Well 2017 has been an interesting year for me and I don't mind saying, I'm happy to see the back of it!
As you may know I started off the Year having an exciting time at
Twitter UK in London, working on their Live Video Strategy. Later on in the
year I developed some new products for my TV Production company and continued to
increase my property education and asset management as well as building my
power team to help me seek out and maximize new local opportunities in the West London area.
Having said that, I still felt things had not been happening
quickly enough for me and so I had to take action to turn things round.
New lessons learnt included letting go of some old friends
and finding some new ones. I’ve cast aside some old attitudes too which allowed
me to focus more intensely on my new goals and new vision for myself and my
future at my brand new office based at The Workary in West London.
With that in mind I plan on 2018 being very exciting, and
full steam ahead.
There are lots of things on the horizon which I finally get
to see bear fruit. There will be a brand new Website and I will be reaching out to you soon to see if you would
like to stay in touch via email. If you do choose to do so you will find out
about new courses,new meetups and new opportunities to invest in the London
area.
As my friends, colleagues, mentors and greatest assets, I hope that
you too will all choose to stay in touch and that you will share with me this
time for reflection and goal setting for the year ahead.
I do hope that you all have a wonderful 2018, get some
proper achievable goals in place, stay energized, determined, and surround
yourself with some heavy hitting, prize-fighting dedicated people (like myself)
who will breath nothing but positivity into your life (and business) and help
you to achieve your dreams.
Wishing you the greatest success for 2018
Yours Sincerely
Michelle Brooks
P.S. If you would like to discuss investing in West London
or just want to chew the fat over a coffee feel free to drop me a line. I’d
love to hear from you.
Ok so the dancing has started and we now have four unbelievable
Finalists to enjoy.
So who will be your Strictly Come Dancing Winner 2017? We
size up the competition thus far to see if we can predict who will lift this
year’s glitterball Trophy.
Gemma Atkinson
Will it be the down to earth and fun loving Gemma Atkinson
who braved 4 am starts and glaring tomboyishness to turn from a duck to a swan?
Pros:
She delighted us with her American Smooth and has grown
steadily week on week.
Cons:
Has not had as many of those “Wow” moments that we would
expect from a Strictly Winner but certainly has one of the most endearing
relationships with her partner Alijaz.
Debbie McGee:
Could our Winner be the elegant Debbie“flexi”-McGee with her
endless legs, fearless lifts, elegance and energy of someone half her age?
Pros:
From Fiesty in the Argentine Tango to Dreamy in her American
Smooth some say Debbie has invigorated and inspired up and down the
country.Entering the contest two years
after the sad loss of her magician husband Paul Daniels she is one of the oldest
Strictly Finalists at 59 and her winning could really be a Strictly
breakthrough.
Cons:
Some of her Latin
dances have been a little lumpy with her Jive to “Spice up your Life” seeing
her end up in the bottom two at Blackpool. Also as an Ex-Professional ballet dancer
with her own dance company some say she was bound to be good at dancing and the
title should go to someone with more of a “journey.”
Joe McFadden
Holby Actor Joe McFadden has certainly provided that “Journey”
and charmed the strictly audience being the only finalist so far to not end up
in the bottom two.
Pros:
His relationship with Katya Jones has meant we have been
treated to some truly unique choreography and a gradual confidence and progress
that has had him dubbed by Shirley Ballas “Detailed Joe” and the “Dark Horse”
of the competition. His Samba to "Money Money" and the ending of his Semi Final Argentine Tango got the
country talking and people are genuinely considering him as the one to beat.
Cons:
His development has come quite late and he has had less
exciting routines then some of the stars. Also how surprising really is his Strictly
success when you consider he has previously performed in well known West End Musicals
such as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Rent” ?
Alexandra Burke
With the rockiest “Journey” of the series Alexandra has gone
up and down the leader board and been the chalk and cheese act of the series.
Coming to the series fresh after the death of her Mother, Soul 2 Soul Singer
Melissa Bell Alexandra been the biggest revelation. She has had the most 39s of the series and astounded the
judges week after week. She has also provided the most conversation and
controversy throughout the series and could walk away with the title but only if
she is able to silence her numerous critics.
Pros;
Stand out performances aplenty include her Jive to “Proud
Mary”, “American Smooth to “Wouldn’t It Be Luvverly” and her fierce Argentine
Tango to the Gotan Project which certainly brought fire to the Series.
Cons:
Despite an amazing routine on Musicals week, Alexandra ended
up in the bottom two for the second time meaning her followers seem less loyal.
