DWTS Season 12, Week 3 – Who’s Dancing What…and When?
Okay, this could be one crazy week, for sure. 🙂 The celebs are telling a story that’s personal to them? Oh dear. This rarely bodes well. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this theme. But then, most of you know I’m not a fan of themes in general, although I did like the acoustic night that wasn’t. That will probably be the one they don’t do again. 🙂
Now, does someone want to explain to me why we get FIVE rumbas and a hodgepodge (tm Len) for the remaining dances?? What on earth? It’s only week 3, it’s not like they’re running out of dances. Someone clue me in here. I can’t even guess what is going on – at first I thought all the top dancers were getting rumba and everyone else was getting something that played to their strengths. But then I saw that Hines has Samba and Chelsea has Cha Cha – arguably dances that will play to their strengths. They included Kendra in with the rumbas, so that also shot that theory. So, are Ralph and Kirstie so dominating the voting that they were given the rumba, while Hines and Chelsea need a little help so they got more uptempo dances? Same principle applies to Ray? The waltz definitely benefits Petra better than a Samba or a Rumba would. The only explanation I can come up with for this random set up is that it’s not random at all and it’s a bit of deck stacking to level the playing field – or attempting to. After all they got SO much attention with “shocking” eliminations…lord, I’m such a cynic. 🙂 Hey…anyone got a better explanation?? Back in the day, 3 years ago, they had two dances and you did one or the other. 🙂
Ralph and Karina – Rumba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.08
Kenda and Louis – Rumba – Dancing 4th per Louis
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.07
Chelsea and Mark – Cha Cha Cha
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.01
Wendy and Tony – Foxtrot – Dancing 1st (Per Wendy’s twitter – Thanks Greg)
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.02
Kirstie and Maks – Rumba- Dancing 9th, per Maks’ twitter
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.11
Romeo and Chelsie – Rumba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.05
Chris and Cheryl – Rumba –Dancing 3rd per Cheryl’s twitter
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.09
Hines and Kym – Samba
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.03
Sugar Ray and Anna – Paso Doble – Dancing 8th Per Anna’s facebook (thanks Suzanne)
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.06
Petra and Dmitry – Waltz
Voting Number: 1.800.VOTE4.04
I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I had heard that the celebrities picked the song to tell their personal stories. So, the style of dance they are doing this week is influenced by the song choice. No matter how much they try to shove square pegs into round holes on this show, sometimes they need to allow the songs to “choose” the style.
I think.
You could be right, Lori – but it seems awfully strange that we get FIVE rumbas and then one of several other kinds of dance. Plus, they knew what dance they were at least after the last results show. If everyone is picking their music and telling a story, it seems awfully strange we would get five rumbas and one of everything else. Seems like we would have more of a mix.
I can’t wait! I am especially excitesd to see Petra do the waltz cuz she is just so elegant….perfect for her. Probably wendy going home though. Kirstie and Raph are still my favs.
I can’t wait! I especially can’t wait for Kirstie and Maks’ dance!!!! Ralph as well!!!!
Hard to deny they are leveling the field to offset votes and talent. Still see Carrie Ann gushing over Nicole and Jennifer in the first week in those seasons and having the race basically called early (if only by perception). Now, after those experiences, coupled with that Alaskin’ with the big-middle-finger-at-the-ready and ABC’s voter registration PR campaign, I’d say this season will go down to the wire…by design.
I dont get the point of 5 rumbas and then everyone else is doing something different. You have the slow Waltz, the medium Foxtrot, 2 fast dances in there with ChaCha and Samba. And then a random PAso. Where did that Paso come from??
It seems like they are setting it up for Kendra to go home Tuesday, unless she randomly rocks the rumba. Might have happened anyway (especially because Louis tends to go political on Story Week and it rarely goes well) but on paper at least it seems like they gave Petra and Sugar Ray easier dances to keep them in. Which really….who can complain about that? I’d much rather see Petra and Sugar Ray for weeks to come than Kendra. I see Wendy’s Story Week being just hot mess enough to keep her in (remember, Kate’s “Paparazzi” dance was in Story Week and her partner was Tony)…
Heidi I don’t like theme weeks either.
And last season we had a lot. more than we can afford, actually. The only one thing that I liked – event thinking at first that it would be a disaster – was the instant dance.
I really liked the Kyle’s jive and Jen’s rumba and Kurt’s cha-cha-cha.
this is the only thing that I want see back. and the team dances of course, that are always fun and good.
I’m a little concerned because Hines got samba right now. I know he will do it well but there will last just one fast dance for him: the jive until the end of the season (if the producers don’t bring salsa or mambo back)
If I can dream, I wished we could see lambada again and some merengue on show. love these styles. =]
Jay, Carrie Ann has gushed over many, usually a male contestant. This season she seems to be charmed by or is gushing over Hines Ward and Ralph Macchio. Each judge has their favorite each season and this season is no different.
