Dancing On Ice Quarter Finals |Dreams That Glitter

Tonight each celebrity skated twice, once with their partner and a solo skate entirely by themselves. Some coped better than others and the competition was really heating up as the final five champions battle it out.

Opening the show was Kyran and Nina performing together and they really had to up their game after making a few mistakes in their choreography last week and ending up in the skate off getting through only due to Suzanne’s minor mistakes I’m sure (completely non biased I swear). Tonight there was very few mistakes that I noticed and there was some interesting lifts in the routine that I’d not seen before. They ended up with a score of 34.

Kyran’s solo skate included some pretty impressive jumps – a toe loop, flip and loop jump all in there. His scores from the technical end of the panel were higher than the performance side proving that performance is definitely something that he needs to work on. I thought that there needed to be a bit more speed across the ice too.

 

Hayley was next with the first up to skate solo. There was one unfortunate trip on one of the jumps and a little more speed across the ice was needed but she performed well (maybe not as well as she can but it was still there). She did fall in rehearsals when practising her spin which was impressive, and I think that could’ve knocked her confidence a bit. Not her best performance. She ended up with the lowest score on the solo skates of the night.

Hayley and Dan’s routine to ‘Conga’ was a million times better than her solo skate, it really showed how much Hayley’s confidence grew when she had Dan back on the ice with her. I wonder if she had done the couple skate first then that would have put her confidence right up there for the solo and she would’ve delivered even more? Anyway, the song reminded me of Heather Mills’ and Matt’s routine a few years back… anyone else? Back to Hayley and Dan though. I really loved Hayley’s costume for starters, it reflected the music and atmosphere perfectly. There was so much energy put into it and it looked like they were having a really great time, the timing was absolutely perfect. All that landed them two 9.5s and two 10s with the performance being overruling to the technical side of things as always with Hayley.

 

Beth and Lukasz did their routine before Beth went it alone, and you could tell from the VT she’d had a particularly tough week battling this virus. I think she was quite lucky not to be bed ridden but the Olympic athlete inside her definitely came out this week and she did her best. Unfortunately the performance was lacking some and you really can’t blame her as she was not on her game at all.

Her solo skate was technically very clean but again lacking in performance and energy, probably due to the sickness. I think Jason used that as an excuse to be even more harsh than usual which wasn’t fair because it’s not like she looked really awful like he was making out. Not her best week, understandably.

 

Sam skated by himself first off and did an amazing job. The routine he was given was lyrical and he performed so well, perhaps the best he ever has even without his partner. Skating alone did not phase him whatsoever.

Sam and Vicky’s routine was absolutely stunning and beautiful. They skated to ‘All of Me’ by John Legend and it was a real goosebump routine. I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on Sam in his series but this time around him and Vicky have really grown on me, their relationship translates onto the ice so well and they’re the perfect pairing, they get on so well and are ready to tackle whatever is thrown at them (I don’t know whether I’m talking about their relationship on or off the ice at this point). The routine had some brilliant tricks in it including the bounce spin and platter lift which were done wonderfully. As the judges said, it was really ‘exquisite’.

 

Last up: Ray and Maria. Now that Suzanne and Matt have departed the competition (but I don’t want to dwell on that subject too much, it’s not good for my emotional stability), I’ve decided I’m backing Ray. They skated to Counting Stars tonight which I absolutely love, and the routine was just as beautiful. They got 39.5 and I’m sure that Jason just knocked .5 off his score just to be annoying, I’m sure of it. they fully deserved 10s, so well done.

Ray’s solo skate was something else. He’s been given a lot of lyrical routines lately so it was very nice to see him do something a little different. He skated to Kiss and really I don’t have much to say other than it was possibly my favourite of the night and can he please do it on tour. He finally got his perfect score of 40 and it was very well earned and deserved. Bravo.

 

The skate off was a really close call between Sam and Vicky and Kyran and Nina with Riverdance and Chasing Cars. I don’t think there’s much that can beat Riverdance, and although Kyran skated very strongly Sam just beat him with his amazing energy and skating standard. So now we have our four semi- finalists in the battle to be champion of all champions: Sam Attwater, Beth Tweddle, Ray Quinn and Hayley Tammaddon. I can’t believe there’s only two shows left!

