Strictly Come Dancing (only) week 4
Oct. 16th, 2022 01:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessNot much to say pace It Takes Two. Tyler was getting his third high-energy fast dance, which we know he’s good at, and Hamza still hasn’t been allowed another ballroom, whereas other, relieved celebs were given a change.
Outfitwise: I rather liked Shirley’s look, and Craig was snazzier than Anton. I was puzzled by what was going on with Ellie T’s head. Very cheery night and the crowd started a trend by chanting Anton’s name for winning his award. We don’t talk about Bruno, indeed.
A classic ‘Let’s take the song rather literally’ concept for Ellie S and Nikita’s salsa at the dentist. Ellie feels more fearless when it comes to the Latin (and it sounded like it was something they’d worked on during the week). Her tricks and lifts had the distinction of novelty, but she also did them well. I am now officially tired of Nikita mentioning that Ellie’s a five-times Paralympics champion.
Will was well enough to dance the rumba and tell his story, and Nancy could wear THAT dress. There was enough fluidity to it that it was a shame that it was under-rehearsed. I mean, physically, the rumba is one of the kinder dances for an unwell person, but it’s also exposing, and as Craig said, some of the dramatic elements battled against what the dance needed. That score means he’ll need to be saved (and he should be, I for one would like to see him do a lyrical contemporary in couples choice.)
Those outfits looked good on Matt and Nadiya, and eh, his Elvis!jive was all right.
I hope Jayde blocked out the VT as she revealed her inspiration for their American Smooth. So, I guess Karen was playing her sister? Jayde had a touch of Elsa from Frozen to her look. I think she’s improving, but her frame could have been better. Anton called it a moment (which seems very pre-emptive with hindsight). First mention of a thumb from Craig. Claudia uncorked a lot of emotion, but was able to deal with it.
There was lots to like about Molly’s (brown) cha cha. It went a little sexier than I was expecting. She danced it with confidence. Maybe the whole thing was a little staccato but that was led by the music. I ended up agreeing with Craig that this take on the cha cha was refreshing, and getting compared to Cyd Cherise ain’t bad. Deserved 9s.
Native English speaker Claudia then graced us with ‘teached’, while non-native English speaker Carlos correctly said ‘taught.’ (As a second-language English speaker myself: HA!)
How many times has ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong?’ been the song for the quickstep on this show? But it was much better from James, and made a strong case for him being a ‘ballroom boy’. Would not have believed last week that he would get four 8s.
But then…THAT Argentine Tango from Fleur and Vito. WHAT a way to come back from the dance-off. Yes, the music and staging were doing them all sorts of favours, but her leg action (her legs, frankly,) the intensity between them and the content like that move they did three times would have shone regardless. And harking back to week one, as the judges said, her control! Anton’s first 10. (‘Well, that’ll save her this week,’ thought I. She’s highly unlikely to win it now, but that’s set the bar for any other Argentine tangos this year.)
Having to follow THAT? Kym, and she pulled off an accomplished samba. It was good, and she probably had the best celeb dress, because it worked so well for the dance. The judges talked it up, and she seemed to have maintained her position with a tougher dance technically than the Charleston.
Tony did improve a little, and perhaps would have more if he’d done more ballroom before getting the American Smooth, but I thought Katya’s choreography was outstanding and didn’t he do those lifts well?
Speaking of lifts, though, Hamza’s just got better and better. I mean, that last one! He had plenty of rhythm and went for it with his hips. Recalling Anton’s comments about watching the pro, Jowita was delighted (those two are a little in love with each other, no?) And if he wasn’t able to train fully (slight dig at the coverage of WillnNancy’s woes?) and they were going for those lifts, WOWZER, Hamza. Top of the LB.
Following that was the routine I’d been looking forward to the most based on what I’d seen on ITT, Helen and Gorka’s paso, and I loved the characterisation and the balance between attitude and femininity. The foot stomping ought to have come at the beginning of the routine, because the audience smothered it. Their problem was that we’d had such good routines already. (Well, it sounds from Gorka’s comments that Helen has been facing problems in her personal life too.)
