Is Pro Tristan MacManus Returning For Dancing With The Stars Season 20?
What a Christmas present it would be to see pro Tristan MacManus return to do Dancing With The Stars in Season 20, eh? Thanks to Gail for the heads up on this news from the Grimsby Telegraph….
He said he had appeared on six seasons of the American version of Strictly Come Dancing – Dancing With The Stars – and will be returning there in the new year.
“We will see how that goes,” he said.
He is also hoping to be back on Strictly Come Dancing next year.
“Strictly is huge here,” said Tristan. “I have been very lucky in that I have had a chance to work as a dancer.”
To read the full story, see Grimsby Telegraph.
With Louis, Kym, and now Tristan all talking about coming back – sounds to me like TPTB might be doing something like a troupe, but made up of some of our old favorites…
I loved him on DWTS and I loved him on Strictly so it would be fun to see him come back here to the US and then be in the UK again 😀
Maybe this time he’ll get a good partner. One that can last for a few weeks preferable 😛
Tristan and possibly Kym….is is a Christmas miracle? 🙂 Just kidding..sort of. Those two have been sorely missed on DWTS and I would be THRILLED if one or both came back.
If this is a troupe of dancing with the Stars past, I will be very very happy. asblong as he is back in good.
It’s truly fascinating, isn’t it! I can’t wait to see what’s up!
Hoping that it is for the Troupe and they are not dropping some of the current pros to bring these guys/gals back. I wouldn’t mind if Tristan was a pro instead of Artem or Val or Tony though.
Oh I hope it’s more than being a troupe. Otherwise he’d do better to stay in the UK (just my opinion.) He’s on the Strictly tour, all around England, partnering the champion of this past season’s show, and he also doing one of the Strictly-themed cruises. But troupe’s better than nothing I guess – but if it’s a troupe, I hope he’s back on Strictly next summer (they do one season per year – August to December) instead of back here, in a troupe, for the long haul.
Wow. This Anniversary season is going to be amazing. I’m so excited.
Tristan was also on the Christmas special of Strictly tonight and danced a beautiful viennese waltz with past runner-up Rachel Stevens. It was a Peter Pan/Tinkerbell inspired routine. They were given two 10s and two 9s.
Gitte already beat me to it but Tristan had probably my favorite scd contestant ever in the Christmas special and did really awesome. My friends in England sent me videos from their phones and besides the commentary from them, Rachel and Louis were amazing in the entire special (Louis is the guy that won with flavia I think 2 seasons ago and was kinda amazing with aliona in this time around and he made aliona a hell of a lot more likeable). This should be perfect proof that Tristan should be given better partners in general (but given strictly’s love for certain pros…..Kevin and pascha come to mind off the bat…….I kinda wonder if strictly will keep giving him the Anton treatment.) anyways, back to my point lol. They did great.
Awesome Vin! Thanks for more information on it.
Agree with Vin, I mean, some first-time pros of Strictly got great partners already in their first season (Artem, Aljaz, Pasha, Kevin too to some extent), yet Tristan got 50-year old Jennifer, despite him being already popular from DWTS. I’m hoping that’s not a sign of him to be the successor of Anton (who keeps getting hideous partners every single season).
Speaking about Strictly, I’m happy that Caroline won but seriously, the moment Jake was eliminated I knew it’s going to be her (or Kevin’s partner). If the final three was Caroline, Pixie and Jake (with Simon closing the finalist nicely), the race would’ve been much more interesting, I’d be even happier for Caroline to win, and I didn’t have to endure that thing called Kevin even longer. Sigh. It happened, good for Pasha for finally winning and again, at least it’s not Kevin (who’s his partner again?)
@daniel: agreed. Anton gets the worst one every season and literally is a great sport about it but I would love nothing more than to see him get somebody good for once too. Throw a not so good dancer Kevin and Brendan’s way instead. Kevin had Frankie, who really for as good as she was was boring as hell to watch most of the time. Caroline reminded me of in a weird way because you could tell the judges liked her the best out of the bunch and if she got any other pro, i feel like she would have had a better freestyle/show dance. I hate to say it but all of the show dances were off to me. Mark’s had more running around than dancing, Frankie basically had a quickstep, Caroline’s was kinda like janel and Val’s, and Simon had the misfortune of just doing great at the right moment (I think week 6 on) but not having the viewer votes so he was kinda a non factor. In a way, if jake made the final 4, I think he would have given Caroline a run for her money. And this maybe was something that just bothered me but the eliminated contestant group dance was really odd. Like more odd than usual. I thought the previous season’s was odd with the flying carpet and chatty chitty bang bang car but I will take those over awkward thom and Judy arriving on a balloon any day.
Side note, I am glad that I am not the only one that finds Kevin to be annoying. Other than the killer suits they give him, I really can’t find anything likeable about him other than the fact that his paso dobles and jives are fun to watch.
Oh come ON! Jake may be the most overpimped contestant ever on the British version. He didn’t learn to dance. His technique was truly pitiful for nearly every dance, including Samba and Charleston. I’d admit that his hip action and butt were very impressive, but ignore them for a moment, and focus on his arms, legs and feet. All wrong. And Len still gave him 10s for both. Besides, I found him the antithesis of sexy and actually kinda gross with his bizarre facial expressions, and arrogant to boot. I nearly cried with sadness when Pixie, who was one of the most captivating and versatile dancers the show has ever had, left but I cheered a lot when Jake followed.
Jake wasn’t exactly the perfect dancer but Caroline was definately overscored too. This season literally was the season of the over scoring for sure but the pimpage of Caroline, Frankie, and jake made it all the better when mark came out of nowhere though.
@Daniel, Vin, Mr A-
Interesting points here – Anton was given a potential contender last in series 7 with Laila Rouass – but a combination of things including Anton’s… lack of proficiency in the latin american styles meant that she didn’t really get as good as she could have. Since then, he’s been given the older, less proficient dancers as a whole, but he’s bought into that role just as much himself – I think it’s a position which needs to be filled, and I’m not sure I’m particularly interested in Anton taking someone with decent potential.
I’m no fan of Kevin either – he overdances and doesn’t do very good choreography at all – but Susanna was really pretty bad even if she did make the final, so I’m not sure he’s had an easy time in comparison with Pasha, who’s had three good partners out of four. Kevin, his even worse sister and his fiancée aren’t going anywhere though, I’m sure!
Showdances on SCD universally haven’t been very good since the show was revamped following series 7 – and I disagree with Vin in that I actually think Caroline and Pasha’s was probably one of the best ones since then (bearing in mind that SCD doesn’t have contemporary and showdances aren’t the same thing as freestyles on DWTS in terms of their importance etc.)
I did spend most of the SCD final kind of hoping it was Pixie, Caroline and Jake I was watching, though. I don’t think Frankie, Simon or Mark should have been anywhere near the final, and I’d rather have watched Jake, flawed though he might have been, then any of those three who were dull at best and downright bad at worst.
Back on topic, I wouldn’t at all be concerned about Tristan being put into the “Anton” role on Strictly just yet – last year Janette Manrara was given a no-hoper for her first partner, but she had Jake this year making the semi-final (whereas Anya Garnis had a semi-finalist in her first year last year and was dropped from the pro roster for this series). Given that Tristan’s had the popular Rachel Stevens for the Christmas special and will be taking Caroline Flack on the tour, I think he’ll be OK if he does return.