Sadly with online trolls also questioning
her sincerity, dramatic reactions and quick flowing tears it remains to be seen
whether she can kick, flick and twirl her way to the top and again into the
nations hearts.
Whatever tonight’s results the show dances promise to be a
real treat and the competition will certainly be a tight one. I for one will certainly
miss this cracking series and will be said to see it end.
People will always vote for their favourites and that may
not have anything to do with the dancing. Still let’s hope we see the best performances
all round and that this year we get a true winner who has entertained the whole
series and is worthy of this amazing trophy.
Alexandra the Queen (Why this Weekend I'm backing Alexandra!)
Back in 2010 I wrote Produced and Directed a show called “Brides and
Prejudice” about Single Black Women and the perceptions of them in the media.
The show aired on a Black Entertainment Channel on Sky called OH TV, Sky
199 .
In the trailer a single Black woman is soul searching her reasons for not
finding a man and heard to ask “Am I too romantic?, “ Am I too sexy?... “ Am I
too… Independent?” The woman is shown "left on the shelf"
seemingly she is to blame for her plight as being un-loveable and unwanted.
It is a truth universally acknowledged...
“Brides and Prejudice” tackled the topic of diversity and
relationships and aired in 2010. Back then we were used to not seeing many
examples of black women on TV and it was no surprise that when we saw them they
were usually boxed into stereotypes.
Jane Austen once wrote, "It is a truth universally acknowledge that a
man of good fortune must surely be in want of a wife." However it is also
a universally acknowledged truth that black women of good looks, good talent
and in the public eye must be seen to be humble and know their place. It soon
became clear to me that this old fashioned way of thinking had not entirely
gone away and had reared it's ugly head on BBC TV.
Fastforward seven years on from that show and I’m watching the talented,
vivacious and athletic X-Factor Winner, Alexandra Burke, killing it again with
a fantastic Charleston routine with her partner Gorka Marquez on the BBC 1
primetime Juggernaut Strictly Come Dancing.
Supercalifragilistic...
Alexandra Burke’s performance to "Supercalifragilistic" was
exactly that. Fast footwork, kicks, flips, endless energy and even Judge
Revel-Horwood had to admit, “Your swivels are even better than Gorker’s
dahling”! And yet there she was, for the second week running, down in the
Dance Off!
As a black woman myself I have long been brought up with the knowledge that
I had to be ten times as good as the next person to get ahead - in business, in
school, in life. However to see someone as clearly talented and high profile as
Alexandra in that same position in 2017 ironically in a “reality” TV show
really made me think.
Wasn't this the same hideously uneven playing field again. Was she too sexy?
Too emotional, too good too soon?
Previously Alexandra had slayed the opposition with her detailed and steamy
Salsa and that fantastic and feel good Jive as early as week 4. Still online
voices felt the need to draw attention to the fact that she cried when praised
or given high scores as if she should be arrogant and "As if she doesn't
know she's good? Why should she? She's never danced Ballroom or Latin before
and never been on the show before.
When she started receiving 10s, that too was seen as a problem.
"Couldn't she just make a mistake and get booted out?" One Twitter
troll lamented!
So did Alexandra peak too soon, or is there a problem with
people's expectations of women, in particular black women, in the Media? Should
we all just play nice and quietly, not enjoy ourselves too much, or be too loud
or too confident?
Alexandra's routines have been marked down on several occasions and she is
doing more then many of her peers but maybe her journey on Strictly was always
destined to beat the same path as so many other black contestants on reality
TV?
Emotional
For someone who has only recently lost her mother Alexandra Burke’s Jive
performance is even more remarkable. How is she able to do that, I wonder? I
suppose she can only be channeling her grief and energy into the dance in a bid
to distract herself from the realities of her sad loss.
And yet some people in the media, online and even it seems on the set of
Strictly itself seem keen to highlight Alexandra’s flaws as being
"emotional" in an attempt to drag her down further and perhaps get
more attention for themselves online.
"Why is she always crying?" they ask. "How can she possibly
not believe how good she is?" "Her tears are fake." She's not
wiping anything away." These nasty comments say more about the people
trolling the star then Burke herself and it seems that even the press with
their bully boy tactics are wading in.
"Stories" resurface about comments she made seven years ago on TV
and supposed backstage feuds appear to paint her as the proverbial, "black
bitch." The only problem being no one including her colleagues and dance
partner want to back up those stories. The people leaking the "headline
news" are nowhere to be seen, but sadly mud sticks.
Is becoming upset or having a “meltdown” when you’re in the bottom two
again, really “news”? As a creative I don’t believe it is. Many creative people
are hardworking, perfectionists and fiery! They want to do well and they care.
