Strictly '22 Thread 7 — <cut glass accent> A Centenary Celebration for Auntie

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

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As always, a reminder that this is a SPOILER-FREE THREAD, so please don't comment on the result before the result show.

Great arm hankies, great song, love the straight in and dance, no time wasted pretending to be in a CGI submarine/jet fighter/whales stomach etc or sitting on a bench/bicycle/elephant. Not so keen on the neck rose though but given a choice I take arm hankies and necks roses over smurfs/dolphins/trolls

This is my dream routine, where I'd contact the choreo lady Susan and say Can we swipe it please and credit you?! But aquamarine/azure colour. I am a huge romantic at heart. Just give me Kai or Jojo in tails and me in a swirly hankie dress.

Possibly my favourite Alesha routine, her foxtrot, with enormous arm hankies. Terrible quality video, but includes the beginning VT with her Two Nans coming round with tea and cakes to critique her training. Never have adorable family members been used to such good effect.

Legend has it that Matthew blanked on the routine half way through and whispered "follow me" to her. Just magical.
www.dailymotion.com/video/x3e6w0

A lot of gapping there - had they fallen out just before they danced and are refusing to touch?
Great dress but I couldn't wear that colour. Cherry red or midnight blue for me please. Oh and Kai (young enough to be my son but apparently from an era long enough ago to be my grandfather) in tails please.

Nadiyas speech to Matt was beautiful.

I think he's her student but yes, Aljaz amounts of gapping (I am plus size so my food baby would close any gap)
Nadiya's speech was lovely. Matt can have a nice lie-in tomorrow at least. And not go through the horror of a tango.

I'm large of bossom and a few stone heavier than I ought to be so Kai will have to dance in another room if he wishes to maintain any degree of gapping!

Don't know if posted previously but Tony Beak getting his award. And am now off to fight insomnia. Xx

Erin with some more wrist hankies and a lovely sparkly dress. I don't think we've had that colour much, I like it.

Absolutely.

My teen dd is in a same sex relationship. Why, in 2022, should she not be able to see herself represented, without fanfare or comment, on a mainstream TV show?

Matt's goodbye speech was lovely that it made me sad to see him go. Hope he's ok as he really does seem fragile.

Thought everyone really stepped up this week and Hamza was amazing! Those lifts / throws of Jowita we're fantastic and she's quickly becoming a new favourite pro.

Katya is doing a great job with Tony too - she really is a great teacher and choreographer, able to get the best from her partner.

I thought Gorka did a great job in acknowledging what Helen has gone through. She looked uncomfortable that he brought it up, so fair play to her that she didn't want to make a big deal of it, but she has been through a very tough time and it was nice Gorka recognises this and wanted to boost her up.

I was shocked that Shirley didn't know any of the garage music that Tyler and Dianne were dancing too.

Surely it can't be because of her age. Im only a few years younger and know all the lyrics, song titles and artists names.

Maybe she just listens to different music to me, but the songs are well known!

Shocked? Really?? 😆
I mean good for you that you know all about them but people have different tastes. I wouldn't have a clue about them either and I'm a fair bit younger than Shirley. I don't have a clue because I have no interest.
It isn't shocking that people have different interests.

In my view if you are in Shirley's role, by default you should have a wide range of musical knowledge. And if it were me judging, and I were unfamiliar with a genre of music, then I'd spend time getting to know it before Saturday night rather than proudly parade my ignorance before the nation.

Or you know, just do some fucking work for the I'm sure rather generous salary they are given.

Completely agree @Rainbowcat99

Plus women/girls dancing together regardless of any sexual relationship is a long-standing tradition of ballroom and latin dance, even competitively, as there are usually an uneven number of men/boys.

And tango started from men dancing together in Argentina for similar reasons.

I'm glad this is finally being represented on TV.

Does anyone else think Jayde has a very odd music choice next week? I love Victoria Wood and Let’s Do It is one of the best things she did, so I’m really nervous that Jayde doing a Charleston to it is going to ruin it.

Dr Who has been done a couple of times - someone mentioned Stacey and Kevin upthread but Jay and Aliona also did a Dr Who themed dance, although it wasn’t to the Dr Who music.

I love Victoria Wood and Let’s Do It is one of the best things she did, so I’m really nervous that Jayde doing a Charleston to it is going to ruin it.

Exactly what I thought!
And, even worse, the possibility of Jayde working herself up into a sobbing wreck, going on about VW being a great inspiration to her and was taken from us too soon etc etc
I mean, she was great and she most certainly died far too soon but - from what I saw of her on tv - she came across as very down to earth and not the sort of person to appreciate sob-fests.
Especially if they were possibly a bit contrived to get phone in votes in a competition.

The thing about Jayde is that her Strictly run will come to an end very soon. From my experience, sympathy votes might make a couple scrape through an extra week or so but it wears thin very quickly. Then, unless a couple can actually dance or are hugely entertaining they get booted out anyway.

Before this season started, people were generally positive about Jayde, and said she was funny as a comedienne.

She's not the best but she's not the worst either.

I expect we're going to discover that VW was always, since Jayde was knee high to a grasshopper, her inspiration and the reason why she became a comedian. With tears.

She's not been the worst so far, but if we are judging on dancing + improvement, she's heading there now Matt has gone and either she's manipulating everyone with her interesting ability to be almost incoherent with sobs one minute and "geddin there" high fiving the next, or the producers themselves are. The interaction with Claudia was bizarre. You choose to do your whole VT/training wotsit talking about your sister and then someone kindly mentions her name and you are rendered speechless with sobs for 20 seconds till your vote is in? I felt very sorry for Claudia, who was clearly "what the fuck have I done"

I really don't like speaking like this on these lovely threads and prefer to concentrate on the dancing (and thank you to those posting those fabulous videos from days gawn by- reminds me of DD being about 4 and wanting to watch "the ladies in the frocks" in the run up to Christmas. Love Erin and the originals and the presentation- you forget how over-produced and graphics and lights led it's all become until you see the old performances) but ..Jayde is the first dancer that while appreciating she's been through stuff, makes me feel manipulated and somehow sullied by it all.

Anyway. Shuddurp Sol.

@SolInvictus - I agree with you.
Compare and contrast Matt (only mentioned sister in leaving speech, I had no idea) and Ellie Simmonds - a bundle of positivity with a lifetime of challenges.

She's not the best but she's not the worst either.

I think she is the worst 😂

Who is left that dances worse than her?!

I think Tony is better than her as at least he actually dances where as Jade doesn’t do much except stomp around the dance floor whilst Karen does all the work.

You just know that Jaydes CC will be a disco number in tribute to her sister.....

Sollnvictus you summed it up perfectly.