🪩 JUDGE JAKE! 🪩 So I thought I’d start something new this series! Every week I’m going to give my own thoughts and scores on the Strictly performances. Not trying to be Craig, Motsi, Shirley or Anton, just giving my view as a Ballroom & Latin teacher on what I liked, what I’d work on and, most importantly, how much of the actual dance I felt we got! It’s only Week 1, so I’m definitely leaving room for those scores to go UP! 👀 Here goes... 1. Will Best & Dianne Buswell | Sa

STRICTLY COME DANCING 2026 | ICONS WEEK | SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER My thoughts, comments and scores as a Ballroom & Latin teacher Week 4, and my expectations are getting higher! We’ve now seen what these celebrities can do, and whilst nobody can master Ballroom or Latin technique in just a few weeks, I want to see more of those fundamentals being applied. It’s not just about bigger tricks or harder choreography. I want to see recognisable dancing, musicality, character and, most i

STRICTLY COME DANCING 2026 | SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER My thoughts, comments and scores as a Ballroom & Latin teacher Week 3, and we’re starting to get a better idea of who can really dance, who’s improving and who still has plenty of work to do! For me, it’s not just about putting on a great show. I want to see the character of each dance, recognisable steps, good timing and technique, and how well the celebrities are progressing from week to week. There were some improvements,

MOVIE WEEK | 3 OCTOBER 2026 With all the dances, they created a really good homage to the films they were taking inspiration from! The production and costume departments always do well on themed weeks! As it's Week 2, for the most part my expectations are to have now seen a Ballroom and a Latin dance from each couple. I know Strictly has grown beyond just that, but I think that's what I would have liked in the first two weeks! Just saying! 1. Dani Dyer & Nikita Kuzmin Foxtrot

Welcome to the first instalment of our Dancing Alphabet Series. Over the coming weeks, we'll be exploring Ballroom and Latin dancing one letter at a time. Each letter will represent a key concept, principle or quality that helps us become better dancers. Some will focus on technique, some on performance, and others on the mindset and habits that support long term improvement.

Turn Your Seated Downtime Into a Competitive Advantage We spend hours inside the studio drilling choreographies, breaking down variations, and perfecting our performance posture. But what happens when you step off the floor? The secret to accelerating your progress might just lie in how you spend your downtime. As dancers, we often compartmentalise our training, believing that improvement only happens when the music is blaring and we are actively on the floor. However, your b

Welcome to my guide on mastering choreography, designed to help dancers who have strong foundational skills but still find themselves struggling to memorise new routines quickly. By understanding the root causes of this challenge, you can apply our ten essential tips to drastically improve your retention during your next class.