Suggestions for Strictly Towers Management Team

As there are at least 15 guests logged in, I thought they might be interested in reading some ideas for next years Strictly Series 13. Anyone want to play?

Amazing how quickly the guests are suddenly logging off. I wonder why?

I'm about to log off B4p, but only because tis past the witching hour and sleep beckons. I shall resume communications on the morrow. Adieu for now.

Lol i,ll try and come up with something when i clear my head of tonights result , im trying to be fair i wanna see the reasoning or at least any reason , i don't have enough that would require any decision yet in fact slightly better in the dance off possibly is all ive got & thats opinion & no substance im sure the majority would disagree anyway .
I daren't watch it if its ludicrous it,ll make watching next week less appealing , i,ll imagine something happened that made Simon the right choice & i,ll disregard pixie being much better & the stats that prove it , l en must have and accept it was something he spotted in his lense & that with the fact he thought trent was not to his taste is what he made his decision on .

How about next year they add a new segment on sunday called L ens settee & theres a link to him at home on his settee & gives us a goo ahn sun or pickled walnut anecdote , we scrap l ens l ens a replace him on the saturday judging panel with someone who's less of a wombat . He can stay at home then with his casting vote

1. Find a way of getting fifteen million viewers watching Strictly without having a public vote.
2. Get Karen Hardy on the judging panel.(matter of fact, have a look at moving a couple of the current crop onwards to a new show, preferably in America.
3. Have two shows a year; one for under fifties, one for over.
4. Adopt Superken's ideas and get rid of nonsense like "The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman's Lens". Serves no useful purpose.
5. I've given up watching I.T.T and would much sooner have a nightly dance class from Ian and Camilla.
6. Get rid of the props and backing dancers. Employ them on Sunday Night at the Palladium...or something.
7. Employ a musical director who understands the value of tradition.
8. Have contestants doing at least similar dances as the later rounds approach. Paso and A.T have much more
vote appeal from a drama angle than waltz and foxtrot.

I'll think of more later when I've finished making the Mark voodoo doll.

I would scrap the theme nights they have and replace them with

1/ Ballroom night, every one does a ballroom dance no faffing no props no extras just Ballroom

2/ Latin night, as above every one does a latin dance no faffing no props no extras just Latin

3/ Proper dance music, doesn't matter which dance ballroom/latin but the correct style of music and no pop music

4/ Save the AT for the semis and/or the final.

at least that way IMO we would see how the celebs are progressing at learning to dance and in the DO (as I suppose it will continue) it would be like for like for at least two weeks.

Poppetlovestango wrote:I would scrap the theme nights they have and replace them with

1/ Ballroom night, every one does a ballroom dance no faffing no props no extras just Ballroom

2/ Latin night, as above every one does a latin dance no faffing no props no extras just Latin

3/ Proper dance music, doesn't matter which dance ballroom/latin but the correct style of music and no pop music

4/ Save the AT for the semis and/or the final.

at least that way IMO we would see how the celebs are progressing at learning to dance and in the DO (as I suppose it will continue) it would be like for like for at least two weeks.

There used to be a program on a few years back that had all them things you want to introduce & none of the things you want to get rid off , it was uncannily similar to what you suggest eee what was it called now , sumat come dancing , oh yeah thats it Strictly Come Dancing it was called , it was good as well , it could replace that manufactured cobblers thats scripted through the week the plot shown on saturday and the farcical end delayed especially to accomodate & add extra drama till sunday erm i think its changed its name this series to something like S*** S*** & more S*** or something similar , it won't be around much longer im sure , only a few diehards left i bet & a few who can't see the wood for the trees

superken...yes. All the suggestions are about turning back the clock. While I understand the urge....AINT GOING TO HAPPEN GUYS. Everyone take a deep breath and start coming up with things that are new and fresh but do give us a bit of what we want.


What themes would work? Think of some.

Backing dancers are like lifts......rules for when appropriate.

Yes, okay lovely tango music is the best. BUT put your thinking caps on and LISTEN to modern music. Find the pieces that have the right mood and count. The producers are lost. Give them a list of modern pieces that they haven't used before but are right in feeling and rhythms.

