2021 Tango's 'Little bit of Honesty'

diamondsandpearls wrote:






Rose was graceful and gorgeous, but I am probably the only person in the universe who didn'tl ike the flying lift. It broke up the flow and grace of the rest of the routine and was just a trick for a trick's sake. It didn't add to the dance but rather distracted fromit, in my view.

The theme of this post has turned out to be - LESS LIFTS PLEASE!

No you're not the only person to thing that D+P - If you look back I commented about it in my post and said that I felt it was not necessary to the dance - along with many of the lifts and tricks that we saw on Saturday night.

I meant to put a post up last night but got involved in catching up with the hectic and unbelievable Saudi Arabia GP.

I really liked Dan's goodbye speech, I have thoroughly enjoyed him throughout the show- and what an honest and straightforward person. Breath of fresh air for Strictly and turned into a great dancer. I felt he did dance better in the Dance Off - he did what he has done throughout the series and took on board the notes from the j udges. I felt there was a lot more ballroom tango technique in the second showing and I really enjoyed it. However, AJ really nailed it with a class performance, not making a mistake and looking more like she was enjoying it this time round! So I think the right decision was made, but Dan will remain one of the highlights of this season for me.

mauveangel09 wrote:I meant to put a post up last night but got involved in catching up with the hectic and unbelievable Saudi Arabia GP.

I really liked Dan's goodbye speech, I have thoroughly enjoyed him throughout the show- and what an honest and straightforward person.  Breath of fresh air for Strictly and turned into a great dancer.   I felt he did dance better in the Dance Off - he did what he has done throughout the series and took on board the notes from the j udges.  I felt there was a lot more ballroom tango technique in the second showing and I really enjoyed it.   However, AJ really nailed it with a class performance, not making a mistake and looking more like she was enjoying it this time round!     So I think the right decision was made, but Dan will remain one of the highlights of this season for me.

I fully agree with everything you say.

I always take greater pleasure in celebrities who have never danced being trained and turned into a decent dancer by the end. It is like watching an artist starting with a blank canvas whereas the semi-trained dance celebs it is like watching someone with a half finished picture with just some colour to add - far less fun.

Can't explain it, but somehow I'm not bursting with enthusiasm about the semi final,indeed, the final either. Has the show become too much about the pro-dancers, or am I imagining that too?

The last few years have been very difficult for the team to produce any kind of a show and that alone has to be applauded but, I think the show could do with some re-sparkling.

We continue to have new professionals, (as is the style of the show) some we will have clicked with, others seem to be just passing through.
Judges have changed with only Cr aig remaining from the original four.
The use of props have decreased, and CGI effects increased.
Wardrobe now seems to be either 'street' or bugle beads, and the previous glamour of the ballroom clothing is glimpsed only fleetingly from a distance.
The band is still as good as ever, although they now seem to be hidden away more than before (I still think a TV set above the orchestra pit could be useful so that the band and singers can be seen). Half of the singers have changed, but they're not introduced like before.
The Clauditorium area has changed (due to Covid restrictions). The whooping and hollering has gone (hooray).
The terms and conditions are now via VT (hooray).
The other couples waiting to dance are sitting on the sidelines cheering their colleagues on, which is a great improvement.

What hasn't changed is the format and presentation of the show.
When things finally start to settle, I would like to see some sort of a revamp as it's all looking a bit stale these days.
The show reminds me of watching the old White Heather Hogmany Show with Andy Stewart. It was great and of it's time but Jules Holland's Hootenanny moved the New Year's Eve Party Show forward and even that is starting to look old now.  
Strictly initially moved 'Come Dancing' into the next generation, but the UK Strictly seems to be stuck in a time warp. It could be the flagship of new trailblazing ideas if a few people had a bit of imagination and vision.

I think it's time to get rid of the 'Results Show' and the pretence that it's not all recorded on a Saturday night.
Instead of having musical acts every week, could they mix it up and have guests with other types of dance experience (not the gymnastic work-out ones of before) but examples of other types of Latin dance, folk dance, Scottish/Irish dance, ballet, tap, street, jazz, contemporary, a ballroom/show dance from some of the previous professionals like An ton & Erin?
There could be changes to the scoring system (Performance/Skill) so that it's not so easily manipulated.
I think some new presenters could liven up the general atmosphere of the show.
Cr aig mentioned last week that there was nothing to stop there being 5 judges. I don't think we need more than 3 judges really - a choreographer, a Latin expert and a ballroom expert. I'm not interested in hearing vague meaningless statements about their feelings.
The way the music is chosen definitely needs sorting out. Some weeks it's like CBBC, and other weeks it's completely off the wall.
The theme weeks need revamping. For me, they're boring and predictable. As soon as you know it is a theme week, you can guess which guest will get which music. The themes could be mixed up a lot more. Maybe the public could send in suggestions and the boss could pick a couple of new ones each year.

