DWTS Ireland: General Discussion

[taylorkat]

Ellen, Erica, and Missy are my early favorites.

[Ariel1989]

7 hours ago, taylorkat said:

Ellen, Erica, and Missy are my early favorites.

Same, I think I’m especially going to like Erica!  
 

Someone who has created Wikipedia pages for contestants in the past has created a draft page for dancer Hannah Kelly who happened to land on my radar when checking IG follows .  
 

Today’s post for DWTS has the judges promo pic with the caption, “20 days to go!”  Looks like the new series will premiere January 9th instead of January 2nd.  Just three more weeks!

[Ariel1989]

I was right about the pros!

 

New pros are Ervinas, Hannah, Maurizio, Denys and Salome.

 

Returning pros are Emily, Karen, Kylee, Laura, John, Pasquale and Stephen.

[*Wallace]

Wow great find and detective work on the pros there, Ariel!  

 

Wow 5 pros is a lot of new pros in a new season.  Still going to miss so many of the long time running pros, but looking forward to what these new pros will bring.

 

 

This link has bigger promo pics of them: Dancing with the Stars professional dancers revealed (rte.ie).

[Ariel1989]

I’m changing one of my predictions now that we’ve seen the contestants’ and pros’ individual promo pics; Nicolas’ metallic suit wouldn’t really go with Emily’s white dress in a couple’s pic but Karen’s metallic dress would go with it.  Emily’s dress seems like a better match for Aengus’ classic tux.  I was actually going back and forth between these pairings since Karen was only following Aengus and Emily was following him and some other contestants but not Nicolas.  
 

So my official predictions based on the followers, likes and costumes:

 

Aengus & Emily

Billy & Hannah

Cathy & Maurizio

Ellen & Stephen

Erica & Denys

Gráinne & John

Jordan & Salome

Matthew & Laura

Missy & Ervinas

Neil & Kylee

Nicolas & Karen

Nina & Pasquale

[Ariel1989]

First six couples revealed!

 

Nicolas Roche & Karen Byrne

Missy Keating & Ervinas Merfeldas

Aengus Mac Grinna & Emily Barker

Ellen Keane & Stephen Vincent

Jordan Conroy & Salome Chachua

Gráinne Seoige & John Nolan

 

I was right to switch Nicolas and Aengus’ partners , it was the outfits.  
 

Nicolas is an athlete like Michael Carruth but around Darren Kennedy’s age when he did DWTS so maybe he’ll have a little more ability than Karen’s post-win partners.  
 

Missy & Ervinas are going to be the “cute and young” couple of the season, she’ll need to come off personable in order to not follow in early eliminations Thalia Heffernan and Holly Carpenter’s footsteps; models seem to have mixed results, likely due to pairings.  Thalia & Curtis were a reasonably good match who suffered from being in the debut season that was still figuring things out.  Alannah Beirne was a last minute replacement after Vitali’s original partner dropped out and while they were pretty good together, their heights often provided a challenge for most of their dances (even in switch-up with Kai, the tallest pro, she had to crouch down to get into hold).  Holly may have had some potential but the last minute substitution of Trent after Curtis’ attack seemed to really mess with her head and the judges were a bit harsh towards her compared to others who weren’t the most graceful.  Grainne Gallanagh kind of lucked out being in a later season and having a great teacher like Kai who had established himself as one of the longest-running and more popular pros.  Ervinas will need to come off really well to help Missy beat the “model curse” like Grainne.  
 

Aengus is probably a recognizable face in Ireland being a former newscaster and Emily has had some good results in the last three seasons (with the exception of being the first-boot in season 1) so they might go far.  
 

Ellen & Stephen seem like a good match, while we didn’t see much of Stephen last season, he seems like a nice guy who can adapt to some limitations that he and Ellen might have when dancing together.  Ellen has part of her left arm and her whole right arm so maintaining her frame in hold will be different from and possibly harder than Lauren Steadman who has part of her right arm and her whole left arm; when she and AJ danced in hold, he was able to lead her while holding her right arm with her left hand on his shoulder.  Ellen & Stephen will be able to clasp hands in hold but they might have to figure out how to keep her left arm on his shoulder without a hand to hold onto him.  Either way, they’re one of my most anticipated couples.  
 

