War On The Dancefloor (Series 4) - Show Six
DingDong08
Posts: 8,600 Forum Member
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Good evening to you all, present and correct, and welcome to the sixth live show (and the quarter-final!) of War On The Dancefloor. 
Tonight, our three dazzling couples will each be performing twice, once with a Fusion dance made up of two previously unlearned dances, before all taking part together in a Disco Marathon. Our judges will, as always, be scoring our couples, before you, the audience, will be given the opportunity to vote to keep your favourites out of danger from next week's elimination. ;-) So, are you ready?
Without further ado, please welcome the stars of our show:
Amy (TheAuburnEnigma) & Pasha Kovalev
Myk (ChickenFromKiev) & Natalie Lowe
Ross (Monsieur23) & Iveta Lukosiute
And, of course, we must also welcome our judges for this round:
Queenie (dancing.queen), who is kindly stepping in for Andrew.
Danny (Damahepa)
Izzie (IzzieStar)
Opening the first round of tonight's show, with a Foxtrot/Cha Cha Cha Fusion, are Myk & Natalie!
Tonight, our three dazzling couples will each be performing twice, once with a Fusion dance made up of two previously unlearned dances, before all taking part together in a Disco Marathon. Our judges will, as always, be scoring our couples, before you, the audience, will be given the opportunity to vote to keep your favourites out of danger from next week's elimination. ;-) So, are you ready?
Without further ado, please welcome the stars of our show:
Amy (TheAuburnEnigma) & Pasha Kovalev
Myk (ChickenFromKiev) & Natalie Lowe
Ross (Monsieur23) & Iveta Lukosiute
And, of course, we must also welcome our judges for this round:
Queenie (dancing.queen), who is kindly stepping in for Andrew.
Danny (Damahepa)
Izzie (IzzieStar)
Opening the first round of tonight's show, with a Foxtrot/Cha Cha Cha Fusion, are Myk & Natalie!
0
Comments
Explanation: After searching for various songs to suit a more unique style of fusion, I found out that the dances I was planning on using were not allowed to be used.
I need a chance to prove myself in the competition and to make myself stand out. Cha Cha and Foxtrot aren't two dances that go all that well together, in all honesty, but the beauty of this song is that it helps combine both styles without making both sections completely different and feeling like two completely different routines. While there were many safer options, whether they were available to me or not, I wish to be seen as a risk taker in this competition, and while you may believe that the two dances don't accompany each other well, I believe that this sort of song does help the two dances gel together in a way that can make this performance more memorable.
Male Costume: The male will be wearing a smart blue, long sleeved shirt, buttoned to the top with a regular smart collar. The collar he is wearing will be trimmed with lighter blue "X"s, and he will be wearing a tie with both shades of blue. At the beginning, the male will be wearing sunglasses and lying down on a chair, where his dark blue ballroom shoes are clearly visible, with the word "COOL" on the bottom, with clip art of sunglasses making the "OO". After the routine begins, he takes his sunglasses off as the female walks past, and the dark blue ballroom trousers are revealed, with no further embellishments.
Female Costume: Meanwhile, the female will be wearing a sea green coloured dress, with long sleeves and gloves for the beginning Foxtrot section. This dress has a 'sweetheart' neckline, which is embellished with blue crystals all around, fading into the centre of the dress. It'll have a full skirt of the same colour, and is also covered in blue crystals that shimmer in the light, like the sea does in the moon at night. The shoes are green high heels, once again, covered in blue crystals. Her hair is done as usual, but with a hair-band so it is tied into a ponytail.
However, about halfway through the routine, when it enters the Cha Cha Cha section, the full skirt is ripped off and a swimsuit-type dress is revealed. It is in the same colour - the sea green - and still has all the blue crystals, but the sleeves and gloves are now off, and the trims are embellished with larger, lighter blue crystals. Her hair is now out of the ponytail and is free, like other similar Latin dances.
