Strictly Come Blogging

Louise. Lou. Loulabelle. Loulabelle44. Louby. loulabelle44@outlook.com.
Proudly blogging about Strictly Come Dancing ALL YEAR ROUND since 2006. Always spoiler-free.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sunday Service: Week 8

There are only 8 couples left, and the competition is getting tougher. After the highs of last week, despite being in Blackpool, this week didn't quite live up to my expectations. Not every week is going to top the last, I suppose.

Patsy & Robin did a competent job with the samba. Technically Patsy isn't that great, but what she lacks in quality she makes up for with performance and exuberance. She comes out and gives the routines everything. It was nice and bouncy, although she is a little heavy footed. You could see that she was trying to get the hips going, although there wasn't lots of hip action (but I find samba hips the hardest thing to get, so I wouldn't expect any celebrity to get it right!). It was a little uncontrolled, but Patsy is such a joy to watch. And her outfit was lovely. I love this Kylie vibe she has going.

I liked Kara & Artem's Bond-esque take on the American smooth. I think it was totally unfair for Len to mark them a 6. Kara's execution of what she was given to dance was flawless. Kara's job is to learn and perform. She doesn't have an influence on the choreography. It's one thing to knock a point off for an illegal lift, but it's another to mark them down 3 or 4 points. The couple's should be judged on the celebrity's performance, and Kara was stunning. Besides, most of Artem's numbers have been thin on the basics of the dance. I can't believe Len has only just noticed...

Matt & Aliona's samba was well presented, but they are just not blowing me away. The shadow samba rolls were very nice, but for me there was too much wiggling while standing still, and not enough travelling (but of course, I wouldn't judge Matt for that - he did what he was given well). I did think towards the end how Aliona had got through the dance without inserting, and then came the tumbles. Oh well.

The lifts in Felicity & Vincent's American smooth were lovely, with clean entry and exits. Felicity has the personality on the floor, but not the technical execution. She dances on her toes a little too much and doesn't drive as much as she should. She is very elegant, though. The American smooth seems to suit Felicity, as it requires that acting element that a straight Foxtrot does not. If this was her last dance, she'll go out on a high.

I thought Gavin actually did a reasonable job with the American smooth. His manner on the floor is a little to 'casual' for me, though. His way in the American smooth was a bit laid back, and not formal enough. However, that is still better than having him rigid with nerves, so if it works, why not? It's a shame the 'superlift' was obscured by Katya's skirt so much. It meant the 'wow' factor was lost a little bit. I really liked the way Gavin presented Katya throughout the dance. He looked a little awkward on the solo turns, but there's no way he would have even attempted anything solo all those weeks ago. Gavin is really starting to turn the corner. I thought this was better than their quickstep last week.

Scott & Natalie did a good job with the samba. His hips were OK, but not outstanding. Their shadow rolls were well executed. It had a fair bit of bounce, and certainly was a party dance. Scott & Natalie do everything well. Not every dance is going to be a Viennese waltz or a jive, but they still do everything very well.

Personally, I didn't like the slightly comical aspect in Pamela & James' American smooth. But that aside, Pamela is just great. She is so elegant. She finishes everything so beautifully, and her lines are wonderful. Pamela's footwork is outstanding. Her upturned toes on the foxtrot steps when travelling backwards is worthy of a professional. She is the only celebrity I've noticed who does that (well done James!). Her turns are spot on. Gorgeous running promenades. Well-deserved 10s.

I liked Ann's costume. I think I might stop there. The samba was embarrassing. Ann isn't even trying to dance. Anton just dances around her and drags her about. But what other option does he have? How much more of this do we have to endure?

Top for me this week were Pamela and Kara. Of course Ann should go. She should have gone since week 1. in the bottom two with her should be Felicity, I think. Sadly, I think it might be Felicity or Patsy going home. I do not want to see Ann (not) doing the rumba!

Here are the videos...

Patsy & Robin



Kara & Artem



Matt & Aliona



Felicity & Vincent



Gavin & Katya



Scott & Natalie



Ann & Anton

2 Comments:

  • At 7:28 pm, Blogger acanthe sauvage said…

    I loved Kara and Artem's American Smooth; I thought it was classy and dramatic and just tremendously pleasing, to mark it so low was just absurd - only 1 more than Ann! Was also bored by Matt's gymnastics and thought Pamela's tens were well deserved. The longer she stays in and the 'feistier' she becomes about her so-called performance, the more I am reminded that AW is really quite unpleasant!

     
  • At 9:49 pm, Blogger Jenny said…

    I agree with Acanthe.The only dance I want to watch over and over again is Kara and Artems. Pure class! Even if not completely correct. If you're going to fussy with one Len, you have to be consistent and judge the others like that too. By the way, thanks again for the phone number last night Lou! (-: I must write it down somewhere.

     

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