Sunday Service: Week 7

I really wasn't that impressed with a lot of the dances this week. Maybe my expectations are too high...

I thought Simon & Kristina's quickstep was only OK. There was a lot of gapping between them. Simon's arms were very odd out-of-hold, only moving from the elbow rather than extending his whole arms. However, he did cover the floor well and was light on his feet. He showed great personality on the floor.

Caroline & Pasha's waltz was not as good as I was expecting. I thought her footwork was a bit iffy, and was lacking in heel leads. Although it was hard to pay attention to anything other than that horror of a frock. And I thought Halloween was last week...

Jake & Janette had the rumba, which is a very hard dance for the men (just like the samba, jive, quickstep, paso... etc). I felt that Jake tried too hard. He tried to get the hip action, but it wasn't quite right. I found the whole thing a little too intense, and I just didn't feel it. I agreed with Darcey, that his head was down and too into his neck a lot of the time.

I can barely be bothered to comment on Judy & Anton. Their paso was full of walks and lifts, and not much else. It wasn't a paso. It was a series of unfortunate events. 

I liked Sunetra & Brendan's foxtrot, although it wasn't their best dance. There was a bit of gapping. Sunetra's footwork was decent, but the routine was generally a bit hit and miss. I had to agree with Craig that it could have been great, but they just didn't quite hit it. Although she looked stunning in her dress.

I'm not really sure why the audience gave Alison & Aljaž a standing ovation. I found their Charleston a bit heavy and lacking in energy. The swivels were there, which were missing if you saw the rehearsal footage on ITT earlier in the week. The trenches at the end were awful. I can see why she never comes off the ground. I'm beginning to find Alison quite one-dimensional.

I thought Mark & Karen's waltz was very sweet and graceful. It wasn't a show-stopper, but the emotion was all there and made up for any lack of technique. It was quite smooth and moved well. Mark just needs to watch his hands when he extends his arms out-of-hold.

It was so good to see some traditional steps in Frankie & Kevin's samba routine. There was a natural top, which you don't often see on Strictly. It was a shame Frankie went wrong and missed the entry to the samba rolls. It could have been amazing, but instead it was just very good. The choreography was great. Perhaps it was nerves, but it looked a little under-rehearsed to me.

I really loved Pixie & Trent's foxtrot. It had a brilliant story, with great characterisation. It was romantic, sweet and charming. They moved around the floor well and had great musicality. Brilliant. A return to form after a couple of just OK weeks.

I found Steve's interpretation of the paso very agressive. He properly checked Ola about. I found the whole thing a bit much. It would have been brilliant if he had dialed it down a little. Ola's choreography was really good. Steve had some odd hands early in the dance, but they seemed better as it went on. Not Steve's best. Lovely cape work to open.

My favourites this week were Frankie (even in spite of the fluffed samba rolls), Pixie and Mark. I think my bottom two would be Alison and Judy. Simon could also be in danger.

Here are the videos...

Simon & Kristina



Caroline & Pasha



Jake & Janette



Judy & Anton



Sunetra & Brendan



Alison & Aljaž



Mark & Karen



Frankie & Kevin



Pixie & Trent



Steve & Ola