Strictly Come Dancing is back and each week we will be taking an in-depth look at the Charleston performed on the show. First up is Comedian Chris Ramsey with his professional partner Karen Hauer.
The storyline is of two neighbours, Chris who is in love with the girl next door Karen and he goes on a mission to impress her. The set is fluorescent houses and the routine music is to Take That’s ‘Out of our Heads’.
The routine begins with Chris jumping over his garden fence to greet Karen with a series of spins, Butterfly Swivels and Charleston kicks. The Charleston break comes in on the chorus with the pair facing forward with a basic Charleston, Lindyhop Charleston and a Tick Tock step.
After the wow moves of the lifts, the pair step into a Kick Charleston variation with a jump at 1:00 which is my favourite part of the choreography followed by Karen spinning on the floor and a nice side to side move together.
Chris follows this with a slightly strange cartwheel and then they repeat the chorus with the Charleston and a kick variation which was too hard for him. The choreographers should have cut this move as it doesn’t really work. The final move to finish the routine is another weird Cartwheel from him and a lift.
The strength in this routine is in Chris's personality, he is a comedian so the style of the cheeky chap suits him. He genuinely looks like he is enjoying himself and really trying to use his face. He is not a particularly strong dancer but he exeutes most of the steps well. However, the more technical kicks at 1:23 should have been taken out as they expose him. The cartwheel also shows he is a bit wobbly on technique.
Although it was a bit clumsy in some areas there was some brilliant swivel and he is the one who has improved the most from week. There is also a nice storytelling, great set and costume. I was quite dubious about the music but works quite nicely and would appeal to a mass audience.
The next step for Chris to work more on the face and keep the energy up so it doesn’t look like he is lacking behind the pro. Our top tip for Chris is to be more relaxed when he dances so it doesn’t look too stiff in shoulders and his face won’t get frozen into one expression. Overall, very good effort especially as he is brand new to dancing.
Judges Score: 5+7+7+7=26
Our Score: 6