Check out the recorded versions available for two of the three waltzes danced in Strictly Come Dancing Week 2 – the rhythm and tempo are perfect for dancing a Slow Waltz:-

‘See The Day’ (Waltz – Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani) – The Best dance of the night! The original by Dee C Lee (30 bpm) and also the cover version by Girls Aloud (31 bpm) are ideal for a Slow Waltz.

‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ (Waltz – Anthony Ogogo and Oti Mabuse). This song, originally recorded by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (31bpm), is a good choice and the hit version recording by Simply Red (32bpm) is an extremely popular Slow Waltz tune.

The third Waltz of the night was ‘Georgia On My Mind” (Georgia May Foote and Gionvanni Pernice). This song is mostly associated with the cover version by Ray Charles but recorded by very many artists; these recordings are generally not suitable for a Waltz.

The two salsas of the night were danced to ‘Don’t Touch My Tomatoes’ (Ainsley Harriott & Natalie Lowe) and ‘Can’t Touch It’ (Kirsty Gallacher and Brendan Cole). The first is a cheeky Calypso song, with a Samba rhythm, by Josephine Baker and the original version of the second by Ricki Lee Coulter is a popular choice for Quickstep.

Katie Derham and Anton Du Beke danced the International Tango to ‘Telephone’. The original by Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce is a popular party choice for West Coast Swing or Cha Cha.

We had two Charleston performances and one Quickstep for which there are very appropriate recordings available. Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko – Charleston to ‘Pencil Full Of Lead’. The original by Paolo Nutini (53bpm) is a popular choice for Quickstep, Charleston and fast Swing dances.

Daniel O’Donnell and Kristina Rihanoff – Charleston to ‘Let’s Misbehave’. This song written by Cole Porter was a hit for Irving Aaronson and his Commanders and an excellent choice for a Charleston. A more recent version from the soundtrack of the film “Easy Virtue” is perfect for Quickstep as well as Charleston.

Peter Andre and Janette Manrara – Quickstep to ‘Valerie’. This was originally released by The Zutons but for dancing a Quickstep we prefer the recording by Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse (53bpm).

Carol Kirkwood and Pasha Kovalev – American Smooth to ‘Isn’t This A Lovely Day’. Many artists have made recordings of this song which was written by Irving Berlin for the film Top Hat, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; many of which are ideal for a Foxtrot.

The second American Smooth song was ‘Happy Together’ (Jeremy Vine and Karen Clifton). The original sung by The Turtles (30bpm) is good but our favourite for a Slow Foxtrot is the cover version by Peter Grant (30bpm).

Four couples danced a Cha Cha:-
Helen George and Aljaz Skorjanec – Cha Cha to Uptown Girl. The original by Billy Joel and the cover version by Westlife (both 32bpm) are both really good popular Cha Cha tunes.

Iwan Thomas and Ola Jordan – Cha Cha to ‘Sexy And I Know It’. The original by LMFAO (33bpm) is a popular workout (warm-up) track.

Jamelia and Tristan McManus – Cha Cha to ‘Don’t Cha’. The original by Pussycat Dolls (feat Busta Rhymes) (30bpm) is very popular for dancing Cha Cha and West Coast Swing.

Kellie Bright and Kevin Clifton – Cha Cha to ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’. This Motown Style duet, a massive No1 hit for Elton John & Kiki Dee (33bpm), is a good choice for a Cha Cha.

(*bpm = bars per minute)