Strictly Week 4
Oct. 13th, 2024 08:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessApparently there’s going to be another theme week to celebrate the show being 20. It’s going to be ‘icon week’, whatever that means (fights over who gets to be Madonna? JoJo has apparently already nabbed Beyonce for the pros' routine.) At least it’s not TV theme songs 2. Although they said on Friday’s It Takes Two that Nick would be dancing, I didn’t believe it until it happened.
Craig and Motsi were in complimentary colours, as were Shirley and Anton. I thought Paul, Karen and Katya won on the wardrobe front.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if we’d had a post movie week drop off, but in the main, we didn’t. The exceptions scoring wise were Punam (not a surprise) and Sarah (perhaps a surprise.) Nick got through it uninjured, so that counts as a win.
Chronologically, then, Shayne’s cha cha showed some nice ease of moment, and was definitely an improvement from his last Latin dance. The judges’ comments made sense.
After a surprisingly emosh VT, Sarah was dancing a foxtrot (and was emotional at the end). While it wasn’t her best, Craig’s 6 felt harsh. I suspected it already, but this confirmed to me that I’ve taken to this pairing hard.
Nick and his dodgy knee were doing a carryover from movie week with his Paddington Charleston. It felt underpowered – it’s not good that I clocked that the mop sticks were glittery. He’s in a weird place, because he’s been injured twice and because of the bye last week, people have got out of the habit for voting for him, and with a score of 21, he’d need it.
Despite the sparkles on his shirt, Jamie’s look (the collar! The socks!) was screaming Englishman on holidays abroad to me, but then he started dancing his salsa, it was what we’ve been waiting for from him, loose but controlled. I thought that there were a couple of hesitations in the lifts, but I agreed wholeheartedly that it was his best dance.
Katya the choreographer struck again for Wynne’s tango. There was a clear narrative throughout, which helped him, I think, but the judges were happy with the dancing too. Like Jamie, he got a couple of 9s.
Would Punam be able to carry last week’s energy into her jive? The fact that Gorka’s shirt was barely there didn’t inspire confidence. I thought it was better than the cha cha, and certainly the kick section towards the end, but then the judges started talking about mistakes. What a moment for Tess not to hear Craig’s downer of a last line, after a fairly devastating critique. 20 – ouch.
Paul followed with a quickstep, and clever Karen, delaying the proper dancing for as long as possible, clever her in what she gave him to do when it did start, but he did show improvement in a routine with fewer gimmicks. I found it rather charming, and the judges responded by treating him seriously. (Anton went overboard in giving him a 7, mind.)
Interesting wife coaching/licence to go for it for JB in the VT, and we learned that it was Amy’s first rumba with a partner on the show. The music was great, part of setting a sultry mood (although I thought the studio audience could have usefully dialled it down.) Pretty good for a week 4 male rumba, and the first routine where they drew me in as a pairing.
Chris was doing an Australian themed salsa, which was a mad concoction, which is very Strictly, very them. Fast and furious, if messier overall than Jamie’s salsa, although I thought the lifts were better. Heh, Aussie!Craig turned up, while Motsi gave fair warning that the judges will be banging on about his posture soon. (But Toyah thinks he’ll win, and Amy getting on the front pages aside, he’s the breakout star so far this year.)
Montell got into her Viennese Waltz much more quickly than most celebs, and it was much better than her tango, so graceful and light. (Anton pointed out that this was her third ballroom dance, which probably helped here.) Deservedly towards the higher reaches of the leaderboard.
Nikita can’t wait for some distance from his Shakira booboo, I imagine. Anyway, despite the hideous pattern on their outfits, I watched Sam’s samba with a growing smile. I loved how big she went, building on the paso.
Pete showed some pretty decent quality in his quickstep, but I was longing for him to smile. Nonetheless, he got an 8 for Shirley (and ended up scoring more that Sam AND Sarah!)
Closing it all out was Tasha’s Charleston, and I found the song a bit mentally dissonant for a Charleston (plus the use of ‘selfie’ footage from their camera did not work for me at all.) And…yeah, it looked like a pro dancer doing a style they’re not used to – very well (although is it me, was it a bit too neat for much of it?) So, yeah, she got the first 10s of the series, cue delirium in the studio, but it was eminently predictable that she’d be the first to get 10s. She’s doing better than last year’s ringer (Layton), but for me, I’m completely discounting them from the competition, their scores are going to get them all the way to the final, we all know it. It’s like exhibition dancing, a whole separate thing. I hope that she inspires kids with cochlear implants or other disabilities…
From what I took in from the leaderboard, Tasha was in a class of her own, although having got 39, she’s now shut off the ‘improvement’ narrative. The couples in the 30s must have been happy, although if you had 30 or something in the high 20s, you were in the middle of the leaderboard. It was clear that the judges thought Punam, Nick and Paul were the worst in that order. We shall see how much Punam’s couples choice being a moment helps her, how much his injury woes have garnered sympathy for Nick and whether Paul’s improvement would be recognised. (Will also throw in that Shayne and Sarah won’t have been helped by dancing so early, perhaps.)
I was very torn about voting. I liked Jamie’s salsa and Wynne’s routine a lot, and if they hadn’t been joint second, or if I’d had five votes, I’d have voted for them. Despite hating the girlish nature of what they put Montell in (the skirt was just right though), I voted for her, and because Sam’s dance made me happy, I voted for her, and because she’d had a disappointing night by her standards, but is still a lovely dancer, I voted for Sarah. And I am aware that I keep voting for Montell and Johannes, and Sarah and Vito, and that could get to be a habit.
