Strictly Come Dancing 2014: Week 12 (Semi-final)

After the carnage and outrage that broke out when Pixie & Trent were eliminated last week, I was hoping that this week would be a quieter affair. I think it's a case of being careful what you wish for - I didn't think it would be this dull. That's right: DULL. There were some stand-out dances of course, but also some dahnce disahstahs (apologies to Craig).

In the Style stakes, Tess won Saturday hands down. That's about as much as I can say, as I can't remember what she and Claudia were wearing in the Sunday show, but I do think Claude's Saturday dress did not suit her at all - even Tess couldn't get away with that one. 

This week the celebs did 2 dances for the first time - last week's Fixathon doesn't count in my opinion - and whilst some dazzled, others faded. I will be doing the 2 dances within one critique this time, hopefully making for easier reading - there will also be different colours for each couple, again, hopefully making for easier reading.


JAKE & JANETTE

Cha Cha Cha - "Boogie Shoes"

Jake has always been better at the Latin dances, so there were hopes that this would be another brilliant routine for him. Sadly, Cha Cha Cha outside of weeks 1-4 is a 'dance of death', so it wasn't surprising that it proved so for Jake; Thom, Pixie, and now Jake have all been eliminated on that dance this series. It took about 20 seconds for him to get anywhere near beginning to dance, so that was probably a bad omen. He was out of synch with Janette for a fair amount of the routine, and I did notice the move she took from Aljaz's Cha Cha Cha with Alison from week 1! This was one of her better routines I must admit, very entertaining and resembling a Cha Cha Cha at least. It's very difficult for a bloke to do this dance without looking 'mince-y', for lack of a better term, and Jake did a decent job in that respect - when he had something to do with his arms, he was great, otherwise it did start veering into that territory. I do still think that Janette over-relies on tricks and stuff that she can do, rather than what her celeb can do, but I feel she's done just about enough to earn a recall for next series: probably best not to give her another contender again, but give her a mid-tabler and see what she does with him, someone like Steve maybe. 

Judges' scores: 6, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 30/40
My score: 6


Viennese Waltz - "When a Man Loves a Woman"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Matt & Flavia in series 5*

The Viennese Waltz is a very difficult dance to make look interesting (that last sentence probably doesn't make sense but you know what I mean). A limited range of steps means that apart from the music, most dances look extremely similar. I would have liked to have seen more in traditional hold, and the last 2 sweeps at the end weren't needed, but I actually quite liked this routine - I think this is what they should have done in the dance-off personally, but I can understand why they chose their Cha Cha Cha. 

Judges' scores: 7, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 31/40
My score: 7.25


FRANKIE & KEVIN

Rumba - "Somewhere Only We Know"

I am seriously starting to detest this song, it has been that overplayed. By the way BBC, that was the Lily Allen version, not Keane. I didn't really know what to make of this when I first saw it, and after watching it again, I'm still none the wiser. I did like the whole 'Nutcracker' concept, and Frankie's acting was great, but for me, this was far too 'safe'. A Rumba is meant to be passionate and romantic, and I didn't feel that from this number whatsoever. It started off well enough, but then graduated into a Viennese Waltz, and that floor spin at the end was unnecessary. Kevin usually gets it so right with choreography, but this was a real miss from him (and I'm surprised the judges (Len) didn't pull him up on that, but I'll carry that on in more detail when I get to Mark's Rumba).

Judges' scores: 7, 8, 9, 10 for a total of 34/40
My score: 7.5 (danced well, but not a Rumba for me)


Argentine Tango - "The 5th"

Wow, now this was more like it! I was a bit apprehensive about the song choice, but it really worked for this dance. Ok, this is probably where I'm going to get lynched - I wouldn't have put that dance at a 10. For me, Frankie's leg action needed to be much sharper - it was too placed and deliberate; plus she seemed to go wrong in the middle when she was at the top of the floor, either she missed a step or she stumbled somewhere. I can't say for sure what happened but I know something went wrong there, your eye gets drawn to it. It was a spectacular dance, but I think she's done much better than that previously, and it wasn't perfect for me.

Judges' scores: 9, 9, 10, 10 for a total of 38/40
My score: 9.25



MARK & KAREN

Viennese Waltz - "I Got You Babe"

Well Mattiona's swing got upgraded! I did think this was quite cheesy and boring to watch the first time, but it was much better on second viewing. Yes, it took them ages to start dancing properly (about 30 seconds), but from there, brilliant. I think this was a bit undermarked to be honest, comparatively to Jake's at least. Mark does need to do some more work on his hands, he's got beautiful flow in his arm lines now, but his hands are still very flat, just a touch of polishing to be done there. There was too much rise and fall in this as well, Mark needed to drive into the floor a bit more so that his movements across the floor were smooth and all on one level, rather than bobbing down for when he's about to make a step. On the whole though, a great performance.

Judges' scores: 8, 8, 9, 8 for a total of 33/40
My score: 8.5


Rumba - "Fields of Gold"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Kenny & Ola in series 5*

Oh BBC, this was the Eva Cassidy version, not the Sting one. Anyway, here's where I carry on from what I was saying during Frankie's Rumba: I do think it was unfair of Len to single out Karen, when Kevin was guilty of doing the same thing. At least Karen's actually looked like a Rumba, and you'd know what it was if you saw it without music. Ok, so it was a little repetitive, and you couldn't see much hip action from Mark as he was standing still for some of it, but this dance actually moved me, so in that respect, props to Karen. I felt so sorry for them both afterwards, so I'm glad they got into the final. Again, I think Mark would have been better off doing his Viennese Waltz in the dance-off, but as before, I can understand why they chose to do this dance instead.

