Highs & Lows 2016

Highs

Make-up team especially Danny & Oti, Daisy & Alijaz, & Ed (simple but effective in more ways than one) & Katya
Pro dances as always
Daisy & Alijaz's Paso (stunning make-up and dance routine)
Laura & Gio's Tango (Laura not harping on about her ankle injury. No doubt she'll have a neck injury after that Tango)
Floor graphics for Anastasia & Brendan's sleeping bats in the tree effect

Lows
Judges & presenters didn't really dress up for Halloween. Even Zoe did on ITT
Anastasia's heavy Jive
Natalie getting slated
Ore's werewolf outfit. Looked liked Lenny Henry meets David Bellamy with food in his hair and beard
Overmarking and rank favouritism
Manipulation of celebs by music/costume choices e.g The Judge dressed as a moth, dancing a Paso, to The Gaga?
I wish they'd leave the Charleston until later in the series. It's more of a show dance.
Two of the Pros already excited about how many lifts will be in next weeks Samba & Salsa. Please can we just have one decent Samba (I live in hope). I don't want half the routine used up with disjointed aerobatics.

Highs

- Ed made my night and he's making the series for me.

- Claud's reaction to Ed's 8!

- Nat's reaction to being saved.

- Laura's look.

- First time I've rewatched one of Claudia and AJ's dances

- Rinder much more watchable.

- Anastacia nice departure.

- Having more 'Highs' than I thought I'd have  


Lows

- C.raig's inconsistency in appreciating / unappreciating contemporary style routines.

- Bored by Louise and Danny and my dream scenario would be them in a Dance Off *evil cackle*

- Gotta feel for Daisy. I'll throw her a vote next week

- Some theme-free weeks now would be good.

Highs

** Laura finally showing just how good she is at ballroom
** Ed, Ed, Ed!!! Oooh! Aaah!


Too many lows, but here are the worst:

** VTs!
** Halloween overdose
** C.raig's strange marking and his bias against Ed
** Poor, poor Daisy!
** Oh yes, that atrocious 'singer' in the result show...

cellar-door wrote:
** Oh yes, that atrocious 'singer' in the result show...

Too absolutely true mate. Remember when (not sure of your age C.D?) singers just came on and sang songs? Gee, on radio you didn't even know what they looked like so just assumed they were all handsome, pretty, debonaire etc, ( just like everybody thought Peter Brough was an incredible ventriloquist till he appeared on live T.V) . What they did was become famous and make money from having good singing voices and selling records of songs. Today, you can't sing, get dancers leaping about all round you, wear a mini skirt and flop your doughnuts out, nobody'll worry too much about the voice. Men? Try your hardest to look like a wimp and wear mid-life crisis Adam Ant outfits from the 1970's and sing like Tiny Tim. Oh, when I think of Matt Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennet, Al Martino, Vic Damone etc etc. And Ella Fitzgerald,Doris Day, Teresa Brewer, Lena Horne, Rosemary Clooney and Connie Francis etc etc etc......it makes me want to cry.....

Lol true Mr D however Adam Ant early 80'sbananarama I think flopped their doughnuts along with Black Lace Agadoo to the 90's & noughties with Macerana and Madonna vogue doughnuts

I do like Michael Buble an old fashioned voice and Rick Astley don't shoot me had a fabulous rendition of Nat Coles When I fall In Love....

I think Mr Jason Gilwhatever has a lot to answer re musicality and tunes for the singers. I recall the band get given the songs on a Friday? Not l9ng to practise your range and tones.....

