A total REVELATION. I was really (and I believe justifiably) hard on Harry Judd when he did Strictly with Aliona and won, because he never really did dance with his face (a bit like Jay McGuiness in the beginning, and in his boring Showdance). And what a transformation with just one week's training with Joanne???!!! I am IN LOVE with his EXQUISITE dancing, PERFECT combo of the physicality, musicality and FACIAL expression, Swing and Sway aplenty, that deliberate draaaaagggg with his toes in the slows of the quick-quick-slow foxtrot step (I mean, the attention to details!) EVERYTHING that you want in a perfect American Smooth Foxtrot! Now THIS is what I wanted (and cruelly denied of) to see Harry do and he succeeded finally! So glad that Joanne put him down a peg or two in the preceding training footage when Harry did a move that he thought was good and Joanne deadpanned, that was pretty good, what about ... a FOUR (and Harry's facial reaction thereafter was priceless)... I am sure Joanne clearly saw that there was so MUCH more that Harry could do and boy did she squeeze out every single drop of the dancing juices off Harry. You wouldn't know that he didn't have ANY dance experience prior to Strictly (and that he's stopped dancing ballroom for four years), and to be honest, I think his exemplary dancing was actually BETTER than any of Jay's ballroom with Aliona! Imagine what Joanne would have done with Jay McGuiness, I mean... how intriguing and tantalising the notion, one which we will never know, sadly!!! A worthy ten. Perfect 40 indeed!
+Scd Observer I have to ask how long have you watched strictly and are you a ballroom instructor? You seem highly knowledgeable and your comments are a treat. I think Jay would be great on this though him and Aliona had something magical. I do wonder though what Joanne would bring to the table if they were paired up. Though it remains to be seen is there a time gap that needs to happen for a past contestant to appear on the Christmas special?
+MsNoel420 I have been watching SCD since series 4, but besides some folk dancing when I was a boy, I have no dance training. But I do appreciate movements and rhythmic steps to music (though I don't like the hip hop genre). All these terms I used were pointed out many times through the years in their sister programme, It Takes Two, where Len (in the past masterclass) and pros (past and now, especially in choreography corner) mentioned and elaborated upon over and over again for more than ten years now... I do agree that Jay and Aliona had that something special between them (more so than Harry with Aliona), it's no wonder Aliona kept saying in the end that Jay was her most favoured celeb dancer...
Scd Observer Ahh okay I was curious cause I usually look for your comments on these vids for your assessment. I am not surprised Aliona said that mainly cause of the fact this whole series she had to build his confidence. It also helps he was hardworking and naturally shy that through their dancing he was able to express himself. Along with that I heard she left Strictly she at least ended on a high note. Only pro to win twice and well deserved. I will keep a look out for Jay in the future
+Scd Observer I think by the end of his time on Strictly he was about as expressive as he is here. Now he is probably more relaxed as well, since it was just a Christmas special. It was very good though. Harry is one of my favorite people ever on the show, and tonight just cemented that view.
Not being from the UK I had no idea who these people were but it was lovely watching and not knowing which partner was the pro and which one the celebrity. When you are that good and you can't tell the difference they deserve to win. Congrats!
+StarSki11 It was perfect, especially when Anton and Joanne later did a pro foxtrot American Smooth when Shirley Bassey sang with her three toy boys. Harry could have been dancing the pro number with Joanne and no one would know he wasn't a pro!
Lee Cox Lee, watch carefully his dance again, Len would have crucified him left right centre (well he wouldn't give him a ten for a start) if he misses his favourite heel leads!
+Scd Observer I'm not concerned with this particular dance, but as a matter of principle, I disagree. On the Xmas special, a lot of the usual judging criteria tend to go out the window and they are much less critical. It's more of a "feel good" than the more serious competition of the main show.
+Scd Observer My take on that is that THAT is the kind of Showdance that Anton should have done with Katie. If he had, he might have placed higher than fourth -- he might even have won if he had stuck to his specialties instead of trying a Tango/Paso fusion to "O Fortuna." It's just not his style, really!
Fantastic. I actually think I enjoyed this routine more than most of this years Strictly lot. Great routine by Joanne and packed full of foxtrot content as well. I was never one for Harry during his run as I thought he lacked a bit of personality in his dancing, but here I 'got' it and more. His topline is excellent and it felt like watching equals, Harry lead her so well. Please, please, please don't waste Joanne Clifton ever again and give her a decent celeb in 2016.
