Err, he was 2nd on the leaderboard! He just didn't get enough votes! I still think he'll win it though.

Some of these conspiracy theories are hilarious

People keep saying that it would have been all 4 of them in the final had Will not dropped out. But really, it's just as likely that Will might have got to the final

Well if Will had made the final, it would have been because the public wanted to see him there. Plus they'd have had the opportunity to watch an additional ten dances over the course of this series (so far).

There seems to have been far more cries of racism and fix this year than any other year I can remember.
Isn't it about time the BBC produced the percentage voting figures? ITV released them immediately for X Factor so it's not an unreasonable request.
I'm surprised no journalist has pushed under the Freedom of Information Act.

Doubtful in my opinion, but unless TPTB had been planning on an early departure they should have given everyone else a bye after any unforeseen departure, whether due to fear, ill health or alien abduction!

Do you mean after the entire series has ended, rather than after each week?
I wouldn't be against seeing them after the series has ended, when they can't influence voting, though some celebs might not enjoy being confronted with the figures. That said, they all run the risk of being first off, which must be pretty demoralising.

It is down to the choreography, but their are basics steps and more advanced steps in any dance. Should a dance that misses out some of the advanced moves on the part of the celebrity get marked a 10. I have watched Strictly since the first series, and i have never seen an AT without one single flick or kick. Doesn't mean you can't do an AT with out any, but I am sure a good one should have them especially if this is where the male celebrity can show his skill - clearly ore has got that skill from his jive! (I know it is a different kick and flick and before someone picks me up on it, i know they haven't had the AT in the show from the beginning).

So if the pro choreographs their celeb to stand around doing nothing, that shouldn't affect the score? Obviously Anne Widdecombe should have won the glitterball along with all tens being given for Peter Andre's jive!

An AT is a dance of action and reaction and Joanne was reacting to non existent actions as if she were doing an AT themed pole dance around an Ore pole. Jason Donovan's excessively marked AT was only marginally better. The judges should be ashamed of themselves -- if they don't understand dances like ATs and Salsas they should bring in specialist judges who do

I unerstand that Jo did not do the choreography.

The three finalists are on the tour, Claudia is not. If she got through to the final and won, the tour wouldn't have the winner of the show, which i don't think would go down that well. That is the purpose.

The show brings criticism and conspiracy theories on itself, which includes lack of voting stats and well documented judging controversies. Its rather unacceptable to ask the public to vote at their own expense and not provide a breakdown as to how far their votes went; taking their word for it is no longer good enough, especially now it seems some ppl are becoming bigger than the show. The public come first and they need to remember that.

What? So the results should be fiddled to get the winner Craig wants for the tour? What utter bilge!

(Still it might explain why Craig only gave Claudia an 8 for a rhumba I thought was worth Strictly 10s even if it was not a purist's humba. The little darling was emoting her heart out and I loved the "hairography" she included in it!)

Louise was bottom of the leaderboard! Lots of people voted for her! Where's the manipulation there?


It really doesn't matter to the producers who wins! I think the biggest misconception of the lot is that the producers actually care who wins. And I know this from experience. They care about viewing figures. It's like all that nonsense about them wanting Ed out - err, I'm sure they were quite happy that he was so talked about and brought in so many viewers.


Quite


I can tell you quite categorically that there will have been no voting manipulation. That's hilarious that you say that it's "supposed" to look like Ore got more votes than Danny. Err, he did. He probably won't in the final (I think Danny will win it) but he did this week.


I know, it's hilarious. Actually, all the hate against Kevin makes me kind of hope that he wins this time. I don't have a favourite though to be honest. I've liked some of Ore's dances the most overall (whilst hated others), I think that Danny is the most consistent and find Louise a bit bland, but I don't really care who wins it now. I am really glad that Ore got to the final as I want to see him do his jive again, but I don't care at all who wins.


Kevin and AJ are the same height - around 5 ft 8. So are Gorka and Neil. Gio and Pasha are about 5 ft 10 and Aljaz, Brendan and Anton taller (but I can't remember their heights)


Yes, quite. He may have got to the final, he may not have - we'll never know - but I was just pointing out that people who say that Claudia would have been in the final had Will not dropped out are not factoring in the prospect that it could have been Will taking up the 4th place, who knows!

Irrespective of the tour (which the vast majority of viewers don't go to see), had enough people voted for Claudia (as they did for Louise) she'd be in the final.

