SCD 23 #15 Will Craig Find His 10 Paddle? NO SPOILERS

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

Keep Dancing

‘I feel like we’ve always come out and kind of like done something potentially a little bit more out there pushing the boundaries… we’ve thrown in this and that… and there’s always an element of surprise,’ he said.

I don’t think he’s pushed his own boundaries at all, though. He’s stayed exactly where he feels safe for the entire run, and that’s my issue with him.

What would really surprise me now is for the two of them to come out and do a completely traditional waltz - no gymnastics, no quirky outfits - just something that would make Len sigh happily. That’s when I’d sit up and take notice of Layton.

I think Ellie and Annabel have pushed themselves. Layton not at all imo. Nigel I don’t really think so either tbh.

Yes I agree with this. At the end of the day it's an entertainment programme. The judges have had favourites for years, and ringers from the start. Usually when TV programmes start doing fanservice they finish soon afterwards. If they started off with no one with dance experience and allowed the audience 100% of the vote right from the start I bet it wouldn't last long!
I would like to hear different music represented from different musicals too, though. Surely one dirty dancing song is no more expensive than a different one? And more ' traditional' Latin music which wouldxsurely be free?

Men can wear whatever clothes they like, just as women can wear skirts, dresses, trousers etc

He hasn’t entered the competition under false pretences though has he?

I think there would be more votes in the core demographic for L&N if they went the Brokeback Mountain costuming route throughout: we're two good looking young male cowboys/pirates/ stockbrokers/ chimneysweeps who fancy each other, let's foxtrot. As a member of a core-voting demographic it would work for me.

But since that would almost certainly lead to exactly the same outcome (couple of dance-offs, finals, runner-up) I can't really blame Layton for deciding that he's going to prioritise his own personal preference for how he presents himself over vote maximisation at all costs.

I think there would be more votes in the core demographic for L&N if they went the Brokeback Mountain costuming route throughout: we're two good looking young male cowboys/pirates/ stockbrokers/ chimneysweeps who fancy each other, let's foxtrot. As a member of a core-voting demographic it would work for me.

You’ve made me feel quite flushed…. 😂

At least that image has provided me with a good start to the day 😂

i think there will always be ringers , the problem for me is more the judges making it up as they go along.
why have cc if the judges don't mark if for the dancing. then give a 10 for a sad story.
nigel falls foul of it , as he is under marked every week, he gets an 8, then bobby gets a 10 from motsi , who admits to not even marking him for his dancing. that sort of stuff annoys me.

I don't care what he wears as long as it looks 'good' (by which I mean good by Strictly standards rather than a pot bellied troll or one of the other cheese dream fuelled nightmares Vicki G has unleashed in theme week).
But the justification for having contestants with extensive dance training/experience is 'ahhh but they've never done ballroom and it's a very specific style that they will have to overcome their existing training to master' and Layton has showed no sign of doing that week after week he has done his thing rather than distilling the essence of the style he is dancing.

Thats absolutely fine, doesnt mean that we all like to see it though. I personally thought the culottes (trousers) looked odd with Laytons muscly arms, however Vicky Gill must have liked it and put them on him. If we all had the same views, life would be dull. However that doesnt make me homophobic. (Not that you suggested that, Chocolate)

100% agree with everything you’ve said here

Yes indeed. But they look silly in dresses.

I love your pimped-up version!
I bought farfalle today; that's what I always made it with. Can't wait til the next time I'm home alone for dinner

I really loved Molly's yellow suit in her QS with Carlos

Totally agree with this (and other similar comments from others). I'd have a great deal more respect for Layton, Nikita and the production team if they had him do a stripped-back waltz/Viennese/foxtrot for which he'd clearly worked hard on the technique and wore a 'trad' costume – not because I object to him wearing dresses and skirts per se, but because I'd like one week where he goes completely classic and simple.
Still, as I've talked about before, I feel quite relaxed about him still being in; last week's result showed that he doesn't have much public support, which is in line with the Strictly rule of thumb that, once the great unwashed take over control of the scoring/voting, ringers lose.

I don’t think that Nigel and Bobby have been well served by the costume department. Too many vests.

It's really interesting that there is quite a negative reaction to Layton wearing dresses/skirts etc, I do think your right EvilRingahBitch in that the preferred aesthetic of straight women when it comes to thinking of gay men looking romantic or erotic is two straight looking men getting together (slash fiction certainly attests to this).
Layton as a femme gay man isn't going for this aesthetic, though the AT played to that look. Generally his is much more a gender bending look, though he has at times looked butch, sometimes androgynous sometimes femme, I think only in the Grease moment could his look be described as drag and still not in the sense of Ru Paul Drag Race look. It actuality I don't think we see many gender non-conforming men on tv unless it's full drag. Maybe we are just getting used to breaking away from hetronormativity when it comes to men's dress.

I wasn't overly keen on Layton's culottes but I hated his Rizzo skirt. It looked awful and did a real disservice to a character who is so well loved by so many women.

If he's going to wear a skirt or dress it needs to be better fitted to his body shape.

I hated Layton’s culottes but not because it was a man wearing them - I just thought they were too flappy and it made it too hard to see what his legs/feet were doing. I would have said the same if it was a woman wearing them.

The reality is that when it comes to men, women like to look at ones who are stereotypically “male”: muscular, sexy, attractive etc - as the drooling that goes on over Vito, Gio and Nikita prove 😂

Men wearing dresses and skirts just doesn’t visually have the same effect on a lot women, be that sex appeal or otherwise.

I find Nikita very alluring but put him in a skirt or some culottes and I’m not sure I’d feel quite as strongly… 😂

To be honest that Rizzo outfit was a cheap polyester fancy dress costume that you'd get for 9.99 on eBay. It wouldn't even have flattered Nadiya or Katya, and the same for the velour pink culottes. There's been done costume shockers this year. I'm expecting Vicky to smear charcoal on Nigel's gardening clothes for next week's Charleston!

I'm not sure I buy that. Layton is fairly lightly built but has a muscular dancer's body. And Vito and particularly Giovanni are quite lightly built too. Nikita is a bit stockier, I agree, but none of them are really built like, say, Robin or Artem.
Nikita wore a skirt/kilt in, was it the Afro-Latin pro dance? Or the Bollywood one? and looked hot as, IMO.

@MarkWithaC Nikita wore a kilt in the Wednesday / Halloween week pro dance.. and yes it really suited him!

Oh yes! Thank you. I'll have to go and re-watch it...

Yes Nikita wore a grunge kilt and Robert Smith jumper in the Wednesday theme dance, and looked very nice indeed IMO.