It's Thursday so here is part 2 of my week 4 recap.
But first, I would like to respond to a derogatory comment that was made on a previous post. Basically it went along the lines of 'you don't have any comments so your opinion isn't worth anything' (but addressed in a more rude way than that). Well, this is the very first time that I have done a blog for a TV series - I don't expect to get comments. People can choose whether to comment or not; if they do, then great, and if not, then that's fine as well. As long as the viewers of this blog enjoy it and want to read the next installment then I'm happy. If I do get comments then that's a nice bonus. What I will say about that is that whilst constructive criticism is perfectly fine (in fact it's quite welcome), derogatory comments just aren't worth it. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't bother saying it. If you don't like it, then you don't have to read it. There's a lot of great Strictly blogs out there, mine just offers my own personal take.
That's all I'm going to say on that subject. I'm sorry if it made for slightly uncomfortable reading, but I only discovered the aforementioned comment last night, and I felt that it did need some sort of response.
Now that the slightly depressing part is over and done with, onto the remaining dances!
Deborah & Robin - Jive - "Making Your Mind Up"
Poor, poor Deborah. She got completely screwed over by wardrobe this week. Who on earth thought that wearing a tight pencil skirt teamed with flat, slipper-style shoes was going to produce a good Jive? Ok, so it was definitely Deborah's worst dance, but she still had some nice moments during that routine. That armography part towards the end was good, and some of the arm work throughout was executed well. It didn't help that Robin completely over-danced it either, or that she did forget a couple of the steps. Overall, she did well to get through it. She's got the Viennese Waltz this week, which she should do well with. Just needs to make sure that there's as little gapping as possible and she'll be fine.
Judges' score: 23/40 (5, 6, 6, 6)
My score: 4.5 (I think she deserved the same as Julien)
Natalie & Artem - Quickstep - "Yeah!"
Well Artem has kind of done this routine before - he was part of a group of dancers that performed to this on DWTS. I do agree with Darcey on this one - he could have done with simplifying the routine a little to make it a bit easier on Natalie. As to how Natalie did - she was out of sync with Artem a few times in the beginning, and she seemed to mess up a step towards the end and didn't really recover from it. Also, there was quite a bit of gapping going on during the parts in hold, and either Artem overdanced or Natalie wasn't up to going full pelt. Hopefully her back has got better, as she has the Samba this week. Artem's never done a Samba on Strictly before, so this is kind of unknown territory. I think she'll do a good routine though.
Judges' score: 35/40 (9, 9, 8, 9)
My score: 7.5 (I'd say she was slightly lower than Sophie, but a 7 would be too low)
Patrick & Anya - Cha Cha Cha - "Mercy"
*RECYCLED SONG CHOICE* (Andrew & Ola in series 6). Now this was a nice surprise. Patrick's footwork is great, but his upper body has let him down previously. Whilst that aspect wasn't completely sorted, he's definitely been doing some work on it as it was much better in this routine. I have to admit though, I was kind of scared of the faces he was pulling. Enough for him to present some serious competition to Chris Hollins in the 'Inappropriate Sex Face' contest. That aside, this was definitely his breakthrough with me - I'd found his previous routines a bit boring to watch, but I was glued to this. Loved the little tricks too. He has the Salsa this week, and I predict great things for that performance, if this was anything to go by.
Judges' score: 33/40 (8, 8, 9, 8)
My score: 7 (The faces alone..... *shudder*)
Abbey & Aljaz - Tango - "Spectrum"
I haven't been Abbey's biggest fan, but the girl did good with the Tango. Definitely the wrong song choice, it made the routine quite boring to watch. However, I couldn't spot any errors with this at all. She had the character of the routine down perfectly, she had the staccato and sharpness all the way through. I'm really impressed, if she can get her Latin to the same standard as her Ballroom then she'll be able to rival Natalie no problem. Abbey has the Foxtrot this week, and as her Ballroom is just sublime, this has to be good.
Judges' score: 35/40 (9, 8, 9, 9)
My score: 8 (purely down to the song choice limiting the performance a little)
Dave & Karen - Waltz - "Take it to the Limit"
*RECYCLED SONG CHOICE* (Peter & Erin from series 8, but also Zoe & Ian from series 3). Aww, this was so sweet. Certainly Dave's best dance. He had decent footwork, and delivered a good performance, now he just needs to sort out his arms and hands. They're still quite flat and need to be extended properly. Also his bum does stick out a bit so he has to tuck it under for his next Ballroom dance. I thought the little spin where he pretended to be in hold before he actually got into hold with Karen looked messy at first, but the transition into hold was really smooth. And the reaction at the end was just, so endearing. Dave has the Salsa this week, I think the only words I'll be using are either 'replay button' or 'brain bleach'.
Judges' score: 23/40 (5, 6, 6, 6)
My score: 5 (executed better than Deborah and Julien in my opinion)
Susanna & Kevin - Samba - "Whenever Wherever"
*RECYCLED SONG CHOICE* (Roger & Camilla in series 2). What on earth did I just watch? Kevin, you didn't do that well with the choreography this week. Too much attempting to be sexy and hair-tossing for me (I wonder if he thought he was doing the Salsa instead). You've got to say though, at least Susanna gives it her all in the Latin numbers. She might have made quite a few mistakes, but she just went for it. That was just so cheesy though. The proper bits of Samba that they did were good (apart from a couple of missed hand placements). Brave of Kevin to let her effectively open and close the routine on her own, but I don't know, this just felt like it should have been a comedy routine. Susanna has the American Smooth this week, and as she did really well in her Viennese Waltz a few weeks ago, I think she could get near the top of the leaderboard again.
Judges' score: 29/40 (6, 7, 8, 8)
My score: 6.5
So here was my leaderboard for week 4:
=1. Ashley & Ola - 8
=1. Abbey & Aljaz - 8
=3. Sophie & Brendan - 7.5
=3. Natalie & Artem - 7.5
5. Patrick & Anya - 7
6. Susanna & Kevin - 6.5
=7. Mark & Iveta - 5.5
=7. Rachel & Pasha - 5.5
=7. Ben & Kristina - 5.5
10. Dave & Karen - 5
=11. Julien & Janette - 4.5
=11. Deborah & Robin - 4.5
13. Fiona & Anton - 3
And to end, here's what dances everyone will be doing this weekend:
American Smooth - Susanna & Kevin
Cha Cha Cha - Sophie & Brendan
Foxtrot - Abbey & Aljaz
Jive - Ashley & Ola
Paso Doble - Rachel & Pasha
Quickstep - Ben & Kristina, Fiona & Anton
Salsa - Dave & Karen, Patrick & Anya
Samba - Natalie & Artem
Waltz - Mark & Iveta
Viennese Waltz - Deborah & Robin
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