Saturday Suppositions: Week 10

 Week 10 was everything I wanted Blackpool to be...

We started with Pete & Jowita's tango. I appreciated seeing Pete do a dance with no theme, just a straight-up tango in a nice suit. Easy Lover is not dramatic enough for a tango, but they did their best. The dance suited his moody vibe. I liked it, but Pete is clearly the weakest dancer left in the competition.

Chains had the perfect amount of drama to allow for a rumba with lots of light and shade. Vito is so good at choreographing to the accents in the music. There were a couple of moments where Sarah fell into a move because she wasn't quite supporting her own weight. And as always, it was lacking a bit in hip action, but otherwise it was fab. She's so nice to watch.

JB & Lauren's classic Charleston was a delight. It was bouncy, cheeky and fun. It's a shame that JB seemed to run out of steam toward the end. The lifts could have been a little slicker. But overall, it was fun and full of choreography.

Once again, Jamie presented Michelle in a very mindful way - he really shows her off and supports her. The foxtrot was always going to be a hard sell among a lot of more crowd-pleasing numbers, but they did a very sweet job. Nice footwork. His right arm is too far forward which puts the frame out, but I still like watching him.

The paso was always going to be a difficult dance for Chris because it's so unlike anything else, and so difficult to explain to someone who has never seen it. Dianne was smart to keep most of the dance in hold and focus on moments of shape as well as the appels. It still had drama, and the choice of traditional music and costume helped to sell it. I loved it.

I loved Montell & Johannes' quickstep. It totally suits athletes, and it totally suited her. They flew around the floor in such an effortless way, and Montell was just beaming throughout. She was clearly having a wonderful time. The only thing I didn't like was her dress. Perfect colour, but I hated the stiff bodice which seemed to impair her moments, and the ugly black zip in the back was unforgivable. 

Tasha & Aljaž's American smooth was dreamy. Beautiful lifts, complex choreography. It was almost perfect, but for at least two heel turns with splayed feet. But I guess sometimes you just have to overlook those things when the whole thing is breathtaking.

I loved the sambathon, because it was like a real competition. The couples had to move around the floor, while avoiding others. It really challenged their floorcraft. Of course, any -athon is going to be challenging for the leaders as they have to direct the dance around. It's much harder for the female pros to decide where their leader is taking them. But it is also hard for the celebrity followers, as they cannot assume they will be sticking to a choreographed routine - they have to adapt if their partner chooses to do something else to steer them out of trouble. It was all tinged with hesitation, and it made it real.

I liked that they went back to getting couples to leave the floor when eliminated, as it left space for everyone else. Was it unfair on Chris? Of course. But that wasn't a reason not to include it.

My favourites of the night were Sarah and Chris, but everyone is so good there are no bad routines here. I was sorry to see Jamie leave, but there was no way he was stronger than Montell, who shouldn't really have been in the danceoff.