The 2016 Strictly come dancing thread

[Tal]

Naga. Another routine with lots of content. She will need to take bigger steps to get more elegant in her movement and to cover the floor, but that will come. On first inspection, I thought she had good body contact. She was trembling with fear. Darcey bang on about her topline. I'd say progressive.

[Tal]

Judge Rinder. Blimey. I've no idea what to make of that. Quite a face! It was like a puppy running around the dancefloor. He has superb timing. It was chaotic and uncontrolled. His steps were big but a little too far to get the hip action right. He's going to be fun.

[Tal]

Lesley. A pleasant surprise. I do believe she took bigger steps than Naga and covered the floor better. More rise and fall as a result. A few heel leads and attempted a heel turn. Top half wasn't good but she didn't miss a step that I saw. Timing fine. I suspect it's better than the public will see it.

[Tal]

Ore. An odd routine. Half tango and half nonsense. The tango part was ok, but I've no idea what was going on with the music. The transition between the story and the tango stuff was sticky and hard to believe for me. Lacked any sense of drama. He can probably dance, though.

[Tal]

Greg. The training footage suggested he kept going too fast. Natalie's response? Speed the song up! His weight was so far forward, it was fantastic to watch. He lost his way three quarters of the way through, just before the side by side, but he got it back. He was a bit stompy but it makes such a big difference in latin to have your weight forward: you can get hips, foot movement and balance. Arms need work. My concern would be whether he can do slower routines, given how much that song was sped up.

[Tal]

All aboard the Daisy Express!

[Doobs]

All aboard the Daisy Express!

My 8 year old is on your side. 

[PokerBroker]

I watched this last night with the Mrs and the mother in law and we were all n agreement that Anastasia got an easy ride from the judges because the BBC have paid a fortune for her to be on the show. 

[Tal]

I watched this last night with the Mrs and the mother in law and we were all n agreement that Anastasia got an easy ride from the judges because the BBC have paid a fortune for her to be on the show. 

I've no idea how much the contestants are paid, but the judges are rarely if ever harsh to anyone week one. I can't recall one off the top of my head. It's more about encouraging with some constructive criticism, albeit with the odd bit of Craig the villain thrown in.

Her score was 28, which was middle of the pack. A couple of mistakes but she got into the dance and sold the performance well. She had a good hip action and selling the performance does help win the majority of the judges over. It always will.

I'm pleased that no one is completely terrible this year. Ed Balls's footwork was excellent. Yes, the judges were right that he should use his heel lead to drive into the ground and away, in order to get that all-important rise and fall the ballroom dances need. But it was tidy and well executed.

Louise already looks like she's going to get Kevin's "how hard can I make the routine this week?" treatment. Daisy was the standout for me, but we're yet to see her latin. Not a hint of a gap between her and Aljaž. Danny was excellent if a little frenetic and has the hallmarks of a frontrunner for sure.

Did anyone get my point about Will Young's song? The staccato  was a little forced and out of sync with the smooth Nile Rodgers guitar riff in Let's Dance. Just didn't work for me. He needs to work on strengthening his core, which I wasn't expecting for a singer who has been doing acting of late. It'll help him to close the gaps between them and improve his posture.

An encouraging opening weekend. A good series surely ahead.

[TightEnd]

songs and dances for week 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/c5e016e2-9204-477a-9969-5fe0eceaa6f7

[Tal]

I'm sorry...

Has the tango changed over the summer? I thought you had music like this:



Or even like this from Scott Maslen:



Or Kara Tointon:



You have to have staccato in the music to make it work.

[Tal]

Must be some confidence in Daisy for that dress to be so high. In training, she was inconsistent with straightening her legs. A high hem line will really show any misses up (see Pixie Lott)

[TightEnd]

Anastacia, Ore and Lesley finding themselves in the public opinion danger zone

https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/10/06/judge-rinder-remains-nations-strictly-favourite-lo/

Click to see full-size image.

[RickBFA]

Of the bottom five these are the odds on next elimination :

Naga    7/2
Laura   40/1
Lesley   9/1
Anastacia   2/1
Ore    25/1

Any value there?

[TightEnd]

    Anastacia and Brendan will be dancing the Viennese Waltz to 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri (from the Twilight Saga)
    Claudia and AJ will be dancing the Charleston to 'You Give a Little Love' by Paul Williams (from Bugsy Malone)
    Daisy and Aljaz will be dancing the Quickstep to 'Spoonful of Sugar' (from Mary Poppins)
    Danny and Oti will be dancing the Paso Doble to 'The Train' by James Horner / 'El Sombero Blanco' (from The Mask of Zorro)
    Ed and Katya will be dancing the Samba to 'Cuban Pete' (from The Mask)
    Greg and Natalie will be dancing the American Smooth to 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)' by Bryan Adams (from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)
    Judge Rinder and Oksana will be dancing the Charleston to 'Meet The Flintstones' (from The Flintstones)
    Laura and Giovanni will be dancing the Salsa to 'Rhythm of the Night' by Valeria (from Moulin Rouge)
    Lesley and Anton will be dancing the Quickstep to 'A Couple of Swells' by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire (from Easter Parade)
    Louise and Kevin will be dancing the Cha Cha to 'Flashdance... What A Feeling' by Irene Cara (from Flashdance)
    Naga and Pasha will be dancing the Tango to 'Theme from Mission Impossible' by Lalo Schifrin (from Mission Impossible)
    Ore and Joanne will be dancing the American Smooth to 'Singin' In the Rain' by Gene Kelly (from Singin' In The Rain)
    Tameka and Gorka will be dancing the Tango to 'The Heat Is On' by Glen Frey (from Beverly Hills Cop)
    Will and Karen will be dancing the Salsa to 'Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)' by A.R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls (from Slumdog Millionaire)


there was controversy last week over anastacia avoiding the dance off, and she doesn't seem popular. she has a potential crowd pleaser this week though

naga has a tango, with yet another daft song choice, and she is not a good dancer either and really comes across as pretty reluctant to embrace it all

if you gave me the choice of the 5 above at the prices i would take her