So it's week 6, a little under halfway through the series and also Halloween week. God help the poor celebs when it comes to music, costumes and make-up, although we've been complaining about that practically every week so it's nothing new.
Last time, Thom & Iveta learned that it wasn't their party as they went home after losing out to Simon & Kristina in the dance-off, thanks to Len's casting vote. You all know my thoughts on that as well as which side of the judging table I would have gone with, but I'd be interested to see where your vote would have gone - would you have agreed with Craig and Darcey and saved Thom? Or would you have gone with Len and Bruno and kept Simon? I'd like to know which side of the battle you were on.
And as the show starts, we learn that Claudia is off for the night as one of her children is ill, therefore Zoe Ball from ITT will step in. Hope your child gets better soon Claude and that you're back with us next week. Wardrobe did a good job with both Tess and Zoe, although I probably just preferred Zoe's dress because it was so sparkly. (As I won't mention it later on, I thought Zoe did a great job last night, and I'd be happy for her to step in again if needed)
Onto the dances, and in this part of the blog I'll be reviewing the first 6 performances of the evening (so from Sunetra up to and including Judy), and the remaining 5 plus dance-off and elimination will be discussed in part 2. As a warning, I was annoyed by some of the marking last night, and I'll make it plain which bits of marking they were.
Sunetra & Brendan - Jive - "Tainted Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Zoe & James from series 7*
Apologies to Brendan but I thought the choreography for this was awful. It's got me thinking, is Brendan just bad at Halloween dances (his Jive last year for Sophie wasn't great either) or does he have issues with the Jive? I can't remember the last time he did a decent Jive, might have to go back to Kelly Brook for that one. Too much bed-ography, and I felt as though Sunetra was too exposed in this dance, she needed to be with Brendan more, whether that was side-by-side or 'in hold' as such. Her bottom half was decent, but her top half needed a lot more work for this dance. I'm glad the judges picked up on her arms as I was going to mention them as well, she needed to straighten them more when creating the lines, and making sure they go out fully too. I think she went wrong at one point as well, maybe caught off-balance a little, as she appeared to be slightly hunched over when Brendan was about to go 'in hold' with her. She needs another Ballroom next week, the Latin dances clearly aren't her bag, a Quickstep perhaps? Possibly a Foxtrot would be best for her.
Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 27/40
My score: 5.75
Alison & Aljaz - American Smooth - "Wuthering Heights"
Now I'm going to do something that I haven't done before - I'm going to agree with James Jordan. What Alison doesn't have in terms of technique, she more than makes up for in performance. There's a few celebs who could learn a thing or two from her in that respect. I'm also going to agree with Craig about the wafting: yes there was a bit, but come on, Artem was the king of wafting in his American Smooths with Holly and Natalie, and yet he didn't get pulled up on that (not as much anyway). At least Aljaz actually had a fair amount of the dance in hold. I have to say, either the heels have done wonders for Alison, or she's improved a lot since her Foxtrot back in week 2 (I think it was then anyway) - she looked a lot better in hold tonight. She was originally meant to be doing the Charleston this week, so after 2 Ballrooms on the bounce, I wonder if that's been saved for next week for her.
Judges' scores: 5, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 26/40
My score: 5.75 (I'm going to be shouted down for this I know, but I do think Alison and Sunetra were on a level this week)
Simon & Kristina - Paso Doble - "Poison"
I did say that I thought this would be a tricky dance for Simon, and sadly I was proved to be correct. Simon needed to be given more to do 'in hold' I think, he didn't have much shaping at all and the whole performance from him looked too fluid. He also went quite wrong towards the end, seemed to forget what he was supposed to be doing, and was he meant to do one of those (jetés I think they're called) a la Austin Healey? Because he was doing the arm movements without actually leaping, so I wonder if it was meant to be like that or if it was an error on his part. I thought the judges were too kind to him if I'm honest, and didn't they actually praise his shaping? It was practically non-existent and he didn't fully extend into any of his arm lines, it was just messy. If he's here next week, then give him a faster dance like a Quickstep, or even a Salsa, otherwise I fear he'll be in the bottom 2 again and might knock out someone better than him.
