"Salsa? Isn't that some sort of vegetable relish?
Let's do that instead...."

Nail. Head.

The fruity equivalent is Mango, which the uninitiated know as Mambo.

So we can look forward to the two of them quaffing a fizzy orange drink for the Tango.

DJ, I reckon Ann probably thinks of ballroom dancing as the only form of 'dancing' worth learning to do. Can't really see her at a ballet or hip-hop class, can you? Plus I think she probably needs the partner element to aid her.

And no, the interpretation isn't up to her - it's up to Anton. Which, I have to say, was really no better a choice on Saturday. He's not clever enough to get round her restrictions and make a dance out of it - he'd far rather play it for as many laughs as he can get.

What, you mean the ballroom dancing where the partners lower halves of their bodies are in constant contact with each other? That ballroom dancing?

Or is there some other form?

In social ballroom dancing there is often a 'respectable' gap between bodies. Even wedding couple routines often have that gap surprisingly, because it leaves more room for error To be honest if Ann could aim to do a good version of the social ballroom dance then that would not be unreasonable in my view.

I really don't think constant body contact is necessary in the latin at all. For example, there isn't much body contact in rumba say until you get onto the more showy advanced stuff which they try to do on strictly,

Much as I can understand not wanting to be pressed up against Anton's nether regions, it's really not on to join a competition and start dictating your own rules.

Well said DavidJames.

I totally agree with everything you've said.

I thought Len was always wibbling on about Minding The Gap?


Sure. For that matter, there's relatively little body contact necessary in the salsa. I think it's fair to say that Latin in general has less body contact than ballroom.

Which, hah, demonstrates Ann's complete and total ignorance of dance, and this is precisely why she shouldn't get to dictate this sort of thing.

The World's Gone Mad, I tell you.

That's because I am a genius

It takes one to know one!

You got it in one Mimi, it is Virtual Dancing version 2010.
To be precise, Tango is actually deep purple in Argentina and only quaffed in the company of a chaperon.

That's tame compared to the dance coming up soon -- the Paso No Touch No Lay.

Ah, Len's talking about the serious stuff where theoretically you should be able to dance with a piece of paper between you and it not fall on the floor. Because strictly celebs are fast tracking they are doing that at an earlier stage than the average learner.

Yeah, I think Ann has misunderstood the latin.

Obviously AW was not put on the show to show some dancing skills or to dance (whatever kind of wacky dance she & Anton do) but simply for ratings but I'm really against her because of this very reason.

I hate that someone like AW & Peter Shilton (at least Paul Daniels has a little bit of rhythm) who are useless and absolutely irrelevant get to stay at the expense of better dancer (in this case Goldie) than them.

I still can't get around the fact that Goldie who let's face it was 100x better than those 2 got eliminated.

I'm going to find it really unbearable in the coming weeks if AW & Co gets to stay and we lose those celebs who have far more right to be on the show instead.

Get used to it.

Widders is going to the final, at this rate.

Well if that happens let's hope AW will do the decent thing like John Sargent and quits.

It will be criminal if Widdecombe stays in another week or Shilton for that matter.

It's her body so it is up to her (ironic given that Ms Widdicombe would not necessarily allow other women that same right). However if Ann's specified 'no close body contact' as her terms when negotiating with the producers then that is her contract with the show and it is the producers that you should be blaming, not Ann.

OK, so if she entered a - for example - cookery competition, would she be allowed to get away with ordering a takeaway?

No-one's asking her to grind against Anton (and yes, I need to bleach my brain now), simply to accept that dance involves contact, and that she doesn't know enough to dictate how the dance "should" be done. She doesn't have the right to an opinion.

I mean, salsa? Jolly hockey sticks? What weird warped planet does that opinion come from?

I dont find Ann's comments funny about how awful she is etc. Im aware shes trying to expand on the humour she thinks her routines cause but some contestants and their partners take this show seriously. Ann didnt seem bothered either when Goldie went on Sunday- I just dont think people warm to her and thats a big aspect of strictly.

[quote=DavidJames;44751605]OK, so if she entered a - for example - cookery competition, would she be allowed to get away with ordering a takeaway?[/QUOTE

Ordering a takeaway would not be 'cooking' and, whether you like it or not, Ann is dancing. A valid comparison would be entering a cookery competition and refusing to cook animal products. She would certainly be allowed to do that especially if it had been agreed beforehand.

But they were invited to take part and they have as much right to stay there if the general public votes for them as any other contestant. If the BBC just wanted them as canon fodder then that could backfire on them yet again!

As the poster you were quoting from said, she stipulated certain conditions in her contract which the BBC accepted. She therefore does have the right to an opinion.

As for cookery, I'm fully expecting her to turn up on Celebrity Masterchef one of these days, so we'll find out

We may be stretching the analogy too far, but to me it's more like her entering a "meat cookery" competition then deciding not to cook meat, because "the veggie option is just as good". And then refusing to listen to the professional chefs who are trying to tell her otherwise.

I'm sorry, she doesn't get to dictate what a dance style "should" be. It's not up to her.

It's embarassing that she managed to get double figures, frankly. Craig's mark, as always, was the only honest one.

Well, if she said "I know this is not real salsa, but I'm not doing real salsa", that might be - slightly - better.

But her "Oh, it's OK, one can dance salsa perfectly without XYZ" attitude gets right up my nose.

She absolutely does not have a right to an opinion as to what is valid salsa, and what isn't.