Jordan & Salome are an attractive pairing, rugby players are also a mixed bag though. Tomas O’Leary showed some potential and was nowhere near the worst male of his season (see the agonizingly long runs of Marty AND Bernard) while Peter Stringer was mediocre on his few best days.  Jordan is younger and isn’t retired yet and Salome is a three-time runner-up on DWTS Georgia so they could possibly be contenders.  
 

Gráinne & John are a pretty predictable pairing given that she’s one of the older women and John is the “nice gentleman” pro who works well with mature women.  They’ll likely bring some elegant ballroom and somewhat awkward Latin (not to say John’s Latin is bad like Anton du Beke’s but he’s so strong in ballroom it kind of pales in comparison).  
 

Still pretty confident about my predictions of Billy & Hannah, Cathy & Maurizio, Erica & Denys, Matthew & Laura, Neil & Kylee and Nina & Pasquale.  Hopefully they’ll be revealed later today as well!

 

Edit: The rest of the pairings will be revealed tomorrow!

Edited January 5, 2022 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

Oooh yayyy some couple reveals!

 

Great thoughts there, Ariel! I agree with you regarding Missy & Ervinas. I'm looking forward to them, but I do fear of Missy's longevity with being a model and Ervinas being a new pro with no fanbase. Hopefully she can have a Grianne type run as she proved models can be successful on this show. 

 

I also agree that Aengus & Emily could probably do well and go far. Emily has had a great track record and has done well with her partners for the most part. So Aengus is in good hands with Emily.

 

Ooh thanks for explaining that difference with Ellen and Lauren Steadman there too. I am not as familiar with Ellen's disability regarding her arm yet but this was interesting to read and take note of. I think Ellen will give her all but yeah looking forward to how she & Stephen does.

 

Interesting insight on Jordan & Salome. I can see them being a really good looking part, which can work in their favor. Curious of his dance ability as he could go either way of having potential or being really bad. Also yeah Gráinne & John are a predictable pairing but it makes sense. I did have a feeling John would be paired with one of the older women but he works well with them.

[Ariel1989]

Last six couple reveals just revealed!

 

Erica-Cody & Denys Samson

Matthew MacNabb & Laura Nolan

Nina Carberry & Pasquale La Rocca

Billy McGuinness & Hannah Kelly

Cathy Kelly & Maurizio Benenato

Neil Delamere & Kylee Vincent

 

 

Can't believe I predicted almost all 12 couples before the pictures made guessing easier!

 

I'm probably most looking forward to Erica, she's a young singer-songwriter who went to stage school so there's a chance she could be the Cliona/Lottie of this season.  Not sure if she has the same strong connections that Cliona and Lottie each had that helped them get to the Final/Win and we'll have to see how Denys comes across as a partner and choreographer, he was only on one season of DWTS Ukraine and an early exit.  

 

I don't really have high hopes for Matthew, he's barely posted about DWTS in his stories and he's only has the show's handle in his bio with a few other handles, no posts up about his participation.  Feel bad for Laura if he's not giving 100%.  

 

Different kind of partner for Pasquale after his winning contenders Julie in Belgium and Lottie in Ireland.  Nina is older and probably hasn't had the level of dance experience of those two.  Intrigued to see how they do as a couple.  

 

The oldest contestant Billy (61) with the youngest pro Hannah (19) is a weird pairing.  Hannah teaches at the same studio as fellow pro John so she probably has more teaching experience than the average teenage dancer and her working with nice pro John may have played a part in pairing her with the oldest guy who might need a patient teacher.  

 

Not sure how popular Cathy is in Ireland, she's the oldest woman in the cast at 55 but not as old as most of the past mature ladies so if she's like Deirdre and shows a little ability maybe she could last a few weeks.  She'd probably have a better chance with John who tends to go far with his mature partners regardless of their abilities (exception being talented winner Mairéad), with newbie Maurizio her chances are a bit up in the air at the moment.  

