Big Strictly post
Nov. 8th, 2022 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessI really enjoyed the overview of recent Halloween triumphs on It Takes Two with ‘King of Halloween’ Gio and an apparently unimpressed Kai (apparently filmed in their flat).
The live show - Halfway point VT. Claudia decided to go for snazzy pyjamas I shouldn’t be sarky, it was a pattern; that should be encouraged. Most of the judges went for shiny/metallic, but Motsi had extra with her train to a cocktail dress.
Hamza was back in pink. I thought there was quite a lot of messing abaht in the opening, and it was a little softer than usual cha chas, but the judges really loved it, so maybe that was a good thing. 3 10s, and 8 from Craig. Scoreswise, I wondered why anyone else should bother, as the top of the LB had surely been claimed.
Doubters, Craig does have a 10 paddle. He got it out for Alison Hammond for the Ts and Cs (I thought he overmarked her, personally.)
I loved what they did for the set for Ellie T’s rumba. I didn’t think it was terrible, but it was always going to be tough to follow Kym’s rumba. The choreography had to go big on the accents because of the song. The judges honed in on the missing fluidity and split into two camps scorewise – I’d have been closer to Anton and Motsi myself.
Molly’s foxtrot started off well; ‘airy’ was the word that came to mind, but then they broke out of hold and kept breaking out of hold, and lost me. (It’s becoming clear Carlos isn’t my favourite choreographer.) But the judges liked it more and returned her to more normal Molly scores.
Ellie S’s Charleston was really entertaining, with better showmanship and good lifts. It reminded me of why I’ve liked her in the past. There were a few sticky moments, as various judges mentioned – I think Shirley’s 8 was where I’d land too. The concept and look referenced Fosse a bit more than the choreography (given that it was to ‘It’s Too Darn Hot’.).
I could never get into Tyler’s VW. For one thing, the dance was too big for the end-of-the-night vibe. I wanted to like it more than I did, and the judges’ critiques of Tyler’s dancing explained why to me to some extent. General consensus: not his dance, and he scored below 30.
Halfway point and my favourite dance had been Ellie S and Nikita’s, I guess.
But next came Kym’s Argentine tango to a tune I really love. And ooh, it was really good (not as good as Fleur’s, I think, but better than Molly’s). It didn’t have maybe the violence the music suggested, and the ending with the staring felt overdone – it went way past the point of making the audience feel uncomfortable. But it got deserved praise, Shirley’s even making me wonder whether I’d failed to take in some of its subtleties. 3 9s and an Anton 10. Delighted Graziano.
I didn’t like the opening of Will’s quickstep, but from when they got into hold onwards, it was good stuff, especially the floor coverage, as the judges emphasised. Three 8s and an Anton 9.
We have got timings for Blackpool!
I had thought the jive might suit Helen, given her Charleston, but this was next level stuff. I loved the look (hers gave her her own femininity, but maybe Gorka could have done without the bolero-esque jacket and just danced in his shirt.) But it was the way she danced it, she was cool and she owned it (and Gorka got to dance in a way that reminded me of when he danced with Alexandra Burke, and that’s a compliment). Have we ever seen cartwheels in a jive before?
With the judges, it all became about the mistake that she did right under Craig’s nose, which is the worst place to do it. 3 9s and a shameless Anton 10. (It was almost good enough that I thought she could do it again in the final to try to get a 10.)
Surviving two dance-offs led to Fleur getting more of a couples choice (or Jayde-esque) VT. But she was doing a waltz, and there was more good than the other stuff, but there were moments where I wrinkled my nose at the choreography, but then the spinning section was lovely. She showed again that her being in the dance off isn’t about her dancing. Another 9 from Craig. (I will try to put straightening Fleur’s hair for a dance like this just down to them wanting to give her a different look, and try not to read it another way.) Poigniantly, as Fleur mentioned her departed father, Vito’s parents were in the studio to watch him.
