Strictly Come Dancing 2016 Week 1 – Rank The Dances and Review The Judges, Show, Pro Dances
Hey All! Who plans to watch Strictly Come Dancing today/tonight (depending where you live)? I’m heading to the Black Hills today and won’t be able to watch until later (and I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tune into the season yet), but, if you tune in, let us know your thoughts and rank the couples in comments if interested. If there is enough interest, we’ll do up a post every Saturday. Sue tells me (thanks Sue!) the links below are still working from last season if you want to watch a Live Stream. Also, let’s hope they will post videos at their Official You Tube page too. More later and have fun!! We look forward to reading your comments.
Watch SCD 1 (works for UK and other International viewers)
Watch SCD 2 (works for US viewers and possibly Internationally)
Watch SCD 3 (works for US Viewers and possibly Internationally)
Watch SCD 4 (works for US Viewers and possibly Internationally)
Watch SCD 5 (works for US Viewers and possibly Internationally)
Watch SCD 6 (works for US Viewers and possibly Internationally)
Ah! Strictly is going to start all over again. Can’t wait for the show. And the discussion on this blog. ?
I watch every week happy to post if that helps am in the UK
Very excited for this season of Strictly and very much looking forward to how this season turns out!! Rooting for Tameka and Anastacia!!
I’ll at least check in for Oksana 🙂
My friends in England are completely convinced that Danny is going to win this and he hasn’t even stepped in the dance floor yet lol….apparantly he has a lot of fans.
So excited to see following couples perform:
1. Claudia Frag and AJ (Young and refreshing)
2. Laura and Giovanni (The chemistry looks really good)
3. Tameka and Gorks (Lol! Tameka is so much fun)
Let me start by saying that the TPTB should take a page from the SCD book and do a Launch show. If they really want to shake things up and make it interesting, this will do it!
SCD started the show with a skit that left me laughing. It was followed by a pro number the likes of which we don’t see on DWTS these days. The old and new pros were also introduced. The stars were divided into groups and each had a little intro segment. They were then paired with their pro.
Oksana was paired with tv celebrity Robert Rinder.
Last season’s winners, Jay & Aliona, danced and Rebecca Ferguson and Ollie Muirs performed with pro dancing.
There were comments from the judges and a group number that closed the show. Loved it!
The couples will rehearse for 3 weeks and the 1st live show is Sept. 24th
Tameka is hilarious and Gorka look like they will be one of my favorites!
My life has gone nuts over the last year, so I don’t know if I’ll be here as often as I was last year, if anyone cares. Danny Mac once hit on my sister in a nightclub, and Oti and I Tweeted back and forth last year (I’m a bit in love with her) so it’s kinda funny they got paired up. Top contenders have to be them, Claudia and AJ (he might be a bit obnoxious but since I initially said the same about Giovanni last year and ended up loving him I’ll hold my tongue,) Will and Karen and Laura and Giovanni. Although this year has quite a low percentage of celebrities I love, it should be a good one. I do love Rob Rinder. For you Americans, imagine Judge Judy, but instead of being an archetypal “Jewish mother” he’s a catty gay man. His show is the only “Trash TV” I really enjoy watching, and him and Craig could be a gay-on-gay bitchfight the likes of which we haven’t seen since Julian Clary in series 2. Lesley was a nightmare (thank God they’re back to giving Anton those types) as was Ed (poor Katya) but they both might have some staying power. Either way, I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
Love the pairings except for two. I would have paired Laura with Brendan and Anastasia and Giovanni but overall these pairing look great. Only person if didn’t know was the judge guy and my friends exact reaction was “you know those judge shows that we watched when it rained when we were in the states, he is one of those….so you are going to love him.” Lol
Yeah I don’t get them giving Anastasia to Brendan either. Brendan’s an absolutely top guy, fun, talented and for the most part lovely, but he has a temper and a strong tendency towards perfectionism, and these are things Anastasia said she didn’t want. They’re both great individually but together there could be fireworks.
@Mr. A: nuts in a good way or a bad way? I hope everything is ok.
@Vin Thanks for asking. Both. Definitely both. I’ve been a mildly successful singer for the past few years (I started at 18, nearly 22 now) and in July I got a major reality check and decided I needed to take a break, so I’m going to uni, and I start that next week. Long story short I’ve gone from being more or less on my own schedule to who knows what? I hope I can at least give my weekends to Strictly but we’ll have to see.
