2021 Tango's 'Little bit of Honesty'

What is with the scoring tonight - GRRRRrrrrrrr

Was more about poor dance/costume interpretation for me. , ie, Samba costumes in a tuxedo.? All more ballroom at Prom night than Latin festival in Brazil, and those Alacatraz pyjamas of Adam? Well...Looks like Dan and Adam have got the death cards this week, but we'll no doubt see what we'll see. Later....

TANGOLERO wrote:Was more about poor dance/costume interpretation for me. , ie, Samba costumes in a tuxedo.? All more ballroom at Prom night than  Latin festival in Brazil, and those Alacatraz pyjamas of Adam? Well...Looks like Dan and Adam have got the death cards this week, but we'll no doubt see what we'll see.  Later....

I've written down exactly the same Tango - Adam's pin stripe prison suit!

Great minds.B4p.. .....Right, to work.

Adam and Nancy..Jive. Adam's in big danger unless he gets lucky. Awful Alcatraz pyjamas. Still aeroplaning, too long out of hold and all that finger snapping is Four Tops/Platters singing, not jiving. Katya has to cop for that bit. He really tries but you can't be good at everything. Won't get gold medals here without a big improvement. Doesn't look confident out there.6777..27

Rose and Giovanni. Passing out outfits at University rather than Samba Fiesta in Brazil. Really poor costume choice and the whole thing looked more ballroom then Latin. Dance was decent, but we're at halfway house. It all got a bit lost. 8888..32.

Rhys and Nancy. Quickstep. Neat dancing good in hold. C raig's a Latin man and not the best ballroom judge. 7.9.9.9. 35.

Tom and Amy, Paso Doble.. Personally, even though I tipped Tom as a finalist, I thought this was a bit long-striding and his expressions reminded me of my old schoolmusic teacher when he tried to teach me to sing (well, like I said, you can't be good at everything, can you?) 9.10.10. 9. 38 (36 at best from me)

Tilly and Nikita..Tango. What the .... is ankle articulation Shirley and what has it got to do with a Tango? Chess and Tango? Ah well, it's a Tango, clean and sharp enough, little wrong I could see, but C raig gives it an 8 and Shirley a 7? 8.8.7.8.. 31.

Dan and Nadia. Couple's Choice. Couldn't mark this technically (could anyone?) only visually, so how can it be judged against ballroom and Latin? Did Nothing much for me and Shirley, the Ballroom queen gives it an 8? 6.7.8.7. 28


AJ ahd kAI..Charlston. We wanted a Charlston, we got a good one. A.J. looked like she just stepped out of the 1920's Cotton Club. Nice work. Probably dance of the night. Judges seemed to think so. 9.10.10.10. 39..

John and Johannes. Rumba. Glad the Rumba is out of the way. A dance for man and wife not a pro and a pupil in any form. Too intimate and possibly embarassing in ballroom form. 8.8.10 9. 35.

Sara and Aljaz. Quickstep. Pretty good fast quickstep in Alijaz mould. A nton, a pure ballroom maestro, liked it 8.8.8.9 33.

There you have my two-pennyworth. I'm expecting a basement battle between Adam, Dan and possibly Tilly. Time, and tomorrow, will tell..

Week 7 Comments.

It's now the halfway point and as Vin cent used to say, it's 'time to turn the frittata'.


Adam - Jive. He kept in time with just one small error. He looked like he was enjoying himself despite the convict pyjama suit he was wearing. It was ok but it didn’t blow me away and he still looks like a merman trying to dance on land - a bit heavy footed. I thought a 7 was about right.

Rose - Samba. I really liked this. I wasn’t sure a fashion photographer (Gio) would be wearing a Tuxedo, but I liked the 1960s vibe of Rose’s outfit. Lots of recognisable steps. Great performance, solid dance. Not an easy dance for anyone to do, but I thought she did a good job. I would have given her an 8 as well.

