The Pros & Cons of the DWTS Pros – The Maks and Cheryl Edition
This is a part of the Pros and Cons of the DWTS pros Series. You can check out all the posts in this series here.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Marianya: Maks, Maks, Maks. The best thing since sliced bread… NOT! *evil cackle* Ok, all kidding aside, he’s actually a pretty good teacher, and is not that bad looking… as long as he keeps his clothes on. I mean seriously, the shirtless gimmick only works once and it’s over. Some people might like a few more times, but I think he’s sexy when a lot is left to the imagination. He is willing to work out of his comfort zone (as evidence to his freestyle with Erin last season, which I actually really liked), and he could handle pretty strong personalities (Laila and Mel B anyone?). That being said, Maksim (aside from some fairly recent partners) has actually done rather well placement-wise, however, add in recent placements then his average drops… que sera. since I don’t read any of the pros blogs or off the air antics I can’t, and won’t, comment on those… I’ll leave that to the other bloggers. That being said, he has done some decent choreography, but he tends to act like a big bratty kid when things don’t go his way… like crazy-Tom-Cruise-jumping-on-the-couch-only-on-a-ballroom-floor crazy. In any case, Maksim, in my opinion needs to grow up… and unfortunately I don’t see that happening anytime soon, and if he doesn’t grow up he’s going to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths down the road…
Heidi: Maks is a dichotomy for me. And my opinion of him is like one of the big coasters at the amusement park. Up, down and all around. At the start of last season, I was on one of the high hills of the coaster – but the plunge came quickly. I thought that Erin brought out a catty, snotty side of him that I really didn’t care for. Don’t throw your damn clothes at the judges when you KNOW you screwed up. And when the camera is on you after someone else dances – CLAP. Unless you’re a freakin’ 12 year old. Then, at the end of the season he and Erin both were very gracious in their loss. Then in his most recent blog, he says a lot of stuff I absolutely agree with – like the constant need the producers have to change the show. Hell, most of his blogs have chunks of stuff I agree with – but then he swings back into a#*hole territory. Up…down…up. But he’s a much better sport (most of the time) than Louis, for sure. And Marianya – while I agree Maks needs to grow up, that jumping temper tantrum was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time – and you know he’ll pay for it because the show will use it over and over and over – they already have. 🙂 Dealing with Erin probably would have brought that out in me as well. 🙂 Now as a choreographer, he’s also on the roller coaster. I thought when he subbed for Derek with Joanna he did an awesome job. I think his Argentine Tango, while not as difficult as the others last season, was also very good. That leap off the stage that he got out of Erin was an example of how to use a gimmick or a risk to your advantage. It was very well played. The ONLY mistake was choosing to dance it again, up against Nicole and Evan’s ATs – who didn’t have big flashy leaps, but who were clearly much more technically difficult. I also think that when he choreographed the tour he did a much better job than Louis did – more contemporary and entertaining. The Paso in that tour was EXCELLENT. But then he wasted a hell of a lot of time with Erin last season – lots of walking, menu waving and other non-dancing stuff. Len was right when he said that Erin was too good of a dancer for all that crap (he didn’t even get called on it half the time, either, but still complained). And you know, if you still want to do it and it fits the dance, fine – but don’t get mad when you get called on it. Grin and bear it. The anger just makes you seem dumb – because everyone knows that Len hates that stuff. As a dancer? Well, he doesn’t do that much for me, but he is certainly very talented. I just get the feeling when he’s dancing that he thinks he’s tremendously awesome – and that puts me off a bit. I’ve seen people say that about Derek and Mark – but the feeling I get when watching them is that they’re having a hell of a good time. that has an impact. I’m actually really, really liking Brandy so I’m hoping that he does her justice and teachers her, and keeps his attitude in check. And his clothes on. 🙂
Courtney: I think I can best sum up how I feel about Maks like this: I like him when he’s not all about some gimmick, be it on or off the dance floor. In the same way I get flustered with Lacey “bucking tradition” for no valid reason, I get flustered with Maks – some of what he does in his choreography, especially like he did last season, does nothing to enhance the overall quality of the dance, and just seems like a waste of time. Heidi mentioned it – the menu reading, the stripping, the wasting of 6+ bars of music just walking from one part of the stage to another. I know he’s got more up his sleeve choreography-wise than that! The guy has choreographed some great stuff in the past – my favorite is still his Argentine tango with Joanna when Derek was sick – fabulous, and just made that much more impressive by the fact that it was put together in the 11th hour. If he could make every dance he did as riveting as that one, he’d be up there with Mark & Derek as the two strongest male choreographers on the show. As for his attitude – it can be hard to swallow from time to time. The ranting in blogs, on Twitter, and to various news outlets about how the show is “unfair”? The shirt-throwing at the judges? The loud fights with his partners during practice? All that combined, season after season, makes it really hard for me to like the guy as a person – but then, when he does have his moments of sincerity and sensitivity, it makes it that much more endearing. I just wish those moments came more often! I’m actually really optimistic about this season though – from what I’ve seen of he and Brandy together so far, she seems like the best fit he’s had yet. Not too feisty (like Mel B. or Erin), but not made of glass (like Debi or Denise) – I think she’ll be able to listen to him without letting him walk all over her. I’m hoping with Erin gone that he reverts back to good, solid choreography and a more calm demeanor…because I actually do enjoy his dancing when he’s in that mode.