Ok this is random but just my thoughts on the ones I didn’t mention before. Claudia and A.J. Seems fun. No secret I hated Trent and I was worried he would be like Trent but he reminds me of Kevin. Daisy and aliaj is a great pairing. No complaints but nothing about her so far makes me go “I want to vote for her”. Danny and Otti makes me just 🙂 . Good job there tptb. Also for a guy who is as fit as he is I would have guessed he would have been good but he was a standout in that group dance. Ed and Katya seems like a fun pairing I guess lol. He seems to be having a blast but I’m thinking they are gone first. lelsey and Anton is a predictable pairing but He had a good run last season and annoyed me becuase he couldnt deliver on the choreo so Lesley should be easier to choreo for I think for him since she seems able to dance but more on the quiet side. Louise and Kevin……he is good and be knows it BUT this might be his biggest challenge yet I think. I expected her to be good but she looked a little off out there on the dance floor in my opinion. I’m chalking it up to nerves. I couldn’t remember Melvin so that’s a bad sign. Naga I did though. I’m Intrigued. Ore, tameka, will, and Greg all seem nice and can dance from what we saw in the group number. Saying that my top three fav couples this season (thus far) are Naga and pasha, Greg and Natalie, and will and Karen
@Mr. A: Good luck! My friend is an actor/singer and did the same thing last year (he did freshman year the. Dropped out but now is back). So he does that and his career stuff so I know it’s definately doable. I mean he runs on coffee almoat every day though so my advice is coffee but not like he does it…keep it to like 4 or 5 cups lol).
@Mr. A: Good luck with uni! Hope you find the time to stop by here now and then.
jimmbboe #6 — that’s one of the reasons I love Strictly! The show still leans a lot more toward being a light entertainment, variety program. They still have a results show with pros dancing to the musical entertainment, and there are lots of pro group numbers. Sadly, I can’t see DWTS ever going back to that because it’s just too “old fashioned” for the US audience.
I also love that while they do a couple theme nights, it’s not theme-overload. Also the couples’ dances are a decent length instead of ridiculous 40-second dance-bytes DWTS has gone too.
Finally, while the celebs work their butts off, most of them genuinely seem to just want to enjoy the experience. The drama quotient is pretty low.
Just prepare yourself for lower scores from all the judges, and don’t be surprised if Craig brings out his 5 paddle in Week 10.
Thanks you guys. I’ll pop up I’m sure. I already have intravenous caffeine most of the time but new challenges are always good.
Kevin is just about the only pro to have gone as long as he has without being thrown a “difficult” partner. Louise is hardly bad (in theory she’s quite a bit like Peter Andre) but she might well be Kevin’s biggest challenge, which I’m excited to see.
Anton proved last year that there’s virtually nothing they can do to get him that damn glitterball and I can’t stand Lesley Joseph to be frank, so I’m glad the obvious choice was made on that one.
Ore is exactly the kind of challenge I wanted Joanne to get, someone who’s likely to have a bit of talent but not a sure thing for the final by a long shot. She and Scott Mills were my least favourite pair ever on the show but I think that may be Scott’s fault.
Greg is pretty freaking tall. Physically he reminds me of Iwan Thomas which is a bad sign, but he might be more of a natural. Gotta have at least a bit of “Too-tall-for-Latin-itis” but he has a few pluses. He’s a very well-known Olympian and that’s good for votes, he’s better looking and seems more charming than Iwan and Natalie is an improvement on Ola, who much as I love her had checked out completely by the time she left the show. I was shocked she even did that series. Natalie is a strong pro who hasn’t had the chances she’s deserved since Ricky Whittle, who got himself arrested in the week of the finals and probably ruined that for them.
The rest mostly didn’t make that big an impression on me but that will definitely change after the first few live shows.
Here are my initial thoughts on the pairings. I think they made better choices for the male celebs than the female celebs, but hopefully I’ll be proven wrong.
Greg & Natalie: Glad Natalie got a young, fit partner who should have a lot of public support. Not sure Greg’s got much dance talent. I hope he surprised me because I’d love Nats to have a legitimate contender.
Danny & Oti: Would love it if Danny turns out to be more than just eye-candy because I want to see what Oti can do. If he can dance, they should be hot in Latin.
Will & Karen: Loads of people on other forums think Will is going to be a great dancer but I’m not convinced. Of course, they know more about him than I do, but he just seems uptight to me.
Melvin & Janette: He seems like a genuine, funny guy. I hope he is because Janette is sweet and had to put up with that egomaniac Peter Andre last series. If Melvin can dance that would be a lovely bonus!
