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Lauren Oakley
Lauren May Oakley (born 28 February 1991) is an English professional dancer and choreographer, best known for appearing as a professional on the BBC One television series ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Oakley was born on 28 February 1991 in Birmingham, England. She began dancing at the age of 2 and began competing in Ballroom and Latin dance at the age of 7. Career Oakley became Juvenile Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival, winning across both Ballroom and Latin disciplines and has also became Under 21 British National Champion before beginning a career on stage. She has toured the world as part of the live dance show ''Burn the Floor'' and has starred as the "leading lady" in the national tour ''Him & Me'' alongside Giovanni Pernice and Anton Du Beke. and has starred in Pernice's solo tour ''This Is Me''. ''Strictly Come Dancing'' In July 2022, Oakley was announced to be joining the Strictly Come Dancing (series 20), twentieth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kai Widdrington
Kai Widdrington (born 23 August 1995) is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. Between 2017 and 2020, he was a professional dancer on the Irish version of '' Dancing with the Stars,'' and in 2021, he became a professional dancer on the BBC show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Widdrington was born in Southampton, England and grew up in Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh. His father is former Premier League footballer Tommy Widdrington, and his younger brother, Theo, currently plays for King's Lynn Town F.C. Widdrington was also set to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a professional footballer, but aged 12 chose a dancing career instead of a Premier League contract. By the time he was 14, he was the World Junior Latin American champion. Widdrington is of part Chinese descent. His maternal grandfather is Chinese and is said to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Can Call Me Al
"You Can Call Me Al" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his seventh studio album, ''Graceland'' (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics follow an individual seemingly experiencing a midlife crisis. Its lyrics were partially inspired by Simon's trip to South Africa and experience with its culture. Released in August 1986, "You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's biggest solo hits, reaching the top five in seven countries. Background The names in the song came from an incident at a party that Simon went to with his then-wife Peggy Harper. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, who was attending the same party, mistakenly referred to Paul as "Al" and to Peggy as "Betty", inspiring Simon to write a song. Composition Jon Pareles noted that the lyrics can be interpreted as describing a man experiencing a midlife crisis ("Where's my wife and family? What if I die here? Who'll be my role model?"); howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiss From A Rose
"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album. The song was first released as a single in July 1994 and included in the film ''The NeverEnding Story III'' that year. It was re-released a year later in 1995 as part of the ''Batman Forever'' film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the United States and Australia. It also reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada, France, Iceland and Norway. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Background "Kiss from a Rose" was written in 1987, several years prior to the release of Seal's eponymous debut album from 1991. After writing the song, Seal felt "embarrassed by it" and "threw the tape in the corner". Seal did not present it to producer Trevor Horn until the recording sessions for ''Seal II''. In 2015, Seal said of the song: "To be honest, I was never really that proud of it, though I like what Trevor did wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viennese Waltz
Viennese waltz (german: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese waltz. What is now called the Viennese waltz is the original form of the waltz. It was the first ballroom dance performed in the closed hold or "waltz" position. The dance that is popularly known as the waltz is actually the English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 90 beats per minute with 3 beats to the bar (the international standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese waltz is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) per minute. To this day however, in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and France, the words (German), (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish), and (French) still implicitly refer to the original dance and not the slow waltz. The Viennese waltz is a rotary dan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Black Americans. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston (dance), Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing. History The quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the foxtrot, Charleston (dance), Charleston, Collegiate shag (dance), shag, Peabody (dance), peabody, and One-Step, one-step. The dance is English in origin and was standardized in 1927. While it evolved from the foxtrot, the quickstep now is quite separate. Unlike the modern foxtrot, the lead and follow, leader often closes his feet, and syncopated steps are regular occurrences (as was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
By The Way (Red Hot Chili Peppers Song)
"By the Way" is a song by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is the title track and first single released from the band's eighth studio album of the same name (2002), on June 24, 2002. The song was the band's sixth number-one hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and spent seven weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Internationally, the song reached number two in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's highest-peaking single there alongside "Dani California", and peaked atop the Italian Singles Chart. Regarding its release, guitarist John Frusciante noted: "It wasn't really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us. I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound."Kerrang! Yearbook (2002), pg.25 Vocalist Anthony Kiedis elaborated: "I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pasodoble
Pasodoble (Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military march gave rise recently to a modern Spanish dance, a musical genre including both voice and instruments, and a genre of instrumental music often played during bullfight. Both the dance and the non martial compositions are also called pasodoble. Structure All pasodobles have binary rhythm. Its musical structure consists of an introduction based on the dominant chord of the piece, followed by a first fragment based on the main tone and a second part, called "the trío", based on the sub-dominant note, based yet again on the dominant chord. Each change is preceded by a brieph. The last segment of the pasodoble is usually "the trío" strongly played. The different types of pasodoble- popular, taurino, militar- can vary in rhythm, with the taurine pasodoble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabaret (1972 Film)
''Cabaret'' is a 1972 American musical drama film directed by Bob Fosse, and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the presence of the growing Nazi Party, the film is loosely based on the 1966 Broadway musical ''Cabaret'' by Kander and Ebb, which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood's semi-autobiographical novel ''The Berlin Stories'' (1945) as well as John Van Druten's 1951 play ''I Am a Camera'', which was itself adapted from Isherwood's novel. Multiple numbers from the stage score were used for the film, which also featured three other songs by Kander and Ebb, including two written for the adaptation. In the traditional manner of musical theater, most major characters in the stage version sing to express their emotions and advance the plot; in the film, however, the musical numbers are entirely diegetic. All of them take place inside the club, with one exception: "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", the only song su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson, which originated in the Broadway show '' Runnin' Wild'' and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. ''Runnin' Wild'' ran from October 28, 1923, through June 28, 1924. The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927. Origins While the dance probably came from the "star" or challenge dances that were all part of the African-American dance called Juba, the particular sequence of steps which appeared in ''Runnin' Wild'' were probably newly devised for popular appeal. "At first, the step started off with a simple twisting of the feet, to rhythm in a lazy sort of way. his could well be the Jay-Bird.When the dance hit Harlem, a new version was added. It became a fast kicking step, kicking the feet, both forwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love Really Hurts Without You
"Love Really Hurts Without You" is a song recorded by British contemporary R&B, R&B recording artist Billy Ocean. The song – written by Ocean under his real name Leslie Charles with the track's producer Ben Findon – was the second single recorded in the name Billy Ocean (although the singer had had several previous releases using other stage names) and provided Ocean with his first chart record in 1976. The song reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart. It also became Ocean's first Top 40 hit in the US, reaching number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It remains tied with the 1977 number-two UK hit "Red Light Spells Danger" as his second-highest charting single in the UK, behind "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going (song), When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" which had a four-week run at number one in 1986. It is often cited for its Motown Records, Motown influence. Background At the time of his single's success, Ocean was quoted (indirectl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
