Sunday Service: Week 7

Seven!

What an odd week it was. The judges seemed to be watching a different dance a few times, and there were a few stumbles from some good contestants.

I definitely wasn't watching the same jive from Lauren & AJ that the judges were watching. They thought it was great. I thought it wasn't good at all. It was heavy, stompy and messy. I liked the tricks, but the jive content was not so good.

Graeme & Oti's waltz was very sweet. It was elegant and engaging. It was exactly what a waltz should be. Not gimmicks. Very pure. Graeme is a tad pigeon toed, and there looked to be a moment where he made Oti stumble. I also wish he had smiled. He was concentrating so hard, and he wanted so desperately to do well, that it translated to a slightly severe face. A good job, though.

We went from the Sound of Music gazebo of Graeme's waltz, to Aljaž's outfit which Maria made from the curtains! I desperately wanted Kate & Aljaž's Argentine tango to be great, but it just didn't quite hit the mark. One thing that ruined it for me was Kate's toes. She didn't point them, which killed the leg lines. The pair lacked a bit of connection for me. The choreography was correct throughout, but it just didn't quite move me.

Ranj & Janette's routines are always fun and infectious, and the samba was no exception. It was upbeat and energetic, with the usual Ranj flourishes. His samba technique wasn't perfect, and it lacked the undulating hip action. I would have liked to see some samba rolls, too. But it was another fun performance from an infectious couple.

I really liked Stacey & Kevin's street/commercial routine. The choreography was excellent. And I actually thought it was once of Stacey's best performances so far. She looked really comfortable with the funky style. The thing that really bothers me about Stacey is her arms. She tends to extend her arms from the elbows, so they are truncated down near her waist, instead of from the shoulders to give a long line. It just looks odd. It's especially noticeable on her turns.

Danny & Amy's quickstep was sadly a complete dance disaster. The opening was great. There was a little error just as they took hold, and I thought they were over it, but then it spiraled. He recovered during the second half of the dance, but it was such a shame. It had the potential to be a show-stopper. If they make the final, I'd love to see them do it again, and smash it.

You can trust Pasha to turn out a pure piece of choreography, and that's what he did. A gorgeous foxtrot. Ashley looked so glamorous and at ease in Pasha's arms. I loved the routine, the footwork was excellent, Ashley has a gorgeous topline. Pure Hollywood.

Faye & Giovanni's tango was what I wanted Kate & Aljaž's Argentine tango to be. It was staccato, it had attack and drive. Faye is just great at that moody stuff. Like Craig, I wasn't really a fan of the cube, as I think it limited them, but it was still a good routine.

Charles & Karen's Viennese waltz was nice enough. It was sweet, not overly complicated. It was definitely a week for 'pure' choreography. His posture looked a tad odd to me, but I'm wondering if that's because of their height difference. A good week for Charles.

Joe & Dianne did a good paso. It was clear that Joe had worked hard, although his shaping was a bit odd in places. He definitely seemed to be leading Dianne, and he looked in control and made no mistakes.

My favourites this week were Ashley and Stacey, although Faye and Graeme were good too.

It's difficult to choose a bottom two. Danny made mistakes, but he's too good to go home. No-one really deserves to be there. I'd put Lauren in the bottom two, becuase I really didn't like her jive. There were no other routines that I really didn't like. Ranj, Graeme, Kate and Charles could all end up there.

It's going to be a tough dance-off tonight.