Big Strictly post
Dec. 3rd, 2022 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessIt Takes Two infomed me that Molly’s was the highest scoring tango of the series, but you could tell Carlos was a bit disappointed that it had only got 35. The big theme was that there would be less time to prepare this week.
Janette replacing Rylan was weird for Jo’s Choreography Corner, although the weird yet enlightening similes were present and correct, but Janette knew what Jo was talking about and you had the sense that she was having to hold back a little on her views as a presenter. Interesting that Jo had more issues with Hamza’s top half than the legs in his Argentine tango.
It was only confirmed for me on Thursday that Kym and Graziano would be back. I missed the extended Friday ITT, because they were showing club rugby (not a fan of Welsh teams playing against teams on a whole other continent) on here, and then Strictly proper was on.
Musicals week/quarter finals
Overture: The pro group musicals medley was all over the place, or all over the West End, perhaps. The vocal for the Grease section was pretty bad. Marisha Wallace was the stand out singer of the guest trio, although I had no idea what she was singing in her first song. I liked the use of the pros in the Six section, they were rather too much backing dancers on the whole, and I loved the use of the judges’ desks for the Legally Blonde section, but as a whole? Incoherent smorgasbord of musicals.
Enter Tess in a white dress that was really flattering on the top, actually, and Claudia in snazzy pyjamas again, to tell us Oti was one of the choreographers responsible for what had come before, so she got special applause. Craig had a glitzy jacket, Shirley had brought the sleeves, Motsi had brought a flounce (and gloves, which I appreciated), which had more impact than Shirley’s sleeves once they were seated, while Anton hadn’t brought anything extra clothes-wise. Enter the couples, and it was a hair off between Jowita and Kym.
Act 1, scene 1: Molly’s Chicago Charleston
During the opening of the routine, I thought that having Molly Roxy next to Lauren Velmaing did her no favours, and that Carlos was showing her up just a little, but as the routine went on, she became increasingly its star. It was a 9 inching up to a 9.5 for me. In the Clauditorium there was more blatantness than usual about trying to bag Molly a future stage musical career. Craig’s 9 was predictable based on his comments, as were the ladies’ 10s from theirs, but Anton only gave her a 9, but Molly and Carlos probably didn’t mind the ‘only’ as that was their best score yet, and they were top of the leaderboard.
Act 1, Scene 2: Hamza’s The Lion King Samba
(Please to be forgetting the last The Lion King samba from earlier in the season, especially Ritchie and Giovanni’s fate.) Special nod to Hamza’s outfit, he’s provided wardrobe with a whole new direction for gentlemen’s outfits, and actually, this one highlighted his body rhythms. I found it an interesting one, because that isn’t what you’d think of as a samba song, and they used the extra dancers well, but it still felt like a musical number rather than a samba. But then Hamza and Jowita cast their magic and it was clearly a samba increasing in joy and captivating me. It really showed off his rhythmicality. 9s all round, which he was happy with, and is good for a male samba (better than Will’s, and better than Helen’s), but placed him second.
Act 2, scene 1: Kym’s post-COVID Fame cha cha
Kym definitely reminded us that she deserved to be here. I found myself enjoying the nods to the musical (I presume it’s been adapted for the stage, but I primarily think of it as a film musical) more than the cha cha, though that wasn’t half bad, but the innate performer in her made her look comfortable in the limelight. Two 8s and two 9s made for 34, which one suspected would remain the bottom of the leaderboard.
Act 2, scene 2: Will’s Miss Saigon foxtrot
I thought this was good, and obviously benefitted from being, in contrast to all the rest, just the two of them dancing and less of a production, but I thought he was acting the part, while Nancy (whose dress was beautiful) was being the character. But what do I know of technique? The judges loved it (and I’m willing to own that I’m not that keen on Will’s personality) putting him top of the leaderboard, with his highest score, and that for a technical ballroom dance.
Interlude: Dianne handled the ‘Tess talks to people in the audience’ business better tha Gio. That’s Gio in glasses, which I appreciated.
Act 3, scene 1: Helen’s Cabaret couples choice.
I had a lot of thoughts going in: it was theatre jazz, and given her jive, I thought she’d do well. I also wondered if they’d be put on last because of watershed bothering, although it never quite got to that stage, despite Gorka’s sly efforts. I appreciated how they handled the Couples Choice VT, with Helen concentrating on her relationship with her parents, not bringing her kids into it, and just letting the subtext be there.
