shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2022-09-25 03:51 pm
shallowness) wrote2022-09-25 03:51 pm
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First Strictly live show
Before I go through it blow by blow, and what a marathon it was: I mostly preferred the ballroom dances to the Latin. As ever, I felt sorry for the celebs, because there were jives and quicksteps before they’d built up any stamina, American Smooths so they had to deal with lifts as well as everything else for the first time, sambas and foxtrots, which are only the most difficult technique-wise. I know the tango and cha cha have their own challenges, but those that got them ought to be grateful. The scoring became a point of interest, and I will spare you the actual number of times I was going, ‘No, Tess, don’t!’ from my sofa.
The show began with what I experienced as a carnival blur. Understated, as they said. I didn’t realise Anton was wearing a head-dress as well as Craig when all four got their entrance, and it wasn’t merely because Motsi wore such an eye-catching blue outfit.
Kym and ‘Grazz’ started it all off with a jive to a song from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. She hit her lines, danced with confidence, but was a bit staccato. Like Shirley and Motsi, I’d have given her a 6 too.
Tyler and Dianne did an American Smooth, which showed he can move, and I saw hints of class. I agreed there was potential there (little knowing they’d have worn ‘potential’ out by the end of the programme.) I liked the atmosphere of the routine. And then Shirley had to confirm whether she’d meant the 7 or the 6 she’d first given the gallery. Has that ever happened before?
Jade and Karen did the samba, and Jade commendably Went For It, even if all the technique wasn’t there. Looks like Karen will be letting Jade lead, well, ‘lead’, somewhat inevitably because of their relative sizes.
Kaye and Kai’s tango went better than I expected. I thought the choreography was clever and tried not to be distracted by Kai’s body language in the VT. Then the judges called out all the mistakes. AND THEN CRAIG GAVE OUT THE HIGHEST SCORE OF ALL THE JUDGES. WOT?
Tall James and Amy did the jive. I didn’t love his footwork, but I did love Amy’s outfit, a mix of her ‘Can’t Stop The Beat’ jive dress and Jo’s look in her jive with Ore. (Second best outfit might have been Kaye’s). Apparently, James too had gone wrong. Amy spoke for us all when she asked ‘Is Craig okay?’
Tess interacting with Richie’s mum went about as well as everyone except this show’s producers would have expected.
Richie SOLD his and Gio’s cha cha. Lots of solo work, and Richie looked better if you didn’t look at Gio doing it properly. But for a brief moment, he was joint top of the leaderboard.
And then things improved with Helen and Gorka’s American smooth. I thought the choreography was delightful, there were some very nice touches that she managed well and it had a lovely sense of lightness. So it was deservedly top of the LB.
I respected Molly and Carlos’s samba, because it looked like a proper samba, and, as Anton said, she went for it pretty much from the get go, and even unstiffened in the second half. New top of the LB, and was I the only one aghast to realise this was the halfway point (although if they’d counted the opening routine, it would have come before this)?
Matt and Nadiya were doing the first quickstep of the season, and er, like Craig, I really liked the routine. I was dazzled by Matt’s style, but the judges were disappointed by the frame, so it was 5s all round, and Matt was at the bottom of the LB, not where he’d expected to be at all.
Ellie S and Nikita’s cha cha – she gave it all the sass. It seemed like a clean and confident dance from her, but Nikita must have to stretch like he’s never stretched before their routines. Here the judges’ scores backed up their kind words. On the basis of this ep, she's going to be good value in the Clauditorium.
Maybe it was because they came after, but I didn’t think the height difference helped Tony and Katya’s tango. He was as stompy as I expected when I heard that they were dancing to ‘Go West’ (all the football stuff means nothing to me). Despite Katya reminding us of the entrance on a golden cannon – yes Katya, we noticed - Craig found his 3 paddle and the others found their 4 paddles.
