Dancing with the Stars Season 10, Week 7 – Who’s Dancing What?
Well, it’s seems to be another cleanup week, with a mixture of dances that the couples haven’t done yet. And once again, it seems that they are perhaps giving the weaker dancers dances that won’t necessarily suit them.
Additionally, we have the Team dances and FINALLY it has occurred to the producers that if you give both teams the same dance, you can compare them better. I believe it was Niecy who explained how it went this season (and I’m looking for the source of this – I know I read it somewhere) (I was wrong, it was Maks’ blog – thanks to mousebumples): Evan and Nicole, as the front runners, were named team captains. They had the choice of picking the song or picking first for the team. They flipped a coin and Nicole won. She chose to pick their song, giving Evan first shot at picking a team member. Personally, I think she did the right thing, because she and Derek both are very musical and the music is critical to Derek’s choreography. In any case, they picked Lady Gaga’s Telephone, leaving Evan’s team with Madonna’s Holiday. Evan picked first and picked, to no one’s surprise, Erin. Nicole picked Pam, Evan picked Niecy and Nicole picked Chad.
Team Madonna
Evan/Anna
Erin/Maks
Nicey/Louis
Team Gaga
Nicole/Derek
Pam/Damian
Chad/Cheryl
It will be very interesting because in terms of choreography we have Cheryl, Derek and Damian on one team – Cheryl and Derek are probably the two best choreographers on the show, and Damian will likely work well with them considering their history. Also, Derek has competed in both previous team dances and won both times. Cheryl has competed once, and Damian is new. But on the other team we have Anna, Maks and Louis – I think that Maks and Louis are also very strong choreographers, although Louis hasn’t been that great this season thus far, IMO. Louis has been in this competition once, the other two have not made it to the team dance. So, in terms of choreography, I think Team Gaga has the edge.
Now, based on the actual celebs in each group, I have to give the edge to Evan/Erin/Niecy (aka Team Madonna). That group has, essentially, one ringer and a mini-ringer to the one ringer in Team Gaga. But it’s going to be close, because Derek and Cheryl have experience in team dances. At the end of the day, I’m going to give the win to Team Madonna, not because of skill level but due to the fact that Evan got hosed last week (and the judges were up to something there), and Derek has already won this twice. But I don’t think it’s going to be a blow out by any stretch, it’s going to be very close (one or two points) unless the judges play games (again).
Now, the individual dances. I don’t know how I feel about them cleaning up and having everyone dance dances that have been done this season but that they themselves have not been done. Can’t they bust out the Paso and something else? Anyway, here is how it stacks up:
Nicole/Derek: Slow Waltz – should be lovely. Nicole should be in an up week, provided that her neck issue has healed. They have been getting a bad edit, similar to Maks/Erin, plus a slower dance – well, this dance needs to be beautiful because we are now at the stage where a “shocking elimination” could happen. They have to bring it.
Evan/Anna: Argentine Tango – perfect dance to shoot Evan back to the top of the leader board. Much spicier than the waltz that Nicole and Derek are tasked with and seems ripe for story boarding. “Evan Lysacek bounces back from a disastrous week!!!!” Perfect for the post-Kate era ratings. Yes, I am cynical.
Chad/Cheryl: Viennese Waltz – has disaster written all over it. Chad himself said he prefers the latin dances. I don’t see Chad pulling this one off in a significant way. I could be wrong, but this guy has disappointed me many times and I don’t think this week will be any different.
Pam/Damien: Slow Waltz – Pamela is amazing but she needs to step it up. Will she? I certainly think she is capable. After all the drama surrounding Erin and Maks, this is the pair I would like to see in the final three with Evan and Nicole. But I don’t think it will happen, unfortunately. I really don’t have the ability to predict how Pam will do. Damian is brand new and untested with celebs, and Pam is often incredible in creating a character, but not always spot on with getting the steps. I think the steps will be more important with the Waltz, so this could be a difficult dance – at a time when she least needs challenging. The bottom three should be between her, Chad and Niecy with Niecy going home – but you just never know.
Erin/Maks: Quickstep – this will be the interesting dance of the night. I’m quite sure that Erin is more than capable of delivering a great quickstep. The question is: will Maks choreograph in response to his pissiness with Len, or will he choreograph what he really feels? Anyone who has watched the media knows that Maks was PISSED OFF and unrepentant. So, will he choreograph a dance sans gimmicks and strip teases, or will he try to further piss Len off? If he plays it straight, Erin should have a great dance. In fact, I would not be at all surprised to see Erin lead the pack after all the crap of last week – remember, this show loves a great story. 🙂 She might end up in first place whether she deserves it or not.