@lea: I think Kevin’s sister needs to go for sure. Karen has grown on me. Her first season with Nicky was brutal becuase he was really trying and it was like she didn’t know the right balance but then they gave her the biker guy and she had a blast with him. Mark is her best partner yet and as much as I hate to say it she really made him into a dancer. as for Anton, I agree he has adapted to his role on the show but then again maybe they will make him a judge one day when one of the guys retires or even give him the interview show they do at some point. I just feel bad for the guy becuase he is a lot of fun to watch and most of the time his partner doesn’t last too long.
As for Kevin, I kinda feel like you do that he overdoes it a lot of the time and the dances are either really good or just meh. It’s funny becuase when they introduced him and aliaj on the show I thought “this Kevin guy seems more fun” but since then it’s turned into “Kevin needs to bring it from a ten to a 5”. Aliaj on the other hand just pretty much has had this tough but chill attitude. Kinda like Derek.
@Vin I don’t mind Karen – I don’t think she’s great, but she annoys me a lot less than some of the others. I do think Mark was by far the weakest finalist for at least five years, though.
With Anton – well he’s a decade older than any of the other male pros on the show. There were a lot of rumours that he was being groomed to replace Bruce when he left the main show, but in the end the more natural choice of promoting Tess and bringing in Claudia was probably for the best. I think possibly after some of the unpleasantness about some of the language he used towards a woman of colour a few years ago, he’s probably quite happy to still be involved in *any* capacity, to be honest – though that might be water under the bridge for a lot of viewers now.
Yes, I want Tristan back…this time TPTB need to give him a partner who Val always gets 🙂 I want to see and enjoy Tristan’s choreography.
Tristan joined SCD specifically because he wanted to be closer to home. So he was given a contestant from Ireland. Which meant they could train at home. Personally I thought it was a nice touch from producers. I think next year he may get someone better. Aliona did with Harry Judd and went on to win so Tristan may be similar.
I didn’t like Jake either but you have to admire how well TPTB buried him in the semi finals as he was the only one that wasn’t on the tour. First on the bill and low scores. I made a load of money on him being eliminated. TPTB on DWTS responsible for carrying Janel to the final would have been proud of that one. When it comes to manipulation both the US & UK are as bad as each other. Saying that I liked Caroline so I wasn’t bothered about her being pushed for the win. Having watched the US version seriously this season with the UK version it must be said that the standard of choreography and dancing on the US is much higher. I couldn’t realistically see anyone make the move to DWTS other than potentially Aljaz or Aliona.
Oh and you are not alone in disliking Kevin. My lord, don’t get me started on him and his fiancee. I’d be willing to cut his sister a bit of slack though. She is the world ballroom showdance champion to be fair. I don’t mind Janette that much either. I bet she’d love to go the way of Artem and move to DWTS. She has a long way to go before they’d consider asking her though.
Kevin became a little more like able in my eyes this week. Someone said that he is very into wwe and sent me a link to his Twitter. He really loves his wrestling lol. I thought I was bad screaming at the TV when watching (but when dwts is on, www raw goes to the dvr for immediately after lol) but even I don’t go all out like that.
Wow, I’m missing a lot!
I, for one, definitely think Jake, Caroline and Pixie were the best contestants of SCD 2014, and I prefer Jake way more than Mark, Frankie and Simon combined. If anything, he’d be my runner-up last season, because I think he deserved it. Of course my winner was Pixie, as one of you stated before she is one of the most versatile dancers this show has ever seen (perhaps the most since, I don’t know, Alesha? Kara?), I enjoyed every single dance she danced, no exception. And her Amsterdam Viennese Waltz is my single favourite dance of the season.
As much as I love her, Caroline was overscored though during the finals. First of all, I have no idea what’s so special about her Istanbul Charleston. For me that’s a straight 9 at best (okay perhaps one or two tens would do), and imho it’s definitely inferior to season 11’s best Charleston, Sophie’s. And like Vin, her showdance was way too similar to Janel’s for my liking, and none of those lifts were groundbreaking or anything. Executed nicely, but not all that for me. For me her Cha-cha was her best dance during the finals, and the only one remotely deserving of those 40s they thrown at her. Her salsa deserved 40 though. But AGAIN, at least it’s not freaking Kevin. I’d rather see Kristina win than him any day.
And now about Anton – yeah really sad about him. One good Laila Rouass and that’s it. Remember his time Ann Widdecombe? And if that’s true about Tristan then nice of the producers, but I’m so hoping he’d get a Pixie for next season. And I think the pros getting the best celebs need to be rotated evenly each season – Aljaz gets Allison Hammond after winning with Abbey after all. If Kevin and Pasha gets someone at Frankie and Caroline-level again then I’d be so bummed, not because I hate them (okay I can’t stand Kevin at all), but I want to see them with someone with lesser abilities, since Suzanna and Rachel weren’t terrible for me.
Pixie’s elimination bugged me to this very day. I mean, okay if she got a Sabrina Bryan treatment and was eliminated purely because of the votes combined, but she was eliminated at the hands of the judges, who had nothing but praise for her every week (her worst score after week 1 was 32, for God’s sake!). She also had the highest average, the most highest-scoring dances of the week, even winning the Waltz marathon that very same week, and yet she got eliminated anyway. I heard she and Jake were eliminated back to back because they won’t be on the tour and they wouldn’t bothered to put both of them to the finals, was that true? Because that seems plausible to me.
@M8
I think Aliona’s pretty consistently one of the worst choreographers on SCD, so I’d be thrilled if she moved over to DWTS! In all honesty, I don’t think its better or worse, but completely different styles – I don’t think any of the current DWTS pros would fit into SCD except possibly Emma who nearly joined last year and of course Artem who was successful over here. I like both shows, but they feel *totally* different to me that straight comparisons like that don’t really make much sense to me.
@Daniel
Intestingly I agree with you on most things – except I’d say Caroline’s cha cha was probably her weakest dance in the final – though I admit the Charleston suffered from not having the backing dancers from its first performance. Neither Pixie nor Jake are on the tour, no, but that’s just a silly conspiracy theory – both Pixie and Jake had comparatively weak weeks when they were eliminated and while I don’t at all agree with the decisions the judges made personally, they weren’t massive upsets (as in people seem split over whether Simon was better than Pixie in the dance off and it’s not like Jake was knocked out in lieu of Scott or Judy).
Back on the topic of Anton, he’s made the semi final twice and quarter finals once – and there’s certainly a school of thought that you’d be wasting a talented dancer on him. If he’s happy in his role – and its a role that SCD sort of needs filling lest it becomes too po-faced – I say carry on.
Okay, that also seemed plausible. I, too, find that Simon danced a liiiitle bit better than Pixie during the dance off, but overall Pixie > Simon tbh. I guess I just don’t like the dance off because it can send home the best dancers if they didn’t dance better or well enough during the dance off. And really? I really like Caroline’s Cha-cha, so to each his own I guess. But the truly 40-worthy dance of the season was Simon’s AT, imo.
Good if Anton likes his role now, but I want to see him getting good partner at once. I don’t think Brendan is at Anton level though, at least he got Lisa, Kelly and Sophie, and he did win with Natasha, so I don’t get why some people said Brendan also always gets the worse celebs around.
I forgot about the showdance – I think the showdances this season was rather weak, and I agree with Vin: Caroline’s was basically a version of Janel’s, Mark’s has too much running in it, and for someone as talented as Frankie, naturally I expected a nice showdance. But no, Kevin literally gave her a quickstep with lifts in it. Simon’s was probably the best but that’s it. For me the best season of showdance was season 10, with all terrific showdances. I don’t exactly love Louis’ (weird that it earned him his only 40 of the season), and Dani’s wasn’t all that either, but both Kimberley’s Crazy in Love and especially Denise’s flawless Flashdance showdances were all amazing, and overall it’s a great package of showdances.