Tom - Paso. Tom’s facial expression kept reminding me of Rodney and Del Boy. I liked it, but for some reason the dance story didn’t fire me up, I don’t know why. I kept getting distracted by the light coloured Paso outfits which were beautiful, but reminded me of a dressing up box. The judges seemed happy that he’d fulfilled the brief. I think I would have scored an 8/9.

Rhys - Quickstep. It took a while to get into hold. After commenting that his upper body needed to be still and his legs active, his knees were up on his chest (near to his dropped frame) and he still managed to put in some funky leg moves out of hold. All 4 judges commented that his frame still wasn’t right, then 3 judges scored him 9s! Even Nancy said he needed to jump rather than bounce about. I don’t think he’s taking on board the essence of the dances. Even An ton said that this was the first week that he looked like he was actually dancing with Nancy. I find him irritating, and it’s sickening how Shirley and Motsi continue to give him high scores each week determined to keep him in, regardless of how he executes the dance. I would have scored a 7 or 8.

Tilly - Tango. I liked the black and white chess theme. I thought she did a respectable Tango. I find Nikita’s choreography a bit all on one level, with not much light and shade, but Tilly dances well to what she’s given. There seemed to be a lot of traditional Tango footwork in there. I’m not sure what Shirley means by needing more ankle articulation. Cr aig’s comment again that her footwork was heavy. I thought Shirley was being overly picky (yet again) with Tilly and it was definitely worth more than a 7.

Dan - Couple’s Choice. For the first time, Dan looked relaxed as though he was getting into the performance side of the dance. He seemed to keep in time with Nadiya. What the dance was supposed to be - who knows. Just an excuse to bop around to a favourite song. Not my cup of tea but it was over 90 seconds so I stuck with it. How Shirley gave this an 8 I do not know. A 6 for me.

John - Rumba. I loved this. I thought it was soft, sensitive and touching without being ‘smaltsy’. I thought he had a good rumba leg action and beautiful arm and hand shaping (nobody mentioned). He kept the flow going throughout the dance. It was classy and emotional without going over the top. Great comments from all 4 judges then Motsi and Cr aig only gave it 8, one more point than Rhys? I would have scored it a 9.

AJ - Charleston. Great fun. Very busy and physical. Lots of Charleston content, and for once her long legs seemed to be facing the same way under control. She reminds me a bit of Alesha Dixon who I thought also had wayward legs at times. I wonder why someone else (not Kai) did the choreography? A 9 for me.

Sara - Quickstep. I thought she’d struggle with this but she did well. A bit slow to get into hold (same as Rhys and given 1 point less). I also wrote about her shoulders being up. I thought An ton’s comments made me smile, lots of compliments about when she’s in hold, then ‘your head gives me the hump! An 8 for me.

Weakest dancers for me tonight - Dan & Adam but will Dan's fan base save him throwing Rhys under the bus?

B4p wrote:What is with the scoring tonight - GRRRRrrrrrrr

What indeed???
Shirley and A nton both gave Rhys criticism - then still gave him 9! and for me there was no way that he should have been above Rose and Gio on the leaderboard!

Overall I did enjoy the show tonight - much more than last week.  I thought there were some very good performances and dances of the night for me were John and Johannes and Tom and Amy - followed by Rose and Gio.  I did enjoy AJ and Kai but I didn't quite feel it was worth '10' - others might disagree with me.  

Adam and Katya - 7
He still doesn't look too natural unfortunately, but I thought you could tell he was working very hard and as an athletic dance it quite suited him.  Katya cleverly gave him all kicks and flicks and not very much jive footwork. I don't feel he will get much better now.   Don't know what was going on with Katya's dress - more ballroom than Jive - didn't care for it.

Rose and Gio - 8
I really enjoyed this - I couldn't see the nerves that A nton mentioned.   I thought she was confident and really went for it with the hip movement. I thought it was a tight routine with plenty of bounce and I loved the music and the boots -  a la Penny Lancaster!  (remember?)