But seriously, Tony seemed to beat himself up terribly for getting his steps wrong. I had been mildly worried that their pros would have a job of work getting Kaye and James to forget their mistakes before their next performance, but Katya seemed to have much more of that to deal with (as well as the fact that Tony’s obviously the weakest dancer.)
There were some bits at the start of Will and Nancy’s jive I didn’t like, but my main thought was that he’d absolutely kept going throughout. But the judges LOVED it. I mean, Craig found his 8 paddle and others their 9s.
Ellie T and Johannes – Jellie may be the only portmanteau I can approve of this year – were doing a quickstep. I loved the routine, so classy, and thought she grew in confidence throughout it. If she can put the graft in with her footwork, Johannes may be around for longer than last year’s other pro finalists. (I’m trying not to assume we know who the faves are yet, bearing in mind that Bill and Rose took a couple of weeks to bloom, but still.)
Hamza and Jovita’s outfits leant heavily into the pink (deliberate RE: the flamingo comment? Vicky Gill would have had time) and he had that awesome hair down in a tail. But his foxtrot? Woah. There was an ease to his dancing and he seemed there for his partner, and I was not expecting that. Joint top with a foxtrot.
Glory slot for Fleur and Vito’s cha cha, and she OWNED it. I was impressed by the speed, but I thought it was a touch aggressive, and was glad that the judges noted it. Motsi perhaps encapsulated it best (after a night when she didn’t always make sense.) I liked Shirley making a point of welcoming Vito and Carlos.
So, there were three distinct groups: Tony in one, the massive middle, of which Matt won’t like being at the bottom, and then Helen and everyone who scored higher who were good. I’d say Molly’s was the best Latin, as I wasn’t feeling Will’s jive like the judges were, but I admit I connected more with all the ballrooms (bar the Arsenal-themed tango), and if I were voting, which I wouldn’t be yet even if the phonelines were open, it would have been for Hamza. But we need to see the ones who did ballroom dances do Latin and vice-versa, see how they cope with having fewer days of rehearsal, and if nerves are managed better.
Rylan and Janette turned up to plug It Takes Two – yes, it really is autumn and Strictly is going to take over my brain – and claimed that Janette wanted to get up on the dancefloor in every routine (this I believe) and that the standard was so good (eh, I know Craig held back on the 2 and 1, but we’ll see.)
[Edited for typos 3/2/25.]
The show began with what I experienced as a carnival blur. Understated, as they said. I didn’t realise Anton was wearing a head-dress as well as Craig when all four got their entrance, and it wasn’t merely because Motsi wore such an eye-catching blue outfit.
Kym and ‘Grazz’ started it all off with a jive to a song from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. She hit her lines, danced with confidence, but was a bit staccato. Like Shirley and Motsi, I’d have given her a 6 too.
Tyler and Dianne did an American Smooth, which showed he can move, and I saw hints of class. I agreed there was potential there (little knowing they’d have worn ‘potential’ out by the end of the programme.) I liked the atmosphere of the routine. And then Shirley had to confirm whether she’d meant the 7 or the 6 she’d first given the gallery. Has that ever happened before?
Jade and Karen did the samba, and Jade commendably Went For It, even if all the technique wasn’t there. Looks like Karen will be letting Jade lead, well, ‘lead’, somewhat inevitably because of their relative sizes.
Kaye and Kai’s tango went better than I expected. I thought the choreography was clever and tried not to be distracted by Kai’s body language in the VT. Then the judges called out all the mistakes. AND THEN CRAIG GAVE OUT THE HIGHEST SCORE OF ALL THE JUDGES. WOT?
Tall James and Amy did the jive. I didn’t love his footwork, but I did love Amy’s outfit, a mix of her ‘Can’t Stop The Beat’ jive dress and Jo’s look in her jive with Ore. (Second best outfit might have been Kaye’s). Apparently, James too had gone wrong. Amy spoke for us all when she asked ‘Is Craig okay?’
Tess interacting with Richie’s mum went about as well as everyone except this show’s producers would have expected.