@Daniel
As I said above, showdances have been generally really bad on SCD certainly since the revamp in series 8 (and in practice probably longer than that) – Kara was one of the strongest celebrity dancers ever to appear on the show (and her American Smooth is, without doubt, my favourite dance that I’ve seen from any version of the franchise worldwide), but her showdance was awful, and only partially because she injured her arm halfway through. Denise’s was certainly the strongest in series 10 in my opinion – but there were suggestions online that Pasha would cost Caroline this year’s trophy because his showdances with Chelsee and Kimberley were so bad (not necessarily an opinion I share)! Although I don’t at all believe that the showdances on SCD actually ever really contribute to the winner otherwise quite how Abbey and Aljaž won I don’t know. I still say Caroline’s was the best this year for me – in the context of a show which doesn’t do contemporary, and to an audience which doesn’t generally watch DWTS it *was* quite novel and its closest analogy is Lisa Snowdon’s disastrous showdance from series 6, but done *right*.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Caroline’s cha cha, but it (along with Mark’s cha cha) was a week one reprise, so it was basic choreography no matter how well performed (I had the same problem with Natalie reprising her week one cha cha in the final last year – and she was a stronger dancer than Caroline from the start and so had more advanced choreography). I’d have prefered to see her perform her American Smooth again so she could complete it without the stumble in the opening section.
The dance off is controversial, but I just wish the judges would decide if they’re basing their decisions on a) the performance in the dance off and nothing else or b) the contestant as a whole, rather than picking whichever is the most convenient for them at the time. It does, at the very least, give the results shows some purpose.
I do miss the days when DWTS was broadcast on UK television, because it was always fascinating to see how the same concept had developed into something really very different to its parent. I’ll always love SCD more than DWTS – culturally it’s more appealing to me and I’ve spent the last decade watching it – but I’ve a soft spot for DWTS as well. Just a pity it’s trickier for me to watch these days.
So having admitted that Jake couldn’t dance as well as even Mark, it does come down to his personality and whether you find him attractive or entertaining. That was a definite no for me. My finalists were Pixie to win, Caroline and Frankie in second and third, and Mark to be fourth. I gave Caroline 2 of my 4 10s for the series (for her Showdance and repeat Charleston, the other two were Pixie’s Paso Doble and Simon’s repeat Argentine Tango) but Pixie never got to show us everything she could do, and that’s kinda sad.
As far as new pros go, I hated Trent to begin with but thought he was a pretty good partner for Pixie. Joanne failed on nearly every level. I expected so much more from her as Kevin’s sister and world ballroom etcetera champion. Scott was one of the biggest turds the show has had in recent years, but she could have done more. It was on the way out that she sort of redeemed herself. If you mentally edit Scott out of that foxtrot it was really really good and I liked her a lot more with Russell Grant at Christmas than with the petulant child she had for the main series. She gets ONE more year as far as I’m concerned. Tristan I just plain love. Would I have loved him if the series of Strictly was the only experience I had of him? I think so. Even after he was eliminated he was a strong and entertaining presence and he lit up the series of It Takes Two.
The one disaster that everyone has ignored so far is unfortunately Darcey. I heard she was leaving earlier in the year and I was actually kinda excited. Much as I quite appreciate that she was open about it this year, saving Steve “for the guns” it is just NOT OK that all of her major decisions are made by her ladyparts. I blame her entirely for Pixie’s exit. Len voted on his principles (Simon had a more technically precise dance-off,) Darcey went rogue and the series suffered for it. She has a favourite every year, be it Louis, Patrick or Simon, who makes her weak at the perfectly-flexed knees and it’s annoying. She also lacks the ballroom knowledge that you’d like her to have, and sometimes scores people, the girls especially, based on ballet technique rather than the specific dance she is watching. None of the female judges have been as strong as the 3 males. Arlene was unsympathetic and a little cold (also voted with her genitals, but at least she was funny with it,) Alesha didn’t know what she was talking about and Darcey, well…. see above.
@Mr A
I’m rather Team Alesha when it comes to the female judges SCD’s had – I could never get on board with Arlene at all and Darcey’s just plain terrible. However, all four of the current judges have their moments of utter, utter uselessness and I think at this stage I’d be just as happy to see the back of Bruno as I would be Darcey. I think it’d be a case of better the devil you know, though!
I’m with you on the new pros – Trent was excellent and Pixie’s paso, tango, foxtrot and samba were some of the strongest routines of the series. Joanne was utterly, utterly terrible and I can’t believe Anya Garnis was dropped in her favour, and in all honesty I feel like if you put Scott with Anya or Natalie we’d have seen some improvement – Joanne’s inability to put together a decently-choreographed routine probably hampered Scott’s ability to learn. Tristan was… Tristan. Likeable enough, but didn’t really have enough room to do much. I wasn’t thrilled with some of his choreography – the Mamma Mia foxtrot didn’t work at all for me – but Jennifer was a pretty limited dancer so some of that was possibly necessity.
I kinda agree on the male judges. Len and Bruno aren’t great, but I think the show needs Craig. As you may have guessed by me giving only 4 10s throughout the series, I am a Craig. I agree with his scores and think he’s a necessary stabilising influence. He may have a tendency to have favourites himself over the last few years, most notably Kimberley Walsh and Caroline, but these are based mostly on dance skill. As far as Tristan not having a good year I’m gonna cite Janette, who last year would have been my least favourite pro ever (with Flavia in close second) but this year I found her a delight despite hating her partner. She’s a little Cuban dynamo and great for the show. My bad impression was almost entirely down to her having a bad and very limiting partner it seems.
Oh, I’m with you on both counts – I’d have probably given fewer tens than you (and probably only to Pixie), and I think all pros should get a second chance unless they’re utterly unsuited to the show – Jared and Joanne spring to mind.
The judges are all part of the pantomime really, and part of their role is to annoy people into voting. I agree with you though that Darcey listing Steve’s arms as a reason to save him was a particular low point for the series.
Yup I also think the Showdances quality is pretty low for SCD. Just like Kara, I love Natalie to pieces but her Showdance was just blah for me, not exciting or anything, just there. Can’t believe Craig gave a ten to it. But then again all four of season 11 was a huge letdown of those from season 10 so I guess I was expecting too much. I enjoyed Abbey’s Paso/Sweet Child of Mine showdance quite a bit though, even if that’s still not a ten for me. Speaking of Caroline’s AS, what exactly did Craig said about it that he gave it a seven? For me that dance was flawless other than the slip. I would love to see her redo it but I loved her Cha-cha anyway so yeah.
For me Jake dances better than Mark, and I do like the former better than the latter, so Jake goes further for me than Mark. Mark still got ahead of Frankie though in my order. And by “Jake is my runner-up”, it’s actually more like Pixie-Jake-Caroline top 3 with Pixie winning, so the other two were runners-up for me.
I would give tens to Pixie’s Paso, Viennese Waltz and Charleston, Simon’s AT and Caroline’s Salsa. Actually, I don’t mind the judges that much, though I do noticed sometimes Darcey’s comments were a little off. I still think she’s the best female judge, even if that’s not a great accomplishment since like you said, Arlene was too distant and Alesha had no idea what she’s talking about, so Darcey still wins it for me. I definitely liked her less after this season though.
