STRICTLY COME DANCING 2024.

[Cleoriff]

It's that time of year again.

@sheepdogcomes out of hibernation to join me and others like @RunrigForever  to comment on BBC's 'flagship' entertainment show. SCD.

I did wonder if it would take place this year as it's had some really bad press recently.

Two of the male professionals, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Prima have been accused of abusive teaching methods. Giovanni has denied any wrongdoing. Last year he danced with Amanda Abington, who dropped out of the show. Graziano danced with Zara Larsson and he admitted kicking her. He was sacked immediately.

The BBC  have said they will be putting advisors into the training rooms to monitor all training and ensuring the welfare of the celebrities. So away we go again.

It doesn't start until September so I'll be adding to this thread as and when other celebs are revealed.

The first two contestants have been announced;

CHRIS McCAUSLAND - COMEDIAN

Chris is a really funny guy. He's also totally blind. As he said, this should be a laugh. 😂

The next contestant is JB GILL (from the boy band JLS)

[Cleoriff]

I'd never heard of him until last night. A pleasant surprise.

I missed most of the pro dance as I was amending an online grocery order before the cut off point. 😂

[Cleoriff]

@sheepdog @RunrigForever 

Week 4 Songs and Dances

✨ Montell & Johannes Viennese Waltz to Nobody Gets Me by SZA
✨ Punam & Gorka Jive to 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
✨ Sam & Nikita Samba to Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira
✨ Sarah & Vito Foxtrot to Birds Of A Feather by Billie Eilish
✨ Tasha & Aljaz Charleston to Unhealthy by Anne-Marie, Shania Twain
✨ Chris & Dianne Salsa to Down Under by Men At Work
✨ Jamie & Michelle Salsa to Danza Kuduro by Don Omar, Lucenzo
✨ JB & Amy Rumba to You Might Need Somebody by Kara Marni
✨ Paul & Karen Quickstep to I Won’t Dance by Fred Astaire
✨ Pete & Jowita Quickstep to Town Called Malice by The Jam
✨ Shayne & Nancy Cha Cha to Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use) by Sub Sub feat. Melanie Williams
✨ Wynne & Katya Tango to Money, Money, Money by ABBA

No news yet on Nick Knowles.

[RunrigForever]

Thanks to @Cleoriff and @sheepdog for your comments 

I shall probably be a 'casual' watcher of SCD, but interested in what Cleoriff & Sheepdog have to say

Glad Chris & also Wynne are doing well. They seem nice people too

Don't know much of the coming show's music but ..... Down Under by Men at Work for Chris & Diane to salsa too is one for me to look forward to as is I Won't dance by Fred Astaire, but expect Paul's feet to be all over the place with his partner Karen. I'd say Pete & Jowita will dance a better quickstep to A Town Called Malice by the Jam. Wynne & Katya should be an interesting tango to Money Money Money by ABBA.

[sheepdog]

Overall, think this is going to be a hard week for all. 

Montell & Johannes Viennese Waltz to Nobody Gets Me by SZA
Punam & Gorka Jive to 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
Sam & Nikita Samba to Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira
Sarah & Vito Foxtrot to Birds Of A Feather by Billie Eilish

Did I read something about SZA performing at Glastonbury to absolutely nobody? Oddly, this does suit the VW so hopefully Montell finds this one easier than the Tango. The song by Lizzo is about the only song I've ever heard from her though something about abusing her dancers was the other thing. Good jive tune but this is Punam so we're not going to see a lot of technique being applied.

Hips don't lie and neither will the score for Sam. Very difficult one and quite likely in the bottom part if not the dance-off. Anybody not expecting another minimum of 4x 8's from Sarah? I'd say that's a pretty decent tune by Billie Eilish to match. Judges will now be picky on technique with her. 