Tom and Amy - 9
The joint dance of the night for me.   Wow!   A totally traditional paso which I loved. As soon as I saw the costumes I hoped it would be so - although Tom's socks and shoes did very much remind me of Kevin Clifton at Blackpool a few years ago.  Many male celebs just don't quite get it right with the paso for me - but Tom got it just right. It was the bullfight with some great cape work which we haven't seen for a while.     I hope Mr T liked it?

Rhys and Nancy - 7
Only CRH scored realistically with this one.   It wasn't a bad effort and he has improved.  As always with Rhys, the timing was excellent and the moves well executed. However, there was too much faffing about at the start and still too much done out of hold for me. Didn't really get the theme -   It was a dance routine with quite a few moves that they've done before with a bit of quick step in the middle and how on earth could this have garnered the best QS score of the season so far?????

Tilly and Nikita - 8
A solid performance which I quite enjoyed but didn't blow me away.  She has definitely improved but still needs to work on the ballroom frame - as A nton pointed out. Quite good choreography and I liked her dress.

Dan and Nadiya - 7.5
Difficult to judge these Couples Choice dances this year and difficult for the non dancers.  That said I think Dan is surprisingly light on his feet, to me he dances in a neat way with very good timing and he has come a long way.  There was some lovely energy with this dance.  I quite liked what they did.

John and Johannes - 9
Wow! Found this mesmerising. I didn't know what I would think about 2 guys dancing a rumba but for me it was superb and one of the best rumbas I have seen in a long time on SCD. Thought they should have got 9 across the board. A lot could have gone wrong with that routine but it didn't and I just loved the fluidity of the movement throughout - just two people moving to music beautifully.

AJ and Kai - 9
The routine was performed excellently  but for me personally I wouldn't quite have given it a '10' - not sure why but agreed with CRH. Some of it looked a little ungainly but I know that for a tall long limbed person the Charleston is not naturally easy.   She did a great job and looked very good in the costume.

Sara and Alijaz - 8
Enjoyed this QS more than the other one.   I think Sara did ok and was so much better than last week.

mauveangel09 wrote:


Tom and Amy - 9
The joint dance of the night for me.   Wow!   A totally traditional paso which I loved. As soon as I saw the costumes I hoped it would be so - although Tom's socks and shoes did very much remind me of Kevin Clifton at Blackpool a few years ago.  Many male celebs just don't quite get it right with the paso for me - but Tom got it just right. It was the bullfight with some great cape work which we haven't seen for a while.     I hope Mr T liked it?

.

I did indeed Mauve, and credit to Tom for adopting an "attitude". although his expression was more bull stable "cor, what a pong" than bullring arrogance, but hey, he isn't Tom Cordobes. . The cape work was, of course, part of Amy's choreography and worked well. One thing I do wish the pros would mention is that matador's don't gaze into space when facing half a ton of fighting bull.It's a moot point in dance, I know, but focus on the "bull" is a bit more important than learning moves unless your theme is flamenco. All said, good job Tom and your still a finalist for me.. Ole!

Hi folks. Here are my thoughts on last night's dances and some I was at odds with.

Adam and Katya (Jive): There was more to hold this back than to boost it. The theme of the dance had no seeming connection to Jive, the use of the cue and the table had no point or value and the outfits as well were an odd mish-mash for the dance. The dance content was not bad though some of the kicks and flicks were a little scruffy. Judges were all pretty accurate with comments. A 6.5 from me.

Rose and Giovanni (Samba): Although it was clear Rose was not comfortable with this dance she battled through and I enjoyed her great fluidity in the hips and her steps were polished. I spotted once where her timing was maybe a bit out. Not her best but still very good. An 8.5 from me.

Tom and Amy (Paso Doble): Aside from a slight balance issue on his opening spin this was great. Loved the Spanish lines he formed and held and he caught the character of the dance very well. Not sure it quite merited two tens. An 8.5 from me.