Flavia was actually my least favourite pro for years, before she left and Kevin singlehandedly took the title. When she won with Louis I was like “Great, you’ve finally won so would you please go away already?” and she did anyway, so yay!
When flavia got Louis, I remember going “that pairing should be full of fireworks”. Then it was dull as hell most of the time (non Latin dances). She left a lot to be desired most of the time but she really must have had a feeling that he was the one to beat to kinda phone it in a lot. I hate to say it but aliona has the same attitude a lot of the time too. When she got paired with the chef guy this season, she looked angry. When she got the golf guy, she looked angrier. It’s like she expected another Harry Judd or something. The only female pros over there that really seem to have positive attitudes are Natalie, Karen, to an extent ola Jordan, and Jeanette. The guys are all have good attitudes except for James and to be honest I’m glad he wasn’t on this season And maybe Kevin but I’m not particularly sure if he is faking the nonstop smile or if he is really like that. Either way, it’s creepy.
I hit submit too quickly. Anyways, Darcey is an interesting judge. She defibately is better than the ones before her but she still kinda lacks that “umph” to her comments a lot. Her scoring is kinda weird too. If she ever left, praying for that lol, I think they should just get boag back for the spot. At least she will not play favorites. The number of tens being given this season was a little low in comparison to past seasons (Harry comes to mind off the bat….I can’t name one dance he did that deserved a ten but they loved that number for him towards the end). Pixie deserved some tens for sure. Caroline for her charleston for sure. I think marks jive did. Other than that……not so much. The lowballing for sunetra was weird. If I were her I would be annoyed.
@Daniel
RE Pixie that’s exactly what happened. Pixie and Jake both weren’t on the tour so TPTB respectively buried them putting them first in running order and then Trent went and blew it for Pixie by running his mouth at Len instantly putting off voters. With Simon going on the tour and Pixie having her worst scores of the series, I knew was a goner. Shame because you are right she was probably the best natural dancer of the series, but UK audience hate contestants with previous dance training. That is what contributed to people like Natalie Gumede and Kimberly Walsh not winning previous series.
@Lea
RE Anton gets dud partners for the fact that he’s old and its common knowledge that he cannot choreograph latin numbers. The audience also love him with the older celebs as well as he’s stereotyped as that fine British gentleman who all the old people love. The one time he got someone good (Laila) he went and called her an inappropriate name if you remember when she had a spray tan which caused a massive racism storm in the tabloids. I remember Anton nearly lost his job over it.
I don’t think anyone would get asked to move to DWTS out of the current lot but you’re 100% correct about Emma. The BBC should have acted so much quicker to secure her, but messed around and let DWTS offer her a pro deal. It’s a massive shame IMO as obviously she would have been a success and we would have seen her with some real talented celebs rather than Michael Waltrip. The fact Strictly producers let an stunning looking English girl get away from them is unforgivable tbh. We ended up with Anya Garnis instead and that lasted one year. Although I do harbour hopes that she gets homesick eventually and like Tristan will be offered the chance to switch shows.
The pros I like on the show are dwindling every year with Ola probably leaving next year. I hope Robin is back though, I love him to bits. I’ll be really angry if he gets the Anton treatment and doesn’t get a real contender. Because I honestly believe the producers are shallow enough not to give him a good looking young female dancer simply because he’s gay.
@Vin I don’t mind Darcey as a judge but her overmarking of men can be slightly annoying.
@Vin
Ah, you’ll never convince me Darcey isn’t the worst of the three female judges the show’s had, but I’ve always liked Erin and I think she’d probably be a good replacement for Darcey if she does go. Much better than the much-mooted Karen Hardy!
I liked Sunetra a lot, and her ballroom was (generally) good, but sadly she wasn’t ever going to last much longer than she did – and no the scores didn’t help her.
@ M8
I do indeed remember the Laila and Anton affair – I alluded to it upthread. Quite how much that’s still an issue these days I’m not sure, but it may well be part of the reason he’s happy to accept *any* role on the show. Having said that, he does genuinely seem to enjoy his lot, so… *shrugs*
To be fair, Strictly *did* offer Emma a job and she must have accepted it or they wouldn’t have announced her as joining the line-up and have to scramble to replace her with Anya at the last minute. I’m not sure what Emma’s being English has to do with it really though – Joanne Clifton’s English and she’s one of the worst they’ve hired in the history of the show, so I’d rather they cast internationally and well than focussed on that (having said that, I do think Emma would have been a good hire).
I’ll be honest and say I rather hope Ola *does* leave next year (and certainly her running off to do a rival channel’s show while the series was still going and breaking her leg leaving the show to have to replace her in the final weeks’ pro dances won’t have done her many favours when it comes to them deciding next year’s roster), and equally, I’m not a big fan of Robin either. Natalie’s my favourite, so I was gutted when she missed last year through injury and subsequently got Tim, so I can imagine how you feel – Aliona got the same treatment too. (I honestly don’t think it’s because he’s gay though – they certainly didn’t mind giving young, attractive females to Ian or Matthew).
@Lea: Karen has the skills but her personality irks me. But irks me big time. Sunetra had the whole “smile that lights up the room” thing going for her big time. In a way, I think she was in it for the fun and not the trophy.
@Lea
The fact that Strictly is an English show means that we have to have English professionals else that takes away the essence of it being a UK show. I can understand why they asked Joanne due to her competition record but people have to remember that its her first time on live television and choreographing for celebrities. Let alone getting someone as terrible as Scott Mills. I just think she needs to be cut a bit of slack for that. If she fails again next year then obviously we have a problem. It’s all good casting internationally but getting people like Iveta in every year won’t appeal to many viewers, I still remember Bruce struggling to announce her name. It was slightly embarrassing. I understand people not liking Joanne though tbf I know my mum doesn’t like her either 😀 I also really like Natalie and wish for her to get a contender next year. Ola used to be my favourite pro back when she had Kenny Logan and Chris Hollins but I think as years have gone by, tabloid stories about her, alleged fights with producers and other pros (Karen) have probably taken their toll on her and her popularity. Not to mention the fact that she has a first class bellend as her husband.
True they did strike a deal with Emma verbally but that’s why you need to get things signed in a contract. I’m assuming Emma verbally said yes and was due to fly over to sign her contract and commence pro rehearsals when DWTS offered her a pro spot, forcing her to drop it all. I do wonder if she’d have made the same decision had she not been with Sasha at the time. I guess we’ll never know the full story. For me It’s a real shame though.
I still remember those tabloid rumours that Derek Hough was offered mega money to join Strictly a few years ago, something which he firmly denied. Notice that same tabloid is claiming DWTS want Craig to replace Len as their 4th judge. Somehow I think that’s rubbish as well. I just wish the BBC would show a bit of ambition sometimes because its not like they don’t have the budget and television viewers. They failed to sign Emma last year, failed to sign Keo this year, lost Artem as well. They always seem to end up second best to DWTS on and off the ballroom.
Hmm. I’m still not sure why a British pro is preferable – especially given (some of) the British pros we’ve had! I’m all about the recent international pros – Iveta, Anya and Trent especially!
I think with Joanne, there’s a difference between “Oh, my celeb’s not very good, this might be a difficult cha cha to choreograph” and… whatever she gave Scott. It was like she’d never seen a cha cha before. That’s what concerns me (well, that and the growing Clifton-Hauer regime – in a few years it’ll be fifteen members of the extended family filling the pro roster!).
I feel like Ola’s probably just as bad as James, just… better at hiding it? Which I guess is admirable in a way. I feel like in a way Ola feels like a bit of a remnant of the “middle” years of Strictly now, for me. If she were to leave and Anya were to come back, I’d be really quite happy.
