Strictly Review: Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev

Ashley Roberts scored a hat trick after she received three 10s with her dance partner Pasha Kovalev for their Halloween themed Charleston. At the end of the night, they were joint top of the leaderboard with Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice.

Ashley and Pasha received a standing ovation from not only the audience but also from Bruno Tonioli and head judge Shirley Ballas after their “swivellious” Trolls-inspired routine. Bruno even exclaimed it was the highlight of the season so far. But what made it so good and stand out against the other Charleston routines we have seen so far?

First of all, I know what you are all going to say ‘She trained professionally!’ which is true, but let’s put that aside and take a look at the choreography and content on this dance which is what made it shine.

First of all, the pair are great at setting the scene. Pasha, the troll, puts a spell on Ashley, a bergen, to get her to fall in love with him. She executes the flapper walks and isolation steps of being under a spell perfectly. (If you are unclear of the reference, the characters are based on the Disney film Trolls).

Once the spell has been cast they break into Helicopters, Rock Steps and Charlestons in perfect sync. We see some other nice classic steps at 0:51 seconds where Ashley performs Camel Walks, Birdie Flaps, Lock Turns and Swivels on one leg which then goes straight into Charleston kicks across the body with two Bunny Hops. This is followed by Charleston in hold and a nice turning section. The whole section is jam packed and they keep going with great content as this is followed by Flapper Walks, a Basic Charleston with a kick and some lifts. 

As soon as they break out of the lifts, they perform two Smack the Babies and some classic Pushes and another seamless lift. Towards the end of the routine, they bring it back to the storyline where Ashley then tries to cast a spell on Pasha this time which leads to them throwing the spell book away and them being happy little trolls in love which each other.

What we love about this routine is the story and the choreography are perfectly put together. Sometimes the storylines are quite loose and don’t make sense but this one was clear and beautifully presented. It was also very fast, full of content and the pair of them were perfectly synchronised. Ashley is also the first celeb this series who has mastered the art of the swivel.

The only drawback to this routine is the music. The tune is so annoying that it distracts from the routine and If they had used something with a bit more swing, we could have seen some even more complicated steps with the use of cross phasing and syncopation which would have made it stand out even more. However, we are being picky and as this is a family show, I’m sure lots of kids loved the Disney reference and the music.

Judges Scores:

Bruno: "Astonishing! A magical spellbinding, exuberant, action packed, musical comedy Charleston. One of the best Strictly moments of the season." (Score: 10)

Craig: "Swi-vel-licious, darling." (Score: 9)

Darcey: "A terrific contrast from last week. How the choreography is led by the story, and that face was working as hard as the body." (Score: 10)

Shirley: "One of the best choreographic routines I've ever seen. Fantastic." (Score: 10) 

Our Score: 9 

Strictly The Best

Sadly we didn’t get to see a Charleston number this week on Strictly Come Dancing so we have picked out two of our favourite routines from a previous series. This week we are looking at the best Charleston dances from 2016.

Claudia Fragapane & AJ Pritchard Charleston to 'You Give a Little Love' - Strictly 2016: Week 3

We’ve picked this out as a highlight routine for a couple of reasons. Firstly the set up is perfect in terms of the music and costume. It is not fancy dress flapper girl at all. Claudia’s costume is really nice, they have put together a beautiful playsuit with a lovely back and AJ’s outfit also matches the era.

The music also plays a big part in making this routine works. Sometimes Strictly picks some really ‘mass appeal’ songs which we understand they are trying to do to capture the audience of a really broad demographic but sometimes it really misses the mark and makes the dance really awkward as the song doesn’t fit the right time signature or style.

It has a nice story line, with the dancing peaking in the Charleston side to side and then a funny ending, it’s a bit clumsy but who has ever been glamorous with a custard pie?

In terms of content, we see heaps of Charleston along with variations :
20s Charleston - at least 3 sections
30s Charleston
Around the world Charleston

Other classic moves include:
Bunny hops
Trucking
Side to side Charleston
A ‘smack the baby’ variation
Flapper walks

So in terms authentic we see tons of classic steps.

It also has what we sometimes call some ‘Wow steps’ the pair do some really complicated lifts which are all done really beautifully. 1920s Charleston doesn’t really have any lifts but obviously this is TV and it has to have some ‘wow’ moment for the audience which is executed really well.

We think this is a really solid and strong performance and excellent for Week 3.

Danny Mac & Oti Charleston to ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz’ by Gregory Porter - Strictly 2016: Blackpool

Similar to week 3 routine, this dance has a nice storyline but it’s quite similar to Claudia’s at the start. Table, chair, fur thing around her neck but it is jam packed full of content. Sometimes Strictly fills a routine with quite a lot ‘fluff’ in the storyline (Which Vick and Granziano were marked down for this week in their Cha Cha Cha) but this cuts straight in and they really challenge Danny to keep up with Oti starting with some tricky footwork with a Charleston squat variation into flapper walks and Charleston squats on a table.

There is some basic Charleston into flapper walks which has a great swivel to it and then we see the Charleston in hold and then they break out into a tick tock from those formations.

What we really like about this routine which a lot of dances lack is you can really see the inflexion in the move so if you watch Oti’s feet they really have a swivel and flick which makes the steps so recognisable.

Again, it is a great song choice. A classic swing song which suits the routine and the storyline is very clear - maybe a bit repetitive, we have seen quite a few tables and chairs in the Charleston  - remember Brendon and Sophie Ellis Bextor? Strictly often falls short of this. How many times have we seen the lonesome street light wheeled out for the Argentine Tango? However, they fill the space and once again have plenty of wow moments with some great lifts.

The steps to look out for in this one are:
20s Charleston - both solo and in hold
20s Charleston with kicks and taps down to the ground
Squat Charleston with variations and on tables

Other classic moves include:
Flapper walks
Hitchhikers on the spot
Some Lindy steps
Trucking
Grapevine
Tick Tock
Fall on the log variation with a jump

Next week the Charleston is back and we can’t wait to see what Ashley Roberts and her pro Pasha Kovalev deliver for the Halloween special.

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