Oh we all
love to be beside the seaside! Week
8 and we were live from the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. The perfect
opportunity for the judges to bring out their 10 paddles, you’d assume, as did
they, 10’s left right and centre! The show opened with possibly the biggest
routine we’ve seen on strictly, the ballroom floor was awash with dancers,
professional, celebrity, young and old. Camp, fun, energetic and a little bit
wild, the perfect way to start the show. Then it was time to take to the floor…
Sophie & Brendan
Quickstep to ‘The Lady Is a Tramp’ by Shirley
Bassey
Sophie and
Brendan were the first to take to the dance floor this week, and boy did they
fly around the Blackpool Tower ballroom with their extremely fast Quickstep! It
was fast, clean and precise. The energy flowed and was kept throughout. We
especially loved the little touches, the use of the space and the dancing
around the table. Craig “loved the story” but warned Sophie that her top-line
became “loose and jagged at times”, whilst Darcey praised Sophie for capturing
the spirit of the Quickstep with her high energy routine and claimed that
Sophie had “come alive!” It would have been an even more impressive score if
Craig hadn’t been so mean giving them a 7!
Scored | 34 |
Our Score | 8 |
Patrick & Anya
Samba to ‘Copacabana’ by Barry Manilow
Such a huge, huge shame for the costume
malfunction. Timing was lost and confidence did seem to be knocked somewhat,
but, they did recover. However it was a truly rhythmic performance with such a
variety of dance steps exhibiting Patrick’s amazing hip action and fluid body
rolls which, by-the-way, he conducts with such ease. Bruno described the dance
as a “blistering hot Samba” claiming that it was “close to perfection”. Bruno
also stated that Patrick was “one of the best Samba dancers” Strictly had ever
seen! The last couple of weeks these two have gone from passing us by slightly,
to wowing us! I true testament to Patricks hardwork and Anyas choreography.
Scored | 35 |
Our Score | 8 |
Ben &
Kristina
American
Smooth to ‘Fallin’ by Alicia Keys
The
backing dancers probably should have remembered the word ‘backing’, towards the
start it felt as though they were taking over slightly, it worked with the
story of the dance but you can’t blame us for wanting more Ben Cohen action! Ben displayed great dramatisation and
his lifts were ‘out-of-this-world’. Darcey described Ben as an “attentive
partner” but warned him that when he is out of hold, he “must choreograph his
moves”. Craig was thankful that “Big Ben was back in the ballroom”, although
Len disagreed and said he didn’t know what Craig was going on about, as Ben had
never left! Big Ben is back!
Scored |
32 |
Our Score
| 8 |
Ashley & Ola
Paso Doble to ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ by Bon
Jovi
Showbiz terminator with a dash of cowboy this week,
and odd mix, but we liked it. Ashley
showed off his ‘macho’ demeanour and remained focused and in character
throughout the entire dance. A few people moaned that the theme took away from
the Paso vibe, lets just be clear, the theme wasn’t Ola or Ashleys choice, and
you’re wrong, if anything it added to the powerful story. Despite there being
other professional male dancers as part of the routine, Ashley was not
over-shadowed by them at all, if anything, as Bruno commented, Ashley managed
to ensure that all eyes were on him.
Scored | 35 |
Our Score | 8 |
Fiona & Anton
American Smooth to ‘Come Fly with Me’ by Frank
Sinatra
Let’s all take a moment to congratulate Anton on
making it to Blackpool! It was a nice dance - the pace was rather stately but
it was smooth and full of charm and style.
However, the
lifts were a little clunky - along with a few other tiny mistakes, the routine
did feel it was missing a bit of 'oomph'! Nevertheless, Len felt that Fiona’s
attitude was “First Class”, her movement around the dance floor was “Business
Class” but unfortunately, her lifts were more like “Economy Class”.
Scored | 29 |
Our Score | 7 |
Abbey & Aljaz
Quickstep to ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Katrina and
The Waves
A 7 Craig, really? Sensational.
All the energy from last weeks Charleston and more. Super fast footwork and
this Quickstep had soooooooo much content and was executed with such pace and
precision. OK, there were some ‘gapping issues’ but considering everything else
about the performance was ‘top banana’, I think she can be forgiven. . Only
negative is her footwork could be a little more precise in places. But
otherwise, a fab-u-lous performance! We have a real soft spot for this couple,
bring on next week!
Scored | 37 |
Our Score | 9 |
Mark & Iveta
Jive to ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ by Hairspray
The routine was full of
content, had lots of Jive moves and it was literally like watching a West End
show! Mark was clearly enjoying himself throughout and although his movements
lacked bounce and his kicks and flicks could have been sharper, it was loaded
with characterisation and energetic flair. It was much-improved on last week,
which is great to see! Mark was given a delightful birthday treat by receiving
his highest score to date.
Scored | 29 |
Our Score | 7 |
Susanna & Kevin
Paso Doble to ‘ Los Toreadors’ by Carmen
The perfect Paso! Fire, passion, perfectly executed footwork, quick
spins, skirt swashing, this had it all. A Paso Doble in every sense. Susanna
danced beautifully and created such drama and characterisation; a truly dynamic
performance. Susanna danced with such conviction and precision it was hard to
believe that she wasn’t a professional dancer herself. Kevin choreographed a
fantastic routine and showed the Tower Ballroom how it’s done!
Scored | 39 |
Our Score | 10 |
Natalie & Artem
Charleston to ‘Bang Bang’ by Will.i.am
We won’t mention the band on this one… After
all the drama and disappointment last week, what a brilliant come back and a
finale to the show! The whole routine had a real Gatsby feel and the
choreography Artem created complimented this wonderfully, a clever fusion of the traditional
Charleston and of the contemporary. Natalie performed her Charleston with ease and
finesse, and embraced the true spirit of the dance, smiling the whole way
through. Despite the speed of the dance, Natalie remained light on her feet
throughout a fun-packed, content-laden routine and this time the backing
dancers really added to the performance rather than distracting from the main
duo. Back with a ‘Bang Bang’ indeed.
Scored | 39 |
Our Score | 10 |
A week of high scores, most deserved, fantastic
choreography and the Tower Ballrom magic. Bring on next week!
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