Tony was going to close the night with his much hyped salsa. Would he be able to maintain the improvement we’d seen in the quickstep? I don’t care as I’m not feeling any great swell of affection for him. Different start and then I was going ‘oh no’ a lot, and thinking his salsa steps looed clumsy, although the lifts were decent. The judges, Tony and Katya gave out that he’d made too many mistakes (maybe that over-excited beginning wasn’t such a good idea after all, Katya.)
After a squint at the leaderboard. I just voted for Kym and Helen because their routines were my favourites. I couldn’t decide whether to give my third vote to Tyler or Fleur (I probably enjoyed Ellie S’s as much as Fleur’s). I assumed Ellie T was in the greatest trouble, and ended up sticking to those two votes.
Anton’s scoring is out of control. Craig was slightly less harsh than last week. But mainly, what was that with Shirley’s shoes? Are they really hers, because they’re tiny (in an episode where there was lots of talk of Tyler’s size 12s)? Is this something to do with ‘the socials’?
Strictly results
Too right they used the word ‘production’ for the opening pro routine. I haven’t watched any proper Bollywood, but maybe if it was all dance, I would. This had an arc, which I love, and the volume of the added dancers helped. It was vibrant and energetic (I imagine the costumes department tried to make the wedding ceremony clothes lighter than they’d norally be, but still.) Great.
The recap split the couples into four groups: Hamza, Helen and Kym top; Molly and Fleur were near it; Ellie S, Will and Tyler were the middle of the leaderboard, and I suppose given the difference in scores between Tyler and the bottom two, he deserved to be there; and the bottom two were indeed Ellie T and Tony. It was pointed out that Hamza had out10ed Tyler.
Ellie T and Johannes were SHOCKED to be saved, but I started scrambling, thinking that if Tony and Tyler had made mistakes, they’d be more deserving of being in a dance-off, even though I had already presumed the voting public would save Tony. Sill me, I blame the dramatic music. Fleur (recently of The Dance-Off) learned she was safe. Hamza was a given (oooh, and they’re doing Afrobeats in their couples choice. Alas, Tony was safe – the voting public (mad softies) refusing to let him show us he could do it properly. Double alas, it was Ellie S, who had come to life in her Charleston after the foxtrot of two halves.
Tess asked for two judges’ views, as we’ve reached the padding stage. We had a heartwarming VT of Janette and the Pros visiting a dance project for disabled kids, who were clearly delighted, for Children in Need. (And if you still weren’t sure of the date, everyone wore tiny poppies.)
Judges’ chat wasn’t all that informative. I thought Craig had explained his reasons for only giving Hamza an 8 cogently on the live show, but he repeated them. Claudia amusingly turned to Anton and asked him why he’d given Hamza a 10 then (because he’s more generous as an ex pro.) He waffled, so Head Judge Shirley stepped in and gave a much stronger argument for why Hamza deserved a 10 (with Motsi silently approving her every word.)
Luke ‘Got a New Album Out’ Evans sang ‘Bridge over troubled waters’ and may actually have produced an even better vocal than Adam Lambert, but I was contemplating the polo neck. Then I got distracted by real-life couple Nadiya and Kai (who also is the pro who looks the most like Luke Evans), who did enough showy ballroom, fiddly bits that only pros can pull off, and Nadiya and her loose strands of hair gave the impression she loved being twirled.
Second lot of results, and they called Helen, Will and Tyler safe, which meant that Molly and Kym and their scar tissue from their previous dance offs were left waiting (I suspected it would be curtains for Ellie S regardless of which was under the red light.) But it was Molly. Again. She cried. The judges were kind.
Apparently Gorka’s daughter is a huge fan of Will’s. She is three. Neil was the best bit of the It Takes Two promo.
Dance-off: Molly had pulled it together and danced her foxtrot well, and I still thought way too much of it was out of hold. It (or being saved by the public) made Johannes cry. Ellie S went for it, but I thought there were some claps out of sync with Nikita and the ending of the final lift was a bit sticky. The judges unanimously saved Molly. Johannes was the first in shot to stand up for Ellie S (pro of the night) and everyone cried, because she is lovely, and really, neither she nor Molly deserved to be in the dance-off (Helen and Ellie T are the only female celebs to have avoided the dance-off).
