Originally Posted by sofakat:
“Yes, as I said in my earlier post this is the only form of salsa which does have the aerial lifts, complicated footwork and speed. I also said there was no chance they would ever do anything like that on Strictly because none if them have the expertise or ability for this.
They will carry on with their hybrid Craptastic LA/Disco/ballroom style so beloved of the wow craving audience.”
Speaking as a total non-expert.
Ballroom, AT and Salsa at least and maybe all the dances to some extent are a bit unsuitable for Strictly? The details that experts can see and appreciate, are not going to be available via novice dancers after 4 days training?
However, I would like to see the essence of the dance, and what distinguishes it from other dances, to be the basis of the dance on Strictly. I would like it to matter what they actually dance when they are supposed to dance a specific dance.
AT for example, seems to me, to be a dance shared by two people and never intended for an uneducated audience. A strange choice for Strictly.
Salsa seems to have many different styles, which makes it complicated to judge? That would make it less suitable for Strictly.
Claudia may spend more time off the ground than she did in the AT. I checked, and Natalie Cassidy spent no time off the ground when dancing the Salsa with Vincent - but then neither did Rachel. So the different styles could be an advantage depending on the celebrity - if the pros could all dance all the styles of Salsa.
The 10 dances Strictly was based on at least have a set criteria for judging. Strictly has a secret, undefined, cut-down version of that criteria - or maybe (as it seems in practice) it varies from week to week and dance to dance (maybe even celeb/pro to celeb/pro)?
The original concept of Strictly though, as a learning to dance contest - with a 'well at least it was entertaining' fall-back, is easier to operate properly with the 10 dances IMO.
I don't think they have ever really tried to represent AT or Salsa as the dances they are, so in that respect, I think they were the original - it doesn't really matter what you do - dances on Strictly, and the others are moving that way.