Rhys and Nancy (Quickstep): I did not like the slide at the start of the dance. Added nothing to the dance and saw no reason for its inclusion. His steps were generally very good though still moments things looked scrappy. Fait points of critique from Shi.rley but then she offers up a 9? A 7.5 from me.

Tilly and Nikita (Tango): I really liked the theme of the dance and although this was a decent effort I felt there were odd errors and posture issues. Not her best and not her worst. I am struggling though with this couple. Their dancing does not get my juices flowing and though the judges are very handy with credit I find it all a bit ugly. A 7 from me.

Dan and Nadiya (Couples Choice): A few things held this back. What was the dance style? Dan is the male Victoria Pendleton in that he just cannot really let himself go where you watch and feel he's really getting into the dance. Frustrating. Don't get me wrong it had some good moments but An.ton summed it up well - he has to let himself go more or this will be over very soon. A 6.5 from me.

John and Johannes (Rumba): A really good effort this. I only had issues with John's hand shaping at times but that aside they danced this beautifully. An 8.5 from me.

AJ and Kai (Charleston): Wow. I loved this as it had it all. Great characterisation, daring lifts that came off, great quirkiness and danced superbly. Dance of the night from me. A 10 from me.

Sara and Alijaz (Quickstep): Saly, there was faffing for far too long at the start. However, once underway I thought she did very well with the steps and the quick tempo of the dance which she maintained until the end. An improvement on last week. An 8 from me.

From this alone the dance should be between any of Dan, Adam and Tilly but somehow I feel a surprising coming up.

B4p wrote:What is with the scoring tonight - GRRRRrrrrrrr

Ive caught up late thou have to agree the scores are all over the place . Overmarked and undermarked.
Think being in a bubble has triggered a cluster of 9's known as Nineitus ! frenzie

TANGOLERO wrote:

I did indeed Mauve, and credit to Tom for adopting an "attitude". although his expression was more bull stable "cor, what a pong" than bullring arrogance, but hey, he isn't Tom Cordobes. .  The cape work was, of course, part of Amy's choreography and worked well. One thing I do wish the pros would mention is that matador's don't gaze into space when facing half a ton of fighting bull.It's a moot point in dance, I know, but focus on the "bull" is a bit more important than learning moves unless your theme is flamenco. All said, good job Tom and your still a finalist for me.. Ole!  

Yes I do agree about the facial expression which he definitely didn't do quite right! I love your analogy Mr T The facial expressions in both Tango and Paso on SCD annoy me. I suppose it wasn't a steamy flamenco version but I did really enjoy it. I found it refreshingly traditional.

CaledonianCraig wrote:




Tilly and Nikita (Tango): I really liked the theme of the dance and although this was a decent effort I felt there were odd errors and posture issues. Not her best and not her worst. I am struggling though with this couple. Their dancing does not get my juices flowing and though the judges are very handy with credit I find it all a bit ugly. A 7 from me.


Sara and Alijaz (Quickstep): Saly, there was faffing for far too long at the start. However, once underway I thought she did very well with the steps and the quick tempo of the dance which she maintained until the end. An improvement on last week. An 8 from me.

You make a good point about Tilly and Nikita CC. I do think they need to lift the performance a bit in their ballroom n umbers.

I agree that Sara did well although I think the head/shoulders issues that A nton mentions are valid. I kind of thought that the judges comments about her being better in-hold were a bit barbed - indicating that she can't do anything out of hold which isn't strictly true, but I think ballroom is definitely her forte and for me she needs to be more of a polished all rounder at this stage for me to see her as a real contender although I really like her and I like their partnership.

Enjoyed last night more than previous week.
Poor Tom enjoyed his dance but his heavy jaw line didn’t help his expression.
Not sure what Dan’s dance was but he enjoyed it.
Some of the dances were very faffy at the beginning.
Loved AJ and I didn’t hide behind the cushion with John and Jojo.

