Sunday Service: Week 4

This week's show was so much better than last week's confused movie mess. A lot of really good performances, and even the ones which weren't so good were still very watchable.

Chris & Karen are such a joy to watch. I really liked their jive. Of course Chris still has timing issues, and those basketball hands are still with us, but when he's on the floor I just don't care. I just get lost in the joy of it all.

Emma & Anton really deserved the high marks they received for the Viennese waltz. The timing was very difficult in places, but Emma was able to just go with it. Gorgeous fleckerl at the top of the routine. Emma is very watchable. She has a decent frame.

I thought Dev & Dianne's cha cha was a bit forgettable. It was perfectly competent, but it just didn't stand out. Decent hip action from Dev. His timing was good. He's also very watchable. It was just a bit bland. I just wish they wouldn't put both of them top to toe in the same colour. With Dianne's red hair as well, there were times where they got lost in each other because of red on red.

I really liked Catherine & Johannes' Charleston. I had to force myself to watch Catherine, because Johannes was bringing it. I think he overshadowed her perhaps a tad. I loved the choreography, and she executed it very well. This is the kind of Charleston we've been crying out for. She could have been lighter on her feet, and she could have had more swivel. Again, with the same colour costumes, although theirs weren't so bad because her skirt was short.

Alex still fails to reach her full potential. Her tango with Neil was OK, but a bit ploddy. She had clearly worked on her footwork, although there were still some walks on the toes where there shouldn't have been. It lacked drive and aggression.

David has definitely got better over the weeks. This was not a good quickstep, but I did kind of enjoy it. He had a bit of charm. There were timing issues - the chasse section which was out of sync with Nadiya was not pretty. He doesn't always have control of his long limbs. But the improvement is marked. Well done, David!

A decent rumba is rare from the male celebrities. Kelvin & Oti's rumba was lovely. His hip action was on point. There were a few flaws. He raised his shoulders in the middle of the routine, and some of the transitions were a bit hard and lacked flow. That said, it was smouldering and engaging. Kelvin presented Oti beautifully.

Emma & Aljaž's jive was just OK. Something seems to be lacking for me. The flicks were there, and timing was there, but something was missing for me. It's all a bit 'nice'. It needed to be more earthy. She didn't have as much bounce as Aljaž, and it showed. I loved the section on the step at the top.

Not a stellar week for Michelle & Giovanni. The timing was out at the end, and she seemed to struggle with the speed. Michelle is still amazing, but this week she wasn't as engaging. I felt as though the pair of them lacked chemistry this week. Michelle was performing to us, and almost forgot about Giovanni unless she was facing him. Don't get me wrong, I love Michelle. This just wasn't as good as other weeks, and that showed in the marks.

I liked Will & Janette's foxtrot routine. Proper foxtrot choreography. Footwork is going to be more difficult for Will than anyone else, and he did what he can do. He needs to try to tuck his bottom under a little. He presented Janette very well, and I liked the chemistry.

Mike & Katya's quickstep was frantic. His legs were a bit bent in places. Way too much gapping, you could drive a bus between them at times. I could have been better. He has improved, but this wasn't as engaging as Chris or David in my opinion. Nine??

Saffron lacked the balletic qualities needed for contemporary. Her legs were bent, and she lacked balance. I think this was really exposing. Her core strength wasn't there. I think this was more AJ's choice, and it didn't work for me. I liked the choreography, but this wasn't her dance. Totally overmarked.

A return to form for Karim & Amy after last week's panda fiasco. Their tango had drive and attack. I liked the mood. The frame started to fade at the very end, but that was the only criticism. I really liked it and it was a great way to end the show.

Favourites for me this week were Karim and Kelvin. It's getting difficult to know who might go. My least favourite was probably Mike, but I didn't like Saffron either. I think Alex could be in the bottom two alongside David or Mike. Much harder to call this week, as they have all raised their game so much.