From now on, each week will be covered in one blog post, and they will go up on Wednesday night.
So week 7 saw Dave & Karen walk 500 miles out of the competition as they lost in the dance-off to Mark & Iveta.
This week we were at Blackpool, the land of Ballroom and of overmarking from the judges of course. Also, almost every song choice was recycled (apologies in advance).
Sophie & Brendan - Quickstep - "The Lady is a Tramp"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Natasha & Brendan in series 1) First off, much better performance from Sophie. Finally she gets into it, and it makes the dance much better to watch. Her footwork was great, only things I noticed were that she didn't do the arm extension correctly in the middle of the routine, and she seemed a bit off-balance sometimes, although I think having her hair down didn't help her there. There was a little bit of gapping, but she held it together for most of the way through. Sophie's got the Rumba this week, but I don't think this will be a good dance for her. She has to really work on the technique if she wants to do well with it.
Judges' score: 34/40 (7, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 7.5
Patrick & Anya - Samba - "Copacabana"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Patsy & Robin in series 8, and Jill & Darren in series 2) Poor Patrick. Anya's been scuppered by wardrobe malfunctions for 2 weeks in a row now, it's as if the Costume Dept do it on purpose to add some extra 'drama' to the proceedings. At some parts, Patrick was actually dancing better than Anya. I did notice him mess up on the stationary Samba walk that Craig mentioned (it looked as though he missed a step, although I'm not sure what he technically did wrong). Added to that, although it was a good routine and Patrick danced it well, it was just missing something for me, it lacked that bit of 'wow factor'. Patrick has the Viennese Waltz this week, and he really needs to sort out his frame - he's had trouble with Ballroom dances before because of it (excepting his American Smooth).
Judges' score: 35/40 (8, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 8.5
Ben & Kristina - American Smooth - "Fallin'"
(Not exactly a RECYCLED SONG ALERT, but it was used for Gethin & Camilla's Viennese Waltz in series 5). Well it took them almost 40 seconds to even get into hold. Considering this was meant to have a Viennese Waltz base, there wasn't much of it. Ben hardly danced at all, as once again it was the Kristina show. Why is she still not letting Ben actually dance?! It is seriously annoying me now, but then I guess as long as the judges let her get away with it then she'll carry on doing it. Ok, so the lifts were good, and the bits of actual VW they did were alright, but for god sake, how the hell was it worth 32?! *attempts to calm down* Oh well, he has Charleston this week, and I bet anything it will be all lifts and little content, if any.
Judges' score: 32/40 (8, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 5
Ashley & Ola - Paso Doble - "You Give Love a Bad Name"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Kelly & Brendan in series 5) I have wanted Strictly to use this song for ages, but why the cowboy theme? Ashley has said that neither he nor Ola chose the theme, so more producer interference I see. Why not just leave it up to the pro? Onto the routine itself, and although Ashley performed it well, he didn't look as strong and masculine as he should. The cape work was good, and the technique was good, but just lacked the masculinity a little. And Ola, knee slides do not have to be worked into every routine. Ashley has the Waltz this week, and I reckon it could be a breakthrough dance for him. I'm fully expecting the pivots though.
Judges' score: 35/40 (8, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 7.5
Fiona & Anton - American Smooth - "Come Fly With Me"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Phil & Katya in series 7) Oh Fiona, every time I think you're starting to have a decent routine, you go wrong. She started off really well, footwork was great and all that, but it just went all wrong in the middle. She completely forgot the steps and was just trying to keep up with Anton. The last lift was a bit ugly too. I wasn't surprised to see her in the dance-off, but I did think that Len might have saved her over Mark, so I was a little shocked that she was eliminated. That being said, if she keeps struggling to remember the steps, then it was the right time for her to go.
