It's late, but at least it's up!
So after our sports presenter got knocked out last week, we're down to our top 10. So in honour of that, here's my top 10 dances so far this series (some on entertainment, some on technique; and yes one of them is from this week):
10. Katie & Anton Tango
9. Kellie & Kevin Jive
8. Anita & Gleb Charleston
7. Jeremy & Karen Charleston
6. Georgia & Giovanni Samba
5. Jamelia & Tristan Charleston
4. Georgia & Giovanni Tango
3. Kellie & Kevin Charleston
2. Ainsley & Natalie Tango
1. Jay & Aliona Jive
And now on to the show!
Style Stakes: Tess won hands down, bandeau-style dresses don't suit Claud and hers definitely needed straps. Couple-wise? Jamelia & Tristan, and Aliona.
Peter & Janette - Charleston - "Do Your Thing"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT! (Jimi & Flavia in series 8)*
First of all, nice joke there Tess *high fives her*. Also Janette, although the pixie cut looked good on you, Flavia and Anita wore it better.
Onto the dance itself, and to be honest, I thought Peter would be much better than this: he didn't exaggerate his movements enough (I'm not a fan of the OTT-style Charleston but the judges - particularly Craig - rave about them), added to which he was out of time and synch with Janette on quite a few occasions. Lifts were good though. Over to the judges, and from hereon in until the start of the next VT, my face basically had a 'WTF?' expression, although props to Janette for not taking all of the credit with the choreography, since we know that the pros get outside help with the Charleston. This dance certainly didn't deserve to be above THAT JIVE score-wise, which makes me think that it looked so much better in rehearsal and that was what the judges were expecting..... either that or Peter's vote is lower than we thought and so he needs to be protected. Hmm?
Next up for him it's the Viennese Waltz, and I worry as I remember the last and only VW Janette has done, it wasn't pretty. I reckon he might have a chance of hitting the bottom 2.
My score: 8
Jamelia & Tristan - Viennese Waltz - "Trouble"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT! (Jo & Brendan in series 7)*
Bit odd to have a red outfit for a Viennese Waltz? Did look lovely on her though, best dress she's had I think.
As for the dance? Lots and lots and lots of gapping. This routine is a shining example of why any discarded props should be removed from the dancefloor as quickly and as quietly as possible - because they both clearly went right into the guitar (blame Tristan for that one!). Jamelia had some balance issues, and she needs to sort out her hand placement for future Ballroom dances. That being said, this was undermarked for me as it was so much better than last week.
Samba this week, and after the awkwardness that was her Salsa, I don't hold out much hope for this (although I do love their music so want them to prove me wrong and do well). I think she could well be in the bottom 2 again though, and if she is, I'd say that sadly she'd have to go.
My score: 6 (bear in mind I gave her half of this last time!)
Carol & Pasha - American Smooth - "Man! I Feel Like A Woman"
And now it's time for that song, the one which I hate because it was so overplayed when it got released (I can probably still tell you what happens in each frame of the video, that's how overplayed it was).
After seeing this dance, and the fact that she was on 3rd, I knew it would be curtains for Carol. She still can't do lifts to save her life, and she still keeps forgetting the routine. Nice choreographed costume change though Pash, even if it was a bit of a lazy move on your part.
It was Carol's time to go, so fair enough that she was eliminated this week. Lovely lady though.
My score: 4
Helen & Aljaz - Rumba - "Hello"
Ooh, early slot for Helen! Going early is usually a sign that the dance will be decent, but not all that good (and that goes for Jay after as well). Not sure on her outfit though, I get what they were going for with the 'bedroom' look but it just didn't work for me.
Rumba is not a favourite dance of mine, it's difficult for me to get impressed by one as hardly anyone ever seems to look good doing it and I find it tough to gauge whether it was any good or not. So after watching Helen's attempt I was a bit confused - she seemed quite straight and to me there wasn't enough hip action? Going over to the judges, and I can see that 'Len's Content Criticism' is back on air this week, this time showcasing Aljaz: have to say though, I did love Bruno's 'I'm backing away quietly' moment whilst Len was speaking and Tess' response to that.
Tango next time, and for god sake, stop with the modern songs that don't suit the dance! Also, I don't think Aljaz can pull 'different' choreography off like how Gleb managed it, so let's just say that my expectations aren't that high.........
My score: 7
Jay & Aliona - Argentine Tango - "Diferente"
I just said that about Helen's next dance, and then they bring out the traditional music!
Anyway..... I so called the 'not enough emotion' comments, they're rehashing the storyline that Louis Smith had in his series. Next thing you know, an acting coach will be brought in for something like a Rumba or a Charleston, and hey presto Jay will have a 'breakthrough'! Judges, although I happened to agree with you this week, I'd rather see a performance like that than one where gurning is the order of the day (Mr Andre I was looking at you with your stint on CiN tonight). Also, even though I agree about the lack of content for Jay, Craig was a bit harsh considering that, like with Charleston, AT is a dance where they'll bring in an outside choreographer to help. Bless him, Jay looked like he was going to cry afterwards.