Queenie: 5
Danny: 6
Izzie: 7
A somewhat mixed opinion from our panel there, with a harsh five from Queenie contrasting with a generous seven from Izzie, meaning that Myk manages to pick up a total of 18!
Queenie's Comment: Fusion weeks are hard, I understand that, but to me the song didn’t resemble a Foxtrot at all. I could imagine it being suitable for a Cha Cha Cha but unless Dave Arch’s wonderful, wonderful orchestra have some sort of Foxtrot remix for this song, I don’t think it would work. Additionally, the explanation bordered on sob story for me, I’d have liked to see a bit less of that and more detail put into your costumes! It was a decent performance nevertheless, and you clearly put effort in to it so well done for that!
Performing a Viennese Waltz/Paso Doble Fusion next are Amy & Pasha!
Tbf, your first guess was best. If it had been a Tango/Cha Cha my score would have been a fair bit higher!
Explanation: Erm, I was struggling that much? No, I did decide to go with this in the end as the choruses and middle section did sound quite Paso-y, whilst the verses do (sort of) suit a VW. The way I see it, it's sort of like stages of self-loathing - the softer verses when you're feeling sorry for yourself, and the brasher choruses for when you're angry because you feel so sorry for yourself. The music is also like a bullfight in itself: slowly building up, with hints of tension, then reaching the main event (middle section) before going to the climax (final chorus and end). It could also represent a fight between lovers.
Male Costume: The male is initially wearing a white suit jacket and trousers, with a black silk shirt underneath. The shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and is made to look as though it is buttoned going down, although it actually isn't (the female 'rips' it open at the start of the second chorus). He is wearing two-tone black and white shoes, and has a black trilby-style hat with a white sash (which he removes at the start of the second chorus), with his hair being slicked back underneath.
Female Costume: At the beginning, the female is wearing an all-white 'dress' (which is really a white top and skirt). The top has a sweetheart neckline with spaghetti straps, and the skirt is ankle-length, with ruffled layers, and black roses on each alternate layer. The skirt is made of a heavy material as it has to hide the Paso skirt underneath (the white skirt gets removed halfway through the second chorus, and is attached by a hook and eye to one side of the female, so that after it is removed, the couple can use it as a makeshift cape). The Paso skirt is mostly black, and made of a light material so that when the female spins, you can see the flashes of white on the underneath. The skirt reaches a few inches above ankle length, and has slits going up to around thigh-length either side. The female is wearing black shoes, and her hair is arranged into a 'half-up, half-down' style with small black and white roses running through it. She has smoky eye make-up with a nude lipstick.
Queenie: 7
Danny: 5
Izzie: 8
Danny not quite following the pack there, with a mean ole’ five, while the others are more impressed, with Izzie dishing out an eight - overall, though, Amy finds herself with a total of 20!
Izzie's Comment: After the initial shock of seeing these two dances paired, I actually thought you did a good job of fusing two un-fusible dances! The VW sections could have had a little more drive to them, in the music, and perhaps the same could apply to the Paso sections too, but it certainly did make for a Paso Doble/Viennese Waltz fusion, which I never thought I would see happen, so well done for that! Onto the costumes, and I wasn't overly keen on the male costume, I must say. I think, despite the shirt rip, it was a bit 'formal' for a Paso Doble. Now, I did appreciate the female costume a little more, and I see how you used the black and white to represent the juxtaposition of the two dance styles. It would perhaps have been nice for a slight hint of colour in there, perhaps incorporated into the Paso outfit. However, I thought this was incredibly innovative. Well done!
And closing our first round of competition, with a Foxtrot/Rumba Fusion, are Ross & Iveta!
I was gonna do that but I'd done a Tango.
I also had a really good choice for a Cha Cha/Argentine Tango Fusion but no.
I'm surprised mine wasn't the hot mess that I thought it would be - thanks Iz and Queenie! (The Bard, as punishment, has to come and do my job for a day, he'll see the error of his ways soon enough
Basically with mine, I spent about 2 hours on YT, couldn't find anything, so it was either that, or 'cheat' and try and find one that had been done before.......
