Apologies for this being late, I've been kept busy this week and I was just exhausted after work. I'm going to try and make up for it though (hopefully).
So last time I went through the dances from Jake to Mark. This segment will go through the remaining 5 dances (Simon to Pixie) and I will give my thoughts on the dance-off and elimination.
Simon & Kristina - Viennese Waltz - "Somebody to Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Will & Hanna in series 3, Dan & Katya in series 9*
The dry ice got another airing I see, something you want to tell us Kristina? I jest, Simon actually didn't do too bad considering that the VW can be a tricky dance for any celeb, but particularly a celeb male (I've seen Ballroom dancers on the forums saying that the VW is the last dance that they learn, because the footwork and everything is so complex) what with having to lead and that. I didn't like the beginning of the routine: too much faffing around and they could have just done the end position on the top of the steps and walked down before getting into the routine - as it is, it was nearly 25 seconds before they properly started (too long in my opinion). I couldn't see the feet enough to accurately judge him there but the footwork looked decent, although he did seem to be putting in maybe too much rise and fall, it wasn't smooth enough and looked skippy at times. Simon also needs to keep his frame up throughout as he dropped his right arm on occasion (especially during the standing spins), and maintain the performance all the way through the routine, as he dropped it towards the end. He's got a Paso Doble this week, and I'm not too sure that he'll evade the dance-off with that, he has struggled with the more serious dances (Tango and Rumba) and this might be another struggle for him.
Judges' scores: all 7s for a total of 28/40
My score: 6.75
Judy & Anton - Charleston - "Varsity Drag"
First of all *stands up and gives a standing ovation* that is more like it Judy! That is certainly her best performance I think, sorry judges but you seriously undermarked her. She should have been about the same as Alison. So for the critique: Judy needed to put a lot more enthusiasm into the execution of the steps - she seemed to have most of the technique down, but she just needed to take her lead from Anton. I'm going to do something surprising and actually praise Anton here - he might have his faults where Latin choreography is concerned, but you can't say he ever overdances, unlike some of the other pros. He always seems to tone it down a notch to make his partner look better, and it was the same here - if it were KFG on the other hand..... I'll leave that to your imagination. The tricks weren't good - leave those to Steve and Ola, didn't he do an 'around the world' in his Salsa? - but then I suppose they enhanced the performance. She's got the American Smooth this week, getting all Cruella de Vil on us - I think this could be her breakthrough dance. Judy has more experience with lifts now, and it's a Ballroom which Anton excels in. Plus I've seen her dress and wow!
Judges' scores: 3, 5, 5, 5 for a total of 18/40
My score: 5
Caroline & Pasha - Paso Doble - "Live & Let Die"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Letitia & Darren in series 5*
Another awful dress for Caroline - c'mon wardrobe, you always produce lovely dresses for Frankie and Pixie, put some effort into Caroline please! Onto the dance itself: I thought all the cape action at the start was bad, it just looked messy and not very Paso-y. Also, at least Caroline only had a bit of skirt-swishing to do, but I do think it's just lazy choreography whenever the girls have to do that (apologies to Kevin, Artem, and pretty much every male pro). She looked seriously good during this routine, but I would have just wanted a tad more attack from her - she had the shaping, she had the Flamenco elements down beautifully, but just a touch more attack and it would have been explosive. Caroline has the Samba this week, and you just know that she'll be compared to Pixie - not the best song choice for her, but then Pixie & Trent have all those....
Judges' scores: 8, 9, 8, 9 for a total of 34/40
My score: 8.5
Steve & Ola - Waltz - "I Wonder Why"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Sarah & Brendan in series 2, Cherie & James in series 6, Nicky & Karen in series 10*
Is this the most overused song in Strictly history? It might just be me but it seems to crop up every other series (didn't Nicky Byrne do this one as well). Anyway, *gives another standing ovation* this was an important dance for Steve, so he could show us that he can do the softer Ballroom, as all of his other dances have been much quicker. He got it with style! Lovely performance, I can even excuse the 'Olaography' trademark pivots this time. He had good rise and fall, he just needs to work on his frame a little more - he's still hunched over slightly and he dropped his hold during the pivots. Steve has the Charleston next week, and his training looks decent. I am a little worried that he could drop into the dance-off with this number, but he had good Charleston moves in his Quickstep, so hopefully I'm just being cynical.
