Another week and another Angela walks out of the Strictly ballroom. Following Angela Rippon’s elimination at Blackpool, we also saw Angela Scanlon eliminated on Sunday night. Ironically, she was dancing the cha cha cha to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.
This was the first time dancing competition for Scanlon and Layton Williams; Layton Williams was making a complicated American softie that divided opinion. Shirley Ballas actually disagreed with the rest of the panel: She would have preferred Williams to go home. But for now, she’s the one who survives and makes it to next week’s quarter-finals.
Angela’s hips don’t lie
Scanlon, who has a background in Irish dancing, looked like a bona fide competitor at various points. Damn Yankees took three 9s in Charleston in Film Week and also wowed with a Black Swan paso doble in Halloween Week and a terrific Argentinian tango in Blackpool.
But he was inconsistent and lethal among this impressive cast, performing the wrong dance at the worst possible time. On Saturday night, despite having fun with the disco style of the routine, she failed to wiggle her Latin hips during the unforgiving cha cha. Getting 7s from Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse sealed his fate.
Speaking to Tess Daly after their elimination, Scanlon said she was very sad to be out but her time on the show was incredible, adding her partner Carlos Gu: “I made a best friend with this guy. He supported me, lifted me up and made me laugh so much.” Gu also praised his dedication, work ethic and sense of humor.
The judges were divided again
After weeks of easy, unanimous decisions, the dance competition has become much more fraught. This week we still witnessed a majority decision, but our chief justice had a serious dissent.
This was probably the closest call ever. Scanlon and Williams scored 31 and 34 points respectively on Saturday night, while Ballas and Anton Du Beke gave them the same scores: 8 to 9. Scanlon had technical problems, while Williams’ routine sometimes looked more like a show dance. a real American smooth.
Revel Horwood saved Williams based on technique and, in his words, “the best dance of the night and the dance I actually enjoyed the most.” Mabuse called it a “tough, tough dance” but also saved Williams on the basis of “musicality and balance.”
Du Beke said it was a tense dance performance and that both couples “didn’t dance as well as they could”. But he saw a couple (presumably Scanlon and Gu) making a mistake and voted to keep Williams in.
Ballas’s vote was not counted – but he stated this firmly, stating that when it comes to ballroom and Latin it is important to “stay true to the character of the dance, the dance” and “the timing and quality”. This would save Scanlon from Williams.
Is Layton in trouble?
Ballas’s comments were probably more of an indictment of Nikita Kuzmin’s choreography, but Williams was criticized for dancing as a freestyle soloist (drawing on her previous stage experience) for weeks at a time (albeit more often than the judges). ) has been subject to criticism. ballroom partnership.
Part of the fun of watching Strictly is seeing people try something new and step outside their comfort zone. We didn’t really experience that with Williams. Next week, she and Kuzmin would be wise to put aside the tricks and theatrical flourishes and actually nail those ballroom dancing basics.
I would also like to see them perform more with and with each other, rather than to audiences. The magic of the ballroom occurs when two bodies move as one. Right now, it’s more like two accomplished professionals dancing side by side: impressive, yes, but lacking in emotional connection.
Annabel can go all the way
Can Croft really make it to the final? At first it seemed unthinkable. The tennis expert was a good player and had a strong professional partner in the popular Johannes Radebe, but the 57-year-old was sure to give up after a few weeks.
Yet Croft has quietly made more progress than anyone else this season and has continued to advance dance by dance. The emotional Couple’s Choice, dedicated to her late husband, seemed to unlock something; The following week saw him let his guard down with a carefree samba.
The duo clearly has audience support, and their paso doble this week received by far the biggest reaction from the studio audience. We love those who try, and Croft certainly exemplifies “the journey.” If he can reach the next level and put in a more impressive performance then he could potentially be a surprise finalist.
It’s a mystery
The bigger mystery is why the Strictly pros – despite being highly trained ballroom dancers, despite being in a show about ballroom dancing – haven’t danced in any ballrooms, but clearly no one is listening to me on this, so…
This week’s missed opportunity/professional group dance saw Kai Widdrington play a pawn and Nadiya Bychkova become one of the Golden Age Hollywood stars whose necklace went missing. Breathless! If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to watch a film noir that isn’t true noir but has a lot of jazz music, a whodunit has arrived.
We also joined in the musical fun of Scottish rockers Texas, who performed their 2000 hit Inner Smile, accompanied by the energetic contempowaft of Vito Coppola and Luba Mushtuk. (The “Sunday show live” conceit is eliminated somewhat, as we cut to Coppola driving Claudia Winkleman into hysterics with her views on tuna mayonnaise pasta.)
Music is everything
The hapless Scanlon not only drew the cha cha this week, but also had the blessing of a disco track. It helped fuel a fun camp performance but also mixed in the rhythms and signature style of Latin dance.
Conversely, one of the reasons why Annabel Croft’s paso doble went down a storm was its traditional framing, including the use of España Cañi. We’ve had very few “rock” paso dobles this season, and they never quite captured the authentic flavor of the dance.
The chaotic structure of Björk’s It’s Oh So Quiet undermined the fluidity of Williams’ American smoothness (they could have choreographed and danced differently, but I don’t think it helped), whereas the rich emotions of This Woman’s Work significantly undermined the fluidity of Bobby Brazier. contributed. Couple’s Choice.
I must admit, I was skeptical about how Destiny’s Child’s Bills, Bills, Bills could suit an Argentinian tango – but it still turned out to be an inspired choice for Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola. But perhaps this had led them down that seething, combative course, pitting each other against each other, which didn’t seem to be to the taste of Craig Revel Horwood or Anton Du Beke. (For the record: they were wrong.)
The next show will be particularly important. It’s Musicals Week, which means song choices define the entire performance. Will she be a lady of luck, or will our celebrities be les misérables? Then join us again and keep dancing in the meantime!