Strictly Come Dancing - Saturday 2nd October Leaderboard

Combined leaderboard for both nights therefore is:

1. 31 points - Matt & Aliona
1. 31 points - Pamela & James
3. 30 points - Kara & Artem
4. 29 points - Scott & Natalie
5. 28 points - Gavin & Katya
6. 26 points - Jimi & Flavia
7. 24 points - Michelle & Brendan
7. 24 points - Tina & Jared
9. 23 points - Felicity & Vincent
10. 22 points - Patsy & Robin
11. 21 points - Peter & Erin
12. 20 points - Goldie & Kristina
13. 17 points - Ann & Anton
14. 16 points - Paul & Ola

Overall the scoreboard is as expected, though I wouldn't have put Goldie down there before the show started, it was a pretty awful excuse for a Cha Cha Cha I'm afraid.

Some work required there if some of those down the bottom want to remain in the competition.

Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev - Cha Cha Cha

The tipped 'hot couple' there should be lots of chemistry there, and Artem impressed me in the training videos so I'm expecting great things, even if there is a dominatrix theme apparently going on there.

A fall there from Kara, I hope she hasn't injured herself,  she does look in a lot of pain.  Good to see that Artem has worked on her arms and they look a lot better.  She needs to keep her neck straighter, she seems to be sticking her chin a bit forward near the end.

A good performance though and I think she'll get 7's.

Craig: 7
Len: 8
Alisha: 8
Bruno: 7

Total Score: 30

Ann Widdecombe & Anton Du Beke - Waltz

Most people have put Ann & Anton in the comedy act pile and I think the height difference is definitely going to be an issue.  Interesting to see Ann wearing what appear to be practice shoes with laces, should give her a bit more stability.

Ann needs to keep her head up, and her feet down but it is a sweet performance.  Her Latin will be interesting but a good performance, far above I think most people's expectations.

Only a 5 I'm afraid but I think it could go downhill from here a la John Sergeant.

Craig: 2
Len: 5
Alisha: 5
Bruno: 5

Total Score: 17

Craig very harsh there, I don't think that deserved a 2.

Tina O'Brien & Jared Murillo - Cha Cha Cha

I'm hoping Jared has settled in now as he looked completely out of place in the launch show.  A very strange start and I'm not a big fan of all the props in week one.  Some quite nice leg action but the routine isn't really doing it for me and Tina needs to use the floor more to generate better hip action. 

An ok start but disappointing overall, just a 6 really and I think that's being generous.

Craig: 5
Len: 7
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 6

Total Score: 24

I'm sorry Len but I think you're being overly generous with that 7.

Gavin Henson & Katya Virshilas - Waltz

Gavin should perform better at Ballroom than Latin and the beginning (albeit looking like he's trying to break Katya's neck) looks calm and controlled. However Katya is right, there isn't much emotion showing, though it's good to see him smiling throughout.

A sweet performance that I'm struggling to mark, not quite a 7 but a high 6 I'd say.

Craig: 6
Len: 8
Alisha: 7
Bruno: 7

Total Score: 28

Maybe I was a little harsh but it does bode well for the future Gavin.

Michelle Williams & Brendan Cole - Cha Cha Cha

We didn't really see much of Michelle's dancing during the training videos so will be interesting to see what Brendan has come up with.

Interesting to see them starting on the new bridge...though I have no idea what Michelle is wearing!  I feel Michelle looks a little brittle and could do with straightening the knees more.  There was energy there but it just seemed a little messy.

I'm going to say a 6, but with potential for improvement.

Craig: 5
Len: 6
Alisha: 7
Bruno: 6

Total Score: 24

I know why they've brought Alisha in for a specific reason, but dancing know-how it ain't!  No offence to Michelle but that performance was not worth a 7.

Peter Shilton & Erin Boag - Waltz

Peter needed to work more on his shoulder line in training so I'm hoping Erin has drilled it into him. 

Peter needs to keep his bum in, and try to keep his feet in contact with the floor when he opens to promenade - seems to have a tendency to life his foot quite high off the floor.  Much better shoulder line, though he looks a little bit awkward at times.

A better performance than I expected but I think it'll only get a 6 I'm afraid.

Craig: 4
Len: 6
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 5

Total Score: 21

Jimi Mistry & Flavia Cacace - Cha Cha Cha

One of my front runners based on the training videos, let's see if he can live up to my expectations.

Bit of a strange shirt choice, looks a little too big for Jimi and does nothing for his movement.  He can certainly move but I'm not happy with his hands and I think his shoulders need to be looked at.  Overall I'm a little bit disappointed but it wasn't a bad performance.

I think he will probably get 7's though.

Craig: 6
Len: 7
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 7

Total Score: 26

Strictly Come Dancing - Friday 1st October Leaderboard

So the first night's over and the leaderboard pretty much agrees with my marking (though I'd have Pamela a mark above Matt on tonight's performance):

1. 31 points - Matt & Aliona
1. 31 points - Pamela & James
3. 29 points - Scott & Natalie
4. 23 points - Felicity & Vincent
5. 22 points - Patsy & Robin
6. 20 points - Goldie & Kristina
7. 16 points - Paul & Ola

I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night now!