Thank God for those people who do push boundaries and who DO NOT SETTLE! Thank
God Alexandra cares enough to work hard and treat us to these great
performances week after week.
When you add all Alexandra’s achievements to the fact that no one else on
the show has had to endure this level of criticism if really makes me question
how enlightened people really are towards race and talent in the entertainment
industry. This Campaign of spite has been really remarkable for a wholesome
show like “Strictly”.
Musical Advantage
Alexandra “haters” cite the fact that Alexandra Burke has “appeared in
musicals” and yet they fail to mention that Sister Act and The
Bodyguard did not feature Latin or Ballroom in either. In addition to
this the actor Joe McFadden has previously appeared in Rent and
Chitty Chitty Bang and we’re supposed to simply marvel at his
unbelievable performance, skill and improvement. Molly King lovely though
she is, is from girl band The Saturdays and yet we never hear
how much extra experience she has in her day job. Instead we are fed the
“she’s done three hundred hours of rehearsal” line. Personally, I believe all
the dancers in the Semi-Final are committed and telling me how many hours you
rehearsed one dance just makes me wonder how you will keep that up when required to do
two or even three dances in the final! Debbie McGee at 59 is a fine
example of fitness and flexibility and even though troll persist in reminding
whoever will listen about her ballet training. But even that pales into
insignificance when compared to what Alexandra has been exposed to.
People say “we just don’t warm to her,” and they “just can’t put their
finger on why?” Well I have a few ideas why and I’d suggest it’s mainly down to
a mixture of the stories circulated and their own limiting beliefs about what
is natural and unnatural behaviour in women.
People state they want
"someone likeable" to win. What makes someone likeable? Can't
passion, dedication and talent be likeable? Or do we really want another Chris
Hollinsworth (lovely but average) Strictly Winner?
Fake or Real?
Alexandra’s “haters” say she is “fake” for expressing emotion when she has
only recently lost her mother and also when everything you have ever seen of
Alexandra – including her win on X-Factor -shows her to be an emotional girl.
It seems to me that black women are not supposed to show emotion. Unless of
course it’s emotion deemed acceptable to certain members of the British public.
We’re allowed to be comical and bubbly like the adorable Chizzy Akodulu but not
so confident that we inspire envy amongst others and actually might want to
win.
As both a feminist and a lover of dance, I am tired of seeing a talented
woman, quick to pick up routines clearly incredibly passionate about dance
being boxed in and vilified for it. There’s nothing wrong with caring, wearing
your heart on your sleeve and being good at what you do.
Also when it comes to emotion why should she tone it down? Is it seriously
all about “stiff upper lip”? And if so why? Black culture is not known for
playing small and why should Alexandra have to change her behaviour? How does
that serve the show or even Diversity which the BBC professes to care so much
about? With Chizzy Akodulu, Aston Merrygold, and Oti Mabuse also out of the
picture will Alexandra now be under pressure to hide her real emotions and if
so is this not MORE fake then her just being her natural self?
The Strictly experience will be over in two weeks and all this drama will
just be a memory. So called newspapers like “The Sun” and the “Daily Mail” who
reported Alexandra’s “furious” arguments with her dance partner Gorka Markez
(who recently went on record as saying how much “fun” they have together during
rehearsals and how she “makes his life easy”) will be clamouring for interviews
and then we'll see who's fake and who's real. I for one hopes she tells them
where to go.
Having looked at Alexandra and Gorka’s performances thus far it’s clear to
me that a Strictly final would not be worth watching without Alexandra and
Gorka in it. They have brought fire and excitement to this year’s show and we
they audience would be the poorer without it.
Yes Alexandra Burke is a great dancer and makes it LOOK effortless and
natural but does that mean that it IS effortless or that she did not work hard
to make it look so, and therefore should NOT win the show? Strictly cannot have
an entire show of people who lack musicality and struggle to improve until Semi
Final week. I for one wouldn’t still be watching if that were the case and the
BBC wouldn’t have a series. Reality TV needs a good mix for it to be
watchable TV.
Having said that, Oti Mabuse choreographed and danced some amazing routines
with her partner Danny Mac in Strictly 2016. By rights they should have
definitely walked off with the title and yet they were cruelly pipped at the
post by a late bloomer.
So this Saturday, will you sit back and watch another travesty happen again?
I know what I'll be doing. Standing up for the Queen!
Michelle Brooks is a Writer, Producer and
Founder of Production Company @ShowpatrolUK She has featured in the TV
Documentaries “Brides and Prejudice”, “Why Should I Get Married?” and Produced
the TV Series “Black Women in the Media” which received 9.2 million views when
it streamed online.
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