It's a shame Matt wasn't with Ola...

I've just watched the show again and when Matt and Aliona are in front of the judges, Aliona hardly makes eye contact with the judges until Craig speaks and when Bruno is talking she actually looks right away behind her passed Matt. She clearly either disagrees with the judges and or doesn't know what she is doing wrong. Personally I think she disagrees with the judges.

It will be interesting to see what they have to say in their VT from when they first come through the doors after their routine.

I am surprised Scott & Natalie were knocked out before Pamela & James in the swingathon.

I agree that Aliona should have been given a right ticking off. Totally not Matt's fault. He must be living in some kind of fortified bubble to think the routines she orchestrates bear any relationship to the dances whose routines they supposedly are named after.

Salsa? My @rse. My@rse was also uncannily close to their jive and AS....

The judges should have made a stand against Aliona's choreography earlier in the competition instead of being snide about Matt.

My guess is that Aliona is not a salsa expert she incorporated so few salsa moves into the routine - she should have sought advice but is probably too pig headed to do it.

However for the judges to finally make a stand at this stage when there is little time to recover stinks.


The shocked look on the other contestants face said it all.

Genuine question - why haven't the judges blamed her then?
They have no problems with addressing comments to other pros. They've had no problem criticising Aliona in the past. So if it really is all her fault, why hasn't she been pulled up? What possible reason can there be?

This is the first time it has entered my head that it's Alionas routines that are the problem. I loved their Foxtrot but it was a 'different' kind of Foxtrot it just happened to be to my taste. The thought briefly entered my head after their AS and Jive but after that Salsa i have to agree with everyone else now.

Matt isn't my favourite but i really hate the thought that such a talented person and somebody who could easily dance some great routines is not being given the chance. It's the first time i have ever thought somebody would do better with a different pro.

I like Aliona but for some reason she feels the need to make all of her routines different, and i think that is what is going wrong. If she could just choreograph a normal routine i think the judges would love it.

She has said over and over now it doesn't matter what the judges say it's what the public think so there you have it


Saying all of this their Tango looks good from the training vids.

Have only been able to wach the show this morning on the i player but had read the commenst on here first, so watched the salsa with interest.

Matt performed what he was given very well, yes one or two timing issues but nothing worse then others have done and received higher marks.

What really disappointed me was that Aliona failed to defend Matt from the critism. the winners over the years have been the stars that their professional partners have set routines to their strengths and weaknesses and this is Aliona's problem we saw it briefly last year with Rav and now it's coming out again with matt. She sets her routine and expects her partner to fit in with it not the other way around.

I've already posted on the 'Aliona is rubbish' thread (actually I'm ashamed I boosted such a personally titled thread, but it was the first one I saw) but I don't think Aliona choreographed the majority of that salsa!

I thought salsa was one of the dances like AT, where they often get a specialist in to choreograph the routine because a lot of the pros aren't trained in it.

There was so much basic in it, and one of Aliona's faults ironically is that she historically doesn't use any basic steps!

I recon Aliona put in the lifts (I loved the first one off the desk) and that might well have been the full extent of her input. Doubt she would have chosen the music (which wasn't really suitable for salsa) if she didn't do the choreography.

I am a Matt fan, but often critical of Aliona's choreography. In this case I don't think we can blame her for once!

I think they both looked on the verge of tears after that kicking. They were hugging each other a lot. I actually think these two have a very good relationship.

I read on another thread that there was no specialist choreographer (e.g. the Shouty Salsa Man ) this year for cost cutting reasons. I didn't question of that was true or not though.

I'm sure other couples have used shouty Salsa Man this year.

I think in general, yes they should have saved their berating for Aliona. And not just this week either. But that doesn't mean I think Matt has danced Aliona's routines perfectly - especially the salsa this week. But I don't understand why they have to save their hostility for anyone. Can't they express disappointment without being overly harsh? Bruno and Alesha managed it last night. It was once again Len who went over the score with his grumpy attitude. By all means express dislike and disappointment but surely you can do so in a more pleasant manner?

All successful partnerships show this warm camaraderie (us two against the world). With Aliona it seems to be a master-servant relationship. In his very words Matt said he would do exactly what (Shut the f*ck up) Aliona says. He has been terrorised into come to heel.

To be fair and objective would anyone like to count on VT how many out-of-hold spins Aliona performs on centre stage per dance? Is it possible Aliona is secretly pleased when Matt is slammed by the judges?

