Dancing With The Stars Host Brooke Burke Can’t Pick A Favorite Or The Top Two
Celebrity Baby Scoop has a new interview up with Brooke Burke. She talks of the challenges being a mother to four kids and on her new short film for Claritin titled “The Difference is Clear”. She also commented on the new season of Dancing With The Stars. She’s struggling with her favorite and who she thinks will win as many of us are. If interested, be sure to read the link for more.
CBS: Things are pretty hot on Dancing with the Stars already!
BBC: “I know, what a night on Monday! There were so many tears in the ballroom, it was such an emotional show. I cried and everybody in the ballroom was crying; the cast was crying. It was ridiculous [laughs]!
I think this is the strongest cast we’ve ever had as far as the quality of dancing goes. There’s different frontrunners every week and we have no idea who will make it to the semi-finals. Usually you kind of know early on, but everybody’s just so good. Even the bottom of the leader-board people are doing fantastic. It’s one of those very unpredictable season, but so much talent. Who knew with this cast?!”
CBS: Do you have a favorite?
BBC: “It’s really hard. I think Donald is unbelievable and he hasn’t had his shining moment yet. But he’s just such a loveable, charasmatic guy. But Gavin’s charming and loveable, Roshon’s an incredible dancer. I’m always partial to Derek and I think he and Maria had a great night Monday night. And of course Katherine already looks like a pro – it’s kind of ridiculous!
It’s a tough one this season. Honestly, for the first time ever, I can’t pick my top 2. And we usually place bets on who we think will win [laughs].”
Good old Brooke – always partial to Derek! I have to say Brooke is a lot better this year with her interviewing skills. She seems more natural and less “out of her element”. Practice makes … better! ๐
Weird that she didn’t even mention William.
I gotta say, as far as improvement and genuine chemistry go Gavin really excelled this week. I hope he can keep it up, the jury is out. He and Karina don’t have to play anything up- the chemistry is genuine, which is always lovely to see.
@ sasa,
I am one of the few who was glad that Gavin didn’t get eliminated this week. I liked Jack, but I thought Gavin was making more progress. I like him to stick around for another week or two!
@Meggie
I thought both Gavin and Jack made more progress then Sherri, Gladys and Melissa (she tried hard but something just isn’t clicking right). Donald and Maria also got better this week while Katherine, William and Roshon stayed about the same.
I know it’s harder to progress when you’re already good but that’s a natural side effect to something which in itself is a benefit.
I’m always fascinated at how people don’t get bored watching “good” dancers week after week from 1 to 10. For me to root for these type of contestants they really have to have a compelling personality and a laid back attitude to make up for the lack of progress. And nice unforced chemistry with their partner. Examples: Emmitt, Hines, Gilles, Kristi.
I really think partnering and improvement should be rewarded more then they currently are. I would love to see contestants come out week 1 to set their personal standard for the season without being judged comparatively. Week 1- no scores, just setting the standard and from then on everybody gets scored on their own personal scale. But everybody would be screaming “unfair judging” even more then they are now.
@sasa
I think some of the pros realize that improvement is what the fans want to see. They “pace” the things they put in the routine for their celeb, so you can notice an improvement. I know Derek has talked about doing that anyway. He “saves” things for later in the show to show that improvement. I’m sure the others do that too. ๐
But then there are pros who make the steps very difficult from the beginning or who don’t try to make the choreography harder as the weeks go on. It’s a gift to know what level to show each week. Some pros have it down and some don’t!
@Meggie & sasa – All the reasonsing about growing vs. being good from day 1 that you both mention are exactly why I’m beginning to think Donald could walk away with the MBT this season. I think he & Peta are playing things very smart right now – he’s steadily improving, but not so much that it sends up an “OMG! This guy is a contender!” flag; they’re avoiding controversy & too much press; and they’re choosing choreography that is pleasing to both the judges and the audience. I think this whole strategy of flying under the radar right now is going to really pay off later in the season, when suddenly he’s giving frontrunners like Katherine, William, & Maria a run for their money. I remember a lot of Rob’s appeal late last season seemed to stem from the fact that he had really grown & improved throughout the season, whereas JR & Ricki had remained relatively steady. Add to that the fact that he’s quite possibly the most likeable guy ever and a hard worker, and we’ve got ourselves a STRONG dark horse ๐
True that about the pros. But I think it makes things too uneven for the celebrities depending on which pro they get. It should be more officially included in the scoring and comments. Right now the most the judges can do is drop hints about “tackling a difficult choreography” which apparently isn’t enough to change anything.
