Group opening number, honouring quite a few musicals, with various dancers, dressed accordingly. Anton took the lead in this - a role which required very little actual dancing, but did allow for much strolling about, with a bit of twirling thrown in. We got to hear him sing, at length, too. The quick costume changes were impressive. All the contestants, the pro's and the judges took part. Also some kids came on, towards the end, for the 'Annie' bit.
"......anything can happen on that great big Strictly stage". Oh yes, we know. And how grateful we all were, last year when it did.
Tess and Claud came on, when it had finished, with their usual script. I think someone is teasing Tess each week, by saying to her "Yeah. That looks great on you". Claud tells us that, later on, the pro's will be treating us to a "magnificent group routine celebrating West Side Story". Sounds like something to look forward to. Hope it's good. It was a great Musical. Tess mentioned us "witnessing Strictly history, when Danny and Oti scored the first ever perfect 40, for their sensational Samba".
Judges introduced. Craig quite perky. Bruno perkier than he has been in recent weeks. Darcey as perky as she can be in that dress, and those heels. Len joined them.
The five couples made their way down the twinkly Strictly staircase. Kevin and Louise, dressed as a cowboy and cowgirl. JR and Oksana, both dressed in red, with a bit of JR's white shirt-front showing. Claudia and AJ, both dressed as young lions. AJ looks particularly sweet, I think. Ore and Joanne came down next. Ore in cartoon-coloured top hat and tails. Joanne in a gloriously coloured purple floaty dress. Danny and Oti descended last. Danny dressed in a glittery black jacket and plain trousers. Oti was wearing a sparkly blue/turquoise dress.
Ore and Joanne. Foxtrot. 'Pure Imagination' from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In the VT we are reminded that Bruno had said that their Paso was "so achingly stylish". We saw three seconds of training, then we were whisked off to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to meet Willy Wonka. It was for Ore to get some tips towards getting a Golden Ticket to the Semi-Finals.
The dance. The set looked quite busy, at the beginning, with five dancers dressed as enormous flowers (I think), twirling about (wonder how they actually got themselves onto the dancefloor, in those get-ups. And then how they got themselves off, again). They made themselves scarce for the actual dance, which was a relief, I thought that Ore acquitted himself quite well in this dance. Pity about the foot-fault right in front of the judges. Wonder if any of them will mention it. Good rise and fall, swing and sway. Good characterisation, but the footwork was only fairly good, at times. Ore has worked hard this week, that's obvious (but then I'm sure they all have, at this stage). I think he'll be quite pleased with the result. Hope the judges liked it....
On the whole, they gave him a high approval rating (Craig - usual niggles, of course).
9; 9; 9; 9 - 36.
Up at Claud's, Brendan, in a multi-coloured coat, sang the T&C's, to the tune of 'Any Dream Will Do' from 'Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat'
Judge Rinder and Oksana. Samba. 'Oh, What a Night' from 'Jersey Boys'
VT. The four actors from Jersey Boys were invited into the training room, to see the rendition of the Samba, danced to their song. Their verdict of JR: 'the coolest Jersey Boy around'. JR must have been surprised and pleased at that. He didn't think he was cool, at all.
The dance. I don't know much about the finer points of the Samba, as I've said before, but I thought JR did well. Good hip action, although his rear may have made a bid for a little too much attention, at times. Good rhythm. Managed well in the ensemble bit - didn't look obviously amateur among the pro's. Kept it all going throughout, and looked as if he really enjoyed it. His mouth action doesn't bother me at all now, I hardly noticed it. I really like him - he tries so hard. I hope he does well, but at this stage of the competition, everyone is at risk - some more than others.
Judges - Bruno and Craig stressed his flat-footedness in the dance, but they liked it, overall. Darcey and Len were full of praise, and thought it was great fun.
7; 8; 8; 8 = 31.
Louise and Kevin. QuickStep. 'The Deadwood Stage'. from 'Calamity Jane'
Silly VT. It might have been fun for them, but it will have effectively prevented them from putting in too much training for their QS.
The dance. A full 25 seconds wasted on faffing and stomping about, hoe-down-style. Then 25 seconds of QS (with a foot-fault in view of the judges' table), followed by a more extended faffing, then another 20 seconds of QS, before a faff-finale. This was obviously intended to be quite a good hoe-down themed showdance with a bit of QS thrown in. It was, doubtless, great fun to do, and the faffing was done very well, imo. But I think, if more attention had been paid to getting the QS footwork etc in shape: the result would have been more pleasing, in QS terms. Even more so, if we'd been shown more than the available 45 seconds of it.
The standard of Louise's hoe-down was higher than that of her QS, imo. She is a good dancer, of that, I think, there can be no doubt.
The judges: Craig was very impressed. Len agreed with me that 'there was a tad too much musical, and not enough QuickStep'. Overall they had lots of good things to say.
9; 9; 9; 10 = 37.
Claudia and AJ. Salsa. 'I Just Can't Wait to be King' from 'The Lion King'
VT. They went to visit the lions at ZSL London Zoo, to pick up some behavioural tips. Main one: The pride is led by the male, so let AJ lead. Nothing new there, then. Lovely views of the lions, tho'. Always a pleasure.
The dance. I really liked this dance. Full of fun. Lots of hip-action. Great lifts - fearless delivery, altho' AJ may have got in a bit of a muddle with the last one, so it looked a bit awkward. Good characterisation. Danced very well in line-up with the pro's. I loved the make-up and costumes. Great dance, imo. Hope she gets good scores.
Judges loved it. Craig's usual little niggles - always a good sign.
9; 9; 9; 10 = 37.
Danny and Oti. Tango. 'One Night Only' from 'Dreamgirls'
VT. They went to The Savoy Theatre to meet the cast of Dreamgirls, and did a bit of rehearsal on the theatre stage.
The dance. I thought Danny did really well. It was slick, and very well executed. Footwork was good, and I didn't notice any obvious mistakes (not that that's any guide). He was a good match in the line-up, with the pro's. The choreography was good, and he'd clearly mastered it. Well done, Danny. I found it very entertaining. What say you, judges?
Oops I missed those heel leads, or lack thereof, as Craig and Len pointed out. Apart from that they were all full of praise.
9; 10; 9; 10 = 38.
LEADERBOARD.
Danny and Oti..........38......5.
Louise and Kevin.... 37......4.
Claudia and AJ.........37......4.
Ore and Joanne.......36......3.
JR and Oksana.........31.......2.
By way of a finale, we were treated to an excellent West Side Story-inspired routine, featuring the pro dancers. The routine comprised three consecutive dances, each with a very different mood to the one before. Great choreography, beautifully interpreted by all the dancers. I liked it very much, indeed. Well done, all.
. I love her attitude to the whole thing.”
