I seriously doubt that.

*ahem
Thought that was Audley?

Sorry, but the injury story does seem like an excuse for the actual routine performed on the evening.

The injury will be true, but does anybody really think that Artem had planned for a faster jive and one with more kicks and flicks

The training footage during the week already told me that it would be a very unconventional jive.

And didn´t Artem say on ITT this week that he was glad that Len wasn´t around, because he would not have liked the routine (due to the lack of kicks and flicks obviously).

Well, I thought it was great; not particularly polished and it was a bit laboured but still my favourite dance of the night. I disliked the song but it worked; I actually liked the outfits and it was nice to see Holly and Artem seem a bit closer. Just my opinion.

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I personally didn't think it was brilliant as a jive. I couldn't see what the fuss was about. I thought the jacket slowed Holly down as it was loose fitting and must have provided air resistance. I felt like Artem's jacket was tighter fitting than Holly's.
Also Holly danced it quite flat footed. If you compare Holly and Artem when they are facing each other doing a basic jive step, Artem is much more up on the balls of his feet whilst Holly is using her whole foot. Also Artem picks his knees up more than Holly. To me, Artem danced it with more oomph whilst injured than Holly did uninjured (though Artem as the pro is probably used to dancing with injuries anyway. This one was obviously particularly bad).

However I guess it is what entertains you, and people all enjoy different things.

Holly's footwork looked a bit insipid at times to me too

In a great (SCD) jive, there shouldn't be such an obvious foot / kick contrast between the celeb and the pro

I thought it was a good dance, but I think Holly is off the pace a bit

My immediate thought was that she looked very flat-footed. That's my abiding impression.

I quite liked it. I liked the way he'd filed the sharp edges off to turn a spiky dance into a smooth one without losing the essence of the thing. The execution may not have been perfect but she is a relative novice after all.

I was also impressed by their confidence in not using any time-wasting gimmicks which would have been very tempting for such a busy routine.

I totally agree! I thought - they may be dressed the same but you can tell who's the pro! Didn't know Artem had an injury either. He's a great choreographer but the dressing alike was a big mistake imo.

Very disappointing.

it was an ok dance dont know why it was hyped up as being super fast all week, Holly looked slow and awful tbh she is defo a sloth as she said, i liked the idea of the choroeography and the suits etc just think Artem had the wrong partner for it. Artem himself could not believe afterwards that he danced so well with an injury like that what a pro

I know nothing about the injuries etc. I really enjoyed the dance - my second favourite of the clips I've seen. I probably enjoyed her dance more than Chelsee's but I'd score Chelsee higher on technical content. The really enjoyable thing about this jive is how much Holly enjoyed it and how well she performed the general choreography. Her technique was far from perfect but she compensated for it well.

People just need to accept Holly has slow feet and there're not going to get any faster.

She probably never played and football as a kid.

I loved it, really inventive.

I quite liked the choreography but am quite surprised people thought it so well executed. As a non-expert, I thought her footwork was heavy and laboured and agree with the comments about the costumes not helping. I thought they made even her armography, usually her strongest area, look lazy next to Artem.

I thought it was clever choreography, it hid Holly's lack of real pace and energy, and her non-ability to perform the sharp kicks and flicks normally associated with the jive.
But the jive is never going to suit the taller ladies (among the celebs taking part)..the little bundles of energy are nearly always more pleasing to the eye.
Having said that, I quite enjoyed it.

At the end of the day Artem is the professional and Holly the student -- so there is no way on this earth Holly would be able
to replicate the exact movement of her partner after a weeks training. Give the poor girl a break -- she did great!!!

It was okay, but not as bouncy as I'd thought they'd be - although I take into account Artem was injured.

I thought so too , I cant believe that people need to see almost perfection ,How on earth are the celebs supposed to do that in a week ? I think they are super to even grasp the basics and come on TV and dance it .

Most of us who've been watching from Series 1 think jive is Jill Halfpenny/Louisa Lytton or similar. Now there may be plenty other acceptable, authentic content as well as kicks and flicks but I do think the viewers have expectations and Artem's jive failed to meet them. They not be entirely representative of jive as a whole but Artem's jive was too disco for my liking.

That blasted 'scissor' movement with the hands over the eyes should be outlawed. Btw I LOATHE Mike Myers and that's what that move evokes. Yuk.

I understand what you're saying about viewer expectations, but Strictly has a habit of playing to the lowest common denominator when it comes to that subject. So we get salsambas (because viewers, including me incidentally) can't tell the difference between a salsa and a samba; we get Charlestons that are all about gurning and nobody notices the lack of double swivels (see, I'm learning); we get Argentine Tangos that are more Bognor Regis than Buenos Aires; and we get jives that have forgotten their roots.

What I like most about the new pros on the show, especially Artem and Pasha, is that they are introducing moves that push the boundaries of dance, but are still noticeably dance moves. And what infuriates me is that 'faffing abaht' is sometimes interpreted as 'daring choreography' when it isn't anything of the sort (Aliona, please note).

Oh, and that 'blasted scissor movement' is more reminiscent of Pulp Fiction for me, but of course comes from an earlier tradition.

Ah well, if we all liked the same kind of thing, it would be a dull old world (cliché number 67).

Yes, but I have to admit, it was pretty darned cool when John Travolta and Uma Thurman did it in Pulp Fiction.

Ooops. Sorry. I shouldn't be so presumptuous.

I still don't think Holly really did that well on Saturday. Partly, I supposed, was because she didn't do the full-dressed rehearsal with Artem, who was probably in agony at that point.

I hate being negative but that jive did absolutely nothing for me and as for the costumes - ye God's they were awful (imo). I admit that I hold Jill and Aleesha's jive as the gold standard and found this one came no way near. Too heavy and clumpy

My thoughts exactly!

I enjoyed the jive - admittedly it wasn't the sort of jive people expect on Strictly, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a jive! A jive isn't all about kicks and flicks!