Gavin for example IMO deserved nines on his own personal scale this week. But with the element of comparison in play he will never get them. Which is a crazy neither here nor there method. If he was a 7 on week 1 then Katherine should have been a 15. There is simply not enough room for comparative judging and I think they should officially abandon it.
I was replying to Meggie, sorry for the confusion.
Peta does seem to be one smart cookie, I thought so too. She’s playing the game.
Couldn’t agree more Court! I love Donald and Peta for exactly all the reasons you mention!!
And Meggie and Sasa, I was so glad to see an improvement in Gavin too. I’m curious to see if he can keep it up.
…. and yet, if you look at past winners they certainly haven’t been people who have slowly improved over time. i.e. JR, Nicole, Kristi Y. Even Hines never seemed to improve much over time IMO. So WE may like the improvement factor, but I’m not sure the general viewing public take that into consideration as much.
As a Gavin fan who was puzzled as to why everyone was pegging him as the first one to go I am happy to see him winning people over. He is not a dancer, one of the few this year, but is trying (he was accused of not caring a lot) and getting better. I like his partnership with Karina and she is getting him to improve. He is also a genuine nice person. You can see it in the paparazzi videos where he always takes time to personally thank them and each fan who comes up to them. Judging by some of the rumors of some on the cast this season I’d rather watch him continue to grow than someone else who may be a better dancer but not such a nice person.
I really don’t think Donald is under the radar at all. He is clearly top 4 right now with Katherine, Maria, and William. Sorry but with the success of NFL players on this show, an NFL wide receiver with the nickname “Quickie” is not flying under the radar in most minds.
I like Gavin and hope he goes a little farther in the competition. I definitely think he’s better than Sherrie (I REALLY don’t get her marks at all), Melissa and Gladys, although I don’t think he’s got a prayer of lasting beyond Gladys.
I am hoping for William to win, but that’s just because I picked him in the office pool!
Andrea, I would caution you on making assumptions about what’s going on “in most minds”. Claiming to speak for the majority is something that generally turns folks off around here.
I still say Donald is flying under the radar. He’s consistently scoring in the middle of the pack, and getting mixed critiques from the judges. He’s neither doing extraordinarily good nor extraordinarily bad. He’s working hard and steadily improving. He’s avoiding tabloid controversy and media oversaturation. That, to me, is under the radar.
I’m with those who prefer watching contestants improve week by week. For me, that goes for all reality shows–the steady losers on “Biggest Loser” bore me as well, even though they’re doing what they’re supposed to ๐
I wish there were a way to pick an evenly matched cast each season, but obviously that’s impossible.
With Katherine being “like a pro” already…hmmm, and Sherri’s “did she or didn’t she have lessons already”, Roshon have a lot of experience, and William just not doing it for me, I have to say that I’m enjoying watching Gavin, Gladys, Maria, and Donald “grow & learn”. It also helps like I enjoy all of their partners as well. I feel for Kym. Many said this competition was Jaleel’s to lose—-maybe in many minds he has with his actions off the main dance floor. I thought I would like Melissa, but I’m not connecting with her at all.
I agree, Court!! Peta and Donald aren’t involving themselves in any of the drama. They are just concentrating on dancing (under the radar) and improving week after week.
Donald is doing really good. Looking at my rankings for the past couple of weeks since the show started he always is in my top 4. Saying that, I think he can really fly under the radar and pull a rob kardashian and get into that finale. Also, after thinking about it, I have a really really good feeling he will get 9s or even 10s next week but Gavin might drop to 7s. I just don’t see gavin doing well with that dance.
Lastly, I think i have a new fav. female pro: Peta. She is really showing what she can do on the show now and honestly if she wins a trophy on her second season I would love to see the looks on some of the other pros faces (Maks in particular lol)
Vin, ditto! I love Peta too and would love too that happen. IMO, she’s like the female version of Derek. Always humble and gracious. She’s a class act.
