Strictly Week 13/the Final
Dec. 15th, 2024 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessThe opening VT had all the finalists in white, dancing a little in front of giant screens playing their best bits (don’t know what Chris made of it). JoJo hogged the limelight in the pro group number in the studio, although Amy had her moment to give a smile as if a part of her wasn’t torn.
Enter TessnClaud, then the judges, all doing a boogie and Claudia was so pleased that this time she mostly got it right (thanking the judges for an hour’s tutorial.)
Round 1 was the judges’ pick and a masterclass. JB got Anton for their retooled Viennese Waltz, now with no backing dancers, but I appreciated that it meant even more focus on him and Lauren. His ease of movement was so noticeable. They got a double standing O from the lady judges (but so would most routines.) More importantly, he danced it better enough that he increased on his score of 39, with Craig giving it a 10. Not just any 10, but his hundredth, so Claudia made him come up to the Clauditorium, and then delivered a line that Anton had dished out his hundredth 10 in six weeks (actually, I suspect it would have been at some point in this final, if I remember the stats feature on ITT aright, but of course, Anton has been judging the briefest amount of time.) AND Danny Osborne got name-checked. Heh.
Tasha and Aljiaz would be reprising their couples choice, and had a masterclass from Motsi (who looked so like Oti in her face) focused on expressing emotion. INCREDIBLE lifts, and Tasha was the star of the routine (Aljiaz was pooped.) Craig wanted more ‘earth’, which he always does from her, meaning it still only got a 39, despite improving.
Chris and Dianne would also be reprising their (very different) couples choice and got Craig in, being all businesslike and having to adapt to Chris’s needs. Craig danced it better, although Dianne outdanced him (which hadn’t happened with the first two couples), and I now know the fade to black and return to light midlift had been Chris’s idea. This was when Motsi started crying. Craig gave it an 8, where everyone else gave it a 10, meaning that, as ever, Craig would be the only judge giving us any guidance in the final and giving any reason for there to be a leaderboard.
Sarah got a masterclass on her American Smooth from Shirley who went into a LOT of detail, but also reminded/taught Sarah to breathe. The improvement was visible, and the lift from the cartwheel was particularly better. But then there was a wardrobe malfunction to contend with as soon as the dance was over. Anton is right, she dances with joie de vivre. (Hate to admit it, but Craig was maybe right about a bit of gapping, so he only gave her a 9.) So, she was joint second with Tasha, Chris third, and JB on top – thanks to Craig! – for the only dance without lifts (just saying, although all the lifting was strong.)
I do think the judges’ masterclass added more value (and investment from the visiting judge) than just having them drop in and ‘announce’ something the couple probably already knows. (And they’d had a talk with the judges for the semis.)
Round 2 was the showdance, and the VTs were all about the contestant’s story. I was convinced (more by ITT) that JB’s turning point from came with his couples choice, which is also when Lauren first stepped in. The official narrative is Amy = fundamentals, and the couples choice should have unlocked something in him anyway, but who knows how much of it was Lauren? Still, he has gone from strength to strength since dancing with her.
Their showdance was to a Motown medley (and like all the new routines was well staged.) In a word, it was joyous. I thought it was well-played, loved the style (just a flavour of their couples choice) and it wasn’t overburdened by lifts. The judges used the word ‘groove’ a lot, and Craig and Shirley got into the only spat of the night over whether it was heavy or grounded. Craig thought the first and gave it a 9.
Tasha and Aljiaz were doing a Hollywood Golden Age routine to ‘Too Darn Hot, and it was flawless. I jotted down Cyd Cherisse’s name before Craig namechecked her. It was so classy and sophisticated from Tasha. Deserved full house, and Tasha must have been the only one not to see the reveal of her brother having flown in from Australia coming.
Dianne and Chris’s ‘all the best bits, so mainly ballroom’ showdance was also joyful. Nice highlights, one lift that made me squeak. 8 from Craig.
Sarah and Vito were doing ‘Cabaret’ as a showdance, and it worked, from the big opening to the big finish bringing as much theatricality as the song demanded. She danced with such confidence! (Then she nearly admitted she’d gone wrong somewhere.) Craig complained about not doing the 50s jazz style in one bit and got booed for the longest time on the night. A 9 from him, although I think it was probably worth more than JB’s showdance for the showiness, if not quite up there with Tasha’s routine. Tasha absolutely won that round, although I wasn’t left griping about overambtious choreography for once (coffVitolastyearcoff.)