Ellie T and Johannes at the farm = the best VT. No question. At least her head-dress made more sense, and the silly concept deserved all the lampshading they gave it. She’s clearly more comfortable dancing ballroom and her delight at her best score yet was delightful.
Tyler duly gave us the traditional couples choice VT, and we were reminded he loves his mum (but that bit about her heart smiling when he dances was genuinely touching.) If I’m honest, I think they could have ditched one of the tracks of the garage megamix or rejigged it, because there wasn’t quite enough contrast. But if you’re going to do commercial/hip hop, Dianne’s your pro, and the second half was brill. His movement and presence, not to mention the lifts, were wonderful. (Yes, Motsi misspoke, Shirley, but in the main we got the gist of what she meant all ep. And again: Claudia said ‘teached’.) Two 10s, but he was still third.
37. 38, 39!
WHAT EVEN WAS THAT? I got increasingly impatient with the telling a story about mental health/friends etc, even if I get trying to make it personal for the celebs helps them (and, hypocritically, I could live with Tyler loving his mum)…let the dancing speak for itself as the best dances did. So many people improved (James, Fleur and Hamza most notably) and good dancers like Molly, Kym and Tyler maintained. The 10s didn’t feel undeserved: I know Anton was in a good mood and Motsi and Shirley had opened the doors last week, but the lifts all round were spectacular. I respect Craig for holding out and I think the others will have to be tougher next week, but it’s like Strictly decided the British public needed distracting good and proper and delivered. Tess, for once, wasn’t wrong when she said ‘what a night’.
I caved and voted for Fleur (my overall fave, sorry, Hamza, but also you were top) and Helen (my favourite around the middle of the leaderboard), and I kind of think Matt has to be in the bottom two. The judges were really peering to find improvement. We now know the middle of the leaderboard is a dangerous place to be, so better dancers could be in danger. Certainly a few new couples’ popularity will be tested after that. Or should I say ‘THAT’?
[Edited for typos 10/2/25.]
Outfitwise: I rather liked Shirley’s look, and Craig was snazzier than Anton. I was puzzled by what was going on with Ellie T’s head. Very cheery night and the crowd started a trend by chanting Anton’s name for winning his award. We don’t talk about Bruno, indeed.
A classic ‘Let’s take the song rather literally’ concept for Ellie S and Nikita’s salsa at the dentist. Ellie feels more fearless when it comes to the Latin (and it sounded like it was something they’d worked on during the week). Her tricks and lifts had the distinction of novelty, but she also did them well. I am now officially tired of Nikita mentioning that Ellie’s a five-times Paralympics champion.
Will was well enough to dance the rumba and tell his story, and Nancy could wear THAT dress. There was enough fluidity to it that it was a shame that it was under-rehearsed. I mean, physically, the rumba is one of the kinder dances for an unwell person, but it’s also exposing, and as Craig said, some of the dramatic elements battled against what the dance needed. That score means he’ll need to be saved (and he should be, I for one would like to see him do a lyrical contemporary in couples choice.)
Those outfits looked good on Matt and Nadiya, and eh, his Elvis!jive was all right.
I hope Jayde blocked out the VT as she revealed her inspiration for their American Smooth. So, I guess Karen was playing her sister? Jayde had a touch of Elsa from Frozen to her look. I think she’s improving, but her frame could have been better. Anton called it a moment (which seems very pre-emptive with hindsight). First mention of a thumb from Craig. Claudia uncorked a lot of emotion, but was able to deal with it.
There was lots to like about Molly’s (brown) cha cha. It went a little sexier than I was expecting. She danced it with confidence. Maybe the whole thing was a little staccato but that was led by the music. I ended up agreeing with Craig that this take on the cha cha was refreshing, and getting compared to Cyd Cherise ain’t bad. Deserved 9s.
