Strictly Come Dancing 2017 Week One

It’s Week One! It’s Week One!

Yes Strictly is back on our screens finally and the dancing can begin.  Two weeks ago saw the launch show where the celebrities were assigned their pro partners for the series.  There were some blatantly obvious ones such as Aston Merrygold being partnered with Janette Manrara, she’s the only dancer small enough to match him, he’s not the tallest of guys.  Also obvious was the pairing of Ruth Langsford with Anton Du Beke.  Poor Anton, he always gets the (how shall we put this diplomatically) older lady/outsider.  Past examples are Judy Murray, Anne Widdecombe and Jerry Hall who come immediately to mind so we had all but predicted Anton to get Ruth.  Following the pairing up show, a couple of partnerships interested me right off the bat.  AJ, who was one of my all time favourites last year with Claudia, has been paired up with Molly King of The Saturdays so I am predicting great things for them.  Also, I have taken to Charlotte Hawkins as well and she has the lovely Brendan Cole so I will be watching them with interest also.

So off the celebs went to be put through their paces ahead of their first dances, safe in the knowledge that they cannot be eliminated in their first dance and will at least get to perform twice.  Two weeks training flew by and here we are with baited breath for the opening numbers and fifteen performances to look forward to.

If I listed all of the performances this would be an exceptionally long and boring post, so I will just pull out some of the highlights (and lowlights) from Week One.  I was impressed with Alexandra Burke’s dancing of the waltz however, she is going to get right on my nerves as a person. It’s a shame because I love her partner Gorka.  Brian Conley, Simon Rimmer and Ruth were poor as was the Reverand Richard Cole.  Unfortunately, I have a horrible feeling the Reverand is going to be the new Ed Balls and people will vote to keep him in, the trouble is I’ve seen performing seals at the zoo with more rhythm and grace than him so I hope he goes early on.

Despite being top of the leaderboard from the judges, Aston just didn’t do it for me.  He was good but he seems overconfident and cocky, winking at the camera and just comes across as though he thinks he has this in the bag.  I hope he doesn’t. Nothing against his dancing, I just prefer other couples.

Having high hopes for Molly an AJ from the start, I was left disappointed as their Jive was not as impressive as I had hoped for but it is a difficult dance and it is week 1 so there is room for improvement.   I think the problem with the jive is that Ore Oduba has set the bar so high after his amazing week 4 performance last year ( I seriously think that’s the dance that won the series for him).  Having said that there was one other Jive performed this week and it was FABULOUS!  Mr Joe McFadden, you are my new favourite and I am backing you all the way to the finals!  Such cheekiness and for a week one jive, my hat is off to you!  Thank goodness Katya has a chance this year.  You could tell she was a great choreographer with the routines she had to come up with dancing with Ed Balls so now she has someone with a bit more going for him, it’s her chance to shine.

Speaking of shining, a real dark horse was Debbie McGee.  Now I mentioned Anton getting the older ladies.  Ruth is not the oldest performer at age 57, Debbie McGee is at the age of 58 (okay I know, not much in it but still).  There may only be a year between their ages but their talent is light years apart. Whereas Ruth struggled to make it through her waltz, Debbie McGee sizzled her way through an explosive and stunning Paso Doble.  Her partnership with Giovanni was electric and she was dancing better than someone half her age.  It just goes to show age can be just a number.  She can go far in this competition.

So the leaderboard looked like this after everyone had taken to the dancefloor for the first time.

Aston Merrygold & Janette Manrara 31

Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice 30

Joe McFadden & Katya Jones 29

Davood Ghadami & Nadiya Bychkova 27

Alexandra Burke & Gorka Marquez 24

Molly King & AJ Pritchard           23

Charlotte Hawkins & Brendan Cole 22

Chizzy Akudolu & Pasha Kovalev 21

Gemma Atkinson & Aljaz Skorjanec 20

Johnny  Peacock & Oti Mabuse 20

Susan Calman & Kevin Clifton    20

Simon Rimmer & Karen Clifton 17

Rev Richard Coles & Dianne Buswell   17

Brian Conley & Amy Dowden                16

Ruth Langsford & Anton Du Beke         16

So these scores will all roll over to next week when we will see our first elimination.  A rule of Strictly is if you performed a ballroom dance in week one then in week two you must perform a Latin number and vice versa.

Last years Strictly was my favourite so far, I’m hoping this year will live up to my high standards.

Keep Dancing!