I'm back! This is going up a little later than usual, and that's because I'm involved in Wonder Trade Wednesday (if you're a Pokemon fan then you'll know what I mean). So the blog will now go up on Thursday nights instead - hopefully.
So as a little recap, last week saw Fiona & Anton flying out of the competition after losing out to Mark & Iveta in the dance-off.
This week, it's 'strict and picky marking'. Bit late for that isn't it? Some awful song choices as always, some iffy bits of choreography (and not from Ola or Kristina this week! That's a miracle), and some strange wardrobe choices - it could only mean that Strictly was on!
Susanna & Kevin - Cha Cha Cha - "Hound Dog"
Kevin's second dance with iffy choreography, and he basically rehashed the first one. Yep, this was just a reworking of their Samba. From the shout of 'Kevin!' at the start, to the pose-y hair and hip-ography throughout. Now although I do know about some technical stuff, straight vs bent legs isn't one of them, so I'm not going to say anything about that. What I can say is that Susanna is now rivalling Natalie in the race for the 'Best Gurner' Award. The faces aren't needed. Hopefully she can come back with the Quickstep this weekend.
Judges' score: 31/40 (7, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 5.5
Ashley & Ola - Waltz - "I Will Always Love You"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Colin & Erin's Waltz in series 3) Now this I loved. It reminded me of Abbey & Aljaz's week 1 Waltz a little - seemed similar in terms of the mood and the style of the routine. I can see what the judges meant about Ashley's head - but for me, it's not necessarily it tilting to the right that is the problem (although he did do it sometimes), it's that most of the time, his head position is near enough upright. He's probably the most improved celeb and if only he had more training time then he could be getting 10s easily. He's got the Rumba this weekend, a dance where a male celeb has never got 10s (Colin Jackson and Harry Judd getting 36). Somehow I don't think Ashley will be making history there.
Judges' score: 35/40 (8, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 8
Natalie & Artem - Tango - "Where Have You Been"
This was definitely overmarked. Natalie's head position wasn't quite right, she stumbled through some of the steps, and the whole thing lacked the drama and passion that you're supposed to get from the Tango. I'm not sure whether it was just the song choice, or if Artem's choreography didn't help with trying to deliver that passion and attack. I don't know, I just felt that it all could have looked much stronger. Added to that, the first 30 seconds was basically a Paso Doble section. I wonder if Natalie might be struggling a bit in the votes, as really, both her Viennese Waltz and this Tango didn't fulfill the brief, and yet they get 10s for that. She's got the American Smooth this weekend, so I'm expecting practically none of it to be in hold (that, and one of the lifts looks really messy and again would most likely put strain on her back), and for them to still get 3 or 4 10s for it.
Judges' score: 37/40 (9, 9, 9, 10)
My score: 7 (she danced it well for the most part, but the atmosphere was severely lacking)
Mark & Iveta - Foxtrot - "It's A Beautiful Day"
I love this couple, but you can tell that this has been a hard week for Mark. His head position was pretty much the same as Ashley's, he practically stood still for part of the routine, and you just didn't get the sense that he was enjoying this one. He looked as though he was really concentrating sometimes and it's the first time that I felt as though something was missing in his performance. He's got the Samba this week, and I think he just needs to go for it like he did with his Jive, as it's almost a certainty that he'll be in the dance-off again.
Judges' score: 28/40 (6, 8, 7, 7)
My score: 4.5
Sophie & Brendan - Rumba - "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Craig & Flavia's Rumba from series 7) I agree with Brendan about a Rumba not needing to be raunchy, but the performance did feel a little flat. I do think there was some chemistry there, but it went on and off. Sophie really needs to get completely into the performance side of a dance, she had it in some parts, but then lost it soon after. She should take a leaf out of Deborah's book and ask Mark for a couple of tips. I also felt that she needed to accentuate things a little more, extend those lines and hold the positions for a little longer, and that may have helped her. She's got the Viennese Waltz this time, and as Ballroom is definitely her stronger suit, I expect her to do well with it.
Judges' score: 31/40 (7, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 6
Ben & Kristina - Charleston - "No Diggity"
I really loved the music to this (I know it's effectively a re-working of a hip-hop track, but it worked really well), and I thought Kristina excelled herself with this routine. That's more like it. It looked as though something went wrong coming out of the second lift, and Ben's footwork was a bit lacking in energy. That being said, it all went wrong in the dance-off. Ben was seriously out of sync with Kristina practically all the way through, and I kind of wish that the performances went the other way round so that Ben could go out on a high.
Judges' score: 27/40 (6, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 5.5
Abbey & Aljaz - Paso Doble - "You Got The Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Zoe & James' Paso in series 7) Strange choice of dress for Abbey, it didn't really suit the Paso Doble and looked more like a Ballroom dress. Bad choice of music too. But where this differs from Natalie & Artem's dance is that the routine did have attack and passion - ok, so it might have looked a bit soft in some places, but overall I think Abbey did a really good job with this and a great routine from Aljaz. She's got the Salsa on Saturday, and I'm fearing the worst. Her fast Latin dances haven't been good so far, so she really needs to up her game if she wants this one to go any better. I can see her being in the dance-off with Mark in all honesty.
Judges' score: 32/40 (8, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 7.5
Patrick & Anya - Viennese Waltz - "A New Day Has Come"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Chris & Ola's Viennese Waltz from series 7) A bit hit and miss. Anya usually does a good job with the choreography, but not this week. Patrick doesn't look right when doing standing spins for some reason, so having 2-3 of them in the routine didn't help him. The spin and the running splits at the end weren't needed either (she's no Natalie Lowe hehe). I did check but I'm pretty sure that Anya's foot didn't come off the floor in that ending spin. He was doing so well but the end just spoiled it a bit for me. He's got the Charleston this week, and from what I've seen so far, it looks good, really good.
Judges' score: 32/40 (8, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 7
So here's my leaderboard for the week:
1. Ashley & Ola - 8
2. Abbey & Aljaz - 7.5
=3. Natalie & Artem - 7
=3. Patrick & Anya - 7
5. Sophie & Brendan - 6
=6. Susanna & Kevin - 5.5
=6. Ben & Kristina - 5.5
8. Mark & Iveta - 4.5
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