SCD 2013: Week 3, Part 2

Well I posted my thoughts on the first 7 dances a few days ago, and now it's time for me to cover the 7 remaining dances.


Sophie & Brendan - Samba - "All Night Long"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (James & Camilla in series 3). I have to say, whilst I loved her Charleston last week, this was a big disappointment for me. Although it looked like she had the bounce action and the footwork right, her arms looked really floppy all the way through and she seriously needs to look at her arm (and in particular her hand) extensions. Also, even though I do appreciate that this was supposedly a 'cool' Samba - the Samba is the party dance and Sophie's looked as though she didn't want to be at that party. She has the Foxtrot this week, and she did well in her Waltz so I'm expecting good things from this.

Judges' score: 31/40 (7, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 6 (floppy arms and not a great performance)


Julien & Janette - Jive - "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Darren & Lilia in series 3). Well I haven't been impressed by Janette's choreography so far, and I'm afraid this did nothing to change my mind. Not much actual Jive content, lots of faffing at the start, the bit at the judges' table wasn't needed, I could go on. She over-danced too, making his footwork look worse than it was. To be fair to Julien, his footwork wasn't too bad for most of it, but he went wrong with the swizzy arms at the beginning and he was a bit out of time ever since. He has the Salsa this week - now this is Janette's specialty, so if she cannot do a decent bit of choreography here then she never will. He has looked ok in training though, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Judges' score: 22/40 (4, 5, 7, 6)
My score: 4 (out of time etc)


Susanna & Kevin - Viennese Waltz - "Annie's Song"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Andrew & Ola in series 6). I love what Kevin did with the choreography, it flowed really well and although it took them a while to get into proper hold, they didn't faff and actually still danced. Susanna, great arm and hand extensions from you, and the footwork looked spot-on. Now I'm not sure what Len was saying about the incomplete fleckel (or however you spell it, after 10 years I still have no idea), as it seemed perfectly fine. Maybe there was something in the footwork that I couldn't spot? Still, it was gorgeous and I loved it, which I can't say about most VWs. They have the Samba this week, a tough dance but she looks to be doing well with it in training. I'll be interested to see where Kevin goes with the choreography.

Judges' score: 34/40 (8, 9, 9, 8)
My score: 8 (I couldn't spot anything wrong, but I'll go with the judges on the fleckel debate)


Vanessa & James - Tango - "Lay All Your Love on Me"

Firstly, I love this song, so I was hoping for a great performance at least from these two. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Bear in mind that the audio was messed up and so I had to watch most of it without any audio. I didn't like the beginning with the necklace, but I think she completely got the character of it, so very well done there Vanessa (also well done James, as I liked the little Argentine Tango-style section). However, her hold was too loose, she lacked sharpness, and she went wrong with the footwork quite a few times. I'm a bit sad that she's gone out actually, because James was great as part of the comedy pairing and I'd like to see that niceness more often. 

Judges' score: 20/40 (3, 5, 6, 6)
My score: 4 (about on a par with Julien for me)


Ashley & Ola - Samba - "Love is in the Air"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Natasha & Brendan in series 1). I thought his American Smooth last week was fantastic so I was intrigued to see how he'd cope with this. I have to say I was impressed. His footwork was great, he had the bounce action, and that section with the drums (bongos I think) was awesome. He just needs to watch his arm and hand extensions. He almost has it perfected, just needs to make sure that he extends the hand all the way through and that he doesn't just throw the arm out, but to place it. He has the Viennese Waltz next time, and I'm really excited to see it as his training looks great.

Judges' score: 31/40 (8, 8, 7, 8)
My score: 7.5 (his arms were much better than Sophie's and he gave a better performance)


Natalie & Artem - Rumba - "Love the Way you Lie"

I so badly want to like this partnership, but I still don't (I think it's Artem as I've never liked any of his partnerships). This might have technically been brilliant, but it was just a bit boring for me. I'm not a fan of Artem's choreography this series so far, everything has bored me when I do actually want to keep watching as I know it's going to be good. They did kind of do an illegal lift at the beginning (both of her feet were briefly off the floor when they did the sweeping spin), and Nat did lose it a bit just after she had to move her hair from her face, but those were the only faults that I could spot. They do have the Quickstep this week, but Natalie is injured with what looks like a compressed disc and sciatica - they'll confirm on ITT tomorrow whether she'll be able to dance on Saturday. I hope she will but it might be better for her to rest this week, take a bye and then see if she's able to do next week.

Judges' score: 36/40 (9, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 8.5 (technically great, but the performance didn't do it for me)


Deborah & Robin - Quickstep - "(Your Love is Lifting Me) Higher & Higher"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT* (Matt & Lilia in series 4). This is probably my favourite pairing. Deborah has such a great attitude to the show and Robin isn't camping it up too much this year choreography-wise. Now this was a lovely surprise. Apart from going slightly wrong at the beginning, Deborah's footwork was excellent, and I loved the Charleston and American Smooth touches within the routine. The main issue was gapping - there was a lot of that within the routine (although I think the music was really quick, she might have been better off with 'It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't got that Swing' (the Quickstep version of course) which is a bit slower). They've got the Jive this week, this could be a tricky one and the training doesn't look good. I'll just have to hope and pray for them.

Judges' score: 28/40 (7, 7, 7, 7)
My score: 6 (gapping all the way through)



So my leaderboard for this half is as follows:
1. Natalie & Artem - 8.5
2. Susanna & Kevin - 8
3. Ashley & Ola - 7.5
=4. Sophie & Brendan - 6
=4. Deborah & Robin - 6
=6. Julien & Janette - 4
=6. Vanessa & James - 4

And this is my leaderboard for the week:
1. Natalie & Artem - 8.5
2. Susanna & Kevin - 8
3. Ashley & Ola - 7.5
=4. Fiona & Anton - 6.5
=4. Mark & Iveta - 6.5
=6. Rachel & Pasha - 6
=6. Ben & Kristina - 6
=6. Sophie & Brendan - 6
=6. Deborah & Robin - 6
10. Abbey & Aljaz - 5.5
11. Patrick & Anya - 5
=12. Julien & Janette - 4
=12. Vanessa & James - 4
14. Dave & Karen - 3

So compared to the real leaderboard: Sophie has gone down 3 places, Abbey 5 places, Patrick 2 places, and Ben and Deborah are down 1 place. Fiona and Vanessa have gone up a place, Rachel 3 places and Mark 7 places.

A bit controversial maybe, but that's just my opinion :)

And to finish off, a full list of the dances that will be seen on Saturday:

Cha Cha Cha - Mark & Iveta, Patrick & Anya
Foxtrot - Sophie & Brendan
Jive - Deborah & Robin
Quickstep - Natalie & Artem, Rachel & Pasha
Rumba - Fiona & Anton
Salsa - Ben & Kristina, Julien & Janette
Samba - Susanna & Kevin
Tango - Abbey & Aljaz
Viennese Waltz - Ashley & Ola
Waltz - Dave & Karen

Hope you enjoyed my musings, and I'll be back again next week :D