Should be an interesting week in performances. It’s been a while since there were so many different styles of dances performed in one week.
Well, Nicole was an exceptional dancer so of course she would be gushed over. Jennifer and Derek crafted a very emotional dance the first week, but by no means was she “preordained” – not at 50 with physical issues and audrina and brandy also being very good. Thats revisionist history. They all gushed over Ralph, Kirstie and Hines this season – the only reason it seems like less a sure thing this season is because the front runners are so unlikely. A 60year old, a 50 year old and a football player. And no Derek, who has a pretty large fan base of his own. EVERY season they monkey around to keep the playing field level – but it’s usually in the form of critiquing the good dancer overly harsh (Nicole, brandy)-this season they are doing that, but they are messing with dances too. Maybe the did that before, but I don’t remember it being so lopsided. I specifically remember Joanna getting 4 or 5 Latin dances in a row, which struck me as them helping her, but that’s the only thing obvious coming to mind.
I think ‘personal story week’ is really just exploitation week. The producers want to ring tears out of as many stars as possible. I’m betting at least 4 stars cry on Monday night. Add a dash of showmance (Isn’t Chelsea’s story is falling in love for the first time?) and you have a dream week for the producres. I hope a few couples surprise me and manage to make their stories fun, not just emotional.
I am bummed they are doing this. I really like comparing one dance to another of the same type – I can see where one may have more complicated choreography versus another or just completely different takes on a style. That is part of the enjoyment of the whole show for me. We totally lose that with a bunch of random dances on a night. We do get the five rumbas to compare which is great, but I think the seemingly random selection of other dances is going to feel very disjointed. It is too early in the season.
I really hope they aren’t trying to game the dances.
That said, I am looking forward to the rumbas!
(I also wish they would bring back the mambo.)
What kind of “personal story” you can tell with the samba? I get it with the rumba, or maybe even the paso (the passion and anger of boxing), but the dance of carnivale??? Seems like a choreo challenge for Kym, unless it’s a new and improved end-zone dance??? 😉
With the story-telling requirement, this being the first time the couples have only had 5 days to work on things, and tossing in that according to Cheryl Burke, the samba is the hardest of the dances to teach a celeb, this looks like it could be a tough week for Hines and Kym… 🙁
Pleeeeeease stop the theme weeks. I agree that acoustic and even instant dance weeks were good, but other than that – gah.
I think if the celebrity and/or pro wants to do a themed dance, then they should just go for it whenever it seems fit. Sorry for the bitterness.
Anyway, thanks for all of the consistently entertaining updates! I was gone for a couple of weeks and couldn’t watch the shows live, so Pure DWTS (and youtube of course) helped me get caught up. 🙂
@Amy R, I’m with you on this. Story Week? How about “Let’s Drag out Your Issues and Watch You Cry About It Week” – that would be more honest. Not my idea of a fun night. Don’t know why the producers think they have to manufacture all this “drama”. The show has a huge following and does great in the ratings. So why do we need all this “fertilizer”? Can’t they just dance? That’s the main reason I tune in. Sorry, don’t mean to be a grump.
@Maks&AnnaT FTWI. I’ve never thought of Paso as a particularly easy dance. So I don’t think they did Ray and Anna any favors by giving them this one in Week 3. Ray’s posture is still an issue and it needs to be ramrod straight for this. Also, Paso is the “Man’s Dance”. I just don’t think Ray is ready to take control of the dance floor and dominate Anna this early in the season. Hope I’m wrong, but I’m worried for them.
The dances are really weird. Especially since cha cha and foxtrot were done just two weeks ago.
I’m not a big fan of these theme weeks, but I think the celebrities telling a personal story rather than just any old story is a better theme considering most routines tell some sort of story anyway.
Sally, I actually think the Samba could help Hines and Kym. Hines has a much quieter personality than some of the other stars. Having a fun, exciting dance will make him stand out. If so many of the other stars have emotional break downs, Hines could be the fresh air for the evening.
a…. I hope the reason for Hines’ Samba is because his story is fun and happy; and b…. I think having this difficult dance early in the season will help Hines to get it out of the way while there are still obvious eliminations on the cast. However, I have a feeling Hines is going to do very well with this dance. He’s a quick study, has a great partner, and his smile lights up the room 🙂
The pros don’t get to pick their songs, do they? I’m a newly obsessed viewer (last season), so need all the help I can get.:)
It seems weird to me, too, that so many are getting the rumba and the rest getting all different dances. I guess this is not typical?
Fell in love with the rumba when Jennifer and Derek did it. 🙂 Miss him! But….can’t wait to see Kirstie and Maks do it! They are so funny together!
