Firstly I thought it was great to see some actual choreography with fun instead of the rubber stamp rhumba that we usually get for the musical guest!

Loved that they had three girls and two boys to make it interesting.

Just wondered if anyone else agrees, Karen danced with Brian twice tonight and I thought they were really good together, They both have the same really expressive faces when they dance and looked really good, they stole that second dance for me.

I thought her and Matt were a bit of a mismatch, and now that I think of it, Hayley would go well with Matt as they are both long and lean. (if she's back next year)

What did everyone else think?

My favourite two dancers by a long way.

I always hoped they would dance together and now they have.

And they were as sensational as I thought.

I thought all the pro dances tonight were brilliant. The routine to Estelle was different and interesting, and I thought karen was good dancing with Brian.

Also loved Darren and Lilias latin medley which was fabulous. And the quickstep too was amazing, so fast and intricate.

I congratulate all the pros on all the wonderful routines they have produced for the show this year. Whoever we support in particular, I am sure most of us would commend them for their hard work they put in to make the shows so great. The pro dances are the highlight of Strictly for me really.

I couldnt agree more alfie.

I've been really impressed with the pro dances this year, and I'm loving the mix they have now, with the different professionals dancing with others outside their normal pro partnership...

Yeah I agree it's nice to see them mixed up, although most of them I like best with their original partner.

I love that too, mixes it up a little.

I've missed Matt and Nicole this year, I always loved their Rumba, and they seemed to have such rapport when they danced, effortless and beautiful. But I have enjoyed Brian and Kristina this year in the pro dances, and tonight, Brian with Karen.

There have been some good pro dances this year they have been weaker than the two previous series.

Probably the loss of Matt and Nicole dancing

I don't know why she's not on Strictly this year. Though she has been landed with some real duffs, with the exception of Barnesy.

I loved it - but I always love the pro dancing. Tonight's two pro dances (Darren & Lilia - ace - and the mixed up one) were no exception.

I especially loved Vincent and Flavia last week.

I thought all the girls and Karen in particular, looked like they were truly enjoying themselves in that dance. I do like the Karen & Brian pairing, hope they get together again in the next couple of weeks.

Will advise Matthew to quit programme if they try to put Hayley Holt anywhere near him though I highly doubt she will be back

Bring back Nicole, Matthew should have his dancing partner back..........

lets try not to let this thread go sour!! or only about certain people!

I loved the dances on Sunday, really original and I loved the American Boy routine, and the faux rivalry between Brian and James, it was a laugh.


The pros all do a great job and work so hard. They don't get enough credit sometimes, but they've been excellent this season

I don't agree with this one (sorry). Hayley with Matthew would not be a good combination. I love MC but this would be boring to watch, she is too tall for any of the pro's apart from Ian maybe, and anyway Matthew works better with someone who has fire and spirit which is sadly missing in her dancing (IMHO)

Unless Nicole is back (which is unlikely given the newspaper "Doddery" article) then I would put him with Kristina, especially after having been paired on the tour and so having built up a dancing relationship. Also she is light and small enough to do some amazing lifts/spins with (like Nicole was). I would really like to see the two blond bombshells next week actually, both being the last two pros out, they have time on their hands to give us a taster of the tour!

I agree that Karen and Brian were great together. I didn't really consider it before, but they go well together (assuming she comes back next season). A 'toy-boy'pro pairing lights her fire which is always when she dances the best. I was also impressed with the relative ease of how he picked her up and spun her!

Then this leaves Brendan for next year. Well hopefully they will have a new pro (bit shorter please!) In a way, it is a shame as I have missed him in the pro dances the last few years. Personality wise I range between loving and hating him, but have a really high regard for his skill and would love to see more from him with another pro.

Have to also say - loved Anton and Flavia together again. Although of course she is electric with Vincent, there is something so charming about Anton and her in ballroom. It brings out his cheeky side, dancing with "another" woman!

I am also loving the routines more this year - with more original choreography, (not just the tried and tested) and interactions with one another. Bring on more of the mix 'n matching between the pro's - It really works well.

why don't you think Hayley will be back ? what did she do so wrong?
i liked Hayley, i think she did the best she could with Mark.

I think the group dances to start with this year didn't work so well- having eight couples on the floor was just too much, and I thought the choreography for both the Foxtrot and the AS was quite bland. But they worked so much better once they started having four or five couples instead, and the male/female imbalances have generally worked really well.

