My need for balance and order is very pleased that there will, once again, be an even number of male and female pros back on Strictly. Yes, I know the pro-pairings hardly mean shit these days and everyone gets jumbled about like tea-towels inappropriately on the same wash-cycle with a load of Y-Fronts but at least I won't have to watch the show feeling slightly fidgety and uncomfortable because 'Nurse! It's not all even!!!!!'

So who would you put together?

Tristan and Aliona - They have great chemistry and I would love to see them do a Rumba together (no, not in a pervy way - I'm reserving that for my fantasy Tristan and Aljaz Rumba). He also went well with Iveta (sob!). He and Kristina are ok but I'm not really feeling it.

Brendan and Natalie - IMO Natalie was better with Ian and Trent but this is the most logical, if not the most exciting, pairing. Brendan and Aliona were quite a good fit but, if reports are to be believed, he doesn't like her. (I feel you have to be hot, girly, needy and half-in-love with him for Brendan to like you if you are a woman). They still need a really tall male pro.

Anton and Joanne - Ballroom-wise and height-wise they are suited. The really creepy uncle effect is just unfortunate. Yes, on paper Joanne and Aljaz go well together but I still maintain that's like putting Bonnie Langford in an Al Pacino movie so I'm not having it.

Janette and Pasha - Height-wise and discipline-wise it works. I think they could do some incredible, sparky latin routines. Janette and Aljaz have great chemistry but, obviously, the height difference is limiting. Pasha and Ola were ok but not very exciting last year.

Ola and Kevin - Mwaaah-haaa-haa-haa-ha! I am so evil! They'd have to use so many cans of 'Toughen-Up' a naked flame could prove deadly. They can't stand each other but, in terms of height and discipline, it works. Maybe the mutual disdain could pull off some passionate performances. Karen is too tall for Kevin and they have zero chemistry.

Giovanni and Kristina - He's friends with Joanne but he's a latin boy and she's a ballroom girl. It may be difficult for Kristina to partner a pro who's been brought in to replace her long-time partner but I think they would have great chemistry. He does a great jive and has lots of personality, as has Kristina.

Aljaz and Otlile - If there was a god, and I was that god, then Aljaz would be partnered with Iveta (sob!). They looked right together, they had chemistry, they could be hot, they could be funny and they were all-rounders. But now that the world is a cold, lonely, brutal and unfair place then it's going to have to be Otlile. Otlile is totally fierce and fabulous when it comes to latin so my only doubt is that she would limit Aljaz's ability to perform wonderful ballroom. Natalie is a fraction too tall for him (as she is a bit for Brendan), Brendan couldn't do latin with Otlile, and I've already given Aliona to Tristan, so this is the best I could do.

Gleb and Karen - Because they are the two left over. I'd put Karen with Aljaz, because they get on, but I don't think they'd have any chemistry. Height-wise and discipline-wise she is a good match for Gleb. I actually think they could pull off a decent ContempoBollocksRumba together now that that's a thing.

I love yours and would only change 1 thing - Gleb is an inch taller than Brendan or so and I'd put Natalie with him and Karen with Brendan. Otherwise I love it - especially Kevin/Ola . I think Tristan and Aliona are HOT together - just that few seconds of rumba to Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger - also the Danny Boy number - I think they're great together.

Tristan and Aliona
Brendan and Natalie
Karen and Kevin (not my ideal pairing but I dont think they would like to be split up)
Anton and Joanne

as for the others, Im really not sure

From previous thread, I reckon the established pros will be:

Anton & Joanne (Ballroom pairing)
Natalie & Brendan
Tristan & Kristina (he filled in for Robin well enough last year)
Karen & Kevin
Pasha & Ola

Then: Gleb & Aliona (they'd do great Rumba/Contemporary type routines)
Aljaz & Otlile
Giovani & Janette

Lol at idea of pairing Ola and Kevin However, as fiendishly funny as the idea is - it's never going to happen so I think putting Ola with one of the new guys could be plausible. As cha cha said I don't think Ola/Pasha quite worked. I think it could really p*ss James off - seeing her with one of the hunky new pros so that's what I suggest.