As for the routine, I thought she was OUTSTANDING. We’ve had good theatre jazz dances before, but she must have had less training than your Faye from Steps and whoever I’m not remembering. (I do remember Ellie’s Hocus Pocus, and it wasn’t of this calibre.) She owned it, using Gorka as her furniture and pitching in with the others, but also being the leading lady – Motsi expressed what I was trying to get at with ‘Mein Dame’. But Craig remained picky, although what a reaction to his 9. As Claudia said, good luck for the rest of the night. 10s from the rest (deserved!) for joint top of the leaderboard with Will (and there’d been no howls of outrage in the studio that he hadn’t got a 40.) Her joint best score too.
Act 3, scene 2: Fleur’s follow that An American in Paris quickstep
I can see why the producers gave it the last slot, although in hindsight, that should have been Helen’s. All the quickstep stuff was so good from Fleur, as were the musical bits, and apparently it was even quicker than your regular quickstep. Briefer comments from the judges, before they awarded her a 38, making her tied with Molly (again) in second, which is also the middle of the leaderboard.
Mental ‘the line is now open’ and a quick recap that had me scrambling for phone numbers, because 3 online votes weren’t going to cut it. I ended up voting twice for Hamza and once for Helen online, and then using the phone to vote for Molly and Fleur. For all the good it did. We all know which three haven’t been in the dance off before. Hamza had a scoreboard dip because he didn’t get a 10 (but for a samba, which, IIRC, only Fleur has achieved), and Kym was only two points below him, but who knows how having had a week off will have played into people’s voting habits.
So weird that the results show would be on Saturday. I wondered, though, whether the pros would start training on Sunday rather than use it as a rest day, because there’ll be two dances in the semis.
Week 11/musicals week/quarter finals results
The opening group pro dance was wonderful – a Guys and Dolls medley in which the singers had a blast, the men were the stars, and the dancing was as sharp as you like, and I liked it very much.
Tess was hewing pretty close to what she’d worn ‘last night’, a white dress with the same broad outline, but with more asymmetry and a Grecian feel with the belt and length. Claudia retreated to black (as did Craig and Anton), but at least it was a different look for them and Shirley. Motsi gave us fringed sleeves. Thank you, Motsi.
The recap put Helen first, then Will, Molly and Fleur – which was interesting because of the ties, then Hamza, who wasn’t bad for fifth, and Kym, who wasn’t bad for sixth. Major howler, though, they put up Kym’s scores for Fleur’s, which definitely didn’t add up to 38, oops. But we learned Will had got the highest score for a foxtrot all series, FWIW.
First batch of results: safe: Helen and Gorka – yay! Will and Nancy – fair enough! Dance off (again) for Molly and Carlos. Craig got to pep talk, and mainly focused on her mind and attitude, not the issues that had stopped him from giving her a 10. It was very striking that we were at the sharp end with only two couples sitting side by side next to Claudia in the Clauditorium, where I think there was a bit too much admiration of a five year old lying, myself.
I am puzzled about what The Cher Show is about – three Cher impersonators??? The three Cher impersonators were fine as they sang the medley (and reinforced how musical theatre types are better at singing live than popstars, give or take a ‘Grease is the word’ or two.) But the routine was mainly about the dancers, who went from good to showdance spectacular to dynamic fireworks.
Judges’ chat: Motsi wasn’t that interesting about Molly, neither was Shirley about Hamza’s feet, but Anton gave us too much detail about the three step. I mean, I got that it was difficult, and so Will was impressive, but I don’t think Anton communicated it well. Craig got interrogated about Helen’s couples choice 9, and then got to relive the strong negative reaction in the studio.
Janette was adorable as Inspector Clouseau in the ITT ad.
Next batch of results had mild jeopardy, because Fleur vs Molly really would have been down to the dance-off while Molly should have seen off Hamza, which would have been a shocker. Safe: Fleur and Vito (relieved; also, fair enough), and….Hamza and Jowita (first time they’ve had to wait so long). Not safe: Kym and Graziano. Motsi got to do her best dance teacher pep talk.
So, we got to see the two dances again, and the Charleston was still my favourite, and I got to appreciate the fake ending, and be impressed that they had the energy to do cartwheels near the end (although, what do I know? Maybe cartwheels are easier than other steps), and Molly danced it from beginning to end. As did Kym, and she did get Anton to vote for her and push it to Shirley, who decided to save Molly. Kym broke down a bit talking about her father, and reminded us all, in her leotard, that she is a grandmother, then she and Graziano did the best lift in a last dance this series and some proper dance steps, reinforcing that they deserved to stay this long, before the group hug, while the singers belted out ‘So long, farewell.’ And I reeled from the news that the live show is on SUNDAY next week. Ugh, football (although that’s One Day More of training for two dances…)
[Edited for typos 15/2/25.]
