Press Release
LEANNE DLAMINI, JONATHAN BOYNTON-LEE AND LEANDIE DU RANDT TANGO INTO THE STRICTLY COME DANCING 2014 FINALE
Sultry SAMA winning singer LeAnne Dlamini, hunky Top Billing presenter Jonathan Boynton-Lee and TV star Leandie Du Randt will compete on Friday for the chance to hold up the coveted Strictly Come Dancing trophy in this year’s hit SABC3 celebrity dance contest.
The trio proved they’ve got the prowess to light up the dance floor in an electrifying semi-final at the weekend.
The announcement of the three Strictly finalists came after Ashish Gangapersad bowed out of the competition in a nerve-wracking Results Show on Saturday night.
The former Isidingo actor once more found himself in the bottom two after the collating of the judges scores with viewer votes.
But, although in the previous week, he managed to outpace former rugby player John Mametsa, Ashish’s luck ran out on Saturday evening after going head-to-head with LeAnne Dlamini, one of the series’ most consistently good performers.
“It has been one of the most amazing journeys of my entire life,” said the actor with the Bollywood looks after judges Tebogo Kgobokoe and Michael Wentink chose to save LeAnne, who with her partner Johannes delivered a formidable Paso Doble to the Lady Gaga hit ‘Americano’.
Saturday night’s Result Show was the climax of two days which started on Friday night when the four remaining dancers gave it their all during the semi-final show.
Episode nine opened with Ashish and his partner Lindsey dancing the Paso Doble to ‘I Would Do Anything For Love’ by Meatloaf.
The performance divided the judges, with Tebogo commenting that Ashish “looked like a good guy trying to be bad” while Michael sided with Samantha Peo, who told the actor she thought it was his “best performance yet”.
The actor pulled out a trump card for his second performance though, wowing viewers and the live studio audience with a theatrical Tango which saw him mine his dark side, playing the Joker complete with menacing face-paint and ending with a elevation move, landing atop the judge’s table and handing a Joker’s card to Michael.
Sokkie Bokkie Leandie Du Randt and her partner Brandon raced to the top of the leaderboard with their two performances, starting with a tantalizing Tango to ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC and finishing off with a Paso Doble to ‘Paint it Black’ by the Rolling Stones.
“Absolutely fantastic. Quick. Slick and electric. That was pure dance,” said Michael about the blonde actress’ first performance.
But it was Leandie’s second performance which proved to be the highest scoring of the series to date: She earned a full ten out of ten from all three judges for her passionate Paso Doble.
Jonathan Boynton-Lee, on the other hand, got a lukewarm reception from the judges for his first performance, a Tango to ‘Feel So Close to You’ by Calvin Harris, which saw him and his partner Hayley kitted up in skin-tight space suits.
“I think the costumes let you down,” is how Michael summed up what the judges thought of the routine.
The TV personality managed to win the judges over with his second performance, a Paso Doble to ‘España Cañí’ from the Shall We Dance soundtrack, which Samantha called “A classic Paso Doble… I loved the sense of ceremony about it”.
Meanwhile, singer LeAnne Dlamini pulled out all the stops for her two performances – a Paso Doble to ‘Americano by Lady Gaga which saw Michael uncharacteristically clap, enthusing: “That was a Paso Doble! That was a flamenco! Well done!” and a thrilling Tango to ‘Can’t Hold Us’ by Macklemore.
The special two-hour finale of ‘
Strictly SA’ will be broadcast on SABC3 on Friday at 20h00. The
Strictly Come Dancing 2014 winner will be announced during the show. There will be no Results Show on Saturday night.