Sunday Service: Week 7

The short series has brought Musicals Week, and the semi-final, around very quickly this year. Two more eliminations from this group, and then we'll be left with our finalists.

JJ & Amy's Charleston to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang kicked things off. I was worried about JJ's swivel action, but it was actually very nice. But there was a lot of jumping in this routine, which I assume is to give the feeling of movement when there isn't much going in with the upper body. Clever perhaps, but it wasn't for me. Amy did all of the heavy lifting in this routine, moving around JJ while he stood and maybe offered a hand for her to balance. The swivel section face to face near the end looked incorrect. A Charleston is usually a free pass into the next round, but that might not be the case here.

I love Ranvir & Giovanni, and this Viennese waltz was certainly well-danced, but I didn't feel moved in the way I had with some of their earlier performances. There was a lovely fleckerl, annoyingly obscured by a dodgy camera angle and Ranvir's dress. Her footwork looked good, and she was safe in Giovanni's lead. It had a nice mood. There was nothing surprising here, other than Ranvir not performing any part of the routine as a solo.

The first of the night's two jives came from Maisie & Gorka. It wasn't as neat as some of Maisie's other routines, It felt a tad uncontrolled compared to other dances she's done, although I can't pinpoint why I feel that way. I appreciate that Gorka had choreographed the routine to the music, but this gave the routine a staccato quality which I found quite jarring. However, Maisie is an incredible dancer and still enjoy watching her each week.

I feel as though maybe Bill & Oti were the only couple this week whose dance style was shoe-horned into a music choice which didn't really fit. Phantom would work better as a ballroom tango to my mind. It's too dramatic for the intimacy of an Argentine tango. That said, a steamy storyline wouldn't have worked for this couple, so maybe its for the best. I enjoyed watching the dance. I feel as though Bill's lead wasn't strong enough and Oti was having to do a lot of the work herself. Bill's acting was brilliant, though. I loved the way he looked at Oti. A solid performance.

I really liked Harvey & Janette's American smooth. It was big, it was glitzy, it was showbiz. It had a lot of nice lifts, although I'm a bit unsure about the lift sequence at the end of the routine which felt a but laboured. There was probably a little too much out of hold for my taste, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it had been in hold. I do wish Harvey had pasted on a proper dancing school smile, because there were points in the routine where he looked deep in concentration rather than in performance mode. But overall I thought it was the best number of the night, and I wish it had closed the show.

Closing the show instead was Jamie & Karen with jive number two, to Everybody's Talking About Jamie. I get why it was last. Theatre has suffered a lot in 2020, and ETAJ is one of the few shows reopening this side of Christmas. It's also a very uplifting story which celebrates being yourself. Everybody has been talking about Jamie Laing, who has been quite the surprise of this series. Sadly, he just wasn't worthy of all the potential piled on his shoulders. Jamie's free arm was a dead weight throughout the number. His footwork was heavy and untidy. I spent the whole routine wondering when he was going to reach into a desk and pull out his red heels, but alas no. They didn't even put any drag make-up on him. Although putting a heavy dose of Ruby Woo on his lips probably would've just drawn attention to some of the odd faces he was pulling.

My favourite of the night was Harvey. I also voted for Bill and Ranvir, because I want them to stay.

It's getting really tough, but the weakest for me are JJ and Jamie. JJ is a competent dancer, but not once have I felt excited to see what he's going to do. Not once have I wanted to immediately rewind and watch again. I feel the opposite about Jamie. I have really enjoyed watching some of his numbers. Karen has done an amazing job turning an excitable puppy into something who can pass as a performer. But I feel that he has reached the end of the road. Essentially, these are the two participants that I don't really want to see in the final. JJ is probably the better dancer, but I think I'd rather see another week of Jamie.