I would love to see John with a female partner just to compare.

It all felt a little empty to me last night - the only thing which really made me sit up and cheer was AJ's charleston, but I felt the rest of the show was below par. In particular, it looked like Vicky Gill's team had taken the week off and she'd bought the costumes from a bargain basement instead (again, excepting AJ's gorgeous dress). Similarly, some of the music choices were hit or miss. Overall not a great night, but maybe that's just the post-halloween lull.

Adam - oh dear. I gave him all my votes, but the jive wasn't great - and not helped by rubbish costumes
Rose - don't think she looked very comfortable with this samba, although well danced
Tom - Someone mentioned a likeness with Kevin's Blackpool paso - I thought exactly the same thing!
Rhys - the yukky music and costumes didn't help this rather frantic quickstep. Is it him, or is it Nancy's teaching I wonder? I think Rhys does have potential, but she hasn't brought it out of him yet.
Tilly - well danced, but I'm in the same boat as CC, I just can't seem to get fired up by this couple. Thought the eye make-up doubled her age which was unfortunate.
Dan - at least the VT wasn't a tearjerker, but this Couples Choice left me cold - too skippy and no story
John - danced well but I felt they were pulling the same posture over and over, it didn't feel varied enough
AJ - wow - loved this from start to finish! Looked flawless to me, loved the character and the choreography
Sara - too much faffing with the boxes at the start, not too keen on the routine or the costumes/hair

I imagine Adam will be in the dance off, in which case probably leaving.

You were right Jingle - I'm sorry because I know you were supporting him but to me it was a bit of a no brainer. Tilly was simply the better dancer and I think she found herself there because the routine didn't pack the punch that some of the others did last night and she was in that no-mans land middle of the leaderboard place. I do think however that she and Nikita will need to up their game a bit going forward to steal back some of those votes as Dan and Sara's support seems to be holding out.

Shirley saying that she would have saved Adam (ok - I know that it is her prerogative) but come on - she is so bias to the men and does not seem to like the younger girls. I know that's a sweeping statement but I remember how sniffy and critical she was with the young girl who reached the Final last year with Gorka - I just can't remember her name right now. She seems to be on the same trajectory with Tilly. Just an observation. Going to catch up with the Mexican Grand Prix now........................

I kept thinking on the opening number, could they possibly squeeze anymore working class stereotypes in?
Obviously an Irish night, but actually if you turned the music down, it could have also have been from the film 'Oliver' when they're in the tavern singing 'Oom-pa-pa. Throw in a whippet and you've probably covered a fair bit of Britain. Maybe we'll have the same in a few weeks time with a bit of Scottish sword dancing or leek bashing from the valleys thrown in.

A gracious withdrawal from Adam. I think he'd reached the end of the road. I wonder how long Dan's fans are going to keep him in the safety zone as the stronger dancers start to fall. Will it be Sara and Rhys or Tilly next week?

And Adam Peaty exits Strictly. He lost out in a dance-off against Tilly by three votes to one. I think the right decision was made but I think Tilly's time will be coming soon too.

mauveangel09 wrote: Shirley saying that she would have saved Adam (ok - I know that it is her prerogative) but come on - she is so bias to the men and does not seem to like the younger girls.  I know that's a sweeping statement but I remember how sniffy and critical she was with the young girl who reached the Final last year with Gorka - I just can't remember her name right now.   She seems to be on the same trajectory with Tilly. Just an observation.

I agree mauve. I don't think Shirley likes Tilly too much. It's a shame. Tilly's quite mature for her 18 years and is fighting hard, but I'm not sure Shirley will cut back on her nit-picking.

*Arrives huffing and puffing clutching her chest

Sorry, sorry, late to everything. It was a bit of a week but things much calmer now. I hhaven't read all your posts yet about last night but I will, I promise.

I enjoyed last night a lot. And a bajillion times more than last Saturday.