Round 3: the couples’ favourite dance, and the VT was the couple talking about their partnership. Nice to see Lauren appreciated here, even as we knew that the other couples had been together for the whole thing. Inevitably, they were doing the samba (in the ugly costumes) and it was a celebration. He’s learned to own this, and proved his versatility. Full house.
Tasha was returning to her American Smooth, which was exquisite, what with the shapes she created and because of the flow. It then went up a notch for the lifts, and she and everyone were in bits. (I would counter Anton’s whole best dancer on Strictly ever with Ashley Roberts, who was better at Latin. But surely Tasha will have further opportunities to dance off the back of this.) Of course she had another full house for this, and deserved it.
Chris was, of course, doing his ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ waltz, and his being so moved (as he has been since, what, getting into the semis?) was moving. (Was this the most emotional couples choice round in a finale ever?) It was danced with such meaning, and that moment after he’s danced alone, walks forward and they rejoin is THE moment for them as the couple. Not the lights out. Shirley felt moved to give Dianne a cuddle, leaving Chris standing next to Tess (who I couldn’t fault in this section.) Oh, and Dianne’s parents were in the studio (had they flown in with Tasha’s brother? I’d like to ignore the size of Australia and think so.) I preferred Craig’s hug to his poem. Anyway, the dance broke Craig, because he gave it a 10 too, and I admit I don’t know how you could mark that dance in that moment, but I really don’t know what to make of a broken Craig.
Following that, somehow, was Sarah. They’d chosen the Madonna cha cha (I would have liked them to have reprised their Viennese Waltz or done the Argentine Tango without the wardrobe issue, if I had had a say), and didn’t make a big deal of it being Latin. THE CAPE, THOUGH. It was a delight, even if I felt she got shortchanged by dancing last and the judges feeling they had to celebrate everyone and everything. My theory is that broken!Craig was shamed into giving them a 10 too, so at least everyone had a full house (deserved or not), and the last round made no difference to the ‘for guidance only’ leaderboard.
Ruth Jones as Nessa won the Ts and Cs competition that wasn't happening all night. Laura Kenny must live with the knowledge that she would win a cycling competition. Surely several people commented on the Rob Brydon/Anton Du Beke similarity. I phoned three times for Sarah and Vito, because they’ve been my couple all series. I voted online twice for JB (for his Viennese Waltz and the samba), twice for Tasha (for her showdance and the American Smooth, never mind what I said the rest of the series) and twice for Sarah (because it hadn’t been their night what with the wardrobe malfunction, the whoopsie in the showdance and being made to follow Chris’s waltz.) I kind of did all that knowing that it probably wouldn’t affect the outcome, and not minding. It’s like Bill Bailey only with Rose Ayling-Ellis’s impact, and Chris really, really not knowing what he’d let himself in for, but embracing it. I mostly agreed with Craig’s marking, JB did match Tasha overall, Sarah was not far off them and Chris…has improved his posture, frame and detailing.
The trailer for the 20 years show promised to make up for the surprising lack of celebration and commemoration in this series.
The cast of ’24 reunited and their routine had so much to praise (it started off with ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, which made me hoot ‘Ooh, political!’) like the nod to the missing Paul and Nick (totally don’t blame Nick for trying to avoid further injury.) I understood why they made the choices regarding people’s highlights for this routine, and they gave the better dancers more to do (e.g. getting Pete back in THOSE trousers, but putting ‘MoJo’ in the middle by the end.) Oh, and putting the pros (Carlos and Kai?) in the condiment suits convulsed me.
Then we had another collaboration between Raye and Strictly, which so works. She sang wonderfully, the choreography (especially the chairography) was great. I loved the edge of it, and celebration of women’s power.
Then we had the obligatory public VT where they found someone in the UK tosay that Tom had done the best dance. Er, what? Same to the person who praised the sambathon.
All four finalists joined TessnClaud on the dancefloor for the final announcement, and it was Chris and Dianne, and it was clear that the other finalists had known it was coming as much as we all did. (Dianne’s eye make-up was A1.) They continued to be an emotional mess, but happy ones.
I think that the producers will be delighted by his win, and everyone involved on the show will be mightily relieved that Strictly redeemed itself after the Unpleasantness. Chris was the breakout star from early on, but there was plenty for regulars: four couples through to the final, despite injuries, and probably the right four (if it were purely a dance competition, Montell and JoJo would have been in. But I watched the final with an extra boost of euphoria simply because Pete had been booted off.)
It helped that it was a funny cast (Paul and Pete in their own ways, Wynne, Sarah and Chris – even Aljiaz turned snarky at Craig’s denial of 10s.) The matching of partners was very, very good (whatever happened with Wynne and Katya, aside, and Lauren possibly working out better than Amy, as it ended up.) Best of all were Chris and Dianne, their trust absolutely broke through.