+topcatrox I can't agree MORE! I mean, what would Joanne do with Jay McGuiness, eh? Both boys were struggling with facial expression under Aliona's tutelage, and just one week, blimmin one week under Joanne to work the magic, and Harry actually had SOUL in every beat of his dance step...
+Scd Observer I mean, I can't really devalue Aliona's tutelage as she did very well with all of them and made them into brilliant dancers on a level that was already there and needed some fine tuning. Sometimes, time helps a lot of things like personality. It takes years to put personality in moves, some never quite manage it. Harry seems like he has grown in confidence as an individual and thus allowed Joanne to create a routine like this.
topcatrox Don't get me wrong, Aliona did great with Harry and Jay to be sure. Harry more than Jay for that matter, since Jay had extensive dance experience prior to the show while Harry had NONE, zero dance training prior to Strictly. But good as Aliona is/was, with the exception of Matt Baker, she never was able to get her more able celeb partners to dance with their faces. Those might be fine-tuning from Jo, but she could easily have gone easy with Harry but she didn't. Not satisfied with what she already had with Harry, she obviously focused on those tiny details, flourishes such as the drag on the slow bits of the foxtrot which made Harry looked like he's gliding through like a real pro. Also, note after those wonderful pivots they've done in this routine, at 1:14 when they did a simple but very effective 'fan' assisted jump and gracefully into one-leg paso kneel, watch carefully at Harry's pinkie. It was so deliciously expressive, like he's having afternoon tea with the Queen. Harry was mechanical at best, even his supposed breakthrough dance with facial expression Charleston (There's Something About Harry) was pitiful ( I called it goldfish Harry because what Aliona could do to make Harry expressed himself was to open his mouth into a permanent 'o' and nothing else) compared to his twinkle-eyed cheeky dapper smiles he so effortlessly expressed for this Foxtrot. He's now in a completely different league male celeb, and it's clear from this that he's just dethroned Jay for being the best male celeb in ballroom dances (not sure of Harry's latin, I still think Jay's better than Harry in that respect)...
+Lee Cox He did! Believe me, he did! Watch in slow-mo on your laptop, not tablet/mobile devices...! By the way, when you move backwards, you normally don't do heel leads for that. When you are out of hold, or not in strictly ballroom hold no heel leads required as well. However when you are looking in different direction (i.e. male and female partner in ballroom hold face different direction and not looking at each other) before embarking on the first forward basic foxtrot step, only then it seems heel lead is required. Conversely when you are in promenade position (i.e. couples' heads facing the same direction towards the forward step they are taking), this apparently doesn't require heel leads even in ballroom hold (even pros in SCD don't do heel leads in that position). Only the basic forward SLOW bit - it seems - that only then Len would require celebs to do the classic heel leads. Forward SLOW (this step, first beat, this one heel lead required)-quick-quick-slow (these following steps heel leads not required). Check for instance three successive heel leads in 0:57, 0:59 and 1:01 (best slowed down 50% on youtube desktop chrome version)... By the way, at 0:40, from the body position and the way they move across the floor (with Harry doing a lower position in the FIRST slow bit), camera wasn't showing his feet then, but that's DEFINITELY a heel lead, as you see his position was a slightly 'downward push' (for lack of a better word), compared with a toe lead immediately at 0:41, which conveys a 'lighter' quality of movement. I don't know why 0:41 wasn't a heel lead though, as I noticed even in foxtrot masterclass on youtube, not all in-ballroom-hold slow bit (normally first beat of the bar) of the classic foxtrot step requires a heel lead, but I surmise because at 0:41 Harry was ready-ing Jo for a promenade position before the elaborate swing-sway back-breaking move that he led Jo to do before they broke for the 'stone' bench sequence...
I was totally go smacked too! As a ballroom dancer myself I couldn't believe how good he was !
So good!! Love to see harry back on strictly, and this was magical!
