A bit out of time at the start but a great smile. Needs to stand up straighter and I feel there are points when Rory's just standing around waiting for his turn.
Salsa is a very difficult dance though, and along with the Foxtrot, I think they're both too early in the competition.
A good performance but not great, just a 6 from me.
Craig: 4 "Like a rat caught on a sticky strip...dancing way too heavily on the floor"
Len: 6 "Not a natural dance for an Englishman...flaunt our wobbly bits...you gave it a go"
Alesha: 6 "Straight in, no messing about...loved the shimmying"
Bruno: 6 "Full frontal attack, full of energy...you went wrong...gotta keep the flow going"
Rory looked really good in the launch show and in training, he has a bit of a Tony Blair smile on him tonight, and he could lower his shoulders to make his frame look a lot more relaxed.
I love this track for a Waltz, I'll have to find a suitable version to add to our playlist.
Overall an accomplished Waltz but he was a bit ahead of Erin at times, and some heel leads look a bit too obvious, just a 6 from me.
Craig: 6 "Make sure your head follows your body...heel leads slightly exaggerated...danced with elegance"
Len: 7 "First class impression of a Waltz...bum sticks out a bit...heel leads a bit too deliberate"
Alesha: 7 "Little bit rough around the edges...just got to watch your posture"
Bruno: 7 "Wasn't bad at all...relax because you're good"
So Strictly 2011 started last night, Bruce's jokes return, some questionable outfits on show (not quite sure what they've put Robbie Savage in for example) and hopefully a whole new audience will be looking to learn to dance...you know where to find us!
From watching the launch show I made the following predictions of couples that could do well:
Harry & Aliona (though how much help his previous training will be is debatable)
Chelsee & Pasha (I predict they'll do really well)
Lulu & Brendan (both feisty)
Rory & Erin (though not all the way I fear)
Holly & Artem (could definitely give Kara food for thought)
The training videos so far seemed to have supported that but we'll see how they all perform this weekend.
There are no couples going home this week, but the scores will be carried forward to next week too.
Enough of an intro, let's get on with the dancing. First up is Holly Valence & Artem Chigvintsev (on a side note it was originally supposed to be Alex Jones & James Jordan dancing tonight - no official word on why the switch was made and whether they're dancing tonight or not!)
Day two of training so we should see a bit more development as the weeks progress. Next up is Rory Bremner & Erin Boag and Waltz.
I imagine this will be a good one for Rory to start off with (though his wiggle didn't look too bad at all in the opening show).
Rory will need to work on keeping his shoulders relaxed, as well as lifting his chest a bit more (we find using the Topline dance frame a great help for our students).
On tonight's episode: Peter & Erin; Alisha Dixon; Ann & Anton; Felicity & Vincent.
The show starts with Ola Jordan taking a video camera round behind the scenes and chatting the the dancers and celebs. We see James jokingly telling Ola about what it's like to still be in the competition. Len and James share a kiss (so that Len can see if it 'prickles' when you kiss a man with a beard).
Then we're treated to another brief recap of some of the highlights from Saturday before it's time to talk to Peter & Erin.
Peter feels like he let himself down, but also that Charleston wasn't really his dance. Erin points out that Charleston was around week 11 last year, not week 4, and considering there's acting as well as dancing involved that does make it much more difficult.
Peter's highlights do unfortunately include his Salsa, but there's a nice outfit of Erin's in the training vid ;-)
Next up a VT showing all the animal references the judges made on Saturday, leading up to Alisha being on the show.
I understand that she can relate directly to the celebs, having been through it herself, but she's still just not a viable judge for me. However Emma and I both agree that she is improving...though I do wonder how much of her comments are scripted???
It is revealed that Patsy will be doing the Jive next week, given how soon she ran out of puff with the Charleston she does need to work on her stamina.
Our next couple are Ann & Anton,
Ann reveals she is afraid of heights but actually enjoyed the wire work by the time she was landing. Anton reveals that he originally suggested the idea as a joke! Their next dance will be the Paso Doble, I'm seeing shades of John Sargeant already...
Now onto Felicity & Vincent,
Apparently the kiss was Vincent's idea (surprise, surprise) and they weren't sure if it was going to be allowed.
A VT on Vincent's Magic Eyebrow (lots of twitching at camera).
Felicity & Vincent will have Viennese Waltz at the weekend, choreography-wise it will be a lot simpler but the constant rotation at speed makes it such a hard dance.
