Strictly Come Dancing 2016: Weeks 1 and 2

Yes guys, I’m back! I did miss the first 2 weeks of shows due to a family holiday, but I have caught up now so will post a quick review, with my thoughts on week 3 coming in the next few days. I’ve branched out a little this year and will also be doing reviews of ‘The Apprentice’, the first of which will arrive between this post and my week 3 Strictly post.

Now we’ve got the boring stuff out of the way, let’s get cracking! Sorry but this will be a long one!

Intro to the couple is in red, with the couple's name bolded, week 1 dance is in purple, and week 2 dance is in blue. RSA stands for 'Recycled Song Alert'.

Anastacia & Brendan:

I love this lady, after everything she’s been through she’s still loving life, such an inspiration. I do kinda agree with the fan theory that she was initially paired with Gio but then swapped to Brendan after Gio and Georgia split (nothing surprises me with the producers and ‘Dancing on Ice’ set the precedent when Jorgie Porter was paired with Sylvain in the All-Stars series after his messy break-up with her friend and Hollyoaks co-star Jennifer Metcalfe (basically he ran off with Maria from Corrie, they’re still together now)). Not usually a fan of Brendan’s as his choreography isn’t always brilliant (Bacofoil, Poor SEB with the Michael Jackson Cha Cha Cha….), but as I like his celebrity partner, I hope he’ll get back to the good stuff.

Cha Cha Cha: “Lady Marmalade” (RSA: series 1 – Chris & Hanna)

Love her dress, sexy without being tarty or too young for her age (she does look good for nearly 50), make-up could have been a little more flattering. As for Brendan, he doesn’t do it for me, but Latin shirts suit him gooooood.

As for la dance: before I start, go onto the Strictly website and look at the thumbnail for this dance – purely for the look on Brendan’s face! It’s like ‘Cor, let me get some of that!’ Not entirely sure it’s appropriate for a Cha Cha Cha but considering the song, I’ll give him a pass. Similar to Greg (see his Jive below), it’s like there were 2 Anastacias in this dance. She started off really confident, arms were good (she didn’t just throw away the line, she did follow it through), footwork decent; then she went off-balance in the latter stages and it all went to pot a little as she tried to recover. Cha Cha walks were ok, not the best; did love Brendan’s little slide under the table though, it felt natural with the song. She did get the sass back for the end pose (hello!) but before that, did something go wrong, was she meant to extend her arms towards the floor before coming back up? I’m not sure but that particular move looked messy.

My score: 5.5

Salsa: “Sax” (Can we avoid this song for the next few years now please? So overplayed)

Loved Anastacia’s dress, the fringing really helps with a dance like Salsa where you need to be able to move and then some. Interesting thing: if you look at the thumbnail on the website, Brendan has a glittery sleeveless top on, but he has a jacket on for the duration of the dance itself.

Speaking of the dance, let me give my take on the controversy before I critique it. From what Anastacia has said, she injured herself whilst training for this dance, and even though the doctors advised her to rest, she carried on. This seems to be the part that people have the toughest time with, but surely if the injury was so bad that doctors thought there was no way that she would have been able to dance with it, she would have been forced to take the bye whether she wanted to or not? I personally think that whilst she was advised to rest, she was told that it was up to her as to whether she felt ok enough to compete. 

Brendan DID simplify the routine (no actual lifts in there, just the floor slide) so she must have thought that if she could get through this week (and it would be her best chance of getting through) then she could take the bye at a later stage if the injury then worsened; it’s only logical, otherwise you could feel ok but take the bye to be cautious, and then have a worse injury next week that causes you to withdraw as you’ve already used the bye. It’s understandable why she took the decision that she did. 

What seems to have happened after that is that Anastacia injured herself during the routine when she did the floor side (it took a while for her to get up but I don’t know if that was choreographed), and when she found out she was in the dance-off, that’s why she said what she did about how she was scared to do it again but that she would do it. Between then and when the dance-off was to take place, it looks as though she was checked over by someone backstage and was told she couldn’t do the dance-off (after Ali Bastian had to dance-off with injured feet back in series 7, I’d say wise move). I don’t feel that the decision was in her hands, but I do think that Tess/Claud could have said whilst Melvin and Anastacia were getting ready “As Anastacia injured herself during her routine, she’s getting checked over backstage just to make sure she’s okay to compete in the dance-off. If she’s unable to, then ….”. I reckon there wouldn’t have been so much backlash if there had been something like this happen and I do feel for her.

Phew! Those 2 pennies were an effort to try and make somewhat coherent. As for the initial Salsa itself, although it was simplified and no lifts were attempted, I still think that it was actually decent. She had a few wobbly moments but she didn’t lose the performance and it was recognisable as a Salsa *apologises to Will & Karen for what is going to come*.

My score: 5

Claudia & AJ:

I like Claudia as a gymnast, haven’t seen much of her personality so she’ll be one to watch initially. AJ is only 21 or so bless him, and the hair doesn’t do him any favours on that score. See he’s been on BGT though so he’ll be used to the cameras at least. Hope he’s more of an Aljaz than a Jared (Aljaz was only 24 when he started on the show and Jared was about 22, although he’s more known as ‘that guy who danced in High School Musical’ so not the best point to start from….).

