Even though I loved Kellies showdance was it not just a Charleston.Strange because she then did another and Georgia did one too. Maybe this sameness gave Jay victory

No - it was a lindyhop.

[quote=jiroos;80812659]No - it was a lindyhop.[/QUOTE

Dressed as a Charleston

I also think there was to many Charleston type throw me around, wave your hands about, gurn at the camera style dances no substance no real technique.

In my view, the only Charleston that absolutely begged to be repeated in the final was Georgia's, which rivals Jay's jive as the best dance of the whole series. I thought Kellie and Kevin had better dances that they could have chosen to repeat. Coming straight after Georgia's unbeatable 40 for the same type of dance, Star Wars fell a bit flat and, I thought, was lucky to be awarded 39. Why didn't they do Oom-Pah-Pah again?

I agree. I'm not a Charleston fan it's my most hated dance, to me it just seems like a kind of dressd up freestyle jive in many cases. The only one this series worth seeing again was Georgia's. I still have nighmares about Hollins and his caterpillar move, ugh.

?
One of them was a Char less tonn.

Because it had been danced within the last three weeks.

However well they are danced, I can't quite get over the sheer ugliness of the charleston/lindyhop/generic 1920s American stomping circus 'dances'.

Yes I can see where you are coming from with this - dance is like singing, it is very subjective and some dances people like more than others and like you I do not particularly like circus dances.

Too similar in style IMO, didn't give them a very broad voter appeal on the night (and GG danced it better, despite the error at the finish).

I'm a bit skeptical they would have overturned Jay's vote even with a full range of dances though

Yes - awful dances.

Can't understand their supposed appeal compared to ballroom elegance and Latin drama.

Charlestons are by far my favourite dances and Georgia and Kellie both did their ones justice. I'd rather there be lots of charlestons than lots of Viennese Waltz's.

I have to agree, all those flat footed, ungainly leg actions make them as vulgar as they are ugly. I think that about the jive too for the most part, with the exception of Jay's.

It would be lovely to have a year off, maybe introduce something more balletic or contemporary instead.

That's how I feel too.

They are so ugly to watch. The lindyhop is by far the worst of them all so my heart sunk when I heard Kellie was doing one and a charleston They are not pleasing to the eye.

Kellie's charleston following Georgia's didn't do her any favours I think

When Kellie & Kevin decided on Charleston, they probably wouldn't have known that Georgia and Giovanni had chosen the same.

Personally I would love to see the show ditch the Charleston altogether and the salsa, which is usually really poorly danced. Just let the finalists incorporate them into their showdance if they want.

Me three.
I would love them to drop the Charleston and make them all do both the Samba and the Salsa - two gorgeous to look at and complex dances that are way better for me to watch than the comedy, clumsy, flap your hands, gurn fest that is the Charleston.

Am I correct in remembering that it was not performed in the earlier series of Strictly?

Yes, you are right. They were introduced - along with American Smooth & Argentine Tango - when they started having more couples.

I agree about salsa is lovely to watch - when it is done properly, but it so very seldom is. Gleb clearly hadn't got a clue, and some of the others have just done a sort of really bad samba.

I think Jay's victory was confirmed quite some time before the final. I agree that K&K's charleston was not the best pick and was massively overshadowed by their show dance and G&G's charleston. I would have them to pick one of their ballroom numbers, e.g. the foxtrot or waltz, to provide a contrast to their other dances.

Didn't the AS and AT predate Charleston by about 3 years mind you?

I love the Charleston, it's so lively and everyone does it differently, putting their own original moves to it, while sticking to the format.
I don't agree about Chris Hollins, he was a worthy winner. The best Charleston in my opinion was Louis Smiths, because his gymnastic moves made it spectacular.

Kellie's show dance was a Charleston and her Charleston was a show dance. Lindy hop was barely evident.

The AS came in in season 3, I think - Colin & Erin were the standout team; salsa and AT arrived in season 4, with Ramps & Karen standouts in both; Charleston came next, with Hollins & Ola (though I didn't think they were the best).

The Charleston isn't necessarily easy, but it does seem to be a way for good dancers to rack up good marks and get cheers, so for the final it would be hard to expect contestants to side-line it in favour of a rumba or a foxtrot. Part of the problem is also the current final formula - no dances from the last three weeks (which probably hurt K&K most) and no performances with backing dancers, so some of the best routines potentially aren't accessible, just through the luck of the draw. (I think it used to be the case that only semi-final dances couldn't be reprised.). So Charlestons from relatively early in the series have a pretty good chance of ending up in the final.

The Charleston is a fun crowd pleasing dance but in this series particularly it has started to feel repetitive and boring. Incidentally, according to Aliona (and with agreement from Tristan) it is one of the easiest since you can "get away with murder". I had thought you couldn't fail doing it if you are at least a half-decent dancer in general until Helen's, but I think that is the exception that proves the rule rather than anything else.

One of the problems is that it is done in too similar a way too often. Being so stylized this sticks out more than it might for some other dances. Goofy, gurny, bobbly, cute, with a bit sass. I would like to see more different takes on it like the one Holly and Artem did, or the one Jay and Aliona did. They were more cool and modern with less obvious moves. The two versions in the final were quite similar in some ways (not the styling but the feel) and were not even the best versions over the series. I preferred Kellie's but I didn't think it was a stand-out for her compared to several other dances she did. It was probably Georgia's best one but was still only slightly less forgettable and predictable than all her other dances.

Anyway I do think they are ruining it now (a bit like too much chocolate making you sick) and finishing the series with two in a row was barmy. Either try to limit how often it is done or encourage more creativity and less typical versions like those in the final.