Both on the main show and the results show, Mark danced better than Ben this weekend - so not a farce at all.

Has Ben been the better dancer over the run of the series? Yes. But that is immaterial.

Ben is lovely but his dancing is clumpy. Mark is surprisingly light footed and graceful.

Kristina is not happy...

https://twitter.com/krihanoff/status/404712352840712193

Mark danced better than Ben, end of really.

That's a fair way to put it.

Except he really isnt. Nor was his dance better than Ben's especially given its lack of content by comparison.

I'm not saying Ben had a chance of winning but on a technical level he was far superior to Marks' walking with hand waving style.

In addition i'm somewhat fed up of the constant complaining about various contestants lack of emoting/selling a dance.

If Natalie is going to be pilloried for having prior dance experience, perhaps those with extensive acting experience should have THAT taken into account too.

Except he really is and his dance was better than Ben's as it had far more Foxtrot than Ben had Charleston. Neither Ben or Mark were ever serious contenders, Ben is too heavy footed, Mark is too overweight but, of the two, Mark has consistently had more dance content in his routines than Ben, who Kristina has used more as a prop because of his strength and ability to do incredible lifts.

Nope. Ben has had significantly more content over the weeks than Mark.

Way to open yourself up for letting Natalie get 'pilloried' even more.

Dance qualifications AND extensive acting experience .... shooting yourself in the foot a bit there

Mark is a lovely chap and a smashing actor. He has taken it seriously for such a big chap.

I was pleased to see him stay but I accept that he has to leave next weekend.

Then would you kindly explain in which dances and what steps and dance content Ben has included in his routines which was "significantly more" than those in Mark's because I've never seen any.

Lets not be to hasty SULLA

Not my concern, i admire her performances for what they are, i do not enjoy her the most, but i respect her ability, the point remains.

Your response presupposes my point was to defend her against taking previous experience into account. I'm just pointing out a double standard, irrespective of who is concerned

It helps if one is prepared to look

So, lets redress the balance and pillory Mark, Patrick and Ashley for their acting past .... and see how quickly it takes the people you allege are picking on Natalie to jump on the band wagon and attack her for her acting past too.

She acts the dances in my opinion anyway - far more than Mark, Patrick and Ashley do.

I think she relies on her acting skills to carry her through the emotional aspects of the dances, rather than feeling them for real.

I direct you to my previous post, i don;t think you;re quite getting it..

Your response presupposes my point was to defend Natalie, when in fact it was to point out a double standard.

Or rather NOT to degrade those contestants with less acting experience if their 'selling of a dance' is less espressive than those with acting experience.

I merely referenced Natalie as she is the one most often pilloried for her dance experience.

I'm perfectly prepared to look as I have absolutely no vested interest in either contestant. However I'm asking you if you'd like to identify the steps and "significantly more dance content" you seem to think Ben's had in his routines over Mark's, so I can see if perhaps I've missed something while I've been watching.

Perhaps you should indicate where you believe Mark has performed dances with more RELEVENT dance content?

I don't need to, you're the one whose challenging the decision of the judges' to save Mark at Ben's expense.

My point is that relying on acting skills to sell a dance can actually detract from it, rather than add to it.

Best 'sold' dances for me this series have come from Deborah, Sophie and Abbey .... worst sold dances have come from Natalie.

My favourite contestants from the past series have been Ramps + Alesha ... you don't need to act to sell the dance, so being an actor isn't always an advantage some claim it to be.

But having fairly extensive dance training in the past .... now that could be considered to be a major advantage

No, you seem to be the one demanding homework, and making declarative statements you seem to think should end all debate


Why not try to back up your attempt to shut dissent down?


I'm not usually comfortable making completely unequivocal declarative statements, but one sees them so frequently here, its very tempting to reply in kind.

Neither of them were likely to win. Nor should they. I happen to find Marks performances fairly static, they feel extremely repetitive, and contain very little content. Ben's have not been a lot better, although i maintain the content has been higher than Marks, usually. A small number have even been rather enjoyable.

That doesnt seem to have a lot to do with what you originally said to me with your little tongue out smiley.

That seems to have more to do with personal preference.

Many of my favoured competitors, Sophie, Louis, others have been heavily criticised for their supposed lack of emoting. I'm just happier than many to look past those less experienced at expressing themselves.

As apparently you are too

Lack of emotion (which I'd argue in the case of both people you mentioned) vs 'fake' emotion is what it boils down to then I suppose.

Think I'd rather have the former than the gurning of the latter personally

Frankly

Me too


But a lot of people seem to adore the gurning.

Ben should have been voted out weeks ago. His confidence had improved and his dances weren't as ugly, but his technique was still dire.