Let's Watch Telly

Another week has been and gone and what a show Saturday night was! I thought every single couple improved from last week and really gave it their best shot as they need the votes to get through to Blackpool next week! I can’t believe we’re halfway through now so here’s the round-up of all the action from week 8.

Daisy & Aljaz:

Kicking the show off to Groove Is In The Heart, their salsa did not win my heart. She is definitely talented but I feel like she can give so much more in her dancing!

She doesn’t seem to be popular with the viewers which is a shame as she is a good dancer. She needs to get used to being lifted too as the transitions in and out of them was a little clunky for my liking.

Greg & Natalie:

Now I loved this dance and thought it was grossly undermarked. I thought it had fire, passion and attack! I think he has improved possibly the most of all of the contestants still in the competition. He’s obviously not the best dancer there but he really is putting in lots of work and we can definitely see that!

Judge Rinder & Oksana:

The joy Judge Rinder has when dancing, especially this week, is what everyone should feel when dancing. I love the old-fashioned glitz and glamour of the Foxtrot and this dance did not disappoint.

You can tell that he put a lot of work into this dance and his grandparents looked so impressed and proud! Again, I thought it was undermarked!

Ore & Joanne:

Now this is the type of rumba that I enjoy; it was more of a love story rather than all sensual. I love the song so it was already going to be a winner for me. 

I thought his arms had an amazing grace and fluidity about them and I thought Ore’s acting skills were a lot better than I anticipated!

 Ed & Katya:

The moment of the night; the dance that will forever go down in Strictly history. Ed actual Balls dancing a Salsa to Gangnam Style. 

Since I saw this dance, I have watched it numerous times on Youtube and am filled with joy every single time.  My hat goes off to the singer Lance who learnt the song word for word!

Claudia & AJ:

I genuinely thought she deserved a ten and she’s still waiting for one! First of all, she looked beautiful in that gorgeous blue dress and secondly, she danced beautifully. 

I thought her footwork was impeccable and her hold is finally perfect! She’s improved her fluidity in her arms too and I loved the whole dance from start to finish.

Danny & Oti:

This was my favourite dance technically of the night. An Argentine Tango is hard for a man to be impressive in as it’s all about showing off the woman and her footwork. 

I was so pleased that Oti made the dance of two equals and I actually enjoyed the aggressiveness of the dance. I loved the story, the passion and the footwork throughout. Job well done!

Louise & Kevin:

How amazing did Louise look in that gorgeous dress? I think this was her best dance yet (yes even better than last week) as I think she finally showed us her personality during the dance! Kevin has clearly worked on her facial expressions and it showed.

I loved all of the Fosse-inspired detail as that is the sort of dance that I’ve grown up loving! I loved the mix of ballroom and musical theatre!

*****

I wasn’t surprised by the bottom two on Sunday. If you finish towards the bottom of the leaderboard, you should prepare yourselves for the dance-off. When Daisy & Alijaz and Greg & Natalie were announced, I wasn’t surprised.

Daisy still isn’t popular and Greg is starting to show more weaknesses than the others; however, they were the first two couples to dance on Saturday. When the calibre of talent is as high as it is this year, it’s not unusual to forget the dances at the beginning of the show especially if they weren’t high scorers.

I thought both couples improved on their dances from the previous night but I did think that Greg’s dance showed more excitement and finesse.

Now we move onto Blackpool which is the one place that everybody always steps up their game for. Expect bigger and better everything: lights, staging, costumes, dancers. I, for one, can’t wait! See you all next week!

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SR

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Strictly is on BBC1 on Saturday and Sunday evenings.