Paul Daniels & Ola Jordan - Cha Cha Cha

Out of the starting line-up for tonight I'm afraid Paul has me the most worried, I'm hoping he can prove me wrong, but I doubt it...

Quote of the night - Emma "Ah, he's not doing awfully".  I must admit it's no John Sergeant and for 72 he's definitely not putting on a bad show.  I do think he's been brought in for the sympathy vote though.

Not an embarassment but by no means the best Cha Cha tonight.  Lucky to get 5's I think.

Craig: 2
Len: 5
Alisha: 5
Bruno: 4

Total Score: 16

Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan - Waltz

I was very impressed with Pamela in the launch show and I'm expecting great things tonight.

Emma likes the dress, and apparently grey's a good colour on James...I don't know, I'm just looking at the dancing!

Impressive to see them starting the movement out of hold, and Pamela looks good.  I think her chin's just a little too high but this is looking to be the best (and a very impressive) Waltz.

I don't like to hand out high marks too early, but I can't give that anything less than an 8!!!

I've felt in the run-up that this could be one of the best Strictly's yet and I'm so glad that no-one is leaving this week as everyone is looking really good!

I like it, Emma likes it, Judges like it, but what do they score?

Craig: 7
Len: 8
Alisha: 8
Bruno: 8

Total Score: 31

Matt Baker & Aliona Vilani - Cha Cha Cha

Matt's gymnastic history should give him a distinct advantage, and his training video looked very promising.

Oh and there's the gymnastics already making an appearance, shame he's not as steady on his feet when crouching before Aliona!  Nice hip action though.

For me the hands are a little too 'flung out' though there's some nice finishing at times.  Definitely the best Cha Cha we've seen tonight though he should probably keep palms facing downwards rather than upwards - makes it look a little 'here's my chest ladies' and the shoulder movement makes it look a bit dad dancerish!

However a very impressive first dance, too early for an 8 personally but a high 7!

Judges are going to like this I think...

Craig: 7
Len: 8
Alisha: 8
Bruno: 8

Total Score: 31

Patsy Kensit & Robin Windsor - Waltz

So our first chance to see what one of the new boys can achieve in the show, training looked promising so let's see what they can produce.

Liking the lighting options, and song choice.  Girls always have it better dancing Ballroom with a pro dancer and straight away this looks better than Scott's, though Patsy's shoulder line needs some work. 

She didn't look entirely confident at the start, and the slip during the pivots certainly didn't help.  Overall a nice start but severely lacking in confidence, made to look much better by Robin.  Work on the posture Patsy and we should see significant improvement.

A shame but I think I can only give it a 6 this week I'm afraid Patsy.  Interesting to see her fall up the stairs to Tess's area, Emma thinks maybe the skirt has something to do with it.

Craig: 4
Len: 6
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 6

Total Score: 22

Goldie & Kristina Rihanoff - Cha Cha Cha

Goldie spent a lot of time in training playing around, now's the time to see whether he's taken things a bit more seriously for the live show.

Not a bad use of hips at the start, and though it's not really a Cha Cha I kinda like it.  A bit too Disco all round though really but it does show that Goldie has a little bit of potential.

Whilst Goldie can move and shake it I think he'll only get a 5 due to the un-Cha Cha-like choreography.

Judges appear to agree with me, now let's see how they score it:

Craig: 3
Len: 6
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 5

Total score 20

So three for three on my score predictions so far, let's see how long I can keep this up!

Scott Maslen & Natalie Lowe - Waltz

We might not be able to see it, but Scott has purportedly got a two-tone nether region, thanks to a spray-tan g-string malfunction.  Let's hope it doesn't affect his Waltz abilities too much!

The start looks a little wooden in terms of the interaction between them - Scott's doing the actions but I don't feel any emotion behind them.

However he does have a very good shoulder line once they're in hold but I just don't like it, it doesn't feel like a Waltz to me.  There just appears to be a bit too much running around and not enough actual Waltz for my liking, also there's a start, middle and finish out of hold...something I don't think Len will appreciate.

Not a bad start though, much better than I expected and I'm going to give it a 7.

Judges scores are in:

Craig: 6
Len: SE - VEN
Alisha: 8
Bruno: 8

Total score: 29

Felicity Kendal & Vincent Simone - Cha Cha Cha

Felicity was struggling in training with wearing high heels, and they did appear to be particularly high in the vids, but I'm hoping she's got past that.

Felicity is definitely more flexible than I was first expecting, but there's an awful lot of time wasting at the start and she does look a little uncomfortable.  I would prefer to see a bit more hip action and some thought to what she is going to do with her hands when not in hold, as they tend to just be held not really doing much.

I've seen worse first dances but I do feel there could have been a bit more there.  Would have to give it a 6 I think. 

