Wednesday Wonderings: Week 2
Moving on to Week 2 today...
Most of the celebrities saw improvement in Week 2, now they are over the first week nerves and know what it is all about.
I didn't really like Nicky & Karen's cha cha routine. Nicky's performance was a bit weak (but then, he used to be in Westwooden) and I agreed with Len about the content being a bit lacking (not Nicky's fault, of course). Nicky seems to have quite a bit of personality in training and on It Takes Two, so he just needs to bring it to the dancefloor. Technically, he was a bit bent-legged.
I think it's pretty mean to make any of the celebrities do a Viennese waltz in Week 2, but which is probably why Colin & Kristina's routine lacked much serious Viennese waltz content. Colin performed what he was given very well, but he his capable of so much more. The judges said that he lacked drive, but I think this is because he is conscious of the height difference. While he doesn't stoop to Kristina (which is excellent), he's not striding out as he'd take her legs out. Can someone please explain why he was not partnered with Natalie?
Dani & Vincent's salsa was packed with content. It was a much more confident dance than last week. Dani needs more movement through her body on the rolls (I don't think that the 'isolation' that Darcey talked about was necessarily intentional), but the routine was pretty crisp and clean.
The Viennese waltz suited Fern & Artem better than the cha cha. Fern's footwork wasn't very good, with barely a heel lead to be seen. She still looks caught up in the moment, and doesn't seem to be performing for the audience. She's dancing for herself.
Richard & Erin's cha cha was a lot more 'Richard' than the waltz. Richard needs more strength in his legs and better arm placement, but still a solid performance.
A much more confident Victoria stepped onto the floor on Saturday. She looked comfortable in Brendan's hold. She did a pretty good job at the foxtrot, but needs to work on her turns, which were pretty ugly.
Michael & Natalie's jive was a complete mess, yet for some odd reason I found myself enjoying it. Michael was rushing ahead of the music again, but being out hold meant that Natalie could not reign him in. His dancing was OK. I really liked the double spin move where she was laid over his side. The choreography was lovely.
Louis & Flavia's performance was much nicer than last week. Louis was a bit skippy, but otherwise good and it was great to see that essential Viennese waltz element - the fleckerl - being attempted.
Denise & James really bought the WOW! factor to the dancefloor. Their jive was amazing. It was energetic and packed with steps. It was well executed throughout and brilliantly performed. It was totally Denise's dance, and could easily be one of the dances we look back on and talk about in years to come.
It was a shame Johnny & Iveta had to follow them. Johnny's performance was lumpy, especially in hold, but it was clear that he has been working very hard. I agreed with Bruno that he actually hit some lovely lines out of hold.
If it's not too early to nominate a 'Dark Horse', I would opt for Sid. He's actually pretty good, and I think he'll have an interesting journey (yes, I went there - two Strictly cliches in one post!). The salsa had way more content than Ola's routine usually do (I presume it wasn't her choreography). Yes, it was a bit wild, but Sid's got lots to give.
Kimberly & Pasha's foxtrot was a lovely routine. The pair captured the mood of the song perfectly. Kimberley missed a lot of heel leads, and I felt she lost focus in the middle of the routine. She needs to sustain her performance level throughout the whole number.
Jerry proved that she does know how to dance, or maybe it was the illusion of the Anton hold. She clearly needs more strength, but there may be a jot of talent there after all. She was quite entertaining.
Lisa & Robin were generally very good. Lisa needs to maintain the elegance throughout the dance, though. Sometimes she looked lovely during the Viennese waltz, other times she looked like a barmaid. She needs more control and fluidity. She also needs to improve her top line.
There was no doubt that Johnny should have been in the bottom two, and it was right for him to go. He was outclassed by everyone. But I was a bit surprised to see Richard in the bottom two with him. I would have put Michael or Jerry there over Richard. Perhaps Richard was the victim of the judges' scores being aggregated over two weeks. Or maybe it's that he's probably one of the least famous participants. Either way, the right person was sent home this week.
Here are the videos:
Nicky & Karen
Colin & Kristina
Dani & Vincent
Fern & Artem
Richard & Erin
Victoria & Brendan
Michael & Natalie
Louis & Flavia
Denise & James
Johnny & Iveta
Sid & Ola
Kimberley & Pasha
Jerry & Anton
Lisa & Robin
Most of the celebrities saw improvement in Week 2, now they are over the first week nerves and know what it is all about.