Judges' score: 29/40 (6, 7, 8, 8)
My score: 5.5 (at least she actually danced, unlike Ben)
Abbey & Aljaz - Quickstep - "Walking on Sunshine"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Matt & Lilia in series 4) How this got one 10, let alone 3, I have no idea. Started off very slowly, didn't really get going until the first chorus kicked in. The amount of gapping was awful though, and I'm surprised that no judge apart from Craig mentioned it. Also, I did see what Craig was on about with the hold, although I wouldn't say that it was like that all the way through, just the parts where she wasn't traveling across the floor. She was a little out of sync with Aljaz at the end as well, but you can't deny that this was a very good routine, just not 10-worthy. Abbey has the Paso Doble this week, and judging from her Tango, this is probably going to be a good dance for her. As long as she gets the aggression and shaping right, she'll be in business.
Judges' score: 37/40 (7, 10, 10, 10)
My score: 7
Mark & Iveta - Jive - "You Can't Stop the Beat"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Anita & Robin in series 9, and Austin & Erin in series 6) Oh Mark, the Jive was never going to be your dance. However, he really gave it a good go, and although his knees meant that there were some things that he couldn't do, he still did it really well. Mark, as always, gave a fantastic performance, and I loved Iveta's choreography. So he didn't do that many Jive steps, but at least he bloody danced! (coughBencough) I sense TPTB were trying to get him out this week but the judges didn't get the memo - 3 Latin dances in a row; surely that's a bit odd? Luckily, Mark has the Foxtrot this week. His American Smooth was quite good, so I'm excited for this routine.
Judges' score: 29/40 (5, 8, 8, 8)
My score: 6
Susanna & Kevin - Paso Doble - "Los Toreadors"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT!* (Julian & Erin from series 2, possibly also Russell & Flavia from series 9) Oh my god. If I didn't already love Kevin before this dance, then I definitely do after it. Phwoar. *composes herself*. So dramatic, so full-on and exciting, I absolutely loved this routine. Ok, so there have been some comments that Susanna didn't do much except some skirt-wafting. Therefore, I made sure to keep a close eye on that. I'd say the skirt-wafting would only be for about 15-20% of the routine, so not that much (and she definitely didn't do as much as Fiona or Fern did in their Pasos). The Flamenco section was great, and Susanna really delivered on the performance side. Although, whenever I hear that music, all I can think of is "The Beer Song" (it has this music as the background, please look it up on YouTube). Susanna has the Cha Cha Cha this week - I know what you're thinking: "but she did that for Children in Need". Well, she's able to do it for some reason, and this might be a good one for her.
Judges' score: 39/40 (9, 10, 10, 10)
My score: 10
Natalie & Artem - Charleston - "Bang Bang"
I really didn't like this routine, and again, I'm surprised it got 10s. You could tell Natalie wasn't at 100% and she was out of synch with Artem for most of the time they were together. It took 40 seconds before they actually started dancing together - that's nearly 1/3 of the routine. Most of the Strictly Charlestons that I've seen involve a lot more work with the partner (except perhaps Artem's), and that's maybe why I wasn't so interested in this one. I didn't feel that they were a partnership, just 2 people who happen to be doing the same dance. This felt more like an Artem showcase to me, and I just think it was a bad judgement call on his part as Natalie's partner to put in those particular tricks, which have surely got to put a fair amount of strain on her back. It was a good performance by Natalie, probably the one that I've enjoyed the most, but I do think that Artem got it wrong on this occasion. She has the Tango this week, and whilst I reckon this could be her dance, I'm not too sure about the song choice.
Judges' score: 39/40 (9, 10, 10, 10)
My score: 8
So my overall leaderboard would go like this:
1. Susanna & Kevin - 10
2. Patrick & Anya - 8.5
3. Natalie & Artem - 8
=4. Sophie & Brendan - 7.5
=4. Ashley & Ola - 7.5
6. Abbey & Aljaz - 7
7. Mark & Iveta - 6
8. Fiona & Anton - 5.5
9. Ben & Kristina - 5
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