SCD Week 8 Review

Apologies for not doing reviews for the past few weeks, have been ill and have had internet issues.

So this week saw the demise of Pendledrama, and the obvious relief of Brendan Cole (whether it's relief to be definitely unavailable for when his wife gives birth, or relief to just finally get away from the Pendledrama, I'll leave up to you to decide).

Was Tess best dressed? Well she did pretty well in my opinion. Probably her best dress this series in all honesty. 9/10


Dani & Vincent - Samba - "Single Ladies"

What is it with this show and Beyonce songs, that's 2 already this series. I was really wanting her to do well with this, but, I don't know, something was missing for me. Proper samba choreography, that's what. This was basically a rehash of the dance from the video - which to be fair to Dani, she executed quite well. Just lacked a bit of bounce action, and was she meant to do a floor spin at the end?

Judges' scores: 9, 9, 9, 9
My score: 7.5


Kimberley & Pasha - Tango - "When Doves Cry"

I've said before that I'm not crazy about Kimberley's Ballroom, and I was underwhelmed here as well. Her hold is still way too loose and she went overboard on the facial expression, although her footwork is really good. Sorry Pasha but I did get bored during the routine, that might have been the song choice though. Hope she comes back strongly next week as to be honest, I'm disappointed.

Judges' scores: 8, 9, 8, 9
My score: 7.5


Victoria & Brendan - Salsa - "Candy"

Where do I begin? She messed up at the beginning and just went downhill from there. The armography section was good, but other than that it was a dis-ahhh-stahh. Brendan just couldn't be bothered this week could he? Hehe. Loved when Bruno called him "Brenda" - heard that and thought of Monkseal. It was her time to go, so at least it was on one of her better Latins.

Judges' scores: 4, 6, 6, 5
My score: 4


Louis & Flavia - Paso Doble - "Dirty Diana"

I love this song but even I know that it doesn't work for a Paso. Louis did alright with the capework at the beginning but the dance just completely lacked any attack. I hate to say it but I do blame Flavia's choreography a bit on that one, it didn't really enable Louis to try and deliver on the performance side. I'm glad he has the Charleston this week - if he can't perform in that then he won't be able to at all and will probably leave before the final. His technique is undoubtedly good, but I'm always looking to be excited after the performance, and Team Flouia hasn't given me that so far.

Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7
My score: 6


Lisa & Robin - Rumba - "As If We Never Said Goodbye"

I actually thought she did well with this. I wasn't keen on the song (it was a bit too frantic for me), but she gave the dance a good go and she proved that she could do serious. She at least tried to do the hip action and some of her shaping was good. Unfortunately her frame worked against her on this dance, "it just wasn't her dahhhnce". This week's Quickstep should set her back on the right path.

Judges' scores: 7, 6, 7, 7
My score: 5.5


Michael & Natalie - Argentine Tango - "Bust Your Windows"

I do love this song and I was really looking forward to the dance, to see how Michael has improved as well. He went back to "hanging basket" with his backside and it was all a bit too "English gent" for me. His Samba this week should be entertaining, if mainly for all the wrong reasons!

Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 6
My score: 5


Nicky & Karen - Charleston - "Doop"

I thought this might be Nicky's dance and I was glad to see he did well. I think this was more a case of performance over technique though, more Chris & Ola than Kara & Artem. Surely it should be his time to go soon? Karen can't seem to choreograph much and I reckon she'll be Holt!-ed at the end of the series.

Judges' scores: 9, 9, 9, 9
My score: 7


Denise & James - American Smooth - "Imagine"

Was it just me, or was this as boring as watching a Parliamentary debate? Team Vanjam just rehashed their previous Ballroom routines and added some lifts to it. I HATE those spins! They don't look elegant and she just looks down at the floor whenever she does them. It was a good dance technically but they are yet to wow me performance-wise.

Judges' scores: 9, 9, 9, 10
My score: 8.5


Bruno just gave that a 10 to put Denise at the top of the leaderboard didn't he? Hope the marking is more realistic this coming weekend - will we have a new leaderboard-topper for the first time since.... erm.... week 3 or 4 maybe? I can't remember when Denise wasn't top of the leaderboard. 

SCD Week 5 Review

So Bond and his Pussy Galore have crashed out of the competition. Oh well. At least Kristina and her ever-decreasing outfits have gone. Colin sadly just wasn't camp enough for her choreography. As of this week, I will be introducing ".5"'s to my scores to differentiate better between the dancers.


