I'm fed up with looking at that frozen picture of Patrick & Anya

Jan, it gave me time to investigate his arms...

But it's working now. Though bears no relation to the frozen pic. Maybe there will be two sets of clips (for usual dances and for swingathon)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01mwkqj

Nat looks very swooshy
Ola looks very hot
Susanne and Kevin -- looks like a 'work in progress'
Patrick made me laugh again
Aljaž did the Abbey Eeeeek!
Love Sophie's jumper

Can you tell I'm not a trained dancer?

I've just watched it. I think they all look pretty ok in those training clips until they stop when they make mistakes. Natalie's doing a lot of skirt work. Sophie's tango looks very fast. I think Abbey is going to have a good dance to a well known song.

It's still not working for me 😫

Booo! It's not working for me

I'm using my iPad... Maybe they release it differently for different platforms???
I'll go and stare at them balefully. Soon be fixed

*Drums fingers*. Stare harder! :devil:

Is this link better?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlyc...Quarter-Finals

Susanna not looking good...

Ashley looks really tired and defeated, and the choreography looks like Ola on latin autopilot.

All Ola does is spin... and spin again... and some more. It's exhausting to watch.

Thanks - I think the staring must have worked , because clip working now.

Sophie's top line is really annoying me, I hope she gets it sorted for the show. Tango just isn't suited to her personality. Susanna looks like she's just walking through the steps, it's probably early on in the week. I have faith in her. Ashley does look like he's had enough though, poor thing. Abbey's looking good, but her constant 'woo!'s are getting on my nerves. I just can't warm to her.

I really, really want someone to do an amazing, take your breath away rumba, and you know what occasionally, just in flashes, I see a Patrick that could do that - and then it's gone and he's making faces or messing about. You never know though, he hides his charisma quite a bit I think, you only see glimpses of what he's really like.

Yes thanks

Natalie - where was Artem ?
Abbey - gapping again
Ashley - the camera doesn't show anything below the waist so who knows
Sophie - what was that bottom stick out bit at the end I hope that was a joke. It's very fast that's not like Brendan at all.
Susanna - looking not too bad but the AT is about performance as well
Patrick - it's the rumba need I say more.

Thought Natalie had a lot if skirt swishing & where was Artem, Susanna looked a mess and hated the music. Ashley couldn't tell because if the camera angle, Patrick looked ok, Abbey can't here the song without thinking of Kelly and there seemed to be a lot of gapping, Sophie tango looked fast and song works better than I thought it would

Ashley - looks exhausted, but if he really went for it on Saturday, I thought it looked like it might be good.
Natalie looks wonderful - I think this one is a real test for her charisma as a performer, more than the technique.
Abbey - nice beginning, but once they're in hold I can't see past the gapping.
Susanna - please, please, please, Kevin, don't do Michael Jackson. Please. I think it will kill any chance of feeling any intensity between them.
Sophie - hate the song. Not a tango song. Would do a sad smilie if i could tell any of them apart.
Patrick - could be good as rumbas go. But I have this thing with AT and rumba, that I don't like it if it looks borderline violent. I don't like the man putting his hands to a woman's throat or neck and I don't like him gripping her wrists as if holding her in place as Patrick is here. It's just my taste thing, I know, and it may seem ridiculously over-sensitive - I don't mean in it in a 'Shouldn't be allowed I'm going to write and complain' way - just my feeling, but I always have an instinctive response of not wanting to see more of the dance.

Patrick and susanna 1 day behind the others this week so hard to tell

1 Ashley and Ola looking ok to me
2 Sophie and Brendan that headline is wrong and stands out
3 Abbey did not make body contact once
4 Susanna still walking it through so hard to tell
5 cant judge nat as no dancing with artem what she was doing I did not like
6 Anya needs to concentrate on what Patrick is doing his top line seems off but like Susanna they are day behind

4

GAH. I HATE material girl. It has to be in my Top 20 least favourite songs of all time. Why does the BBC insist on using it again and again in its shows - Strictly, How do you solve a problem like maria, etc. I'm sure Brendan can do something decent with it though and Sophie's ballroom is usually good so hopefully they'll still be fine. Also, maybe with the strictly singers singing it and not Madonna, it won't be as bad as the original.

The other choices all sound quite alright to me, except possibly Smooth Criminal and also I like Bruno Mars but that song's not the best for a rumba IMO

Bit worried that Sophie says her costume might be 80s inspired

I think they will go off the madonna video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNSUOFgj97M so will be Marilyn inspired with lots of bling

If they use that as their inspiration for Sophie's dress it could work well.

agree she could look fab

Hopefully, she'll dance fabulously as well, although I'm not convinced that will happen. I like her but she hasn't wowed me, apart from her Charleston.

What was that bum sticking out bit that Sophie did in the training clip. Hope it was a joke