Nicole and Derek were totally brilliant, wow did she work hard....... No one has come close on strictly........but let's face it the Americans embrace talent when it excels, unlike ourselves, who wish it off the show

I would be bored if all our contestants were brilliant. It isn't about the standard of our contestants being 'lower' than in DWTS. For me it is all about improvement. I want to see people who aren't that good become better and discover the joy of dancing. I'd rather see a Deborah Meaden than a Nicole Scherzinger any day.

how sad! You must be joking! You are aren't you........please say you are......

I didn't find Nicole that compelling to watch - she wasn't exactly Miss Personality, was she? She also had a face like a slapped ass most of the time.

Her dancing wasn't perfect either IMO. Her Rumba was technically fine, but she didn't act it well and her Jive lacked finesse. I think she could do power well, but not much else.

No I'm not joking. I enjoy watching people get fun out of the new experience of dancing. That's not sad!
That doesn't mean I don't recognise or enjoy watching good dancing but in Strictly I would rather watch a non dancer improve.

I'm with you on this

If I wanted to watch `brilliant` dancing I'd watch a National Championship not SCD or DWTS.

I think that's how a lot of people feel about SCD which is why people having a "journey" is more popular than people who already dance/have danced.

Watching someone like Mark Ramprakash for example open up his whole personality through dancing is brilliant to watch. On the floor confident & outgoing, off the dance floor he became his normal shy self. Other people like Chelsee Healey went the other way and felt able to reveal vulnerability & weaknesses when initially pretty much everyone saw a hard faced, plastic breasted loud mouth. Most people ended up loving her.

I love to watch good dancing but watching people becoming good is all part of the show otherwise as others have said, I'd just watch pro competition

What's *sad* about enjoying seeing someone improve?

Didn't you enjoy watching Nicky Byrne improve from dreadful to merely adequate?

I missed that. When did he get to adequate?

I'm with the posters above with regards to watching very good dancers. Both shows are about learning to dance, not showing off about having a decade or more of professional training.

It's also about surprises too - seeing someone unlikely be able to dance really well or someone make a real improvement last year my favourite moment was seeing Micheal Vaughan dance brilliantly at Hallowean when he'd been endearingly but totally dire the week before.

That said I do enjoy watching very good dancers too and I hope we get to see some more Natalie in the show.

Posts of the day .

The real absolute disgrace is there isn't more dance (contemporary, modern, ballet) on our national public service broadcaster (bar the recent superb Sylvie Guillem Culture Show profile; and that was only 30mins and clips that left you wanting more).

Nothing I suppose ! Except for the very real fact that strictly lost that innocence about 4or 5 series ago....... And I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that a poor celebrity with a work ethic to improve will ever win through against a cracking natural performer! So sorry this post should have been in response to Mimi dlc

Why is it sad? I suppose I just don't understand why people rely on Strictly for their supply of "good dancing". If you want to see brilliant dancing why not go onto youtube and watch Michael and Joanna or Arunas and Katusha? I 'd much rather watch them than lesser imitations. Strictly fulfils a different role for me. Sorry, but It is about the journey.

I thought you said you were a dance teacher? So you don't want to see seemingly mediocre people become better. Gosh, you must be a depressing teacher to have. You must have very very small school composed only of the potentially brilliant?

Like others I find it much more exciting when a person develops during the training into being a dancer, even if only competent. Really good dancers, like Denise and Natalie, require a level of creativity and inventiveness that goes beyond what SCD has to offer.

Regarding the myth that Britain does not embrace success and champion it as something to aim for: What balderdash! Such espousing comes from the mouths of those who have never read books written during the period that England had an empire when English superiority was undiluted and all in the name of god and the queen! It may not be done in the same way as some other countries but the idea that's it quashed is rubbish. SCD may not seek to promote it but that's a directorial decision rather than some inherent English or British trait.

Anyone who believes SCD is all about dancing should stop watching (at least for the early weeks). It has never been just about celebrities learning to dance ballroom & Latin style and always about the entertainment. Any show that could have Christopher Parker as runner up in the first series is never going to be a serious dance show.

This is the big DWTS myth. If it's not worthy of big scores they don't usually get them. The producers pride themselves on the integrity of the show. You can usually tell after the dance has finished if they are going to get top marks or get marked down. They don't get 30 for big mistakes or dances that fall flat. They may, like ours, still give it a high mark 9,9,9 for example when in previous weeks the couple had got 10, 10 10. I've think I've seen a 7 in a DWTS final which really messes up your chances due to the way they work the leaderboard and viewer vote combined (which is also better btw).

So yes they may still mark high for dances that fall flat but they generally won't give out 30's for dances that don't warrant it.

They do have quite a lot of 30's yes, but then they usually have Derek Hough with a ringer, and they are not scared to mark down in the next week if the dance doesn't wow.

That's why I think giving out high scores early (if worthy) doesn't really taint the show, or wouldn't/doesn't taint ours.

Just to add, even more so than our show, the viewer vote will drop out for a couple who get what is deemed to be an undeserved 30.

The Host is called Tom Bergeron ( Quick witted consummate professional) Highly paid by ABC.

Bruce Forsyth is an Amateur compared to Tom.

Hello and welcome NYBrit, I would be interested to see this Tom you speak off.

But they hardly ever do become good on Strictly because striving for a high standard is frowned upon and the naturally talented or hard workers are sneered at for "having an advantage".

Strictly is a light entertainment show. It's not a dance competition. The celebrities are supposed to be a bit rubbish - or for the most part, surprisingly agile compared to how the public are used to seeing them. The entertainment comes from "Wow, I never knew Fiona Fullerton had it in her!" rather than "Perfect execution, rah rah, well done". The pro group dances are included so the audience can have some decent dancing shown to them. Dancing is fun to watch, it's also fun to watch celebrities giving it a go. That's the spirit of the show.

If you want to appreciate dance, go and watch a professional competition.

Thank You.

Check him out here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Sx0cO1PZo

TerryM22, this is a perfectly safe link for you to follow. Enjoy.

Tom's best quality is his ability to think on his feet and banter. His barbs to Len are priceless.

To all those suggesting there's no place for good (celeb) dancing on Strictly and if we want to see good dancing we should go to ballroom and latin comps, do you not think you're being just a tad ... well, there are lots of things I could say, but let's leave it at unrealistic? .

I go to see live dance at the theatre whenever I can (which is a fairly limited option here in the sticks) and do, as it happens, occasionally cast around the internet to find 'proper' dancing but the quality and presentation is generally dire and it's a pretty soulless and solitary endeavour.

I'd love to see more dance on TV, but telly peeps don't seem to see any demand, which more or less leaves us with Strictly. Trying to be all things to all viewers is an impossible task - and I'm not confused about it being a real dance contest - but, for entertainment sake, I want to see the whole gamut on the show from the triers and duds to the talented and fabulous.