Strictly - week 2
Saturday
I watched a lot of It Takes Two last week - couldn’t control myself, and learned that Katya is, in fact, Russian, that Will is so committed to Strictly he does themed rehearsal outfits (of course he does) and what Craig had thought of Danny’s first week dance. It also prepared viewers for a week 2 slump - so little time to rehearse the routines, omparatively but it didn’t feel like there was one, mostly. Although Craig had sharpened his knives.
Most of the opening VTs were very silly and not in a good way, but one or two had illuminating moments.
Ore got to open - he presents his dances so confidently. I felt he was throwing away his arm a bit, but I liked him a little more than the judges. How could you not love the straps.
Conversely, I liked Claudia’s waltz a little less. Trust Tess not to get that they were referencing West Side Story. I suspect I may have issues with AJ’s choreography, although he’s starting to clock how much he can do with Claudia. Their VT suggests that they need to be going for the under-16 vote like they’re Disney.
Again, I took issue with Will’s arms. I thought the dance was fine, but when he said he’d pulled a muscle, Tess acted appropriately (and presumably Anastacia’s injury was on her mind), so it wasn’t clear if he had really pulled one and it hindered him or not. Awkward judging moment. (Monday’s ITT suggests that he’d done something earlier in the day - but he must have known that Anastacia really had done something and they’d be hyper-worried about every twinge.)
Lesley, I think, was the best dressed lady celeb, the colour, shimmer, cut and length of her gown all working beautifully. She really sold the routine, making it an enjoyable watch on the whole, even if it was ‘dance bit’ ‘bit of acting to catch our breaths’ ‘dance bit’. So it was better than I expected, although they should give her a tango soon.
Greg’s delivery of the closing, punning line of his VT - all ‘I can’t believe you’re making me say this’ warmed me to him enormously. With less of a performing background than Ore, the way he presents his dances, as someone who hasn’t danced before either, is pretty good. Yes, I too noticed his bottom protruded and a few of the other criticisms about his feet were fair, but this was in the decent range.
Tameka’s Charleston, to my surprise, because I am..finding her less endearing than Zoe and Claudia, was the first dance of the night I really and truly took to (although I was pleasantly surprised by how the show was going). I thought her commitment to the style was first-rate, and yes, I know, you’d expect an actress to perform, but that routine demanded stamina, there was a sticky bit about getting off the floor, and she got over it. I really enjoyed it. Bar the jump - I think it was them who did it. Nothing will compare with Greg jumping over Natalie, so they should just give it up.
Why must they put blonde Laura in yellow? I liked the effect of the grey on the skirt, but, come on. These two have real chemistry and there was lots that was good about this routine, although what Len praised as ‘light and shade’ just confused me about what was going on in the story.
Melvin and Janette had clashing clothes, and, as for how he danced, oh dear.
I thought the use of the lights and the choice of camera shots for Louise’s routine was brilliant (and the fact that I noticed suggests I wasn’t quite engaged enough with the dance?) She’s obviously good - who knew, dancing lessons at stage school help! - but it’s not a flashy good, however some of that was the Viennese Waltz.
The whole thing was Anastacia was awkward and deflating. It was obvious that she was hampered and that they were doing a cobbled together routine. There were flashes of really good parts in the middle of it, and she’s so likeable that I really felt for her. Brendan didn’t need to open his gob - Len had it covered.
Ed did his best in his Charleston, I hooted and thought he got better at matching Katya - is it wrong that my main thought was that I want to see Judge Rinder’s Charleston forthwith? - but he really hasn’t got the rhythm of how to speak on Strictly, yet, has he?
Naga’s footage on the show and on ITT suggests she just isn’t enjoying dancing, and that is offputting. I don’t think she and Pasha are clicking either. I hated the wig, for what it’s worth. Fine, she worked the sultry, but although I didn’t realise she’d gone wrong, it wasn’t working for me. I think it doesn’t help that she’s a perfectionist and her reaction to finding something tough seems to be to work harder and grind it out.
On the other hand, Judge Rinder’s American Smooth did click. They sort of made the overacting work, there were some really good bits in hold and his ability to pull off the lifts was impressive and the rest of it was entertaining. It came together as an odd, but cohesive whole - clever Oksana. And his sincerity around his grandparents and desire to do well, plus the fact he can match Craig verbally (I saw Craig fight not to smile) make for an endearing package.
