One reprised Latin from the 3 of them quite disappointing

What we dont know yet is the order of the dances except that they will all do their showdance.

Kristina has been smart to do her showdance in a completely different style from the other two I think it was the only way to go really.

Reminded me of Pamela and James' Quickstep when I first saw it

Kristina has just tweeted that they were not allowed to choose a dance from the Semi Finals.

Not surprised as I think we would have had 3 repeat dances if that was the case.

I am glad you are about Penquinperson or I would be talking to myself

hehehe

I think that's always been the rule anyway apart from last year?? Otherwise Matt Di Angelo would have been mad not to do his Waltz again in the series 5 final!

I just posted this on the ITT thread but it's probably more relevant in here. I think Aliona has been very clever by choosing the AT as their 'favourite' dance, as it was really the only way she could avoid Harry doing one of the traditional Latin dances given she couldn't pick the Charleston and already had 2 ballroom dances by virtue of having a ballroom new dance and judges' choice. I highly doubt she'd have been allowed to pick another traditional ballroom, so her only options really would have been Jive or Rumba. The Jive should work better in the showdance as it can be more swingathon-esque, and the Rumba wouldn't really have had much impact on that vast Blackpool floor, plus it's fairly recent. With the AT, they won't really be moving around much, but they'll get aerial impact from the lifts. Very clever indeed.

Wish I could say the same about Kristina, I really thought she'd pick the AS as their 'favourite' dance, rather than going up against 2 superior Quicksteps, including one in the same round, but I guess there's a fair chance he won't be dancing it anyway, particularly if they do the salsa before that...

Chelsee's dances are a nice mix, although I personally didn't like her jive so much, so I'll be interested to see if that has got a bit sharper, as it'll be fabulous if it has. I am slightly concerned that Rumba on that huge floor will be a problem in terms of impact and the 'wow' factor needed to catch floating voters, but their Quickstep should be good.

I like the idea of a ballroom-based showdance from Kristina, I'm glad we'll definitely get to see it. The thought of a disco-showdance fills me with horror, so I hope Pasha hasn't made it too cheesy, it didn't look like something I'd enjoy from the training clip Harry's looks very risky, but he was good at the swingathon, and at least it looks like Aliona's not made the choreography horror mistake she made last year...

Thanks Jan!

You're wrong about the Harry part. The Argentine Tango is actually considered as Ballroom in strictly (weird I know) so harry's actually doing 3 Ballroom dances this week ! yay, more ballroom to look forward to and no latin

I always thought the ordinary tango was a ballroom and I thought the AT was a Latin dance.

Excuse me, but I don't think I ever said the AT counted as Latin, so please read my post before telling me I'm wrong about something I didn't even claim in the first place...

What I said was:
-Harry has 2 ballroom dances given to him: new dance AS; judges' choice QS
-Therefore in order to keep some kind of balance, Aliona would quite possibly not have been allowed to pick another traditional ballroom - AT is not a traditional ballroom dance, by which I mean those danced in ballroom competition
-Therefore she would have to pick either a traditional Latin (by which I mean the 5 competitive Latin dances), Salsa or AT as the Charleston is banned by virtue of them doing it in the semi-final.
-Harry's traditional Latin was generally not strong, and his salsa wasn't hugely memorable either. The exception was arguably the Rumba, but a Rumba is fairly static and soft and the Blackpool floor is huge, meaning it can quite easily get lost and lack impact
-As it's not one of the traditional 10 Dances, lifts are allowed in the AT, which gives aerial impact.
-Therefore Aliona has been clever in choosing it as it gives maximum impact on that huge floor while avoiding dances where Harry isn't considered as strong - the traditional Latin.

None of which means the AT counts as Latin. In many other years Aliona would have had to pick a Latin dance, but she's been very clever within this year's rules to avoid doing so, which plays to her celebrity's strengths.

For what it's worth though, I always have and always will count the AT as Latin for Strictly, I think it's stupid to classify it as ballroom, but then again I also hate that it's danced before the semi-finals...

Does anyone else feel a bit cheated that Harry's got the lion's share of favourable dances? Both Chelsee and Jason have a Latin/Ballroom split and Harry's gone all ballroom! In my mind that's humongously unfair! That's not showing him to be a champion it's showing him to be a coward and too much of a specialist to win a ballroom AND latin dance contest! We slate Anton for being dippy with the Latin at a disadvantage to his celeb- so why should a prospective champion of the show get away with it!

It's not really 'getting away with' anything when it's in the rules. Blame the producers for setting the rules, Aliona and Harry are doing nothing wrong...

Well I'll blame whoever- but I feel very annoyed by this! They should be made to do at least one of each I feel Aliona's been given a very cheap get out of jail free card!

Harry's showdance appears to be jive based, so there is the latin. AT is neither ballroom nor latin. And IMO he is certainly not a coward as he appears to be doing quite a few lifts which could be risky.

Well not really... on account that the technical side of a Jive can pretty much be overlooked as long as Harry and Aliona are in time/ don't look like complete and utter fools (even then it's still worth at least 9 from Alesha...) then they can't be marked down like they would be if doing a proper Jive! As for the lifts- well I suppose the only blessing in disguise is that with all of Harry's lifts his Showdance may be a bit underwhelming... but not to worry... I just hope that the best dancer wins- that being all round dancer- not ballroom dancer only :S

Harry and Aliona have screwed themselves over with their picks. Aliona should've gone with the jive based on how Harry performed in the swingathon and drew up a new routine for it...I guess she decided three completely new dances would've been too much to learn in one week but her lax choreography early on has cost them dear now.

Saying that, I think Chelsee and Pasha have this sewn up so whatever Harry and Aliona do it won't matter...same with Jason and Kristina...so we might as well just enjoy the dancing.

If the format is the same as last year , the couples will dance the judges‘ favourite first, then the showdance and the final 2 will then do the unlearned dance followed by their favourite dance

U haven‘t watched ITT today haven‘t you? harry and aliona‘s showdance looks absolutely brilliant , and the lifts are 10 times more impressive than the swingathon. In fact it‘s fast and just like a jive. That‘s the dance that will really win the competition for them, mark my words.

Just can‘t wait to see miss “fank you fank you so much“‘s face when the results are announced !!

Ah, so if they're knocked out in the first half, Jason won't dance his Salsa and Quickstep, Chelsee won't dance her Rumba and Quickstep and Harry won't dance his AS and Quickstep? I think that's right.

Chelsee
QS- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrlt8yG_bP4
Jive- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3gYiUCKjRM

Harry
QS- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4vr...eature=related
AT- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYtO8QEPkl4

Jason
QS- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrgVeFaGtm8
Tango- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ44_j16PZ4

I felt EXACTLY the same when I heard Harry`s dances. I feel he has a real advantage in this choice of dances which play to his strengths which is ballroom and in hold.
Unfair to the other two couples.

Even Chris Hollins did an out of hold Charleston (counted as Latin) Also three dances with lifts is a hell of a lot

Not sure it plays to advantages of anyone. I wish the judges had picked a not so good dance for each of them to see how they had improved it. Dancing a good dance again doesnt seem so hard.

For me the judges picks would have been:

Harry (foxtrot or cha cha)
Jason (paso)
Chelsee (AT)... but there we go..

I think it will be a good final and Im not sure who will win. Its still a level playing field for me (although Chelsee and Harry have a slight advantage over Jason).