I cant take Chris dancing seriously at all. He does look like a little hobit dancing and instantly the mood is gone when he's trying to do a more serious dance. Even with a short female dancer it still doesnt help. He gets away with showdance routines but thats about all.

Tell that to Darren or Vincent.

I dont agree.......I think their VW and their Foxtrot in Blackpool were both lovely.

Yup, those of us who are vertically challenged will never look as elegant as our taller brethren and sistren.

However, he's not been asked to grow in the competition, just to learn to dance better than when he started, and this he has achieved.

(If only he'd keep his face still. Ricky Groves learned. Mind, Natalie Cassidy didn't. )

IMO that is an utterly inaccurate thing to say, Vincent and Flavia are very small and they are THE most elegant and graceful professional dancers in the show. Chris isn't naturally graceful, I do not think it has anything to do with his height.

LOL, what a load of tosh!

Fred Astaire was only 5' 9" and Chris is 5' 8" (according to Wikipedia, though I'm sure I heard him described as 5' 7" somewhere else)

You can't even spell hobbit correctly! Duh...

I'll criticise Chris for a few things (the gurning, the overbearing cheesiness etc), but his size isn't an issue. He has the perfect partner in Ola, the same way Vincent has had ladies of smaller stature to compliment his lack of height.

Had Chris been paired with Erin, it would have looked ridiculous, the same as if they paired Vincent with Jade.

Being slightly less than average height hasn't hurt Vincent or Darren's chances in competitions! And to be honest, OP, your bashing Chris over this is a bit on the pathetic side when there are many valid reasons not to be a fan of his.

And Wayne Sleep is only 5' 2".

I know I'm a complete layperson with regard to dance and so could be completely wrong but I'd have thought it would be more to do with training and ability whether someone is elegant or not.

Absolute nonsense ! Vincent looks amazingly elegant in his ballroom tails, and dances beautifully. As did Fred Astaire. I think it's harder for tall muscle bound blokes to appear elegant - Rav Wilding comes to mind here.

Utter rubbish.

Just what I was going to say. Will add that Astaire wore lifts in his shoes.

Mind you, he was quite tall compared to Gene Kelly who was only 5' 7".

Go to a pro comp one day and look at the height of the dancers... you'll see many more short dancers than tall dancers.

Isn't one of the recurring themes on SCD that it's difficult to dance and be elegant when you're tall and are therefore all arms and legs and possibly quite gangly?

So Chris' detractors are continuing to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

Each to their own, of course - but, my, there is a lot of bitterness out there ... :yawn:

I have to say that I'm a big Chris and Ola fan but I do think it would be beneficial if Ola took Chris to a drama coach for help with his facial expressions.

That's where I miss Arlene: she's the one judge who makes practical suggestions like that but perhaps Darcey Bussell will suggest it next week.

Yes, it's a pity Chris could never be as elegant at dancing as those lofty contestants Mark Foster, Peter Schmeichel, Andrew Castle, Rav Wilding etc...

Didn't realise that! (Even double checked it on the internet ). Gene Kelly had a muscular build too. Well those two are, in my view, the greatest dancers ever to have appeared in movies.

Ill bet Wayne Sleep would take umbridge with this thread!

Yup, I already mentioned him. He's 5' 2" - much shorter than Chris - and he's a very elegant and graceful dancer.

Sorry - missed that. Just thought he summed up what is so ridiculous about this thread... You don't tend to get many ungraceful world class ballet dancers!!!

I completely agree with you. Wayne Sleep was the first person I thought of when I read the title of this thread... and once I'd got my jaw back up off the floor!