Saturday Catch-up: Week 12 - Semi-Final

The semi-final means our very tired participants now have to take on two dances. It helps to highlight who really are the most accomplished celebrities left in the competition. And for some, it meant that the two dances were not as drilled or as polished as they might usually be.

I found myself agreeing with the judges a lot this week.

Fleur and Molly have both had a rough ride through the competition. Fleur started her paso with a look of determination. Once again she was ready to fight for her position. She was channeling anger, passion and strength throughout the routine. I'm not sure I even noticed Vito that much. It wasn't perfect, but it was 100% Fleur.

Their Charleston was the opposite. It was pure joy and fun. It was quite lindyhop in style. Not for the first time this series, the thing that bothered me the most was Fleur's shoes! Those black shoes looked really heavy. I think red shoes would have looked so much better. But I loved the routine, and I admire Fleur's resilience.

A waltz can be a really difficult dance to sell to the audience. While it feels dreamy and warm to perform, it can look a bit dull from the spectator's perspective. Somehow, Helen & Gorka were able to translate that dreaminess through the screen. It was so sweet and romantic. Their chemistry shone through. I loved it.

After last weeks Couples' Choice, my expectations for this Argentine tango were high. I think Shirley expressed how I felt about it in a way I couldn't. It had the intensity, for sure, but it just didn't quite hit the mark. Perhaps it was her posture that was out. I was a bit 'walky' in places for me. Perhaps Helen was anticipating the choreography rather than letting Gorka lead, which is essential to making this dance pop. Great sorytelling, though.

Hamza & Jovita's Charleston was a Pencil Full of Lead and a box full of fun! I loved it. It as silly and bouncy. And there was a lift in there that we had never seen before. I'm not sure how that's possible after all these years. It was a great routine for smiley Hamza.

Their waltz wasn't quite as dreamy for me as Helen & Gorka's, but it was still a joy to watch. I think it's far too late for Hamza to fix his pigeon toes, which was really the only thing wrong with their performance. It was very sweet. Hamza led Jovita and presented her as well as he always does. His posture is comfortable to watch. You can't not enjoy watching him dance.

Molly & Carlos' American smooth was a delight. There's little to say about Molly's performance because it was so good. She is a technical dancer with fantastic musicality. He is the sort of dancer I love to watch. Everything looks so effortless. She breathes the music and expresses it through her body.

Molly's paso was also excellent. It had power and control. There was a small sequence of turns which didn't look right, I think she raised her shoulders and propelled herself with her arms in a slightly inelegant way. But that aside, everything else was spot on. She certainly is a Survivor.

Will had a bad week at the worst time. His paso was too small. He lacked shaping and extension. He looked as though he might pull himself over during the turns with the cape. He and Nancy have been pretty strong throughout the competition, but perhaps having two dances meant that he wasn't able to nail the details this time around. If this dance had come earlier in the competition, he probably would have gotten away with it.

The Couples' Choices hip hop 'Madchester' routine was definitely more comfortable to watch. I don't think it was Will's first time busting out some of those moves. I quite liked it. But 'quite liked' does not a finalist make.

I think it was right for Will to leave the competition this week. He had a bad week at the worst possible time, and had probably started to plateau. I'm relieved that both Molly and Fleur made the final, and that they never had to face each other in a dance-off. That would have been the worst possible scenario. 

Saturday Catch-up: Week 11

Having a holiday in the middle of the Strictly run is really inconvenient for writing blog updates. Here I am writing thoughts about Movie Week on the Saturday afternoon ahead of the final. Never mind...

I loved Movie Week. There were some amazing routines, and it really could have been anyone in the bottom two. I watched the dances on YouTube while I was away, so I didn't see any of the judges comments, and I was impressed by everyone.

The start of Molly & Carlos' Charleston routine seemed to be in Tess' old 'Red Room'! The dance and performance were spot on. Molly captured the spirit of Chicago perfectly. She was absolutely brilliant. The lifts looked easy, her facial expressions were flawless. I loved it.

Hamza & Jovita's samba was absolutely fantsastic. Samba can be a dance of death for a lot of celebrities, but Hamza totally smashed it. His hip action was amazing. His samba walks were mesmorzing. His samba rolls were great and his solo batucadas were a delight. I loved the calmness of the routine, which I think was propelled by the music.

Kym & Graziano's cha cha was very enjoyable. Kym's legs and hips were stunning. There were a couple of small choreographic details I didn't like. I didn't like the bit where Jake came over purely to catch Kym on a back fall. Seemed superfluous. I didn't the little solo section. I found it disruptive, and Kym didn't give it enough power. And I didn't like the very end. It should have been a punch pose to end, and instead it faded up to a pose. But this is Craig levels of nitpicking. I really did like the performance.

I've never seen Miss Saigon, but I understand it is a little problematic by today's standards. Taking Will & Nancy's foxtrot at face value though, it was a very sweet routine which captured the romance between the main characters. I still have problems with Will's posture in hold. I think he favours his left arm, which makes his topline slightly out of place. But emotionally, it was great. Will's a very emotional person, you know...

Helen & Gorka's Couples' Choice was magnificent. Absolutely stunning. It was very much the Helen Show, with Gorka mostly being a prop - table, chair, car seat. It was Helen's best dance of the series, and a big middle finger to her ex. Incredible.

I loved Fleur & Vito's quickstep. It's the sort of routine that deserved a bigger floor. It was fast, fleet of foot. It had tricky changes of tempo which Fleur took in her stride. I loved everything about the routine. The additional dancers totally complimented and elevated the routine. It must have been difficult following Helen, but she totally held her own.

This was easily my favorite week of the series. Every routine was a winner. It wasn't surprising to see Kym leave the competition, and it was probably the right result, but they all could have been semi-finalists.