 

Not sure about Neil either, comedians are a mixed bag; with male comedians there was Des Bishop who was great but eliminated long before his time, Bernard O'Shea who was terrible but lasted too long, Fred Cooke who was hit-or-miss but fun and only really robbed Clelia Murphy (interesting how the two better comedians were paired with Giulia  ).  I guess it might depend on Kylee's teaching ability, she got some flack during switch-up for her choreography not focusing on Aidan enough, meanwhile Fr. Ray had his best dance at that point with Giulia and people started to speculate that Kylee wasn't doing enough with Fr. Ray (apparently it was enough for Stephen to speak out against the negativity towards his wife that week).  To be fair, after that week she did start giving Fr. Ray more to do and toning down her dancing to make him look better so maybe she'll be more prepared this around; she's a super fierce dancer so hoping that Neil is decent enough that we get to see her perform often.  

 

Last season the songs/dances for the first two weeks were revealed three days before each show so we should be hearing about those soon, if not later today than maybe tomorrow to keep the hype going into Sunday's premiere.  Men are probably dancing this week and women next week like in the previous seasons.  

Edited January 6, 2022 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

Hmm not the strongest track record for Denys based on his DWTS past. But Nikita came into Strictly being an early boot on another DWTS type show and did well/got Tilly far on Strictly, so I wouldn't count Denys out yet. But yeah I'm really looking forward to Erica and hoping she does well, and that Denys does well with her. 

OMGG NOT Matthew pulling a Yewande of not posting anything about DWTSIrl on his social media as well. I don't know if it's a specific Love Island contract thing or what, but this seems really odd. He's probably going to be an early boot, as he's probably not well known or promoting himself on the show. 

Nice to see Pasquale with an athlete/non-ringer in Nina, and also curious in what he can do with her.

Yeah Billy & Hannah is a REALLY odd pairing - 61 and 19??? That's over 40 year age difference. He's even older enough to be her grandfather. Interesting pairing but with Ariel's comments, maybe she could be one of the better pros for Billy?

Hmmm no real early thoughts on Cathy/Maurizio. I'm not too hopeful for them but maybe they could surprise. Also no real big thoughts on Neil/Kylee but looking forward to what they can do as well. 

Thanks for posting all of the couples there, Ariel! Looking forward to seeing how they all do!

[*Wallace]

Oh I meant to post the promo shots of the couples so here they are!

 

 

Nicolas Roche & Karen Byrne

 

Missy Keating & Ervinas Merfeldas

 

Aengus Mac Grinna & Emily Barker

 

Ellen Keane & Stephen Vincent

 

Jordan Conroy & Salome Chachua

 

Gráinne Seoige & John Nolan

 

Erica-Cody & Denys Samson

 

Matthew MacNabb & Laura Nolan

 

Nina Carberry & Pasquale La Rocca

 

Billy McGuinness & Hannah Kelly

 

Cathy Kelly & Maurizio Benenato

 

Neil Delamere & Kylee Vincent

[*Wallace]

Yayyy the competition is finally starting today!! Surprisingly this year, it's not an all male vs. all female night for the first two nights. It's split. 4 women and 2 men performing tonight. Fingers crossed we can get some easy accessible media to watch the dances! Lottie & Pasquale will also be performing their Salsa tonight.

Here are the performers for tonight:

Cathy & Maurizio - Cha-Cha: "How Will I Know" — Whitney Houston x Clean Bandit
Gráinne & John - Waltz: "With You I'm Born Again" — Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright
Missy & Ervinas - American Smooth: "Baby Love" — The Supremes
Neil & Kylee - Paso Doble: "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" — The Darkness
Nicolas & Karen - Jive: "Blinding Lights" — The Weeknd
Nina & Pasquale - Quickstep: "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" — KT Tunstall


Yayy a "Blinding Lights"Jive, got me kinda looking for Nicolas dance now.. But also really like Cathy's, Missy's and Nina's song choices for their dances. Grainne has that classic Waltz song, even though that song is so overused lol. Only song I don't like is Neil's though, lol.

