Strictly Come Dancing Recap: Dancing Queens
Requesting that the show just immediately forward to finale night should really become a thing. Two women stand out, and I don’t see them not being the last two left on the dance floor just before the winner of the mirror ball trophy is announced. Leigh-Anne Williams and Karlien van Jaarsveld should be the final 2. It’s only week 2 of the dancing competition and we already have our clear final 2. The only other contestant – thus far – who can possibly upset that from happening is actor Nkuli Tshirumbula. Could he become the Jonathan Boynton-Lee of this season? Can he be the most improved dancer who wins the audience, or ladies, over with his charisma and handsomeness? Maybe, but at present, I’m struggling to see that happening.
One alarming feature of this season, though, is the format. They open the voting lines at the start of the show, and close it after the final couple of the evening performed. Viewers get barely 2 hours to vote, and they’re forced to vote on performances they haven’t seen. So producers probably expect viewers to vote for their favourite couple the minute the lines are open. I guess, viewers should just vote for their favourite. Don’t wait for them to dance – just vote. With there being no results show this season, the format is a little troubling. An hour and a half to vote during the show is not enough, and in the end, I think, the amount of votes will suffer, and dancers who danced well on the night might get eliminated over couples who did not impress. Let’s see.
Let’s get on with it, shall we?
At the end of the night, the 2 bottom couples, decided by cumulative scores and votes, will battle each other in a dance-off.
The first couple to take the floor was Pearl Modiade and partner Grant, dancing the quickstep. After last week, I thought Pearl might do well this season, maybe even be in the top 3 with Leigh-Anne and Karlien, but after this week, it’ll be harder for her to do so. I thought it was strong, and Pearl sold it. The judges disagreed, however. Michael didn’t see any star quality this week, compared to last week, and the general critique was that she needs to be lighter on her feet. Tebogo disagreed, and thought this was an improvement over last week, but that she still needed to work on the neatness of movement. Judges score: 15/30
Retired Springbok rugby player Gary Botha and partner Jeanné were up next with a rumba. Compared to last week, this was quite the letdown. No, Katlego, “50 Shades of Botha” this was not. Gary looked uncomfortable and his movement was stiff. The lifts, especially the last one, were great, though. One good thing. Michael saying Gary delivered elicited a big nope from me. Tebogo thought he’d get better with time but gave him points for trying. She likes his ass in the pants too. Samantha needed more fluidity, but also thought the lifts were incredible. Judges score: 18/30
Bridget Masinga and her partner Sifiso were up next with a quickstep. Or quick running. Looked a little too much like a slow run to me. Sifiso was actually involved in a car accident last week, and, unfortunately, this wasn’t much better. Bridget struggling to sell it. It was the worst dance of the night. Samantha thought her frame wasn’t strong enough and Michael agreed, saying it was off-sync. Judges score: 14/30
Couple number 4 was Slikour and his partner Michelle, doing the rumba. Slikour, to me, is a great storyteller. Again, he sold the dance, and looked the part. Much stronger than Gary with regards to movement and hip action, but surprisingly got the same score. Samantha thought the choreography was beautiful and loved the realism of it, Michael agreed, and called it mesmerizing. Tebogo’s feelings were mixed. She thought he was not quite there yet, but liked the “Cuban action” – his hip work. Judges score: 18/30
Retired soccer star Stanton Fredericks and partner Erin were up next with a quite terrible quickstep. It wasn’t quick at all. Barely any gliding across the floor. The judges agreed. Michael said technique was a big problem and that it seemed sluggish. Tebogo thought the musicality was lacking and said they were off beat from the word go. Judges score: 14/30