Brooke doesn’t talk about William because he’s the one to beat, and he’s getting a ton of publicity, the others are trying to catch him. William is really the surprise this season, regardless what this board has tried to convey. Who knew he could be so light on his feet? Sure he has a fanbase, but hunks like Albert Reed never went far on looks. When I saw the rehearsal tape of his Cha Cha, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ut1jOJ26HE I thought man…this guy has the whole package, great looking, great dance moves, nice tight forward locks, good Cha Cha on the balls of his feet…amazing hip action and he did this all in half the time of everyone else! He just needs more run through time and as he gets more time under his belt he just improves by leaps and bounds. The pacing of his dances has been good. First Cha Cha he was definitely nervous because he has the goods. Quickstep his performance level went way up, even though he had some technique issues, all because he had less time to prepare, but the Salsa…man the guy owned it. right down to really leading Cheryl. So good. And I love the little bromance going with Derek, especially Dereks over head clapping for William and the body shimmy they did to each other when he came back to get his scores. Fun season….hope he can continue with the Jive.. that’s a tough one but Cheryl usually does pretty decent ones for her male partners.
@Mailyn: I remeber Albert! I actaully voted for him week one of his season lol. I agree that William is better but that is jsut becuase Albert was more immature and I’m assuming younger (William looks like he is in his early 30s and Albert was in his 20s I think)
Once again, I reiterate: if you cannot resist taking a swipe at those who post here when making a comment, DON’T COMMENT.
Sasa, I actually believe that the judges ARE scoring it the way you suggest (each celebs own personal scale), it’s just they didn’t agree with you on Gavin. They’ve claimed as much in the past – especially when people complain about (for example) someone like Bristol getting an 8 at the same time someone like Brandy does. And I just think that’s crazy – I can see doing it that way for the first couple weeks, but at some point they have to stand up and say “It’s week 5 and She dances better than he does and he dances better than she does and START scoring it that way.
Andrea also commented “unlike many this season” implying that a lot of people have dance experience. By my count there are exactly 2.5 people with dance experience – Katherine, Roshon, and MAYBE Sherri. Out of 12 contestants it’s hardly accurate to give Gavin accolades for doing okay despite never having danced before “unlike some”. There’s a whole bunch of people on there who haven’t danced before.
sasa and Meggie, I enjoyed your comments and ideas
I agree Marilyn! I belive that William is the biggest surprise this season. A lot of people did not give him a chance to do well on the show from the very start, believing he is barely known. Carrie Ann said it all……William is not the second coming of Gilles, but he reminds you of Emitt and a little of Apollo with his charm. He can dazzle and light up the whole ballroom by his presence alone. You can tell the difference in the atmosphere and energy of the crowd, the moment he stepped out. And he is still growing and learning the whole process just like anybody else who had no idea before this.
I like William’s energy and yet a humble guy. Impressed that despite his huge success aS a latin actor, he continues to look back and embrace his humble beginnings. Bless the guy for sending many poor children to school and giving the money he is going to make on dwts to send more children to school. God bless him for paying it forward.
William is the whole package of this season.
Brooke knows he doesn’t need the extra mention from her. She is simply giving other competitors some extra push needed.
Or, y’know, he just might not be one of Brooke’s favorites. ๐
@PH
I disagree. I think the judges are instructed to score people based on their personal scale but to also keep in mind better (more talented, experienced etc.) dancers should be getting better scores. Those two things just don’t work together. If everyone truly had their own scale I’m thinking we would have seen a 10 or two given to any of our token older contestants throughout the seasons. Yet, with their limited range of movement, they never manage to score the same marks as younger people do. It’s like they just fill a niche. How boring.
This is total nitpicking here, but I assume any of the actors (Jack in particular, but maybe Maria, Melissa, and Jaleel) has had some dance training. At least a little training in voice and dance are mandatory if you are studying in that field. This was especially true of Jack’s generation, but Maria was a beauty queen, so likely so for her, too. (Melissa and Jaleel hit it big early enough that they may have skipped getting the extra skills.)