In the early weeks Gethin was shy and immobile, so Camilla had to do some flash spins to interest the audience. After Gethin came out of his shell Camilla no longer did it. Kristina partnering John hardly indulged in self-promotion, nor does Katya now.

They spoke directly to Karen after the Foxtrot and jive with Mark .

It was I raised the question about Chris Marques and Jaclyn Spencer , the lovely Shouty Salsa Man! They have been overseeing salsa choreography since it was first introduced in series 4 .
As far as I understand it ,the pros are not salsa experts , as they are not Charleston or AT specialists ( Vincent , Flavia and Katya excepted on the AT ) and so SCD call in experts to assist . That said , I believe the pros have input.

It was SCDObserver who suggested cost cutting had meant maybe they were not brought in for salsa this year .

I just rewatched their salsa and just as whn i watched it live I'm a bit in shock about how bad the routine was.. not due to Matt but the choreography. Why is someone as good as Matt doing a repeition of that basic step over and over again. and why does Aliona love that grabbing the face move, when Matt puts his hands on her face and she rotates her head around. It just looks bad and not right at al for the salsa. i can't even talk about the gyrating in the corner bit.

It gets me a bit annoyed watching it. Cos Matt just ends up looking awkward and not as good as he is due to the terrible completely inappropriate choreography.

I just feel when i watch aliona on the live show and it takes two that she doesn't care what the judges think. but ultimately she isn't choreographing routines that fit the dance she is supposed to be performing and it's not her that gets all the stick afterwards its matt.

I agree that she has not taken the judges into account except to behave as if it doesn't matter what Len thinks , bung in another flick flack .

Cuz shes a girl

They dont seem to have any problem giving Brendon/James a roasting

I don't necessarily blame Aliona but both the Salsa and the Jive were mockeries of those dances and so one must lay the blame at the professional not really being up to the job.
Matt won't win with her as his tutor. Simple as that. Kara Tointon will win or possibly Pamela. But guessin the age of those that phone in with their votes, then it will be the former.
If I were a betting man, I lay bets.

Anton certainly had Shouty Salsa Man (aka Chris Marques) for his salsa with Ann because we both caught a glimpse in the VT and Chris tweeted about it.

She should lose points to start with for the horrible red hair.

She's not much of a choreographer in my opinion - I hope Matt gets through though he's the best dancer there.

Pamela or Gavin will probably go - Pamela looked knackered in that swingathon and should have been first to go.

I think Matt is a great dancer but to me it seems like dancing by numbers. I don't get any joy from watching him and it all seems a bit artificial. He clearly has a lot of skill but I think one of the other pros e.g. Lilia would get a lot more out of him performance wise.

I think Aliona has had enough time now to prove herself as a choreographer and I'm afraid I think she has failed.

Aliona has been outstanding and her choreography has been brilliant. Matt has allowed his enthusiasm and sports based competitiveness to carry him over the edge and he has come up short as a result. There is only so much Aliona can do to help him. He is a terrific dancer but his excesses have hurt him a lot. The pro can only do so much and she has done more than most. She must come back next year

[quote=Tangerine_82;46456622]I think in general, yes they should have saved their berating for Aliona. And not just this week either. But that doesn't mean I think Matt has danced Aliona's routines perfectly - especially the salsa this week. But I don't understand why they have to save their hostility for anyone. Can't they express disappointment without being overly harsh? Bruno and Alesha managed it last night. It was once again Len who went over the score with his grumpy attitude. By all means express dislike and disappointment but surely you can do so in a more pleasant manner?[/QUOTE]

agreed they could have moderated it more.

yup, I'd say so, she doesn't need us to be on her like a ton of bricks.

I'm amazed that some of you are still going on about this. Well, I shouldn't be amazed really, given what is written in posts all over digitalspy...

Matt's Salsa was crappy because Matt's dancing was crappy. Matt's dancing was crappy because his technique was poor. His technique is poor because he has not spent enough time in studio practicing.

Why hasn't Matt spent enough time in the studio?

Because he is running all over the country filming other shows.

It was Matt's choice to make SCD a part-time job.

Also, his lack of training time is why he was so frantic in dancing that Salsa. Trying too hard is a sign of someone not comfortable with what they are attempting to do.

His Tango turned out much better. Tango does suit his personality better than the Cuban derivative dances. I suspect they also practiced it more than the Salsa.