Underdog Nkuli Tshirumbula and partner Nombulelo were up next with a really strong quickstep. Nkuli sells every performance, and his quick leg action and movement shows that he could be someone to watch out for. The best guy in the competition. Michael thought Nkuli was the man. Yep, certainly is. Sam loved it too, calling it the best so far. Tebogo was complimentary too; her biggest problem being that he was on and off the beat. I just can’t wait to see what he does, and how he improves, each week. Judges score: 20/30
5FM DJ Sureshnie Rider and her partner Obed were up next with a rumba that I didn’t quite get. I didn’t find it as sensual as the judges. Sureshnie tries to sell it, she tries so damn hard that it’s almost impossible not give her some brownie points, but it wasn’t on the mark. Maybe next week? Tebogo found it powerfully feminine, telling Sureshnie that she found the rumba in herself. Michael used the word “goddess”. He thought she should still set her weight down while Samantha wants her to work on her core strength, but overall, the judges were complimentary. Big improvement from last week for Sureshnie. Judges score: 17/30
Jason Goliath and his partner Sammy danced the rumba. The resident comedian really does know how to sell a story, his facial expressions bordering on the farcical almost. He’s easily likable, but I suspect that this routine will start wearing thin or maybe not. I also get the idea that Jason could be one of those contestants whose personality shines so brightly that the votes will roll in, even though the performances aren’t technically sound. Even the judges were more interested in laughing at Jason dropping Sammy, tears streaming down Tebogo’s face. Tebogo mentioned that his hips were solid like a rock, which is a bad thing, but that maybe got lost in the laughter. Both Sam and Michael complimented his character and storytelling abilities, but failed to critique his technical dancing ability.
Still, he should be around for a few weeks maybe. Judges score: 16/30
Next, this season’s probable runner-up Karlien van Jaarsveld showed that she had “it” when partnering with Devon to do the quickstep – a great one at that. The leap from the chair was a great start, and she sold the whole vibe of it. It was quick and strong, and by far the best quickstep of the night. Tebogo called her a “person to watch” and they called her “fearless”. Michael thought she looked like a pro. I don’t think she’s there yet, but she really could grow into a great dancer by the end of the competition. She’ll be there. Judges score: 24/30
Leigh-Anne Williams and her partner Johannes got the night’s pimp spot, going last with a sensual and, frankly, hot rumba. The first word that popped into my head during the performance was “Queen”. It was fast and sexy and her legs looked amazing. She looks like the real deal. Are we sure she hasn’t done this before? She could run away with this competition. The judges of course agreed, Tebogo calling her “the person to beat”. Michael said she was born to dance and it made Samantha’s toes curl. She’s going to bring the house down this season if this is an early indication. It’s only week 2! Judges score: 25/30
With the voting lines closed, they revealed the leader board, with last week’s score added to give a total out of 60.
Leigh-Anne: 47/60
Karlien: 44/60
Nkuli: 38/60
Gary: 35/60
Jason: 32/60
Pearl, Slikour, and Sureshnie with 31/60
Stanton: 27/60
Bridget: 26/30
We were treated to a performance by Jimmy Nevis before the results were revealed. In no particular order:
Leigh-Anne was safe.
Pearl was safe.
Karlien was safe.
The first person in the bottom and into the dance-off: Bridget.
Next to safety was Nkuli.
Gary was safe.
Slikour makes it to safety.
Jason survives the cut and is safe.
Two couples remain in danger: Sureshnie and Obed, and Stanton and Erin. The final couple sent to safety: Stanton and Erin.
Sureshnie goes into the dance-off against Bridget.
Bridget Masinga and Sifiso are the first to take the dance floor, followed by Sureshnie Rider and her partner Obed. It was pretty clear who was going to be saved here. I felt it more from Sureshnie the second time, dancing for her life. You can’t deny that this girl is willing to work her ass off.
It goes to the judges: Michael votes based on overall quality, and saves Sureshnie. Tebogo saves Sureshnie. Two votes are enough to move on.
Bridget Masinga is the first celebrity to be eliminated from the 8th season of Strictly Come Dancing.
What did you think of the second week of competition? Was the right couple eliminated? Sound off in the comments below.
