On the couch With money guru, Eoin McGee
It’s panto time and here comes Dancing With the Stars with a new batch of unique dance moves
“What is the stars?”, “Where are the stars?” and “I’m seeing stars” are three phrases that are unlikely to pop up on Ireland’s answer to Dancing With the Stars which is also called Dancing with the Stars. Confused? You should be. As we all know now, DWTS (Ireland version), a show with two le feet, a pink tutu and a winning smile, has no basis in reality or actual dancing. Arriving in the wake of the Christmas festivities, it is of course a variation on that stock seasonal ratings-winner, the pantomime. ‘Oh not it’s not!’ ‘Oh yes it is!’ ‘Oh I can’t make my mind up at all at all!’
Here is a show that all the family can watch safely without getting poked in the eye by a double entendre or a treble clef. Forget the foxtrot and tango, DWTS is where new dance moves make their debut: like the Dessie Swim (“He’s behind you!”), the Marty Mash (“He’s in front of you!”) and the Mannion March (“She’s everywhere!”). We give you the boo-hiss villains semaphoring with score cards, the genie in the tux and the person who disappeared in a pu of soap. Reality TV has a lot to answer for: we’re just not sure what the question is. Meanwhile though, let us entertain you with some new dance moves that might just debut on the latest edition of DWTS (Ireland).
Leo’s Two Sock Polka
Not so much a piece of choreography as a fashion statement in which the trouser leg is trendily shortened, all the better to see the latest sock combination. Variations here include Right over Le , Le over Right or the ‘Shin Feign’ which can be either Le or Right depending on what shoe you kick with. Unless you’re highly practised in the dark arts of sockery the latter should be avoided. Otherwise this is a piece of cake.
e Mama May-a
In the tradition of that classic terpsichorean move, Lanigan’s Ball, this so -shoe shu e involves stepping out again and stepping in again, repeated inde nitely to the tune of that well-known ABBA song, ‘Mamma Maya’ (hence the title). Variations include the tricky backstop pirouette which leaves the dancer neither in nor out but somewhere between Blacklion and Belcoo. Warning: this dance requires an epic reservoir of energy.
e Dancing-in-the-Dark
e house lights go down and nothing can be seen: probably the best for all concerned.
Some say that DWTS is the graveyard of ambition. Not true: it’s the birthplace of dance innovation, so turn on, tune in and drop your expectations. (Donal O’Donoghue)
Dancing with the Stars returns to RTÉ One, January 6