I agree that Austin has been over-rated, for quite a few times now. Don't think it'd do him any good if him and Tom are in the final. But if they're in bottom two then Tom is in touble, just like Gethin Jones in last series.

Wonder how spit the judges would be if it was Tom and Austin in the dance off.
I always get the feeling from Austin that he's not really that connected.

Tom is the way better dancer here so in a dance-off i would expect Tom to go through esp if their was a dance-off between them on the dances they did on Sat, Tom would have aced it

I didn't like Austen's tango - mainly because of the faces he was pulling. I think he trying to look masterful but actually he looked very peculiar. In my opnion he is a good dancer but I hope he doesn't win it as he doesn't seem to be able to loose himself in the dance and appears to be a little bit robotic.

I find the faces Tom pulls to be weird........

^ i didnt like the Paso Doble face, but it does make me laugh

Tom still looks flat-footed to me even though he has been critiqued on it to death.

I agree that Tom is better than Austin. You only have to look at the Group Saturday Night Fever.

After 10 weeks, I would hope we wouldnt compare on just one dance

Behind the scenes I am preferring Tom to Austin, yet there is just something about the little guy when he gets on the dancefloor. It isnt always quantifiable, but whatever it is Tom doesnt have it for me.

PS After this week's Cha Cha's I went to YT and watched Rampsies Week 1 Cha Cha to remind myself that yes, it really is a "dance." From this years performances we'd all be forgiven for thinking otherwise

This is the first time we've seen them side by side and been able to make a direct comparison. It did Austin no favours. Sorry but the little guy doesn't have it for me. I wouldn't say Tom had it either but I prefer to watch his dancing.

Hi guys.........i'm a latin dancer myself and my opinion is that Tom has become a much better dancer and is getting better each week....Austin does have the likeability factor and the body to go with it tho

In a thread about Christine ("can she win?" or some such nonsense ) I did mention that the 2 dances a week might be Austin's undoing...he seemed to spend all of that group dance trying to remember the next step and didnt perform to his usual standard in his own dance either.

I do not think Tom is "better" than Austin as such, it just seems that Austin needs more time to get to the level he can perform at. If this week wasnt just a glitch, then I would definately expect Tom to go further in the comp.

What about footwork salsa? Im NOT a dancer but can see that Austin is lighter on his feet by a mile. It looks much prettier for want of a more appropriate word.

Austin is much lighter on his feet but his arms will let him down in latin where as Tom maybe a bit heavier foot wise but he does have a good latin sway in his hips and arms.

To be honest most of the people left in the show could win it this year as there's not a defo one that shines through.
I also teach dancing and Lisa & Rachael are doing a fab job too.

Thanks salsa. I too think the Lisa and Rachel are giving the lads a run for their money. I still think Austin will win (though dont think he would be my personal choice).

Coming into this a bit late but I wondered if I was watching the same dance when I heard the comments. Distinctly lacklustre I though. Was it under choreographed as well? I much prefered Christine's. Jodie and Austin were bottom of my leader board I'm afraid.

So Christine well undermarked and Austin overmarked but no problem with the others. For all the criticism she gets Rachel's foxtrot was captivating. To hold your attention like that, with a dance that will always lack the wow factor, was outstanding.

I agree that Austin's dance was lacklustre which was partly due to the choreography. Erin doesn't have Matt Cutler's flair in that department as far as Latin is concerned. Austin did dance better technically than Christine but it was confined to his feet. Christine alternated between being rather stiff and what Craig has described as 'ragdollish'. The dance itself did have some 'Wow' moments but that was largly down to Matt's choreography.

Apart from Tom's faces, which I guess he cant help !.....I think he is by far the better dancer...

Just watching the group dance routine on Sunday, Tom looked much much better than Austin......I almost felt it was a bit embarrassing for Austin when they were dancing together, he looked so wooden in comparison

still, I expect he will win, seems like its been geared for him to win since about week 4

I'm enjoying both Tom and Austin's dancing this series, but although I'm no expert I would've thought that if Tom is a little better in the Latin, then Austin for me certainly shades it in the ballroom. I think a case in point is the tango - I totally agreed with the judges on Saturday when they said Tom was tending to lead Camilla with his arms rather than his whole upper body, and I think this tendency is there in all Tom's ballroom dancing. Sometimes watching Tom I feel it can be too frenetic, which may also have something to do with Camilla's style of choreography, of which I've never been a huge fan.

In comparison, I thought Austin's tango was excellent - his frame and footwork looked superb to me, and I thought he was in complete control in that dance. Plus he and Erin looked great and danced to proper tango music, which I know is cosmetic but it always sways me anyway. If Austin is to improve at this late stage in the Latin, Erin may be advised to call in a Latin specialist for some coaching. Still, they do have that jive up their sleeves should they get to the final - that does have the potential to be a 'wow' dance.

Well according to the message he's left on the BBC forum he's already learnt his two dances for this week (paso and foxtrot) so he seems to be coping fine so far!

Also, from his own words...

If, of course, you believe that is Austin!

Well if it suddenly turns out he's doing different dances I guess we'll know

Just wanted to have my twopenn'th on this. I agree that his cha cha seemed a bit over marked, but he seemed to perform it quite well. The routine was a bit pants though and I blame the choreography for that (sorry Erin).
For the rest, he's doing a good job as far as I can see, admittedly with no expert knowledge.

Comparing his and Tom's tangos for example you can see that Tom was leading with his arms whereas Austin for me did possibly the best male tango ever on SCD. He really led Erin.
I agree that Tom has the edge in latin but Austin's not that bad - good jive and I thought his samba had bounce (not many guys have ever managed that, only Ramps for me was any good at it) and rumba had some very nice lines and I thought he performed it well. It wasn't nearly as cringey as Ramps's rumba (sorry fans) and although far from perfect (hips needed work etc) he did a good job and again, not many men have done well at the rumba.

So I feel his latin is improving, which is more entertaining as it gives him room for a breakthrough. Much better than being universally praised like Rachel (who's foxtrot I do think over-rated, but that's a different thread). And his ballroom is easily one of the best we've ever seen - only Colin, Matt Dawson and later on in the comp Gethin have had such a good hold before and been so good at leading. Would be interesting to be able to directly compare with some of them (probably again another thread!).