Far's London - Latin & Ballroom Dance Wear

I went to see the play 6 Dance Lessons in 6 Weeks on a preview offer at Royal Theatre Haymarket yesterday because Craig Revel Horwood choreographed it and curiosity asks me what level of dancing can he teach to someone who don’t know much about Latin and Ballroom considering how harshly he judges the celebrities and the professional dancers on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

The plot unfolds over the course of the dance lessons mentioned in the title. Billy Zane’s character, the teacher, and Claire Bloom’s character, the student, get to know each other more deeply than anyone else knows them.

The delivery of the amusing lines was not very convincing, especially from Billy Zane. But more importantly the dancing was at the level of a first group dance class at the local community centre. Craig Revel Horwood had no skills to work with, sadly. In a play that is not about the dancing at all, but about the interactions between the dancing, Craig’s involvement in it will not enhance his CV.

Maybe I would have found it a lot more amusing if a better ballroom dancer plays the teacher role. I could see it potentially very amusing if someone like Anton Du Beke plays Billy Zane’s role, which I tried to imagine for most part of the play. On the other hand dancing takes a completely different role than in Footloose, for example, with the high-powered Derek Hough, so perhaps the dancing was not supposed to be so good, or would have changed the message.

Several current social issues and facts of life, with which the characters struggle, are highlighted and I did start thinking about them in a broader context as I watched the play. The dancing served as a kind of refuge, a place to escape from life’s problems and find a real connection to other people.

All in all it was a good play but it could be better as it wasn’t as exciting as I hoped, maybe it could be made better with a better dancer. Or the story to be more developed. It kind of doesn’t have enough of a story for you to get really into it. Maybe if I know very little or none at all about Latin and Ballroom I expected too much and having been in the position of the student learning the dance as well as getting to know the dancers the story seems to be a lot weaker than my experience hence didn’t really appeal to me. Sam and I were rather unsatisfied walking out of ‘6 Dance Lessons in 6 Weeks’ and ended up watching ‘Flushed Away’ straight afterwards.

If you do want to go, here is a seating plan. The theatre is quite small. The stalls seemed a bit too low, the Royal Circle works best, even from the back. The Upper Circle would not be too far away from stage, but I’m not sure whether one can see all the stage from the back rows there. It was far from sold out in any case.

I honestly think that the judges are being more and more biased as the weeks go on.

Take Emma. Look at her Paso facial expressions. They were like those of a constipated pole dancer. What about her hands? How are her hands any better than Matt Dawson’s?

And Lousia? I know she pulled off some difficult drops in the Cha Cha Cha, but there were hardly any basics to show she can actually do the dance! I don’t think it was any better than Matt’s Rumba. Rumba as Claudia suggests is the dance of despair for any celebrity. And I think Lilia did a great job of choreographing a rumba that shows the least weak point of Matt, which is the fluidity of his movements.

Somehow Strictly is becoming a little annoying… Everyone seems to be biased towards Emma. They say she’s so modest that she has to promote her CD so she couldn’t put the hours in. But look at Aled Jones. He was doing a tour during his Strictly, he still managed to put the hours and practice in.

I tried out DC Collection’s self-tan and remover at the Sheffield Friendly just over a week ago.

DC Collection – Self Tan: ‘For a Deep, Dark Tan’

The DC Collection Self Tan produced an even, dark and non-streaky tan after just one coat (just like it says on the label – unusual). The tan produced a good colour, not too orange and very much natural looking. I would highly recommend this product to fellow dancers – especially for a quick fix the night before the competition!

Is it difficult to put on?

As with other fake tans, this was a heavy white crème. The technique I tend to use, and the one which produces the best results, is to primarily distribute the crème onto the skin evenly (without rubbing it in fully) let it soak in for approximately 5 minutes, and then go back and massage it in properly. If you take one limb at a time, this tends to work well. Otherwise you tend to find yourself rubbing for ages and most of the crème being absorbed into your hands or not disappearing. I would recommend that the person applying the tan, be it yourself or a friend, should wear a pair of gloves. As it says on the label, ‘a deep dark tan’, it does produce quite a heavy tan so gloves are advisory – washing your hands doesn’t always do the trick!

As stated on the instructions, you are advised to apply a thick coat. I did as prescribed, hence the good results. A second coat definitely produced a more intense tan.

It didn’t take long to dry – I would say approximately 10 minutes. It was sticky for quite a while afterwards but bearable underneath clothes.

Is it messy to put on?

The tan made minimal mess. The crème is absorbed pretty quickly and the process is, on the whole, quick and simple.

Does it irritate your skin?

The first application of tan did not irritate my skin at any point. However, when putting a second coat on, it did make my legs itch slightly, but this was only when it was drying. Other than that I have had no problems.

Does it come off on your clothes?

