Strictly week 4
Oct. 16th, 2023 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessMop-up from last week, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that that 10 was too early, or the only one (apart from Zara) who didn’t know who Madison Beer was. No reprise of Fleur rapping the recap on ITT (good), but her voice still sounded rough. Zara seemed to have a healthy mindset after being in the dance-off.
Week 4
Tess wore a more structurally interesting black dress, while Claudia wore the kind of black dress most women in the UK could imagine themselves wearing. Glittery grey trouser suit from Motsi, cool green gown from Shirley, and a sparkly jacket to twinkle as Craig span into place. Anton might have worn the dullest judge’s outfit, but I remember wondering what he’d had in his tea given his comments for about the first half of the show.
Ellie and Vito opened with a samba that Tess claimed was in Vegas, while everyone thought, ‘But the song is “Copacabana”’ (and then ‘Where are Lola!Ellie’s yellow feathers?’) Pretty good with some nice stuff, I thought, but could have done with more flow. The judges’ criticism homed in on the footwork.
I found Adam and Luba’s waltz a bit studied from him, but thought he was continuing to improve. Very positive judges’ comments, suggesting ballroom may be his strength!?
Jody and Jowita had a salsa (oh, that’s where the yellow feathers went) with ‘samba’ in the song title. Jowita clearly hoped that Jody’s bare chest and the admittedly staggering lifts would distract from how static he was. They didn’t.
Amanda and Giovanni danced a slow foxtrot. Barely any messing about, and I thought it was good but even better when it sped up, but Shirley criticised Amanda’s ballet/Latin feet.
Craig criticised the booing.
Krishnan and Lauren were doing a paso, where his commitment led to his physical transformation into ‘Juan’. I couldn’t help but notice his jutting out lower lip. The comments about fluidity and living through the movement were perfectly valid.
Zara and Graziano performed a Viennese Waltz, and I think she is coming on, though there could have been more flow. Definite improvement, but will it be enough given that she’s been in the dance-off and given that the other remaining women are starting from a higher level?
Speaking of, next came Annabel and Johannes’s jive. It was fun, sharp, confidently danced, and yet somehow elegant. There’ll be a lot of talk about the surprise cartwheels, but what I liked compared with last week was that she maintained her level for the whole routine. Having said that, once Shirley asked for more dynamism or light and shade, I could see what she meant.
We had a look at the leaderboard, and, surprise!, Adam was at the top.
Eddie and Karen had an American Smooth, and that version of Sex Bomb didn’t work for me at all. But the dance itself was, as the judges said, a dance of two halves, the bits in hold couldn’t touch when he was freestyling. Good lifts, though. (Shirley was PREDICTABLY harsh after last week.)
Layton and Nikita performed a disco cha cha. He tried some business with a coat that reminded me of Angela R’s first dance…and I wouldn’t have gone there (although at the time, the fall into the splits was impressive.) There was lots of good stuff here, although he seemed nervous or tense at the start, but grew in confidence. Motsi decided it was her turn to pull out a 10 paddle. (Erm, really? Not as egregious as Shirley’s for Eddie last week, because it was worthy of 9s, but…) Highest score of the series, and Adam was no longer top of the leaderboard. Layton’s line this week was ‘listening to Nikita.’
Following that (and two disappointing dances) was Nigel and Katya’s salsa. And I’m starting to think he must hope for as many Latin dances as possible from now on, because this was excellent, my favourite routine of the night. He seemed really comfortable. My only quibble was that the last lift seemed too spectacular for what had gone before and felt like gilding the lily. Didn’t compete with Layton for top of the leaderboard, but this definitely counts as a comeback (and from this point on, Motsi was officially The Generous One, not Anton.)
Angela S and Carlos had a VW, and I thought it was much better than her tango, which would be the last time she’d done ballroom. Graceful, although there were some stutters in the second half and then the judges laid in (so it was a bit like Nigel and Layton vs the VW.)
Angela R and Kai were doing the rumba, and I didn’t love it as a routine, the ending left me going ‘Eh?’ but there were some gorgeous, jaw-dropping moments, moves I can’t imagine doing at nowhere near her age. Also, I think she had Layton beat on the splits.
Bobby and Dianne closed with a red catwalk tango. I had my usual grumble about the height difference, but there was lots of quality there, although I kind of saw where Craig was coming from too.
Good cozzies, especially for the ladies, I liked Luba and Dianne’s especially, plus Annabel’s graphics-inspired look, but most of all her boots. (You could do a whole ‘who wore the lace shirt best’ competition for Jody, Giovanni and Nigel.)
