Someone suggested this on the a-thons yay or nay thread so I thought I'd stick some links up to the pro-celeb group dances they used to do in days of yore.


series five

jitterbug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCT-Qo76C4E

dirty dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peGcnue2kiA

OMG, thank you for those videos!
The show is so family oriented now, that just to see Brendan licking Kelly's face, Gethin dry humping Matt DA, and Matt DA himself trying to kiss Flavia and not giving a toss they're being filmed is marvellous!! Glorious!!

Back to the topic, I think the reason behind this is probably because the TPTB thought the celebs could use something they've already learned (waltz, ccc, etc) for the judges to check for improvement, instead of learning a new thing like the jitterbug for example. I may be, of course, completely wrong.

I was just thinking this morning that I hope they put a pro-celeb group dance in next weekend to pad it out a bit! That Dirty Dancing one was fabulous.

I'd also like to see something like they did in the series 5 final where Matt and Alesha danced different dances to the same piece of music. That was really interesting, especially as both of them were so good!

Love these dances. Especially the dirty dancing one. Still miss Matthew Cutler.

They could just have an extra week with two dances in so that every couple completes the entire repetoire of dances. At the moment all finalists miss out one dance.
Simplest solution really.

at the start of the series they hold back one dance from everyone say the charleston / samba./ waltz whatever - then in a designated week instead of a Thon they have there main dance - and there all given the same music to the held back dance and they do that individually as well

Be careful, that's what it was like in the good old days, and a lot of people on this forum don't like people suggesting that *shock horror* Strictly was better in the days before props, themes and faffing!

Battles? Like they had on some of the later DOI series? Winners get extra points etc

It's like everything isn't it - if it's done well it's great if done badly not so much. Credit to Kev though he has made the most ridiculous theming in the world and work well - Rap samba anyone?!

I think with the BBC losing the rights to the Great British Bake Off, there is an opportunity to exploit it's loss.

They could have a making a Meringue whilst dancing a Merengue thon or :

A Rum Baba Lambaba thon

There's also this one from series six - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBIX8NAf5mI

they did a James Bond themed one in series four but I can't find that one although the boys swing from the same year was pretty good - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGLV8j2Xzb0 the ladies mambo not so much though.

Jitterbug/swing dancing should be a main dance theme on the show!
Would be fabulous to see all the contestants and pros get to wear 1940s style hair and clothes.