Sunday Service: Week 4

I was really excited about this week. I loved the charleston routines last year, and tango is my favourite ballroom dance. But I'm afraid to say I was pretty underwhelmed with most of last night's performances. For many of the couples, they put in their best performances, but few were really outstanding.

The charleston was clearly Jimi's dance. He was able to let his personality shine through, without worrying quite so much about the technical side of things. I thought it was Jimi & Flavia's best dance so far. It was cheeky and fun. I only noticed one small fault where a hand grab was a bit messy. Frankly, I'm not sure why they ended up so far down the leaderboard. I think they were under marked.

Scott & Natalie's tango was another strong one. The routine had great musicality, which Scott presented well. There was lots of light and shade. The out of hold sections had nods to paso doble. Scott has great drive, and leads Natalie very well. Scott is yet to do any proper latin (salsa doesn't count in my mind), so I'll be intrigued to see how he gets on. Will he be able to master the hip action?

Tina made a solid return to the dancefloor. Her timing was improved this week, with only one noticeable error. I have to agree with the judges that the charleston was Tina & Jared's best dance so far. I really liked the cartwheel section. I'd really like to see them come out and do a routine that is not 'cute'. I can't wait to see them do a dance with some fire.

I loved the open and close of Felicity & Vincent's tango. They are such a pleasure to watch. Felicity needs to be sharper on the staccato sections. Her acting was very good, as you would expect. But her dancing needed more drive and attack. Everything was a bit light.

Patsy & Robin looked as well rehearsed as they all series. I have to agree with Craig that the charleston lost energy as it progressed. There were a couple of small errors, but she looked confident. Patsy's facial expressions were great. Easily Patsy's best dance so far.

All week Gavin was saying that he thought the tango was his dance. Oh dear. I've seen more drive in a pushbike than was present in Gavin's tango. Gavin's performance had little passion, just occasional flickers when he was out of hold. On the technical side, he doesn't stride out enough. His steps are too small. Katya's choreography was the right standard for Gavin, he just didn't pull it off. He has to find his inner passion for dance.

The charleston was totally Erin's dance. It's such a shame it wasn't Peter's. There were timing issues all over the shop. He tried really hard, and seems to be having a great time. It's such a shame his ability doesn't match his desire. Total dad dancing.

Is there anything Pamela Stephenson cannot do? Yet another great performance. Her tango had lost of passion and great musical interpretation. She raised her shoulders a little, and that's probably the first criticism anyone has been able to make so far. James was excited to be able to dance the tango for the first time on Strictly. A great routine. No tricks. Just tango.

I've complained about Matt & Aliona's repeated use of tricks and props in the past, but somehow it totally worked in the charleston. He rode a unicycle. That's impressive. Dance wise, I really enjoyed it. There was one small timing issue and a slip, but few couples escaped without timining issues last night. Matt's performance was excellent as usual, with great facial expressions. The cartwheel section was especially impressive. Aliona is a brave woman.

It must have been a challenging week for Michelle having to switch partners, but for tango she couldn't have been in safer hands than Ian. Ian managed to get Michelle's long limbs under control. Michelle looks more comfortable in hold, and ballroom is definitely her stronger suit. However, she still looks unstable. She looked a little skippy in places. She could do with spotting more on the turns, but her head turns on the staccato sections we good. A bit of a mixed bag.

Kara & Artem's charleston was very slick. The slickest dance of the night with no errors. The lifts were great. Her dancing was faultless. I thought she showed a cheeky side, although perhaps a few more facial expressions would have put the icing on the cake. I loved it.

Last week I suggested that Anton should use more smoke and mirrors, and not get straight on with the dancing. Tricks don't get any bigger than having Ann enter via a wire. The comedy approach is definitely the was for them to go, and I ended up enjoying their tango more than Gavin's. Which of course makes me feel dirty and ashamed. The opening and close was fun. However, the dancing in the middle was not good. Ann walked and skipped after Anton throughout the routine. Her technique is dreadful.

Pamela once again is my favourite, followed closely by Kara this week. My bottom two would probably be Ann and Peter, saying goodbye to Peter. I enjoyed both of their performances more than Gavin's, but I would keep Gavin because at least he was dancing. It wasn't very interesting, but it was dancing. I suspect that either Peter or Gavin will leave tonight.

Here are are videos...

Jimi & Flavia



Scott & Natalie



Tina & Jared



Felicity & Vincent



Patsy & Robin



Gavin & Katya



Peter & Erin



Pamela & James



Matt & Aliona



Michelle & Ian



Kara & Artem



Ann & Anton