Cha Cha Cha: “What Makes You Beautiful” by Wand Erection (yeah sorry, saw this name for them the once and I can’t think of them as anything else now) (RSA: series 11 – Ashley & Ola)

Outfits were fantastic, they complemented each other so well. Perhaps Claudia’s skirt could have been a little longer, the length made her legs look dumpy at times. CUT YOUR HAIR AJ! (I will be repeating this until he gets it cut. That, or he does the Charleston because it kinda suits that dance….)

And as for the routine: AJ was overdancing, but Claudia was still lacking in energy and attack even when she wasn’t directly near him. Some of the gymnastics were unnecessary (bet the other pros would have still put some in though so I don’t entirely blame him), but the leap into the end position was fab (who else did that? Was it Jake Wood?). It had a lot of content and when Claudia was shadowing AJ she kept in sync really well. I just wanted a little more pizzazz from this, and I’m not sure whether it was AJ’s choreography or Claudia’s lack of energy. Hmm, maybe party Latin won’t be as suited to her as I thought.

Score: 5.5

Waltz: “You Light Up My Life” (RSA: series 2 – Julian & Erin, series 8 – Gavin & Katya, series 11 – Susanna & Kevin)

They both looked so pretty, the flower pattern (his shirt, her skirt) suited them both. Whilst red isn’t a colour you normally see in Waltz outfits, I think their youth let them get away with it (personally, I think Claudia’s skirt was what came first and everything else bloomed *yes I know, I’m sorry* from that. Claudia’s hair was beautiful too, wish mine could look as nice as that.

Ahem, so onto the dance. Now, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this, as I didn’t know whether AJ would go down the Kevin route (nice and traditional, lovely to watch) or the Artem route (WAFT UNTIL I DIE!) when it came to Ballroom. Thankfully it was the former for the most part. I don’t think the neck spin at the end was needed, but I was impressed by the rest of the routine. Claudia’s performance skills came into play with the start, and then when the chorus came and they got into proper hold it was smooth sailing from there. Apart from when she seemed to lose balance whilst moving down into the bottom-right corner that one time, but the rest was lovely, graceful and elegant. 

I think I’m with Craig on the ‘extension vs over-extension’ debate, she extended just a little too much, and that could adversely affect her when she has something like the Foxtrot or American Smooth where the tempo of the music is a little faster. As far as female Ballroom on Strictly is concerned, I ask myself one question: what would Natalie Lowe do? On this one, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nat extend as much as Claudia did here, so that’s why I’m more on Craig’s side. That being said, well done to the both of them, and I look forward to seeing what AJ can do with my favourite dances (Tango/Paso/Jive if you want to know).

My score: 6.5

Daisy & Aljaz:

I only know Daisy from her being the former gf of Matt Smith, so bit of a blank canvas for me. She doesn’t look like your typical model so it will be interesting to see if she exhibits some of the same flaws that previous celeb models had (mostly being ungainly in the Latin and struggling to control their limbs). I’ve got a lot of time for Aljaz as a choreographer (Latin a bit iffy sometimes but he’s usually a god in Ballroom), but he’s not one of those pros that I’ll always support no matter what, depends on his partner (bit like Brendan in that sense).

Waltz: “Unforgettable”

Daisy looked gorgeous, Aljaz was handsome, need I say more?

Onto the dance: wow, this was stunning to watch. It seemed short to me, which is always a good sign. Bit too much faff at the start for my liking (Aljaz channelling Dance Demon Artem there), but once they got into hold, it was just magical. Daisy’s topline was exquisite, her arms were beautiful, her footwork impeccable. This might be one of those dances that I end up rewatching after the series has finished, and I didn’t think I’d be saying that. Fully deserved top of the leaderboard.

My score: 8.25

Cha Cha Cha: “Forget You” (RSA: series 10 – Louis & Flavia)

Love the retro vibe with the dress, the candy stripes go brilliantly with the set (speaking of the set, iirc the video for this song was set in a diner too wasn’t it?). The only thing I don’t like is Daisy’s hair, but I think that’s just down to the style. Tight trousers for Aljaz, is it the Chinese Year of the Bum or something? Not that I’m complaining, mind……

As for the dance: if Naga’s was disappointing then so was this. Pretty much everything Daisy did was with a hand (or both) on her hip – she’s a lot better than that, and it meant that whilst her footwork was decent, her hip action suffered and she couldn’t put much energy into her upper body. The section where she was walking round Aljaz lasted way too long as well. It’s a shame because I think she’s capable, but she wasn’t able to show it. The lift (sorry but I doubt Daisy could do that trick without having both feet off of the floor at some point) was unnecessary and it just meant that marks were knocked off when they didn’t need to be (I’ve had to knock a bit of my score off too). I said in my intro to the couple how Aljaz’s Latin choreo can be a bit iffy sometimes, and sadly, this was one of those times.

My score: 5.25

Danny & Oti:

Ah yes, ‘him from Hollyoaks who was previously on the West End in Wicked’. Damn he is quite pretty though. The ringer for the series perhaps? I’m seriously happy for Oti after the bad luck she had last series in getting Anthony (no disrespect to Mr Ogogo, but he shouldn’t have been in the line-up with his injury), so hopefully I’ll get to see some great choreography from her, she might well end up becoming one of my favourite pros.