Ola/Otlile with either Gleb or Giovanni

Aliona/Tristan - as said they work well together and have great chemistry.

Karen/Kevin - yes height and build wise it's not the best match but as olive said I don't think they'd want to be split up and they do share a similar fast and furious style of dancing so in that sense they are suited.

Anton/Joanne - as said for the ballroom.

Aljaz /Janette - I think people get too hung up on height - myself included, but I think Aljaz and Janette have danced as a pro couple for two series now and also outside strictly as pro partnership - they work well together so I think they should keep this pairing at least for the Latin and contemporary routines and perhaps go with other pros for the ballroom.

Pasha/Kristina - I think the two Siberians could work well together.

Brendan/Natalie - For the ballroom and to avoid too many switch ups.

Brendan does like Aliona. When his French leading lady had to pull out of his own tour, he asked Aliona to be her replacement when he could easily have asked someone else to fill the role. He already has a team of female dancers that he could have rejigged for his show, or even got in a new face (with his dancing connections) , but went with Aliona, presumably because he likes her, at least as a person anyway. You wouldn't want someone as your leading lady if you don't like them.

And I could be wrong but I don't think Brendan needs his ego massaged as much as back in the early days when being seen with a hot Pro dancer/hot celeb dancer was much pref. He's prob at a point where he appreciates his wife's love more than that other aspect.

According to a few posters who went to his show this year in his Q & As with the audience he's been less than complimentary about Aliona. You can read about it on this thread,

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2046799

Apparently there was some rift during the tour last year. I personally think he's out of order being so open about it especially as it didn't seem to affect his tour but other posters think he's just being 'honest'.

I'm just going on the reports that he told the audience on his recent tour Aliona was his least favourite pro partner.

I've also heard, from a colleague of one of the celebs on the show last year, that his rumoured lack of interest in partnering Sunetra was true and he has a habit of being a bit shoddy if he doesn't like his choice of celeb. Ironically Aliona, who looks like she could eviscerate puppies every time she gets anyone other than a hot, young contender, knuckles down and gets on with things.

Snap cha cha

And yes his whole attitude to Sunetra last series is another reason I've majorly gone off Brendan. I really hope he gets a duffer next series!

Yes, Brendan was looking very tired last year and his lackadaisical choreo showed that.

He's probably due another fifty plus woman (not saying for a second that spells duffer) as he's only ever had Lulu and Jo Wood in that category.

Oh...apologies, I didn't know about the latest views he had on Aliona. This sheds a new light then if defo true. Oh dear, well let's hope they aren't Pro paired for the new series.

Kristina has revealed there are NO Pro Partnerships this year, they will change all the time

Apparently there was a dispute over a photograph Brendan used to promote his 2015 Tour. The photo was of Brendan and Aliona, and Aliona wasn't on the 2015 tour. I have also seen a fan wearing a Tour T-shirt with the photo on the front, so there also may have been merchandise sold with Aliona's photo on it. According to The Sun, Brendan settled out of court by paying Aliona an agreed sum.

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/lei...Brendan_Cole_/

I'm not being funny, but I saw the photo that there was a dispute over and although you could see her body you couldn't see her face - so I don't think anyone other than an avid Aliona fan or someone who pays close attention to the dancer's bodies in strictly would have recognised her in the picture and to a certain extent I do understand now why Brendan is annoyed with Aliona - yes technically he or his team that helps him with his tour promotion is in the wrong, but perhaps they didn't think they were doing anything wrong at the time given that in the image you can't see her face. Don't get me wrong - given how he's reacted by bad mouthing her I don't feel any sympathy for him, but well when Aliona toured with him they used a picture of the French woman including her face on the website to promote it and I didn't hear any stories about her kicking up a fuss about it - I just think perhaps Aliona like the French dancer could have been more forgiving about it especially as Brendan gave her the opportunity to tour with him in the first place.