Janette replacing Rylan was weird for Jo’s Choreography Corner, although the weird yet enlightening similes were present and correct, but Janette knew what Jo was talking about and you had the sense that she was having to hold back a little on her views as a presenter. Interesting that Jo had more issues with Hamza’s top half than the legs in his Argentine tango.
It was only confirmed for me on Thursday that Kym and Graziano would be back. I missed the extended Friday ITT, because they were showing club rugby (not a fan of Welsh teams playing against teams on a whole other continent) on here, and then Strictly proper was on.
Musicals week/quarter finals
Overture: The pro group musicals medley was all over the place, or all over the West End, perhaps. The vocal for the Grease section was pretty bad. Marisha Wallace was the stand out singer of the guest trio, although I had no idea what she was singing in her first song. I liked the use of the pros in the Six section, they were rather too much backing dancers on the whole, and I loved the use of the judges’ desks for the Legally Blonde section, but as a whole? Incoherent smorgasbord of musicals.
Enter Tess in a white dress that was really flattering on the top, actually, and Claudia in snazzy pyjamas again, to tell us Oti was one of the choreographers responsible for what had come before, so she got special applause. Craig had a glitzy jacket, Shirley had brought the sleeves, Motsi had brought a flounce (and gloves, which I appreciated), which had more impact than Shirley’s sleeves once they were seated, while Anton hadn’t brought anything extra clothes-wise. Enter the couples, and it was a hair off between Jowita and Kym.
Act 1, scene 1: Molly’s Chicago Charleston
During the opening of the routine, I thought that having Molly Roxy next to Lauren Velmaing did her no favours, and that Carlos was showing her up just a little, but as the routine went on, she became increasingly its star. It was a 9 inching up to a 9.5 for me. In the Clauditorium there was more blatantness than usual about trying to bag Molly a future stage musical career. Craig’s 9 was predictable based on his comments, as were the ladies’ 10s from theirs, but Anton only gave her a 9, but Molly and Carlos probably didn’t mind the ‘only’ as that was their best score yet, and they were top of the leaderboard.
Act 1, Scene 2: Hamza’s The Lion King Samba
(Please to be forgetting the last The Lion King samba from earlier in the season, especially Ritchie and Giovanni’s fate.) Special nod to Hamza’s outfit, he’s provided wardrobe with a whole new direction for gentlemen’s outfits, and actually, this one highlighted his body rhythms. I found it an interesting one, because that isn’t what you’d think of as a samba song, and they used the extra dancers well, but it still felt like a musical number rather than a samba. But then Hamza and Jowita cast their magic and it was clearly a samba increasing in joy and captivating me. It really showed off his rhythmicality. 9s all round, which he was happy with, and is good for a male samba (better than Will’s, and better than Helen’s), but placed him second.
Act 2, scene 1: Kym’s post-COVID Fame cha cha
Kym definitely reminded us that she deserved to be here. I found myself enjoying the nods to the musical (I presume it’s been adapted for the stage, but I primarily think of it as a film musical) more than the cha cha, though that wasn’t half bad, but the innate performer in her made her look comfortable in the limelight. Two 8s and two 9s made for 34, which one suspected would remain the bottom of the leaderboard.
Act 2, scene 2: Will’s Miss Saigon foxtrot
I thought this was good, and obviously benefitted from being, in contrast to all the rest, just the two of them dancing and less of a production, but I thought he was acting the part, while Nancy (whose dress was beautiful) was being the character. But what do I know of technique? The judges loved it (and I’m willing to own that I’m not that keen on Will’s personality) putting him top of the leaderboard, with his highest score, and that for a technical ballroom dance.
Interlude: Dianne handled the ‘Tess talks to people in the audience’ business better tha Gio. That’s Gio in glasses, which I appreciated.
Act 3, scene 1: Helen’s Cabaret couples choice.
I had a lot of thoughts going in: it was theatre jazz, and given her jive, I thought she’d do well. I also wondered if they’d be put on last because of watershed bothering, although it never quite got to that stage, despite Gorka’s sly efforts. I appreciated how they handled the Couples Choice VT, with Helen concentrating on her relationship with her parents, not bringing her kids into it, and just letting the subtext be there.
