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I’m hoping their performance in front of his daughter’s school was early on in training, as it did look pretty awful!

Thankfully that does seem to be the case.  Again a little too much faffing about at the start (as Len would put it) but once they get going it’s fast-paced and intricate.  Jimi needs to take a look at his right hand on Flavia’s back though as it’s a little high and his fingers are spread like a bunch of bananas (to coin a phrase of Craig’s).

Looks a little laboured in the final third which is a shame but I’m going to give it an 8.

Craig: 7 “You went very pigeon-toed in the grapevine…elevate more onto the balls of the feet [cue enraged interruption from Bruno]…you know what, I really like it”
Len: 8 “Bright, breezy…light…[I’d like] cleaner in your hold and a little bit sharper in your feet…best dance”
Alisha: 8 “Not perfect but getting there”
Bruno: 9 “Slick…polished…best performance to date” [Jimi’s eyebrows go mental at this point]

Total Score: 32

Finally the judges and I start to agree!

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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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I think it’s harsh but Michelle will most likely be going home tonight.  Very difficult to call who I think will join them.  Ann obviously should go but her entertainment factor will keep them in I think.  There’s a possibility that Tina’s ‘pleather’ outfit this week might not go down well with the voting public but I still don’t see her being in the bottom two.  Gavin’s chest might just save him from being there and neither Pamela or Felicity will be in trouble I would say.  This leaves the chance that Jimi might actually find himself in the bottom two.

Am I over-thinking this though I wonder…oh well we’ll find out tomorrow!  Who do you think is going to be in the bottom two?

Oh and just because it’s Halloween here’s my outfit from our social last night:

If that doesn’t give you nightmares I don’t know what will!

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Jimi looks positively freaky.  A little laboured in the pivots and he needs to pick his feet up a little less to make it less stompy.  Some great movements though and the lift using the cape is great to watch.

Definitely Jimi’s best dance I would say and I’m going to give him an 8.

Craig: 7 “Loved the shapes you were knocking out”
Len: 7 “Once you got onto that floor…lovely shapings…lovely lift using the cape…wafting [the cape] got on my wick”
Alisha: 8 “The drama, the passion…believable and fantastic”
Bruno: 8 “You dance better as the living dead than you ever have”

Total Score: 30

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On Wednesday’s show: Patsy & Robin; Jimi & Flavia; Lisa Snowdon on costumes.

Doing the Viennese Waltz this week will be Felicity Kendal and Scott Maslen.  Felicity will be doing the splits again and Scott has the [man]flu.

Michelle Williams took a tumble in her Jive training but will compete on Saturday, joining her will be Pamela & James (I hope she has her hair in ponytails for the show) and Patsy & Robin (Robin’s been working her hard to try and avoid the stamina loss we saw in the Charleston on Saturday).

Speaking of Patsy & Robin,

It was Robin’s idea for Patsy to wear the wig, though she took a bit of convincing.  Patsy definitely felt the burn of the Charleston by the end of their performance and Robin’s been working her so hard that she’s had to start taking pillows to training so that she can snooze in the corner.

Robin made Patsy do their Jive 12 times in a row during training to really build her stamina up, let’s hope it pays off.

Costume analysis from Lisa Snowdon and a designer called Jessica,

I was going to blog about their comments on the dresses, but aside from my witch halloween outfit (complete with tights!) I can’t say any of it interests me, I recommend iPlayer if you want to know more.

Though Tina’s outfit of pleather (a combination of plastic and synthetic leather) looks like it could be interesting.

Very Sandy & Danny!  Joining her with Argentine Tango this week is Matt & Aliona

Paso Doble will be performed by Gavin, Kara, Jimi & Ann.  Anton is flinging Ann…twice; Gavin looks like he’s stretching in the gym rather than taunting a bull; Kara and Artem are starting to fight in training as the pressure of the training starts to get to them; Jimi & Flavia have been concentrating on technique.

Jimi & Flavia,

Flavia felt they were undermarked, but doesn’t seem to want to talk about it.  She’s been punishing Jimi with a cane, I must admit I’ve used similar tactics with some of my students!

They’ve worked hard on the technique and are both excited and looking forward to Saturday.

Now to watch Fridays before getting myself ready to watch the Halloween special.

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I’m liking the energy, though I’m not sure about Jimi’s cartwheel and some of the moves I think Jimi is cutting short due to the speed of the routine.

An entertaining routine but I do feel the whole thing just felt a little clipped at times.  I’m going to give it a 7.

Judges comments and scores:

Craig: 6 “Straighten legs and point your feet when you do a cartwheel…arms and hands…didn’t go well”
Len: 7 “You really went for it…great entertainment…try and swivel…not sure about the windows [stage props]”
Alisha: 7 “It wasn’t technically perfect…great opener to the show”
Bruno: 7 “Once you got going you really went into character…lost timing…speed was such, you kinda lost sync”

Total Score: 27

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Bit of a strange shirt choice, looks a little too big for Jimi and does nothing for his movement.  He can certainly move but I’m not happy with his hands and I think his shoulders need to be looked at.  Overall I’m a little bit disappointed but it wasn’t a bad performance.

I think he will probably get 7’s though.

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

Total Score: 26

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So the BBC decide to be cheeky and release another training video from Strictly Come Dancing just as I’m posting my final revision to the week 2 summary.  Thought I may as well start a new post for it.

Our surprise extra training video for week 2 is courtesy of Jimi Mistry & Flavia Cacace.  I’ve heard tell in the twittersphere that Jimi is a rumoured dark horse for the competition, let’s see how the training is coming along.

Wow, Jimi has certainly got a terrific start with that hip action.  His Cha Cha Cha is definitely looking one of (if not the) most polished of the initial dances.  My only gripe is with his hand/arms out of hold.  They’re a little too straight and rigid for my liking, he needs a bit more rotation from the shoulder and a bit of shaping in the fingers.  As I always say to my students though, if I’m being picky about little things then you’re already doing it really well.

However Flavia has choreographed what looks like an amazing routine for their first dance and I’m really excited to see their performance.  Out of all the videos so far Jimi has just jumped straight to the top of my ‘must keep an eye on’ list!

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