't even healed.

I'm not moaning. I'm in agony with my feet. I've got a bad ankle. Pain,

absolute pain. It's like tonsillitis but extreme. That could

have blinded me. We have gone from underarm pain to chronic neck pain

and spinal pain I even tell you Bmy feet are killing me.

-- tell you about. You are a hypocon dry ac. I would get an A-

plus for that. It is dance fusion. Which dances are you marrying

together? We are doing the tango into the cha-cha. So we have called

it the Cha-tango. ! Obviously we are doing our cha-

cha, which was our dance number one on the series. One of our

favourites. And I love the tango. We are merging them together.

have someone special to say happy birthday to. My gorgeous granddad

Sam. Happy birthday. I miss you loads and love you. Happy birthday.

Good luck. I love granddad Sam. Good luck at the weekend. We know

you are going to be brilliant. Lisa and Robin. Robin, you are not

allowed to go too far. You are launching the Pro Challenge.

Soon Iain will be here with his Wednesday warm-up but first he

takes Karen for a trip in the time machine to the 1940s as they reveal

all about the jive. It's at the height of the Second

World War. America has joined the Allied Forces and American

servicemen, the GIs, have arrived in Britain. Howdy, ma'am. It was a

bit of a culture shock for the English. The Americans were easy-

going. Walked with swagger and brought a whole host of goodies

from overseas. But most importantly, introduced

brand new styles of dance, the likes of which the British had

never seen. Like the jitterbug and the lindy hop. Swing music was the

popular music at the time. And the fast tempo meant the dance was

quick, energetic and fun. Jive was an expression used by swing

musicians to mean foolish or glib. Overtime it was used to describe

the dance, too. Eventually "jive" just stuck. The jive is a happy

dance with plenty of knee-lifting, bending and swinging of the hips.

Flicks, kicks and spins can all be incorporated into the routine.

importantly, to dance the jive well, the dancer's feet need to be well-

controlled and under the body. When the war was over, the GIs went

home. See ya ma'am. Oi, we're not finished yet. Keep dancing. The

jive remained and with the birth of rock 'n' roll, its popularity

rocketed. In 1968 it was added as one of the five dances in the Latin

category. Usually danced last in competitions because of how tiring

it can be. A brilliant piece. Welcome the very handsome GI Ian

Waite. It can't get any better, and then

you put on a uniform. It's fusion week. Could this be the biggest

choreography chaltheng show has ever seen? I think it will be more

challenging. I'm interesting to seat inane outs of the dance.

Whether they'll do the first half one dance and the secretary half

the other or whether they'll go in and out? It will be interesting. It

probably depends on the music and the intrerpgs. Let's see our

couples in training. -- interpretation. Let's see Kimberley

and Paddy Ashdownia. They are doing the cha-cha-cha and tango. They

have done both before. -- Pasha. She only recently did the tango.

She did a spin from a fan there and it was seamless. Absolutely

fabulous. But here, I have stopped it here because I want her to

straighten her legs a bit more. She just needs to put down in the neegs

and snap those legs back. -- knees back. This is the cha-cha-cha.

want her to tone that centre. A stronger core will make a faster

and more slick cha-cha-cha. She has a seriously toned core. Nick and

Karen are doing a samba and American smooth. I think he will

come out fighting. How is he looking? Fantastic lift work. He is

very good at that. I would just like him to get his shoulders down.

I have stopped it here to make three points. One, two, three.

they good, or bad? A bit of both. The fist one, shoulders. If he can

just get his shoulders down, I would be so happy. Point two a

splaid hand on his back. Get fingers together. Tight together in

ballroom. Point three is a good point. He's over the right side.