John: I must admit that Maks is probably my favorite male pro. I enjoy that he takes some risks in what he does. I agree that some of them may be dumb risks. I also agree that many of the risks often don’t work out, but I like that he’s trying to be unique and different. This blog wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if they all just came out and did basic steps. I love when they risk it and succeed and fail fantastically. I know many hated Maks’ choice to do contemporary for his freestyle. I loved the risk. The performance wasn’t exceptional, but I still loved that he was stretching himself and the pro in an attempt to do something special and memorable. One of these seasons someone else will do a contemporary and it will be fantastic. Just wait for it. I also I’m surprised by all this hating of him taking off his shirt. I’m a guy and so I couldn’t care less, but I have a feeling there are a lot of people out there that are happy to enjoy a shirtless Maks. We’ll definitely see in the comments to this post. Maks does have his good and bad moments (and partners), but every pro has that too. Although, I must admit that Maks and Mel B was probably the most powerful dance couple I can think of on the show. Them doing Paso Doble was the way I like to see a Paso Doble done. Off the dance floor Maks is a bit of a live wire, but that’s what makes him so interesting. You never know what he might say and I get the feeling he’s really saying what he thinks. I love the unfiltered opinions. I also can’t help but wonder how much Maks persona has been built by the producers. They have hours and hours of footage that they have to fit into a couple minute package. So, they have a lot of ability to shape the audiences opinions on pros for good or for bad. I’m quite sure every “bad boy” clip of Maks has been included on the show. It’s good TV to have a “bad boy” on the show. I know I like it.
Heidi: No, it’s not just that he’s edited that way, in my opinion. One only has to watch a lot of paparazzi video and read all his blogs…and follow him on Twitter. Maks is the only one who really complains about how he’s edited – but the camera can’t make stuff up, you have to remember it’s on you. Maks is not a bad guy, he’s just an often annoying guy. 🙂 I’ve never gotten the feeling from him, however, like I got from Louis last season – that he was being intentionally mean and nasty. He’s just very blunt – and then complains when people take his tone the “wrong way”. Ya can’t have it both ways – sometimes he knows that and sometimes he doesn’t. SAY what you think, Maks, by all means. But OWN it. All the time, not just some of the time. As for the shirt thing – well, it’s just been done too often and I probably wouldn’t mind if he just didn’t seem so proud of it. 🙂
John: I also forgot to mention how much I liked Maks on The Superstars with Kristi Leskinen. He was competitive, but very likable. It was also fun to see him outside of DWTS and somewhere other than the dance floor. I also just read that he did some work with Le Reve in Las Vegas. Who would have thought he worked on a water based show.
Courtney: Yep, I actually did know about Maks’ work with Le Reve – Ashly’s little sister Afton & her partner Brett (remember them from the pro contest in season 8?) are actually cast members. But I agree with Heidi – I don’t ever get the feeling that Maks is intentionally mean – just very, very blunt to the point of coming across as insensitive at times. But never intentionally malicious.
