Strictly week 1
Sep. 24th, 2023 03:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessAfter watching the launch show, I learned that Bobby is Jade Goodey and Jeff Brazier’s son, which suggests that, yeah, he’s for real. Also, Krishnan and Adam have physical health conditions that may impact what they can do.
We had an intro giving us the celebs’ full names and some of their journey so far. And then we had their full names again in the credits, with Amy joining the partnerless pros.
The pros’ opening dance began in a striking location (some castle by the sea.) I liked the dancing in the rockpool more than the dancing with the cello (poor Michelle) before they switched to the studio, with all the pros on the floor, so there was some formation dancing in a paso-flavoured routine. I think they should have made different choices about the castle set.
Variants on trousers and tops from TessnClaud, with Tess’s being the most Strictlified. A mistake from Tess to prove we were live.
More of an effort from the male judges this week, Motsi in a black cocktail dress with added oomph, Shirley’s dress was restrained in style, shocking pink in colour.
Big excitement at being back/live after the couples’ introduction.
Adam (an actor, so should be able to perform) and Luba got to go first with the first of many cha chas. Early prop action with hankies and an early sighting of the robot weren’t encouraging. It was quite fun, and he gave off excited puppy vibes in the Clauditorium. The 3 from Craig and 5s from the rest were telling.
Angela S and Carlos - tango: which seemed like an OOC dance for Angela (did she smile during the spins?) but she gave the drama of it a good go. In fact, she looked a bit like Emily Blunt in the face. There were some promising touches, as some of the judges said. So she was now top of the leaderboard.
Eddie and Karen had the quickstep and, I’d noticed, the least matching outfits, but this made sense with the retro sitcom concept of the routine, which I liked. Lots of solo work, which was better than the parts in hold, but lots of energy and rhythm.
Angela R and Kai - cha cha: when the song ‘Get the Party Started’ (Shirley Bassey version) was revealed, she knew all the words, which should have been a sign. Brilliant silhouette, amazing opening, and it turns out Angela R is a silver vixen. Confident (she ought to have a better idea of dancing with a partner than most of the celebs), feisty and, take that, Debbie McGee. I’m glad Kai got props for his choreo, because if his job is to make his celeb look good, he succeeded. 7s all round and the first time I was as excited as the people in the studio were.
Nikita and Gorka: waltz: I hoped she had lots of pictures taken once hair and make up were done, because she looked great. I…can see why Gorka kept her out of proper hold for as much as possible. I winced at the 3 from Craig, though.
So, let’s follow a total novice with…
Layton and Nikita doing a samba. And he looked like a trained dancer with the confident solo opening, no problems spotting and great flexibility. And that was in no way surprising (unlike, say, Kelvin’s samba.) The VT and judges stuck to the ‘he’ll have to unlearn a lot’ script, and they tried maximum Mum (i.e. Tess talked to her, poor thing, not just being picked out by the camera) but, like, even the criticism was telling. (It looked as though Nikita had told him all week about the feet, but he’d forgotten.) Predictably top of the leaderboard.
Zoe and Graziano - cha cha: like Nikita - but it mattered more here than with an intimate waltz - she’s less of a performer than most of the celebs, but it looks like she trusts Graz and he worked her impressive flexibility or ability to extend those long legs of hers. Again, I thought the 3 was harsh.
Les and Nancy - tango: he was clearly trying, but I found it most of the things that you don’t want a tango to be. As Craig had already used a 3 paddle, he went down to a 2 and Les would ultimately (and fairly) be at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Ellie and Vito - jive: I expected her to sell it, but not for it to be as good as it was. She showed so much energy and was on it with the timing, even if she didn’t have quite enough stamina. There were some very nice touches in the choreography and it felt like she was mainly the star of the routine. What Vito said about upping the difficulty of the choreography (and thus meaning she had to learn changing moves) was telling. She got the same score as Layton (did she go to a stage school whilst filming Coronation Street as a child?)
Jody and Jowita - quickstep: not only was it the opposite of Eddie’s because of the classic feel and look, there was the contrast that his posture and footwork seemed better but he’s obviously less of a performer, but he came across as a sweetheart.
