SCD '23 #14: We're in Blackpool! So many tailsuits <does happy dance> NO SPOILERS

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Let's not mention the corsets.

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I think that would be perfect!

There was an all female final in 2013 - Abbey Clancy, Natalie Gumede, Susannah Reid and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

No I mean they want Layton in that final imo. Not that we couldn’t have an all female final.

I think Angela R with either Angela s or Annabelle for dance off. Think Angela R will leave.

Final - Ellie, Layton, Nigel and if there's a 4th Angela S

Dance off will be Layton and Ellie......😄😄

I would love this too!

Ellie is phenomenal and Angela and Annabel have both improved so much & are both now such a joy to watch!

Nigel is a disappointment after such a strong start, Layton shouldn't even be there and I'm not a Dianne fan (although do quite like Bobby but he's not good enough for the final!)

Layton will get to the final - even if he was in a dance off every week (although not likely with his scores), the judges would save him.

I agree that Nigel is a bit of a disappointment, he had a really strong start and seems to have so much potential. He just never quite makes the mark.

A bit like Tyler last year with his great Charleston.

I think Craig was being harsh on scoring to benefit Layton. If the ringer is getting higher scores than the others, it makes people talk about how good they are and then people decide they are a ringer and their vote suffers. If they are good but never perfect and Craig highlights the faults then they look to be still be in the pack of celebs although clearly one of the better dancers. The longer it takes for Layton to hit perfection the more of a journey is created and the more popular he might be.

I also agree with a post on the other thread that it was all geared up for Nigel to close the show with an old school number and get the only 40 of the night but then there were too many errors (although I didn't notice them, must watch again and pay attention).

Maybe Nigel is a slow learner - he had some group dance steps to learn this week too remember. Maybe there are one or two bits of choreo he was struggling with all week but Katya wouldn't / couldn't simplify it to something Nigel could comfortably achieve. But the disappointment was that he knows he had a great chance to top the leaderboard with a 40 and it couldn't nail it.

I don’t think Bobby expects to be in the final but wow this has boosted his career to another level. Angela S too as not everyone has seen her present. Good work those two! Angela R to go tonight surely it’s time

Ange R was definitely out of her depth in the group dance - it highlighted how big a gulf there is between her and the rest (that Kai has been working miracles to try and disguise in their routines) She is phenomenal for her age in terms of fitness, flexibility etc but she's now the weakest by a country mile and should have gone a couple of weeks ago.

I just watched the group dance twice focusing only on RAngela:

She walks on with Craig who shows her to a seat. No one else is sitting at this point although he sits for a few seconds at the same table. [there is a continuity break here as Craig seems to be standing the sitting then standing every time the shot changes]

When it's time for her to follow Luba down the centre she looks so uncertain of what she is doing. She does the leg movements but no arms or reduced versions of the arms. When the words 'Sun in the sky' are on and everyone else has their hands in the air she is clapping.

Nikita is then her handler making sure she gets to the back left table with him. She stays there for a while and sits more than the other dancers. At one point she half gets up and then sits back down like she knows she got up a couple of seconds too early. But then, in the slebs dance together section, she is the last one to get into formation even though Layton who is next to her in that section has just walked past her to get to his spot!

At the end of the section, Bobby has an extra move where he turns at the end to beckon to her and takes her hand and guide her off.

When Johannes first comes on in the green all the other slebs are standing up dancing at tables but she is sitting down.

At the end where she is front right next to Nigel she is clearly watching and following him.

The choreography and speed of it were obviously too much for her and it really showed.

Checking in to the new thread

Watching Nigel again doing the quick step. I cannot see these so called mistakes he making. Scrutinizing the feet and hold/ posture - I'm just not seeing it.

@Choux LOVE your in depth analysis of Angela R in the group dance! I only noticed her looking out of her depth a couple of times but I was too busy enjoying everyone else and struggling to recognise Ellie with her fringe (she really suits it!)

I think James Jordan will explain the mistakes in his rundown on his YouTube tomorrow. He also agreed with the judges that there was mistakes.

I feel like everyone is very against Angela R these days - I'll reserve my judgment to if she doesn't go out tonight, because I don't think people have gone out that should have stayed longer than her yet. It's definitely her time now though.

I hate to say it but AR looked as though she was shambling about the dance floor.

She just didn’t look elegant. I thought that last week too. She is normally so effortlessly poised that it has been quite the shock.

I care not for pole dancing on strictly.

A&J are the only ones that make me feel anything. It was elegant, touching and beautiful.

And that for me is what it is all about.

Not pole grinding.

Angela Scanlon was fab as was Annabelle

I was watching about an hour out last night.

I think Angela R is knackered and deteriorating as her energy just doesn't recover from one week to the next. I'm sure she performed better in the first few weeks.

Bobby did a good job, but I suspect based on votes, he's in greatest danger of meeting Angela in the dance off.

Nigel's fan base is likely to keep him safe. It was a beautiful visual extravaganza but he does need to up his consistency level.

Ellie did her dance brilliantly. I'd like more charleston content, but she danced the complex choreography brilliantly.

Anabel's really imersed herself into her recent dances and it was a beautifully done dance and beautiful dress too.

I like Angela S and there's a good chemistry with Carlos coming through. She's good at capturing the moody, intense dance styles

Leyton's didn't do it for me. I think with so many of his previous dances being so Leyton, it lost the impact that it could have had. The pleather doesn't do it for me, nor the corsets. It's clearly an impressive feat to dance like that, but it just didn't float my boat. The VT showing him being more down to earth than he's been in the studio had more emotional connection for me than the actual dance. CC wasn't the week for it, but I want to see him immersing himself into the dances more than doing them Leyton style- he did that better last week than he had.

has anybody else noticed Johannas has had his teeth done?

I didn't! Is that from his book money I wonder?

I wasn't a fan of the pole or the corsets.
I wasn't surprised that Layton had "pole" position in the group dance though. That kind of thing is his bread and butter isn't it?

I thought AngelaS, Ellie, and Bobby blended in pretty well with the pros in the group dance.

However, it exposed the limitations of the three oldest I think.

I did love the film of little Layton being billy elliot - clearly born to perform. To go from
the cute kid and wholesome mum story to the pole was funny. Maybe he should have done musical theatre instead and played to his story