Strictly Come Dancing 2016: Week 3 Review

Just a straight review this week as I couldn’t get onto my laptop whilst the show was on. Also no outfit comments as it’s Movie Week. One thing I would say is, the thumbnails that they have for the clips on the Strictly website (which is how I do my rewatch of each dance) seem to encapsulate the dance itself, Rinder’s in particular this week!

Daisy & Aljaz – Quickstep – “A Spoonful of Sugar” [Mary Poppins]

So twee, and yet somehow I liked it? What I didn’t like was the fact that it took them nearly 25 seconds to actually start dancing, but I guess the prologue of the music kind of forced them into that. Daisy maintained her top-line well, maybe could have extended slightly more (head seemed almost upright in parts), but she didn’t collapse her frame unlike a certain other model who also partnered Aljaz. Ahem. In any case, her footwork looked on point, and although it was more of a slow step than a Quickstep, I’m surprised she didn’t get a higher score. Aljaz even managed to keep the gapping to a minimum which is a feat in itself! Good solid dance for me.

My score: 8.25

Anastacia & Brendan – Viennese Waltz – “A Thousand Years” [Twilight] 
(RECYCLED SONG ALERT: series 10 - Kimberley & Pasha)

Fun fact: this was the song that my older sister walked down the aisle (well down a hill) to at her wedding 2 years ago. As for the dance, Anastacia’s best yet. Her footwork looked good, her posture was great, Ballroom clearly suits her. She does still seem to lose balance quite easily and I think she went wrong at the start too. Nevertheless, Brendan did a good job with choreographing this, and I’m hoping it’s the start of an upward curve for her.

My score: 6.5

Danny & Oti – Paso Doble – “The Train/El Sombero Blanco” [Zorro]
(RECYCLED SONG ALERT: series 9 - Holly & Artem)

Ok I’ll admit, I actually ended up rewatching this a fair few times, it was just that good (that and the thumbnail is clearly from the dress rehearsal). I honestly think that if it was any other week then this would have got 10s. Oti choreographed such a superb routine that worked with the music brilliantly, full props to her here. The arch Danny was able to get in his back was amazing, and he didn’t put a foot wrong that I could see. My only criticism (and this is just purely from an aesthetic point of view) is that he could have put just a little more intent into his shaping as it wasn’t quite masculine enough for me. Still, when you have Mark Ramprakash to compare him to…..

My score: 9.5

Lesley & Anton – Quickstep – “A Couple of Swells” [Easter Parade]

Oh I do love these two, always a joy to watch. My favourite routine of theirs I think. Lesley kept in synch with Anton really well, and she maintained her frame nicely. Really light this routine, and just about the right amount of comedy for me. There was a lot of gapping, and Lesley was practically hidden in Anton’s chest at the end there (which I found funny); but a cracking routine from Anton. Good work you two, keep it up!

My score: 6.25

Will & Karen – Salsa – “Jai Ho (You are my Destiny)” [Slumdog Millionaire]

Loved what the band did with the music there, made it more fitting for the Salsa. Will did lose synch with Karen a couple of times, but the lifts were great and he did manage to pull off the Bollywood style well. As for Len-gate, Will was right to stand up for himself and Karen as Salsa is one of the dances where they get outside help to choreograph, so I do feel it was unfair of Len to pull them up on lack of content, particularly when it’s a theme week and they give them a Bollywood song to try and Salsa to. That being said, I don’t think there was as much Salsa in there as he was claiming; probably about half of what he said (he stated there were 24 counts of 8 of Salsa). He did withdraw after this one which was a shame, but if it’s true that he asked Karen to spend 6 hours on a train going to Cornwall for training as London had a ‘negative energy’ and he wanted to get out, and then he couldn’t be bothered to show up so she had a 12 hour wasted journey, then good for him to go then.

My score: 6.5

Naga & Pasha – Tango – “Mission Impossible Theme” [Mission Impossible]

Poor Naga, he couldn’t get the harness off at the start. Fair play to her though, because she got back into it straight away. Her footwork looked decent, good synch with Pasha, and she had a fair amount of sharpness there. I just wanted her frame to be a little stronger as it did look as though she was getting dragged about sometimes. I don’t think that break of hold was needed, and I did feel like the routine wasn’t choreographed all that well to the music; some parts worked perfectly, but a lot of it just didn’t seem to fit with the melody at all. Sorry Pasha but this just wasn’t the Tango for me.

My score: 6

Rinder & Oksansa – Charleston – “Meet the Flintstones” [The Flintstones]

This is one of those dances that is much better on a second watch. He actually toned down the expressions here, when maybe it would have looked better had he kept them in. Footwork was good for the most part (just needed a little more swivel), synch with Oksana was excellent. He just went wrong on the pendulum trick so that didn’t work at all, and then he almost dropped her in that opening lift (he didn’t fumble though, which makes me think he just got her out a little later than planned). A restrained performance, I would have liked a little more fun I think.

