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Proudly blogging about Strictly Come Dancing ALL YEAR ROUND since 2006. Always spoiler-free.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Is Kristina Going Into The Big Brother House?
Kristina Rihanoff has been rumoured to be joining Celebrity Big Brother for about a month now, but could it be true? Website RealityBox claims that a list of supposedly 'official' names has been leaked on Reddit, and Kristina's name appears on that list, alongside former Strictly participant Nancy Dell'Olio. I don't think it would be a bad thing for Kristina to do a reality show. She complains about being misrepresented by the press, so what better way to let the public hear your own words than going on a reality show? Of course, without live streaming, she is still at the mercy of the show's editors, but it would still give her a chance to show a side of herself that she hasn't shown the public before. Having Kristina on the show would certainly make me tune in. The new series begins on 5th January, so I guess we'll find out for sure then.
The confetti has only just settled on Jay & Aliona's Strictly victory, but the rumour mill is already looking forward to 2016.
According to the Daily Star, Strictly bosses have the current James Bond, Daniel Craig, on their hit list. A source told the paper: “What a coup to get 007 on the dance floor. The professional girl dancers would all be fighting to be partnered with him.”
Daniel would certainly be a coop, but I can't see it myself. Daniel is a massive, in-demand Hollywood star. There is no incentive for him to do Strictly, unless it's something he's harbouring a secret desire to do. I just don't see it, although I am 100% happy to be proved wrong. I would love to see Daniel on the show.
Strictly judges Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood believe that Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton should have won. DigitalSpy reports that when asked by The Sun if Kellie should have won, Darcey reponded: "Definitely - without fail. Her performance brought everything together. There wasn't a mistake. It was on the money. She had more energy than anybody. She gave everything." Craig agreed: "[Kellie] turned in the most spectacular two performances."
Aliona has confirmed that following her second Strictly victory, she will not return to the programme next year. She tweeted the news in the early hous of this morning:
Going into this Strictly Come Dancing Series13, I decided that no matter what would happen, it will be my last one❤️ pic.twitter.com/SrIVMhihSo
Everyone gets excited about the final, but it was hard to muster up enthusiasm when you pretty much know who is going to win. Last year, we all pretty much knew it would be unlikely that Caroline wouldn't win. This year, it was Jay. Round 1: Judges' Choice Jay & Aliona were given the quickstep to dance again, and it was much better than their original performance in Week 4. Jay made a few mistakes in the original performance, but this was much cleaner, and despite a little gapping, it was a very slick performance. However, I was never that fond of the routine, mostly because of the music. I didn't like it much better this time around. The judges decided that Georgia & Giovanni should do a rumba in the final, but not the one they originally did. Instead, Giovanni should choreograph something the judges might like, in the hope of getting better judges' scores which, this being the final, are completely meaningless. What we ended up with was something which was generally the same at the original, but with a big section of basic in the middle. Georgia performed it beautifully, giving it drama and flair. Kellie & Kevin had to perform their tango from Week 1 once again. I wasn't that fond of the routine the first time around, but that wasn't to do with Kellie's performance, but rather the song and the choreography. I didn't really like it any better in the final, but Kellie's performance was outstanding, and was deserving of a 40. Katie & Anton sadly didn't nail the reprise of the quickstep. In fact, we saw the usual level of little errors from Katie, the same lapses in concentration we've seen all series. She pretty much just demonstrated why she should never have been in the final in the first place. Round 2: Showdances Apparently, it's the showdance where the rulebook gets thrown out of the window. Most of us having been wondering where the rulebook has been all series. When you're a dead cert to win, what's the point of putting in any effort into the showdance? You should just rehash what you've done already. Put in some sexy lifts to make it more interesting? Nah. Just stick a Spiderman kiss without the kiss in at the beginning to tease the tabloids, and hope the audience doesn't drop off by the end. Aliona, prop queen, didn't even give us any props to distract us from the tedium. I have a feeling this showdance will be remembered for being so forgettable. Poor Jay. He was capable of so much. Georgia & Giovanni opted for a blindfolded section to start their showdance. It does demonstrate what a good dancer she is, but I don't really like it. Karen Clifton used to do a blindfolded number in Burn The Floor with about six male dancers, which I always found creepy. Perhaps that's where Giovanni got the idea. That aside, it was a pleasant routine. Not really a show stopper, but nice. I'm not sure why Giovanni was wearing Helen's rumba shirt, though. Kellie & Kevin took a risk by doing a dance style they had not done before - lindy