Week 2 Review: Movie Week Marks, Mistakes and a Shock 7 for Shaun
Week 2 now, and it was certainly interesting one. Movie Week is early this year for some reason… they seemingly want to change every last bit of the show… overall though, a decent enough outing. I do think most couples were better last week but that’s just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
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6First up we had Dani and Nikita with a Foxtrot to Beauty and the Beast. I enjoyed this, it had lovely swing and sway about it, it was a nice gentle way to start the show, she glided across the floor effortlessly. Perhaps a little hesitant in places, but I would easily have given a 7 here. Judges went 6, 6, 5, 6, which I think is slightly undermarked- it was never a 5. I think these two were disadvantage by their position in the running order.
Next up were John and Katya doing Couple’s Choice to an Irish track from Titanic. I thought it was a load of fun, and yes he channelled the atmosphere of an Irish family party pretty well…but was there much dancing there? Not for me- I was thoroughly disappointed with John this week after his beautiful debut. Structurally this Couple’s Choice was a bit of a mess, and I can see why the producers stuck him on early in the running order. I do think Couple’s Choice in Week 2 for somebody of John’s natural ability showcased last week is too early. To me, the dance seemed made up on the spot. It lacked story, and it lacked structure. It’s a 4 from me. The judges went 4, 5, 7, 7… I have absolutely no idea what prompted the 7s from the two on the end. He was nowhere near as good as Dani was.
Then you had Delta and Kai with an American Smooth to A Star is Born. I thoroughly enjoyed this- Kai choreographed a routine that really showcased Delta, which shows he has trust in her. It was very flowy dance and looked lovely… there were a couple of little missteps in there unfortunately, but Delta is such an elegant lady, and her acting skills were top notch. It’s an 8 from me. I absolutely loved the story between the two of them- it was beautiful. The judges marked it 8, 7, 7, 8 for a total of 30 points and I think that’s an accurate total.
Then you had Chris and Amy with a Cha Cha to the Baywatch theme. Firstly they looked great visually and definitely channelled the theme of the movie really well, although… Baywatch is a TV show most recognisably… and they were dancing to the theme from the TV show- I have no idea whether the theme plays in the film but if not I do think this is somewhat cheating. I do think Chris showed some potential last week with his Tango but this week was a significant downgrade. He was bad… it was all a load of posing and posturing. There wasn’t a lot of actual dancing to critique… and unfortunately that means a 2 from me. The judges went 4, 4, 4, 5 which I do think is fair enough, but perhaps a little bit too generous. They visually looked like they could both fit into Baywatch though which is at least something (although I thought Amy’s wig looked pretty bad from the back- from the front it looked OK but from the back it was a very obvious wig).
After that came Lawrence and Jowita with a Ratatouille themed Viennese waltz. Whilst I have no problem with the “kiddy” dances in themed weeks, this is one where I do think the theming got in the way a bit and meant he somewhat failed to deliver on his potential. I didn’t really see much growth from last week. Jowita made a cute rat I guess? I agree with Anton, that out of hold, Lawrence is pretty good, all the moments of characterisation and acting are fantastic, but when he gets into hold, his natural ability somewhat takes a downturn. It’s a 5 from me, he’s not awful, but he’s not delivering anything great yet. The judges scores were 4, 5, 4, 6- I think Motsi pitched this one just right. It wasn’t bad enough for a 4 but it wasn’t good enough for a 6.
Next up were Sarah and Julian with a Charleston from Mary Poppins. Visually, she made a great Mary Poppins, she looked like a Mary Poppins you’d see on a West End stage and again channelled the character brilliantly, which is not an easy task for a non-performer. I didn’t like Julian’s wig here either (what is it with the rough wigs this week), but they do work very well is a partnership. As mentioned, Sarah’s characterisation was great. When it comes to the actual dancing however, let’s just say it wasn’t for me this week. It was nowhere near chaotic enough for the Charleston, and I do think she lacked a bit of speed about her too- it was quite a low energy Charleston, rather than going all out. For me, this dance was a 4, it wasn’t Sarah’s best but I do think she can deliver more. The lower energy levels were really noticeable when you compare it to Julian’s speed and energy. The judges went for straight 6s and a total of 24, which I think is a little bit too high personally.
