Originally Posted by passion_flower:
“
In terms of dancing, she's obviously amazing, but as a teacher I find her very hard to warm to. I agree that Rav can't have been the easiest guy to teach last year but she didn't seem to choreograph to his needs and she comes across as somewhat impatient in her teaching. The gimmickry for Matt last night was, in my humble opinion, horrendous. Really put me off, and this coming from someone who was absolutely blown away by Matt's dancing. There was just no need for it, further backing up my opinion that she doesn't choreograph for her partner. I feel that Matt has a great chance of winning, and if anything gets in his way it'll be Aliona's abilities. However, I hope I'm proved wrong because I'd like to see him go far!”
ISTR Matt said somewhere she was a great teacher. And from
http://www.strictlycomedancingprotou...?contentID=695:
‘Being a teacher myself has been a major part of my life since I was 16. My parents moved to Florida and I stayed in New York after I finished High School so teaching both adults and children was my main income at the time. When I wasn’t competing or dancing shows I would teach up to 12 hours a day.
Due to my experience and popularity I was hired to be a dance instructor for other dance teachers. I’m very supportive of my students and always make sure that while they’re having a good time they are advancing and pushing their limits. It’s always rewarding for me to see my students do a great job and if things don’t go as well then it’s even more rewarding to see them pull through’.
Sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious
a priori; he danced so well, previous experience notwithstanding, as a result of her teaching?
I'm sure Aliona has her merits and I know that we don't see the whole picture of their teaching in VTs. I'm just offering the view that I get of her in terms of what I've seen, and it seems that quite a few other people agree with me. But I'm sure others will find her totally charming. I mean, my favourite pro is Erin and I have to stop myself biting back whenever I see the (countless) comments about her being cold or boring or bad at latin or that she ruined Colin/Austin/Santa Claus's chances. 
It's each to their own!