[Ariel1989]

Putting in spoilers just in case.  
 

 

According to the Irish Sun, Matthew & Laura and Aengus & Emily were supposed to perform tonight but Matthew and Emily each separately tested positive for Covid so looks like two couples were moved up to tonight’s show to fill their slots.  The Sun also made a mistake in their announcement of tonight’s lineup though, they said that Jordan & Salome were performing tonight and Nina & Pasquale next week

Scores
Neil & Kylee: 17 (5, 6, 6)

Missy & Ervinas: 16 (4, 6, 6)

Nicholas & Karen: 11 (3, 4, 4)

Cathy & Maurizio: 14 (4, 5, 5)

Nina & Pasquale: 19 (6, 6, 7)

Gráinne & John: 14 (4, 5, 5)


Seems like there might be more contenders next week with possibly Ellen & Stephen, Erica & Denys and Jordan & Salome?


Hopefully the dances will soon be available to watch outside of Ireland.  

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

Thanks for the info on the show, Ariel! Really hoping we can find and get some media of the show ASAP. But here's a promo for this season!

 

 

[*Wallace]

Week 2 songs and dances spoilers: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYty4-NoRD7/?hl=en 

 

Aengus & Emily - Charleston "Goody Two Shoes" — Adam Ant
Billy & Hannah - Foxtrot "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" — Monty Python
Ellen & Stephen - Tango "Golden" — Harry Styles
Erica & Denys - Samba "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" — Anne-Marie & Little Mix
Jordan & Salome - Salsa "Take You Dancing" — Jason Derulo
Matthew & Laura - Viennese Waltz "Dangerously" — Charlie Puth

 

[Ariel1989]

Thoughts:

Aengus’ Charleston will probably be technically weak but fun and flashy thanks to Emily’s usually energetic style, I think he’ll be fine for several weeks regardless of how he scores.  
 

Monty Python for the oldest contestant?  Yeah, don’t have high hopes for Billy.  
 

Ellen’s song will be good for a Tango, looking forward to this pairing of her & Stephen, they’re already bringing some fun IG content.  
 

Obsessed with Erica & Denys’ song, a week 1 Samba could go either way.  Hope it goes the way of Kelvin & Oti!

 

Let’s Dance’s Simon & Patricija’s Cha-Cha song for Jordan & Salome’s Salsa.  Looking forward to them as they could go either way as attractive contenders or attractive underwhelm-ers.  
 

Haven’t listened to Matthew & Laura’s song but that should be some nice choreography from Laura after the lovely Waltz she did with Ryan Andrews.  Just not sure about Matthew’s commitment or their chemistry yet.  
 

Looking forward to hearing about how the show goes and hopefully the dances from this week and last week will be uploaded on IG this week.  

[*Wallace]

Oops forgot to post some of my thoughts too.

 

I pretty much agree with a lot of Ariel's thoughts.

 

- Aengus has a great first style in the Charleston. But maybe too good of a style that it should have been saved? Can't see it being technically great but should be a lot of fun.

- Yeah not too high hopes for Billy with that song. Jacquie Smith had it on SCD18 and hers wasn't good, so more or less expecting the same here.

- I did see some instagram clips of Ellen/Stephen and they seem like a lot of fun. Have good hopes for their Tango.

- Ooof the Samba is always a tricky style for the first dance, but I'm thinking producers gave it to Erica in hopes that she can handle it, which I think she can. Not going to be her very best dance but should hopefully be a good way to start her run.

- Jordan has my favorite song of the bunch and looking forward to his Salsa for that. Although watch it be bad with me saying that lmao.  But Ariel's thoughts on them seems pretty accurate/agreeable, haha.

- I do remember and like Matthew's song choice for his VW, although not a Charlie Puth song I'm super familiar with but do remember liking it. Not sure how this will go but looking forward to it.

[Ariel1989]

Not watching but recording the show on TVMucho so hopefully will be able to watch later and skip through to the dances.  
 

