I think we are talking at cross purposes, I was talking about their Charleston on the post you quoted me on. And I just didn't see the same as you with regard to the school visit, how does one tell everything that someone is thinking from a few minutes of footage?

Me too. I find Artem a bit hit and miss. This was a miss.

I was expecting a formidable Tango from Natalie. When you look at her and you look at the list of dances, you immediately envisage the two Tangos and the Paso would be her strongest. But last night's offering was fairly tame.

I thought the music made it hard for Nat to get into the performance and for viewers too.

I loved the Tango Artem put together for Kara but found this routine uninspiring. And that's part of the problem. I don't feel as though Natalie and Artem really inspire each other. It's all a bit business-like.

They'll never do a bad dance but I wonder if they'll ever do something truly spectacular. I hope so, for Nat's sake, because she's one of my favourite personalities and I find myself feeling sorry for her.

I don't know but we all do, including myself. However I stand by my comment about Artem, he genuinely seemed moved by the kids, there and then when he was with them.

She was my fave at the beginning but she just doesn't handle constructive criticism well. I don't like how she snarls when she gets negative feedback. It's as if she expects perfect 10s from each dance. When she tries to be humble it just doesn't seem sincere.

Double

Triple

Sorry but that is very wrong. I see her nodding her head and agreeing with the judges criticisms, unlike Sophie who looked bewildered by the judges comments.

I agree. Some of these people must be watching something different.

Poor Nat So she snarls and looks mean if she gets criticism and is fake if she looks humble, is there anything this girl can do right.

Or she's up to something. There is no pleasing some people. I think Natalie takes the criticisms really well.

Nothing I am afraid.

Giselle Peacock (ex-wife) doesn't speak very highly of him. (Bit of an understatement).

I really don't like him. His attitude on ITT a couple of weeks ago was not to my taste.He choreographs to suit himself and his own artistic inclinations, so he says.

Funny how differently we see things. For me he showcases himself primarily. The last couple of dances have done Natalie no favours. She's a finalist for sure but won't win.

*shoulder shrug*

When I watch training room footage of Natalie and Artem, I feel like I'm watching a serious professional dance couple training for a legit competition. Maybe it's because I don't watch Corrie, but I find it easy to forget that Natalie is a celebrity participant.*

* Not joining in on the 'ringer' debate here, I don't buy into all that. I just think Artem is forcing her to take it far too seriously, and I'm worried he's ruining her 'Strictly experience'.

There isn't any height issue to remove. Brendan is taller and Pasha in reality is about the same height as Artem. They have been reported to be the same height for years until they started dancing on SCD. Although Pasha is always listed as 5'10. Artem's height has varied since he's been in GB between 5'11 reported his first year on SCD, the next year it started getting reported closer to how tall he actually really is and is reported sometimes as 5'10 or 5'9.

Natalie is by far the best dancer this season but I've noticed that Artem doesn't do a lot of heavy lifting since his back injury. It's really obvious when watching the group dances that he is not as physically strong. He's pretty packaging. His choreography use to be really a standout but he's become more careful with it and cautious of how it affects his body. IMO, he's holding back
on purpose as long as he is dating Kara.

I'm not sure his fanbase would admit that he did a better dance with any of his other partners anyway because they are so caught up in the Kara and Artem story. It's really to bad because Natalie is a better dancer and I think they could have some standout performances in spite of the horrible music choices. The Charleston music they got was a perfect missed opportunity to have a wow dance. They can keep playing it safe like they are and she will continue to be a top scorer because technically she is the best in the comp this season.

The only couple near them as far as celeb with the talent and the PRO with the choreography is Patrick and Anya.

Artem's choreography has always been hit and miss for me. It has been suggested elsewhere this is because it is too avant garde and innovative for mere mortals like me to grasp.

I'm not keen on his partnership with Natalie though she seems a perfectly nice woman. It's just a bit dreary. I actually flicked over to another channel while they were dancing last night. Admittedly that had more to do with the ghastly music but it's not good when a tango doesn't hold my attention.

I don't think Artem is holding back,he cant do the exciting lifts he did with Kara with Holly or Natalie because Kara was tiny compared to Holly and Natalie.

I would agree. Even with Kara I thought he disliked her even though she was very sweet and smiley around him and seemed brave to even giggle in his presence. So it must just be him that on the surface he looks one way but is maybe something underneath (depending on his celeb). Maybe in training he has a rule to be one way, but off the floor you see the warner more human side.

It was the same with my dance teachers (whether ballet, tap, modern, international classes). When in lessons, I felt like I hated most of them, as they'd just shout at you and be happy to target individuals in front of the whole group, but outside if you'd bump into them in a non-dancing environment they could be lovely. So, dance person and real life person can very possibley be contrasting with some people, and them others are the same in both.

For me Artem and Natalie don't leave me cold, but if they do others then fair enough, we all react differently to different things. I don't think her perfromances (where she got 10s) were all completely deserved (depending on elements of the dance or rules of the dance etc) but she just takes what she's given, as they all do.

It's fine not to take to one dancer or another, that's your prerogative. However, I do think it's worth correcting a misconception about Artem's relationship with his ex-wife. In the days before Artem's 'fame' persuaded him to take down his Facebook profile and have a page instead, Giselle was one of his Facebook friends (so much for animosity following their divorce). She then sold her story to one of the tabloids and put a remark on his wall saying something along the lines of 'sorry, it's just business'. The following day she was suddenly no longer his friend on Facebook and soon after that, he stopped having the profile and switched to the page instead. I interpret that to mean that she sensationalised the story for money - I would certainly take its contents with a huge pinch of salt.

From something Giselle said ages beforehand, their marriage may very well have been a marriage of convenience so that they could travel outside the USA for competitions and be sure that Artem could get back to the US without immigration problems. For obvious reasons, I wouldn't expect either of them to confirm or deny that they broke immigration laws!

The dancing world is a small one - Giselle was in the Burn The Floor cast this summer, together with Robin, Kristina, Karen, Kevin, Aljaz and Janette. I expect they are all on speaking terms, as Pasha and Anya are despite no longer being in a relationship or partnership - and, of course, Vincent and Flavia are still dance partners even though no longer romantically linked. They are all grown-ups.


Quite. I saw her nodding and agreeing with the judges, particularly something about her nodding her head, which she said Artem was constantly telling her about. How is that a snarl?

Kara and Artem said something similar when they became romantically involved while on Strictly. Artem said something about 'when you're with somebody you love that's one thing: when you're dancing with that person, that's something else.' This was why they reportedly delayed going out for dinner until after the show was over (not that I believe that for a moment, but that was the official line).

However, a fellow DS member put together a really nice little video of their training room moments from ITT and VTs, which shows that it wasn't all Artem being in Terminator mode. I think it shows the fun side of their relationship as well. Teach Me Tonight

Artem's choreographic genius is wildly overstated by his fans imo. He has a very conventional contemporary American bias. It happens not to be to my taste as I deplore his reluctance to work in hold and I find his work lacking in light and shade, but he brings something different to the table which many enjoy.

I admire her ability, but I don't enjoy her dances. She leaves me cold too.

And you know Giselle well do you? You don't like him fine. But don't pretend for one minute that you know anything about him or his relationships with women.

Lots of people do like his choreography, including the judges. You're not one of them. Big deal!

As my post explicitly stated. Please try to show respect for other people's opinions just as you expect and are entitled to respect for your own.

I've only ever felt 'attacked' twice on DS, Once was when I suggested Chris Hollins might be running the best PR campaign ever in the run up to his win and the other when I was less than complementary about Artem's choreography

Both times the replies were .... well....lively