Tell you what, Fi, you bug me about it, I'll bug you about it k?

Sounds a good idea! Its a shame we aren't near each other, we could go together and have a good laugh at each other!!

Excellent!

That would be good!

I'd provide much amusement I assure you LOL!

Thanks Alfster for the Masterclass! I shall watch the repeat through more knowledgeable eyes!

Thanks Alfster, really interesting, and pretty much confirmed what my OH was saying about them last night

It's been really interesting reading the comments of people who actually know about dancing. I thought it was great to see it twice and would put it up there with my other favourite dances - Jill's jive, and Ian and Zoe's tango.

I agree it's one of the best ever - and his paso was great last week.

That's exactly it! I can't stop smiling today thinking about it and it's the first dance of this series that I've rewatched and rewatched over and over again

Sheer magic!

Yes, it made me smile too. Mark was totally into what he was doing and looked completely relaxed about it. Karen has worked wonders. Although his dancing has always been good, he was very shy at first about letting himself go.

Totally agree. He is taking it seriously yet he seems to really really love it, similar to Carol Smilie.

Thanks for sharing a fascinating perspective. Some of the moves that Mark employed during the course of the routine ones that beginners can learn, yet the beauty of it was how he managed to smoothly string them together with the more complex choreography to create an aesthetically pleasing routine with Karen. Karen calls salsa the "Freedom dance", a remark I agree with because you can really put the stamp of your own personality upon it through cultivating the ability to freestyle ie. just let everything go and just dance! The end result was something uninhibited and energetic that was well worth waiting for. I do think that salsa is very much reliant upon the man's lead and Mark did it brilliantly throughout. The VT showed how he now seems to be taking charge. This increased confidence in dancing has seen him shed his inhibitions and "leave the shy cricketer" behind. Now he dances his heart out on the floor and the fact he wanted to take his wife out dancing after the show is proof enough that this man, among others, loves what he's doing out there.


It would be fantastic if more people went out and did just that. What I love about the show is that it inspires people by taking them out of their comfort zones and teaches them a new skill. The fact that most celebrities enjoy the experience and invest emotionally and physically in perfecting their routines is a joy to watch. As for learning the basics of any dance, I can testify to that because the basic steps form the very foundation of each dance - whether it's the footwork or the rhythm. Recently, I assisted in a beginners' ballroom class and also attended beginners' salsa classes. Seeing others who were around the start of their dance journey made me realise how much I'd progressed. It's rewarding to help others to improve and in doing so it's made me much more aware as a dance aficionado.

Back on topic, I could wax lyrical about Mark and Karen's salsa, but to do so would only echo the sentiments of many who have already artfully articulated what the dance signifies for them. I loved watching it and will definitely watch it again.

I thought Marcs dance was the best of the evening - and also, as he's a guy and has to lead far superior technically to the others! He looked as good as Karen and as relaxed! I'm changing allegience!

I LOVE these posts!

YAY! Another convert to the True Path of Strictly.

Or something.

Just watched Marks routine again and I was wrong...the moves were more advanced than I first remembered.

The neck drop is a move that requires the lady to really trust the man. Some other moves were also fairly advanced to requiring good co-ordination.

I believe they were marked down by the judges as I would have given them a 10 no question about it.

Thankyou for that, Alfster! It's really good to hear.

Hi Alfster, would you mind giving an appraisal of Matt
and Lilias Salsa, I thought it was much better than
Carol and Matthews, but 'm no expert. Thanks

Mark and karen were so hot Ihad to have a cold shower after.

I loved their paso more though and think 'if' they make it to the final week, they will have perfected that to a 40.

I'm no expert either!!!!!

Carol and Matthews salsa was better than Matt and Lilias. The reason being is that the judges were spot on: Matt will not let go with his feelings , young Skywalker...ag...Star Wars moment there.

Matt is too self-conscious which is going to kill Salsa as it needs to be totally loose (Off the dance floor I am quite shy but on the dance floor it's a different matter. I can understand his problem as I don;t have to dance in front of 8million viewers). Saying that had Matt been able to move properly the actual moves were not as advanced as in Carols dance but she was being led ratehr than leading. It might have been different had Matt nailed the body movements early like Mark did and so Lilia could have worked on some fancier moves but that was not the case.

I would put them about equal: Carol moved her body well( ) but she did not have to think about leading. Matts body rolls etc were not great but he did lead OK (us men have it hard).

Matthew did do a couple of nice more advanced moves in Carols dance but Carol 'just' had to step through them and the music did not make her dance as good as it could (I have commented elsewhere on that).

Had Carol's music been 'proper' salsa music it would not have been 'antiseptic' and would have been better than Matts. But the music was flat so it was not. i.e. Pro screws up agin: stick to tradtional music even if the audience have never heard the tracks before.

Had Carol's music been 'proper' salsa music it would not have been 'antiseptic' and would have been better than Matts. But the music was flat so it was not. i.e. Pro screws up agin: stick to tradtional music even if the audience have never heard the tracks before.[/quote]

Perhaps the music was another reason why Karen and Mark's routine was so Hot Hot Hot!??

My last word on the subject as it's back to the day job. But thanks for turning the original post into such an informative thread!

As you can see from my username, I am a Jill Halfpenny fan, so no dance will ever be as good as Jills jive. I do love Mark and Karen though

*feels all warm and fuzzy*

*grin*

That is good to know

Of course it was and that just goes to show that using the traditional music that the dance style was created around completes the experience of the dance.

You could almost dance Salsa to an AC/DC track they are both 4/4 time but it would not work quite work.

Also, Mark's music was Samba not Salsa so again not the 'correct' music but it is close enough that the dance and music complimented each other and worked well.

If any of the pro's actually work out that by using the right music would make the general audience subconsciously connect a half decent dancer with the pure dance style they would get more votes as people would remember that the couple were dancing the actual style because they would remember the music as much as the dance itself.

OK I have to say this song used to make me think of Indian grannies thanks to "Bend It"

It has better mental images attached now

*goes to bed happy hehehe*

and i think thats why they both danced it so amazingly well! They were both feeling the music! Brilliant! In my opinion it deserved at least one 10!

Tired Maryjay is sorry to have started a second Hot, Hot, Hot forum : but weren't they terrific !