Do You like Tripping The Light Fandango ? or Are You More Of Slow Smoocher ? - LATIN V BALLROOM?



Anton is rightly recognised among experts as the undisputed King of Ballroom dancing and he can also dance a good latin with the best of them, but which style of dancing do you prefer and like to watch on Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday evening.



Are you into all this jitter bug dancing on hot coles malarkey like deranged primates on heat, or do you much prefer a gorgeous waltz like what we saw from Anton and Iveta in their pro dance not so long ago on Strictly Come Dancing ?

I think quite a few people would dispute your statement on Anton and his Latin skills. I see him more as a poor mans camp Fred Astaire.

However I would probably find it easier to dance ballroom but find Latin most enjoyable to watch. It's the mixture of the two that keeps SCD so entertaining.

Love watching both but prefer dancing Ballroom, competitively not socially. I love watching both on SCD but sadly they could do with getting a few top class Ballroom Pro's or at least have some top Ballroom dems.
Brendan, when he competed, was one of the top Latin couples in the World, and can dance good Ballroom. Of the ladies I like Natalie and Iveta, for Ballroom.

I personally like Latin better

I have been saying the same thing for years - this show has always been heavily biassed towards latin, obviously because it is nearer to stage dancing. Even the ballroom dancing which is done is a stage-ified version, with lots of dancing apart, underarm turns etc., The only professional ballroom demonstration I can remember on this show was by Timothy Howson and Joanne Bolton several years ago. They did a foxtrot, which must have looked something like this:

timothy howson and joanne bolton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2ekqIEVN8

It evidently didn't go down well because nothing like that has been seen since. I would love to see Brendan and Iveta, our most stylish dancers, do the same thing, but I am not going to hold my breath!

In the early nineties the BBC broadcast the UK Championships in Bournemouth. I put up most of the action on YouTube.

I definitely prefer Latin. It's so more exciting to watch.

The dem with Tim and Jo was exquisite, and it a great shame that they have never had quality on the show, like that again. Jo did say that the floor was so small they got across in a couple of steps so couldn't really move or do much. It was moving to watch, so technically perfect,

Only on Planet Terry is Anton a good Latin dancer

I prefer dancing Latin myself, love watching professional Latin dancers too ~ Yulia and Riccardo are utterly phenomenal on the floor, pure talent from head to toe

Well said, olivej. Totally agree about Yulia & Riccardo, would be good to see couples of this calibre doing a dem. But as far as home grown talent, we only have to look as far as Neil Jones and Katya Sokolova, new to the Pro ranks. I can never understand why the BBC never seem to showcase such talent. We have many couples here in the UK, from Juveniles to Pro;s, that I would love to see dance, rather than the waste of time fillers. Off topic I know..sorry

Yes, agree with Jennifer F and John Curry, that ballroom (my preference) is badly represented on Strictly. For those people who are not familiar with ballroom, I think Strictly gives a distorted idea of what ballroom is all about. The Strictly version is just a bit dull and twee, with no pizz-az. I wouldn't like anyone to go away with the view that what they see is representative.

Similarly I watched a Latin Showdance last night that was nothing like what you see on Strictly.

Here are some of the clips that I put up. I never thought, when they were first broadcast and I recorded them on videotape, that I would one day be able to re-broadcast them, so to speak, to the world!

Marcus and Karen Hilton 1992
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy4Axo8IPqI

UK Championships 1992 Pro Modern final Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuN4GUQlI6g

(Commentary by Lindsey Hillier, a former world champion).

The Hiltons used to come to our local ballroom, the Ritz in Brighouse West Yorkshire, on practice nights It was unnerving being on the floor with them, especially in the quickstep. They would go shooting past at about 30 mph and we were always afraid that they would knock us flying, but of course they never did. The quickstep was their speciality and even when they were only runners-up to the Hilliers at Blackpool, they still won the quickstep.

As we all know Anton's dancing skills are varied and very wide ranging Olive, I'm sure he knows the benefits of a plie and hold.

I much prefer ballroom. Quality and elegance.

Actually I'd go so far as to say I don't like latin at all, the exaggerated and apparently frenzied hip movements strike me as faintly ridiculous, it looks ungainly and a bit like the dancers are on a bad trip.

A professional foxtrot to traditional music is unbeatable IMO.

I also enjoy watching the pros dance a cha cha and samba. Has to be pros though.....celebs can't get away with it!

Watching Ballroom danced by World Class Professionals can't be beaten.Absolutely breathtaking. I was fortunate enough to be on the front row at Blackpool last year to watch the World Pro Championships, and it was simply stunning.
Watching professionals demonstrate in lesson is just as exciting, up close. How I wish the BBC would ask some of the top dancers to appear.

Thankyou for the videos John. I love the Hiltons.

I also note John Wood and Anne Lewis (as she was then) are in the second video. I've seen John coaching at a school I sometimes attend. He and Marcus couldn't have been much more different build wise.

I love today's dancers too (Arunas and Katusha especially).

Feltz. I agree that it would be nice to have top professional Latin dancers on the show. Sadly when Joanna and Michael appeared on the programme a couple of series ago (?) the reaction on this forum wasn't very postiive.
Last edited by Spin turn : 01-12-2013 at 16:26

That made me laugh - I used to feel that way once, many years ago, but I eventually got used to latin, especially the rumba.

I seem to remember we had Shirley Ballas on once, as a judge - I believe she was replacing someone, possibly Arlene.

Corky and Shirley Ballas 1994
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR92hJZCc7E

I really liked Shirley - I thought she was quite delightful. Their son Mark became a top dancer in America.

Mark Ballas was a pretty good dancer here first, he with his best friend Derek Hough, used to live and train here.
I assume as adults they moved back to USA and the rest if history. I recall seeing a very young Mark, dance with a very tiny Juliane, in lessons with Shirley at Dulwich.

I Couldn't Agree More SilverOfDiamond Ballroom Every Time For Me, It Makes Me Laugh Every Time I See Latin Dancers As It Always Makes Me Think That They Have Got Ants In Their Under Things Lol, The Whole Thing Seems Like A Waste Of Time To Me.