In anticipation of the new Series and celebrity announcements coming very soon, we’re making some Strictly wishes and looking at 5 dances we would absolutely love to see in Series 23 of Strictly.

Let us know in the comments which routines – performed by which professional dancers – you would most like to see and why.

#1: Dianne dancing a Rumba

Since Dianne joined the show for Series 15 in 2017, she has performed 71 competitive routines including 8 Couple’s Choice dances, more than any other pro dancer. However, her dance card remains incomplete as she has never danced a Rumba. Lauren is the one other current pro yet to perform this style, but with only 2 celebrity partners in her 3 years on Strictly it’s still relatively early days for Lauren.

Dianne – in contrast – is now the joint sixth longest serving of the current professionals (fourth if we count this in number of dances performed). We’re definitely hoping that 2025 sees Dianne getting ready to Rumba for the first time ever and as this is the only dance style yet to receive a perfect score, perhaps Dianne can tick that milestone off at the same time?

#2: The first flawless Foxtrot in 17 years

It’s been quite the while since we saw a Foxtrot danced perfectly; the last time was in the Series 6 Final way back in 2008 when all 3 Finalists performed it, and both Rachel Stevens & Vincent and Lisa Snowdon & Brendan received 40s.

Its only recent appearance in a Final was when Stacey & Kevin received 39 for their dance in S16 (2018). The most recent highest scoring Foxtrot was performed in Musicals Week of 2022 (S20) by Will Mellor & Nancy, who also earned 39 for their Miss Saigon dance.

In fact, Nancy may be the pro most likely to achieve #2, as she is the only current pro amongst the 15 pro dancers awarded at least 1 ten for a Foxtrot (receiving 3 when she danced with Will). Yes, we too were surprised that old-timers like Aljaž and Gorka and high-scorers like Vito have never earned a ten for a Foxtrot. Indeed it’s the only routine where Vito’s average score drops below 30 points (29.00 for 2 dances). Something to work on!

Should Nancy (or any other female pro) earn a Foxtrot 40 this year, they would be the first female pro on Strictly to do so.

#3: A Jive without jeopardy for Nadiya

We think Nadiya might dread the week she draws the Jive from the playing deck that is the Strictly dance card list. With the most appearances in the bottom 2 of all styles (according to our calculations), the Jive is a risky routine for all. It has landed Nadiya in the dance-off three times, resulting in two eliminations (S17 with David James and S20 with Matt Goss).

The main problem is that with 5 Jives danced to date it is her most performed style. Only Brendan was in the bottom 2 more times after dancing a Jive (4) but he performed 10 Jives in all – so his 2 eliminations for this style are actually a better outcome. Similarly of current pros, Gorka has faced 3 Jive dance-offs and 2 eliminations like Nadiya but he has performed 9 Jives in total and also holds top-spot for most Jive tens of all pros having received 12 tens for it so far.

If Nadiya is partnered with a celebrity this year, either avoiding the jinxed Jive completely or landing a partner who can master its tricky technique will be desired goals.

#4: A weird and wonderful Waltz by Katya

The very first dance performed by Katya on Strictly was a Week 1 Waltz with Ed Balls back in 2016; 76 competitive couple dances later and this remains the only performance of this style she has ever done! Maybe there’s a feeling that this classic, graceful style doesn’t suit her creative (sometimes crazy!) choreography.

Her unique and distinctive style has characterised many memorable routines: her Matrix Paso with Seann Walsh in S16; her Tango in the Night Argentine Tango danced with Adam Peaty in a CGI swimming pool; the legendary Gangnam Style Salsa with Ed Balls and more recently a superb Mrs Doubtfire Cha Cha Cha with Wynne in S22 to name a few.

We reckon as the Waltz made something of a comeback last Series, with two 40-scoring routines by Chris and Tasha, it’s about time Katya’s talent for subverting styles was unleashed on this classic. The results could be impressive, even more so if it was combined with a strong theme week such as Movie Night or Halloween. Anyone else feel a “The Last of Us” Zombie Waltz could be on the cards?

#5: The return of Dance Fusion?

Strictly has seen some interesting dance innovations over its 20 years, but this is less true recently and since the introduction of Couple’s Choice in S16 (2018), the dances feel pretty fixed, with just the odd ‘a-thon’ thrown in. Series 7 saw several never-repeated innovations; remember Chris and Ricky’s ‘joint’ Lindy Hop, or the dance disaster that was Week 11’s Rock N’ Roll versus Charleston which massively favoured the latter routine?

In the 2012 Quarter-Final though, the previous Movie Night theme week was replaced by a Dance Fusion night which included some super special and memorable combination routines where 2 styles were mixed into a single dance. Kimberley Walsh & Pasha performed a fantastic 40-scoring Tango & Cha Cha Cha, combining two of the trickiest dances seamlessly; Dani Harmer and Vincent received 2 tens for their near-perfect Charleston & Quickstep and Louis Smith & Flavia fused Rumba and Tango into a sizzling, stylish performance with some superb spins.

It’s a bit of a mystery to us why this format has never been repeated – though maybe the couple who drew the Samba & American Smooth style felt cheated (Nicky Byrne & Karen, who received the lowest score of 27 and lost out in the dance-off to Denise & James’ Jive and Quickstep). Here at StrictlyDB we would love, love, love to see the return of a Dance Fusion special. And as for which dance combinations we’d like to see certain pros performing, here are just some suggestions with our rationale:

• Jive and Quickstep: this has Gorka’s name written all over it; with the most tens currently for both Quickstep (10) and Jive (12), he’d be hard to beat.
• Tango and Cha Cha Cha: Amy is the only current pro with any Tango tens (2 with Karim in 2019) so she’s a contender but Vito could do well here as he tops the ‘pros with tens’ list for Cha Cha Cha (6).
• Rumba and Tango: this could be a great one for Johannes or Carlos as both have good Rumba stats having danced 39-scoring Rumbas in Finals.
• Samba and American Smooth: of current pros, Lauren has great Samba form (5 tens, only bettered by Vito) but she’s yet to dance an American Smooth, whilst Aljaž has best form for this style of all pros ever with 16 tens plus 4 for the Samba, so either would be brilliant here.
• Charleston and Quickstep: a good choice for Amy or Nancy; Nancy has 6 tens for Charleston (only bettered from current pros by Vito); Amy has 7 for Quickstep and 3 for Charleston.

What are the Fusion combinations you think it would be fun to see, and which pro would you give each style to? Please do let us know in the comments below.

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