Strictly 17 A little bit of Honesty

Tappingfeet wrote:

Absolutely  gorgeous .But what is with the hat ?

I'm told he only wears it onstage so that no one recognises him on the street.

Twirlie wrote:

I'm told he only wears it onstage so that no one recognises him on the street.

Oh !! How odd .

First I had heard of Gregory Porter - what a beautiful voice.

Result:

I think it was definitely Charlotte's time to go, pity her dance-off performance went a bit awry. I was surprised at Davood, though guess the three pairs of tied scores below him on the leaderboard were partly to blame.

I can't say I was surprised to see Davood and Nadiya in the DO. Partly that's cos I "spoiled myself" last night (!) but also, let's face it, he's not exactly Mr Charisma and she's hardly blown us away week after week with amazing choreography. The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

Very sorry about C harlotte and B rendan and with B rendan being one of my favourite pros - even more sorry  C harlotte was so good the first week - what happened to her?   I think it started with unwise choreography in the cha cha  (B rendan should never have attempted the pot stir), then Shirleygate, and then spiralled on from there.  She had no confidence and it wasn't helped by everything that has gone on - B rendan was far too gobby for sure but Shirley has to bear some responsibility as well for destroying her confidence - Shirley and B rendan's problem with each other overshadowed it all.

Once she was up against Davood tonight  - it was a no brainer, however had she been up against Simon or Brian (also weak dancers) I don't think it would have been so clear cut and she might have got another week or two.     As for Davood being in the dance-off? Not really surprised and  perhaps GBP saw what we saw -  a not very good VW!!! Despite the judges gushing about it.  It is always a surprise when a big soap star lands in the DO in the first few weeks - it is always assumed that they have a big following - the girl who was from EastEnders last year (can't remember her name) went out very early too.

Oh well...........onwards and upwards................ and I think the stakes have really been raised this week.............

Sid wrote:I can't say I was surprised to see Davood and Nadiya in the DO. Partly that's cos I "spoiled myself" last night (!) but also, let's face it, he's not exactly Mr Charisma and she's hardly blown us away week after week with amazing choreography. The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

Excellent and yes

mauve - I think there's a similar theme running through a lot of Brendan's partners - they really struggle with Latin. The odd Paso or Charleston they might pull off but when it comes to fast party Latin and Jives they're exposed. It might be cos he's not as proficient at teaching those dances but I also think it has something to do with his celebs inevitably being taller and so there's more to "get under control" if you like. Whereas in Ballroom their height is to their advantage because they can create gorgeous long lines with their limbs and spine.

Yes there seems to be a definite pattern.

Sid wrote:The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

I can see #ovengloves becoming synonymous with flash but underwhelming performances or in fact disappointing performances of any kind!!!

Twirlie wrote:
I can see #ovengloves becoming synonymous with flash but underwhelming performances or in fact disappointing performances of any kind!!!

I hope I've not offended anyone who's done their xmas shopping early and purchased oven gloves

Just a late night comment, but remarks have been made about the Vienese Rumba that Davood did. It has to be remembered that he was given it by the powers and a shining example of their "because we can" attitude. He danced it well enough, quite well indeed, for me, but the whole thing was wrong and totally against the gay, merry nature of a Vienese waltz and not a romantic drama. It just isn't. Not, no, wrong,wrong wrong! It was like doing a Paso to The Archers theme or a waltz to Follyfoot..(hey, that's not bad)..

Vienna, the Strausses and the whole social scene of that era was about dance, gaity and fun, not a James Bond plot to music. For the reason that he was dealt a joker, I'm glad he got through, although it wasn't quite Charlotte's time for me....We are all too experienced to be surprised by anything in Strictly, so que sera, sera....

Sid wrote:
I hope I've not offended anyone who's done their xmas shopping early and purchased oven gloves

How did you know????        

Sid wrote:The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

That has to be this years classic Strictly quote (so far)

I wasn't thinking oven gloves as presents but now I am! hoping we can use it as our own #ovengloves as a yard scale for couples who promise razzamatazz but are damp squibs instead.

Sid wrote:



I hope I've not offended anyone who's done their xmas shopping early and purchased oven gloves

I have to confess I did buy a pair of Xmas oven gloves for secret Santa once, but if anyone actually bought me a pair I'd shove them up their ****  
Incidentally the secret Santa recipient loved them!!

allsewnonbyhand wrote:
Incidentally the secret Santa recipient loved them!!

If only my xmas gift recipients were as easily pleased!

Sid wrote:

If only my xmas gift recipients were as easily pleased!

Give em a diary Sid;never fails. Useful, not expensive and almost always gets used. Hey, even a Strictly diary....

Sid wrote:I can't say I was surprised to see Davood and Nadiya in the DO. Partly that's cos I "spoiled myself" last night (!) but also, let's face it, he's not exactly Mr Charisma and she's hardly blown us away week after week with amazing choreography. The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

Made me laugh out loud . Maybe I will knit you a pair of pot holders as a treat !!