Cha Cha Cha: “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE (aka 1 Jonas Brother and some other people)

Danny looked hawt, especially with the hat at the start – I’m a sucker for a good looking guy who can wear a hat well. Oti’s dress is sparkly to high heaven and I LOVED it!

Ahem, let’s skip to the good bit shall we? For week 1, this was amazing. I’ve actually had to just rewatch it twice to look at everything as they crammed so much content in. That should tell you something about how good it was. Danny’s confidence worked for him in this dance: he pulled off the MJ stylings brilliantly, he attacked everything, it was a joy to watch actually; props to Oti. If I had to nitpick slightly, I would say that he needs to work a little more on those arms, get them positioned perfectly every time as he threw the line away occasionally, and he also was out of time on a couple of beats. His synch was pretty spot on apart from that, which is quite remarkable. This pair will certainly be ones to watch, so happy for Oti.

My score: 7.75

Viennese Waltz: “Never Tear Us Apart” (RSA: series 10 – Lisa & Robin)

The styling for this matched the choreography for me: traditional with hints of drama and modernity. Oti’s dress was gorgeous, maybe not so much the top half but the skirt was full and lovely, perfect for creating that movement as they whirl around the floor.

And whirl they did. I was wowed last week, and I was again with this one. Oti’s choreography played with the accents and changes in the music perfectly, particularly the parts where the music stopped and so did they – so much was conveyed and said without even having to dance. Danny’s performance was spot on, his looks at Oti when she was walking away with the bag and when he met her at the steps told you everything. The only slight niggle for me was that whilst Danny’s footwork and drive were excellent, he seemed to use his shoulder too much to create that movement at times. A dramatic Viennese Waltz I always like (I’ve praised Kristina before when she’s done those) and this was no exception.

My score: 8.5

Ed & Katya:

I might not support Mr Balls politically, but good on him for agreeing to do this. I did feel sorry for Katya when she got him as she’s a new pro, but I’ve got so much respect for her because like Oti last year (and Karen and Natalie with some of their partners), she hasn’t sulked, got on with it and hasn’t gone down the comedy route. I love this partnership, this could be the ‘Jeremy & Karen’ couple for me.

Waltz: “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (RSA: series 5 – Kenny & Ola, series 9 – Dan & Katya)

For starters, love their outfits. Some sequins for Ed already (he can’t be completely dignified with his wardrobe choices), and Katya’s dress complemented his suit well. Went with the ‘night’ theme beautifully so they both looked gorgeous, theming as a whole was executed splendidly here (apart from the hat flying off, the wire was clearly visible whilst it was still on Katya’s head).

Onto the dance: bravo sir! Whilst he does need to pay attention to his hand positioning (started off well, collapsed a little, then came back; for his arm extensions he needs to follow it through with his fingers, did Craig call it ‘spatulistic’ at all?), his footwork and timing were very good, surprisingly so. The other thing he needs to watch out for is his posture: just relax the shoulders a tad and pull up slightly. I liked Katya’s choreography for this too; the only part I would have changed would be when he basically stood there while she spun away, then back towards him and then into his arms – it was just a little too long that he wasn’t doing anything. A good start, I must say.

My score: 5.5

Charleston: “The Banjo’s Back in Town”

Teehee, cowboy Ed is brilliant, he just needed a hat really. Katya was just cuteness personified with the shorts and hairstyle. I like this more relaxed look for Ed and it was in keeping with the song.

I didn’t think I would say this: I would have given it a standing ovation at home. THIS is what a ‘duffer’ can do with the right choreography (I know they get outside help with Charleston), and it’s not a pure comedy routine, there’s content here that you can see in Charlestons like Georgia’s from last year, or Claudia’s from this series. His sense of timing is amazing; yes he seemed to forget a step at the beginning and he lost synch with Katya a few times when they were shadowing, but he always managed to get back without making it obvious that he was trying to get back on track. The tricks were executed really well too, only occasionally did you see the preparation go into them. 

Want to know a secret? *checks no-one is listening and leans in to whisper* I think Ed might actually be better than Jeremy Vine was last year (and Jeremy is one of my favourite ‘comedy contestants’ ever), something I never thought would even be thought, let alone possibly spoken out loud.

My score: 6.25 (I was going between 6 and 6.25, but I was so impressed that stuff it, I’m going with the higher score)

Greg & Natalie:

Have to support my fellow ginger (is this the real reason that Neil doesn’t have a celeb? He looks way too much like Greg (aside from the fact that he’s like, a foot shorter)), and I love Natalie now, even though I didn’t take to her at first (her whole ‘I’m looking to get a 10 in week 1’ shtick with Ricky (who I didn’t like anyway) put her in my bad books initially). She’s one of the best choreographers on the show too, so I’ll be looking forward to their dances. Hope Greg is more of a Louis Smith than a Iwan Thomas (much as I like Iwan, a dancer he was not).

