Rebecca-Anne Withey: Rose is in the final! Our top 10 Strictly moments this year

Tomorrow night, for the first time ever, we have a BSL-using deaf contestant in the final of Strictly Come Dancing and I, for one, cannot be more excited!

Rose Ayling-Ellis has done the deaf community proud this series and I must also applaud her professional partner Giovanni Pernice for being so adaptable and choreographing such awesome routines.

Everyone I meet seems to have a favourite dance or a top moment from this series. Whatever yours was, there was indeed an endless supply of talking points this year and so many of them came from our favourite couple – Team Rio!

So, here at The Limping Chicken we decided to compile our TOP TEN MOMENTS FROM ROSE to remind you of what an incredible series of Strictly it has been. If we’ve missed any out or if your favourite isn’t here – be sure to drop us a line and share!

Without further ado, here’s our round up..

1. When Rose got the first four 10’s of the series!

When Rose played the Snow Queen for Halloween week, she cast an icy spell over us all. Mesmerised by her performance, I was not surprised when the judges gave her the first full score of four 10’s in the series. Whether it was dance magic or witchcraft, I do not know but it was beautiful.

It was also the dance that inspired me to write this blog about Rose and Gio’s partnership. It was the first time I really saw Rose’s potential as a dancer and started to believe that she could perhaps win the whole thing.

2. Seeing ‘deaf applause’ being used!

From the first episode, I was amazed by how much deaf awareness the Strictly Come Dancing team appeared to have. Tess and Claudia would even throw in the odd sign each time they spoke to Rose.

Yet the first and most touching thing I was taken aback by was seeing the entire cast applaud Rose with the recognisable silent ‘deaf clap.’ As the cast, audience and judges waved their hands in the air, I felt they were sharing part of our world. I felt seen.

3. Seeing Rose’s deaf humour!

To be honest there were several moments when Rose’s fantastic sense of humour made itself known. Refreshingly honest and blunt, Rose is not afraid to say it how it is and we all chuckled when Claudia asked Rose to describe her Argentine Tango to which Rose replied, “Very close. Can smell your breath!”

Perhaps this down to earth, no airs and graces attitude is also why so many of the public have warmed to Rose so quickly.

4. Seeing deaf people from across our community on screen!

As well as enjoying Rose’s performances and post performance chats in BSL, we’ve seen countless deaf faces pop up; students from Heathlands school offering Rose support; Rose’s best friends sent a video from their honeymoon; Aimee from CBeebies went into the rehearsal rooms and Rose and Gio also visited Paula Garfield at Deafinitely Theatre.

As a community who rarely have enough representation on mainstream television, to see this many deaf people of all ages and backgrounds was just LOVELY!

5. When Rose and Gio became stars of social media!

In the beginning, there were complaints that Rose and Giovanni needed to use social media and interact with their fans more. Not ones to disappoint, the couple soon started uploading regular hilarious videos of their silly antics.

My favourite was when Rose tormented Gio with her fan and frightened him on several occasions as she whipped it out at him unknowingly!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rose Ayling-Ellis (@rose.a.e)

 

6. When Giovanni used British Sign Language on the dancefloor!

It’s one thing seeing a deaf contestant use BSL on screen, but its another thing completely when her hearing non-signing partner embraces the language and uses it to accompany a dance.

I just loved how Giovanni allowed Rose to express herself in her language and gave BSL the platform it really needs. Kudos to Gio for learning BSL! Thank you – thank you – thank you!

7. Rose’s leap of faith!

During Rose’s American Smooth she performed a lift that I’ve never seen before on Strictly. Diving into the air, she reached sideways to land in perfect position so that Giovanni would grab her hands and swing her around. If she was just a smidgen out of position she would have landed slap bang on her hip and… ouch. It wouldn’t have been pretty.

The leap really was a stomach in mouth moment – scary but also awesome. Everyone was talking about it! Fearless Rose!

8. The dance that secured Rose’s place in the final!

Rose’s final dance in order to win a place in the semi-final was a breathtaking Argentine Tango. I have to be honest, this dance really took me by surprise as here we saw serious, sensual Rose.

Slick kicks, precise lifts and faultless ganchos, it’s no wonder Craig said ‘that dance belongs in the final.’ And into the final she went – YAY!

9. The moment Strictly went silent!

Just the memory of this gives me goosebumps. It was perhaps the most talked about moment in Strictly ever, even picking up a television award for being THE moment of the year. It was, of course, during Rose’s Couples Choice routine when she and Giovanni danced part of the dance in silence.

It was a powerful ‘silent moment’ that sent a strong message – that Rose was deaf yet perfectly happy. It allowed hearing audiences to dive into a world of visual movement and embrace a different experience.

It represented so many things and specifically one thing for me – equality – as Giovanni gave Rose the opportunity to share her world and dance as she wished to, without the pressure of conforming to the music.

"In this dance we have a very special moment, and I'm doing it for the deaf community." 💖 So much power in the silence of Rose and Giovanni's routine. #Strictly @RoseAylingEllis @pernicegiovann1 pic.twitter.com/kW8OTggI5X

— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 13, 2021

10. When Rose said it was a ‘joy to be deaf.’

Such a simple statement with an extremely deep message.

Rose’s intention with this statement was to bring reassurance to hearing parents with newly diagnosed deaf babies. Rose also wanted to share her belief that being deaf hasn’t stopped her from doing anything.

Rose has embraced her deafness and is leading a healthy, happy, vibrant life. What an inspiration she is.

11. Whatever the final brings!

And so, if we had to write an 11^th moment perhaps it’s whatever happens tomorrow night. Maybe, just maybe…

 Rose wins the glitterball!?

Whatever happens tomorrow night, whether Rose wins, comes second or third, it’s been a wonderful journey for us all with so much awareness and laughter shared between us all. I truly hope that having Rose on Strictly may act as a catalyst for greater deaf awareness nationwide.

As the series comes to a close, I hope that it isn’t the end of an amazing experience for the deaf community but just the start of something great for us all going forwards.

Rose said she was going to do it for the deaf community, and she has.

On behalf of the Limping Chicken team, thank you Rose and good luck!

Rebecca x