Cheryl Burke:
Marianya: The highest placed female pro of the cast… and second highest placed overall. Without Wayne Newton and Tom Delay she would have placed top overall on average, but alas she’ll have to settle for second. Those statistics alone is a credit to her teaching style/ability towards the celebs given to her, be it a boy band member, a football player, an actor, or anything in between, she seems to have this competition teaching down to a science. Before the dawning of the new young crop, she was the go to person for the sparkle front and center. So what happened?
Heidi: The Houghs and Ballas happened. 🙂 And really, if Derek hadn’t had Shannon, there would be no catching him in terms of numbers. And it’s not like he got way better partners than Cheryl – Joanna and Lil’ Kim had serious handicaps. Seriously though, not long after they showed up on the show, Cheryl really became a business woman – not that the two things were connected. Total convenient timing. That girl is *everywhere* – sponsorships, studios, attending all kinds of events – the list goes on. While I think it may have affected her on the show, I say good for her. Like Edyta has said recently – you can’t be a dancer forever. And this girl is making her mark and making a living. I’d be willing to bet that, for now, she is the wealthiest of the pros – if any of them qualify for wealthy. 🙂 I have a ton of respect for what she has managed to accomplish at such a young age. As a dancer and choreographer, I think she’s first rate. She’s also a class act behind the scenes – she never seems to say a bad word about anyone. She comes across as a little cool when presented with paparazzi – but Derek does too lately (thanks, Cheryl Cole), and I think they are both just tired of being harassed and don’t feel like they NEED that kind of attention. I respect that a lot too. Don’t kiss the parasites ass just to get ahead. I really have nothing bad to say about Cheryl at all. And really, put her and Derek together on a team dance and they can’t be beat. 🙂
Courtney: Strongest and most consistent of the female pros, bar-none. While her choreography may sometimes tend towards the fluffy and less complicated (Chad’s jive and Maurice’s quickstep come to mind) it always does seem to suit her partners well, no matter how inept they might be. She also seems to strike a balance between being both tough & tender – she works her partners hard, but is calm in the face of their frustration, and she does seem to genuinely care about all of her partners. I agree with what Heidi says about her being “cool” – nothing seems to ruffle her feathers, and she seems intensely focused on doing her best – it very well could be a by-product of her businesswoman side, which I also have to praise. She’s only a year older than I am, and has already created an empire – dance studios, endorsements, sponsorships, etc. I think she’ll definitely be someone whose name we’ll be seeing for a long time in the dance world, even if she’s not dancing herself. If anything, the only thing that’s lacking for me on Cheryl’s part is a bit more personality – sometimes she’s just so cool and composed that it’s hard to tell if she’s happy, sad, angry, or confused. I really wish I had more to write about Cheryl, but she’s neither pissed me off or given me goosebumps of excitement while on the show. She’s just a very pleasant pro to watch, and I have a lot of respect for her 🙂
John: I think Courtney just hit it on the head for me with Cheryl. I don’t hate her choreography. I don’t love her choreography. I don’t hate her personality. I don’t love her personality. I don’t hate her look. I don’t love her look. I don’t really love or hate anything about Cheryl. Initially I think I was partially biased towards Cheryl because she’d won twice and the American in me loves that the underdogs win or at least have a chance of winning. Of course, this was early in the show when I really thought it was more of a dance competition and less of a popularity contest. However, now that were at season 11, all of that has really worn off and I just enjoy being wow’d by a dance and the story lines of the show. I think I was also tainted a little by a short clip I saw of her early on in this highly ornate dance floor at her house. It felt like she’d kind of come from the golden spoon mentality. However, as time’s played out I don’t think that Cheryl has really played into the “I’m the champion” or “Golden Spoon” roles at all. She’s been amazingly humble when it comes to any discussion of the competition on DWTS. I also think that Cheryl does a really amazing job of making the star the star. She does dance “around them” sometimes in her choreography, but off the dance floor she does a great job highlighting and supporting her star partner. It’s almost never about her, but about the star.