Then there was Graeme and Lauren with a Waltz from the Godfather. I loved that there was no tricks or gimmicks with this, it was just a pure waltz, so Lauren’s choreography was excellent. However, my ears didn’t feel like it was a Waltz… the music felt more like Tango music, which I think makes this dance somewhat difficult to judge. It’s a lot better watching it on mute because it makes you appreciate Graeme’s strengths more. He had the elegance, his footwork at least to me looked 100% correct, his acting was all good, but I do think 1) his shoulders look somewhat slumped at times and it can affect his posture making it look weaker, but also 2) the camerawork was atrocious, sorry… the wobbly camera at one point in the dance made it look like he had a wobble himself in the dance which he didn’t. Very odd creative choice there with the camera shake if intentional, which I’m still not 100% sure of. I’d give them a 6, he still has room to improve. Judges went 8, 8, 8, 7… which is slightly too high if you ask me- I could see it if it was straight 7s but the 8s are a little too high and I do have to wonder if they stem from the judges being surprised that an older man is pretty gifted at dancing so far. I do think he can get to an 8 level soon (or at least what I consider 8 level) but he’s not quite there for me yet, though I did enjoy his dance.
Then you had Will and Dianne with a Foxtrot to Risky Business… whilst I do appreciate trying to do something different, and that the rules are somewhat more flexible on a themed week, this was far too chaotic for my liking, especially for a Foxtrot. It lacked elegance for me, and there were times it looked like he was doing Tango hold, not Foxtrot. He is rather good at channeling a comedic side though and Dianne knows his strengths hence her incorporating those little comedic moments but this wasn’t quite for me this week. I do however think he improved on last week, and seemed a bit more at ease. It’s a 5 from me for this one. Judges went 4, 5, 5, 5 and yep, I think the total is probably about right there - 19 overall. No wild marks there.
Then you had Jaime and Carlos with a salsa to Pretty Woman. Here’s the thing- she is good, she had a lot of steps in there, and I quite enjoyed the quick change element at the beginning of the dance- I thought that was pretty cool. However, I don’t think that much of the actual dance itself was particularly memorable. She does have rhythm, and again embraces the character really well, but there were times she looked a bit unbalanced, and I also think this routine felt a little bit more like a Salsa than a Cha-Cha. However, she sold the performance, and that’s definitely appreciated. I didn’t see the laundry list of mistakes that the judges listed. I’d give it a 6 but can see the justification for a 5. Judges went 5, 5, 5, 6 which I can understand. I might have thrown another 6 in there but the marking wasn’t horrendous for this dance.
After that were Melanie and Aljaz with a Waltz to The Sound of Music, which she mentioned being a favourite of hers, and dedicated the performance to her late mum. I really enjoyed the performance, she’s really elegant, and Aljaz always choreographs some strong ballroom. And I think this dance started off really well- she was actually quite strong at the beginning of the dance, but it started going downhill towards the middle, it looked like she started to tense up in the back which threw her overall posture off for the rest, but still a fine effort. 5 from me, but judges went 3, 4, 4, 4. I do think they’re undermarking Melanie somewhat. Whilst she’s not at Abbey Clancey/Tasha Ghouri levels for Aljaz, I can at least see her having a similar journey to Alison Hammond. I’d have happily gone 5 in both weeks, so I think the 3 is a tad too harsh.
Next up were Cach and Maddie with a Samba to Grease. For me, there was absolutely no Samba… this was more of an excellent Showdance than a Samba. I think Maddie is still learning as she goes on, but I really don’t think this was a recognisable Samba at all, I actually thought last week’s quickstep was more recognisable as the dance style so it’s a tricky one to judge. They’re both talented, they are in sync with each other but if the brief was samba and you’re not getting one, it’s tricky to judge. He IS a good mover and on the quality of dancing this is probably an improvement- he feels more comfortable. Last week, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. He’s improved his acting skills. If I’m being overly critical I do think he needs to soften his movement a bit to fit the style of Ballroom/Latin and unlearn the hip-hop style dance, but in order to do that, I do think Maddie needs to drill the fundamentals into him. That is two weeks on the bounce the choreo has let him down… if this happens a third time, Cach could be at risk of an early elimination- a three strikes and you’re out thing. I’d give this a 6 because I do think his dancing improved from last week, it’s just a case of his partner didn’t really take the judges’ choreography advice on board. When you have a trained dancer (who tend to fall behind in the vote) + an obscure name + a new pro who hasn’t established a big fanbase amongst the viewers yet, you need to make sure you impress and for me so far, Cacj and Maddie haven’t sadly. Judges went 7, 7, 7, 8 which is way too high… I think straight 6s would’ve been much fairer. Maybe one 7 thrown in, but it was never an 8.
Then you had Tabby and Mark with an American Smooth from the Greatest Showman. I loved all the circus tricks at the beginning, they really showed off Tabby’s athleticism, so that was wonderful, she was a great showwoman. However, after getting off the hoop at the beginning, I think her performance ability took a nosedive… she was a lot more comfortable up in the air than on the ground. It’s a shame because I actually thought she was technically very good throughout the whole thing, but she didn’t sell the performance for me, which made it feel a bit disjointed. I also thought the ending was slightly abrupt, but when she was good, she was very good. 7 from me, and the judges also went 7s across the board which is fair.
