First off, apologies for not posting last week. I've been both ill and very busy so I couldn't put up the blog :)
My favourites were: Mark & Iveta's Salsa, Deborah & Robin's CCC, and Ashley & Ola's American Smooth. (I did love Sophie's Charleston as well but I just can't take to her)
So this week was Luurrrrrve Week (also known as Recycled Songs Week), and our 14 remaining couples did about 12 different dances to try and avoid being eliminated. My thoughts, as always, are below. I'll be covering the first 7 dances in this part, and part 2 will be for the final 7 dances.
Now before I start, there's been a bit of a debate over on Digital Spy as to what a recycled song choice actually is: to me, it has to have been to the same dance style to count as a recycled song choice; whereas for others, it's just whether it's been used before at all. So for me, there's 10 recycled songs, whilst the other interpretation gives 11 recycled ones.
We've got the boring bit over with, so let's go!
Abbey & Aljaz - Jive - "Can't Buy Me Love"
Abbey didn't do so well in her Cha Cha Cha last week, so I was hoping for a bit of improvement from her Jive. Sadly I didn't get it. Her footwork was extremely laboured (although Aljaz did over-dance a bit), and Aljaz' choreography wasn't good - took way too long to start properly Jiving (about a quarter of the way through in fact) and although it improved towards the end, I think he could have done something so that Abbey didn't look so laboured. I haven't been impressed with his Latin choreography so far, so I'll just be hoping for a decent Paso from now on I think. It's not known yet which dance they have this week, but the presumption is that they'll have some sort of Ballroom routine - my guess is either a Tango or an American Smooth.
Judges' score: 28/40 (6, 7, 8, 7)
My score: 5.5 (I would put her just ahead of Patrick, as she at least performed relatively well. NOTE: due to the order of clips on the BBC website, I watched Patrick's dance before Abbey's, hence the comparison here)
Patrick & Anya - Foxtrot - "Let There Be Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Pamela & James in series 8). Ok, so I've said before how Patrick's feet are generally good, but that his upper half is really letting him down. More of the same again I'm afraid. He seems very uncomfortable in hold, which is strange as with his injury, you would think that he'd have more problems with the footwork. He was hunching over Anya at times, there was gapping at several points, and he just didn't look elegant at all. Whilst I've liked Anya's choreography so far, this dance wasn't for me - a bit too much faffing at the start to get into hold, and the standing spin didn't do Patrick any favours at all. I did quite like the ending though. They have the Cha Cha Cha next week, so Patrick should be ok as long as he can do the arm movements for things like New Yorkers.
Judges' score: 27/40 (6, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 5 (it was ok but he doesn't seem to be improving at all)
Dave & Karen - Paso Doble - "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Matt & Lilia in series 4). Oh. Good. Lord. What did my eyes just witness? You know it's bad when you know that it's meant to be funny and yet you don't laugh. In their defence, I don't think the song choice helped them at all. Paso(s) are meant to be dramatic and fiery, this was half of that and half limp and lifeless. Too much time spent faffing at the start (Dave didn't really start doing anything until the cape twirling at about 30 seconds in - just when the music went into the faster tempo. Added to that, he was much better when the music was uptempo.), and there wasn't much Paso content in there. Come on Karen, step it up! Even Russell Grant's Paso had a lot more content in and was actually entertaining. Dave tried to look masculine and ended up looking like he was building up to a massive trump (sorry Dave). Well, he has the Waltz this week, and I get the feeling that he might end up in the bottom 2 on that dance.
Judges' score: 16/40 (2, 5, 5, 4)
My score: 3 (not much content, danced badly)
Fiona & Anton - Waltz - "True Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Denise & Ian in series 2). I have to say, Fiona really upped her game this week. That's the best that I've seen her dance. Anton has showcased her beautifully. She's almost got the arm extensions, just needs to extend through the hand to finish off the line. Also, her footwork was great. Her main issue in this dance was the spinning sections. She seems to be a little uncomfortable when spinning: Fiona tends to bring her arms up to her chest, and I think she loses her balance a little as her feet get a bit muddled up after - I hate to say it but she needs to copy DVO's example (have the arms at her sides but shaped, and ensure that she 'spots' so that her feet are in the right position for the next step). The only other thing that I spotted is that she needed to move her head to the left a little more and try to elongate the neck (I'm starting to sound like Darcey). Fiona has the Rumba next, and I actually believe this could be a good dance for her.
Judges' score: 28/40 (7, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 6.5 (minor issues really, and I think she deserved to be higher than Abbey)
Rachel & Pasha - Cha Cha Cha - "When Love Takes Over"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Alex & James in series 9). Firstly, much better from Rachel this week. However, I really didn't like the choreography. It just didn't really flow for me. Rachel still seems a bit unsure on how to move her upper body - she doesn't quite know what to do with her free arm (although at least she did place it, albeit in the same position), and she just seemed a bit awkward as she didn't have much to do at some points. Her footwork was great though, and from that little foot swivel-ly section until the end she danced brilliantly (it did look as though she went a little wrong in the end position though). A bit more work and polish and she could be a 'journey' contestant. Rachel has the Quickstep next, and I'm a little worried for her, I think she might struggle with the speed.
Judges' score: 27/40 (6, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 6 (just a bit under Fiona, due to the slightly awkward parts, and I don't think the choreography helped her)
Mark & Iveta - American Smooth - "It Must Be Love"
I really liked this, Iveta did a great job with the choreography and Mark did well with a less 'comedic' dance. Like Fiona, he nearly had the arm extension but just needs to shape the hand (pancake/spatulistic); there was much less gapping this time and the only dodgy part footwork part was when he did the spins mirroring Iveta (he nearly bumped into her at one point). He's definitely getting there and is a better comedy act than Dave. We're not sure what dance he has next, but it's a 'less serious' one than the American Smooth according to Mark, so we think either a Quickstep or a Latin number - I can't wait!
Judges' score: 26/40 (6, 6, 7, 7)
My score: 6.5 (about the same as Fiona for me, he had the same problems but also performed well)
Ben & Kristina - Rumba - "To Make You Feel My Love"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Pamela & James in series 8). This was definitely his best dance yet. I'm not normally a fan of Kristina's choreography but I have to give credit to her for this routine. Ben had good footwork, some semblance of hip action and I think he managed the impressive feat of still looking masculine whilst doing the Rumba. He also at least tried to do something with his free arm (although he does need to work on his hands). I do think he forgot the routine at one point though, when he was meant to pick up Kristina's leg whilst she arched back, it's as if he forgot he had to do that bit. All in all, a vast improvement. Ben has the Salsa this week and I think he could actually do alright with it (maybe Kristina could put in quite a bit of armography as I reckon he could do that well, and we know the lifts are going to be good).
Judges' score: 28/40 (7, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 6 (about on a par with Rachel, and I think he gave a great performance)
So my leaderboard for this part goes like this:
=1. Fiona & Anton - 6.5
=1. Mark & Iveta - 6.5
=3. Rachel & Pasha - 6
=3. Ben & Kristina - 6
5. Abbey & Aljaz - 5.5
6. Patrick & Anya - 5
7. Dave & Karen - 3
Looks like I really disagree with the judges hehe. Part 2 should be up either Wednesday or Thursday - I run a game on DS and it depends what day I'm able to put the show up this week (at the moment it's looking like Wednesday at the earliest meaning that this would be posted on Thursday).
Hope you've enjoyed the blog so far. If there's something you particularly like about it, something you might want me to include or maybe ways for me to improve it; or even if you just want to agree or disagree with me, then let me know by commenting.
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