I was thunderstruck watching his routine with Laura on Saturday. All those spins at the end - and just one for Laura? But the whole routine was like that. His showing off cost her - bigtime.

I did wonder whether he was distracting the judges from her (lack of) performance.

Distracting the public is my guess

Yes, distracting the public would be my guess too. She was very weak.

Yes I think he has been studying at the Kristina and Ola School of Dancing for Two. MIracle he was so conservatively dressed really, Kristina and Ola would have added cloth minimisation too. He should have taken his shirt off.

Didn't he do the same thing with Georgia in the final for their showdance?

Did about 10 spins rapidly, before Georgia followed him, doing three spins in slow succession.

It was funny I laughed for 7 minutes.

I got the impression the choreography had had to change very late in the day and he did the best he could. We'll probably know more when they are interviewed. I really really don't believe that Gio just thought he'd dance without Laura for the fun of it.

Yes, I think that's what he was doing; trying to distract the judges and the viewers. Unfortunately, his performance made poor her look poor in comparison.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's not back next year. Made me go off him a bit. He didn't show Laura off enough. His fault not hers but the publics fault for putting her in the dance off and the judges fault for not saving her. Thought it would be an equally split

I'm bemused Giovanni gets so much stick for 'showing off' and dancing rings round his partner when so many of the pros do it! It's like strictly 101!!
Natalie with Greg (especially the rhumba), Brendan in the jive with Anastasia, pretty much any female pro who gets a duffer...

He's actually grown on me this series. He left me cold last year but I am thawing out.

He did make a mistake in choreographing the side by side section and ending in that way, I was taken aback by it at the time. Also afterwards in being insensitive when Laura was clearly upset in the Clauditorium after the judges comments.

I'm pretty sure he'll be back next year as all the pros are said to have signed 2 year contracts before this series. There's no reason why he shouldn't be, yes he didn't get everything right on Saturday but overall he's helped Laura progress quickly and created some wonderful routines which have showcased her well.

Interesting.
Can you remember where you read that?

Natalie was confirmed to have given that info by a couple of posters who'd been to her and Ian's shows

I really wouldn't think it would affect his role on Strictly! Or half the pros would have been dropped years ago!

The show I went to, Ian said Natalie had a 2 year contract but didn't mention anyone else.

Has anyone who was there on Saturday said what Laura was doing while the camera was tracking Giovanni spinning?

Thanks aggs

He made an error with the twills it happens, he did some good stuff with Laura. But she did not have the natural talent and had an injury to pull that routine off.

I assumed his spins were the icing on the cake clip for his Dancing With The Stars audition tape.

I think not-quite-up-to-the-mark slebs are better aided in their performance by a pro partner who coddles them and doesn't leave them by themselves, hopping from one foot to the other, in the shadows at the back of the dance floor...

Still, all may become clear during the ITT interview. <whistles>

Laura does have the natural talent but she was on borrowed time with her injury which probably wasn't going to improve much while she continued dance training.

as impressive as the spins looked they didn't belong in that samba routine

If Laura decided late on that she couldn't manage some of the planned dance because of her ankle then Giovanni's two showboats to fill in would make sense. The pity is that he didn't think to do them "showing off for Laura" - facing her, or dancing around her, while she samba'd on the spot looking sultry and haughty.

Laura seems to have been very professional about appearing with an injury, as it would have been a big problem for the producers to have a second withdrawal. She didn't complain, didn't ask for a bye in the dance-off, didn't pick up her skirts and show a knee brace during her final dance.

If her ankle hadn't healed more than two weeks after the initial injury, it seems to me that it was likely to be an ongoing problem for the rest of the series if she had stayed in, so the scope for keeping Laura in for much longer by giving her an easier dance would have been pretty limited.

I did think that Laura did well in the dance-off.

I'm erring on the side that those spins were a last minute replacement for a move or set of steps that Laura was supposed to do but her dicky ankle made it too dicey.

Blaming Giovanni won't help if someone's favourite is now out, he was doing his best with who and what he had to work with, albeit like most Pro's they tend at times to show off, but they also try and cover their partners inadequacies and it can look like showing off. Giovanni is getting way too much stick for Laura being in bottom two and voted out. The girl had a bye, then after resting came back with a good week last week, but on the whole she is pretty nondescript and not a great dancer, she was odds on to go and thankfully went.