Happy Aljiaz! Daisy is good at Latin too (and her attitude shines in contrast to Naga’s, although it’s easier to be happy about something that comes to you more easily, of course). I’d like to see her do a Latin with even more dynamism, myself, but she’s confirmed that she’s an all-rounder.
Danny got to close it - and it came across in the training footage that he’s a perfectionist, but what came across in the performance is that when he gets it, he’s good, and he can absolutely sell it. He was better than I thought he’d be and Oti’s continued excitement and that her take on the VW (take heed, Kevin) worked.
Craig ranged from 3 to 8, Len started off chirpy, and Bruno and Darcy, too, were much as always. Unusually there were a few rough moments that the gallery was responsible for, like us seeing the judges cam scoot from Bruno to Craig at one point and another where studio paraphernalia was in shot. More teary contestants than teary family and friends this time.
For some reason, I’d forgotten that both shows’ marks would be added together, so the leaderboard threw me.
Results (caught up on this, whereas I'd watched the performances live.)
Am-ah-zing opening routine, once we’d got past the fake guitar playing. It showcased Gorka and Oksana well, especially her, as they showdanced, but it wouldn’t have worked half as well without the contrast of the tangoing black-garbed rest. And indeed, some moves absolutely wouldn’t have worked without the other dancers. I generally love the pros’ battling numbers and this threw in paso moves and fan dancing and was an epic little drama.
As was the forlorn fake flower the judges kicked about in their entrance.
Blah blah results. I was shocked Anastacia was in the bottom two, because I’d thought she would be popular enough to overcome the awkwardness of the salsa situation. (I admit I skipped over the judges’ advice.)
Barry Gibb became gradually clearer to understand, but it was all about Janette (and Giovanni, but it took me a while to realise he wasn’t Aljaz) and her showdancing (Kristina who?)
They left the right last three waiting last - I don’t know if that was guided by the public vote. Katya’s overexcited response was made even more hilarious by Ed’s restrained one. Naga should take this as a warning and fight her instincts and smile all the way until the next show. I thought that if it was Melvin, they might let Anastacia through on potential however much they say it’s based on the dance. But we had the medical veto, which it turns out is unprecedented. It was all a bit awkward. And I do wonder what Anastacia will be able to do in the next few days, plus what dance isn’t going to aggravate the injury.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/255144.html.
I watched a lot of It Takes Two last week - couldn’t control myself, and learned that Katya is, in fact, Russian, that Will is so committed to Strictly he does themed rehearsal outfits (of course he does) and what Craig had thought of Danny’s first week dance. It also prepared viewers for a week 2 slump - so little time to rehearse the routines, omparatively but it didn’t feel like there was one, mostly. Although Craig had sharpened his knives.
Most of the opening VTs were very silly and not in a good way, but one or two had illuminating moments.
Ore got to open - he presents his dances so confidently. I felt he was throwing away his arm a bit, but I liked him a little more than the judges. How could you not love the straps.
Conversely, I liked Claudia’s waltz a little less. Trust Tess not to get that they were referencing West Side Story. I suspect I may have issues with AJ’s choreography, although he’s starting to clock how much he can do with Claudia. Their VT suggests that they need to be going for the under-16 vote like they’re Disney.
Again, I took issue with Will’s arms. I thought the dance was fine, but when he said he’d pulled a muscle, Tess acted appropriately (and presumably Anastacia’s injury was on her mind), so it wasn’t clear if he had really pulled one and it hindered him or not. Awkward judging moment. (Monday’s ITT suggests that he’d done something earlier in the day - but he must have known that Anastacia really had done something and they’d be hyper-worried about every twinge.)
Lesley, I think, was the best dressed lady celeb, the colour, shimmer, cut and length of her gown all working beautifully. She really sold the routine, making it an enjoyable watch on the whole, even if it was ‘dance bit’ ‘bit of acting to catch our breaths’ ‘dance bit’. So it was better than I expected, although they should give her a tango soon.
Greg’s delivery of the closing, punning line of his VT - all ‘I can’t believe you’re making me say this’ warmed me to him enormously. With less of a performing background than Ore, the way he presents his dances, as someone who hasn’t danced before either, is pretty good. Yes, I too noticed his bottom protruded and a few of the other criticisms about his feet were fair, but this was in the decent range.
