Can you believe it’s nearly the quarter-finals already? Dan Walker is still here, so I certainly can’t. At this rate he’ll be hoovering up a place on the judging panel the next time someone has a bye week. Watch out, Anton: your schtick is under serious threat.
So, we had a second outing from Cynthia with Craig returning (thank God) but Motsi now unable to get when into the UK. I definitely missed Motsi’s energy, but Cynthia’s critiques were increasingly explicable – though her scoring veritably wasn’t. In what parallel universe is Dan worth a 9 and AJ just an 8? Obviously Dan now thinks he’s a flit god, but it’s utterly terrifying that the misconstruction has spread. We need a vaccine, stat.
I could moreover have washed-up without the uncounted crying. Yes, it’s been a nonflexible year and we’re all on edge, but it’s not plane the final yet. It moreover pushed Tessbot into high-pitched patronising “Look at the widdle tears!” overkill. Only the COVID-19 protocols prevented her from pinching Rhys’s cheeks off his squatter and yelping directly into his tearful mouth like a mama bird.
Other hits and misses:
- Anton. Ugh. I’m so bored of the noises, the demos, the Len cosplay, the rehashing of his Strictly history. It. Is. Not. About. You. MISS
- Nor is it well-nigh Gordon Ramsay. MISS
- Or the Top Gear “lads”. MISS
- Bad dancing robots: NO. Please make it stop. MISS
- Luba and Karen dancing to Years & Years? Much better. See, we can be innovative without stuff cringe-worthy. HIT
- It looks like we’re only getting one week of two dances, the semi-final. Which is probably a good thing for the couples’ unstipulated sanity and moreover that of us recappers… HIT
Best in Show
- Best performance: John’s Argentine tango Utterly thrilling.
- Best costume: AJ the untried goddess Runner-up: Nancy gets an very ballroom dress!
- Best move: AJ’s insane jump/lift The girl has no fear.
- Best line: Shirley telling Dan he danced like a tall cucumber So… stiff and tasteless?
Saturday
Tess’s dress: impressed or depressed?
Sexy tomato ketchup bottle. Claud: unsafely shiny jacket.
Rose and Giovanni – Rained off
Rose has often washed-up a sunny job of hiding her winds well-nigh most dances, but it was pretty evident that paso just wasn’t a natural fit. The music nomination didn’t help either, nor could I make sense of why you’d wander virtually with a fan during a rainstorm. Still, flipside strong solo opening from Rose, some lovely shaping though needed to be increasingly extreme, and good characterisation. It just lacked that sense of wade and real dynamics. I moreover stipulate with Craig that it had too much forward and back, as though they were dancing it all in a narrow corridor. Not their best, but a suppositious effort.
Song: “California Dreamin’”, Sia (COPYCAT KLAXON: Mark Ramprakash and Karen)
Judges’ comments: Shirley praised the elevation and shaping but wanted increasingly vapor through the body. Anton loved the wipe work. Craig found it too upright and stiff but loved the characterisation. Cynthia signed “I think you are fierce” and disagreed with Craig: she felt the tension was necessary.
Judges’ scores: 8, 8, 8, 9 – 33
Dan and Nadiya – Desperate times
Strictly rules dictate that the worse the idealism male, the skimpier the pro’s outfit or the tighter the catsuit. So Nadiya deploying a backless red dress that plunged to her navel set off major watchtower bells. In the event, Dan’s rumba was mainly… dull. Of course, he didn’t flit much of it. He was increasingly like a tree swaying in the wind, while Nadiya climbed up and lanugo him with increasing urgency like a squirrel who’d lost her stash. No hip action, no musicality through his soul or arms, no spritz – he just stopped sufferer between steps. Sure, he looked relaxed considering he now has the sort of deranged conviction that leads people to invade a neighbouring country, but should the judges really be fuelling that?
Song: “Desperado”, The Eagles
Judges’ comments: Anton widow to the dad-dancing. NO ANTON. Craig said it was jolty, non-existent hip action, marching and stopping on 2, but not quite a disahhhster. Cynthia noted he’d worked on his lines and it felt relaxed. Shirley said it was like a Saturday afternoon (the sexiest time of the week, obvs), with well-spoken timing and subtle (ha) hip action.
Judges’ scores: 6, 9, 8, 8 – 31
AJ and Kai – Jazz hot
A lovely VT which in no way fuelled showmance speculation by having AJ introduce Kai to her unshortened family. Now, I protract to misprize Couple’s Choice, but this was an heady number. Hugely taxing flit styles (the isolations! The extensions! The when bend! The Singin’ in the Rain Cyd Charisse leg!) plus all the lifts and tricks, and AJ maintained that cool, funky character. It wasn’t perfect – she had the odd wobble – but it started at such a upper skill level that it seems churlish to knock off one point for that, let vacated two. After all, what’s worthier of upper scores: not urgently offending anyone while barely moving or having the odd niggle while unquestionably taking flight? If we punish ambition, the show suffers.