Jive: “Get Ready”

Loved the outfits here – dark blue you don’t normally see in a Jive but it was just light enough that it worked. Nat’s dress was great (even if it did look like a bra and skirt initially), and Greg’s sequinned top was awesome.

As for the dance, erm… bit of a bad start for Greg initially. First he forgot his cue to start the routine (styled it out well though I thought), and then he did Flappy Bird round the dancefloor (is it just me or did Ola do this with Iwan last year too?) When he started properly, he also got into position slightly too early – you can see him pause just before Natalie came back to him. It did improve from there though, and his timing was pretty much spot-on after that. 

Greg seems to be 2 dancers in one: lower body was good (could have pointed his feet a little more on the kicks), upper body not so much. It’s like there were 2 halves struggling to move together. He needs to watch his free arm (I don’t mean to always have it placed somewhere either, as when the celeb men do that WE KNOW it’s placed (trust me, it’s obvious); just try to keep it moving as much as possible and not be static for too long). Loved that leapfrog over Natalie, she only had to slightly move her head downwards, got some good height on that!

My score: 6

Tango: “Jump”

Oh I do love a bit of emerald green, and they both wear it so well. Poor Greg, this was why everyone started talking about his bum (it is nice though.. oh no, now I’m doing it too *”SOMEBODY STOP MEEEE” no Ed, that’s next week*). One question though: why, when Greg had a green shirt with blue waistcoat and trousers, was he given a tie that was neither of those colours? *Sigh* this is why I don’t think I’ll ever understand fashion.

Anyway, onto the routine: I know I’m doing this again, but the bum was everything that was wrong with this dance for Greg. Let me explain – because his bum was sticking out, his torso was forward but everything below that was weighted back. It’s actually meant to be the other way round, and this meant that whilst he maintained a strong hold position, his frame was wobbly as his torso kept being nudged forward when he attempted to move his feet (his feet were too far back so although he attacked the dance and drove into the floor, he couldn’t get his feet into position before his torso moved). It affected the sharpness too, as he couldn’t move his feet properly. 

What he might need to do to try and start fixing it is to stand up straight with feet slightly apart, and then just try and move his torso so that he will start leaning back whilst his feet are fixed to the floor in front – this will mean that he has to (unconsciously) keep adjusting his weight as he leans further and further back in order to not fall backwards, and so then if he can do that, he can then go some of the way back whilst moving his feet below him as he’ll be able to maintain the weight of his posture (kind of like when Joanne did the backbends in the Addams Family Foxtrot with Scott, getting to the point where you resemble the letter r in shape). Ending jump was just a little odd for me…..

My score: 5.25

Laura & Giovanni:

I’ll admit it now, I’m not a fan of either of these two so I’ll be quietly hoping they don’t win. With Laura, it’s purely for her voice (for some reason, female Irish accents grate on me and hurt my ears. Christine Bleakley was the same when she was on) so I can happily watch her dance but have to mute any interviews. Gio, not sure what it even is with him. Maybe it’s down to how he was with Georgia last year (‘I prefer blondes’, ‘she’s like my sister’, yet we know they were getting it on really; poor Sean). His choreography isn’t always great either: ‘the boob rub’ in Georgia’s Rumba, the Paso (love the song but the dance was….well the best bit was when he played the drums at the start) to name but two. Yet he can have moments of brilliance too: how he managed to get a Tango to go with ‘Ghostbusters’ still amazes me, and the Samba was awesome. Please Gio, give me something good to watch!

Cha Cha Cha: “Venus” (RSA: series 9 – Russell & Flavia)

Ok so to start off with, not sure about the dress here – I know it’s all Grecian inspired and whatnot but the fringing was just a bit too long, and I don’t know, but white doesn’t suggest Cha Cha Cha to me. Gio looked hot though, have to say that.

Dance-wise; to me it was basically ‘how much armography can Laura do?’. This was to her detriment actually: there was so much armography that she did end up throwing the line away sometimes. Bit loose in the arms too, she could have put a little more energy in to make them look a little stronger (don’t worry, I’ll most likely end up saying this when one of the men does a Paso, like I did with Jay last year). I also would have liked them to dance together a bit more, it was all very ‘Laura walks off and does some armography whilst Gio looks after her’ at times. 

It looked like Gio was moving her into place in that section when she spun whilst in his arms (little off balance maybe). I hate to say this but the choreography as a whole was quite repetitive, did bore me when I first watched it. That being said, she did have some hip action in there and she put in quite a confident performance actually, considering she was first up for the series. Pretty good turns as well on the whole. I don’t think she’ll be the best dancer, but I can see her improving and getting to around halfway at least.

My score: 6

Waltz: “If I Ain’t Got You” (or in Black Country speak – “If Oi Ay Go’ Yow”, I swear all songs can be livened up by making them Black Country) (RSA: series 8 – Pamela & James, series 11 – Natalie & Artem)

Firstly, nice touch with the bottom of Laura’s dress so that parts of the skirt match the colour of Giovanni’s suit, and it looked stunning on her. Loved her hair too (for some reason long wavy hair always looks nice on women, just a shame I can’t do it myself).

