We all love Movie Week!  We were very pleased to be introduced to  “ANT-on-Man”, which we really enjoyed. It was fun seeing him fly around the different practice sessions (all while Craig filed his nails). 

The Disney performance by the Strictly professionals was very cleverly executed, featuring a variety of the classic songs that we all know and love. It included a performance to ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen which our younger students love dancing to in their classes. We think this episode will have been very popular with families, young children and Disney fans of all ages. 

Here’s our thoughts on each of the performances from week 3. 

Nigel & Katya - Jive: 

Who thought we’d ever get to see Bat Man dancing the jive? We thought Nigel did a great job of keeping his weight forward and staying light on his feet. This was a nice slapstick routine that reminded me of the original Adam West show. We would like to see him work on finessing his footwork for next week.

Angela & Kai - Quickstep:

A fabulous quickstep to Do Re Mi from the Sound of Music. We really enjoyed the acting at the beginning. Angela demonstrated some really nice arm positions. This was a more challenging dance for Angela but we think she did a good job. 

Zara & Graziano - Paso Doble:

Puss In Boots is a great match for the Paso Doble! Zara had some fabulous facial expressions for the Paso and we loved the sword fight. Zara had excellent extension through the body but we would have liked to see more shaping to make this performance more dynamic. 

Layton & Nikita - Viennese Waltz: 

Layton showed excellent body flight across the floor but we were disappointed that he looked a little bit tense and uncomfortable in this dance. To improve his Viennese Waltz, Layton should focus on rotating around his partner, especially through the torso. Nikita’s hair looked very authentic for the Grease performance. Shirley & Anton gave a top class lesson in ballroom frame and posture here. Excellent feedback that all dancers could take note of.

Angela & Carlos - Charleston: 

We found the song a bit annoying but the routine was excellent. Angela has fantastic swivel action which is essential for a good Charleston. We also loved Angela’s acting skills and facial expressions.  This was a great performance. 

Amanda & Giovanni - Rumba: 

Giovanni gave a fantastic explanation of how to dance a lovely Rumba in the training reel. Amanda performed a nice fan and swivels. She demonstrated the ability to get her weight over the standing leg which is a fundamental part of Rumba. There was excellent chemistry and story telling between the couple and we really liked Amanda’s feet positions throughout the dance. 

Nikita & Gorka - Jive:

We think Nikita did great job to come out this week with a smile on her face after having her confidence knocked the week before. It did appear that she enjoyed dancing as Cher from Clueless. Her Jive could be improved if she moved her weight further forward and tidied up the footwork.

Ellie & Vito - Viennese Waltz: 

Ellie performed a magical Viennese Waltz for week 3. She had excellent rotation around her partner and performed a nice contra check. She could benefit from pulling up more through her center which would help her in all of the ballroom dancers. 

Bobby & Diane - Samba: 

This dance was full of life and energy. Bobby had some excellent hip actions, however his footwork was a bit flat. This was still a great attempt at this difficult dance. Bobby definitely made this dance his own.

Jody & Jowita - American Smooth: 

We thought this was a great attempt as Jody had time off for an injury. We think his frame and footwork would have been better if he had more time to practice. Nice ending with the balloons. It’s different for a celebrity to go up towards the ceiling instead of being lowered down in true Strictly style. 

Eddie & Karen - Couples Choice:

This was a high energy dance which went down well with the audience and the judges. The Street style was an opportunity for Eddie to show off his character and confidence. We thought he did a very good job of this.

Anabel & Johannes - Waltz:

This performance really captured the style of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There was a lovely connection between the couple shown with their use of eye contact in this dance. Anabel had some excellent footwork including some lovely rise and fall. Unfortunately she seemed quite nervous this week and she seemed to be relying on Johannes a lot. It was an emotional performance, she just needs to be careful to not lose the technical elements of the dance. 

Adam & Luba - Jive:

Adam looked like he really enjoyed every second of this dance. He did a great job of the lift but we would have liked to have seen better footwork and overall polish to the performance as at times it looked too messy for us. 

Krishnan & Lauren - Charleston: 

Krishnan got a great balance of  Charleston and Cabaret in this dance. Normally, we would like to see dancers lift their posture but there was something about the way he held his body that just enhanced the characterisation of his performance.  Krishnan also showed the all important swivels in Charleston, making this a solid dance for him this week. 

Some final thoughts…

This was a very entertaining show. It was great to see so much Ballroom and Latin-American content in the show making it much more enjoyable to watch for both us as dance teachers, but also in our opinion for the general public as this is what made Strictly so popular in the first place. It was also very interesting to see Jody and Jowita dance a Viennese Waltz American Smooth as traditionally most couples will perform a Slow Foxtrot American Smooth. 

We were also very impressed with the performance by Madison Beer on the results show and Nikita and Nadiya performed a top class Rumba. You can watch this performance below:

We hope you enjoyed our review, and as always, 

KEEEEP DANCING!!!