TANGOLERO wrote:Can't explain it, but somehow I'm not bursting with enthusiasm about the semi final,indeed, the final either. Has the show become too much about the pro-dancers, or am I imagining that too?

Pleased to say I definitely am looking forward to tonight’s show. I was watching ITT last night (yes, I’ve stuck with it but only really enjoy Rylan’s days) and reflecting over this year’s series so far. It struck me that we have arrived at the semi-final with exactly the right four contestants. They each have their individual strengths (and weaknesses) but all have the capacity to bring both awe and great joy to the dance floor. I wouldn’t begrudge any of them lifting the glitterball.

It is now a question of who performs best this evening. They are all tired, they will all be nervous and they are all desperate to last just one more week. I think my favourite personality is AJ and my favourite partnership is Rose/Gio. Rhys has grown on me and I now consider him one of the better dancers. John seems a thoroughly nice chap but, for me, now the weakest link.

So, it is anybody’s game. Best of luck to all of them that their nerve doesn’t fail and their tired bodies manage to remember all of the steps.

Hope you're right Fifty. I'd love to see the Pros actually sticking to mastering basics to perfection for their charges (difficult when even the Pros probably don't hear strict tempo in anything these days) and we could all recognise the dances by the steps with suitable music to match. I once wanted a Jaguar car for Christmas too..

TANGOLERO wrote:Can't explain it, but somehow I'm not bursting with enthusiasm about the semi final,indeed, the final either. Has the show become too much about the pro-dancers, or am I imagining that too?

Funnily enough,my friend asked me today if I was excited about the Strictly semi-final (she's not a fan but was driving us back from a jolly jaunt in York, aware that I needed to get back home in time for it).  And my answer was, actually, no not really.  When I asked why I had to think about it.

I came to the conclusion that it was because none of the under-dogs, the ones who have really developed since week 1 from having two left feet to performing pretty accomplished ballroom dances, have all been voted out. Wecould have predicted this final four at week 1 (many did).  I really needed to have Tilly or Dan there to keep me properly invested. Not saying they would have got to the final, but it would certainly have made me more interested in the semi final. At this stage last year we stilll had Bill, an underdog/someone who had grown and developed considerably from week 1 (though I would argue not as much as Dan, as being a musician he had an awareness of timing and rhythm) and we know what happened next..

So, for me, it is nothing to do with the pros, it's alll about the fact there is no one who has travelled on the great Strictly bus (the 'j' word...)

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I was dreading the tension and angst and the inane comments from T ess and Motsi.

Rhys
Tango - I thought this was a good tango. For the first time, you could really see some ‘light and shade’. I loved that at one point, he was taking small steps with his feet whilst his upper body was doing something else. The old Rhys was more explosive throughout his whole body. Very nice to watch. A 9 from me

Samba - Again, lots of light and shade, changes of rhythm. He did a really nice job with a difficult dance. The slow sections were great. Another 9 from me.

AJ
Quickstep - Delightful. She looked beautiful and was glowing. No sign of nerves and she radiated happiness. I thought Diamonds will love those arm feathers!. A fabulous QS and I gave it a 10.

Rumba - I didn’t care for this as much. I saw a lot of backbend drops, static holds and some smooth footwork.  I didn’t see a lot of hip action on the forward and back basic walks. I didn’t notice any cucarachas. I’m surprised none of the other judges mentioned her hips. An 8/9 for me.

John
Couple’s Choice - He was leading. It was emotional and strong, but difficult for me to mark. Maybe an 8/9?

Jive - I liked this but it didn’t blow me away. I’m glad Shirley saw the return of her fundamentals!. An 8/9.

