The black professional dancer Oti is really good, it's so good to see black ballroom dancers. I look forward to seeing her dance each week now.

Is she really the first??

Regardless of her skin colour, I think she seems lovely and an extremely good dancer. Of the three new pros, she's my favourite.

She makes a great addition to the pros. Giovanni and Gleb are alright, but both seem a bit conceited.

It will be good to see good ballroom 10-dance type ballroom dancers when there seem to be more and more formation team types and trashy choreography.

I don't think Ainsley is that good but he does have a certain style.

Sadly, ballroom dancing doesn't attract that great a proportion of black dancers. I know someone who is black and competes. They think they might at least have the advantage of more easily catching the judges' eye.

So Strictly producers would be limited for choice, unless they wanted to go outside the ballroom genre. Still Oti is a good signing.

I quite agree, Ann. There are all too few black dancers on the Ballroom/Latin scene, mores the pity. I remember seeing Oti at Blackpool when she used to compete ( latin) a few years back but other than that,....

Should the pro dancers not be appointed because they are good at what they do rather than because of their age/sex/sexuality/skin colour/whatever?

Oti has been hired because she is good at her job, as is self evident from the way she dances. By coincidence, she also happens to be black.

Just keep Anton away.

There are a lot of good black dancers out there, but many are not given the opportunity to dance in shows like these

not sure if you are being serious or it's a tongue in cheek throw away comment, either way I didn't find it funny

This is true...


...and this is also true.

Not mutually exclusive ideas.

Absolutely - but the dancers are not always hired because they are good at their job. Eg Anton is often cited as a poor Latin dancer - but has somehow managed to hold down his job. Jared anyone??

Another point - if the 15 best pros auditioning for a spot on Strictly were all from ethnic minorities, not all would be hired based on them being the best at what they do. Lesser dancers (of different colour) would be added to create more of a balance.

Finally, the OP never said Oti was hired because she is black as you imply. They were just commenting on a fact which, for whatever reason, cannot be denied - that she is the first black pro dancer on Strictly and how good that is to see at last. The same will happen if/when a lesbian or a Chinese or a physically-challenged pro is hired. It may not be right but neither you and I can do anything to stop it. And actually, why should we?

You'll have to expand on that because, otherwise, it's just a silly comment with nothing to back it up.

There is no way you could know that as fact .
She's a great little dancer and seems a nice person so the colour of her skin is irrelevant .

He has a history.

I've worked in the dance industry for 13 years . I know what I'm talking about

/\ /\ /\

I once read there weren't many successful black swimmers. Is that swimming or the competitors problem (for want of a better word)?

Not trying to be controversial. Just highlighting that there can be disproportionate representation from a group in an activity with no obvious reason for it. i.e. (a) Not interested (b) Not any good (c) Judges' bias, (d) Summat else (e) All of the above

Oh dear...from past experience comments like that don't go down well in this forum.

I have been around dancing all my life from attending ballroom and latin comps whilst my parents danced as a child to teaching myself and running a large dance school. Have attended British Championships at Blackpool for over 50 years and in all that time can remember very few Black ballroom/latin dancers taking part Oti being one of them

Then again over the years have met and judged many terrific black dancers who were just not involved with ballroom and latin.

Having a dance school in an inner city area - we have a large number of black dancers but very few of them take ballroom and latin as their dance form of choice or to compete in - tap, ballet, lyrical, Hip Hop and Freestyle being far more popular

I think it may be lack of interest MayD.

If we were to look at current ballroom and latin competitions, then more remarkable would be the absence on Strictly of any dancers from certain parts of asia (specifically Japan, China and Malaysia ), since they are not only very involved in international ballroom, but also very successful.

It doesn't really surprise me, as dancers from that part of the world are less likely to have learnt English.

If you mean dancers that are already living in the UK, then perhaps you're right

I think that says more about you than me tbph. Can you explain what YOU think is wrong with it please?

I have posed reasonable questions in response to the issue being raised earlier in the thread.

You appear to be looking for problems and attitudes that do NOT exist imho