As for the dance: I liked it the first time – Laura is definitely more of a Ballroom girl – but I was impressed even more on the rewatch. Why? Well, it was because her footwork was seriously good; she matched Gio and was closing her feet as she should. There were a few niggles for me though: still too much armwork for one. Until you can get it looking graceful and natural 100% of the time like Claudia did in her Waltz, don’t do too much of it. How would stroking your own face (which Laura was doing at the end) be graceful? I just don’t get it. Also, it looked as though both feet came off the floor just before she went down into the floor section. Think she may have slipped there. Lastly, she just needs to make sure her hand position on Gio’s arm doesn’t start to collapse, as it seemed like it was doing that towards the end. Much better than last week though, so much better.

My score: 7

Lesley & Anton:

If I look as good as she does by the time I’m 70 then I’ll be lucky indeed. I like Lesley and I reckon I’ll be enjoying this partnership a lot this series. Anton, well he is King of the ‘Comedy Routine’ but I hope he doesn’t go down that route too much this time. I wouldn’t mind actually if he did replace Len after this series is done, he’s from the same mould so I reckon he’d fill the same role Len does (I can imagine him going ‘You came aht…’ already.)

Waltz: “What’ll I Do?” (aka Birds of a Feather theme tune) (RSA: series 7 – Ricky & Erin, series 11 – Tony & Aliona)

Well I did say on DS when I found out Lesley would be in it: “if she doesn’t do a week 1 Waltz to the Birds of a Feather theme tune then I’ll eat my hat” (it is there, somewhere). So luckily I didn’t have to.

Stunning dress for Lesley, maybe a touch too dark for her but the bodice was glam and sparkly and just, beautiful. Felt Anton could have had a dark pink handkerchief or something (I have this odd thing about the outfits having to match in some way).

As for the dance, again I felt this wasn’t given enough credit by the judges. Yes her posture could do with some work (she’ll always look like she’s straining though because of the height difference), and she did mess up a little in that bottom-right corner; but, she maintained the frame well (no wobbling about) and the footwork was decent too, matching Anton for the most part. She covered the floor well (well done Anton) and followed Anton’s lead nicely. She does need to make her arm extensions flow a little more (she did try though, I could see that, she was almost there), but she did extremely well for week 1 and also bravo Anton as that was a gorgeous routine.

My score: 6

Cha Cha Cha: “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps”

Again, Lesley looked fabulous. Amazingly I’m in agreement with Vicky Gill – jewel colours really do suit her brilliantly (hoping for an emerald green at some point, one of my favourite colours and I reckon Lesley would look stunning as usual). Anton’s sparkly trousers didn’t repulse me, oddly…..

Moving swiftly on, for some reason the start reminded me of Vincent’s first dance with Edwina Currie (similar story but it was Ballroom). Lesley’s always going to be at a disadvantage having to dance up to Anton *brain bleach might be needed for that mental image, although surprisingly the bum rub didn’t have that effect. Maybe I’m too used to things like that happening during Anton Latin now*, so she’ll look wobbly and loose as she did here. Like some of the others, she can control her legs well but the upper body does something entirely different. I do think Anton needs to help her out a little here, but I’m not sure how he can improve it. Fabulous routine by the way Mr Du Beke, and loved the leg extension at the end.

My score: 5

Louise & Kevin:

Not a massive fan of Louise as a TV presenter, but I do love Kev so I’m hoping that she grows on me. This was a bit of a surprise pairing though as I was expecting for Kevin to get Tameka (although in hindsight, she’s like Kellie personality-wise so maybe not the best choice for him); but this partnership works for me. Kevin’s had to go with some awful music choices in his time (AT to Beethoven with Frankie, ‘Boom! Shake the Room!’ for a Samba with Kellie), and made them work so a lot of respect for him as a choreographer (THAT Paso with Susanna, THAT Tango with Frankie, THAT AS and Showdance with Kellie).

Jive: “Jump, Jive & Wail” (RSA: series 1 – Natasha & Brendan, series 11 – Ben & Kristina)

Really liked the sailor theme going on here, the style of the dress suited Louise to a T (wish it was a different colour though).

As for the dance: WOW, I was not expecting this! I understand why she got a 9 from Len (too high for week 1 really but he had nowhere to go from scoring some others highly). Full of content and energy from Louise (she did start flagging slightly towards the end but didn’t lose time); and great timing and synch with Kev – speaking of Kev, did he actually ‘underdance’ this? Didn’t seem as frantic as a normal Crazy Legs Kevin Jive. Arms were styled well, footwork was good (maybe needed a little more action for the kicks and flicks), she looked confident. Kevin always produces a good Jive and this was no exception. The only thing I didn’t like was the beginning when Louise was just standing there hip-wiggling for a fair few counts, but the rest of the routine was classy, energetic and light. If I could have given a standing ovation, I would.

My score: 7.75

Viennese Waltz: “Hallelujah”

Urgh, the bottom of her dress I like but the top half with the fringing does not suit Lou one iota.

I think my feelings on this dance can be summed up with the following sentence, yet I’ll elaborate further anyway: I would have given a standing ovation.

