Depends where the camera focuses.

I have no problem with an actor "acting" a dance....it's fine. I am more impressed though when a non-actor acts such as Chris Hollins (who I cannot stand on BBC Breakfast, but love on Strictly) or even Jo Wood and Joe C.

Hmm. I'm not sure Natalie was feeling it any more genuinely than Lynda. She even used similar facial expressions.

...

But for some reason, I'm feeling a bit more well-disposed towards the (over)actors after Saturday's show. I wonder whether it will last.

(Zoe -- I agreed she should be dropped from the list.)

Ricky G -- His dance was entertaining, and it finally made sense of the dance order when it had seemed that they were using up the good dancers and weren't leaving any way for the show to end on a high. I also liked the way he was talking on ITT about finding the "middle level" between over- and under-doing it.

Lynda -- She was as badly over-theatrical as expected. However, it was a paso. Her dance this week doesn't have the same scope for it.

Natalie -- Natalie over-acted and over-faced in a way very like Lynda's (just not quite so extreme), and she has another Latin dance this week.

It's looking like Natalie's the menace, rather than Lynda, if she continues to be over-marked and over-praised for "performance", "personality", "attitude", and similar. Her paso even got an 8 from Alesha who saw the unconvincing over-acting just as "drama", "once again you brought the drama to that dancefloor."

There is an unfortunately tendency for people to see someone who displays something in a louder, larger, more obvious way as actually having or doing it more, as in Claudia's remark that Natalie was "putting everything into her performances", as if the others must be holding back.

Hmm. I'm not sure I agree with you on Natalie to be honest Veri! I thought her Paso was pitched just about right.

Vincent's part of it was just about right. I'll go that far.

Natalie's performance seems a lot more "put on", while his seems a much more natural expression of the dance and music.

I was frightened by Ricky G's jive face on tonight's ITT.

Lyndas face in the dance of scared the living daylights out of me .Pasted on and so scary .

Pulling faces may not be a substitute for well executed dance steps, but it's better than nothing! (If only Joe C could 'act' a bit!) I'm with Craig - if I can't be impressed by the technical skill of the dancing, I'd like to be entertained.

That makes sense but, for me, I don't find the faces entertaining, except (rarely) in a car crash / cringe / hide behind the soft / run screaming from the room sorta way.

I've liked most of Ricky G's dances, though. I think there may have been only one that was ly over-faced ... but if the clip in yesterday's ITT is any guide, he's preparing to do it again.

... In Lynda's final dance, she was actually ok. I even wanted her to stay instead of whoever it was in the dance-off.

Anyway, she's gone, leaving us with Natalie C, sometimes Ricky G, and - threatening to join them - Chris, as the over-actors.

Comment from Arlene, September 28th:

Unreality tv introduces it like this:

While The Sun, where it originally appeared, gives it a more positive spin:

Both then continue:

Wouldn't make any difference - all they would do would be to mark from 14-20 insted ...

Without being able to act a "performance" in the Viennese Waltz, Natalie seemed personality-free.

Ricky G's enthusiasm and energy was too obviously acted in his Jive.

Zoe was over-praised and over-marked for some reason. It's as if the judges think she's giving a (good) "performance" when she isn't.

Chris has now journeyed into too-obviously-acting territory, where he is about to pass Ricky G.