Cant stand him, so I can be objective regarding him! though I do appreciate some of his routines, I do think he tends to get lucky with music and theme for ballroom.

Len used to be a stickler for ballroom dances being in hold all the time, but doesn't even bother mentioning it now. These days, most of the ballroom looks like an American smooth version. I miss the old days.

I am not a ballroom purist by any means, so some of the old routines bore me. However, I do think now a days the over styling, use of props and decor, not to mention odd music choices, do cloud the dancing.

Offtopic, but I spend a lot of time watching DVDs whilst training on my static bike indoors. I found the kids' 2008 highlights DVD and have watched it through in recent days. It's only 7 years ago, but it might as well be a whole lifetime, so different did it all look and feel in those days. A few sequins and a bit of fake tan was all that was needed back then!

Lisa's bacofoil dance doesn't seem so bad now, though it does raise a smile!

Kristina hasn't been mentioned but she manages to get her guys up to scratch in ballroom.

Possibly because his speciality is Latin - which is excellent. I suspect he finds ballroom a bit boring given his dance experience is wider than that - like his modelling career.

He is not a traditional competition ballroom person, which is probably why his choreography is interesting and different.

She has been mentioned I think. And I agree. She's a very good all-rounder imo.

Kristina is an excellent Latin dancer, but her ballroom leaves much to be desired. Her posture of frequently wrong, and don't get me started on her footwork.......

Yes but if he is teaching ballroom AND latin I think both need to be up to scratch ( it's not just him, that applies to a few others as well). It's like saying "OK, this teacher will be teaching you ballet and tap. Now they aren't very good at tap but their ballet is fabulous!". It doesn't change the fact that they need to be proficient in all the styles they want to teach.

As well as that I think quite a few of the pros have far more varied training than most people would expect. I think the majority of them have quite a bit of ballet training, a fair few have done jazz, some contemporary etc.

And I'll admit to being a bit of a purist. It doesn't matter how fabulous a routine is if it's not the right style. It's like going to a jazz competition, doing an absolutely wonderful ballet routine but then complaining that you didn't win. It's perfectly possible to make routines interesting and still have the correct content. It might be harder but it is possible!

I think the discipline of ballroom whether standard or latin is degenerating. There's as much structure and rigour in a cha cha cha as there is a foxtrot though you can be forgiven for believing otherwise.

Of the current line up the following seem to me to most understand the standard ballroom: Anton, Brendan (even though I dislike him), Giovanni (of the little I've seen) and Kevin. Aljaz who is meant to be a standard specialist has constant gapping in his dances so I cannot take him seriously. Ian was the best standard dancer and he is much missed. Vincent was very good too. Trent was a gem in both disciplines and I miss him terribly.

EDIT: Forgot to consider female pros: Joanne and Natalie are the obvious ones. Janette is a joke in standard ballroom. Not sure about Oti yet. Of the others I'm less sure. Ola knows basics but she is a pedestrian choreographer.

Totally agree with all of the above, whilst I agree that some may have done other dance styles those who competed as kids (for example Kevin, Jo, Aljaz and Giovanni) then there probably would not have been time for them to concentrate on other styles though once some of them joined the likes of BTF I'm sure they would have done some jazz etc (Aljaz/Kev).

Jo and Giovanni attended Team Diablo in Bologna for several years although they had their specialties the training there does cover both standard and latin and is pretty full on - although Jo did do some theatre work whilst there too

I totally agree. I follow her on fb and instagram and she was busy straight after strictly finished with her studio etc. I really like that she's the kind of person who can dance a samba dressed as a lion and equally be a serious judge in a prominent competition.

The show does need more ballroom specialists and ten dancers imo. It is not a style of dance you can "get by" in as a dancer or as a teacher. And having a competitive background is a strong indicator that they know about the specifics of the technique of ballroom rather than a general dance background.

EDIT Just to make clear; you can't "get by" in international latin either - it's just that a lot of the pros are latin dancers already so that's covered pretty well.