No.

I don't really get this argument tbh. Just because he dances brilliantly each week doesn't mean he doesn't still find the training, and the process in making the dance so brilliant, difficult. He strikes me as a hard worker and so he's working to make the dance the best he can each week, and I do believe him when he says he's finding it difficult do do just that.

Nicely put!

He did say, from the off, he doesn't remember well and was nervous about 'being himself on screen'. And almost any technique he learned in stage school (not dance school, Arts Ed is very much triple threat), will be irrelevant to Latin + Ballroom.
To date, I'm not aware of any stage schools having Latin and/or ballroom on their curriculum, tho I'm happy to be proved wrong if anyone knows otherwise?

Well, whatever, I wish he'd shut up about how hard it is, and start enjoying it. It's getting annoying and repetitive now. He's obviously good, knows he's good, so stop the moaning!

Exactly this. Claudia makes her gymnastics routines look easy in competitions, that doesn't mean the training is any less tough and gruelling.

Well he would say that, wouldn't he?

Some might fall for it, but not me. I don't really care though, as long as Oti has her ultimate year and can show everyone how talented she really is.

Exactly.

Just like Louise Redknapp.

Who has also had plenty of dance training. I should point out though that both are being given much harder routines than anyone else, because they can master them.

This means they do have to work harder than the others to learn them and not mess up.

No, no stage school, (places like Italia Conti or ArtsEd) would teach ballroom or Ballroom Latin (as opposed to real latin dance forms) because they would not be regarded as classic dance forms. Ballet yes, stage yes - because they are stage schools but ballroom? Nope. What for? It's irrelevant to anyone but the ballroom world.

However dance training does give students a great head start with any other forms of dance because they will already be body aware, balanced and musical. Their co-ordination will be far better and they will have learned to use their body properly, point their feet, use the floor - and so and so forth.

I feel like some people are finding reasons to not like him. He won't win anyways so I don't know. ..why bother ?

As does gymnastics, but in a different way, of course.
More than anything my post meant to correct the 'dance school' myth that's being thrown around. I do have quite intimate knowledge of stage schools and dance schools, (sounds like you do too) they're very different beasties.

Isn't this topic going to run and run every year ?

If you have knowledge of stage schools then you know what the training is - and what it is not. If you don't, it's harder to draw the line.

I don't know why the facts can't be established and then everyone is satisfied ie that stage schools do not teach ballroom and latin dancing with a partner.

Stage schools do teach the necessary skills of the stage - and if you want to go into a West End musical then you're going to need to sing, dance (maybe tap) but you're not going to need to ballroom or latin dance with a partner.

So the stage school grads might be more comfortable on the stage of Strictly, but arguably each celeb has an advantage from their particular genre that they bring to the show, otherwise why would then consider it a possibility to learn to dance ?

I do wish this argument could be put to bed once and for all! As with every single thing in life, it ain't fair and someone will always be better or worse than you at something. C'est la vie!

Simple answer no he doesn't maybe he has experience in dance before but strictly is a different ball game and I honestly do believe him when he says he finds it hard.

Based on the two shows so far I believe there are people who will knock Danny anyway no matter how he does like Jay last year.

Agreed 100%

I'm sure he does find it hard at the beginning of each new dance, much the same as Alesha did and Kara and Jay. (all my personal favourites} What they all had in common is that they could all train for incredibly long hours cos they had nothing better to do, so by show day they were really well prepared.
Always an advantage to go into SCD unemployed I find.

I'm afraid the inane VTs are here to stay - TPTB think they are vital to attracting youngsters to watch the show; and they want the whole family sitting down to watch.

He is very ringery indeed, but hey, that means we get to see more of Oti, so that's good.

Isn't he supposed to have done 4 years in Wicked?

To be fair if he was saying that he's great and the routines are easy people would be calling him cocky and arrogant.

Danny can dance, he's not hiding that, but leaning new routines can be hard at times, even for already accomplished dancers. We need to remember that because he's good, he's not dancing on the same level as others. Oti's routines for him are going to be harder than the likes of Ed's, Greg's, etc, so the training for him can be hard in the sense of getting a harder routine right, not that it's actually hard for him to dance. He's not a Latin/Ballroom pro, so while he might be accomplished in other disciplines, there are still things to be learned for him in Ballroom and Latin as well as polishing transferable dance skills from what disciples he does already know.

Do people actually believe the VTs? They show them making a mess of some step (presumably filmed in the first five minutes of learning the routine) and the rest is completely scripted. Lo and behold, by the time they dance on Saturday night, they're fine - or as fine as they will ever be. These are just interludes of padding. Don't take them seriously.

Yes but I am given to understand that there is not much ballroom/latin dancing in Wicked!

Jay is still my favourite dancer in all the series of Strictly but he has moved on now and we have a new bunch of celebrities to watch and/or support. I am looking forward to Big!

I Like them