Viennese waltz is one of the dances that American smooth can be based on… There is nothing worng with one being based on that or am I missing something?

I was briefly pointing out that it was VW based where many were complaining about the lack of FT content. The issue I was trying to highlight is that had Kara done that particular AS choreography with Artem, Len would have complained about the lack of in-hold. Simply because Kara had more talent & ability than Holly at this stage of the competition.

This thread makes so much more sense now I re-read the title and saw that it did not say "Is Aliona deliberately trying to lick len's wick?" Forgive me? It is a monday morning after all. :sleep:

I personally don't think that Aliona is trying to get on his wick, I don't think she cares if she does though.

This.

I love Harry and think he's a great dancer. I was screaming at the TV saturday night "get him in hold". It seemed to go on forever and then when we finally got (exquisite) tango it lasted a couple of seconds and then it was over.
Aliona is going to ruin it for Harry if she's not careful.
I undersatnd that Len is a bit old fashioned and her choreography is more modern, but for the first time I agreed with him. The boy can dance - so lets see him please!!!

She doesn't care about Lens comments because, cynically, she knows that getting viewers votes is more important. That's why she shouldn't win.

The only thing Aliona cares about is the public vote.

totally agree with you Sid

Whilst Aliona is critised by Len, Artem is praised

It seems Len has his own set of rules depending on the professional

It would be interesting to see more of their training instead of the dratted VT skits that they seem to be showing this year! That might give us more of a clue about how much emphasis is being put on the actual dance style........... I still suspect not much!

Don't even think she cares about this judging by the number of people complaining about the lack of dance content.

I agree. However, while this will get them through week on week, it may not work in the final (as we saw with Matt). Having said that, I assume Harry does have a bigger fanbase than Matt though which could ensure a win regardless.

I think a lot of the public actually like to see the traditional steps in choreography. Strictly is my only exposure to ballroom dancing and a lot of the enjoyment for me has been watching the celebs master (or not) the technique of the relevant dances. I'm disappointed in the lack of content in a lot of routines this year.

Going for the public vote in a contest decided by public vote? How dare she. It's despicable.

Its worth remembering that Harry is a drummer - not a dancer and the week he had with Ola was cancelled out by being penalised a weeks training. That means he's coming into the show with nothing and all the dancing we are seeing has been taught to him in (apart from the CCC) one week per dance.

He is also leading the dances and performing - both of which he hasn't done before.

What we have seen so far could also be seen as very impressive by Harry and Aliona.

It all depends on how you look at it.

That's my main concern about Aliona's choreography and for argument's sake, Artem and any other pro-dancer who has been accused of having too little content. Should someone get the same mark for not doing much of a tango but something that looks good on the dancefloor as someone who actually does a tango?

I get that strictly is about entertainment and dance, but surely the couple who manages both should get the higher score and those who concentrate on the flair factor or just the technical aspects should be penalised?

I don't know whether Aliona is doing it deliberately or not, but it's not particularly fair playing field at the moment with the bendy rules and inconsistent marking from the judges.

The issue for me is with celebrities who have widely varying amounts of ability highlighted or hidden by skilful choreography marked accordingly. Len in this respect IS fairly consistent. If a celebrity can dance but doesn't do much, he will mark down. Whilst someone who is struggling & does the few steps they are given well, he will mark up.

The celebrity is led by the professional and the two cannot be separated. Good choreography will allow the celebrity to shine no matter what their ability. Bad choreography will highlight faults and hide talent.

Spot on. This is a guy who's used to being in the background. Tp be doing as well as he is doing is awesome, and surely credit must go to Aliona for how good a teacher she is.

As for this Len v Aliona business, I'm siding with Aliona. I'm not trained in ballroom dancing, I don't know all the ins and outs and the rules. However, it comes across as Len marking Harry on what he does or doesn't like about Aliona, and that doesn't seem fair. He goes on about how great Harry is, and how well he dances, then gives him a 7??

Another thing, on the results show, he mentioned about one couple not having enough content (forgive me for not remembering who it was!) but I do remember that he didn't mention it at all on the main show. Yet he points it out every week when it's Aliona and Harry. How is that fair?

great post!

you know what, as soon as Harry went into hold with Aliona I immediatly thought "wow, he is like one of the pros" and in a blink of an eye it was over

he could be really fantastic and if he were dancing with Erin Boag or Christina Rhianoff he would already be one of the best ever

he is being let down, let's see some dancing

Perhaps what is really needed is less VT and more dancing! Rather than the bare 90 seconds we have at the moment.

It's strange, innit?

Artem's choreography on his VW had very little VW, and yet Aliona was picked on.

I think it's because Len actually thought Harry was a much better dancer than Holly (or even Jason, one VT of Len saying Harry's the best male celeb he's seen on SCD so early in the series says a lot!), so for Len the better dancer you are, he feels the pros should then find all sorts of way to showcase their ballroom dancing skills to the world.

Nothing wrong with Aliona trying to choose to please the public (supposedly, I actually think she couldn't care less whichever way, she choreographed the routine for her own satisfaction), if that is the case. If they are in the final with, say, Chelsee (another naturally talented celeb, with Pasha trying to showcase her actual ballroom dance talent), and I know exactly how I will be voting to win for the finals!

I can't see Aliona going back on the way she is now. She is not the only one though - Artem sometimes turns a blind eye to rules too

And Natalie had too much faffing around in the jive on Saturday

Oh I agree Aliona won't change

it is a shame because Harry is beautiful to watch when in hold and I want to see much more of him doing that

I think we could do with seeing more dancing from all of them. It seems to be taking forever to get going this year. Just endless props and flying stunts and nonsense covering up the fact that people can't dance.

But the thing is, the old-fashioned 'dancing' as it was in the original version (before my time!) was, as I understand it, never popular enough and that's why it was cancelled.

So you can see why the Beeb are trying to incorporate other elements to keep the interest high - and they do seem to be winning viewers over the x-factor, so perhaps they think they are doing okay ?

I'd love to see proper dancing but would it make a different show and would enough people still tune in ?

agreed!

apaprt from Harry who can really dance but gets even more faffing about from his professional

I agree that there are a lot of people like us Daisy, who are non-dancers and have watched from the start and like to see the right content for each dance - but we want to be WOWed too (and have been loads of times!). There are also those who just want to see a WOW dance and think to hell with the relevant technical content. But as you say Daisy, it could back fire in the end, but might not this year because of how popular Harry is off the dance floor.


It isn't a contest decided by the public vote. The public vote carries equal weight to the judges' vote. If you are going to be sarcastic, try and get your facts right.

Exactly the same for me. Artem's choreography shows off his celebrity where Aliona's shows off Aliona.

Last year Len pulled up Artem for the lack of content because Kara could dance. He is only doing exactly the same this year for the same reasons only this time it is Aliona in the firing line.