Rose
Waltz - A lovely waltz. She makes everything look effortless when we know it’s anything but for her. A 9 from me

A.Tango - Lots of content. Captured the mood beautifully. It helped having some decent A.Tango music. I agreed with An ton’s remarks about her being clean and unruffled, and Cr aig saying that the dance belongs in the final. I loved this and she got 2 of my votes tonight. A 10 for me.

I think it's got to be Rhys and John in the dance-off unless the voters do something unpredictable.

As you might expect, I have some issues...

Rhys and Nancy. Tango. Going first hardly ever gets 10's and it's a brave judge who will give one, so in effect Rhys's dance was pretty good. Very good in fact; clean, sharp and good to watch. C raig loved it..but only gave it a nine as did the rest probably cautiously taking his lead.. 36 looked pretty good right then. 9,9,9,9. 36.

Samba. A lively error free dance that unsurprisingly got 10's from the ladies, but 9's from the fabu-u-lus darling one and A nton. Nancy sort of took this one over despite a good show from Rhys. It was lively and fun, but This was probably noticed by C raig and A  nton again. 9.10.10.9...38 Two dance total 74.
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A.J. and Kai. Quickstep. A ballroom pearl that the will probably never better. Danced in full Hollywood regalia of tie and tails and party frock and not only looking the part, but dancing it. Fast, classy and fun quickstep that even had C raig saying O.M.G...IN awe. Rightfully, a final dance that got full marks. 10.10,10,10...40. What ballroom dance is all about.
Runba. Hard to mark a pro's dance I don't like in competition with amateur competitors. This one, although dramatic and well danced,  had more S-bends than a jobbing plumber, but the "Queen of the Rumba" and Motsi..apparently loved it, A nton too. the fabu-u-lus darling one edged his bets with a 9. 9.10.10.10.  39. Two-dance total..79.
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John and Johannes..Couples choice. (or Crocodile Rock if you're the emotional sort). Didn't like this on the basis of them obviosly having worked hard in training, but how do you teach that to music except as an athletic routine and not a dance? Just didn't work for me, but I'm a spectator and not a judge.( I wouldn't last a week)   They thought it was worth a 9.10.10.10..39.
Jive...I'd love to see this Jive to Rock around the clock, or Johnny B.Good. It was free dance and as such , hard to imagine men in fluorescent socks and brothel-creepers and women in flared skirts, petticoats and pony tails giving their all at the Palais. It earned 9.10.10.10. at which point I realised Glenn Miller and co weren't going to make a comeback after all..Two dance total 78
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Rose and Gio. waltz...A serious case of learning/ dancing  the steps and ignoring the music for me. Very romantic, but when C raig starts talking about "sticky right feet" I realise I have nothing further to say except it was a lovely waltz. Rose never lets us down. 9.10.10.10. 39.
Argentine Tango. What a pity it wasn't final night. What an amazing girl Rose is. Ignore her overcoming her deaf disability and just give he credit for a beautiful exhibition of total tango ballroom dance. Gio has done a fantastic job and for me you can hand Rose the bauble right now, The judes did exactly the right thing in full marks...10.10.10.10. Two Dance total 79.
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Two entirely different dances, but A.JA.S QUICKSTEP, and ROSE'S TANGO shared Dance of the Night.  Good show and entirely entertaining.   ...

I really enjoyed the show tonight, after feeling somewhat lukewarm about the shows of the previous few weeks.

The dancing was of a high standard and it was a very worthy semi-final I thought - notwithstanding rather too much crying for me! I mostly agreed with the judges scores and felt that all the couples rose to the occasion and dug deep. For me the girls just out did the boys with two absolutely stand-out dances in AJ's Quickstep and Rose's Argentine Tango, with Rose's waltz being not far behind in terms of dances destined to become Strictly classics. My choice of finalists has not changed - still hoping for AJ, John and Rose, therefore I threw quite a few votes John's way as I felt that he might need them.

Round One
Rhys and Nancy - Tango - 9
Rhys has definitely improved and although I didn't care for the time wasting bits out of hold and I still feel that some of the technique isn't really there, I think he danced this very well.

AJ and Kai - QuickStep - 10
This was spectacular - what a triumph. One of my dances of the series without a doubt. The speed, lightness and intricate footwork was all there and she nailed it in a dance where there was a lot of potential for going wrong. Brilliant music, brilliant costumes for both of them (even with the pom poms on the arms! not my cup of tea) - these classic Strictly dances have been few and far between this season! What more to say?

