also Llambi and Daniel dancing together, another ICONIC moment for the history books :cool:

to ''Fade to Grey'' by Visage




and Motsi's birthday :cheer: :party:

this week no live show but a countdown of the Top 25 most popular/loved contestants in all of the past 17 seasons so far


which the german public had been able to submit their own top 10's for the last couple of weeks



my prediction for a top 5

and not to forget Nicolas & Vadim of course, their first same-sex partnership


lots of firsts for them tbh


first celeb with dwarfism (paralympian Mathias Mester)

first hearing impaired celeb (actor Benjamin Piwko)

first transgender celeb (fashion model Loiza Lamers)

was a lovely special :love:


Knossi was voted most popular celeb by the german public




but yup yup Mathias Mester, Benjamin Piwko, Nicolas Puschmann on the list too, same as last years top comedian Tony Bauer



once again i was in tears for Benny Piwko :lovedup: :bawling: such a sweetheart of a guy really, and i prefer him big time over Rose Ayling-Ellis

also how he didn't win cuz of sympathy votes, but finishing in 3rd place on dance merit :clap2:

Week 8 partner switch, two dances songs and dances
 

i knew Simone would quit since she already said she had a injury in the previous show so Christine Neubauer was reinstated


regular round

Taliso Engel & Patricija Ionel: Viennese Waltz to Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake

Jeanette Biedermann & Vadim Garbuzov: Paso Doble to Americano by Lady GaGa

Selfiesandra & Zsolt Sandor Cseke: Paso Doble to Zorrongo by Frederico Garcia Lorca

Fabian Hambuchen & Anastasia Maruster: Tango to La Bordona by Emilio Balcare

Marie Mouroum & Alexandru Ionel: Foxtrot to Crush by Jennifer Paige

San Diego Pooth & Ekaterina Leonova: Waltz to Make It Rain by Ed Sheeran

Christine Neubauer & Valentin Lusin: Tango to Nostalgias by Lalo Schifrin

Partner Switch round

Taliso Engel & Kathrin Menzinger: Samba to Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

Jeanette Biedermann & Sergiu Maruster: Rumba to How Deep Is Your Love by Michael Bublé & Kelly Rowland

Selfiesandra & Evgeny Vinokurov: Foxtrot to Love You I Do from Dreamgirls

Fabian Hambuchen & Christina Hanni: Salsa to Candela by Buena Vista Social Club

Marie Mouroum & Renata Lusin: Tango to Santa Maria by Gotan Project

San Diego Pooth & Malika Dzumaev: Samba to Lloraré Las Penas by David Bisbal

Christine Neubauer & Massimo Sinato: Samba to Eso Beso by Paul Anka

am so excited for this tonight :dance2:

hoping Diego does well with Malika in the samba :love:




and a same-sex dance Marie & Renata, that gonna be HOT :dazzler:

Jeanette & Vadim were eliminated



and YASSSSSSSSSSSS Diego 2 10's for his waltz :love: and his samba with Malika looked good fun, despite the height difference

also cute his grandmother was there, whom he had spent the easter holidays with, due to his parents having been away for work

Fabian kinda crashed down to earth with two underwhelming routines

a too flat Salsa, and a perfect tango choreography wise but poorly executed from his side


the pressure really getting to him



Christine gave us two fun routines, a great samba with Massimo, and a lovely streets of buenos aires vibe tango argentino :love:

this week its

Magic Moments Freestyles week! :dance: and the Dance Duels (Flamenco or Bollywood or Streetdance)

Christine & Valentin were eliminated



well my thoughts

Fabian & Anastasia

Magic Moment: a tribute to all of his olympic medal wins, especially lighting the olympic flame moment was nice in this routine at the end :love:

Streetdance: he did the best he could've but in the end Marie just was one big slay so he got outdanced


Christine & Valentin

Magic Moment: super cute she got to pay tribute to her father, with such a tearjerker of a tune as well

Bhangra: i personally thought she danced it better than Sandra, lesser aggressive but with more feeling, and also more rhythm


Sandra & Zsolt

Magic Moment: loved her dancing for her mom (whom was also in the audience) and loved the group hug with her sisters at the end

Bhangra: it was overmarked for my liking, too robotic and too aggressively danced, but that is my personal opinion


Diego & Ekat

Magic Moment: he danced for his recently passed away grandfather, to such an iconic tune from the film Interstellar, loved the viennese waltz content in there, as well as some nice fierce tango bits, and he moves soooo smoothly, gliding across the floor, and those lifts, WOW from a novice to a dancer, Go Diego Go! also so much emotion for someone who struggled in the past expressing himself in public

