Strictly week 2

[shallowness]

Did Darcey flash her knickers at us?

Stacey is an engaging performer, although I found her arms a bit gangly and loose in the cha cha. Speaking of dancing since he was 4…

Death slot for Karen’s choreography last week seems harsh. Or did they think it would be simply too mean to put Katie there? For all Charles’s claiming he’d be better at Latin than ballroom, his posture seemed decent and the footwork too until whatever went wrong did. But what’s Karen done to Shirley?

Big-haired Katie – I wasn’t following the early VTs, but they floated the theory that having a dance in the paso where you must be confident would help her. Er, no. I couldn’t see much to be positive about except her attitude.

Graeme’s part-time rock band explains the performance level. I actually want Oti to choreograph my life, the dance did make sense if you looked at her. But he was not great in hold.

I thought that Kate accomplished her elegant tango and a little more besides. Loved that she owned the character. There was one point where she was clearly trying to squash a grin, because she was enjoying it so much. The judges’ comments were complimentary but unhelpful (were they worried about over-running suddenly?)

Dianne and Joe do bounce off each other well (I found her irritating last year). The speed, trust (the lifts, obviously, but also what she made him do with props) and the swivel were impressive. He rightly got multiple 8s – and a turn for his school reunion. We need to see him do a ballroom dance that demands control next, though.

Anton looked dapper, Susannah’s outfit would have looked better if the trimming had been in a contrasting colour. The smoke was a bad sign, and maybe even a mistake as her dancing seemed to worsen, then she seemed to be walking about by the end. (Anton’s face was desperate at points.)

I’d thought Lee’s outfit was dull in the show’s introduction, but hadn’t picked up on the sparkle. Pretty good. No wonder he was knackered.

Good timing from Danny (he’s pretty much the male Debbie McGee, to Amy’s delight). I’m trying to analyse why I wrote down ‘mincing’, it felt like he was attempting things a pro could do but not quite pulling it off, and probably Shirley diagnosed why. I hearted that he pulled the cha-cha off in that outfit.

In a poor night of presenting from Tess – she even failed at reading out words properly, not just delivering lines and interacting with people, which is par for the course – her cracking up about a minute after everyone chuckled at Claudia’s joke set me off, because it’s so her. Picking on Ranj’s size is going to get tired fast, mind, Claud.

Vick had a much, much better dance in the waltz (and there weren’t any other dances of this romantic ilk, because Susannah’s walking foxtrot does not count). I also liked Graziano’s choreographic choices for the build up to the big moment in the song, he went understated, so that the move when the song got big wasn’t too big for the rest of the routine, which is right for the waltz, whatever other pros may think.

And then, it was as if they felt the show hadn’t been SUFFICIENTLY CAMP, and, in hindsight, it hadn’t. I spent like a third of the routing goggling at Ranj’s outfit, then clocked that he was giving his salsa some, and then was madly impressed at Janette’s coping skills as her skirt got shredded.

Very creative, dramatic take on the VW from Giovanni. I snarked at the multiple versions of him, then got really worried about whether he’d get penalised for some of what he gave Faye to do and then loved her in hold and enjoyed the rest of it. Fair play to Craig for backing up his comments to Shirley with his first 8.

I loved Lauren’s look and was looking forward to what she’d do, because unlike everyone else, she was going to have more time training for this week. I am pleasantly surprised by her performances as she’s an athlete. It all ended up being about the lifts, which AJ talked about as if he had no responsibility there at all, which is rubbish, even if someone else probably comes in to choreograph the Charlestons. It is up to him to pitch the routine right for his celeb.

They were quite blatant about the fact that nobody expected Seann to get a forty like Jill Halfpenny, but I didn’t expect his routine to come across like a hyperactive purple Quality Street chocolate running amok. I thought Katya’s choreography was too clever by the end.

Moving on, Ashley got the glory spot and deserved it. That moment where Pasha just shoved her behind him to dance with his mother was memorable. I thought her cha-cha was better than Faye’s – comparisons are currently begging to be made as they’re shadowing each other with the dances they’re getting and are the top women. Bruno pulled out a sneaky 9 paddle. Having said that, I thought the Cotton-Eyed Joe Charleston and It’s a Man’s World Viennese Waltz told more compelling stories.

I can’t be too gutted that they’re going to eliminate one couple, because there were several points where I realised ‘there are x dances to go/there have only been x dances.’