I didn't really like Nicky & Karen's cha cha routine. Nicky's performance was a bit weak (but then, he used to be in Westwooden) and I agreed with Len about the content being a bit lacking (not Nicky's fault, of course). Nicky seems to have quite a bit of personality in training and on It Takes Two, so he just needs to bring it to the dancefloor. Technically, he was a bit bent-legged.
I think it's pretty mean to make any of the celebrities do a Viennese waltz in Week 2, but which is probably why Colin & Kristina's routine lacked much serious Viennese waltz content. Colin performed what he was given very well, but he his capable of so much more. The judges said that he lacked drive, but I think this is because he is conscious of the height difference. While he doesn't stoop to Kristina (which is excellent), he's not striding out as he'd take her legs out. Can someone please explain why he was not partnered with Natalie?
Dani & Vincent's salsa was packed with content. It was a much more confident dance than last week. Dani needs more movement through her body on the rolls (I don't think that the 'isolation' that Darcey talked about was necessarily intentional), but the routine was pretty crisp and clean.
The Viennese waltz suited Fern & Artem better than the cha cha. Fern's footwork wasn't very good, with barely a heel lead to be seen. She still looks caught up in the moment, and doesn't seem to be performing for the audience. She's dancing for herself.
Richard & Erin's cha cha was a lot more 'Richard' than the waltz. Richard needs more strength in his legs and better arm placement, but still a solid performance.
A much more confident Victoria stepped onto the floor on Saturday. She looked comfortable in Brendan's hold. She did a pretty good job at the foxtrot, but needs to work on her turns, which were pretty ugly.
Michael & Natalie's jive was a complete mess, yet for some odd reason I found myself enjoying it. Michael was rushing ahead of the music again, but being out hold meant that Natalie could not reign him in. His dancing was OK. I really liked the double spin move where she was laid over his side. The choreography was lovely.
Louis & Flavia's performance was much nicer than last week. Louis was a bit skippy, but otherwise good and it was great to see that essential Viennese waltz element - the fleckerl - being attempted.
Denise & James really bought the WOW! factor to the dancefloor. Their jive was amazing. It was energetic and packed with steps. It was well executed throughout and brilliantly performed. It was totally Denise's dance, and could easily be one of the dances we look back on and talk about in years to come.
It was a shame Johnny & Iveta had to follow them. Johnny's performance was lumpy, especially in hold, but it was clear that he has been working very hard. I agreed with Bruno that he actually hit some lovely lines out of hold.
If it's not too early to nominate a 'Dark Horse', I would opt for Sid. He's actually pretty good, and I think he'll have an interesting journey (yes, I went there - two Strictly cliches in one post!). The salsa had way more content than Ola's routine usually do (I presume it wasn't her choreography). Yes, it was a bit wild, but Sid's got lots to give.
Kimberly & Pasha's foxtrot was a lovely routine. The pair captured the mood of the song perfectly. Kimberley missed a lot of heel leads, and I felt she lost focus in the middle of the routine. She needs to sustain her performance level throughout the whole number.
Jerry proved that she does know how to dance, or maybe it was the illusion of the Anton hold. She clearly needs more strength, but there may be a jot of talent there after all. She was quite entertaining.
Lisa & Robin were generally very good. Lisa needs to maintain the elegance throughout the dance, though. Sometimes she looked lovely during the Viennese waltz, other times she looked like a barmaid. She needs more control and fluidity. She also needs to improve her top line.
There was no doubt that Johnny should have been in the bottom two, and it was right for him to go. He was outclassed by everyone. But I was a bit surprised to see Richard in the bottom two with him. I would have put Michael or Jerry there over Richard. Perhaps Richard was the victim of the judges' scores being aggregated over two weeks. Or maybe it's that he's probably one of the least famous participants. Either way, the right person was sent home this week.
Here are the videos:
Nicky & Karen
Colin & Kristina
Dani & Vincent
Fern & Artem
Richard & Erin
Victoria & Brendan
Michael & Natalie
Louis & Flavia
Denise & James
Johnny & Iveta
Sid & Ola
Kimberley & Pasha
Jerry & Anton
Lisa & Robin
posted by Loulabelle44 @ 1:16 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home