Judges' scores: 9, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 33/40
My score: 8


SIMON & KRISTINA

Samba - "I Like to Move it"

I know this song from the film 'Madagascar', so I was intrigued to see what Kristina would do with it. Sadly, Simon made a few noticeable errors - he nearly tripped over after the cartwheel at the beginning, he seemed to forget where he was for a second after the promenade runs, he missed the hand grab after the first series of Samba rolls going into the second, and as Bruno said on ITT, he looked to have forgotten some of the routine and was improvising (just after the Samba rolls, when Kristina is moving around behind him is when I think this was). By the way, is that move where it looks like they're attempting to be elephants whipping their trunks back and forth a traditional Samba step? Only it was there in Jake's Samba, and I think his Cha Cha Cha tonight too. It's a shame Simon made so many mistakes, as it could have been a brilliant routine.

Judges' scores: 6, 9, 8, 7 for a total of 30/40
My score: 7


Foxtrot - "My Guy"

*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - John & Nicole in series 5*

Now this is where Kristina shines as a choreographer: anyone else remember her Jessica Rabbit-style Foxtrot with Jason Donovan in the early weeks of series 9? This was absolutely stunning - traditional, elegant, totally suited to Simon. His technique was fantastic, his performance excellent. I'm close to running out of superlatives to describe this routine but it was just sublime: (somewhat) traditional music with choreography that draws the eye; you know, Foxtrots can be boring to watch but this one kept me glued. I couldn't see any mistakes at all. I'm about to do something that I haven't done for any other dance this series *cue standing ovation from me*. Ok, maybe 2 things......

Judges' scores: 9, 10, 10, 9 for a total of 38/40
My score: I'm with Darcey and Len for once, it's a 10 from me!


CAROLINE & PASHA

Foxtrot - "Diamonds"

Odd choice of song, from the Sony tv advert if I remember rightly. Caroline always seems uncomfortable in Ballroom, and I'm not sure why: is it the hold that she finds tricky? Does the precise footwork prove a problem for her? I don't know, but this dance did not look like a Foxtrot to me, and I think only some of it can be put down to the music - I thought this dance was more like a Waltz in terms of how it looked on screen. Caroline does need to work on her hand positioning, she kept changing it throughout the dance and it seemed she was clinging on to Pasha at times. Also, LIFT at the end - an accidental one, but her foot definitely came off the floor whilst she was doing the spin into the ending position. It's lucky that she's great at the Latin dances, otherwise I think she would have been in trouble.

Judges' scores: 8, 9, 9, 9 for a total of 35/40
My score: 7.5


Salsa - "Maria"

Knockout blow! Seriously, that was hot, hot, hot! (Wait, wrong song, and wrong couple.) This was so fluid and dynamic, Caroline was so much more at ease so she was able to put more into the performance - she was even singing along at some points! Now I know that some people thought that this didn't deserve a 10 as she seemed to get tired by the end, and I was included in that, but having watched it again, Pasha slowed down as well, it wasn't just Caroline. That makes me think it was deliberate so Caroline could relax a little after the scorching start, so I can't really penalise her for that. She was much more comfortable with the lifts this time, the transitions were much better. I absolutely loved this routine.

Judges' scores: all 10s for a total of 40/40
My score: I'm having to be in agreement here, another 10 from me!


Judges' Leaderboard:
1. Caroline & Pasha - 35 + 40 = 75/80
2. Frankie & Kevin - 34 + 38 = 72/80
3. Simon & Kristina - 30 + 38 = 68/80
4. Mark & Karen - 33 + 33 = 66/80
5. Jake & Janette - 30 + 31 = 61/80

My Leaderboard:
1. Caroline & Pasha - 30 + 40 = 70/80
2. Simon & Kristina - 28 + 40 = 68/80
3. Frankie & Kevin - 30 + 37 = 67/80
4. Mark & Karen - 34 + 32 = 66/80
5. Jake & Janette - 24 + 29 = 53/80


Dance-off: Mark & Karen vs Jake & Janette. I wasn't too surprised at this one - Jake basically had to be top of the vote with Caroline in 4th to avoid the dance-off, and Mark was bound to be here given that Frankie has avoided it thus far and Simon would probably have the bounce vote from being in the bottom 2 the previous week.

Elimination: Jake & Janette. I certainly didn't think it would go to a 2-2 casting vote decision. Jake has had more stand-out dances than Mark, so in that respect you could argue that he should be saved. But on the other hand, I do feel Mark is the better dancer overall, and it's nice for Karen to get to the final, I think she's given him some great routines this year (his Waltz, Jive and Samba spring to mind) so I reckon she deserves it. Plus it's Karen vs Kevin which is... fascinating to say the least. Overall, I'd say the right decision was made.

Recycled song alerts for this series now stands at 37.

So next week it's the final! Each couple will perform the judges' choice and their Showdance, before one couple is eliminated. After that, the remaining 3 couples will perform their favourite dance, before the lines close for the final time and the winner is announced. Personally, I'd like Caroline or Mark to win, but for once, I think all of them are deserving of the title. I'll be putting up my review of the final a little while after the event - in the run up to Christmas, I'll have much more of my time taken up, so I may have to type this out on Word and then just copy it in (whereas I usually do this all in one go, so it can take around 3-4 hours for each post to go up from when I start writing it).


I'm so excited for the final! I have a feeling this might be the best final yet, so until I write next, I'm going to................................


KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP WATCHING!