 

Dancing On Ice Week 5 |Dreams That Glitter

The week we’ve all been waiting for, the duels! All the scores since the first week of the competition were added together and then the top two couples were paired up and every two after that. This meant that Ray and Suzanne were paired up, Sam and Kyran, Gareth and Bonnie, and Hayley and Beth. It was incredibly tense tonight as the competition was definitely heating up and there is so much talent. The judges voted for who they thought skated best and therefore deserved to win their duel and that couple was then automatically through to next week, while the loser had to perform again, a routine that they choreographed themselves. This All Stars thing is taking its toll on me, I’m getting too attached to them all!

I’d like to make a quick comment on the opening routine which I thought was beautiful, bravo to Alex and Luke, Andy and Robin and Matt and Brianne. I loved the Evanescence song choice too! Those angel wings looked like a pain to work with but the effect they had under the lights and everything was stunning – one of my favourite openers I think.

The first two couples to compete were Sam and Vicky vs Kyran and Nina. In my opinion Sam owned that routine, I think it played to his strengths a lot more than Kyran’s particularly with the dance elements within it. I thought Sam’s skating appeared cleaner but the panel was split with two votes for each, but the skaters of the panel went and saved Kyran meaning he was through.

Gareth and Brianne vs Bonnie and Andrei were the next up and they did brilliantly. Gareth tried his best to put his performance face on but in my eyes and I’m sure many others will agree, no one can beat Bonnie Langford when it comes to performance. Though thinking about it now, I think Hayley could probably give her a run for her money in that department. I love watched Bonnie skate, she’s fabulous. Gareth is strong on the ice but he’s definitely on a lower level than some of the others still in the competition (maybe even some who are already out…) but he is trying really hard and that is coming across in his performances. He can have the award for most improved.

Following them was Hayley and Dan vs Beth and Lukasz. This was a no brainer right away, Hayley was bound to win. Hats off to Beth for trying really hard and trying to up her performance side but next to Hayley she didn’t stand a chance because Hayley is just as good technique wise across the ice. They both wanted to win but Hayley wanted it more and you could see it in her face as she was skating. They were both trying so hard that they both made mistakes and it was definitely the most tense. The judges made it a clean sweep for Hayley and she sailed through to next week leaving Beth in danger.

Last but not least was Suzanne vs Ray. This is the duel everyone was waiting for let’s be honest, and what I treat it was. Full of energy and tricks it was an amazing performance, but Ray beat Suzanne with his impressive jumps, and the whole panel agreed on putting him straight through.

The second half of the competition seemed like a lot of fun, the remaining four celebrities who didn’t win their duels battled it out with their own choreography. First went Sam and Vicky who skated to Dream Catch Me which I really love, and it was a beautiful routine, it was such a shame about the slight musicality mishap on the step sequence because other than that it would’ve been absolutely perfect.

We got to see a completely new side of Bonnie tonight which was a rock chick, and to start with she looked stunning, then pulled that amazing performance out of nowhere. She managed to let loose and have fun at the same time and still not put a foot wrong. In my eyes she can do no wrong. I especially loved the judges’ reactions to that performance and I would have loved to see the scores (10s across the board no doubt).

I felt like Beth’s performance was just meh… fairly average. Maybe that was because she followed Bonnie who is the performance queen or what, but it just wasn’t as exciting or entertaining (sorry). She just doesn’t come across as interesting personality wise as some of the others who can be exceptionally eccentric.

Saving the best till last again, came Suzanne and Matt. A lift went wrong fairly early on into the routine which sent Suzanne tumbling to the ice almost pulling Matt down with her and my heart was in my mouth. But she didn’t let it stop her performance she got right back up again and carried on like a true professional, she was amazing. I really loved the twisting headbanger towards the end, it was a bit of a mind blow! And she managed to come out of it and land it on one foot pretty much perfectly as well, just to top it all off. A definite finalist.

In the skate off it was Sam against Bonnie and Bonnie seemed to know right away that her time had come and I think everyone did. But I’m really glad they performed Big Spender as their last routine because it was one of my favourites in the first series and she did it wonderfully again tonight.

The competition is getting serious now as we reach the half way point and it’s getting really exciting. It also means I’m getting too attached to the celebrities and the couples too, and I’ll probably start crying through the results show pretty soon. Anyone with me?