Well great ideas already the biggest LET THE PRO DANCERS CHOOSE their MUSIC

1 Stop the Sunday pretend nonsense and bring back two part Saturday.

2 A mature SCDD series running alongside a Junior SCD

3 If having modern themes then mark them as modern dances not old school style

4 Two sets of scores merit and techicality and bring in 0.5 mark

5 If a tie go to the public vote to decide

6 Give the band a balcony

7 Employ better camera operators

8 Limit props to three per couple and used once only

9 A fifth Judge an ex pro dancer

10 Have a post final ITT

11 Show the public vote percentage on a Monday

12 Live training web feeds

13 Change the judges save CRH

Just a few tiny suggestions

All good suggestions sax....but they need to sound sexy and seductive.

Think I'd better opt out here. The reasons and views given are purely my own, so affect nothing or no one, and certainly mean no offence.

Firstly, whatever suggestions come up, modern producers are unlikely to listen to anyway. Secondly, I have no time for modern music personally; there has hardly been anything decent in mainstream since 1990. I hate rap music like the plague and before that, punk, hip hop, garage, elevator and Asda's "backgound" music. As far as dance goes, there's an absolute lifetime library of fantastic music available that lives in ballrooms and dance-halls, lots of it imported. If Strictly is a ballroom and Latin show, then play ballroom and latin music. So far (at least until now) the format has pulled in top rating figures weekly and its popularity has lasted almost a century.

If modern music and dance is what people want, then bring in a new show, new dances, call them what you will and play and format them to your heart's content. Me, I'm quite happy to meander along to what I've lived my lifetime with. Out with the old, in with the new and jolly good luck to you. I've lived in a golden age of music and I really have little need of a Paso Doble to Zorba the Greek or a tango to Motorhead. Take your partners please for a gangsta-rap tango-jive.

Oh darn! How do I maje suggestions sound sexy and seductive???


Ooh Mr Producer pop and see me sometime gives an alluring wink

Tango, i do understand your feelings BUT the producers are always hungry for new ideas. If we come up with a really good really fresh one they will listen (I have worked alongside producers.)

I subscribe to best Dancers world-wide on FB. Mostly it is hip hop etc to the appropriate music. Can you imagine my surprise when I turned one on the other day and found a group doing hip hop to Baroque music, violins the whole thing.

Hip hop and all the other crew dances are incredibly complicated in their rhythms and structures......like Baroque music.

There was a famous Russian conductor of the Boston Symphony. If they audience booed a new bit of music, he would schedule it again for the same season. If the reception was really bad, he would play it again the same evening. We all know how Rite of Spring was first received. Most of the time, disliking a form is because one is not completely comfortable with it.

As i said we have to find the good stuff. The producers don't get the new music scene. They don't know what is danceable. We need to help not shake our fingers......that will get us nowhere. We will simply be written off as fuddy-duddies.

Hatlady - you are truly the voice of reason!

Whilst I agree that some dances (I'm thinking AT and Paso) really only fulfil their drama and mood potential with more traditional music, I also think that if the right choices of more contemporary music are made, by people who really understand tempo, rhythm, mood etc, then the results can be truly inspired - verging on genius.

I think the problem has been when seemingly random songs are chosen in order to fit in with a theme.  I think that, apart from the theme issue itself, there is an additional problem in that the BBC work to an excruciating tight budget and therefore the songs that they have rights to/can afford to pay for the performing rights, are restricted and limited. So even if someone came up with a relevant song for Round the World week say, for an AT not set to trad music, the BBC may not actually be able to use it because of the costs involved.

However, I still see the main problem as being that the music is chosen by production team rather than the dance professionals or the musicians. It's like a fashonista choosing shoes for an athlete on the basis of the colour or what's hot right now (and what fits in with the budget...) rather than a coach or the athlete themselves choosing the right footwear for the correct sport.  At very best you will have Cross Country runners wearing football studs, and at worst you will get track runners wearing high heels.... (I'm really hoping you are all following this analogy....!)

As I say, I have seen some traditional dances done to contemporary music and it is truly stunning because the tempo and the mood capture the spirit of the dance entirely and the choreography is amazing and clever. So throw down the gauntlet to the pros to come up with something truly amazing, rather than hobble them by giving them rubbish and random music choices.