Heidi: It is true that Cheryl is one of the females that has a tendency to dance around her partner, you’re right. And it annoys me at times, but then I figure what can you do with some of these guys? I kinda think the male pros have the harder job though, so I cut Mark more slack for it that I do Cheryl – I mean, the female in most of the dances has the harder moves and the male pros have to teach that. By the same token, though, the fact that the female partner generally is the one being showcased, might make it easier for it to seem she’s dancing “around” her partner instead of with her partner. Know what I mean?
John: There’s definitely something to say about the challenge being quite different for the female vs. the male pros. I’ve always been impressed that any of the pros can teach the opposite sex’s dance moves as well as they do. I agree it’s much easier for the girl pro to look like they’re dancing around the male star since in much of ballroom it is about featuring the lady.
Marianya: Well when I first started trying to figure out what to write about Cheryl, I really couldn’t think about what to say. I think after the Paso Doble and the Freestyle with Drew Lachey way back in Season 2, nothing from her seemed to wow me anymore. And then I saw the Paso Doble that she did with Tony Dovolani for Toy Story 3 and I realized that part of the reason that I really don’t know what to say about her is because she seems to have moved beyond Dancing with the Stars and as thus seems to stay above the behind the scenes drama that other pros seem to “suffer” from. In the process, she has developed into a savvy businesswoman who keeps a calm demeanor, plays it cool and collected with the cameras on and off the dance floor, and has no real drama with her pro, it’s almost like she’s the most adult of the professional dancers and she’s still in her twenties? Anyway, this development, I believe, keeps in line with wanting to keep a good reputation for her studios, especially since her name is attached to them front and center, and with the interests of the dance studios possibly in the forefront of her mind she probably feels a responsibility to be at her best behavior while on the show. Oddly enough, with all the publicity and air time on the show, Cheryl seems to come off as the most successful of the professional dancers thus far. Makes one wonder if she set off on this path of joining the show with the knowledge that she wanted to open studios down the road and as thus did what she felt she had to do to succeed. Now that she has, she just makes sure to keep that good reputation, because it’s more than just her now.
Round Up
Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Marianya: Keep the trap shut, the body covered and open up the mind, he might have a chance.
Heidi: What part of the roller coaster will we be on this season?? Jury is out.
Courtney: Cut the gimmicks, onstage and off, and you could win this whole thing.
John: Expect the unexpected, which is why I like him so much.
Cheryl Burke
Marianya: One of the youngest, while one of the most “adult”, now if only she’d “wow” me again.
Heidi: The entrepreneur – and I say that in a good way. 🙂
Courtney: Cool, calm, composed, and classy. I just wish she’d be a bit more sassy!
John: Neither here nor there. Just a solid dancer that supports her star.
LOVE LOVE LOVE CHERYL. Yes, she’s moved beyond DWTS and grown so much it’s nice to see.
I like Maks too. I didn’t like Erin last season coz I thought she was going to be a Stacy Keibler and she wasn’t…I kinda blame Maks for that. I also love the bromance Maks and Tony have… which I dont’ see between Mark and Derek (It’s not like Mark is shy of showing appreciation/affection.)
Anyways, Love Maks and Cheryl and DWTS won’t be the same without them.
Love Cheryl. Good for her for moving past DWTS. I would too. She should be taking advantage of all the opportunities that come to her. She annoyed me a little last season, but I think that had more to do w/ her partner more than anything.
I also love Maks. For all the talk about him being a jerk, it’s amazing to see & hear so many who have worked w/ him say the exact opposite. And lets face it, some of his celebs haven’t exactly had prize personalities either. And for all the talk about Erin, I feel like HE was the reason she got as far as she did. She did not have the ability that everyone expected her to. She was never going to be Stacy Kiebler. So his routines looked to me that he was choreographing to her dance level. I saw no problem with that. I thought a lot of them were fun.
I love Cheryl — would love to see her win again! To me, she has been the most consistent of the pro dancers and has showcased her partner (not herself). She does a great job with her injured partners, too!
