Rewound to watch Tess' and Claudia's bit, again (I drifted off, for a moment, while they were speaking), because I heard no mention of Laura's ankle-injury bye. Yep, I was right the first time: no mention. Brendan's sick-leave, yes, but no Laura. How curious. Perhaps they'll mention it, in the line-up....And so it came to pass. I think they are allowed only one bye, per series. That's been in place for some years.
Judge Rinder and Oksana. Jive.
Yesss! At last! Well done JR.There was a good chance I would really like this dance, as I love love love the music. But the jive is always a favourite of mine - if done well: and I think it was (might have got my QS-neophyte hat, on here.....but I don't care).
People may have zoomed in on the toes: kicks and flicks 'n' stuff: and that's fair enough. I still felt entertained, and had a big smile on my face, throughout. Watched it again. He really looked as if he enjoyed himself, tonight. I think we'll have to resign ourselves to his 'lovin' it' face, tho'.
Len loved it. No mention of footwork: nothing new there, then. Never fear - Craig's here, to fill in the gaps.
6; 8; 8; 7 = 29.
Ventriloquist's dummy and sidekick, came on to do the T&Cs pointless turn.
Lesley and Anton. Tango. To traditional (or is it 'authentic'?) music.
Fortune-teller, crystal ball and hapless punter.
First time I've ever noticed 'bare-arm' sleeves. Think it was a long-sleeved vest, attached to the middle finger. (Oh, Lesley was wearing it, btw: just in case you haven't watched the show).
Impressive start: straight into the dance - good. I like these two together, very much. I thought Lesley did well. Imagine being held in Anton's vice-like grip. Who would dare to put a foot wrong? Height disparity, a bit of a disadvantage, I think - made smooth delivery a bit of a pipe-dream, mayhap.
Judges: mixed.
5; 6; 7; 6 = 24.
Will someone please put a sock in Claudia's mouth? These 'jokes' are getting worse.
Greg and Natalie. Cha Cha.
Thought Greg did quite well in this dance: though I didn't think he connected with it, as much as he could have done. Glad to see he's making steady, if not sparkly, progress. Could have been a smidge more active, tho', imo. His derriere was looking rather diminished, and didn't seem to be enjoying itself, as much as in previous dances. I thought it was, overall, a good effort. Though, doubtless, the footwork police will have plenty to say....And so they did. Well some of them, anyway.
Judges: encouraging and supportive. Except Craig, of course.
4; 6; 7; 7 = 24.
Anastacia and Gorka. (Brendan's replacement). QuickStep.
Good dance, I thought (but then, what would I know?). Anastacia seemed to connect with the dance, and looked as if she was really enjoying it. Fast, full of content, and (deep breath)......I think the footwork was quite good, too. The 'sitting knee-spreads' were a bit of a surprise, tho'. Think they were meant to be fun, but, for me, they lowered the tone, slightly. (Was that me, saying that?). Anyway, we'll see what the grown-ups have to say.
Oh, Anastacia!.....Stop it! Tess doesn't need any encouragement. And anyway, they only give her so many cracker-jokes, per programme. She can't afford to run out of them before the end.
Judges really liked the dance. Yay!
7; 7; 8; 8 = 30.
Louise and Kevin. Rumba.
Straight into the dance - no messing about. And what a beautiful dance, it was. I loved it! Thought there was something familiar about it, at times: but then, I suppose, why wouldn't there be? It was smooth, elegant, light and seductive. Not sultry or raunchy, imo. Well done, Louise and Kevin. Hope they get good marks.
8; 8; 8; 9 = 33.
Oh, Alijaz. You must learn to keep up with Claudia's silly dance. You are a sweetie, tho'.
Ed and Katya. American Smooth/Foxtrot.
Amarillo: perhaps not the best music choice, for this dance. Oh dear, this does not bode well, but we'll see. I do so want this to be a good dance. I wonder if Ed would do better with a more experienced 'pro': one who could teach him to dance properly. He's so keen to learn.
Too much silly faffing, at the beginning (good time-waster, tho'). The bits in hold were really good, imo. Trouble is, there weren't enough of them. Good rise and fall. Bit of swing and sway: but blink, and you'd miss the lot. Thought the bits between 'in hold', were silly and stompy. The lifts were very good, tho'. Impressive. Well done, Ed! Altho' the third one may have gone a bit awry, perhaps: and got the biggest laugh. He recovered well, tho'. Oh, Ed! I do love you.
