Originally Posted by RaffertyCat:
“Here's my Strictly Report for this week.
SCD 2016...Week 12...Semi-Finals. Report.
Louise and Kevin. Tango. 'Glad All Over' Dave Clark Five.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
”
“Here's my Strictly Report for this week.
SCD 2016...Week 12...Semi-Finals. Report.
Spoiler
Louise and Kevin. Tango. 'Glad All Over' Dave Clark Five.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wow. Turn just about everything you've said on its head and you've got my report!
Spoiler
Dance 1:
Twimsy Tango: Hate Tangos to jolly music and this is the second year in a row Kevin's done it. Louise still spent most of the routine looking at the floor. The time she did look up it made a huge difference performance-wise. Jazz-hands choreography at the end really did not suit Louise, and there was that off-balance moment. Well covered, though. In all - not bad, but not inspiring.
Doti Salsa: What's with the salsa-free salsas this year? Danny looked a little cautious and the routine as a whole didn't flow well for me. Not helped by boring music. He was also too bouncy. Enjoyed him executing a variant of the Ed Balls AS lift perfectly at the end. I think it was Oti's "this is how it should be done" moment! I think Oti didn't choreograph this routine herself - perhaps it would have been better if she had. This whole "figure 8 rotation" thing is so much rubbish. There is no fig 8 rotation in salsa. However, his hips weren't particularly great - seems he's better at samba.
Claudia & AJ rumba: Not good, this one. Poor hip movement. No connection with AJ. Claudia the gymnast was back: Stop, present. Stop, present. Hip movement is not generated via core and abdomen - it comes through the legs, pressure through the floor, settling into pelvis etc. etc., so there shouldn't be anything physical hindering Claudia's performance.
Tiny Tears QS: Horrible music and costuming which kinda got in the way of the routine. Lots of running during which his arms were going up and down instead of having the swan (still on top, paddling like f*** underneath) effect. Went out of sync with Jo a couple of times.
Dance 2:
Twimsy Samba: Clearly mortified by her costume and the ridiculous headdress, Louise did not look at all comfortable. Her body was not co-ordinated - there was no flow. Her legs were performing separately from her torso. Compared to Danny's extraordinary samba, this was a non-starter.
Doti AS: Wonderful, wonderful dance. Pretty much perfect aside from a rather awkward "round the middle" lift. Sorry - totally agreed with Darcey. And the routine did not need it. The final leap was absolutely incredible - total trust from Oti.
Claudia & AJ QS: Best dance of the night, along with Doti's AS. Cloudier finally blossomed. Absolutely radiant, smiling everywhere, swaying like crazy on the turns, light, fast, brilliant. *applause*
Tiny Tears AT: Ore stood or walked around presenting Jo, or just making a pose. One move went wrong as Ore overbalanced. No sense of the male leading the female. This was all Jo dancing at/around Ore. Looked pretty, but unsatisfying as an AT.
Fudges clearly crow-barring Ore to top the leaderboard, regardless of whether he deserved it, to try to keep him out of 3rd dance-off
Twimsy Tango: Hate Tangos to jolly music and this is the second year in a row Kevin's done it. Louise still spent most of the routine looking at the floor. The time she did look up it made a huge difference performance-wise. Jazz-hands choreography at the end really did not suit Louise, and there was that off-balance moment. Well covered, though. In all - not bad, but not inspiring.
Doti Salsa: What's with the salsa-free salsas this year? Danny looked a little cautious and the routine as a whole didn't flow well for me. Not helped by boring music. He was also too bouncy. Enjoyed him executing a variant of the Ed Balls AS lift perfectly at the end. I think it was Oti's "this is how it should be done" moment
! I think Oti didn't choreograph this routine herself - perhaps it would have been better if she had. This whole "figure 8 rotation" thing is so much rubbish. There is no fig 8 rotation in salsa. However, his hips weren't particularly great - seems he's better at samba.Claudia & AJ rumba: Not good, this one. Poor hip movement. No connection with AJ. Claudia the gymnast was back: Stop, present. Stop, present. Hip movement is not generated via core and abdomen - it comes through the legs, pressure through the floor, settling into pelvis etc. etc., so there shouldn't be anything physical hindering Claudia's performance.
Tiny Tears QS: Horrible music and costuming which kinda got in the way of the routine. Lots of running during which his arms were going up and down instead of having the swan (still on top, paddling like f*** underneath) effect. Went out of sync with Jo a couple of times.
Dance 2:
Twimsy Samba: Clearly mortified by her costume and the ridiculous headdress, Louise did not look at all comfortable. Her body was not co-ordinated - there was no flow. Her legs were performing separately from her torso. Compared to Danny's extraordinary samba, this was a non-starter.
Doti AS: Wonderful, wonderful dance. Pretty much perfect aside from a rather awkward "round the middle" lift. Sorry - totally agreed with Darcey. And the routine did not need it. The final leap was absolutely incredible - total trust from Oti.
Claudia & AJ QS: Best dance of the night, along with Doti's AS. Cloudier finally blossomed. Absolutely radiant, smiling everywhere, swaying like crazy on the turns, light, fast, brilliant. *applause*
Tiny Tears AT: Ore stood or walked around presenting Jo, or just making a pose. One move went wrong as Ore overbalanced. No sense of the male leading the female. This was all Jo dancing at/around Ore. Looked pretty, but unsatisfying as an AT.
Fudges clearly crow-barring Ore to top the leaderboard, regardless of whether he deserved it, to try to keep him out of 3rd dance-off
. 
) and I'm not sure if that is just Oti playing to Danny's strengths or if it is Oti's style. I don't know how she would respond to Jay's ability to be softer and more emotional, but it would be interesting to see! 