Niecy and Louis: Quickstep – yeah, I don’t see this happening. It’s fast and in hold so Niecy can’t use any of her assets. Barring a great dance by Niecy or a disaster by someone else (Chad), I see this as Niecy’s final dance. I would not mind at all if Chad were to go in her place, but I doubt it.
So, anyone think I’m wrong? Think Evan won’t get an “amazing surge back to Number 1”? That Erin won’t be given an amazing growth arch? Anyone think that Niecy will kill the Quickstep?? Lay it on me. 🙂
I believe the details regarding how the team dance teams were picked came from Maks’s blog.
For the team cha-cha, we’re with Louis and Niecy, and Evan and Anna. Evan and Nicole were the overall leaders, so they were chosen to be the captains. They flipped a coin for first choice. The first choice was between choosing music and choosing a couple. Evan gave Nicole the right to call the coin toss. She flipped and won, and she chose to pick a song. It was between Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” and Madonna’s “Holiday,” and Nicole chose Lady Gaga, obviously. So Evan got to choose his teammate first, and he chose Erin and me. He and Erin are, like, best friends! Then Derek and Nicole chose Pam and Damian. Anna yelled out “Niecy” next, so Chad went to Nicole. It was like being in high school all over again being chosen for the team in gym. But I think it was a good deal.
Why thank you very much!! I knew I read that somewhere and I wouldn’t have gone back to Maks for it because I was thinking it was Niecy for some reason. 🙂
It should be noted that the past two team challenges essentially went the same way: the more easily synchronized, frame-utilizing dances won, while more typical latin dance lost. Now, with the cha-cha-cha, the past victories or failures are nullified by neither team having the stylistic upper hand. Personally, I think “Telephone” will lend itself to more overwrought choreography and an overly busy routine. The top-scored cha-cha-chas in the past have just been to simple, occasionally funky songs that lend themselves to the band’s cover.
I know that it will never happen, ’cause there’s no real, fair way to manage it, but wouldn’t it be cool if, in lieu of team matches, they had an even number of men as women and did a pro-free dance, where paired celebrities had to go out without the training wheels. For instance, third party choreographer Karina choreographed a jive for Pam and Evan. Amazing results? Crash and burn? Wonderful television! Who knows…
I for one watch this show for the pros. I have no desire to watch the celebs dance with each other. That includes the upcoming DAD with Joey & Melissa.
Celeb/Pro or Pro/Pro
Maks isn’t doing Erin any favor. His choreography and costume design for her are atrocious. She has fans so they’ll stay on for awhile though.
Heidi brings up an interesting point. I can see Team Madonna winning a close battle with Team Gaga and Evan and Erin both get this rise to the top story. Evan is going to get a huge score also to quiet his fans who were complaining about the scores last week. Nicole will do well but if Evan scores with his argentine tango and wins the team dance, she is not as front and center. Now people have been speculating about her fan base and I am curious how she will fare as well. She is too good to be eliminated. Team Madonna has the edge on dancers because they have two ringers. Erin’s legs were atrocious in that samba but she is better than Pam and Chad. The one good thing Maks did last week was that dust feather skirt on Erin which covered up her legs. I think Erin will do fine with the quickstep so the show can continue her story. Maybe Pam or Chad will upset. One mistake though Heidi, Cheryl has won team challenges twice. Yeah, I think Cheryl and Derek both having won multiple times the show will throw it to Team Madonna.
No, I want Team GAGA to win!!!!! 🙁
I think you’re incorrect, John – Cheryl didn’t make it to the Team dance last year because of Tom Delay. Derek’s the only one who’s one it twice – with Team Paso and then Team Tango. Cheryl was on Derek’s Team Paso with Gilles.
Quin is also incorrect when he says the “more easily synchronized dances” have always won – I don’t think that the Tango is much easier than the Paso. Derek’s team two seasons ago showed it was very easy to do a unison dance with Paso – and yes, that was easier than the Cha Cha that the other team did, but his Team Tango didn’t have it measurably easier than Team Paso last season. Both teams had good, rhythmic beats that would be similarly challenging or “easy” to choreograph a unison dance.
Karla, I wouldn’t count Team Gaga out at ALL. I’m just being realistic in thinking that Len has a grudge against Nicole/Derek and that works against them, plus Team Madonna has TWO ringers to Team Gaga’s one.
