So I’m back from teaching, I’ve managed to avoid finding out who was in the bottom two tonight, now to watch and blog before I go to bed.

An interesting combination of Ghostbusters and what appears to be Thriller to start.  There’s actually quite the story to it and it’s worth a watch.

The first safe couples are: Michelle & Brendan; Scott & Natalie; Ann & Anton; Kara & Artem; Matt & Aliona.  In the bottom two are Tina & Jared.

Looks like my prediction that her ‘pleather’ might be an issue has actually come about, even if I did think she wouldn’t be there.

Also safe are: Patsy & Robin; Jimi & Flavia (there goes my other prediction); Gavin & Katya.

Joining Tina & Jared in the bottom two are Felicity & Vincent (I can understand why).

Out of the two of them I think Tina will be going home, though I must admit I don’t think any of the celebs are performing particularly well at the moment.

Down to the moment of truth, going home is…Tina & Jared.  For me I think Jared failed to impress as a new pro and Tina didn’t really come across with as much personality as she could have.

Do you think the right result came out?

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The ‘cute’ couple can they really bring some passion and intensity…

Some good lines, though I felt the start lacked character – Tina looked like she was thinking to much.  Their flicks are out of time walking down the room and Tina does look a bit like she’s just walking around at times.

Impressive ending but the dance was only ok for me.  Another 7.

Craig: 6 “Gothic version of Olivia Newton-John…bit stoppy and starty…I was a little bit bored”
Len: 8 “I thought the lifts were excellent…steps were clear and precise…best dance to date”
Alisha: 7 “Still a little lukewarm…acting and roleplay very well done.”
Bruno: 7 “Kinky kitten…I can see you in rubber!”

Total Score: 28

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Tina missed last week due to a case of chicken pox, let’s hope it hasn’t affected their training too much.

Tina needs to be careful about flinging her hands out a little too much, and not to “cowboy” walk too much.  Needs to also try and get more swivel from her feet.  Again not a great cartwheel but better than Jimi’s.

A better routine this week, though Jared wouldn’t have been the one to choreograph it you must remember.

I’m going to give them a 7.

Craig: 7 “Very character driven…great…footwork was a little bit on the sloppy side”
Len: 7 “Tight, you were together…sweet little couple…could’ve been a little bit stronger through the feet”
Alisha: 8 “Well done on lifting Jared [must have missed that one!]”
Bruno: 7 “At times it needed slightly more energy…could have been a bit stronger.”

Total Score: 29

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An ok start but disappointing overall, just a 6 really and I think that’s being generous.

Craig: 5
Len: 7
Alisha: 6
Bruno: 6

Total Score: 24

I’m sorry Len but I think you’re being overly generous with that 7.

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So Strictly Come Dancing is less than a week away from starting, the spray-tanners are spraying, the dress makers are sewing and the celebrities are shaving; and we’re being treated to our last few training videos.

Up first is boyhood favourite Felicity Kendal & Vincent Simone.  I read a great blog post about calculating your Ballroom or Latin quotient and apparently Felicity Kendal is a borderline case, so should in theory cope quite comfortably with both disciplines.  Let’s see how the training is coming along…

Dancing on heels really does make a huge difference to your dancing.  Latin American dances should be danced with the weight fully over the balls of the feet – the heels lightly touching the floor – and higher heels push your weight forward.  This then allows for easier hip action and even guys wear 1 1/2 inch Cuban heels (as opposed to the Ballroom 1 inch).

For someone who isn’t used to dancing in heels this can take quite a bit of adjustment.  I must admit that I’ve never tried anything higher than the Cuban heel, but if a student ever ordered a pair of ladies shoes in size 10 I’d be tempted to try them on.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a cross-dressing fantasy or anything, but how can you truly teach someone else about the importance of high heels, and also understand a students limitations, if you don’t know how it feels yourself?

Anyway I digress, Felicity has a Cha Cha Cha as her first dance, and I think she has the personality to produce a fun and cheeky performance.  However it does look like she is struggling with those heels and I’m sure she could have had slightly lower ones – they look nearer to 3 1/2 inch to me when I’m sure 2 1/2 inch would have been a good starting point!

