Tjo tjo tjo, we’ve reached the halfway mark and the pressure is on, oh it’s OON!!
I had a breakdown this week; my body just couldn’t cope with all the physical training of dancing and horse riding that I cram into my days, and in our session on Tuesday I was literally seeing stars. Tears were rolling down my cheeks but I was laughing at the same time, because I didn’t even know why I was crying!
The mind was willing but the flesh was weak, so we cancelled two days of training. I’ve never been so in love with my bed before - I got home and fell into a coma at 5pm, only to wake up the next day at 10am!!! 17 HOURS of SLEEP!!! UN.believable.
The rest obviously did me the world of good, because by Thursday I was totally refreshed, and for the first time I think I was the only one that WASN’T nervous!! Big ups to the girls, Cindy and Hlubi, for their dramatic improvements… ‘twas tooo cool seeing their fighting spirits on the dance floor with the Paso Doble!
I still thought Rob was great entertainment, even though he looked a bit stressed about his routine and how he’d rushed through it. Ballroom is no joke I tell you, it LOOKS so simple but apart from the technical difficulty of feet and body positions, the timing and fluidity is crucial. And when that adrenaline hits you on the dance floor, you have to muster up all your strength and control to keep it flowing…
I feel like a young, over-excited thoroughbred going into a race as I start to dance, and all I hear throughout the routine is my trainer’s deep voice in my ear going “EEEASY girl, EEASY…”
Thankfully our routine flowed fruitfully, and we got top marks again baby, YEAH!!:) More importantly, I felt really chilled throughout the day and just had a blast on the dance floor that night. Because I’m an obsessive compulsive perfectionist, I often work too hard on getting the technique right, but I’m now learning to let go and make mistakes in the name of fun (I actually never thought I could have FUN in a ballroom dance - the Latin dances are much more conducive to that!).
What really had me laughing throughout the night was my oh-so-elegant use of my outfit. The ‘wings’ I had hanging from my arms definitely didn’t have me flying that night. I’m clumsy at the best of times - the type of person that walks into glass doors and trips and falls going UP the stairs, let alone down!
And on Thursday I put my drape to good use by getting it caught on every possible object that happened to be in my way - from the stairs, to the railings (twice!), to my SHOE at the end of our routine, and I even managed to hook it to the button on Grant’s sleeve while I was chatting to Sandy after our dance!
He looked like he had a nervous twitch - gently, repetitively jerking his arm aside while our backstage manager Schon tried to unravel the thing. He gave up and ripped the button off.
Huge thanks to our designer, Kurt van der Muller, for his magnificent creations. I never had Barbie dolls to dress up and play with as a kid (naturally, I had My Little Ponies - a whole stable-yard of them), so I’m definitely making up for that by dressing myself to the nines every week! I felt so glam in that gorgeous silver number. And Kurt also designed Cindy’s stunner-of-a-dress.
Now the whole day Queen’s song “Under Pressure” was resonating through my head, as I watched, somewhat serenely amused, at just what this competition has done to everyone competing in it ...
We’ve lost loads of weight (they should just put The Biggest Loser contestants on THIS reality show and all their problems will be solved!), our skins have broken out into spots, our muscles are throbbing with exhaustion, our emotions are aboard some ridiculous stomach-wrenching rollercoaster ride, the tension backstage is tangible, and even some of the bubbliest and most vociferous characters on the show are now sporting a blank look of oblivion on their faces that are too weary to even acknowledge what’s happening around them… and to top it all off, Grant worked himself up so much that he vomited his lunch out before the live show. Charming.
Despite all this, the couples are becoming even MORE determined to push through. One of them is now starting their training at 4 O’CLOCK in the MORNING!!! That MUST be a candidate for Crazzzy Monkey? EXTREME.
Grant and I average about four hours a day. Well, we set aside six, of which two hours are spent eating lunch, having interviews and general faffing. Grant and I are great faffers. We get on like we’ve been best buds since birth, so we sometimes get totally carried away on a tangent in some conversation that has nothing to do with Strictly. Then one of us (usually me) slaps the other back into shape and we get back to business.
This weekend Grant and I joined in a Downs Syndrome Association Fun Day with the Cape Riding Horse cc in Pretoria, which was a real eye-opener. My heart goes out to those kids; they are so brave. It’s just amazing and heart-warming to watch their absolute enjoyment of life. We met a 3-year-old girl who has survived Leukaemia after numerous operations. That was heart-wrenching. Puts your own silly problems into perspective.
After the fun day we went back to training for our Samba, which I’m super-excited about… I get to use my WHIP, and that’s all I’m gonna say...
So before I write a novel here (I have VERBAL diarrhoea this week…), let me end by thanking you for your votes, and please keep them coming in!! Please SMS couple “’3” to 34766, ‘cause me ‘n G have some serious moves that you need to see!!!