Strictly New Challenges

It seems to me that the best way to keep work fresh when you get to my age is to do new things. Or rather perhaps package the things you do in a new way and do them with new people.

This last week I had the chance to do both. A little bit of pod cast directing on Tuesday morning, followed by a visit to see the National youth Theatre in the Old Vic tunnels in “Our Days Of Rage" on Tuesday evening. For the most part excellently staged, it had a cast whose commitment and focus was second to none. The sort of thing that the National Youth Theatre does best of all. I have my doubts about the play itself, but thanks to some brilliant staging and the sheer energy of the performers it was an exciting evening in the theatre.

Wednesday saw me up early,  out and at the Cafe De Paris to host “Voice of McDonald's 2011". This is McDonald's own version of “The X factor" and is open to all their crew members all over the world. On Wednesday morning we were having the UK finalists competing, and then the UK winner went on in the afternoon to take part in the European Northern division final against Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Ireland. My day had everything. Funny judges, crying contestants, those moments when you feel that you really ought to look away while someone is singing, and the chance to meet some really great young people. After a closely fought battle Sweden took away the ultimate prize with an exceptionally professional rendition of a new pop song that had been specially composed for the competition. Perhaps it was all just a little bit too smooth, but the Swedish winner, a girl with a name that was largely unpronounceable, will go on now to compete in the semifinals, and hopefully the finals, in Orlando in April 2012.

As I left the post competition drinks to meet up with Rich for an early dinner at his club on Shaftesbury Avenue  I noticed how quickly the nights seemed to have drawn in of late. Winter nights mean strictly one thing in our house. Or should that be winter nights mean one thing in our house, and that's  “Strictly".

I love the whole Saturday night variety feel of the show.  A superb orchestra with brilliant singers  and the chance to watch people learn a skill and actually improve over the weeks, unless of course they are Ann Widdecombe.  Mercifully she's not competing this year, though the current applicant for the Widow Twankey role  seems to be Edwina Currie, judging by the launch show and her behaviour on it.

On Thursday and Friday I had the great pleasure of working with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, two former winners of "Strictly Come Dancing".  We were doing some work together on presentation techniques. Neither Darren nor Lilia are in the current line up for “Strictly"  but they are exceptionally busy performing all over the world in their live show and increasingly on other television programmes. They've just hosted and co-produced the Turkish version of “Strictly Come Dancing" (Yok Boyle Dans!) and are now involved in a whole host of other enterprises.  They wanted to take a couple of days to refresh and revitalise their presenting skills. Skills they have picked up along the way but have never really had any formal training in. I had a one-to-one session with each of them and then on Friday morning I took them both out filming with a crew. We had a ball. Both of them have that amazing dancers vitality and energy that is such a pleasure to be in the company of. As dancers they are both very quick learners and this ability to pick things up very quickly seemed to extend to almost everything they do. They have no problem with the idea of  practising to get things right and their work discipline is absolutely phenomenal.

As a result we all had great fun  and I think the results will please us all.

New people, new challenges, new experiences. There are sometimes when I do tend to shy away from them thinking that the familiar and the known are comfortable. Yet every time I do something new I get enjoyment from it.

Lesson learnt I think!