Yep, I'm going to attempt to get this week's blog done in just 1 sitting! Normally I have time on Sunday/Monday mornings to get the 2 parts up, but that's not the case this week so I'm giving myself just under 4 hours to do it all tonight.
Last time, we saw Jennifer & Tristan exit stage left as they lost out to Simon & Kristina in the dance-off in Movie Week. This week, no theme but we still have unflattering costumes, strange song choices, and conspiracies of overmarking. Now before I get into the blog, I just wanted to add that I try and guess the scores after each dance. I was either spot-on, or just the odd mark or two away for all of them except 2 couples - and for these 2 I was about 4 marks under what they actually got.
Btw, I absolutely loved Claudia's dress from last night, and the one she has on tonight (the results show has just come on whilst I'm writing this) is nice too. Well done to her stylist - wardrobe would never do anything as nice as that.
Frankie & Kevin - Cha Cha Cha - "Call Me Maybe"
Frankie has said all week that she's been struggling with this dance, so I wasn't getting my hopes up too much. But seeing as this was the opener, I thought 'this must be pretty good then'. Sadly, I think the song hindered her - it's a bit stop-starty, which meant that she lost her flow a bit. I noted the hip-swinging move with Kevin was lifted from Kara & Artem's Cha Cha Cha - not a bad comparison, and they got similar scores, but considering this was 3 weeks later, I was expecting a bit better from Frankie. She didn't always fully extend in her arm lines, and she seems a bit uncomfortable when spinning. Her leg action wasn't completely there either, but on the whole, I think she did well. I'm surprised that this was the dance she struggled with though, I would have thought the Charleston might have been more of a challenge for her. Hopefully she'll have a lovely Ballroom for next week, something like a Foxtrot or American Smooth will get her her mojo back.
Judges' scores: all 8s for a total of 32/40.
My score: 7.5
Mark & Karen - Quickstep - "Tiger Feet"
I wasn't expecting much of this, as Mark's been ill this week, and this is the first quick dance he's had. I have to say though, I was impressed. Mark kept up well, only a bit of skipping, and he looked pretty good. He just needs to maintain his hold when he's travelling - as he's hunching over a little and his shoulders go up sometimes. His footwork was great though, particularly in the Charleston section. If anything, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Karen was almost underdancing it. Mark seemed to put a lot more energy into it than she did, especially towards the end. Give him a Salsa or Samba next week and we can see if he's improved his Latin to the standard of his Ballroom.
Judges' scores: 7, 7, 7, 8 for a total of 29/40.
My score: 7.5
Judy & Anton - Tango - "Jealousy"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Alesha & Matthew in series 5*
I think I remember this being Alesha's Tango song back in series 5 (will edit with the alerts soon). The floor throw was awful, but apart from that, it was one of her better dances. Her hold was seriously improved, that hand tucked into Anton's armpit was perfect pretty much all of the way through. All she needs to do now is keep that other arm locked as it looked a bit loose in places, and to move her head slightly more to the left, and tilt it a bit more. Her footwork seemed decent too, and that leap into Anton's arms at the end was fantastic. She has Charleston next week, god help her.
Judges' scores: 4, 6, 6, 6 for a total of 22/40
My score: 5.5
Simon & Kristina - Charleston - "My Old Man Said Follow the Van"
Loved the singers on this one. Not sure if Kristina was overdancing or if Simon just lacked a bit of energy - now it was so much better than his Tango and Rumba, but not quite up there with his week 1 Jive for me. Loved the choreography too - Simon just needed to put some more energy into it and it would have been fantastic. He had a couple of moments where it looked as if he wasn't entirely sure of the next step, and the ending to that last lift was messy (but it was choreographed that way so I can't really blame him for that one. He can do the fast dances no problem, but he seems to overdo the control in the slower dances, so I want him to have a go at a slower Ballroom next week, something like a Waltz or a Foxtrot so he can prove to us that he is able to up his standard on the slower dances.