I am so over Maks – the fauxmances/showmances, the “honesty” that is anything but honest (more self serving that anything else), the poor sportsmanship, the bickering with his partners. Too much of the same schtick has worn thin.
i really like maks. he looks amazing in that picture. it’s funny that no one has criticized derek’s shirtlessness in the lambada, the sexiest dance and therefore the one that needs shirtlessness the least, and people are critical of maks being shirtless. i thought he did it as a response to derek that season.
he seems like a bit of a proud jerk, someone i’d be annoyed with in real life, but i appreciate his honesty and his emotions. of all the people on the show, he comes across as the most real, whereas the ballas/hough bunch is on the other side of that spectrum. his blogs are the same way. you get the sense of a whole person, one who is very proud, perhaps excessively determined, but someone who has learned about life and does his best.
I know my opinion will be unpopular, but here goes. First of all, I don’t wish to offend any of Maks’ or Cheryl’s fans, but I must say they are two of my least favourite pros.
Women’s bodies always get criticized on the show, but I have to say that it’s the men who sometimes are the most out of shape. There is no excuse for a professional male dancer to have that much of a fat layer or any hanging skin on his abs like Maks has. That might seem like a hyper-critical statement, but none of the older male dancers I know have abs as sorry looking as Maks’, and he’s what? In his 30’s? I also find his choreography boring and dated, just like Tony’s.
His personality isn’t the best either. He comes across as petty and jealous of those who do better, and the way he acted after his break up with Karina was simply disgusting.
As far as Cheryl goes, I heard her call either Derek or Julianne Hough “unprofessional” on a local television show years ago, and haven’t liked her since. I didn’t watch DWTS from the beginning, so I’d only heard negative things about her from a friend of mine who’s an entertainment writer. When I started watching the show for myself, I saw what he meant. When I go back and look at older shows on You tube (shows before I started watching), I see that Cheryl had less of an ego problem than she had in later shows. A case in point is her freestslye with Giles. I think it flopped because she showcased herself and not her partner, and Carrie Ann felt the same way. She told Cheryl that flashdance was an odd choice because it put the focus on Cheryl and not on Giles.
I’m not somebody who can turn off what a celebrity does off air and focus solely on what they do on air. If they do something unsavory, I think about it when I see them dancing. For example, Brandy will always be the person who killed a mother in a car accident with reckless driving and not Moesha or Cinderella. I can’t separate the two.
And I can’t separate Maks from the person who makes fun of his dance studio students in Russian behind their backs, or Cheryl from the person who unfairly called a fellow dancer “unprofessional”.
Again, I’m very very sorry if I’ve offended anyone. These are just my opinions, and I know many people will disagree with them.
It is funny that even in a post about Maks and Cheryl there is Derek, I know you love him but this is about Maks and Cheryl.
I’m not offended but I would like to point out a few things about that finale Flashdance that everyone trashes.
Was it their best? absolutely not. But to be fair to Cheryl, she gave Gilles a choice and he picked the dance, in part he says because he wanted to “celebrate women” but mainly (to my mind) because the significant shoulder injury he suffered the first week of the competition and dogged him throughout was now at its worse state. The guy needed surgery badly in three areas and he was getting through on cortisone shots. So yes, the focus was on her, because it was getting to the short strokes now. He just did a perfect week 9 with modifications because of his shoulder, and he was asked to do more. He couldn’t lift her with any finesse, it looked darn painful, but they knew they had to lift, so instead of a seemless vault we get a painful hoist, and some lead and follow..but nothing noteworthy.
It was a dam shame it had to come down to that. Anyway, the work she did with Gilles yielded some of the best television moments in the history of male celebrities on that show. He’s still my all time favorite male dancer, not only because of his smoldering sexy, passionate dancing, but because of her.
I really am in awe of Gilles and Cheryl’s Argentine Tango. It was a defining moment on the show. It was minimalist, powerful and so sexy. I think Rick might be able to pull off something very strong. After all she got Ocho looking half way decent. And, after spending time in Buenos Aires this summer, I can hardly wait to see what she has in store for Fox-C
Maks. He’s one long run on sentence. A Ukranian with great dance ability in the Latin syllabus to be certain, but he’s not a choreographer. One dance back in season 2 I thought was a triumph, it was a Tango with Tia Carrere…I learned later that he may have had a lot of help on it. Not that it matters, but creativity is not organic to him. He wants to learn other styles and incorporate them, but there’s a disconnect with the style and his rendering of it.
