A Little Bit of Honesty.

Sid wrote:

I reckon the powers that be want him at Blackpool as much as I/we do Mr T - he's the main talking point this series, they'll want him at the big mid-series event. So they've given him something that'll get everyone guffawing and (hopefully) voting to get him through. This is my theory anyway, I'll be gutted if I'm proved wrong and Ed misses out!

C raig is the main reason for my suspicions Sid. Over the weeks, incredible as it seems as he's in favourite mode, C raig has marked him: 5,3,2,2,4,6.....

Sounds like it was quite a show and I look forward to seeing it all when I get back, seems like they are all improvin, so clearly anything can happen. I didn't have Laura as final material. Glad the Judge and Ed are still hanging in there.

Sid wrote:

I reckon the powers that be want him at Blackpool as much as I/we do Mr T - he's the main talking point this series, they'll want him at the big mid-series event. So they've given him something that'll get everyone guffawing and (hopefully) voting to get him through. This is my theory anyway, I'll be gutted if I'm proved wrong and Ed misses out!

I think you are on the right lines Sid - I think they want both Ed and Greg there although not sure there is enough room for both of our gentleman. My theory is that it was never on the cards for Ed to grab the attention in the way that he has done. I think he was cast as the token 'mature man' who goes out in the early weeks - I think the production team would have been planning for someone like Tameka to be around for a lot longer and take on a sort of Lisa Riley/Alison Hammond role - but of course none of that happened. I think this week is a real key week for both Ed and Greg to both keep up their vote share and avoid going before the judges.

I still think they are going to sabotage Ed and shove him into the comedy route no matter how much he's improved. They did that to Jeremy last year...

cellar-door wrote:I still think they are going to sabotage Ed and shove him into the comedy route no matter how much he's improved. They did that to Jeremy last year...

That's my contention C.D, but it may be his time anyway. I can't promote him to win over the likes of Danny, Ore, Claudia, Louisa and Daisy. He isn't a good enough dancer to go all the way I.M.O. and even the Judge and Greg probably have the edge on him outside of his enertainment potential. Effectively, all things being equal (which they rarely are) Ed may have reached his road end. That said, the dance-offs have produced a couple of shocks before now, so....quien sabe?

TANGOLERO wrote:

That's my contention C.D, but it may be his time anyway. I can't promote him to win over the likes of Danny, Ore, Claudia, Louisa and Daisy. He isn't a good enough dancer to go all the way I.M.O. and even the Judge and Greg probably have the edge on him outside of his enertainment potential. Effectively, all things being equal (which they rarely are) Ed may have reached his road end. That said, the dance-offs have produced a couple of shocks before now, so....quien sabe?

As soon as Ed ends up in the dance-off he is a goner. The judges are not going to keep him in over any of the other dancers that are left in. Ed's best chance (sorry only chance) of him getting to Blackpool is the fans keeping him out of the bottom two.

TANGOLERO wrote:

That's my contention C.D, but it may be his time anyway. I can't promote him to win over the likes of Danny, Ore, Claudia, Louisa and Daisy. He isn't a good enough dancer to go all the way I.M.O. and even the Judge and Greg probably have the edge on him outside of his enertainment potential. Effectively, all things being equal (which they rarely are) Ed may have reached his road end. That said, the dance-offs have produced a couple of shocks before now, so....quien sabe?

Well. if he's given an impossible song to Salsa to, and Greg is probably going to look good even if he's flat-footed and stompy in his Paso, then of course, Ed would be marked the worst. In terms of ballroom techniques, I would say Ed is very comparable (and arguably better) to Greg.

CaledonianCraig wrote:
Ed's best chance (sorry only chance) of him getting to Blackpool is the fans keeping him out of the bottom two.

It's surely a swift one in the unmentionables to get knocked out the week before Blackpool. Granted, it's all part of the obstacle course, but Blackpool Tower Ballroom is so very special in the ballroom dance world. In our recent T.V extravaganza Blackpool day out, even the Bubble Bath Company weren't allowed to film in there, much to all our disappointment. We did get to dance on the North Pier, but it was a poor substitute. Years ago, when folk still went to Blackpool for holidays and Spain was nothing but a bull ranch with sunshine, we were never out of the place. Long may it reign and prosper.

Looking forward to the escapism and feel-good factor of Strictly more than ever this week - world events making me feel quite gloomy. Whether it's his last dance or the one that gets him to Blackpool, I need an Ed Salsa!

