Sunday Service: Week 3

Movie Week is upon us, and what an opening to the show! The opening number was fantastic, and set the bar for the rest of the programme.

I like the storytelling in Alison & Aljaž's jive, but I didn't like the content. It was almost like Aljaž was scared to let Alison come off the floor at all. I know there had been conversations in the week about her bouncing chest, but she could have been given so much more. If I had been Alison, I'd have demanded better content. I understand that she probably isn't as physically fit as some of the others, but it could have been so much better. As always, Alison sold the performance, but it was the content that let her down. She also needs to point her toes more.

I love watching Steve, and his quickstep with Ola was so much fun. He performed brilliantly. He kept the energy level up throughout and sold it. His footwork is a little iffy - heel leads where there should be toes and vice versa - and there was a little bit of gapping on the fast parts, but he totally owned it. I think the judges were a bit stingy with their marks.

I did not enjoy Jennifer & Tristan's foxtrot at all. In fact, there was so little content, it was a good job I knew which dance it was supposed to be. Terrible! Her posture needs a lot more work, and she stumbled quite a bit. Len called it "relaxed", I would call it messy and uncontrolled. It lacked performance, which really showed as she had to follow Steve.

I thought Simon & Kristina did a decent job with the rumba. It lacked polish, which I feel might have been there had the rumba come later in the series. His hands looked a bit odd in places. I think Bruno is right - he's presenting the dance rather than living it.

The quickstep was probably Judy & Anton's best dance so far, but it was still very tentative. Judy is very lucky that the dance was in hold and Anton could get her around the floor. There were no Charleston elements, which was a shame. I'm not even sure Judy is enjoying the experience...

Tim wasn't as enjoyable to watch this week. I found the Charleston very dull, and if it wasn't for Natalie I might have dropped off to sleep. The whole thing lacked the charm he's shown in the past. It was out of time a lot, and Tim didn't do much Charleston at all. He seemed under-rehearsed, as he kept looking to Natalie for prompting.

Caroline & Pasha's rumba was lovely. Caroline put all the passion into the dance, and they connected and performed so well together. It had the longing that the rumba needs. Caroline is just a natural dancer, and so lovely to watch.

I still maintain that Scott's timing is good, but sadly his body doesn't co-operate with this brain. It was difficult to identify that it was in fact a samba. Scott is trying really hard and is genuinely going for it and performing, and Joanne is putting in a decent amount of steps. Although perhaps if they both spent less time on Twitter and more time training, it might improve. Scott's so likeable, but his dancing is not.

I didn't like the music choice for Frankie & Kevin's paso, but they did a brilliant job. Like Bruno, I liked the nods to West Side Story, mixed with a paso. Frankie had lovely shaping and passion. It was good to see her fiery side. I can't wait to see what else she brings to the floor in the future.

Jake & Janette's waltz was definitely not traditional. But it would be hard to do a traditional dance to the Godfather Waltz. Once again, we saw Jake's acting skills used to the max. I liked it, but I'm now itching to see Jake's softer side in the ballroom. I want to see a flowing, driven foxtrot or a nippy quickstep.

Pixie makes a beautiful Disney princess, and her quickstep with Trent was lovely. The performance was great, and her moves were elegant and clean. It was a shame that the jeté didn't quite come off, but otherwise it was great.

Tom & Iveta gave a good Charleston performance. It's a shame the timing was off on the final kicks, as it undid what had otherwise been a good routine. It didn't blow me away, but it was good. It was interesting that Tom said he was trying to mimic Gene Kelly's facial expressions, because I think he nailed it. I don't love him on the floor, but I can't put my finger on why...

Sunetra continues to capture me. She just lights up the floor. Lovely choreography from Brendan. It was smooth, like an American smooth should be. The second lift looked a little heavy and there were a couple of odd arm movements, but that would be my only criticism. Sunetra is looking like she might be an all-rounder who can do both ballroom and latin.

Before I can talk about Mark & Karen's paso, I have to give kudos to the lighting team for the brilliant opening, with Karen hanging from the building. Awesome! Sadly, the dance didn't live up to the production. It was all a little embarrassing. Mark did go for it, and at first I thought Mark was going to be a bit more manly, but it descended into camp once again. As a party piece on a TOWIE Christmas special, it would have gone down a storm, but on Strictly it wasn't up to it. Bonkers, but in a very watchable way.

Caroline was the best of the night for me. There are so many that could be in the bottom two, but I think due to a lack of content, I would opt for Tim and Jennifer. While Judy and Scott were also pretty terrible, both had more content reflective of the dance they were performing, which therefore makes it more difficult to hide errors. Tim and Jennifer both stood around while their partners danced around them, while Judy and Scott were more involved. For that reason, Tim and Jennifer would be my bottom two. I'm not sure which of them I would send home, as I liked both of them more in previous weeks than I did this week. I would possibly be more likely to send Jennifer home, but there's not much to separate them.

Here are the videos...

Alison & Aljaž



Steve & Ola



Jennifer & Tristan



Simon & Kristina



Judy & Anton



Tim & Natalie



Caroline & Pasha



Scott & Joanne



Frankie & Kevin



Jake & Janette



Pixie & Trent



Thom & Iveta



Sunetra & Brendan



Mark & Karen