Flamenco: BOOOOOOO Llambi BOOOOO, i thought he gave it a decent effort at a flamenco demonstration, not a performance i know, but it is about basic content in a dance duel, and i thought he looked very slick, and clean execution of all steps and hand clapping moves, yes i loved his take on the flamenco

Marie & Alexandru:

Magic Moment: basically 7 dances mashed into one routine, a tribute to her career as hollywood stunt performer, with some mission impossible bits, some bond bits, and also at the end bit of her princessy side, liked it

Streetdance: SLAY! also to what a tune by eminem houdini :love: she ate up fabian for breakfast, lunch and dinner :)


Taliso & Patricija:

Magic Moment: about his gold medal at the Paris 2024 paralympics basically, it was too much contemporary for my liking, and not enough variety of dance content, where music wise, there could've easily been a paso doble bit in there or tango

flamenco: it was decent, but Diego was better, shame on Llambi not seeing that how heavy footed Taliso danced this




next week a regular routine and Trio Dances

Quarter Finals: regular routine & trio dances songs
 

Trio Dances

Taliso & Patricija & Renata Lusin with a Salsa to Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony

Sandra & Zsolt & Kathrin Menzinger with a Jive to Title by Meghan Trainor

Fabian & Anastasia & Sergiu Maruster with a Rumba to No Se Por Que Te Quiero by Ana Belén & Antonio Banderas

Marie & Alexandru & Evgeny Vinokurov with a Samba to Lost On You by LP, Cubaneros

Diego & Ekaterina & Massimo Sinato with a Jive to Dance with me Tonight by Olly Murs

-
regular dances

Taliso & Patricija with a Charleston to Pencil Full of Lead by Paolo Nutini

Sandra & Zsolt with a Waltz to Kissing You by Des'ree

Fabian & Anastasia with a Viennese Waltz to The World We Knew by Frank Sinatra

Marie & Alexandru with a Rumba to Too Lost In You by Sugababes

Diego & Ekaterina with a Foxtrot to High Hopes by Panic at the Disco

i'm happy with Massimo for our Diego and Ekat's trio dance, Ekat and Massimo already worked together in the profi challenge few years ago with success, so looking forward to their Jive and i'm happy with that music choice for the foxtrot, a slowed down version i think, which i'm also excited for hearing


nowhere to hide for Taliso this week, a traditional choice for the charleston, and a Salsa for his trio dance, OUCH, and he ain't the best technical dancer


but tbh i can see Sandra struggle as well with the Jive, but the waltz might boost her score a little more i think

Marie having too good dances again, should do fine



Fabian i don't know, his magic moment last week kinda redeemed himself for me a bit more, but you see the pressure getting to him more and more, so idk about how he'll do this week

Quarter finals my thoughts
 

and it was a shocker, 2nd on the leaderboard but she was eliminated, Marie Mouroum & Alexandru Ionel

:o :o :o i really thought she might've won the glitterball



but anyway

Taliso & Patricija:

regular dance - charleston: 22 score, but overmarked for my liking still, it was flat footed in places, half danced swivels, and everything was danced by numbers, this was poor, not only for quarter finals but also if this was few weeks ago my score: 3

trio dance (with Renata) - salsa: stiff, dull, uninspiring and very lacklustre, good music though 4


Marie & Alexandru:

regular dance - rumba: LOVE that Sugababes track tbh, was a very solid rumba, lovely rumba walks, very sexy but nothing too raunchy, this was solid 8

trio dance - salsa (with Evgeny): love this salsafied version of that iconic LP banger, very technically difficult routine, very risky moves in there, lots of hip action, yes love it 10

Diego & Ekaterina:

regular dance - foxtrot: perfect piece of music for this dance, loved the storytelling of diego playing a student and ekat someone from high society, great swing and sway flow throughout, very proper footwork, but that LIFT, he held her foot with one hand, and she looked sooooo stunning as well, there you can see how great their teamwork is, how much she trusts him, Go Diego Go! 10

trio dance - jive (with Massimo): very quirky yet simple storytelling, this diner theme might've done many times but it remains so effective, Diego was superbly well in sync with Massimo with the kicks and flicks, also love how much he has grown in terms of selling a routine compared to early weeks where he was too scared of expressing himself, YASS GET IN 10

Fabian & Anastasia:

regular dance - viennese waltz: some moments looked a bit too clunky for my liking but that was part of the routine, i didn't like it, but the judges did, everyone has different tastes i guess, but all in all a gorgeous ballroom number 8

trio dance - rumba (with Sergiu): i initially thought Fabi would a third wheel with husband and wife's rumba, but this was a fab trio dance rumba, also Sergiu thought him the rumba walks quite well and the 8 hip action, this was impressive 9

