Page 51 of The Dance Deception
‘Simply stunning,’ Sophie agrees. ‘And what a huge improvement from your performance last week. It was elegant, romantic, sensual, all the things a bachata should be. It was beautiful. Well done.’
‘I agree,’ Jacques says. ‘I’ll be honest, I didn’t think anyone could top last week’s bachata, but that was smooth, delicate, emotional. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And I think, from the reaction, that the audience agrees.’
‘What a fantastic response from the judges – and the audience,’ Kimberley beams. ‘And what a different story to last week. But is it enough to get Kate and Aleksis through to the semi-final? Audience, it’s time for you to submit your scores. Did you feel the love on the stage tonight? Or was it all a bit too staged for your liking? Let’s find out!’
The dial on the scoreboard leaps up the chart then wavers for a few seconds before finally settling on 9.1. A huge grin takes over my face, and Aleksis picks me up and spins me round before setting me down and kissing me full on the lips. But I’m so blown away by our near-perfect score that it barely has time to register.
‘Another superb result!’ Kimberley cheers. ‘That puts you just a tenth of a point behind Merle and Emilia this evening. Congratulations! That’s enough to get you through to next week’s semi-final. But let’s not forget, there are still two more couples to dance tonight, so there’s still time for someone else to steal that top spot. Could it be Dean with his cheeky cha-cha? Or Theo, who’ll be raising temperatures with his fiery Argentine tango? Ladies and gentlemen, let’s find out, but first let’s hear it one more time for Kate and Aleksis!’
And our moment in the limelight is over for another week. I’m so elated about scoring 9.1 that I’m not even upset about finishing behind Merle and Emilia. I can’t believe we got so close to them. I don’t know how much of an influence our fake romance has had, but it can’t all be down to that. Perhaps Aleksis was right – maybe I have finally found my feet on the dance floor.
Being guaranteed a place in the next round doesn’t stop me feeling nervous watching Theo and Dean dance, though. I’m desperate for Tammy to stay in the competition – we’ve been supporting each other since day one. To my relief, neither of them beat her 8.6, but it’s Theo and Daniele who come off worse, bagging just 6.2 in the audience vote.
‘Ah, that’s too bad,’ Kimberley says at the end of their dance. ‘Come on over and tell us how you feel.’
‘I’m obviously gutted, but there was always a high chance this would be the week that did it for me,’ Theo says.
‘Yes, the Argentine tango is definitely getting a name for itself as the great eliminator,’ Kimberley agrees. ‘Theo, we’reso sorry to see you go, but it’s been fantastic having you on the show. We hope you’ve enjoyed it.’
He plasters a smile on his face. ‘I’ve loved every minute.’
‘And that’s all we’ve got time for tonight,’ Kimberley says, turning back to the audience. ‘Theo and Daniele are out of the competition and now only four couples remain. Can anyone knock Merle and Emilia off the top spot? Aleksis and Kate certainly came close today. And let’s not forget Tammy and Elijah were only half a point behind them. Can Dean up his game and upset the pecking order next week? Find out next Saturday, when we’ll be back with moreFire on the Dance Floor!’
And that’s another show done.
As Olivia leads us back through the corridors to the reception room, I hear Theo mutter something to Dean about some of us having had an unfair advantage this week. I’m pretty sure he’s referring to me, but I don’t react. I don’t doubt I’d feel exactly the same way in his shoes, but I’m not going to allow him to burst my bubble.
Aleksis grabs us a glass of wine each and raises his glass. ‘Well done, you,’ he beams.
‘Was that real?’ I gasp, still in disbelief. I don’t think I’ve blinked once since we came off the stage. I’m referring to the whole evening – to our dance, to the judges’ comments – but Aleksis thinks I’m just talking about our score.
‘The score was definitely real this week.’ He grins. ‘I didn’t want to worry you before we danced, but they told me earlier that last week’s arrangement was a one-off.’
I want to fling my arms round him and squeal. That means we did it, just us, exactly like we wanted. But I’mdistracted by a flurry of movement as Beth and Liam come bounding towards us.
‘Surprise!’ Beth says. ‘Hey, Tammy, get over here! You guys were both amazing tonight. We loved your bachata, Kate, and your salsa was so energetic, Tammy.’
‘Thanks,’ Tammy beams. ‘I’m still on a high. I just love it. I don’t want it to ever end.’
‘Yeah, I haven’t come back down to earth yet either.’ I give them both a hug. ‘It’s great to see you guys.’
‘Olivia told us we needed to come back here after the show tonight,’ Beth explains. ‘I think she’s got something to tell us. It’s kind of weird being back in this room again, though – it brings back all the excitement of being on the show. And the terror. I’m so glad I can just live that part vicariously through you guys now.’
Olivia bangs her clipboard and asks for our attention.
‘Hi everyone, if I can just have a few minutes of your time, thank you. Firstly I just want to say well done to everyone tonight – and commiserations to you, Theo. But there’s also good news for you, in that we want you back on the show next week. All of you, in fact – so you too, Beth and Liam.
‘As you know, we’ve been planning to feature all the professionals in a showpiece on next week’sFire on the Dance Floor. But we’ve been monitoring the comments about the show on social media, and what the viewers want is to see more of the contestants dancing, too. So the showpiece will now feature all of you – professionalsandcontestants – and the dance we’ve selected is the rueda.’
There’s a collective murmur around the room.
‘For those of you who don’t know what a rueda is,’ Olivia raises her voice to make herself heard, ‘it’s a partner dance that is danced in a circle – a wheel – with a caller calling out instructions for you to follow. A lot of the steps are similar to what you’ve been learning over the last six weeks, so you’ll have most of the basics, but there will still be a lot to learn and there isn’t much time. So we’re going to need to ask you all to give up a bit of your personal time to come in for rehearsals, so we can make it look really good by next Saturday.
‘We want to get started on it straight away, so we’re proposing that everyone comes back here tomorrow and we’ll practise right here on set. It’s bigger than most of your individual studios so it makes sense to do it here. I know Sunday is usually your day of rest, but we don’t want to eat into your personal rehearsal time too much. We’re proposing a full day tomorrow, starting at nine a.m., then three evenings next week – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with each of those sessions starting at five p.m.
‘It’s a lot of extra hours, but we think it will add another great element to the show. And for those of you who are still competing next week, you’ll still have plenty of time to practise your individual dances, so there shouldn’t be too much of an impact on that. This is going to be really exciting for everyone and for the show, and we think the viewers are going to love it. Any questions?’
‘Did you say nine a.m. tomorrow?’ Tammy checks.
