Have you been watching the X Factor…. It’s always really entertaining isn’t it?
It always gets me thinking about the other family favourite created by the same ‘Simon Cowell’ Britain’s Got Talent! I always get the shows mixed up and I think sometimes so do the contestants.
My all time favourite contestants from BGT have got to be Ashleigh and Pudsey who won BGT in 2012. Do you remember the routine they did to ‘The Flintstones?’ It was brilliant.
I was lucky enough to meet them both when I worked on Simon Cowell’s film ‘Pudsey the Movie’ last summer. I was in a few scenes where I doubled the character of the baker. There was a slapstick scene where a car backed up into me, knocking me flying, lots of chaos as Pudsey ran around bashing into things and I ended up tumbling into a giant pie! The things you do for showbiz! It was a really fun film to work on.
Although Ashleigh wasn’t in the film, as it was Pudsey’s big moment, she was on the set every day as she is his trainer. I met up with her at the tea urn one day and asked her how she had managed to get Pudsey to do all the fantastic dance routines so well on Britains Got Talent . She said that she had been training dogs since she was 5 years old and that she didn’t get Pudsey until she was 11 so she was already experienced at dog training. When she got Pudsey she thought he was special and she loved training him. They went to dog school and entered competitions. She made up the routines herself and she spent every bit of her spare time training him. It just reinforces the fact that if you determinedly practice skills again and again, you will perfect them. Just like in the gym club.
A good friend of mine is the stunt coordinator Colin Skeaping. He is perhaps most well known for being the stunt double for the actor Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker in the ‘Star Wars’ films but he has worked on hundreds of TV programmes and films. I have worked with him on lots of projects including ‘28 Days Later,’ ‘Ultimate Force’ and ‘Midsomer Murders’ on which I have been murdered countless times! What he is not as well known for is his favourite hobby which is dog training! His dogs have been used in commercials, TV and films and in the musical ‘Annie’ where they have played the much loved ‘Sandy.’ He has also had his dogs shown on the top dog show ‘Crufts’ and he absolutely loves it. He says there are many similarities to the training and repetition required to train an animal to do routines as there are to teaching your own body the skills and agility needed for stunts, gymnastics, trampolining and stage combat. And the confidence gained from perfecting new skills, Colin says, is a huge bonus.
Spelbound
When you watch ‘Britain’s got Talent,’ And The X-Factor please do not be fooled. The acts that stand out are all seasoned professionals, usually having started out at an early age in their chosen talent. You don’t just wake up one day and discover that you can hula hoop with 40 hoops, find out that you can sing in close harmony with a group of your friends, or that you can throw your friends around and get them to land on your shoulders! I’m referring now to ‘Spelbound’ who won BGT in 2010. They were an acrobatic team and you probably remember them. One of the girls, Leanne Cowler, used to be one of our coaches for TeamGym at Flair. I know Simon Cowell wants you to think how clever he is by discovering all these unknowns but the truth is that most of the good acts are already making a living by working on the cabaret circuit! That being said, it’s still a great way to catapult an act into the public eye. People were really wowed by the spectacle of ‘Spelbound’ and it was great for gymnastics to hit a new audience and ‘Spelbound’ inspired lots of young people to try a new sport.
Our classes at Flair that members take part in run to a similar format that ‘Spelbound’ use, since members gain structured training that put them head and shoulders above the rest as we build on and consolidate foundational gymnastics AND life skills every single week during term time AND at holiday camps too! Pretty impressive stuff! I personally never wanted to miss my gymnastics classes when I was a child, I loved every second of them.
“So how can I tell if my child is talented?” I hear you ask. If you bring your child to a Flair club the expert coaches will find their unique talent and bring it out making them the best possible versions of themselves that they can be.
I believe that there is a whole lot of talent at Flair and with the dedication and tenacity that I have witnessed at the Flair clubs recently, Simon Cowell had better watch out because ‘Flair’s Got Talent!’
To join a Flair Gym club and start your gymnastics adventure book online here > www.ukflair.com/clubs
Or just call us on 01483 654440
Best wishes
Richard
Founder & CEO at Flair Gymnastics