As I mentioned in the training video I do think Vincent had his hand too high on Felicity's back during the Natural Top (probably to have greater control over her) and Craig picks up on the raised shoulder in his comments.


Judges scores are:


Craig: 4
Len: 5
Alisha: 7
Bruno: 7


Giving a first dance score of 23 (just shy of an average 6 - I'm off to a good start this year it seems!)

Strictly Come Dancing - Friday 1st October

So it's week one of Strictly Come Dancing 2010, I know I'm starting this a bit late but lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a few years (and the subsequent beers) ran over a little and by the time I'd got back, cooked and, the wife and I had finished dinner the show had already started.

As usual though I'm watching the show and blogging 'live' i.e. I'm going to update the posts hopefully before the judges announce their opinions, but I'll probably still post this first entry as one whole article.

There is one benefit to watching the recorded show, I can fast forward through Alisha's comments if they prove to be as inane as they were last year!

The BBC tell me that tonight's show will feature Felicity Kendal, Goldie, Matt Baker, Pamela Stephenson, Patsy Kensit, Paul Daniels, Scott Maslen so not a bad starting line-up.

According to Pamela Stephenson the glitterball is actually made of polystyrene so crystal might be over-exagerating I'm thinking Brucie!
 
The first couple to perform in 2010 is going to be Felicity Kendal & Vincent Simone and I'll upload them in a new post.

Strictly Come Dancing Training Clips - Wk 3

So Strictly Come Dancing is less than a week away from starting, the spray-tanners are spraying, the dress makers are sewing and the celebrities are shaving; and we're being treated to our last few training videos.

Up first is boyhood favourite Felicity Kendal & Vincent Simone.  I read a great blog post about calculating your Ballroom or Latin quotient and apparently Felicity Kendal is a borderline case, so should in theory cope quite comfortably with both disciplines.  Let's see how the training is coming along...



Dancing on heels really does make a huge difference to your dancing.  Latin American dances should be danced with the weight fully over the balls of the feet - the heels lightly touching the floor - and higher heels push your weight forward.  This then allows for easier hip action and even guys wear 1 1/2 inch Cuban heels (as opposed to the Ballroom 1 inch).

For someone who isn't used to dancing in heels this can take quite a bit of adjustment.  I must admit that I've never tried anything higher than the Cuban heel, but if a student ever ordered a pair of ladies shoes in size 10 I'd be tempted to try them on.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have a cross-dressing fantasy or anything, but how can you truly teach someone else about the importance of high heels, and also understand a students limitations, if you don't know how it feels yourself?

Anyway I digress, Felicity has a Cha Cha Cha as her first dance, and I think she has the personality to produce a fun and cheeky performance.  However it does look like she is struggling with those heels and I'm sure she could have had slightly lower ones - they look nearer to 3 1/2 inch to me when I'm sure 2 1/2 inch would have been a good starting point!

Standing still Felicity excudes a very naughty sexy side (I'm thinking 48ish seconds in!) but she needs to be able to do that whilst moving too, which seems to be an issue right now.  Her shoulders are too high during the natural top but I actually think Vincent could hold her a little lower and that would help.

I still have high hopes for Felicity but there is quite a bit of work still required I'd say.

Training clip number 2 this week is Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev.  Kara was restricted from training in week 1 to make up for the 20-odd hours of training she received taking party in Strictly for Sport Relief, will be interesting to see how that's affected things.



So, one of the 'hot young girls' paired with one of the new 'hot young professionals', can't imagine what the Strictly producers were thinking when they came up with that one?!

From the launch show I felt Artem was the strongest of the new professionals, and looked more at home than either Jared or Robin and the training video doesn't disappoint.

Kara is looking like she's picking up the steps quickly and does appear to have a good natural balance during those spins.  I wish I could see more of her dancing as it's difficult to see how well her hips are moving during the lock steps, obviously the body roll seems to work well.  She probably should have her arm up, rather than down, during the locks away from him...but I'm sure it's not polished yet.

Our third video of the week is Peter Shilton & Erin Boag.  Peter is Erin's second goalkeeper celebrity and whilst Peter Schmeichel didn't exactly trip the light fantastic, Erin did wonders considering the starting material.



Peter is definitely going to excel more at Ballroom than Latin American I'll wager.  He does need to work on keeping his shoulders down and level, especially in promenade position (when the guy opens his left side and the girl the right side so that they are both looking in the same direction - see 25secs in).  I also think more work is required in softening his rise and fall action.

I don't think Peter will do too bad a performance on Friday, but I also don't think he'll stay long in the competition on current evidence.

Our final couple is Tina O'Brien & Jared Murillo.  Jared didn't impress me much in the launch show so I'm hoping to see a bit more potential in the training videos.



Not looking too bad as a starting point, though Tina does need to keep her toes in contact with the floor during her back locks and should concentrate on more separation between her top half and bottom half of her body.

Still there is some potential there so will be interesting to see how she performs this weekend.

Strictly Come Dancing is back with a vengeance on Friday 1st October, hope you're looking forward to it?!