Explanation: Once I settled on this fusion of dances, I knew what I had to find. Both dances suit the "contempo-“ prefix beautifully, so I needed a song that was simultaneously powerful and emotive, but stripped-back enough to not overpower the dancing. The dance has a rise and fall throughout, which suits the Foxtrot, but also has a defined enough beat for the Rumba. The sections without a defined beat “Oh and if I had a brain...” can still be used for both dances, as the timing stays pretty much even, but the contempo-Rumtrot feel of the routine means that these beatless sections can be used for emotional contemporary choreography as well, such as drags, dips, embraces etc.
The costumes for the routine are purposefully quite simple, as the emotion of the routine is the driving force, and a glitzy, showy dress or shirt would distract from the intensity of the dance, and clash with the stripped-back nature of the song. I’m imagining the dancefloor lit by an amber light from the stage (“a thousand slowly dying sunsets”), so while the costumes are grey they’ll appear more taupe in the light.
Female Costume: The female’s costume will be a high-low hemmed babydoll dress, with spaghetti straps, an empire waistline, and a sweetheart neckline, and a hem that comes down to the upper mid-thigh at the front, and just below the knee at the back. The high-low hem allows the dress to function as a ballroom dress when in hold, with a semi-long skirt, but a shorter Latin dress from the front for the Rumba. The dress will be constructed in cinereous grey chiffon, reflecting the mournful, sorrowful tone of the routine, and also allowing for a beautiful sense of movement in the dress; I’m imagining a routine with a lot of spins in and out of hold, and drags, and drops, so a light, flowing material is perfect for the dress. The bottom hem of the dress will be undecorated, with a simple hem, to further the airy nature of the dress - a bias binding or edging would weigh the material down. The hem of the neckline, along with the spaghetti straps, will be a fraction darker than the main body of the dress, a dim grey, with the neckline achieving this through a lace bias binding, about ½ inch. The one piece of slightly showy embellishment on the dress will be from the waistline to the neckline, where there will be a fine scattering of grey Swarovski crystals, approximately one shade darker than the chiffon of the dress, just to catch the light and add a tiny bit of signature Strictly sparkle.
The female’s shoes will be the same slightly darker grey as the crystals, and will be suede pumps with ankle strap fastenings, and very little embellishment. They will have a 2.5 inch heel, which should be suitable for both the Latin Rumba and the Ballroom Foxtrot sections. Her hair will be down, tousled, to allow for movement, and her make-up will be very subtle; soft pink lips, only very subtle, sympathetic brown eye-liner, and some lightly applied taupe eye-shadow. Her nails will be painted a neutral grey, and the only jewellery the female will wear will be some clip-on earrings, simple grey pearl studs.
Male Costume: As with the female, the male’s costume has to suit both Ballroom and Latin, but luckily both dances are quite elegant and the routine itself has a coherent theme, so it isn't too difficult. The male will wear a long-sleeved dress shirt and Latin trousers, with the shirt’s top 3 buttons undone. The dress shirt will be the same ash-grey of the female’s dress, in cotton, and the buttons will be the same darker grey of her dress’ crystals, both to unite the two costumes thematically and to stop the buttons spoiling the simplicity of the shirt; if they were black, or white, they would stand out too much. The shirt will be tucked into the trousers, and the reason I decided to do this rather than have it untucked is that, while having the shirt untucked would continue the idea of movement and fluidity, this sort of lyrical, emotive dance usually has the female as the painting and the male as the frame, as it were, so his costume should be a tad simpler (and also an untucked shirt would look horrible in Foxtrot hold).
The male’s trousers will be dark grey Latin trousers (which are usually manufactured out of a fabric called gabardine for toughness, fun fact), with a satin stripe down the outside leg in the same colour. The reason I went for Latin trousers rather than Ballroom is that, while Latin trousers would be perfectly fine for a Foxtrot, Ballroom trousers wouldn’t have the correct fit necessary to showcase the hip action of the Rumba.
