Strictly 2022 Thread 2 - Who's your favourite...

[xsquared]

Hello folks,
Last one filled up and I was surprised another hadn't been started for a while.

First thoughts:
I like this year's cohort and I recognise a few faces.

• Jayde reminds me of Dawn French. Wasn't expecting her to be paired with Karen.

• Carlos and Vito will be interesting to watch in their debut. Molly went to Sylvia Young Theatre, so she could be a ringer.

• I've seen Jowita in The Greatest Dancer and she was phenomenal. Hamza looks like he'll be good fun.

• Luba looked amazing during John Legend's performance and it's a shame that neither her celebs went very far. Maybe she's better suited to dancing in the background.

• When Helen Skelton mentioned needing someone who could understand a northern accent, I immediately guessed it was Gorka.

• Ellie and Johannes look good together. She's absolutely delighted with him, and I hope we get to watch them for a good while.

• Matt Goss seems rather subdued, but I think he'll have a good work ethic and deliver a good performance.

That was a great jive. Karen Hardy couldn’t half shift.

My fave of all time. The pros of that time were a cut above. Actual dancing instead of pouting and posing.

I’ve never seen that dance before - I didn’t start watching until the year Harry Judd was on. It’s amazing! I love how cleanly and clearly you can see their feet, and their ability shines through. Sometimes the pro dances now don’t seem to rewrite the same level of dancing skill, just better acting ability!

require <sigh> I hate the way my phone thinks it knows better than I do what words I want to use.

The old pro dances used to show us how the dances SHOULD be danced. I totally agree, would much prefer a return of the more authentic ballroom/Latin pro dances. And maybe a more commercial one once in a while just to change it up.

I hate all the Neil/Dianne/Luba/Cameron street or wafty dances awkwardly fitted to some crooner.

TheOnlyLivingBoy I think part of it was because when they only did one or two dances per week we'd get a pro dance the week before to show us what we'd see from the celebs the following week. So it was actually a jive, or Viennese waltz or whatever. Now a lot more are showdances.

And yes, the ballroom/Latin pedigree of the pros in the original series was better than it is now.

Actually, the other thing that makes a big difference is that the pros were mostly there as couples as well. Or if not, they always danced with the same person in the pro dances. It's a bit more random now!

This one is all pro competitive partnerships (and very skimpy outfits!). I think they might actually dress slightly more modestly on the show now.

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Thanks for this, as I've not seen ot before. Only started watching Strictly in 2016 so group dances now have a very different feel and format.

I like how every couple has their moment in the process group dances, each of them has their chance to shine but also work as a whole group.

Today's ones are very much focused on the main "star" of the show.

I agree about the skimpy outfits. Ola, Aliona and Nicole used to samba in essentially bikinis with a bit of fringe on: must have made life easier for Wardrobe.

Well, this was a bit disappointing from Will - not as good as last week, and why two party Latins in a row?

Great idea

Motsi seems to be dress for a disco version of Star Trek...

Is Shirley wearing a wig? Her hair looks fab

I thought she looked better tonight

Kym did OK but it was a bit slow. Her dress was gorgeous. The singing seemed rather bad.

Oh dear!!

That was my favourite outfit of the night, she looked lovely.