I am not counting out Team Gaga. I think it is pretty even but I can see the producers pushing for Team Madonna.
Heidi, you forgot Derek won three times (team paso, team tango twice). Cheryl’s won twice (team paso in season 7 and team tango in season 8). Kym also won twice (team paso and team tango). Each time, I thought they put the best choreographers on the winning team. If Louis was with Cheryl and Derek, that would one unfavor advantage but Damian is pretty good himself. For a first year pro, he has done quiet memorable performances and I put him up there and I think better than Anna and Maks.
Len talks out of both sides of his mouth sometimes. Probably just trying to make things more balanced. Team tango handily beat team paso last season but he said team tango had it easier when in season 7 he said paso was easier to synchronized. Tango is a lot more difficult to be in synch.
[…] many thanks to Princess Heidi for an idea of what’s going to happen on Monday, here are my predictions for Monday’s show and Tuesday’s […]
I’m gonna actually disagree with both Heidi & John and say that Team Gaga will easily win over Team Madonna. They have the better song, the better choreographers, and two celebs that are very good at getting into character (Nicole and Pam). Team Madonna may have 2 ringers, but I find that Evan & Erin are a little weak when it comes to really connecting & capturing the feel of the dance, and Niecy – well, she may be funny, but I don’t think anyone can really argue that she’s not the weakest dancer still in the competition. Maks has proven more than once that he tends to choreograph what Maks likes, rather than what the judges (Len) like; Anna’s choreo tends to be a tad bland at times; and Louis has been hit-or-miss this season. Then again, none of the above could really matter, and it may only have to do with running order – the team that goes 2nd has always won. It will be interesting to see how the points spread out with both teams doing the same dance, for once – I’ve always felt that those who got the Latin dances were screwed if they were up against a ballroom dance.
Agree that this will be Evan’s “comeback” week – he got the most crowd-pleasing of the ballroom dances (although I find Argentine tango to almost be a medium between standard tango & rumba), and of course, the judges need to shake things up again after making him their whipping boy last week. Niecy is just straight-up screwed with the quickstep – after being in the bottom 2 last week, and knowing her background of not doing well with fast dances that require a lot if endurance, I would be extremely surprised if she was not tomorrow night’s lowest scorer. Chad is only slightly less screwed, as the Viennese waltz is maybe a tad easier than quickstep & the judges seem to have thrown him a bone last week after his AT. I would say that Erin may score higher than Pam, but I think they may actually come out with about the same score – Erin may fall out of the judges favor this week, and I could see her struggling with the footwork of the quickstep. I was actually relieved to hear that Pam was doing the waltz & not the samba – I didn’t want to see her crash & burn like almost everyone who did the samba last week did. As long as Damian manages to choreograph something that Pam can play a character to, I think they’ll be fine. Derek & Nicole will likely play second fiddle to Evan & Anna this week in scores, due only to storyboarding. Man I hate faux suspense.
I’m glad you emphasized the significance in the shift to the new “team” dances. it’s something our little fan group has been discussing, but haven’t heard much more chatter about it till i came here.
thanks,
deb
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they will hose Nicole similarly to what they did Evan last week just for the sake of “drama’. As for Chad versus Niecy, it greatly depends on the team dance, which can go one of two ways. If both teams perform spectacularly well, then the scores will be close and it won’t matter. BUT if Team Gaga makes one teeny mistake, look for them to get hosed big time – that’s just my impression of how it’s going to go this week. I hope I’m wrong. If Team Madonna performs poorly? Look for them to get 8’s and 9’s regardless. Am I cynical? Why yes, very much so. 🙂 Is it cynical or realistic?? We’ve seen time and again people get scores they shouldn’t – either good (Chad) or bad (Evan). We’ve seen Len barely able to speak when Nicole did so well that he couldn’t give her a 7. Unfortunately for Niecy, I think they consider her expendable at this point because she doesn’t have as much promise as the other 5.
I may not even get to watch the show, unfortunately. You might have seen on the news that Nashville is under water so we’ve got 24 hour news coverage. Plus, Comcast is located in a heavily flooded area, so who knows how long I’ll have internet?
So how is it that I, the Derek fan, forgot one of his team dance wins? Senility? 🙂
You also forgot Cheryl won in team Tango (w/ maurice season 7) and Gilles in team paso (season 8)
Yeah, Allison, I basically left our a whole season when doing my commentary. My only excuse is stress from the flooding.