I'm not disagreeing that she'd benefit from an acting coach. She obviously would.

My original point was that she's an actress already and might just find it a little embarrassing to admit to requiring professional help in order to inject a bit more oomph into a few Latin dances in what is, after all, just a Saturday tea time reality show.

I remember an ITT segment a couple of series back that said when the celebs are picked to be on the show they were asked for a list of their own particular favourite songs and tunes.

They probably think a celeb will dance better to a tune they know and like?

Seems odd - surely they need songs that are appropriate to their dances and the impression they want to create that week. It would explain a lot though.

What are they going to do if someone liked Wagner or heavy metal? The Spice Girls or S Club or Madonna perhaps might have something for most dances but it would explain more mismatches than successes

Yes! The difference between theatre and film / tv acting is often overlooked.


Much of the "why" imo is that she's a tv actress not a theatre actress. She needs to be more theatrical, so to speak.

True but as Chris can't act and Ricky isn't getting it right either they could send one to everyone?

I still maintain that the actors involved would look a right pair of divs. If I was in that position, I'd be doing it strictly behind closed doors.

I've known and taught some dancers who were technically brilliant but lacked emotion and the spark that lights jup a peformance. Some knew and some never 'got it'.

They just could not feel the music enough, live the dance and light up a stage. It's fairly common.

I think Brian is a brilliant dancer and a very sound teacher. Listen to what he says - evey week he explains what is needed, he describes it to her - but Ali just can't bring that soul to the floor.

She does beautiful ballroom. The ballet training is evident in every movement and she follows really well, but Latin needs oomph, and musicality and a sense of freedom and joy in the movement - in your head.

It's not about sex or raunch or 'being in or out of love' it's about the added spark that makes a good dancer a great one. And if you don't have it, you just stay in the chorus sweetie!

Many dancers are nervous. Some vomit before they go on stage. Nerves are part of the job. You plough it into the energy you bring to the dance. It gives you fizz.

You can go on finding excuses and even blaming the blameless Brian - but it's down to Ali and she ain't got it. Lots of dancers haven't.

Bottom line - no charisma. Can't be taught.

She obviously gets wracked with nerves (and Craig should have a bit more compassion after his terrible Masterchef appearances where he was shaking far more than Ali) .. I think she does remarkably well to deal with the nerves and the complicated routines.

When she has a simpler routine (like the Charleston) she has shown that she can act it out very well .. infact better than anyone.

And it's mainly in the latin .. she is marvellous at acting out the ballroom routines. She looks every inch a pro dancer in those routines .. and anyone who has watched Chris's strained face should appreciate that there is as much need to sell and perform a ballroom dance as there is a latin dance.

Ask half the male population out there is she has 'no charisma' .. heck, ask 'JohnfromWales'.. she's melted his pencil and set fire to his shoes.

You're a harsh woman!

I agree with those who said that stage actors are probably better prepared for this than TV actors.

I don't see why Ali should be embarrassed about receiving training in the acting side of things. She's a 26 year old who has had half a dozen screen roles. I can't imagine the really great actors thought they were done learning when they left drama school. It's not like she has to even be filmed. Surely she has some kind of mentor or teacher from stage school she could go back to seek advice from privately?

Oh well. If you do manage to get Brian's attention, can you ask him to sort out her left arm as well. It's been bugging me somewhat (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...923&highlight=) and I was glad James commented on it the other day.

They do say love is blind! Maybe he just cannot see any room for improvement. Which is a shame as it's stopping her from become brilliant.

Michael Caine on who you ignore and who you focus on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOnzm_z_kuw ?

Many thanks. Explains it brilliantly in the last 30 seconds. Implications are very clear for SCD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMRu...eature=related

Shows the difference more. Shame I can't find more.

Musical theatre acting seems to me to work to different audiences too - Les Miserables or Chicago is a different show from half way up in the circle than row F in the stalls where you can actually see more of the detail of the acting if someone good is on . The problem may be that on SCD you have the distant audience (circle) getting the odd shot which is very rarely a close up down a TV screen and the studio audience (stalls) picking up whatver they can see from where they are.

