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Original poster

Layton Williams in Strictly

337 replies

Char65 · 05/11/2023 19:23

I am a big fan of Strictly but I have lost interest in it this year because of Layton Williams as he is a professional dance. His CV reads

2007–2008: Billy Elliot the Musical
2008–2009: Beautiful People
2016: Hairspray the Musical UK Tour - playing Duane
2016-2017: Rent UK Tour - playing Angel
2017-2018: Hairspray the Musical UK Tour - playing Seaweed J. Stubbs
2018-2019: Kiss Me Kate - playing Bill Calhoun/Luciento
2019-2022: Everyone's Talking About Jamie - playing Jamie New

He was also in a Michael Jackson show - and I believe Jackson could dance a bit!

To me its no fair to pitch a pro against amateurs though I accept a lot of actors have also done dance at stage school but not appeared in the West End like this guy! What do others think?

OP posts:
ExtraOnions · 05/11/2023 21:07

He’s not only a trained dancer, he had led classes teaching other people how to dance.

There is a huge difference between learning some generic dancing at Drama School, and, the level of experience he has.

What gets my goat is this notion (peddled by SCD), that he’s not at an advantage. At least be honest

megletthesecond · 05/11/2023 21:07

yy midnight Hamza was adorable and worked his backside off.
Layton is already an excellent dancer. No "journey".

Bluevelvetsofa · 05/11/2023 21:11

Jojo and John Waite were excellent and got to the final. Might have won in a different year, but no one was ever going to beat Rose.

Jayde and Karen and Gio and Richie were awful.

Nikita is really being tested this year.

I think Layton has dealt with a lot of trolling, so well done to him for keeping going. It would be difficult to find a group of slebs with no training or experience, because the fact that they mostly come from TV and theatre means they will have had some experience at stage school as a minimum.

TheMarzipanDildo · 05/11/2023 21:13

Tbf they undermark him to take this into account so he’s rarely top of the leaderboard.

C8H10N4O2 · 05/11/2023 21:24

PosyPrettyToes · 05/11/2023 20:16

Amanda trained to be a professional dancer prior to becoming an actor.

Angela S was in a professional Irish dancing troupe.

Nigel has the same training and a similar CV to Layton‘s, with numerous west end musicals.

Ellie trained in tap, ballet, street and modern.

So why just Layton?

Pretty much anyone in theatre/acting will have done dance training and singing as part of their training. That doesn't mean they were good at it or have continued to train and practice with dance as a key part of their profession. Their main advantage is in being experienced performers and able to "act" the parts.

Layton is on another level to that - not only highly trained but working as a dance and music performer at a high level for the last 15 years and teaching the subject.

I love watching him dance and have seen him in the theatre more than once, but pitching him against people with no professional dance experience in recent decades or at all is just silly. As pp say - no journey or improvement to enjoy. He is just too far ahead of the pack from day one.

In his late 60s Vince Cable was considered ineligible for the main Strictly contest on account of having done some amateur ballroom dancing in his youth and yet now a successful and practicing professional dancer is fine from day one.

SpacePotato · 05/11/2023 21:27

Hamza Yassin made me smile from ear to ear every time he danced, and that’s what I want. His dancing was just such a joy

Same. He really was a joy to watch. Javita? was fantastic with him. I think it was because it was just so unexpected. Such a shy man with a stocky build able to move so well and throw her about with such ease.

My DD preferred molly and Carlos but I found her so irritating and very stage school. It wasn't that she couldn't dance.
I feel the same about Bobby this year.

Bill Bailey was great too.

I love watching Angela Rippon dance though. Old school natural elegance and grace.

With Layton, he seems to struggle with not being front and centre so not good when Nikita needs to lead.
I liked their dance this week though.

LizzBurg · 05/11/2023 21:32

TheMarzipanDildo · 05/11/2023 21:13

Tbf they undermark him to take this into account so he’s rarely top of the leaderboard.

Exactly, out of 7 weeks he’s only topped the leaderboard 3 times. Even I spotted his turned in feet during his jive this week. He’s a great dancer but as Shirley says he’s still got to master the fundamentals.

Oganesson118 · 05/11/2023 21:33

I think there's a huge difference between someone doing some dance as a youngster and dancing being the bulk of your career for the last however many years. There's even a gulf between Nigel who did a MT degree and someone like Layton when you consider Nigel's training was over 25 years ago and he has concentrated largely on acting for the bulk of that time. Arts Ed's MT degree contains dance but is not dance intensive (based on testimonies of friends who went)

For me though, it's not solely his experience but the fact he seems incredibly cocky with it and that over exaggerated campness annoys me. The dances he and Nikita do seem every week to be "look at me!" opportunities to show off with a little bit of whatever they've been assigned shoehorned in. The bloody cartwheel made me long for the days when you'd get docked points for such shenanigans. I'm not a fan of Nikita at all either - but I'm not sure why.

HoopLaLah · 05/11/2023 21:35

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 05/11/2023 19:52

John Waite (who I assume had no previous dance experience, since he's a chef) got to the final with Johannes I think.

They've only had a few same sex couples - it's not like only one of them getting to the final is a bad track record.

Show quote history

John Waite did have previous dance expertise - he’d done ballet and jazz as a child/youth. It was obvious watching him.

Projectme · 05/11/2023 21:36

C8H10N4O2 · 05/11/2023 21:24

Pretty much anyone in theatre/acting will have done dance training and singing as part of their training. That doesn't mean they were good at it or have continued to train and practice with dance as a key part of their profession. Their main advantage is in being experienced performers and able to "act" the parts.

Layton is on another level to that - not only highly trained but working as a dance and music performer at a high level for the last 15 years and teaching the subject.

