It wasn't a Viennese waltz.

Agree totally. The VW was one dance I'd actually looked forward too from Natalie and Artem, despite not liking them as a couple. I was really looking forward to seeing the rotation done properly and stunningly.

Sadly disappointed, even more so with the tens. Choreography was awful

What a surprise, you didn't like Natalie and Artem's dance.

An even bigger surprise, you were looking forward to it!

I really am not too fussed about the mechanics of the dance.....it was simply beautiful and the only dance worth watching tonight.

I'd agree. She danced what she was given beautifully, as she always does, and she has exquisite extension and finishing for her moves but there was little, to almost none, of the perpetual turning motion which makes the Viennese Waltz into such a difficult dance to get right.
I think hers was the best of the night and she deserved her place at the top and, as they'd already handed out some nines, there was nowhere else to go but 10s but I don't think it deserved either of them because of the content (or lack of it).

This is what a VW should look like, almost perpetual movement in hold around the dance floor with only the occasional break for a "special move" and the fleckerl/reverse spin.

If you are a mediocre dancer then maybe your pro has to tailor the dance to suit you, often at the expense of content.

But if you are as good as Natalie is then there is no excuse for Artem not to have choreographed the correct steps It could have been a stunning VW. But it wasn't. It was a very good whatever it was.

Them were the days......that's the programme I fell in love with.

Yes,i noticed Artem started getting careful with Natalie last last week,i think she has little crush on him,not that I blame her of course

Gosh, that is so dull! I can see someone who is a strict only ballroom fan liking it, but SCD has moved on a bit and it's no longer stuck in this kind of 1980s grove.

I doubt it. He is so not her type

Really I just dont see that at all, no doubt though it will all snowball into fact sooner rather than later...another weapon to hit Natalie with .

How beautiful that is Thank you

I can just about remember Come Dancing though all the dances have merged into one apart from the VW. I didn't know what it was at the time of course, being a small child, but I do remember the thrill of seeing the lovely ladies twirl and swirl. When SCD started I was thrilled to find out what the dance actually was.

It genuinely baffles me how anyone would think it was dull.

But, Dearie, that's what dancing IS about not the nonsense you are seeing now. My God, after watching that link I hadn't realised just how much SCD had deteriorated over the intervening years - time to call a halt on what is now a shadow of its relative former glory.
I'm so appalled by what goes for dancing in the current series. Was Natalie and Artem in hold for more than 10 seconds; I doubt it? Shame ib them all.

I have an odd feeling that the in hold stuff is what aggravates her back/hip problems. So Artem, being the gentleman he is, is choreographing accordingly.

Stunning dance, very glad they did not get the perfect score.

Totally disagree about it being in the slightest bit dull or that only someone who is a strict ballroom fan would like it. The boards both here at DS and on the BBC's SCD forum were full of praise for both couples and for the VW which gained a lot of comments because of Karen's beautiful Dior style dress, as well as the dance itself.





It appears that at least four people on this thread alone would also disagree

However, I do accept that the show has moved on somewhat, perhaps in a bid to appeal to the "younger?" viewer, and therefore the amount of dance content seemingly required now in each dance is slim to almost none existent for most celebrities irrespective of ability.

Considering the original idea of the show was "taking celebrities out of their comfort zone and seeing if they could learn to ballroom dance" (obviously including latin) things have moved on considerably and it's not all for the better.

I have no problem with additional "fluff" being included to help "jazz" up a dance, as perfected by Artem's VW he performed with Kara which was linked to earlier. I do get slightly irritated when the 1.30secs of dancing contains less than a third of the dance steps they're supposed to be performing and that applies to any couple, whether they're incredibly talented like Natalie or very poor, like Dave.


Actually that might be a very good point Monaogg. Having to keep a very difficult, and quite painful at times, ballroom hold could be a potential risk given Natalie's prior injury. However, they could relax the hold somewhat and still get away with it because she's an exquisite dancer.

Certainly not me! I'd rather watch that than the VW/Rhumba mishmash I watched tonight.

I'd love to think that. But I just think traditional ballroom bores Artem stupid and so he tries to push the envelope on what he can get away with before having his knuckles rapped. Len rapped, he'll choreograph a bit more in hold in her next ballroom but he'll never choreograph fully in hold.

I love his choreography but then traditional ballroom bores me stupid too.

Are you saying what I think you are saying

He's in a relationship with Kara Tointon, who he won SCD with three (from memory?) years ago.

Don't think so libby, think her last relationship was with dj Saul Bliss

Len is a relic; he needs to come to the 21st century.

I don't think so, I don't like talking for others but think Kat thinks he's not strong enough for Natalie.

I don't get any sexual chemistry from these two just friendship.

Len is an old man who is past his sell by date. Thank heavens we have the Aljaz, Artems and Iveta in SCD who have done more dance forms than just ballroom and, frankly, have much better training. Otherwise we'd never get AT on the list - although I do think the charleston is a daft addition.

Mind you, none of the older pros have mastered salsa or AT yet!

To stick to old fashioned by-the-book ballroom would simply not work on SCD. It is not a ballroom competition: there is plenty of that elsewhere for those who like their ballroom strictly ISTD.

SCD has a much wider audience than the ballroom crowd and they want to be entertained on a Saturday night.

I have no idea what you are thinking but there was no innuendo in my comment other than I cannot imagine Natalie choosing Artem over her usual kind of man.

Viennese Waltz, as I mentioned before, is is required to be IN HOLD the entire dance except for the opening and closing (which are only suppose to be about 3 measures long; and if we’re getting picky, in true dancesport, VW is started in hold and ended in hold). There was none of that in this dance. Natalie did all dance out of hold..

10s and 9s make show pointless