Case in point was the hip hop with Mel B and the contemporary with Erin. Back in season 5 I think it was, there was a video package on the pros and how they come up with their ideas. Julianne, for instance creates from the time she gets the music. She then creates from the music through the words or the sound that evokes a mood and she then works out everything before she gets to the studio.
Maks does no such thing. He waits for his creativity through the seeing his celebrity partner as his muse. He creates in the studio, he says. He does not envision before hand. I think that’s a problem for him. That’s why the fights in the studio. He doesn’t have a clear vision and the celeb partner can easily become confused. Not every celebrity partner can be the source of creativity.
He’s moody, at times full of Maks, but that’s not off putting, it’s rather humorous. What I don’t like is the backhanded jibes and the outright pronoucements of another celebrity… if Maks gets a good partner he defends dance experience to the hilt. If he gets a poor partner with no experience he slams the ones with experience. Sometimes I love Maks, like the time he defended Mark Dacascos when Bruno said some horrible things. Other times I pretty much loathe Maks, like when he and Erin decided to try to undermind Nicole and Derek with utter their nonsense about dance experience. He knows better, and yet he insists on playing the game.
Maks is entertaining and that is why he is so popular. And he is honest and seems genuinely confused that people don’t get what he is saying. lol I have met him and he is so nice but he expects the best from everyone and he has total confidence in himself.
He has the looks, the personality, the sexiness for this TV show. Perfect entertainment.
Oh you Guys. Thanks. I couldn’t wait for you to post on Maks! I think the guy is just brilliant. I also think he’s the most misunderstood dancer. Yes, he’s got a big ego sometimes and his mouth can get him into trouble (especially with language barriers and context to fight). But as he gets older, he’s starting to see how these things in his personality can set him back. We all have our faults and roads to bare and I think he knows his. I think with time and as he gets older, we are going to see a more meek Maks. At the same time, I hope his spirit and being doesn’t change too much. I mean….his confidence and strength is why he’s been a success thus far. I love this “Bad Boy of the Ball Room”. I love how he mixes the show up. The show would NOT be the same without him. He’s sexy, compassionate, caring too despite what a lot of people think (anything otherwise is just a cover), and not afraid to be honest. Lastly, I think from all the dancers, Maks would be the best Judge of dancing. He could sit on the judges panel anytime and do a much better job than Carrie Ann, Bruno, and Les.
As for Cheryl, she’s an awesome dancer and teacher. But, I wish she’d slow down. She’s hard to absorb. I dont like how she dances around her partners. She dominates the dance so much of the time.
Rooster, no one mentioned it when Derek did it because he has only done in ONCE in his entire time on DWTS. I could find pictures of Maks where did it at least once on EVERY Season he’s been on the show. Huge difference and if you had read the post a bit more carefully we mention that it’s because he does it all the time that we’re over it. And actually, being shirtless in the lambada is nearly a prerequisite, from what I’ve read. It FITS the dance. It almost never fits the dance when Maks does it.
You haven’t offended me, Carlie, and I understand what you’re saying. I can’t separate how well Louis, for example, dances from the bitter, bitchy guy that I saw on paparazzi videos. That’s the way most people are – the difference is, of course, that not everyone sees all the off the floor stuff like some of us do.
Kayla – you are free to write your own blog about Maks and Cheryl without mentioning Derek. Until then, I guess you’ll just have to deal with the fact that a lot of the pros get compared to each other – and that includes Derek. 🙂
John: “I think Courtney just hit it on the head for me with Cheryl. I don’t hate her choreography. I don’t love her choreography. I don’t hate her personality. I don’t love her personality. I don’t hate her look. I don’t love her look. I don’t really love or hate anything about Cheryl.”
This describes it so well for me too on Cheryl.
Oh, Andie – Gilles so should have won his season. Sorry to all the Mark/Shawn fans, but he was a wonderful dancer, a hot man and he seems like a hell of a nice guy. And you’re right to mention his shoulder injury being probably the main cause of their freestyle not being up to par.
“one long run on sentence”??? That, my dear, is brilliant summation of Maks. 🙂
John: “Expect the unexpected, which is why I like him so much.”
Maksfan: “He has the looks, the personality, the sexiness for this TV show. Perfect entertainment.”