I suppose I should have voted for Nigel’s routine as my favourite, but it was clear from early on that Ellie needed my vote, and then I swithered about voting for Amanda or Angela S, but the four-way tie at 28 demanded I vote for the people there. Ellie and Angela S had had a dip, while Krishnan and Zara had improved. Ultimately (and subjectively), I voted twice for Ellie and once for Zara.
Results
Tess’s sparkly green dress was perhaps too much of an homage to eighties excess, while Claudia’s white outfit bordered on the prim. We’d later see that Shirley was working some lilac trousers and Motsi’s shirt dress was boosted by excellent white boots (Strictly helping a nation switch over to boots from sandals.)
The recap put the top 5 in the top group, the next 8 in the middle group, and Eddie and Jody were in the bottom through. So 13 couples were at 28 or higher, which would be legitimately good if it weren’t for Anton and Motsi’s inflationary scores.
First called safe? Zara and Graziano, so someone new would be under the red light, then nobody else from club 28 was called, and Eddie would be in the dance off. Anton gave him a ‘Dance like you’re in the training room’ pep talk. Everyone was sad in the Clauditorium because they love Eddie, until we got to see the hilarious/adorable candid footage of Annabel.
Next up: Beverley Knight. A nation goes ‘At least we’ve heard of her.’ That vocal was so good! I’d also advise all future singers on the results show to bring in eight members of a gospel choir. Rounding it all off was some fab dancing from Gorka and…I thought it was Michelle, but I read Katya in a recap.
I found Craig’s analysis of how the waltz had helped Adam calm down as a dancer useful.
Second set of names, and Carlos was surprised when they called his Angela safe first. The other two members of club 28 had to wait and wait, until Jody was under the red light. Shirley told him to put in some body movement.
Notably less love for Jody in the Clauditorium. Ellie and Claudia couldn’t keep a straight face during the group breathing exercise, and Nigel, bless him, punctured any pomposity.
Dance off: unfortunately, Jody flubbed the first lift (and the lifts were the best bit of the routine) and got very flustered. To be fair, I haven’t seen a dance-off go that badly wrong in a while. Eddie just had to hold it together with even less pressure. Motsi was a little too blunt in her comments, I mean, obviously they were going to save Eddie. Would totally be behind Jody issuing a cycling challenge to her.
Jody and Jowita chose not to try to do the lift properly in their last dance.
Week 4
Tess wore a more structurally interesting black dress, while Claudia wore the kind of black dress most women in the UK could imagine themselves wearing. Glittery grey trouser suit from Motsi, cool green gown from Shirley, and a sparkly jacket to twinkle as Craig span into place. Anton might have worn the dullest judge’s outfit, but I remember wondering what he’d had in his tea given his comments for about the first half of the show.
Ellie and Vito opened with a samba that Tess claimed was in Vegas, while everyone thought, ‘But the song is “Copacabana”’ (and then ‘Where are Lola!Ellie’s yellow feathers?’) Pretty good with some nice stuff, I thought, but could have done with more flow. The judges’ criticism homed in on the footwork.
I found Adam and Luba’s waltz a bit studied from him, but thought he was continuing to improve. Very positive judges’ comments, suggesting ballroom may be his strength!?
Jody and Jowita had a salsa (oh, that’s where the yellow feathers went) with ‘samba’ in the song title. Jowita clearly hoped that Jody’s bare chest and the admittedly staggering lifts would distract from how static he was. They didn’t.
Amanda and Giovanni danced a slow foxtrot. Barely any messing about, and I thought it was good but even better when it sped up, but Shirley criticised Amanda’s ballet/Latin feet.
Craig criticised the booing.
Krishnan and Lauren were doing a paso, where his commitment led to his physical transformation into ‘Juan’. I couldn’t help but notice his jutting out lower lip. The comments about fluidity and living through the movement were perfectly valid.
Zara and Graziano performed a Viennese Waltz, and I think she is coming on, though there could have been more flow. Definite improvement, but will it be enough given that she’s been in the dance-off and given that the other remaining women are starting from a higher level?
Speaking of, next came Annabel and Johannes’s jive. It was fun, sharp, confidently danced, and yet somehow elegant. There’ll be a lot of talk about the surprise cartwheels, but what I liked compared with last week was that she maintained her level for the whole routine. Having said that, once Shirley asked for more dynamism or light and shade, I could see what she meant.
We had a look at the leaderboard, and, surprise!, Adam was at the top.