I mainly enjoyed Rose's Fabulous White Boots and expect them to have their own tv series in the New Year. Or at the very least a Twitter and Insta account.

I also enjoyed the sherbert lemon dress that Katya swished around. Much more than the jive itself.

That jive for me was the only dance I was very 'meh' about The rest all bought something to the table, even if not perfection.

Daniel and Nadiya as a combo continue to delight and enthrall me. I have NO idea what that Couple's Choice was, but then, I haven't for any of this series, and it was so joyous and fun and they were clearly having the best time that I thoroughly enjoyed it. And whist Tess and Claud were wittering on to close the show, and whilst they were waiting for them to say "Keeep dancing" Daniel and Nadiya were doing their own little weird but adorable thing in complete synch - watch it back, last two/three mins of the show.

I also enjoyed the Italian 60s Samba more than thejudges. It was proper Samba but with a great vibe of my favourite clothing era and like Shirley I very much appreciated Rose's twisty hips when she did the Samba walks

The rumba was very heartfelt and tender with a nod to sensuous. I might have had to hide behind the sofa or under the table for the fireworks but thankfully this dance didn;t so it's usual trick of sending me scuttling for a safe place.

No idea why Tilly was in the dance off. She is quietly just getting on and improving each week. I don't particularly warm to Nikita but I think he is bringing out the best in her with his teaching and choreography and I am always here for that. And she seems a real sweetheart (a chip off her mother's block rather than daddy's it would seem - thankfully).

Tom's shaping and Spanish lines didn;t do much for me, but Amy was having the time of her life, shrieking and stamping with utter joy, so I let them have their moment of severe overmarking without whingeing.

Rhys looked gorgeous. Out of hold he is a supberb mover. I am just going to focus on that positive and not bang on like he mean judges about the other stuff, The man can dance but not in the more stiff and disciplined way of ballroom. He is a Nicholas Brother and i am more than ok with that. (Yes, yes, I know it is a ballroom and latin competition, but sometimes you just have to recognise talent even if it doesn't conform to the skill being judged).

AJ was phenomenal. If I haven't warmed to Nikita I am actively Agin Kai (still). I am sure he is a throwback to the real Peaky Blinders... (and aged at least 32). But he has clearly has the right approach to AJ (a bit of romance even?) and she is another beautiful dancer, but one whom the pro knows how to convert into ballroom and latin. AJ is the rarity that can shine in both. Loved the Charleston and you could see she was loving it too.

I adore Sara, and this was a competent QS, but it didn't quite do it for me. I blame te wig entirely. I hated it on Dolly and it doesn't get better as it ages.

I think everybody just seemed to be really enjoying their dancing and that made me enjoy the show.

It's not like me to such a positive Pollyanna at this stage of the show, is it? I am usually Grumpyby now.

And to cap it all, we got rid of Thrusty Adam and It's All About Me Katya, so THAT's a result...

Oh, and the clogdancing Irish duo in the pro dance... yes please.

OK. I'm off to enlist some top crims to steal Rose's Fabulous White Boots from her. The know they belong to me.

Felt sorry for Adam because he was so enjoying learning to dance. I'd have sent Dan home first and given him another week. Tilly shouldn't have been in the d.o. but was always safe and I think Shirley was just being tactical calling for Adam.. I'm still going with Tom, Rose and A.J for the long race, but Rhys could be the dark horse.

Sorry B4p, but I loved the Irish theme (well, my dad came from County Mayo) and I was always a big fan of the original Riverdance (not the 17 Michael Flatley spin-offs that followed)

Oh.

Just read quickly through your posts and I seem to be the only one in Positive Pollyanna mode - all of you have discovered your inner Grumpy and didn't really like this week's offerings. I'm standing by my enjoyment though. Next week is sure to feel flat in comparison.

I will just very quickly agree with Mauve that Shirely is always very Agin younger women (and Maisie was the terrific dancer in the final with Gorka). It is well-noted on social media - people were predicting that she would save Adam before it actually happened. She's a bit pervy tbh.

