Originally Posted by
Whiffle_09:
“RED PASO
From the first note when J raised his head, arched his by now beautifully toned & taut body and lunged purposefully towards Aliona it was clear this was a different animal indeed. And so it continued throughout the routine. The Jayblocking strong & powerful. Beautiful shaping & body lines. How long are those arms & how magnificent that torso. Barely contained raw masculine power yet still elegant & graceful with arms & hands (I think I am a little obsessed with his hands).
And throughout the little smiles and glances between them saying so much without words. The smiles get bigger - Alionas' when they make the handhold that was missed first time. By 'Frankie says I did it my way' they are beaming at each other because they cannot help it & are dancing totally as one & for each other. J winks at Aliona then prepares for the last spin. No need for two hands this time. He raises his face & arm triumphantly, taps his chest & pulls Aliona to him. Simply majestic.
And so to the announcement of the winners – Jay & Aliona!!! YESSS!! I felt so relieved that common sense had prevailed. Aliona looks astonished & J hides his face, hiding the emotions threatening to erupt. Claudia trips on her dress. Too slow Claude – Tess has already got her mitts on J. They manage a few words before emotion takes over. Then some lovely images. Aljaz & Gleb lifting J on their shoulders – how steely is that core?. Tristan enveloping Aliona in a huge bearhug. Little Georgia tapping J on the back to get his attention then being hugged & lifted with one arm while Aliona is already in the other. Giovanni hugging J & checking he is ok.
Then the lovely red button interview. J & A seemed to have composed themselves. There is giggling with Anton & Katie. J laughs uproariously at Zoes' predicament then casually dismisses the showdance opening – 'It's only supporting your own body weight' like anyone could do it! And together they thank their supporters acknowledging all the ups & downs along the way. And it's over grace &integrity & being true to themselves to the last. And we loved them for it.
(sorry if I have rambled a bit)
ETA And to the doubters that the best couple won the scores (ignoring the manipulated Quickstep & irrelevant final ones) show that they did.”
RED PASO REVIEW (SORT OF)
Whiffle has very kindly taken a 10 minute vid from YT and reduced it to the relevant paso for me. Thank you again and kudos for your techno knowledge.
I have had this vid in mind for some time and indeed it may have been seen by some.
It is Aliona and Maksim Chermovskiy performing a professional paso routine on Dancing With The Stars. There is much that Aliona put into Jay's routine
I DON'T want to compare Jay to a professional dancer but to look at the relationship between J&A
I feel it shows the trust that Ali had in Jay that she felt comfortable giving him some choreography from a full on pro routine.
(And if truth be told there are times I feel J is more on point than Maksim. I know I'm not comparing but.....)
First clip to show Aliona's trust and training.
0.8 Maksim's hand at 0.8 is flat compared to J.
The arm shaping M straight J held at elbow
The attention to the dance on point with J
Second clip
0.1 Jay's arms held better for Aliona as the cape
0.12 very similar steps to those by J&A
0.29 to 0.47 is effectively the start of J&A paso
It was especially this final choreo by Maksim and Ali (which is effectively the start of J&A.) that bought this comparison to mind.
With the exception of the flamenco steps I believe J does throw thecshapes that M does. The final arm raise (unfortunately not seen in its entirety here) is certainly finished off better by J.
And yet Len and Bruno approve of this pro dance in America but pick holes in a similar dance here
So I hope I've given the comparison I saw without anyone thinking I am expecting to much of J.
Now I've got to try to attach the links. Hope these work cos Whiffle spent alot of time on em for me. Thanks again
https://youtu.be/p3HMFctuW5s
https://youtu.be/CiQhk0KOQuo
So please remember folks this is my opinion of a dance where, in places, I think J bested the male pro.