Ambition’s a tricky thing, isn’t it? They hired the (then) current World Ballroom Showdance Champion for this series, which is quite a coup (even if I don’t think she’s suited for the show at all). Equally, Iveta’s been World Ten Dance Champion twice – it’s not like they’re not hiring superbly qualified professionals. I guess if you have a preference for the ones DWTS are hiring then it might feel that way. I might be making it up – it’s perfectly possible – but I’m sure I read somewhere that Pasha was offered DWTS but turned it down so it’s not like DWTS is “stealing” all SCD’s potential pros!
I still think Emma must have given more than just a verbal commitment for the BBC to announce it – it’s pretty sloppy for one of the country’s biggest shows if they didn’t. Either way, she seem to have left them in the lurch, so I hope if she does want to come over to SCD at any point, she hasn’t burnt her bridges there – not that I think she will, she’ll be getting paid a lot more by ABC. I have to say I really liked Artem when he was on SCD (as I said before, his American Smooth with Kara is my favourite dance I’ve seen from the whole franchise worldwide), but I didn’t really notice him not being there this series.
I honestly think Louis’ showdance is one of the most overrated ever. Maybe because that one has little dancing in it. Maybe because it felt so short (I can’t believe it’s actually nearing 90 seconds). Maybe because Louis was doing too much of the “behold! I am a gymnast and I can stand on my arms in this giant ball!” in the beginning. Maybe because none of the lifts (lift, only one was there) was spectacular or groundbreaking. Maybe because I’m just too fed up of Flavia at the time. Maybe I’m just sick of that damn Rule the World song. And of course it got 40, while Kimberley’s didn’t. Hmm.
Yeah I also noticed that people seems to really dislike celebs with past experiences, but Caroline also had experience and she won so idk anymore. If only Kimberley/Denise, Natalie and Pixie were the last three winners. I don’t mind the pros that much, probably only Flavia and James that irked me before, but now Kevin and his fam really irked me. I surprisingly only like Trent by his choreography, otherwise I’m indifferent about him. Something about Ola seems catty to me. I liked the other pros well enough though. Now I’m hoping for Tristan finally gets the partner he deserves, Aljaz getting a good partner too, and PLEASE give someone inferior to Pasha and Kevin. I’d love to see what Kevin can do with someone like Judy Murray lol.
I really liked Ola until she was stupid enough to do The Jump during the series, while still contracted to the BBC. Can I admit to quite liking James? He was an excellent pro for good celebrities like Denise Van Outen and actually also for bad ones like Vanessa Feltz. His personality was only sometimes grating for me. And Kevin has done well, especially with Frankie. That Argentine Tango from the semi-final goes right up there in my favourite dances with anything Pixie did choreographically speaking, but I do think it’s pretty important that he gets a weaker partner next year. When I blogged about potential pro/celeb partnerships just before the launch show, I offered Anton Frankie, knowing full well that he couldn’t handle it. He is the least versatile professional on the show and will likely never win it, even if they always gave him the best natural dancer. Iveta I wanted to punch in the face last year for taking my absolute least favourite tactic for a bad dancer, constant comedy, and actually having it work, but this year with Thom she did well and they were both unlucky to go out so fast. For me the only professional to have a standout bad year was Joanne, but I want to give her one more year. Assuming no-one better comes along, of course. I really hope for the next series they do a full rotate. Natalie and Aliona get the best men, Kristina and Karen get weaker ones and Iveta, Ola and Janette can sit somewhere in the middle. For the men, give Robin a real contender, Kevin a dud, and Pasha the weakest of the lot. It would make for a very interesting series.
I hope they give Natalie someone really good too. Her positive attitude just lights up the ballroom.
Boy, Pasha must have a really good, personal reason for turning down DWTS if that’s true, since DWTS not only pays more, but it’s a lot more exposure on a bigger stage.
@Princess Heidi – I have literally no idea where I read it and nor can I find it now, so I might well have imagined it. I’m sure I did read it, but… yeah, don’t take it as definite fact. While SCD does get around 10-11 million viewers in the UK, (which given the UK population is one fifth that of the USA, isn’t bad) it does seem like the obvious choice would be DWTS out of the two – not least because even if the pay per season and exposure were *exactly* the same, DWTS has twice the number of seasons a year. I do think the “core” pros of both shows work well though, so whatever the reasons certain pros have for joining whichever, I’m happy. It helps watching both!
@Mr A – To be honest, I find the Jordans both quite forgettable – other than Denise’s showdance I’m not sure either have produced a memorable routine. Denise’s Charleston would absolutely be one… if James had choreographed it rather than an outside choreographer. Add to that James’s personality and Ola’s constant running to the tabloids… no they’re not for me. I really can’t see them giving Ola another year after the The Jump incident, either. (I’d also get rid of Robin, Kevin and Joanne, but I’m not in charge..!)
@Vin – I love Natalie, and I really wanted her to win her first series with Ricky. Hoping she gets to show her full potential again next series!
Pasha was offered a spot but was on tour with. Burn the Floor. Then he got SCD after that ended. He seems to be doing well in the UK for himself with a book and his own tour. Not like Move but he seems to be doing fine. I felt SCD took the better sytycd ballroom dancers like Janette, Pasha, Anya Karen and Iveta. But since dwts has contemporary, inclusion of more cross trained pro makes sense. At least on the female pro side. I would like Pasha to do dwts though.
I agree Melissa…. I much prefer the group of sytycd on Scd. And I’d LOVE Pasha on dwts. He’s fun and he’s an amazing dancer
Everyone who wants to be a bigger star comes to America. That’s why I said it had to be a good personal reason for him to turn it down – but if he was already committed to something else, that works too. Even if you had the same number of viewers in the UK and the US, an ambitious person would still choose the US – it’s just a bigger stage, period. All the entertainment shows, the freebies, etc.
Melissa, I think if DWTS wanted any of the ballroom pros from SYTYCD, they could get them easily. In a heartbeat. The problems is, DWTS has a cast of pros that are already stars which means there is very limited opportunity for new ones to get in. They are just more likely to get a shot on SCD than they are DWTS.
I do wonder what will happen with Cheryl gone and Derek always half way out the door. And if Mark decides to go?? Suddenly the cast isn’t so set.
Absolutely Princess Heidi. I do think there are different “levels” of ambition though – I couldn’t see Joanne, say, aiming for DWTS.
With regard to Pasha, I think his relationship with Rachel means he’s probably unlikely to joing DWTS for the time being? I don’t know though.
I get the feeling Pasha is very down to earth and likes it in the UK. He always gets support for his tour and obviously his book has come out as well. Along with his relationship with Rachel. I just don’t see him as the kind of guy that is looking for an exit door for fame. Plus getting great partners every year helps as well I bet. Other professionals that are raised in the US like Janette or Iveta for example, strike me as dancers who would get on the first plane to LA if DWTS came calling. Then you have those dancers like Joanne who have probably never heard of DWTS and is on SCD because it presents an amazing opportunity for her as a dancer to teach someone famous alongside her brother. Strictly is massive in the UK, the primetime Saturday night show with 12 million viewers a week. It doesn’t get much bigger when it comes to dancing in the UK. Unlike DWTS everyone forgets the pros exist from January until September when it all starts again. I’m sure most of them enjoy that luxury of not getting stopped in the street and papped every 2 minutes.
