It'a a matter of perspective and opinion. But in one room there was Donnie & Gaynor, Corky & Shirley, Sammy & Barbara. Alan Tornberk & Vibeke, Brian Watson & Karen Hardy or Carmen, Paul Killick & Charlott Idling, Louie Van Amstel & Julie Fryer, Jean Marc & France, Tony Meridith & Melanie, Hans Galke & Bianca, Jukka & Sirpa, Sandro Cavalinni & Hanna, Ralph and Olga Muller in Ballroom 1. Then put the current top 12 at Blackpool in Ballroom 2. Which room do you think has the most stars, individuality, and style, and which room has the most couples that look alike. I think I would pay to go into Ballroom 1.

Thank you Erinfan and Becca, particularly for your insightful posts.

I watched them last year and this and feel exactly the same. They are spectacular dancers, but do not please me somehow, or move me much at all.

Perhaps athletic and technical prowess is now more valued in dancing or 'dancesport', than emotionality. Not that I know, of course.

As I said in my original post, I COMPLETELY understand and take your point and I agree to a large degree. I don't think pro latin is going in a great direction; it's losing musicality and characterisation and there's no comparison between your two rooms.

BUT...

I've still got to stick up for the modern class a bit, as I do think there are still stars there and there is individuality on display. In ten years time, like them or hate them, Joanna Leunis, Slavik Kryklyvyy and Yulia will be remembered and you can identify their dancing in the blink of an eye as they have moulded their own style.

Give me Matthew and Nicole Cutler any day......

I didn't enjoy the dance at all. Cold and robotic, and that black net all-in-one she was wearing, horrible. The pro's jive however was awe inspiring.

Have to admit there are only two professional couples out there today who I can say that I really like . . . yes the olden days were golden days for sure, but the love I have for one of these couples in particular brings me the most joy I've ever had spectating . . . and nobody else for me can compare.

For me though, Michael and Joanna have so far been the most interesting part of the whole series. And Natalie told me when I saw her the week before last that she and Craig will perform again this series, I'm guessing probably for the semi final seeing as though they are dancing Assen and demonstrating at the WDC World Professional Latin Championship before then, so again for me that will be a huge highlight.

I really enjoyed this. At times they moved so fast it looked like they were on ice! I welcomed the opportunity of seeing the current world champions and hope we get demonstrations from other world class dancers. Are any of the current SCD pros still competing?

Hmm once had a conversation with Sammy Stopford about "natural" dancers.This couple in my opinion are not natural dancers x

Michael and Joanna clearly know everything about Latin dance and their level of technical expertise is awesome. However they don't seem to show any emotion or generate any fun from their frenetic activity.

All in all, it isn't much fun to watch.

What do you mean by 'natural dancers'? Not having a go, just genuinely curious as I have very little knowledge of the dance world.

I was impressed with what they could do, but not moved by the dance.

For me it was a bit like basketball in the Olympics. The top pros are doing stuff I cant appreciate - its too fast and technical. I prefer watching the wheelchair basketball.

I agree about her hair. It was a bit boots makeup counter of 1985, and very un-Latin.
Overall, I was impressed by the precision and speed, but disappointed in the performance.

Yes they are awesome dancers but - isn't Latin supposed to be either sexy or fun? Where was the joy in that dance? Techincally amazing; her spins were stunning to watch, but sorry, that awful see through granny pj outfit and the weird hairdo were very off-putting. Where are Trinny and Susannah when you need them?

Yeah, I would too

I thought Michael and Joanna were colder than usual on Strictly. They are by no means my least favourite out of the top 6, or the coldest dancers- that prize goes to Riccardo and Yulia IMHO. I do enjoy their dances generally though, though their performances from a few years ago I thought were more enjoyable.

I guess dancesport is like any sport in some respects, as time goes on it gets faster, slicker, more serious and along the way loses charm, feeling and some of the fun factor. I don't think M&J looked like they enjoyed dancing on Saturday, so it has a knock on effect on my enjoyment.

And what hideous outfits. I think Michael was channeling Bryan Watson circa 2007 in that top, and Joanna's outfit completely put me off. lol. Nice to see them getting comments from the other pros though, they do deserve it.

[quote=Erinfan;36265590]Whilst I see what you are getting at and the modern move towards athleticism drives me mad, I think there are definitely stars left in latin and each of the top couples has their own style. The judges need to make sure they keep rewarding this.

I'd argue that Slavik Kryklyvyy, Yulia, Melia, Franco Formica and of course Michael and Joanna are all pretty huge stars of dancesport and they are all instantly recognisable with a signature style.[/QUOTE]

I love watching Yulia who has a style all her own, and is as different to Joanna as chalk and cheese. Melia also has her own style - anyone who follows dancesport would be able to name all of them even if they danced with paper bags over their heads!