Foxtrot this week, and if Jay's AS was anything to go by, then this should be fabulous. I'm not sure about the song choice (Sam Smith getting another airing, wonder if they'll bring back the guest singer who did really well with WOTW, somehow I doubt it and it will be the same ones as usual), but the actual dance I think will be a good one.
My score: 7.5
Katie & Anton - Quickstep - "42nd Street"
First off: beautiful dress. Such a shame about the dance that it was worn for. Katie kept going off-balance, then she lost hold, and so gapping ensued. Don't think Anton's choreography helped, but if she got it right in rehearsals then it just looks as though she had an off night similar to when Jay did his Quickstep 3 weeks earlier.
Rumba next up, and oh good lord, this will either be funny or it will be 'hide behind cushion' time.
My score: 5
Anita & Gleb - Jive - "The Boy Does Nothing"
Gleb wasn't a cleaner, he was the Karate Kid! Ahem. As for the VT, found it a bit insulting that poor Anita got put with the toddlers. She might not be of the esteemed ringer status, but she is still a lot better than that!
Onto the dance, and for god sake Gleb, it is not all about you! The judges need to tell him about this and to showcase Anita more, but it seems that they used up all their allotted criticism on Helen, Jay and Katie. Also, he seemed to be overdancing as well, which made Anita look worse. Personally I felt this was really overmarked, and I would have preferred one of her other dances to get the 9s (Charleston for me).
Quickstep is what she has this week, and I see that it's Harry Judd's music that is getting re-used this series (Kirsty's VW as well, stat fans). If Anita's going to do a good Ballroom then I reckon this will be the one, the Charleston sections should suit her and there's not really any thing for Gleb to break off from her and showboat about (although I'm sure he'll find a way).
My score: 7
Kellie & Kevin - Waltz - "Love Ain't Here Anymore"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT! (Aled & Lilia in series 2, Robbie & Ola in series 9)*
I was dreading this routine. Not for Kellie, but because I despise the song and worried that Kev was going to do his usual cheesy/twee routine.
Not this time, as Kevin was back on it choreographically!
Kellie was a bit jittery towards the end but not bad from her at all. Took a while to get into hold, however she maintained good posture and body contact, and the footwork looked good as well. I also (and this is a first) agreed with Darcey, that Kellie has a lovely feelgood quality to her Ballroom dances - you might not be a fan but you can't help but like the dance. Just one more thing: Helen's face when Kellie said up in the Clauditorium that she'd had a tough week just screamed 'yeah, suuuuure you did'.
Samba is her new dance, and I'm a bit concerned that Kevin will do what he did with Frankie last series and chuck the kitchen sink at it, to hell with anything else. Although, not sure he'll get the chance to do that, unless their song choice gets speeded up by quite a bit.
My score: 8
Jeremy & Karen - Tango - "Go West"
Tess, leave the horse jokes to Claudia.
Onto the actual dance, and the intro was just so cheesy, you can tell that Karen's married to Kevin (witness the intros to Kellie's Charleston and Susannah's Samba and you'll see exactly what I mean). Just the intro had me bursting out laughing, and I knew he'd end up singing along, I could see the twitch! I think like Ainsley's Tango, this is one that I'll end up rewatching on YouTube (I saw some on Gogglebox tonight, yay!). Over to the judges, and you know that Bruno's being too harsh when he's getting booed louder than Craig has ever had. Also Darcey, Jeremy was never going to be able to maintain his frame the whole way through with that much of a height difference between him and Karen (he gave it a damn good go though).
Quickstep is what Jeremy has now, and this is going to be car crash TV, I can see it already. I'll still probably vote for him though, he deserves to get to Blackpool on sheer enjoyment alone.
My score: 4.5
Georgia & Giovanni - Samba - "Volare"
Ah, this was Frankie & Kevin's Samba all over again. Bit too much storytelling there at the beginning Gio, but once Georgia started dancing, fantastic! I might not be too much of a fan of hers, but she dances bloody well! It's a shame about the mistake in the middle, otherwise I reckon we could well have seen some 10s for that. Spins were MUCH better, they've clearly been working hard on those. Also, loved Gio doing 'That's Amore' up in the Clauditorium, I want to see more of this guy and less of the cheap Vincent knock-off (I'm slowly beginning to love him, it's very strange).
Charleston is up next for Georgia, and I think she'll continue to impress with this dance. She just needs to make sure that the lifts go more smoothly than they did in her Salsa, and if she does that then she'll be fine.
My score: 8.5
My Leaderboard (scores multiplied by 4 to be out of 40):
1. Georgia & Giovanni - 34
=2. Peter & Janette, Kellie & Kevin - 32
4. Jay & Aliona - 30
=5. Helen & Aljaz, Anita & Gleb - 28
7. Jamelia & Tristan - 24
8. Katie & Anton - 20
9. Jeremy & Karen - 18
10. Carol & Pasha - 16
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* count: 31 so far
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