Chris & Nadiya :  Samba 

Chris gave this a good shot, however the Samba is not an easy dance to tackle, especially for week 1. Chris did keep his feet underneath his body which is a good start to helping him continue in this competition.  We would have liked to see more turnout in his feet and for him to loosen up a little in his body. We look forward to seeing him attempt the ballroom, hopefully soon. 

Alex & Johannes : Viennese Waltz 

What an amazing performance from the very beginning. Alex really brought her acting skills to the table and showed us great use of characterisation throughout the entire routine.  We believe that the floor spin has no place in a Viennese 

Waltz, however, we did love the charm of this performance as a show dance.  We would also have liked to have seen more time in hold and more Viennese Waltz content and hope that she will show us more of this next week.

Harry & Karen - Cha Cha Cha 

There was some Impressive jumps and push ups which we don’t usually see in a Cha Cha Cha (shall we try it in the classes next week?).  We can’t wait to see what impressive lifts they will go on to do in the future. Unfortunately, the dancing was a bit stiff and we would have liked to have seen more turn out, however this is still week 1, and we could see that Harry was really giving it his all. 

 Stefan & Dianne : Slow Foxtrot 

His footwork, frame and posture were all very good, especially for a beginner. It was lovely to see how much he was enjoying dancing with Dianne and his enjoyment of dancing was clear to see.  We agree with Anton, it would be lovely to stop for a cup of tea  mid-dance (Andrew loves a cuppa) but at least this did’t distract from what a fun routine this was to watch.

Ellie & Vito : Cha Cha Cha 

We are really impressed with Ellie’s confidence. There was a lot of recognisable Cha Cha Cha steps in the routine, which we love to see (let us know what figures you recognised).  It looks like Ellie really put her heart into this dance. I hope she does not let the pressure of the competition deter her from what looks like a beautiful partnership between Ellie and Vito and continues to develop her technique. 

Lewis & Katya : Jive 

Clearly Lewis  is not a beginner when it comes to dance, and this performance really showed off his skill. This was a full out routine, starting with impressive split jumps and lots of tricks. Although we really liked this dance, we do wonder, is it fair to allow someone with strong dance experience to compete on Strictly? We’ll let you decide. 

Ross & Jowita : Cha Cha Cha (with a hip hop twist)

When you’re wearing sparkling trousers and silver shoes we’re going to be watching the footwork. We couldn’t see much turnout or great footwork which is to be expected in week 1 for a beginner. There also wasn’t much Cha Cha Cha content from Ross in this routine but we did like the energy he brought to his performance. 

George &  Alexis: American Smooth Foxtrot

George moved his weight from foot to foot really well (weight transfer is such an important skill to have). His frame was pretty good for a beginner. We would like to see a bit more fluidity in the arms as he continues learning over the next few weeks. The lifts were breathtaking and  George really handled them well with Strictly’s new professional Alexis (welcome to the show).  It’s a seven from us, what’s with the stingy scores judges? 

Vicky & Kai: Cha Cha Cha

What a great routine from Kai. We loved all of the Cha Cha Cha content that ranged from beginner to more advanced popular steps. Vicky appeared nervous at the beginning which is completely understandable and it was nice to see her confidence improve as the dance went on. She nailed the routine despite her nerves. Good job Vicky, bring on next week! 

Jimmy & Lauren: Quickstep

Jimmy is very light on his feet and we were very impressed with his frame at the beginning of the dance. His arms dropped a little, but this was a  very advanced and challenging routine. He showed us some excellent scatter chasses and we’re so impressed with how he moved his weight across the floor. We think Jimmy really benefited from the support from his daughters, alongside Lauren’s tuition. We are just hoping that he can bring the same level of skill to his Latin-American dances and fear he might struggle more with these compared to the Ballroom dances. 

Balvinder & Julian: Samba 

Amazing confidence and energy from Balvinder.  We would love to see her straighten her legs and stretch the feet more, as this will allow her to develop her hip action and give a strong technical foundation to her performance. This dance looked like a lot of fun and If Julian and Balvinder invited us to a party we would definitely want to be there to join in the fun! 

La Voix and Aljaz : American Smooth Foxtrot 

We were looking forward to seeing La Voix on the dance floor. This performance wasn’t really what we expected. The dance  felt quite contained and looked quite stiff at times. Whilst we believe La Voix to be an excellent performer, and we really enjoyed the comedic portion at the end of the routine, we would like to see more confidence in the dance sections shine through. 

Tom & Amy: Paso Doble 

Paso Doble is one of the hardest dances to get in week one for a non dancer. Amy created an amazing routine with lots of Paso Doble content. Tom danced this routine with an intensity and stiffness that was a bit forced and felt a bit flat. However, we must commend him that he did a great job not to make any mistakes throughout. 

Amber & Nikita : Waltz 

Amber displayed beautiful fluidity in her arms for week one.  We were impressed with her leg extensions and thought the routine was cleanly danced. We are blown away that Amber was able to achieve such a high standard with just one day of training and can’t wait to see what she will achieve given more time in the training room. 

We were sorry to hear about Dani Dyers ankle injury which led to her having to withdraw from the competition. We wish her a speedy recovery. 

Karen & Carlos: Jive 

Wow, wow, wow! Fantastic, compact movements from Karen. We’re really impressed with her energy, which was consistent from start to finish.  Who knew the transition from football kicks to jive flicks could be this seamless?  This dance was our favourite of the evening. Well done Karen, we can’t wait to see what you will give us next week. 

Final Thoughts

This was a great start to the competition with some very strong competitors, and a few we feel are still yet to show their true potential. We really loved the idea of changing the head judge each week, it’s sure to make things interesting throughout this competition. What will happen when Craig is the head judge? I wonder if Shirley will be nervous about the result? 

We’d love to hear your thoughts and which performance was your favourite?