John and Johannes - Couples Choice - 9
Very difficult to follow AJ and Kai's dance with something so polar opposite. Found it hard to make my mind up about this one and had mixed feelings about it being the semi-final - so hard to put this sort of dance up against latin and ballroom, but there were many difficult moves within it that they carried off. I agreed with the judges that I did find myself watching John more than Johannes which was good. It was also danced with such raw emotion and feeling.

Rose and Gio - Waltz - 10
This was definitely a 10 from me. For me she has been the best ballroom dancer in the series and I just loved the flow of this dance. What I particularly liked was the partnership between them - it really made the dance for me, it was excellent.

Round 2

Rhys and Nancy - Samba - 9
Another great dance - had to laugh at Shirley's gushing though. The dance suited him and was full of samba content, I noticed that Nancy had put in various clever breaks so that they could get into the changes of rhythm but it worked. I would have actually liked to have seen him be a bit more 'looser' I felt the action was in the legs rather than the hips.

AJ and Kai - Rumba - 9
Tough to get a rumba in the semi-final but AJ had clearly worked very hard to capture the mood of the dance and to get the steps and choreography right. She looked sensational again and they created some lovely lines I thought. I felt it was a neat and precise rumba which had a nice flow. I somehow didn't think it was quite worth a 10 but will watch it back again.

John and Johannes - Jive - 9
Really enjoyed their Jive - shame about the music though. I think they danced it spot on and I liked the way they moved around the floor and just didn't do kicks and flicks - there was so much energy there and so in sync. Line of the night for me was when John said in the Clauditorium that he felt he had been 'dipped in Uhu and rolled in Claires Accessories'

Gio and Rose - Tango - 10
Stunning! At last an Argentine Tango with all the content and style and even a stag lift at the end which we haven't seen done this year. It was like being taken back to those Strictly semi-finals of yester year. I thought this would be good as Gio is brilliant at this dance but I didn't realize how good it would be. Definitely the Argentine Tango of the season and one of the dances of the series for me. The whole thing with that brilliant music was just magic to me and I feel that Rose is well on her way to lifting the Glitterball.

Strictly Semi Finals

First Dance

Rhys and Nancy – Tango
Horrific music. They’re obviously good but I just don’t warm to them. I don’t find them at all exciting

AJ and Kai - Quickstep
My goodness didn’t they look wonderful and with such suitable music too. Hollywood personified. This is entirely what a quickstep should look like in my opinion. Fast and furious, but with delicacy and fine footwork thrown in! I have no problems with their perfect score.

John and Johannes - Couple’s Choice
Mostly I enjoy Couple’s Choices even though I don’t often quite get what they’re selling.  Mrs. Twirlie wondered if their choreography had been done by someone who choreographed a Couple’s Choice from a previous year. She thought it seemed familiar. What do you all think. It was a bit meh for me, but at least had an interesting ending

Rose and Giovanni – Waltz
This was lovely, but perhaps not very exciting. I don’t know if I’d have given them such high marks.

Second Dance

Rhys and Nancy – Samba
I thought this was Rhys back to his over energetic self again. His kicks seemed wild and with no shape. This really didn’t do it for me.

AJ and Kai  - Rumba
I was frankly surprised that they took on this dance at this most dangerous part of the competition. A bad score here can put you in dire jeopardy. However they seemed to pull it off. I didn’t think it was quite as marvellous as some of the judges did, but it was certainly more convincing than any of the others this year.

John and Johannes – jive
I wondered what dance they were doing during the first half of the number. Then the jive started to appear. These two deserve to be in the Final, though like Rhys and Nancy I cannot warm to them.

Rose and Giovanni – Argentine Tango
Oh. My. God!!!! Absolutely the dance of the night. No question. I know she’s a little thing and is probably as light as a feather, but the way she and Giovanni moved together, the way she sailed through the air and the way their feet flicked and kicked between each other. I know there have probably been as good or better performances of the Argentine Tango over the years, but I couldn’t help but be reminded by this performance of the era of Vincent and Flavia. Again I had no trouble in agreeing with the judges’ perfect score.

It is getting tiresome though with those two women doing nothing but GushGushGushing over the celebs. I think they’ve thrown all their paddles away except the 9 and 10s and the 9s don’t come out very often any more. I had hoped that we’d get a little more sense out of A/nton this series but he seems to have gone off his rocker as well. Thank goodness for C.raig.

