Strictly Come Dancing - Week 12 -The Semi Final

Hey everyone!  Sorry that this is such a late post and I will be posting two recaps together.  I first thought about doing a joint recap and highlighting the semi-finals at the beginning of the last post but for a few reasons, I felt the semi-finals deserved their own post, separate to the Grand Final.

So let us kick off with the dances.  This week each couple had to perform two different routines so twice the workload for them.  I listed at the end of the last post which dances the couples still hadn't performed and each couple had a lot of work to do. In the dance-off, however, the couples could choose which of the two routines they would dance again, obviously choosing their stronger routine.







So onto the performances.  First up was Joe and he was dancing the American Smooth.  This was a beautiful routine to 'Have You Met Miss Jones?' (very apt as Katya's surname is Jones, although she is a Mrs).  I thought this was amazing, extremely well performed and a really polished performance.  The lifts were lovely and the synchronisation was impeccable.

Next dancing was Alexandra and she was doing the Viennese Waltz.  Now I have made no apologies for my dislike of Alex. Whilst this dance was perfectly fine, it wasn't particularly memorable and I have seen her dance better. I also felt the costume and the dry ice and smoke helped disguise her feet a lot.  Not her best performance but not bad.

Third up was Mollie in what can only be described as a disaster.  The Samba is not Mollie's dance by any stretch of the imagination.  She was stiff, her hips were not moving and the Samba rolls were excruciatingly painful to watch.  I mean she did her best but at this late stage, it was never going to be in the same class as the others.

Next up was Gemma and as I predicted, she got the Rumba.  I felt she gave it a pretty good shot, she had lovely straight legs and it was better than many so far this series, although I felt she lost her upper body movement as she was concentrating on her legs so much.  A decent effort but again nothing overly special.

Last up was Debbie doing the Jive.  I had big expectations for this given Debbie's prior performances and given that this dance is Giovanni's speciality.  However it just failed to live up to my expectations and unfortunately, this wasn't anything special either.  It seemed a bit clunky and awkward and Debbie wasn't exceptionally light on her feet which is surprising from her.  Still, she seemed to enjoy the dance and she had fun with it, but I feel it was overmarked by the judges.

So after each couple had danced once the leaderboard was as follows

Alexandra & Gorka		39
Joe & Katya		35
Debbie & Giovanni		34
Gemma & Alijaz		30
Mollie & AJ		24

So onto the second dance of the evening and the same running order applied.   Joe was dancing the Argentine Tango for his second routine.  I thought this was his weaker dance and he had some unfortunate balance issues, much like Davood did last week.  He stumbled occasionally but that last counter lever lift was sensational and they made it look so easy.

Alexandra's second dance of the night was the Salsa and she brought the dancefloor alive.  I might not like her but she can't half dance.  This showcased her talents and much like the Jive in week 4 really showed her ability.  I think this dance earned her a place in the final.

Mollie danced the Waltz for her second routine.  Whilst nothing could have been worse than her Samba, this dance was actually pretty good.  A couple of mistakes but definitely her better performance and she has such good chemistry with AJ and this dance showed it.  Whether they are a couple off the floor or not, this dance was a beautiful show of feeling and romance.

Gemma's second performance was a Tango.  It was clean and sharp and I love her fierce expressions.  Much like her Paso, I felt this was a strong performance, fierce Gemma is a strong Gemma and her hold was great.  Alijaz kept her in hold for much of the dance which helped it look a cleaner performance.

The final dance of the night went to Debbie and it was the Foxtrot.  This was so much better than the Jive.  It was elegant, graceful, refined.  it had the feel of a proper Hollywood style dance, she looked beautiful and comfortable with Giovanni and it was a shame that Gio chose to take them out of hold and get another telling off from Craig and his ten-second rule (did he not learn in week 3?)  Still it was a gorgeous routine and another who cemented her place in the final.

So after both dances, the leaderboard stands as such

Alexandra & Gorka		39	40	79
Joe & Katya		35	35	70
Debbie & Giovanni		34	36	70
Gemma & Alijaz		30	32	62
Mollie & AJ		24	32	56

So the Sunday night dance-off and no surprises really that it's Gemma and Alijaz vs Mollie and AJ.  Gemma chose to dance the Tango again and Mollie chose the Waltz, again no surprises there as these were the two stronger dances.  All four judges chose to save Gemma and therefore Mollie was eliminated and just misses the final.

So let me introduce you to our four finalists for 2017

Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez

Joe McFadden and Katya Jones

Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernace
Gemma Atkinson and Alijaz Skorjanec

Bring on the final!

Until then, keep dancing