Exactly. I watch every year but I couldn't tell you who won when as I just don't care enough after it's all over. Some people are obsessed, and that's fine, but shouldn't assume the rest of the people that watch are too.

Are you being serious? I ask because it is known, and I thought well known enough to be an established fact for all, that AT is not a ballroom dance. Couples can have gaps and spaces between them (at least in the Strictly version) so Ore and Joanne gapping was not an issue.

Edit: I see others have remarked on this already.

This much is true. But if you were to watch an expert AT lead you wouldn't (even if you were an expert yourself) be able to detect his actions that stimulated the reaction. As a follower and teaching assistant we demonstrate this every week. I can feel the lead my partner is transmitting but the students, watching intently,, a single step in isolation, cannot see the lead. Which is exactly as it should be.

Indeed they can. There are several styles of embrace in AT, salon, milongero, fantasia, nuevo - but all will result in gapping as compared to ballroom styles because the point of contact is through the embrace and upper torso not the body.

Thanks for your reply. How do the embraces differ? I think it is milongero that I think of as AT, I think ...

I expected the voting to go like this-

Ore- 4 + 1 = 5
Danny 3 + 4 = 7
Louise 2 + 3 = 5
Claudia 2 + 2 = 4

Resulting in a dance off between Ore and Claudia. They would probably still have saved Ore, but no way do I believe the voting figures.

What's your information source? I've quoted mine.

Most of the pros are apparently 5'10" plus or minus an inch with Anton 5'11" and Ian Waite one of the tallest at 6'2"

AJ Prichard http://www.starsheight.com/aj-pritchard-height/

Kevin Clifton http://www.starsheight.com/kevin-clifton-height/

I was surprised at the info on Kevin but I've since noticed the conspicuously built up shoes he uses and Janette Manrara fits in nicely with him being only 5'1" (compared with Flavia Cacace's 5'2" and Vincent Simone's 5'7")

The variation is about how open the embrace is. Sometimes we just speak of open and close embrace.

Close embrace is the most intimate in which the woman brings her arm right round the man's back to the opposite shoulder. Their chests and faces will be touching, but there won't be contact in the waist hip area owing to the A frame posture the couple adopt. It is entirely the ladies perogative to choose to adopt this embrace or not. I only do with a very few trusted and familiar leads.

In open embrace, the lady's hand is resting behind the man's shoulder on the same side as her arm. Their upper arms are usually resting against one another to form the immovable frame which is the means by which the lead is transmitted. It is a little like having a taut string between two cans to send an audio signal, if you remember doing that as a kid.

In both cases the man holds the lady's right hand in his left. In open embrace the arms are slightly bent and in close embrace more bent.

Fantasia and Nuevo are not really ballroom styles. They are used more for caberet performances where the routines are choreogrpahed. The ability to lead from a solid frame is sacrificed in order to have a looser hold and more dance space for the showier stuff. But because the communication conduit (the solid frame) is not there the routine needs to be preordained.

You can lead and follow in nuevo but it's messier and involves a lot of best guesses. Its like an interative process where you do something, get what you get and move on from there. Its sort of fun because it is rather flying by the seat of your pants but it is a corruption of AT in my view.

In the ballroom styles the dance is improvised at every step along the way. The loose hold does not allow lead and follow to take place so the dance has to be choreographed. For me the improvisational nature of AT is its very essence, so fantasia and to a lesser extent nuevo are look-a-likies.

So because the voting figures don't match what you think they should be, some sort of shenanigans must have happened? Why is it so hard to believe that Ore & Louise scored more public votes than Danny & Claudia?

Well you may have expected the votes to go a certain way, but they didn't! The voting figures will have been independently verified. I honestly don't see why people can't accept it. Danny didn't beat Louise and Ore in the public vote. He probably will in the final though.


I honestly can't remember - but I've read it in several places.

And my own eyes can tell me that AJ is not 5 inches taller than Kevin, whatever your source says! http://i.imgur.com/0UFq4YV.jpg

Dear An Thropologist, thank you so much for such a full reply. I've seen one of the loose holds performed by Geraldine Rojas in BBC Four's La Confiteria. She performed the most amazing back flicks/kicks (?) with her legs that I think might be impossible to achieve in a closed embrace.

It's the closed embrace of AT that I find most seductive as well as the quick, delicate footwork of the woman.