I’m not talking years of classical ballet; I just mean SOME training. Enough so that when a pro says, “Do this, this, and this,” you have some clue what they’re talking about. Martina said she had no training, and um…I believed her!
Maria has no dance training at all. She said her parents could not afford dance lessons as a kid and that added to the emotions she fel after her rumba. She could nt believe she could pull off a dance like that. I am charmed by both her and Donald. I see work ethic in them both and progress in both. Kayherne is like a pro because well, her dance training has been mentioned. Again, I wish she would admit it. It make it easier to enjoy her dances and judges can not act all shocked when she can dance.
If I may, I have to say that having some dance experience doesn’t guarantee that you’ll learn the dance any quicker. It may only give you a better knowledge of your body and a fair musicality.
For example, I have a little background in historical (XIXth century) and social dancing (latin club dances), and I know a bit of folk dance (enough to go to a ceilidh, at least). At best, I would only have a leg-up where the waltz is concerned, were I to go on the show, and I would perhaps have a better posture in hold for the ballroom dances. The steps in the quickstep, foxtrot, and tango would still have to be learned from scratch, so to speak, not to mention the lifts. And the jive, rumba and samba (those rolls!) would still present a challenge. As to learning anything remotely complex like an Irish jig like they do in Riverdance? Just forget it…
So even if Katherine has some experience (a bit of tap for a short sequence, some paso-y choreo for a Carmen show, or a rumored stint in the foxtrot department), it doesn’t mean that she musn’t still learn the steps correctly and face the music, to use a somewhat hackneyed metaphor. She, like all others, must put in the hours and work for the results she’s getting. And if she’s got some talent at learning the choreo quickly, well, it’s not only because she may well have experience. She may only be wired that way, as some people are just that multitalented.
Nice try, Marie – but I don’t believe so. Maria isn’t really and actress in the truest sense, for one thing, and I don’t believe that Jack or Melissa have any training either.
Just because people can WALK doesn’t mean they have some sort of training. Geez.
Just adding that Katherine says she’s using DWTS in part to get over her recent breakup. People all react differently, but it may be that her strategy is to live the moment and be extremely focused on the “here and now”. If that is the case, well, this sort of frame of mind can almost litterally move mountains, giving her a strength and focus on par with an athlete’s.
Well, EL, where were you when they were raking all other celebs with experience over the coals?? ๐ Once again, I think this is about Derek…if seems far less important if the pro is someone other than him.
I agree dance experience does not mean it will be good but to deny it? If it is hard for her with her experience, imagine the others? I loved Nicole’s dances but she admitted her performance background. With Katherine, many look at her at awe as if she s starting at ground zero like Donald.
Her performance does give her advantage. Instead of denying it, own it.
@Heidi:
I was still testing the waters, I’m afraid… and somewhat daunted by the tone of certain posts. But do feel free to quote me at will in any future debate…
@Melissa:
Who’s to say she didn’t acknowledge her experience in rehearsals with Mark, but that TPTB edited her package differently so that we got another story? Don’t fault Katherine for what may only be the producers’ storyboarding.
Yep, I’d like Katherine to own her dance experience, too, like Roshon did, like Nicole did. She admitted to earlier drug use on the Piers Morgan interview, why not admit the dance training and earlier performances as well, since that’s much more pertinent to her current gig? I enjoy her dancing but it would be easier for me to embrace her if she were more forthcoming.
I can fault her, EL, when Katie Couric asked her and she said she is just a singer.
I am glad there are a few nodding in agreement with me.
William really has a wonderful opportunity to shine. I didn’t know who he was but I was blown away that he could dance, and that he wants to learn more in earnest. That’s all I need to support him.
I have supported ringers in the past, but I’m always hesitant to do so. So I have a clear favorite, one that meets the criteria I always hoped would be the ideal for learning to dance. I’m sure Katherine is a nice person, but in truth she’s rather bland and bit wooden in her personality, and more than just a few tap lessons as a kid, she had full on months of dance and fitness training in 2007 to prepare for her Viva La Diva tour, in which she was able to keep pace in show dancing with a prima ballerina in broadway type of choreography. In contrast William just came right out and told everyone . “I know how to Salsa I just don’t know professional Salsa, and true to form, his dancing however awesome owed a lot to Cubano club style rather than competiton style. I just think for Katherine, all of those months of training, and then taking that show on the road all over the UK honed dance in a way that someone who had less than 2 weeks training before the first dance just could never compete with. What she learned she didn’t learn from Mark. Her Jive was more Go Go dancing with a little bit of Jive and her Waltz wasn’t a waltz at all, it was a Lyrical dance that cheated 3/4 time because it was in 4/4 time. Her training allowed her to dance lyrical, but she still hasn’t really showed us ballroom dancing all the way through the routine for the last two dances.
