I didnt think much of his cha-cha-cha, but the judges loved it - he wasnt even moving much, saw him singing to the song mostly

I dont think he is good as ppl make him out to be

Tom is much better and you can see the dancer in him, esp the way he moves and he's got better, and he's kinda flexible with his body and moves while i dont think Austin has that certain rhythm which he should have by now if ppl thinks he's so good

What do you think?

I think you're probably right.

From my point of view, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I don't think his cha cha cha was the best dance he has done so far, but overall he is a good dancer.

I like Tom, and he is a good dancer, but he, like Austin, also makes mistakes (e.g. I agreed with Len and the pushing Camilla with the arm rather than leading her with the body - ahem I wouldn't have known what was wrong, but when Len said it I thought ah so that's the problem).

Overall, I have said it before, it is possible to like both of them even if one of them is your favourite. There have been quite a few threads on this already by the way.

I think Austin has wonderful footwork and has made improvements on his upper body. He'll never be perfect there for Latin because his physicality is the wrong build.

He performs very well most times and brings more personality to his dancing than many actual performers are able.

He's doing a good job and he should be in the final with either Tom or Rachel.

The char char char wasn't his best latin. His jive was tremendous, and that was in his second week. Easily the best jive ever done by a male celeb for me. I think a blanket statement of over rated on just ONE dance isn't quite fair. He has been consistently very very good.

I thought the Jive was his only good Latin, the Samba, Rumba & Cha Cha weren't great IMO.

I absolutely agree - his chacha was rubbish, really rubbish.

35 was at least 5 marks too high. And considering his rumba was similarly rubbish, he's showing serious weakness in Latin.

He's not done salsa has he? If he can't get Rumba or chacha, there's a good chance he'll struggle with that also.

I think Austin did brilliantly since he dislocated his finger half way through his Cha-Cha.

I think it was a decent car in its time.
Not overly reliable but what can you expect?

You beat me to it Lennie!

I'm usualy a fan of his work, but I was also underwhelmed by Austin's Cha Cha.

He looked somewhat lost at the start. It seemed to me that he'd forgotten his opening steps

I can't help feeling that he's being marked more on reputation than what he delivers on the night. Austin simply hasn't improved in the Latin disciplines.

It also became crystal clear that Tom (who I can't warm to sorry!) was a better mover when he and Austin danced alongside each other during the group dance. He has more natural ability, he's sharper, more on the beat, more expressive through his body and face.

So what have I concluded? That Tom is better but Austin is more likeable

Damn, wish I'd have thought of that.

I think that one of the reasons Austin isn't as good a dancer as Tom is that he lacks musicality and an innate sense of rhythm. You can get by without either in ballroom but not in Latin. Rachel, coming from singing, has both and Craig picked up on Lisa's extremely good sense of rhythm very early on. For me Tom, Rachel and Lisa are the real contenders. I hope Lisa's QS in the dance off reverses the trend of dismissing her.

I like Austin - but his hips were very stiff & none of the judges commented on that.
At first it seemed that he was good at every dance - but actually the Rumba & Cha Cha show his weaknesses.

Tom has much better hip action, but has less nifty feet. I think they're quite well matched in terms of strengths & weaknesses. I think Austin will win though.

[quote=Sid_1979;29001178]You beat me to it Lennie!

I'm usualy a fan of his work, but I was also underwhelmed by Austin's Cha Cha.

He looked somewhat lost at the start. It seemed to me that he'd forgotten his opening steps

I can't help feeling that he's being marked more on reputation than what he delivers on the night. Austin simply hasn't improved in the Latin disciplines.

It also became crystal clear that Tom (who I can't warm to sorry!) was a better mover when he and Austin danced alongside each other during the group dance. He has more natural ability, he's sharper, more on the beat, more expressive through his body and face.

So what have I concluded? That Tom is better but Austin is more likeable [/QUOTE]

But this is a dance competition. No I'm kidding, I'm a Austin supporter anyway. By the way, I forgot about his dislocated finger. If he just dislocated at the beginning, then good on him. I don't think I would produce any good dance with any pain, and you would have to get me on a stretcher and carry me off the dance floor.

Yes I admire Austin's courage for fighting the pain and getting through the routine.

However, the dislocated finger should have no bearing on the marks he was awarded - and worthy of 35 his Cha Cha was not! It certainly wasn't 8 points better than Christine's.

Hah but where did I say that it was worth a 35. Actually to be truthful, I'm not a great fan of the Cha Cha Cha. To much walking around, too little dancing. Both Christine's and Austin's routines didn't particularly wow me (compared to Jodie's for instance).

However, I don't know much about technique which is why I normally stay out of the comparison discussions. I can only say if I like a dance based on non-technical, weird Mon type of criteria (if that makes sense).

He leaves me underwhelmed. He is a good dancer but not a really good dancer. Not a patch on the likes of Mark Ramprakash, Colin Jackson.

Totally agree with you here Sid. Neither is a favourite of mine but I think Tom is better all-round. I still have a problem with the face-pulling though.

I think the problem with Austin is that he was over-hyped at the start and he can't quite measure up. That said, I think he is one of the strongest dancers in the competition. I find him more entertaining to watch than Tom,

I think his latin is overhyped, only the jive was any good really. The cha cha was awful imo. Tom is much better at latin but Austin definately has the edge on ballroom. I like them both though.

One thing I've liked about Austin's dancing is that - apart from the Rumba - he always gives himself 100 percent to the dance. There's always a strong performance element. I know he is in it to win it in a big way, but I get the feeling he genuinely loves dancing and isn't the least afraid to subvert his rugby image to put on a good show (which is why I liked his Cha Cha, though agree it was overmarked). And for me the closest we've had to a 'wow dance' this series was Austin and Erin's tango - it was very powerful.

In this series no-one seems to have succeeded in becoming good at both Latin & Ballroom.

I think Rachel has proved herself capable of both, but she doesn't have the support it seems

I have not been convinced by Austin's Latin. I agree he performed an extremely entertaining Jive but since then, his Latin has been below par and I feel that Tom has always had the edge. Saturday's Cha Cha looked odd to me. It appeared as if he had forgotten some of the steps and his timing looked slightly out. Latin doesn't seem to come naturally, again this could be because of his physique. I'm not a fan but I prefer to watch Tom than Austin. IMO Tom is more of an all rounder. I wasn't impressed by Austin's Tango. I didn't see what the judges saw. Technically it was very good, there were very complicated steps, executed excellently but what let it down for me was the performance. He looked so po-faced. I just didn't get it.
I think he was out danced by Tom in the group dance. Tom looked so much better and polished. I'm not a fan of either mainly because both of them smack of desperation to win, the over-competitiveness is not an attractive or appealing trait in either one of them.
Is Austin over-rated? I think on the Latin he is but for ballroom he is very good and I don't think he has been overmarked for his ballroom dances.

I'm agreeing with you again Sid.

I haven't seen anyone dispute her technical ability but her perceived lack of personality is reducing her support.