My score: 6.5

Ore & Joanne – American Smooth – “Singin’ in the Rain” [Singin’ in the Rain]
(RECYCLED SONG ALERT: series 6 - Christine & Matthew, series 9 - Jason & Kristina)

Wow, this is more like it! Perfect traditional routine from Joanne and executed fabulously by Ore, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Footwork was impeccable, he maintained his posture, that hand extension when he was at the lamppost was exquisite. Oh, I just loved this. Only one thing I didn’t like – he seemed to do some kind of head roll whilst they were in hold in the middle of the floor, was a little out of keeping with the rest of the dance. Absolutely stunning, just wonderful.

My score: 9

Laura & Giovanni – Salsa – “Rhythm of the Night” [Moulin Rouge]
(RECYCLED SONG ALERT: series 10 - Denise & James)

Probably her best dance for me. Lots of armography again, most of which she pulled off perfectly. Footwork and hip action looked to be there for the most part. Only a few things I saw: firstly, she did lose balance a little during the series of underarm spins at the start; also she seemed to miss a hand grab during the double-armed spin section and it took her a beat or two to recover; finally that last lift and transition into the ending looked really messy. Much more confident though, hopefully onwards and upwards.

My score: 7.25

Greg & Natalie – American Smooth – “(Everything I Do) I Do it for You” [Robin Hood]

Greg can dance, yay! Maybe not as much Foxtrot as I would normally like, but I can forgive that because the lifts were outstanding. The one from a (near enough) sitting start made my jaw drop, and pretty much no preparation went into any of them. As for Greg, footwork looked excellent to me; and his posture has improved, although he was still a little hunched here. Just needs to relax the shoulders a tad more and lift his chest up and he’ll get there. I wish he had bloody smiled at least once though, Natalie was most of the way through. That being said, his best dance by far and a massive improvement from his Tango last time.

My score: 7.5

Claudia & AJ – Charleston – “You Give A Little Love” [Bugsy Malone]

I thought this was called ‘We Could Have Been Anything’ (same song as Tina & Jared wasn’t it?) but apparently I’m wrong. Anyway, Claudia’s best dance yet, think it must be said. Bit of faffing at the start, but unlike Daisy & Aljaz, at least they were both doing something. Claudia’s synch with AJ was excellent (especially since he was overdancing it – I’m starting to think that AJ is the second coming of Kevin….), characterisation was great, and those lifts/tricks were spectacular with no preparation needed (that sideways flip followed by the backflip was executed brilliantly by AJ). The only criticism I had was that sometimes Claudia seemed to pause between movements rather than it all flowing, but that’s the only thing that stopped me going towards 10 territory. Bravo my dears, bravo.

My score: 9

Tameka & Gorka – Tango – “The Heat is On” [Beverley Hills Cop]

Poor Tameka, she really didn’t deserve to go (Laura shouldn’t have been in the bottom 2 either by the way). It’s a shame she didn’t get to show us if she could do beautiful and elegant Ballroom as all of her dances were basically character dances of some description. I wasn’t a fan of Gorka’s choreography with their Paso, and I’m not a fan of this Tango either; I would have liked less breaks of hold, and some of the moves and positions were more suited for Latin dances than a Tango. That being said, Tameka did do well here. Her footwork was pretty sharp, but the reason her upper body and head weren’t as crisp is because she was too upright (Greg had the exact same problem with his Tango the previous week) – she needed to lean back just a touch and pull up, and this would have helped with the sharpness all round. Do love her Tango face though (check out the thumbnail on the website).

My score: 7

Ed & Katya – Samba – “Cuban Pete” [The Mask]

Oh good lord, what did I just witness? Camp as Christmas and yet I loved it, it put a smile on my face. One thing you can say about Ed: he might not be able to dance the steps well but at least he can do them in time (which is more than can be said for a lot of the ‘duffers’ we’ve had on the show). Once again, Katya packed the routine with content – maybe not as much as in previous weeks, but as she had to go with the theme I can forgive her a little. He made a decent attempt at some voltas, and the technique in doing those pot spins (they were called pot something, I know that much) had to be spot on to ensure that Katya didn’t tumble out of them. He gives it everything so I’m glad he’s still in, can’t really give any critique on this one other than that he didn’t get the Samba double bounce, that probably says it all.

My score: 5.25

Louise & Kevin – Cha Cha Cha – “Flashdance….What a Feeling” [Flashdance]

Not sure why they had this on at the end, as it wasn’t really a barnstormer to close the show. Louise’s worst dance for me, there was just something lacking overall and I’m not entirely certain what it was. Her footwork looked good, maybe just needs to finish off the arm extensions (hands not quite shaped), and I was struggling to see the hip action if I’m honest, although that was maybe down to the outfit. The dance did seem a little slow in places too, and it just didn’t grab me the way that her other dances have. I think I’ll need to see another party Latin from her before I know whether it was just this particular dance that didn’t float my boat.

My score: 7

My week 3 Leaderboard:

1. Danny & Oti - 38

=2. Ore & Joanne, Claudia & AJ - 36

4. Daisy & Aljaz - 33

5. Greg & Natalie - 30

6. Laura & Giovanni - 29

=7. Tameka & Gorka, Louise & Kevin - 28

=9. Anastacia & Brendan, Will & Karen, Rinder & Oksana - 26

12. Lesley & Anton - 25

13. Naga & Pasha - 24

14. Ed & Katya - 21