Just so you guys know, the entire viva la diva show is now up on YouTube. Katherine does a tap number at the end but aside from that, everything else is broadway- esque variety act type stuff. There’s a reasonable sized professional dance troupe and of course Darcey Bussell that do 99% of the dancing. After seeing the whole thing, I’m not sure where I stand on Katherine as ringer. Based on what’s been said here, I was expecting to see every number a song and dance act but it wasn’t at all. It is clear however, that she’s clearly an entertainer.
Of course yes, she’s an entertainer and she’s also danced in a production of Carmen. My point is how much Ballroom was in the Jive and the Waltz? Not much when you consider a lot of the Jive was GoGo shimmy shaking and the Waltz was danced mainly out of hold. It was more, Broadway type entertainment, of which she has a good deal of background. I read reviews of Viva La Diva and they were very pointed that Katherine more than held her own dancing, while the ballerina didn’t fair nearly as well as a singer. At the very least she can fake it as well as Nicole Scherzinger.
I have to disagree Marilyn. Katherine seems like such a lovely person to me. She’s refreshing and she’s bringing out the best in Mark too which is so cool to see for a change. I don’t find her wooden in the least. I’m loving her dancing. If she’s got previous dance experience and/or is a ringer, that’s fine with me as it seems all the pros have taken turns at having ringers. In the end, I really don’t care as I just want to see some great dancing on the show.
As for William, I like him and he’s probably in my top 5 favorites right now, but, I’m hoping Cheryl and the TPTB will leave the sex pimping alone now and step it up. He’s not the best dancer, but, the potential is there if he can concentrate on just that and work hard like Rob K did last season.
Vogue, I started to read your last comment on the right hand side of the page under recent comments. All I could see was,” I’m sure Katherine is a nice person, but in truth she’s rather bland and a bit wooden in her personality I…”
I couldn’t believe my eyes! I thought maybe you had had a mini stroke in the night and your whole personality had changed! Then I opened the comments and read the whole thing. Whew! Glad you’re still your upbeat, positive, kind self! ๐ It’s always nice to have a balance in opinions.
@Melissa
The GMA video isn’t available in my location, so I can’t verify that she indeed denied any experience. If you can provide a workable link, I’ll be more than happy to change my viewpoint.
@Marilyn
According to this article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3669566/Viva-La-Diva-Passions-turn-to-pastiche-for-Darcey-Bussell-and-Katherine-Jenkins.html), the dancing in Viva la Diva wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, as Darcey Bussell apparently didn’t perform up to par, either. Again, according to the article, Katherine’s dancing part was only for the finale number, which even in the best of circumstances usually lasts only a maximum of ten minutes. And, as it has been stressed many times on this site, broadway-style choreo doesn’t always translate well to ballroom dancing.
As for whatever stamina she might have built? The tour was in 2007, more than four years ago, indeed almost five years ago. Unless she kept up with a training regime since then, she doesn’t have much of an advantage.
And on a side note, dancing a waltz in a 4/4 tempo is entirely legit. Indeed, it’s a common staple of the French guinguette style, also known as the bal-musette.
LOL Thanks Meggie! xx
@EL
I’m sorry I’m not computer savvy enough to provide a link to the GMA video, but i did see it and when asked if she had any dance training by Katie, she said, “I’m just a singer”. So in my mind, it was a denial. That was her chance to say that she had done a bit/quite a lot or whatever of dancing while singing/entertaining. She completely avoided the real question with her answer. I was very disappointed in her.