Enter TessnClaud, then the judges, all doing a boogie and Claudia was so pleased that this time she mostly got it right (thanking the judges for an hour’s tutorial.)
Round 1 was the judges’ pick and a masterclass. JB got Anton for their retooled Viennese Waltz, now with no backing dancers, but I appreciated that it meant even more focus on him and Lauren. His ease of movement was so noticeable. They got a double standing O from the lady judges (but so would most routines.) More importantly, he danced it better enough that he increased on his score of 39, with Craig giving it a 10. Not just any 10, but his hundredth, so Claudia made him come up to the Clauditorium, and then delivered a line that Anton had dished out his hundredth 10 in six weeks (actually, I suspect it would have been at some point in this final, if I remember the stats feature on ITT aright, but of course, Anton has been judging the briefest amount of time.) AND Danny Osborne got name-checked. Heh.
Tasha and Aljiaz would be reprising their couples choice, and had a masterclass from Motsi (who looked so like Oti in her face) focused on expressing emotion. INCREDIBLE lifts, and Tasha was the star of the routine (Aljiaz was pooped.) Craig wanted more ‘earth’, which he always does from her, meaning it still only got a 39, despite improving.
Chris and Dianne would also be reprising their (very different) couples choice and got Craig in, being all businesslike and having to adapt to Chris’s needs. Craig danced it better, although Dianne outdanced him (which hadn’t happened with the first two couples), and I now know the fade to black and return to light midlift had been Chris’s idea. This was when Motsi started crying. Craig gave it an 8, where everyone else gave it a 10, meaning that, as ever, Craig would be the only judge giving us any guidance in the final and giving any reason for there to be a leaderboard.
Sarah got a masterclass on her American Smooth from Shirley who went into a LOT of detail, but also reminded/taught Sarah to breathe. The improvement was visible, and the lift from the cartwheel was particularly better. But then there was a wardrobe malfunction to contend with as soon as the dance was over. Anton is right, she dances with joie de vivre. (Hate to admit it, but Craig was maybe right about a bit of gapping, so he only gave her a 9.) So, she was joint second with Tasha, Chris third, and JB on top – thanks to Craig! – for the only dance without lifts (just saying, although all the lifting was strong.)
I do think the judges’ masterclass added more value (and investment from the visiting judge) than just having them drop in and ‘announce’ something the couple probably already knows. (And they’d had a talk with the judges for the semis.)
Round 2 was the showdance, and the VTs were all about the contestant’s story. I was convinced (more by ITT) that JB’s turning point from came with his couples choice, which is also when Lauren first stepped in. The official narrative is Amy = fundamentals, and the couples choice should have unlocked something in him anyway, but who knows how much of it was Lauren? Still, he has gone from strength to strength since dancing with her.
Their showdance was to a Motown medley (and like all the new routines was well staged.) In a word, it was joyous. I thought it was well-played, loved the style (just a flavour of their couples choice) and it wasn’t overburdened by lifts. The judges used the word ‘groove’ a lot, and Craig and Shirley got into the only spat of the night over whether it was heavy or grounded. Craig thought the first and gave it a 9.
Tasha and Aljiaz were doing a Hollywood Golden Age routine to ‘Too Darn Hot, and it was flawless. I jotted down Cyd Cherisse’s name before Craig namechecked her. It was so classy and sophisticated from Tasha. Deserved full house, and Tasha must have been the only one not to see the reveal of her brother having flown in from Australia coming.
Dianne and Chris’s ‘all the best bits, so mainly ballroom’ showdance was also joyful. Nice highlights, one lift that made me squeak. 8 from Craig.
Sarah and Vito were doing ‘Cabaret’ as a showdance, and it worked, from the big opening to the big finish bringing as much theatricality as the song demanded. She danced with such confidence! (Then she nearly admitted she’d gone wrong somewhere.) Craig complained about not doing the 50s jazz style in one bit and got booed for the longest time on the night. A 9 from him, although I think it was probably worth more than JB’s showdance for the showiness, if not quite up there with Tasha’s routine. Tasha absolutely won that round, although I wasn’t left griping about overambtious choreography for once (coffVitolastyearcoff.)
Round 3: the couples’ favourite dance, and the VT was the couple talking about their partnership. Nice to see Lauren appreciated here, even as we knew that the other couples had been together for the whole thing. Inevitably, they were doing the samba (in the ugly costumes) and it was a celebration. He’s learned to own this, and proved his versatility. Full house.