I find it impossible to tell with any accuracy who's going to go this week That kept me on tenterhooks all through the programme, worrying if my favourite (they're all good now - we don't have to worry about Dan, etc) would dance well enough to get high marks and then of course whether the public vote would put them through without a dance off. The trouble is the marks are so close together - no one is safe.

A well fought semi final but I can’t see beyond Rhys and John in the dance off. Rhys because he’s bottom of the leaderboard and the public won’t save him. John because, while we all know he’s gay, the people who are uncomfortable with that have by and large overlooked that fact on account of the quality of his dancing. Last night you couldn’t avoid it. That couples choice had “we are gay” singing from the roof tops with bells and knockers and trumpets blowing. And sadly that, I think, will lead people (unconsciously maybe) to vote for somebody else. Personally I feel they should not have played the gay card at all because the message was already there and had been well received.

What a great semi-final. Wow.

First Dance

Rhys and Nancy (Tango): The start seemed stop/start when he opened it but presume that was fully intentional. I must have been the only one he saw his bum sticking out. Steps were all good though and a 8.5 from me. For me it is clear where this couple fall short - they do not have the strong partnership bonding that the other teams have. They come across as (what they are) two people asked to dance together whereas the others feel like a suited couple with a connection more than just dance partners.

A J and Kai (Quickstep): It had the fantastic music and boy was this just brilliant. The costumes, the feel, the rhythm, the bounce, the pace which kept up right until the end. The best dance of the series at this point. A 10 from me. Memorable.

John and Johannes (Couples' Choice): I am not a fan of couples' choice dances but I quite liked this one. I loved the balletic moments which gave it a real artistic feel and felt like a Rumba at times too. Full of emotion but channelled it very well. Very good. A 9 from me.

Rose and Giovanni (Waltz): As I expected it to be - a lovely elegant dance. Had nice rise and fall and had that emotive gentile feel to it. Danced superbly. Worth a 9 easily.

Second Dance

Rhys and Nancy (Samba): I dance that suited him I felt. It had a great party feel to it but to my untrained eye looked awkward for brief moments. But still really good. Another 8.5 from me.

A J and Kai (Rumba): I liked this but felt there was a mistake around halfway through. A J looked to start a quick move but then sort of paused then slowed down - maybe part of the dance but looked like an error. Still a very good dance full of emotion. An 8.5 from me but overmarked in my opinion by judges.

John and Johannes (Jive): I was not keen on the start but once underway it was a very good routine but (like C.raig) thought the kicks were not quite right. An 8.5 from me - again a tad overmarked by judges.

Rose and Giovanni (Argentine Tango): Wow. Another superb dance this. Intricate and detailed and loved the spin halfway through. It slowly built into a masterpiece and (like A J earlier) one of the dances of the series. a 10 from me.

So there we have it. The dance-off (for me) should be between Rhys and John but its up to the public and then the judges.

Twirlie wrote:Strictly Semi Finals

First Dance


Rose and Giovanni – Waltz
This was lovely, but perhaps not very exciting. I don’t know if I’d have given them such high marks.


Rose and Giovanni – Argentine Tango
Oh. My. God!!!! Absolutely the dance of the night. No question. I know she’s a little thing and is probably as light as a feather, but the way she and Giovanni moved together, the way she sailed through the air and the way their feet flicked and kicked between each other. I know there have probably been as good or better performances of the Argentine Tango over the years, but I couldn’t help but be reminded by this performance of the era of Vincent and Flavia. Again I had no trouble in agreeing with the judges’ perfect score.

- no one is safe.

All your points are good as ever, Twirlie, and you last remark so very true. The Waltz (for me) is only truly "exciting" in its era of togetherness and romantic feel and flow of the music.( that's why Ian and Jody'd Regency Waltz is for me, the best all time non-professional Strictly waltz) That's why also, it's so daft to judge it against a Jive or Charleston, Paso or Tango. My own excitement in Rose and Gio's Argentine Tango was in them completing it so perfectly as much as the dance itself which was truly brilliant..

Very interesting post Fifty and yes I think you are absolutely right. I thought it was a very risky move for them to put this Couples Choice in the semi-final and personally I would have preferred another ballroom from them, as I think they have done most of the latin dances. It does seem to have all got very intensive for these two.

