Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but I just wondered what everyone was hoping to see from tonight's show dances? If you are undecided about who to vote for, what will the dancers have to do to impress you? And what sort of things do you NOT want to see in a show dance?

For me, I want to see the pro really showcasing their celebrity partner's abilities and not trying to hog the limelight themselves. I definitely don't want to see one lift after another. Some may be impressed by constant lifts but I'm not. I like them, but only in moderation.

How about you?

I agree with you about lifts. I like to see plenty of steps, on beat and on time, embellished by the occasional lift or trick. These don't even have to be that death defying; only elegant, well chosen and well executed. A steady stream of tricks and lifts linked by simply moving from place to place gracefully, is skilful but to me it becomes acrobatics not dancing. Different thing, not worse just different.

Not too many lifts. Let's face it. If we wanted lifts we could get Anton to chuck Judy around. Dancing it ain't.

No gymnastics. Cartwheels not necessary either.

I like to see something incorporating jive, QS, VW. The most memorable WINNING showdance for me was Tom and Camilla. If you hated Tom (and many did) just imagine it being performed by someone else. You might have to concede it had some merit.

It's vague but... WOW factor. Just an atmosphere that makes me think "wow this person can dance" and gives me chills. The only dances to do this thus far have been Frankie's Paso Doble, Tango and Argentine Tango and Pixie's Paso Doble.

If they can deliever something that stands out amongst the rest (for the right reasons ) then that's all you really need.

Obviously timing, technique and execution needs to be spot on also. This is why I am confident that both Simon and Frankie will dance BRILLIANT showdances!

Pasha has already said their dance is slow. That (for me) makes it harder to achieve WOW factor.

Yes, I'm looking forward most to Frankie and Simon. I fear Karen will produce something off-the-wall mental.

Sex and violence.

No puppets and no oven-ready turkeys showing you their vaginas is usually a decent start.

This year, no Mark Wright is also a bonus.

Definitely needs the wow factor - I don't mind lifts to achieve this.

Something a bit different but has to be cohesive - for example Louis and Flavia's gymnastic/rumba/AT fusion - rather than a "throw in everything they turned out to be good at" fest.

Memorable outfits/frock.

Great song/music track (not sure anyone has one of those this year).

Better costumes than the ones coming our way tonight!

A WOW factor almost all the way through.

Something original and special. NOT a hash of everything the celeb has done well so far.

Good recognisable dancing. No point in adding lifts, tricks and gimmicks - we've been seeing them every week since the series began.

Oh I don't know. Every time I see bacofoil I think WOW

There's winning WOW. And then there's WTF-were-they-thinking WOW.

Puppets was the start but nothing betters Bacofoil. That was classic TV on any level. That was TV gold. Historic. Epic.

No argument from me there.

And at least one could see Erin's logic, misguided as it was. It was obvious that she had over indulged in the dance skills side of the competition and was trying to show that Colin had actually learned his stuff sufficiently well to perform without her help.

Brendan's reasoning is unfathomable. TV gold indeed. It doesn't matter how long Strictly lasts Lisa and her tiny hooves will be remembered for ever.

I say what the Showdance should be to me, is something that is unique and makes you want to spend money on voting for them.

Look at some of the flops for me, would be some lame mash ups "BECOZ OF THE JOURNEY!!!" with sloppy New Yorkers thrown in or some weird Samba rolls in the middle of nowhere. I get it, some people may like it but we've spent the past 12 weeks seeing them do Latin, I want something different!

Some of the wins, would be something new. Tom Chamber's Quickstep-esque Showdance was something we've yet to see at the point. Louis Smith's Showdance showed his strengths and his body, a sure fire-way to win in a public voting situation. I was going to say Jason Donovan delivered a hell of a Showdance but that isn't exactly a good example, eh

Oh, and I have to end with the Showdance can't be something that is "HEY LOOK HERE LIFTS AND PIZZAZZ!", looking at Pasha's two Showdances with Chelsee Healey and Kimberley Walsh, both of them were great but so predictable. Somewhat the fate Sophie EB suffered from.

Though I have to say, the only difference a Showdance really made was Denise van Outen overtaking nimble Kimble for 2nd place. Louis Smith already raked in more than half the votes before the Showdance while Abbey probably had the trophy before the voting open.

I hope for it to coincide with the need to answer a call of nature,

I'll be missing it this year as I'm far away.

But usually my answer is: THE END

I don't like any lifts (above the waist) at all in a dance - any dance.

The showdance is basically more lifts than usual.

So I'll pass.

a dance that shows how far the celeb has come great music interpretation with a bit of a theme to it and not loads of lifts and throwing kitchen sink in it

I like to see a well done dance. A few lifts or tricks is fine, but only if they fit into the flow of the dance. I prefer to see them actually dancing and showing their skill rather than spending as much time as possible with their feet off the ground.

Strap-on dollies...inspired and totally appropriate

I like a showdance with lots of dance content. The ones I don't like are those with a little bit of disco dancing and a ton of lifts.

After seeing the training clips for this year's showdances I'm looking forward to all of them.

I've still got a soft spot for Tom Chambers show dance. For me, it had the WOW a show dance should have. Keep in mind that my dancing knowledge could be written on the head of a pin, but as a complete ignoramus, that dance had the WOW for me. The bacofoil effort was just plain embarrassing.

Joy in dancing, Tom's had it. Natalie had it.

Every year i look forward to the showdance and every year almost with fail (Toms being the exception) they are a bit of a let down. So perhaps if i dont expect much i might be pleasantly surprised tonight. Im slightly worried about Caroline and Pasha's contemporary showdance as i'm not a fan of this style - i hope Pasha has got this correct. We have seen versions of Fred and Ginger done as well, all a bit predictable but you never know this could be the year when they all blow it out of the water

Be memorable! I love the showdances, but only a few ever stick in my head (Natasha Kaplinsky, Chris Hollins, Louis Smith, Tom Chambers, Colin Jackson). Perferably avoid dummies, make it dancing rather than gymnastics, and don't do too many lifts!

Until last year Tom Chambers was the best showdance. Then as Craig said about Natalie "Wow, the showdance to end all showdances".

They both contained lots of dance routines blended together rather than the acrobat & gymnastics routines favoured by the world professionals. Why is repeatedly throwing a woman in the air and catching her considered spectacular dance? Leaves me cold