Tasha was returning to her American Smooth, which was exquisite, what with the shapes she created and because of the flow. It then went up a notch for the lifts, and she and everyone were in bits. (I would counter Anton’s whole best dancer on Strictly ever with Ashley Roberts, who was better at Latin. But surely Tasha will have further opportunities to dance off the back of this.) Of course she had another full house for this, and deserved it.
Chris was, of course, doing his ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ waltz, and his being so moved (as he has been since, what, getting into the semis?) was moving. (Was this the most emotional couples choice round in a finale ever?) It was danced with such meaning, and that moment after he’s danced alone, walks forward and they rejoin is THE moment for them as the couple. Not the lights out. Shirley felt moved to give Dianne a cuddle, leaving Chris standing next to Tess (who I couldn’t fault in this section.) Oh, and Dianne’s parents were in the studio (had they flown in with Tasha’s brother? I’d like to ignore the size of Australia and think so.) I preferred Craig’s hug to his poem. Anyway, the dance broke Craig, because he gave it a 10 too, and I admit I don’t know how you could mark that dance in that moment, but I really don’t know what to make of a broken Craig.
Following that, somehow, was Sarah. They’d chosen the Madonna cha cha (I would have liked them to have reprised their Viennese Waltz or done the Argentine Tango without the wardrobe issue, if I had had a say), and didn’t make a big deal of it being Latin. THE CAPE, THOUGH. It was a delight, even if I felt she got shortchanged by dancing last and the judges feeling they had to celebrate everyone and everything. My theory is that broken!Craig was shamed into giving them a 10 too, so at least everyone had a full house (deserved or not), and the last round made no difference to the ‘for guidance only’ leaderboard.
Ruth Jones as Nessa won the Ts and Cs competition that wasn't happening all night. Laura Kenny must live with the knowledge that she would win a cycling competition. Surely several people commented on the Rob Brydon/Anton Du Beke similarity. I phoned three times for Sarah and Vito, because they’ve been my couple all series. I voted online twice for JB (for his Viennese Waltz and the samba), twice for Tasha (for her showdance and the American Smooth, never mind what I said the rest of the series) and twice for Sarah (because it hadn’t been their night what with the wardrobe malfunction, the whoopsie in the showdance and being made to follow Chris’s waltz.) I kind of did all that knowing that it probably wouldn’t affect the outcome, and not minding. It’s like Bill Bailey only with Rose Ayling-Ellis’s impact, and Chris really, really not knowing what he’d let himself in for, but embracing it. I mostly agreed with Craig’s marking, JB did match Tasha overall, Sarah was not far off them and Chris…has improved his posture, frame and detailing.
The trailer for the 20 years show promised to make up for the surprising lack of celebration and commemoration in this series.
The cast of ’24 reunited and their routine had so much to praise (it started off with ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, which made me hoot ‘Ooh, political!’) like the nod to the missing Paul and Nick (totally don’t blame Nick for trying to avoid further injury.) I understood why they made the choices regarding people’s highlights for this routine, and they gave the better dancers more to do (e.g. getting Pete back in THOSE trousers, but putting ‘MoJo’ in the middle by the end.) Oh, and putting the pros (Carlos and Kai?) in the condiment suits convulsed me.
Then we had another collaboration between Raye and Strictly, which so works. She sang wonderfully, the choreography (especially the chairography) was great. I loved the edge of it, and celebration of women’s power.
Then we had the obligatory public VT where they found someone in the UK tosay that Tom had done the best dance. Er, what? Same to the person who praised the sambathon.
All four finalists joined TessnClaud on the dancefloor for the final announcement, and it was Chris and Dianne, and it was clear that the other finalists had known it was coming as much as we all did. (Dianne’s eye make-up was A1.) They continued to be an emotional mess, but happy ones.
I think that the producers will be delighted by his win, and everyone involved on the show will be mightily relieved that Strictly redeemed itself after the Unpleasantness. Chris was the breakout star from early on, but there was plenty for regulars: four couples through to the final, despite injuries, and probably the right four (if it were purely a dance competition, Montell and JoJo would have been in. But I watched the final with an extra boost of euphoria simply because Pete had been booted off.)
It helped that it was a funny cast (Paul and Pete in their own ways, Wynne, Sarah and Chris – even Aljiaz turned snarky at Craig’s denial of 10s.) The matching of partners was very, very good (whatever happened with Wynne and Katya, aside, and Lauren possibly working out better than Amy, as it ended up.) Best of all were Chris and Dianne, their trust absolutely broke through.