TANGOLERO wrote:
Give em a diary Sid;never fails. Useful, not expensive and almost always gets used. Hey, even a Strictly diary....

Make it a Gorka diary Mr T and I'm sold

Tappingfeet wrote:
Made me laugh out loud . Maybe I will knit you a pair of pot holders as a treat  !!

I'm so glad you took the hint Tapping x

TANGOLERO wrote:Just a late night comment, but remarks have been made about the Vienese Rumba that Davood did. It has to be remembered that he was given it by the powers and a shining example of their "because we can" attitude. He danced it well enough, quite well indeed, for me, but the whole thing was wrong and totally against the gay, merry nature of a Vienese waltz and not a romantic drama. It just isn't. Not, no, wrong,wrong wrong! It was like doing a Paso to The Archers theme or a waltz to Follyfoot..(hey, that's not bad)..  

I think that's why I wasn't too keen with Joe & Katya's 'domestic' cha-cha. It wasn't the usual upbeat, cheeky, sexy dance I've got used too. That door was a major distraction. I kep thinking 'why not just put a turnstile in and be done with it!'

B4p wrote:
I think that's why I wasn't too keen with Joe & Katya's 'domestic' cha-cha. It wasn't the usual upbeat, cheeky, sexy dance I've got used too. That door was a major distraction. I kep thinking 'why not just put a turnstile in and be done with it!'

I'm sure that whoever decides on the loony tunes gymnastics may forget that judges like Madame Razorblade like to see something they can recognise in the choreography. The point's been made many times about seeing basics in the dances but the pros still keep going for flash. Nothing will change.....

You have been excused my lengthy witterings thus far this week due to an awful lot of weather - floods, hurricanes and probably plague and pestilence too for all I know - which took down our wifi.  It is still not fixed but I have sojourned to a nearby cafe and am using their free wifi....  I did the same yesterday and downloaded Saturday's Strictly and watched it last night. As per, I am commenting without reading anyone elses - because I am easily influenced and swayed and might noth deliver my genuine first reactions if I do...  So here we go!

Oh, thank goodness for Week 4!  I feel it is only now that the competiton adn series really gets started.  Week 1 is a marathon introduction to everybody and everything and involves a free pass. Weeks 2 is where the wrong person goes first due to the GBP not knowing (yet) their favourites.  Week 3 is where the judging suspends all reality for Movie Week and where a real opportunity for glitz and glamour is sacrificed for pure stupidness, appalling music, and general ugliness (trolls anybody?  Eliza Doolittle in a raincoat rather than her beautiful ballgown?). Week 4 everybody seems to rtealise what Strictly is all about, the judges get back to being proper judges, the music is passable and actually good for a lot of the routines, and the costumes get back to being about glamour and elegance and sophitication (apart from Karen's.  Obviously.)

That's really it - I enjoyed this week SO much more than the previous 3.

Standouts for me were actually not the high-scoring dances but the ones that had great music and the S.lebs making progress.  

So I was beside myself with Ruth's mistake-less tango (I was holding my breath and willing her to get every step right) and adored the purple dress and the purple velvet suit.  Ruth really got into the part - music and costume coming together to assist.  It matters Production Team, it really matters.  

Susan's quickstep was pure, adultorated joy.  Hats off to Kevin for making a proper routine rather than going down the comedy route (the obvious option given a comedian dancing to comic legends' signature tune) and huge congratulations to Susan for taking it all on board and delivering the routine. I preferred it to Aston's QS, though I preferred their QS to any of their previous dances - no smoke and mirrors, just a jolly, galloping quickstep (wasn;t sure about the music - though I think they made it work). And, going back to Susan, I loved her dress - a proper QS dress and she looked delicious .  I think whatever happens now, this will be a high point, a dream come true, ie dancing a proper ballroom routine to her wedding song with her Strictly idol, Kevin - I get a bit emotional thinking about it!  Anyway, totally loved that.

The other one I really liked was Gemma's Paso.  She fought against Coldplay, Mad Max hair (Amy had it too for her Paso - hope all Paso is hair not going to go down this route?  It's nasty...), and what looks like last minute desparation on the part of Vicky's team - 'quick - we forgot Gemma!  What have we got left that we can cobble together?') and triumphed.  Both her and Aljaz looked like they had enjoyed it beyond measure and that made me enjoy it too.

Now, not to take anything away from a genuinely emotional Alexandra (I was welling up in sympathy - I lost a parent comparitively recently and know that it is the occasions that you want to share with them that brings it home that they aren't there any more and never will be) but....    I think I am really missing something with jives as I didn't think this was a patch on Ore's last year.  I saw her feet sickling on at least two occasions and I just (sorry Gorka) didn't enjoy the routine. It was frenetic and I couldn't really see the jive vibe (or swing vibe according to C.raig).  It showed incredible stamina and yes, a lot of steps, but it wasn't perfect as far as I could see.  And It wasn't a patch on Susan's dance for sheer watchability and joy.  I think I will be unpopular for that but so be it (I never saw - and still never can see no mattter how many times I watch it back - the perfection of Jill Halfpenny's jive.  I HATED her pink frock too...)