TANGOLERO wrote:

Too absolutely true mate. Remember when (not sure of your age C.D?) singers just came on and sang songs? Gee, on radio you didn't even know what they looked like so just assumed they were all handsome, pretty, debonaire etc,  ( just like everybody thought Peter Brough was an incredible ventriloquist till he appeared on live T.V) . What they did was become famous and make money from having good singing voices and selling records of songs. Today, you can't sing, get dancers leaping about all round you, wear a mini skirt and flop your doughnuts out, nobody'll worry too much about the voice. Men? Try your hardest to look like a wimp and wear mid-life crisis Adam Ant outfits from the 1970's and sing like Tiny Tim. Oh, when I think of Matt Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennet, Al Martino, Vic Damone etc etc. And Ella Fitzgerald,Doris Day, Teresa Brewer, Lena Horne, Rosemary Clooney and Connie Francis etc etc etc......it makes me want to cry.....

Yes, too much gimmicks to a generation with a attention span of a gnat.

saxonsiren wrote:I think Mr Jason Gilwhatever has a lot to answer re musicality and tunes for the singers. I recall the band get given the songs on a Friday? Not l9ng to practise your range and tones.....

On the bands FB or blog page there was an interesting bit a few weeks ago on how they usually get the music late on Friday after the celebs have finished rehearsing. They mentioned one of the songs a few weeks ago was in a peculiar key and a guitar had to be retuned inbetween the dances. It's amazing how they cope with learning the shortened version of the songs, getting the tempo right and key etc. All respect to them

Highs

No Props!

Better music for some

Judge and Orksanna love their partnership

Lows

Who chose the awful music for C.laudia felt it was ready steady GO GO

Laura looked a little stiff possible ankle pain?

I cannot connect with Louise or Kevin this year

Tess' jumpsuit

Highs. An enjoyable show with a high content of commitment, effort and no small skill from all the competitors.

Lows. Not many, just the music. Can't even claim we're being old fashioned complaining when they give Ed a 1960's Beatles dirge to quickstep to, and Daisy-Daisy...a children's nursery rhyme written in 1892? Come on.....Life began seriously (musically) in the nineteen thirties and lasted to the eighties.....fifty years of magic. Since then...a bunch of talentless wannabees in the main yowling at the moon and hoping Simon Cowell thinks they have talent....yeah.....

Highs - Plenty of quality dances.

Lows - Darcy going out of her way to drool over Giovanni. Silly me I thought this was about the celeb dancing.

Highs

** Shows back on form again!
** Little props, and not getting the way of the routines.

Lows

** Dire music choices for Claudia, Daisy and Ore.
** Laura and Ore in the dance-off.

HIGHS

Really good show this week - not many Lows really.
Enjoyed the Pro n umbers tonight
All contestants are real triers this year and all are improving and clearly loving the experience - it is interesting to see the improvement each week.
An bit unpredictable this year -which is good - we saw someone in the DO tonight who many have been predicting as a dead cert for the final........................ I hope that there is a few more twists to come.

LOWS

Laura going out - I have quite liked her from the beginning.
Awful music for Claudia and AJ (again!)
The weeks are suddenly flying by too quickly now...............

.

Highs

- Louise adding some soul to her dancing at last (although I didn't feel her AT held up as strongly on rewatch if I'm honest).

- Ed who keeps surprising and charming me. Katya's clever choreography, what a great addition she is.

- Rinder's beaming face. He's really growing on me. The dark horse I feel.

- Results Show opening group number. Oti killed it.

- Greg's dizzy face is the cutest.



Lows

- Claudia getting screwed over week after week on the music front. Talent being wasted there.

- Ore and Jo getting somewhat complacent, not in an arrogant way but because I feel they've been lulled into a false sense of security.

- Gary Barlow. Ugh.

Wow - Louise has certainly lost her inhibitions with this awesome Argentine Tango - that was a high.
There are som great dancers this year.

Got to agree Gary Barlow was a low - really dire.

