Strictly Come Blogging: Sunday Service: Week 13

The semi-final!! I can't believe the series is almost over. What am I supposed to do on a Saturday night?

Anyway, onto last night's show.

I loved the open of Chris & Ola's rumba. It had brilliant musicality. Chris & Ola have such amazing chemistry, and it showed during this routine. It was a really romantic rumba, with the right levels of longing and yearning. Chris lead Ola into all of her turns really well, and you can see the trust between them. The only downside was the lack of choreography for Chris. Ola did all the work, with Chris just standing around doing the pushes and pulls. That said, I really liked it. They were right to take a chance on the rumba.

Chris & Ola's Argentine tango was better than I expected it to be. The timing was excellent. It was a great routine and well presented. It was a much more challenging routine than the rumba choreographically, but Chris pulled it off, showing that he is capable of more difficult routines. It had great chemistry and mood. I think Bruno was possibly a little unfair to bang on about his face so much, when otherwise it was good.

Ali & Brian's Argentine tango didn't quite work for me. Ali appeared to be anticipating the steps, rather than waiting for Brian to lead. This is a huge mistake in Argentine tango. It kills the look of the dance. The whole thing was a bit flat and certainly not a classic. I agreed with the judges that Ali's nerves are distracting from her performance.

Ali & Brian put in a cracking American smooth performance. It had personality in spades and lots of glamour. A real Fred & Ginger routine. The opening proved that Ali can do sexy - she looked great with her shoulder rolls and hips. Where was that Ali during the latin routines? And I loved that wicked little kiss at the end to catch Ali out. I get the feeling Brian didn't do that in rehearsals!

I can't help wondering why Ricky & Natalie opted for the waltz and not the quickstep. In my opinion, Ricky didn't look as confident as usual when the waltz started. Maybe it was semi-final nerves? I wasn't taken with the song choice. Kissing You was what Vincent & Flavia performed a waltz in the middle of all their troubles during series 6, and it was so right and so perfect that no-one else can touch them. My own prejudices about the music aside, the routine was lovely and was performed with great poise and fluidity.

Ricky & Natalie's Argentine tango was fantastic. They had great mood and passion. Ricky has great control and lead Natalie very well.

I was torn about who I wanted to see in the final. I generally vote for dancing over entertainment, so I think deep down I wanted to see Ricky and Ali go through, and indeed I voted for them. I was really surprised that Ricky was through over Ali, as I didn't think he really had the level of public support that Ali did. I don't begrudge Chris a place in the final, though. He put in two solid routines, while Ali turned one weak one and one strong one.

I think Chris must have the edge going in to the final, just going by the amount of public support he appears to have. But you never know.

Bring on the ~~wall~~ showdances! Bring on the final!

Here are the videos...

Chris & Ola - rumba