Now that the 2011 season of Strictly Come Dancing has kicked off, dance fans like me are avidly watching the moves, agonising over who will make the final round and wondering who judge Craig Revel Horwood will cast his famous frown on.

Part 2 of this guide will explore further winning advice that earned previous Strictly champions the crown.

Let Your Personality Shine

Personality goes a long way in winning over the audience. Even if you’re not a natural dancer, you can compensate by allowing personal flair to make you sparkle more, so don’t be shy to use it!

Synchronisation and Versatility

It’s important that your professional dancing partner allow some flexibility in the routine when it comes to making a good team – ideally they should suit your personality or be willing to make changes. Nobody enjoys being bossed around or forced to do moves that just don’t feel right. The key to success is to harmonise with your dance partner and have fun, in addition of course to putting in the practise. If you clash together, the routine will suffer and the audience will notice.

Balance of Body and Mind

Contestants who have a history of playing sport have a good edge on Strictly – you have to be disciplined in your training, but when the big night comes you also need to be able to switch off your brain and let your body do the talking. When the music starts, simply let your muscle memory kick in and enjoy it, otherwise you’ll come off tense at best and at worse you’ll make some silly mistakes that never happened during practise. Every dancer or sports person knows you have to let go and trust that your body knows what it needs to do.

Calm Under Pressure

Even if you make an embarrassing mistake, you have to recover yourself with as much elegance as possible and simply carry on. This kind of attitude wins audiences and you will still rack up the points during the rest of your routine. Don’t let errors break your flow – the show must go on!

Constructive Criticism

Champions in any field know the value of criticism, since nobody improves without people to help them iron out the blind spots. Strictly Come Dancing’s 2005 winner, ex-England cricketer Darren Gough, put it nicely: “You get all sorts of advice – I didn’t really listen to them. I was more proud that I’d achieved, in a week, to learn a dance. I never even thought that I could do the Bus Stop – remember that dance? – but suddenly you’re doing dances that you see professionals doing, to a decent standard, after a week. I answered back [to the judges] a couple of times, but mainly I shut my ears off. I listened to the criticism the next day when I’d calmed down a bit. Take it as a positive leading forward. And prove to them what they say you’ve lacked. For me it was always my hands, which I worked and worked on and by the final I’d fixed it. That’s one of the reasons I won it: I’d listened.”

Conclusion

For those of us who dream of sparkling on Strictly Come Dancing and winning the approval of exacting professionals such as Craig Revel Horwood, Part 1 and Part 2 of this guide series will give you some insider tips to get the ball rolling!

Author Bio :Rio Spelling is a choreography and dance enthusiast