haven't they always had a range of abilities? And if we are going down the serious route, perhaps it should be judges only scores that count.....see what the ratings would be after that!

I wouldn't say that a greater emphasis on the dance part of it is necessarily a more 'serious' route. Good dancing can be entertaining Poor dancing rarely is.

Some of the contestants have been taught enough of the basics that they can improvise when it goes wrong, Alesha Dixon (technique aside) is a perfect example of that. Duing their Waltz (I think it was) Matthew Cutler forgot the routine, whispered to Alesha "just follow me" or words to that effect, and off they went for the final 15 seconds of the dance simply waltzing, not performing their previously learned routine.

Some of the pros do teach that level of basic to their celebrities and others simply teach them the routine so that when it goes wrong you can see clearly because they don't have enough knowledge of the basic steps to be able to improvise.

So yes, they learn to dance at the very basic level of being able to swish around a dance floor so I suppose you could say they're learning a new skill. In the earliest days of this show, contestants did learn far more basic steps and how to dance the specific Latin or Ballroom dance not just the routine they were learning.


I agree, Julian improved massively and was a delight to watch once he managed to let go and Chris Parker's paso doble remains to this day one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen on SCD!

I think most people do accept that it's primarily and entertainment show. One problem for those who don't is that the celebs seem to put a lot of work into the training (hours and hours of blood, sweat and tears) simply for people to vote for their personalities and even vote for the same people week after week without even considering their dancing abilities. Also, I'm not sure it's getting through to everyone that it's an entertainment show, otherwise why would so many people object to 'ringers'? If dance ability doesn't matter, why should ringers?

I don't want to labour the point so this shall be my last post regarding this but the skilled celebrities taking part do not, imo, just "swish" around the dancefloor.

Georgia's dance yesterday for example showed her executing proper dance steps and rather well too. A world away from a swish...!

Good point. Also, doesn't the phone vote help fund the program in some way, or does everyone vote online for free?

Aren't there World Dance Championships or something for people who want a serious dance contest to watch?

It's obvious Strictly's an entertainment show or...

- Everyone would start at the same level (they don't)

- The judges would all be Ballroom & Latin specialists (they aren't)

- There'd be no viewer vote (there is)

Time to get over it.

And anway, one of the better dancers almost always wins because guess what - viewers ultimately find good dancing "entertaining".

But for now, I'll keep throwing in a vote for Jeremy if it's all the same to you.

Excellent post -Sid- , I'm doing the same.

Yes, some are better than others, which is another argument for why it's not "a dance competition" - they don't all begin from the same level playing field.


No, the phone doesn't do anything other than pay BT who provide the service.

Do they show The World Dance Championships on TV?

It's an entertainment show. If it was a dance competition; they wouldn't ask the public to vote and celebrities with no dance training wouldn't dare sign up. It's difficult to imagine Jeremy agreeing to compete against Jay McGuiness in a dance competition.

Usually on EuroSport or DanceSport or some other obscure channel I believe.

Really, I watch Eurosport for the Ice-skating and Gymnastics but I have never seen any dancing advertised. I don't think there is a 'Dancesport'

Oh dear, very teenage tantrum. You forgot to say 'whatever'.

And even if there was it would be full of ringers.

No ringers in The World Champs.

There is a DanceSport, it's the overseeing governing body and it has various live streams available.
English version is here.

It may have been on EuroSport in the past then, it's usually their logo on all the old YouTube videos.

OK thanks, I'm fairly certain there isn't a dedicated channel though.

No it usually broadcasts through European sports channels like EuroSport.

Its both.
Bye.

I just might check when they are on and keep a look out. Thanks again.

Don't we have the same thing every year?

Week 1-6 is spent complaining about the ringah's and how unfair it is on the "untrained" dancers

Then week 6-12 is spent complaining about the duffers getting through on popularity and how unfair it is on the good dancers.

Usually everyone calms down once the last duffer goes between weeks 10-12. Although sometimes the papers then like to hark back to the prior training again just in time for the final.

No worries, they usually turn up on YouTube about a week later, unfortunately normally still in the broadcasting language of whichever country's sports channel was broadcasting them so there's loads in Russian floating around atm

You've summed it up perfectly. Unfortunately, it won't stop anyone complaining about the very things you have pointed out.

The duffers don't work less hard than the ringahs/middle of the roaders - they are also in doing hours upon hours training with all the resultant blood, sweat and tears. The difference is they don't even have the benefit of knowing that they will get good marks on the Saturday.

I vote for who I like whether they are a ringah or a duffer. I've voted for Jeremy every week and I suspect I will continue to vote for him every week. I've also voted for Jay, Anita and Georgia...I don't care about all the various reasons why some people think so and so shouldn't be in it, it's not about that for me at all. I wouldn't enjoy the show if I was so hung up on finding reasons to be angry all the time.