A total REVELATION. I was really (and I believe justifiably) hard on Harry Judd when he did Strictly with Aliona and won, because he never really did dance with his face (a bit like Jay McGuiness in the beginning, and in his boring Showdance). And what a transformation with just one week's training with Joanne???!!! I am IN LOVE with his EXQUISITE dancing, PERFECT combo of the physicality, musicality and FACIAL expression, Swing and Sway aplenty, that deliberate draaaaagggg with his toes in the slows of the quick-quick-slow foxtrot step (I mean, the attention to details!) EVERYTHING that you want in a perfect American Smooth Foxtrot! Now THIS is what I wanted (and cruelly denied of) to see Harry do and he succeeded finally! So glad that Joanne put him down a peg or two in the preceding training footage when Harry did a move that he thought was good and Joanne deadpanned, that was pretty good, what about ... a FOUR (and Harry's facial reaction thereafter was priceless)... I am sure Joanne clearly saw that there was so MUCH more that Harry could do and boy did she squeeze out every single drop of the dancing juices off Harry. You wouldn't know that he didn't have ANY dance experience prior to Strictly (and that he's stopped dancing ballroom for four years), and to be honest, I think his exemplary dancing was actually BETTER than any of Jay's ballroom with Aliona! Imagine what Joanne would have done with Jay McGuiness, I mean... how intriguing and tantalising the notion, one which we will never know, sadly!!! A worthy ten. Perfect 40 indeed!
+Scd Observer I have to ask how long have you watched strictly and are you a ballroom instructor? You seem highly knowledgeable and your comments are a treat. I think Jay would be great on this though him and Aliona had something magical. I do wonder though what Joanne would bring to the table if they were paired up. Though it remains to be seen is there a time gap that needs to happen for a past contestant to appear on the Christmas special?
+MsNoel420 I have been watching SCD since series 4, but besides some folk dancing when I was a boy, I have no dance training. But I do appreciate movements and rhythmic steps to music (though I don't like the hip hop genre). All these terms I used were pointed out many times through the years in their sister programme, It Takes Two, where Len (in the past masterclass) and pros (past and now, especially in choreography corner) mentioned and elaborated upon over and over again for more than ten years now... I do agree that Jay and Aliona had that something special between them (more so than Harry with Aliona), it's no wonder Aliona kept saying in the end that Jay was her most favoured celeb dancer...
Scd Observer Ahh okay I was curious cause I usually look for your comments on these vids for your assessment. I am not surprised Aliona said that mainly cause of the fact this whole series she had to build his confidence. It also helps he was hardworking and naturally shy that through their dancing he was able to express himself. Along with that I heard she left Strictly she at least ended on a high note. Only pro to win twice and well deserved. I will keep a look out for Jay in the future
***** Yes, look out for Jay in the future, especially for him taking part in future Christmas Special. I am sure we have NOT seen his best yet...
+Scd Observer I think by the end of his time on Strictly he was about as expressive as he is here. Now he is probably more relaxed as well, since it was just a Christmas special.
It was very good though. Harry is one of my favorite people ever on the show, and tonight just cemented that view.
Not being from the UK I had no idea who these people were but it was lovely watching and not knowing which partner was the pro and which one the celebrity. When you are that good and you can't tell the difference they deserve to win. Congrats!
+DoitinBarbados harry judd is the drummer in the extremely popular band mcfly. he was on strictly in 2011 and won it with aliona villani.
+Elise Povey Thank you for letting me know. Not familiar with Mcfly music over here but have heard the name before. Will have to check them out.
you really have to check them out. they are absolutely brilliant. hopefully they will be releasing new music soon
i could watch Joanne dance Ballroom ALL DAY I love her so much!
I was gob-smacked it was so good! They made it look effortless! Felt like I was watching a professional showdance
+StarSki11 It was perfect, especially when Anton and Joanne later did a pro foxtrot American Smooth when Shirley Bassey sang with her three toy boys. Harry could have been dancing the pro number with Joanne and no one would know he wasn't a pro!
+Scd Observer Except for the missed heel leads.
Lee Cox Lee, watch carefully his dance again, Len would have crucified him left right centre (well he wouldn't give him a ten for a start) if he misses his favourite heel leads!
+Scd Observer I'm not concerned with this particular dance, but as a matter of principle, I disagree. On the Xmas special, a lot of the usual judging criteria tend to go out the window and they are much less critical. It's more of a "feel good" than the more serious competition of the main show.
+Scd Observer My take on that is that THAT is the kind of Showdance that Anton should have done with Katie. If he had, he might have placed higher than fourth -- he might even have won if he had stuck to his specialties instead of trying a Tango/Paso fusion to "O Fortuna." It's just not his style, really!
