Everybody says that dances like the foxtrot put alot more pressure on the Male celebs as it has to be lead so strongly.

This dance with its two lifts must be far worse and I hope the judges take that into account.

Also imagine if a male celeb dropped their professional in training it could seriously wreck her career.

I missed the week it was on last year and I guess there were no issues but really I think this is an issue that needs looking at

I have a feeling that the pros know what lifts to include. They will pick pretty tame ones (and use them as a great excuse to waste a bit of dancing time looking pretty!) if the celeb is weak, or use more advanced if the celeb is strong and capable. I think all the male celebs would ruin their dance to save the lady pro if there was an error of judgement.

Drops are no more an issue than the showdance and this has been carried out successfully for the past 3 series! As for the leading issue, I think the judges already do consider that more - true they've not mentioned it this series as much as they have in the last but then the guys have been a lot stronger this year.

Nat
xxx

don't care about the problems
I LOVE THE AMERICAN SMOOTH IT IS FANTASTIC
that and the tango are my fav dances

Seems Mark may be the only one with a problem (aaarrrgh).

He and Matt Dawson are the 2 male celebs doing AS and as a strapping fit rugby player I don't think Matt will have to much bother picking up teeny Lilia..... Mark & Karen however are quite evenly matched height-wise so it might be a bit more difficult for them.

they had lifts in week 2 for the male celebs in the group dance come on Peter had Erin above his head and managed to get her down safely although i held my breath for a minute - im sure all the celebs will be great, the pros wont put themselves at risk i wouldnt have thought!

I recall Karen Hardy talking about the VW with Ballroom Bill from last year and their extra rotation coming out of the fleckle and facing the wrong direction . She said follow me and they ad lib'd the rest.

I wonder how often the skilled female pro can "lead" and can cover it up to make it look like they are not

More than you may think!

In Karen and Bills case, Karen had taught him the steps, not just a routine. So she could whisper in his ear the name of the step and when to change and he could do it.

As for lifts being done by the male celebs - the pro's could pick safer lifts, but I expect that Lilia will just go for it. I remember holding my breath when Darren Gough lifted her during their showdance, but the girl is totally fearless!

I can't see there being any over the head, one handed jobs for this is the American Smooth and the lift must fit in with the feel of the dance.

best lift was lat year colin and erin and the end as the lift was smooth clean fitted with the music and style and complimented erins dress
it looked magical

Actually Colin got the lift wrong in the American Smooth last year (Erin mentioned it on ITT). Perhaps that was why Erin didn't opt for an American Smooth freestyle with lifts as so many suggested that she should have opted for - she got a lot of flak for her choice of freestyle (and personally I didn't like their freestyle) but I can't blame her if she didn't want to risk injury

Really? Don't remember hearing that.

Yep, as I recall he was off balance and ended up staggering around rather than spinning on the spot with her as was intended, and she said afterwards she was slightly "yikes!" about it. So I found it odd that they used that lift as an "example" in Len's masterclass on ITT ~ although I suppose they had a limited amount to choose from as they only brought the AS in last year. But James' shoulder lift of Camilla was a great example, and was rightly praised by the judges as something that professionals find hard to master, so they could have showed that one instead

I wouldn't worry too much.

Mark is a professional cricketer and is required to keep very fit including weight training. He didn't get to be the country's top run scorer this year by having weak arms and shoulders!! I don't think he'll have trouble lifting Karen.