The only other thing I feel strongly about is an extra ITT on the Monday after the final so that the winning couple and the runners up get to see their best bits and say goodbye.  It would have a real party atmosphere, especially coming up so close to Christmas and even think it could be shown on Beeb 1 as a post SCD special. In the 7-8pm slot I think.

If you can polish these turds of suggestions into something the producers would be interested in, then please feel free Hatlady - but personally I think they are sexy enough as they stand :-)

some possible ideas:

I particularly like to watch the latin dances and would love to see a new one being introduced from other Latin American countries for example:
Merengue from Peurto Rico & Dominican Republic
Lambada from Mexico
Mambo from Cuba
The Salsa was brought in not many seasons ago but could be changed for one of the other types of Latin dances for a season
If not for the celebs to learn the alternative dance, maybe the Pros could do a routine showcasing something different.

The theme weeks have increased to almost alternate weeks, which puts the emphasis on performance and show rather than technique (Mark admitted tonight on week 12 that he still doesn't know how to lead). Movie night, Halloween, Blackpool, Around The World. I'd save a couple of theme nights and maybe like's been suggested, have one week where all the celebs do latin and another week where they do ballroom. Drop the cheesy weekly themes for the celebs e.g Jake (mafia) Sunetra (Dr) Steve (Tarzan) etc

Maybe the celebs could have a point awarded for including up to 3-4 particular moves within a dance e.g. feather step, fleckerle, throw-away--oversway etc.

The public could vote for one celeb to have one 'by' week (up to the quarter finals) where they are exempt from the DO that week like a joker or 'get out of jail' free card.

Have a week where names are drawn out of a hat and the Celebs have to do a dance with another Pro the following week.

Have a week where instead of a guest singer (flogging their latest DVD, CD, book) the judges are allocated a Pro for a dance and the Celebs sit on the judging panel to score them.

Have one week where at the beginning of the show, each couple is given one surprise prop that they have to bring into their routine in some way.

Get the celebs on ITT to do a quiz based on VT's of the Pros footwork 'Guess the dance move'

I used to enjoy the Pro Q & A's on ITT and when you got to look round their houses. How else would I have known that Aliona is a custard addict? That Artem has a collection of leather jackets (especially as he's usually got his top off so I thought he didn't need to buy any tops) or that Katya only ate pickles?

Let the Pro's choose the music. Yes some of them will pick modern, some traditional, and it will need divvying up somehow, but that gives the Pros a challenge and adds to the competitiveness.  I think in previous years, they had to give lists of music choices into the show during the summer months and then wait to see which ones were accepted. I remember Darren choosing some pop people I'd not heard of like Nelly Furtado, and Flavia often chose modern music but I still liked watching it. Vincen't Tango to Annie Lennox's 'Sweet Dreams' is still one of my favourites.

Like sax, I'm not sure how to make suggestions sexy or seductive. Maybe I'm a bit of a prude, but I get a bit tired of seeing endless flesh, naked torso's and catsuits. Can't we have a bit more of classy and elegant sometimes? I'd hate it if the show ended up like some of it's European copies which border on soft porn. To me, if someone dances well, they are automatically attractive. I'm bored by the endless 'neanderthal page 3 tactics' distracting away from dance techniques, the skimpy costumes and endless hip thrusts (and that's just Br uno). Example - Sunetra, to me never looked sexy or seductive, she was charming and elegant, never boring, and I enjoyed watching her.  At the beginning of the series, Judy was put into dresses with cutouts down the sides. Why? It looked so out of place. Why have older celebs on what is still a family show, then try to dress them the same as the teenagers? Caroline has issues with her appearance and was pretty covered up for her AT but still managed to look stunning. Will it become a disadvantage to any male celeb who hasn't got a 6 pack in future series? There's also many different feelings expressed in dance, Gawd help us if they start trying to make the Quickstep sexy. Even the Tango, Paso & Rhumba are starting to look like an episode of domestic violence. What ever happened to sexual tension, anticipation, hope, disappointment, plain old romance and joy. Does everything have to boil down to exchanging body fluids on the dance floor?  Strictly Come Bodyfluids?

