It Takes Two : Strictly Ex Girls

Heather Small's VIP Vacation

HEATHER SMALL'S VIP VACATION
Singer Heather Small, 44, went salsa crazy in cultural Cuba when a work trip became a holiday
When Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman called me the "Queen Of Salsa", little did he know that my passion for the dance had begun nine years earlier, during a trip to Cuba.

I was in Havana making a music video and fell in love with the city so much that I stayed on for a week's holiday with my son James, who's now 12.

The city is full of history, with sights like Ernest Hemingway's House and the Che Guevara monuments, but it was the wonderful music that really impressed me.

In Britain everyone cringes when musicians play in restaurants, but not in Havana. On our first night, at a little place in the city centre, I ended up dancing around the tables. The night after, we went to a traditional salsa club and had a group dance lesson. Luckily I've got natural rhythm and can pick up the steps quickly, although Strictly viewers may disagree!


Heather and son James test a hammock

We stayed at the five-star Hotel Nacional, where Winston Churchill and Frank Sinatra have stayed. It's by the sea and it's typical of Havana - comfortable with a faded grandeur. The pool and gardens were a haven for relaxation. James and I found a huge hammock and swung in the warm breeze.

I loved the Cuban food. I'm a vegan but had so much choice, with rice and beans, fried bananas and grilled vegetables available everywhere.

I came back from Cuba as fit as a fiddle because of the healthy food and dancing. Every time I hear salsa, part of me goes back to that magical week I spent there.

Rooms at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba start at £120 (Hotelnacionaldecuba.com). Flights to Havana cost from £602 return with Virgin Atlantic (Virgin-atlantic.com).

Heather's UK tour starts on May 14. For ticket information visit Tonyclayman.com.

Dancing On Wheels

Heather Small is a contestant on "Dancing On Wheels" which will air in January 2010.

ABOUT:BBC Three has commissioned a new series which will feature wheelchair users paired with celebrities in a dance competition.
Dancing On Wheels sees couples compete in events where the standing able-bodied dancer partners a wheelchair user.
Michelle Gayle, Kevin Sacre and former Strictly Come Dancing stars Heather Small and Mark Foster are among the celebrities participating in the six-part series.
"This is a really important project for BBC Three, and underlines our commitment to covering disability in a mainstream way following the success of Britain's Missing Top Model last year," said BBC Three controller Danny Cohen.
"The series will be surprising, fun and glamorous."

Heather's partner will be Paul Jacob. Here is their introduction video:

Episode Guides:
Episode 1 - Thursday 11th February 2010, 9pm [info]
Episode 2 - Thursday 18th February 2010, 9pm

Heather signed up to BBC Wheel Chair Dance Show

According to newspaper the Sun, Heather Small is due to hit TV screens dancing again on BBC3's Dancing On Wheels.

It's Strictly with a Spin.

"STRICTLY's Heather Small and Mark Foster have signed up to another dance show - this time partnering wheelchair users.
Singer Heather and swimmer Mark will be joined on BBC3's Dancing On Wheels by soap star-turned-singer Michelle Gayle and rugby's Martin Offiah.
Kevin Sacre - boyfriend of Strictly pro Camilla Dallerup - is also lined up.
Wheelchair users include Cambridge graduate Simone, 22; Diana, 48, a magazine editor and mum; Carolyne, 27, who enjoys nothing more than a night out; James, 31, whose acrobatics put most able-bodied people to shame; and 23-year-old Harris, who recently wed a girl he met in Thailand.
The couples will learn Wheelchair Dance Sport in which at least one dancer is a wheelchair user."

Strictly Come Dancing Videos

Cha Cha - Group Performance







Salsa







Swing - Group Performance







Quick Step







Samba






Viennise Waltz







Cha-Cha-Cha






Tango

Heather's Strictly Come Dancing Diary

Famed for her big voice and even bigger hair, Heather Small is now Moving On Up as Strictly Come Dancing's top diva.
With her athletic body and bubbly personality, the 43-year-old M People star has got what it takes to waltz to glory in the latest series of the Beeb's celebrity ballroom dancing contest.

Not that Heather thinks so right now - she is a "nervous wreck", her feet are aching and she is terrified of a tongue-lashing from the judges.

Here, Heather opens the pages of her Strictly diary, and gives us an exclusive glimpse into what's happened backstage in the week running up to her first live solo performance tonight...

FRIDAY
8.30am

Early start for training today. My dance partner is the all-American new boy Brian Fortuna. Today was the first time my moves were captured on camera - and I fell over. Brilliant! It wasn't just stepping on his toes, like usual, I fell backwards and he was supposed to catch me but the way I hurled myself was all wrong. Brian flashed me a look that said: "That ain't nobody's fault but your own!" I can't have a whinge with Brian, he's straight talking. I am not exactly a wallflower, so I need someone who is not afraid to give it back.

11am
Saw the TV set for the first time and it hits hard that there is an impending live show. I remember my 11-year-old son James's advice: "Don't fall over and don't get voted off Mummy." So no pressure. I can't let him down.

2.45pm
I've been trying to learn a group dance this week and the competition is hot. The women look good and, my goodness, they can move. I saw Christine Bleakley and Rachel Stevens throw down some moves during the funky routine and knew I'd have to up my game. The other contestants are great fun and there is an instant feeling of camaraderie, but it's just like being back at school when the teachers can't control the classroom - we get "shhhhed" a lot.