Ore & Joanne: Ore’s bound to be better than the hapless Scott Mills. So I’m curious to see what Joanne does this year.
“Judge Rinder” & Oksana: He’s amusing, but his schtick will get old really fast for me if he has nothing more to offer than being catty to Craig.
Ed & Katya: Probably the first out unless he’s more popular or a better dancer than I think he is. Katya seems way too sultry a dancer to be paired with “the old dude”, but she’s new so better her than one of the seasoned pros who’ve already had duffers.
Claudia & AJ: She’s a cutie. With a seasoned pro, I think she’d be a lock for the finals. Putting her with AJ should make things a bit more interesting.
Naga & Pasha: Don’t know anything about Naga but she seems quite a different type from Pasha’s previous partners. Very curious to see what they produce.
Louise & Kevin: This is a comfortable pairing for Louise and a typical one for Kevin. My guess is she has talent but might not have the confidence to go for it.
Laura & Giovanni: I think there’s potential here, but I worry the Beeb will push the showmance angle and it’ll be cringey.
Daisy & Aljaz / Anastacia & Brendan: I would have switched these two. Daisy said she wanted/needed someone who would make her work and Anastacia said she didn’t want a drill sergeant. Aljaz is always lovely to his celeb partners and has a gentle, easygoing teaching style. Brendan is a lot more demanding and more businesslike and can be a complete jerk if he doesn’t like his celeb. With the pairings as they are, I can see Anastacia having a bumpy ride and Daisy not really reaching whatever potential she might have.
Tameka & Gorka: Seems like an odd couple to me. A lot depends on Gorka (whom I know nothing about). I can see Tameka doing well in the Latin (less so in Standard). I hope newbie Gorka has a good sense of humor and enough backbone to rein her in or her outsize personality will run roughshod over him.
Lesley & Anton: Lesley seems like nice woman and probably has some dance skills, but at her age she’s no contender. Anton had his contender and trip to the finals last series. He showed he doesn’t have what it takes in the Latin dances to warrant another contender. So this is a fair pairing.
Cidra #15: I watched last season so I am well aware of Craig”s tendency toward the lower end of the paddle scale! lol
Agree on pretty much everything, Cidra. I knew there was someone else who asked for something specific in a pro and didn’t really get it, it was Daisy. While I agree that Anastacia kinda got screwed, I think Aljaz will do fine for Daisy. As far as Janette goes, I’ve really hated all 3 of her partners to date but she’s great and of the “double date” pros (she and Aljaz, Kevin and Karen) she’s been by far the least successful so I’m hoping for better for her this year. Melvin seems fun, but might be s little goofy and unfocused. I think there’s promise there.
I have to admit, Jay and Aliona’s Jive really missed the mark for me. I expected more from the returning champion. “Saint Jill” could still deliver a decent version of “the Holy Jive” years later.
Thanks Vogue for keeping your promise to post about Strictly in Pure! Can’t wait for this to start as well!
Greg and Natalie for the win! Also looking forward to Judge Rinder and Oksana and Naga and Pasha. Oh, and Kevin getting another shot at the finale? Meh. Still can’t stand him. Oh, and Danny seems a lot more robotic than I thought he’d be.
jimmbboe #18, Good to know you’ve already been indoctrinated. Wouldn’t want you to throw stuff at your monitor when CRH whips out the 2 paddle for “JR” and Oksana.
If the show continues to call him “Judge Rinder” I think I’m going to shorten it to “JR” because to me it’s patently ridiculous to call him “Judge” when he’s not in his TV courtroom.
You’re may be disappointed if you think Ed Balls will be the first out Cidra. He’ll get terrible scores but the public will rally for him. He’s got John Sergeant v2 written all over him. I think he’ll get to Blackpool. Add me to the ever growing list of people right behind Greg Rutherford. I just pray he can dance, if so he can go all the way and Natalie is well overdue some success.
Mr A, I think you’re right about Daisy doing fine with Aljaz. He seems to charm his celebs into just wanting to work hard for him. He also seems to be one of the judges’ favorites so his celebs get away with stuff that other celebs get called out on (gapping is the one that comes immediately to mind). As for Anastacia, I’ll just cross my fingers and hope Brendan decides he likes her.
Can’t wait for Week 1 to see which pairings look like they’ll turn out well.
I agree, I thought the reprise of Jay and Aliona’s Jive was alright but not outstanding.
