Bit late again I know, been having some internet issues this week so it's just been trying to get the blog up!
As our chef got chopped last week, it meant that we were down to 11 couples with only 3 of them involving a male celebrity (and one of them is Jeremy Vine!). Will we finally be rid of a female this week, or will we get through a series where one entire gender leaves before the semi-final?
Katie & Anton - Paso Doble - "Phantom of the Opera"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT (Kara & Artem in series 8)*
Well they were never going to live up to Kartem on this one now were they? I so called it on Anton wearing the mask though (was part of my drinking game). Katie was made up nicely too, the wig really suited her. Dance was dull though - no attack from either of them; there was more attack and effort in Judy's Paso last year than this! Also, LIFT! Was that really needed Anton?
There's not really all that much that I can say about this dance, other than that they both need to buck their ideas up and fast. Quickstep this week though, to '42nd Street' - didn't Matt Baker do his Charleston to this back in the day?
My score: 4 (would have been 5 but had to knock a point off for the illegal lift)
Kirsty & Brendan - Charleston - "Bad Romance"
Less bad romance and more bad dancing. Although it was funny to watch Brendan's face as he clearly had to improvise a few times there (I'm pretty sure the over the shoulder lift wasn't planned). Choreography at the start was absurd though - Kirsty on her own attempting some swivel whilst hiding her face, it's as if she didn't want us to see how embarrassed she was at being such an awful flapper. Went out of time as soon as she was in front of Brendan doing the shadow sequence, she fell out of a trick (clearly not planned, you can see it on Brendan's face), jesus it was a dahnce disahstah.
I think both of them can thank the voting gods that they have gone now.
My score: 3
Jeremy & Karen - Salsa - "Thriller"
If by thrilling me, laughing out loud counts, then this dance certainly thrilled me. As well as the judges (well Craig and Bruno) dancing at the beginning. It was Salsa but certainly not as we know it. At least for Jeremy he's got another lifty dance out of the way (just Argentine Tango left and I don't think we'd trust him to do that, do you?). Good synch with Karen during the side-by-side shadow sequence.
Craig gave him a higher mark for that? He thought THAT was better than Jez's Charleston? Sometimes I really don't know what the judges have been smoking. Anyway, Tango this week, and Karen has form for producing Tangos to...odd... song choices ('Weird Science' with Nicky and '500 Miles' with Dave which I both loved) so I'll be interested to see what she does with 'Go West'.
My score: 4
Anita & Gleb - Waltz - "Once Upon A Dream"
Gleb does the 'poor tortured soul' very well doesn't he? Bit of making love to the camera at the start, but then at least with this he got straight in to hold. Anita was slightly out of sync with him during the one out of hold section, and I still don't know why he likes her doing kicks so much (it's getting to be one of his 'patented Glebography' in the same way that the Starfish was one of Ola's), but I actually didn't mind this and though it one of their best dances. I don't always like the contemporary twists that Gleb puts on the dances, but here it worked and went with the story. Shame that her horns got in the way of some armography, and also LIFT! I wonder if the judges penalised that........
Jive to THAT song by Alesha Dixon this week. Latin seems to be better for her so I'm hoping for a good, technically sound routine.
My score: 6.5 (deducted a mark for the lift)
Jamelia & Tristan - Jive - "Time Warp"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT (Michelle & Brendan in series 8)*
Warp me back to when Michelle and Brendan were doing this please? Because that was actually better than whatever this was. This is one of the worst Jives that I've seen on this show (and believe me, I've seen a fair few). Anthony Ogogo was much better than this and he scored 5 marks less - and it was week 1 to boot! Tristan should be ashamed of himself, it was more 'running about looking frightened' than actual Jive content. That, and Jamelia should be ashamed of herself as it looked like she wasn't even trying (that or Tristan was overdancing which either way isn't a good thing). I'd heard good things about this dance before Saturday so I was really hoping for a pleasant surprise, and instead I'm seriously disappointed. Oh well, at least her being in the bottom 2 meant that Kirsty finally went.
Viennese Waltz for the Brummie and Irishman this week. Somehow I'm thinking another bottom 2 appearance beckons.......
My score: 3
Jay & Aliona - American Smooth - "Lil Red Riding Hood"
Not really a big bad wolf, but then how can you be when you're doing an American Smooth? Silly judges. As for the dance itself, too much story at the beginning (nearly 30 seconds before Jay actually started dancing). Lifts were great, arms were good, footwork seemed good. The only thing is, and I'm sure the dancers will be able to tell me if this was the case - is the rise and fall meant to be that obvious? Just wondered. Loved the song choice though, I've always wanted to see this one so I'm glad that it's been done now (singers did an awesome job on this btw).