hop. It paid off. The routine was high-energy and had lots of 'show'. The lifts were typical of the ones we've seen in the Charlestons this series, so not heart-stopping, but effective. It was a packed routine, and I would happily watch it again. Katie & Anton had a very dramatic music choice in O Fortuna (it's no coincidence that Anton & Erin have used it for their show routines), but sadly Katie could not live up to the epicness of the track. Katie skipped and mis-stepped all over the place. When we got to the end of the routine, I can see why Katie might have been nervous. Bless her for doing that drop. It shows the trust between her and Anton. But sadly, it wasn't great. Still more interesting than Jay & Aliona, though. It came as a shock to no-one that Katie was out first. She'd been in the dance-off the week before. Anton's victory will have to wait a bit longer... Round 3 - Favourite Dance When you're a dead cert to win, why should you have to perform the most popular dance of the series again? Claim the moment you topped the leaderboard in Week 3 was 'too special', and perform something else instead. Like the paso, which no-one remembers, which put you third on the leaderboard and scored only 33. Yeah, do that. You're going to win anyway. Not performing the jive again could have backfired on Jay & Aliona. Luckily for them, it didn't. Georgia & Giovanni definitely performed their favourite dance again, which was thankfully mine too. I loved Georgia's Charleston just as much second go around. It was brilliant to see it again. It was a very shrewd move for Kellie & Kevin to reprise their Star Wars Charleston on the week the new movie came out. It was a damn good move, too, since it was a great routine. It was a shame it had to follow Georgia & Giovanni's Charleston, as it wasn't quite as good, but I still bloody loved it. The final result was a bit of a let-down. Georgia and Kellie gave all three routines everything. I know Jay did too, but it felt as though all he had to do was turn up in order to win. I had wanted Jay to win since the beginning, but I really didn't feel that he deserved it when the time eventually came. I just felt like either of the girls deserved it more on the night. I think that the problem was that any votes Jay lost would have been split between Kellie and Georgia, and neither one was a able to get enough votes. Jay & Aliona could have been punished for some poor choices in the final, and after sitting through both shows, I kind of wished they had been. See you in 2016! Here are the videos... Jay & Aliona - Quickstep
It's the semi-final, which means double the dancing. Which quite often in the past has meant two mediocre dances per couple, instead of one belter. Katie & Anton went first with their Charleston. It could have been brilliant, but it was littered with errors. It's like Katie momentarily loses concentration, but those split-second lapses lead to noticeable mistakes. I liked the lifts in the routine, although they were way too telegraphed. The one where Katie was attached to Anton's leg was great. She also did really odd things with her arms, they kind of flailed around. And they were so out of time at the end it was ugly. They didn't really redeem themselves with the waltz. There was a huge mistake in the middle. Katie looked as though she was racing the music toward the end. And of course, there were lots of pivots. I'd be doing quite well if I had a pound for every pivot they have done this series. Jay & Aliona's first dance was the Viennese waltz. I loved the slow fleckerl at the beginning, it was a bit different. Jay's pirouette was very nice too. They told a lovely story. I did agree with Bruno about the lack of drive in hold, though. It could have been even better. I didn't really see the point of the Doctor Who theme for Jay & Aliona's Charleston. That aside, it was a great routine. Jay showed more performance than before. He had lovely kick turns. He did seem to get tired toward the end of the dance - the lifts started to look a little messy. Georgia & Giovanni's cha cha was a little jerky and lacked Georgia's usual fluidity. It was pretty basic too, which is not a bad thing, but showed how their rehearsal time had been impacted by Georgia's illness this week. It was well-performed, but just not very interesting. It was a similar story for their Viennese waltz. It was simple, but so well performed. There was a fleckerl, which came straight after pivots. A difficult move, but Georgia made it look effortless. She's such a pleasure to watch. Antita & Gleb's foxtrot was a nice, traditional, glitzy routine. Anita's footwork was hit and miss, but she did a nice heel turn. It was a great performance, and Anita showed her usual great musicality and understanding of the music. The death spin was joyful, one of the neatest from a celebrity female we've seen. Perhaps it was out of hold a little too much, but for Len to mention this in the semi-final seems a bit pointless. Has he not seen any of Gleb's other routines? Their salsa was not very much like a salsa, but it was a bloody good dance. The choreography was brilliant. Anita's popping and body rolls were very good. I just love watching them. I don't really understand why Gleb was dressed as Freddie Mercury, though. Finally, Kellie & Kevin started with the rumba. It was always going to be a difficult dance for a semi-final, as it doesn't have the wow factor of a Charleston. I found the rumba a bit dull. It wasn't very sexy, or romantic, it was just technical. And Kellie stutter-steped a couple