Last night's (23 October 2008) fourth episode of
Strictly Come Dancing 5 saw its second celebrity contestant and partner leave the show.
Award-winning Afro-Jazz vocalist
Judith Sephuma and dance partner
Eksteen Traut came head-to-head in a dance-off with speed freak
Gugu Zulu and partner
Sarah Cooper, after viewer votes and judges' scores dumped both couples in the bottom two.
Judges then had the final say on which couple had to make an exit.
Salome Sechele vouched for Judith with
Tyrone Watkins,
Dave Campbell and
Lillian Phororo (the judge with the deciding vote in case of a tie) voting to keep Gugu in the competition.
Nothing personal, Sis Judith, but TVSA is heaving a sigh of relief. Gugu - once known as "the fastest brother in Africa" but nowadays known as
"the biggest shisstirrer on TVSA" - is a born blogger. Never a dull moment.
The judges' scores (before viewer votes were added) were as follows:
Rob van Vuuren and Mary Martin: 33
Tessa van Duuren and Grant Esterhuizen: 30
Adil More and Robynn Soules: 29
Anele Mdoda and Brandon Eilers Le Riche: 29
Hlubi Mboya and Khutso Khunou: 26
Garth Collins and Hayley Bennett: 25
Cindy Nell and Jonathan Broadway: 24
Gugu Zulu and Sarah Cooper: 23
Judith Sephuma and Eksteen Traut: 23
During the fourth episode couples performed either the passionate Tango or the lively Jive. The Tango is a fiery, dramatic dance characterised by abrupt, staccato action. The Jive, on the other hand, is a bouncy, light and frivolous affair, with dancers' body weight always leaning forward.
Dressed in a romantic, midnight blue velvet gown with diamanté detail,
Cindy Nell and partner
Jonathan Broadway were the first to strut their stuff, after she left even the notoriously bitchy Tyrone Watkins speechless after last week's performance.
Last night, however, judges agreed the performance was passionless and without the character the style requires. Tyrone suggested that Cindy attacks this competition (and her partner) to get more out of it.
“The dancer trapped in a bodybuilder's body”,
Garth Collins, turned his disastrous track record on the dance floor around with a surprisingly light Jive.
Dressed in what seemed to be an S&M-inspired patent leather outfit, Garth and partner
Hayley Bennett (we missed you last season, girlfriend) delivered a routine that inspired Lilian to call it a “dramatic improvement”.
Salome was as impressed and suggested that the couple really put in everything they have, now that they've got their nerves under control.
After race ace Gugu Zulu's Tango, the judges suggested he and partner Sarah Cooper now shift into second gear (clearly they haven't been reading Gugu's blog - the brother is in sixth gear and cruising, baby).
According to the judges his performance was lacklustre, but they nonetheless commended the amount of potential he shows. Lilian reminded him not to be intimidated by his partner.
Lilian had better be careful what she says to Gugu, however, or she's next on his famous Hit List. Shwashwi ain't got nothing on Gugu. Phew. Ouch. Yho!
With a hairdo big enough to accommodate two empty apartments, according to the ever-toothy
Ian von Memerty, 5FM's
Anele Mdoda proved once again that her and partner
Brandon Eilers Le Riche's hours spent in the dance rehearsal studio will bear fruit every single week.
[A side note: viewers of previous seasons of SCD will have known Brandon simply as Brandon Eilers - yet this season his name has suddenly extended into a heady, exotic concoction of Anglo-Dutch-French persuasion which would leave half of Europe's royalty green with envy at the sheer magnificence of it all.
The explanation, as TVSA has divined, is that when Brandon got married after Season 4 of SCD he - in a very modern move no doubt endorsed by millions of feminists worldwide - added his wife's maiden name to his own, to become Brandon Eilers Le Riche.
Now that's class.]
The appreciative judging panel found their Jive to be sparkly, light and energetic. The radio personality with the attitude and matching big personality did not disappoint. She was, however, cautioned to be more flighty in her movements.
Hlubi Mboya and
Khutso Khunou's Tango depicted the love/hate relationship between two fiery Latin lovers, much like the real-life relationship between coach and novice dancer...
Lilian thought that the dance suited the actress well, but noted that the passion should be evident in every movement, as opposed to just in the temperament.
Salome remarked that Hlubi's head is obviously in the right place now, after her somewhat unsatisfying first performances. The couple are clearly starting to get into the groove.
As from the outset and every week thereafter, comedian
Rob van Vuuren left everyone – from judges to his coach
Mary Martin – pleasantly delighted at what he has to offer.
The couple's Jive was a "tour de force" and Lilian went as far as calling Rob a “dance wonder” and “dance supremo”, getting slightly breathier as she strived for ever-greater adjectival heights.
Tyrone was elated by the fact that this white boy and his sultry mate did justice to a style that originated on this continent.
After competing in the dance-off last week, Judith stalked the floor with a James Bond-inspired Tango, along with partner Eksteen Traut. Her concentration was plain to see, to such a degree that her timing was once again the step that tripped her up.
Tyrone scathingly remarked that she actually managed to kill James Bond. He was wrong -
Daniel Craig managed that all on his own.
Tessa van Duuren – the elegant show jumper who likes to call herself a tomboy – confessed she found the Jive a challenge, going so far as to say “the Jive hates me”. The Jive and Gugu - haters all.
Her cheeky and energetic rendition with partner
Grant Esterhuizen detailed with splits and jumps, however, had the judges raving. Tyrone suggested that she brings more than the technically correct moves to the party.
The next couple is rumoured to be more than dance partners in the gossip mags, and if this is the secret to their success, it is working for Metro FM's
Adil More and his partner
Robynn Soules. Their Tango was convincingly impressive and the judges called it his best work on the season to date.
The cast of the stage show UMOJA gave an adrenaline-fuelled performance halfway through the show.
Next week the couples will be performing either a Paso Doble or a Foxtrot.
If you haven't yet, check out what the celebs have to say each week in their TVSA blogs (or use the banner at the top of the page to access all the celeb blogs at once):
AdilAneleCindyGarthGuguHlubiJudithShugasmakxRobTessaOther SCD 5 links:Strictly Come Dancing 5 Mini-SiteinTOXICated (a blog by TVSA blogger Toxic, featuring SCD articles)
SCD Episode 4 Live Blog (a live blog of Episode 4, by Segololo)
Official Site
| STRICTLY COME DANCING 5: EPISODE 4 |
Judith Sephuma and Eksteen Traut
Judith Sephuma and Eksteen Traut
Judith Sephuma and Eksteen Traut
Judith Sephuma and Eksteen Traut
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