12 dances down let's have a look at the leaderboard:
1. 35 points - Scott & Natalie
1. 35 points - Matt & Aliona
3. 34 points - Pamela & James
4. 32 points - Kara & Artem
5. 29 points - Tina & Jared
5. 29 points - Felicity & Vincent
7. 28 points - Patsy & Robin
8. 27 points - Jimi & Flavia
8. 27 points - Michelle & Ian
10. 23 points - Gavin & Katya
11. 21 points - Ann & Anton
12. 17 points - Peter & Erin
For me I think Gavin & Katya and Peter & Erin are going to be in trouble this week...I still think Gavin has more to give so Peter should probably go home.
Peter's not his best when he's dancing on his own, so Charleston could be a disaster...
Oh dear, Peter does look like he's a bit of a puppet on a string at times, better in hold but unfortunately not much of that in this routine and he obviously isn't confident in the routine as he keeps looking at Erin for guidance.
Almost looks like he's walking through it by the end. Only a 5 from me.
Craig: 2 "I'm glad you had a good time, I couldn't wait for it to finish...white gloves a BIG mistake"
Len: 5 "You have gone to town on this outfit...more comfortable in hold doing proper dancing"
Alisha: 6 "So sweet...massive timing issues...such a shame"
Bruno: 4 "Oh Peter...you look like a penguin stuck in the mud...timing has to be spot-on...didn't really gel"
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.
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?!
Austin performed an amazing Paso Doble in 2008's competition and I felt was very unlucky to go out without reaching the final.
Well that's a start and a half, though I'd prefer a more Spanish arm shape at times.
However a very entertaining performance (as Austin always managed) and a great aggressive performance. A 9.5 from me and I think might get a couple of 10's.
Erin Boag may be out of the competition, but she's still very busy! Find out what she gets up to during the week with her sneaky backstage diary. Find out what the dancers eat (especially a very messy Vincent) and what she gets up to outside of Saturday!
Will my prediction of a Laila and Ricky dance off pan out?
Bottom three as expected, now who have the public gone for?
Yep Natalie & Vincent are saved by the audience, and Laila and Ricky are in the dance-off.
More importantly it's Erin versus Anton!
If Ricky can perform without making any mistakes then we could have a competition on our hands, otherwise I think he's going home.
Laila still stumbles in the same move near the end, which is a shame, and she looks very uncomforable during the final pivots. But not a bad performance, all down to Ricky now.
Looks like a much improved performance on earlier and I really don't know how to call this one.
I think Ricky has been more consistent, though Laila has scored highly in a few of her dances.
On that basis I think it will be Ricky going home.
Just waiting on Len to confirm whether it's 3 or 4-0...and Len confirms it would've been 4-0.
Do you agree with the outcome from tonight? Look out Natalie and Laila, there's no-one below you now!
I'm expecting Laila to be saved by public vote, and a Natalie Cassidy/Phil Tufnell dance-off - but how have the public voted?
Well that's one of my dance-off possibles saved by the public, could Laila be in trouble this week? Either way I think they'll save her till the bottom three.
As expected!
Out of these two I think Phil will be the one going home, assuming Ricky can make the Viennese a little smoother this time.
A nice performance from Phil & Katya, let's see Ricky's response.
Seems smoother this time, but still too skippy. Not quite as dynamic this time and I think Ricky could be in trouble.
It'll be a close call and I imagine it will be a Len decider tonight.
2-1 to Phil, then Len votes for Ricky so Phil gets sent home, the right decision I feel.
Another celebrity who's more at home in the ballroom dances. His Viennese American Smooth was very good so I'm expecting good things tonight.
A little skippy, which i'm sure Craig will pick up on, fleckerl wasn't too bad though.
The dance is let down by the skipping as it ruins the overall look, and with only 3 real steps to choose from you do have to perform them well.
Ricky has consistently been the clown in the competition so far, but he can't really afford to be too funny in this dance.
The weight loss is definitely showing in Ricky now and he's looking good, though the hips are a little forced in that beginning, and still needs to watch his shoulders when in hold.
Not so sure on the arms being flung everywhere but a serious effort from Ricky. Not a bad performance I think and I would say yet more 7's (swiftly becoming a habit tonight!)
Ricky and Erin have decided to choose a Viennese Waltz as their American Smooth dance and from the training videos I think that could prove to be a good choice.
Shame he was out of time at the start there as they came together. An excellent performance, with a cheeky bit of Quickstep thrown in for good measure. Looked a little uncomfortable during the second lift however.
Antony started dance lessons when he was 3 years old. After finding an apparent natural aptitude he continued dancing, progressing through medals and competing.
With the start of Strictly Come Dancing the demand for a local teacher gave him the impetus to set up his own school.
Now he provides beginner through to advanced tuition via classes and private lessons, and also runs corporate events and choreographs wedding first dances.
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