KJ, according to the scale applied to others who’ve been on the show (Nicole, Sabrina, Mya, Mel B, Joey Fatone, etc), she’s definitely a ringer – it’s just a question of how big of a ringer she is. Unfortunately for her, her relatively small US fanbase could counteract any benefit she gets from being a ringer. Combine that with the fact that there are many bigger personalities, and she’s going to really have to be an amazing dancer. I just wonder if Marky can keep it in line and put more content in going forward and not succumb to the urge to do things that will piss Len off.
I think bland and wooden is the wrong phrase, but I understand what Marilyn is getting at. It’s just that she’s much quieter than those around her, so it might make her seem that way. I mean, stick her in between Maria and Sherri and the poor girl might get lost – throw Donald in and it’s all over. It’s not “bad” – it’s who she is. I think she’s darling, but I can understand why some would find her bland in the midst of much larger personalities.
I’ve seen the video of her doing both tap and a number that looked a lot like a Paso – she’s a ringer. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Hell, people are still calling Maria a ringer on twitter just because she dances with Derek. Someone on this site claimed she must be a ringer because she was in a beauty contest. Ummm…no. It takes a bit more than that. On this site we’ve called people with similar experience to Katherine ringers – it has nothing to do with ballroom dancing but with lots of practice learning choreo and lots of practice performing dance of any kind in front of an audience.
I do kinda feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone though, since I know perfectly well that no one would be disputing her as a ringer if she were dancing with Derek. It makes my brain hurt a tiny bit. ๐
That’s the Grey Goose, Heidi! ๐
She’d be talked up as the ringer if she was with Derek because she’d be paired with THE BEST!! ๐
@Heidi:
Just to be clear… I actually don’t mind ringers either, whatever pro they might be paired with. What I do mind is when people assume that, just because someone has a modicum of dance experience, this someone will learn the ballroom choreo with a snap of their fingers, as usually their pro will assign them harder choreo to begin with. And if it seems easy come showtime, well, it only means they did a “bloody good job” learning it, as Len would say.
I stuck with beer last night, Meggie. ๐
It appears we’re on the same side there, EL – the converse of course being “She’s dancing really well – she MUST be a ringer.” Also idiotic and currently being applied to Maria and Jaleel I believe. Now Jaleel could be a low level ringer…I haven’t really looked into it since my ringer series is complete and I don’t feel like revisiting it to that level. ๐
@Heidi
Just to clarify: I did not call Maria a ringer (or anyone else, for that matter). I said I suspected she and others had SOME (and I put SOME in all caps) dance experience, in contrast to others who had none.
Several have said this is not true and in any case, it wouldn’t matter at this level of competition. Since just about anybody here has more dance experience than me, so I’ll defer to their opinion.
Did you have that beer with any Cheesecake by chance???!!! ๐
As a matter of fact, I did!! ๐ More cheese this morning though. I just thought of something evil. ๐
Wahoo! I can hardly wait! Judging from your “in the gutter” mind yesterday, we are in for some dirty cheesecake with some evil on the side! When are you servin’ it up??
ROTFL!!!
Ask Courtney. ๐ I’m about done. I don’t know how dirty it is, but there is a good bit of eeeviiilll in it. ๐
Ooooooooh! Eeeeeeeevil Cheesecake! ๐ I can’t wait!!!!!!!!
I’d say there’s a decent amount of filth. ๐
Anxiously awaiting the cheesecake to be served…”giggle” “giggle” ๐
I just want to clarify that if Katherine has had dance experience, and I am reconciled with it, since I’ve voted for both Nicole and Jennifer, so how can I be a hypocrite when I have voted for ringers. What I am not so happy about is Katherine’s a ringer, in the way the word is actually meant, meaning that she’s like a hustler in the pool hall, pretending just to be one of the cast, with a little bit of dance training as a kid, when that’s not the case. That makes me suspicious of her. It was like Mario Lopez back in season 2. He swore up and down he had no dance experience, but Emmit Smith coined the word “ringer” after it was discovered that he had oddles of dance training and an old video tape was found of him dancing, not ballroom, just dancing professionally. It didn’t sink him with his loyal fans, but it made voting for Emmit that much easier to those who knew Mario was the better dancer, but not so much the more honest one. In the end, it’s about your favorite, not necessarily the best.
