Top 10 Surprising Strictly Come Dancing Performances

Sometimes on Strictly, you get that one contestant who makes up for their lack of technical skill with all-encompassing enthusiasm and in season 17, that was Mike Bushell. We imagine dancing to “Jump On It” in front of Carlton himself must be incredibly nervewracking. It was hardly a recognisable Samba, but let’s just say it’s a good thing that Alfonso Ribeiro has a good sense of humour. And he totally steals the show when he jumps up to recreate the iconic dance with this pair. Maybe if that had been part of their routine, they would have been spared the dance-off.

The Show Dance gives couples the opportunity to tear up the rule book but, this routine, branded by the fans as, “Muppetgate” also tore up their chance of winning the glitterball trophy. We all raised an eyebrow when this duo headed to the stage with their lifesized puppets attached, and really who could focus on the dance after that? Erin said she wanted to highlight her partners’ skills but the judges and viewers were simply left baffled by the whole performance. Until this point, they had been the favourites to win but this dance flopped harder than those flimsy puppets.

Now, this is what we call a Show Dance. By this point, Joe had already proved that he had the moves so Dianne had to up the ante. She described the routine as a “Rocky Fred Astaire” and Joe said it was quite the workout. There’s barely time for them to catch their breath as they race around the dance floor, jump across different platforms, pull off some incredible lifts, oh, and there’s a trampoline. Their energy never falters as they dance to, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” a rather fitting song for this performance, don’t you think?

Chris and Karen hovered around the bottom half of the leaderboard, that is until they performed their Couple’s Choice. Doing it for the North East, Chris danced Street Commercial to PJ & Duncan’s “Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble” and in the words of Craig, it was, “sick”. Chris finally found his inner dancer to give us this excellent routine and found himself near the top of the leaderboard. He doesn’t miss a beat, he’s clearly in his element and having the time of his life. Who would have thought Byker Grove would get the Strictly treatment but we’re thrilled that it did.

Katya knows how to choreograph a dance that gets people talking and, her Argentine Tango with Joe McFadden certainly proves this. Don’t get us wrong, the whole routine is mesmerising and the judges praised them for taking risks and pushing boundaries. However, there is one moment at the end of the dance that still leaves us in complete awe. The incredible core strength, not to mention the complete and utter trust needed to master this move is unbelievable, and somehow they make it look easy. This became one of those moments that fans everywhere would try to recreate to varying success.

It’s almost impossible to remember that there was a time when Kelvin Fletcher wasn’t part of the season 17 Strictly line-up, sorry Jaime. We can only imagine Oti’s delight when her last-minute partner showed up for the first day of rehearsal and started shaking those hips. Considering Kelvin’s Strictly journey had a late beginning, no one could have expected the incredible Samba he delivered in week one, landing him the top spot on the leaderboard. Needless to say, he left everyone a little hot under the collar and it seems like they’re still trying to cool off to this day.

These partners brought us several surprises but we’re going to stick to the ones that took place on the dancefloor. Seann really amazed the judges with his immense improvement when he danced a Matrix themed Paso during Movie Week. The choreography is inventive and brilliantly complements the theme, but once again, Katya brought the nation to its feet with one outstanding move. They make it look so easy as Katya defies gravity while Seann pulls her up by one leg. Of course, this isn’t the only moment that impressed the fans but it’s the one that everyone wanted to master.

When Lisa Riley first hit the Strictly dance floor, she defied expectations and showed she was a serious contender for that glitterball. She said that she wanted to prove what she could do despite her size and, considering she made it to the semi-finals, we think she did a pretty stellar job. During her Samba, she showed just how flexible she could be by dropping into the splits during a pretty high-energy routine. Essentially, Lisa showed people everywhere that you don’t have to be a certain size to be a dancer and, she looked absolutely fabulous while proving her point.

Like many Strictly fans, there is no way we can forget this explosive entrance. What do you do when your celebrity partner can barely snap in time to the music but you have to dance the Jive? Well, you could try it Flavia’s way and have them shoot out a cannon. This is definitely the most inventive and unusual entrance in Strictly history and it’s really all the judges could focus on. Len says that people will always talk about this moment and he’s definitely not wrong there. And as Alesha says, “Just when you think you’ve seen it all...”

If you’d told Ed Balls that one day he’d be dancing the Salsa to “Gangnam Style” on national television, he would have thought you were mad. However, once Strictly fever hit, there he was all dressed up and performing a dance that would become a legendary part of the show. The whole routine is nuts but with Katya’s creative choreography, there’s no denying that we are thoroughly entertained. Unsurprisingly, everyone else in the Strictly team wanted in on the action too. Whether you loved it, hated it or were just confused by it, there is no way you’ll ever forget it.