Tasha & Aljaz Charleston to Unhealthy by Anne-Marie, Shania Twain
Chris & Dianne Salsa to Down Under by Men At Work
Jamie & Michelle Salsa to Danza Kuduro by Don Omar, Lucenzo
JB & Amy Rumba to You Might Need Somebody by Kara Marni

This Charleston for Tasha could be a bit of a let down from last week. Tune is pretty much lacking in everything so don't expect a memorable charleston. Has to show the comedy in her face otherwise the scores will be lower but not by much.  Plenty of Aussie puns by T&C for Chris but will he be able to match last weeks scores? Party tune for Jamie and this is a perfect one for a salsa so he has it all to lose. Break out the earplugs for JB's tune as it is awful - the Randy Crawford version is a better fit for me - but Dance of Death and male celebs means I'm not expecting much. 

Paul & Karen Quickstep to I Won’t Dance by Fred Astaire
Pete & Jowita Quickstep to Town Called Malice by The Jam
Shayne & Nancy Cha Cha to Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use) by Sub Sub feat. Melanie Williams
Wynne & Katya Tango to Money, Money, Money by ABBA

Now Paul Merson is the obvious one for the dance-off but he may actually do quite well with Karen on this one to avoid the inevitable. Intriguing. Another tough one for Pete and this one is fast which means he has to keep the errors down.

Dragging out the classic Tango Abba tune so not expecting any disasters from Wynne on this one. Now I remember listening to Pete Tong on a Friday night back in early1993 driving down the A1 about 8pm when SubSub came on with its first airplay. So a top tune in the Metro 🎉 Looking forward to this one.

[Cleoriff]

The music and dances were shown via a non stop video.

Nikita did some superb hip movements, with Sam raising her eyes and walking off.

Jowita danced a few great moves and Pete walked off.

As amusing as it was, I thought there might be a lot of work to do.

I think Paul might surprise us.

If Nick isn't back this week then he'll be out ...so maybe no eviction?

[Cleoriff]

@sheepdog 

2ZA were put on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday at Glastonbury, when people expect a well known super act.

Consensus was, this was the worst Glastonbury ever. People were leaving in droves before the end

It was felt that 2ZA should have performed on the other stage at 2pm in the afternoon where 'they could have been ignored in peace'

My friend goes every year. She said, they will never go again. They would rather go to numerous smaller festivals and pay less for better value acts.

[Cleoriff]

Nick Knowles (and his partner Luba) will be back dancing tomorrow.

As they haven't had chance to practice a new routine they will be dancing the one from Movie Week.

Nick and Luba. Charleston. 'Rain On The Roof' from Paddington 2.

[Cleoriff]

Shayne and Nancy. Cha Cha Danced very well Needs to work on arms Scored 30

Sarah and Vito Foxtrot. A good dance but  not enough glide Scored 27

Nick and Luba Charleston This was dumbed down a lot Scored 21

Jamie and Michelle  Salsa. I didn't like it but the judges did Scored 34

Wynne and Katya. Tango. Well done. Great storytelling Scored 34

Punam and Gorka Jive. Pretty poor . Lots of mistakes Scored 24

Paul and Karen  Quickstep. What an improvement. Enjoyed it  Scored 23

Jb and Amy Rumba. Wrong music but good dance. Scored 30

Chris and Dianne. Salsa. I continue to be amazes at Chris. Really excellent lifts Scored 30

Montelland Johannes. Viennese Waltz. Just beautiful. Great footwork Scored 33

Sam and Nikita. Samba. Great energy but messy footwork at times Scored 28

Pete and Jowita. Quickstep. Bit of an unusual interpretation, but is improving Scored 29

Tasha and Aljaz. Charleston. Quite brilliant. Really enjoyed it. Scored 39

Snow Patrol on 'tomorrow night'.

[sheepdog]

Motsi in "I'm not taking part in the monstrosity this week" So spoiled my opening number. 😋 Tess in catsuit again but probably the wrong colour with fake tan and bleached hair as she came across rather yellow under the stage lighting. Claudia in a non-sackcloth dress. Or may it was but the belt helped. 

Shayne and Nancy. Cha Cha: Good start but thought he regressed a bit. Needed to be snappier. 

Sarah and Vito Foxtrot: Lovely but judges marking her down tonight.  

