It's Thursday and I'm back with this week's blog update.
As a little recap - last time, the judges didn't like the way that Ben & Kristina worked it, and they lost out to Mark & Iveta in the dance-off.
This week, it was all about the Musicals. So like practically every other week we get some dodgy songs, dodgy outfits and dodgy choreography. Nothing's changed there.
Patrick & Anya - Charleston - "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
Wow, now that was brilliant. The only criticism from me is that the 'lobster claw' lift (the very last one) looked a bit messy, but that's it. Patrick managed to give us the performance without going OTT and down the gurning route (Natalie, Susanna, please take note), and his technique was pretty good too. Ok, so there was a bit of faffing with the flying car but come on, of course they were going to do that with this song. Patrick has the Rumba this weekend, to 'If I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars. I'm a bit worried as we haven't really seen the romantic side of Patrick so far (there was a bit in his VW, granted), and I don't know whether he's going to quite get 'into' it like Ashley did.
Judges' score: 38/40 (8, 10, 10, 10)
My score: 9 (just the one mistake with the lift)
Natalie & Artem - American Smooth - "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from Dreamgirls)
As you will probably know by now, I haven't been a fan of Artem's choreography this series - he's great in the Latin, but his Ballroom choreography is quite hit-and-miss (mostly miss for me). Sadly, this was another miss in my book. The American Smooth is meant to have 40% in hold - and after watching this one over, there was only around 10% in hold (10 seconds out of 90). It was as if Artem was going for the gold medal in the Arm-Wafting Olympics. And although I thought the other lift was great, the crucifix one just looked messy (it was having Natalie do the roll-up to get into it), and surely that would have put quite a bit of strain on Natalie's back in the run-up to it? But then, like Kristina, the judges have let him get away with murder. His Viennese Waltz had pretty much no Viennese Waltz, but scored 38. This American Smooth wasn't an American Smooth and still got 36 (and a 10 from Bruno). I seriously think he's starting to become the Derek Hough of Strictly. Natalie's got the Paso Doble this week, to 'El Gato Montes'. It's a good song choice, and I think this could get Natalie a 40.
Judges' score: 36/40 (9, 9, 8, 10)
My score: 7.5 (2 points deducted for the lack of hold, and 0.5 deducted for the slightly messy lift)
Mark & Iveta - Samba - "I Just Can't Wait to be King" (from The Lion King)
LOVE LOVE LOVE this couple, and although it was the right time for them to go, I was still sad that they went as they (almost) always made me smile (except for that bloody Rumba!). This was probably Mark's best dance, and he did really well on the technical side of it. He just completely pulls you in to the performance. Iveta, I salute you for the brilliant job that you've done with Mark, and I'm looking forward to seeing you both on the tour (I'm thinking they'll have this and his Foxtrot).
Judges' score: 29/40 (7, 7, 7, 8)
My score: 6.5
Sophie & Brendan - Viennese Waltz - "My Favourite Things" (from The Sound of Music)
This was such a joy to watch, and is right up there with her Charleston in my opinion. Brilliant footwork, lovely choreography from Brendan. I agree with what the judges said about her topline - it's as if her head was too far to the left sometimes. Her arm extensions weren't quite finished off either. However, I absolutely loved it, and I don't often say that about a Viennese Waltz (I think only Susanna's and maybe Ashley's were as great as that). Sophie has the Tango this week, to 'Material Girl' by Madonna. I'm a little worried that she'll lack some sharpness, but that's mainly down to the song choice.
Judges' score: 36/40 (9, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 9
Abbey & Aljaz - Salsa - "You Should Be Dancing" (from Saturday Night Fever)
Now I'm going to have to somewhat agree with Karen Hardy on this one. I thought there was way too much disco and not enough Salsa the first time I watched it, but having looked it at again, there's a lot more Salsa than I thought. I'd say there was around 50-60% Salsa, which still isn't brilliant, but it's not as bad as I first imagined. Abbey looked a little messy in some parts, so I really don't understand the 10s. She's got the Viennese Waltz this week, to 'Delilah'. Abbey's Ballroom is pretty good, so I reckon she may well get some 10s for that one.
Judges' score: 40/40 (10, 10, 10, 10)
My score: 8 (1 point deducted for the 'too much disco' bits, and another for the messiness)
Ashley & Ola - Rumba - "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin)
First of all, BLOODY PIVOTS & KNEE SLIDES DO NOT NEED TO GO INTO EVERY ROUTINE! Ok, there's my little rant over with. Unlike Patrick's dance, I don't think flying in on the carpet was actually needed in this one. You could see that Ashley was terrified and it took 30 seconds until he actually started dancing with Ola. Considering that the Rumba is a difficult dance for a male celeb (as said by Len practically every series), he did pretty well with it. I did agree with the judges about the lack of hip action though. Ashley has the Salsa this weekend, and as he was quite good at the Samba, I don't think this one will be a problem for him.
Judges' score: 35/40 (8, 9, 9, 9)
My score: 8.5
Susanna & Kevin - Quickstep - "Good Morning" (from Singin' in the Rain)
I feel a bit sorry for Susanna. She started off really well, then it went completely wrong in the middle, then she recovered well, before going wrong at the end again. I don't think the choreography helped though, that middle section looked very difficult and it would probably be tricky for any non-pro to get completely right (and I'm including Natalie in that one). Bit iffy from Kevin there, plus he needs to learn to not over-dance as it makes Susanna look worse. They've got the Argentine Tango this week, and this should be an interesting one, as obviously we've never seen an AT from Kevin before, so we have no idea how good he is at it.
Judges' score: 33/40 (7, 8, 9, 9)
My score: 7
So this would be my leaderboard for the week:
=1. Patrick & Anya - 9
=1. Sophie & Brendan - 9
3. Ashley & Ola - 8.5
4. Abbey & Aljaz - 8
5. Natalie & Artem - 7.5
6. Susanna & Kevin - 7
7. Mark & Iveta - 6
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