I tend to put on tan before I go to bed. The next morning I did wake up with yellow patches on my white bottom sheet. I’m guessing that I didn’t let the tan dry fully – obviously if I had this wouldn’t have happened. Apart from that, the tan did not appear to come off on my clothes. After a couple of days the tan started to fade especially in areas such as where your bra straps go – however this was not transferred onto my clothing.

Does the smell irritate you or the people you are with?

The tan had quite a strong smell initially. After this I didn’t tend to be able to smell it apart from when I got hot and sweaty i.e. dancing. I can still smell it slightly on my dance dress but this happens with any tan, this is not unusual. The people around me were not aware of the smell, even when asked.

It is expensive?

As far as fake tans go, this is one of the most expensive I have seen. However, it produced excellent results and one coat would be perfectly substantial for any university circuit competition. This obviously means that a bottle would last you longer than a normal bottle as you apply less. The bottles are of quite a substantial size.

If you have to buy it yourself, would you?

Yes, I would purchase this fake tan again. It produced excellent results just after one coat. It was quick and easy to put on and a great fix the night before a competition.

DC Collection: Self Tan Remover

I was very thrilled to hear that a company had finally brought out a self tan remover. The ‘orange’ days following a competition were now over! However, much to my disappointment the remover did not have a great effect. After following the instructions precisely, the tan did not seem to come off. I tried again, leaving the remover on for twice as long as stated, but this seemed to have no affect. I would therefore not rush out to by the remover but would definitely advise you to invest in the fake tan!

As Fiona said, we spent the afternoon at Chrisanne and I got the chance to ask a few questions about DC Tan.

It turns out the 5ml sample is just enough for a circle about 15cm in diameter, so it comes to no surprise that the tan had virtually no effect when I spread over my entire left arm (and a bit on my right too!). It did, however, tan parts of my elbow’s vitiligo patch.

Apply the tan 24 hours before you need the full effect, which is also the point at which using the Tan-remover will start having the best effect. So do not remove the tan less the 24 hours after you have applied it.

Also, a heavy application of your favorite moisturiser on all areas of skin you want to tan, before you apply the tan, is essential for an even colour.

Apparently, once it has been fully absorbed by the skin, even showering will not affect the tan.

They told us that it is OK to leave the tan to fade if you chose not to use the tan remover and the tan will not flake or turn an orangy colour as tested by one of their sponsored couples whose name I can’t quite recall.

We picked up a full bottle of Tan and Tan Remover for Nick & Vicky and put it in the post today. Hopefully they will receive it in time for the Sheffield Friendly. Look for a Latin dress fading from yellow to red with red fringes (or blue with gold decorations and sleeves) and ask if they’ve got DC Tan on!

DC Collection of Norway has come out with a new kind of Self-Tan that is meant to produce an unusally even tan.

More interestingly, however, there is a Self-Tan Remover, which does away with having to go to lectures with a George-Hamilton tan the week after competitions. Instant tans wash off more easily, but they also come off on your and your partner’s clothes.

Having climpsed the list of ingredients on both products, the Tan and the Remover, nothing in particular struck me. Except the hydrogen peroxide in the Remover.

While we are not talking about acne, I think the following still applies:

“Given what is now known about free-radical damage, I no longer recommend hydrogen peroxide as a topical disinfectant for acne. Oxygen is clearly a problem for skin, and hydrogen peroxide is a significant oxidizing agent. The way hydrogen peroxide works is by releasing an unstable oxygen molecule onto the skin, and that generates free-radical damage. The extra oxygen molecule that makes up hydrogen peroxide is extremely unstable. That’s why hydrogen peroxide is packaged in a dark brown, airtight container.

“On exposure to air, hydrogen peroxide’s extra oxygen molecule is released and the product becomes plain water. For skin prone to acne this extra oxygen molecule is capable of killing the bacteria that cause blemishes. Acne bacteria are anaerobic, meaning they don’t like oxygen. But because of the problems that stem from impacting the skin with a substance that is known to generate free-radical damage, other options need to be sought.”

-Paula Begoun

Together with the disclaimer that both products should be tested for 24 hours before full-scale use in case of irritation, prompted me to e-mail DC Collection.

In his reply, Thomas Cleve of DC Collection said that the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in their Remover is a lot under the regulation, which is 3% according to the FDA. We have had it tested for a long period of time, and no bad effect has been seen. Also the regulation of the EU has given us the full support.

Even if you continue to be a bit sceptic, you can always skip the Remover and let the Self-Tan fade as usual.

I have gotten hold of some samples and applied some tan a while ago and have yet to see results. Eventually I’ll apply the tan remover and keep you posted. Once it passes my “test” I’ll pass it on to our sponsor couple, Nick and Vicky, to try out before we decide to sell it or not.

If you are desperate for it, you can always get it through Chrisanne.