This is not another one of those “Natalie hating” threads, but considering Natalie broke a load of hold in her quickstep and still got at least 8’s. It should have been 7’s all round for me. I’m surprised Craig didn’t comment on that. Now I’ve felt the Natalie has been correctly and occasionally under scored in the past, but this week, way overscored.

I'm inclined to agree, although I don't really approve of penalising the celeb for the pro's choreography, especially if it's just a matter of personal taste.

It wasn't a quickstep as far as I'm concerned. It was weird. Then again, I've made my thoughts about Artem's "creative" choreography known before. The music was terrible as well.

Too right.....both Abbey and Sophie were better tonight in my opinion of course.......

Have to agree also loved Ashleys VW.

Seriously,I remember little about it.After a moment thinking "that's good,she doesn't show any ill effects" my concentration went and I spent most of the routine daydreaming.

That has nothing to do with your abject hatred of Natalie, does it?

Loved it. I suspect there was less in hold than there should be as this was what was aggravating her back.

Loved it too. Very innovative choreography. A pleasure to watch.

Loved it also. I would say that, even with a knackered back, Natalie easily outshone the rest. But that would stir up more comment against her, so I'll just say, another brilliant dance.

"innovative",,,yea.
Reminds me of when in the "Yes Minister" series a character was about to make an unpopular decision (that would probably harm their career),the others would describe it as courageous.

That quickstep has to be up there with the best of them - so amazingly stylish, God, it was fantastic.

Loved it! Thought it was fantastic.

I loved it plus the striking black and white costumes

Could have done without the canes tbh but wow, amazing

Loved it! Thought there was a bit of a mis-match between the styling and the music - thought the costumes would have gone along much better with a 50s piece of music.

I understand Len's comments about them being out of hold but the out-of-hold dancing was still done at quickstep speed which meant it was jam-packed full routine, Natalie "danced" to every bar of music unlike some other celebs!

I thought it was innovative modern choreography and it worked for me

Usher performed this version of 'Yeah on DWTS some time ago and did a similar dance routine to it. The dance may have been inspired by that. I though it was great choreography and very well done. Only a dancer that is naturally rhythmic could pull this off and Natalie is and she did. The BBC seem to be trying to bring the show into the 21st Century by adding PROS like Artem and Pasha. Both are extremely talented.

Now the BBC seems to have gone full circle by adding Iveta, and Anya along with Karen. It's nice to see the female PROs actually make their partners perform and not just stand there while they dance around them.

It would be crazy not to give at least Artem or Pash the most talented dancer for the season. Seems they are alternating giving them the best dancers so that those of us that enjoy great dancing can see some decent innovative routines.

But what does innovation mean? To me Artem's choreography had some QS content (although largely in wrong tempo) but it was a QS inspired show dance. I think viewers coming new to the show will struggle to understand the basics of ballroom dancing from numbers like this. To me the most impressive choreography this season has come from Brendan (not my favourite pro in past years) because he has been heavy on traditional content but styled his dances to showcase his celebs personality.

It felt fussy and messy at the same time to me. I agreed with Darcey, although not just for the sake of Natalie's back. It needed an editor.

I suspect Artem changed it to suit Natalie's present back conditions, so in parts it may look slightly disjoint? Of course this is pure conjecture. On first viewing I thought it was a refreshing take on a Quickstep, very jazzy feel to it, a bit like watching SYTYCD.

I thought it was fabulous. I knew that Len wouldn't like it. He gave Kara & Artems sublime American Smooth a 6. I liked Abbey & Sophie too but Natalie is in a class of her own.

Isn't she so? And to think she did that with a bad back!

I was slightly disappointed with it. I was hoping for more. I usually love Artem's...ahem... more creative choreography but I felt this fell short.

She danced it well though.

It wasn't a traditional Quickstep, but why did the judges not mention that Ashley's VW was mainly out of hold? Abbey's week one Waltz was the same.

I agree. Perhaps there was less in hold than is conventionally allowed in strict competitive dancing, but everything was still "there" for purists. I thought they looked fantastic.

I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist like Len. If someone's going to do a Quickstep, then I'd like to see more or less a minute and a half of pure Quickstep - especially if that person is a talented dancer.

I can do without the faffing or innovation or fusion or whatever else you want to call the additional stuff. That's what fusion week and the Showdance are for. Save it for then. Sure add a jazz flavour to the dance but without large chunks of the dance being out of hold and without using props.