Ian Waite's News from the Dancefloor - strictly confidential - of course!

Tour de force!

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:39:00 GMT

HELLO!!!!!! Everyone!!!

It's been ages since we last spoke!!! Hope you are not missing ‘Strictly’ too much? I am having a well needed rest after a very successful live arena tour. It was great to see so many familiar faces in the audience, supporting us from the sidelines and the reaction to the show was unbelievable - thank you to everybody for your lovely tweets and emails!

By the end of the tour we had danced in front of nearly a quarter of a million people. I personally loved dancing the solo number with Natalie. If you did not see the show we danced a romantic Waltz to 'Hallelujah' followed by a fiery Tango to 'Live and Let Die'. Natalie had a fairy tale dress with lights, which turned into a peach and black lace Paso dress.

It was the third year that I have been involved in the tour and it just gets better and better. A big thank you has to go to Stage Entertainment and Phil Mcintyre Entertainment for looking after the performers so very well.

A couple of weeks teaching now... and then we start the Professionals UK theater tour (see all the dates here). I am very excited to be involved in the first ever Professional tour - it promises to be A-Ma-Zing!!!!

Hope to see you in the audience!

Much love,

Ian

A little something for Christmas!...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:47:00 GMT

As a special Christmassy Thank You to all my fans and followers, click here to download a little secret-Santa-surprise for your mantlepiece!

With much love, best wishes and lots of Christmas cheer!

Ian XX

Feet up!

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:01:00 GMT

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has supported Jade and I throughout series 7 of Strictly Come Dancing. Unfortunately Jade’s injury meant that we were unable to continue the competition, even more gutting, considering we were not even voted off. To see the amazing development in Jade week-on-week was astounding and she was someone who truly went on the biggest journey. I will miss Jade but hopefully we will be back to dance that Tango in the final!

This weekend was the first time I was not taking part in the show, which was rather weird for me, but it gave me the chance to sit at home, put my feet up and enjoy the whole experience, even though I was itching to get out there! I was not surprised that Chris and Laila sailed through, down to their stand-out performances. I am still going to put my vote to the best dancer in my view, Ricky.

I have a bit more time on my hands now but I am still involved in a lot more spectacular group and solo numbers, so watch out for those. Also, I have had time for a spot of shopping last week, so much so, I now know most of the staff in a ‘well known’ department store on Oxford street! As for now, I am at home in domestic bliss with my washing machine and finding it quite relaxing. Feet up... for the moment!

Much love,

Ian

Update on Jade's Injury.

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:50:00 GMT

After having a few weeks of continually improving scores, Blackpool really was the lift that we all needed half way through the series and Jade and I were both thrilled to perform in the fantastic Tower Ballroom - what a show!

The Tango was our next dance and I for one was very excited at the prospect, not having danced this dance since series 3 with Zoe Ball - still my all time favourite dance!

The week of the Tango had progressed brilliantly and by Saturday it looked as though it might be Jade's best dance to date. All the signs were great in the dress run, dancing a flawless performance - but as I picked Jade up off the floor: DISASTER!!!

At the time I didn’t even realise anything was wrong but Jade had seriously damaged her knee getting up at the end of the dance. We had 3 specialists come to assess her injury - all experts in their field. They all made the decision that Jade should not dance.

As yet, we still don’t know the full extent of Jade's injury until she has had her scan tomorrow. If all is well, we will be dancing the Rumba next - and hopefully one day we will show you the amazing Tango we had in store for you.

I cannot express how much I appreciate all of your good wishes and I will pass them on to Jade.

Many thanks for your continued support

Ian

Leap of Faith!

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:25:00 GMT

Hi all,

First of all can I say thank you (Thank you! Thank you!) For voting and keeping us in the competition.

These last few weeks have been really demanding both physically and emotionally. With the quickstep and the salsa behind us being our most challenging dances we were very much looking forward to the Viennese waltz.

Jade has been battling to show more emotions in her dancing. Being an athlete she is very good on the physical side of the dance, but struggles to perform the character of it. During our rehearsals for the Viennese waltz I noticed a change in Jade's attitude and feel like we have taken a huge step forward (A long Jump!!!) in that aspect.

