Jay has acknowledged himself (on Twitter) that it wasn't a good dance by him and seems not entirely confident about how well he will do.

Aliona on the other hand is confident they will sort things out.

Jay seems to be made of the right stuff - I like his attitude to things and he seems to be a thoughtful person who isn't self-centred.

He seemed astonishingly nervous for someone with prior dance experience....which is a great pity as I think he could be amazingly good.
Also a huge shame he was not partnered with Natalie, she would have turned him into a winner.
With aliona I have my doubts.

I dont think he will win, nerves, flat footed and disappointing performances.(Though I would love to be proven wrong.)

I very much doubt that Natalie would have been able to make him a winner. After all, she has had two contenders (and one that was by miles the best dancer of his year) and yet she has never won. Yet Aliona's track record with contenders is better.
I think Natalie is a great teacher and choreographs good routines, but I believe she is better with middle of the road celebs than with contenders.
Besides, Jay's contemporary dance interests suggests that he will be much better with a pro like Aliona that understands crossover better.
Will the viewers get it and enjoy it? not necessarily, but Natalie hasn't turn anyone into a winner (yet).

(Aside from that, in the videos you can see he is quite heavy dancer, he is not light in his body movements. he moves okish.)

I noticed he was quite heavy footed when he walks but wasn't sure if that was just nerves. If nothing else I hope he stays in long enough to get some confidence in himself. If he can pull off a couple of good dances it might do wonders for him.

I am sure he will be fine once he beings one to one teaching with Aliona

he wasnt the greatest in the group dance but he certainly wasnt the worst!

give the lad a break - he let his nerves get the better of him - so what - Im sure most of you would be terrified stepping onto the Strictly dance floor for the first time

I like this vision on the Non-Appreciation thread.



Maybe one day Aliona will dance on a custard pool?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN2D5y-AxIY

This. Plus he is 25 to her 31, and maybe he's just feeling gauche and embarrassed ! Let us remember Gavin Henson's early training with Katya - he was so shy and awkward in hold with her. A few weeks in and it had completely disappeared. I'm sure Jay will soon feel at home with Aliona as well, once they've got used to each other.

He'll get better . Most of them do . He's young and fit and sure to improve under tutelage . Aliona will mould him into shape .

I suspect that he might be thus year's Victoria Pendleton - unable to loosen up.

Some people find it difficult to shake off a stiff frame no matter how hard they try (ask Judy Murray lol).

It's wrong to form a judgement based on the opening show. Fingers crossed that he is able to loosen up over the next few weeks.

I forgot about Victoria . She tried so hard but just never really got it , bless her .

Does anyone just think he was just overplaying the awkward, nervous card due to the fact his previous experience had come to light?

By Week 4 or 5 , assuming he lasts, I think he will be a completely different person.

I would be very surprised if he was that good of an actor. I mean, Daniel Day Lewis level.

Hopefully his performing will help him overcome nerves. But we will see!

has he ever denied his previous dance experience

The evidence is loud and clear on youtube so not something you could deny even if you wanted to.

Had that been Denise van Outen in those videos, not even she could have classed her performance as "just sitting on chair"!

If Jay can get over his nerves I think he will improve. I hope he and Aliona do really well.

The one that stood out for me was Georgia - her deportment was terrible. I hope she can dance better than she walks!!

The way he walks ties in with the stompy guy in the Group dance - you wouldn't think he could dance from the way he walks.

Its interesting and maybe after he has learned the CCC and Rumba, he will be able to look like a dancer when he walks? - if he choses to.

sorry, I got the impression from your previous post that you thought he was hiding his past dance experience

During the pairings Tess said she could feel him shaking, so if he was acting, he's very thorough.

http://t.co/dRtukigJ5W

I guess he was bound to be nervous

Not hiding - just playing down.

I don't doubt he was nervous. It just seems hard to believe that he had such nerves to produce such a shaky performance despite his previous experience. He probably would have fainted had he been a complete novice then.

On a side note, he looked absolutely terrified of Aliona...

I looked at it again to see what you were talking about.

Nope.

And so he should be, he can't afford to be doing any boy band messing about for the next few weeks.

why? many of the celebs first few performances are shaky, many are battling tremendous nerves when they step onto the dance floor, they are live, in front of millions of viewers and a live studio audience!

its very different to being in a studio, at college

Natalie has won the Australian Strictly once and come second twice.
She came over as very competitive in her first series with Ricky, a bit like Erin in her first series when both are really likeable and in later series that was reflected. Add to that Ricky's unfortunate incident the day before and the fact that their Donna Summer showdance was not as audience-friendly as Ola's do the bloody mashed potato and that Charleston.
Most agree that Ricky wuz robbed both on agregate and talent that year. But not Natalie's fault as a pro. A Hollyoaks fan base isn't huge.
With Scott she did some lovely choreo but nothing was going to beat the Artem-Karashowmance juggernaut or Matt's fanbase or DrHamela's older lady appeal. Not a bloke from the bill.
She was due a ringer. She proved herself in the People's Strictly. Far too tall for Andre and Ainsley or Jeremy were a more appropriate height match. Hopefully with Ainsley's hip action they will produce memorable latin and if she sorts out his shoulders then acceptable ballroom but Aliona had self-professed BundleOfNerves Greg last year so should cope with walking Jay through it. With some contempowafting on the way if she has not learnt from Karen's rumba last year. Alternatively Jay is machavelian, playing the long game following Ooh me nerves Abbey, nervous underdog undergoing a J word transformation. But hell, it's unlikely. All that aside, he's from Newark and my beach waves ended up looking like his hair ie a beach tsunami so I am backing him all the way.