"the fundamentals just weren’t there.”
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Brendan Cole delivered a frank verdict on Balvinder Sopal’s semi-final exit, saying there was “no competition” in the dance-off.
Balvinder narrowly missed out on the final after losing to Amber Davies.
At the start of the series, Brendan believed Balvinder would make it to the halfway mark.
Working with Sky Vegas, Brendan told DESIblitz:
“It’s a hell of an achievement for Balvinder to get as far as she did, given what most people would consider not a great deal of natural dancing ability.”
However, Brendan argued that Balvinder’s run was driven more by performance skills than technical progress.
He said: “She always managed to perform things very well, which I imagine comes from her background as an actress.
“But sadly, the feet and legs, which are where all dance really comes from, were never quite there.”
Brendan said the problems were especially clear under closer scrutiny.
He continued: “If you look closely, especially in the semi-final, you can see how poor the technique was and how she didn’t really understand how to move as a dancer.”
While acknowledging the polish of her routines, Brendan said the presentation masked deeper issues.
He said: “The fluffy bits on top looked lovely, but the fundamentals just weren’t there.”
Despite the criticism, Brendan said Balvinder’s resilience deserved recognition, particularly her repeated escapes from elimination.
He said: “That said, she can be very proud of herself. Very few people can say they survived five dance-offs and made it all the way to a semi-final.”
When it came to the dance-off, Brendan said there was “no competition” between Balvinder and Amber, rejecting any suggestion that it was a difficult choice for the judges.
He said: “There was no competition at that point.
“Amber has had years of dance and performance training, and she and Nikita looked like a professional couple in everything they did.”
Explaining that Balvinder’s performance highlighted how far behind she remained, he added:
“Balvinder looked like someone who hadn’t had three months of dance training to get to that stage.”
Brendan also questioned the role of Balvinder’s professional partner, Julian Caillon, in her development.
He said: “I’m not overly sure I rate her partner – he’s been pretty average.”
According to Brendan, the judges’ extended deliberation misrepresented the reality of the contest.
He said: “The judges tried to make it look like a close decision, but it really wasn’t.”
The Strictly final will see Amber, Karan Carney and George Clarke compete for the iconic Glitterball Trophy.
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