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Thread: Bring back Arlene!

  1. #1
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    Bring back Arlene!

    Arlene bless her, 66 years old and on the scrap heap.

    What a crock.

    Who they bringing in to give their valued judgements.... Alesha sodding Dixon.... my initial response was WHO?

    What on earth are the BBC playing at, why have they cut her from the show. Is she too old. Was she just no good at her job. Will Alesha sodding Dixon actually know what she is talking about cause i tell you what, ive been dancing a lot longer than she is and i couldn't tell you sod all about dancing.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by Trouble View Post
    Arlene bless her, 66 years old and on the scrap heap.

    What a crock.

    Who they bringing in to give their valued judgements.... Alesha sodding Dixon.... my initial response was WHO?

    What on earth are the BBC playing at, why have they cut her from the show. Is she too old. Was she just no good at her job. Will Alesha sodding Dixon actually know what shwanting to quit.e is talking about cause i tell you what, ive been dancing a lot longer than she is and i couldn't tell you sod all about dancing.
    My first assumption would be Arlene has reasons for quitting, rather than being dropped.

    Alesha is going to have to convince me. I suspect she may need a backing team.

    Actually Mike Ellard, as leader of a worldwide dance class organisation, would be a very strong contender for the judging table. IMO he should be delegating loads of stuff, and work on presenting himself as a dance authority figure. I would have him learn from the Internet Marketing Gurus, Richard Branston, Anita Roddick etc and be the face of the business, with regular video and textual blogs to spread the news, speak at businees meetings, write articles and even a book (or lend his name to them) etc.

    He could give a authorative TV interview on why/why not Alesha should be a judge, why WCS should be amongst the dances, why MJ should be the first group dance they all learn in the comp. It is where many start their dance adventure.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    My first assumption would be Arlene has reasons for quitting, rather than being dropped.
    My first instinct is something similar - and I know the press are having a field day with the word 'axed', but we all know how they like to sensationalise things (and make stuff up) - and she first talked about quitting a while back.

    Having said that, I'm similarly dubious about Alesha. Time, I suppose, will tell.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    As I said on the Strictly thread, I see this as another example of dumbing down. They replace the knowledgeable older woman (yes I am biased) with the younger terribly sweet and beautiful woman with very little experience of dance as an expert, oh yes but leave the older men who can be on telly until they die.

    Yes I object to this double standards; are we all so shallow that we can’t listen or watch an older woman. I also appreciate beauty in both male and female but am open enough to appreciate other assets and attributes in people other than just looks.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    Actually Mike Ellard, as leader of a worldwide dance class organisation, would be a very strong contender for the judging table.
    Why?
    Because he's someone who can dance and has built a successful business out of it?
    Or is there some other reason he's qualified to judge Ballroom and Latin dancing?

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    He could give a authorative TV interview on why/why not Alesha should be a judge,
    Again, why would his opinion be authoritative?

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    why WCS should be amongst the dances, why MJ should be the first group dance they all learn in the comp. It is where many start their dance adventure.
    That's just your opinion. Personally, I wouldn't want to see West Coast Swing or Modern Jive in SCD.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    I am far more likely to watch SCD now that Arlene has gone.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    The departure of Arlene and the appointment of Alesha signals to me that the show's producers have moved towards "entertainment" on the dance competition/entertainment spectrum.

    I'll still be watching.

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidB View Post
    I am far more likely to watch SCD now that Arlene has gone.
    She does have a very irritating voice doesn't she? But, they should have got someone to replace her who comes from a dancing background, like Arlene, who has been a choreographer for over 30 years...that Alesha is a singer from Stevenage, who did a bit of choreographed dancing and won..that's it!

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    ... why would his opinion be authoritative?...
    I know **** all about Ballroom and Latin. I have been remarkably accurate in scoring the contestants. Anyone looking at the variation between the judges scores would conclude they did not know what they were talking about. Mike has put on events across a wide part of the dance spectrum, he knows stuff.

    Personally, I wouldn't want to see West Coast Swing or Modern Jive in SCD.
    Much as I respect the skill of WCS dancers and love some of their routines, I would not want to see it on SCD either. However, it is possible to promote it as a "real" dance, and to promote MJ as a feeder route into it.

    My angle would be that, for most people, MJ is the partner dance to try first. If it is not right for someone then they can find out very quickly, and either give up or move onto another dance form with a better chance of picking the right one. Too many try "real" dances first and give up because they wrongly believe they have proven they cannot dance. It saddens me to find 40+ year olds who only discover they can enjoy dancing after all, because someone dragged them into an MJ class.

    The "experts" may dismiss MJ as a route into their dance, but they have a harder time dismissing it as a route into WCS.

    Are you saying that some of the Comp winning formation routines would not add to the show? Personanly I think some of those would be amongst the most memorable moments. Is there an easier dance form on which to base the first group dance?

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by Double Trouble View Post
    She does have a very irritating voice doesn't she? But, they should have got someone to replace her who comes from a dancing background, like Arlene, who has been a choreographer for over 30 years...that Alesha is a singer from Stevenage, who did a bit of choreographed dancing and won..that's it!
    I couldn't care less about her voice. It is her lack of relevant experience that I didn't like. She has 30+ years experience of jazz dance, performance on stage and choreography for theatre, film, TV and commercials. Had SCD been about stage dancing then I would have no problem at all with her as a judge. However SCD is about partner dancing, and in particular ballroom dancing. How much experience has she had of ballroom?

    My view is that she was originally picked because she is one of the only two dancers that people in the UK could name, and the other one (Peggy Spencer) was too old.

    I don't know if Alesha will be any good. The one thing in her favour is knowing what the celebrity dancers are going through. However I would have preferred someone with comparable standing to Len Goodman. The first name that springs to mind is Karen Hilton

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    Cool Re: Bring back Arlene!

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidB View Post
    I don't know if Alesha will be any good. The one thing in her favour is knowing what the celebrity dancers are going through. However I would have preferred someone with comparable standing to Len Goodman. The first name that springs to mind is Karen Hilton
    Or if they needed a real expert, then there's always your good self David. Maybe we should put your name forward

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    Re: Bring back Arlene!

    No thanks. .

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