Someone who tries and does actual dancing. Not a male celeb who stands still while the female does 100 turns, or a female celeb who is just lifted all the time and walks a few steps.

(unless she has 2 prosthetic legs when it is understandable)

It just grows back thicker...as you can see.

So far this year I have been pushed towards the dancers who does the most traditionally recognisable dance.

For years we have been told what to expect from a samba, bounce, rumba, rumba walks, paso, pose, cha cha straight legs etc etc. I have been conditioned to expect certain elements and actually enjoy the difference in the dances.

Artem pushed the boundaries but there were always recognisable differences to show which dance he had taught and which dance the celeb was attempting.

I don't like sitting on my settee having whizzed through a comedy VT and remain puzzled the whole time about what dance they are supposed to be doing.

Add in a pleasant personality, lovely dances, a supportive pro who showcases their celeb rather than themselves, and someone who is enjoying doing the work.

I want to be swept up in the dance with the dancers, do that and you really connect with me and have my vote.

Sadly so many fail to move me with dance but irritate me with things like their ego and desperation to win on show. Of course it's a competition and people want to win, but do it because you love dance and want to win, not for what you can put on your C V. What a waste of a gift of an opportunity.

I love a well turned paw.

Depends on my mood. Usually the dances that are technically better are the ones I like, but if they're completely void of performance quality and a less technically good dance is performed well, then that might grab my attention. And very occasionally one of the 'so bad it's good' dances might too - Dave & Karen's Tango springs to mind!

And sometimes I vote for the partnership, whether the best dancers or not - I loved Kara & Artem and Matt & Aliona, for example (series 8 really was just outstanding towards the end), but equally voted a lot for Chris & Ola to win series 7!

I tend to care much more about the pro than the celeb, but won't support my favourite pros if I can't stand their celeb partner, and sometimes vice versa.

Exactly this. Word for word.

I would agree with most of this, except the comedy bit - really don't care a jot about that.

Last year Abbey/Aljaz fit the bill perfectly - such joie de vivre!
I never did 'get' the Natalie/Artem combo, although I understood that technically she was the best (God knows there were people on here who told us often enough!)

This year nobody quite has that, but I've been so taken with Kristina this year that I really want her to win (but I'm expecting to be disappointed.)

Usually

Technique ( which means I normally choose one of the better dancers)
Performance
Interpretation
The celeb
The pro
Relationship between the celeb and the pro. There has to be a real connection.

This year my favourite couple was Judy and Anton. In spite of her lack of technique I loved their partnership. They had fun together on the dance floor and they were hilarious in interviews. Their joy was infectious and they were a great partnership.

I pretty much agree with this. The only difference is that for me the whole journey thing can put me off couples, ok it's important to them but some overuse it and it becomes more like some kind of emotional blackmail than a proper appreciation of what they've done.

A bit of everything plus someone who has fallen in love with the whole dance process and lets it show. Some who gets it.

Nope.

I find it much more difficult to vote for a celeb who annoys me...even if they're great dancers. It's not impossible but it goes against the grain. Not so bothered about the pro (although Brendan's CGAF attitude did discourage me from voting for Sunetra).

So in a vital sense the most important thing is for a celeb not to annoy me. Normally there are only one or two in each series who do annoy me but when it happens it kind of overrides everything else.

The most important thing is for us to remember that no matter how many times we vote for our favorites Strictly will take to the finals the couples they choose.

Usually a balance between technique, performance and likeability (being as high as poss across all 3 of course)!

agree with poshtamfan about Judy and Anton

At the start of the series I wait until all the dances have happened and then "choose" who to vote for depending on who I felt an emotional connection with, that has got to be in both the celeb and their pro dancer In the early days of this series I was voting for 4 couples, depends who I like.

I like a "journey" and I like the celeb to fall in love with dance as a concept, which on the whole they all seem to do
Last edited by Mrs F : 16-12-2014 at 19:22

Yes. I've even heard about people who watch her AT on I-player and pause it at the lifts so they can have a good long letch at her legs. I don't know who these sad perverts are, but the should be ashamed of themselves. I, for one, would never dream of doing such a thing.

All this plus someone who can sell their enjoyment of dancing. Even mistake ridden dances are great if the celebrity shows they love dancing and get carried away by the emotion heartfelt dancing has.

But have you?

One of my better ideas, I think.

Naughty boy

Oddly enough they've been telling me that since school.

I loved Michael Vaughan and Natalie's partnership so much for this reason.