Source: BBC
Strictly brilliant! I tell you what, like everybody else it seems, I am so loving this series of Strictly. It’s just so unpredictable.
This week again we saw it all. The drama, what with Kelly being in the bottom two with the judges and finding herself in the dance-off, Brendan’s first near tantrum amid his protests that they had only trained for a mere eight hours. My question is then why not train longer? Alesha and Matt trained a whopping 27 hours this week – and it showed. But the judges saved them and Kelly lived to dance another week.
So alas, we bid a very fond farewell to John Barnesy Barnes. Despite his hip-swivelling, party-starting Samba it failed to ignite the public vote. It’s strange because all day John had been saying that he was going. He was almost saying his goodbyes to us all – he had this feeling that it was his turn and he didn’t have his usual sparkle about him. He was still laughing and joking with us all – he was the joker of the pack and we’ll miss him for that. But he definitely had a feeling it was his turn.
Another more pleasant shock on the night was Kenny pulling it out of the bag with his never-before-seen on Strictly one-arm lift in the American Smooth! Amazing! And for once not just the public but the judges got behind him. He has been desperate for some positive words of appreciation from the judges. On Saturday he finally got them. Bravo!
Letitia and Gethin both shone in the ballroom – let’s just hope they pull it off in the Latin next week. She looks a lot more confident on the dance floor as well as personally. She’s still really, really nervous but she’s giving it her all out there. She’s hiding those nerves a lot better than she did in the beginning. And wasn’t Matt a revelation in the Salsa!? Who would have known how much he’d struggled all week in training with bringing out his sexy side. It was the case of Matt the sexy beast unleashed!
And that chemistry with Flavia just jumped right out of the screen and electrified us. Alesha’s performance was ecstatic and so exciting – didn’t you want to just jump up and join in? Eat your heart out Beyoncé, a star is born.
And let’s have a moment can we about the group Dirty Dancing performance! Wow, wow and wow again. I loved it. It just shot to number one of my all-time favourite Strictly moments in fact. And the gang sure looked like they loved dancing it. A lot of them looked like were living out their childhood dreams. And for a minute Kenny WAS Patrick Swayze. Carrying off that iconic lift with aplomb.
And as I sat watching backstage I’m only a tad embarrassed to admit I actually got a little misty eyed with the sheer emotional exhilaration of it all. I felt like a proud mother watching her baby. Ah – a moment for sure!
Like everyone else I await next week with baited breath. Two dances each – a Ballroom and a Latin and that means there’s nowhere to hide for those who shine in one and shrink in the other.
I know lovely Letitia is very nervous about the Latin and definitely feels more confident in the safety of the Ballroom hold. And will Gethin manage to release his inner Latin love god? At the risk of sounding a little Arlene – come on the dragon! If you’ve got it flaunt it!
One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be a tough week for our contenders. Double the routines to learn, even more training and with only one week to go to the quarter finals the pressure is really hotting up. Bring it on I say and I’ll see you next week for more fun and games.
And now, some of your questions:
Is the dance off nerve wracking to watch? SparklyStickLady
I really feel for the couples during the dance-off because they’re really giving it their all. Look at Kate. Kate was incredible in her last dance – the dance off – she was better than she’d ever been ironically. It didn’t save her but she was giving it her all in the way that blew us all away. Often the raw emotion of them just literally dancing for their lives is tangible – it really reaches out and touches you. And the atmosphere in the studio is just one of nervous tension. You’re on the edge of your seat. It’s electrifying.
Are you more nervous when you have heaps of celebrities in that lovely back room or when you have the last two or three couples who are left in the competition? – suzysamba
The dynamic changes through the competition as we get fewer and fewer couples that survive. Obviously there’s not as much banter backstage as there’s fewer people making less noise and of course the competition is more serious because they’re getting closer and closer to the final so the atmosphere changes – it goes from being like a school trip out like a big party to getting more and more serious as there are less and less left to contend for the title.