I fully agree with you, having said the same thing myself for ages. Brendan is pure class, as you say, originally a Latin dancer, his Ballroom is now very good indeed. Fantastic technical dancer and I am very pleased to see that all Ballroom dances are in hold - except AS - his choreo is perfectly phrased and contains authentic readable groups, for the given dance.Best male pro on the show by far.

I've watched every series of Strictly and in the last few series,Brendan has become like a piece of the furniture; a comfy old chair that is pushed up in the corner almost forgotten until you have an extra guest that needs a berth.
But this year he has made me sit up and take notice.

Perhaps thats because in recent years he has not been lucky with partners, not the nest dancers.He has done an excellent job with Sophie this year, not a natural dancer.

Yep, brilliantly creative with choreography whilst remaining true to the dances and tailoring them to suit Sophie. I have new respect for Brendan this series.

He certainly has more subtlety and sensitivity than the recent East European male ballroom dancers, who have a very aggressive "he-man" style and seem to be making it into an athletics competition.

Yes,since Lisa Snowdon (who I quite liked) he has,to go back to my analogy,been just the spare chair to seat the non-contender celebs,but even considering that,I've never found his choreo as interesting as this year.Maybe working with Sophie has inspired him.

A lot of the people on DS that don't "get" Brendan, call him and his choreo, boring, really don't understand dance, they can't possibly. The reason why Len has been praising him, is because he is giving Len - a Ballroom traditionalist - what he wants to see. That is, Ballroom, as it should be, in hold. Correct technique, authentic choreo and readable timing. I am so impressed to see how much his Ballroom has improved.

I confess to falling into the category of those who have called him not so much boring, but predictable and in a rut. Particularly with his 80's obsession etc. But I think he has had a seminal year this season and produced some excellent dances (to be fair, for some he has had help!) for his celeb. The dreadful Hallow'een mess excepted, all his dances have been fresh, full of content and suited to Sophie's vibe. Credit where credit is due, he has upped his game this year as far as I am concerned.

Thanks for your interesting comments. You are not the first the say that they consider Brendan stuck in 80's.I'm not having a go, just would like to know what you, and others see, that give you that impression?. The style and choreo that I see, and have always seen is what you see week in week out on a competition floor on the circuit. I do think that being partnered with someone that really can't move or even tone their body,( partners pre Sophie)don't give a good impression overall.

I'm a long term Brendan fan - susceptible to his strengths but not blind to his weaknesses. In much the same way as I used to admire John McEnroe when he was at the top of his game - loved the technical mastery, complete athleticism and commitment but didn't like it when he was arguing with anybody.

This year we seem to have had all the good points and very few of the bad. I've loved the choreography. A personal favourite was the 'All Night Long' samba which for me just built and built and had a lovely 'going home after a party' feel to it.

And the sliding down the bannister entrance on Saturday reminded me of my favourite ever Brendan moment - when he entered a group dance (a jive I think) by sliding across the floor in what I would call second position (I'm ballet not ballroom!) with his arms out wide. Bliss. Few years ago now - Karen Hardy was his partner then so that should date it for the experts.

Agree with the earlier poster that he's much more Kelly than Astaire - the energy, masculinity and athleticism see to that.

Lovely post on a lovely thread.

I think it's more down to his choice in music than anything else ( that's if he gets a choice ).

Haven't always been an admirer of Brendan's persona on SCD but have always loved watching his ballroom routines far more than latin.

Have immensely enjoyed his partnership this year

Just been announced that Aliona is Brendans leading lady on his tour

I think he's far and away the best choreographer on the show, and I really like watching him dance too.

I have seen worse! I like to watch his choreography but I'm less fond of hearing him talking about it.

No, Brendan hasn't learnt the AT at all. His routine was choreographed by a very well known AT professional without whom I doubt he'd have managed such an interesting dance. Sadly, Brendan still does not understand how to dance AT.

His Charleston was also choreographed by someone else but Brendan has a habit of never mentioning these things.

I am still rooting for Sophie to do well, despite this