Dancing On Ice Week 4 |Dreams That Glitter

I’m a little late getting this up this week but I’m determined to get this done every week without fail so here we go!

This week was the first of our themed weeks of the competition, and it was ‘Dance Styles’. From ballet to street dance, we saw it all on Sunday and some of the contestants got on better than others. Everyone was out of their comfort zone as they were all given totally different styles. Dance week brought a clear divide to the ice panel as well, as you may have noticed, there’s Karen and Robin the skaters of the panel, looking for technique and quality of the skating itself, and then there’s Ashley and Jason who are much more involved with the performance side of things. I definitely think that Jason only focuses on this, whereas the other three judges are slightly more balanced and do look at the performance as a whole.

First up was Kyran, a big, strong rugby player up to do rock and roll, which is a fast, upbeat, bouncy kind of dance with lots of tricks. I think he did a brilliant job with Nina, especially with the tricks but I think the dancing part was pretty good too.

Next up was Suzanne and Matt doing ballet, which I was really excited for. First of all I’d like to comment on how sweet it was of Suzanne to get Matt’s parents over here, and I can’t believe they’ve never seen the show in the ten years that Matt’s been on it! I think they did a fantastic job together, there was a few ballet elements in there that I recognised but I do think there could have been a bit more. That’s not Suzanne’s fault though (it drives me crazy when the judges – it’s Jason 99% of the time – comment and insult the choreography when it has nothing to do with the celebrity, they’re given a new routine each week by Jayne and Chris themselves, and I’m sure they take everything into consideration when they are choreographing. I also think they’re amazing for choreographing everything themselves each week, just think about how many routines they’ve put together in the duration of the show since it started in 2006. Anyway – back to Suzanne and Matt – it was a shame they messed up the lift but they covered it up extremely well because I didn’t notice at all until they said afterwards.

Next were Gareth and Brianne with street dance, and I think Gareth is probably the least suited to that style in the whole competition. However, he gave it a good go and you could see that he’d put a lot of work into it. The difference between the footage from the beginning of the week and the final performance was excellent. Saying all that, I do think that Gareth is not at the standard of some of the other skaters he’s up against, and I think he could be in danger next week. But like Holly Willoughby said on This Morning last week, it’s not that he’s a bad skater, it’s just because everyone else is amazing and therefore makes him look worse.

After Gareth came Bonnie and Andrei, who were given the waltz. Now, everyone just assumed that Bonnie was going to be fantastic and have an advantage because of her profession but actually ballroom dancing is very different to say, the kind of dancing you do in west end shows, for example. Just because someone is good at one style of dance does not give them an automatic advantage at being good at every other style. I do think that she did a fantastic job though and she’s just as good as she was in the first series and I don’t think enough people appreciate her talent on that show.

This marks the half way point of the show, where we took a break from the competition and saw Jayne and Chris skate a beautiful routine to In My Life by Rebecca Fergusson who sung live. The routine was so touching, and I loved the projections at the beginning. If they do that on tour, then half the arena will be in pieces, guaranteed. I found out this week that Jayne and Chris are skating Bolero in Serajevo again to mark the 30^th anniversary at the winter Olympics, on the 13^th February, just a couple of weeks. I can’t explain how excited I am to see that. You can read more about it here.

Back to the competition – Sam and Vicky with their Bhangra routine. Sam was back on form this week and performed brilliantly with Vicky, the movements were sharp and precise and the routine looked like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Next up was the couple who were sadly later eliminated from the competition after losing the skate off to Kyran. It was Zaraah and Andy skating a jazz routine. I thought this was one of their best yet, it was different from her other best routines which tend to be the lyrical kind. I really enjoyed watching them skate together (but I do miss Fred) and I’m disappointed to see them go. It’s got to the point where all the couples I didn’t really care too much about is gone and every skate off from this point onwards I’m going to be watching from behind a cushion. That’s when we know it gets serious.

Beth and Lukasz got quite an unusual dance style – Scottish. I thought this choreography was great because you could clearly see the elements from the dance style within the routine. And you’ve got to love Lukasz in that kilt, flashing Phil at the end, who knows what he saw 😉

Hayley and Dan were the penultimate couple to perform and they did a Charleston which I  personally (and I’m sure others will agree with me) deserved full marks. It had tonnes of energy and lots of fancy tricks and clear Charleston choreography which was executed wonderfully. 

