Sunday Service: Week 10

Week 10. Definitely the business end of the competition, where comments and marks matter more than ever.

Joe & Katya's quickstep was so good. It was light and speedy. The choreography was amazing, especially when they went back-to-back and belly-to-belly. Great timing through. I loved it.

Alexandra & Gorka's rumba was pleasant enough. It was much neater than some of Alexandra's other Latin dances have been. I thought their chemistry was OK. There was a connection between them in my opinion. I did agree with the judges about Alexandra's need to stretch out further, and go on forever with the movements. Not a showstopper, but decent.

I actually really enjoyed the concept of Gemma & Aljaž's samba. I actually thought it was a great way to introduce a theme to a dance without it becoming a distraction from the core dance. It seems the judges didn't agree. I thought Gemma's technique was good. She really sold it, and looked as though she really enjoyed it. Her hands were odd on the promenade runs, but I don't think it was as bad as the judges made out.

Mollie was better this week than she has been in recent times, but her quickstep with AJ left me a bit cold. The choreography just didn't move me. It was a but dull compared to Joe & Katya's. It was clean for the most part, but there were a couple of off moments.

Davood & Nadiya's waltz was a bit frantic for me. It lacked light and shade. The choreography was too busy. Davood seemed to dip his shoulder on some of the pivots which looked a bit weird. I can't help but wonder how Davood would be with a different partner. Can you imagine him with Natalie? Davood danced the routine well, of course. There is definitely something very charming about the way Davood dances.

If anyone was going to nail an Argentine tango, it was going to be Debbie. She and Giovanni did a phenomenal job. Those legs! Intricate and intimate. Just amazing.

Susan & Kevin's American smooth was cute. She needs more strength in her upper body. She lacks poise and frame, which she should have nailed by now. However, her performance was much more glamorous than I expected. She is still entertaining, and this routine showed her versatility in performance terms.

The paso doble-athon felt more like a real competition situation than any "-anthon" since the group Viennese waltz in Series 1! It was great to see the couples all on the floor at once. I just wish they could red button an option of a balcony-cam, so you can choose who to watch, rather than seeing what the camera shows.

My favourites this week were Joe, Debbie and Gemma. I fear for Gemma however. Aston had a bad week, and look what happened! If the public votes with the judges, it could be the end for her. Personally, I think it's time for Susan to go. I wouldn't be sad to see Mollie go either. I thought she was overmarked last night. I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours.

Panto Round-Up

Since returning from holiday, I am feeling quite festive. So I thought it was time for my annual panto round-up.

Here is where you can see the stars of Strictly past and present (Debbie!) treading the boards this Christmas.

Craig Revel Horwood (judge), Snow White - Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

Robin Windsor (ex-pro), Aladdin - Spa Theatre, Bridlington

Claire Sweeney (Series 1), Sleeping Beauty - Central Theatre, Chatham
Julian Clary (Series 2), Dick Whittington - Palladium, London
Claire King (Series 4), Peter Pan - Grand Opera House, Belfast
Brian Capron (Series 5), Aladdin - The Plaza, Stockport

Rachel Stevens (Series 6), Jack & The Beanstalk - Bournemouth Pavilion, Bournemouth

Jessie Wallace (Series 6), Snow White - Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Ricky Groves (Series 7), Sleeping Beauty - Cloud 9, Barrow-in-Furness
Ann Widdecombe (Series 8), Aladdin - Marina Theatre, Lowestoft
Dani Harmer (Series 10), Jack & The Beanstalk - Shaw Theatre, London

Lisa Riley (Series 10), Jack & The Beanstalk - Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton
Dave Myers (Series 11), Peter Pan - Harlequin Theatre, Redhill
Alison Hammond (Series 12), Cinderella - Festival Theatre, Malvern

Simon Webbe (Series 12), Aladdin - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe

Danny Mac (Series 14), Cinderella - Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham

Brian Conley (Series 15), Cinderella - Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes
Debbie McGee (Series 15), Beauty & The Beast - Grand Opera House, York

John Barrowman (Christmas 2010), Dick Whittington - Opera House, Manchester

Su Pollard (Christmas 2011), Snow White - Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury

Bobby Ball (Christmas 2012), Snow White - Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

Sunday Service: Week 9

Blackpool. Always hyped up. Always under-delivers. Thankfully, being on holiday meant I missed all the hype, and didn't even know who was dancing to what.

I liked the showgirl theme of Mollie & AJ's Charleston, but Wings was a terrible song choice. Mollie looked quite qangly. She really needs to keep legs straight and point toes to help avoid that. The lifts were good, but the entrances and exits into the lifts were awkward and laboured. Mollie lacked swivel.

Kevin gets to do paso at Blackpool again. Apparently his five-year long desire to theme the dance around Strictly Ballroom had been quite the hot topic this week. I was left a bit cold. Susan had the drama - she always finds the character of the dance. She really needs to close her feet together, though. The whole thing looked untidy because she doesn't finish things off properly. She also lacked shaping. It was OK, but not her best dance.

Debbie's samba lacked hips for me, which was especially notable on the voltas. Nice samba rolls, although feet looked untidy to me. Nice promenade runs. Her chemistry with Giovanni wasn't quite a good for me this week.

Jonnie & Oti's tango was quite disappointing. Their reliance on the extra dancers did little to enhance the performance. Jonnie's terrible posture strikes again, his bottom was sticking out and distracted from everything else. He looked like he was concentrating too much, rather than performing.

Gemma & Aljaž's American smooth was a lovely dance. Took a bit too long to get going, but once it did it was great. It was very neat and tidy. Nice release of the toes on the backward steps. Lovely lifts.

There was too much Nadiya, not enough Davood in their paso. Once again Nadiya didn't give him enough to do. It worked in the rumba, but not here. Paso is one of the few dances when the man can shine, rather than just presenting his partner.  Davood had nice lines and great shaping. He had power and intent. He deserves better than the choreography he is being given.

Alexandra & Gorka's quickstep was big and glam. On point as always. They totally nailed it. Complete Hollywood. The type of thing we long to see in Blackpool.

Joe & Katya's salsa was interesting. Joes's entrance was like something from Catchphrase - "Say what you see". He was sitting on a clock. Literally riding on time. Aside from that, I though it was good. Great lifts, which were really ambitious, too. Katya is not afraid to trust her partner. It was a great routine. High energy. I liked it.

There is no question in my mind that Jonnie should be in the bottom two. I'm beginning to wonder if he still wants to be there. I think Mollie should probably be there with him, although Susan could also be in danger.

Aston's Departure

As you can tell by the lack of updates, I have been on holiday. I have decided not to write blog updates about the weeks I missed, as I'm sure no-one wants to read jetlagged ramblings about what happened two weeks ago. A post about last night's update will follow shortly.

However, I could not get into Blackpool without discussing the untimely exit of Aston & Janette. It's been just over 24 hours since I discovered this news, and I still can't believe it.

I'm not sure what happened. Did the public think they would be safe anyway? Or did the public listen to the judges' comments, take them on board, and decide not to vote for them? Do the judges have that much power?

I still can't believe that Aston is gone. I thought he was a lock for the final alongside Alexandra. When I saw he was in the dance-off, I presumed he'd be safe. With the exception of Alexandra, I thought no-one could topple him. 

I didn't think their Viennese waltz was all that bad! It was better than Mollie & AJ's performance in my opinion. And Aston had so much more potential. Totally robbed. It'll take the rest of the series for me to get over this one.

I guess that means Gemma and Debbie will both make the final. But it's made everything a lot less exciting.