They have right front to right front as you can see and you can

see it is a very good position. Through the window. I would like

him to carry on with this. They are dancing a reverse wave. Then it

goes into the samba. This is very clever. Then they are going into

the weave of a foxtrot. Obviously they are going in and out of the

fusion of the dance, which is very interesting. Ander in fantastic

lift there. Very tricky. -- and another. Denise' jives still one of

the best of the series so far. Can she quickstep? Well there is a lot

of trotting, skipping steps which are very good. Just in certain

places, as you can see, if I just draw there, I'd like her to be more

in James' right arm so we could see her head here. What we were talking

about with Nicky. This is probably a promenade position but she should

still be in that place. If I can show you... Feel free. I have to

put my right front to your right front, so you are always there. I

can always see your face. Here I am, out the window. I never lose you at

any point. You see that. Aren't I lucky? I just love to dance. Louis

and Flavia are doing an Argentine tangia and rumba. He has the

Argentine tangia Queen with him. Surely this will be great. -- tango.

It looks good. A lovely attempt. Very expressive arms. A huge

wingspan. I'd lick him to use his face more. He did it last week.

into the feeling of the dance. It's slightly stepy at the moment. He is

not keeping the toes on the floor. He is stepping from one foot to the

other. I would like him to keep the toes on the floor. For the rumba.!

Got that Louis? His body is quite high. He goes into the hips

occasionally but he needs to get more into the hips for a more

earthy rumba. Have you got that Louis? Dani and Vincent doing a

Charleston and quickstep. Dani hasn't done the Charleston but

neither has Vincent. Following on from their great vief, I think this

-- jive, I think this will be a better dance for them. They seem

better in the Charleston than the quickstep. Controversial. Funny

faces and funny lines. For me, I think this week they should be on

top. I'm going to give them the winning combinations crown. Shall I

give one two? Meaning fusion combination crown. He is putting

his money on the table. Finally Lisa and Robin are doing a tango

and cha-cha-cha which we touched upon. Everybody loved Lisa's cha-

cha-cha. She is great at the tango. Together, is this going to work?

think Robin has upped the choreography. It is much more

difficult than it was previous. It is going to be move difficult. She

has to make sure she's straightening her legs completely,

so we are seeing snappy legs. That she has fast feet and sharp

transfer of the weight. So it is nice and sharp. Do you see what I

mean? Didn't he do well, ladies and gentlemen. Ian Waite.

It Takes Two has a history of putting our professional dancers'

skills to the test. Last year, Artem won the botofogo world

challenge which you may remember brought out all our dancers'

competitive sides. Year we are making it harder. This year, it is

time to launch the It Takes Two Pro Challenge 2012. This is a Guinness

World Record, to set as many kickball changes in 30 seconds as

possible. One challenge, one goal - 30 seconds. I'm joined by

choreographer to the stars, Richard. And World Records' adjudicator

Elizabeth. It is a kick from one leg to the other leg and a back

replace. The kick should be in the air and the back replace should go

towards the heel or the back of your natural centre. They're really

going to have to work hard to remain concentrated and focused.

Because the 15 second mark it, can all go horribly wrong. Our dancers,

of course, are driven to win. They're going to give it absolutely

everything they've got. And they'd better. We will be watching like

hawks, darling. Just 30 seconds stands in the way of our pros. The

prize - a Guinness World Record. Please welcome our first contender,

Come on, Robin. Take a seat. Tense music, this is very serious indeed,

Robin. You were unable to take part in last year's challenge, you had a

poorly foot I was unwell. I missed it. I did win the year before.

will remind you of that, Vincent. How eager were you to take part?

Botofogos, last year, one of my favourites, I was gutted I missed

it. But I had to do kickball changes. How many do you think you

have done in a rebefore the world record-breaking attempt? About four.

-- in a row before. Really? I imagine you hang out

backstage doing them. Shall we see how you got on? OK. Time to see how

Robin Zgood luck. -- Robin did. excited for the Pro Challenge. I'm

expecting the first 15 seconds to be great. The next 10 to be

excruciating and the last five, the worst pain I've ever experienced.

Robin, welcome. Do you think you can win this challenge? I'll give

it my best shot. Take to the floor. Adjudicator ready. Ready.

