SCD '23 #18: Our three Strictly Stars, and the MN Glitterball Gang, prepare for the final! (NO SPOILERS)

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

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Does the la-la land medley mean that Bobby's show dance might be ballroom themed? 🤞
Disappointed he's doing his samba again, was hoping for the jive.

I wondered if Bobby would be ballroom/AS, hoping Ellie is party Latin not commercial like her CC and maybe jazz/AS/ bits of Charleston from Layton with the chance to have some fun with tricks in the 'Can your friend do this?' bits.

He may not have been responsible for the song and the concept but is it not the dance he and Dianne have chosen themselves for the final?

I just don't get having such a sad theme and song for the final which I would think the majority of viewers want to be a light happy show with lots of good dancing (I thought the CC was awful)

Could someone remind me.. do we get to see all 3 couples show dances? Or do we miss whoever comes in 3rd place?

Usually there's a show dance missing

I think I read somewhere that Bobby has no real memory of Jade which whilst very awful means he's probably not the one trying to exploit her passing

We get to see show dance from each contestant.

I think that we have in the past had people eliminated without doing their show dance I can't remember who @xsquared

@CaveMum or @SequinsandStiIettos might remember

For the Kai lovers: don't watch his and AJs CC, rumba and Argentine Tango one after the other. I don't even like Kai beyond his dance skills but by the end I was wishing I was AJ!

Yes, in the old format the couple who was runner up would be eliminated before they did their 3rd dance.

It is 3 dances per couple now.

Sometimes the final would seem a bit too long with 4 couple's doing all 3 dances. I thought that last year, but that may have been because I wasn't bothered about who won and none of them had a standout show dance as far as I was concerned.

They used to eliminate a couple mid-final, I'm sure! And we wouldn't get to see their show dance. But a few years ago, they must have realised that was a waste and everyone wanted to see the showdance so they changed the format. But now they have couples' choice it feels redundant anyway - the showdance used to feel special and exciting.

I'm a bit worried about Ellie & Vito's show dance now, given the music. We don't need a repeat of last weekend's style.

Yes, me too. Last week was Dua Lipa medley in pop video style choreography, and I think this week's one can only be a similar style.

Her cc also reminded me of Mollie Rainford's show dance last year, which involved canes and posing.about in a catsuit.

Yes I am worried the red catsuit and cane was just the warm up for the show dance.

By the way Johannes is on the sewing bee on BBC1 now.

I think Bobby’s show dance (SD) is the only one I want to see.

After Ellie’s CC last weekend I’ve lost all hope in her and Vito creating something impressive 😂

And as for Nikita and Layton, well I think we all know how it’s going to go and after 12 weeks of seeing him do the same thing over and over again I have no interest in seeing him do exactly the same in his SD too.

Bobby however……I hope he comes out and does something magnificent that will be totally full of excitement, fun and joy!

Good points @SheIsStuck23

Yes absolutely they used to eliminate 1 person halfway through the Final. It was such a waste not to be able to see their Show Dance after all the effort they’ve put in.

FGS it’s not a sob story it’s his reality. Just think about it for a moment his mother died when he was four. A child that age is so dependent on their mum - and then they’re gone. It’s not something he’s exploiting but sharing as there might be a child who has been through the same thing and they relate to him and they feel a bit more normal.

Yeah, they used to eliminate one couple during the final (from memory in 2013 it was after they had danced the judge's choice and the showdance, but before the dance the couples chose to repeat, so we never got to see Sophie Ellis Bextor's Charleston again, or maybe it was after the judge's chosen dance and we also didn't get to see her showdance).

It's been a while now since they let all finalists dance all 3 dances, which is much better IMO. Seems harsh to boot one out during the final.

The judges picked all 3 dances I wanted, so I'm pleased. Layton's QS was great and he can improve it. Same with Bobby's samba.

Ellie's Paso was the dance of this series for me, so delighted to see it again and her AS. I thought the Paso was excellent. Now we get both Vito's sweaty, hairy chest and Vito in tails, all in one night. Marvellous.

Sophie may have been 2012 actually, same year Louis Smith won and Kimberley and Pasha were robbed. DVO was excellent also.

They've definitely tweaked it over the years. In series 5 they did a new dance, favourite ballroom, favourite Latin and showdance. Probably a bit much!

And Penny Lancaster, Natalie Cassidy and Chris Ramsey's wife! Very .

My take on Ellie was that to win absolutely everyone over Vito should come out in white tie and tails and they should do proper old-fashioned Fred and Ginger with lots of elements of quickstep, jazzy Charleston and glide around the floor. It would have been a real vote winner. Their music suggests something akin to their CC which was almost as inappropriate as Layton pole dancing for his mum. I didn't like it.

If I was on SCD and got to the final I'd do old-fashioned Hollywood. The audience always loves it and is always less keen on a more modern style. I'm disappointed that Vito has gone in the direction they've taken. I think it could possibly lose them the show. I'm in a far better frame of mind than I was at the weekend (finally got a treatment plan sorted out today which has made me less stressed, tearful and wanting to inflict violence on all and sundry) but I don't think I'll be watching the final which will be a first for me but I honestly don't feel inspired by much of what's going on at the weekend. Bah humbug and all that. I do hope that everyone who watches it live enjoys every minute of it and I'm not being sarcastic.

Do you think the pros / couples decide their own showdance music and dance style? Or do the producers give it to them?

I can't believe Vito and Ellie chose J-Lo. Is someone giving them the worst show dance to try and level the field a bit more?