Maybe someone is reading Tango's 'Musical Director' thread, as some of the songs we've gathered there have been used over the past few weeks. I used to like the music threads on the previous Beeb boards as they introduced me to all sorts of artists that I wouldn't have normally listened too. I think music is key and I am off to search out some new (to me) tracks that might cross over to the ballroom & latin dances. We have musicians in our little forum band that can help guide re rhythms and beats I'm sure.

Wow B4p - I am truly impressed and slightly in awe of your creative thinking. There's some corking ideas there.

But I think what Hatlady meant by "Mmake them sexy" was to sell/package the ideas up in such a way as the producers can see the benefit of them - so that they are attracted to the ideas and give them a good look and consideration, rather than glancing at them before dismissing them.  Another way of saying it might be "put some ribbons and bows on them"...  I really don't think she was suggesting that only ideas which made the dances more sexy or raunchy were to be included.  Even the producers aren't that crass - they are working on a show that appeals to all ages and is shown well before the watershed after all...

And if I'm wrong about what you meant Hatlady, I apologise unreservedly!

Diamonds, you are absolutely right. Making them sexy had nothing to do in my mind with revealing costumes. It was all about making the ideas unbelievably attractive to the producers. B4P, great ideas! Don't worry, your virtue is intact.

diamondsandpearls wrote:Wow B4p - I am truly impressed and slightly in awe of your creative thinking. There's some corking ideas there.

But I think what Hatlady meant by "Mmake them sexy" was not sell/package the ideas up in such a way as the producers can see the benefit of them - so that they are attracted to the ideas and give them a good look and consideration, rather than glancing at them before dismissing them.  Another way of saying it might be "put some ribbons and bows on them"...  I really don't think she was suggesting that only ideas which made the dances more sexy or raunchy were to be included.  Even the producers aren't that crass - they are working on a show that appeals to all ages and is shown well before the watershed after all...

And if I'm wrong about what you meant Hatlady, I apologise unreservedly!

Thanks Diamonds. I see what you mean. A bit like when the youngsters say 'sick' and they actually mean something's good or 'densh' and they mean ??????.  I was taking the 'sexy & seductive' wording too literally. Apologies Hatlady - I got the wrong end of the vernacular. Oh no - does this mean I'm not trendy anymore? Am I bovverred?  

thanks Hatlady. I can still hold my head up

For me, this amply illustrates what I mean that an inspired contemporary music choice can get close to genius. (This was back in 2008 and I suspect that Vincent chose the music. Whoever chose it, it has exactly the right staccato haughtiness to it...)

I saw Prince a couple of months ago. I don't know what he's on but I want some. He was like Mr Hyperactive plays multiple instruments exceedingly well.

It'll never happen but...

• Please bring back the Tesspit! PLEASE!!! It had colour and warmth and atmosphere and I loved how the couples would appear from behind the red curtain before taking to the floor. The show's never been quite the same since they replaced it with that cold, clinical 'tower'
  

More realistically...

• Please sort out the ties on the leaderboard.
  

Some good ideas here - and need to have a proper think!

However, one immediately springs to mind. In a 'tie' in the DO, L en has the casting vote - but a tie can only happen when there are an equal number of votes on each side, not 2 - 1. This is not a tie!!! L en effectively always gets his way, unless the other three all agree. Just so wrong.

The Tower allows interaction with live audience and whoever is dancing........no chance it goes.

Well if I had to have five minutes with the producers to sell

Ok we already meet a target audience lets get more! Lets add a little "Frozen" Magic for the younger viewers lets have a Disney/Pixar music night

For our definitive classic dance fans bring in new latin dances not yet seen with a guest judge panel of experts! New faces/new views/new steps

Lets have pro dancer swop week a mix and match! The viewers vote in week one who to mix and match for one week only!

Lets have a "Love story week theme" we all want to be loved lets get the romance in dance!

To engage our viewers with the show lets bting back Saturday night cam with fans! Their extra points COUNT alongside the judges!


Ok thats just my views producers one tiny voice yet imagine having on boarrd ALL our voices! Strong together supporting our unique show!


Im worn out now