Sunday Service: Week 10

Ah, a ropey theme week. No series would be complete without one. And if you like a ropey theme week, then you must be beside yourself about last night's Around The World week.

Pixie & Trent's Viennese waltz was a nice start to the show. It was light and effortless, with a lovely fleckerl. The choreography was lovely, although the choreography across the board last night was lacking in content, and the Viennese waltz was no exception. That aside, I really enjoyed it, especially the ballet nods. Pixie has lovely posé turns.

I didn't really enjoy Mark & Karen's salsa. The lifts were good, but there was way to much out of hold and not enough salsa. The bits in between the lifts were not that great, although I did like the long knee-slide in the middle. There was nothing especially wrong with the routine, it just wasn't as good as Mark's last couple of weeks.

Despite what Kristina thinks, Simon didn't have the only slow dance. Sunetra probably had the most difficult job of the week, having the dreaded rumba so late on. The rumba really is a difficult dance. Sunetra needs to try not to act through her arms too much, as it makes her lift her shoulders. Thankfully for her, Brendan choreographed something that was recognisable as a rumba. There were moments where I thought it was a bit cringey, but generally it was good.

Caroline & Pasha's Charleston was a complete showstopper, and totally deserving of being top of the leaderboard. Caroline not only had to keep in time and in sync with Pasha, but also a troupe of other dancers. And she nailed it. The routine was cheeky, bouncey and fresh. I loved the tumble lift at the end of the routine, too. It finished off what was already a very classy performance. Arguably the best Charleston of the series.

Despite not being the only slow dance of the evening, I will admit that the waltz can be quite a hard one to 'sell' when up against the wow-factor of a Charleston. But no such issue for Simon & Kristina. Their waltz was just beautiful. It was simple and clean. Proof that a dance doesn't have to be showy to be good. I loved it. I think that the only thing against them is Kristina's competitive streak. Complaining about having a waltz showed a lack of class on her part, and wasn't necessary because she and Simon did an awesome job with their dance. I just hope that the public got behind Simon anyway.

Frankie & Kevin's jive was pretty straight. It was well-danced, and thankfully didn't have any backing dancers. Frankie had a really nice action on her kicks, with nice picked-up knees. Although I am starting to tire of Frankie & Kevin's preppy numbers. Their jive was yet another bubblegum dance. I would love to see another side to Frankie. We got a glimpse with the tango, but that's about it.

I think that everyone felt that Jake & Janette had been royally stitched up the minute Jake used the words Argentine tango and Zorba in the same sentence. It should not have been allowed. Trying to put that aside, which isn't easy, I still didn't like the performance. Jake's legs looked too bent, and he didn't really look like he was leading Janette. The routine was lacking in intimacy and interplay, although I think we can blame the music for that too. The only thing I liked about it was Janette's dress...

My favourites this week were Caroline and Simon, by a country mile. My bottom two were Mark and Jake, not because I didn't like their performances per se, but more because I didn't like either of their routines. They performed what they were given reasonably well, but I didn't like their dances. Sunetra probably should be the next one out, but I think that Brendan's choreography saved her in my mind. Losing anyone at this stage is going to be a killer. Someone send tissues!

Here are the videos...

Pixie & Trent



Mark & Karen



Sunetra & Brendan



Caroline & Pasha



Simon & Kristina



Frankie & Kevin



Jake & Janette