If everbody still there is assigned the waltz in week 11,
then nobody does the waltz before then, just as with AT.
I don't see any great objection in doing the waltz twice, but whatever.

LOL! ... thanks! ... can't see it beling implimented any time soon ... shows like this are about entertainment, not so much about being fair ... oh well!

... I think the point is that nobody would who left before the two dance stage would do any of the dances saved for the later stage ... in the earlier stages people would do the other dances in whichever order made for an interesting show ...

Yes I suspect variety is probably the motivation. But SCD has attracted fanatical following like Man Utd v Liverpool, and fairness of competition assumes ever greater importance. Two pupils sitting GCSE would not expect to be assigned two different exam papers.

There is also an advantage is seeing 6 rumbas on the same night, is that you see a range of techniques and interpretations, so that the newcomer gets to understand the idea of the dance better, and to decide for herself what she prefers. Like shopping to personal preference.

oh ok, well I suppose that would work

it really is far to difficult to judge a salsa vs a VW, and even more so when they are all doing different dances

Soulmate and Emma, I dont know who I like best, but your making so much sense, I am applauding you both! Keep going, we might get some kind of consensus emerging.

For my money, keeping just two dances aside for the semi-final stage seems best, allowing them to switch the others for variety upto that point.

Definitely apples for me. Chopped up and smothered in yoghurt is a favourite of mine.

Bizarrely I've never mastered peeling oranges and it puts me off eating 'em.

I'd rather every couple did the same dance(s) in the same week, personally.

Thanks Serenity77
Miraculous that a thread has lasted this long without a brawl. I think the brawlers are exhausted from last night and are now sleeping it off.

True, true. I'm giving my knuckles a rest.

It's really hard to compare two different dances ... even the judges don't seem able to do it ... it's quite clear that every week one dance is danced better by everyone than the other dance ... so far as I see the only reason to mix up the dances is to make for a more exciting show for the casual viewer ... but that's TV for you!

Emma: exactly! it's bad enough with two dances! (and I think some of the combinations need to be rethought, ie is it really fair to have salsa vs VW or paso vs foxtrot??)


I think it would make sense, but also think it would be difficult in some ways - for example, if VW was early on, 10 VWs in one night COULD be soul destroyingly dull as only a few stand out as really wow.

I did definitely prefer the older system when the dances were less muddled up (as I recall) so even if there were two different dances on any given night, you had some frame of reference, where I think that everyone doing something different is just confusing.

Also it makes it difficult to compare dances across weeks - especially when the judges have done so much comparative rather than absolute marking (I'm sure there are a good few tens out there that only appeared because "it was better than that dance I marked as a 9). so a 36 dance one week might in terms of absolute quality be comparable to a 32 the next or a 39 the previous week, if you follow my meaning. Partly a result of overmarking too much and way too soon, but it makes the points a bit meaningless when compared from different weeks and impossible to compare with other series.

LOL! ... good luck with that consensus! ... of course, I'm sure we could all agree that there is a better way of doing it than the current method! ... well, still not sure I'd like to put money on it!

LOL! ... I didn't stay up for the spoilers (always try to avoid reading them!) ... but it was pretty heated even before then!

10 VW's in a row would kill the show! ... but they could save that for a week with just a few couples dancing two different dances ... actually they only had 4 in a show this year, and that was plenty!

After 5 years SCD viewers are more knowledgeable and less casual now. They now view the dances and support their candidates like their lives depend on it.

I take it Sarah with the Flute is piping on about inflation. Gordon Brown who watches SCD can advise that inflation can be curbed by restricting the Money Supply. After awarding one 10 this paddle shall be confiscated from said judge.

That's true for the majority of viewers, but so far as I can tell the show is still picking up more viewers (I've only been watching since last year) and I imagine that the producers are still interested in enticing more people to the show, and that's easier with variety ... and of course pandering to the die-hard viewers isn't really going to help them ... we will watch whatever, then come and discuss every aspect of it including the faults which only really become talking points getting us more obsessed!

... but yes, I think it would be easier for us, the dancers and the judges if they all danced the same dance each week ...

Bring back Keynesianism. I've had enough monetarism to last me an economic cycle.

Yes, pros and cons. Somewhere a balance needs to be struck.

Having 3 ATs on the same night might have made it boring, but in the event 3 very different interpretations were offered. I suggest viewers formed a better idea who did well, and appreciated the richness of ideas.

I'm so glad there are others who think they should dance the same dance each week. I'm a relative latecomer to the show (half way through last series) but have thought this right from the start of this series when I started watching properly. I thought I was only one who thought this as I hadn't seen anyone else say it! There are plenty of flaws with the competition, many that can't be helped and have to be accepted. But this to me is a major major flaw and one that can be addressed.

And just to keep everyone happy they could keep the same ordering of celebs everyweek, just moving them along one position each week! Is not that hard BBC.

in series 2 I remember, not sure about series 3, all male celebs did the same dance and female celebs the same, at least for the early stages?

I'd vote for only 2 of the same dances, perhaps mix up the celebs , so that some of the women and men do each of the dances.

Doing the waltz (or any dance) twice would require a rejigging of the format, as there isn't a "gap" - either a dance would have to go, or have 3 dances in semis... or whatever!


Yeah - or make it a group dance as I believe it initially was (though we have had a few memorable solo VW's)


HAH! I LOVE it!

I did suggest earlier in the series that the 10 paddles should be confiscated from all the judges for several weeks, and one should be kept on standby for if it was REALLY needed!


You've hit the nail on the head, methinks - they're interested in attracting as many viewers as possible, and are doing it by offering what they know will get casual viewers watching.

LOL. The argy-bargy over the last 24 hours reminded me of nothing less than the endless rows over the union block vote that effectively meant 5 people (most of them called Len ) effectively decided the Labour Party leadership in the '80s

Also. Is there a thread anywhere that will attempt a simple explanation of how you can possibly compare the technical difficulties of a lady's AT with a gent's somewhat less arduous routine?

I have seen two threads imbedding numerous links to AT including the verbal descriptions you seek. If you search, advanced search, for "argentine" in the title, in SCD forum you should find them.


Anyone with views on whether a change of dance syllabus in the latter stages would improve fairness of adjudication and reduce disagreement, please contribute.

Later this thread will be emailed to Splash@SplashMediaTV.co.uk and Claudia.