Felt sorry for Joe - felt Katya hadn't really got him to understand about how you rotate hips - you could see he was trying to do something but it looked very awkward as I think C.raig said. I believe him capable of doing it - he just hasn't grasped what is meant by hip rotation.  Bad Katya!  But good Katya for understanding that buttering up the costume dept is the way to get good costumes (she needs to start visting the make-up team with homemade biccies - her make up was atrocious).  Gemma take note - a nice box of choccies or your grannie's homemade sticky gingerbread to the costume dept (and the hair people too while you're at it).

Charlotte's Jive had such a light, fairy quality that I found myself actually enjoying it.  Not as a jive, just as a dance that she looked like she was enjoying (at last!) and was very pretty to watch.  She seemed very genuinely upset to go - and I don;t buy into the 'good to go whilst on a high' thing.  Better to go out when you know you were rubbish than on your best dance by a long chalk.

Davood.... YASB looked glorious (of course - she must also be keeping in with Vicky and her team) and for the most part I actually enjoyed her choreography.  Agreed totally about the floor slide (she clearly didn't get the memo that floor slides are hackneyed, superfluous nonsense) though it didn;t feel too long out of hold.  They keep going on about the smouldering etc between them - I wish they wouldn't - his wife and family are in the audience (and her mother.....) and it's very inappropriate.  He is an actor - he can do intense passion, romance, desire etc etc. Doesn't mean it;s real. And I object to the panel and Tess indicating it might be, for the reasons previously stated.

Debs - meh...  But enjoyed Gio as a delivery man very much until he opened his shirt.  Less is more Gio, less is more.

I remember Oti in red but don;t remember the dance....  Perhaps that says something....

Simon - oh poor Simon.  Karen looked speechless with fury at the end when he had finished on mistakes.  I am SO going off Karen - non-supportiveness of your partner is not somehting that ever endears me to a person.  Add that to disrepect to the hours of work gone into a costume, her general manicness and she is now on the front row of my subs bench of Agins.

Once again we will draw a discrete veil over Brian.

Mollie - disappointed really. She had good music (Salsa in appropriate music shocker!), the routine was ok, though I thought the lifts seemed shoe-horned in to make an impression rather than completing and flowing from the routine, she looked lovely, but I just didn't really enjoy it.  At least there was no disco....

Really working this cafe's wifi...  time to get another coffee and read what everyone else thought!

Sid wrote:I can't say I was surprised to see Davood and Nadiya in the DO. Partly that's cos I "spoiled myself" last night (!) but also, let's face it, he's not exactly Mr Charisma and she's hardly blown us away week after week with amazing choreography. The pair of them are like unwrapping a fabulously packed Christmas present only to find a pair of oven gloves.

I have just spluttered into my cafe coffee and people are looking at me weirdly...!

And like you Sid, I enjoyed Brian's genuinely amusing quip about being like B.runo. But that was it.

Agree with Tapping and all those who have said that Charlotte was like a ragdoll. I said last week that she needed to address her core and I would have thought that this week the training would have been 50% working on a doable beginner's jive routine and 50% on pilates-type core excercise. She should have been doing that from day one. A strong core would have mad all her routines infinitely better. Our Debs may not be a naughty latin siren, but she has a core of steel and that has helped her SO much. A lesson to us all really. Well, if we want to please the judges.... Otherwise, it doesn't really matter I guess...

I am going to have to look at Jonnie again as you all speak so highly of the routine. I don't know why I can;t remember it...

And Tapping, my finalists are Joe, Gemma and Johnny. If there are four - like there have been in previous years - then I'll add Mollie. I'm egging Susan all the way to Blackpool because she is properly improving and learning. Also want Debs to get to at least the last five.

I'm losing Brian next week, Simon the week after (even though Brian is a bit better now than Simon - I like Simon). Then Davood. Or Ruth. Then Aston (I am NEVER going to get over the sight of his spindly little legs in those turquoise tights). Alexandra I am in a quandary over. She is talented. She is committed and disciplined and is clearly doing this for her Mum, and perhaps as a way of dealing with that grief. And for all those reasons I want her to do well. But.... Nobdody takes to the perfect girl at school. Just because the perfect girl works hard does not make her any easier to take. I don't think Alexandra is in a position to lighten up - she is in an intense of vacuum of emotion and loss. But if she could possibly, just possibly, be less of a try-hard then I think people would relax and take to her more. But loss does bad things to one - as Tapping says, it catches you at unexpected moments at unexpected times.

B4p wrote:
That has to be this years classic Strictly quote (so far)

Agreed B4, agreed!

Sid - that was a moment of pure genius!