Scores so far according to IG and Wikipedia (will be updating):

 

Aengus & Emily: 16 (5, 5, 6)

Matthew & Laura: 13 (3, 5, 5)

Jordan & Salome: 22 (7, 7, 8 )

 

Erica & Denys: 24 (8, 8, 8 )

 

Billy & Hannah: 16 (5, 5, 6)

 

Ellen & Stephen: 21 (7, 7, 7)

 

My three pre-season faves doing well, who would have thought?!

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Ariel1989

[*Amanda]

The Instagram account that uploaded the dances last season has uploaded some from this season, so I’d keep an eye on it. So far only Nina’s and Grainne’s dances are there but maybe the rest will be uploaded eventually.

 

https://www.instagram.com/claire_h_scd/

[*Lily]

Excited to see Erica’s dance in particular with those scores!

[*Wallace]

2 hours ago, *Amanda said:

The Instagram account that uploaded the dances last season has uploaded some from this season, so I’d keep an eye on it. So far only Nina’s and Grainne’s dances are there but maybe the rest will be uploaded eventually.

 

https://www.instagram.com/claire_h_scd/

Nearly all of tonight's dances are up already, so yayy for that!

 

Hopefully the rest of last week's come up soon.

[*Wallace]

Thoughts on spoilers:

 

Wow Erica getting a 24 on a SAMBA with her first dance.

 Such a hard style + The Ireland judges are really tough with their scores early on. She's one to watch out for.

 

Great scores for Jordan and Ellen. Looking forward to all 3 of their dances, especially.

[Ariel1989]

Watched all of this week’s dances on the IG account, hopefully the rest of last week’s dances will be uploaded soon (Nina’s was by far the best of that night though).  
 

Thoughts:

 

Aengus & Emily: Better than I expected, he was quick on his feet and really trying to keep the swivel consistent, a couple of times he seemed to get ahead of Emily but overall a promising debut.  Good simple and fun choreography from Emily, her experience really shows and she gave Aengus just enough to do without overwhelming him or regulating him to a prop.  They already seem to have good chemistry based on the performance so I think they’ll stick around for a while.  

Matthew & Laura: Oof, he looked so underrehearsed and gave nothing back to Laura who was fully into the dance.  Pretty much zero technique in his footwork as well, he was mostly just walking and shuffling around while Laura danced.  

Jordan & Salome: He can definitely move, great musicality as well.  Salome is filling Giulia’s legacy very well, now I see why she’s done so well on the Georgian DWTS.  We might have to wait and see how he does in the less-free ballroom but a lot of potential.  

Erica & Denys: Wow.  That was a jam-packed Samba and Erica conquered it.  I figured by the scores it was good but I wasn’t expecting that much content in a debut performance especially for a Samba.  Erica is a fantastic performer as well as a great technician, a couple of little balance issues but that’s to be expected from a high-level first dance.  What a great debut for Denys as well, early exit several months ago last year on DWTS Ukraine and now topping the leaderboard with a contender in Ireland.  Hopefully Erica doesn’t get the Denise/Erin treatment where she’s so good that people get bored and let her go to multiple dance-offs in place of the charming mediocre men.  

Billy & Hannah: Speaking of CMM, here’s a high contender for that group!  To be fair, not as bad as I feared and certainly not the technical messes that were Nicolas last week and Matthew.  He and Hannah have some cute  father-daughter chemistry and Hannah gave plenty of steps and content that he could execute.  He was really lively during the side by side choreography but once they got into hold he looked tense and stiff.  His band is apparently pretty popular in Ireland so he should be safe from the first few eliminations at least.  

Ellen & Stephen: This week’s show definitely showed more promising couples than last week.  Very solid Tango and their chemistry on IG translated really well into their dancing together.  Ellen brought some fierceness throughout that I wasn’t expecting from a non-performer.  A few little hops and skips every now and then but overall a nice effort.  Excited to see them do a fun dance soon to show off their goofy side.  