I second that

Work's a bit bonkers at the moment. Just caught up with last Friday's ITT panel. I haven't watched last weekend shows yet. I'll have to have a Strictly overdose day on Sunday or Monday.

Sid wrote:Looking forward to the escapism and feel-good factor of Strictly more than ever this week - world events making me feel quite gloomy. Whether it's his last dance or the one that gets him to Blackpool, I need an Ed Salsa!

Definitely Sid! Don't know how you feel about this, but it certainly gave me a lift today *overcute alert*

allsewnonbyhand wrote:
Definitely Sid! Don't know how you feel about this, but it certainly gave me a lift today *overcute alert*

I usually make cynical jokes about the John Lewis Xmas ad but I must admit alls this one made me smile

x

Awww., great link Allsewn, brought a big smile to my face too.

I know it's schmaltz but I think if that one doesn't bring a smile you must have a heart of stone... I defy anyone not to like it!

I liked it as usual John Lewis ad wins

OK now that I've watched it twice and stopped grinning, I can say I thought it was great too!

Me Too

Okay here we go with my (as it happened) review of tonight's dances:-

Daisy's Salsa was a bit of a mixed bag for me. At times she looked a bit stiff (at the beginning) and other moves she did well 7.5 from me.

Greg's Paso Doble was great. His best dance so far for me. Great attack (may have lost balance once) but worth an 8 from me.

Robert's Foxtrot had the perfect music and I really enjoyed this. Looked ponderous at times but great rise and fall. 8 from me.

Ore's Rumba I felt he would struggle with and although he had lovely movement I struggled to find a connection between them both. 7.5 from me. A bit too over-marked for me.

Ed's Salsa well it was fantastic entertainment. Made me smile. He actually deserves Blackpool on merit. His best dance - 8 from me. Under-marked in my opinion

Claudia's Viennese Waltz was a good effort. Thought it was one of her best dances. An 8 from me. A tad over-marked for me.

Danny's Argentine Tango was hindered by poor song to dance to but thought he pulled it off really well. An 8.5 from me. Not sure it merited two 10's.

Louise's American Smooth was great. Performance levels were great and loved her high kicks. She is now a chief contender. Dance of the night for me. A 9 from me.

It is with great surprise that I say the dance-off could be between Daisy and Ore.

Who doesn't deserve Blackpool and what a lousy week to go out for anyone? . In a perfect world ( what's one of those?) Ed,great though he's been in every aspect of entertainment (and he's done everything asked of him and done it well), is the least talented dancer of the remeining contestants. For me, it's his time and, as has been said previously, if he's in the dance off he's a goner. If he isn't there's no justice. The level is so high ( C raig gave three 9's and an eight) and the run in so bunched talent-wise that sentiment has to be put aside and common sense obeyed.. I really enjoyed all the dances tonight and  personally thought Ore and Joanne's rumba was poor in as much as the dance itself relied as much on acting as dancing. They played a love scene to a too slow and rythmless number ( try this for rumba as it should be.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYrJfm3NTKI           ) and the dance suffered. It may have suffered Ore into the dance off although it got an 8 and three 9's. Replace the rumba for me. It's a pros dance.

The rest was a really entertaining and skilful exhibition of good choreoraphy and excellent dance. Greg was undermarked by all four judges for his efforts (he should have had three 8's and one, possibly two 9s, C raig gave him a 7 causing me to swear at the telly box), like-wise Daisy for me. (would Danny, who in truth is a superb dancer have got two 10s if he had danced first? Somehow, I doubt it) The Judges dance was polished and well done, C raig gave him a 7. Claudia has proven a real dark-horse and Danny's AT was the dance of the night with Louisa not far behind.

On tonight's dances Ed would sneak through but overall he should have gone out a few weeks ago so I won't complain either way. I agree with you with regards to the Rumba - it never really grabs your attention and is a really tricky one for amateurs to crack. My gripe was with D'arcy who (when C.raig awarded a 7 she scowled at him and said:'What?' and then offered an 8 herself - no real difference between their marks so why put on that performance?

TANGOLERO wrote: Replace the rumba for me. It's a pros dance.

I agree Mr T ... The only rumba I have ever really enjoyed watching was the ine by Janette and Alijaz at the Strictly Proms..I thought it was absolutely beautiful and I found it very moving.

allsewnonbyhand wrote:I know it's schmaltz but I think if that one doesn't bring a smile you must have a heart of stone... I defy anyone not to like it!

Great clip. Love that song too. Heard the original Randy Crawford version a few times over the last couple of weeks.

