Sunday Service: Week 7
Week 7 is Wembley Week once again. I had the privilege of being at Wembley Arena last night. I hope everyone watching at home enjoyed the programme as much as we did. The atmosphere was amazing.
Lisa & Robin kicked things off with their samba. They got the biggest and best reception of the whole night. At first I was wondering where the samba content was - it was their usual side-by-side stuff, but then they went into some lovely voltres. Lisa is a brilliant performer, but she still needs more technique. She definitely could have done with some more hip action. The split at the end certainly woke the crowd up!
Nicky & Karen were next with the jive. The dance had loads of energy, which Nicky sustained all the way through. He could have pointed his toes on the kicks, and it was all a bit flat-footed, but I think it was one of Nicky's better dances.
Denise & James' Charleston was brilliant, and well worthy of its three tens. They were so together throughout the routine. Denise handled all the lifts like a complete professional without losing a single arm line. It was a top quality performance.
I have not really been a Louis & Flavia fan, but I thought they were just amazing last night. Their routine was wonderful, and I totally disagreed with the judges. I thought they were grossly undermarked. The move where Louis swing Flavia around and stepped over her legs was brilliantly executed. I loved the Golddigger mashup in the music. OK, so perhaps it was a bit of a quickstep with lifts rather than an American smooth, but I think the judges were all wrong.
Richard & Erin's salsa was a bit flat. He just looked really camp, and not very fluid or sexy. I liked the story of the dance, but I didn't enjoy Richard's performance that much. It was a bit 'dad' like. I actually think the routine played better on television than it did in the arena.
I thought the paso was one of Victoria's most confident performances - certainly for latin. She seemed in control of herself. She needs to make sure she keeps the performance level up throughout the dance. It wasn't as good as her ballroom, but it was a good stab at latin. And it was funny to see Brendan nearly garrote himself with his cape. Victoria's costume was one of the best ever!
Dani & Vincent were lovely. The quickstep was light and bright, and as neat as always. They covered the floor really well with their little legs and her footwork was pretty good too. Pretty in pink! Four nines was a great score, but I wonder why none of the judges gave a ten...
The samba suited Kimberley quite well. She seemed very confident after last week's bottom two knock. The natural rolls were nice, although Pasha could have put some more basic samba content in. It was getting close to a salsa. I must admit that I did not participate in the standing ovation for it, though... And Pasha's chest is just not quite the same as Atrem's.
Michael & Natalie are bloody lucky they had American smooth at Wembley and not latin. How can someone have to little rhythm in latin, but have almost perfect timing in ballroom. I can't work it out. The trouble with Strictly is that you have to be an all-rounder, and Michael isn't. People are saving him in the latin weeks, and he scores well on the ballroom weeks. There's no denying that he did very well last night, but I think he might be coming close to overstaying his welcome. If he is going to do kicks, he needs to point his toes, though. Look out for Michael on Len's Lens tonight.
I am not going to talk about the bottom two, since I already know who was there. Denise, Louis and Lisa were my favourites of the night.
Here are the videos...
Lisa & Robin
Nicky & Karen
Denise & James
Louis & Flaiva
Richard & Erin
Victoria & Brendan
Dani & Vincent
Kimberley & Pasha
Michael & Natalie
Lisa & Robin kicked things off with their samba. They got the biggest and best reception of the whole night. At first I was wondering where the samba content was - it was their usual side-by-side stuff, but then they went into some lovely voltres. Lisa is a brilliant performer, but she still needs more technique. She definitely could have done with some more hip action. The split at the end certainly woke the crowd up!
Nicky & Karen were next with the jive. The dance had loads of energy, which Nicky sustained all the way through. He could have pointed his toes on the kicks, and it was all a bit flat-footed, but I think it was one of Nicky's better dances.
Denise & James' Charleston was brilliant, and well worthy of its three tens. They were so together throughout the routine. Denise handled all the lifts like a complete professional without losing a single arm line. It was a top quality performance.
I have not really been a Louis & Flavia fan, but I thought they were just amazing last night. Their routine was wonderful, and I totally disagreed with the judges. I thought they were grossly undermarked. The move where Louis swing Flavia around and stepped over her legs was brilliantly executed. I loved the Golddigger mashup in the music. OK, so perhaps it was a bit of a quickstep with lifts rather than an American smooth, but I think the judges were all wrong.
Richard & Erin's salsa was a bit flat. He just looked really camp, and not very fluid or sexy. I liked the story of the dance, but I didn't enjoy Richard's performance that much. It was a bit 'dad' like. I actually think the routine played better on television than it did in the arena.
I thought the paso was one of Victoria's most confident performances - certainly for latin. She seemed in control of herself. She needs to make sure she keeps the performance level up throughout the dance. It wasn't as good as her ballroom, but it was a good stab at latin. And it was funny to see Brendan nearly garrote himself with his cape. Victoria's costume was one of the best ever!
Dani & Vincent were lovely. The quickstep was light and bright, and as neat as always. They covered the floor really well with their little legs and her footwork was pretty good too. Pretty in pink! Four nines was a great score, but I wonder why none of the judges gave a ten...
The samba suited Kimberley quite well. She seemed very confident after last week's bottom two knock. The natural rolls were nice, although Pasha could have put some more basic samba content in. It was getting close to a salsa. I must admit that I did not participate in the standing ovation for it, though... And Pasha's chest is just not quite the same as Atrem's.
Michael & Natalie are bloody lucky they had American smooth at Wembley and not latin. How can someone have to little rhythm in latin, but have almost perfect timing in ballroom. I can't work it out. The trouble with Strictly is that you have to be an all-rounder, and Michael isn't. People are saving him in the latin weeks, and he scores well on the ballroom weeks. There's no denying that he did very well last night, but I think he might be coming close to overstaying his welcome. If he is going to do kicks, he needs to point his toes, though. Look out for Michael on Len's Lens tonight.
I am not going to talk about the bottom two, since I already know who was there. Denise, Louis and Lisa were my favourites of the night.
Here are the videos...
Lisa & Robin
Nicky & Karen
Denise & James
Louis & Flaiva
Richard & Erin
Victoria & Brendan
Dani & Vincent
Kimberley & Pasha
Michael & Natalie
posted by Loulabelle44 @ 11:43 am
1 Comments:
At 7:30 pm,
Rosita said…
I'm honestly surprised that you think Michael, who does such good ballroom, might be overstaying his welcome but not Victoria who does nothing well other than look miserable. The atmosphere in Wembley might have been great in person, sadly on tv it was terrible and made even the best dances seem detached and impersonal (I'm thinking of Denise's Charleston which had it been performed elsewhere, say in Blackpool (and to better music) would have been joyful - instead it just looked as if it could have been but wasn't. Same with Louis's American smooth.
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