Dan's Lob Goes Out

Strictly Come Dancing (3) – Riding Along On The Crest Of a Wave

The Tradition after a Scout and Guides Gang Show is that everyone goes away on Gang Show Camp. Strictly has all the same ingredients – especially the camp. How much of the oodles of love on show is real or what we must I suppose call ‘professional’ is hard to judge. I’ll buy into this bubbling world of bouncing bonhomie because that is part of the fun of the game. But with this extraordinarily mixed bunch of mountainous egos, it is hard to believe everything in the glitter garden is always so lovely; and it is tempting to speculate about the backstage dynamics.

Maybe they are all the best of chums but one of the things you find out at group camps is those who do what needs doing without fuss; and those who say “it’s not my turn” for this or that. I have a hunch Nancyoil could outwait anyone on the ‘whose turn is it’ stakes. It’s nothing to do with being Italian, some of the liveliest, game for a laugh, spontaneous women I know are Italian. The problem with Nancy is that she spends so much time being Nancy Dell’Olio she has no time to be Nancy Dell’Olio – whoever that might be.

This week certainly posed some questions:

• Why does Len dislike Nancy?
• How did Nancy survive?
• Why is Anita over-marked?
• Why is Lulu under-marked?
• Why no chemistry between Dan and Katya?
• Why do marks sometimes not fit comments?

Gossipy tittle tattle every one and those of you who surf the Twittery world of the Strictlynet can probably give me the definitive answers: if you can mine the information that you want from the BBC site which is rapidly becoming one of the most irritating on the net. I merely wanted to check up on the names of the 2 dancer guests fromFootloose but gave up after 20 minutes. They shall therefore remain anonymous: just as well because the point I wanted to make was to wonder how they felt when Vincente and Flavia’s dance which followed theirs was technically, emotionally and aesthetically far superior. And though the ensemble piece from Footloose was pretty lively I saw nothing there that the Strictly pros couldn’t have done at least as well.

It was a clever idea to give this week’s show a Broadway Theme as it provided a context to show any level of skill to its best advantage. I guess Rory Bremner was the most striking beneficiary of this with a Top Hat routine cleverly choreographed by Erin and in which he finally dumped his inhibitions.

For all the kitsch and sequinned campiness, the enduring appeal of Strictly is that the challenge these celebs face outside their comfort zone is very real. To risk a very good chance of making a complete fool of oneself in front of over 10 million people and do as well as most of them did on Saturday night, is no small thing, even in the glitzy world of showbiz.

Alex was affectingly graceful; Robbie continues to improve and Lord help us, seems to have acquired a rather genuine-seeming self-deprecation; and Anita knows how to flatter to deceive in selling a performance. Nothing rains on Russell’s parade and the affection Flavia has for him seems as genuine as his wider popularity; which does her credit. Jason and Holly are in an undeclared battle of the professionals; his openness being more engaging than her continuing reliance on competence and control. Audley, who appears to have been gifted a heavyweight’s upper body but a featherweight’s spindly legs smiles on; and Chelsee still displays that key quality of good physical movers, a steady and controlled head and neck posture. I think Harry has the most potential but Aliona is one of the weaker, more self-regarding choreographers. That only leaves Lulu: who I thought this week finally found her way totally into a dance and really looked the part with a Rumba more graceful and elegant than one would have thought possible even a week ago. Many of the most moving performances in Strictly have been in the Rumba which seems to me to have an intriguingly elusive rhythm I’m glad I don’t have to master.

So Dan leaves and Nancy stays. That’s marginal; but if someone else goes next week we’ll begin to smell a rat: unless amazingly, the real Nancy Dell’Olio were to finally turn up, before she goes so to speak.

STRICTLY STAKES – 2011 (Updated)

6-4
Harry – McFly Me To The Moon. May win despite Aliona
Aliona – Strong dancer. Weak partner

6-4
Jason – Donovan – Mellow Fellow – but wants to win
Kristina- Too hot to handle but cool choreographer

2-1
Holly – Golightly goes well
Artem – Could be two in a row

3-1
Anita – May or May not. Ballroom not Latin
Robin – Reliable motivator

4-1
Robbie – Virgin dancer. Dark Horse. Toothsome
Ola – Best choreographer. Best partner

5-1
Russell – Stargazer, trailblazer – “to boldly camp as no man has camped before”
Flavia – Best dancer. Sexiest Lady. Good choreographer.

(6-1) 5-1
Alex – May be better than Bleakley
James – Better dancer than choreographer

(6-1) 7-1
Chelsee – Posture beats pronunciation every time
Pasha – New boy does good

7-1
Rory – Who do I want to be today?
Erin – Feisty chatterbox. Good choreographer

(8-1) 7-1
Lulu – Doesn’t trust the Coleman. Nutty – no slack
Brendan – doh re ME fa soh la te doh

(9-1) 15-1
Audley – Graceful gentle giant. Best boxer.
Nathalie- Tall, too thin but good choreographer

(10-1) 20-1
Nanci – With the non-laughing face. 1st to go?
Anton – Silly arse smile hides a real pro

OUT

Week 1

10-1
Edwina/Vincente

Week 2

7-1
Dan/Katya

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