SEMI FINAL WEEK ON STRICTLY 2019
What a treat; Anton can’t believe his fortune this year, his first ever 10 of the whole of his Strictly life since it began in 2004, and in the semi finale with his lovely partner Emma. They opened the show with a very passable Cha Cha Cha though Emma was obviously nervous and had a few balance issues, which resulted in less than usual hip action. As Craig pointed out, the hip action is produced from the leg action which was affected by the balance - mostly nerves, but still a good performance, though perhaps rather overmarked to my mind. Their second dance was a lovely traditional Waltz with the most beautiful costume and set support. There were lots of basic figures in their routine including a whisk and chasse, basic turns and lots of just lovely, recognisable figures done very well. The thing that most impressed Shirley was that they were dancing at the end of the beat, something which professional dancers aim to achieve, and Emma did very well with Anton’s not unexpectedly strong lead. A hypnotic performance.
Preparing and performing two dances obviously puts extra pressure into the proceedings and it was obvious that Karim struggled with his first dance of the evening, the Argentine Tango. This dance is a speciality style and so Vincent Simone, ex-Strictly professional and Argentine guru, was called in to choregraph the number. There was good intensity between the two dancers, however it never really quite took off for me and looked unbalanced on several occasions, particularly at the last moment which spoilt the overall effect somewhat. Mind you, some lovely lines and smooth gauchos. The second dance was an American Smooth Foxtrot which was much better, though it still felt a little disjointed to me. There was a bit of a costume malfunction on the final lift which was a pity, but credit to Karim for holding on, and not dropping his partner. Perhaps it would have been better to go for simpler routines that could be done exceptionally well, but hindsight is always a grand thing.
Chris and Karen gave us very pleasant Viennese Waltz which showed him and his partner in a good light; some nice rotation and footwork but sadly quite a few mistakes. He did recover well but it obviously impacted the overall performance. His second dance was the Rumba, which is always a difficult dance for the best of contestants, and I have to say the music they were given to dance too was not the kindest of choices. I thought it was a very emotional performance which drew the audience in, Chris was genuinely crying at the end as he no doubt felt the story well. However, there wasn’t much Rumba in it and most of the dancing work was done by his partner, Karen. Whilst it’s true that the lead in the Rumba is often acting as the anchor and ‘showing off’ the partner, there does also need to be a conjunction of movement, which seemed to be missing. Lovely the costumes though.
And of course Kelvin gave us a fabulously energetic and synchronised Quickstep, followed by an impressive Paso which was full of great intent and body lines. Kelvin certainly looked the part of the Matador and gave a performance that you realty wanted to watch again – though not in the dance off. What is most admirable is the way he can put on the mantel of the difference dance styles and personality; as an actor I suppose he has to do that a lot, but to manage the trick whilst also dancing in time with a partner is an enviable skill. T op of the leader board for semi final week – very impressive.
Who will win next week and lift that glitterball trophy? Well, difficult to say as so much depends on the dance and music given to the couples. Kelvin should be in with a good chance, likewise Karim but statistically Emma and Anton as underdogs who have consistently improved could also win, nothing is for certain till it happens on the dancefloor.
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