Highs
The singer who sang in Korean for Gangnam-Style and still managed to keep a straight face whilst Ed danced
Andre & his colourful orchestra
The elderly couple feature on the results show
Greg's dance & Natalie's Paso dress
Kev showcasing Louise & their AS
More even spread of decent costumes

Lows
Claudia's increasing squinting when trying to read the autocue on the dance floor with Tess (made more noticeable by the heavy black eyeliner).
Silly music choices unsuited for several of the dances.
The series is halfway through so quickly

HIGHS
* Greg got saved in the Dance Off and will be at Blackpool
* Andre Rieu Orchestra and Nat and B rendan's dance to it
* The feeling that all couples had done rather well and not being able to totally predict the DO
* Kevin and Louise's American Smooth (don't usually like Kevin's choreography but this was outstanding to me)
* Good idea for the Remembrance Day dance with the couple that they featured and seeing some of the team out and about in Covent Garden.

LOWS)
Claudia giving away some of the dances for Blackpool - big no no - even Ed seemed surprised by what he is going to have to do
For me - Having to watch the results show on my pc (which kept buffering) as Mr Mauve was watching the delayed Brazilian GP race on the TV (which was actually a very exciting race).

Highs

- At the risk of sounding like a broken record - ED! But putting the entertainment factor to one side for a moment, I have to say, his Salsa lifts and armography were better executed than many we've seen and I don't think the judges complimented him on what he did well (apart from entertain) enough.

- Greg getting to Blackpool. Like you mauve, I thought it'd be either/or him/Ed. Sooo pleased to have them both there.

- Nat & B.rendan made me a bit emosh.

Lows

- The judges must stop over-praising, over-marking Ore. It's becoming too blatant now. I sense Jo knows it too and is uncomfortable about it.

- Again, broken record, but props - stop introducing them and turning every dance into such a literal story of the music.

I agree it's a shame the judges don't mention the things Ed can do. It must be frustrating for him but he's not biting back which is good. He's light on his feet and rhythmic. With more time (which I know is limited for this show) I think he could be a decent dancer, particularly ballroom. That salsa armography was better than some of the other celebs half his age.

Highs
Louise looking good again.
Ed - gotta love him, though I never vote cos I never watch live - I am glad the GBP is putting him through. He is much better than the average make-weight-comedy celeb.  

Lows
Daisy going out - I would have dropped Greg out of those two.
Did the violin bloke on the results show have his violin plugged in?  Couldn't make him out over the other instruments!
Some really odd music for the dances
and when did they start revealling the next week's dances on the results show

Highs: Andre Rieu, Louise, Greg, Claudia...Danny. I only really enjoyed Roderigo and Gabriela in the loony tunes department

Lows..Daisy and Greg in the dance off and Daisy undeserving of missing Blackpool week. Another sad rumba that repeatedly pulls the tone down. Oh, and the music of course.

A real low for Blackpool and the north; Gorka had two teeth knocked out in an unprovoked attack by louts as a couple of pros were visiting a night club after the show. Absolute xxxxheads who need putting away.

Poor Gorka! Some people are eejits on alcohol and off alcohol....

TANGOLERO wrote:A real low for Blackpool and the north; Gorka had two teeth knocked out in an unprovoked attack by louts as a couple of pros were visiting a night club after the show. Absolute xxxxheads who need putting away.

Agreed totally. What morons.

Highs
Great group n umbers on both nights which made the most of the Blackpool space
Enjoyed Danny and Oti's Charleston
Rinder's Hips
Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the overall occasion - always a 'high' in the season

Lows
POOR GORKA - ABSOLUTE ANIMALS couldn't believe it when I heard.
Dance Off Result
Backing dancers being too obtrusive in some n umbers

Highs

- The opening number. I'm declaring it best ever Pro Dance alongside the Cutler-choreographed Jive a few years back.

- The two 80s acts.

- Greg & Nat's Quickstep, I feel all the hard work and perseverance paid off in that dance, it was his best. And if you gotta go, best to go on a high.

- Ed's survival. He and Katya have a special partnership that I'm not ready to lose.


Lows

- Hectic routines.

- Over-marking of Claudia and Ore.

- Failing to connect with the front runners.

- DO travesty two years running.

- What they did to my Gorka! (surprised Zoe didn't mention it on ITT tbh)