In other news, I forgot a shout-out for Johannes' lovely, loose wafty shirt. Gorge-uss. (He is such a beautiful person, all the way through).

I’ve come to Strictly really late this week. I was busy Saturday and Sunday and had to go to the Orthopaedic dept. (new knees in a few months) on Monday morning so I didn’t see the Show or the Results Show till Monday afternoon. I generally enjoyed them very much

Adam & Katya – Jive
Stiff – not fluid at all   Lots of energy, yes, but….    He did seem to get the basic idea, but he wasn’t great. He was my guess to be voted off so I’m not surprised to be proved correct. His performance in the Dance Off was a little better but by no means good enough to save him. I’ve no idea why Shirley would have voted for him. Unless it was just to make him feel better!

Rose & Giovanni - Samba
I really loved this routine. She looked great and her body moved and swivelled wonderfully in a very cute costume. I don’t know what tricks they’d worked out so she could start out, on her own and in tempo but they really worked.  It was a great routine – well done Giovanni. They really are a beautifully paired couple. I think Giovanni has done better as a teacher with Rose than he has with any other of his celebs in the past.  I couldn’t believe that they were so far down the leader board. They got two of my votes.

Tom & Amy – Paso Doble
Outrageous costumes really grabbed your attention and took no prisoners! I thought he was totally committed but I don’t know if I liked the routine as much as the judges. The actual performance may have been excellent – I wouldn’t know – I’m not a ballroom dancer. There were some good bits but generally not for me so my marks wouldn’t have been as high. Certainly not two 10s.

Rhys & Nancy – Quickstep
I was about to complain about Nancy being a poor teacher, but I thought this was one of his best ballrooms so far. She did him proud. He was good but not better than Rose!

Tilly & Nikita – Tango
I liked this very much, much more than the judges. I liked her look, and thought she gave a confident, precise and mature performance. I loved the floor lighting – very clever. Mrs Twirlie likes Nikita a LOT. (Rather too much in my opinion). She thought he looked like a matinee idol in that white suit! Marks weren’t too bad but I gave them one of my votes as well.

Dan & Nadia – Couple’s Choice
It was a feel good performance – not a dancer’s dance by any means. Dan is vanilla and happy to be so, so the fabu-u-lus darling one’s supposed criticism completely missed the point. Motsi and Housewives choice gave the right scores.

John & Johannes – Rumba
They were very very good, there’s no doubt about it and their scores were deserved. Mrs Twirlie loved it, but I’m afraid I still can’t get enthusiastic about this couple.

AJ & Kai – Charleston
This was definitely the dance of the night for me – no doubt whatsoever. I couldn’t believe how many steps were in that number and I couldn’t believe how well she coped with them. It was overflowing with choreography. She has lovely long legs and they came into their own here. Housewives choice’s mention of Josephine Baker was qute right. It was entirely what I was thinking of during the dance.

Sara & Aljaz – Quickstep
I didn’t think much of the theme or costumes. Such a ghastly wig. The dance wase ’t bad though – not bad at all.  Aljaz is good at choreographing a quickstep isn’t he.


The results show’s opening number was like something out of a performance of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers yet again, this time crossed with Brigadoon.

I wasn’t surprised to see Adam& Katya in the bottom two this week, but I was surprised to see Tilly & Nikita there. I can tell Nadiya was surprised not to be there. She mouthed this huge “Wow” when they were announced. I’m sure when Dan and Nadiya are in the bottom two, the judges will vote them out. He can only be being kept in by audience popularity at the moment.

The Script were OK. I’ve never heard of them before but that’s not unusual for an old fogey like me. I loved the strong, athletic performance by Gorka and Karen and was impressed that the lead singer gave a shout out to them in the middle of the song. Pretty generous I thought.

