Yep, it's back to 2 parts this week. I hate to say it, but this week and last I've found the show a bit boring, no real 'stand out' dance.
Loved Tess' outfit, the black and red was so striking. Contrast with Claude, who had a nice black dress on that then got ruined by the hanging curtains on her arms (I'm sure there's a 'Hanging Curtains of Winkleman' joke to be made, but Monkseal will probably offer one). As for the celeb outfits: Caroline and Alison got a rough deal from wardrobe (as usual), I mistook Frankie for Janette a couple of times, and Joanne looks more like Karen Hardy with every passing week.
Onto the dances, and in this part I'll go through dances 1-7 (so from Jake up to and including Mark).
Jake & Janette - Quickstep - "I'm Still Standing"
Do the producers never learn? Harry & Aliona's Salsa was ruined in some people's eyes as they did it to this song - funnily enough both this and "Build Me Up Buttercup" have now been used for 3 different dance styles (thanks to StigOfTheKrump from Digital Spy for that factoid). I wasn't a fan of the beginning - because they started on the top stage, it took them about 25 seconds to get into hold and start the routine properly. Also, I am going to harp on a little about the choreography I'm afraid: most of it was great, but the assisted jump and floor spin weren't needed and Jake seemed a bit put off after the jump. I'm also a little tired of seeing the spin in Jake's Ballroom routines where he has to hunch over slightly as he and Janette turn - it doesn't look elegant and actually makes Jake look a lot worse. He does seem to struggle with his hold as well, particularly his head positioning (too upright) and I hope Janette gets onto fixing it as soon as possible - this might be an odd opinion, but I thought Steve's hold in his Quickstep was better. Somehow I get the feeling that after having Jive and Quickstep back-to-back, he's probably going to have the Halloween Charleston.
Judges' scores: 7, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 31/40
My score: 7.25
Sunetra & Brendan - Viennese Waltz - "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Patsy & Robin in series 8*
Love how they styled Sunetra's hair to look like Sheridan Smith's in the recent ITV drama about Cilla. Not sure about the dress though, I would have put her in a lighter colour than brown. Actually, it looked as though wardrobe weren't sure what colour to put her in - the top part was black with a silver glittery bodice, the skirt was brown, and then the fluffy hem was a champagne colour. She made it work but it's a bit odd. Onto the dance, and Sunetra's footwork looked great, she just needs to sort out her arm positioning when out of hold: she still doesn't fully extend and this makes it look messy. Now this is where the technical experts might help me - I always thought that in Ballroom, the lady's head should be slightly tilted to the left to match the topline? I might be wrong on that but if not, then Sunetra needs to work on this as well. I'd like to see her do a Jive and see how she copes with quicker choreography, her Cha Cha Cha and Salsa have been her quickest dances and she didn't look entirely comfortable with either of them.
Judges' scores: 7, 7, 8, 8 for a total of 30/40
My score: 7.5 (I do think she should have been slightly higher than Jake)
Scott & Joanne - Charleston - "Flash, Bang, Wallop"
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Where do I start? I know the pros get help with choreography for this dance, but surely the lifts could have been simplified a bit for Scott? He didn't exactly drop her when lifting her from the floor, I think what happened is that his hands slipped and so it looked like a drop, and he got put off by that, struggled to lift her for the next bit (when he was fine with lifting her for an earlier trick) and then was trying to get back on track. He did put more personality into it, which was great, but I would have liked some more enthusiasm from him in executing the steps - Joanne looked as though she was really outdancing him (which let's face it, is easy to do when it's Scott) and so he looked even worse. Give him a nice slow Waltz, chance for more control and more time to execute, and he'll probably get over 20 at least.
Judges' scores: 4, 5, 5, 5 for a total of 19/40
My score: 3.5
Thom & Iveta - Cha Cha Cha - "It's My Party"
Is it just me or was this song slowed down from the original Jessie J version? Or maybe just in a different key? Either way, this was basically the Iveta Show (set up on a rival channel to the weekly airing of the Kristina Show). Thom's hip action was good, but he just didn't look comfortable with this dance, he couldn't really stamp personality onto it like he did with the Charleston and Foxtrot (and his Salsa to a lesser extent). This was like a much worser (apologies for the bad grammar, I know worser isn't really a word but just go with it) version of his Salsa. Iveta also needed to tone it down a bit herself, another example of the pro overdancing it sadly. I think he could do with something like a Quickstep next week, it's fast-paced but allows for a bit of personality. Unfortunately, with where he is on the leaderboard, I can see him being in trouble.
Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 27/40
My score: 5.75
Frankie & Kevin - Foxtrot - "Daydream Believer"
Sorry but to me, this is the song from the 'Evergreen' ads: "Oh if your lawn, is a farce, weeds a right pain in the grass......" *sings along to the advert* Where was I? Oh yes, Foxtrot. Normally I love Kevin's choreography, but I think he got it wrong on this one, The sections done in hold were lovely, but out of hold was just a bit too cutesy for my liking. I would have said it was the song, but then Thom & Iveta had an unconventional Foxtrot song last week and Iveta had the choreography spot on, just the right amount of sweetness. Frankie danced it well, and she put some personality into it, but this wasn't one of my favourite dances of hers. I'm hoping for a Jive for her next week, her Charleston was fast-paced and I'd like to see her do another fast Latin.
Judges' scores: all 8s for a total of 32/40
My score: 8
Alison & Aljaz - Tango - "Addicted to You"
Another monstrosity from wardrobe, seriously, they should be able to make flattering costumes for larger ladies. This was not Alison's dance: the song choice was awful, which meant that the choreography wasn't great, and there wasn't much in terms of story. She tried her best to do the 'staccato' action but it just wasn't coming together for her. Why can't the producers give everyone decent songs for every dance? These modern song choices just smacks of trying to compete with X Factor (what's the point when you start early enough anyway) when I'm sure the audience is more skewed towards the older generation. Bad song choices don't a good dance make - I'm not a music aficionado by any means, but I'm sure I could do a much better job of it than the PTB. *and breathe*
Judges' scores: 5, 6, 6, 6 for a total of 23/40
My score: 4.5
Mark & Karen - Samba - "That's the Way I Like It"
You don't really think Samba when hearing this song ('Give it Up' is better, and from the same artist) - carrying on from my rant above, just look at how bad this song choice is compared to Pixie doing the same dance style: it's called favouritism, and Mark has really suffered from it (first his Paso compared to Frankie's, then his Quickstep compared to Caroline's, and now his Samba compared to Pixie's. I'm not a fan of the guy but give him a chance fgs). As for the dance itself - he pleasantly surprised me. Ok, so the technique wasn't entirely there, but he got into it and did really well for a male celeb (although I wouldn't have said he was only 5 points worse than Matt Baker's). I would have liked a bit more movement as there were a couple of occasions where he wasn't really doing anything, but really impressed. VW next week maybe? I think he's going to beat out Simon, and in all honesty, I would think he deserved it if he did.
Judges' scores: 8, 9, 8, 8 for a total of 33/40
My score: 8
Next time, I'll review the final 5 dances (Simon, Judy, Caroline, Steve and Pixie) and give my thoughts on the dance-off and elimination. Until then,
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING!
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