Joanne's charades Boléro

While all of the other contestants are initially shown trying to create a new instrument for their performances, Joanne is seen doing what Greg in the studio calls “big steps around the room”. Joanne admits that she had no memory of having made an instrument for the task, and Alex confirms that at no point had making a non-human noise crossed her mind.

Joanne’s ‘performance’ begins as a game of charades. She provides clues to Alex that it’s a piece of music, and that its title consists of only one word. She then removes her boots before putting them back on again, and beginning her ‘big steps’ across the room.

Joanne then continues her game of charades by conveying that the word has three syllables, and that the first syllable sounds like a roar. The roar is intended to sound like a bear, but Alex incorrectly guesses that it’s a tiger.

Joanne tries to communicate the first syllable again by miming chugging a beer, and then clinking two pints together whilst shouting “Lads, lads, lads!”. She makes a point of pointing to the liquid inside the imaginary drinking glass, while also gesturing to her belly, attempting to suggest a beer belly.

For the second syllable, Joanne indicates that it sounds like something, and then mimes licking an ice lolly.

She struggles to come up with a suitable mime for the third syllable, and so breaks with the rules of charades by simply saying “Oh”.

Joanne tells Alex that he now has all the pieces needed to identify the classical piece she is conveying, but he is unable to put them together to come up with the correct answer. Regardless, Joanne takes a bow, before observing “Not a rose in sight”, suggesting she’d perhaps expected someone to throw a rose to her on her imaginary stage. Unable to produce a rose, Alex shares that he instead has a biro, which he then throws at her as a substitute.

In the studio, Greg says that he is disappointed at Joanne’s attempt, but thinks he does know the piece of music that Joanne was trying to convey. Based mainly on the fact that there is an ice lolly called a Solero, Greg correctly guesses that her classical pieces was Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. Upon this revelation, Nick realises that Joanne’s act of removing and then putting on her boots was meant to represent someone donning ice skates (referencing the famous use of the music by the figure skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, in their gold medal-winning 1984 Olympics performance).

Greg ultimately awards Joanne 3 points due to the fact that he was able to correctly identify her piece.

(Written by M3 / Andres Sanchez and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by David Fuller)