Last but certainly not least, there was Ray and Maria performing a flamenco routine. It was quite different from what I was expecting but it was quite frankly outstanding and fully deserved the incredibly high marks that it got. He just never stops, who knows where he’ll be by the final (assuming the public don’t lose their minds and get rid of him)! 

If you missed any or simply want a recap all of the performances are available to view on the Dancing on Ice website.

Bring on next week!

Dancing on Ice Week 3 |Dreams That Glitter

Now look at that for speed getting this written and posted! Only just over an hour since the show finished… claps for me. Anyway, before I go into that I’d just like to mention that I made a separate twitter account to go with my blog which you can find under @laurenhollie_, so if you follow me here you should follow me there too. 😉 

Opening the show this week we had last week’s stars, Suzanne and Matt. It was strange not having an opening routine from the pros or Jayne and Chris to start it all off but next week we having a Torvill and Dean performance to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what they bring us, as none of their routines are ever the same. However I think that Suzanne did a brilliant job opening the show to Applause, which I love so that’s always a bonus. I loved the choreography at the beginning and how they ended in the same position lying on the ice. I still think they should of stuck by the rule that they had in earlier series that no one wore purple until the final though, it kind of kept the colour special for bolero.

Next up was Sam and Vicky, who performed brilliantly and there was no trip ups this week which is always good, but the performance didn’t necessary stick out for me tonight as they have done before.

Zaraah and Andy’s routine I think was quite underrated by the judges tonight, she did amazingly with that new lift never done before on the show. If you couldn’t see the strapping around her ribs through the costume then no one would have known she was injured because she acted like a true professional after having popped a rib open only this morning! Amazing courage and perseverance, a worthy competitor.

Bonnie obviously had a bit of a tough week after being in the skate off in week one, and that showed in training but I think after she let it all out of her system she must have felt better and she carried on practising until she had nailed the routine which I think she did tonight. I’m rather jealous of her amazing leg extensions.

Next up was Gareth and Brianne. Gareth’s skating ability and performance skills have improved massively since he was on the show the first time around and that really came across in his performance tonight. I think he’s doing really well with Brianne, but having said all that I do think he is quite a way behind some of the other celebrities such as Ray and Suzanne.

Ray and Maria were absolutely amazing tonight, a real stand out performance I felt. Skating to the slightly controversial Blurred Lines (some interesting music choices tonight) he certainly came out with a bang and showcased some fantastic dance moves and tricks with Maria. He proved all week in training that despite was Jason may think, he is definitely not complacent about any of this and he will work hard at everything he does. If he continues with that attitude and the public keep him in (he got my vote tonight) then he could have a lot more to bring to the competition.

Todd and Alex. What even is there to say? I literally did not stop laughing throughout the entire performance from the moment I saw Andy pushing out that boat. I did for a few seconds think that he wasn’t actually going to get onto the ice for the whole thing, but then eventually he got out and left Alex lying leisurely in the boat (what a week it must have been for her) and skated a solo, which you have to give him some credit for even if it was a tad… limited, shall we say. 10/10 for entertainment. They shall be missed.  

Beth is a good solid skater, capable of a lot on the ice especially with her flexibility that allows her to try some very interesting lifts in which she bends her body in all sorts of different ways. Having said that she’s never really particularly interested me in her performances and they’re all quite same-y in my opinion. One thing I did notice tonight was her trying to do sensitive looking hands and fingers and as a dancer looking at a gymnast I have to say they did look slightly banana like which no one else probably picked up on.

I’m so glad Kyran brought back his body popping tonight! I was watching the series two dvd earlier and was just thinking about how he needs to bring that back and then he did. I thought it was a brilliant performance, excellent skating, strong lifts. Jason needs to lay off him a bit please, and if he could stop insulting the choreography when addressing the celebrities that would be brilliant, because it has nothing to do with them, it’s given to them by Jayne and Chris who are fantastic for choreographing that many different routines every single week.

Hayley and Dan! This week’s performance was so much better than their performance in week one, they had some amazing lifts and tricks in there and Hayley has so much energy in her performances from start to finish. Her facial expressions were brilliant and very fitting for the song and the whole feel of it.