If people like Katherine’s personality, I respect that, but I am not one of those people. I don’t think she’s particularly engaging on camera, and I don’t believe the crying is always genuine. I don’t want to feel that way, I just do. Perhaps she’s a better lady than what I give her credit for, but the secrecy is making it difficult for me to love her.
I’d much rather see genuine emotion like we see from Melissa Gilbert. That I can buy and even though I have a bit of a hate on for Maks because of the belligerent display of sexism and bullying last season, I’d like to see Melissa just really do something magical for one dance. She can’t win, obviously that back injury from last year has severely hampered any chance of that, but she needs a little victory. I was thrilled to read she was going to be on the show, but somewhat crestfallen when I heard she got Maks. As much as Maks is playing the role of the caring individual this season, I can think of at least 3 other pros who would have been so much better for her. I wished she got Tristan.
Be that as it may, if Jaleel can let some things go, he can turn this thing around because at his best, he can better most of the cast, including the ringer. I suspect, however he’s lost those who were new to his fanbase, so he’s got to cut his losses and not upset his loyal fans any further. He may have burned his bridges with the producers, or he may have created just enough tabloid fodder to keep him around and the ratings up.
Just to clarify the notion that a waltz could ever be legit as 4/4/ time? I gotta say Wow.
Never is a Waltz in 4/4 time a Waltz. A Waltz is always 3/4 time or it’s not a Waltz. Ask a professional musician to play a Waltz off the top of their head, they will never play 4/4/ time, they’ll probably play Moon River or something by Strauss. Ask a ballerina to do a Waltz step in ballet, it is 3/4 time.
My understanding is this show bases its ballroom dances (Quickstep, Foxtrot, Tango, Waltz and V Waltz on American Smooth and/or International Standard . The tempo for Slow Waltz (international terminology) or Waltz or Viennese Waltz is strictly 3/4 time. There is no need for substitutions or cheating 3/4 time, as there are many pop tunes in 3/4 time, you just have to willing to dance to them.
@Marilyn:
Maybe I should have been clearer in my explanation, as I was referring to the way the dancers interpreted the music, not the music itself, but there is inded a way to dance a waltz as if it were written in 4/4, which is typical of the valse-musette in France. In it, sometimes the music goes so fast that the dancers often haven’t the time to complete their steps, so instead they mark the tempo by pivoting on the first beat of each measure. Thus, instead of having the feet do 1,2,3-4,5,6, they do 1(beat)-2(beat). Any ballroom dancer worth his salt knows that, and is able to incorporate it in their choreo, even if the waltz is a slow one.
As for the debate about Katherine, I repeat what I said earlier to Melissa: “Whoโs to say she didnโt acknowledge her experience in rehearsals with Mark, but that TPTB edited her package differently so that we got another story? Donโt fault Katherine for what may only be the producersโ storyboarding.” As for the GMA interview, GMA is actually broadcast on ABC, so maybe Katie Kouric was asked by the producers not to prod too deeply in Katherine’s dancing past. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt until further notice.
Apparently Katherine’s had many opportunities to clarify her experiences, at the very least talk about her song and dance tour, or maybe her dancing in Carmen. But not even a peep. At least now Brooke is hinting at her experience sayings she looks almost like a professional.
As far as “cheating” Waltz timing, of course Ballroom Dancers can do it, that’s nothing new. What is SUPPOSED to be new is the Waltz to these contestants, and any Ballroom Dancer “worth their salt” as you say knows that dancing ballroom tempo will make the dance far more easier and effective for the beginner. Cheating Waltz timing did nothing to make it a Waltz, because it wasn’t. Morover, it was out of hold far more than it was in hold, and Len Goodman saw fit to give Mya a 5 for not doing enough in hold. The quality of Mya’s dancing was as good if not better than Katherine’s and yet a 5. Why? Because she copped to being a dancer before the competition started. Storyboarding to cover one’s background and then give high scores for not properly dancing Waltz isn’t cricket.
@Marilyn:
1- What I’ve heard directly from Katherine’s mouth are words to the effect that she “usually just stands there and sign”, which is true (usually being the operative word), and that this experience is “out of her comfort zone”, which is also true (as is ballroom dancing for all the celebs who come on the show). And of course, if she’s asked point-blank if she’s a dancer, she’ll answer that she’s a singer (her profession), as I would if I were asked the same, personal pursuits notwithstanding.
