Well, you think I have pre conceptions, I don't. We have to agree to disagree and stop here otherwise the argument would never end.

The comment about fawning it wasn't directed at you. It was a statement about me being objective and the difference between a "normal" fan and a fanatic - although the word fan is a derivative of fanatic, but the later has a different connotation (so to speak).

Re your swapping idea, you could get in touch with TPTB. You never know, they might take it up on that for future specials such as Christmas and Children in Need, good luck with that.

Personally I don't care which songs they repeat, or how many times they repeat it - providing it is a decent song in the correct tempo for the dance being attempted - alas too many are not.

I'm surprised so many remember who danced to what! I love Strictly as much as the next person, but after the event couldn't tell you what anyone danced to for 2 reasons. Firstly, most of the music is so obscure it has nothing to do with the actual dance, and secondly, too much real life gets in the way!!!

Let's just say I have a photographic memory for the most useless things...

I think people remember songs if it's a particularly memorable routine or if they love the song

I think people may be right that it depends on the standard of the dance they produce. I didn't like Harry and Aliona's salsa because the song didn't suit the dance so therefore all I could think of was Jill and Darren's jive. I still think certain songs shouldn't be reused but the list of songs would be extremely small.

After this discussion, I watched back the three "when doves cry" tangos. All good, personally I would say Jay and Rachel's are better than Kimberly but that it's just personal opinion. Rachel's is as good as I remembered but I don't think it's the song that makes it but having a great celeb and a specialist pro doing it. I could see that dance done to another track and it could actually be better for it (specially if it was a traditional tango).
In the case of Jays tango, I think the choreography is better matched to the music.
Also, there is another consideration. We would think that people watch all the series and every single episode and have great memories. They don't, even some of us that have very good memory not necessarily have musical memory (ie I can remember visuals no sounds). There are of course mythical dance (Jill's jive, marks AT, Toms showdance, Chris charleston, Jakes salsa, Sophie's charleston, Jays jive), but those are rare, about one a series if that.those music should be left alone. The rest, well, it's up for discussion.

I wouldn't even necessarily include those - certainly not all of them. I agree that Sophie's Charleston has assumed legendary status but I can never remember what it was danced to. In that instance, it was certainly the dance rather than the track that impacted on my memory. Chris' Charleston was a stand-out dance but I think someone else could easily do a better one now (slightly ironic as someone suggested it for Jay and Aliona a while back and I said they should steer well clear ). Jake's salsa, whilst memorable, I wouldn't say was "mythical". Mark's AT is another that I remember the dance rather than the music (his salsa, on the other hand, is definitely associated with the track for me).

Getting a song that a very memorable dance was originally done to is a bit of a poisoned chalice for the couple involved. But you're right about the memory of the viewers. Far fewer of them remember which tracks were used for what (even in the case of those legendary dances) than we would think. I think any song is fair game to be reused - yes, even Misirlou/You Never Can Tell. I would pity the couple that got it though .

Poisoned chalice that is exactly ape effect description why I rather not see some songs repeated.

Bib to be honest, that applies to almost every dance for me. The only ones I remember are my personal favourites (quite a few actually, but very few "legendary") and Marks At which I didn't watch that year, but I know cause it's a famous song.

I disagree regarding Jakes salsa, I truly think is going down as a legendary whether it deserves it or not. To me, is the only truly stand out dance from last year, which produced some good every very good dances but nothing else remarkable.

But it has been proven wrong in so much as other people hold different opinions to you and have disagreed with your opinion that other routines using the same song haven't been as good.

You've said Rachel's AT cannot be beaten therefore you're already removing any possibility of your opinion being changed - or that's how it is coming across.

I don't think there's many songs on SCD that have reached what I'd describe as iconic status only the dance performances to those songs. I think many of the routines could have easily been put to an alternative song and it would have had a similar impact.

Excellent post marina, agree with everything.
I think the dance that has come closer to Jake's Salsa in terms of being memorable last year is Caroline's Charleston, but if you ask about last year I bet the first thing they'll remember is that Salsa. I think one of the reasons that it had such an impact is that no one was expecting a bald, middle aged bloke to have those hips and to execute such a complicated routine in the beginning of the series. The surprise factor was off the scale! I still rewatch it to the day and always make me smile.


Incurring the risk of being redundant, I'm going to write the same thing again, I really don't know how to express it more clearly:
"I'm glad to be proven wrong the day someone does a better dance (and it doesn't have to be technically perfect but very memorable) to one of those iconic songs/dances. Still waiting to happen..."
I didn't say it will never happen; I said it hasn't happened yet (imo)

BIB It's not the music itself, it's the memories that that song will bring of a past performance that was very memorable. Like you say, those iconic routines could be danced to any other song which, in turn, would become memorable in its own right for being attached to the dance routine.

But then again, I suppose not many people used to watch Strictly back in the day when Craig used to wear a Hawaiian shirt. Many people probably didn't see some of the performances that I find it unforgettable.

Yes, for you. That's the point people have been making. Other people have different opinions and think specific songs have been used and provided equally iconic performances by another couple.


I've watched since Series One. I still don't think there have been that many iconic performances to a song which would make me think that was the single and definitive performance of that musical number.
I'd also probably count on less than two hands the numbers I consider to have reached iconic status and not all of them would involve the best technical dancers or the best performance.

BIB 1 -That is why I put IMO (In My Opinion) in brackets. Which you totally ignored by the way

BIB 2 -Yes, for you.

And nobody said anything about the best performance, but the most memorable one as far as I remember.

With regard to Jake's salsa, whilst I remember him and Janette doing a rather startling (at the time) dance to Mambo No. 5, I don't remember much detail about the dance itself except that Janette spent much of it in the air doing things that it shouldn't be possible for a human being to do. If someone else danced to the same track (even if said dance was a salsa), I doubt I'd spend more than a couple of seconds thinking - this is nothing like as good as "that" salsa. But then I'm far less sold on that salsa the longer we get from it. It had huge impact at the time but now... not really. Clearly many others disagree. No worries - I'll see it live in a couple of weeks, maybe that'll change my view. Again.

I didn't ignore it at all, I specifically referred to it because yes, it is only your opinion as I said it was mine that there were less than 10 performances since Series One that I would consider to be iconic/memorable/whatever other criterion people are mentioning.

That's certainly the point of the forum, non? People having and expressing different opinions.


I have to say that this has made me laugh

Indeed, hence why this conversation is occurring