DWTS Season 14 – The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate, Part II
So last Wednesday, we took a look at the male contestants’ dancing pasts. Today we’ll take a look at the women, who are arguably less talented (and more comical) this season 😉
First up, we have the much buzzed-about Sherri Shepherd, who, aside from possibly taking some lessons at Dance with Me prior to the start of this season, also busted some moves in a choreographed hip-hop number at her wedding reception:
Court: She’s not stellar, but she’s keeping up pretty well – and paired with the extra practice she’s gotten prior to the show, I’d say she has a pretty good foundation. What’s funnier to me about this clip is Elizabeth Hasselbeck – poor girl sticks out like a sore thumb in line 😛
Heidi: Heh. When the women are dancing it’s like “Dancing with America’s Next Top Model” they are so stiff. Thank god for the men – they’re killin’ it. 🙂
Vogue: I sure hope Big Bird isn’t around as he might want to steal the wedding bride? 😯
The verdict: Sherri may have some hip-hop moves, but it looks like Val’s got his work cut out for him!
Now let’s take a look at Maria Menounos, who got an impromptu belly dancing lesson during a segment on Access Hollywood:
Heidi: :::whines::: Derek gets ALL the dancers. She’s such a ringer.
Vogue: Hmmm, I’m afraid for Derek now a little. Is anyone else?
Courtney: I think this clip just reiterates for me that her biggest obstacle likely won’t be the dances themselves, but just getting over feeling like a goober when she dances – you can tell she feels totally silly here, and it makes her look even more ridiculous.
The verdict: D’s on goober patrol this season.
Up next, we have Katherine Jenkins, who did a number from Carmen during her arena tour that involved some dancing:
Vogue: She’s got some dance skills for sure. What’s more, girl knows about theatrics and how they work. Mark is theatrical in his dancing as well. He’s going to be in heaven with this one.
Court: If she can overcome the potential fanbase problems I could see her having, she could be pretty good – hell, this dance even looks vaguely paso doble-y.
Heidi: Okay, so why is no one screaming “ringer” over this one? The Opera Singer does some actual dancing. Then again, odds are that Mark won’t focus on her in the choreography so it won’t matter. 😀
The verdict: Opera or no opera – Katherine could actually be kinda good.
Let’s move on to Gladys Knight, who admitted during the cast announcement that the Pips “never let her dance”! So admittedly, there really aren’t any videos of Gladys dancing…but I will never turn down the opportunity to listen to the Empress of Soul herself belt out the song that made her famous – “Midnight Train to Georgia”:
Courtney: I doubt the Pips would have taught Gladys anything truly worthwhile that would help her on this show 😛 I mean, side-tap, other side-tap, walk backwards, walk forwards, gesture with your arms. I’m pretty sure an orangutan with ADD could probably do it. But I’m nonetheless excited to see what Gladys has up her sleeve 😛
Heidi: Er, well, sure me too…keeping in mind this video is probably from 30 years ago. 🙂
Vogue: When Gladys is finished with Dancing With The Stars, she’ll be able to trade places with her back up singers. Nice moves!!
The verdict: Gladys may not have learned much from the Pips, but she could still be a contender.
Up next, we have this season’s “tough cookie”, Martina Navratilova – and I must admit, I think I found the perfect video for her 🙂 Why? It’s very ironic…just watch:
Heidi:I certainly admire the thought behind this video – Martina trying to keep people on the move and active. But dancing?? A bit stiff. But then, that comes with age, especially for top ranked athletes.
Vogue: Martina is going to be fierce. I have a feeling when she gets the hip movement down for a Samba, she won’t need a racquet to play tennis anymore. 🙂
Court: Ok, maybe I’m in the minority here, but I’m not sold on Martina being as fierce on the dance floor as she is on the tennis court. And in this clip, she actually doesn’t seem all that enthralled by dance to me – you could replace “dance” with “colonoscopy” and it would make more sense for me 😛 But she does seem to have the right philosophy – even if it was scripted. But check out the dude in the background…he’s cracking me up!
