shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2023-10-30 08:13 am
shallowness) wrote2023-10-30 08:13 am
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Mainly Strictly week 6/Halloween
Mop-up from last week: I learned that Adam had had flu, so they’d tried to keep him away from everyone during the rehearsals in the studio. Given how energetic their dance was, I felt rather sorry for him.
It Takes Two: Monday started with an announcement that Amanda was pulling out of Strictly for medical reasons. My immediate reaction was that it was a shame because she was such a quality dancer and to hope she got better. So, there’ll be fewer couples in the final. By Tuesday, there was another statement from Amanda that…didn’t mention Giovanni, but hinted that it might be mental illness, possibly depression, and things weren’t the happy happy, joy joy narrative the show likes to sell. Hmm. Still want her to get better/into a better place, and still expect the producers to try to wrap everyone in cotton wool.
I am going to take Shirley’s claim that ‘we all know Layton has had a bit of training’ on Wednesday charitably, as someone from the ballroom/Latin world thinking all other forms of dance don’t count. On Thursday, as I did last week, I thought Dianne was supremely gracious at Janette’s whole thing about doing her name in an ‘Aussie’ accent. I’d have just started calling her Janet. Friday, and Adam had been ordered to rest, so Luba had to sit alone on the sofa and talk for both of them.
Week 6 /Halloween special
I spent the whole ‘spooky VT’ thinking it would have been more fun if Arlene, the Jordans or one of Anton’s many hopeless partners had returned.
Tess wore a short and sparkly red dress, Claudia a black, lacy but structured long dress. Shirley was dressed as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Anton as a mad professor, Craig as Snape and Motsi as some kind of spider queen. Craig and Motsi won.
Tess told the last few people who didn’t know that Amanda had withdrawn from the show, and then we got a look at the costumes, most of which were amazing, but I thought ‘dem bones’ and Hansel and Gretel had got the short straws.
Angela S and Carlos opened up with a black swan paso (providing fair warning of the theme week madness that would ensue.) I loved the drama and wondered what the judges would made of it at the same time. Inevitably it was balletic (I’d thought all week from the ITT footage that she wasn’t grounded enough) and referenced the swan thing and that possibly over-rode the paso feel. They’d got their scores up and Anton was already going for the 9 paddle.
Adam and Luba had a wizarding American smooth (she looked so cute as a fake witch in the VT, and Adam showed off a very natty coat). I rolled my eyes at Strictly’s glasses = geeky thing. Anyway, it proved again he’s a ‘ballroom boy’, and I agreed with Motsi that the ballroom foundation of the routine was the best bit. The lifts and accents were fine. Claudia pointed out that that was the highest American Smooth of the series, but that says more about who’s done it before, doesn’t it?
By this point, it was obvious the show has been holding out for theme episodes for the augmented reality. Also, it wasn’t clear if this was the halfway point of the series or not.
Zara and Graziano would be performing the Charleston as skeletons, which made for a weird visual (either they should have been in white bones on black catsuits or she needed some bones painted on her back.) She was clearly trying her best, but was a little stiff (Shirley’s suggestion about angling her body more seemed a good’un.) The scores were not what Zara would have hoped for.
Layton and Nikita would be tangoing vampires (and Layton wore A Coat in the VT). Showed off his flexibility on the steps down to begin and a trick to end. So, it was a battle for dominance before a snack for Layton’s vamp, yes? Was it me, was there a bit where the timing went wrong? The judges pitched in on the footwork and all gave him 9s anyway.
Was Bobby and Dianne’s Hansel and Gretel cha cha a tribute to the Cliftons? Just wondering. He went for it and it’s understandable that his hips were much discussed. A bit disjointed as a routine. It got scores of: 6, 7, 8, 9, I’d have plumped for a 7 or 8, myself.
Krishnan and Lauren had a Jekyll and Hyde Viennese Waltz – excellent make-up. He’s come on (did that spin turn into a lift? Remember when Craig cared about that sort of thing?), it was just a little stiff and he messed up on the ending. Jay had a riposte to Claudia from last week, but the production team had moved on to masks of his face. Bless. His father ended up a little above Zara.
Angela R and Kai were celebrating Halloween by doing a Murder She Wrote cha cha (1, obviously!?!? Maddest concept of the night. 2, so they aren’t doing TV show theme night week again. Phew.) Clever letting her ‘dance’ on the seat for a chunk. Canny choreo all round, somewhat sedate from her, apart from the lifts, while Kai showed how it should have been done (in a ridiculous wig and ‘tache.) I think it was overmarked. And as Claudia pointed out, Craig gave it a higher score than the rest of the judges!?!?
Before Annabel and Johannes did their red baby goats tango, I stared at the inflatable cat in their studio in the VT. I thought the tango was pretty good, although, like all the judges said, I noticed that her quality dropped off towards the end – tiredness? Anton made a good point about it being pretty much a tango from beginning to end, apart from another bit of showing off her flexibility of leg. A little up from last week.
Nigel and Katya’s corpse couple cha cha probably had the choreography of the night for me. I loved it like Tyler’s Halloweeen dance last year for the quirky stylisation, and Nigel owned it, but apparently he made mistakes. Again. So he got the same score as Bobby, which wasn’t terrible, but he could be pushing Layton.