Standing still Felicity excudes a very naughty sexy side (I’m thinking 48ish seconds in!) but she needs to be able to do that whilst moving too, which seems to be an issue right now.  Her shoulders are too high during the natural top but I actually think Vincent could hold her a little lower and that would help.

I still have high hopes for Felicity but there is quite a bit of work still required I’d say.

Training clip number 2 this week is Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev.  Kara was restricted from training in week 1 to make up for the 20-odd hours of training she received taking party in Strictly for Sport Relief, will be interesting to see how that’s affected things.

So, one of the ‘hot young girls’ paired with one of the new ‘hot young professionals’, can’t imagine what the Strictly producers were thinking when they came up with that one?!

From the launch show I felt Artem was the strongest of the new professionals, and looked more at home than either Jared or Robin and the training video doesn’t disappoint.

Kara is looking like she’s picking up the steps quickly and does appear to have a good natural balance during those spins.  I wish I could see more of her dancing as it’s difficult to see how well her hips are moving during the lock steps, obviously the body roll seems to work well.  She probably should have her arm up, rather than down, during the locks away from him…but I’m sure it’s not polished yet.

Our third video of the week is Peter Shilton & Erin Boag.  Peter is Erin’s second goalkeeper celebrity and whilst Peter Schmeichel didn’t exactly trip the light fantastic, Erin did wonders considering the starting material.

Peter is definitely going to excel more at Ballroom than Latin American I’ll wager.  He does need to work on keeping his shoulders down and level, especially in promenade position (when the guy opens his left side and the girl the right side so that they are both looking in the same direction – see 25secs in).  I also think more work is required in softening his rise and fall action.

I don’t think Peter will do too bad a performance on Friday, but I also don’t think he’ll stay long in the competition on current evidence.

Our final couple is Tina O’Brien & Jared Murillo.  Jared didn’t impress me much in the launch show so I’m hoping to see a bit more potential in the training videos.

Not looking too bad as a starting point, though Tina does need to keep her toes in contact with the floor during her back locks and should concentrate on more separation between her top half and bottom half of her body.

Still there is some potential there so will be interesting to see how she performs this weekend.

Strictly Come Dancing is back with a vengeance on Friday 1st October, hope you’re looking forward to it?!

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Anton du Beke, Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Vincent Simone, Ola Jordan, Flavia Cacace, Erin Boag, Kristina Rihanoff, Natalie Lowe, Aliona Vilani, Katya Virshilas

Added to this are three new professional dancers (3 girls were added last year so 3 guys are added this year):

ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV, a Latin Champion who is a graduate of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ in the US and has unique experience of very different dancing genres in addition to his ballroom champion-level skill.
JARED MURILLO, who at 21, was a US open Swing Youth champion. Trained in America, Jared was a principal dancer in the movies ‘High School Musical’ 1 & 2.
ROBIN WINDSOR has completed five world tours of the worldwide ballroom dancing phenomenon ‘Burn the Floor’, in which he has starred and choreographed routines.

The BBC have reduced the number of celebrities from 16 to 14 this year (I think a good move as last year did feel like there was just too many).  This has meant however that 5 of the existing professionals are now not going to compete this year – Darren & Lilia, Ian Waite, Matthew Cutler and Brian Fortuna.  They have been offered the opportunity to form a ‘dance supergroup’, along with some other as yet unnamed professionals, that will come on each week and perform a dance spectacle for the audience.

At present Brian has confirmed that he will not take part, and will concentrate on the West End production of Burn The Floor with Ali Bastian, and it is rumoured that Darren & Lilia have also declined – they may also wish to concentrate on their Latin Fever tour.  Ian and Matthew have yet to respond, neither have a show on the side as they are both on the Professionals Tour, so may both agree to take part this year.

So, the BBC tinker with the formula again and only time will tell whether they have more luck than last year.  Amid rumours last week that Alesha was due to quite as judge (yay!) the Daily Star and Sun have stated that she is due to re-sign for another year (boo!).

Have any of your favourites been ditched this year, or are you looking forward to some new blood?

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