Don't get me wrong, I think he's gorgeous to look at, but the fact that I AM always looking at him ( rather than Anita ) has more to do with the fact that he gives himself the most spectacular moments in the choreography.

I get the feeling he is more concerned about looking good himself than he is about making his celeb partner shine.

Maybe there's a touch of ego involved when Gleb does it, or it acts as a bit of diversion.

I don't know if it's that much different to when the female pros twirl around their male celebs or in the air. Are they showing off and distracting? If so, they're all at it!

Must admit, I'm not finding it a problem in the Gleb / Anita partnership because my eyes are still drawn to her more than him. She's no wallflower. She has presence. It makes for quite an exciting match I think.

That whole dance tonight I barely took my eyes off Gleb ... Anita could have been replaced half way through and I wouldn't have noticed.

He is the WOW factor in that partnership.

This!

Yes he uses everything he's got to get them as far as possible in the competition. Yes, this means that sometimes he is purposefully distracting from Anita, and yes, he is playing on his looks at times.

However, he also gives Anita plenty of time to shine on her own and plays to her strengths as often as possible, whilst still putting the work in on the teaching side of things. Pretty much the textbook definition of the Strictly pro. He's cut from the same cloth as Artem/Aliona I suspect. Can't wait for the eye rolls when he gets a total duffer!

I'm with Sid on this one. I think the problem tonight was that Gleb stated that Paso is his favourite dance and he hadn't been to Blackpool before. Other than the weird Gleb special floor spider thing, I've loved their dances and the choreography. I don't see a wow factor other than his choreography in contrast to others'.

I'm not a dance expert at all but I'm sure I've heard it said that the Paso is the 'man's dance'. Taking that into account I thought the routine highlighted Anita strongly and generously

Ouch! My jaw just hit the floor with that obviousness, which I've interpreted as "Get yourself to bed, woman."

See, that's what I was getting at ... I don't think Gleb IS 'generous' to Anita.

I've looked back on their dances and all the 'gasp' moments have been his ... and his alone.

The stand-out is that jerky thing he did when Anita ( as Malificent on Halloween night ) was supposed to be pulling him magically from behind. That was a great moment in the routine, but it did nothing at all to make Anita look good ... just him.

Agree ^^, though he does choreograph show stopping routines that get people's attention - which is good for Anita.

The thing that gets me is that he needs to refer to her more in the Claudatorium. Anita throws herself into these sometimes wild routines and he rarely gives her credit.

His (few) remarks this week were neutral or about himself - whilst Anita was thanking him effusively.

(No wonder she had a hug from Jay earlier - a bit of kindness helps no end.)

Paso doble is about a man, you can't change that without changing the character of the dance. To use Bruno's words, it would become a vegetarian option. In ballroom a man is leading a woman, so again there's a certain inequality programmed in the dances.

I would say yes to the OP's question. I didn't like the paso at all, as I found it much TOO agressive.

I really didn't like the Paso he choreographed. It was just like Kevin and Susannahs all stampy and shouting. Sorry but not to my taste.

I thought Anita acted fabulously in it, loved her characterisation.

I felt there was precious little Paso content (again like K&S) but what Anita was given was danced well.

I do think that Gleb makes it all about him in every dance (except last week which was my fave of theirs so far). That in itself doesn't bother me because the girls can twirl about the celeb to hide a multitude of sins, but it does really really bother me that Anita is perfectly capable of picking up choreography, so why not teach her a bit more instead of these stupid big productions all focussed on Gleb that keep being churned out.

No. The paso is all about Anita until she places the matador jacket on Gleb's back and then it is the pair of them together. Every Gleb special has featured an amazing feat from Anita too. I think he knows how to choreograph flashy numbers that get the couple noticed and please the crowd. These are to Anita's benefit.

How dare he be pretty. What does he think he is, the Johnny Depp of Dance? Burn him, witches.

No, he doesn't. It's just that the gap in dancing ability between him and Anita inevitably means that he stands out more.

Ever since the epoch-defining Sergeant, I always expect from a paso that "Putting out the wheely bin" moment. Gleb didn't disappoint.

Completely agree - all the memorable moments in their routines are about him. I suppose its no different to Ola dancing around her celebs in a cat suit, but I don't think Gleb needs to do it as Anita is reasonably capable. He probably thinks he must be doing something right as he has succeeded in making a lot of people think she is undermarked every week for pretty average performances technique-wise.

Couldn't agree with these two posts more. Gleb was in with the backing dancers at the start of the routine last night. I was fixed on Anita then suddenly thought "Oh, where's Gleb?!". He has given her some excellent choreography and made her stand out. I'm not sure she would have with certain other pros.

yes especially when Anita had to put that jacket on him

she looked like his handmaiden and he the big star imo

he knows he's good looking and it shows

Clearly, the guy's incredibly easy on the eye and knows it, but I think he uses that to cover what is a slight shyness (yes, honestly) and an inexperience about how to handle the tone and humour of SCD. He hasn't quite sussed that yet and falls back on looking prettily into camera because he hasn't quite got the confidence to do anything else.

In the Paso last night, it took me a while to realise he was even there, so I think it's unfair to say he choreographs for himself. I think it's more about trying to put together an impressive routine and using both of them to the best advantage. I like seeing the Gleb specials!

I do wish he'd praise Anita more publicly, but she seems so genuine in her gratitude and praise of him that he's clearly doing everything right in her eyes, and we need to respect that. Again, I think he's inherently quite shy (this showed so clearly in the first few shows) and I don't think speaking English spontaneously on live TV is comfortable for him.

I don't know ... that's just the way I read him. I may be wrong, but Anita's clear respect, gratitude and liking of him tells me more about him than the way he personally comes across on TV.

I haven't seen last night's dance so can't comment on it, but in general I find the focus of most of their dances to be too much on him. I don't think he's the best looking pro this series but the fawning at the beginning must've gone to his head.

Anita was one of my favourite celebs going into this series, but I, along with lots of people I know, are finding them hard to warm to as a couple. This must purely be down to Gleb. I know he's trying to impress as it's his first series, but sometimes less is more. Oti, in her very brief time on the show, and Giovanni have done so much more than Gleb to make themselves fit in better.

As with all pros I think they should be given a second series (if they want it), but I hope Gleb gets someone with much less ability and preferably a comedy act to see how he deals with them next year.

I very much agree and have raised the shyness issue myself. I do think he actually is quite introverted and at first seemed quite embarrassed at the "Oh, isn't he gorgeous" that gets heaped upon him. I think he has somewhat embraced it now as let's face it, he can't do anything about his looks!

Gleb is a fab actor on the dance floor and fair play to him for not toning down his abilities to make his partner look better.

Anita is fairly blah, and I don't think she would have got this far without Gleb bringing the interest to their dances.

Yes, he does focus on himself .The Gleb specials are not to promote Anita they are to promote him.I now make a point of watching Anita and not watching Gleb .It should be all about Anita and not him . He bores me .

We will have to wait for when they do the Argentine Tango (if they do one) cos that dance is all about the lady. Proof in the pudding as they say