If you knew Len, you would know that he is most likely sending the card himself.

I think he looks at the whole picture i.e. How that person is developing. So in some cases he might consider it not appropriate to focus too much on a particular fault.

E.g. I think if someone has managed to attain relatively good footwork and action in their leg and body, he might want to give them credit by awarding a high mark, even a 10, since these are collectively difficult to achieve, even though their posture might need developing. He knows that everyone will have a weakness and not be perfect, and so he has to look at the sum of the parts. So it might look as if he is ignoring faults because he hasn't mentioned them, but he will be more interested in how far that person is on the path to becoming a ballroom dancer.

I couldn't agree more. It is not only completely wrong, it is also dangerous. I guess we've all seen girls/ladies who have been taught in - how can I put it without being offensive? - the lower end, standard wise of, schools, who end up with not only back problems, but also neck and shoulder strains that can last for years.

Perhaps someone should tell Joanne Clifton

Joanne danced WDSF. The WDC, which generally attracts better quality dancers (not saying that Jo is not an exceptionally beautiful dancer though), has always had a problem with some of the extreme shaping of WDSF. Also Joanne bends backwards for stationary lines, not when she is dancing the moving steps which make up the main body of the dance. No good professional would teach their student to bend back from the waist. The correct posture is described here by ex World Champion and adjudicator Anne Gleave. Www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXGJQedn4tM

Oh no he's not!!!

This just puzzles me, because I honestly can't remember her ever saying anything of the sort. I don't remember the word "waist" ever coming out of her mouth. I've seen her show stretching and how to extend the neckline and arm reach (although she might not have time to explain the musculature involved and would, like all the other judges, be relying on the pros to be teaching that to their celebs), but nothing more than that. Perhaps my memory is going. She knows very little about ballroom specifics, although I'm sure is trying to pick it up, but there is nothing she doesn't know about musculature and what is difficult/easy to do and why.

Her training will have caused her to focus a lot on lines and artistry, whereas I believe Len's knowledge/feeling for it is limited. As he has often said, he looks at the footwork. But if you were to tell me that the whole of ballroom is about technique and no more, I would lose all interest in it as a form of artistry (although it does have its weird aspects - doing the waltz while looking away from each other!).

She almost certainly knows more than any of the pros about lifts, as these will not have been part of their formal training (ballroom does not require them - in fact, does not allow them).

However, she won't know a lot about partnering in the ballroom sense, as ballet does not involve those sort of moves. Nor does ballet ever use heel leads. In fact, a large part of the specifics of ballet movement are entirely different to those required in ballroom (people talk of having to 'unlearn' ballet for ballroom purposes). But that does not mean that she is not extremely knowledgeable about the body and would know that certain moves, especially done without proper support from the right muscles, can be dangerous.

I agree that she is knowledgeable in areas that she is trained in, no-one has disputed that, but I believe that she should restrict her critique to those areas,...the areas that she has been trained in.

Despite what you seem to imply, Len is trained in lines and artistry, its what we all do in ballroom, many different types of lines ( we don't actually call them lines) in all dances except VW.

There is a saying in Ballroom dancing, that good dancing comes from the floor up. This means that provided you apply correct footwork and technique, you have half a chance to be a good dancer, or better.

Len appears to concentrate mostly on the footwork for a couple of reasons in my opinion. Firstly he is the only one to know the correct footwork and secondly he can hopefully rely on the other judges to pass comment on the visuals, ie topline, arms, hands and lines etc.

There is only so much he can say in the few seconds given him.

One doesn't need to be a highly accomplished dancer to be a great dance teacher or judge. The pros aren't automatically accomplished dance teachers - for some of them fresh from competing this may be their first experience of teaching novices.

Very true, all valid points.

Agreed. But knowledge of musculature is very much an area she is trained in, which is why I am surprised that some people say she gives advice that could be damaging.

One can argue continuously about artistry (as opposed to technique). I don't think Len knows it from a hole in the ground. Others may disagree vehemently. Where I see a dancer who doesn't have it, there is no amount of technique that will make up for it.

It would be really nice if they could give information or demos as the competition went on showing us what the ideal basic technique (both footwork and shaping) is for the different dances. A lot of the audience want to know, and Len has only a few seconds to say (and often goes for a soundbite rather than anything actually constructive - e.g. Pickling his walnuts). Telling us that someone's footwork was good doesn't get us very far. In what way was it good? Conversely, what would have made it bad? Even on Lens glans he is often still too busy cultivating his onscreen persona to tell us anything useful

Something like that waltz clip someone posted above. Or Jo's informative demos on ITT last year, but done every day. I learned more in a few seconds from her than from the rest of the series. The demos we have had from others, e.g. The Cliftons doing the samba, have been far too skimpy, as they have tried to cover too much ground. I'm sure there's more than enough of the most basic information to last through 3 months (after all, there's 10 dances even without the added extras.) There's plenty of rubbish that could be replaced on ITT with something interesting.

I wish they'd put more dance stuff in the VTs instead of the random crap. I mean the celebs have to learn the steps so why can't they do a little 'this is the basic step for this danc' or 'we're going to work on rise and fall' instead of zorbing...

I was a chubby child (the dance lessons were my mum's idea -but were a nightmare for me). I stood out and was an easy target for criticism.

You mean, as you got older it stopped, until like many of us, you started posting on DS?

And irrespective of that anyway, Len is an extremely qualified judge. I happen to agree with the rest of your point just as an aside anyway.

When Strictly started, I think it suited Len more. They had professionals from a background similar to his and there was more emphasis on learning to dance the 10 dances properly. There always were 'points for entertainment' - which is much less an area of expertise for Len versus the other judges.

Now, the Show has changed, and list of dances has changed. Strictly has introduced some new rules (some of which seem to be secret or made up when needed). There are now dances added to the 10. Props, backing dancers, unsuitable music, unsuitable themes, dogs, cannons, bull riding, getting out of bed. Len is probably qualified more than most on the latter.

Praising Brendan for putting in an illegal lift, to 'make the routine complete'.

Len is still the best judge of the dancing, but I consider Craig as the most consistent judge.

A good dancer will certainly need to show artistry, but unless he/she has first learnt the correct technique, all the artistry under the sun will not make it a good dance.

As for Len not understanding artistry - it might surprise you that many professional dancers, both ballroom and Latin (including some of the Strictly pros) went to him for lessons to improve their performance and artistry levels.