Then you had Bethany and Nancy doing a Wicked themed Paso Doble. I did enjoy the theatricality of it, it felt like a big grand showcase of Bethany’s dancing abilities, and her and Nancy do have chemistry, so that’s all good. But I do agree with Shirley in that there was very little Paso in there. It’s the usual Nancy pattern… she gets too lost in the storytelling so the actual dance style takes a hit as a result. Bethany has a lot of potential too, so it’s disappointing to see the styles not being stuck to. Again I appreciate themed weeks can be somewhat more lenient but there is a line. If this was a Showdance, I would happily have given it a 10. But as a Paso Doble, I didn’t think it was very good. Paso-based Showdance vs Paso Doble are different kettles of fish. I actually think I was more disappointed with the level of content here than I was with Cach, because in Cach’s case, Maddie is still new and still getting the hang of how to choreograph for Strictly. But this is Nancy’s 8th series now… she really should know what belongs in the Paso and what doesn’t, and I feel she’s letting her partner down somewhat with this. Nancy is an interesting one to me because I do think she’s had 4 contenders (out of 5 partners- Les being the only no-hoper) and yet hasn’t managed to make the final with any of them. I think Bethany, if following the dances closer to the true style, has that potential, so I do hope Nancy can work on the choreo for her… this was a complete and utter disappointment. And also, similar to John, there wasn’t a lot of actual dancing in it…. wafting your skirt around is the bare minimum for a Paso if you ask me. A 5 from me.
Lacey and Vito did a quickstep to Toy Story 5- Lacey for me, had the best dancer of the night, it was pitched at just the right level for her ability, it was pure quickstep, it had speed, it travelled across the floor, her posture was brilliant… she’s clearly very nervous week to week (and you can tell those nerves are genuine when you look at her coming down the stairs each week) but in an interesting way, I think that’s part of her charm? This nervous lady comes out week to week and delivers a strong performance… I think she will do very very well as the weeks progress, and I enjoyed this one. I’m happy to go 8. Judges went 6, 7, 7, 8. 6 is too low for that performance if you ask me. Craig surely can’t put Lacey and Sarah at the same level?
And finally, Shaun and Alexis did a Salsa to Saturday Night Fever, and let’s just say he’s no Abbey Clancey. I’ll start with the positives- he is showing more personality this week and seems to be enjoying himself a lot more which is always a plus. Him and Alexis have a really charming partnership with each other- she’s a lovely support system for him, and what a dancer she is; there were some really cool tricks in that Salsa, and I do think dance-wise he was better than last week. But that’s about it for positives… because yes he was better than last week, but only marginally. He still had absolutely no hip action, bad footwork, and looked like he was walking through it half the time… most of the positives were more Alexis than Shaun…last week, I gave Shaun a 2. I’m not going to be that harsh this week. I’ll give him a 3 instead… he only improved by a slight margin, although Alexis put together an entertaining routine so I do get why people would vote for him. The judges went 4, 7, 7, 7… what on earth? Where did those 7s come from… that gives Shaun a total of 25????
Wtf? That means he outscored all of Dani, John, Chris, Lawrence, Sarah, Will, and Jaime? Shaun beating Dani in particular on scores is just outrageous. Strictly seems to have adapted the American version’s system this year of inflating the weaker dancers’ marks to “demonstrate their improvement” and then holding back the stronger dancers’ marks to give them “room to grow”… just judge what’s in front of you. Each week is a new leaf… you can compare in your comments but your score should reflect what is on the floor on the night and I don’t think it did this week.
Overall, not a vintage movie week, but it was enjoyable enough. I do think Week 2 is a bit too early for a themed week, and I am glad they’re going back to a normal week next week.
I think Chris had quite a mountain to climb because he was probably the weakest dance of the night and when you have a bad night combined with low scores/low leaderboard position, you do have more of a mountain to climb. Comedy routines sometimes land and sometimes don’t… and unfortunately it didn’t this time around. And as for Jaime, her dance didn’t stand out at all and got lost in the shuffle… hers was the dance I had to really think before I had something to say about it.
Sad to see Amy first out two years on the bounce though, I do hope they can give her somebody with a bit more potential again next year. We haven’t seen much of her on the show since James Bye back in 2022. Difficult for Jaime landing in the dance-off so soon but I think Carlos needs to step up the choreo and she’ll stand out a bit more.
From the two, the correct person went home but I do think both had more to give. For Chris I do think it was wrong dance at the wrong time, for Jaime she just got lost in the mix, but onwards and upwards, and I’m looking forward to Week 3.
