I think you could be right, I will have to remember that you called it here today.

I would also like to see her dancing round giant cardboard cut out numbers up to 10, at least it would help to teach people how to count, or even a giant alphabat but that might be going a bit over the top as there would be no space left to dance.

Sprained ankles; broken collar bones, broken fingers, broken toes, slipped knee caps (after they'd been shoved back in place & bandaged up)..... Oh yeah, dancers are a hardy lot!

I didn't notice that.

The list was compiled by Stig. It got mentioned in the Telegraph blog. Fame!

I would think Russell was king of the props?

Cannon/wire, Bull, bed, huge clam shell just for starters.

That's no way to talk about Flavia's ████████

ok, I have found the thread

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1574643

post #30

I think it was only part way through the shows but Russell/Flavia on 7 and Chelsee/Pasha Anita/Robin on 8

King Russell riding high with his cannon was an amazing spectical to behold.

Probably emperor in the ratio of prop:dance.

I liked his paso hands. He seemed to enjoy doing that so much. But that's my only fond memory of Russell

That was a good example of perceptions not fitting with reality.

Doesn't just happen with props.

Good point - there's a difference between a backdrop against which they dance, as if in an old Hollywood musical; and a prop which can be utilised for endless seconds of "faffin' abaht" cutting actual dance "content" to the bare minimum.

Exactly, tortoise! It's why my favourite prop of all is the light show. It can make snow, night time, a field of flowers, a busy air-port etc but the dancers don't interact with it. It creates a whole feeling.

It also doesn't hold up the show while being wheeled into place

Never change, Terry.

On no,not the 'poor unfairly-picked-on_' meme.

People may justifiably have a grievance with Aliona's choreo,but the props are the only thing they remember.

I hit a chord with that wheelie bin, eh?

it's all about context, I suppose. He used a similar screen idea for Chelsee's Samba at Wembley and it worked well because it showed she was strong and confidant dancing alone and helped draw focus and even magnify her a little in the huge Wembley arena.

But yes, it was just an annoyance in he and Kimberley's Showdance because it just wasted time and looked a bit awkward in an already awkward and frenzied dance. Maybe if it had been used at the start of the routine it would have been OK but then Kimberley wouldn't have been able to do her COSTUME CHANGE.


This isn't my opinion as I don't feel strongly about Aliona either way but the general impression I get from this forum is that people tend to associate props with Aliona not because she actually uses loads of them but because when she does they, like her choreography in general, tend to be a bit weird (again, not my opinion) and therefore memorable.

Well then, clearly they do have selective memory. So, it is not wrong to state the facts and remind everyone of the reality.

For the record, I do completely understand why Aliona's choreography gets pick on. It is out there, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Generally speaking, It doesn't appeal to traditionalists and sometimes it doesn't even appeal those who like something different either.

But we are here discussing the use of props in this thread, and many times Aliona has been singled out accused of overusing them, when it turns out it is not the case at all. So I think it is relevant to this conversation about good and bad props.

Critique her choreography, her teaching abilities, or even her colour hair for all I care, but she certainly is 'poor unfairly-picked-on' for her use of props.

In her first series, Aliona and Rav were out third, so she didn't have much chance to settle into Strictly. In her second series, while she was still finding her feet as a pro partner to a novice celeb, she was paired with Matt Baker and in that series, she did get a bit carried away and overuse the gimmicks. And by gimmicks, I mean both props and gymnastics moves, as Matt had a gymnastics background. Since then, Aliona has toned down her use of gimmicks but many people still perceive her the way she was the year she partnered Matt Baker, hence the myth that she's the worst pro with regard to props. She may not be as bad as other pros in that respect but the previous impression of her has stuck in many minds.

She was the first to use the swing too.

Well, that is understandable. But that wont stop me from stating the facts whenever we discuss the use of props by pros or she is attacked for the "overuse".


For the record, I did not like it then and I still dont like it! (but they are worst offenders on my list!)

Aliona didn't use any props in Series 7.

In Series 8 the producer decided that she wanted them to use props to spice it up a bit. People seem to forget that the pros were asked to use props and were just following instructions.

Aliona used props to set the scene at the start of the CCC.
None in the Foxtrot or Quickstep.
Props at the start of the Charleston.
None in the AT.
Prop (swing) at the start and end of the VW.
None in the Rumba, Samba, A/S, Jive, Salsa, Swing, Tango.
Prop (Straw bale) in the showdance
None in the Paso.

So out of 15 dances she used props in 4 dances.

I agree. I didn't say she used props in series 7. I was talking about series 8.


It was more the gimmicks in general - not just props but also a lot of gymnastics moves. People just seem to have lumped both together under 'props,' thus the myth of Aliona overusing props was born.

Yes - I was just using that to illustrate why she was using props in Series 8.

Flavia had more of both with Louis, but Aliona is the one that gets the reputation. Its just the way things are perceived.

It's like they say: you only get to make one first impression. Aliona made that impression early (even if it wasn't the first impression she made on Strictly) and it stuck. Flavia's props extravaganza with Russell Grant and her props and gymnastics moves with Louis came a few years after she'd started working on Strictly, by which time people had long formed their opinions of her, and those opinions didn't change.

Yip this is definitely true. I remember Russell talking about using the props when he was on SCD and him and Flavia were TOLD they were using a cannon at Wembley a few weeks beforehand. I don't think prop use is up to the pros but up to the producers who decide what they want in each show, how they want it used, and who they want to use it.

In another interview this time with Louis, in the week of his and Flavias AS at Wembley they were told to change their routine that very afternoon as the producers decided it didn't work well on camera so by the time they danced that night they had only had the chance to dance through their changed routine once! I think there is much more goes on backstage which involves the production team than we realised so a lot of times it can be a bit unfair for us to criticise the pros. A lot of it is out of their hands.