The evening was fantastic. It was one of the best Lets Dance premieres we’ve seen in decades. All participants have a fantastic physical condition to deliver good dance in the future. Over the course of the evening, we saw everyone’s weaknesses, flaws and – to be honest – in some cases, sad performances. I use the word sad, not because they disappointed me, but because they must feel shame and guilt towards themselves and their partner, for the mistakes they made. Luckily for them, no one went out tonight. But the concern they have is that they carry this week’s disastrous results into next week’s competition. If it were me, I would have hated to start another race in the minus and in the embarrassing inferior position. Looking forward to an emotional season The thing that surprised me the most tonight was that everyone managed to move in time and that is unique! This means that our professional dancers have focused on ensuring that all contestants understand the music they will be performing. For me, as an artistic dancer, it means we have an emotional season full of superb musical entertainment to look forward to. I can only guess that our dancers have chosen to do it that way because this year’s participants are in such good physical condition. But now it is important that they get their bodies in order, because the basic dance principles must increase in quality. Tonight we have two who have shown that they already possess that understanding. It was Rickard and Johanna. But I don’t think I’ve ever handed out as many damn ones as I did in the premiere and it’s a sign that despite everyone’s great bodies, they don’t have a clue how to use them. Jureskog stiff as a refrigerator What I want next week is for them to learn that they work from the floor up. That is, how where and when they place their foot, create a wave-like movement through their legs and torso, and expand out through their arms so that all movements are interconnected rather than choppy, individual movements – as Jureskog did when he shook the bottom and upper body appeared to be as rigid as a refrigerator. Luckily: Each competition is a new dance and a new challenge. And as I know myself, one can have a natural talent for one style of dance but be pathetic in the next. So just because you won this week, doesn’t mean you’ll dominate the entire season. For Lets Dance, it’s about the journey to develop, master your own body and partner, prove to the jury that you have mastered the right technical elements and artistic skill and captivate the entire Swedish audience. And with that said – YOU can influence who moves on as much as I do. My appeal to you is: listen carefully to what I say, follow my advice and vote correctly from the start. May the best dancer win! Watch the season premiere of Let’s dance on TV4 Play
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Tony Irving on the premiere: “Sad performances”