Ah M8, you had to go and burst my bubble. I know it was wishful thinking that Ed would be first out; the duffers always seem to hang on past their sell by date. However, I hope you’re wrong about him lasting all the way to Blackpool.
A.J./Chloe and Neil/Katya both have always been an item, so when they announced there’ll only be 15 celebs to pair with 17 pros, I know that one each from them would have to sat out. I kinda wish it was the other way around though, Katya’s dancing has always struck me as too aggressive, while A.J. has somewhat annoyed me already. Funny that Neil and Chloe might be my favourite out of the new pros yet they were the two that didn’t get a celeb.
I don’t mind Gorka yet, but if they’re trying to paint him like he’s hottest man to ever exist I’m going to get turned off real quick. Also, his English is just as bad as Giovanni earlier last series – in his intro video he sounds like he’s reading from a teleprompter.
I’m getting really HUGE Georgia-esque vibes all around Claudia. And whoever that decided Kevin should be paired with Louise from Eternal after Frankie Stanford and Kellie Bright IN A ROW can choke. We need a bloody break from him, ffs.
Last – hopefully Greg is more of a Colin Jackson than a Victoria Pendleton. Natalie deserved success so much. Her last good partner was Scott Maslen six years ago. And agree too Cids – Jay’s Jive seems weirdly… average. I’m not seeing the magic I saw last year. It’s still far from my top 3 Jives ever (Kelly, Chelsee and Scott) as well.
So glad to see a thread here again … it’s because of you all that I discovered SCD last year and want to say thank you so much! I adore it now (and agree with everything Cidra said in #16.) I stopped posting here mid-season last year (also due to life stuff happening, had to reduce my online time) but now things are back on track.
I like most of the pairings and have a feeling that the overall dance quality will be higher this year. I have high hopes for Greg/Natalie–he seems very personable, looks to have a few moves, and finally Natalie has someone her size and age bracket.
A bit disappointed in Aljaz/Daisy. Pairing the 2 beauties is a bit too obvious, and size-wise I think they’re a bad fit. Aljaz is so thin, and Daisy is very tall and curvy.
And as happy as I am that Gleb has been able to return to DWTS (as I think that’s what he wanted all along) I will miss him on SCD. I think he would’ve gotten a contender and been more prominently featured than last year. He may get lost in the shuffle on DWTS. I suspect Gorka’s been hired to replace him as a heartthrob type, but Gleb wasn’t just the pretty face last year–his and Anita’s dances were some of the most memorable. I agree with Daniel about Gorka’s English–I noticed the teleprompter reading and the fact that he didn’t get to say anything at the pairing up. Tameka will be good for him–she’ll do all the talking and he can get by with less talking and lots of comedic mugging.
Oh Wow! So good to see you all again. I’m loving all of your comments and hope to watch videos soon. Sounds like it was a great show!!! Thanks, All!xxx
Just based on first impressions, I think I’ll be rooting for Danny and Oti (really more just for Oti because.. I’m obsessed). Danny does seem to have SOME promise so I don’t think he’ll be all that terrible.
Also looking forward to Laura and Giovanni who are just a striking pair. Same goes for Greg and Natalie. Ore is also giving me vibes that he might be a good dancer so he and Joanne might be a pleasent surprise.
Something about Will and Karen already annoys me so I believe I have found my Peter Andre of the season.
Mr A, I hope you are ok! Good luck and hang in there!!! Sending you hugs!!! xxx
OMG spectacular opening. LOL to Craig dancing too:
FYI: The next episodes of SCD 2016 will air on Friday Sept. 23 and Saturday 24th and then subsequent Saturdays after that, don’t know the times yet.
Loved the launch show, they seem to have a blast, can’t wait!!!.
Thank you for posting and all the comments. This was a very unique and spectacular opening, I really loved the concept. I will be watching the videos, my Saturdays are busy these days.I could feel the energy and I was just watching on my computer….wow, this show rocks!
Wow! What a creative fun opening! Why can’t DWTS do something like that instead of those boring bump and grind things they always end up doing????
I don’t watch Strictly, but maybe I should!
Good question, Meggie. I’m tired of bump and grind too.
Thanks Vogue. I forgot how much I loved this community. I’m really good right now, happier than I have been for ages. I WILL make time to show up here, promise. The opening was cheesy as hell but fun. Loved all the music choices. Did anyone else notice the musical guests are both runners-up from (rival show) X Factor? I find that hilariously shady, hope it was deliberate.