The male’s shoes will be dark grey matte leather, with a 1.5 inch Cuban heel, which, again, shouldn't be too high for a Foxtrot, but will allow for the correct foot and leg action in the Rumba sections. Finally, the male’s hair will be left pretty much unstyled, a bit messy, to match the female’s, and in terms of make-up it’s quite similar to the female once more (sans lipstick and eye-shadow); a little light brown eye-liner, just for definition.
Queenie: 9
Danny: 10 (:o)
Izzie: 10 (:o)
Holy cheeseballs is all I can say.
Danny's Comment: I think emotional, softer fusions almost bleed into Contemporary, indeed a dismantled Rumba is pretty much a contemporary starting point, therefore I think they make easier fusions than the more upbeat mixes. That said, you nailed it. The free flowing nature of the Foxtrot slowed and infused with the emotion of the Rumba is such a sentimental story through dance, and the song is able to capture that beautifully. The detail of the dress is flawless, the storyline is fabulous, you know I love it when the details are expanded upon, and really, I can't think of how I'd improve this...
So, after the Fusion dances have all been performed, let's take a quick peek at the current leaderboard... ;-)
2nd - Amy & Pasha - 20
3rd - Myk & Natalie - 18
Despite one couple taking an early lead, there's still all to play for going into the second round of tonight's show, the Disco Marathon. ;-)
So, will you please welcome back to the floor our three couples: Amy & Pasha, Myk & Natalie and Ross & Iveta!
Well done Ross *grumble*
Oh, trust me, you're not the only one!
I was half-tempted to knock an incredibly bitter mark off for nicking my (not-so) safely stowed away Rumba/Foxtrot song!
Section 1 (0:00 - 1:01) - Myk & Natalie
0:00 - 0:14: With the male on the left and the female on the right, the couple both skip onto the dancefloor whilst clapping their hands in time. Once reaching the middle of the stage, the male picks up the female and lifts her over his head. Then, they do the Salsa move I have no clue how to explain, so think the beginning of Mark & Karen's iconic Salsa. In the last few seconds of this segment, the couple high-five multiple times, before separating again to begin the proper Disco dancing.
0:14 - 0:22: The female does the 'I'm watching you' Disco move, to which the male responds with the 'Jolly Jaywalker'. The female does an over-the-top rolling her eyes and scoffing move, followed by the 'Diva Dance Instructor'.
0:22 - 0:29: The male then performs the 'Scared Sh*tless' move. On each of the "Relax" lines, the male picks up the female and swings her around in a circle once - slightly closer to the ground the second time.
0:29 - 0:43: The female then sarcastically acts as if she is in love with the male, then performing the 'Sad Split'. The couple then pulls themselves close to each other, and the male swings the female downwards (this is a common Strictly move but again, I don't know what it's called or how to explain it) twice - going each way. They then perform the 'Giddy-Down' together, before performing cartwheels on both "Relax" lines again.
0:43 - 1:01: This is the part where the couple breaks into a Samba section, while performing Samba rolls and several other common Samba moves. Finally, they spin around and the male swings the female onto the floor. However, she acts as if she has hit her head too hard, and this forces the pair to walk off the stage awkwardly.
I'm Watching You: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-1216-1362788491-3.gif
Jolly Jaywalker: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-14988-1362788405-6.gif
Diva Dance Instructor: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-1966-1362788809-4.gif
Scared Sh*tless: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-14806-1362788419-3.gif
Sad Split: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-1290-1362788729-9.gif
Giddy-Down: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/3/8/19/anigif_enhanced-buzz-1216-1362788491-3.gif
Section 2 (1:02 - 2:01) - Ross & Iveta
1:02 - 1:08: The male walks on carrying the female above his head in the Dirty Dancing lift from opposite the judge’s table, and spins once on the lyric “while we’re dancing" (8 counts), before the male extends his right leg behind him, and female performs a front walkover out of the lift using the extended leg as a support, and both perform a chaine turn to face each other (8 counts).