The verdict: Not sure about Martina, but the dude in the background LOVES to dance!
Last up, we have Melissa Gilbert, who is best known for playing Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. Here’s a cute clip of the episode where she stole Nellie’s music box and danced to it in the hay loft…although I doubt it played Adele:
Vogue: I’m utterly speechless. At this point in time, I’d say Maks (like Derek) is in trouble as well. 😯
Court: Granted, this clip is older than the hills, and I’m not sure that pioneer girls really had a whole lot of slick moves to bust. But it’s cute, and it’s the only remotely dance-related clip of Melissa I could find 😛
Heidi: Heh, this could be one of those times that growing older is helpful. 😉
The verdict: With age comes wisdom. 🙂
Elizabeth Hasselbeck made me laugh. I would pay big money to see ehr on the show just to see her crash and burn. As for Melissa’s video, all I can say is that was probably the oddest clip from the show i have ever seen lol. I mean I wasn’t expecting a “Footloose” moment where all the kids suddenly knew how to breakdance (the ending scene for people who haven’t seen the film…either of them) but I was expecting a little more than that lol
Great post!
This will be interesting. Though Maria is not a dancer she’s very competitive and is not afraid to try different things-two strong elements needed in this competition. I really want her to do well and think she has the potential to go far. She has an amazing partner in Derek and I’m sure he will bring out the best in her and challenge her as well! I think these two will be fun together! Plus they have that “hot factor” going!-woohoo! Bruno will love her, she’s gorgeous.
Katherine definitely has an advantage. She’s not only a singer but a performer as well. She almost looks like she’s doing the Paso Doble-lol I think she’s going to do great. She’s beautiful as well.
I don’t know about Little House on the Prairie but from the video w/Melissa & Maks, she seems to be moving quite well-lol Plus she recently did broadway right? Not sure if she danced in it though but she is use to performing which gives her an advantage.
Gladys-what can I say, I love her and hope she does well. BTW, I got to see her live in person some years back, it was fantastic. We were right in the front. Her brother handed my mom a rose.-sweet!
I wish they would release the videos for the other couples. Anxious to see Maria & Derek!
Thanks Courtney for Sherlockian detective work 🙂
Seems to me these vids tell us we don’t have any experience ringers among the women. I suppose in a pinch we could hang that label around Katherine’s neck, but I don’t want to do that.
I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that some of them have latent talent that their pros will be able to draw out.
Heidi, we need a new ringer type; the “Derek is my pro partner” ringer. Because you know that’s all it takes to make any 2-left-footed celebrity a bonafide ringer! 😉 😉 😉
You ladies and these clips are roaring FUNNY! I thought Sherri may have been a ringer coming in, but the more I see of her, I think she may end up being more style than substance in her dances. Much as Elizabeth annoys me, I think she actually stood out in a GOOD way there – she clearly didn’t know the whole routine (she didn’t rehearse with the group) but moved smoothly when she did.
Maria – Her hips concern me. Agree with Courtney and think Maria might have moves if she can learn to feel it and embrace her sensuality. OTOH can also see a strong case for her being the second coming of Shannon Elizabeth or Denise Richards.
Katherine – No doubt great musicality and stage presence. For some reason envision she’s more Ballroom than Latin shaker type.
Gladys – The enigma of the season. I’ve yet to see her actually dance.
Martina – Loving her but not seeing a dancer in her.
Melissa: I bet Laura woulda been a BIG Adele fan!! lol Not really much anything to go on her, but she’s said she’s had dance training so, all things considered I can see her as being the best of the female crop. But I think the guys have the leg up in this competition.
Commendable work, O Super Sleuth Spencer, on ferreting out these diverse videos!
Based on videos alone for men and women I surely agree that the men have a clear edge. Come to think of it, all the men with exception of Donald have past experience in portraying character either through dance, song, acting – so that’s another edge the men may have in “portraying the character of the dance”. Got to think about the women on that issue, don’t know if Maria had done any acting.
