I loved the dance thought it was beautiful.Thought the lift was executed well and was a good one but I didn't think it should have been in this dance. It just didn't seem to match with the grace and romance that the rest of the dance gave.

If they wanted to show Natalie "looking over the rainbow" or whatever, I think it would've been quite beautiful to put her on Ricky's shoulder as though "flying" and spin her around that way, instead of having her on her side, and stiff as a plank of wood.

I agree with Len

Spectacular lift but didn't sit well in that particular dance.

Well the judges get very picky on the AS lifts. I remember CRH criticising Rachel and Vincent's lift and of course, the Kenny Logan 'one hander' lift.

I actually didnt like the first lift, it was pointless. She could have placed herself sitting on Ricky's shoulders instead, that would have looked graceful.

As someone who does know about dancing, I am starting to seriously question whether Len does know what he's talking about - maybe he keeps his marbles in the same jar as his walnuts.

Natalie let Ricky down with that one, it had the potential to be a 9 and 3 10s and she blew it.....she is so desperate to get the elusive 4 10s (that Ali already has and which must have her sticking pins in a figure of Brian every morning) that she is dropping the ball. The only routine she has got bang on was the quickstep. Last night it should definately have been a case of less is more and I dont believe for a minute that she only did it for the public she stuffed up and she knew it.

Absolutely, CRH interpretation was ridiculous - talk about 'literal'. It looked frightening and ugly and incongruous to me. It was totally wrong for the mood of the piece.


It came across as a desperate gimmick - and Ricky certainly does deserve better. It was like the dance descended into a circus act.

The lift was performed beautifully but out of place in the American Smooth.

I thought it was very out of place in the dance ; the dance itself was very low key and a understated , it was all building up to that lift .

I will be interested in Karen's take .

The only good thing about the lift was that you couldn't see her ET style face as she spun

It looked like a farmer lifting a bag of potatoes. Had no grace or style.

As an over-sensitive Ricky W fan I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Len. It was a beautiful lift but, it didn't fit in with the dance. However, I also thought it showed two things about the pair:
[list]Ricky W isn't that confident of getting to the final. Like Natalie and Craig (and I'm sure several others) he had a specific goal when accepting his invitation to SCD. Natalie's was to Jive, Craig's Blackpool, and Ricky's was to do a lift. Finding out that he would only be able to do it in the final had to make sure he done one in the only dance which would allow him to do so.[/list][list]Natalie is realising that the viewers are just as important as Len! She admitted that she knew Len would hate it but, wanted something spectacular for the viewing public. If that is the case, we might just make a "proper" SCD pro. out of her after all. [/list]

It wasn't even well-executed. He travelled a lot across the floor and I'm sure that was not choreographed. You should be able to turn on a sixpence - not roam halfway to Coventry.

The finish of the lift was lovely. The actuallift I am on Lens side. Over the rainbow isn't about the Cow jumping over the moon it's an emotional thought process and required a beautiful lift - perhaps the flying one Camilla was so fond of, something flying and floaty. I also thought the dress was the wrong colour and needed softening but that'snot really fair to bring into judgement.

So, yes I thought it a rubbish lift for the song, but liked the dismounty thing.

Ricky needed a WOW American Smooth and he could have delivered it.Most of the best ones come from the big band songs from the musicals. He could have blown us away with something like Brendan and Kellys or Erin and Colins, American Smooths. I was disappointed. Lucky for him I didn;t like many of last nights so he was no more bbblllleeeeuuugh than anyone else.

I thought the dance itself was good; the lift was out of place and ruined the flow of the dance; but for me this wasn't an AS...I expected something with a 'big band/big production feel' to it.

I thought the dance was very nice, and the lift was exceptional BUT ...

The lifts that are allowed in Strictly's versions of AS are usually smaller lifts, such as the first one they did which was quite beautiful, so the second 'big' lift was out of keeping.

Natalie admitted she had never done an American Smooth dance before and unfortunately it showed. Basically what she choreographed was a foxtrot with a couple of lifts - where were the other AS moves?

I'm sorry but that lift just reminded me of King Kong hurling stuff down onto New York. I half expected him to finish it by howling to the sky and beating his chest.

I thought it was well executed but out of keeping with the rest of the dance. If Natalie had been dancing with Kenny Logan, there would have been a good reason to put it in. But Ricky can dance, and I enjoyed watching him do slower, more controlled movements although the balletic section at the beginning was poor when compared with Ali and Brain's arm movements.

Natalie's attitude to the audience is also rather patronising. She seems to assume that we want those sort of crowd pleasing moves. Ricky started good so she could have spent more time perfecting his technique and making sure he got his moves right. The judges (mainly Len I think) are partly to blame as she has been encouraged to make things more complicated whereas Brian was told not to make the choreography so difficult.

For the first time I actually enjoyed one of their dances - until the lift. It was like Kenny and Ola's, didn't fit with the dance, was just choreographed to show off.

i agree, and he seemed to struggle to get her onto his shoulders in the first place. i was disappointed with the whole routine to be honest, maybe it's just me but I expect an AS to have more dynamism, and a bit more show, not so much in the lifts but in the whole routine.

Obviously the final lift was showy, but as the tone of the dance had already been set by the music and the steps, it didn't work at all. Pity, as I've liked Natalie's choreography so far (although she is rather scary!)

Like many others, I didn't feel it suited the dance at all - it is the kind of lift you'd expect in the showdance, not an American Smooth, which is a shame as it was only the second dance of his that I really enjoyed (the other being the QS).

They are also allowed to spend a fair bit of the dance out of hold - which they didn't do either...

I know they are ALLOWED to separate and its isn't compulsory to do so - but it didn't really look like a proper AS - as someone said ^^^^ it was an ordinary foxtrot with a couple of lifts.

As I said above it WAS a very spectacular lift - but waaaayy OTT and didn't really fit in with the true AS style of lift.

I thought it was a great lift, even the professionals were applauding.
As to whether it was a great routine..no, it wasn't in my opinion. I expect more from the AS, it's a chance to really perform..bring in some Hollywood glamour. I agree it was a neat, clean and under-stated routine..but in my opinion it was a missed opportunity.
Without the lift it was competent but dull, the lift showed another degree of skill..even if it appeared a little out of place with the rest of the routine. Still not a "wow" moment for me..worth a 9, but not Alesha's 10.

I didn't actually think very much of the rest of the dance, as someone has said it wasn't very American Smooth, and then that lift just seemed to go on forever and ever. Very spectacular but I found it was boring as it just went on and on.

Well, whether or not the lift didnt fit, or the pace of the dance was too slow, or whatever.

I think he gave the routine a darm good go and it was nice to see that.

And it must be scary for a non-professional to do a lift like that and I thought he did a good job of it.