1:08 - 1:16: Both dancers extend the chaine turns into an extended series of hip rotations, with two slow and 4 fast, completing a full rotation on the spot (8 counts), then both couples perform a hustle forward basic (4 counts), and then the male leads the female in a series of underarms turns while her performs a hustle backward basic (4 counts).
1:16 - 1:24: The male spins the female into a cuddle as if performing an Around The World, but instead perform a Can Opener lift with Handstand Exit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Y_0Jliz64) (16 counts).
1:24 - 1:32: The female continues the handstand exit into a dip, supported by the male (2 counts), and spins out into a Salsa back basic and spin so that female and male are in shadow position, male behind female (6 counts). The couple then perform opposite direction Travolta Saturday Night Fever pointing (8 counts).
1:32 - 1:39: Both dancers use the impetus of the last Travolta to spin out in opposite directions and perform a clap (4 counts), then perform a forward hustle basic at an angle so that they come together at the end (4 counts). The female is then led in an underarm spin past the male and into a dip, then up again and spinning out again (8 counts).
1:39 - 1:46: The female struts away funkily with the male following (4 counts), and is then back-flipped from behind over the male’s shoulder in one swift movement with the male bending down to ease her passage (4 counts). Both dancers then spin clockwise, with the female travelling a fraction more than the male so they end up side by side, the female performs a New Yorker style arm extension as she is pulled back by the male, and just as she returns she performs uses the momentum to perform a Back Catch - where the dancer stands on one leg, and kicks the other leg up and back while at the same time reaching their arms over their head to catch it, and the male puts his head through the gap created (8 counts).
1:46 - 1:54: The male spins, with no hands supporting the female, with the female wrapping the leg she isn't holding around the male and extending her arm that isn't holding her leg straight up (if that makes sense; the male is basically wearing the female like a sash) (12 counts), and the female then lets go of the leg and lands in an underarm spin out (4 counts).
1:54 - 2:01: The male struts funkily towards the middle of the dancefloor, turning to face the female (2 counts), before the female runs at him and is lifted back into the Dirty Dancing lift from the beginning, being carried off the dancefloor in the upper left corner of the dancefloor (14 counts).
Section 3 (2:02 - 2:48) - Amy & Pasha
2:02 - 2:16: For the first line, we are side-by-side, putting our 'outside' (i.e. nearest to audience) leg forward and then back, doing 2 facing to the left to start with, and then turning and doing another 2 but this time to the right (you see this in a Cha Cha Cha sometimes) and our upper bodies are 'grooving' along. Then we do 'Night Fever' where we point once to the sky, then down to the ground then up to the sky again, whilst our feet are doing a step out, then back in, then a quick out-close-out. The second line is taken up by doing 2 of these, one to the right, and then one to the left. For the third line we both turn to face the left (audience's left) and body shake our way up the floor a bit, with a step, close, and then 2 quick step-closes. For the last line we turn to face the front and walk forward for 4 beats whilst bringing our hands up from either side to reach the sky, and then we do 2 hip twist-turns, one to reach the back, and one to turn to the front again, with our arms twisting in the same way.
2:17 - 2:30: We do 4 step-ball changes, turning to our right with each one to reach the front again after 4. Then, we do a lift that involves me going into a cartwheel supported by my partner, then my body going to the left hand side between his legs (me still facing the front), and then him quickly switching hands, swinging his right leg over me and turning me to face the left so that I can push off of the floor and rise to my feet. For the next 2 lines we do a bit of slowed-down Salsa armography, timed to fit with the music.
2:31 - 2:43: We do 2 hip thrusts, 1 to each side, with our arms crossing in front of us and then moving apart when our hips thrust forwards; and then we shake our hips to the right 4 times, with our right arm 'clicking' downwards each time. We then do 4 New Yorkers, one to the front, one to the back, and then 2 to the front. The next line involves us turning to the left and moonwalking across the stage.