Last Saturday’s show proved to be fantastic and we were very happy to be second in the running order of performance. In previous shows we had been performing towards the end, which builds up the nerves and can cause more tension. Fortunately it seems like all the hard work paid off, and Jade produced her best dance to date. We were very happy with the high scores that left us towards the top end of the leader board.

Total shock that Zoe and James went into the bottom two after they had finished 3rd with the judges. Just goes to prove that no one is actually safe and every vote counts! Sorry to see Joe and Kristina go. (My brother is devastated - big Joe fan.)

Although my blog is being updated every so often I am trying to make regular daily updates on my twitter so stay tuned and keeeeeeep dancing!

Much love

Ian XX

Strictly Week 1: Gripping... and revealing!

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:52:00 GMT

After having only 3 weeks to put it together - and for Jade to learn 2 dances and perform them live to the nation - it was never going to be easy. However we managed to fight through the nerves (that were slightly hampering us to say the least) and produce a beautiful waltz! The comments from the judges were well received and will give us lots of things to work on in the next couple of weeks (the claw!!!).

The Cha Cha, on the other hand, was much better. Opening the show was quite scary but Jade felt much more comfortable in Latin mode and looked truly stunning in her yellow beaded dress (that she was nearly wearing - lol!.. not that I was wearing much more!!). I really felt that Jade showed only the tip of the iceberg and she has a lot more to offer… so watch this space!!!

This week we are busy with the pro-celeb group dance which is going to be dedicated to a fantastic performer, and also some terrific pro dances. Look out for them!

Tune in and keeeeep voting!

With lots of love,

Ian

Strictly Come Dancing - The Professionals Tour

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Coming to a town near you! The dance extravaganza featuring 10 of the professional dancers from the hit TV show including myself will be touring the nation throughout 2010.

Tickets have been released, and of course will go like hotcakes!! You can book here ...and check out the fab trailer here!

Trunkwell House - what a night!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:01:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone who came to Trunkwell House on Saturday 12th September for the dinner dance, masterclass, cabaret and disco. What a great evening, fabulous fun!! I was delighted to see my International Angels there, and thanks for the present, rather cheeky, you saucy girls!! This is a a super venue and I'm sure I will be back there sometime soon.

For more information on up and coming events keep your eyes peeled on this news section (get your updates using the RSS feed) and I will update you as soon as something is added. Be sure to sign up to my email updates too (you can use the form below) - that way your always stay one step ahead!

My new website!!!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:41:00 GMT

I have been working closely with a branding and design agency on the look and feel of my new website and materials. Love it, love it, love it! It's perfect! Bungalow Industries, you guys rock!

The new site features a blog to keep everyone up to date with all my latest news and events, an online shop (more items will be added as we go), live twitter feeds, and a fabulous gallery for all the great photos I wanted to share with you. Not to mention new a new bio section with some very old photos of my dancing career. There's a factfile for the little things you may not know, details about the charities I support... the list goes on. Anyway explore the site for yourself and let me know what you think using the fab new contact form at the bottom of the page.

Strictly is back!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:36:00 GMT

Dust off those dancing shoes and spruce up your sequins - we're back for series 7! The first show goes out this Friday 18th September at 8.30pm and it's the first part of a fabulous two-night special.

Jade and I are appearing on the first show - so make sure you tune in!!!

We've been rehearsing hard (as Jade's twittered blisters have shown) and we're raring to get on that dance floor!!

Really encouraged by all the tweets of support you've been sending - thank you everyone!

Oh, and of course... don't forget to vote!!!

I'm officially in the Twitterati!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:30:00 GMT

For those who know me well, you will know how much I tend to twitter on... and now I can do it for everybody to read! Fabulous!! There are pics straight from my iPhone, up to the minute news, and the domestic bliss of my daily life!

Here's a guide to the twits and the tweets - article by Ann Gripper for the Mirror: click to read. It's a great little article.

Follow my moves here!