@Lea: I can’t stand James when he seemed whiny and complains just about everything, but I actually like him quite a bit when he actually got far with Pamela Stevenson (who I would NEVER thought could be a great dancer) and Denise of course (though perhaps I’m just too fed up of Flavia at the time), mostly because I could see of what he’s capable of. Ola, on the other hand, is just forgettable to me. For me, on the show she’s only memorable for winning with (by far) the worst winner ever. I can’t hardly remember anything she did with Ashley Dawson, as well as Steve. Remembering her and Chris Hollins reminded me of just how much Ricky Whittle and Natalie robbed. Chris did improved in the end and all, but he’s just so much inferior to Ricky it’s almost not funny anymore.
@M8: I agree wholeheartedly about Jeanette and Iveta. Now that someone mentioned it earlier, I really disliked Iveta for going all comedy with Mark Benton EVERY SINGLE WEEK. I do feel bad for her and Thom for getting eliminated so quickly though, I thought they and Judy and Anton should swap elimination. Jeanette has done wonders with Jake (and her works with Julian weren’t terrible), but really, she and Iveta won’t miss DWTS by any chance I’d say. Pasha’s declining DWTS is interesting, he was also US-based with Anya, so I don’t get why he did it. Good for him if he’s comfortable at where he is now though, but I still want to see him getting a dud if he’s still here next September.
@Daniel
Aw, now I feel like I have to defend Iveta here, because I really liked her partnership with Mark – not because they were excellent, but because I think they genuinely liked each other an awful lot and that came across. Sure, they may have piled on the comedy a bit too much (though they did have, say, the waltz which was played straight-if-overacted), but she did also seem to be teaching him to dance as well – compare Ann Widdecombe, which was “comedy” every week and not one attempt was made by Ann to learn to dance, nor given by Anton to teach her. Would she or Janette jump ship to DWTS? I tend to think Janette and Aljaž would stick together considering they seem quite loved-up. Would DWTS give them both a space? I’d say Iveta’s probably more likely.
Ah, I liked Pamela enough, I guess, but she really got some massively overmarked scores towards the end – not that that’s a unique problem, but I do balk at the idea that, say, Pamela’s quickstep was a better dance than Kara’s rumba – it’s not their fault, but it can put you off someone when the judges go too far.
James did get a far better draw of partners than Ola ever did to be fair to her – she managed a win with very little, while James couldn’t get a win with a lot of possible contenders. I don’t much like either of them though.
Pasha and Anya are back dancing again on his tour this year and she works backstage at SCD at the moment. I’ve said it before, but I’m really hoping they’ll bring her back next year – she was a real highlight in a year without Natalie. I won’t hold my breath though. I can’t see them giving Pasha a fourth good dancer – I love the guy but I’d be annoyed if they did.
One thing about iveta and mark that I loved is that they actually liked each other. They seemed to be having a blast. In a weird way, giving her thom was a cool choice because on paper he was the ideal contestant. Plus he actually really tried too. Kinda reminded me of Antonio sabato jr and Sean Lowe in a weird way (probably the only nice thing I ever will say about Sean lol).
Well if we’re talking about their partnership, then I have no problem with it, since they do seem to work really well with each other. But when I was watching series 11 I kept waiting for Mark to go just all about dancing in spite of his shortcomings, but Iveta kept adding comedy into the performances that just left me unimpressed. But at least it was entertaining. I really like their Cha-cha though, is it unpopular? Can’t believe Craig gave 3 to it.
Another disagreement here – I think their quickstep was great, and it impressed me even more that it came from her out of everyone. I do think that it is rubbish that someone like Pamela could get 40s while Kara never could; as much as I like Pamela, Kara is one of the best dancers to ever appear there, so it does baffled me a little. But whatever, Pamela was wonderful <3
Remind me again, was Mark and Iveta’s Cha Cha Blofeld, Austin Powers or MC Hammer? I gave them a pass on the Salsa, which I thought was fun, kinda cool, not badly done and actually memorable. In fact it was the only other memorable dance in a week which (probably fairly) became all about Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s spectacular Charleston. My memories of that particular week are every step of Sophie’s dance, Susannah Reid snarling and Mark’s Salsa. After that, nope. No more comedy allowed. Craig, like me, lost patience, and that’s where the 3 came from. Comedy contestants are one thing. But Mark proved definitively in week one that he could dance. Maybe not a contender to win but he could have done something better. He tried, and Iveta tried to teach him, only in dances which suited him like Waltz and Tango. It frankly felt almost a bit hypocritical. Do you want to learn to dance or don’t you? But now I have to wonder, is the Salsa good for Strictly? I don’t think it is. The first two 40s of Season 11, and the first of Season 12 were for Salsas from very similar types, female, tallish, great bodies and an aptitude for Latin dancing. It helps that Salsa is much harder to nitpick than other dances, especially Samba.
@ Mr A
Personally, I’d cut all the non-ten dance dances except possibly American Smooth given that in theory it’s meant to be based in a ballroom dance and, I guess, showdance. But again, I suspect I’m out of step with the public on that one. I do think Charleston is the dance which has done SCD the most damage though – it was its introduction in s7 – and in particular Chris Hollins’ which was probably the weakest of the three performed that series imo – which sort of feels like the Patient Zero for the sort of prop-filled, comedy-focused, manic version of the show that it feels like it became post-revamp.
M8, I think that’s what people who can’t make it in the US tell themselves. 🙂 Not saying they can’t or won’t – just that that’s the kind of excuse people use. The trade off for getting papped is having many doors open to you and if you are more than just a dancer and/or you want people to see your work (like most artists do), then you put up with the Paps for the opportunity to dance, act, sing, produce and god knows what else.
I just don’t think that people who spend their entire lives training HARD to dance and “create” (this is an art form we’re talking about) are usually of the personality type to settle for community theater if Broadway called. Or West End, for that matter.
That’s a separate issue from Pasha possibly having personal reasons for wanting to stay in the UK. Like a girlfriend/potential wife. People make those sorts of trade offs all the time – minor career sacrifice because you love someone. But I also don’t think it gives him any sort of moral high ground any more than it is a character flaw to want to go to the US and hit the big time.
I knew if I mentioned not including Salsa Charleston would come up. I guarantee you, it would be missed. While Chris Hollins’s was hugely overscored and will never be as iconic as they’d like it to be, just think of Sophie’s, Denise’s, Caroline’s, Pixie’s, even Mark Wright’s is pretty memorable. It adds diversity and interest to the show without feeling incongruous. Argentine Tango also offers easy 40s, but it is interesting to have a dance that favours the male celebs. Besides, it’s my favourite dance, and I would fight you to keep it. American Smooth is kind of an odd style. Pick any ballroom style and add lifts. Maybe if the pros made it more interesting, but with Artem gone, it’s pretty much all either generic bland ballroom or jazz.
@ Mr A
I don’t think I particularly have a problem with the Charleston itself – though I do think it was *massively* incongruous when it was first introduced – and I think Ali, Sophie and Denise’s were all genuinely great (as much as I loved Pixie, I didn’t actually think the Charleston worked that well for her. It wasn’t bad, just… not the same heights as her samba, tango, foxtrot, paso and VW). I think it’s just that when it’s not amazing it descends into pulling faces and little more, and that the pros don’t have any expertise in the style so they have to use external choreographers, AND you end up with situations where the celebrity dances the style better than the pro (Denise and James). It’s popular with the general viewer (although much less so with the people I follow on Twitter…), so I doubt it’s going anywhere.