2:44 - 2:48: I take 2 steps backwards and jump so that I'm sideways in my partner's arms (he turns to the front to catch me when I jump), we then proceed to do an 'around the world' lift and he then rotates me once more so that when the music stops, I'm lying against his right side with my legs facing the back and my torso facing the audience, and I bring my arms down either side of my head.
(Section 4, lasting from 2:49 - 3:33, was Callum's allocated section. ;-))
A hugely entertaining performance from everyone, so well done to the three of you.
Finishing in second place, and receiving three extra points from the judges, are...
Which means that the winners of tonight's Disco Marathon, and receiving five extra points from the judges, are...
While we let those results sink in for our couples, let's see what each judge personally thought of that group performance. ;-)
Queenie’s Comment: For me, it was very easy to decide which I would place last. Section 1 was basically a list of GIFs taken from the internet with a few adjoining sentences to make it a routine. I didn’t really feel as if the choreography had been explained, more presented.
Section 2 and Section 3 were very close, but ultimately I decided to go for Section 3 for the five points because the choreography was explained very well so it was clear immediately what was going on, and the pacing was better in Section 3 I thought.
Section 2, although explained well, was very fast paced and I’m not sure that you could fit everything in effectively in the few seconds the dance was split up into.
Danny’s Comment: The winner for me was the first section. The detail in the choreography was splendid! It's not often you learn something as a judge but the detail provided gave me a real insight into what you were hoping to do with a dance style that's so easy to be drunk dad at the wedding!
The third section felt slightly more confused and chaotic than the others, hence I put it last. It didn't feel overly certain of what it was doing, and doubt is always poisonous to performance!
The second section was a happy medium, clear, distinct movements, not quite as visceral as the first section, but more decisive and technical than section 3.
Izzie’s Comment: There was a little bit of chopping and changing with my order of preference in this routine, but I have to say the second section stood out for me from first viewing. Perhaps my fellow judges will disagree, but I actually really liked this quite 'slick' approach to Disco and thought the way you incorporated styles you've already learnt from other dances was a wise move. I could have perhaps done with a few less beats of Dirty Dancing lift, but this section still stood out for me and it's certainly a crowd-pleaser. Onto the first and third sections and this was where it was really tough for me, there was very little between them. In the end, section three just had the edge for me because, again, it felt a little slicker. Section one, for me, although it really embraced the Disco spirit, was perhaps a bit too funky in places - and I could have easily lived without the overused 'sassy female toys with male's emotions' storyline.
After adding on those bonus points, let's have a look at this round's final leaderboard... ;-)
Still great jobs all round though.
2nd - Amy & Pasha - 20 + 3 = 23
3rd - Myk & Natalie - 18 + 1 = 19
Though it would be difficult to deny just how much fun the Disco Marathon, it actually didn't change the leaderboard one bit.
Please rank the couples from 3 (your favourite) to 1 (your least favourite) and PM these to me by 6:00pm tomorrow, when the lines will close and the details of next round's fast-approaching semi-final will be revealed. ;-)
Thank you very much for watching, and remember: keep dancing. ;-)
Amended.
Just to say, there's a reason why I don't ever have a Fusion week in RC
And also, there was another song that I had in mind, but I couldn't see it going with any of the dances I had to pick one, so should I get that far, it will be my Showdance
Humungous thanks, judges!
1)
And here I was thinking I was being original!
2)
That strikes me as very much a "9 from Craig worth more than a 10 from another judge" situation, so thanks.
3)
There's a reason I chose to get the Viennese Waltz out of the way quickly, having done the Waltz Week 1 - they're hell for Fusions...
4)
Seeing as, up until about 6 hours before the deadline, I had a "Quickstep/Rumba" Fusion (...), I'd say "trial and error".
5)
Bugger.
6)
Once again, huge thanks, judges - I absolutely adored this routine as soon as I got the idea for it, so it's really good to see it actually do well.
Please do not try to vote as it will not be counted. ;-)
Details regarding the semi-final will be posted later tonight... sorry.