Just watched a couple of episodes of judge rinder (thank you Internet 🙂 ) and anyways I kinda loving this guy lol. He reminds me of Simon cowell a bit lol
Hit submit too early: I’m shocked that olly Murrs hasn’t had bigger success here in the states but maybe we can snag him for the spring season lol.
9.3 million viewers watched the launch show, a new record beating last year by 600k. I find it ridiculous how the show is so old yet continues to get more viewers I’ve always been of the opinion that the show has gone downhill since the new exec producer took over and really put her stamp on things from around 2013 onwards, but the viewership still seems to be growing regardless. I think casting has played a big part, signing Ed Balls was an absolute masterstroke. If there’s one thing the British public have to see on a Saturday night, it’s a failed, out of shape politician attempting to dance the Rumba live on television. After all the year Ann Widdecombe was a massive ratings hit!
I think that strictly and dwts really did great casting wise this season becuase there is something for everyone…..I hope they bodes well for dwts as well 🙂
They don’t seem to like giving people their own songs on this show, which is a pity because several of Will’s and Anastasia’s songs would be great. Holly Valance (who except for a few weeks off for a shoulder injury was paired with Artem) used Will’s Leave Right Now for her Rumba and it worked well. All Time Love might be even better. As for Anastacia, I’m Outta Love would be good for (and I’m pretty sure has been used for)a Cha-Cha and my personal favourite Left Outside Alone would be a killer Paso Doble.
I’m so excited for this season because I love Will Young. I was disappointed he got Karen though, not a big fan of her, but I think he will go far anyway.
Left Outside Alone has been used for a paso before. Louisa Lytton and Vincent back in season 4, exactly ten years ago to this series just coming. If that doesn’t make you feel old then nothing will!
Yep, that did it. I’m ancient. I remember it now, but for some reason I kinda skipped that series
It looks like it’ll be a good season.
Couldn’t watch last saturday, but I’m looking for it this weekend. =)
@Carlos It’s not on again until 2 weeks from . , the 23rd
*Two weeks from Friday…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLdJJAkd36M
This is entire launch show, hope it works. If no just copy and paste it.
So I take it we’re going to discuss the first week here as well?
The dances and songs for week 1:
– Cha-cha-cha:
1. Anastacia & Brendan (song: “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil’ Kim and Mya)
2. Claudia & A.J. (song: “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction)
3. Danny & Oti (song: “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE)
4. Judge Rinder & Oksana (song: “Mercy” by Duffy)
5. Laura & Giovanni (song: “Venus” by Shocking Blue)
6. Melvin & Janette (song: “Loco in Acapulco” by The Four Tops)
– Waltz
7. Daisy & Aljaz (song: “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole)
8. Ed & Katya (song: “Are You Lonesome Tonight” by Elvis Presley)
9. Lesley & Anton (song: “What Will I Do” by Alison Krauss)
10. Naga & Pasha (song: “Run to You” by Whitney Houston)
– Jive
11. Greg & Natalie (song: “Get Ready” by The Temptations)
12. Louise & Kevin (song: “Jump, Jive and Wail” by The Brian Setzer Orchestra)
– Tango
13. Ore & Joanne (song: “Geronimo” by Sheppard)
14. Will & Karen (song: “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie)
– Paso Doble (?)
15. Tameka & Gorka (song: “El Gato Montes” by Ramon Cortez and “Y Viva Espana” by Sylvia)
Interesting batch of dances and songs. The Paso done in the first week is really random, even more so that they’re the only one doing it. It’s as if they’re afraid of getting eliminated first and thinking “well, might as well milk my status as the Spanish hunk to the max!”. On the other hand, the Paso has never been the hardest of the dances, if anything I’m surprised this is the first time ever a Paso is danced in week one. Remember when Strictly used to do Quicksteps and Rumbas in week one?
I’m glad I recognize almost all of these songs, although Claudia’s song sure is uninspired (Claudia? Teenager? Second-youngest Strictly competitor ever? Let’s dance to One Direction!). Nevertheless, excited for the two shows this weekend.
Awesome. Thanks, Daniel.
Adding:We plan to publish a new SCD post on Saturday for the show.
The SCD official site is loading up some rehearsals: https://www.youtube.com/user/bbcstrictly/videos
This week’s schedule as follows:
Friday, September 23rd at 9pm UK time. 6 couples compete.
Saturday, September 24th, at 6.30pm UK time, remaining couples compete.
Enjoy!
Thanks. I’m going to start a new post. Be looking for it. THANKS, Guys!