Strictly Come Blogging: Sunday Service: Week 4

Here we go with a round-up of Strictly Come Dancing, Week 4.

There was little to fault with Zoe & James' foxtrot. It was very graceful. Zoe looks so at home with ballroom, and really captured the glamorous spirit of the dance.

Chris' salsa was very hit and miss. There were times he really threw himself into it, and other times he looked very tentative. His timing was much better than last week, even during the sections where Ola left him on his own. But I did agree with Craig and Alesha's comments. The dance lacked energy and spirit.

Lynda & Darren turned in a good effort. Sometimes doubt flickers across Lynda's eyes, and gives her away. The dance lacked sway, and I agreed with Craig that it was a bit 'walky'. But I thought it was an inspired song choice from Darren, and a fabulous dress.

Ali & Brian's salsa routine was certainly action packed, but it looked better in the training footage than it did on the floor. Ali does have excellent hip action. She looked a bit nervous though, and not 'hot' enough. It wasn't Latin enough, it was all a bit British. Ali seems to be suffering from whatever inhibition Rachel Stevens had last year. She needs to let go.

Jo does OK when she's in Brendan's hold, but is a total mess out of it. I respect her for all the effort she is putting in. She needs more conviction and performance, which might cover up some of her lack of ability. And she must point her feet if she's going to do high kicks. They were pretty ugly.

Natalie needs to finish moves before she moves on to the next (I'd like to point out that I had turned to hubby and said this before Alesha said the very same thing last night... I'm very proud when I pick up the same things as the judges, but then I have to write a blog, and I don't want anyone to think I'm just rehashing the judges comments). She was the first of the salsa dancers who really captured the spirit of the dance. She needs to hold herself better when her feet aren't moving. During one arm section, she was stood with feet apart like a bouncer. But I really like Natalie. I hope she and Vincent stay a while longer.

Joe still has issues with his timing, but perhaps there is improvement. Very cleaver choreography, with lots of walking from Joe while Kristina did all the work. I really do not enjoy watching Joe dance.

Laila & Anton were easily the best foxtrotters of the night. They totally captured the spirit of the foxtrot. I worry that Laila will struggle when she has to do the latin dances. So far she's only had to face the cha cha, probably the easiest latin dance, and wasn't that great.

I thought Ricky & Natalie were fantastic, although I really would have liked to see Ricky attempt some more complex choreography - something more like Ali & Brian's routine. But he certainly did a great job.

Craig & Flavia's foxtrot was a bit tentative. It lacked the required sway. Craig needs to sell it more. His performances lack personality.

Jade & Ian put in a good salsa performance. I don't want to mention the height thing, but salsa does favour the small. But Jade did well. She could have had more performance, and it could have been cleaner, but a solid performance.

Ricky & Erin looked classy. He does need to watch his shoulders, as the judges mentioned, and really relax. Even he lacked the real performance that we've seen in past weeks. But he did prove that he does have dance ability.

Phil & Katya's salsa was good, considering the circumstances. Phil didn't dance that much, which was to be expected, but he had good hip action and brought performance and fun to the routine. I can't wait to see Phil when he is further removed from his operation.

Again, I don't think the two worst dancers were in the bottom two. It should have been Jo and Joe. I can understand people's motivation to vote for Jo, as she is sweet and is really working hard. But I don't like Joe especially. If you're voting for him, please explain to me why...

Personally, I would have saved Lynda & Darren. I like Craig, but his performances are generally pretty tentative and lacking in confidence. It was close though. Craig is probably technically better but lacks performance and presentation. Lynda is technically weaker, but has performance in spades. A tough decision, and I don't judge Bruno and Len for going with Craig & Flavia.

Here are the videos...

Zoe & James