Believe it or not, we’ve already reached the halfway mark of the competition, as traditionally marked by Latin Night, the so-called “sexiest night of the competition”. The clothes get skimpier, the flesh is revealed and the fake tan goes into overload- but will the slow, teasing rumba or the carnival fun of the samba be enough to save our celebrities from elimination?
Latin night: rumba vs. samba
- Mario and Karina: Well, Mario certainly has the hip (and dare I say bum) action, but this samba just felt a little restrained to me- it was good, but it didn’t seem like he was going all out and putting in the energy that the dance requires.
- Priscilla and Louis: The rumba allowed Priscilla to show off the allure and elegance she always brings to the floor, but when it came to the actual dancing, this just felt a little static to me. I know it’s been said that the modern rumba is more about posing, but the choreography here could have definitely used more content, whilst at times Priscilla seemed to slip into that vacant automatic mode that I have to admit I have sometimes gone into during the rumba (don’t get me wrong, I do like dancing it).
- Marissa and Tony: I have to admit that I didn’t like the song for this samba in that it set a bit too much of a hip-hop mood, but although it wasn’t consistent throughout, it was a “get the party started” routine. Marissa can bring it to the floor, but because she can’t seem to sustain it for an entire routine, she probably shouldn’t make it too much further into the competition.
- Cristián and Cheryl: The judges were rather critical of this rumba but I actually thought the routine itself was good- it just seemed that Cristián had a bit of a backslide in terms of presentation. His posture seemed a little hunched over and that affected the delivery of the whole dance; nonetheless, I think there’s definite potential there and I want to see him carry on in the competition.
- Marlee and Fabian: Poor Marlee didn’t have an easy time of this routine- even though she’s usually so good that I forget she can’t hear the music, with the samba she did lose it a few times and make some mistakes. Even so, she didn’t give up, and there were times when it came right again and we saw some good content.
- Kristi and Mark: It’s a shame that Mark seemed to be wearing a pair of pyjamas, but other than that, I really enjoyed this rumba- and it truly showed that Kristi is starting to get master putting in an emotional performance to match her technique. I do worry, however, that the constant emphasis about Kristi being in first is going to sour the audience on her and see another shock Sabrina-style exit.
- Shannon and Derek: Derek can pretty much do no wrong choreographically for me, but I have to admit that the samba wasn’t Shannon’s dance- she did her best, but she couldn’t achieve the right bounce and presentation for the dance. Still, am I wrong for wanting that orange outfit?
- Jason and Edyta: Jason also got to wear pyjamas for his rumba and the camera bizarrely cut to Len partway through the routine, but these little niggles are a mere prelude for what I have to say about the dance itself. Here, I’m completely in agreement with Len; Jason can dance, but Edyta’s choreography isn’t doing him any favours- there was too much of him standing around showing her off as she did a trick. Jason has a fair shot of getting to the final, but the routines should be about his dancing and not how flexible Edyta happens to be.
Results show
- Ozomotli: I hadn’t even heard of this band before, and as usual their song wasn’t my thing, but again we had an impressive accompanying performance from the professional dancers, which is enough for me.
- The kids dance, week two: This week we had two new couples- one pair of ten year olds doing the jive and a ten and eight year old couple doing the cha cha. The judges picked the latter couple (it’s clearly staged so that Bruno will always have the casting vote), but personally I preferred the former- there’s just something about the slightly older couples that make the dancing look more natural.
- James Blunt: I’m not a fan of James “cough medicine could end my career” Blunt and I find the lyrics of his latest single excessively morbid, but on the other hand it is one of his better songs so I could just about bear it this time around (just get it out of my head! I don’t want it in there!). Just like last week, however, we got an accompanying dance from a pair of world champions, and whilst it was a lift-heavy routine, I did enjoy that aspect of the performance.
- Elimination: There was another surprise in store when Cristián and Cheryl landed in the bottom two, but this week it was Priscilla and Louis’ turn to go- no surprise when they’ve been slipping down the judges’ leader board and were in the bottom two last week. Since all the really poor dancers have gone now, I’m not too sad about the loss of Priscilla- she was very good at the start and I love her air of mystique and allure, but it did seem like she had reached a plateau. Provided Cristián can get out of jeopardy, I think either Marissa or Marlee should go next week, but I have a sneaking suspicion (and I hope I’m wrong) that Shannon might be reaching her peak.
Next week everyone should all be doing different dances out of the ones they haven’t attempted yet, plus it’s their first attempt at a group dance- a country number, if I’m not mistaken.
