Dance expert on how Strictly’s blind contestant Chris McCausland rehearses routines

Chris McCausland’s Strictly debut featured twists, lifts, slides and quick-footed steps, none of which are unusual for the BBC show, though this time there was one striking difference – he’s the dance competition’s first blind contestant.The 47-year-old’s energetic cha cha to the Beatles’ hit version of Twist and Shout wowed the judges and impressed fans.Even experts like Rashmi Becker, who runs ballroom dancing classes for blind people at Step Change Studios, were stunned.“I was really impressed, I was blown away actually,” she said. “To those of us with sight, we learn visually, and we pick up visual cues. So to be able to do the tricks and stunts he did requires a really good understanding of timing and rhythm and understanding that movement and connection with his partner, so for his first week he did brilliantly.”Becker said that McCausland would probably have used physical cues from his partner, Dianne Buswell, to work out where to move, and that she in…