I agree and she wasted a very good dancer and a very good song I'd give him to Erin or Katya for a week to punish her. Actually considering Ailona had Matt last year he ought to have been given to Katya this year.

Ricky W lost because he didn't have the time to put the work into both the dancing and the personality aspect both on and off the dancefloor that would have engaged people. Blame the Hollyoaks producers for that one.

Scott lost because his latin (the jive being a very honourable exception) wasn't that great and his schedule on EE left him with no energy in the later stages of the competition. Blame the EE producers for that one.

I can't have been the only person who watching the Blackpool Week wished that Matt had been dancing with Natalie. Natalie's samba routinue kicked Ailona's bum but sadly Scott wasn't able to perform it as well as Matt could do Ailona's.

My husband loved Ailona and Matt's AS and I thought it was a brave attempt to do something different other than trying to Fred n'Ginge but her tango last night was annoying as like the Grease Jive it wasted a great dancer and a great song. I don't mind quirky and unusuall but there needs to content - Camelia at her best could do both brilliantly (cf. James Martin's maneniqun tango and Tom's showdance) if Ailona was more like that I'd be very happy.

HOUSE!

*DJ waves bingo card about in triumph*

The rest of your post is, frankly, not worth responding to.

BIB - curiously, the same producer on both occasions: Bryan Kirkwood, enemy of Strictly ...

At the end of the day if they sign up to Strictly and already have a full time job, the buck stops with the contestant. If you don't have the time to dedicate to rehearsals either don't do it or get on with and don't whinge.
It shouldn't be used as an excuse.



Bryan Kirkwood was gone from Hollyoaks by the time Ricky Whittle was competing in Strictly. Lucy Allan Bryan's successor was in charge of Hollyoaks during that period.

If Harry is struggling with remembering his steps he needs more basic content not more out of hold stuff.

Why can Natalie put more jive into Audley's routine when it is clear he is flat footed yet Aliona avoids the issue with too much non dance content.

we don't know that Harry has been struggling to remember his steps or for that matter if that has anything to do with the way Aliona is choreographing.

He said that he found the Waltz the hardest to pick up and only felt like he got it on the friday, that is all. That might have something to do with what Karen H said about the amount of visable Swing and Sway his waltz had. She said Pro's normally don't have time to teach this to the celebs.
So if Aliona decided to create the time to teach him it by cutting down on the steps, then maybe it made it harder for him to pick it up, when it was combined with trying to get (and from what Len and Karen said) succeeding in getting perfect footwork and rise and fall.
But that's just guess work on my part and its all anyone can really do, unless Aliona or Harry give us a blow by blow run down of their rehearsals. I certainly didn't see much S or S in his foxtrot so I presume it was there in the waltz cause Aliona taught him how to do it and to do that she would need to find time.

But I will say this if she did make the choice to sacrifice some steps in the waltz to give her time to teach him this skill. Bravo Aliona! It is something he can now use and build on in his other ballroom dances.

From a ex-SCD pro dancer Nicole Cutler:

Harry & Aliona – Tango

I loved the theme and look for their set & their song was a good choice to set the theme of the dance. Again, a very long intro but it was captivating and had good story telling and Harry & Aliona were very precise in their movements and very in tune with each other. Once they did get going, their Tango lacked considerable basic Tango steps and consisted manly of lines & lunges revolving around turns and spins to create effect. The basic steps that I notice were: Walks in promenade, outside Rock step with flicks, Oversway, half Standing Spin, Turning Locks & Backward rocks however, there was a lack of movement around the dance floor i.e. using all available dance space in a moving dance along the line of dance & this is reflected in the lack of moving Tango steps and rather too much usage of static ‘effect’ steps. It is a shame as Harry really is a good dancer and has a good frame & looks the part on the dance floor. I would just like to see him do more of what he is capable of doing.

Content: 4 Theme: 9 Overall: 7

Last week in their waltz:

Harry & Aliona - Waltz
I have to say that even before they danced, I was so impressed with their VT, which I felt was so much better than everyone else’s. It was a great and very clever story line that led beautifully into their dance – I wondered why everyone else’s couldn’t be like that as it was really lovely.

They started off with a very difficult slow Contra Check and then into some great Waltz content – great standing spin up on toes, & readable and recognisable Waltz variations with very good rise, fall & sway from Harry. His posture still needs a lot of work as I found him to be sticking out his bum quite a bit especially on forward steps – perhaps due to the slight over exaggeration of his heel lead and lowering action which can cause a distortion in the upper body. But this is very, very good and then, the unthinkable…. Faffing where it was absolutely not needed especially when the dance was flowing so beautifully! The 1st half was wonderful and the 2nd half was just ruined for me as it lacked comparable content to the 1st half and the whole dance became disjointed. What a shame as this was Harry’s best dance by far in terms of technique, characterisation & style although I still find Harry not quite at the top of his ability in a performance sense however it was very, very good!

