Marvel, Matrix and Minions

So here we are with the first theme week of 2018, we go in with hope, but also gritted teeth. May there be more dazzling spectacles than people dressed as furry animals...The Harry Potter opening was rather odd however, considering all the memorable movie song and dance numbers in the history of cinema. Also, I will not accept Graziano as a Ravenclaw.

Vick and Graziano
Take a Chance on Me is a potentially iconic song choice in the making...for a cha cha! I can literally visualise cha cha steps to this, but no, it's being shoehorned into a salsa. Then again, it took them about halfway into the routine to actually attempt any salsa, which was actually quite good once they got down to it. Vick looked fairly relaxed and smooth going through it, but the lifts were clearly a challenge
I said I wasn't going to watch in protest of the song choice. I did though. But I'm not going to comment.

Dr Ranj and Janette
Well hopefully we can move on now, especially with Dr Ranj taking his first attempt at ballroom. This was much more like it: a glitzy routine but with ballroom content, and delivered with his signature charm. It was definitely a good quickstep for a non-ringer this early on, in that it wasn't perfect but he was light on his feet. I thought the judges were actually a bit harsh on this, but we've got a long night ahead of us.
Love the song choice for a quickstep and loved all the traditional content. He wasn't fabulous (he!) in hold but there was a lot of it. 

Lee and Nadiya
So Back to the Future is my favourite film of all time, and this is a classic song and actually pretty appropriate for a cha cha. Even with a cardboard DeLorean and gender-bending Doc. Once again, I thought this went quite well, but was unfairly maligned by the judges. It had lots of content and wasn't overwhelmed by the theme (unlike the dry ice) and Lee had put the work in - and it's not like I'm actively trying to like Lee here.
I haven't even seen this movie. Oh my goodness, I'm not even sure if Frankie knows that about me. We may no longer be friends. I barely remember this but I did think at the end of the show that the marking must have been a tad harsh. It wasn't that bad. 

Kate and Aljaz
We were all waiting for this one, and it was worth it. Not overwhelmed by the theme, the outfits weren't cartoony and it was all just sooooo smooth. Like Darcey said, it had control and was full of choreography. I'm now ready for her to do some more latin to see if she has versatility, but at the moment Kate is pulling it out of the bag weekly and her partnership with Aljaz is so lovely to watch.
What I love about Kate is her surprise that she's actually quite good at this. It's rather endearing. But the best thing ever in my life is Aljaz dressed as a bunny. He should do it always. 

Stacey and Kevin
And then theme week came back with abundance...although despite expecting to hate this, I actually enjoyed it a fair bit! Mainly because it was basically a straight jive and delivered with customary aplomb from these two - their happiness is infectious. The kicks could have been a bit sharper and she still needs to work on her core, but it's going in the right direction.
This is the kind of theming I despise, and yet, Stacey and Kevin's infectious happiness transcended that. She could have been sharper and bouncier on her standing leg, but this was neat and cute and I really, really like this pair. They look like they are having so much fun. 

Joe and Dianne
Joe is 27, not 12, but he is also supposed to be the voice of yoof. Thank goodness we got him doing some ballroom, and actually fairly well, but as we've seen there is potential there. There were posture issues though, and the lifts were very simple but also a bit scary since he obviously had no idea what he was doing. Dianne put together a good AS routine for him though, rather than throwing in all the bells and whistles.
Not sure that the BBC realises that a significant proportion of Joe's target audience wouldn't even have been born when this was released. It's not exactly current. And he's not nine. But anyway, it was OK. Lots of chat on Twitter that he's overmarked but I maintain, what I think the judges are seeing is raw, unpolished talent. You can teach technique but not natural musicality. It will be good to see if he can master the former. 

Graeme and Oti
This should have been a theme week disaster, and it really wasn't  - what a twist! Oti was back on form, and oddly enough, Graeme's performance got better as it went on. He swivelled and threw her around with ease, despite being a middle-aged man in a lycra body suit. It was two minutes of pure randomness, but delivered with just enough skill to work - onwards Graeme!
I was distracted by Oti's dress, which I am convinced was inspired by a Sindy outfit from circa 1991. He is such a showman and I was glad to see him back on form. 

Pasha and Ashley
I feel like we've seen this routine before, but it was very well done. Props to Pasha for putting the lift in the middle rather than making Ashley wait until the end for the scary bit. Apparently it was supposed to be a salsa, but whatever, I suppose they moved their hips a bit. Jolly good fun.
Such a lazy choice because the pro basically has to create zero choreography. I mean, this was technically excellent but was it salsa? Lol nope. 

Katie and Gorka
The wobbly lamppost returns! I don't really have much to say about this routine, because I felt like it was over before it really got started. Katie had improved though, especially in hold, which is where a lot of people are struggling this year. Who would have thought a foxtrot would be where someone could find some mojo?
Katie wins prize for best dress this week, and also for most improvement. I may get upset about theme weeks but I have to confess they do sometimes help the more reserved celebs let go a little in character. 

Seann and Katya
I was waiting for this one, because I knew it would be eventful, and I assumed Seann would collapse in giggles at some point. Now, the theme overtook this, it was what you'd expect from a paso, but Katya put so much creativity into the choreography you couldn't take your eyes off it. Points to Seann for increased control and musicality though, if he'd gone wrong he would have knocked her out. This could go down as one of the most memorable moments of this series. 
HA. So Katya Jones is basically an evil genius of dance. Absolutely stunning choreo. Stunning. That slo-mo. If our blog page supported emoji it would totes be all hearts-eye-face. I'm not sure Seann will surpass this, but for a high point, it's a good one. 

Lauren and AJ
It was always going to be tough following the 90s fetish paso, but this felt a bit pedestrian in comparison. Lauren did all the steps neatly, but like Craig said, it didn't really have much attack. For me a cha cha is all about kitsch campery, and if you can't do that to Fame I don't know what else there is. Points for AJ's poofy hair.
Sorry I have kind of forgotten this. When did the cha-cha-is-the-hardest-dance lore take hold? I missed that memo. 

Charles and Karen
I wasn't expecting much from this, but it was easily his best dance so far, in and out of hold. It wasn't a knock-your-socks off routine, however, it built nicely towards the lift sequences at the end. There was some proper Acting going on in this, but it was such an improvement I can allow for a bit of cheese.
Very nice lifts. But the rest of it left me a little cold. 

Faye and Giovanni
I was rather taken aback by this. As in, I actually squeaked when they suddenly got into hold and flew around the dancefloor. I would say there could have been more quickstep in it, but the actual quickstep section had enough choreography in it for about three people. Also, I know Grease inside out and the re-enactment sections were bang on. Faye's left me cold so far, but whilst I can't say whether I actually liked this, I was very impressed!
I think I was bored by this point. I mean this was really really good. But I didn't really care.

Danny and Amy
I am basically the last remaining person in the Western world who has not seen The Greatest Showman, which might be why I struggled to connect with this routine a bit. I did appreciate that it looked like a paso though, and Amy had put some proper content in. Danny's technique seemed to suit the paso too, but the whole thing didn't seem more than the sum of its parts.
Oooh no, I haven't seen it either! Looked like a paso but this song stylistically lent itself more to a showy ballroom number to me. Amy is working Danny hard but he needs to work on his body movement. He's cool though. So cool.