I love watching him dance and have seen him in the theatre more than once, but pitching him against people with no professional dance experience in recent decades or at all is just silly. As pp say - no journey or improvement to enjoy. He is just too far ahead of the pack from day one.

In his late 60s Vince Cable was considered ineligible for the main Strictly contest on account of having done some amateur ballroom dancing in his youth and yet now a successful and practicing professional dancer is fine from day one.

Edited
Show quote history

Agree with this. Great dancer but so he should be. He's maintained his ability to dance because uts his profession. The others may have a qualification/degree etc in the subject but they've gone on to acting rather than dancing.

And I know I'm going to be slated for saying this and it's probably a really unpopular opinion but I can't stand Angela Rippon in SCD. As a presenter she's good but she comes across so smug I'm SCD! (And I know! So she should be smug, as she's knocking on 80 and I'll probably be pushing up daisy's when I'm her age, not doing the splits on the dance floor but she just sets my teeth on edge.)

HoopLaLah · 05/11/2023 21:38

PosyPrettyToes · 05/11/2023 20:16

Amanda trained to be a professional dancer prior to becoming an actor.

Angela S was in a professional Irish dancing troupe.

Nigel has the same training and a similar CV to Layton‘s, with numerous west end musicals.

Ellie trained in tap, ballet, street and modern.

So why just Layton?

“Ellie trained in tap, ballet, street and modern.”

Did she? They’ve been keeping that quiet.

Bit like when they glossed over Karim having dance training experience.

I thought it seemed unlikely that she’d never danced before looking at her ability level.

stardust40 · 05/11/2023 21:48

I've normally given up watching as it gets boring but am actually in to it this year just to watch him and Nikita dance....bloody brilliant!! I'm not bothered about the competition he just gives awesome Saturday night tv!

TheSilentSister · 05/11/2023 21:57

I found Layton really annoying to begin with - didn't even know who he was, lol.
But I'm finding him a lot better now and his dancing is brilliant. He reminds me of how I felt about Fluer (sp?)
But as someone said upthread, if they were all Les Dennis's then we'd switch off!

BeingGivenMoney · 05/11/2023 21:59

Wotchaz · 05/11/2023 19:34

I reckon they’ve done it deliberately because the previous same sex couples have been a bit “meh”. So they’ve brought in someone who’s guaranteed to stay in for longer and show what a same sex couple can do. Doesn’t stop me finding him irritating, but maybe worth it to see Nikita each week!

John and Johannes were not “meh” - they were fabulous!!

And they got through to the final, very, very deservedly.

No male/male couple will ever compare to them.

I think that’s why I find the Leyton and Nikita coupling irritating….it just seems so staged and it’s all about them showing-off together whereas John and Johannes’ relationship was so genuine, as was their dancing.

Winnipeggy · 05/11/2023 22:03

I think it's a bit dramatic to have lost interest in the whole show because one dancer has experience. I've read some of the criticism on Twitter and it's turned into pretty vile attacks on him. I love watching him and Nikita, their chemistry is fab

GreyDuck · 05/11/2023 22:04

If they didn't allow any celebrities who had ever done any dancing before then there wouldn't really be many to choose from. I think there's a big difference between having done classes decades ago, and being currently employed as a professional dancer though.
I love watching Layton dance, but I don't think he should be on this show. There are other shows which make no pretence about only allowing amateurs.

Winnipeggy · 05/11/2023 22:04

AutumnCrow · 05/11/2023 19:42

It has put me off watching tbh.

I like the triers, the learners, the developers.

There are still plenty

maddiemookins16mum · 05/11/2023 22:20

He’s great, but he won’t win despite being the best. Another prime example of this is Ashley Roberts - ex Pussycat Doll. She was the best, got to the final but did not win. Being American didn’t help either. The British public will go for the one who has had the best ‘journey’. My money is on Ellie.

threecupsofteaminimum · 05/11/2023 22:28

Yeh, it's not meant to be a level playing field though is it, contestants are right across the board in terms of ability which is what makes it fun.

Passepartoute · 05/11/2023 22:30

Wotchaz · 05/11/2023 19:34

I reckon they’ve done it deliberately because the previous same sex couples have been a bit “meh”. So they’ve brought in someone who’s guaranteed to stay in for longer and show what a same sex couple can do. Doesn’t stop me finding him irritating, but maybe worth it to see Nikita each week!

Unlikely, given that John Whaite got to the final and came second when he was partnered with Johannes.

Robotalkingrubbish · 05/11/2023 22:34

I always watch Strictly. It’s entertaining and brightens my day. Layton is easy on the eye and can dance. I’m quite enjoying him being there.

VeniVidiWeeWee · 05/11/2023 22:37

Mrsjayy · 05/11/2023 19:33

There is always going to be dancers on strictly Caroline flack had a degree in dance Denise van outen had been in the west end Ashley Roberts an actual dancer ! Layton might not be to everybody's taste but the guy was asked to be on Strictly so that's where he is. I don't think he will win.

And your source for this is?

pizzaHeart · 05/11/2023 22:40

AutumnCrow · 05/11/2023 19:42

It has put me off watching tbh.

I like the triers, the learners, the developers.

I feel the same. I wasn’t keen on Ashley Roberts for exactly this reason. I don’t think they need to bring a ringer to showcase Nikita - there are a lot of professional dances he’s taking part in.

Mopbucketmoo · 05/11/2023 23:11

Strictly is never a level playing field.
He is very good but won't win

Channellingsophistication · 05/11/2023 23:13

I like watching Leyton but the challenge is too close to his day job to be fair to others. The experience is not going to be a “journey” for him like for Krishnan or Annabel.

I loved Hamza last year, he demonstrated how wonderful discovering a new skill can be!