Stunning shot of Laura & Gio.

Backstage reaction.

Youtube link for their Tango to 'Paint It Black'.

Even better on rewatching

Hi fridge That's great to hear! Lovely to see some actual support for them tonight, I've gotten used to only seeing a handful of good comments after their dances but tonight was by far and away their best dance and it's nice to see people agreeing!

Thanks for the links, Ochre. Love that picture of them.

I've always thought Laura acted out her dances well, right from week 1, but tonight was the first time I felt she and Gio really connected on the dance floor- loads of chemistry and charisma. Really enjoyed that tango

That is a gorgeous picture

I agree that they really connected in this dance. So happy it went so well.

Loved it!

What a comeback!

Great choreography from Giovanni - proper Tango - mixed with a few drops of passion. Laura played her part brilliantly! Their best dance so far.

They had the best combination of music, theme, choreography, dancing and chemistry on what was a bit of a disappointing night for quite a few.

I don't know why I was worried about the music - it really was one of the best choices of the night and worked brilliantly (not hard though - there were some shockers! )

I watched Laura and Giovanni twice because the first time I couldn't understand what the judges are on about, but the second time I saw how perfect it was.
Hope they're safe tonight!

I think a lot of people liked this dance: it's second on the "Who danced best" poll on the MF behind Claudia and AJ: no other dances are anywhere close to these two.

Lovely exchange on Twitter

Best dance of the night from Laura & Gio for me.

2nd year in a row Gio's topped the leader board on Halloween with a Tango.

Having just watched it again, I thought it was amazing choreography and beautifully performed by Laura who really got the light and shade. The difference between the dead staccato of the Death Tango and then those moments of thawing where she turns fluidly to Gio, and back to immobility... it's a genuinely creative and quite scary Halloween tango.

Gio and Laura alone for me rose to the occasion.

Having said that, they were gifted the best music of the night. But hats off to them for really making it pay.

I hope they're safe.

They bloody should be. Amazing comeback with a broken ankle and zero hours of training

Great performance!! Should be safe!!

Delete

Judges comments for Laura & Gio's Halloween Tango

Bruno: 'You've done enough to lead me to damnation! You two are the sexiest ghouls I've ever seen. Add to that a spookily good Tango, I'm telling you you've got the looks of a winner for me. That was so sharp, right on it, precise, musicality and you even managed to put in a little tease . . . I love those things! . . . A little tease with the shoulder. You were on fire! On fire, welcome back.'

Craig: 'Your left hand was bothering me through it because the thumb should be just in his pit and you started in a nice way but then it started closing in like that and becoming a very odd thing. A very small thing for an extremely A-ma-zing Tango.'

Darcey: 'Ah Laura, the attack, the focus, the determination. It's so great to see you on this dancefloor. I really enjoyed the mix of those sharp, snapping heads but then the quality of the feminine that you were able to give at the same time. It was really, really nice, I think your best dance.'

Len: 'Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! There was plenty of zip and there was hardly any doo-dah in the whole thing. Your footwork could have been a little bit more precise, however having said that sharp, full of passion, great chemistry between the two of you. Darcey's right, it's your best dance no question. Well done.'

Scores: 9, 9, 9, 9 Overall score of 36

Laura's best ever score and a deserved place for Mr and Mrs Death at the top of the Halloween leaderboard jointly with Claudia & AJ who also received a deserved 36.

So many little details . . . I love that moment at around 1:08 where Gio leaves Laura and she holds her posture perfectly before he rejoins her.

Laura's cheeky wink to Gio at the finish.

Agree fatskia and Dervla, truly inspired choreography from Gio and what a teacher he is.

Agree with all of this.

Laura looked absolutely gorgeous, yet still Halloween-themed (wonder to what extent the celebs can influence their look--Laura has great taste, I think.)

Glad to see them come roaring back; I'd worried they wouldn't be able to come back from the drama of last week.

Gio definitely choreographed a fantastic Tango - I loved his Halloween Tango with Georgia last year too. So creative and exciting to watch, both of them!

Just watched it again - I think it gets better every time! So many fabulous little details in there as you say, Ochre. I really love the beginning.

BIB How fierce does Laura look

Yes a second Halloween topping the leaderboard with a Tango for Gio My girls love that Ghostbuster's Tango, we were rewatching it this week.

Gio the Tango Genius

Absolutely brilliant - they were both on fire. I loved that dance! And the leader board position was absolutely well deserved.

Couldn't be happer - they fought hard to produce that gorgeous dance. It really, really can't have been easy for either of them to battle back after such a dreadful past week. Gio must, I think, be very good at building confidence in his dance partners.

And BEST VT OF THE NIGHT. Deploying Anton du Beke as the training room Funk Demon was a stroke of comic genius.

I also really enjoyed Claudia's dance which sparkled, the drama in Daisy's paso and Brendan using ALL THE DRY ICE on a Halloween Hoverboard. I am surprised that I really loved Greg's non-Rumba and thought he performed it amazingly well. And, of course EdBalls

A great Halloween night with some surprises.

Edit: Also totally agree - loving the little details.. That is great choreo. And its for me by far Laura's best performance, she really acted that Death Tango character superbly.

BIB
I loved that bit too - especially the way Laura clapped her hands and put her arms out to receive the return of Giovanni.

It was full of little moments which created the chemistry and interaction between them - made the dance come alive as a piece of theatre too!

Yes. It wasn't *just* a dance; it made me feel they were characters and a bigger narrative was going on around this moment. And Laura seemed completely immersed in it!

The stage was set for Louise's breakthrough dance, but Laura was the one. She stands out now more strongly among the women competitors and, gawd, this is a good time to do it

Longer version of their Tango - with judges comments and scores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNI2sNE4pk

Great, detailed choreography that made Laura work hard as an actress - so really challenged her I think. I received quite a lot of stick elsewhere for saying that Gio's choreo I think has improved quite a bit this year. I am standing by that view - the dances he has created are better by a few notches this series. Not a criticism of him last year, just saying that it is great to see the professional dancers evolving and challenging themselves. (CoughBrendanCough). I mean, Gio could have put Laura on a hoverboard for 30 seconds.... but he made her dance instead. At 150 bpm.

I hope that they get to do a Rumba and a Paso this series. A few weeks ago I didn't want to see them do those dances.. but now I think they could potentially be show-stoppers.

I know - really surprised me. I thought it was going to be a Night of the Zombie Clifton Charlestons... but really didn't work out that way.

Both my favourite dancers this year are proper beginners who have seized the moment to really inhabit a dance with superb choreography -- Ore's gorgeously suave AS and now Laura's scary Death Tango. Getting people's imagination is almost more important than flawless dancing...

Any hoo, I'm much MUCH more confident about Laura and Gio's chances than I was the minute before the band started to play 'Paint it Black' last night. Question is, can they keep up the momentum if they're through to the next week?