Monday’s It Takes Two noted that the Charleston has seen off four couples this year. Nice that Nikita’s choreography for Ellie S got props.
[Edited for typos 12/2/25.]
The live show - Halfway point VT. Claudia decided to go for snazzy pyjamas I shouldn’t be sarky, it was a pattern; that should be encouraged. Most of the judges went for shiny/metallic, but Motsi had extra with her train to a cocktail dress.
Hamza was back in pink. I thought there was quite a lot of messing abaht in the opening, and it was a little softer than usual cha chas, but the judges really loved it, so maybe that was a good thing. 3 10s, and 8 from Craig. Scoreswise, I wondered why anyone else should bother, as the top of the LB had surely been claimed.
Doubters, Craig does have a 10 paddle. He got it out for Alison Hammond for the Ts and Cs (I thought he overmarked her, personally.)
I loved what they did for the set for Ellie T’s rumba. I didn’t think it was terrible, but it was always going to be tough to follow Kym’s rumba. The choreography had to go big on the accents because of the song. The judges honed in on the missing fluidity and split into two camps scorewise – I’d have been closer to Anton and Motsi myself.
Molly’s foxtrot started off well; ‘airy’ was the word that came to mind, but then they broke out of hold and kept breaking out of hold, and lost me. (It’s becoming clear Carlos isn’t my favourite choreographer.) But the judges liked it more and returned her to more normal Molly scores.
Ellie S’s Charleston was really entertaining, with better showmanship and good lifts. It reminded me of why I’ve liked her in the past. There were a few sticky moments, as various judges mentioned – I think Shirley’s 8 was where I’d land too. The concept and look referenced Fosse a bit more than the choreography (given that it was to ‘It’s Too Darn Hot’.).
I could never get into Tyler’s VW. For one thing, the dance was too big for the end-of-the-night vibe. I wanted to like it more than I did, and the judges’ critiques of Tyler’s dancing explained why to me to some extent. General consensus: not his dance, and he scored below 30.
Halfway point and my favourite dance had been Ellie S and Nikita’s, I guess.
But next came Kym’s Argentine tango to a tune I really love. And ooh, it was really good (not as good as Fleur’s, I think, but better than Molly’s). It didn’t have maybe the violence the music suggested, and the ending with the staring felt overdone – it went way past the point of making the audience feel uncomfortable. But it got deserved praise, Shirley’s even making me wonder whether I’d failed to take in some of its subtleties. 3 9s and an Anton 10. Delighted Graziano.
I didn’t like the opening of Will’s quickstep, but from when they got into hold onwards, it was good stuff, especially the floor coverage, as the judges emphasised. Three 8s and an Anton 9.
We have got timings for Blackpool!
I had thought the jive might suit Helen, given her Charleston, but this was next level stuff. I loved the look (hers gave her her own femininity, but maybe Gorka could have done without the bolero-esque jacket and just danced in his shirt.) But it was the way she danced it, she was cool and she owned it (and Gorka got to dance in a way that reminded me of when he danced with Alexandra Burke, and that’s a compliment). Have we ever seen cartwheels in a jive before?
With the judges, it all became about the mistake that she did right under Craig’s nose, which is the worst place to do it. 3 9s and a shameless Anton 10. (It was almost good enough that I thought she could do it again in the final to try to get a 10.)
Surviving two dance-offs led to Fleur getting more of a couples choice (or Jayde-esque) VT. But she was doing a waltz, and there was more good than the other stuff, but there were moments where I wrinkled my nose at the choreography, but then the spinning section was lovely. She showed again that her being in the dance off isn’t about her dancing. Another 9 from Craig. (I will try to put straightening Fleur’s hair for a dance like this just down to them wanting to give her a different look, and try not to read it another way.) Poigniantly, as Fleur mentioned her departed father, Vito’s parents were in the studio to watch him.
Tony was going to close the night with his much hyped salsa. Would he be able to maintain the improvement we’d seen in the quickstep? I don’t care as I’m not feeling any great swell of affection for him. Different start and then I was going ‘oh no’ a lot, and thinking his salsa steps looed clumsy, although the lifts were decent. The judges, Tony and Katya gave out that he’d made too many mistakes (maybe that over-excited beginning wasn’t such a good idea after all, Katya.)