Judges' scores: 7, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 31/40
My score: 7.25
Alison & Aljaz - Samba - "Bootylicious"
Everyone knows by now that I love this pair, so I'm trying my best to not be biased. This was a lot better than her Jive last week, and that's why she got the marks she did (this was one of the ones that I correctly predicted) - not really overmarking as such. She got into the performance as she always does, and that is something that not many people can get right (taking this week as an example - Frankie and Caroline looked a bit uncomfortable during their routines). Her footwork is dodgy, but she has the right idea and just can't complete it technically at the moment. Tango for her next week, and we know she can do serious (somewhat) from her Foxtrot, so I have my fingers crossed for her.
Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 27/40
My score: 6
Scott & Joanne - American Smooth - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
If he can't look good doing a slower dance like this, then there isn't much hope for him. After this, there's not much hope for him. I'll give him a little bit of credit and say that the lifts were great, but apart from that, there was just so much wrong with it that I'd be here all day describing what went wrong. Just give him a Charleston and get him out then. Oh yes, I liked Joanne's choreography this week.
Judges' scores: 2, 5, 4, 4 for a total of 15/40
My score: 2.5 (but I guessed it would be about 4s)
Steve & Ola - Salsa - "Jump in the Line"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Anita & Robin in series 9*
I've always liked Steve, he's seriously good for a total non-dancer. Well, it's a Salsa, so we knew with Steve's upper body strength that the lifts would be good. As Craig said, that 'around-the-world' lift was awesome. He seemed to have some trouble getting Ola in position for the overhead lift at the end, but after that shaky start it was great. Ola's predictable choreography came back this week with the knee slide at the beginning, I'm just surprised that there were no pivots to go with it, or the starfish. Steve did well with a difficult dance, but the problem for me was that they seemed to be dancing too slow to the music, that dance needed to be sped up a little.
Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 27/40
My score: 6.25
Pixie & Trent - Rumba - "Stay With Me"
I didn't really connect with Pixie this dance, and I thought that this would be the one to get me to warm to her. I loved her Quickstep last week so I hoped she'd do well in this too. I could see what the judges meant about the hip action - now don't get me wrong, there was hip action in there, she just needed to make it a bit more pronounced as it was so subtle that it was a struggle to notice it unless you were particularly looking for it. I wasn't totally impressed by the choreography either. Trent got it right for the most part, but there were some instances where things looked too frantic, and out of timing with the track. Contemporary-style Rumbas can be great, but those instances were just a bit too contemporary for my liking, and I would have liked her to take her time to form some shaping, like Caroline did last week. There were a couple of occasions where Pixie didn't finish off her arm lines, so this would have helped her I think. Ballroom is definitely more her thing, and she just needs to take her Latin up one notch.
Judges' scores: all 8s for a total of 32/40
My score: 8.25
Tim & Natalie - Paso Doble - "Simply the Best"
Oh good lord. I was dreading watching this as the song choice didn't seem right to me. This is one instance where traditional music would have really helped the dancer. Tim was just walking about for a lot of it, and very exposed when he was on his own. As always, he tried his best, but this just didn't work. I'm still trying to work out whether he went wrong with the beginning cape work - was he meant to be in sync with Natalie and swishing the cape to the same side that she was swishing her skirt? I'm sad he's gone as he was entertaining, but in a good way. His Waltz was lovely and he can always be proud of that.
Judges' scores: 3, 6, 5, 5 for a total of 19/40
My score: 2.5 (this was one of those where I thought he'd score lower than Scott, as he was just walking around whereas Scott was doing steps)
Sunetra & Brendan - Salsa - "Turn the Beat Around"
Ok, I must confess that when watching this again, I was looking for the wardrobe malfunction. Sadly I couldn't spot it. Oh well, onto Sunetra. I thought she was really uncomfortable in this dance, she was able to hide it well but you could see she was struggling. Her footwork looked decent, and her hip action was there, but she needs to finish off her arm lines and try and put a bit more energy into it, like her Cha Cha Cha. Lifts and spins are not her forte and she really needs to work on her positioning for those (either that or don't put so many in Brendan). Her Ballroom is great, so she just has to try and get her Latin up to the same standard. I'd like her next Latin to be a Paso, not as quick as her other Latins but providing her with a better performance and more opportunity to perfect the routine.
Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 27/40.
My score: 6 (now before I get jumped on, normally Sunetra is better than Alison, but this week I feel they were about the same, with Steve being better than both)
Thom & Iveta - Foxtrot - "Build Me Up Buttercup"
Sorry but this has to be said - the singer really messed up! He came in too early, and tried to cover it but it was pretty obvious. As for Thom, he is definitely the dark horse of this year. His footwork was good, his hold was good, his lines were good. With him, it's just a case of polishing everything up - fully extending on his arm lines (he's almost there, just the last bit of extension needed), pulling up a little straighter in hold, maintaining body contact just a tad more. I was impressed by him last week and I am once again this week. I've now got him down to reach the semis, and he would deserve to get there based on the last couple of weeks, so long as he maintains that standard.
Judges' scores: 6, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 30/40
My score: 7.75
Jake & Janette - Jive - "All Shook Up"
I wasn't sure about the song choice, as I thought it was a little slow for a Jive. I liked the choreography, Janette obviously trusts him to let him start the routine on his own. His kicks and flicks were great, he just needs to decide what to do with that free arm, and to not overdo it so much that he struggles to keep it up near the end. It was a shame about the trip, as he was doing so well until that point. He's great at both styles of dance, and I'd like to see how he does with something like a Foxtrot, as he's better at dances with a bit of speed. I love how he gets into the performance each week, you can see how good an actor he is as he's very reserved off-floor.
Judges' scores: 8, 9, 8, 8 for a total of 33/40.
My score: 7.75
Caroline & Pasha - Quickstep - "We Go Together"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Rav & Aliona in series 7*
Perfect song for this dance, but this was a case where the theme hampered the performance. Caroline looked uncomfortable in places and it seemed as if she was sometimes struggling to keep up with Pasha. It was a great dance, but I felt as though Pasha could have simplified the choreography a bit for her. This was a dance that didn't play to her strengths, so I have to commend her for doing as well as she did. On this showing, Jive might be difficult for her, unless she gets a slightly slower track like Jake's. Not top of the leaderboard for me.
Judges' scores: 8, 8, 9, 8 for a total of 33/40
My score: 7.5 (not much that looked wrong, although I couldn't see a lot of the feet)
The Strictly Leaderboard:
=1. Jake & Janette, Caroline & Pasha - 33
=3. Frankie & Kevin, Pixie & Trent - 32
5. Simon & Kristina - 31
6. Thom & Iveta - 30
7. Mark & Karen - 29
=8. Alison & Aljaz, Steve & Ola, Sunetra & Brendan - 27
11. Judy & Anton - 22
12. Tim & Natalie - 19
13. Scott & Joanne - 15
My Leaderboard:
1. Pixie & Trent - 33
=2. Thom & Iveta, Jake & Janette - 31
=4. Frankie & Kevin, Mark & Karen, Caroline & Pasha - 30
7. Simon & Kristina - 29
8. Steve & Ola - 25
=9. Alison & Aljaz, Sunetra & Brendan - 24
11. Judy & Anton - 22
=12. Tim & Natalie, Scott & Joanne - 10
Dance-off: Tim & Natalie vs Mark & Karen. I had a feeling that Tim would end up there before too long, but I was a bit shocked that Mark was in the bottom 2. He must be struggling for votes more than I thought.
Elimination: Tim & Natalie. Mark may have made mistakes in his dance-off performance, but he has much more potential than Tim, so this was a no-brainer and the right decision. Loved Tim's last dance with Natalie though and that they didn't just go to the hugs etc.
Recycled song alerts now stand at 17.
Until next time,
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING!
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