Seriously, it was THAT good. Her footwork was excellent, she maintained her posture. It was an amazing routine from Kevin, got to give him his dues. Beautiful and flowing throughout, almost as good as Danny & Oti’s for me. The reason I only say ‘almost’ is because like Danny, there were a few things that Louise could have done to make it better. To start off with, just fully complete the lines on her arm extensions. She’s almost got it perfect, just needs to flow that through to the fingers as well. Also, she doesn’t always spot when she does turns or spins, so sometimes you can see her look at the floor as she’s moving through meaning that she looks slightly off-balance when she finishes the transition. *Channelling Brendan for a moment* THIS GIRL could well get Kevin his 4^th final, she’s up there with Danny at the top for me currently.

My score:  8.25

Melvin & Janette:

Don’t know Melvin at all and everyone knows my feelings on Janette’s choreography, so no disrespect to Melvin, but I hope he isn’t good so that he’s not wasted with Janette (it was the same with Ola back when she was on the show, and Janette’s alright personally (felt sorry for her when she got lumbered with the Andre Show last year), but her choreography is shocking most of the time).

Cha Cha Cha: “Loco in Acapulco”

Outfits were amazing, complemented each other and suited the routine/song perfectly, bright colours look good on them both.

As for the dance, not much I can say really. Less actual Cha Cha Cha content than Mr Andre’s last year, and the maracas were not necessary. Melvin did well with what he was given, but sadly he wasn’t given much. I did however, LOVE his ‘walking to the dancefloor dance’ at the start (thank you Peter Kay, you have served me well here). A normal Janette routine unfortunately.

My score: 5

Tango: “Moving on Up”

I like the sharp styling that they both have going on here, but I do wish that the shades of red on their outfits were the same. It’s like Melvin’s jacket is the same colour red as AJ’s Waltz shirt, but Janette’s top is the brighter shade of red that were Karen’s Jive trousers, just clashed for me. Loved the floor projection though.

The dance? Let’s just say that you could tell Janette was actually leading there. She tried, but Melvin just danced the footwork rather than drove it. The section with the trolley wasn’t needed, mind. I wondered last time whether he could do more – well she gave him more but he couldn’t do it. No wonder he was bottom 2 with that dance (and this guy was a dance teacher? Really?).

My score: 4.5

Naga & Pasha:

Naga seems likeable enough, and Pasha I can take or leave depending on the partnership (liked him with Carol, Caroline and Chelsee; not with Kimberley or Rachel). He’s another one that can sometimes be awesome with choreography (Chelsee’s Jive and Paso, Caroline’s Jive and Rumba) and yet sometimes look to phone it in (Carol’s Cha Cha Cha, poor Rachel’s Paso), so hopefully more of the former please.

Waltz: “Run to You” (RSA: series 5 – Willie & Erin)

Elegant and sophisticated dress for Naga, splendid job designers (love the pale mint colour and the halterneck actually worked with it. You know what I’m going to say about Pash (match just something please wardrobe).

Onto the dance: I can see what the judges mean about how Naga’s nerves and lack of confidence are affecting, she kept looking down at the floor during the performance. Nice floorcraft though (good work there Pash) and footwork seemed decent for the first part - it did look as though she’d mis-timed going into that first step after coming down the stairs, but she recovered well. 

What she needs to work on (aside from her confidence) is her hold and general posture. She should be extending more in her lines (both top-line and that low leg extension she did, seemed as though she didn’t go down far enough), and whilst her hand position was good to start with, by halfway through it did go to collapsed hand, where it stayed from thereon in. Beautiful ending though, with the one-footed spin and then her turn into Pasha with her arms above her head, that flowed really nicely and I wish she could have used that grace more within the rest of the dance. Decent start to her Strictly adventure.

My score: 5.5

Cha Cha Cha: “Fool in Love”

Naga looked so nice here, the wig made her look younger and the dress was made for her; beautiful fringing, shame it didn’t move all that much but more on that in a moment.

*sighs* probably the most disappointing dance of the week for me. Very repetitive choreography from Pasha, and it was just …. I hate to say it but boring. You can see Naga’s lack of confidence in abundance here: she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she’s looking to Pasha all the time for where to go next so that whilst she keeps up, it all looks very half-hearted. She starts the moves, but never quite finishes them. I know it seems like I’m being harsh (and I probably am), but if you look at the thumbnail on the website, you’ll see exactly what I mean. I only saw her smile twice; once in the routine, and then at the end when it was over. She needs to get back to Ballroom and fast, otherwise she’s going out before she can really improve.

My score: 4.

Ore & Joanne:

I like Ore, he’s a good presenter and seems able to take the mick out of himself; and I do like Joanne (she was brilliant on Choreography Corner last year) – she did a fabulous AS with Harry Judd for the Xmas Special and I’ve got my fingers crossed for more of that magic this series, with Scott I have one lowlight (‘I’m a crab!’) and one highlight (Addams Family, she outdid herself with that routine) so more highlights please Jo!

Tango: “Geronimo”

Lovely dress for Joanne, nice touch that the colours match Ore’s shirt. His trousers were bloody awful though, way too tight (as I’ll explain in a minute).

Now onto the dance itself; yes there was some faffing, and the storyline was a little confusing to follow (I only understood when someone said to look at the cover of the comic that Jo was reading). I do feel though that it kind of had to go that way due to the music and the lyrics, literal choreography, so be it (music choice was horrible, ‘nuff said). 