Not sure though why Rachel and Vincent should do vastly better on tour and Tom much less well. It could be a changed audience or it might be that speed, ability to cover ground and elegance is captured better live than its conveyed by the TV camera, comparisons are starker and Tom is less in close up?

I think perhaps because Rachel did two dances last series where she really sold it - the tango and rumba. They were stand out dances from the series, and she performed them on the tour, so they weren't diluted by some of her other less engaging performances.

Tom meanwhile did competent Latin but none of them were stand out dances, so his salsa on tour didn't perhaps have the same impact on the crowd. His quickstep was great, but that was always the first dance of the night and tended to get forgotten after all the others!

Different type of audience, different setting. I guess some people might also have felt maybe she deserved to win on the tour having lost the series.

Except in Scotland where I believe Kenny won every night.

The problem though is working out who hasn't got "it" and who hasn't learnt to show it. If you watched Rachel last series for most of the time you would conclude she didn't have it - until everything came together with two dances and she did. Take those two dancs on tour and she beats her winner and Jill hands down. Same leap with Gethin and there are other examples .

There's also a question with what "it" is. If "it" is competence you can turn a good 2.1 student into a first class one. If "it" is brilliance you can't do the same. Chorus line would be fine as a standard here on SCD.

You also have to ask how "it" could emerge in the course of a TV series without someone developing it. If you look at all sorts of these talent shows you have people coming out and with a bit of focused training doing things that the TV shows gave no idea they could do and often doing the what the shows suggested they couldn't. They seem pretty good at missing whats there and not deeloping what might be - not that surprisingly when they are focused on getting weekly shows out and not teaching or developing people.

I'm not denying she's got a nice pair and is blonde but that ain't the same thing as charisma baby!

Strikes me Brian has spent the series choreographing to please the judges. And the judges have NOT helped him sort out a weakness in Ali's expression of latin. They've made a few comments about her latin missing something and not being as strong as her ballroom, but their scores have rarely reflected that. So long as he went out and choregraphed steps rather than performance, he was still going to be getting 9's and finding themselves in a safe place on the board. Now we get down to the business end, it's all a little too late. If the judges wanted to be helping Ali, who they clearly like, on at least one or more of her latins earlier in the run they should have been giving her 7's and 8's and a serious kick up the backside that couldn't be ignored by Brian. He'd have had to do something about it, or try to do something about it.

Personally, I don't think it would make much difference. I don't think pulling on the mask to do a 'character' in dance is the same as actually unleashing a part of your character that's actually there but just not showing properly yet. I agree with sofakat, some things are just there or not. But Brian should have at least tried to make her find that 'in' her.

Now, anyway, he's got no choice in the matter. Choreographing for the judges is too late. If we make the assumption Chris wins the public vote, Ali and Ricky's positions with the judges are irrelevant. Who comes top with the public is through ... so he needs to choreograph for the TV screens and the audiences sitting on sofas at home, not the the judges' desk.

She's not feeling it. I don't think Ricky is, either. That's their problem.

for someone so un-charismatic .. she's got an awful lot of posts on her appreciation thread .. what is it 4000 compared with 900 and 300??

they must all be fixated with the boobs and the hair

Mostly women sold on the romance of the century with ruggedly heterosexual Count Fortuna, no?

Not all of them are women! But generally, most of the posts are made by the same few posters.

The entire programme is absolutely fascinating - and the theatre people were hanging off Caine's every word.

Have been waiting for the acting coach to pop up this series, ironic if he has to coach an actress. Would say that Ali could be Brian's worst enemey, once he's given her the technical aspects of dance her acting abilities should see her through the rest of it. The trophy is theirs for the taking if Ali can bring it all together.

Very sound points - especially about Rachel. Good to read another point of view. Thank you

Euww! *barfs*