Friday Panel: Week 2
I have been on holiday, so I'm just catching up on all things Strictly. Week 1 is a distant memory, but here are my thoughts on Week 2...
I was quite surprised to see Claudia standing next to Tess!
Susanna & Kevin's tango had great intensity, but lacked something. She needs to point her toes and create longer lines. Everything seemed a bit truncated. She shows potential, and she certainly has the attitude. She'll go far.
I liked Tony & Aliona's Charleston costumes, but sadly I didn't like the dance. There was very little happening, and what did happen wasn't very well executed. As Craig would say, it was dull, dull, dull. I was bored. It wasn't even cheeky. Moving on...
Despite complaining about the spinning in the training footage, Natalie's spins in the waltz routine was gorgeous. She spotted beautifully and looked like she's being doing it for years. She and Artem glided around the floor beautifully. She has lovely lines. I just wish we could have seen more of her footwork.
Dave is very likable but not very good. I saw the lift in the American smooth and shouted "lift". It was some 10 seconds later before I remembered which dance he and Karen were performing. He's a bit scarecrow-like. He was a pretty flat-footed and didn't have much timing.
Patrick & Anya's tango left me a bit cold. Patrick needs to tuck his bottom under more, and they seemed to be dancing too far apart. He has potential, but I'm underwhelmed at the moment. He has good timing, so with the right dance, I think he'll be better.
I thought Deborah & Robin did much better this week. I liked their cha cha. There were things that could have been better - she needs to extend her arms more and use her feet. She showed some great hip action in the training footage, but that seemed to be missing in the performance. I loved her energy, though, and performance is half of the battle.
There was something awkward about Rachel & Pasha's salsa. The lifts were brave, and I will give her credit for that, but it was all a bit odd. And I agreed with Darcey that it lacked passion. They seem to have brother/sister fun, but there isn't enough chemistry. And Bruno was right that she needs more strength in her core.
Vanessa & James' waltz was really hit and miss. There were some lovely moments, but the transitions were quite ugly. I liked the emotion of the dance, but technically it wasn't great, and I didn't enjoy it enough to overlook those things.
Julien's tango really didn't do it for me. He needs to keep his legs together, tuck his bottom under and not raise his shoulders. I really liked Janette's choreography, but it wasn't very well executed at all.
Fiona & Anton's cha cha wasn't a patch on the tango. Fiona lacked hip action. Darcey is right that sometimes Fiona is great, and sometimes she looks like a fish out of water. Making a mistake in the middle didn't help. I'm sure there is more to come from her.
I didn't really like Mark & Iveta's salsa. I felt like Iveta was doing all the work, and Mark did a lot of not very much. I didn't find it was much fun as the judges did. But I haven't written him off yet.
Sophie & Brendan's Charleston totally exceeded my expectations. It had so much energy, and they performed some very brave lifts very well. The cool style worked for Sophie. I don't think the more 'cheeky' style of Charleston would have been for her. Loved it.
Ben & Kristina's waltz was competent, but uninspiring. He needs to make sure he maintains his topline, and make sure he doesn't stoop over her despite their height difference. He seemed a bit disconnected from the dance. He needs to inject more personality, or maybe just find his inner actor.
Abbey & Aliaž's cha cha wasn't as quite as strong as the waltz, but she is one of the most confident performers on the floor. As the judges mentioned, she needs to finish her moves and control her long arms, but she is already a frontrunner in my opinion.
For a man who had just welcomed a new baby into the world, and must have missed some training hours, Ashley's American smooth was bonzer. It had great performance and looked quite polished. He needs to watch his free arm, which was ugly at times, but it had lovely flow and he presented Ola beautifully.
Jack would be in the bottom two for me by a country mile. Any number of people could also be there. Mark, Vanessa, Fiona, Julien, Dave. Take your pick!
I was quite surprised to see Claudia standing next to Tess!
Susanna & Kevin's tango had great intensity, but lacked something. She needs to point her toes and create longer lines. Everything seemed a bit truncated. She shows potential, and she certainly has the attitude. She'll go far.
I liked Tony & Aliona's Charleston costumes, but sadly I didn't like the dance. There was very little happening, and what did happen wasn't very well executed. As Craig would say, it was dull, dull, dull. I was bored. It wasn't even cheeky. Moving on...
Despite complaining about the spinning in the training footage, Natalie's spins in the waltz routine was gorgeous. She spotted beautifully and looked like she's being doing it for years. She and Artem glided around the floor beautifully. She has lovely lines. I just wish we could have seen more of her footwork.
Dave is very likable but not very good. I saw the lift in the American smooth and shouted "lift". It was some 10 seconds later before I remembered which dance he and Karen were performing. He's a bit scarecrow-like. He was a pretty flat-footed and didn't have much timing.
Patrick & Anya's tango left me a bit cold. Patrick needs to tuck his bottom under more, and they seemed to be dancing too far apart. He has potential, but I'm underwhelmed at the moment. He has good timing, so with the right dance, I think he'll be better.
I thought Deborah & Robin did much better this week. I liked their cha cha. There were things that could have been better - she needs to extend her arms more and use her feet. She showed some great hip action in the training footage, but that seemed to be missing in the performance. I loved her energy, though, and performance is half of the battle.
There was something awkward about Rachel & Pasha's salsa. The lifts were brave, and I will give her credit for that, but it was all a bit odd. And I agreed with Darcey that it lacked passion. They seem to have brother/sister fun, but there isn't enough chemistry. And Bruno was right that she needs more strength in her core.
Vanessa & James' waltz was really hit and miss. There were some lovely moments, but the transitions were quite ugly. I liked the emotion of the dance, but technically it wasn't great, and I didn't enjoy it enough to overlook those things.
Julien's tango really didn't do it for me. He needs to keep his legs together, tuck his bottom under and not raise his shoulders. I really liked Janette's choreography, but it wasn't very well executed at all.
Fiona & Anton's cha cha wasn't a patch on the tango. Fiona lacked hip action. Darcey is right that sometimes Fiona is great, and sometimes she looks like a fish out of water. Making a mistake in the middle didn't help. I'm sure there is more to come from her.
I didn't really like Mark & Iveta's salsa. I felt like Iveta was doing all the work, and Mark did a lot of not very much. I didn't find it was much fun as the judges did. But I haven't written him off yet.
Sophie & Brendan's Charleston totally exceeded my expectations. It had so much energy, and they performed some very brave lifts very well. The cool style worked for Sophie. I don't think the more 'cheeky' style of Charleston would have been for her. Loved it.
Ben & Kristina's waltz was competent, but uninspiring. He needs to make sure he maintains his topline, and make sure he doesn't stoop over her despite their height difference. He seemed a bit disconnected from the dance. He needs to inject more personality, or maybe just find his inner actor.
Abbey & Aliaž's cha cha wasn't as quite as strong as the waltz, but she is one of the most confident performers on the floor. As the judges mentioned, she needs to finish her moves and control her long arms, but she is already a frontrunner in my opinion.
For a man who had just welcomed a new baby into the world, and must have missed some training hours, Ashley's American smooth was bonzer. It had great performance and looked quite polished. He needs to watch his free arm, which was ugly at times, but it had lovely flow and he presented Ola beautifully.
Jack would be in the bottom two for me by a country mile. Any number of people could also be there. Mark, Vanessa, Fiona, Julien, Dave. Take your pick!
posted by Loulabelle44 @ 9:23 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home