Strictly Come Dancing Instant Dance week: Chaos reigned and we loved every minute!
The Instant Dance challenge has reignited our Strictly love!Strictly Come Dancing was back in the studio this week, with the scores from Blackpool rolled over, elimination looming, and the first ever Instant Dance challenge!
We weren’t sure about the challenge when it was revealed last week. It sounded a bit confusing or muddled.
But let’s be honest, it was a triumph!
Chaotic and hilarious, but a triumph all the same. In fact it might have been our favourite Strictly episode ever.
Here’s everything that happened in Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, before, during and after the Instant Dance challenge (even though that’s really all we want to talk about!).
There were TWO perfect scores!
We are getting to the stage in the competition where the remaining dancers are really good. And that definitely showed in last night’s show.
First of all, former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones danced a Rumba. They didn’t get perfect 10s, but they did get four 9s which is definitely not too shabby. Plus Craig Revel Horwood said he “loved” it, so that’s high praise!
Then footballer Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu took to the floor for their Couple’s Choice. It was a high-energy, unapologetic dance to Born This Way by Lady Gaga. And it definitely impressed the judges!
“Girl,” said Motsi Mabuse. “This was everything!”
Karen and Carlos scooped 40 for their dance which left poor Carlos sobbing with happiness!
West End star Amber Davies and her partner Nikita Kuzmin closed the show with an energetic jive that the judges also loved. They also won four 10s and Craig pronounced the dance “fabulous”!
Chaos reigned!
But all that paled into insignificance once the Instant Dance challenge started. The concept was simple (sort of!). Last week the couples chose an envelope containing the name of one dance they’d already danced on the show.
This week, as the clock ticked down, they opened their envelopes and discovered the dance they’d chosen. They heard their music, and – with some help from Claudia – picked a costume.
Then they raced to get changed before they danced. Ahead of each dance, the couples had 10 seconds to quickly discuss how they were going to approach the challenge.
It was brilliant! There was a lot to love about it. In fact, we’ve been feeling that Strictly could be a little tired recently and knowing Claudia and Tess are going hasn’t helped. But this reminded us of the absolute JOY this television show can be.
The costumes
When they’d found out their dance and their music, the couples dashed off to Claudia who was helping them choose an outfit.
“Take them all,” she urged, shoving all sorts of sparkles and fringing at the dancers. She even raced after the final couple with a tiny pink dress, claiming it was for Craig. We were in stitches!
And the costumes themselves were extraordinary. Big thumbs up for George’s pink coat – which he wisely ditched at the start of his Tango – and for Nikita’s amazing trousers!
The chaos
Everyone was running round like headless chickens, there were costumes flying, people laughing, Claudia flinging dresses across the dance floor and it was hilarious.
Nikita summed it up. “Isn’t this just the best part of Strictly ever,” he said. “I love Strictly and I love live television.”
Totally agree. And Claudia appearing in a fruity hat made the whole thing even funnier.
The judges
The expressions on the judges’ faces were pure Strictly gold! They loved it just as much as we did. Anton du Beke even announced that it was “the most excited I’ve ever been on this show” and asked if they could do it every week.
The Instant Dances
And at the end of all that fun there were some dances! Not all of them were brilliant, but it was so fun to watch the couples have a go. Even my husband was gripped. “Not much Cha-Cha content,” he pronounced as he watched Karen and Carlos dance, with all the confidence of a man who’s never paid more than a passing interest in Strictly in two decades.
Balvinder Sopal and her partner Julian Caillon pulled an amazing Paso Doble out of the bag, winning them second place. While Lewis and Katya’s jive wowed the judges and scooped first.
In the end the points – six for Lewis and Katya, down to one for Karen and Carlos at the other end – didn’t make a huge difference to the leaderboard but we don’t care!
The downside
Of course, all that joy was tempered with the knowledge that someone had to leave the show. In Saturday night’s competition actress Alex Kingston and her partner Johannes Radebe didn’t perform their Cha-Cha well.
Alex made several mistakes and admitted that her “62-year-old body” was finding things tough. We have to admit, she did seem worn out and perhaps the show has taken its toll.
Balvinder’s jive started well, then she lost it in the middle. But she was cheery as always.
“Don’t worry,” she told the judges. “I’ll come back and do it again in the dance-off!”
Sadly Bal’s predictions came true. She had to dance off against Alex. This time the judges were divided, with Anton choosing to save Alex, while the others opted to bring Bal back for another week.
So Alex was eliminated. Possibly it was the right time for her to go, but we’ll still miss her!
Next week is Musicals Week, and we have to say with our Strictly enthusiasm fully recharged, we can’t wait!