Thanks for the thought provoking vid’s and writeups, all.
Wow!!!! Loved the vid of Gladys and the Pips doing MTTG…had to get up and dance. Gladys can’t sing like that and not have some moves. 😉
LOL!!! you guys..are too funny for words…love your comments and the verdicts…watching the videos this is what i thought:
#Sherri … if that is what she can do after taking dance lessons…Val is in trouble..may i add i think her husband would have been better for this show..i am mean ..i know..
#Maria…has got the body and has got the best partner a woman can ask for..if she learns to trust Derek and dance with her heart… she will do more than fine…
#Katherine … i saw her..she has the body of a dancer, the feet of the dancer, the point of a dancer and she can interpret a dance… she could be the one to beat…if the public gets behind her…
#Martina…i love her…but she is not or ever will be a dancer…i am sure she will give it her all and she will fight till the end..but…
#Melissa – she ain’t to bad…she’s got a little rhythm and she’s got a good body…don’t see to much chemistry going on…but she is an actress…so..who knows? Maybe she will act better than Hope could ever do…
Am I the only one who wishes that Joy was doing DWTS this season as well? I can just see what SNL could do already if both were on the show 🙂
Anyways, I actually thought of something that the show should do. How about a foxtrot for Glaydis in week one to “Midnight train to georgia”! That would be AWESOME and they could use her vocals for it. It would be great 🙂
“Am I the only one who wishes that Joy was doing DWTS this season as well? I can just see what SNL could do already if both were on the show”
Probably but “So what? Who cares?” 😉
Gotta Love SNL 🙂
OMG, all the women the women are ringers!! LOL
I have a feeling Katherine is going to be the best celeb female dancer with Maria close behind. The men do have a stronger side this year.
@Heidi
“Then again, odds are that Mark won’t focus on her in the choreography so it won’t matter.”
Teehee, loved it….
Elara38 on Martina: I love her…but she is not nor ever will be a dancer…
How do you know that? You barely even saw her dance because she was mainly talking. After the first show I will judge more, but to judge and stereotype based on little to know legitament evidence that Martina can or can’t dance isn’t cool, nor is it about anyone else, I think until we really see all the couples BALLROOM dance, atleast for me, i’m not saying one way or the other. I’ve always believed through hard-work and determination and the right mindset one can do all things.
I’m not sure where the comments about Melissa having been in a Broadway show are coming from. She appeared in an off-Broadway *play* about twenty-five years ago. No dancing in that one. More recently, she played Ma in a touring production of “Little House on the Prairie” in 2009-2010. The closest it got to Broadway was New Jersey. The rest of the time it played in Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and a few other states. I think it’s a safe bet that Ma’s dancing was limited in both duration and choreography, but can’t say for sure, as I didn’t see the show. Dance lessons as a kid are a different story. She did take ballet, according to her book. Ballet helps in some respects, but its emphasis on things like keeping the hips aligned with the shoulders and controlling every movement will certainly not be a help with things like the salsa. (Of course, this is true for any celebrity who took ballet (only) as a kid, not just Melissa, and one reason why I’ve always thought that ballet-only experience can be as much hindrance as help.) My thought watching the clip posted the other day of Maks’s morning show interview, which included a minute or so of them dancing, was that Melissa seemed to have picked up the choreography well but her body seemed a little stiff. It might just take a few more days of practice to for her to begin to relax, enjoy it, and trust herself and Maks, but it could be a hallmark of ballet training/her past back issues. Time will tell.
I’m with Zach. Don’t count Martina out…that would be a huge mistake much like in her tennis days. She’s a smart cookie. She wouldn’t have done this show to make a fool out of herself which she just doesn’t do.
Whoa, Wynn – Shannon wasn’t a great dancer, but she was a 1000 times better than Denise!!