3.30pm
Total humiliation. Practising the dance I finished about five minutes before everyone else, I just missed out a whole section. There I was standing with my back to everyone with my hands in the air, quite happy, not realising that I was on my own. This was one of many, many times I have wondered, "What on earth am I doing here?" I didn't have a clue. I was impressed with Don Warrington - he's so cool.

SATURDAY
5.10am
Woke up in a panic hours before training, feeling sick to my stomach. It's the day of the live show. My relaxation techniques failed. I feel completely out of my depth.

5.10am
Make-UP and a new hairstyle at the BBC studios, very glam. I have gone really quiet - almost mute. Not like me at all.

1pm
WE break for sandwiches in the BBC canteen. I've brought my own chocolate rice-cakes. Well, you have to keep up your energy!

3pm
People helpus squeeze into the tight outfits - I wonder if a crow bar would help.

4.15pm
I'm having a good laugh with last year's winner Alesha Dixon - we're the cackling queens.

6pm
Terror sets in when I hear the theme music. But suddenly I'm dancing.

7.15pm
I wonder if the judges take bribes? They're so harsh. If you make any mistake they magnify it and to see someone get a tongue-lashing on live TV is terrible. Craig Revel Horwood has the harshest tongue - that man has not come to play!

8pm
I'm exhausted but it's buzzing backstage. This is great fun.

SUNDAY
10am
A day off, thank goodness. My feet are killing me. I can't stop thinking about the brutal elimination process. I don't want to be the first woman to leave. But the other women are so lovely I haven't been able to muster up enough of a competitive spirit. My incentive is to get through as many frocks as I can. I am embracing the sequins - you can never have too many sequins.

4pm
It's nice to have time to relax with my partner and my son. But I can't stop thinking about yesterday. It's hard to pick a front runner, but I think the girls are the leaders of the pack.

The sports guys are in it to win it. That's what's needed, it's impressive.

Brendan Cole is much sweeter inside than he appears. Miss Lisa Snowdon has unleashed the sweetness. He is a gentleman - not such a bad boy.

MONDAY
9am
THERE's nothing like an elimination to focus the feet so we've added an extra hour to training. I was sorry to see Phil Daniels go - Saturday was terrifying, like being in the stocks where the judges can throw anything at you.

10.45am
Poor Brian, I'm always treading on him or knocking into him. I'm small but solid! He is a very polite young man but he's not shy. He asked me to lift up my backside and I told him it has a natural African-Caribbean curve. So he said: "Get that African butt up!" I love it.

TUESDAY
10.30am
I've had a breakthrough with the quick step. Brian has resorted to drawing diagrams - he says he does it with everyone. Yeah, right. Still it worked. Everything's going OK.

3pm
My luck didn't last long. My rear end crashed into some equipment and broke it. Oops! Still, I have the power. I'll just shake my booty!

WEDNESDAY
12pm
Three days to ladies' night. I'm very nervous and the ballroom is challenging.

What have I gotten into?

3.15pm
My son saw me training. When I said I needed a lot of drama in my performance he replied: "You'll have no trouble with that." Ouch! Then he said: "It'll be fun Mummy, enjoy it." So I thought, 'Yeah, I can take short-term humiliation."

THURSDAY
3am
Wide awake, tossing and turning, thinking one two, cha-cha-cha. When I do sleep I am seeing dance moves and dreaming about forgetting my steps in the middle of the live show. Not a good sign.

8.15am
I give myself a mental talking to over breakfast to stop my nerves getting the better of me. I can't let Brian down. I need to calm down. At least my mother, sister, partner, niece and nephew will be cheering me on.

FRIDAY
10.15am
I'm getting the hang of moving my hips now, although maybe not in time. I can't help giggling over all these funny arm movements.

6pm
Training over. I'm exhausted and panicking about tomorrow.

The worst thing I could hear from the judges is that the whole thing is rubbish. If that happened I'd find it very hard to be polite.

Heather Small on Strictly Come Dancing

Heather Small is a contestant in the years Strictly Come Dancing.
The show kicks off Saturday September the 13th so remeber to tune in and vote for Heather.



Strictly Come Dancing - Heather Small's inner struggle Friday, 29 August 2008
Singer Heather Small might look confident when she is performing but she does suffer from stage fright. She told MyParkmag: "I occasionally suffer from stage fright and, if left to my own devices, I would probably say no to anything scary. "However, everyone said I should give it a go, so I thought, why not? I just hope my nerves don't get the better of me."

Everything you need to know about Heather Small
As a member of pop group M People, Heather sold several million records, won two Brit Awards, a Mercury Music Prize award and performed across the globe winning an army of fans. With hits such as Moving On Up, One Night In Heaven and Search For The Hero, Heather became one of the seminal British voices of the Nineties. As a solo artist, Heather performed Proud when Britain won the Olympic bid.

Heather will be dancing with Brian Fortuna
New Strictly Come Dancing dancer Brian was born and raised in Philadelphia and comes to the UK having participated in season four of Dancing With The Stars in the United States where he partnered former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey. He has appeared in three live US Dancing With The Stars tours and Brian was also the host of the ABC.com online results show Dancing With The Stars Online Encore. He is excited coming to the UK and says: "It's a blast to introduce a celebrated artist to the magic of dance. It changes their life forever."

PHOTOS