6.10.13

Strictly Come Dancing - Week Two


Week two of Strictly Come Dancing and our first marathon show of the series. Sir Bruce wasn’t fully charged and therefore had to give this week a miss (Get well soon Brucie) so Claudia stepped in and Tess was promoted and given permission to utter the immortal words, ‘nice to see you, to see you nice’. Couples introduced it was time to take to the floor…

Susanna & Kevin
Tango to ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ by Bruno Mars
A bit of Kevin action to start the show, what more could we ask for. Full of content, very dramatic and sharp – another solid performance from Susanna. .  The comments made by the judges were promising and even Darcey mentioned about giving up her day job. She just needs to work on her frame and pay attention to the little details.

Scored | 31 |
Combined Score | 59 |
Our Score | 7 |

Tony & Aliona
Charleston to ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If Ain’t Got That Swing)’ by Chantz
As if all the golf puns weren’t enough they decided Tony needed to dress in golfing attire and have a golf club as a prop. Does anyone know what Tony does? I can sympathise and appreciate the fact that Tony is 69 years of age, but this, this did not have anything that resembles a Charleston. Very dull. Too much messing around with props and the start of the dance was far too long. Even Aliona wasn’t on par (now even we’re at it) with a little slip up.

Scored | 13 |
Combined Score | 29 |
Our Score | 2 |

Natalie & Artem
Waltz to ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys
We didn’t care about the footwork, this Waltz had everything – emotion, elegance, passion… It was beautiful and Natalie is looking ever so natural out on that dance floor. Beautiful choreography from Artem followed up by a flurry of positive comments from the judges. There was occasional gapping and she mostly stepped through toe first rather than heel first but the fact that these are the only things you can pick up on proves how great she’s doing. Natalie demonstrated she’s equally as adept at Ballroom as she is Latin, this duo are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Scored | 34 |
Combined Score | 65 |
Our Score | 9 |

Dave & Karen
American Smooth to ‘How Do You Like Your Eggs in the Morning?’ by Dean Martin & Helen O’Connell
A little less comedy this week, although we still found our selves giggling away at parts. Karen is nothing short of a genius in putting together a routine that he can cope with which remains interesting to watch. This week even had elements of actual dance steps! Heels leads were the only dance specific positives the judges managed pick up otherwise it was heavy footed, no sense of musicality what so ever, poor timing and no real thought of what Dave was doing with his arms! However we can’t help but have a little soft spot for this pairing.

Scored | 17 |
Combined Score | 33 |
Our Score | 4 |

Patrick & Anya
Tango to ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson
Last weeks Jive was slightly better but all in all not a bad Tango. A little flat footed and wobbly in hold, but Patrick really did get in to the character of the Tango and just like last week was full of energy. He also looked very tentative in his forward steps so there was't much drive or movement for me (compared to Susanna & Kevin) However Patrick is Currently one of the best of the male celebs.

Scored | 27 |
Combined Score | 55 |
Our Score | 6 |

Deborah & Robin
Cha Cha Cha to ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin
Deborah definitely earned our ‘Respect’ this week. Deborah clearly enjoyed the dance as it brought back memories of her holiday in South America with her husband! She really let herself go and had everything that you’d expect from a Cha Cha Cha. Much better than last week but she needs to work on her footwork and her technique to make the next step up now her confidence seems to be shining.

Scored | 24 |
Combined Score | 48 |
Our Score | 6 |

 Rachel & Pasha
Salsa to ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk
We were a little disappointed, although the dance was ok and she said she had fun it came across quite careful and emotionless. Once she lets herself go her scores will increase dramatically.

Scored | 20 |
Combined Score | 47 |
Our Score | 5 |

Vanessa & James
Waltz to ‘Run to You’ by Whitney Houston
A huge difference from last week. We had written Vanessa off for an early exit but her love of dancing and pure emotion certainly endeared her to us. She definitely shines more whilst in hold (who wouldn’t with James) a dreamy Waltz, moving, touching, emotional – all beautifully told. Footwork needs to be more precise and more attention to detail, but, Vanessa can dance!

Scored | 23 |
Combined Score | 42 |
Our Score | 6 |

Julien & Janette
Tango to ‘Applause’ by Lady GaGa
The sparkles were overkill! He got in to the character of the dance but it didn’t scream Tango to us. Juliens’ posture throughout was horrible and looked all too uncomfortable. It did have much more dance content than last week, you could see the hours of work that had gone into learning all the steps. Craig commented that his posture was a bit dull; Len says it was a bit whimsical but had improved since last week. Plenty to improve on.

Scored | 18 |
Combined Score | 38 |
Our Score | 4 |

Fiona & Anton
Cha Cha Cha to ‘’Beggin’ by Madcon
Such a promising start, so full of confidence and plenty of steps, until the mistake, from which she seemed to find it hard to recover. Fiona shows real promise but nerves got the better of her tonight, Anton can work on that. Her timing was very good, so it is there, she can do it, she can dance… Anton hasn’t had to break a sweat like this in years.

Scored | 22 |
Combined Score | 46 |
Our Score | 5 |

Mark & Iveta
Salsa to ‘Bom Bom’ by Sam and the Womp
Full of character, full of energy, full of fun, but unfortunately a Salsa it was not. Even his shirt couldn’t distract us from that. The song choice definitely didn’t help with any sort of salsa feel though which wasn’t Marks fault.

Scored | 22 |
Combined Score | 46 |
Our Score | 4 |

Sophie & Brendan
Charleston to ‘Rock It to Me’ by Caravan Palace
All these years we’ve never seen Brendan perform a Charleston, but boy was it worth the wait! The dance of the night. Everything that a Charleston should be. A joy to watch, pure entertainment. Sophie was just perfect. Sync was maintained throughout. Genius choreography from Brendan, a real masterpiece, one his finest routines ever on Strictly. We get the feeling this was a one-off from Brendan, so remember it forever, savour it.

Scored | 36 |
Combined Score | 64 |
Our Score | 9 |

Ben & Kristina
Waltz to ‘What The World Needs Now’ by Dionne Warwick
A marked improvement on last week but it lacked any real emotion and dare we say it, was a little on the dull side. There are improvements, most noticeably Ben’s top line which was very good, so there is some positive and some hope. We’re still hoping Ben turns out to be a slow burning and Kristina can help his inner dancer emerge.

Scored | 25 |
Combined Score | 44 |
Our Score | 6 |

Abbey & Aljaz
Cha Cha Cha to ‘Let’s Get Loud’ by Jennifer Lopez
Abbey as always looked stunning, moved so good but not enough hip action and she needs to think what she’s doing with her free arm. Still, Abbey remains one of the front runners with last weeks stunning ballroom.

Scored | 30 |
Combined Score | 62 |
Our Score | 7 |

Ashley & Ola
American Smooth to’Beyond the Sea’ by Robbie Williams
Firstly congratulations to Ashley on becoming a dad for a second time to a baby boy, Mason Mac! Without question Ashley is a Ballroom boy. He looked the part, moved with some style and this was splendid. Elegant, graceful with a lot of content. He just needs to work on the details but for week two that’s not a bad position to be in.

Scored | 32 |
Combined Score | 57 |
Our Score | 7 |

Another marathon show over and a select few really are out shining the rest. The stand out of the show as easily Sophie & Brendan’s Charleston, Brendan’s choreography was nothing short of spectacular. Down the other end Tony failed to impress again, maybe we’ve seen the last of the golf puns…

Tune in to BBC1 tonight at 7.20pm to see the results of the first dance-off.

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