Strictly Come Dancing contestant Delta Goodrem will miss next week's show due to an injury, but a body language expert has suggested her off-dancefloor confidence could be a challenge if she returns.
The singer and her partner Kai Widdrington danced a Salsa on Saturday night, earning the first nine of the series from judge Motsi Mabuse and topping the leaderboard with a score of 33. Following the performance, Delta confirmed she would not be able to participate next weekend because of the injury.
Expert Claims Delta Appears Overwhelmed
Body language expert Sean Johns spoke exclusively to Wales Online about how her confidence away from the dancefloor differs from her performances, commenting that she appears "overwhelmed." He shared: "Delta topped the board with 33 on Saturday and was called safe early on Sunday. Her dancing is a frontrunner's. Her body between the dances is not."
Elaborating on the singer's stance after her performance, he added: "Watch her hands. From the moment she came off the floor, through the judges' comments and again when the scores came up, they kept going back to her chest, clasped together or pressed flat under her collarbone. That is self-soothing: when we are flooded, touching the chest slows the breath and settles the body."
"When Shirley said 'I think you're going to go all the way', her head dropped and the hands clasped again. A head drop at praise is gratitude being held in, not a winner's pose. On Sunday, when her family in Australia came up on screen, both hands went over her mouth and she wiped her eyes. Covering the mouth is how we stop an emotion escaping in front of a room."
Partnership With Kai Tells the Same Story
Johns went on to explain how her partnership with Kai reflects this pattern. "When Kai told Johannes the 'circle of trust' has 'one foot in', Delta stood beside him with her fingers interlaced in front of her while he had a hand on his hip. Interlaced fingers are a way of holding ourselves; a hand on the hip is a settled, open stance," he said.
"He is settled. She is still holding on to herself rather than to him. That is normal at week three, but it is what decides whether the lifts get bigger or safer. My advice to Delta: let the hands rest on him, not on her own chest."
Delta remains a firm favourite to lift the Glitterball this year, but she is not taking her success for granted. Taking to Instagram, she shared with her fans: "Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us and continues to support us. It gives us all the energy to come out and dance for you every Saturday. We're so grateful."
Judges Praise Performance
Judge Motsi said of her performance on Saturday night: "She brought the D.I.S.C.O. Delta, I absolutely loved that. What people don't get is that you are very tall. If I was to stand next to you, I'd be by your knees or something. But honestly, with this speed, with this rhythm, with this class, with everything you bring on the dancefloor, it looks so easy."
Her one piece of advice, echoed by some of her fellow judges, was to keep her arms a little bit lower when spinning. "You are fighting, like wrestling, you don't need to do any of that," she shared. "But you have been giving from week one, week two, week three, for me, this was the highlight, you did an amazing job."
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6.15pm.
