I might boast at this point that Mystic Miah predicted the correct final three, but in fairness it was pretty much a no-brainer. Holly’s been in the bottom two twice and simply didn’t have enough people voting for her to get her to the finals. And gracious Alex had just about gone as far as she could in the contest. With that in mind it was never really going to be anything else.
In terms of the semis we saw some more than decent dancing from all the remaining couples. Of course, the more focussed and polished the performance the more likely it is that Craig will get it out on the live show, and he did so twice on Saturday.
That’s his 10, folks.
Of course, I’m still smarting at the lack of a 40 for Mark & Karen’s Argentine Tango, but fair enough: I’m sure Craig had his reasons at the time. Some stray hair out of place, or an awkwardly placed little finger maybe. Hey ho! I thought I’d put that behind me long ago but, sadly, with the awarding of a maximum 40 to Jason in the same dance I’m afraid Craig managed to reawaken the trauma that we Rampants felt back in 2006 at the sight of that ‘9’. We frothed at the mouth for several months afterwards, although the ‘10’ for the salsa in the final perhaps made us feel a little less aggrieved. And it’s impossible to stay mad at Craig. We know he’s not really nasty: he has one of the loveliest smiles going, when he’s given a reason to use it!
Still. What on earth did Craig see in Jason’s AT that he didn’t in Marks’? I thought it was basically 90 seconds of Jason pulling some distracting faces, sniffing Kristina’s hair and throwing some very un-Argentine moves. Kristina pulled off some very neat dancing, I agree, whilst Jason didn’t really lead enough for me. Maybe I just didn’t like the story telling. It was less ‘man-in-pursuit’ and more ‘Australian Psycho’. I don’t want to see dancers eviscerated on the dance floor...
It did occur to me that I was letting my chagrin at Jason being awarded a higher score than Ramps get in the way of being subjective and so I reviewed the thing again, setting aside any bias. But I came to the same conclusion. As I said on Twitter ‘better than Ramps? I don’t bl**dy think so!’
Their samba was a bit odd. I don’t mean in a bad way, necessarily. It’s just that the choice of song made it a tad slow, and at times made the bounce action a bit exaggerated. A valiant attempt at the ultimate party dance, done by a man wearing pink! Shame about the timing issues...
As for the rest of the dances, Holly performed the most bizarre, modern take on the Charleston you’re ever likely to see. I’m in constant awe at the choreographical genius that is Artem, and the way he takes risks at pushing the envelope, but it was almost a step too far for me this time. I got the idea but I guess I just didn’t care for it that much, and Holly looked quite ragged all the way through. Her Argentine Tango I liked a lot: it was smooth, seductive and purred like a kitten. Much more teasing and taunting than the subtle-as-a-mallet Donovan AT! And the stoolography was rather neat too!
Alex did well but seemed obviously out of her depth: a bit like a selling plater being entered in the Grand National. Yet I’ve really liked her much more than I thought I would. Both she and Chelsee have been the surprises for me this year. Her dances were perfectly serviceable although she looked a bit stiff and inflexible in her waltz, and the salsa was totally barmy and as unmanageable as curly hair in a thunderstorm, but it was perfectly acceptable. Alas, at this stage it probably wasn’t good enough.
Chelsee was also the beneficiary of Craig’s Christmas ten bonanza, and this time I felt it was probably more justified. She always hits such wonderful lines and shapes her arms beautifully. It isn’t easy for someone of her diminutive stature to look graceful. Or, to paraphrase Craig, a wee Munchkin person. Sorry, vertically challenged. But somehow she manages it. Her attempt in the American Smooth earlier on was slightly less successful and I thought she looked a bit shaky, especially in the near-aborted splits section. Perhaps it was nerves, but whatever the reason she must have channelled her energies big time on a real stonker of a Paso Doble, or Pasha Doble as it is now being called! Pasha’s been the real big find in this season of Strictly. I think it would have been poorer without him.
Whilst Craig dusted off his almost brand new 10 paddle for Jason and Chelsee, poor ickle Harry remains un-rewarded in terms of a maximum score from the Revel-Horwood. People are comparing Harry to Ramps, as the cricket maestro had to wait ‘til the final to get his perfect score. I personally think Harry may be rewarded for his wait. The dances he has chosen ought to tip the undecided into picking up the phone and voting for him, and that quickstep is one I am just waiting to see again! Besides, we all know that an awful large amount of Strictly has little or nothing to do with dancing. If Harry was rubbish he’d have gone out a few weeks back most likely, but he’s excellent, and that combined with the teenage McFly fans coating their TV’s with the drool from their tongues should probably be enough to see Harry crowned King Hal in Blackpool.
His Charleston was well executed, had some great moves in it, but I would have preferred it to have been more OTT. That’s just personal preference though. When it comes to goofy slapstick you can’t really beat Chris and Ola, even although an awful lot of disgruntled Ricky Whittle fans sound like they’d like to...
The Judd Viennese Waltz looked beautiful, but as I have said repeatedly throughout this blog I just don’t like melancholic VW’s. I want them as fluffy as a little yellow chick: as light as a powder puff. I want to be transported to a meadow in spring time, showered in snowdrops and little tiny daisies. I don’t wish to see a VW that looks as if someone wants to slit their wrists to the sound of the Smith’s greatest hits. Personal preference, I know, but if the song doesn’t lend itself to smiling, change the song! The VW isn’t that complicated: it has three basic steps. If it has a fourth integral component then it’s the smile. It may be enough to make Alesha go weak in the bladder but it doesn’t do it for me!
So, where’s my vote going next week? I haven’t a clue. I think Harry will easily win but I hope that it’s a Chelsee/Harry final two as I think in recent weeks they’ve just about done enough to edge out Jason.
Unless of course Harry wears a tank top in the showdance like Matt Di’Angelo. In which case I’ll be wondering why Russell Grant never got to the final...
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