Actually, talking purely technically, it was the best QS from a celebrity on SCD. The mere fact that there was sway in his QS made it better than any other QS attempted on this show. Both the rhythm and some of the steps in that routine were very hard. I'm really impressed!

Ah, I just watched it again. He leads Aliona around the floor so beautifully!

Could that be because of his facial expression (or lack)? In his QS his face said "I'm thinking real hard about this", so he doesn't project ease and happiness, rather he projects intensity. While he can get away with that in Tango or Paso, I think the QS really calls for the exuberant smile.

Thought Harry did a great job with the quickstep.

Still not a patch on Ricky & Natalie's imo. That was wonderful.

http://m.youtube.com/?rdm=4om7bey00&...?v=K0Q-pi8HkfM

LOVE IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4vr_MaA30

Its now on yt for you all to enjoy again
it just gets better and better every time I watch it


Ricky and Natalie's wasn't very memorable for me so thank you for the link. It was a brilliant dance


both technically brilliant and it seems to me a matter of personal preference and nothing more

Good but violently overmarked imo

It was good. I'm getting a bit ticked of with this issue over sway saying he's the only celeb to do it. In the earlier series the judges actively asked for it and said you wouldn't get high marks without it. :S

Loved it and changed my mind - Harry wll win if he continues to dance like that...

well done Harry and Aliona

Well take that up with former pros Ian Waite and Karen Hardy who have both said that it is very rare to see it in a celeb as (I believe Karen said) it is difficult and they don't have time to teach it. They would know better than you or I

All you have to do is watch Harry's Waltz or QS and then another top celeb to see a very noticeable difference in the way their bodies move.

It's not just about attempting it, it's about mastering it, which I think we saw from Harry last night.

I don't like the quickstep, to me it seems like running around the room at high speed, but it's often one of the dances that totally wows the judges and - if I'm not mistaken - often a dance that makes the judges get their 10's out.

That said, I think Harry is a joy to watch, I think he's a great dancer and he proved it again last night.

I thought it was exceptionally good BUT (doing a Craig and highlighting the flaw) the face doesn't express the joy.

It's such a shame.

It wasn't overmarked but it was the best dance of the night. If Alex, Jason and Chelsee are getting high marks then it had to be marked higher as it was the best.
Harry LEADS Aliona which allows their dancing to flow. Not sure how well Jason does in that criteria I always feel Kristina is 'helping' him along. Chelsee leaves me cold. Usually she dances technically well but her dancing doesn't make me feel excited. Alex is continuously overmarked. Does James bribe the judges as this happened last season with Pamela.

The song didn't seem appropriate. The dance seemed quite slow for a quickstep

It was a great feel good routine. Just thinking about it now puts a smile on my face.

Well done Harry and Aliona.

I love Qs and like both Harry and aliona so I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I thought the costumes weren't very elegant and that made the whole thing less polished than say ricky's, which was really elegant.
I wish we could see the dance with better costumes!

Other than that, I think it was a wonderful routine he danced it so well. On the swingathon I saw him dance for the first time rather freely, like he was really enjoying and ad lib which makes me think that he is a talented natural dancer. Before I used to think that chelsee was slightly more, but I could see him more in the groove.

I absolutely loved their QS , I got three texts after it from friends saying " Wow " !
I loved the costumes , the music and the dance just tripping across the floor .
It goes into my all time favourites list now along with Aleshsas QS .

Just SO good!

It was a great routine and if Aliona had choreographed routines like that from Week 1, I'd be LOVING them.

Unfortunately, that's not what she's done and I'd rather support couples like Chelsee & Pasha and Jason & Kristina, who have played by the rules of SCD and still produced great routines week in week out. That's also why I could never pick up the phone and vote for Artem and Holly. No matter how much I enjoy the performance, show dances or show boating routines before the final will never get my vote.

In the current company Harry and Aliona deserved 9/10 for their QS.

Seeing that again put a smile on my face!

Strange thing is I thought he was brilliant in the swingathon but the QS just lacked the pizazz of some less technical dances that engaged me more. Ian & Denise's QS being a prime example of one that was exuberant and joyous

I agree with StrictlyRed - brought a smile to my face, too!

I'm hard pushed to rank this higher than Ricky & Natalie's though, if only because (without wishing to sound like Len), it's harder for a male celeb to lead a QS and ensure sway, as Ricky did. But if a female celeb is as good as Denise, then she can follow a strong lead like Ian's and the sway is easier to achieve*. I miss Ian's fab choreography. Sigh.

But, back on topic, there is no doubt that Harry did an excellent job with a dance that had complex choreography and different rhythms, as did Denise & Ian's. It was a joy to watch.



*I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it makes sense to this non-dancer.

You've hit the nail on the head - thank you! It's the sheer exuberance and joy that makes a QS a WOW dance!

Ian is such a great QS dancer and when he does the QS with his tall and long legged celebs, they just look fantastic!

Ian and Jade

Ian and Jodie

Ian and Penny

Harry & Aliona danced a great QS, but it lacked the joy and that's why I think a 9 was due and not a 10.

I have just rewatched a number of Ian & Denise's dances and the thing that comes across is how much she enjoyed herself and that comes through in the performance.

The other thing I would add is that the music choices were generally better and the dancefloor at TV centre is not conducive to a flowing routine.

Interested to see from those that think it was way over marked or not as good as Ricky's were it falls down.

Little to no gaping
He was leading all through
His footwork was spot on and light as a feather
His timing as ever was immaculate
He had amazing sway (his body rides every beat of the music.)
He didn't make any errors

edit
imo having re watched R&N this morning he didn't show any more or less "joie de vivre" than Harry. For me both got the feel spot on, I always favour subtly in any dance bar the Charleston


I can't object to the judges giving a 10 to a dance which hit all those marks.



I understand that and its something for Harry to work on...

but

me being my weird self I kind of like that about him

I would rather see some vulnerability and real emotion from a celeb when they dance, rather than the cringey fake toothy grin you often see on ballroom dancers. So I personally don't mind seeing Harry's nerves on his face, makes him more easy to identify with for me.
When he does let go and smile I will know its cause he really has shaken of the nerves and tension and going for it.

Agreed it was good and the best dance of the night but he still lacks in the latin. Glad that Aliona stuck to dance and didn't add any twists. And noone has yet beaten Ricky's QS for me.

The rules of SCD are not what they used to be though - props are allowed, lifts are allowed in salsa etc, so where has Aliona actually broken the current rules?

Some of her choreography would be rule-breaking back in series 4 or 5, I understand that, but she's not breaking current rules as far as I can see, unless I've missed something.