I admit I didn't notice the lift in their Rumba the first time but watching it back again after Craig' comment, Craig is right again.
There is a clear lift with Kara having both feet off the floor.
What is the matter with the guy, surely he knows the rules.

I'm more angry though at the hypocrisy of Len. He made a big point a few weeks ago of saying he was going to penalise any more lifts and yet he awards 10's for two dances by Kara, the VW and Samba which included clear lifts..

What is going on, are the judges going to stick by the rules like in all other previous series or are they going to ignore the rules completely and have an anything goes SCD with the couples doing what they like and no rules. I mean this is the semi final where they are trying to find the best dancer from four excellent competitors

Kara hasn't danced a Samba!

it isn't about dancing though, is it?

they don't have props in a proper dancing contest, do they?

So do we need judges then and how are you going to find out who is the best?

I think you meant rumba. I noticed that 'lift', too and thought she'd be penalised again. I think Kara knew she should keep her feet touching the floor, she did not manage. But there's an advantage in not being judges' favourite.

It's obviously an accidental lift; you say yourself that you had to watch it back to notice it after it was pointed out to you. A lift wasn't part of the choreography, since one of her feet was supposed to stay on the floor, but unfortunately, that didn't happen and Craig spotted it.

I'm not sure how Kara's foot coming off the floor at the wrong point affects her position as the best dancer, though, especially because all the routines last night had mistakes (spotted or otherwise).

I seen to remember large parcels flying through the air, things being whirled around and deposited like left luggage on the dance floor and the odd iceberg even.

Nobody squealed or huffed and puffed them did they? Or did Anton get special dispensation for service beyond the call of duty?

Anyway, it's too late. Kara and Artem have already proved they are the best of the lot. I hardly think the plastic glitter ball even matters.

I mean, it's not a Nobel, is it?

I don't think its a lift as such, when Artem picks her up, her foot unintentially comes off the floor!

Ok and all very well but I find it more entertaining when there are rules and couple have to stict to them. It give structure to the competition. Otherwise you can have a free for all SCD. with no one giving a toss about rules and of course we don't need 4 so called judges picking up £90,000 each.

On the other hand lets get rid of the 3 muppets and just have Craig judging on his own.

Because the guy (i.e. Artem) is an artistic, musical genius. As a choreographer he comes up with magnificent routines that suit Kara down to a 'T' and he does so week after week. This year no other couple has even come close to Kartem's brilliance. He takes risks because he feels the routine needs it and it will promote his partner the best. The majority of the judges get that most of the time (haven't forgotten about Len being an idiot in Blackpool) and mark accordingly. Craig feels he needs to uphold the rules but applies them ad random. Unfortunate because he's usually spot on with his other critique.

It would grace the other couples if they would test the bounderies a bit more and not just show of their own talents. In the end you only get one chance to impress the public and even if Kartem has not yet had a perfect score it has done them no harm so far

Because they are not meant to be lifts, the moves are such that it's very difficult for her to keep her foot on the ground.

Surely as a professional dancing with an amateur you would not include such a move. Maybe ok with his professional partner.

I actually totally agree with you about rules, but the judges and the producer rather blasted all of that out of the water when they allowed Ann and Anton to flout every rule in the book, in the name of entertainment. It became a free for all this year and ruined any pretence that the show was still about dance and some kind of structure.

Which is why at this stage, for me at least, there are some very fuzzy lines about the rules and I am heartily sick of the judges (even Craig) and their clearly tactical behaviour.

They can't seem to make up their minds

I totally agree

I'd rather watch Kartem's routines that pushes bounderies, excites and gives me the wow factor every week
than boring Pam and James who takes no risks and plays safe week in and week out :yawn:

There's a difference between an intentional lift and an accidental one, and although I usually appreciate Craig's approach I do wish he'd cut people slack over the latter. I suppose he sees it as a technical fault á la a stumble or missed beat, hence no perfect 10 but it's a shame when you have a dance like Kara's VW that would otherwise be a 40.

Overall I do think there needs to be a distinction between deliberately rule-flaunting lifts, and accidental foot coming off the floor ones.

Sorry sofakat, your first two paragraphs went over my head

As the expert on here the music was wonderful but called 'samba pa ti' . Was it music for a samba or rumba?

Surely at the semi final stage we need a dividing line between 4 excellent competitors. If all the judges stuck to the rules Kara should have got 4x9's for her VW and Rumba.

But then they get criticised by the judges for playing safe! Kara, in particular, has been urged by the judges to take more risks, and the judges as a whole seem more keen in promoting risk-taking this year, but that's just my impression.

By the way, if you look closely at Matt & Aliona's tango, her foot comes off the floor at the beginning and end of a very similar spin to the one Kara did in the VW, so it's a risk for the professional too.

The music is definitely for a rumba, as the samba is an up tempo dance. Why Carlos Santana called it Samba Pa Ti (translation: Samba for you) seems like a bit of a mystery, until you play the song for its full length, when you'll hear that the music segues into something that could definitely be used in a samba, albeit a slow one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5AUm_xaE9A

It speeds up from about 2 minutes in.

Thanks peeve, very interesting. It certainly suited the dance beautifully.