Was Tess best dressed?: In a word, no. 4/10


Kimberley & Pasha - Salsa - "Naughty Girl" 

To start, the song wasn't suitable for a Salsa. The "flying" - just no point. As for the actual dance, Kimberley's footwork was pretty good, but her arms were awful. She also stumbled out of the first lift, and the armography section at the beginning went really wrong. Not sure what the judges saw in this.

Judges' scores: 8, 8, 8, 9
My score: 6.5

Lisa & Robin - Tango - "Let's Stick Together"

Unlike most people, I felt that the song did kind of go with the dance. Lisa's footwork looked excellent for the most part, and the hold seemed alright to me. She just didn't do the sharp head turns for some reason, and her leg extensions and wrap-around were terrible.

Judges' scores: 7, 7, 6, 7
My score: 6.5

Richard & Erin - Foxtrot - "Big Spender"

And it was all going so well....or not. He went wrong at the very beginning, but he got back into it and was looking good (frame seemed good, as did the footwork). Then, with about 30 seconds to go, he seemed to go wrong on a turn and that just put him off (I'm pretty sure they improvised some of it too).

Judges' scores: 3, 5, 5, 4
My score: 4

Denise & James - Viennese Waltz - "At Last"

I hate to say it (as I really don't like this pairing), but the girl did good. I only saw one "mistake" and it was to do with her arm placement when they were out of hold. Very good work guys, but can Denise and Ian (who's stepping in for an injured James, why not Anton?) please get a bad Latin dance next week? 

Judges' scores: 9, 8, 9, 9
My score: 9

Victoria & Brendan - Samba - "It's Not Unusual"

At least it had some technique in there. Victoria still seems quite unstable in her core and never knows what to do with her free arm. Some of the footwork was messy too. Oh well, Brendan has smashed his Samba curse again, so yay! Btw - LIFT!

Judges' scores: 6, 6, 6, 5
My score: 5 

Louis & Flavia - Samba - "La Bomba"

Am I the only person who just didn't "get" this routine? This was a really bad week for Louis. The samba rolls didn't look as though they were done properly, his free arm went a bit limp at times, and every movement of his arms just looked really "soft" again, which is the issue that I had with his Tango.

Judges' scores: 6, 7, 8, 8
My score: 6

Colin & Kristina - Foxtrot - "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive"

I'm sorry Team Colina but I just didn't like this. Once again, his footwork was good for the most part, but his arms (and hold in general) were poor. With that height difference, the hold was never going to look right. He also messed up his footwork at the very end (loved his kicks though). I'm glad for him that they went out now.

Judges' scores: 6, 7, 7, 7
My score: 5.5

Nicky & Karen - Rumba - "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"

God Karen, your choreography is awful. And you were doing so well in the last 2 weeks too. What pluses can I take out of that routine? Well, his arms looked quite good in places. That's it. Btw LIFT?

Judges' scores: 4, 7, 7, 7
My score: 4

Fern & Artem - Paso Doble - "Espana Cani"

More skirt-wafting I see *yawns* . How much longer is Artem going to play that one for? Fern's footwork looked good until after she came out of the drag where she went a bit wrong, but she picked it back up. Her arms however, are hideous.

Judges' scores: 6, 6, 6, 6
My score: 5.5

Michael & Natalie - Foxtrot - "Sweetest Feeling"

Not as good as last week. In this dance his hold seemed a bit off, as if he was hunched over a little. There was a fair amount of gapping too. He's definitely a Ballroom boy, but I'm waiting for the car-crash that will be the Salsa next week!

Judges' scores: 7, 8, 8, 8
My score: 7.5

Dani & Vincent - Jive - "Dance With Me Tonight"

Now as you all probably know by now, I love these guys, and I wasn't expecting to. I can see what the judges said about her arm extensions, but in this dance I felt she got away with it, and her kicks and flicks were fantastic! 

Judges' scores: 8, 8, 9, 8
My score: 8.5


So my personal leaderboard goes like this:

Denise & James - 36/40
Dani & Vincent - 34/40
Michael & Natalie - 30/40
Kimberley & Pasha - 26/40
Lisa & Robin - 26/40
Louis & Flavia - 24/40
Colin & Kristina - 22/40
Fern & Artem - 22/40
Victoria & Brendan - 20/40
Richard & Erin - 16/40
Nicky & Karen - 16/40