Richie SOLD his and Gio’s cha cha. Lots of solo work, and Richie looked better if you didn’t look at Gio doing it properly. But for a brief moment, he was joint top of the leaderboard.
And then things improved with Helen and Gorka’s American smooth. I thought the choreography was delightful, there were some very nice touches that she managed well and it had a lovely sense of lightness. So it was deservedly top of the LB.
I respected Molly and Carlos’s samba, because it looked like a proper samba, and, as Anton said, she went for it pretty much from the get go, and even unstiffened in the second half. New top of the LB, and was I the only one aghast to realise this was the halfway point (although if they’d counted the opening routine, it would have come before this)?
Matt and Nadiya were doing the first quickstep of the season, and er, like Craig, I really liked the routine. I was dazzled by Matt’s style, but the judges were disappointed by the frame, so it was 5s all round, and Matt was at the bottom of the LB, not where he’d expected to be at all.
Ellie S and Nikita’s cha cha – she gave it all the sass. It seemed like a clean and confident dance from her, but Nikita must have to stretch like he’s never stretched before their routines. Here the judges’ scores backed up their kind words. On the basis of this ep, she's going to be good value in the Clauditorium.
Maybe it was because they came after, but I didn’t think the height difference helped Tony and Katya’s tango. He was as stompy as I expected when I heard that they were dancing to ‘Go West’ (all the football stuff means nothing to me). Despite Katya reminding us of the entrance on a golden cannon – yes Katya, we noticed - Craig found his 3 paddle and the others found their 4 paddles.
But seriously, Tony seemed to beat himself up terribly for getting his steps wrong. I had been mildly worried that their pros would have a job of work getting Kaye and James to forget their mistakes before their next performance, but Katya seemed to have much more of that to deal with (as well as the fact that Tony’s obviously the weakest dancer.)
There were some bits at the start of Will and Nancy’s jive I didn’t like, but my main thought was that he’d absolutely kept going throughout. But the judges LOVED it. I mean, Craig found his 8 paddle and others their 9s.
Ellie T and Johannes – Jellie may be the only portmanteau I can approve of this year – were doing a quickstep. I loved the routine, so classy, and thought she grew in confidence throughout it. If she can put the graft in with her footwork, Johannes may be around for longer than last year’s other pro finalists. (I’m trying not to assume we know who the faves are yet, bearing in mind that Bill and Rose took a couple of weeks to bloom, but still.)
Hamza and Jovita’s outfits leant heavily into the pink (deliberate RE: the flamingo comment? Vicky Gill would have had time) and he had that awesome hair down in a tail. But his foxtrot? Woah. There was an ease to his dancing and he seemed there for his partner, and I was not expecting that. Joint top with a foxtrot.
Glory slot for Fleur and Vito’s cha cha, and she OWNED it. I was impressed by the speed, but I thought it was a touch aggressive, and was glad that the judges noted it. Motsi perhaps encapsulated it best (after a night when she didn’t always make sense.) I liked Shirley making a point of welcoming Vito and Carlos.
So, there were three distinct groups: Tony in one, the massive middle, of which Matt won’t like being at the bottom, and then Helen and everyone who scored higher who were good. I’d say Molly’s was the best Latin, as I wasn’t feeling Will’s jive like the judges were, but I admit I connected more with all the ballrooms (bar the Arsenal-themed tango), and if I were voting, which I wouldn’t be yet even if the phonelines were open, it would have been for Hamza. But we need to see the ones who did ballroom dances do Latin and vice-versa, see how they cope with having fewer days of rehearsal, and if nerves are managed better.
Rylan and Janette turned up to plug It Takes Two – yes, it really is autumn and Strictly is going to take over my brain – and claimed that Janette wanted to get up on the dancefloor in every routine (this I believe) and that the standard was so good (eh, I know Craig held back on the 2 and 1, but we’ll see.)
[Edited for typos 3/2/25.]