I'm just wondering....would the ending be classed as a lift? If so, that would make it four lifts in this AS/ Fxtrt. Oh, no!
After the dance, they did that third lift again.....just because... It didn't look, altogether, much different, to me. But at least he wasn't clamped on to her 'lady parts', this time. Audience loved it.
We'll see what the judges have to say. Hope they don't slay him, again.
Len!...A good joke! I can't believe it!
On the whole, the judges were quite kind: especially Len, and also Darcey.
Craig. You've been sent to Coventry.
2; 6; 6; 4 = 18.
Ore and Joanne. Waltz
Oh, Ore. Re the pre-VT pose. Showing the contents of one's mouth: be they tongue, or empty space: is never a good look. Even on you.
The Dance. Very good effort. Lovely choreography. Lots of content, executed well. Good 'rise and fall'. Plenty of personality: but could have been smoother and 'softer', imo. No point in making a comparison with Jay's (and his waltz was in Week 2, remember), I'd just be repeating myself, over and over, again.
Think the judges will like this one.
Good Heavens, Craig waxing lyrical! You can come back from Coventry, just for now. Don't bother taking off your hat and coat, just yet.
The other judges enthused.
9; 9; 9; 9 = 36.
Daisy and Alijaz. Charleston.
Good idea, starting in the dark. A first for SCD, I think. White feet and hands: made for a fun intro. Very clever - and no mistakes. Cool.
A very good, fun dance. Bags of content. Daisy did very well: seemed to keep the synchro and the contra (?) going very well. Well performed, with good timing, on the whole. Footwork, altho' not 'snappy', was pleasing enough: to me, anyway. Managed to bring grace and elegance......to the Charleston, no less.
How much would I have to pay for a pair of legs like that? Perhaps they'd throw in the rest of the body, for free. Wouldn't that be nice? All right. Pipe down, at the back. I'm allowed to say things like that. I'm a girl.
I like Daisy. I hope the judges give her good marks.
So pleased. All four judges loved it. OK Craig. You can take your hat and coat off now.
8; 8; 8; 8 = 32.
Laura and Joe Varney. Jive.
They were introduced. We saw the VT. Then we were reminded about Laura's injured ankle, and that she wouldn't be dancing tonight. Disappointment all round. Especially for Joe Varney: he said it was his favourite dance.
Danny and Oti. Rumba.
Lovely dance. Danny is, indeed, fortunate that he is partnered with such a mesmerising dancer. I had to watch it again, so I could focus on him - quite difficult.
Second viewing. Danny's effort could have been smoother, for me. It lacked the effortless fluidity, that we have all come to expect. Oh, we have been spoilt, haven't we?
See what the judges think......On the whole, they liked it. But I can't believe that Craig agreed with me. Or may be, on this occasion, it was I, who was agreeing with him. Oh dear. We can't have that.
8; 9; 9; 9 = 35.
Claudia and AJ. Samba. To "a disco-vibe"
Fast and furious: too fast, imo. And a very complicated routine. Hardly time to do one thing, then it's on to the next one: from start to finish. Claudia did well to keep up. And she did: for most of the time. She looked slightly uncertain, at times. But when AJ got her in hold, he just swept her round: like a broom. My hero! Twelve years of athletics training, to her core: undone in four days. Impressive. Hip action quite good, considering.
Overall: a very good effort. Hope the judges give her credit.......And they did. So pleased.
8; 7; 8; 9 = 32.
LEADERBOARD.
Ore and Joanne................36.....(10)
Danny and Oti...................35.....(9)
Louise and Kevin..............33.....(8)
Daisy and Alijaz................32.....(7)
Claudia and AJ.................32.....(7)
Anastacia and Gorka.......30.....(6)
JR and Oksana.................29.....(5)
Lesley and Anton.............24.....(4)
Greg and Natalie..............24.....(4)
Ed and Katya......................18.....(30
Haven't a clue, who'll be in the bottom two out of this lot. But it was a good show, I thought. I'm glad I watched it.