And Slavik (for me) is my all time favourite male dancer and could easily have been world champion if it wasn't for his temperament.

The first time we saw him, he and Joanna were young amateurs at the International (first round at Brentwood) and they owned the floor. No one knew who they were, but few could take their eyes off them. They had instant success, but I don't think it was much more than a year later that Joanna left him and stated in an interview on German tv that although he was a great dancer, she expected to be treated with some respect etc etc. Good for her. Michael was nowhere near her standard when she first partnered him, and I admire her for persevering when most top dancers only seem to be prepared to dance with someone at least their own standard. And those who sometimes say how much better she is than him, should remember she can only do what she does because of him (in the same way, Gaynor was only as good as she was because of Donnie).

I agree with you on a lot of points. Slavik is my favourite dancer as well - I could talk about him for hours. If he never becomes a world champion it will be a travesty in my opinion, but although timing and circumstances have gone against him a bit (eg if his partnership with Karina had happened now instead of then he would have won it), he is by absolutely no means blameless!! His partnering lets him down and he let himself lose focus at a key moment.

From what I have heard he wasn't totally at fault with the Joanna split - they completely clashed and he was not the only difficult one in the partnership. I could be wrong, but I didn't just hear this from idle gossip. Such a shame, as they were amazing.

I completely agree with you about Michael. Firstly he has improved MASSIVELY. Secondly, I do think he is underrated in the partnership. Joanna can't be easy to partner and he shows her off brilliantly and always looks very masculine and in control, whereas some other men with great female partners can get a bit lost and lose their personality. (Riccardo Cocchi for example.) Is Michael the best male dancer out there? No, not by a long shot. However, I don't think you could find a better partner for Joanna and I do think as a pair they have a fantastic connection and balance, which has involved a lot of partnering skill on his part. I also think his background and love of interesting choreography has brought a lot of individuality into their dancing (along with the work of their coach) and has helped Joanna to find a style that really suits her skill.

Erinfan I agree with what you say, but I can't honestly see Slavik becoming world champion now (don't misunderstand, I'd be over the moon to be proved wrong). He simply can't keep partners long enough to develop the strong enough partnership - as I'm sure you will agree, dancing ability on its own is not enough. And whatever partner he did get would need to be at least as good as, if not better than, Joanna - and that would be a tall order.

Also, apart from his partnering problems, the other thing that would go against Slavik is the judges preconceptions. Because he seems to do 2-3 comps then disappears again for months on end, judges will not be so predisposed to judge him as well as - say - Michael and Joanna - who regularly "do the rounds".

Whilst Slavik is still dancing, I will never give up hope of the World Championship title!!!

Sadly though, you do have a very valid point. It will be interesting to see how his partnership with Anna develops and how the judges treat him. I don't know if I agree that his partner would have to be better than Joanna, as he is so much better than Michael. (I'm sure he placed above Michael and Joanna in 1 or 2 competitions when he was with Elena and she is miles behind Joanna) However, she would have to be incredibly good and the partnership would have to be pretty flawless. In fact, the only possible way I'd see it happening is if the Anna partnership is phenomenal and the influential voices who are critical of M+J's style grow louder.

Some judges were against Slavik way back when he was with Karina. He's always been a bit of a rebel and notoriously volatile and I've even heard that a couple of big, big names said he is too 'lightweight' to ever be a champion. He wasn't a dependable champion candidate back then and the partnership splits in recent years haven't helped. I'm fascinated to see his first result with Anna considering the disaster that happened at the UK Open when he last danced.

He needs to work incredibly hard to carve out his partnership with Anna. He lost his identity and style towards the end of the Elena partnership and his choreography became very strange. Thankfully he looks comfortable again in the Anna videos and back to the old-Slavik. LOADS of work to do before he can even think of a top three place, nevermind any higher. Please stay focused and put the work in, Slavik!!!! I feel this partnership is his lost shot at the top 3 places.

I'll see Slavik and Anna dance in Moscow on Saturday. I'm interested.

Me neither, and I resent the BBC wasting that spot

parthena

That's exactly what I was thinking! The very thing RW got criticised for, and then lo and behold a standing ovation from the judges for an extremely hard, even clinical, display of Latin dancing. No doubt this couple has amazing technical skill, but they leave me stone cold.

Some people didn't enjoy Michael & Jo's dancing, but that doesn't mean it was a wasted spot, as a great number of people DID enjoy watching them.

Andy Williams - now, for me, that was a huge waste of tv time, but we can't all like the same things.

Exactly Kaycee.

I also have to say, I thought the SCD singer sang the song quite well too!

Whether you like them or hate them, I don't see how it could ever be a waste of time to showcase the latin world champions in a programme that is based on latin (and ballroom of course) dancing.

Fellow Slavik fan Kaycee - I read this morning that he was one of Aliona's main coaches when she lived in New York!

New York here I come!