Nice butterfly kick from Ore on the bench (not needed but good to know he can do it). His hold looked strong and masculine, just needed to tuck his bum under as it seemed like he was hunching at times. Also, what was with that tongue poking out at the camera there?! This isn’t Bradley Wiggins *sorry, Sir Bradley Wiggins* at an Olympic medal ceremony, this is a serious Tango that we’re dealing with here! Footwork looked great, a good dance on the whole, even with the (awful!) music. Also, thank you Joanne for putting in that ‘repel! And now more slowly attract….’ move that I remember so fondly from Hollyoaks Ashley (was robbed) and Ola’s Tango a few years ago.

My score: 7

Cha Cha Cha: “Hot Stuff” (RSA: series 3 – Darren & Lilia, series 10 – Michael & Natalie)

I thought Wardrobe did a sublime job on the outfits (even though they were making boy’s shirts with those designs back when I was at primary school in the early 00s). Fitted with the song, and Joanne’s hair was styled well too.

What about the dance though? I think Ore had the same problem that Laura and Claudia did in their CCCs – it just looked like he was lacking in energy and attack a little, particularly towards the end. Also, like Greg in his Jive, Ore’s lower body was doing well but the upper half wasn’t matching it. He was trying to extend his arms for the New Yorkers, and he almost got it, just needed to move his arm outwards a little more as it was almost vertical. Whilst he did lose his timing occasionally, he synched pretty well with Joanne in the shadow sections, so maybe that’s something that could be useful for a lot of his dances (NOT Star Wars Charleston though, doesn’t need to go that far). 

As for the choreography, I think Jo got the balance right in terms of how much he was on his own and how much they were together; but the section with the pole just wasn’t needed, or if it had to be in then it should have been tweaked as Ore looked awful and the kick (if that was meant to be done) was really lazy. I’d quite like to see him do a Paso actually, as that’s the one dance where you have to look strong and have intent – would be interesting to see if he could up his game for that.

My score: 5.75

Rinder & Oksana:

LOVE these two! He’s going to be camp as Christmas, and she’s going to let him. I can’t help but feel that she’s specifically replaced Kristina (if she were in this series, I reckon she would have got Rob instead), but I’m hoping for good things from Oksana. Entertaining things if nothing else.

Cha Cha Cha: “Mercy” (RSA: series 6 – Andrew & Ola, series 11 – Patrick & Anya)

Props to the costume department here; the judges’ gown looked right and the shirt was gorgeous (black definitely suits him). They could have done more with Oksana’s dress though; right idea with the fringing but the colours didn’t go with what Rob was wearing (maybe just mute them a tad more). Her prison garb at the beginning was stunning and I actually didn’t notice her changing behind the lectern as I was too focused on Rob (clever choreography my dear).

As for the dance: OMG THOSE FACES! When I first saw this I was actually crying of laughter at the faces alone. He was gurning even more than Chris Hollins the Hobbit ever did (and that takes some beating, let me tell you). On the whole though, I do think this was undermarked. Some good hip action in there, arms were great mostly (does need to watch the hand placement and make sure he doesn’t throw away the line like he did a few times), he had amazing timing throughout, really in sync with Oksana. 

He did mess up a little at the end with the knee turn – Oksana had to pull him up there and it did look clumsy – but the handspring was a nice surprise. The spins at the beginning, he did lose balance at the start of the third one which put him off course but you wouldn’t notice as he styled it out so well. Clever routine from Oksana, this was tailor-made for Rob and he performed it with aplomb. Now about the arms, this is what I was talking about with Greg’s dance (Laura’s too actually) – he never had his free arm static for long, and the arm movements (when not being extended) were always flowing and natural. That’s what you don’t see very often with the male celebs, so well done there Rob, excellent work. I didn’t appreciate this dance on first watch, but viewing it again, I’d say it was undermarked by a few points.

My score: 6.75

American Smooth: “Marvin Gaye”

First of all, love the theming! Perfect sickly sweet prom, and bravo Rob for agreeing to wear baby pink and a frilled shirt (not many men would). Oksana looked stunning, pure prom queen material. Top marks on the styling, I must say.

Now onto the dance, and again, like his Cha Cha Cha, I appreciate it much more on a second viewing. His footwork was good, the lifts were outstanding, and the performance was a joy to watch – he did tone down the facial gymnastics but boy this guy can act. Just a couple of things I noticed: firstly, he needs to *sorry, about to channel Darcey here, do excuse me* do just a little more work on his core as the frame wobbled occasionally *and back to me again*, but also just put some more shaping into his hands as they did look spatulistic at times. Great musicality though, would love to see him do a Tango (and not just for the face either, I’m not that shallow) so he can show that musicality off in a different way.

My score: 7

Tameka & Gorka:

Oh I do like Tameka. At least I know how to pronounce her name now. I always like to watch people who are enjoying themselves, and I think Tameka will be one of those. Gorka the Corker indeed, so glad they’ve had a Paso so I can have an ogle or two.