Judges' scores: 6, 8, 7, 8 for a total of 29/40 (8s? really? Wth are the judges on tonight?)
My score: I really don't know what to score this. To me, there was so much wrong with it, that I actually think it's worse than both Sunetra and Alison. IIRC, Jason Donovan actually got a lower score for his Paso, when in all honesty I think he got it much more than Simon. Sorry to everyone but I'm going to have to give Simon only 5.5.
Steve & Ola - Charleston - "Dem Bones, Dem Bones"
This was so disappointing, and I'm really gutted for Steve. He just seemed to be anticipating the next move and so 'forgot' parts of the routine and went off time. I would like to see the rehearsal footage, as he was apparently getting it spot-on but just messed up on the night. Were the lifts too difficult? I can't say they were, perhaps the one where he spun Ola round his head before getting her up so she was facing the opposite way was too tricky, but the others were no more difficult than what he did in their Salsa. Maybe simplifying that one lift would have helped but it's hard to say. Also, at the beginning, was he too quick or did Ola go too slow? It looked as if Steve was on time and Ola wasn't (when he was swinging one leg behind him). I felt so sorry for him, as he did some parts of that dance brilliantly. The make-up didn't help with the whole 'expression' part of the performance either, and I almost hope that he's in the dance-off so he has the chance to do it better. A slower dance next week should bring his confidence back up, forget lifts for the time being, so a Foxtrot or Viennese Waltz could be good for him.
Judges' scores: 5, 7, 7, 7 for a total of 26/40
My score: 5.25
Pixie & Trent - Tango - "Danger! High Voltage"
Can I just say that I LOVE this song? I've actually used it for an online Strictly game in the past, albeit for a Paso Doble. It was sung horribly though - by Andrea, and Lance was it? They should have brought Chris in for that one as he suits that kind of 'rocky' vocal. Andrea was probably the right choice for the female vocal, but still, it was awfully sung. As for Pixie and Trent, I think this was the first dance of theirs where I really didn't like Trent's choreography. I understand where he was going with it, but sometimes less is more - see Nicky & Karen's 'Weird Science' Tango for how to do a themed dance. Pixie also needs to watch her frame when she changes direction, as she tends to bend her right arm sometimes. Btw, LIFT! Surely that should have been mentioned in the critique? I even watched it back just to make sure that it wasn't just me. Her foot was definitely off the floor for about a second or so, and hopefully the judges penalised for it even though they didn't mention it. Next week? Hmm, I think they might go back to another Ballroom for her, and give her maybe an American Smooth.
Judges' scores: 8, 8, 8, 9 for a total of 33/40
My score: 7.5
Judy & Anton - American Smooth - "Cruella de Vil"
Wardrobe did a great job with Judy, she really did look like Cruella. I don't know what was meant to happen with those dogs at the beginning, but at least it bought Judy some time to get out of the flying car. Her frame is still not good though, I'm going to channel Darcey for a moment here and say that she needs to work on her core more, she still gets off-balance a lot which puts her off and means that Anton has to adjust his hold to drag her into place. Her footwork looked good though and she's more comfortable with lifts now, just needs to work on the transitions both into and out of them. Not as good as her Charleston last week for me, but still a good dance for her. For next week, I'd suggest a Paso Doble for her, not as loose as some of the other Latin dances so should suit her more.
Judges' scores: 3, 6, 6, 5 for a total of 20/40
My score: 5.25
Next time, we see the other 5 performances: Jake's Paso Doble (which I feel drew the shortest draw in terms of song choice), Caroline's Samba (overmarked imo), Scott's Foxtrot (genius choreography from Joanne), Mark's Jive (best dance of the night for me), and Frankie's Tango (overmarked and should never have been a 10). I'll also be giving my thoughts on the dance-off and subsequent elimination.
Until then,
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING!
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