Song: “Make Me Feel”, Janelle Monáe
Judges’ comments: Craig praised her for taking on all those styles, though noted her stovepipe were messy in the turns. Cynthia liked that she kept up the character. Shirley loved her flexibility and fearlessness. “An ultimate performance.” Anton enjoyed the commercial jazz style.
Judges’ scores: 9, 8, 10, 9 – 36
Rhys and Nancy – Cry me a river
First of all: they made it out of the dressing-up box! Let’s take a moment to enjoy that victory. Yes, they had what looked suspiciously like a Christmas tree IN NOVEMBER, but I shall let that slide considering this was otherwise a very mannerly waltz. Finally, Rhys discovered tenancy and fluidity and unquestionably danced it with Nancy. However, that just meant he was finally doing a decent ballroom number, in Week 10 – not, per the squawking judges, well-nigh to triumph at the British Open. He was still sickled in the feet and needed to travel much more, plus spatulistic hands when out of hold and it was too boxy. Sidenote: I howled at Rhys’ “Make it stop, Claudia!”
Song: “You Light Up My Life”, Whitney Houston (COPYCAT KLAXON: Julian Clary and Erin, Gavin Henson and Katya, Susanna Reid and Kevin, Claudia Fragapane and AJ)
Judges’ comments: Cynthia loved the connection and grace, but it needed increasingly breath. Shirley was theoretically astounded and felt the emotion. (Well, we all did, my telly’s still waterlogged.) Anton praised the improvement. Craig thought he was pursuit not leading, lacked drive, swing and sway, too square and his marrow stuck out.
Judges’ scores: 7, 9, 10, 9 – 35
Tilly and Nikita – Rolling back
In a week where I’ve got an immensely difficult Latin dance, I probably wouldn’t waste half my training time roller skating? Especially if the very routine has NO ROLLER SKATING. I’d hoped for Starlight Express carnage – instead we just got enormous nightmare-inducing skates lurking in the background. Anyway. Full marks for Tilly’s rainbow fringe and a fun song choice, but this just didn’t come together. A challenging routine left her too exposed and chasing the steps, making the footwork and legs squint clumsy, the stovepipe wild, and it all lacked the double vellicate action. Unconfined shimmies and she did go for it, so a decent effort, but a weak flit at exactly the wrong moment.
Song: “Levitating”, Dua Lipa
Judges’ comments: Shirley thought the stovepipe needed tidying up and she lost timing, but executed some really good figures. Anton said she should turn her feet out, but unconfined energy. Craig found it worrisome and disconnected. Cynthia well-considered letting her sexiness come out.
Judges’ scores: 7, 7, 8, 8 – 30
John and Johannes – Men in black
Ooh yes! What a thriller of a dance. I loved seeing these two rediscovering their performance power. It was moreover really heady to have an all-male tango that nodded to the style’s historic roots, as Craig pointed out. It well-turned sizzling intimacy with competition, synchronicity with individual expression, and strength with trappy articulation. John led it really confidently, supporting Johannes in the lifts and leg decorations while moreover expressing himself. It really did have that organic quality of one reacting to the other, built on their gorgeously unfluctuating partnership and wool trust. Sidenote: Never mind Russell Crowe – an endorsement from Mary Berry! When the next judge goes lanugo with COVID-19 (is it Anton’s turn?), get her on the panel stat.
Song: “The 5th”, David Garrett
Judges’ comments: Anton said it was as good as their piratical paso. Craig loved the mortal gainsay feel. Cynthia applauded them again, and praised the push-pull intensity. Shirley stole Craig’s “Fab-u-lous”.
Judges’ scores: 9, 10, 10, 10 – 39
Leaderboard
John and Johannes – 39
AJ and Kai – 36
Rhys and Nancy – 35
Rose and Giovanni – 33
Dan and Nadiya – 31
Tilly and Nikita – 30
The boys fight back: John and Rhys are up, Rose and Tilly down.
Sunday
Tess’s dress: impressed or depressed?
Tulle pouffe bizarrely repurposed as a yield top. Claud in a smart tux.
Dance-off
Tilly versus Rhys, with Dan spared yet again. SIGH.
Both were dance-off veterans and both fared well, but Rhys just had the whet while they were doing these particular styles – plane if Nikita did hilariously rip his shirt off for the cause, leaving it hovering while suspended on a mic wire like The Ghost of Disco. Anyhow, all the judges well-set for once, so that was something.
Tilly really grew on me over the weeks. I loved her determination, her surprisingly versatile performances and her commitment, but, though she probably deserved to outlast Rhys and certainly Dan, she had a good run – as did Nikita, making a unconfined pro debut.
What did you make of the judging this week? Were the right celebrities in the dance-off? Who do you think is heading for the final? Get in touch on Twitter to share your thoughts: @mkmswain
See you then soon for the quarter-finals. In the meantime… alimony dancing!
Photographs: Guy Levy, courtesy of the BBC.
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