Tameka’s Charleston, to my surprise, because I am..finding her less endearing than Zoe and Claudia, was the first dance of the night I really and truly took to (although I was pleasantly surprised by how the show was going). I thought her commitment to the style was first-rate, and yes, I know, you’d expect an actress to perform, but that routine demanded stamina, there was a sticky bit about getting off the floor, and she got over it. I really enjoyed it. Bar the jump - I think it was them who did it. Nothing will compare with Greg jumping over Natalie, so they should just give it up.
Why must they put blonde Laura in yellow? I liked the effect of the grey on the skirt, but, come on. These two have real chemistry and there was lots that was good about this routine, although what Len praised as ‘light and shade’ just confused me about what was going on in the story.
Melvin and Janette had clashing clothes, and, as for how he danced, oh dear.
I thought the use of the lights and the choice of camera shots for Louise’s routine was brilliant (and the fact that I noticed suggests I wasn’t quite engaged enough with the dance?) She’s obviously good - who knew, dancing lessons at stage school help! - but it’s not a flashy good, however some of that was the Viennese Waltz.
The whole thing was Anastacia was awkward and deflating. It was obvious that she was hampered and that they were doing a cobbled together routine. There were flashes of really good parts in the middle of it, and she’s so likeable that I really felt for her. Brendan didn’t need to open his gob - Len had it covered.
Ed did his best in his Charleston, I hooted and thought he got better at matching Katya - is it wrong that my main thought was that I want to see Judge Rinder’s Charleston forthwith? - but he really hasn’t got the rhythm of how to speak on Strictly, yet, has he?
Naga’s footage on the show and on ITT suggests she just isn’t enjoying dancing, and that is offputting. I don’t think she and Pasha are clicking either. I hated the wig, for what it’s worth. Fine, she worked the sultry, but although I didn’t realise she’d gone wrong, it wasn’t working for me. I think it doesn’t help that she’s a perfectionist and her reaction to finding something tough seems to be to work harder and grind it out.
On the other hand, Judge Rinder’s American Smooth did click. They sort of made the overacting work, there were some really good bits in hold and his ability to pull off the lifts was impressive and the rest of it was entertaining. It came together as an odd, but cohesive whole - clever Oksana. And his sincerity around his grandparents and desire to do well, plus the fact he can match Craig verbally (I saw Craig fight not to smile) make for an endearing package.
Happy Aljiaz! Daisy is good at Latin too (and her attitude shines in contrast to Naga’s, although it’s easier to be happy about something that comes to you more easily, of course). I’d like to see her do a Latin with even more dynamism, myself, but she’s confirmed that she’s an all-rounder.
Danny got to close it - and it came across in the training footage that he’s a perfectionist, but what came across in the performance is that when he gets it, he’s good, and he can absolutely sell it. He was better than I thought he’d be and Oti’s continued excitement and that her take on the VW (take heed, Kevin) worked.
Craig ranged from 3 to 8, Len started off chirpy, and Bruno and Darcy, too, were much as always. Unusually there were a few rough moments that the gallery was responsible for, like us seeing the judges cam scoot from Bruno to Craig at one point and another where studio paraphernalia was in shot. More teary contestants than teary family and friends this time.
For some reason, I’d forgotten that both shows’ marks would be added together, so the leaderboard threw me.
Results (caught up on this, whereas I'd watched the performances live.)
Am-ah-zing opening routine, once we’d got past the fake guitar playing. It showcased Gorka and Oksana well, especially her, as they showdanced, but it wouldn’t have worked half as well without the contrast of the tangoing black-garbed rest. And indeed, some moves absolutely wouldn’t have worked without the other dancers. I generally love the pros’ battling numbers and this threw in paso moves and fan dancing and was an epic little drama.
As was the forlorn fake flower the judges kicked about in their entrance.
Blah blah results. I was shocked Anastacia was in the bottom two, because I’d thought she would be popular enough to overcome the awkwardness of the salsa situation. (I admit I skipped over the judges’ advice.)
Barry Gibb became gradually clearer to understand, but it was all about Janette (and Giovanni, but it took me a while to realise he wasn’t Aljaz) and her showdancing (Kristina who?)
They left the right last three waiting last - I don’t know if that was guided by the public vote. Katya’s overexcited response was made even more hilarious by Ed’s restrained one. Naga should take this as a warning and fight her instincts and smile all the way until the next show. I thought that if it was Melvin, they might let Anastacia through on potential however much they say it’s based on the dance. But we had the medical veto, which it turns out is unprecedented. It was all a bit awkward. And I do wonder what Anastacia will be able to do in the next few days, plus what dance isn’t going to aggravate the injury.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/255144.html.