Craig and Motsi were in complimentary colours, as were Shirley and Anton. I thought Paul, Karen and Katya won on the wardrobe front.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if we’d had a post movie week drop off, but in the main, we didn’t. The exceptions scoring wise were Punam (not a surprise) and Sarah (perhaps a surprise.) Nick got through it uninjured, so that counts as a win.
Chronologically, then, Shayne’s cha cha showed some nice ease of moment, and was definitely an improvement from his last Latin dance. The judges’ comments made sense.
After a surprisingly emosh VT, Sarah was dancing a foxtrot (and was emotional at the end). While it wasn’t her best, Craig’s 6 felt harsh. I suspected it already, but this confirmed to me that I’ve taken to this pairing hard.
Nick and his dodgy knee were doing a carryover from movie week with his Paddington Charleston. It felt underpowered – it’s not good that I clocked that the mop sticks were glittery. He’s in a weird place, because he’s been injured twice and because of the bye last week, people have got out of the habit for voting for him, and with a score of 21, he’d need it.
Despite the sparkles on his shirt, Jamie’s look (the collar! The socks!) was screaming Englishman on holidays abroad to me, but then he started dancing his salsa, it was what we’ve been waiting for from him, loose but controlled. I thought that there were a couple of hesitations in the lifts, but I agreed wholeheartedly that it was his best dance.
Katya the choreographer struck again for Wynne’s tango. There was a clear narrative throughout, which helped him, I think, but the judges were happy with the dancing too. Like Jamie, he got a couple of 9s.
Would Punam be able to carry last week’s energy into her jive? The fact that Gorka’s shirt was barely there didn’t inspire confidence. I thought it was better than the cha cha, and certainly the kick section towards the end, but then the judges started talking about mistakes. What a moment for Tess not to hear Craig’s downer of a last line, after a fairly devastating critique. 20 – ouch.
Paul followed with a quickstep, and clever Karen, delaying the proper dancing for as long as possible, clever her in what she gave him to do when it did start, but he did show improvement in a routine with fewer gimmicks. I found it rather charming, and the judges responded by treating him seriously. (Anton went overboard in giving him a 7, mind.)
Interesting wife coaching/licence to go for it for JB in the VT, and we learned that it was Amy’s first rumba with a partner on the show. The music was great, part of setting a sultry mood (although I thought the studio audience could have usefully dialled it down.) Pretty good for a week 4 male rumba, and the first routine where they drew me in as a pairing.
Chris was doing an Australian themed salsa, which was a mad concoction, which is very Strictly, very them. Fast and furious, if messier overall than Jamie’s salsa, although I thought the lifts were better. Heh, Aussie!Craig turned up, while Motsi gave fair warning that the judges will be banging on about his posture soon. (But Toyah thinks he’ll win, and Amy getting on the front pages aside, he’s the breakout star so far this year.)
Montell got into her Viennese Waltz much more quickly than most celebs, and it was much better than her tango, so graceful and light. (Anton pointed out that this was her third ballroom dance, which probably helped here.) Deservedly towards the higher reaches of the leaderboard.
Nikita can’t wait for some distance from his Shakira booboo, I imagine. Anyway, despite the hideous pattern on their outfits, I watched Sam’s samba with a growing smile. I loved how big she went, building on the paso.
Pete showed some pretty decent quality in his quickstep, but I was longing for him to smile. Nonetheless, he got an 8 for Shirley (and ended up scoring more that Sam AND Sarah!)
Closing it all out was Tasha’s Charleston, and I found the song a bit mentally dissonant for a Charleston (plus the use of ‘selfie’ footage from their camera did not work for me at all.) And…yeah, it looked like a pro dancer doing a style they’re not used to – very well (although is it me, was it a bit too neat for much of it?) So, yeah, she got the first 10s of the series, cue delirium in the studio, but it was eminently predictable that she’d be the first to get 10s. She’s doing better than last year’s ringer (Layton), but for me, I’m completely discounting them from the competition, their scores are going to get them all the way to the final, we all know it. It’s like exhibition dancing, a whole separate thing. I hope that she inspires kids with cochlear implants or other disabilities…
From what I took in from the leaderboard, Tasha was in a class of her own, although having got 39, she’s now shut off the ‘improvement’ narrative. The couples in the 30s must have been happy, although if you had 30 or something in the high 20s, you were in the middle of the leaderboard. It was clear that the judges thought Punam, Nick and Paul were the worst in that order. We shall see how much Punam’s couples choice being a moment helps her, how much his injury woes have garnered sympathy for Nick and whether Paul’s improvement would be recognised. (Will also throw in that Shayne and Sarah won’t have been helped by dancing so early, perhaps.)
I was very torn about voting. I liked Jamie’s salsa and Wynne’s routine a lot, and if they hadn’t been joint second, or if I’d had five votes, I’d have voted for them. Despite hating the girlish nature of what they put Montell in (the skirt was just right though), I voted for her, and because Sam’s dance made me happy, I voted for her, and because she’d had a disappointing night by her standards, but is still a lovely dancer, I voted for Sarah. And I am aware that I keep voting for Montell and Johannes, and Sarah and Vito, and that could get to be a habit.