This week they're doing *THE FIRST ARGENTINE TANGO OF THE SERIES* ahem. Which could either be brilliant (Sophie Ellis Bextor) or not so brilliant (Colin Salmon). As it's Aliona, I expect it will be fabulous.
My score: 8.25
Kellie & Kevin - Paso Doble - "Schools Out/Hedwig's Theme"
If I didn't think Kevin was a bit of a geek before then I certainly do now. Star Wars AND Harry Potter in just 4 weeks?! Hmm. Good thing that I quite like geeks and I am one myself then.
Not sure on this one if I'm honest. Loved the spectacle, but felt the actual dance was lost a bit. Kellie was less Spanish bull/cape and more 'I'm going to stomp like I'm having a tantrum and flounce my skirt a lot'. I felt that Kevin missed it a little choreographically this week, which is a shame as he's usually on it, especially on a theme week. Kellie could have done with less skirt swishing and more Spanish lines for me, but still, a good routine all things considered.
A Waltz to Take That? I think with that one I'll have to re-watch the dance on mute (nothing against Take That, I normally like their songs but that one was just too cheesy for me).
My score: 6.5
Carol & Pasha - Rumba - "I Think I Love You"
I think I hated this. Poor, poor Carol. 30 seconds for the two of you to actually start dancing and then it was just a car crash from there. Pasha had a little acting masterclass in this routine though. And was there an illegal lift there? Hmm. At least they've got this out of the way now so can have a nice week of Ballroom.
American Smooth? Great. To the song that made me puke at the PC feminist-ness of it all? Not so much. What are they even going to use as a base for this?
My score: 2
Georgia & Giovanni - Tango - "Ghostbusters"
And 2 people who were previously ghosts in this competition have just busted the leaderboard! Yay, so happy for these 2. Still not a fan of Georgia mind, but she kicked some butt with this! Choreography from Giovanni was excellent, just some story at beginning and end, as it should be. Loved the 'busting makes me feel good' when Georgia was quickly brought back into hold. Her footwork probably could have been a little better, but her hold was strong, that hand stayed in his armpit the entire way through. Fully deserved top of the leaderboard for me.
Samba this week. Hopefully Georgia can build on this performance as I'd like to see a challenge to Helen on the female front (Anita's good too, but Georgia's getting better atm).
My score: 8.75
Peter & Janette - Foxtrot - "Ghost"
So him going in the first half last week was just a ghostly apparition *sigh*. I really didn't get the story of the dance the first time I watched it and even now when I've just re-watched, yeah, still not really feeling it. Janette seems to be the female Artem but it doesn't work as well for some reason (clever use of the smoke to hide the footwork though). This one just cannot do the lighter, more elegant Ballroom (and that applies to Peter as well, he still itches to work like he's in a Michael Jackson video). Not much I can really say about the technique.
Charleston this week, and it's one dance that Janette won't be choreographing all by herself so chances are that it will probably be good (I jest, she did some good dances with Jake last year). Peter I can see getting into the performance side of it, but I'm not sure if he'll grasp the technique. This is probably the make or break dance for him and it's one that I thought they'd skip if I'm honest.
My score: 6 (I really don't know what to give it)
Helen & Aljaz - Samba - "Take Your Mama"
*Most random-and-not-connected-to-the-theme song choice of the week*. This one didn't convince me, I have to say. Took 30 seconds to actually start dancing (there's storytelling Aljaz, and then there's faffing, and this is the second week in a row that you've fallen into the faffing camp). She was throwing her arm lines away all the way through, and she came out of a spin off-balance as well. Much as I didn't like Pixie last year, the fact that this Samba only scored a couple of marks below hers is a travesty (I'm not even going to mention the not-a-Samba that followed some weeks later, ahem).
Rumba coming up, and I'm not too sure if she can crack this. Hip action isn't her forté, and Aljaz's last Rumba? Well we know what happened there.....
My score: 7
My Leaderboard (scores multiplied by 4 to give a score out of 40):
1. Georgia & Giovanni - 35
2. Jay & Aliona - 33
3.Helen & Aljaz - 28
=4. Anita & Gleb, Kellie & Kevin - 26
6. Peter & Janette - 24
=7. Katie & Anton, Jeremy & Karen - 16
=9. Kirsty & Brendan, Jamelia & Tristan - 12
11. Carol & Pasha - 8
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* count: 28 so far
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