Paso Doble: “Y Viva Espana”

Loved her dress, loved him showing his chest. One thing though: that black part at the top of the dress, what was that meant to be? Because from a distance it looked as though it was hair extensions (look at the thumbnail on the website, you’ll see what I mean).

As for the dance: not that impressed. I do feel Gorka could have done a lot more with Tameka, they were mostly separate and she was swishing her skirt a bit too much for my liking. If it was meant to showcase Gorka then they achieved that, but I do think more content was required. Arms weren’t strong or really shaped at all (neither were Gorka’s at some points), but she did look a lot better when she was together with Gorka. I commend her for performance, but this could have been so much better.

My score: 5

Charleston: “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” (RSA: series 7 – Laila & Anton, series 9 – Jason & Kristina)

Haha, the nautical theme was fabulous! This style suited Tameka a lot more than her Paso dress did last time, and Gorka for some reason looked quite hot *fans self, then Gorka too* The shoes definitely did not help her though as I’ll explain in a moment.

Now this is more like it! Full of energy and performance, great synch with Gorka too in the shadow sections, and Charleston is one of those dances where timing is crucial. She was a little flat-footed in the swivels (the shoes) and the pull-through went wrong (she didn’t quite manage to reach his hand in time so she had to push herself up off of the floor) so she was off-time for the start of the next section, but full credit to her as she pulled it back. Very entertaining and I certainly enjoyed it.

My score: 6.5

Will & Karen:

Not really a fan of Will (I did vote for him to win Pop Idol though, 14 years ago) but I like Karen so I’m somewhat supporting them. Karen’s usually pretty good on the choreography front (Nicky Byrne apart, that Cha Cha Cha was just odd, and Jeremy’s Quickstep wasn’t the best either) so crossing my fingers for at least one ‘wow!’ routine from them.

Tango: “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie (RIP his quirky soul) (RSA: series 7 – Jo & Brendan)

First of all, Karen’s dress is awesome. The only thing she needed was red shoes and it would have been perfect. Will, well his bottom was doing a Greg Rutherford there (check out the thumbnail).

Onto the dance: Karen likes pushing the traditional boundaries a bit with her choreography and I think she made it work here. The beginning over the chess table fit nicely with the music, and they got into hold pretty quickly. As for Will, footwork looked good, frame was a little too loose sometimes but he had the sharpness down. His posture seemed odd, don’t know the reason but it didn’t look right to me sometimes. Loved the dramatic feel of this dance, Karen totally got the accents of the music here. One thing though, did her foot come off the floor during the one-footed section? It looked like it did a couple of times. All in all, not a perfect start, but then the Week 1 Tango doesn’t normally fare too well in terms of scores.

My score: 6.5

Jive: “Rock Around the Clock”

Love what Wardrobe did for Karen with the 50s styling, but why didn’t they spend time on Will? Essentially he had a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers to contend with, it’s as if they couldn’t be bothered.

I honestly didn’t think anyone could out-camp Rinder but I think Will’s just done it. Not in the face, but just watch his arms and hands all the way through – not much style to them and the hands tend to collapse downwards a lot. The trick at the start (it was like they were aiming for an aerial version of the ‘around the world’ trick in football) was messily executed, and there were other little things that prevented this from being a good dance for Will: those would be forgetting the steps in one side-by-side section which meant that he had to stand still for a beat or two so Karen could catch up, and going off-time on occasion. 

I would have thought the Jive would be a strong dance for Will so I’m a bit disappointed at the showing here, but I’m sad that he’s now gone as I really wanted him to build on this and improve in future weeks as his Tango showed some potential.

My score: 5

My week 1 Leaderboard:

1. Daisy - 33

=2. Danny, Louise - 31

4. Ore - 28

5. Rinder - 27

6. Will – 26

=7. Greg, Lesley, Laura - 24

=10. Anastacia, Claudia, Ed, Naga - 22

=14. Melvin, Tameka – 20

My week 2 Leaderboard:

1 Danny - 34

2 Louise - 33

=3. Rinder, Laura - 28

=5. Claudia, Tameka – 26

7. Ed - 25

8. Ore – 23

=9. Daisy, Greg - 21

=11. Anastacia, Lesley, Will– 20

14. Melvin - 18

15. Naga - 16

Overall Leaderboard for weeks 1 and 2

1. Danny – 31 + 34 = 65

2. Louise – 31 + 33 = 64

3. Rinder – 27 + 28 = 55

4. Daisy – 33 + 21 - 54

5. Laura – 24 + 28 = 52

6. Ore – 28 + 23 = 51

7. Claudia – 22 + 26 = 48

8. Ed – 22 + 25 = 47

=9. Tameka – 20 + 26 = 46, Will – 26 + 20 = 46

11. Greg – 24 + 21 = 45

12. Lesley – 24 + 20 = 44

13. Anastacia – 22 + 20 = 42

=14. Melvin – 20 + 18 = 38, Naga – 22 + 16 = 38

As I said at the top (well done if you've read all this), week 3 will take a few days to compile and post (and I will have the bones of week 4 done by then) as I'm going to be starting the Apprentice blog posts, so week 1 of the Apprentice will be posted here first, and then week 3 of Strictly a day or two after depending on how bad my sleep pattern gets.

Until then though, KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP READING!