When watching SCD most of us are looking at the celebs dancing and this is what is commentated on, but do the pros always dance well, not making mistakes??

And are some pros better dancers than others??

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure Anton's latin is poor compared to all the other pros

I think we all have our favourites and could argue 'til dawn about who is best

Yes, they do make mistakes and fudge moves, but they're very good at covering up. And yes, there are styles of dance that some of them have not quite mastered.

To be fair I don't actually expect them to be that good at salsa - it's not ballroom, and neither is AT.

Anton's Latin is vile, as is that of the wonderful Erin. Both are sublime in ballroom and AS.

My favourites are Artem, Flavia and Natalie - although I love Ian's height and grace.

I've noticed that Brendan's footwork in some ballrooms is not amazing occasionally.

DJ mentioned about Patsy's AT being 'poorly led' by Robin. Was there some doubt over his frame too?
Katya was sliding all over the place with Gavin week before last, not sure why that would be.

I'd like to hear what the dance experts truly think of some of the pros too.

To claim pro dancers never make mistakes would be like saying never never forget their lines! Of course they make mistakes, it's just that they will probably be experienced enough to cover them up and carry on (like actors will ad-lib) & few onlookers will be any the wiser.

With the scd pros though, they have to be aware that their celeb partners, who are not experienced dancers, may make mistakes and it will down to the pro to try and "conceal" the celebs errors.

As to which pros are good ..... I think they have different strengths and weaknesses. Some have specialised in ballroom, some in Latin, few in both.

Vincent & Flavia competed in all 10 dances, and were champion Argentine tango dancers.

Ian specialised in Latin, but his family background is dance school, where he was surrounded by as much ballroom as Latin, and also where he saw raw beginners taking their first lessons (and even teaching them) so he had the added advantage of knowing how to teach real beginners.

Matt - also Latin as a pro, but was also a good ballroom dancer as an amateur, so ballroom was not a problem.

Brendan - also great Latin dancer; his ballroom when he first started in the show was very poor, but he has accepted help and improved no end.

Camilla - (yes I know, like Matt, she has left!) danced well with Brendan at Latin, but her ballroom was very weak; but she recognised this and got outside help with both technique and routines.

Darren & Lilia - dancewise, Lilia was the strength in that partnership tbh; but like Ian, Darren comes from a family run dance school background, so used to teaching, seeing beginners.

Natalie - I think is a great all rounder; and is very clever with her choreography. I'd say she is the best female pro the show has had. (Other than Hazel Fletcher, but she left the first week of the first show, so hardly counts!)

Katya - great dancer; her weakness, imo, is that she tries so hard to be different that it doesn't always work - as with the A.Smooth.

Christina - fabulous Latin dancer, weak ballroom dancer - yet to see proof she can teach well!!

Artem - fabulous dancer, and probably the best choreographer the show has ever had; weakness is that he sometimes gets a bit too stage-show dance, as opposed to bb/Latin.

Robin - sometimes I thinks he looks wonderful, other times.... what? He was never a wonderful competitive dancer before he went into Burn the Floor; tbh I think he would look a great deal better if he lost some weight. Muscles and ballroom/Latin - not really a good mix.

James & Ola - Both Latin specialists who have grown into good ballroom dancers. Ola is great at choreography - perhaps helping James and Pamela?

Anton & Erin - they were always 'good' ballroom dancers, never great. They looked great on the show because all the others were Latin specialists. However, where the Latin dancers have upped their game with the ballroom, A&E have not done the same with their Latin - in fact I would say Anton has made no attempt to improve at all. Erin is better, but her technique is weak.

Can't think of anyone else - sorry this is so long, but someone did ask .............

Thanks for that Kaycee, just what I wanted.

Phew ... it seemed so long winded after I'd posted it, but someone called and I didn't get time to edit. So many thanks, blueabu.

pssst, Kaycee.

By Katya, do you mean Aliona? Red hair...

Arguably it's a bit unfair to judge the pros on their AT technique - at least in a comparative sense.

I wouldn't call myself an expert at all, I just dance at an amateur amateur level lol. But I do know a little bit and me personally, I try not to watch the pro at all. If I rewatch a dance I'll probably watch them but on first viewing, I concentrate fully on the celeb so I don't notice any mistakes a pro might make until second or third viewing, unless the mistakes are all over the screen. At Blackpool, I noticed Robin was out of time in their routine because it seemed to jump out at me, which is why I didn't take Lilia's comments as bitchy - because I noticed it too. But other than that, I don't really notice.

However, I think it's plain to see that Anton and Erin aren't very skilled at latin. Not just in the dancing of it but also in the choreography. They tend to lean towards gimmick more than solid content, even when they have a partner who can dance. Jared was also lacking, although you don't need to be a dancer to notice that lol.

No, I did mean Katya (the jive she put together for Gavin was beyond weird!), but you're right about Aliona (I knew I'd forgotten someone!) she falls into the same category, but a great dancer.

Thanks Kaycee, a really helpful appraisal

Thanks Kaycee, that is a great post and assessment! I definitely agree on Natalie and Artem, but probably don't know as much as you on the subject!

Interesting. I think the wardrobe woman commented that both Gavin and Robin were muscled; it affected how the costumes fit and the top line.

When I was training many years ago, my dance teacher insisted that we did no other form of exercise other than dancing.

He was of an older generation (about 65 during the mid 1980s) but maintained that you achieved all of the stamina, strength and correct body shaping simply through dance and you didn't run the risk of developing muscles/shaping that detracted from "the look".

We would dance to a whole LP (approx 30 minutes) of waltz, or quickstep, or cha cha cha, etc. Let me tell you the jive LP was a killer , but really built up your stamina.