As for the routine, I thought she was OUTSTANDING. We’ve had good theatre jazz dances before, but she must have had less training than your Faye from Steps and whoever I’m not remembering. (I do remember Ellie’s Hocus Pocus, and it wasn’t of this calibre.) She owned it, using Gorka as her furniture and pitching in with the others, but also being the leading lady – Motsi expressed what I was trying to get at with ‘Mein Dame’. But Craig remained picky, although what a reaction to his 9. As Claudia said, good luck for the rest of the night. 10s from the rest (deserved!) for joint top of the leaderboard with Will (and there’d been no howls of outrage in the studio that he hadn’t got a 40.) Her joint best score too.
Act 3, scene 2: Fleur’s follow that An American in Paris quickstep
I can see why the producers gave it the last slot, although in hindsight, that should have been Helen’s. All the quickstep stuff was so good from Fleur, as were the musical bits, and apparently it was even quicker than your regular quickstep. Briefer comments from the judges, before they awarded her a 38, making her tied with Molly (again) in second, which is also the middle of the leaderboard.
Mental ‘the line is now open’ and a quick recap that had me scrambling for phone numbers, because 3 online votes weren’t going to cut it. I ended up voting twice for Hamza and once for Helen online, and then using the phone to vote for Molly and Fleur. For all the good it did. We all know which three haven’t been in the dance off before. Hamza had a scoreboard dip because he didn’t get a 10 (but for a samba, which, IIRC, only Fleur has achieved), and Kym was only two points below him, but who knows how having had a week off will have played into people’s voting habits.
So weird that the results show would be on Saturday. I wondered, though, whether the pros would start training on Sunday rather than use it as a rest day, because there’ll be two dances in the semis.
Week 11/musicals week/quarter finals results
The opening group pro dance was wonderful – a Guys and Dolls medley in which the singers had a blast, the men were the stars, and the dancing was as sharp as you like, and I liked it very much.
Tess was hewing pretty close to what she’d worn ‘last night’, a white dress with the same broad outline, but with more asymmetry and a Grecian feel with the belt and length. Claudia retreated to black (as did Craig and Anton), but at least it was a different look for them and Shirley. Motsi gave us fringed sleeves. Thank you, Motsi.
The recap put Helen first, then Will, Molly and Fleur – which was interesting because of the ties, then Hamza, who wasn’t bad for fifth, and Kym, who wasn’t bad for sixth. Major howler, though, they put up Kym’s scores for Fleur’s, which definitely didn’t add up to 38, oops. But we learned Will had got the highest score for a foxtrot all series, FWIW.
First batch of results: safe: Helen and Gorka – yay! Will and Nancy – fair enough! Dance off (again) for Molly and Carlos. Craig got to pep talk, and mainly focused on her mind and attitude, not the issues that had stopped him from giving her a 10. It was very striking that we were at the sharp end with only two couples sitting side by side next to Claudia in the Clauditorium, where I think there was a bit too much admiration of a five year old lying, myself.
I am puzzled about what The Cher Show is about – three Cher impersonators??? The three Cher impersonators were fine as they sang the medley (and reinforced how musical theatre types are better at singing live than popstars, give or take a ‘Grease is the word’ or two.) But the routine was mainly about the dancers, who went from good to showdance spectacular to dynamic fireworks.
Judges’ chat: Motsi wasn’t that interesting about Molly, neither was Shirley about Hamza’s feet, but Anton gave us too much detail about the three step. I mean, I got that it was difficult, and so Will was impressive, but I don’t think Anton communicated it well. Craig got interrogated about Helen’s couples choice 9, and then got to relive the strong negative reaction in the studio.
Janette was adorable as Inspector Clouseau in the ITT ad.
Next batch of results had mild jeopardy, because Fleur vs Molly really would have been down to the dance-off while Molly should have seen off Hamza, which would have been a shocker. Safe: Fleur and Vito (relieved; also, fair enough), and….Hamza and Jowita (first time they’ve had to wait so long). Not safe: Kym and Graziano. Motsi got to do her best dance teacher pep talk.
So, we got to see the two dances again, and the Charleston was still my favourite, and I got to appreciate the fake ending, and be impressed that they had the energy to do cartwheels near the end (although, what do I know? Maybe cartwheels are easier than other steps), and Molly danced it from beginning to end. As did Kym, and she did get Anton to vote for her and push it to Shirley, who decided to save Molly. Kym broke down a bit talking about her father, and reminded us all, in her leotard, that she is a grandmother, then she and Graziano did the best lift in a last dance this series and some proper dance steps, reinforcing that they deserved to stay this long, before the group hug, while the singers belted out ‘So long, farewell.’ And I reeled from the news that the live show is on SUNDAY next week. Ugh, football (although that’s One Day More of training for two dances…)
[Edited for typos 15/2/25.]