Eddie and Karen had an American Smooth, and that version of Sex Bomb didn’t work for me at all. But the dance itself was, as the judges said, a dance of two halves, the bits in hold couldn’t touch when he was freestyling. Good lifts, though. (Shirley was PREDICTABLY harsh after last week.)
Layton and Nikita performed a disco cha cha. He tried some business with a coat that reminded me of Angela R’s first dance…and I wouldn’t have gone there (although at the time, the fall into the splits was impressive.) There was lots of good stuff here, although he seemed nervous or tense at the start, but grew in confidence. Motsi decided it was her turn to pull out a 10 paddle. (Erm, really? Not as egregious as Shirley’s for Eddie last week, because it was worthy of 9s, but…) Highest score of the series, and Adam was no longer top of the leaderboard. Layton’s line this week was ‘listening to Nikita.’
Following that (and two disappointing dances) was Nigel and Katya’s salsa. And I’m starting to think he must hope for as many Latin dances as possible from now on, because this was excellent, my favourite routine of the night. He seemed really comfortable. My only quibble was that the last lift seemed too spectacular for what had gone before and felt like gilding the lily. Didn’t compete with Layton for top of the leaderboard, but this definitely counts as a comeback (and from this point on, Motsi was officially The Generous One, not Anton.)
Angela S and Carlos had a VW, and I thought it was much better than her tango, which would be the last time she’d done ballroom. Graceful, although there were some stutters in the second half and then the judges laid in (so it was a bit like Nigel and Layton vs the VW.)
Angela R and Kai were doing the rumba, and I didn’t love it as a routine, the ending left me going ‘Eh?’ but there were some gorgeous, jaw-dropping moments, moves I can’t imagine doing at nowhere near her age. Also, I think she had Layton beat on the splits.
Bobby and Dianne closed with a red catwalk tango. I had my usual grumble about the height difference, but there was lots of quality there, although I kind of saw where Craig was coming from too.
Good cozzies, especially for the ladies, I liked Luba and Dianne’s especially, plus Annabel’s graphics-inspired look, but most of all her boots. (You could do a whole ‘who wore the lace shirt best’ competition for Jody, Giovanni and Nigel.)
I suppose I should have voted for Nigel’s routine as my favourite, but it was clear from early on that Ellie needed my vote, and then I swithered about voting for Amanda or Angela S, but the four-way tie at 28 demanded I vote for the people there. Ellie and Angela S had had a dip, while Krishnan and Zara had improved. Ultimately (and subjectively), I voted twice for Ellie and once for Zara.
Results
Tess’s sparkly green dress was perhaps too much of an homage to eighties excess, while Claudia’s white outfit bordered on the prim. We’d later see that Shirley was working some lilac trousers and Motsi’s shirt dress was boosted by excellent white boots (Strictly helping a nation switch over to boots from sandals.)
The recap put the top 5 in the top group, the next 8 in the middle group, and Eddie and Jody were in the bottom through. So 13 couples were at 28 or higher, which would be legitimately good if it weren’t for Anton and Motsi’s inflationary scores.
First called safe? Zara and Graziano, so someone new would be under the red light, then nobody else from club 28 was called, and Eddie would be in the dance off. Anton gave him a ‘Dance like you’re in the training room’ pep talk. Everyone was sad in the Clauditorium because they love Eddie, until we got to see the hilarious/adorable candid footage of Annabel.
Next up: Beverley Knight. A nation goes ‘At least we’ve heard of her.’ That vocal was so good! I’d also advise all future singers on the results show to bring in eight members of a gospel choir. Rounding it all off was some fab dancing from Gorka and…I thought it was Michelle, but I read Katya in a recap.
I found Craig’s analysis of how the waltz had helped Adam calm down as a dancer useful.
Second set of names, and Carlos was surprised when they called his Angela safe first. The other two members of club 28 had to wait and wait, until Jody was under the red light. Shirley told him to put in some body movement.
Notably less love for Jody in the Clauditorium. Ellie and Claudia couldn’t keep a straight face during the group breathing exercise, and Nigel, bless him, punctured any pomposity.
Dance off: unfortunately, Jody flubbed the first lift (and the lifts were the best bit of the routine) and got very flustered. To be fair, I haven’t seen a dance-off go that badly wrong in a while. Eddie just had to hold it together with even less pressure. Motsi was a little too blunt in her comments, I mean, obviously they were going to save Eddie. Would totally be behind Jody issuing a cycling challenge to her.
Jody and Jowita chose not to try to do the lift properly in their last dance.