@AmyR and @Linde – Thanks. I hope you guys are right!
I think that I read somewhere that the celebs also chose the actual songs. The odd mix of dance styles may make more sense after we hear them. Music that lends itself to rumba isn’t going to fit with very many other dance styles especially depending on the tempo and meter.
Rumba is passionate and emotional, much like a lot of personal experiences, at least for me. And many such experiences probably involve a relationship with a person, inner demon, or even an event. I can see where a rumba could be useful in conveying such stories, even if it’s symbolic and not literal.
Perhaps a combination of these things is why rumba seems to have come up a lot, but other styles only randomly.
Good comments. My only reply about Carrie Ann would be, out of the box, Hines and Ralph are no Nicole or Jennifer. There was a qualitative difference in their dancing, coupled with Carrie Ann’s gushing, that caused a perception that it was their mirror ball to lose. Hence, I think, ABC’s counter measures now.
I’m kinda laughing at myself because I thought this season would be free of a lot of mess…but it won’t be – ah, reality tv!
That was my point, Jay – Nicole and Jennifer got gushing because of their dancing. You made it sound like it wasn’t earned and that they were trying to over compensate now. I’m disagreeing with that part – they absolutely gushed over Kirstie, Ralph and Hines (and Chris, last week). It just doesn’t SEEM obvious, because the quality of dancing isn’t as high, but I don’t think that’s changed. Actually, I don’t think ANYTHING has changed at all – it just seems more obvious with 5 rumbas. They are a lot of things, but I don’t really think they are stupid – they can see that they have 5 or 6 dancers who are on somewhat equal footing – there’s no reason that I can see to tinker…unless it has to do with who’s getting the votes.
So Wendy and Tony are going 1st. Which is kinda weird since she virtually went 1st on premiere night.
I realize I’m jumping into this a little late (thank my coworker who went on vacay – I’m covering her job this week as well as doing my own), but I have a feeling both Wendy & Ray could be in trouble tonight. According to the stats I ran for my “dance of death” post (which may or may not ever come to fruition…just too many damn numbers!), the greatest percentage of contestants have gotten sent home after dancing either the foxtrot or the paso doble. Now bear in mind that there are a bunch of other factors that could contribute to this, but I get the feeling that foxtrots and pasos, due to the simplicity of their movement – basically, just walking steps – often get lost in the shuffle amongst other more impactful dances. Cha-chas & sambas are fun & high-energy; rumbas tend to get remembered if they’re particularly steamy. Petra might also be in trouble if her waltz is just ho-hum. I can’t decide if Wendy going first is a sign that she is or isn’t getting votes – they seem to try to put their biggest ratings draws at beginning, middle, and end of the show, and usually put more exciting couples in the 2nd half of the show. Hmmmm.
Unless Wendy makes some sort of dramatic (and I mean, MIRACULOUS) improvement this week in both her dancing & her personality, I hope she goes home. She is just not fun for me to watch. But I worry that if the judges lay into Ray again, it could be him getting sent home instead.
I think Petra is in trouble just from a fame factor – but it could also be Wendy or Ray. And I just updated with the news that Kendra is dancing 4th – not a really favorable position, but not the worst spot either.
Anna & Sugar Ray perform 8th (per Anna’s FB)
Kendra’s days could be numbered too, Heidi. I think.
Interesting. According to Cheryl’s twitter, looks like Chris and her are 3rd tonight.
Please say it ain’t so, Zach. I’ll be voting for her tonight just in case.
Cheryl and her partner are dancing 3rd. via Chery’s twitter.
I hope it’s Wendy to go! Anyone else to go before her just wouldn’t be right.
I agree Vogue! I am so hoping it’s Wendy who goes this week. I am not enjoying her at all compare to the others.
I agree – let’s hope it’s Wendy going home. With her dancing 1st, maybe she will get “the wrath of the judges” instead of Ray… 😉
Anna T. mentioned in an interview the song and idea was the celebrity choice. I have to say that much of the pop music out there eg Ballads, only lends itself to Rumbas, but it can be difficult to get a high score. Cha Cha can usually be danced in the uptempo, hip hop pieces and decent dancers score well. Anyone who gets a Samba this early has their work cut out for them. That’s tough technique. Early Sambas rarely get the highest marks, it has normally been about week 5 before there’s enough comfort with the technique to score well. The ones who got Foxtrot and Waltz, they’ve had a formal dance in hold so this should build on it.
Wendy reminds me of Macy Gray on the dance floor. Just uncomfortable to watch on every level. I hope she is sent packing this week.
[…] to Heidi’s post earlier on who was dancing what… here are the calculated predictions for tonight. I apologize for the tardiness, I was on an […]