2- Some people on the show are simply more talented than others, and it is the responsibility of the pros to push them to their limits and create some truly original choreo to showcase them to the judges and the audience back home. If they can take it, they should be given more complex steps to execute, going beyond the basic pattern. Would you rather we had only basic routines to watch? The show would be dreadfully boring, then.
3- I don’t believe Brooke said that Katherine looked “almost like a pro” hinting at her experience. When one usually says that, it normally implies that the person in question makes it *look* easy while the actual content is actually complex, without any considerationt whether they’re absolute beginners or not.
4- Again, we are only shown a fraction of what really goes on on the show. You are implying that Katerine is responsible for the storyboarding, when it is actually the producers who decide which rehearsal bits to show.
Just adding to my post above that maybe Katherine doesn’t want to come off as bragging about her experience and is trying to be humble about it. Maybe it backfires, as some comments here can attest, but I don’t believe she has malicious intents to hide anything.
Katherine is on a live show, so indeed she could if she wanted to during the live broadcast give us some information. She’s never even given us a hint. If William can say I want to dance Salsa because I know Salsa to George at ABC, I don’t understand why Katherine clams up. You know, Jennifer Grey would speak about Patrick Swayze and immediately people would think of them dancing together. She never had a problem alluding to her experience because it was public knowledge. Derek created a whole Broadway dance that wasn’t a Quickstep for Nicole and everyone knew she was a Musical Theatre grad. It’s the hiding that is irksome.
@Marilyn
Tell me, when would Katherine have the opportunity to set the record straight, so to speak? Live show or not, the few minutes she has with Brooke are thoroughly scripted, as the note cards held by her (and also by Tom on the dance floor for his part of the hosting duty) can attest. As I said just earlier, maybe Katherine simply doesn’t want to boast and make it look like she expects to win the show. Look, apparently you will not stop believing that she does it with a malicious intent, and I will not refuse to give her the benefit of the doubt, so let’s just agree to disagree on that point and move on.
El, one easy way for Katherine to set the record straight is well, her own twitter account. The show does edit and they do seem to be purposely ignoring it but fans are savvy.
In the end, Katherine is at least at the same ringer level as other ringers. I do not deny her talent. But I wonder if this level of defense would be coming if say Katherine was paired with Derek.
@Melissa:
As I don’t use twitter, I can’t ask Katherine, but if you do, then by all means lay the question at her door…
And please don’t put words in my mouth and make it seem like it’s about Derek when it’s not. In my previous answer to Heidi, I said, “I actually donโt mind ringers either, whatever pro they might be paired with”. I do not know how much clearer I must be to say that I judge the dancing as it is, no matter how likable (or not) a pro might be.
@EL, I saw her dodge the question from Katie Couric so I do not need an answer. As for my comment, not directed at you but just an observation on Katherine is not really ringer apologists. The same fans I saw call Ricki a ringer do not think Katherine is a ringer.
I do not mind ringers. I loved Joey, Nicole, Evan and other ringers. But I also respected their honesty. They also were very talented and did not dodge questions.
As mentioned by others, no one is saying she is malicious. Or evil for not being honest, but it is disappointing. When Carrie Ann commented on Katherine after her first dance, it reminded me of her in awe of Brooke, Gilles and Apolo. True dance newbies who were great. But truth is Katherine already learned foxtrot which most viewers do not know in the US. So while some who know that Katherine has dance background see her current edit deceptive, she is also benefitting from an edit where her previous dance experience may or may not be edited out. Many might think she is like a Brooke or Gilles instead of seeing her as say other ringers. For some viewers, that matters to them.
In the end Katherine is good. Her level of dancing is good but tbh, she lacks the extra something that I loved in Nicole, Mya or Joe F dances.
@Melissa:
Clearly we’re running around in circles here, and neither of us is even close to convincing the other of even considering their point of view, so let’s just agree to disagree that you don’t find Katherine engaging and that I do like her, and leave it at that. I have wasted enough of my time answering your arguments, and will not pursue this discussion any further.