Daisy - I didn't mind it, but it didn't light my fire. I miss a latin Salsa. Loved the outfits. Liked the campervan prop. Fed up of seeing so many lifts, they break the rhythm of the Salsa dance for me, they seem irrelevant and clunky.

Greg - I liked the energy and the twist at the end when the matador went down instead of the bull. He's giving his all. You could run the national grid on his nervous tension!

Robert - Loved it. At last they've let him into Narnia's majic wardrobe instead of the bargain basement comic bucket. Under marked to me. I thought he danced a very creditable Foxtrot. What has Cr aig got against him?

Ore - He's a natural mover. I find it harder to judge the male Rumba dancers as they play a more supporting role. I thought he was a bit overmarked for the amount of content.

Ed - Did what the Judge did with that Paso the other week. He fully committed to a ridiculous Salsa idea and triumphed. Kat deserves a medal.

Claudia - I thought AJ would be told off for faffing about at the beginning but no. Had to smile when I saw the swing making its appearance. She's a neat dancer. I wish they'd all stop talking to her like she was a 12 year old. It makes me cringe, like when I see a teenager with dwarfism sat on an adult's knee as though they were a toddler. Danni Harma was short, and Louisa Lytton was only 17, but neither was as patronised as Claudia.

Danny - Not the first time his dancings been called aggressive. Very complex. Full of content. Music was too fast for me, although the Spanish flavour the band put in was interesting. I would have liked to see a slower version where I could savour all the details. It was all a bit frantic like nails scratching down a chalk board. I preferred Louise's languid AT and still think Rachel's AT with Vincent takes some beating. Even though the judges gave mixed comments, they still gave 10s.

Louise - I really liked this. I don't think Kevin was too cheesy, and Louise looked like she was really enjoying herself. A lovely Foxtrot and a show dance.

Weakest for me tonight - Daisy & Ore. Greg had a lot of complicated steps in his Paso, but might also suffer if he doesn't get the votes.

Mostly another good night at Strictly. More positives than negatives.

Daisy and Aljaz
Salsa
Daisy's a lovely girl and very tall. Those long legs made those lifts look easy as she used them to hang on to him. The only thing I feel about Daisy, is that I don't think she's as nimble as some of the others so the dance wasn't as exciting as it might have been.
7

Greg and Natalie
Paso Doble
Very competent. Mrs Twirlie really liked it but I'm not sure if it did it for me. A lot of the time he was very strong, but occasionally his legs seemed to go a bit floppy and the dance would get away from him. Natalie looked fantastic!
8

Robert Rinder and Oksana
Foxtrot
I didn't really spot any of the technical aspects, heel leads etc, but I had a smile on my face all through this. It was quite beautiful, elegant and romantic. Oksana has done well by Robert and generally given him better choreography as the competition has gone on. I agree with The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman, this was his best dance.
9

Ore and Joanne
Rumba
Mmmmmm…..  I still find it hard to get enthusiastic about these two. It didn't really do it for me. I didn't think the choreography did anything for Ore, Joanne's lost her choreographic mojo at the moment it seems. I always think that the best rumbas have a combination of power, strength and poise, and I didn't think he managed to combined those this evening. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE STOP CRYING! I absolutely hate that he keeps trying to pull the audience's sympathy.
8

Ed and Katya
Salsa
Wonderful, terrible dancing and – I really do hope he gets through to Blackpool. Absolutely hilarious!  And brave. These two are keen to take risks and we love them for it. They know Ed'll never be a great dancer so Katya plays to his strengths – which is comedy – who knew? And of course to be really good at comedy you need to take it seriously and have total commitment. Which he does and that 's why he's so good at it.
I know it's bad, but I'm with The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman. 8

Claudia and AJ
Viennese Waltz
Very very nice – beautiful. AJ really showed her off to her advantage. Is this her best dance?
9.5

Danny and Oti
Argentine Tango
What? What's the fabu-u-lus darling one going on about? Darcy too.  I thought it was hugely exciting and I was amazed by the precision of their movements.
10, what else could it be?

Louise and Kevin
American Smooth (Foxtrot)
I really, really enjoyed this. I saw a little bit of Fosse in the number but it wasn't overpowered by pastiche. It was a great performance. She's a real contender now.
10.

At the moment the front runners would appear to be Claudia, Danny and Louise. The former front runner, Ore,  appears to be less so now. Who's going tomorrow? Ed, if he's in the DO. If not, it's hard to tell. They are leveling out talent-wise now.