yes it was.
Didn't andre and helen get 'totally strategic' spots in the first 2 weeks? And didn't others get 'ott' applause too?

He did a ballroom last week which compared to the jive this week you'd kind of expect in some ways. VERY different dances, VERY different emotions and facial expressions required. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway, I thought he and Aliona were fantastic tonight

to be fair ...IF kellie has had no dance experience whatsoever, her charleston was also 'up there'..
I did say IF...

Wow. Well the judges couldn't fault him so the only reason it didn't get more 10s is because they felt it was too early (but Bruno had to after calling it the best dance ever ). It was outstanding and it doesn't matter how early it is, Jay's talent is there and he fully deserves the plaudits and the marks. If he's in the final (nothing is guaranteed!), the judges will have him do it again so they can give the 40. It was brilliant, a huge well done to them, loved it.

In fairness I doubt any of the couples would have wanted to follow that.

Don't be silly! They weren't just good... they were bloody FANTASTIC, and WELL deserving of their scores!

Loved it!

Yes, it really was.

Some of the steps he did have not even been attempted before and he made them look really easy too.

Yes they were. Darcy obviously wanted to give ten, but felt she couldn't. Bruno thought 'F*ck it! It deserves a ten, I'm giving ten'.

No it makes no sense at all.
I hadn't seen his jive when I judged his Waltz(?)

I thought it was utterly brilliant ,better than Jill Halfpennys which although clean lacked something. Anita was really limp tonight and Peter a bit stompy. The Charleston with Kelly was good but it was the Princess Leia outfit that I found off putting.

You said you thought it was insipid. I assumed you meant in comparison to his jive. It wasn't obvious you just meant at the time but ho hum.

FWIW, I only tried to explain why someone comparing them might feel a waltz was a bit meh compared to an upbeat up tempo jive. I would have thought that was obvious rather than made "no sense at all"

He deserved four nines. It got better as it went on. Still don't get his permanent puzzled face.
Best dance of the series by a long way so far. Although I did like Kellie and Kevin's Charleston.
Helen seemed to be a tad over marked to me.

I thought it was an incredible routine, and what caught my attention the most was just how synchronised Jay and Aliona were for most of the dance. They were almost close to perfection and therefore Bruno giving them a 10 in week 3 was well and truly deserved (i.e. it wasn't quite worthy of four 10's but if Jay gets to the final, this is bound to be their dance of the series now).

Going forward, does this put too much pressure on Jay to live up to expectations next week, and each week after that? Or has Jay peaked and each dance from now on is going to seem like a disappointment after tonights triumph.

The best, or next to best do tend to get last spot. They want to end on a high - and people to come back next week. .The question is who is best.

Was he that good. Probably not . There was no characterisation there- in a show which was other wise heavy on people playing characters.from films. lots of fast action, but silly looking hand movements throughout .You might argue other people had better music with bigger characters to play, but I thought he was a good mover but insipid. As a complete entertainment package with better acting, and with lots of dance moves excitingly performed, I think three people were better - all 3 are in your list. .I think his feet, and rubber wrists get him lots of bonus points, for lots of moves and some new difficult ones - but i wouldn't pay to go and see him.

They were good imo, I was so encouraged to see that performance, because we could have a whole series of pleasing numbers from him.

Jay obviously looks even better because there is, imo, no other male that rivals him, not even Peter Andre. Peter can dance in general (and has a basis to work from), but he doesn't execute the techniques of ballroom or Latin as well as I thought he would be able to. I thought he'd be like duck to water, but while he hits the spot in terms of performance effort, technique is average. Even Louis Smith (a sports guy) had better arms, lines and general execution than peter, imo. Technique wise Jay is much more accomplished than any other male in this series, and arguably any others in previous series (in terms of this early on). Ricky Whittle would be his closest talent comparison, imo.

I think if I remember Monkseal's comments correctly, this series actually has one of the lowest average scores of the 12 series so far. Think it's in about 8th or 9th. That might have changed after tonight, but scoring has actually been low so far

Can you define 'that' in your eyes?


Have you actually seen the film? Especially the bit they were copying? There was certainly characterisation

Yes, it was THAT good it deserved 4 tens, IMO.

Never mind the 4 consecutive synchronised turns but Jay's very slick, perfectly timed, hand-on-crotch-1-2-hip-roll-into-lead 'trick' alone was worth a 10.

Worth a ten? Well that's a huge can of worms.

Worthy of the pimp spot? Totally - miles better than everyone else.

Producers' favourite? Couldn't possibly say but he's brilliant.

Can I just put in a word for Aliona's choreography. I think she interpreted both the movie and the music perfectly. Jay definitely did it justice and the two combined brought the place alive.
It was nice to see the flash of a genuine smile now and then too, he obviously enjoyed that and that in itself goes a long way toward the overall feel of the dance - for me. I've rewatched all of my favourites for this evening but this one has already been rewatched several times and will continue to be during the week I have no doubt.

Agreed re the choreography. I have hammered Aliona for her efforts in past years - especially the year she partnered Matt Baker and produced some stinkers in my opinion but she hit it out of the ball park tonight, and I think her last two weeks have been well matched to Jay's ability and personality.

I've seen the film and I rewatched the dance you say they copied. Jay and Aliona's characterisation was much poorer than in the film, which is perhaps understandable given that it was live and subject to Strictly camera-work. But based on what I saw, I don't think Jay and Aliona's characterisation was very good.

I also think Jay devoted so much to the leg- and foot-work that the rest suffered, and his free hand even seemed to be flailing about at times. Neither Jay nor Aliona did the 'fingers in front of eyes' moves very well. (Is there a proper name for that move?)

I thought there were a quite a few weak spots in the dance, and it's seemed worse then 2nd and 3rd times I've watched it than it did at first. (I wouldn't normally have rewatched it, but I didn't want to be relying on memories that are by now 6 or so hours old.)

You are absolutely right they weren't THAT good ... they were better.

Yes it actually was that good!!!

At least the audience gave a genuine reaction for once, I'm tired of the prompting they get each week.

If you want to talk about producers/judges favourites then look no further than Peter. He has been over marked every dance so far. Anthony's shaping was far superior to his yet the judges barely mention his faults.

Take out Daniel and Kristina and I would agree with your other favourites,

Loved it! It captured the spirit of the film and was danced brilliantly!