Native English speaker Claudia then graced us with ‘teached’, while non-native English speaker Carlos correctly said ‘taught.’ (As a second-language English speaker myself: HA!)
How many times has ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong?’ been the song for the quickstep on this show? But it was much better from James, and made a strong case for him being a ‘ballroom boy’. Would not have believed last week that he would get four 8s.
But then…THAT Argentine Tango from Fleur and Vito. WHAT a way to come back from the dance-off. Yes, the music and staging were doing them all sorts of favours, but her leg action (her legs, frankly,) the intensity between them and the content like that move they did three times would have shone regardless. And harking back to week one, as the judges said, her control! Anton’s first 10. (‘Well, that’ll save her this week,’ thought I. She’s highly unlikely to win it now, but that’s set the bar for any other Argentine tangos this year.)
Having to follow THAT? Kym, and she pulled off an accomplished samba. It was good, and she probably had the best celeb dress, because it worked so well for the dance. The judges talked it up, and she seemed to have maintained her position with a tougher dance technically than the Charleston.
Tony did improve a little, and perhaps would have more if he’d done more ballroom before getting the American Smooth, but I thought Katya’s choreography was outstanding and didn’t he do those lifts well?
Speaking of lifts, though, Hamza’s just got better and better. I mean, that last one! He had plenty of rhythm and went for it with his hips. Recalling Anton’s comments about watching the pro, Jowita was delighted (those two are a little in love with each other, no?) And if he wasn’t able to train fully (slight dig at the coverage of WillnNancy’s woes?) and they were going for those lifts, WOWZER, Hamza. Top of the LB.
Following that was the routine I’d been looking forward to the most based on what I’d seen on ITT, Helen and Gorka’s paso, and I loved the characterisation and the balance between attitude and femininity. The foot stomping ought to have come at the beginning of the routine, because the audience smothered it. Their problem was that we’d had such good routines already. (Well, it sounds from Gorka’s comments that Helen has been facing problems in her personal life too.)
Ellie T and Johannes at the farm = the best VT. No question. At least her head-dress made more sense, and the silly concept deserved all the lampshading they gave it. She’s clearly more comfortable dancing ballroom and her delight at her best score yet was delightful.
Tyler duly gave us the traditional couples choice VT, and we were reminded he loves his mum (but that bit about her heart smiling when he dances was genuinely touching.) If I’m honest, I think they could have ditched one of the tracks of the garage megamix or rejigged it, because there wasn’t quite enough contrast. But if you’re going to do commercial/hip hop, Dianne’s your pro, and the second half was brill. His movement and presence, not to mention the lifts, were wonderful. (Yes, Motsi misspoke, Shirley, but in the main we got the gist of what she meant all ep. And again: Claudia said ‘teached’.) Two 10s, but he was still third.
37. 38, 39!
WHAT EVEN WAS THAT? I got increasingly impatient with the telling a story about mental health/friends etc, even if I get trying to make it personal for the celebs helps them (and, hypocritically, I could live with Tyler loving his mum)…let the dancing speak for itself as the best dances did. So many people improved (James, Fleur and Hamza most notably) and good dancers like Molly, Kym and Tyler maintained. The 10s didn’t feel undeserved: I know Anton was in a good mood and Motsi and Shirley had opened the doors last week, but the lifts all round were spectacular. I respect Craig for holding out and I think the others will have to be tougher next week, but it’s like Strictly decided the British public needed distracting good and proper and delivered. Tess, for once, wasn’t wrong when she said ‘what a night’.
I caved and voted for Fleur (my overall fave, sorry, Hamza, but also you were top) and Helen (my favourite around the middle of the leaderboard), and I kind of think Matt has to be in the bottom two. The judges were really peering to find improvement. We now know the middle of the leaderboard is a dangerous place to be, so better dancers could be in danger. Certainly a few new couples’ popularity will be tested after that. Or should I say ‘THAT’?
[Edited for typos 10/2/25.]
