Ultimate Strictly

PASO DOBLE

History

The Paso doble is a dramatic interpretation in dance of the matador facing a bull in the traditional bullring, and originated in southern Spain. Paso doble translates as 'two step', and developed from the march at the start of a bullfight. The Paso doble is the dance in which the story telling element is crucial to its success.

The dance

The man plays the role of the matador, while the woman will need to play not only the cape, but also the bull, and sometimes a flamenco dancer. Above all, the Paso doble should be dramatic and intense - the dancers must commit to the attitude of the dance.

The dance should include strong, dramatic walks, with apels (a strong stamp of the foot), with elements of flamenco in the footwork. Because of the dramatic nature of the Paso doble, postures and lines are extremely important, so expect to see strong arms and hands, as well as very masculine toreodors.

Both the men and woman will have bold costumes, with men often wearing a bolero jacket like the matadors in the bullring. Unusually for latin dances, the woman's dress will sometimes be a full length dress, but with a wide flowing skirt to allow them to mimic the look of the cape, and will almost always be a strong, bold colour such as deep blood red, black, electric purple or a striking plain white.

The judges in Strictly Come Dancing will be looking for attitude - intense, strong, aggressive, whilst always maintaining the story of the bullfight.

The best of Strictly

The first perfect score of series nine was awarded to a fantastic paso doble from Chelsee Healey. In a striking contemporary dress, Chelsee and her partner Pasha gave a very traditional but beautifully executed routine, danced to the song "Malaguena" with beautiful characterisation and a fantastic flamenco section, the judges couldn't fault her and gave her four perfect 10s. IT wsa Craig's first 10 of the series, calling it "Paso personified".

Not far behined, were Austin & Erin in series six scored three 10's and a total of 38 points for their routine to 'Espana Cani'. Holly danced in series 9 with Artem, and it was during Movie Week that they danced to the theme from the film, The Mask of Zorro and Holly received her first two 10s of the series and her highest score to date of 38 points, with Alesha praising her perfect hands and arms and Bruno dubbing Holly a Spanish sorceress.

Jill & Darren also danced to 'Espana Cani' in their semi-final dance in series 2, earning her first 10 of the series from Arlene, who for many years after cited it as the best paso doble she'd seen on Strictly. They scored a total of 37 points for the routine.

The worst of Strictly

There have been some terrible Paso doble routines in Strictly history, probably the most often mentioned, is Chris & Hanna from series one, where at one point Chris runs around the ballroom with arms aloft hold the cape over his head. Unsurprisingly, they received only 15 points.

Probably the most disappointing dance also came in series 1 from Verona & Paul. Due to work and personal commitments, Verona's training hours were limited during the week they danced the paso, and Paul made up for it by taking control of the dance himself, with a bare upper torso the cape wound around his waist to start, he gave a fantastic demonstration of paso cape work and dancing while leaving Verona stood on the side of the dancefloor clapping in time to the music. The judges commented and awared them only 24 points, while the audience noticed and voted them out of the competition that week.

Scores for all Paso Doble performances:

*Arlene Phillips judged series one to six, while Alesha Dixon judged series 7 onwards.
**Len Goodman did not judge Series 9 Week 6 and actress Jennifer Grey took his place.