Nick and Luba Charleston: Very muted understandably with a knee injury. Yet still more in time than a couple of contestants later in the show. Likely to be in the dance-off or retired before getting there. If not, too many injuries that he's going to be in the dance-off next week or the week after. If he makes it past wednesday. 

Jamie and Michelle  Salsa: Not sure what the judges were seeing but a 9? Out of sync a few times with errors on the lifts. I thought he was more rooted in the same positions most of the time flailing his arms around. 

Wynne and Katya. Tango: Performance of the night! So far anyway but that really came out of nowhere. Outfit wasn't flattering though so the wardrobe ladies need a talking to.

Punam and Gorka Jive:  Out of time and out of the series. Admittedly the best part was the brief moment she got her kicks and flicks in time for 5 seconds but yeah, more walking around with arms up in the air like she just don't care. Like the votes will show too. Way too much begging for votes with "She's a GP you know". Well you know she's on a decent pay packet from appearing on this series you know. 

Paul and Karen  Quickstep. Back of the net! Oh my goodness, I did expect an improvement but this was his best yet and got the spirit of the dance completely. Deservedly safe this week. 

Jb and Amy Rumba: Wait, this is the second rumba this series I liked? Oh my, I need to check my medication. 

Chris and Dianne. Salsa. So judges, can you explain giving Jamie high scores when Chris's timing was far superior? Not sure on some steps that looked like he was galloping (not the kangaroo steps) but way better than Jamie. More Aussie Craig please. 

Montell and Johannes. Viennese Waltz: This is the third VW this series each one has been superb. All I can say is "fight!" Minus for the DAO singer for being way too strong for the dance. Boo. 

Sam and Nikita. Samba: Another performance out of left field though transitions need to be a focus. Well done but it gets harder now. 

Pete and Jowita. Quickstep: This was a 50-50 dance. Good in places and messy in others. Needed more control. Maybe the tune was a bit too fast for his skill level. Maybe the VW will be the one for him? 

Tasha and Aljaz. Charleston: Er, wow. Not so sure on theme and costumes but, er wow. And we're only week 4! This is a prelude to her jive and that should be outstanding. 

BTW, we're getting a new themed night for the 20th anniversary called Icons Week featuring musical icons

Our Strictly Come Dancing stars will pay tribute to some of the most recognisable and influential people in the music industry. This new week will be dedicated to music legends from across the decades.

The irony of Shayne Ward emulating a music legend is rather amusing considering his origins 🤣 

Guessing there is no green paint Halloween week this year then given the date of 2 November. Which according the BBC, they've already recorded the Beyonce medley of endless chanting masquerading as music. On the other hand Johannes is the lead so expect extreme camp to match the high heels!

[Cleoriff]

"Motsi in "I'm not taking part in the monstrosity this week" So spoiled my opening number."

We have a difference of opinion there @sheepdog.

I thought Motsi had borrowed her grandmother's curtains and asked wardrobe to fashion her some sort of frock!

I mean, Shirley usually manages to look effortlessly glamorous but Motsi always tries too damn hard. Also gets on my nerves the way she always talks over Craig. He's normally left until last for a reason but she thinks her opinion is far more important.

 I agree, Jamie v Chris, no contest. Chris's timing was far superior. My other half hates SCD but likes Chris, so he will watch when he's performing and thinks he's the best. Totally biased of course, when he doesn't watch any other dance 😂

I read about Icons week. I'm sure this household will have a lot to say about the BBC's choice of musical icons!

The following should factor: Elvis, Tom Jones, Prince, David Bowie, Roy Orbison, Cher, Madonna and Beyonce.  Not sure which tune they will pick for The Who, Queen and ELO though? 😂 (Please no Cliff Richard!)

Will we have Taylor Swift??

Hey, they wont have enough contestants left to cover all musical icons, so my list will fall by the wayside. 😫

I Like Halloween , so a bit annoyed that it's being shelved.

BTW, Tasha is now getting some flak on certain news outlets, as she has had previous dance experience.!!