Tip-Top

Nov 29, 2019 by Rob

The big surprise last week was Karim hitting the dance-off despite being joint-top of the leaderboard. Saffron, meanwhile, looked in big trouble as soon as she performed first on the night and was scored 26 dancing a somewhat pedestrian samba.

Saffron was subsequently eliminated meaning AJ’s samba curse struck again. It was interesting to read this week he pleaded with producers not to dance it, but they were not for turning.

You got the distinct impression the judges were preparing to score Alex’s AT higher only for her and Neil to become manacled together during the routine and mistakes to creep in. Similarly, 9s and 10s were probably in the offing for Emma, dancing Quickstep, only for her and Anton to lose timing in a couple of places.

With Shirley requesting viewers vote for Alex and highlighting the connection between her and Neil, again, it was yet another validation for Alex, who has enjoyed the support of TPTB series-long. So while samba for her looks a tricky prospect tomorrow night, it would be surprising if she is hung out to dry. The expectation at least pre-show is, she is more likely to be guided through to the semi-final.

Chris was given the pimp slot for his paso last week, which helped serve the purpose of putting the final nail in Saffron’s coffin. He is likely to find himself on early tomorrow night tasked with the most difficult of ballrooms in foxtrot. It was noticeable on ITT this week that Ian Waite highlighted the fact his routine appeared to have very little foxtrot content in it.

Chris is by no means a great technician but this content issue could also be highlighted by the judges and whichever way it plays out he looks the most likely candidate to finish last on the leaderboard. And if there are no ties, it will be very difficult for him to escape the dance-off from last place.

Karim looks to have the perfect opportunity to rise to the top of the leaderboard dancing jive. It has looked very good in training and it’s one which plays perfectly to his fast and frenetic style. To try and ensure Karim isn’t in the dance-off for a second consecutive week, the judges have every incentive to score him highest on the night. He might also enjoy his 3rd pimp slot of the series as it looks the ideal show closer.

Musicals Week (quarter-final)
Alex and Neil: Samba to Joyful Joyful from Sister Act
Chris and Karen: Foxtrot to Consider Yourself from Oliver!
Emma and Anton: Charleston to Thoroughly Modern Millie from Thoroughly Modern Millie
Karim and Amy: Jive to You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray
Kelvin and Oti: American Smooth to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Kelvin’s AS should be top notch but Emma might have a chance to challenge him for at least 2nd place on the judges’ leaderboard dancing a Charleston. Anton has been stepping up the training hours with Emma this week, and their flapper-inspired routine has looked promising in training VTs.

Charleston is always one that has the potential to go down a storm with the viewers sat at home and Emma looks to have a golden opportunity to seal her safe passage to the semi-final.

Much like Blackpool, all tomorrow night’s routines will see extra dancers deployed. Costume and set choices will be worth monitoring for any clues regarding potential help or hindrance.

A Chris vs Alex dance-off looks the most likely scenario pre-show and given Chris is a non-tourer and Alex has enjoyed series-long support, Chris’s exit from the competition could well be on the cards.

Looking ahead to the potential semi-final, all couples will have 2 dances – 1 Latin, 1 ballroom – and the Latin side of the equation is going to be particularly revealing as all of Karim, Alex, Emma and Chris face the prospect of having to negotiate tricky dances.

Emma, Karim and Chris might hope to have Argentine tango rather than CCC/samba in Emma’s case, and rumba in Chris and Karim’s case. A salsa looks inescapable for Alex. Paso is potentially ideal for Kelvin but in terms of the dance-off, couples get to reprise their higher scoring dance, so a poor scoring Latin routine on the night is certainly not the death knell.

Week 10 leaderboard:
Karim and Amy: Couple’s Choice: Contemporary – 9, 9, 10, 10 = 38 – bottom 2
Kelvin and Oti: Couple’s Choice: Street/Commercial – 8, 10, 10, 10 = 38
Chris and Karen: Paso Doble – 8, 8, 8, 7 = 31
Emma and Anton: Quickstep – 6, 8, 7, 8 = 29
Saffron and AJ: Samba – 5, 7, 7, 7 = 26 – eliminated
Alex and Neil: Argentine Tango – 4, 7, 7, 8 = 26

Remaining dances:

Alex & Neil – Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Waltz, Salsa

Chris & Karen – Argentine Tango, Viennese Waltz, Waltz, Rumba

Emma B & Anton – Argentine Tango, Waltz, Cha-Cha-Cha, Samba

Karim & Amy – American Smooth, Argentine Tango, Waltz, Rumba

Kelvin & Oti – Argentine Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Paso Doble