Originally Posted by Heatherbell:
“The judges are the experts , like them or not, agree with them or not . If they point out errors then it isn't from malice but from wanting the contestant to improve and to give the pro something that needs fixing or tweaking with their celeb .”
No - only ONE is an expert on the dances performed in front of them. two of the others are ex West End hoofers (now choreographers) the other is a former ballerina with little going on NO ballroom or Latin dancing credentials! I'm inclined to agree that some of the nasty comments are meant in a panto villain way, but some of the stuff they comment on is just plain wrong!
Originally Posted by heatheRbell:
“It's not like the judges are random celebs plucked from cookery shows or goggle box . They know their stuff and the only time it's apt to be cheeky back at them is if they are being patently nasty over something minor.”
I think what was getting on the pros nerves was having to stand there being told they had choreographed something wrong in the routine by people who wouldn't recognise a real error if the dancers pulled out a placard with ERROR on it when they did it. We had a classic example only last week - three out of the four judges gushed over a certain routine, the expert judge called it as it was - and got slated for it! Three of them are qualified to judge on performance only - and they fell for style over substance!
Originally Posted by heatheRbell:
“ I think the more sensible celebs like Peter, Jay and Ainsley this week have the right idea, it isn't personal, just take it on the chin, use the criticism to improve and be grateful you get advice that might get you further in the competition .”
The celebs don't often answer back - if the critique is bad, they usually stand there stunned - it's their pros who answer back, and usually only when the comments have been more asinine than usual. Brendan has calmed down a lot since his early days - marriage and fatherhood has mellowed him, whilst James Jordan was let go - mainly for the crime (IMHO) of daring to repeatedly call out Craig for his ignorance.
Originally Posted by heatheRbell:
“The only level headed judges are Craig and Bruno most of the time . Darcy gets hot flushes over male dancers but is good at advising on balletic movement to prettify your dance , while Len allows little things to grind his gears too much but is good on little details that matter .”
I dont mind Bruno so much - he seems to have picked up a lot from his time on DWTS as well as SCD, and he makes his comments in an amusing way, and usually not setting out to be insulting. Craig seems determined to be the panto villain and makes harsh comments (which aren't always correct) and usually gives much lower marks. I do think that the others could do with realising like him that there are numbers below 5 to use, but all of them seem to be conscious this series of leaving themselves some wiggle room in the scoring
I'd happily lose at least one of the three non Ballroom judges to one of the ex pros who could support Len on the technical stuff - Anton who has guest judged on both DWTS and the tour could do it without getting bogged down in technical detail , and likewise Camilla. Karen Hardy and Ian Waite are both judges too, and could also do the job - but I tend to agree with those who say that Karen would out gush Darcey!