It seemed to me as if Steve was pushed too hard in terms of the lift difficulty and that they must have spent far too much time on those lifts and not enough time on the routine. Surely she should have spotted that they were too hard and pared it back a bit earlier in the week?
Poor Steve was completely overwhelmed which seems an epic fail on the part of his dance teacher.

Pros take risk all the time; sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesnt...... It was a VERY ambitious routine which would have been brilliant if done properly; Unfortunately, it was riddled with mistakes; it happens, so Im not blaming Ola for THAT Charleston.............

STUFF happens................some people always love to find someone to blame.

Ola is very competitive, I can't think of many who'd want to put up with that make-up.
She just gets on with it.

No, I don't think so. It was just one of those things and everybody can have a bad night. As Steve said, he'd been doing it all week in training. No doubt they'll have a chat about it and Ola will adjust the choreography if necessary (assuming if they make it through of course).

It was a mess. Hopefully Steve can pick up the pieces next week

But she mustn't give him stuff he is unsure about

Personally I think it was a simple brain fart on his part. The dress rehearsal went really badly due to costumes getting tangled. Must have rattled him. Could have been great... but wasn't. The choreographer, early in the week, was impressed. Kind of sorry for her in this...

Well said and I agree

Thought it was awful and yes Ola was to blame. Why did she put in all those lifts? Just do some dancing Ola!

Did Ola do the choreography anyway? Isn't the Charleston the one that is usually done by the Charleston specialist peeps?

The pros don't choreograph the Charlestons but Steve did say on ITT that he and Ola had come up with the lifts themselves. Maybe she felt it needed to be more spectacular. I felt he didn't get enough credit for that incredibly difficult lift at the end and all the focus was on the messy lift.

I have to say I that I don't think Steve's Charleston was that great but overall I prefer Charlestons that are a bit scrappy and zany to ones that are too clean and precise. I also prefer it when the pairings take risks to when they are consistently safe, polite and forgettable.

The pro's don't choreograph the Charlestons.....

I think he just panicked and mucked up in all honesty. Even the best dancers can do.

Edit: I would like Steve to stay though. He has more to give (now I sound like Cheryl bleeding Cole/Tweey/Ferdinazesezex-whoever?)

True, but she did seem to enjoying watching herself in her skull make up on the monitor 'upstairs'

Can't blame Ola for the choreography as it's most unlikely she was responsible for it. Can't blame her for the unflattering costumes and make-up as it's most unlikely she had a say in that either (I'd sack whichever stylist it was who decided to put a giant dog's biscuit in Ola's hair, mind). Can't blame her for putting in some lifts - Steve's a strong man and he didn't fluff them as much as he fluffed the easy bits. So, no, Ola is not to blame.

I personally think it would have been awful even without the errors, but it wasn't a disaster either, just not a very good dance. *shrug*

l do think Ola saw Jake and Karen's lift in their salsa and basically thought I'm having some of that and has copied rather unsuccessfully.

I got the impression that was what the judges were indicating!......... I certainly noticed the 'freeze' he had a few times when you just knew he couldn't remember!.... what a shame I have voted for him tonight as he was in the 'dreaded' middle of the leader board!.............

I tell you what I did also notice!.......... memories of the Chris Hollins routine when they were on the floor!....... it looked like she had delved into the past to resurrect moves!......

Even worse - according to ITT on Thursday - the giant dog biscuit was Ola's hair.
Bet getting it sorted out again hurt.

Is that what the Dalmatians were distracted by

The pros do get help with the choreography of Charleston, but even so they are responsible for making sure it is something within the capabilities of their celeb partners, and they are free to make any changes they want.

The lifts in Steve and Ola's dance were tricky, and while I'm quite certain he was more than capable of carrying them out in a practice/rehearsal situation, when it comes to an actual performance, it can be a different matter, especially as he is not and never has been any kind of performer. One really tricky lift and 2 simple ones would have left him more time to concentrate on the actual dance, without having to worry about what would happen to Ola's face if he dropped her!

Trouble is as well, if a novice dancer makes a mistake at the beginning of a routine, he/she lacks the experience to put it right, and panic can set in.

I hope Steve goes through and gets another chance next week to show us what he can really do.

I reckon that did them a double disservice. The make up rendered them so anonymous it was almost as if they had no presence there tonight. Sounds a bit odd perhaps, but their 'absence' struck me quite forcibly. Perhaps I'd drunk too much pinot.

Ola hasn't copied anything, the pros don't choreograph the Charlestons, or the salsas for that matter (except perhaps Janette as she is actually a salsa specialist).

If I remember ITT, Steve said that he'd been keen on the lifts.

Agree with those who say it was just one of those things. Rehearsals were going well and so there was no reason to simplify the choreography. He did say the lifts were challenging but celebs often say that and his were only more difficult because he has greater capability in that area. Don't blame Ola at all.


I felt that too. That is a general problem with Halloween but more so where the make up is extreme.

He just had one of those nights. Ola can't legislate for that and I felt bad for Steve because he did so well last week and I think he just had a complete blank.

One of the lifts was a bit messy, I agreed with Craig there. He very nearly dropped Ola on her head and I breathed a sigh of relief when he managed to keep hold of her.

That lift at the end was insane. Well done to them for the risk and I hope Steve stays. I know this dance went badly but he does have potential.

Just wanted to add that Ola's Charleston with Chris was probably the first standout one we saw on the show, so she'll know what she likes. Lots of the moves from that memorable Charleston have been copied over the years. If Steve likes to include lifts and in training shows he's capable, then it makes sense for their partnership to include something he enjoys, especially if when it can be spectacular.