My score: 8 (work on posture & performance)

I've already read Nicole Cutler's blog as I do every week but thanks for sharing.

Nothing. Just to say that even dance expert knows that Harry is a talented dancer and Aliona is not showcasing him to his full potential.

Please don't think I have problems with Harry. I like his personality (don't know why some say he's posh, smug etc., don't get that vibe from him), and admire his natural dance talent. Just that, though I think he's a finalist material, I don't think if he's pitted against the likes of Chalsee (or even Jason), I would vote for him based on the choreography that Aliona created thus far. It's not his fault, I don't vote based on sympathy, though I admire his work ethics.

I do think more and more now that Aliona is not doing Harry a favour and ruining his chances. Of course, dedicated Mcfly fans wouldn't care how Aliona choreographs the routines, but for non fans like myself (and perhaps many others besides), if we are choosing which dances we like among celebs with comparable dance talent, we'll rather see more content than faffing about. Though we may not know the name of each move, but having watched SCD for several seasons now some of us can recognise those basic steps from the faffs, and find achieving the basic steps in the dance genre they are doing IS admirable AND entertaining.

As a dedicated McFly fan I can assure you if I thought for one second anything Aliona was doing was in any way hindering Harry everyone and their granny would know all about it
and he is posh but not remotely smug


I think that the Tango this week was a bad judgement call on Aliona's part and left me feeling very frustrated. It wasn't a disaster, infact there was alot about it I loved, but less than 20 seconds in hold isn't acceptable imo. But all the Pro's have good and not so good dances, none of them are infallible.

However I have seen enough in the way Harry's dancing AND performing skills have come on leaps and bounds since the Cha Cha and Foxtrot (that weren't all that long ago) to have faith enough in the decisions Aliona is making for him. Or as some other posters may prefer to see it "method in her madness."

The huge improvements he made from FT to W didn't happen by accident, they happened in part because of the decisions Aliona made in her teaching, and choreography.
It seems to me that she is teaching him how to be a complete dancer and not just the steps of a routine. Im hoping in the coming weeks she will start to put all the pieces together. Slow and steady win the race

There is no doubt that enormous work has been done by Aliona to correct the posture (within two weeks!) to get such a dramatic visual improvement between Harry's FT and W. No doubt, Harry has latent talent, in that he didn't really have much swing and sway in his FT (it was there, but not as obvious), but was there in abundance two weeks later, one which Karen Hardy said pros have no time to teach celebs because they take years to master. So there's lots to like about Harry.

But until and unless Aliona convince me and put in more actual dance content in her subsequent routines for Harry, I remained unmoved to vote for Harry in the final. I may vote for him if he's somehow in the danger zone (like mid-table on his 'off' weeks), but in the finals if Aliona's esoteric style remains, then I will vote for the contestant that mastered the basic ballroom steps and presented them in their dances they performed on the night.

And the obvious example was their waltz.

It started off perfectly, and then Looniona's Stairography happened. That was so obviously wrong, so obviously pointless, and so obviously due to Aliona, that even the judges had to comment on it.

harry has a lot of potential, in my opinion Aliona is a poor cheorgrapher, and also slightly arrogant to make comments such as 'I dont listen to the judges'

im unsure of the beeb's decision to axe better dancers, and cheorgraphers such as lilia to keep aliona.

but that imo..

In answer to the thread title..yes, she's probably in the doghouse.
There appears to be an irrational dislike (almost hatred) for some of the ladies who appear on Strictly. Among the professionals, it used to be Camilla Dallerup (heaven knows why, she was the "wronged" partner in her relationship with Brenda)..now it's Aliona.
Among the contestants, this year it's Lulu and (to a lesser extent) Alex..and again, I don't know what they've done to deserve it ?

Maybe since many viewers are so critical of certain pros' style of choreography there should be a switch week where all remaining celebs are partnered with a different pro (just for 1 week), specifically chosen to sort out their problem areas. Of course this would have to be a non-elimination week to avoid deliberate sabotage! I think this would provide both an interesting twist to the show & possibly a helpful insight to pros who are dealing with particular criticisms, (cough ... Aliona)!!

Anyone know if there's a suggestion box anywhere?

I want to see Brenda with Harry, and Robin with Jason
If Aliona was in the doghouse, I bet it would be the best little doghouse in Texas.

I don't think it's limited by gender - or have you not read the criticism of Jason Donovan? In previous years, the venom has been directed at males and females alike. It's equal opportunities non-appreciation on here, you know...

It was because she danced like an afghan hound on speed!

Unlike you to be lost for words

Has she been let out on a lead ?

Aliona's routines tend to draw the eye towards her...rather than playing to the relative strengths of her partner. Ola, Flavia, Natalie - they are there for their partner.

this is spot on

have no memory of Harrys samba tonight because all the choreography drew the eye to Aliona

thought it was poor and overmarked, again