Making up for being overshadowed last week, Ellie and Vito closed with a salsa as green zombies. (I miss them doing ballroom.) It was more like their paso than their samba in that it was very good. I would have loved a little more flow, but she didn’t flag for a second. Two 10s, putting them TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD.
I wonder if Anton will try to keep that 13 paddle for future use (although he’s been restrained on the 10s.) Squizz at the leaderboard made me wonder if I should vote for Angela S or Bobby, but I ended up voting for Ellie (I know, top of the LB, didn’t need to), Nigel (despite the frustration) and Annabel (despite the flagging.)
Results
…opened with the Wednesday themed pro number, which was better than I thought it would be. Loved the style, and although Jowita seemed like the least Wednesday Addams-sque pro, she’s also the tiniest, and they made great use of it. I was worried about who Neil would be, but he was just Neil, while Luba made a stunning Morticia, and Graziano a fine Gomez. They had the budget not just for Thing, but for Thing to interact with Wednesday!Jowita.
Tess was in an off theme green outfit, which I liked less when I realised it was a pantsuit. Claudia stuck to black, but snuck in some shocking pink heels. Motsi was the most boring of the judges.
The recap kind of put the couples into two groups according to which half of the leaderboard they’d been, while emphasising the zombies (Ellie and Vito) and vampires (Layton and Nikita) were the best.
Angela R and Carlos was the first to be called safe, and she would later admit she’d waited for the ‘and Carlos’ before celebrating. But when Annabel and Krishnan were called safe in this group, it all became very interesting, but not for Adam and Luba who were in danger. Shirley trotted out how she couldn’t understand how this show she’s been on for years worked (er, viewers like Krishnan and Annabel more? Also, Adam’s been a bit poorly, probably because he’s overcommitted, which puts in doubts in viewers’ minds? I have further suggestions…) The voting public’s consensus with the judges was always going to snap at some point.
Rick Astley sang a very Rick Astley song, and there was some spiffy dancing. They gave the judges more time to speak and Shirley seemed to suggest that the wardrobe department had been dancing. Craig’s justification for giving Angela R a 9 was something to do with ‘timings’.
Second lot of names, and Bobby would get tortured by the producers’ ‘no particular order.’ But inevitably Zara and Graz were in danger. Motsi gave Zara some blunt reminders that she was in a competition and to dance like it, although, honestly, unless if Adam dropped Luba, he was going to be saved all Halloween long.
Dance-off, and Adam was, again, good. I thought Zara mostly danced her Charleston much better than the first time, but it wasn’t enough. She was clearly upset, although she got to do the impressive lift to Kylie for her last dance.
It Takes Two: Monday started with an announcement that Amanda was pulling out of Strictly for medical reasons. My immediate reaction was that it was a shame because she was such a quality dancer and to hope she got better. So, there’ll be fewer couples in the final. By Tuesday, there was another statement from Amanda that…didn’t mention Giovanni, but hinted that it might be mental illness, possibly depression, and things weren’t the happy happy, joy joy narrative the show likes to sell. Hmm. Still want her to get better/into a better place, and still expect the producers to try to wrap everyone in cotton wool.
I am going to take Shirley’s claim that ‘we all know Layton has had a bit of training’ on Wednesday charitably, as someone from the ballroom/Latin world thinking all other forms of dance don’t count. On Thursday, as I did last week, I thought Dianne was supremely gracious at Janette’s whole thing about doing her name in an ‘Aussie’ accent. I’d have just started calling her Janet. Friday, and Adam had been ordered to rest, so Luba had to sit alone on the sofa and talk for both of them.
Week 6 /Halloween special
I spent the whole ‘spooky VT’ thinking it would have been more fun if Arlene, the Jordans or one of Anton’s many hopeless partners had returned.
Tess wore a short and sparkly red dress, Claudia a black, lacy but structured long dress. Shirley was dressed as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Anton as a mad professor, Craig as Snape and Motsi as some kind of spider queen. Craig and Motsi won.
Tess told the last few people who didn’t know that Amanda had withdrawn from the show, and then we got a look at the costumes, most of which were amazing, but I thought ‘dem bones’ and Hansel and Gretel had got the short straws.
Angela S and Carlos opened up with a black swan paso (providing fair warning of the theme week madness that would ensue.) I loved the drama and wondered what the judges would made of it at the same time. Inevitably it was balletic (I’d thought all week from the ITT footage that she wasn’t grounded enough) and referenced the swan thing and that possibly over-rode the paso feel. They’d got their scores up and Anton was already going for the 9 paddle.
Adam and Luba had a wizarding American smooth (she looked so cute as a fake witch in the VT, and Adam showed off a very natty coat). I rolled my eyes at Strictly’s glasses = geeky thing. Anyway, it proved again he’s a ‘ballroom boy’, and I agreed with Motsi that the ballroom foundation of the routine was the best bit. The lifts and accents were fine. Claudia pointed out that that was the highest American Smooth of the series, but that says more about who’s done it before, doesn’t it?