I just love Jo's dancing and choreography, wish she was a pro on DWTS.
Fabulous. Congratulations both of you xx
absolutely stunning 👌
Fantastic. I actually think I enjoyed this routine more than most of this years Strictly lot. Great routine by Joanne and packed full of foxtrot content as well. I was never one for Harry during his run as I thought he lacked a bit of personality in his dancing, but here I 'got' it and more. His topline is excellent and it felt like watching equals, Harry lead her so well. Please, please, please don't waste Joanne Clifton ever again and give her a decent celeb in 2016.
+topcatrox I can't agree MORE! I mean, what would Joanne do with Jay McGuiness, eh? Both boys were struggling with facial expression under Aliona's tutelage, and just one week, blimmin one week under Joanne to work the magic, and Harry actually had SOUL in every beat of his dance step...
+Scd Observer I mean, I can't really devalue Aliona's tutelage as she did very well with all of them and made them into brilliant dancers on a level that was already there and needed some fine tuning. Sometimes, time helps a lot of things like personality. It takes years to put personality in moves, some never quite manage it. Harry seems like he has grown in confidence as an individual and thus allowed Joanne to create a routine like this.
topcatrox Don't get me wrong, Aliona did great with Harry and Jay to be sure. Harry more than Jay for that matter, since Jay had extensive dance experience prior to the show while Harry had NONE, zero dance training prior to Strictly. But good as Aliona is/was, with the exception of Matt Baker, she never was able to get her more able celeb partners to dance with their faces. Those might be fine-tuning from Jo, but she could easily have gone easy with Harry but she didn't. Not satisfied with what she already had with Harry, she obviously focused on those tiny details, flourishes such as the drag on the slow bits of the foxtrot which made Harry looked like he's gliding through like a real pro. Also, note after those wonderful pivots they've done in this routine, at 1:14 when they did a simple but very effective 'fan' assisted jump and gracefully into one-leg paso kneel, watch carefully at Harry's pinkie. It was so deliciously expressive, like he's having afternoon tea with the Queen.
Harry was mechanical at best, even his supposed breakthrough dance with facial expression Charleston (There's Something About Harry) was pitiful ( I called it goldfish Harry because what Aliona could do to make Harry expressed himself was to open his mouth into a permanent 'o' and nothing else) compared to his twinkle-eyed cheeky dapper smiles he so effortlessly expressed for this Foxtrot.
He's now in a completely different league male celeb, and it's clear from this that he's just dethroned Jay for being the best male celeb in ballroom dances (not sure of Harry's latin, I still think Jay's better than Harry in that respect)...
+Scd Observer Too bad he didn't hit any of his heel leads in his dance steps. That was a glaring omission to me.
+Lee Cox He did! Believe me, he did! Watch in slow-mo on your laptop, not tablet/mobile devices...! By the way, when you move backwards, you normally don't do heel leads for that. When you are out of hold, or not in strictly ballroom hold no heel leads required as well. However when you are looking in different direction (i.e. male and female partner in ballroom hold face different direction and not looking at each other) before embarking on the first forward basic foxtrot step, only then it seems heel lead is required. Conversely when you are in promenade position (i.e. couples' heads facing the same direction towards the forward step they are taking), this apparently doesn't require heel leads even in ballroom hold (even pros in SCD don't do heel leads in that position). Only the basic forward SLOW bit - it seems - that only then Len would require celebs to do the classic heel leads. Forward SLOW (this step, first beat, this one heel lead required)-quick-quick-slow (these following steps heel leads not required).
Check for instance three successive heel leads in 0:57, 0:59 and 1:01 (best slowed down 50% on youtube desktop chrome version)... By the way, at 0:40, from the body position and the way they move across the floor (with Harry doing a lower position in the FIRST slow bit), camera wasn't showing his feet then, but that's DEFINITELY a heel lead, as you see his position was a slightly 'downward push' (for lack of a better word), compared with a toe lead immediately at 0:41, which conveys a 'lighter' quality of movement. I don't know why 0:41 wasn't a heel lead though, as I noticed even in foxtrot masterclass on youtube, not all in-ballroom-hold slow bit (normally first beat of the bar) of the classic foxtrot step requires a heel lead, but I surmise because at 0:41 Harry was ready-ing Jo for a promenade position before the elaborate swing-sway back-breaking move that he led Jo to do before they broke for the 'stone' bench sequence...
jadore