I don't know if this has come up before, so apologies if it's a repeat.

I've only just noticed that there's no American Swing or Viennese Waltz this year. They seem to have been replaced by the Jitterbug and Cuban Salsa.

Jitterbug???!!!

Oh no. I hate the Jitterbug with a passion! Salsa is fine - as proved last year and it is a dance people enjoy at many clubs. Viennese Waltz is lovely as a group dance, I feel. They will probably use it for that.

I love the grand music of the American Smooth (I assume you meant that not swing). Pity it's gone.

Jitterbug could perhaps mean as a pro demonstration? I know Ryan Francois and Jenny Thomas have danced it as a demonstration on this show before.

Yes, I did mean American Smooth. Was getting confused there with the thought of the Jitterbug swinging all over the place.

Hope you're right quacka - it'll be so far removed from the spirit of SCD if it's a competition dance.

The dances are here by the way:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedan...t/dances.shtml

Can a non-dancer ask what is the difference between the jitterbug and the jive, especially if you can't do lifts? Sorry if this is a really basic question!

Another tinkering with SCD!

I love the American Smooth and I quite liked the Vienesse Waltz too. Happy to have the Salsa but the jitterbug? Please no.

Don't even understand why they would put that in as they've got the jive and that's hard enough for some people to do.

Apart from discussing SCD the show, on these forums, I just love the way so many of the Forumites are so knowledgable about dancing itself.
I also dislike the Jitterbug and love the Viennnese Waltz for sheer old time romance. And the American Smooth too, I am sure we will still see these dances in a group or pro dance. I hope so!

OMG

Nooooooooooooooooooooo

I love the American Smooth - why have the cut it out

I notice the mambo has been added too, although admittedly that was done in a group dance on week one last year. Will miss the Viennese Waltz and American Smooth- are they trying to put in more Latin numbers for the ladies?

Aww noooo - I loved the AS and VW - why take out 2 of the nicest ballroom dances for more latin????

Hang on a sec, I've just remembered something. Wasn't AS left off last year's list of dances too? I seem to remember Jitterbug was on there and not AS, so it could be a simple copy-paste but they copied the wrong information!

hi there - I didn't realise they had taken the American Smooth out.......

I actually dislike this dance! I really don't know why! It just doesn't excite me!

maybe because I am not very good at doing it myself!

no I distinctly remember Matt's AS last year - it was one of his best dances!

I think you're right!

I hope it's a cut and paste error!

I fell in love with AS because I saw Matt and Lilia doing it last year and it changed my opinion of Matt from then on...

Please, don't take AS away!

As for Mambo, well, it's not a particularly difficult dance. I guess it can be fun to watch... *remembers Helio and Julianne's Mambo in DWTS*

And Jitterbug really look like bugs jittering around the dance floor. Not a pretty sight!

No, that's what I meant. AS was left off the list of dances, but was performed on the show, and similarly jitterbug was on the list and not performed on the show (I think it was a pro demo in season 3?). I think the website people have just copied the list from last year's website (which was a bit rubbish, it kept referring to season 4 as season 3 and spelled Anton's name three different ways) and not realised that it's wrong.

That's what I was thinking. Doesn't that make 4 Ballroom dances and 9 latin ones? Does that mean they're 'dumbing down' a bit, going for the more popular style? On the plus side, that's a possible 9 latin opportunities for Gethin mmmm

Judging from the cha-cha-cha and the boy's dance, Gethin has a LONG way to go to make those latin moves TBH.

I think I saw in the clips from ITT end credits that Camilla was making Gethin do a ballroom hold. I do think Gethin will look good in tail suits and, like Matt, will excel in ballroom if he survives long enough in the competition... It's likely Gethin is doing Tango this Saturday...

Oh WOW the Argentine Tango has been added aswell!!!

glad the AT has been added and not that bothered about the Viennese Waltz, which is quite dull

I loved the American Smooth - Colin and Erin were the first I saw doing it and it was, in the words of CRH 'AMAZING'

Yup, I watched Colin's AS in youtube and was smiling from ear to ear, like this:

I like the VW because it's so hard to do well and I think it's a good test of the ballroom abilities to keep in hold with good posture for the whole thing.
The AS is good to watch too with the added lift excitement.

[quote=quackaquacka;18713790]No, that's what I meant. AS was left off the list of dances, but was performed on the showQUOTE]

yeah i realised that is what you meant after i pressed submit reply! sorry!! silly me

Yes, VW is always used in the finals for that very reasons. In this dance, because of the 'spinning' (don't know the technical term), one has the tendency to jut (esp. the head) foward. Also the spinning will test the dancers' ability to maintain the hold upwards and still keep a good, long posture of the back.

To exclude this would be a mistake. Yes, it's challenging to choreograph this dance but there are memorable ones last year, Maren's VW came to mind.

Incidentally, Gabby Logan was in the audience last year when Mark and Karen performed their VW and she seemed to support their dance. Not that it matters...

Also, when asked who she would like to be paired with, she said because of her height, Brendan. Bruce suggested Ian but she didn't seem to like him as much as Brendan. Then Bruce, the ad-lib king, said: You like three months of purgatory, don't you?

I'm not going to be able to explain this but I really think there is some trans-atlantic BBC planning going on. DWTS are doing the Vienesse Waltz for the first time.

Some British celebrities on the US version. Some US based celebrities on SCD. Some pro dancers who are known on both continents.

Totally speculative, but watch this space.