‘NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER' – BRITAIN'S FAVOURITE ON-SCREEN DANCE MOMENTS

• Wednesday, 06 September 2006

~ Heart charity launches HeartBeat with GB wide poll ~

From dancing dare devils like Gene Kelly to the more ‘unique’ style of Ricky Gervais, us Brits love to watch the stars shake their stuff. Now a survey (1), carried out by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to launch its fundraising dance initiative HeartBeat, has revealed our favourite on-screen dance moments - and ‘we’ve had the time of our life’ choosing them with the last dance from ‘Dirty Dancing’ coming top.

Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey beat the competition hands down taking almost a third of the vote (28%) to win the dance moment trophy, forcing the dole queue dance from ‘The Full Monty’ into second place (14%). Third place is a dead heat with John Travolta and Uma Thurman in the dance contest in ‘Pulp Fiction’ sharing the spot with dance great Gene Kelly’s umbrella twirling performance in ‘Singing in the Rain’ (10%).

Although some dance pros command the top spots, Ricky Gervais’ toe-curlingly bad performance in ‘The Office’ (7%) out grooved top dancers such as John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (6%), Jamie Bell dancing into ballet school in ‘Billy Elliot’ (6%) and Fred and Ginger in ‘Top Hat’ (2%). Despite Peter Crouch’s best efforts though, we deemed him better suited to scoring goals than hitting the dance floor with only 4% rating his on-pitch robotic efforts as top-notch.

The survey results have been issued to launch HeartBeat 2006/7 - the BHF’s nationwide fundraising dance, exercise and movement initiative. Not only is it the perfect excuse to strut like the stars but you’ll also be helping the BHF to save and improve the lives of people with heart disease.

The BHF will send you an information pack containing all the tools you need to organise an event of any style at any time of the year. Maybe you’re part of an exercise group who could roll on those legwarmers and hold an aerobathon, or perhaps you have a keen bunch of friends ready to dosey-do at a barn dance or groove their stuff at a disco. You can also choose how to raise funds for the BHF - you could ask your group to get sponsored, charge an admission fee or hold a collection.

Beck Bayram, Events Manager at the BHF said: “We all love toe-tapping along as we watch the stars on-screen but why not get out of that armchair and throw some shapes yourself for the BHF. Dancing is a fun and social way to help your heart health too so why not request a HeartBeat pack today and get your feet moving to the beat for the BHF”.

For a HeartBeat information pack call 020 7487 7149, email heartbeat@bhf.org.uk or visit www.bhf.org.uk/heartbeat

-ENDS-

For more information please contact Karen Gray at the BHF press office on 0207 487 7172, email newsdesk@bhf.org.uk or 07764 290 381 (out of hours).

Notes to editors

- To view the winning moment why not visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIf24KSAU8o

- (1) Survey of 1,013 GB adults aged 16-64 carried out by TNS OnLineBus for the British Heart Foundation from 10 to 13 August 2006.

- The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is leading the battle against heart and circulatory disease - the UK's biggest killer. The Charity is a major funder and authority in cardiovascular research. It plays an important role in funding education, both of the public and of health professionals, and in providing life-saving cardiac equipment and support for rehabilitation and patient care.

-For more information on the BHF, visit bhf.org.uk.

Britain’s Favourite On-Screen Dance Moments

1) Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as Johnny and Baby in the last dance in ‘Dirty Dancing’

2) The dole queue dance in the ‘Full Monty’ where the five men dance spontaneously to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff

3) John Travolta and Uma Thurman as Mia and Vincent, in the dance contest in Pulp Fiction

4) Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood dancing to the title song from ‘Singing in the Rain’, while twirling an umbrella and splashing through puddles.

5) Ricky Gervais’ cringe-worthy performance in ‘The Office’

6) John Travolta as Tony Manero dancing to Night Fever in 'Saturday Night Fever’

7) Jamie Bell as ‘Billy Elliot’ dancing his way into ballet school

8) Peter Crouch’s robotic movements on the football pitch, summer 2006

9) Darren Gough winning ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 2006

10) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ dance sequences in ‘Top Hat’

This press release was distributed via Response Source, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of British Heart Foundation. For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires