He never comments on his performance though... His comments today were all about timing, spins and how saccharine the whole thing was.

Oddly, I feel this would have been where Bruce would've stepped in and stopped their bickering instead of letting them go on and on about it.

I agree, he doesn't perform the dance but just does the steps.
There is no flow, no feeling and no joy whatsoever. This is why Craig gave him such a low mark.

Thanks, sometines i can watch a ballroom dance and be drawn in mesmerized!! not being a dancer you just FEEL it!! I found the same with Harry a bit, its all there but the passion.

He didn't comment on any of that though?? I don't think he has once criticised Louis on a performance level- maybe in his cha cha, but I can't remember.

Maybe not but it is what he looks for. He loves the most theatrical of routines which is why he loves Lisa so much.

If that's what he's looking for, then that's what he needs to comment on. Picking apart technical details when it's clear the other 3 don't agree just seems If he thinks the performance is bad, then he needs to say- then we could understand his marking. At the moment it looks like he's marking him down on technical aspects.

If Craig felt it was a 6 then sobeit! But, what really peed me off was the OTT criticism. I was absolutely furious at the way he launched into Louis. Whatever, his problem is he really ought to sort it because he's sounding a lot like Arlene did with John Sargent but, the problem is this time its a potentially phenomenal dancer who is getting unnecessarily harsh criticism.

He certainly always used to be. But he seems to go down the 'technique' route when it suits his purpose (be it Chris Hollins' endlessly 'spatulistic' hands, or Louis' thumb) and, as Karen Hardy pointed out this week re. the samba, Craig criticised elements of the routine quite mistakenly because he doesn't understand the dance well enough.

Definitely deserved at least 4x9. A winner tonight for me.

I agree with you, it is what he should have said.

Technically Louis was very good (no need to pick him up on that at all) but very lacking in performance. I imagine there was some scripting involved in the judges altercation.

For you maybe, it wasn't for me and Craig didn't mention anything about performance so how do we really know that's his problem? We're all just surmising.

What do you feel was missing? The waltz is all about grace and not looking at your partner, but using your body movements to portray the romance and connection. He did that for me.

From his marking he still is very much the performance judge, his comments don't match up though.

I guess we all see things very differently.

You really are a nasty piece of work, aren't you ?

Does Louis know, that those sort of comments are being made about other competitors? Does he think it's Ok ?

Louis isn`t responsible for other people`s comments

Craig used to be my favourite judge but this series he is just annoying me.

If his score for Louis was truly how he felt fine but the difference between his score and the other judges seemed ridiculous and he gave other dancers the same score when they didn't seem to deserve it.

I would rather see Lewis enjoy what he is dancing and make mistakes, than do a technically great dance with no feeling. This I suspect is very hard for the judges to pontificate on without sounding viciously personal in the short amount of time they get to comment.

If he brought to the Strictly floor the personality he shows in the training he would be phenomenal.

I agreed with a lot of what Craig was saying, I found it quite dull, however it was no way a 6!

I thought it was absolutely gorgeous and cannot for the life of me fathom why Craig is undermarking him so much.

I can't stand the expression on his face while he's dancing. It's obviously meant to be a 'serious face' but it comes across as smug. Flavia needs to work on that, it's spoiling the whole package for me.

He definitely deserved more than a 6, but I still find little connection between Louis and Flavia as a couple.
As a judge, Craig has always been the judge who looks for a performance, not surprising as he is from a theatrical background. He can be quite forgiving if someone "sells" the dance, but this is where Louis and Flavia are often failing up to now.
Louis appears to be studiously thinking about every move, he needs to loosen up a bit, even if that means making the odd mistake.
Certainly worth an 8 last night, but as a "performance" I also found it rather dull and without feeling.

He certainly seems uncomfortable in hold with Flavia, held himself so stiffly, it was for me painful to watch. Shame that he can't let go.

It must be hard for him not to worry about mistakes- for the past 15 or so years of his life, he's learnt (and experienced himself) that one mistake is the difference between all (a medal) or nothing.
Feeling is a subjective thing- I enjoyed his performance yesterday, and 'felt' it- but I can understand that others don't.