Choreographer to the stars, are you ready, Richard? So ready. Three,

Five, four, three, two, one! Stop. Arrrrghhhh! Style went out the

window. I noticed you were cupping your pec muscles. They bounce.

gave it a good go. You did well. Robin, you may recover and leave

the floor. Well done. physically exhausted. We danced for

a minute-and-a-half in our numbers. I'm never out of breath. Fik be the

next record holder, it would be incredible. It is a tough

competition, those pros are all very good. Robin, you did look

shattered. Was it harder than you thought? It was killing. After

about 15 seconds my legs were on fire, just burning. What about the

pecs, did they recover from all the bounce sth Still sore. After each -

- all the bounce? Richard Marcel, choreographer to

the stars and world record adjudicator, in the school uniform,

watched the performances to verify every one. It was all about

accuracy. How many do you think you managed? No idea. It felt like I

did about a million. It might be slightly under a million, darling.

I don't know how many qualified. Robin, your kickball changes have

been counted and verified. I can reveal that you performed... A

whopping 62 kickball changes in 30 seconds.

Are you pleased with that? I think so. I don't know how anybody else

has done. Hopefully I've set the bar high. You are first on the

leaderboard. I don't know how long you will stay at the top. Who do

you reckon is your biggest competition? Flavia. Her Argentine

tango, her feet move at the rate of Notts. She did so good last year. -

- knots. Thank you so much, Robin. Who will

rein supreme? Next up, Louis and Flavia will be here. But first, a

reminder of Saturday's Charleston triumph. At long last, some

personality. You performed. I loved the insane doctor. It was brilliant.

The tricks had the wow factor. up, close the door and call me Mary,

you've got a personality and you've come out and performed. The making

of a true contender. A star turn. Eight. Ten. Nine. Ten! Oh, my, tens.

Ten. Two of them. I've never acted like an idiot on camera before.

That made it OK. Long may it continue.

Please put your hands together for Louis and Flavia.

I have to say, Saturday night's performance was a-maazzing. It was

good, really different. I enjoyed it. You are so under-stated.

A complete turn around from the judges and two tens. I wasn't

expecting that at all. You could tell. I think it's because I felt

like I was acting like a plonker - I thought I'm not going to get

great scores. That was the tricky thing, the judges saying they want

performance and it doesn't feel natural. But it worked. I felt I

was going over-board. But that's good. What we need. And also, only

an eight from Craig. What do you think it's going to take to get him

to give you nines and tens? I don't no. I really don't know. He didn't

tell us what I did wrong. Maybe I need to undo my top button, I don't

know. And the audience roared so much they literally took the roof

off Television Centre. Have you ever heard it like that before?

not in seven years. The whole of the balcony was shaking and they

were pounding the floor. It was incredible. I have not heard that

before. It was like being in a stadium. When you hear that you

think - is this possibly the dance of the series? Also, how relieved

and proud were you to get the performance you wanted out of

Louis? It was brilliant. I said it was make or break week. I don't

think we could put up with another low week. We need to get the judges

on our side so the audience would appreciate it. So it was just

perfect. What we needed. I can't stop grining. Well Darcey loved the

performance. She said you were a silent movie star. Looking at your

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 74 seconds

training VT, I think she might have That's amazing. I love it. This

week is fusion. For you two a tango and a rumba. Yes, a ballroom tango,

not Argentine. And a rumba. Rumba we have not done before. Obviously

the ballroom tango we did. Part of the routine is new. How is he doing

on the rumba Good. It is a hard one, especially for the guys. Good. He

has great arms. Shows your arms. And to U2.

# With or without you... # When they wrote it, I'm not sure they

were imagining a tango rumba mash- up. Is it working? Yes the music is

split into two. Then there is a big build-up and it goes into a strong

tango. Do you have to do much acting? Do you have to do facial

expressions? Are you thinking of anyone in particular? Flavia hasn't

stopped talking about how I have to get into character. Which

characters have you come into? Bring back Patrick Swayze I thought.

Jim Carey. Or what about Vanilla Ice? Yes, we can make that work.

Am I in trouble? Keen are you to ensure it is not a four-lady final?

I need to get the rumba hips moving, baby. I think you can do it. You