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Ariel1989

[*Wallace]

I finally got around to watching the dances (I could watch) from the first two weeks. My thoughts:

 

 

Week 1 Thoughts:

 

Neil & Kylee - Paso Doble: The video I found of this dance was set to the wrong music so it was awkward to watch. But from what I saw, his dancing did look stiff and awkward. He did some leaps but moved in a stiff tense manner. There wasn't much proper Paso shaping. Maybe it was better with the right music. Also kinda surprised he got 6's here. ETA: OK did find the dance with the music now. The dance did work better with the right music. The attitude/performance worked better. But I still have the same issues with the dance that it was still kinda stiff.

Missy & Ervinas - American Smooth: Missy admitting to having hip-hop dance experience does make me hopeful for her, especially in the Latin as that translates hip-hop better in Latin. I thought this was a fun, cutesy dance from them. They are the young couple so it makes sense for them to have the high school in love storyline here. Missy performed well and was in good character. She sold the character really well and seems like an effortless performer. They also did really well with all those lifts in there. I did feel they kinda put more into the cheeky performance side of things as there wasn't really much Foxtrot in hold content here. I do think she has potential in her for sure, but I would have liked more in hold content. The 4 was way harsh but the 6's seem fair.

Nicolas & Karen - Jive: I was excited for this dance as I love "Blinding Lights," but lmao I really need to be careful of what I ask and look forward to. The beginning had a fun retro feel to it. Although it did feel like it took a little while for the dancing to start, but maybe there was a good reason for that? Nicolas was okay at the dancing at the start. But once he and Karen did some side by side choreography, that was when he was really off. He was off timing and out of sync from Karen. His energy wasn't bad but his kicks & flicks and overall technique was quite bad. This was a rough dance and a tough style to get. I can't really fault the mix of 3s and 4s.

Cathy & Maurizio - Cha-Cha: This was kind of a cute dance from Cathy. She did attempt to have some of that sassy attitude, which I liked. She did okay/better on the partnering parts but she did look lost and out of sync on the side by side parts. She did seem a little stumbly and shaky with her footwork. I do agree with the 14 with mix of 4/5's. I think ballroom will suit her better.

Nina & Pasquale - Quickstep: It did take a little while for this dance to get started but once they got into hold, it was solid. She did look a little hesitant on some of the out of hold parts. But she had a good frame and moved well in hold. She had some nice and good footwork moments. But she still has some things to work on like posture and more precision. I also felt the dance was a little too slow and elegant for a Quickstep, but still a good first dance. I think the 6's and 7 were fair.

Gráinne & John - Waltz: Oooh "With You, I'm Born Again." The go-to Waltz song here. This was a pretty and very nice dance here. I thought she had a decent frame and decent footwork here. She did have a few wobbly bouncy moments. I thought she connected and performed nicely to the dance. I don't get the 14, as I felt she was better than Cathy (and even Neil). The 4 from Brian was way harsh. The 5s were fine but do think she should have gotten one or 2 6's in there.

Rankings:
1. Nina & Pasquale - Quickstep
2. Missy & Ervinas - American Smooth

3. Gráinne & John - Waltz
4. Neil & Kylee - Paso Doble
5. Cathy & Maurizio - Cha-Cha 

6. Nicolas & Karen - Jive

 

 

Week 2 Thoughts:

Aengus & Emily - Charleston: Ooh the Charleston is a great first dance to make an impact on. Okay, there sure was a lot of dancing on the stool at the start here. I was wondering when were they going to dance away from there, which took about 35 seconds. This was a cute and fun dance. It suits his personality and he had great fun with this. I do think hisfootwork and technique was quite wild and all over the place. He did have some good swivels though. The partnering was okay too. I did feel he lacked musicality and wasn't all that connected to the music. A cute first dance. The 16 seemed fine, but could have been a point less too.

Matthew & Laura - Viennese Waltz: Ooof I read Matthew had COVID so that took a lot from his training time, which is such a shame. It's cool that they went for a sexy type of Viennese Waltz. Matthew wasn't too good here. He did move with quite a lot of stiffness and didn't seem to really flow or gel. It got a little better in hold but dhis footwork did seem a little bumpy. The flecklr move was also quite stiff. Overall the dance.... they had passion and nice performance quality but it felt stiff and lacking the flowly elegant Viennese Waltz flair.

