Strictly Review: Joe Sugg & Lauren Steadman
We were excited to see this week that the Charleston is finally back on Strictly and after weeks of waiting YouTube star Joe Sugg and Paralympian Lauren Steadman were first to perform it.
Each week we will be picking apart the routines and giving our score on whether it got us swivelling along with them or just switching the TV off.
First up was Joe Sugg and his dance partner Dianne Busell who have set social media alight after showing off their moves to a slightly bizarre Charleston which included them thatching roofs whilst dancing to 'Cotton Eye Joe' by Rednex.
The judges gave him a total of 31 and praised him highly however it has left the audience with mixed feelings. Was this overmarked or rightly deserved?
Well here at MyCharleston we have had a little look and here is our review:
He has plenty of energy and good stage presence so he scores highly for his performance skills but in terms of content it didn’t have that many fundamental steps in it.
If we take a closer look there was only one Charleston in hold which was disappointing for a partner dance and the rest of the Charlestons were all solo. One 30s Charleston and 2 basic 20s Charlestons just before the barrel roll. The knocky knees were weak but the lindyhop section had nice movement.
After faffing about with some ladders, there was only another basic 20s Charleston step, some helicopters and a couple of flapper walks which stood out as classic steps. Although there should have been more swivel, the lifts were great and they have great chemistry onstage.
We would like to see more Charleston content and swivel throughout but that’s the choreography team who determine that and if they are looking for mass appeal it seems to have worked judging by the fact it’s close to getting a million views on YouTube in just 2 days.
Our score: 6
Lauren Steadman & AJ Pritchard
Next to dance the Charleston was Lauren Steadman with her professional partner AJ Pritchard dancing to Postmodern Jukebox ‘New Rules’. For us this one really didn’t work us. We really didn’t understand the storyline for this one. What was the whole thing with the telephone box? It didn’t make sense nor did their acting. Again, there was only one Charleston in hold and then a succession of lifts which are impressive but didn’t showcase the style.
Half way through the routine, Lauren goes back to the phone and does a little Charleston solo but after her insane one-handed lift she lost a bit of focus and goes wrong in the end which is a shame as the end section had the most interesting footwork. Overall, this was very much a lift routine and lacking basis content. The judges total score was 22.
Our score: 5
Agree with our scores? Let us know how you rate the routines in the comments section below