(Motsi seems to have less feel for who the celebrities are from her comments.)
Bobby and Dianne - foxtrot: I think her gown was my favourite’s of the night. I did spent a chunk of this wondering if the height difference is too great between them. But he showed a lot of ease of movement, while I chortled at him miming the words of the song. Ooh, 8 from Shirley, for, you know, a week 1 foxtrot.
Annabel and Johannes - cha cha: it was soon clear that she’s a better dancer than Judy Murray or Martina Hingis ever were, and probably deserves better than such a gimmicky routine. As soon as Tess (!) said it was elegant, I realised that was spot on. Deserved 7s all round.
Amanda and Giovanni - Viennese waltz: Amanda’s gown was lovely except the top didn’t quite lie as flat as it could have with all the movement. Shockingly, this was quite a lyrical VW from Gio the choreographer, and apart from flawless emoting, Amanda produced quality dancing. Shirley and Anton commented approvingly about the fleckerl, and Craig got booed, heh. Another high scorer.
Krishnan and Lauren had the hundredth cha cha of the night, and I really enjoyed it. At times, he had almost this cool groove going and was clearly having a blast and it transmitted itself to us watching. Well, it did to me.
Finally, Nigel and Katya had a paso. I couldn’t quite go along with the lie that the Strictly band doing Nirvana was such a departure, but the blend of grunge and circus for the routine was very Strictly. I saw some nice shaping and it was a very commanding and strong performance from him – perhaps too strong. I found myself wanting some light and shade, which is a testament to the quality of the dancing (from someone who’s been in West End shows? Quel surprise!) And I imagine he was mainly doing what Katya asked, and she was led by the music. With an 8 from Craig, it was the best scoring dance of the night (but that was no surprise.)
Take outs: Layton and Nigel’s stage experience told, and Layton may be the younger, but Nigel’s spent more of his years treading the boards, and having been a soap star, will probably appeal more to more of the likely voting public. My favourite dance may have been Ellie’s jive. Her aside, the older ladies showed up the younger ones, but obviously people who were good at ballroom (Amanda and Bobby) will have to back it up in the Latin, and some may find greater affinity for next week’s style and find the nerves less of a problem next week, when there will be voting.
New co-presenter on It Takes Two alert!
We had an intro giving us the celebs’ full names and some of their journey so far. And then we had their full names again in the credits, with Amy joining the partnerless pros.
The pros’ opening dance began in a striking location (some castle by the sea.) I liked the dancing in the rockpool more than the dancing with the cello (poor Michelle) before they switched to the studio, with all the pros on the floor, so there was some formation dancing in a paso-flavoured routine. I think they should have made different choices about the castle set.
Variants on trousers and tops from TessnClaud, with Tess’s being the most Strictlified. A mistake from Tess to prove we were live.
More of an effort from the male judges this week, Motsi in a black cocktail dress with added oomph, Shirley’s dress was restrained in style, shocking pink in colour.
Big excitement at being back/live after the couples’ introduction.
Adam (an actor, so should be able to perform) and Luba got to go first with the first of many cha chas. Early prop action with hankies and an early sighting of the robot weren’t encouraging. It was quite fun, and he gave off excited puppy vibes in the Clauditorium. The 3 from Craig and 5s from the rest were telling.
Angela S and Carlos - tango: which seemed like an OOC dance for Angela (did she smile during the spins?) but she gave the drama of it a good go. In fact, she looked a bit like Emily Blunt in the face. There were some promising touches, as some of the judges said. So she was now top of the leaderboard.
Eddie and Karen had the quickstep and, I’d noticed, the least matching outfits, but this made sense with the retro sitcom concept of the routine, which I liked. Lots of solo work, which was better than the parts in hold, but lots of energy and rhythm.
Angela R and Kai - cha cha: when the song ‘Get the Party Started’ (Shirley Bassey version) was revealed, she knew all the words, which should have been a sign. Brilliant silhouette, amazing opening, and it turns out Angela R is a silver vixen. Confident (she ought to have a better idea of dancing with a partner than most of the celebs), feisty and, take that, Debbie McGee. I’m glad Kai got props for his choreo, because if his job is to make his celeb look good, he succeeded. 7s all round and the first time I was as excited as the people in the studio were.
