Dancing with the Stars Season 12, Week 4 – Power Rankings

Filling in for Courtney gives me a migraine and makes me want to drink copious…oh, wait, I am drinking copious amounts. 🙂 :::sigh::: The judging does drive me to drink, but I’m not truly capable of copious amounts. Wishful thinking. It’s very hard for me to separate what I understand of the math for my Numbers post from this post.

I get why some were calling it movie night now. 🙂 TWO songs from Harry Potter (one inappropriate for a Paso), one from Romeo and Juliette, one from the Nutcracker and so on. Loved the orchestra and loved most of the music very much even if it might not have been good for a particular dance. Some of you music people help me out here – Harry Potter music is beautiful and mostly very orchestral – but when I think Classical, I think…well, Classical. Beethoven, etc. They had a bit of Carmen and a bit of the William Tell Overture in there, if I am remembering correctly – but Harry Potter?

It was also another wacky night from a scoring perspective, when nearly every dance had feet off the floor but only Romeo gets called for it and when it sure appears that they are targeting Kendra for elimination. Very heavy handed, although I do sort of agree that she is next to go. The inexplicable high scoring for Petra continues and it actually makes me a tad concerned for her longevity on the show. Anyway, on with the show.

1) Hines and Kym – This, for me, was the dance of the night and I hereby declare Hines the winner of Season 12. 🙂 I don’t see anyone other than maybe Ralph catching him – they’ll have a charm off. 🙂 Kym Johnson can choreograph a great Paso, maybe second only to Derek. It was entertaining, it was sharp, it was clean – everything I need. Throw in the Steeler Nation and a good score? Numero Uno. Unfortunately, the judges raved and then cramped up with it came to dealing the appropriate paddles. Undercored by two points, IMO. I’m not quite sure what the judges are thinking. This will be a recurring theme. 🙂 Crack is whack.

2) Ralph and Karina – What a beautifully choreographed and executed dance!! Props to Karina for incorporating the Romeo and Juliette theme so well. Improved from last week, he mostly lost the weird hands. I just love this guy, he’s so charming. I can’t help but think that lots and lots of people love him, mainly because I love him so much. I also tend to freakishly represent the mainstream in these sorts of things, much to my chagrin. 😉 In terms of likely popularity and ability, Hines and Ralph are the guys to beat. But here’s where it gets tricky…

Three-way tie between Kirstie, Chelsea and Chris!! But I did still put them in a chronological order.

3) Chelsea and Mark – I honestly don’t know what to make of this dance. When it started I thought “Oh god, Mark’s gone over the top again and Len is going to crucify him” – and at the very beginning it would have been justified, but they quickly pulled it together and got a lot of V. Waltz content in there. But between the costuming and the Harry Potter Theme…well, I just don’t know what to make of it. I guess my jury is out on them – it kinda felt like a whole lotta Mark and some girl. The V. Waltz content was very well executed, but I must say – if I’m having this much trouble connecting to them, who else is?? I just don’t get the same jazzed feeling from watching them as I do from watching Hines and Ralph and, to a much lesser extent this week, Kirstie.

3) Kirstie and Maks – Are these two cursed or is it just me?? Kirstie is wrong if she thinks she’s the only one to lose a shoe – Lance lost one in the middle of a dance and Derek did most of a…Tango?…with his shoe half off. So it happens, but she covered it reasonably well. But damn, I felt sorry for her. The two of them can’t catch a break recently – but I think that will help them with the voters. I also think there is something to be said for having a partner who is acting charming as hell. Who the heck is this version of Maks and can we keep him?? Because if Derek doesn’t come back, this is the guy who I will be watching the show for! Hilarious and sweet. The two of them together are magic – even if Kirstie’s laryngitis is making her sound like a man. 🙂 Anyway, power rankings are about a whole combination of factors – likely votes, score, likeability etc. – so despite their troubles I put them in a 3-way tie for 3rd place. Heck, because of their troubles I put them there.

3) Chris and Cheryl – Chris Jericho is another one that I just love – there is something about his personality that is just so engaging and charming. I also think this couple is one of the few that got the right score tonight. It was a really good Paso, but it wasn’t as crisp and sharp as it could have been, but very entertaining. I have a feeling he is scoring with the audience as well. Such a cutie.

6) Petra and Dmitry – Overscored yet again. I don’t get it. She’s a lovely, wonderful woman, but that was stiff and a bit wobbly. Not horrible, but not nearly worthy of a 23. Romeo’s dance was better, as was Chris’. I believe her feet also came off the ground at one point but CAI is only calling lifts on Romeo tonight. Petra is a wonderful, charming girl, but I can only think she isn’t getting the votes. I think part of the issue here is her doing better than the judges expected – Len said as much. But doing better than expected shouldn’t put you ahead of better dancers in scores. And interesting that he castigates Romeo for removing his shirt, but Dmitry does this stupid, awkward move of removing Petra’s skirt and no one says a word. That was less fitting to the dance and Romeo’s shirt/jacket!!

7) Romeo and Chelsie – Romeo and Chelsie did a fantastic job on this dance. I agree with Len that Romeo needs a bit of refinement but he has the performance down and he looked good. I wager he spent some time on YouTube watching other Paso Dobles done on the show – I would guess Maks and Derek’s, to be specific. Of course, it could be that they were dancing to Derek and Brooke’s Paso music that put Derek at the front of my brain. 🙂 Or it could be that ending jump which Derek used in his Paso with Jennifer. In any case, I hope he sticks around because I think he has serious potential – the problem is he might be getting lost in the shuffle. Maybe Chelsie needs to start breaking more rules and being crazy, like her buddy Mark. 🙂

8 ) Ray and Anna – Crazy technique, but I have to agree with the judges – what an entertaining sweetheart! A little too much posing for my taste, but they did disguise it with charm. I am also biased because I just adore all the music from The Nutcracker. Reminds me of when I was little and my mom would take me to the ballet every Christmas. In any case, I adore Sugar Ray and I hope and think he dodged a bullet this week, mainly because the judges seem to have targeted Kendra for elimination this week.

9) Kendra and Louis – Boy oh boy – a friend of mine on Twitter (Hi Dona) commented that Kendra looked like she was being tortured while dancing and that was exactly what I was trying to verbalize but couldn’t find a way. Not that she did badly – just that she just had this look and feel to the dance that was painful. Then Carrie Ann also nailed it when she said Kendra is afraid of the elegance and is holding herself back. Exactly. Add in a slight mess up and awkward turns, plus the low score? I dunno. Not good. I think part of the issue is not that she’s a bad dancer – she’s not – but that it’s difficult to watch her being uncomfortable. She’s probably technically better than Ray, but where Ray is charming she’s just awkward. She also needs to stop talking when the judges are talking – that’s just off putting and I doubt I am the only one with that issue. If she makes it through, she really needs to just let go.