The 'dance' certainly didn't impress me. I thought it could have attracted many fewer marks than it actually garnered.

More like one of those ghastly modern ballets. All tortured and dismal.

you've hit the nail on the head for me Noone - this is exactly it. We all know the pros can dance/perform more artistically in other shows etc - but this particular programme is not the place to show it - it's about teaching the CELEB to shine and show what THEY can do in each "prescribed" dance if you like, through your teaching skills, rather than titting around and going outside the "confines" of each dance and showing yourself off as a pro.

We all know they can do it! great! lovely! and I like it from them in other shows! but Strictly is about learning exacting dances and I would like to see them stick to them in essence so that we can compare, and actually understand what the dances are, rather than using artistic licence to "rock up a tangotrot" or whatever.

Artem is a good example of this where he always showcases Kara rather than himself - other pros like Matthew and Lilia in the past too, and currently also Katya is doing well with that this year.

Perhaps it would be nice if a balance was found by allowing Aliona etc to have artistic licence in more pro dances to be shown on the show and let her show what she can do that way, instead of showcasing herself within her partnership as she appears to be doing currently. I dislike her arrogance in cocking a snook at the judges when they criticise what she is doing - but I think they have a valid point - she clearly doesn't like to be told what to do. Wrong show, Aliona!

Would be nice perhaps to have the "artistic licence" from the pro dances on the Sunday shows, and then have the pros stick to the more traditional ways of each dance in the actual competition.

We can see their true mettle then.

But what about Scott's jive?

For me, it didn't quite hit the heights of Kara's salsa that same week - but it was nevertheless brilliant in its timing. precision and character ... and proof that he is perfectly capable of doing good latin dances.

Whether EastEnders will alter his schedule to allow him to come up for air is what will determine his fate on the show. I personally hope he stays because [1] it makes the competition more exciting if he gets his mojo back and [2] without him, the likelihood of Ann reaching the final (and winning) becomes significantly stronger.

I totally agree with you (and tangoqueen) about Aliona, however. She is turning into Matt's Achilles' heel - when instead she should be his greatest asset. I just hope someone takes her aside and has a word in her ear ...

I actually think Matt's turning into his own worst enemy now, because he's not showcasing any personality or emotion in his dances (which is what is getting Kara and Scott the extra 10s). It's all a bit clinical - and then when a judge says 'that looked a bit tense' he gets all confused. I honestly don't think he knows that he needs to come out of himself a bit more.

Of course we could make the argument that Aliona needs to tell him that, but I don't think you can blame everything that's not quite right with them on her choreography. I don't think there's anything wrong at all with trying to be a bit different (as long as you can actually dance in the first place) - haven't we seen enough Ginger and Fred-style ASs to last a lifetime? Wasn't Artem's AS proof that tradition isn't always the way to go? Doesn't it make for more variety and open up possibilities for the other pros?

I still love Matt's technical ability and he seems like a lovely fella, but he's in danger of selling himself much too short - and that would be an even bigger tragedy than a certain other person winning

Totally agree with you.

I understad what you are saying but, at the end of the day, Aliona is Matt's teacher. She's not just there to devise routines and teach him steps; she's there to help him perform and emote. Those things aren't within Matt's usual scope of activity, and I could actually see some sense in sending him to an acting coach (although that moment may have passed now ...).

I don't for one moment decry any pro's ambition in choreography. Artem's AS routine for Kara is probably my favourite dance so far this series. But, to my untrained eye, there was enough in there that felt vaguely AS. I don't think Aliona needed to go all Fred-&-Ginger - but what she came up with felt more like a contemporary dance routine from SYTYCD than an AS. Parts of it were undeniably great - but they sat side-by-side with moments that looked forced and ugly, and elements that played to Matt's weaknesses, rather than his strengths.

I don't think Matt offended the judges at all. But there should be food for thought in the judges' comments for Aliona. Whether she wants to take them on board is another matter altogether. We shall have to wait and see ...

You have to play to your audience. Craig and Bruno like pzazz. Len likes recognised dance steps and styles. A lot of 'phone voters won't associate AS with the lame effort that Aliona choreographed.

A big fail all round. It was as much like an AS as any of Ann's dances have been like ...dancing. But for Aliona there's no excuse.

If it is the choreography the judges have issues with they should just come out and say so. I don't always like Aliona's choreography myself however I do think Matt does as well as any celeb would with it.

I did feel Alesha's comments were more personal and aimed at Matt rather than Aliona and I objected to the personal nature of the comments which had nothing to do with the dance.

I thought Alesha's criticisms were all about the dance. I don't think you can single out the judges as being exceptional in their taste as there are quite a few posters on this forum alone who agree with them. Matt looked clumpy and out of his depth at lot of the time.

There are also quite a few posters on this forum who don't agree with the judges. It's really very subjective I think.

Exactly! But my point is that it's understandable and not bizarre - which seems to be the tone of some Matt supporters.

Personally, I don't think the judges mentioned the choreography because, let's face it, if Matt had made a good fist of it - a la Pamela - then no one would have criticised him.

I think so much is being said about Aliona's choreography because it's not a good fit for Matt. As that great blogger Miss Jones said, he's got an old-fashioned, twinkly charm so why not use all of that instead of trying to force him to do angst.

On ITT, Erin, bless her heart, said she couldn't understand how Scott could get nines when he went wrong all the way thru the dance, and Matt didn't go wrong at all but only got eights. Claudia hastily dived in and said that maybe the judges could see things from their position that others could not... you know the kind of thing

I wish we had a mole inside who could tell us if that little scenario had to be set up to mollify angry viewers or the press.

To be fair - Len in his comments said Matt went wrong and you could see Matt nodding. It even prompted him to say 'like scott I got through it', so he clearly admitted it. Scott shouldn't have got nines but Erin herself was wrong to say Matt didn't put a foot wrong (and Bruno gave him a nine so it wasn't all 8's).

Who knows what Alesha and Bruno are on...I wonder if they'll overcompensate this week to push Scott lower? It might actually work to get she who shall not be named out.

I doubt it, because Erin apparently twittered angrily about the whole incident immediately after it happened. She is superbly diplomatic though. She agreed with Claudia's saying maybe the judges could see something we couldn't but managed to say it in a dismissive and totally insincere-sounding way as though this was the disclaimer she was obliged to put in.

Yes Erin gave the game away a bit there.

Still time to move on and see what next week brings - can't see the Paso suiting Scott - all depends what Matt does with the jive and whether Aliona makes it ridiculously difficult.

Can't we tweet Aliona and wise her up?

I think the Paso will suit Scott - he does passion well as in his Tango.
Is Matt still in the Hebrides? Did he even get there?

They did get there, and are on their way back now - seen at Glasgow airport this afternoon.

The lack of training footage caused by geography this week will mean they are an utter unknown quantity on Saturday. It'll be interesting to see what they do.

This is very true. As a Kara fan, we hardly ever get to see their training footage (biased ITT! ) but it makes for a lovely surprise every Saturday and like Kara, I think Matt this week will also benefit from the lack of training footage shown

If only we could say the same about some of the others

The training footage is always self-conscious and embarrassing, I could do without it.

God yes