Happy New Year!

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year! I wish you all happiness and success in 2010. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season. It was good to have a few weeks off, as the past couple of months have been busy with Strictly as you can imagine. I spent my holiday this year between the UK and LA. I had a lovely White Christmas, which was so beautiful, and it felt like I was at home in Russia. It brought back alot of childhood memories. I was also able to visit my mom in LA, and spend some time over there. I do not get to see her very much during the year, so I was so happy to be able to go. The weather there was warmer than here, and I came back to some cold, snowy weather on Monday morning, but I am excited to be back in London, as there is so much to look forward to. I have come back with a cold, which will hopefully go soon so I can focus fully on training, so I will be wrapping up warm!

As you know the tour begins on the 15th Jan. Our first stop is Manchester! I have the pleasure of partnering Mark Ramprakash, who won in series 4 when he partnered Karen Hardy. I have met Mark a few times before, so am really happy to have the chance to dance with him. I will keep you updated with all our news and progress over the next few weeks. We get to dance in some really beautiful places as well, as I love all the Cities accros the UK. I will take in as much sightseeing as possible on my travels. Some of you have messaged me to say you have tickets to some of the shows, and I am sure you will all have a great time, let me know how you enjoy it. I really enjoy hearing from you all, and thank you for your lovely Christmas and New Year messages, over the past few weeks. I am so touched that you took the time to write to me over the holidays, so thank you all so much!

You may have seen James Jordan and I on ' So you think you can dance'. It was great to be involved in the show, and to pass on some advice about Ballroom. I think it is a wonderful series, and I know it was a huge success in the USA so I am glad that Nigel Lythgoe has brought it over here, where I am sure it will continue to be a success, and inspire people to dance. There is some real talent on there, so I shall be watching. You will also be able to see the BBC3 series, ' Dancing on Wheels' very soon. This is going to be on early this year, once I have the exact dates I will post them on my web. I was so inspired by all the competitors on this show, and hopefully it will encourage people to get involved in Wheelchair dance, which is continuing to grow all over the World.

I do not have any more news to report at the moment, as It is all training for the tour and preparing for spending some weeks on the road. I will then be touring with Brian again, so I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Once again, Happy 2010!

Kristina x