I do now x

I think this is the problem i have with Matt - he started off good, and I haven't seen much of a difference from week one to now. I don't see that as his fault, though.

I may be totally wrong, but I get the impression that Aliona is rather complacent because of Matt's popularity, and is concentrating more on showcasing her own daft choreography rather than Matt's undoubted talent for dancing.

don't buy into daft choreography, disagree with that totally. However Matt and Aliona as a partnership do need to do things differently so they can get their hands on the trophy. Wouldn't be too upset if Kara took it at the same time, both of them have earned it. Question is who is more popular now? the audience decides.

The truth of the matter is that Matt is not improving as performer and he just can’t produce dances which have the wow factor. He started off the show way ahead of everyone because he is a dancer as Gethin mentioned on ITT. But his talent is very limited and I’m not seeing any improvement.

I disagree that Aliona choreography is stopping Matt. In fact I think Aliona has been smart in disguising Matt lack of range in dances.

She always puts moves in which he was used to before strictly, like the gymnastics moves and even using a prop which he owned for the Charleston.

lol, disagree with that totally.

I started watching this show expecting Matt to be my favourite, I watch countryfile and I have always seen him as a sweet down to earth guy.
I can't explain why but I don't really enjoy watching him dance; by far my favourite of his dances was his first and since then he hasn't wowed me like the others have.
Kara has had some amazing dances; the paso, the argentine tango, the american smooth and the tango were all great. And Scott's Jive was great also. Gavin may not be a great dancer (yet) but he has come so far that I enjoy seeing the journey.
But Pam and Matt leave me feeling not a lot.

they're also cheaper favs and haven't been in the bottom two like Gavin and Scott have. Please take that into account.

I don't think his performances are mediocre . nor is the choreography mediocre ; I think the vastly reduced training hours are part of any perceived problem .
I do think Aliona's choreography is not to everyone's taste and it has certainly challenged Matt ; in fact he has been challenged more than most of thsi year's celebrities .

To say he has had no standout dance is to suggest the samba was weak when in fact it was an excellent dance in every way , it deserved the scores .
As for the Argentine Tango , in common with the others , Keli Baker provides the major part of the choreography . It was unfortunate that dance was spoiled by Aliona's accident .

I have no problem with his personality , I find him natural and without guile.

I do however have a problem with Gavin's personality .

Matt is a good dancer with lots of gymnastic moves - seems to be a nice kind of person, but leaves me cold Gavin, on the other hand, I have slowly warmed to over the series, he has worked hard and seems to be so excited when he does well and gets good comments, he has a very dry wit, and really believes he can win SCD whatever happens I will always be a fan of Gavin and not Matt

Love Matt ...way better than Mr Muscle ..I am sorry but he is so wooden its like watching Woodentops again bless him .Likeable guy in a way ..But Matt dances ..Gavin moves

Hmm . It's all opinion of course , but I wouldn't call him a dancer any more than any of the others are dancers .
I understood Pamela had been dancing as a hobby for many years ; that doesn't make her a dancer , but it does account for the ease with which she has picked up dances and her level of stamina and fitness .

^^^^^^^^ doesn't leave me cold at all.

Even having mentioned an accident, I honestly can't bring Matt and Aliona's Argentine Tango to mind! That rather sums up this partnership for me. Sorry Matt and A fans.

Maybe I have watched too much "Blue Peter"

maybe you have lol.

My thoughts exactly. And I agree with the whole post too.

Also we need to consider that most of the participants in this forum are indeed ballroom dance aficionados and that means we do have specific expectations for each dance. Natalie did participate in Australia's version which I am sure gave her a good background on how to choreograph routines to please both the judges and the public.However I find her personality not exciting and last year I was supporting Ricky in spite of her. I doubt that Matt would have gotten more support with the greater public with her, but he certainly would have in this forum.

Katya has been ok overall but not great. Rav had very little profile compared to Gavin. You can't compared them. Katya's choreo may have help to them being in the semi but I don't think they have arrived here only on that account. Also I find her personality a bit harsh.

I find a lot of chemistry between Matt and Aliona, in fact I find theirs is the greater chemistry second only after Kara Artem. But I guess that is just me that sees that.
Also, I for one like that Aliona's choreography is different, although it is not my favourite. I like variety, as much as i like dance ballroom can get boring and having Aliona in the pro line up is refreshing.
However, I am Spanish and we tend to like different things, we like variety and innovation, change and risks which I don't think seats very well with the ballroom aficionados. This is not criticism, rather than just an observation, I wish Spanish people were more like the English, as we usually take too many risks and non stop changes. But for me a one pro that innovates is a good think on a line up of 14.

He does with me

I second that.

Excellent post..couldn't agree more!

I can only think this is coming from a general dislike of Matt rather than much knowledge of dancing. Matt has clearly shown himself to be the most versatile dancer on the show (only Kara stands near but I would have liked to see her do a Samba which is a dance that really sorts the men from the boys). Matt's latin is as good as his ballroom which has been consistently excellent especially considering he has a busy workload and he has met every challege Aliona's choreography has thrown at him and it does tend to be challenging.

He certainly has not put gymnastics into every dance and has no more props than anyone else - and so what if he used a prop he owns, talk about nit picking.

Miranda put her finger on the problem raised by the OP, on ITT tonight.

Miranda said that Matt dances with his feet and his head.... but not with...

And Craig added ... his soul.

Matt is a technician, a trained gymnast. He's not a dancer.

Matt is just too wholesome, like knitted jam and spinach yoghurt.

Thought he was brilliant in the "Secret Britain" series though.

I think you and them are actually onto something. I would say that the problem he is got is that his technique is disproportionally at a higher level than his dance soul, lacking another term, I would use the word angel which is what we call it is Spanish regarding flamenco dancers.

I am the kind of person that likes to see that angel when dancing and I see it in Matt but I agree in much less quantity. This year I think only Kara has got both ( technique and angel or dance soul) in equal terms and in high standard.

good dancer, not in the slightest bit sexy

I've watched every dance this series and can think of several which have really made an impact as far as I'm concerned. I'm struggling to remember anything much about any of Matt and Aliona's dances. Neither he nor the dances are particularly memorable really: I'm sure he's a nice enough guy but he simply hasn't wowed me at all.

I fully expect him to win though because the bookies aren't likely to have made a mistake all these weeks.