American Smooth (in the guise SCD does it) was basically invented to fill a gap when the run was extended in series 3 and before the revamp it worked better because it, unlike the other ballroom dances, allowed broken hold as well as the lifts. Since the revamp it gets lost because they can break hold in all the ballroom dances now, so it’s just about the lifts. It produced my favourite dance on the show, so I have to like it for that.
@ Princess Heidi
I’ve been thinking about this in a “what would I do?” sort of way. I guess I think I’d like to do the spring season of DWTS and the autumn season of SCD and alternate. Reaching 24+ million viewers, the benefits of performing on both stages, and getting to work both at home and abroad for more than twice the salary of just staying at home. Which actually seems to be what Tristan’s implying in this interview, in which case fair play to him.
I have to agree with what PH said regarding trade off for getting papped.
Here’s what Sia (the singer who hides her face because she doesn’t like fame) said in an interview “I didn’t intend to promote [the album], but look what’s happened — I’m doing very key things because it turns out I am ambitious and I do want a number one record. That’s what I think the truth is,”
Regarding Tristan, EH. He’s just a filler.
@Mr. A: Mark Benton’s Cha-cha was the MC Hammer one. Sure it was packed with comedy all over again, and while I’d probably give it a 5 anyway, it was a lot more entertaining and the little Cha-cha bit that Mark actually did there weren’t, like, really bad imo. When I was about to watch the performance I remember thinking “oh boy, here we go again”, but the performance was entertaining, at least more than his other performances. I agree that Mark can dance even if it’s nowhere near Natalie’s level, so I dislike Iveta for kept going to that direction with him.
About the dances, actually none of the non-ten dances bugged me or anything, I feel they fit to the show nicely. Salsa, Argentine Tango, American Smooth and Charleston (did I miss any?) were usually highlights of the show, and while they surely offer easier 9s and 10s (even 40s), I don’t mind those dances, entertainment- or dance-wise (of course Showdance is out of question). At least Strictly haven’t crossed to the Burlesque and Surfer Flamenco territory yet.
And now you mentioned it… YES Sophie’s Charleston was absolutely magnificent. I see minor dud in the very first lift, and she lost a bit of timing after doing that amazing flip near the end, but seriously it was danced in week two after all. I remember going into series 11’s finals thinking “okay can we skip this whole thing to Sophie’s Charleston already so that we can stop pretending who really is the best?”, so it bugged me so much that she, already in costume, couldn’t redo it. Many say that she’s not memorable and only great with that Charleston, but what exactly was even remotely memorable from Suzanna, other than that Paso? And I only remember her Paso because of the giant cape at the end and obviously Kevin being all The Kevin Show throughout the dance.
About other Charlestons… Denise was obviously also great (much better than Kimberley’s), though I still don’t think Caroline’s was all that. I really liked Pixie’s though, is it unpopular? Actually my two most favourite dances of hers were Viennese Waltz and Charleston, another UO I guess.
@ Daniel
I could write screeds about Susanna and Sophie, but I won’t – Sophie never did live up to her Charleston (her latin was clunky and her ballroom hold really bizarre) but I really preferred her to Susanna who I just don’t think could dance very well (and for all the fanfare her paso got… she was hardly in it behind Kevin).
You’ve asked a few times if things were popular or not. Based on reader polls on SCD blogs I read, Mark and Iveta’s cha cha was popular, Iveta won “best female pro” last year and Pixie’s Charleston and VW didn’t make the top twenty routines of this series unlike her paso, tango, samba and foxtrot (Caroline’s Charleston was voted number one).
Okay. Cool. Perhaps that’s the disadvantage of performing really well in early weeks – expectation would be so high. I personally think her Foxtrot, Blackpool Quickstep, Tango, AS and both VWs are beautiful, so for me, while Charleston still remains her best dance, at least she did dance pretty well in other dances. I do agree though that Sophie lacked in latin – everything I listed is ballroom anyway.
Iveta was voted “best female pro”? Oh, okay. Now that it got into me, that last series (we’re talking about series 11, right?) had top four of all females and Iveta did got quite far with Mark so it does make sense, even if I still don’t like her that season. For me I’d vote for Anya as best female pro of series 11. Combined that with my preferred Pixie’s dances, it looks like I just had several unpopular opinion then. Cheers.
Yeah, I will also say that I loved Pixie’s Charleston; in its way a lot like Sophie’s in that she wouldn’t have suited a typically clownish Charleston, so her pro Strictlyfied it, made it much much classier and dipped it in a whole load of glitter. It was my second 10 of the series after her Paso Doble, and her other standout was the Tango. The sheer amount of content in the Charleston was astonishing, and it had that unquantifiable Pixie……. thing, where even though she was on the floor with a pro all eyes were on her, which for me is one of the marks of a great dancer.
Re Sophie; Loved her as a person and as a dancer, and I think a line should be drawn between what I call Party Latin and Character Latin. Party Latin: Jive, Samba and Cha-Cha, she was at best mediocre in, but Character Latin (mostly Rumba and Paso Doble, but also Argentine Tango)she did better than she was given credit for. Yes, she is something of an ice princess, but I loved her classy, cool and confident personality and I thought it came across very well. I gave all 3 of those dances 9, and thought she should have had at least one 10 for her Paso. Her Viennese Waltz both times and Quickstep were lovely, and her Tango was pretty darn good. But she never did outdo her Charleston, you’re right. I don’t believe she had to, but it kind of sucked that she got it in week 2, it would have made a better statement a little later. I was seriously angry that she got put out in her Charleston costume without getting to do it again, and I thought it sucked for her because she clearly loved it.
As for best female pro of Series 11, you guys have missed someone: Kristina. Loved her, and thought she did a truly fantastic job with Ben, who came in with nothing but a great attitude and left a pretty darn good dancer.
You make WAY more money by doing both seasons of DWTS. Way more. If it’s about money, then US is the only way to go. I don’t think Tristan will be back as a competing pro on DWTS – and not by his choice. But I could certainly be wrong. But, like I said – many people are willing to trade fame and fortune for a happy home life. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. That said – if you are ambitious (nothing wrong with that either) and want to play to the largest possible audience with the greatest return and future opportunities? The US version would be the way to go.
Sure, Heidi – nothing wrong with either. I have a stronger affinity for SCD, so for me I’d be willing to take the salary drop to alternate. There’s no real reason why anyone new to either would take that option though – to a neutral or US-based party, DWTS is the better option. (I do wonder if already being established on one version of the show has any effect on likelihood of moving? I know pros do move quite regularly – DWTS and SCD have shared three after all – but would it deter (for want of a better word) people? I have notoriously low ambition amongst my friends so I’m genuinely just wondering.)
@ Mr A, Daniel
The character Pixie gave the Charleston is great, and she looked amazing. There’s just a couple of moments where she and Trent go out of time with each other (eg both times they do the one-legged kick-turn (technical term!)) and I don’t know if it’s the music but there’s times where her legs look sluggish to me. It definitely belongs to one of the top tiers of Charlestons, but I just preferred some of her other dances.
I think I’d rate Anya top female pro from s11 too. Kristina doesn’t do much for me.
I think it’s interesting that two years in a row, someone’s peaked in the second week – Sophie and Jake. I feel like maybe the producers should look at the dances allocations – if, say, Sophie had hit that Charleston in the semi-final with all those extra weeks of experience under her belt, she might have had better momentum going into the final (but then, maybe she wouldn’t have made the final without it early on!).