Jordan & Salome - Salsa: Jordan & Salome do make an attractive pair and they lived up to that with this first dance. This was a fun and sexy Salsa. I thought Jordan did really well with the partnering and armorgraphy. He had good footwork in there. He also had some good tricks and handled the lifts really well. I thought he got down and really got into it with all of the side by side moves. He had good rhythm and movements. This was a really good and impressive first dance from him. I hope he can do as well with the more technical dances as he showed he has great potential here. I think the 7s were deserving here. 

Erica & Denys - Samba: Ooooh Erica scored the highest score for a first dance from any celeb on DWTSIrl, so I am definitely looking forward to this dance. Wow, Erica slayed this and did not disappoint here. She had great rhythm, hip action and really brought and nailed the technique here. She had great footwork here. But she also brought a great performance here. She brought the sexiness and confidence to really sell a Samba. Loved all of the partnering work and athe side by side dancing. This definitely didn't look like a first week dance, but it was a great first dance from her. Deserving of all 8's. Can't wait to see more from her! 

Billy & Hannah - Foxtrot: I had very low expectations when I saw his song choice here, but Billy wasn't terrible here. Aww I do like how cheery and happy he looked in the dance. He did well and had fun on the side by side parts. Now when he got into hold, that was the issue. He was quite stiff and looked really uncomfortable there. His movements were really small and compact in hold while he danced more exaggerated out of hold. So this dance was kind of a mixed bag. Also, why did this dance feel so short compared to everything else? I was shook by how it ended because I expected to see some more.

Ellen & Stephen - Tango: Oooh Ellen started off quite confident at the start. But oooh I love how they got right into the Tango hold. It's going to be interesting seeing how they handle the ballroom hold, but they really made this work. She has a great hold and frame position. Her footwork looked pretty solid, sharp and had staccato. She created beautiful and lovely shapes. Omggg random thought but she kinda reminded me/looks like Lady Gaga here. I did think she performed well and gave a nice passionate performance. A great first dance from Ellen and deserving of 7s.

 

Rankings:
1. Erica & Denys - Samba
2. Jordan & Salome - Salsa
3. Ellen & Stephen - Tango
4. Aengus & Emily - Charleston
5. Billy & Hannah - Foxtrot
6. Matthew & Laura - Viennese Waltz

 

I didn't get to see everything but..... Erica, Jordan and Ellen were the clear Top 3 of these first two weeks of dances. Looking forward to seeing more dances from them, as well as seeing how the others grow.

Also even though everything in predictions and thoughts can change next week. Based on scores and stuff I read via forums and social media stuff, I think Matthew and Cathy are probably the most in danger. As of now, I think Matthew is probably most in danger of going. The reality UK/Irish based stars in Hughie and Yewanda both went first after two not-so-good dances. He probably has a strong fanbase via Love Island but not sure if that will translate here.
 

[Ariel1989]

A YouTube channel uploaded all the dances: Our Savior!

[Ariel1989]

Some Week 3 dances spoilers: 

 

Cathy & Maurizio: Tango
Erica & Denys: Foxtrot
Gráinne & John: Paso Doble
Matthew & Laura: Jive
Neil & Kylee: Charleston
Nina & Pasquale: Rumba

Thoughts: 

Cathy should fare better with a ballroom, she seemed to have the most trouble when dancing on her own in the Cha-Cha and a Tango will require consistent body contact.  

Looking forward to Erica's Foxtrot but a TINY BIT worried about her dancing in hold with Denys because there seemed to be a little bit of a height difference in the first dance.  

Not sure that Gráinne will score better in a Latin but she'll likely be safe with John as her partner.  

Matthew is likely toast with the Jive especially since he's been training the least.  

Neil should deliver a fun Charleston and likely move on to the next week but he should be getting a ballroom for his third dance.  

A little worried about Nina with the Rumba, she's not a performer and she's also a little on the quiet and shy side but it's probably better that she gets it over with this early in the series.  

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Ariel1989