Judges' scores: 7, 8, 7, 8 for a total of 30/40
My score: 7.75 (higher than Jake and Sunetra for me)
Pixie & Trent - Samba - "I Yi Yi Yi Yi"
Everyone knows by now how I feel about these two. I think this is going to be the pair that I just can't take to - it's not as if either of them have a bad personality (see DVO and James) but just something about them that I can't quite put my finger on why I don't like. I had this problem with Louis & Flavia back in series 10, and it's the same with Pixie & Trent: I want to like them, but for some reason I can't. Onto the dance itself, took a while to get going properly but Pixie showed that she can do the hip action that she was missing in the Rumba. I'm going to have to agree with a fellow forumite who said that Mark did better (I'm not sure how you spell it but bachacadas?) than Pixie did. Other than that, I think the only criticism I can give her is that she sometimes does her arm lines too upright - I'll try and explain what I mean. She finishes off her lines exquisitely well, but she sometimes throws them too close to her head and they can look messy as a result (an upright arm with the wrist folding over to create the hand shaping, whereas it looks better if the line is further away, closer to a 45 degree angle, but this is just my preference). Pixie has the Tango this week, and I love her song (I've used it for a Strictly game myself, but for a Paso Doble), really intrigued to see how the singers will do it. I presume Chris will be doing the male vocals on that, but I'm not sure who out of Hayley and Andrea will be doing the female vocals, possibly Andrea.
Judges' scores: 8, 9, 9, 9 for a total of 35/40
My score: 8.75 (I do agree with Caroline and Pixie's scores, and Pixie was a little above Caroline for me)
Strictly Leaderboard:
1. Pixie & Trent - 35
2. Caroline & Pasha - 34
3. Mark & Karen - 33
4. Frankie & Kevin - 32
5. Jake & Janette - 31
=6. Sunetra & Brendan, Steve & Ola - 30
8. Simon & Kristina - 28
9. Thom & Iveta - 27
10. Alison & Aljaz - 23
11. Scott & Joanne - 19
12. Judy & Anton - 18
My Leaderboard (my scores are multiplied by 4):
1. Pixie & Trent - 35
2. Caroline & Pasha - 34
=3. Frankie & Kevin, Mark & Karen - 32
5. Steve & Ola - 31
6. Sunetra & Brendan - 30
7. Jake & Janette - 29
8. Simon & Kristina - 27
9. Thom & Iveta - 23
10. Judy & Anton - 20
11. Alison & Aljaz - 18
12. Scott & Joanne - 14
Dance-off: Simon & Kristina vs Thom & Iveta. I'm surprised to see Thom here, but not Simon. When you have 2 dance-off appearances under your belt in the space of 3 weeks, you know there's something wrong. I wonder if the problem is that the viewers can't take to Simon, or if his perceived 'attitude problem' is only part of it and Kristina might be exacerbating that, given that she isn't too popular herself? I'd personally say it's the second one, especially given that his bandmates all got much further in their respective reality shows (Anthony being 3rd on I'm a Celeb, Duncan 4th on DOI, and even Lee managed to get to 6th in CBB at the start of the year). As for Thom, well, he had probably his worst dance so far (excluding his week 1 Waltz) and he didn't have much to do in it.
Elimination: Thom & Iveta. Now this was a tough one, and I think it depends on your criteria as to who you would have picked. If you were judging solely on the dance-off, then I think Simon had to be saved. Otherwise, Thom & Iveta. I can see why Craig and Darcey voted to save Thom, but I can also see why Bruno and Len saved Simon. Personally, I would have been with Craig and Darcey and saved Thom - he was improving all the time and just had a bad week. Simon on the other hand has struggled with a few of his dances and had been in the dance-off already, it's obvious that he's lacking public support. I don't see the need for Len to have the casting vote, just revert back to the public vote if the judges can't agree - it's fairer that way I think. I feel sorry for Thom, and I wonder if Simon will be the Lisa Snowdon of the series and knock a few people out who are arguably better than him (I can see both Sunetra and Steve going before he does, possibly Mark too, maybe even Jake on a bad week).
Next time: it's Halloween week, which is another excuse for odd costume choices, odd song choices, and a bad case of overmarking. We will also see the following: Judy as Cruella de Vil, Scott as Uncle Fester from the Addams Family, Frankie as Elphaba from Wicked, and possibly the most hilarious one ever - Alison & Aljaz as Cathy and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights.
Until then,
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING!
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