Yep!!!!! These things are why I love him too.
Great thoughts! Everyone!
@Anne – I think you may be onto something with your Erin hypothesis. I hadn’t really thought of it that way before – that a lot of the nonsense that I thought Maks was “above” in terms of his choreography prowess was maybe stuff that was geared toward’s Erin’s skill level. No doubt she was not the dynamo I think everyone initially expected her to be, due to her dance background; I guess I wish Maks had just stuck to simpler steps, rather than trying to cover up Erin’s lack of skill with fluff like reading menus and walking from one part of the stage to the next. But I guess I do understand why he did it, if that was truly his motivation while he was choreographing.
@Carlie – I couldn’t agree more about the double standard there is on the show between the male pros & female pros in terms of physical fitness. I think I mentioned in another post (maybe the Louis one) that I thought it was ridiculous how Cheryl & Lacey got called out for their weight gain (which, in retrospect, was not all that much), while Maks & Mark have both vacillated with their body weight & muscle tone from season to season on the show and not gotten called out for it. In the same vein, Edyta has been accused of being anorexic when she got so thin; but no one said anything when Derek was really skinny one season (except Heidi – I think she’s the one that pointed it out to me). And I still say Louis isn’t allowed to comment on anyone else’s body weight until we see him shirtless. As for being able to separate the on-floor & off-floor personas of the pros – I think we all tend to have the same problem. I found it hard to see Maks as a sensitive, romantic soul in he & Erin’s Viennese waltz after he had made such critical statements in the media about Nicole. I think I’m also gonna have trouble really enjoying anything Louis does this season just due to how nasty he came off at the end of last season. I don’t think anyone is capable of being 100% objective as far as anyone on the show is concerned – we’re human 🙂
@Vogue & John – Glad I’m not the only one who feels that way about Cheryl – she’s pleasant to watch, but I don’t feel either super excited or super disappointed when I watch her. Very middle of the road for me, as far as the pros go.
Yeah, it was me Courtney. Derek was frighteningly thin at the end of his season with Lil’ Kim. He almost passed out on camera during the press line after he and Kim were eliminated; you could hear their handler asking him if he needs juice, so I wonder if that happened a lot during that time. But Derek was the only pro who had been dancing every single day for nearly a year. He went the distance with Brooke, went straight into rehearsals for the tour, then off the tour into rehearsals for Season 8 – all while recording an album with Mark and playing with his band during the tour AND during Season 8. So, it’s not like he was dieting too much, just way too active. I don’t know if it’s possible to eat enough food with that schedule. He put a lot of weight back on once that slowed down. He put good weight on this summer too, but now he’s looking rather thin again.
I wish I had his problems. 🙂 But women in general don’t tend to burn weight off so easily – we’re built that way so we can carry babies. Still – I think that some of the women, including Edyta, could be similar to Derek. They just burn it off really well.
Maks and Cheryl are my two favorite dancers. When I think back over past seasons of DWTS, I seem to remember dances performed by Maks and Mel B. Fantastic paso dobles, which I can still picture in my mind. Mak’s blindfold waltz with Erin and that amazing tango. I can never remember any of the other pros dances. While I am not that knowledgable about dancing. I know what I like and I like Maks. I love his personality and his outspokenness. As for the remark about his flesh covered abs. The guy is gorgeous and your supposed to have some flesh and not be all ripped like your in some kind of weightlifters body competition ugh! You undermine his choreography. When you see his choreography ripped off and used on SYTYCD there has to be something there. Most of the times he is very relevant and well thought out in interviews and is not just a dancer and surface personality but a really smart and sensitive man underneath it all. I doubt DWTS will ever let him live his bad boy image down. It good for the ratings.
Cheryl Burke is a phenominal partner and teacher. I will never forget how well she danced with Gille Marini. The dances and excellent characterization was memorable. She is so cool and natural and I’m glad she doesn’t have to kiss up to anybody. They should have won.
I’m not saying DWTS is rigged. Somehow, I think it is swayed to please middle America and wants to be all Apple Pie. Why did they have a two point spread in the finale when the judges had to place the three couples 1,2 & 3 on Season 10. They already had the votes that had come in when they did that.