I think it's sad they seem to have entirely let the idea of regular pro partnerships go. So much of the show's rise was built off the back of solid marketable pairings like Anton & Erin, Darren & Lilia, Vincent & Flavia and James & Ola and now they just slap together any old pairings out of randoms at a loose end and throw them out there in pro dances that have no personality whatsover. They don't even have to hire people in pairs (although the lack of Pasha & Anya dances in televised Strictly history is a CRIME) - tacked together pairings like Matthew & Aliona or Natalie & Ian or Pasha & Katya or Robin & Kristina have worked well enough but these days they seem determined to keep all the pros percolating around so people only catch on individually rather than as pairs and it seems bizarre, because viewers like to see individual chemistries, not just a random bobbling mass of faces.

If no set pairings then perhaps there is a chance of a Kevin/Ola pairing in some of the pro numbers. Now I will be watching for just that....

I completely agree. The whole feeling of the pro dances has completely changed for the worse IMO. They're fun to watch still but I hate it that they're just "the pros do as many different dances as possible in three minutes." What's wrong with doing a rumba, or a tango (or any of the dances) well? The used to be clear about which dance they were doing, and I think even announced the pro couples names as they joined the floor (I might be wrong about this though.) Now it's just a mish mash in all ways. Entertaining but a bit empty.

I agree with you about Pasha and Anya. I saw their tour and their chemistry as dancers is completely undeniable.

Maybe by choosing a photo where Aliona's face is turned away, they showed that they did know that what they were doing was wrong, but by choosing one with her face turned away, they thought they would get away with it?

Aliona doesn't seem to have kicked up a fuss about it. She settled out of court and hasn't mentioned it at all. She protected her rights to commercial use of her image and that was that. Brendan is the one who made a fuss about it. Maybe it wouldn't have made the papers if he had not done so.

As for the 2014 Tour, I for one went to the tour purely because Aliona was on it and she did a very good job on the tour for Brendan. She doesn't owe him anything more for that - he made his money last year. Trying to make money in 2015 while breaching Aliona's rights is a new situation.

I agree. Chemistry is part of what makes dances come alive and in the past, pairings that worked added that something extra.

America's version has never had fixed couples - or hasn't in a long time. And it's a different show I know, but at the beginning there was a married couple (Alec and Edyta) and then the second season they added another (Anna and Jonathan.) After Alec left the show, Edyta wrote in a blog or something that the producers told her they didn't want any more married couples (and Jonathan was let go soon after.)

Anyway, I always liked seeing the couples mixed up a lot so I'm happy enough - and life would be complete if Trent had to be called in because Bre... I mean 'someone' slipped on a banana peel...

You wouldn't have been able to go and see her on the tour if Brendan hadn't invited her. As I said I don't think Brendan is right kicking up a fuss about it but I can understand why he is.

I really don't think whoever decided to use the photo thought 'oo let's see if we can use one with Aliona and see if we can get away with it' - I think they decided to use it because it was one from the last tour before this years one and they didn't predict how sensitive Aliona would be about it - as I said the French dancer Fauve didn't seem to mind her whole image being used to advertise the tour which featured Aliona.

Fauve was injured at the last minute - she tore her knee ligaments and Aliona stepped in, advertising and tour programmes had already been printed so it wasnt really a case of Fauve not minding, there wasnt time to reprint everything

I know why Fauve had to pull out of the tour - but she could have made an issue of her image being used to advertise a tour she wasn't on if she wanted to - that was my point......but then if she had relations with Brendan would have soured like it has with Aliona.

apologies, from your post it sounded like you didnt know


back on topic - pro pairings

personally I would like to see pairings but it sounds like there wont be any according to a tweet from Kristina

No worries

Re - the pairings although ideally it would be best if they had established pro pairings, I think I'm glad they're going to do some switch ups - as said before I don't think some of the pro pairings worked last year - I'm thinking here of Ola and Pasha and Tristan and Kristina.