Both couples in the Dance Off improved somewhat but even Adam’s improvement wasn’t enough to overtake Tilly. I can’t believe Shirley would have kept Adam instead of Tilly. As far as I was concerned there was no doubt whatsoever as to the result.

And there we are for another week. Just how popular is Dan, do you think. Surely next week must be the end of his trip through Strictly. if not who will be in the bottom two? Probably two couples who don't to deserve to be there until much later in the competition. It's happened before, and would be a shame.

Fair comments as ever, Twirlie, D & P. and all. We're at the stage where the G.B.P will no doubt upset a few apple carts, mainly because, Dan apart (talent-wise, for me) it's all much of a muchness now and a popularity contest as much as a danceathon. Not really bothered who wins the Poundland trinket although I still think Tom, Rose and A,J will be the finalists. Prejudice will possibly overtake Pride and Sensibility dethrone Sense, but hey-ho, que sera... All the contestants have been quite decent this year and even though they probably won't be able to remember how to dance a waltz in a month's time, they've all given it a good go. On with the motley then and may the best win.....although they probably won't..

TANGOLERO wrote:Sorry B4p, but I loved the Irish theme (well, my dad came from County Mayo) and I was always a big fan of the original Riverdance

I didn't mind the Irish theme.
My grandparents were Irish from Clonmel near Waterford & Tipperary.
I liked Riverdance.
I liked the two Irish dancers doing their thing.
I've been in many Irish pubs including on St Stephen's day (Boxing Day).

What I find disappointing, is a lazy stereotypical theme. Irish theme night = drinking stout in a pub.
Lets stick the modern Irish dancers (who were brilliant) in a Celtic bar (yawn) surrounded by dancers dressed like Victorian extras from Oliver or Mary Poppins (really?) wearing flat caps (What?). The only thing missing was Molly Malone and her wheelbarrow  
The pro dancers did a good job, but I would have thought the show's choreographers could have come up with something just a little bit more imaginative than that.

For example, just going completely off-tangent for a moment, I'm imagining a Montague & Capulet type gang scene with one of the Irish boys on either side as rivals - a dual by dance steps with some of the pros acting as gang characters trying to break them up. Maybe one of the females could have been a Juliet character caught in the middle.
A scene on an old ship with the famous female Irish pirate Grania could have been interesting. The pros could have been dressed as deckhands and the two Irish dancers could have led the crew in a merry dance. A perfect excuse for a fiddle and Bodhran to appear.

I did like the Script and the shoutout given to Gorka and Karen who danced along to them.

I take your points about stereotyping B4P, but it's a built in evil to all but the natives of anywhere. "All Spaniards wear flat hats and have a rose in their teeth" etc,etc.Personally I'd like to see more of a variety, step-dancing and group stuff as well as the "Feet of Flames" Flatley stuff. ( I had a granddaughter who was doing really well in Irish dance till she sadly reached the age of pop-music, false eye-lashes and lads etc. ) I actually thought at one stage the pros were doing a below-decks"Titanic" re-creation with the Irish routine ?

Anyway, "Slainte" to you....or Slàinte Mhath,

B4p wrote:
AJ - Charleston. Great fun. Very busy and physical. Lots of Charleston content, and for once her long legs seemed to be facing the same way under control. She reminds me a bit of Alesha Dixon who I thought also had wayward legs at times. I wonder why someone else (not Kai) did the choreography? A 9 for me.

I think that over the years it's been quite common for couples to bring in specialist choreographers to choreograph their Charleston routine. It's not one of the ballroom or latin dances that the pro dancers are familiar with. I'm sure I've heard couples in the past give credit to their choreographers once theyr'e up in the Clauditorium. Am I wrong with this?

I just realised that I hadn't been compensating for the old name substitutions in the last post. We don't have The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman any more of course, but seeing Housewives choice and the fabu-u-lus darling one's pseudonyms up there was quite fun. And I haven't mentioned their short trip to Dusseldorf either this week. I might indlude these in next week's post, but don't worry, I won't keep going with them after that.