Nikita and Gorka: waltz: I hoped she had lots of pictures taken once hair and make up were done, because she looked great. I…can see why Gorka kept her out of proper hold for as much as possible. I winced at the 3 from Craig, though.
So, let’s follow a total novice with…
Layton and Nikita doing a samba. And he looked like a trained dancer with the confident solo opening, no problems spotting and great flexibility. And that was in no way surprising (unlike, say, Kelvin’s samba.) The VT and judges stuck to the ‘he’ll have to unlearn a lot’ script, and they tried maximum Mum (i.e. Tess talked to her, poor thing, not just being picked out by the camera) but, like, even the criticism was telling. (It looked as though Nikita had told him all week about the feet, but he’d forgotten.) Predictably top of the leaderboard.
Zoe and Graziano - cha cha: like Nikita - but it mattered more here than with an intimate waltz - she’s less of a performer than most of the celebs, but it looks like she trusts Graz and he worked her impressive flexibility or ability to extend those long legs of hers. Again, I thought the 3 was harsh.
Les and Nancy - tango: he was clearly trying, but I found it most of the things that you don’t want a tango to be. As Craig had already used a 3 paddle, he went down to a 2 and Les would ultimately (and fairly) be at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Ellie and Vito - jive: I expected her to sell it, but not for it to be as good as it was. She showed so much energy and was on it with the timing, even if she didn’t have quite enough stamina. There were some very nice touches in the choreography and it felt like she was mainly the star of the routine. What Vito said about upping the difficulty of the choreography (and thus meaning she had to learn changing moves) was telling. She got the same score as Layton (did she go to a stage school whilst filming Coronation Street as a child?)
Jody and Jowita - quickstep: not only was it the opposite of Eddie’s because of the classic feel and look, there was the contrast that his posture and footwork seemed better but he’s obviously less of a performer, but he came across as a sweetheart.
(Motsi seems to have less feel for who the celebrities are from her comments.)
Bobby and Dianne - foxtrot: I think her gown was my favourite’s of the night. I did spent a chunk of this wondering if the height difference is too great between them. But he showed a lot of ease of movement, while I chortled at him miming the words of the song. Ooh, 8 from Shirley, for, you know, a week 1 foxtrot.
Annabel and Johannes - cha cha: it was soon clear that she’s a better dancer than Judy Murray or Martina Hingis ever were, and probably deserves better than such a gimmicky routine. As soon as Tess (!) said it was elegant, I realised that was spot on. Deserved 7s all round.
Amanda and Giovanni - Viennese waltz: Amanda’s gown was lovely except the top didn’t quite lie as flat as it could have with all the movement. Shockingly, this was quite a lyrical VW from Gio the choreographer, and apart from flawless emoting, Amanda produced quality dancing. Shirley and Anton commented approvingly about the fleckerl, and Craig got booed, heh. Another high scorer.
Krishnan and Lauren had the hundredth cha cha of the night, and I really enjoyed it. At times, he had almost this cool groove going and was clearly having a blast and it transmitted itself to us watching. Well, it did to me.
Finally, Nigel and Katya had a paso. I couldn’t quite go along with the lie that the Strictly band doing Nirvana was such a departure, but the blend of grunge and circus for the routine was very Strictly. I saw some nice shaping and it was a very commanding and strong performance from him – perhaps too strong. I found myself wanting some light and shade, which is a testament to the quality of the dancing (from someone who’s been in West End shows? Quel surprise!) And I imagine he was mainly doing what Katya asked, and she was led by the music. With an 8 from Craig, it was the best scoring dance of the night (but that was no surprise.)
Take outs: Layton and Nigel’s stage experience told, and Layton may be the younger, but Nigel’s spent more of his years treading the boards, and having been a soap star, will probably appeal more to more of the likely voting public. My favourite dance may have been Ellie’s jive. Her aside, the older ladies showed up the younger ones, but obviously people who were good at ballroom (Amanda and Bobby) will have to back it up in the Latin, and some may find greater affinity for next week’s style and find the nerves less of a problem next week, when there will be voting.
New co-presenter on It Takes Two alert!
