Musicals night is always a biggie in the Strictly calendar and there were some splendid productions on Saturday, notably Oliver! and Les Misérables.

I've been thinking more and more this year that perhaps the productions are beginning to overshadow the celebrity dancers, to the point that many of their finer moves are being lost within all the glitz and pizzazz of the theatricals.

I wonder if some of the production values are influencing the public when it comes time to vote. Maybe, just maybe, a favourite musical number might stay with them, whereas the dance itself might have been largely forgotten.

Just a thought.

I think you're right, there's a limit to the amount of theatricality you can have before it begins to detract from the overall dance. Often on Saturday I found there was just too much going on and it didn't make for a good spectacle, backing dancers got in the way of the routines etc.
Undoubtedly it will affect the public vote, for example Kellie's dance suited her down to the ground and lo and behold she avoids the dance off - I think that proves your theory.

I thought the teapot, wardrobe, candlebra and clock in G & G's routine were in the way. They may be part of the scenario, but their placement was such that Bruno could be seen standing up trying to see G & G around them. Not good.

As for the extras in H & A's routine. Too many, and they totally distracted from the main event.

Yes the characters in Georgia and Giovanni's dance were completely unnecessary. Just a distraction with very little dance content (unsurprising seeing their costumes). If you've seen the film it would've been fine to have them dancing without any other dancers.

yep

I dont understand why couples dont just come out and dance!

no faffing, no props - just dancing

its really time for the props to bu**er off when ONE of the JUDGES has to stand up to actually see the routine that is being danced right in front of him!

come on people

why werent the clock, the teapot and the blinking candlestick on the other side of the dance floor for goodness sake

G+G really did suffer the most from the props and backing dancers this week. Bruno clearly getting exasperated at the start Towards the end of the routine they actually walked right in front of the camera (for no apparent reason) meaning they were both completely obscured. Ridiculous!

i hate props!!!! of any description - be it actual props or people dressed up as props

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why G&G needed those in the dance IF they really wanted them - why not contain them to the stage in front of the band - that way they are not getting in anyones way and we can still see them!

That amount of "faffin' abhat" with extra dancers, would have been OK at Blackpool, but not in that small studio. It made the small dance floor look particularly crowded.

It was a hot mess.

No backing dancers, please. Except at Blackpool for the reason given by Riley.

They just don't do subtle! They could have dressed GG in vaguely the right colours, just them, maybe under some sort of spotlight and I would have got the Beauty and the Beast theme. I didn't need, glaring colours, Beast makeup and a host of dancers in costumes getting in the way. Likewise with Helen, it was a Paso not a reproduction of Les Mis, the backing dancers should have stayed in the shadows. Kellie's Vienese Waltz was pretty much lost to the theme, unless I've missed something and everyone's been fleckerling on the table.

Wouldn't bother me if they didn't have them at Blaxkpool either. They go on about the couples having to use this huge floor and then proceed to give them less space than they have sans props and extra dancers at Elstree.

I think that people only really want to see the paso doble with traditional music and a red dress and a matador jacket. I think far from not needing too much production, it's the dance that most needs the added drama of the right production flourishes. Most people want the whole Strictly Ballroom thing. But it doesn't need someone like me spending half the dance going 'But it's not the French Revolution' to my family and the other half going 'What is she wearing?'

Yep I agree.

Kellie for one has not had much of her technical brilliance noticed as much as it should due to OTT pointless add ons.

Georgia's dance this week with the random dancers were distracting and pointless and you couldn't see her half the time. But watching it back, despite her not being my favourite, she was rather good. But you don't appreciate how good the first time round cause off all the crap production gumf around it.

They're not the only two to fall foul for it (not their fault of course) but I definitely agree with your post.

Neither can I - they literally just walked around getting in the way with their stupid costumes. So infuriating when it was such a beautiful dance.

Double post.

Didn't anyone watch the early series? There were no props, no themes and no backing dancers. Len would penalise for any kind of intro before going into the main dance. The pros picked the music to suit their routine and dance type.

That format worked fine.

Would it be the professionals who choreograph the extra dancers or do they just do them and their partner and someone else choreographs the extras?

Me! I remember those days. Lovely

I loathe the props. I can bear them if the are subtle and in the background but that rarely happens. So we have a fecking teapot. I usually try to watch all the dances again but I really do not want to see Georgia's foxtrot ever again. Or rather I'd love to actually see the foxtrot (it's my favourite dance) but never ever again want to see the dance as it went out on Saturday.

Completely agree with you on all points.

Hate the props, hate the backing dancers and hate the camerawork that always seems to move from close up at the time it's needed most.
They left Jay and Aliona's rumba for an overheard shot just as he did the pirouette and "bust out" (as Craig called it) which was praised so much, you got a terrible view of it.
They often move away from the feet and in Peter Andre's case, covered them up altogether with dry ice.
The series needs a new producer who can actually instruct the camera peeps to focus on all of the moves, all of the time.

And as for whoever gets the audience to scream over the dancing (in particular last nights' yelling over the Lion King singers), want shooting , it was terrible

I don't mind the use of extra dancers at Blackpool where there is room for them, but the Elstree floor is not that big and the extras just make routines look messy, especially when they are shuffling around the floor as in G&G's dance.

I love all the theatrics.

It's a shame that both Georgia and Helen suffered the most from the extra dancers and I'm sure the distraction of them might have contributed to them being in the DO.

I wonder why Jay and Aliona's dance was the only one which didn't have extra dancers?

I think only Kellie, Katie and Anita's dances worked to an extent with having extra dancers in them, and that's only because Kellie's felt more like a group dance and required rowdy-ness and with Katie and Anita the extra dancers didn't impede anyone's view of the dancing and mostly stayed in the background.

Yes and boy did they dance!! The routines seemed longer, although they weren't. They physically couldn't breathe they were so exhausted at the end of routines. And Dave Arch actually arranged the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEcAzo8Xzg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s585aE6Uy0I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNkExUcCKg8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg8neixzZtU

Just a few of my favourites

Oh get back in yer kennel Terry. You hate them, same as we all do.