This wasn’t my favourite series of Strictly. Would love to see an all-stars series from the British version, why not now, after 12 series, when 12 is around the normal cast size. I drew up a provisional cast list, based on what I personally would want to see. Rules were: One or two dancers to return per series; No former winners; Try to create a workable series (meaning roughly equal numbers of males and females; They had to be good dancers (although many of them could grow through the series)
Females: Denise Lewis, Dani Harmer, Pamela Stephenson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pixie Lott, Kelly Brook and Emma Bunton
Male: Colin Jackson, Jason Donovan, Mark Wright, Austin Healey, Ricky Whittle, Gethin Jones, Ben Cohen
Reserves: Louisa Lytton, Natalie Gumede, Jade Johnson, Zoe Ball, Matt Dawson, Matt DiAngelo, Matt Baker, Aled Jones.
Thoughts?
Funny how long we have to wait until the new series compared to the US version. It is strange how literally everyone forgets about SCD until September.
To be honest we have an All Star series every year, it’s called the Christmas Special 😉
I know this is probably asking for too much but I would love to see what would happen if they had a whole all star season on strictly but only if it were just the winners and one night (kinda like the Christmas specials). Just to see who would stand out from that cast of characters. Personally my money would be on Harry Judd or Alisha.
To continue the fantasy, Imagine if they combined finalists/winners from the UK US & Australian versions of the show to have an ultimate All Star DWTS. With say Craig Len Kym Johnson and Bruno judging. I can picture the lineup now
Australia –
Johnny Ruffo & Luda Kroitor
Rob Palmer & Alana Patience
David Rodan & Melanie Hooper
Rhiannon Fish & Aric Yegudkin
UK –
Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani
Alesha Dixon & Matthew Cutler
Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy
Abbey Clancy & Aljaz Skorjanec
Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev
US –
Apollo Ohno & Julianne Hough
Zendaya & Val Chermerkovsky
Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas
Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough
Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke
Check that for an All Star lineup!
If they ever did what you suggested Vin I literally would have no idea who would win. If it was a one night thing it would probably come down to which dance was most showstopping e.g Hollins’s Charleston, Ramps’ Salsa, Kara’s American Smooth, Alisha’s Cha Cha etc. My money would probably go on Alesha. I think she’s the best we’ve ever had on the show, followed closely by Kara, Harry Judd and Ramps. Louis Smith was good but he only won due a contemporary showdance. Kimberley should have won over the course of the series.
Alisha always had such a fun factor to her when she was on the show. i wonder why they haven’t done anything like that yet though. Seems like a no brainier ratings wise.
Unavaliability of celebs I assume. Alisha’s contracted to ITV with Britain’s Got Talent and probably burned to many bridges as a result. Ramps probably has bad memories of the show due to that 6 year affair he had and Kara wouldn’t do it without Artem. Take away those three probably the three best winners excluding Harry and the lineup is severely effected. Chris Hollins and Louis Smith love it though, they literally do every Christmas special haha.
Hmmm….. If you want to do winners, they’re good choices, except why no Jill Halfpenny? I’d bet on her giving at least a few of them a run for their money. They’ve had 6 male and 6 female winners, so it’s an option. The worldwide all stars is an interesting idea. Rhiannon Fish was really a weird one, peaking insanely early, and ultimately I think Tina Arena may have deserved to win that series, with Rhiannon still in second over Cosentino. There’d be a lot of international “Who the heck is that?” happening. I only know Rhiannon because I watched her series of DWTS.
Always forget Jill Halfpenny because I really started watching SCD the season after her win (Darren Gough’s season). She did have a memorable Jive, her win was a longggggg time ago though which would probably make things harder for her against more recent winners.
I stuck Rhiannon Fish in because she’s Canadian and I’m a massive Home & Away fan. They’d be a lot of international who the heck is that with all of them tbh. That’s what makes it so exciting. Although I think the girls would dominate it. If you replaced Emmett & Cheryl with Alfonso and Witney then I think only him and Johnny Ruffo would compete. Shawn, Nicole, Alesha & Kara would slay it. I couldn’t pick a winner though. If the final was the usual 4 format then I’d say Nicole, Alfonso, Shawn & Alesha/Kara would make it with an Alfonso Nicole final 2. I’m probably underestimating a few people (e.g Zendaya) but these are the best celebs ever to grace the dance floor and only 4 can make the final.
I actually wasn’t criticising Rhiannon, even post-peak I think some of her dances were insane, her Tango was one of my favourite dances from Strictly throughout the world, and it was week 3 or 4. My Gwen Stefandom (coined it!) helps, but all-around it rocked. Problem is, everything changes every series; popularity, judges’ generosity (which grew steadily up to about series 10 in the UK, and since then, and I do blame Alesha for overscoring, fallen back to a less overinflated level) and other factors like producers. We can pretty much see who will be the best dancers, and Nicole probably easily tops that list, but when everyone can dance, popularity becomes more important than ever, and with a mixed audience and quantitative judgment only really existing between those who did the American all-stars, anything could happen. Nicole Scherzinger I don’t like all that much as a person and wouldn’t be inclined to vote for necessarily, and Kara was very talented and extremely consistent, but I understand where the 40 went, and why she didn’t get it. She was kinda short on wow moments, except for her rumba, which the Brits have never been great at, and her American Smooth, which was a piece of work. I think she’d get lost in the talent pool.
@m8: I used to really like watching chris hollins but every time he comes back to scd its less of an event for me becuase he isn’t as good anymore. It’s really weird.
Oh yeah, Chris was definitely the low point of the Christmas special for me. He got gifted the Charleston, which at least a few of them would have killed for, and completely messed it up. Actually, the low point of the show was the painful pimping of Louis, which I have never seen anything like before. From the moment he was on the semi-final as a guest dancer (HINTHINT!) to the end I knew he was gonna win, and he didn’t deserve it. That was a better dance than Sophie or Rachel? Not buying it. But from a dance point of view, Chris was orders of magnitude worse than anyone else, and as a former champion going up against people placed as low as 5th, that shouldn’t be the case.
Just rewatched episode 1 of the last series, and Aliona really did wrong by Gregg. She didn’t tone down the difficulty level at all from what she’d give to someone good like Harry or Matt. I still think he’d have been out first without Aliona’s help, but someone like Natalie could have made him look less ridiculous and more dignified. Tailoring your dance to your partner; there’s more to it than cake.
When they had the pairing special/launch, I was hoping she would not be too disappointed if she got him. For some reason as soon as he was announced, my friends and I all said “he is getting aliona” ( our sole reasoning being he seemedblike the only one who could tolerate her attitude) and lo and behold as soon as they were paired together she seemed miserable (per usual) but agitated too. It’s like she has a mental checkout reflex if she doesn’t get a younger male celeb. No energy no nothing. With Harry she was happy with Matt she was happy. And it showed. With the golf guy and him, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there.
I’m not really a charleston fan to be honest, mostly becuase the majority of them are too cheesey for me, but he really did get gifted that dance. His energy is fun and infectious but that was a mess. As for Louis, the one thing I remeber lost from that dance is that stupid opening by the cow/bovine thing. Aliaj and Sophie were all sorts of gorgeous to watch together as were Tristan and Rachel but chris just was a major letdown.
To be fair, before she got injured she was allocated Johnny Ball then Tony Jacklin and Gregg Wallace. She’s had the absolute worst dancer (with the possible exception of Johnny) for the last 3 years. I don’t entirely blame her for checking out just a little. She should roll with it better, but when she’s on she is really on, and it’s time for her to get some better partners. What if she got a mid-level partner, just to see what would happen? Then the year after give her the winner, because she has really been screwed over in recent years.