Strictly Come Blogging: Sunday Service: Week 7

Everything about this week's show was normal. No stupid themes. No guest judges. Just Strictly, the way it should be. Although I could live without the judges' bickering. I really hate when Len dismisses Craig like a small child.

I liked Alex & James' jive. While Alex's technique is still not very good, the performance side of her routines has really improved in the past few weeks. She seems to be having fun on the floor now. The jive was bordering on rock n roll or lindy rather than jive, though. It would have been nicer if Alex had pointed her toes on the flicks. However, Alex definitely captured the energy of the dance. A good job.

Robbie looks so good when he does the ballroom dances, and the American smooth was no exception. He did a good job, lifting Ola with ease and leading her well. He looked relaxed and comfortable on the floor. He shouldn't have any problem fulfilling his dream of getting to Wembley.

Audley gave the cha cha everything he had, but we are now at the stage of the competition where everyone is so good, that his days could well be numbered. It's unlucky for Audley & Natalie that they have had to dance latin this week, since Audley's ballroom is stronger. A ballroom dance might have given him a better chance this week. What I love about Audley is how much he seems to be enjoying himself on the floor. Making him dance makes you smile. He gave the cha cha a good go, and earlier in the competition he'd have done enough to go through, but I think that could be his last dance.

The Argentine tango seemed to suit Harry. Harry tends not to show too much personality on the floor, so the cool gaucho role seemed to suit him. I loved the section at the beginning where ran down the stairs and into a drag of Aliona. The nice thing about the routine was the Harry got to move his feet a bit more (presumably because Aliona didn't do the choreogrpahy...).

The Viennese waltz was another competent performance for Jason. It's a hard dance to make interesting because there is not that much you can do with it, but Kristina's choreography was romantic and elegant. The camerawork on Viennese waltzes is starting to frustrate me, as it seems whenever there is a fleckerl/standing spin, they seem to focus on the top half. I couldn't see if he was doing a fleckerl or not until it was almost over.

Chelsee has become so elegant over the weeks. She is starting to become a lovely dancer, who has such lovely lines. Her long dress covered her feet a bit, so it was difficult to see how her footwork was, but her topline and arms were excellent. Pasha's foxtrot choreography was lovely. Chelsee seems to be finding her feet, and it's exciting to watch.

Anita & Robin's Argentine tango was not as strong as last week's Charleston. It's important to let your partner lead in this dance, more so than any other, but Anita seemed to be anticipating the choreography a little. She could have pulled her shoulders back to improve her top line. She was a little hunched over. And her knees should have been straighter. As always, Anita's performance was excellent, and she really captured the mood of the dance.

Everyone was going to be watching Holly & Brendan with interest. Like Michelle last year, Holly had to change partners due to Artem's injury. The difference for Holly was that Artem was still there to choreograph and critique. Holly did a lovely job with the rumba. I really enjoyed it. I agreed with the judges that she needs to have more emotion in her performances, but that has been her biggest problem since day one. She needs to tap into her acting skills a bit more and really feel what she is doing. It will be interesting so see if this threesome will have to continue in the coming weeks.

Russell & Flavia's routines are more like mini-shows than dances, and this week's American smooth was another epic. It was as enjoyable as always. However, I do wish they'd have attempted a simple lift or two. I don't think we've ever had am American smooth on Strictly with no lifts before. I'd like to see Russell move out of his comfort zone and be challenged a little more.

I don't think there's any doubt that Audley is now a little out of his depth and should be heading home. But it's so difficult to pick someone who deserves to be in the bottom two with him. Possibly Alex. Or even Anita. It's so hard to say. I just hope that it is Audley who is sent home tonight, purely because I don't think anyone else deserves to go. If anyone else does go, it will be a complete shock.

Here are the videos...

Alex & James