I think one of the things that makes Claudia's and AJ's dances difficult to watch is the huge disparity in height. If only Vincent (il signor Argentino tango) were still around, the heights of the couple would be better matched and all her moves would look more natural and she would look fine as she does try very hard with her technique.
But on Saturday, her black shoes had horrendously high heels and I think prevented Claudia from executing all the steps comfortably.
In addition, we all forget that Claudia's floor routines in her championship gymnastics days were done barefoot, and I can only imagine how her heels, ankles and calf muscles must be hurting after every performance.

Vincent is 5ft 7 more or less AJ's height

It must be hard for her not to wobble sometimes given the heels she has to wear

All credit to her for pulling off some amazing routines (with the occasional wobble)

It may be the reason for the poor Jive, but to me there is a bigger issue,it is the ability to sell themselves as a dance couple and the dance

Vincent is 5'5". I think, as you said, AJ is nearer 5'7''

Dani Harmer is 5'0''. Check out Vincent & Dani's height difference here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFa3IvSklsA

Vincent would definately be a better match Claudia.

Interesting article here about Jared Murillo being booted for being too short...at 5'9''!!!

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/tv...ut-by-an-inch/

I think they may be hard pushed to find a pro dancer for a 4' 7" contestant. Maybe the national champion from somewhere where national average height is lower than Europe like Singapore, Hong Kong or China?

Speak for yourself. I'm not Team Claudia (can't say I'm Team Anyone this year), but I've never thought her dances were 'difficult to watch'. Obviously her short stature is noticeable, and maybe that has an effect on some routines, but I always enjoy them.

I don't think the disparity in height is an excuse. This season on dancing with the stars, there's a woman even shorter than her, she's a dwarf and is 4ft 2 ; her pro partner Sasha is 5ft 6/7 I think and yet they made it work . She was quite good and was a semi finalist .

Louise Lytton who danced with vincent Simone was 5ft I believe and she was really , really good.

I hate to say this but I think that AJ might be the problem. He gives her far too much content sometimes and over dance a lot. He forgets that he needs to dance at her level.

I agree. The problem is not her height but AJ not knowing how to compensate for it. Sticking her in a towering heels for a jive is not a sensible option.

I actually thought in the dance off. Just kick the stupid high heels off and do it bare foot.

Claudia's height is given as 4 ft 6 or 7, that's half a foot shorter than Dani or Louisa, so comparisons between them aren't really terribly accurate or useful. For Claudia to look anything other than child-sized they needed to find a male pro not much taller than 5 foot, which would be virtually impossible.

I'm not sure how her lack of height would be best dealt with, but forcing her poor girl into vertiginous heels for every dance doesn;t seem to be the best bet.

The music on Saturday night seemed ridiculously fast too ... I'm familiar with the orginal 'Hey Mickey' track (being dead old ) and it's a fast song, but this version seemed even faster. It looked like she barely had time to complete one step before having to deal with another.

That and the heels thing. And that god-awful black costume. I don't think I've ever seen a black cheerleader's outfit. Ever.

Claudia has danced well up to the Jive, sometimes people find it difficult to pick up the jive technique (like others cannot get the right leg action in cha cha ) and they only have a week - claudia was flat in training too - without the heels - think it is just a case that it is not her dance and she should forget it and move on - hopefully if she makes the final it would not be the dance chosen for her by the judges.

Knowing how the Judges Choices have been in the past, they'd unfortunately be:

Ed and Katya- Paso Doble or Waltz
Louise and Kevin- Rumba
Danny and Oti- Foxtrot
Ore and Joanne- Charleston or Tango
Claudia and AJ- Jive
Judge Rinder and Oksana- American Smooth

Black or coloured shoes for dancing is a no no in my book anyway as it can shorten the leg and draw attention to the feet so thought the black shoes did her no favours, there are black cheerleading outfits though obviously not the the style of Claudia's dress most are usually two piece and teamed with bright colours.

When choosing outfits for the Tower in the past - black is one I would never use or yellow as they never looks right on the floor (Louise suffered from a black outfit too)

The music is too fast and it looked like she was having trouble dancing in those heels, I really like Claudia and so far I have enjoyed all her dances except the jive. Maybe it's just the case of slowing down the music, I'm glad she's still in it

she may be tiny but I think its her heel height that is the issue - she needs a lower heel IMO which would steady her balance in the faster latin dances

I agree about the black shoes, I would never wear them and they did Claudia no favours either. There was nothing I liked about the dance...awful, but as you say, good jive technique is not easy. I think this was one dance that was actually affected by her gmnnastics, there was no rhythm in her body, no basic action and it was way too stiff/stilted.

I agree with everything you say, especially about the lack of rhythm. Jive, more than any other dance, needs a relaxed posture, and Claudia was - as you say - far too stiff and stilted. She was also back weighted. Possibly she would have benefited from a lower heel - but then she should have asked for them. I do know that is one request that is granted. But her steps were too large and she took her feet too far off the floor, which is why she seemed to struggle with the speed of the music - which wasn't, as some have said, that fast for a jive.

Black shoes? Couldn't agree with you more - really ugly! Hate them. Likewise white shoes which make even the smallest feet look huge! Coloured shoes used to be fashionable - red dress/red shoes - which I didn't mind, but, for me, nothing beats basic tan. Can you remember - or maybe you are not old enough - buying white satin shoes and dyeing them with strong cold coffee? And then there were little pots of powdered dye? Haha happy days!!!!

Yep, dyed them "tan" with either strong coffee or wetted tea bags !! Those were the days

Call me Mrs Picky... but cheerleaders tend not to wear heels anyway.

Given that they's gone the whole hog on the costume, why was she not in just a pair of flats, with ankle socks, like one would expect?

Others have worn similar for a jive and this to me seemed like the most obvious occasion on which to wear them.

Personally I think AJ is the problem . The jive was way too fast for Claudias little legs . But he strode ahead over dancing and not putting Claudia first

AJ's height isn't a problem, well it won't be next year when he will return, they'll choose a taller teenager to dance with him.


I'll be even pickier, that was never a cheerleader costume, it reminded me of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEcvlnD-PE

And at Blackpool, I think Danny's black trousers made his legs almost invisible at times. I think the shoes and costume didn't help - or the backing dancers.

As regards height, it is what it is.

Being less tall is mostly an advantage in Gymnastics, but tall gymnasts can still do well.
This is the podium for the 2015 British Floor championship.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBiwmN1WMAAvk4U.jpg
This is the floor exercise of Lisa Mason (5' 7")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_0QlL7uL9w
and Claudia's floor exercise (4' 6")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu3GDHUfZdw
Different styles - different heights.

It's interesting to see how AJ and Claudia cope with the height difference. It is an extra disadvantage for Claudia when dancing, but I'm extra impressed by how well Claudia is handling all the related issues on Strictly.

I really hope Claudia can reprise her Cha-Cha if she gets to the finals. I'd love to see her do it again with improved technique.