Ohhh…Melissa had dance lessons as a kid? Well, if she were dancing with Derek she’d be a ringer for sure!!! /sarcasm
Just saw John RT-ed this http://youtu.be/oXpc3IHXFqs
I couldn’t really make the face but the description says Katherine Jenkins. If so WOW she can tap dance??? Jive is gonna be a breeze for her maybe right?
Yeah, I think Katherine joins Jaleel and Roshon as this seasons experience ringers.
Jaleel an experienced ringer? The only thing I saw him in was Cry Baby video, and I would hardly call that dancing. More like swaying back and forth. Is there something else that I missed?
Roshon I really know nothing about. What has he danced in?
Oops, sorry I now see the link to the previous post about the men. I know what Roshon does. 🙂
Well, Sandy, if Jaleel were dancing with Derek that would be plenty for him to be a ringer. But since he’s dancing with Kym, no big deal. Seriously, maybe a very low level one. More of a likely fanbase ringer, although I think his tendency toward the serious might cause him problems in the future.
Roshon was dancing every single week prior to dancing with the stars. Hip hop – but since all the women in girl bands get called ringers for that, then he is definitely one as well.
I thought Katherine seemed genuinely nervous yesterday. But if she can tap like that wow. I usually don’t care about ringer/nonringer, but I get why people hate ringers now, Katherine sounded like she was lying thoughout all of interviews and package now 😀
How is Jaleel an experience ringer? Would you enlighten me please?
In any case I like it that this season’s dancing standard is high.
Heidi – Thanks, I would definitely call Jaleel a fanbase ringer. And there are a few of them this season.
Point well taken about Derek, everyone always says he gets the ringers. Well Maria sure didn’t look like one.
It’s sad because I know Derek is going to make a dancer out of Maria. She’s clearly not a ringer and yet, as soon as she starts producing some flawless dances, she’ll be pegged a ringer all along. Nuts.
Yes, Derek probably will, but within this kind of cast Maria’s progress will look dwarfed XD Too good, the talent pool this season.
Katherine Jenkins, I wish you were upfront about what you’re capable of, like Roshon did. I still like her, but I noticed some people commented about her blandness. That’s gonna hurt her me thinks.
@Princess Heidi, I think so too, Jaleel’s tendency toward the serious won’t be good in the long run. For that disco ball you gotta roll along with all the silliness and stupidity abound 😀
I don’t hate ringers, wiwin – I hate that Derek gets told on twitter nearly every day that he always gets the dancer or the hot young babe (I’m sure that Jennifer and Ricki appreciate the sentiment though) when in actuality other pros are far more blessed than he is, he’s just talented at showcasing his partner. They denigrate him every day to make themselves feel better. The hypocrisy is galling as hell.
And yes, I know that some morons are calling Maria a ringer. Jesus.
A very large part of the comments on the internet regarding DWTS always slams Derek. It’s so infuriating I’ve taught myself to automatically ignore those things. They never stop and it’s always so ignorant. Mark and Maks are without a doubt have gotten consistently good partners.
The stupidity is just atrocious. Maria is kinda stiff! lol I’ve liked Derek too long now that I can see through his tricks 😀 Maria is great, in fact in terms of personalities among the cast she’s definitely the better ones, but her dancing left much to be desired, just because Derek’s recent partners have been Jen and Ricki.
Maria can be Hot and Sexy. She said that Derek and her were gonna do some sexy stuff. Cant wait to see it 🙂
Wonder if it will be something like this when she was Moonlighting as Pussycat Doll. They are Sassy and Sexy. Rawrrrrrrrr
Moonlighting with Maria: Pussycat Dolls Performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbxNabfFj1U
Cant wait to see them Rumba. It will be Rumbalicious.
They called her the Greek Barbie Doll in Raw: Maria Menounos, Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teON_SMmTQY
Hope to see her put some of those wrestling moves on Derek. It would be fun to watch 🙂
Its nice to see a woman who can be cute, funny but also strong and fierce.
Menough Said!