Most of the Couples Choices haven't really done it for me this year to be honest. The production team seem to have made it all about an emotional outpouring from the couples rather than being about the dance itself. The first few years that they did Couples Choice it was much more about the concept of the dance that they had chosen. Granted we saw a lot more of the upbeat Street style n umbers in the past, which a lot of people just don't like and which can become samey, unless done by someone like Karen or Oti. I enjoy the stage/Fosse style n umbers but it is always a risk doing one of those as you know that CRH will be all over it. This year it seems to have been mainly non-specific contemporary movement, which strangely a lot of the pros seemed to avoid in the past. I just think the whole Couples Choice thing has run its course and in some cases merges into Showdance territory. It all needs a rethink with a re-focus on the actual dance.

Twirlie - totally with you on the over-gushing - I've really had enough of that. I'm also on tenderhooks about tonight..................

Enjoyed watching the semi final, but somehow I didn't feel very invested in it. Dances of the night imo were AJ's quickstep and Rose's AT, but these were predictably good, and nothing about the evening really surprised me.  I do think the lack of a full audience, as well as the absence of Blackpool week, has detracted from this series quite a bit. Also, the standards have been so high from the outset - as others have said, I much prefer a j word and watching weekly progress. With that in mind I felt Rhys has made the most improvement (out of the semi finalists) over the weeks, and yet the likelihood is that he'll be the one leaving tonight. My biggest gripe about the series however is in the Couples choice, and all the sentiment attached to it. Not my cup of tea! Anyhow, a few thoughts about last night

Rhys - loved the blue and yellow lighting for the tango, and I thought this was a sharp and dramatic performance. Much preferred the tango to his samba, which went out of synch a few times I thought.
AJ - fabulous quickstep - I was thinking exactly the same as A.nton when he said the routine would have looked more fitting in the larger space at Blackpool. Wasn't particularly fussed on her rumba, I thought her movements were a bit too rapid and snappy.
John - I felt both his dances were the weakest of the night tbh. Thought the Couple choice looked clumsy and I didn't really get the storytelling. Thought Johannes really outdanced John in the jive, which magnified John's heaviness, plus he looked out of time a couple of times. I didn't think his jive deserved any of the 10s, just feels like he's being propelled into the final
Rose - lovely waltz and fantastic AT, deserved to be at top of scoreboard and I'm sure she'll go straight to the final.

I'm predicting it'll be curtains for Rhys tonight, seems very unlikely he'll be able to dodge the DO.

There's an element of over copy-dancing (yes I know it's synchronised stuff) that doesn't really allow John to show his personal progress. That fact alone may mean his demise, although Rhys isn't 100% safe. Seems cut and dried that one of them will join Rose and A.J. in the final......then again...quien Sabe ???

I have only one thing to say:

SWANSDOWN ARM POM POMS!!!

(That's it - they're the winner of the glitterball. Everyone else go home)

jingle wrote:Enjoyed watching the semi final, but somehow I didn't feel very invested in it. Dances of the night imo were AJ's quickstep and Rose's AT, but these were predictably good, and nothing about the evening really surprised me.  I do think the lack of a full audience, as well as the absence of Blackpool week, has detracted from this series quite a bit. Also, the standards have been so high from the outset - as others have said, I much prefer a j word and watching weekly progress. With that in mind I felt Rhys has made the most improvement (out of the semi finalists) over the weeks, and yet the likelihood is that he'll be the one leaving tonight. My biggest gripe about the series however is in the Couples choice, and all the sentiment attached to it. Not my cup of tea! Anyhow, a few thoughts about last night

Rhys - loved the blue and yellow lighting for the tango, and I thought this was a sharp and dramatic performance. Much preferred the tango to his samba, which went out of synch a few times I thought.
AJ - fabulous quickstep - I was thinking exactly the same as A.nton when he said the routine would have looked more fitting in the larger space at Blackpool. Wasn't particularly fussed on her rumba, I thought her movements were a bit too rapid and snappy.
John - I felt both his dances were the weakest of the night tbh. Thought the Couple choice looked clumsy and I didn't really get the storytelling. Thought Johannes really outdanced John in the jive, which magnified John's heaviness, plus he looked out of time a couple of times. I didn't think his jive deserved any of the 10s, just feels like he's being propelled into the final
Rose - lovely waltz and fantastic AT, deserved to be at top of scoreboard and I'm sure she'll go straight to the final.

