Strictly semis

[zico]

This is the stage of the competition where each couple has to learn 2 dances in a week. I wonder if anyone will mention how difficult this is? Claudia has had a make-over this week, very organised hair, loads of tan and lots of make-up, which almost make her look a different person.

Emma & Anton (Cha-cha). It’s the week of the video clips where each couple is shown clips of carefully chosen diverse random members of the public telling them how wonderful they are, and Emma and Anton tell us it gives them a real boost to know that so many people love them. Emma’s cha-cha has lots of entertaining posing and posturing, but it doesn’t look that great technically though the routine is enjoyable and she sells it well. Anton really isn’t that good in the Latin dances and it’s showing here. Good, but not great. Craig doesn’t like the hip and leg action. 7,8,8,8 for 31 points.

Kelvin & Oti (Quickstep). Oti is dressed like the queen from her 50's portrait in a pink frock with red sash. This is competent but a bit boring without much wow factor. Well, that's what I think, but according to the judges, it’s all kind of wonderful. Shirley is particularly enthusiastic about Kelvin's outstanding “woodpecker”. After much general hilarity, it turns out this is a kind of dance step, and not at all what people with dirty minds were thinking. Craig pops up with another 10 so it’s a perfect 40.

Chris & Karen (Viennese Waltz). This simply isn’t very good with Chris making lots of mistakes and is a bit of a mess, and Craig is happy to tell him it’s a bit of a mess, but he also throws in plenty of raise, saying he’s proud of Chris as a non-dancer for making so much progress. Craig being unnecessarily nice, what’s the world coming to? Shirley is less inclined to be generous saying there were too many mistakes, we all saw them and they went on for quite a while. 7,7,6,6 for 26. World’s gone mad – Craig scoring higher than Bruno and Shirley.

Karim & Amy (Argentine Tango). My word, Karim has really been at the make-up tin to transform himself into the MC from “Cabaret” and is wearing tight trousers with purple patterns which just emphasize how small and slight he is compared to Amy. In this dance, he looks like a little boy, Amy could pass for his mother, there’s zero chemistry here and it all feels a bit uncomfortable. Craig points out some balance issues, which is rare for Karim. Shirley also says he was a bit wobbly. Scores are in 8, 10 (Really Motsi?), 9,9, for a highly generous 36 points.

So that’s round 1 over, and to nobody’s surprise Chris is in fourth place.

Emma & Anton (Waltz). They are dancing to classical music, Saint Saens Gymnopedia, and this is very classical, elegant and has a really nice mood. I usually find waltzes boring, but not this one. Anton back in his element. Craig criticises her frame and says she missed lots of heel leads, but Shirley disagrees and thought it was great. 8,9,9,10 for a score of 36. Anton says he’s waited 15 years to be able to do good dances, conveniently forgetting about getting to the final a few years back with Katie Derham. But generally yes, he does have a point about having lots of very dodgy partners.

Kelvin & Oti (Paso). I’m expecting this to be great, but it just isn’t. There’s quite a bit of drama in it, but Kelvin just looks musclebound in the sense of being too stiff and posed. He also loses his balance at the end, which the judges spot, but he gets high praise anyway. Scores 9,10,9,9 for 37 points. Motsi is definitely getting over-giddy with her 10 paddle.

Chris & Karen (Rumba). They decide to do a “just good friends” rumba rather than a sexy rumba, partly because they are just such great friends and lovely people, but probably more likely because Chris would be a disaster with a sexy rumba. The dance has a nice theme of friends being sad at parting, and Chris doesn’t dance it well but he gives it lots of effort which somehow makes it an effective routine, and both Chris and Karen have a little cry at the end. Quite sweet and enjoyable. After being nice earlier, Craig is back to normal and gives them a score of 4 which is a bit mean at this stage. It’s not like they’ve any chance of being anything other with last with the judges. 3 rather generous 8’s from the other 3 judges to give Chris 28 points for plumb last.

Karim & Amy (American Smooth). Expecting great things here, but it’s all a bit underwhelming. Karim has a go at lifting Amy, but he’s not strong enough, and she’s fairly lucky he doesn’t drop her headfirst onto the dancefloor. As it is, he struggles around a bit on the lift with his head up her skirt. Shirley praises his wonderful musicality and suggests they shouldn’t include lifts if they can’t do them right. Scores are in 9,10,9,10 for 38 points. So both Motsi and Bruno thought that was perfection.

Unless the public’s scores are completely in reverse order to the judges’ scores, I can’t see how Chris can stay out of the bottom two, and inevitable elimination. I expect Karim to join him in the dance-off. Emma’s waltz was the highlight of the night for me, with disappointing performances from Karim and Kelvin, maybe because, as was frequently mentioned throughout the night, it’s hard to learn two routines in a week.

RESULTS

We get started with some matador-type flamenco male dancer chucking Katya around a lot to a good tune from “Carmen”. Tess’s dress looks like she has been wrapped up in Xmas wrapping paper. Motsi’s dress is shocking pink, with an even more shocking hat. Shirley is pairing a Roman toga with black leggings, must be chilly at Elstree.

We have a musical interlude from a bloke from One Direction who isn't Harry Styles. In a double surprise for the musical interlude both song and singer are pretty good and we also have Katya in a Hillary Clinton trouser-suit being chucked around by Gorka.

It’s Karim v Chris in the dance-off and Chris sensibly suggests he should just go home now and save a bit of time. But Tess’s autocue says she must ask the judges to give advice to Chris about how to win the dance-off, so they just say “enjoy your last dance”. Obviously it’s a unanimous verdict from the judges and Chris is off. He says nice things about Karen who reciprocates. They’ve been quite an entertaining couple, and Chris comes across as a decent bloke who’s as surprised as the rest of us that he got as far as the semi-finals.

Just the final to go now, which is a pure popularity contest with the public. I’d like Kelvin to win and think he must be the favourite, but it could be that Anton will get the nod from Strictly viewers, if they have a sentimental streak.