After a squint at the leaderboard. I just voted for Kym and Helen because their routines were my favourites. I couldn’t decide whether to give my third vote to Tyler or Fleur (I probably enjoyed Ellie S’s as much as Fleur’s). I assumed Ellie T was in the greatest trouble, and ended up sticking to those two votes.
Anton’s scoring is out of control. Craig was slightly less harsh than last week. But mainly, what was that with Shirley’s shoes? Are they really hers, because they’re tiny (in an episode where there was lots of talk of Tyler’s size 12s)? Is this something to do with ‘the socials’?
Strictly results
Too right they used the word ‘production’ for the opening pro routine. I haven’t watched any proper Bollywood, but maybe if it was all dance, I would. This had an arc, which I love, and the volume of the added dancers helped. It was vibrant and energetic (I imagine the costumes department tried to make the wedding ceremony clothes lighter than they’d norally be, but still.) Great.
The recap split the couples into four groups: Hamza, Helen and Kym top; Molly and Fleur were near it; Ellie S, Will and Tyler were the middle of the leaderboard, and I suppose given the difference in scores between Tyler and the bottom two, he deserved to be there; and the bottom two were indeed Ellie T and Tony. It was pointed out that Hamza had out10ed Tyler.
Ellie T and Johannes were SHOCKED to be saved, but I started scrambling, thinking that if Tony and Tyler had made mistakes, they’d be more deserving of being in a dance-off, even though I had already presumed the voting public would save Tony. Sill me, I blame the dramatic music. Fleur (recently of The Dance-Off) learned she was safe. Hamza was a given (oooh, and they’re doing Afrobeats in their couples choice. Alas, Tony was safe – the voting public (mad softies) refusing to let him show us he could do it properly. Double alas, it was Ellie S, who had come to life in her Charleston after the foxtrot of two halves.
Tess asked for two judges’ views, as we’ve reached the padding stage. We had a heartwarming VT of Janette and the Pros visiting a dance project for disabled kids, who were clearly delighted, for Children in Need. (And if you still weren’t sure of the date, everyone wore tiny poppies.)
Judges’ chat wasn’t all that informative. I thought Craig had explained his reasons for only giving Hamza an 8 cogently on the live show, but he repeated them. Claudia amusingly turned to Anton and asked him why he’d given Hamza a 10 then (because he’s more generous as an ex pro.) He waffled, so Head Judge Shirley stepped in and gave a much stronger argument for why Hamza deserved a 10 (with Motsi silently approving her every word.)
Luke ‘Got a New Album Out’ Evans sang ‘Bridge over troubled waters’ and may actually have produced an even better vocal than Adam Lambert, but I was contemplating the polo neck. Then I got distracted by real-life couple Nadiya and Kai (who also is the pro who looks the most like Luke Evans), who did enough showy ballroom, fiddly bits that only pros can pull off, and Nadiya and her loose strands of hair gave the impression she loved being twirled.
Second lot of results, and they called Helen, Will and Tyler safe, which meant that Molly and Kym and their scar tissue from their previous dance offs were left waiting (I suspected it would be curtains for Ellie S regardless of which was under the red light.) But it was Molly. Again. She cried. The judges were kind.
Apparently Gorka’s daughter is a huge fan of Will’s. She is three. Neil was the best bit of the It Takes Two promo.
Dance-off: Molly had pulled it together and danced her foxtrot well, and I still thought way too much of it was out of hold. It (or being saved by the public) made Johannes cry. Ellie S went for it, but I thought there were some claps out of sync with Nikita and the ending of the final lift was a bit sticky. The judges unanimously saved Molly. Johannes was the first in shot to stand up for Ellie S (pro of the night) and everyone cried, because she is lovely, and really, neither she nor Molly deserved to be in the dance-off (Helen and Ellie T are the only female celebs to have avoided the dance-off).
Monday’s It Takes Two noted that the Charleston has seen off four couples this year. Nice that Nikita’s choreography for Ellie S got props.
[Edited for typos 12/2/25.]
