this group viennese waltz is an emergency gap filler. fact.

and its totally unfair - the skill of ballroom compettion is exactly this - moving across the floor finding a gap showing off in it..
and anton, vincent and brian are skilled in it. chris and ricky dont stand a chance.

i dont think its remotely fair and im actually quite annoyed.

ive just come home and just watched it so sorry if there are discussions elsehwere
but what do others think?

Flavia actually said it willl be much harder for the male celebrities because they will have to lead and guide their professional partners. Mistakes may be quite obvious for them. The professional males do have an unfair advantage because they are skilled in this type of competitive dance and it'll be easier for them to move around the floor. We can only hope that the judges will take this into consideration when giving their marks.

I can't wait, I think it will be great fun.

Hopefully the judges will take such factors into consideration...and equally hopefully they (especially Len) won't over-compensate. Either way it probably won't be easy for viewers to monitor accurately.

In the context of an uninspiring and undermanned series, I think it's worth trying this idea and I hope it works...but it's a bit gimmicky for my taste.

I wonder if Vincent, Anton and Brian will work in tandem to get Ricky and / or Chris "boxed in" and thus unable to strut their stuff? Watching Natalie work her way out with her stilettos would be compulsive viewing, I feel.

Students of Strictly Ballroom will know that Scott Hastings problems all stemmed from getting "boxed in" by Ken Railings and Pam Short, albeit in a Samba.

OP, how do you know that it's an emergency gap filler? They've always had to do something different this series as they all did two dances in the first week.

I think the Judges will take the differences between male and female celebs into account, after all they have to do that on a weekly basis anyway as the roles of different for pretty much every dance? (I'm under the impression that they are anyway but then again I'm no expert)

I always thought that was why they used to split it male and female at the start of the series so they could start on a more equal footing.

I think it was good of Flavia to be honest about it - that it will be harder for the male celebs. We'll just have to hope that the pro males will feel it in themselves to help the celeb males by keeping out of their way.



I also think it's a bit stupid that the couples are doing two dances this week that most of the pros have never done!! I also don't see how Alesha will have any authority to judge them as she has never had any teaching on either of them in her life!

they have always, or at least a lot more than once, done a group VW

OP how do you know for a fact?

Is this the first time that celebs are being asked to dance, rather than perform a choreographed dance routine?

It seems so.

I think it like the two main dances is just lifted from the US show. The problem isn't largely that some people have an advantage its that no one watching on TV can form any judgement who is best because there are 5 people to watch at once . The camera can't be in the right place all the time to show them getting it right or wrong or show what the judges decide on or how they agree a result.

It's harder IF the men lead,
but will they?

Matt Dawson said the other night that he never led. Lilia always
did. If she could make it look OK then ola and Natalie probably can as well.

Chris obviously led his and Ola's Viennese Waltz, as he changed the choreography.

So he can lead a dance.

This will be interesting to watch.

They did a group viennese in series 1. It was quite funny a lot of barging each other and attempts to take over the middle of the floor.
It shoulod be more entertaining than it has been so far.

The celebs are being challenged to do an actual dance not a crowd pleasing fancy routine.

Also the couples who have danced it most recently and scored highly could be said to have an advantage as they would need less rehearsal

You are right it's terribly unfair and they should just cancel the rest of the show and never try anything new.

i dont know for a fact - it just struck me that the show is a bit short and may be without ali? and is without jade so we need a little more meat on the bone. To add it midweek it seems as if its a 'gap filler'.

i dont think they shouldnt try anything new - im all for it.. i just think this requires real competitive experience based skill which CLEARLY the two male celebes dont have. I assure you that following a good lead is a far easier thing to do (I follow in ballroom)
So, as its being scored i think its unfair - thats all.. but hey lets see what happens. its just how i felt as soon as i had watched ITT

PS Chris has just said on breakfast - dancing off the cuff - thats the point - its being to dance without choreography. If you meet a couple, what do you do? a prof male knows..
Ola admits you have to 'get and own your space'
and they are too small to use elbows

PPS ola looks lovely and fresh first thing without all the damn make up

It wasn't added mid week - didn't they do the training for it on Sunday meaning it was only introduced to us midweek. It can't possible have been added after Alis injury as she was there rehearsing.

For all we know its been planned from before the series started and that would make sense as they would have known that a two dance first week meant finding something else for later in the series

i suppose so..yea i am merely speculating. maybe its just the way its been introduced..

I am looking forward to team Cola's "mosquito" impression!!

I'm sure all the professionals know that if they dare to come within 15 feet of Chris & Ola the public will lynch them for "cheating".

I'm really looking forward to it. They've done it before in Dancing, and now that they're actually adding an element that's more like normal competative dancing, then I'm all for it. We got very excited when it was mentioned last night.

I can see Anton actively trying to keep away from Ola, just for that very reason.

Are the female pros allowed wing mirrors to see what's behind them?

I certainly did, after all the injuries and Jade's withdrawl, the show needed something to perk us up. I am really looking forward to the show now. fact.