Five weeks in, and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ is finally giving us our first street dance of the series.
Last month, it was announced that ‘Strictly’ would be straying from tradition and introducing three completely new genres of dance, with couples being given the option of dancing either a “contemporary”, “street and commercial” or “theatre and jazz” style.
This week, the first two pairs have been given the “couple’s choice”, with actor Charles Venn and Karen Clifton opting for “street and commercial”.
They’ll be performing to James Brown’s ‘Get Up Off That Thing’, while Paralympian Lauren Steadman and her partner AJ Pritchard will be doing a contemporary routine to Beyoncé and Naughty Boy’s collaboration, ‘Running’.
It’s business as usual for the other 10 couples left in the competition, who will be performing the usual mix of ballroom and Latin styles.
Fresh from their Charleston last week, it’s been revealed that Seann Walsh and Katya Jones will be doing a Quickstep to Jake Bugg’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ (yep, we’re still a long way off that elusive Rumba, it would seem), while last week’s champion Stacey Dooley will be tackling the Samba.
Here’s the full list of this week’s songs and dances…
- Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev will dance the Rumba to ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’ by Elton John
- Charles Venn and Karen Clifton will do a “street and commercial” routine to ‘Get Up Off That Thing’ by James Brown
- Danny John-Jules and Amy Dowden will dance the Jive to ‘Flip, Flop And Fly’ by Ellis Hall
- Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice will dance the Foxtrot to ‘Just The Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars
- Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse will dance the Tango to ‘Roxanne’ by The Police
- Joe Sugg and Diane Buswell will dance the Waltz to ‘The Rainbow Connection’ from ‘The Muppet Movie’
- Kate Silverton and Aljaž Skorjanec will dance the Viennese Waltz to ‘Finally Mine’ by Juliet Roberts
- Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard will perform a “contemporary” dance to ‘Runnin’ by Beyoncé, Naughty Boy and Arrow Benjamin
- Dr Ranj Singh and Janette Manrara will dance the American Smooth to ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ by The Beach Boys
- Seann Walsh and Katya Jones will dance the Quickstep to ‘Lightning Bolt’ by Jake Bugg
- Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton till dance the Samba to ‘Tequila’ by David Hirschfelder and The Bogo Pogo Orchestra
- Vick Hope and Graziano Di Prima will dance the Cha Cha to ‘More Than Friends’ by James Hype
Over the weekend, Katie Piper became the third celebrity sent home from the competition, after she and Gorka Marquez landed in the bottom two against Charles and Karen.
She’s since posted a video reflecting on her time in the competition, specifically noting how much she changed during her short ‘Strictly’ stint.
‘Strictly Come Dancing’ continues on Saturday night at 6.45pm on BBC One.