Strictly Top 5 Dances - Ballroom

Hiya Guys,

It's been a week since Strictly finished and I'm still suffering post-Strictly fever and I don't think I can wait another 8 months until it comes back. I always love looking back and trying to pick a top 5 for my favourite performances of the year and I'm going to be honest, it was almost impossible to pick just 5 so I might do another one as well as a separate one for the latin dances and the pro dances.

So welcome to Sonal's Top Strictly Ballroom Dances of 2016:

Claudia and AJ - Viennese Waltz
I am normally a sucker for a Viennese Waltz but, for some reason, this particular one was a work of art and made me cry! I think it was all aspects of the dance that just seemed to work beautifully together and make me extra emotional. The song itself is a classic song and it was the first time where I thought that I saw Claudia really acting and connecting with AJ and portraying the romantic story. I also have to give a massive shoutout to AJ and his choreography because it was impecable and made the two of them look like they were floating on air as they spun around the room - we can't forget those amazing fleckles can we? And to top it all off, Claudia's dress was absolutely stunning and she looked amazing in it and AJ didn't look to bad either ;)

I should probably mention that I loved pretty much all of their performances so might do another post later with my top 5 dances from only Claudia and AJ.

Ore and Joanne - Showdance
I was doing a lot of thinking when deciding which dance of Ore's an Joanne's to put in because they have been another firm favourite of mine *might mean another individual post later on*. But I couldn't miss out this showdance because it was a work of art and probably the best showdance I have ever seen on Strictly. It combined everything I loved from the ol' school feel to the use of quickstep, tango and especially the side by side work. As I said in the previous post about the final, Joanne was absolutely amazing in the choreography and the use of the drums for some of the dance was genius. It showed the versatility of Ore as a dancer and let his amazingly cool personality show as well as Joanne's talent.

Greg and Natalie - American Smooth

I think this is where people noticed that Greg wasn't just a strong athlete with a nice bum. As most of you who follow me on Tumblr will know, I love a good American Smooth and this was no exception. What gripped me the most was the chemistry between the two of them from start to finish and the ability for Greg to tell a story amazingly. It was also very good technically especially as Greg had no training - he held his frame very nicely and led Natalie around the floor like a true gentleman. Like all of his other dances, he managed to combine masculinity with such elegance and grace especially in those magnificent lifts. I was very sad when Greg left but was so amazed at how much he learnt in such a short space of time.

Danny and Oti - Foxtrot

I know that this dance went wrong in the most unfortunate way but that doesn't mean that it wasn't one of my favourite. I loved the whole dark feel of it which worked perfectly with it being Halloween and I think the person to applaud for this dance is Oti as well as Danny. She has a habit of bringing modernity to old school dances and the use of the ribbon tying them both together was a work of genius and I don't think has ever been done. The song was not what I first expected from a very traditional ballroom song but it brought a nice spooky flavour and let Danny use his acting skills to the best of his ability. Even though he messed up, he tried to continue and instead of giving up, he carried on and finished beautifully.

Ore and Joanne - American Smooth

This was maybe the moment where we all sat up and took notice of Ore because this was a dance career defining moment! The fact that Gene Kelly's widow noticed it shows the standard it was at so early on in the competition. Not to copy the judges but Ore embodied the Gene character perfectly while still letting his own personality show itself in many ways. Although it was not perfect the first time *which was improved on by the final* he made everyone smile and thats the main thing. His solo work was charasmatic and confident but his dancing in hold was also cool and strong - it was even technically grand in most of it even though it was so early on in the competition. He kept his shoulders lowered and his frame in place - what else could we ask for?

So that's the end of my top 5 for Ballroom dances and there will be one for Latin coming soon. Let me know which were your favourite ballroom dances in the comments below or send me them on my Twitter @Full_Time_Nerd.

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Also, follow my other Strictly blogs kevin-clifton.tumblr.com and aj-pritchard.tumblr.com

So for know...

Keep Dancing!

That's all for now my dears,
See you soon

xxx