All four semi-finalists feeling the strain of having to perform two dances tonight. None of them want to be sent home.
Tess and Claud, both gave quite a short intro to the show.
Judges introduced. Usual restrained entrance, with minimal twirling.
Tess and Claud remind us that the judges' scores for both dances will be added together, to decide where they will end up on the Leaderboard. These scores will be combined with viewer votes, and the two couples with the lowest overall points will face the Dance-Off in the Results Show. Sadly, one of the couples won't make it through to next week's Finals.
Louise and Kevin. Tango. 'Glad All Over' Dave Clark Five.
VT showed lots of support from Team Louise.
The dance. Odd choice of music, I thought. Opened with Glitterballs on a conveyer-belt. Kevin's trousers - a mite tight, quite a sight.
It's at times like this that I'm glad I'm not a purist, because as far as I was concerned, that was a good dance, despite the fact that her feet got a bit left behind, at one point, near the end.
Judges all seemed pleased, but noticed the over-balancing near the end.
9; 9; 9; 10 = 37..... Bruno! You might find a trip to Specsavers would be helpful.
Danny and Oti. Salsa. 'Vivir Mi Vida' Mark Anthony.
VT showed a bit of training. Danny was so glad that people kept him in, as he didn't think he would have been able to do last week's Tango again, in the dance-off. Team Danny in fine voice.
The dance. Another good dance from Danny. Clinically executed. No obvious mistakes, altho' not all the lifts were as smooth and clean as they could have been, imo.
Wonder what the judges will have to say.
Bruno loved it, and fell off his chair.
Darcey thought it was fabulous, but thought it could have had more attitude - this is what caused Bruno to nose-dive to the floor.
Craig started with criticism of the 'lack of figure eight rotation in the hip, and that's just in the forward and back basic' - so now we know. He decided that he liked it, tho'.
Len made a lame breakfast cereal comment. Then he was about to make a criticism, but thought better of it, after some audience disapproval. He ended up saying that Danny is 'a fantastic dancer'.
9; 9; 9; 10 = 37.
Claudia and AJ. Rumba. 'Bleeding Love' Leona Lewis.
VT showed a few seconds of training, then on to Team Claudia, where we saw lots of kids, voicing their encouragement.
The dance. Got the first knicker-flash out of the way, right at the beginning. I thought Claudia did well in this dance. It did lack a bit of fluidity, tho' imo. Hip action was a little lacking too, I thought. I wonder if Olympic gymnasts have such toned and hard abdominal musculature, with minimal definition between waist and hip, that fluid, smooth hip action is well-nigh impossible? As I'm not an expert in anything dance, or even anything gymnastic, for that matter, I'd be happy to stand corrected on that one. But on the whole I enjoyed it, and thought that Claudia did very well indeed, for one so young. I absolutely loved AJ in this dance.
Craig thought she was wonderful.
Darcey mentioned emotional connection, and not just doing the actions that you are asked to do. 'It's very difficult', she said, 'and comes with experience, and life experience'.
Len thought it was 'a quality rumba', and that Claudia is 'a lovely dancer'.
Bruno gave us a demo showing us how 'through-the-body hip action' should be done. I'm surprised that Len hasn't invested in some protective clothing and safety equipment by now.
8; 9; 9; 9 = 35.
Ore and Joanne. QuickStep. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl?' Jet.
VT. As with the others - a flash of training, then Team Ore, with their messages of support.
The dance. Opens with Ore astride a motor-bike. It looked like it might have been a British bike, as it was a great big bull-dog of a beast, and didn't look all that modern, either. But then what would I know of such things. *listens for chorus of disapproval from all the bikers out there*
The music is absolutely dire. Every bit as bad as poor Jay's 'My Generation'. Far too fast for slick and clean footwork, imo. It just looked like an unseemly race to the finish. Poor Ore. He did his best.
Judges seemed to think it was great, tho'. Fancy disagreeing with me, I'm such a QS expert, as we all know!
8; 10; 10; 10 = 38....Now, judges! That was naughty. Much as I love Ore, you know that wasn't worthy of a 10, much less three of them!
Louise and Kevin. Samba. 'Brazil' Thiago Thome.
VT showed the judges discussing Louise.
Bruno said 'Louise. What a class act. How consistent has this girl been'.
Darcey said that 'she has a lovely emotion that she's able to deliver through her moves. It's so rare to see'.
Len was 'a bit disappointed for the first three or four weeks, but the Argentine Tango was the moment when something clicked'
Craig thought 'she was lacking in confidence. But now has grown so much as a dancer, with the confidence level. She has a delicious amount of musicality' which he loves watching.
The dance. I thought Louise did very well. She let herself go, and seemed to be really enjoying herself. Her hip action was good, and she seemed to have quite a bit of bounce. Not too much, fortunately, or Kevin might have launched himself into orbit.
Judges were all impressed.
9; 9; 9; 9 = 36.
Danny and Oti. American Smooth. 'Misty Blue' Dorothy Moore.
VT. The judges clearly think that Danny is the one to beat. They are all very impressed with him, using words like 'stunning'.
The dance. What a beautiful dance! Danny is just so good, and this dance suited him down to the ground. I had to watch it again, just for the fun of it. Worthy of full marks, imo. And as for that gasp-inducing catch at the end!
For once I agreed with everything the judges said, except for Darcey's side-swipe, that is.
10; 9; 10; 10 = 39.
Claudia and AJ. QuickStep. 'When You're Smiling' Andy Williams.
VT. Judges. Len said 'Little Miss Dynamite'
Darcey said that 'she has something very special', that she (Darcey) really loves watching.
Craig said that he has a problem with Claudia, because she doesn't commit emotionally with any of the dances. He loves what she does with her body, but you have to tell the story.
Bruno said 'she's always strong, controlled, precise. But will she be elegant, will she be romantic?'
The dance. Fast and furious. Who knows if the footwork was 'on point'. Was she supposed to be in synch with AJ, footwise? Or was she really supposed to be contra (or whatever it's called), at one point? The ending won't win any prizes for elegance, either. But it was huge fun, and I enjoyed it. Claudia's worked very, very hard this week. Hope it pays off.
Judges were all very pleased, and gave it lots of praise.
9; 9; 10; 10 = 38.
Ore and Joanne. Argentine Tango, 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' Kylie Minogue.
VT. Judges. They were all impressed with a number of Ore's previous dances. They like his emotion and passion, and they think that he and Joanne work well as a pair.
The dance. Dramatic, atmospheric, intense, passionate, staccato. Great lifts. I really enjoyed it. Well done, Ore.
All the judges had such lovely things to say, and I'm so glad they did. This guy's a sports' presenter, not an actor/performer/dancer, remember.
9; 10; 10; 10 = 39....It's so nice that Ore's Mum and Dad, who were in the audience, got to hear the judges, and see the scores.
LEADERBOARD.
Contestants.........1st Dance.....2nd Dance.....Total...Points.
Ore and Joanne........38..................39................77............4.
Danny and Oti............37..................39................76............3.
Louise and Kevin.......37..................36................73............2.
Claudia and AJ...........35..................38................73............2.
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