I'm predicting it'll be curtains for Rhys tonight, seems very unlikely he'll be able to dodge the DO.

If I wasn't feeling lazy tonight, then I would write pretty much exactly this Jingle. Seems no point saying it all again when you've already said it so well.

So I shan't

I think it was inevitable John & Rhys would end up in the dance-off. Although I have championed John through the series, I actually felt that Rhys was a touch better. I also thought that John would have been happy leaving tonight, whereas Rhys was really hungry to go through.

Either way, I think one of the girls will win, and although I think AJ has done a great job throughout the series, and really picked herself up and shone last night, I'm voting for Rose and Gio for the Glitterball

We may deny it, but none of us are totally impartial because, secretly we all have favourites. I'm glad I wasn't a judge tonight because it was so close. Getting beyond Latin and Ballroom is a whole new ball game and I still firmly believe that it's impossible to judge apples against bananas. Personally, I thought Ryss did so well in a dance more familiar than John's almost balletic acrobatics.  (what was those "touch your toes" flying jumps all about prey? ) I'd have given it Rhys on familiarity, but there you go.

I'd also have given the two losing semi-finalists in the dance off a medal saying "Strictly come Dancing semi-finalist 2021". It would cost the B.B.C nothing at all and mean so much to the losing couple. Same with the finalists with different wording and they'd probably love it and cherish the medals for their grandkids. Soft-hearted me...

I think it was a close call tonight but I think John put in the more polished performance. I think Rhys performed well over the two dances and he certainly had improved vastly in the second half of the series but for me it was too little too late and I could never take to this partnership for various reasons that we have all talked about over the weeks. It is clear that he can dance but to me he just was never able to fully adapt his style for some reason and I can't help feeling that he might have done a lot better with a more experienced Pro who would have got the basics right with him a lot earlier. Anyway, hindsight is a wonderful thing, I think that he did very well to get as far as he did, being as the public support wasn't consistently there and thinking about some of the others who have gone out along with way. The whole thing must have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for him.

So we have our three finalists now and I was relieved for John. I haven't had a clear favourite this year and wanted the final line-up that we have got but now I think I would like Rose and Gio to win although I wouldn't begrudge any of them the Glitterball. Looking forward to the Final now.

mauveangel09 wrote:I think it was a close call tonight but I think John put in the more polished performance.  .....    I can't help feeling that [Rhys] might have done a lot better with a more experienced Pro who would have got the basics right with him a lot earlier.  

Mrs Twirlie has been saying for weeks that Nancy and Rhys just aren't comparable and she's not a great teacher. There doesn't seem to be any real chemistry there.

I'm quite happy that John made it to the final. His performance was certainly polished enough, but I doubt that he has a chance of winning. It seems pretty clear from the bookie's odds, from the viewing figures on YouTube etc, and from talking to friends, that the public are wholeheartedly behind the partnership of Rose and Gio. It would have to take a mistake or poor quality dance of massive proportions for her to lose. Mind you she can still lose it by other means. Someone mentioned Danny Mac losing out to Ore, because Oti and Danny did a rather boring "Concept" showdance and Ore did "Singing in the Rain" which was always going to be a winner. There is that possibility, but I doubt that Gio will make that mistake even if the showdance is more contemporary than upbeat.

Anyway I hope so. I'll say to Rose and Gio what Brucie used to say to the couples...

"You're my favourites"

TANGOLERO wrote:We may deny it, but none of us are totally impartial because, secretly we all have favourites. I'm glad I wasn't a judge tonight because it was so close. Getting beyond Latin and Ballroom is a whole new ball game and I still firmly believe that it's impossible to judge apples against bananas. Personally, I thought Ryss did so well in a dance more familiar than John's almost balletic acrobatics.  (what was those "touch your toes" flying jumps all about prey? ) I'd have given it Rhys on familiarity, but there you go.

I'd also have given the two losing semi-finalists in the dance off a medal saying "Strictly come Dancing semi-finalist 2021". It would cost the B.B.C nothing at all and mean so much to the losing couple. Same with the finalists with different wording and they'd probably love it and cherish the medals for their grandkids. Soft-hearted me...

The dance off was Rhys' Samba against John's Jive - so more like judging a gala apple against a cox's apple than apples and pears! (John didn't do his contempowaft Couple's Choice for the dance off)