You've got Ore doing a - in Jwann's words - a 'nice' rhumba against an AS from Twimsy with all the Bassey bells and whistles, a rather good looking VW from Cloudia and the Greg/Ed/Rob vote hoovers.

I think I'm right that a rhumba has never scored 40 and that the highest blokerhumba has been 39 for Jay and Matt (if a Christmas special counts)? Other than that it's Colin with all the ... Len comments ... that generated?

I think he can stil win a dance off - I just fear what 2 bottom 2's on the trot will do to Jwann for the backing dancer propfest that is Blackpool!

Oh please... Danny's fanbase would vote for him if he just simply sat still for 2 minutes.

I think it's probably sensible for Joanne to go for "nice" for a rumba with Danny getting "Heard It Through The Grapevine". It may be a rubbish choice for an Argentine Tango but it's an excellent choice in terms of sex appeal generally. Try and go for dirty filthy rumba with Ore up against that and he's going to come up looking inadequate by comparison. It just depends how she sells the idea - Brenda refusing to do "dirty filthy rumba" for Sophie came across as someone protecting his partner and arguing for a different and proper interpretation of the dance. Joanne so far (in fact since she started) has come across a little prudish and overly self-effacing in terms of sex appeal.

Now you come to mention it...

That's a very good point. If she can come up with something wistful and "we so nearly made it but it just got away from us" it could work well. It could play to their slight awkwardness together and obvious reluctance to play the romance card. It doesn't seem to be quite Jo's style based on known form, but you never do know.

That's actually a really good point - giving arguably the two best dancers on the show slow numbers made for a boring show last time. Even Claudia has VW tomorrow which I think will be lovely, but is unlikely to be a "wow" dance in the way that say a Charleston would be.

The more I think about it, the more I think Ed has already picked his seat on the Blackpool bus.

True, it doesn't have to be the real thing. And to be fair if the public like it, they like it.

Oti has fantastic legs for AT and, from what have seen of their training vid, she has a sense of AT. Danny's doesn't but, it takes men (particularly English men) ages to get it - and get over the intensity and demands of leading it.

I think Ore this week falls into that muddy middle ground of 'not an exciting dance and unlikely to score terribly high, even if over marked'. Even if Cloudia's VW is less than scintilating but technically good, I can see her being above him on the leaderboard.

Whatever he will act it, I am thinking actually in terms of acting not performing to the back stalls, he is about the only one this year to be able to do this.

Loiuse is too introverted

Ed, Greg, JR and really Coudier ( certainly AJ) are performing to the back stall but he has and I think will be able to act a good AT.

Have to say I'm in complete agreement with AT here. There's no way Danny's going to be in the bottom two no matter where the judges' stick him on the leader board.


Yes, light and shade is created as part of the choreography (speaking in my experience as a ballet, tap, contemporary dancer rather than BL but it applies in most genres, and from 20 years as a journalist including arts reviewing).

The light and shade is created through different styles of movement, accentuating the beat or pausing on a beat, creating moments of movement and moments of stillness. There's probably specific steps in BL which work for creating those differences which the more experienced dancers will know.

In ballet, tap and contemporary dance these elements are created by using the music and creating steps and movement to take advantage of different tempos etc.

Phoenix Dance Theatre are one of my favourite (and best imho) contemporary companies in the world. This is the showreel for their triple bill this season.

And this is the 30th anniversary celebration video from 2011 with the original dancers and founding members (who I was incredibly lucky to dance with as a 12-year-old at Harehills Middle School in the 1980s in classes run by Northern School of Contemporary Dance founder Nadine Senior).

Hopefully these show the tempo changes, choreography elements which demonstrate the light and shade in a routine

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to Daniel and Oti a lot more than Ed, but he is growing on me

Oh, please. If there's one thing the producers DON'T want it's for either Danny or Ore to go out. So Danny's music this week is terrible. That's one out of eight dances. This time last year, J had had at least 3. I can't see any imaginable argument for that showing that the producers have somehow got it in for him. The only conceivable way for Danny to go out is in DO with twimsy, and I really don't think that's at all likely.

The judges are doing Danny a favour by keeping him off the top of the leaderboard at this point of the competition. If he were the acknowledged best dancer week after week, people would get bored and resentment might even build up against him because of his ringerdom. I mean, look what they've achieved - they've even managed to get people on these boards defending him as though he's the underdog and complaining at his poor treatment.

Most of us would have little clue what an actual AT looks like (although I feel better informed after your video clip ) . In reality, none of the dances can be more than makeshift in the time-frame - that is part of the point really. It must be insanely frustrating watching a show like this and seeing a skill you love being made pallid by ieptitude. Mind you, the pontifwaffle of the forums can't be much help either.

Edited to add: I trained as an art historian, so art programmes usually have the same effect on me. I can't not watch them, but I do it in a haze of swearing.

An AT can be really simple - even they even just walked more and did less stupid crotch flashing lifts it would look better - but what the hell ....

Their concept of salsa also pains me. Even getting the basic step right would be good. *eye roll*

I now have visions of you throwing things at the TV and swearing like a trooper at mangled arts programme So glad I am not alone!

Your image is accurate .

I've always found her very Doris Day.


I work in *whisper* Local Government, and the rubbish they spew on TV about that sector has steam coming out of my ears. Let alone when you see in dramas and stuff 'the man from the council' with his suit, clipboard and condescending attitude. For a start most 'men from the council' are actually women, unless you are talking Director level.

I'd like to unappreciate Denise being partnered with Anton in the Christmas special.

Ain't that the truth. How come in customer services the staff are 90% plus & women yet the director is a man?. In schools the teachers are mostly women but often with the exception of Headteacher who is a man. Professions like HR are dominated by women but at board level they so often appoint a man.

I'd like to appreciate Dr Hamela being paired with Pasha.

#prayforpasha

Oh please yourself! I agree it is unlikely but stranger things have happened and his fanbase has not been tested yet.

*makes prayer hands gesture*

She was very vulnerable though
Like Louise

Some places get it right. Our CEO is a woman, as is the head of HR and the head of Support. Just Housing & Resources are male.

Even when the CEO was male we had a 3/2 in favour of women.

And not just men, but white, middle aged men.


Hammy was as vulnerable as a Sherman tank. And danced like one.


All ours are men, apart from the Director of Social Services. We've got one Assistant Director who's female, and several Division Heads. And then you get to Team Leader level and there are squillions - women, black women, Polish women, Asian women, disabled women, younger women. Loads.

Try 20 years as a journalist and the way that gets reported on the television in shows which aren't meant to be a comedy!
David Nobbs' Pratt of the Argus novel very closely resembles my early years as a trainee on a weekly newspaper in a small Yorkshire market town and is still my favourite journalism related book.
Drop the Dead Donkey was hilarious accurate at times as well.