Sandra & Zsolt:

regular dance - waltz: i have good memories with that des'ree tune, Abbey Clancy's waltz song, both in week 1 and in the final, but anyway for someone with her weight, i am impressed how light she glides across the floor actually, although for a quarter finals routine, this was a little below that standard, too plain 7

trio dance - jive (with Kathrin): Strictly the Professional PROMO in the routine can you imagine :laugh: i noticed that, i wonder if the BBC are gonna copyright it lol, but anyway kicks and flicks looked decent for her standard, nothing disastrous, or also not outdanced by Kathrin, this was fun, and top entertainment 8



next week semi final, with two regular routines and the return of the IMPRO DANCE even more Extreme *insert scary music*

Diego is sooooooo level headed, down to earth, genuinely sweet, despite being someone who is hella privileged basically in his upbringing



loved what Massimo said about him ''a good role model for the younger generations, and a James Dean sort of similar charm about him''

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Our Boy Diego is in the final!!


a perfect 30 as well for his impro dance quickstep :o WOOOOW





Sandra & Zsolt were eliminated last night in the semi




so an all male final

Fabian Hambuchen & Anastasia Maruster

Diego Pooth & Ekaterina Leonova

Taliso Engel & Patricija Ionel


also three with a sports background :flutter:

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Diego has won!

i'm so happy :love: :cheer:


Ekat's 4th glitterball win :flutter:

From Novice to Dancing Star


also what a charming young man he is, also so likeable, and very good looking



wouldn't mind Ekat joining the judges panel as of next series to have 4 judges again as she has a lot of expertise (and judge experience from Das Supertalent)


but anyway upcoming friday, profi challenge! with the german tom cruise - Christian Polanc back, stepping in for Massimo :flutter:

Profi Challenge 2025 Themes & Songs
 

now for the first time, with different themes


Freiheit (Freedom): Christina Hanni & Sergiu Maruster: Muddy Waters by LP & Spectrum by Florence and the Machine

Eifersucht (Jealousy): Mariia Maksina & Evgeny Vinokurov: Toxic by 2WEI

Leidenschaft (Passion): Isabel Edvardsson & Paul Lorenz: Canta Per Me by Yuriko Kaida & Young and Beautiful by Lana del Rey

WUT (Fury): Ekaterina Leonova & Valentin Lusin: Echo Sax End by Caleb Arredondo & Libertango by Astor Piazzolla

Freude (Joy): Renata Lusin & Alexandru Ionel: Charleston by Franck Pourcel & Smile by Nat King Cole & Manana/The Laughing Samba by Bryan Smith

Energie (Energy): Patricija Ionel & Mika Tatarkin: I Put a Spell on You by Garou

Mut (Courage): Katja Kalugina & Vadim Garbuzov: Circle Of Life, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, He Lives In You, Battle for Pride Rock from Lion King

Liebe (Love): Anastasia Maruster & Zsolt Sandor Cseke: Besame Mucho

Ekstase (Ecstasy): Kathrin Menzinger & Christian Polanc: Lacrimosa by Mozart & Tanguera by Sexteto Mayor


Round 2 Songs (with all 9 couples)

Bailar by Deorro Ft Elvis Crespo


Round 3 (with 3 couples who received the most public votes for a dance off to determine the winners with another voting round)

Codigo de Barra by Bajofonde & Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics

we love Mommy Isabel being back, same goes for Christian (hoping he can keep up with Queen Choreo Kathrin :laugh:)


also love seeing Katja in a line up again :flutter: (but tbh despite no celeb partners for her, she does a lot of group number choreographies, and a mentor role, similar to Sergiu Luca & Regina Luca, also behind the scenes and as coaches in lets dance kids)

like the idea of different emotion themes, an extra difficulty layer for our pro's



a real shame Strictly doesn't do this either, the week after the final (it really helps against post show depression) and honestly this is what i more love about lets dance, its about the professional dancers, rather than strictly laying the focus on the entertainment show bit


Craig Revel Horwood to compare with Herr Llambi, well Llambi is from the dance competitions, he is always present at european and world championships to scout them for lets dance, while Craig is more from west end, so his expertise is limited, in my opinion, and the pro's here see Llambi as a father figure to them


i also love the chemistry of judges here more, Jorge/Motsi/Llambi are much better than Craig/Motsi/Shirley/Anton


Shirley gets hated by the british public but in all fairness, she knows more about dancing than Craig

Ekaterina & Valentin won the profi challenge!


Ekat doing the double again :clap1:



Christian Polanc & Kathrin Menzinger were runner up, Christian also confirmed he officially retires from the show as a pro dancer, but tbh for someone close to 50, he dances still so fabulously well :love: