I love Flavia, but that was a terrible routine. It would have been an interesting & different quickstep,
but as an AS it totally failed.

I didn't even mind the transition from Ray Charles to Kanye - I think that I could have worked in a straight QS, tho I it should have come earlier,

To compare: what a difference if Louis had been with Natalie in her AS - they may have got straight 10s.

I don't think Flavia let Louis down at all. I think something has happened backstage by the sounds of Jimi's latest tweet and the fact that they looked so disappointed throughout the night

It wasn't their best routine but I think they were undermarked compared to some of the others.

I like Louis and Flavia but, I really didn't like the routine. I wondered if something-else had happened behind the scenes because Flavia in particular didn't look too happy with the comments. It reminded me a bit of when Ricky and Natalie did exactly what they were told in the Rock n Roll dance and were lambasted for it and when they went into the DO did it the way they had originally wanted to do it and were fantastic.

It was more like a Pommel Horse routine....

And as Darcey said, should have been saved for the Finals.

They weren't really undermarked. They should be simply better at this stage. Maybe a charleston, where his face has to work and he had to learn to perform would do him wonders. I think also a bottom 2 with a duffer would give him a kick in the bum. He isn't undermarked imho, he is not working to his abilities and he falls behind a lot of the couples.

Routine. That says it all.
Routine. Schtick.
Not dance.

Actually I like dance-schtick. Think Tom Chambers. Flavia's not so much.

I've just re-watched it and it's not as bad as I remember and the crowd LOVED the pommel bit so maybe it's a case of "you had to be there".

I do think he has a lot of goodwill from the public because of how narrowly he was beaten for the gold and putting that in last night served as a reminder of how well he represented his country at the Olympics.

From what I've read on twitter etc, the routine seemed to go down much better in the actual venue. Personally I don't think it was their best but was much better on a second viewing. I don't think Flavia let Louis down though.... In fairness she has had great choreography for their dances so far and IMO it is Louis who is letting her down and needs to look like he is enjoying it a little bit more!!

Anyone can make a mistake. Maybe she misjudged the space or maybe she personally doesn't like 'Fred and Ginger' type ASs or maybe something was imposed on them we don't know about. I think it showed with Louis and Victoria last night that they're not performers like the others are by profession, and Wembley really needs the big ballsy performance, regardless of the quality of the dance, that Louis has yet to learn. But all the other dances she's done for him, she's been brilliant.

I think so too... I think it is a bit of a shame to start talking about her letting Louis down just because one dance didn't quite work out. It happens to ALL the pros where some dances work and some don't. I would rather the pros took risks on occasion than stuck to safe tired choreography. It won't always work, but at least it shows they are interested enough to make the effort.

I think she did let him down this week though. There wasn't much else he could have done with the poor choregraphy. It simply had no style and the AS is supposed to have that in abundance.

I think Michael had a significant advantage over Louis in that he has already done both his foxtrot and QS, both of which had a similar feel to AS, whereas this was Louis' first attempt at that type of ballroom.

ETA this was not really directed at your post, but more of a continuation of a thought

Maybe it is the term 'letting someone down' that I have issues with. It is a term I would generally apply to someone 'not trying' and I definitely don't think this of Flavia. The routine might not have been to everyones liking, but she certainly didn't let him down and I doubt Louis would think she did either.

Maybe I just have a different meaning to the phrase to let someone down than what is intended though.

I did feel Flavia let Louis down, but we are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes so perhaps she was working in the way she'd been told to.
I believe Louis is the best celebrity on the show and deserves to win. He is not a dancer or entertainer by profession and yet he is a natural mover and has expressed himself so well on the dance floor.
His performance of Dirty Dancing was superb.
If he and Denise get to the final I feel it would be an absolute travesty if she won. He has, by far, had the most challenging journey. She's just doing the job she's trained for and worked in all her life.

Well, it's kind of obvious what I meant. There's no need to play a game of semantics. I think she choreographed a poor routine and let Louis down.

I agree but I don't think, with hindsight, Wembley was NOT (edit: missed key word there) the week for experimenting. Going on his waltz and lifts in the salsa I think they could have done a lovely vote-winning traditional AS. But who knows and who am I to second-guess Flavia.

I really hope that on ITT this week they'll acknowledge that they looked miserable and if there is any tension, after Biggins' little dig, that they'll talk about it and clear the air. I think people would respect that.

I don't think she let him down. I think she tried something different and it didn't work particularly well (for me anyway). Needless to say it wasn't the worst dance of the night but maybe not the best of weeks to be experiment.

Looks like producer interference. But it is their show. Andrea Hamilton and Glenn Coomber have turned SCD into a circus. Their dumbing down approach is generating higher ratings.

Not so much let him down as misjudged it, perhaps. Everything seemed to go down a storm at the venue. And almost everything tanked on the TV.

Having said that though....Some people loved it. I hated it. But I only like Fred'n'Ginge routines so I was never going to relish anything more modern.

Won't harm him in the long run. There always seem to be very few genuine floating voters on SCD. People make up their minds and you can't shift 'em. It's put me off him a bit but I don't pick up the 'phone anyway.

I have to with " expressed himself so well " I must have missed this in all his dances so far. Did I blink

Seriously he really does not express himself ,he is a lovely and great technical dancer but so far the only dance which he " performed " was the zombie one.

I think, beyond this week, which was not great Flavia needs to get him to an acting coach now!!

I don't think that's very fair

I mean in a performance way.... I think he could smile a bit more to make it look like he is enjoying it. I know it might go against his usual personality, but for Strictly purposes I think he needs to do it and IMO that is what is letting their routines down most weeks.

Thing is Dilly, he might think he is smiling. Being nervous about performing can noodle with what you think you're doing and what is actually going on - look at Nicky, he's a little bit deluded about his own dancing talent.

I think he's been performing in his other dances, and getting better. I think Wembley freaked him out and he didn't have the personality to reach the camera and sell it there, but I don't feel that for all his dances. But then I don't think anything has let down most of their dances, I've loved them.