By this point, it was obvious the show has been holding out for theme episodes for the augmented reality. Also, it wasn’t clear if this was the halfway point of the series or not.
Zara and Graziano would be performing the Charleston as skeletons, which made for a weird visual (either they should have been in white bones on black catsuits or she needed some bones painted on her back.) She was clearly trying her best, but was a little stiff (Shirley’s suggestion about angling her body more seemed a good’un.) The scores were not what Zara would have hoped for.
Layton and Nikita would be tangoing vampires (and Layton wore A Coat in the VT). Showed off his flexibility on the steps down to begin and a trick to end. So, it was a battle for dominance before a snack for Layton’s vamp, yes? Was it me, was there a bit where the timing went wrong? The judges pitched in on the footwork and all gave him 9s anyway.
Was Bobby and Dianne’s Hansel and Gretel cha cha a tribute to the Cliftons? Just wondering. He went for it and it’s understandable that his hips were much discussed. A bit disjointed as a routine. It got scores of: 6, 7, 8, 9, I’d have plumped for a 7 or 8, myself.
Krishnan and Lauren had a Jekyll and Hyde Viennese Waltz – excellent make-up. He’s come on (did that spin turn into a lift? Remember when Craig cared about that sort of thing?), it was just a little stiff and he messed up on the ending. Jay had a riposte to Claudia from last week, but the production team had moved on to masks of his face. Bless. His father ended up a little above Zara.
Angela R and Kai were celebrating Halloween by doing a Murder She Wrote cha cha (1, obviously!?!? Maddest concept of the night. 2, so they aren’t doing TV show theme night week again. Phew.) Clever letting her ‘dance’ on the seat for a chunk. Canny choreo all round, somewhat sedate from her, apart from the lifts, while Kai showed how it should have been done (in a ridiculous wig and ‘tache.) I think it was overmarked. And as Claudia pointed out, Craig gave it a higher score than the rest of the judges!?!?
Before Annabel and Johannes did their red baby goats tango, I stared at the inflatable cat in their studio in the VT. I thought the tango was pretty good, although, like all the judges said, I noticed that her quality dropped off towards the end – tiredness? Anton made a good point about it being pretty much a tango from beginning to end, apart from another bit of showing off her flexibility of leg. A little up from last week.
Nigel and Katya’s corpse couple cha cha probably had the choreography of the night for me. I loved it like Tyler’s Halloweeen dance last year for the quirky stylisation, and Nigel owned it, but apparently he made mistakes. Again. So he got the same score as Bobby, which wasn’t terrible, but he could be pushing Layton.
Making up for being overshadowed last week, Ellie and Vito closed with a salsa as green zombies. (I miss them doing ballroom.) It was more like their paso than their samba in that it was very good. I would have loved a little more flow, but she didn’t flag for a second. Two 10s, putting them TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD.
I wonder if Anton will try to keep that 13 paddle for future use (although he’s been restrained on the 10s.) Squizz at the leaderboard made me wonder if I should vote for Angela S or Bobby, but I ended up voting for Ellie (I know, top of the LB, didn’t need to), Nigel (despite the frustration) and Annabel (despite the flagging.)
Results
…opened with the Wednesday themed pro number, which was better than I thought it would be. Loved the style, and although Jowita seemed like the least Wednesday Addams-sque pro, she’s also the tiniest, and they made great use of it. I was worried about who Neil would be, but he was just Neil, while Luba made a stunning Morticia, and Graziano a fine Gomez. They had the budget not just for Thing, but for Thing to interact with Wednesday!Jowita.
Tess was in an off theme green outfit, which I liked less when I realised it was a pantsuit. Claudia stuck to black, but snuck in some shocking pink heels. Motsi was the most boring of the judges.
The recap kind of put the couples into two groups according to which half of the leaderboard they’d been, while emphasising the zombies (Ellie and Vito) and vampires (Layton and Nikita) were the best.
Angela R and Carlos was the first to be called safe, and she would later admit she’d waited for the ‘and Carlos’ before celebrating. But when Annabel and Krishnan were called safe in this group, it all became very interesting, but not for Adam and Luba who were in danger. Shirley trotted out how she couldn’t understand how this show she’s been on for years worked (er, viewers like Krishnan and Annabel more? Also, Adam’s been a bit poorly, probably because he’s overcommitted, which puts in doubts in viewers’ minds? I have further suggestions…) The voting public’s consensus with the judges was always going to snap at some point.
Rick Astley sang a very Rick Astley song, and there was some spiffy dancing. They gave the judges more time to speak and Shirley seemed to suggest that the wardrobe department had been dancing. Craig’s justification for giving Angela R a 9 was something to do with ‘timings’.
Second lot of names, and Bobby would get tortured by the producers’ ‘no particular order.’ But inevitably Zara and Graz were in danger. Motsi gave Zara some blunt reminders that she was in a competition and to dance like it, although, honestly, unless if Adam dropped Luba, he was going to be saved all Halloween long.
Dance-off, and Adam was, again, good. I thought Zara mostly danced her Charleston much better than the first time, but it wasn’t enough. She was clearly upset, although she got to do the impressive lift to Kylie for her last dance.