of times. It was a bit like watching a brother and sister dance. Which would make sense when Kevin grew up dancing with his sister. They definitely got more romantic with their American smooth. It was pure Hollywood, with lots of nods to Fred & Ginger. I loved how they traveled around the floor. The lifts were clean and well-executed. The whole thing was effortless, and I really enjoyed the performance. So, that's the final five. The one I would send home would sadly be Katie. She has improved over the course of the competition, but the others are stronger than she is. She made mistakes in both of her routines last night, while the others all did well in both numbers. It's time for her to go. My fear is that Anton's fans will have voted them through to the final, and someone deserving is going to be knocked out. Here are the videos... Kate & Anton - Charleston
One last theme week - musicals. Because musicals are very different to movies. Georgia & Giovanni's Beauty & The Beast foxtrot was lovely, but not all that interesting. It looked as though Georgia might have missed some heel leads, although it was difficult to tell because of the camera angles and her long dress. But otherwise it was great. The Argentine tango was not Anita & Gleb's best routine, but it was good. It would have looked neater if she had pointed her toes. Once again, it was well performed, but it was all directed at us, and not at each other. I wanted to see more of a connection. Kellie & Kevin's Viennese waltz was perfectly suited to Kellie, who was able to act her socks off. The actual waltz content was great, and they did a lovely fleckerl too. A fantastic performance. I adored Jay & Aliona's rumba. Rumba is always difficult for the fellas, but Jay did a brilliant job. He was masculine and tender at the same time. His lines were lovely, and he presented Aliona beautifully as well. And he is also finding his emotion. He didn't just dance, he performed. Katie & Anton couldn't fail to impress with a foxtrot. Katie was in control and sexy for the opening and ending, and well looked after by Anton when in hold. And of course, we saw yet more pivots! Helen & Aljaž's paso was great, although Helen lacked control, which was especially noticeable at the end of the number when she wobbled. The song choice wasn't great, but they did the best they could with it. It's so hard to choose a bottom two. I think Georgia and Helen ended up there because their dances were among the least interesting. If I had been in the judges' shoes, I'd have saved Georgia too. She's more rounded, while Helen as struggled with her 'stiffness'. She's had some amazing weeks, but hasn't quite been as consistent as Georgia. Here are the videos... Georgia & Giovanni
I have been on holiday for the last couple of weeks, so this is my first opportunity to write about the shows I missed. Kellie & Kevin's salsa wasn't their best dance, but it was pretty good. It was a little messy getting into the first lift, but otherwise it was solid. Katie & Anton's Argentine tango failed to move me, because it just wasn't slick enough. Katie didn't push into the ground enough. Her legs looked out of control in places, and she didn't straighten them enough. The whole thing lacked intimacy, too. It lacked chemistry, which is unusual for this couple. I loved Helen & Aljaž's Viennese waltz. It was stunning. Elegant, classy, romantic. The routine had great musicality, and plenty of the dance was in hold, kept the dance from feeling too much like an American smooth. The fleckerl was nicely executed. One of Helen's best dances. Jay & Aliona's tango was a complete change of pace, and another amazing dance. It was pure tango from start to finish. Jay completely nailed the feel of the dance. It was intense and sharp. Great chemistry and musicality. I loved it, one of the best tangos of the series. Peter & Janette's American smooth wasn't quite as good as the dances which preceded it. It was a little stompy in places. You could see Peter had tried to work on his footwork, but it wasn't quite right. It just wasn't good enough for this stage of the competition. I liked Anita & Gleb's rumba. Anita completely commits to every dance she attempts. She did some funny things with her arms on the rumba walks, which I think is what Craig meant by spiky, but the rest of the dance was pretty fluid, and she hit some lovely lines. The dance had lots of passion and longing, but there wasn't enough of a connection between Anita and Gleb to make the dance truly special. Their partnership is just a little too professional to believe there could be any romance. I loved that Georgia started the paso doble by herself, she looked so strong and focused. Her flamenco arms were gorgeous. In hold with Giovanni was just as lovely. It was a great routine, and I loved it. I liked the idea of the Quickstep-a-thon, but the problem is that you can't watch it properly on TV, because you can only watch what the director decides. I'm sure for those in the studio, they were able to determine who was the best, but it's impossible for us to do that. If ever there was a case for the reintroduction of the fixed camera footage, this was it. This was really unfair on the male celebrities, who have to lead. Jay did a reasonable job, but Peter seemed to stick to the middle of the floor out of trouble, and didn't travel as well. I think it was right for Peter to go home, and it wasn't a huge surprise to see Kellie in the dance off, although I probably would have put Katie in her place. Here are the videos... Kellie & Kevin