I feel a bit sad that we haven't had as many standout fast latin routines- the Rumba was beautiful and the retro Jive was fun, but the two I really remember from last year were the Jive and the latin medley. I wish in particular we could have a standard Jive with Matt and Karen tearing up the floor. When I first heard they were paired together I really looked forward to them jiving together, but although they were in the retro Jive they didn't do an awful lot in their solo spot.

One thing I have loved this year have been the showcase routines, Darren and Lilia's yesterday were the highpoint of the series. As a D&L fan I was quite disappointed to see them both out so early, so it was lovely to have a couple of minutes of just them dancing. I wish more of the pros would do them- I don't want to volunteer them for a lot of extra work though!

Really agree with the bits in bold Katie I thought most of the ballroom has been very bland especially having the Foxtrot then a Foxtrot/QS based dance for both the American Smooth and the Wartime dance - very repetitive. The routines are not standing out as much as last year's did - I also loved Camilla's Chicago routine.

There needs to be more fast Latin, the paso this year was fabulous but wasn't too keen on the retro Jive - my fave pro dance ever was last year's so it had a lot to live up to!

I'm hoping we get a Cutler-choreographed pro routine soon! and yes a Jive showdance from him and Karen would be great. Basically anything involving any pro couple other than Vincent and Flavia would be great

As for last night's show thought Estelle Cha Cha was great but the QS a bit barmy at times! The James v Brian was fun and all the girls' dresses were gorgeous. I was actually surprised at how well Brian and Karen worked together but please, no Hayley anywhere near Matthew!
Last edited by Chauncy : 01-12-2008 at 09:07

Now that Matt and Karen are both out, maybe a showdance is a possibility- I just think it would be fabulous. Or even Matt and Kristina. Agree not Hayley though!

This week will probably be V&F demonstrating the AT ready for next week, and I agree they have had too much exposure this year. Just in show dances alone- they had that one with the weird ending, the comedy Anton/Erin/Vincent/Flavia, the fabulous Milonga, and probably an AT as well. Added to that they have been in group dances and music act performances every week- it's just too much. It would be nice if all the pro couples could do one showdance, not sure how feasible that is though.

I thought Brian and Karen worked well together (which is weird as normally I run a mile from Karen's gurning) - but I can't work out why Karen's partnership with Matthew hasn't looked as good. Brian and Matthew have similar styles, they're similar heights etc. - what's the thing I'm missing?

I'm guessing much of it is the pros being told 'right, you're dancing this week and doing this' so I'm sure it isn't V&F's fault - the Beeb are certainly getting their money out of them! I'm also biased as I'm not a particular fan of Flavia's - the Milonga is the only dance of hers I've ever liked as there were no ugly lifts almost going wrong involved! I don't see why they can't get the current AT champions in to do the showdance next week, it's not as if V&F are the only dancers in the world able to do it!

Re: Karen and Matt together, to be fair we haven't really seen enough of them 'solo' to get a good enough idea. They were great in the Pro Rumba but in other dances the camera is on them for so little time it's hard to gauge. I wouldn't say Brian and Matthew have similar styles, though, Brian is much 'looser' for want of a better word! Perhaps K&B are more suited style-wise, although I would have thought there would be too much of a difference technique-wise between them for them to work well together?

I will have to admit it was the first pro dance this year that I didn't enjoy, I can't really say why, but it seemed a little disjointed to me. I did like Darren and Lilia's spot.

I agree with most of the comments, I have warmed to Flavia more as she seems to show more warmth when paired with Anton (not that i don't adore the partnership with Vincent), Darren and Lilia pulled out the stops and about time too, a great dance.
I missed Kristina, but Karen and Brian I thought was a very good combo.

Yep. I thought dancing with Brian brought out the best in Karen. This hasn't been a good series for her. If it's true she's leaving, I hope she re-considers.

I loved Darren and Lilia's samba and the dance to Estelle, although it was a little repetitious at times. Wasn't mad about the quickstep, particularly James and Ola's entrance. I agree that Brian and Karen looked good together but please keep Hayley far far away from Matthew Cutler, she's so far off his ability level it's not even funny. I'd really like to see Matt and Karen showcase a jive next week, it'd be good to see someone different doing the showcase dance. Agree that we're likely to see Vincent and Flavia yet again though