I feel the same way about Cheryl as a lot of you do. She doesn’t blow me away, but I do like her and couldn’t imagine the show without her. She must be a great teacher though if she’s been able to last so long in the season with so many of her partners (and she’s never really had a ringer either, besides Drew Lachey). She’s tough, but in a calm way, and I think that really works.
Maks…is Maks. I don’t particularly love his choreography or his dancing, but I don’t really mind. A lot of the times he says the wrong thing, but I think in general, he’s a pretty good guy. He’s not the greatest, in my opinion, but he usually does entertain me in one way or another.
A little treat for those Maks fans just posted by a You Tube friend;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buEHKaQLwn0&feature=uploademail
And I just watched the link for Maks and Joanna’s Argentine Tango again. I had forgotten how brilliant that was. Thanks for posting Courtney. That was just hot!
Elizabeth, one of the things that annoys me about this show is that they change scoring patterns and so on EVERY SINGLE SEASON. I don’t know if it’s been the same two season in a row for the last 7. It changes every single year – I guarantee they will throw some wrench into it this season as well. Last season, for example, was also the first time that the final 3 danced four full dances – that is a clear benefit to someone like Erin, who was the underdog, but not so much to Evan and Nicole. They were already high scorers, and an additional dance is a possiblity for Erin to increase her score and for them to decrease theirs.
Plus, if you read my stats post, that one point difference from one dance means virtually nothing in votes.
I’ve watched every season of this show on youtube, and I’m not aware of Maks being totally topless on any dance other than the samba with Erin. He just wears vests a lot.
I dunno, Rooster, I didn’t have any trouble finding topless pics of Maks. My only problem was in choosing which one to post. 🙂
okay, so i took a look and saw that he was topless in the freestyle with laila ali. touché. but i don’t think he’s showier than the ballas houghs.
LOL – you say showier like it’s a bad thing. It’s not bad to be “showy”. Obviously since Derek, Mark and Julianne have all won twice. I like showy – and Maks is only half the time. But it’s the removing of clothing – or wearing scant clothing – that gets very old after a while. Maybe it wouldn’t, if he weren’t so clearly PROUD of himself.
Great thread. This must be the most civil DWTS discussion on the web. Props to all the Pure DWTS readers who can be adults and disagree about topics.
I do have to admit that it is unfair that Maks can go topless so often. Edyta doesn’t ever get to go topless. Just saying…
I like Maks because he’s so unpredictable and so entertaining, I can’t imagine the show witout him. I think he’s a good teacher too even though he could be very harsh with his partners (poor Denise!). He’s able to create some great choreogaphies, except for the leap, I loved the choreography of his Argentine Tango with Erin, with a good partner it would have been breathtaking. The choreography was, to my point of view, far better than Derek’s one.
I love Cheryl, she’s my favorite pro, I like her personnality, I like the way she teaches, and I love the way she dances, I dream of dancing like her. I know she’s not the best choreographer and that sometimes she dances around her celebrity but I don’t care, because she’s the only one I’m looking at when she’s on the dancefloor, well except with Gilles Marini of course, I had to look at him too. Their argentine tango is my favorite dance of all seasons, I was, like Carrie Ann, smoldering all the way through. Too bad they didn’t win.
Heidi, I can’t agree with you, Joanna Krupa and Lil’ Kim had their flaws but it was nothing compared to Tom Delay
Nah, Miss Pompon – Maks’ AT was far simpler than Derek’s OR Anna’s. Derek’s easily would have been included in his Emmy nomination if it had been performed earlier in the season. Anna may have gotten one too, if it weren’t so late in the season.
It was far simpler I agree, but for me Anna’s and Derek’s argentine tango were more what I call a Broadway tango, maybe I’ll be the only one, but I think that despite all their gimmicks, their tangos were very very cold. For me, there’s no argentine tango without the 3 S “Sex, smoke and sweat”, I haven’t seen any of this in Derek’s or Anna’s. A lot of technique oh yes, a lot of incredible lifts but argentine tango steps, not that much. That’s why I prefered and I found Maks’ choreography better, it was really an argentine tango. Only Cheryl with Gilles had done a better one, because he was a better dancer than Erin, and their chemistry on the dancefloor was awesome.