DWTS 14 Week 7 Power Rankings
If there is one take-home point I want you guys to glean from this season, it’s that THEME WEEKS OFTEN SCREW THE COUPLES! No exception here – I think only two couples managed to churn out something worthwhile from the pieces of music they were given, and the rest either muddled through or failed miserably. Consequently, I find myself cutting some breaks tonight, just due to some really bad music selections. And let’s just say there was some “creative” storytelling going on this week…warriors & mannequins & vampires, oh my! 😯 I am beyond relieved that it’s back to business as usual next week…no wacky themes to throw couples off their game. So there’s also going to be no excuses for subpar performances…game on, kiddies 😉
Thoughts on the team dances: I thought Team Tango (aka Team Tiny Hat :-P) was quite a bit better than Team Paso (aka Team No Shirt, No Problem ;-)). I saw no timing issues or missteps on Team Tango – everything was in synch, and aside from a couple of small wobbles from Jaleel & Maria, I saw no glaring mistakes. I also thought they had the more interesting floor patterns – lots of visually-pleasing shapes and transitions. I do think Derek was right in his claim that more couples = more interesting patterns. It can be a good thing, if you can manage to get everyone in synch and on time…and I think that last thing is the real challenge. I would hearby like to dub Roshon the MVP of Team Tango – the boy was a revelation tonight. He came out with such determination and attack, and he KILLED his solo on Team Tango. Zero mistakes, 100% commitment, 100% attack. Bravo, Ro! Hell, I would even go so far as to say that he was the overall standout in terms of both teams – he was really the only one that made me sit up and go “WHOA!!! Where did that come from???!” As for Team Paso – I thought they had the more exciting piece of music and had more theatricality and drama than Team Tango, but they suffered in terms of synchronization and just overall cleanliness of their choreography. I kind of anticipated those two problems, as they had the added challenge of throwing in a lot of open work that Team Tango didn’t really have to worry about. I loved the parts of the guys’ cape section that were actually in synch (which I must say is a pretty impressive feat), but the parts that were out of synch just kind of reminded me of my cousins playing Zorro as kids – it was a little chaotic. I could’ve done without the shirtlessness (more on that later), but I can’t say I’m surprised that they did it. If I had to pick, I’d say Donald was the MVP of Team Paso – I loved how much control he showed in his solo, and his choreo was clean. In the end, I’d say the scoring was just about right – I might have deducted a point from Team Paso, since the objective of the team dance for me is to stay in synch, first and foremost, and they seemed to struggle with that a bit more.
1.) Maria & Derek – I think these two were the only ones who managed to really OWN their individual dance tonight, and not get pwned by the song they were given. I can’t say that I was wild about the vampire storyline (between Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, etc., I’m kinda over the whole vamp thing…), but they did make it work for them, and overall the choreography was clean, exciting, and a good representation of paso doble. Did it deserve a 30? I think so…with all of the overscoring we’ve seen this season for dances that I thought were nowhere near as good as this paso (or at least had nowhere near as much content as this paso), I can’t say that I think the judges were too far off in giving it the first 30 of the season. Given tonight’s spread, I think these two are safe.
2.) Katherine & Mark – I’m told their rumba was Game of Thrones-inspired, but as someone who does not have premium cable (and whose regular cable it only intermittently available these days – thanks again, AT&T!), I actually thought it looked more gladiator or Roman-y. Whatever it was – I’m afraid the costuming made Katherine look kinda out of her element, and although I thought her legs looked FANTASTIC and she was at least flirting with some nice hip action, I never felt 100% commitment from her, and the routine never felt super romantic or rumba-y to me. It tiptoed near being a good rumba, but never really reached it – and Katherine had another week of “deer in the headlights” eyes from time to time, I’m afraid. I also have to raise a bit of an eyebrow to some creative camera work I noticed – seemed like they changed the shot so you couldn’t see Kath’s legs whenever they went for a move that might possibly get called out as a lift. Possibly a “if the viewers can’t see it, they can’t get mad at Carrie Ann for not calling them out on it!” strategy? Who knows…but it just seemed a bit fishy to me, especially given a few other things I noticed tonight. Overall, I think these two are probably safe this week – but I’m starting to see some cracks in her facade. She’s not as flawless as the judges initially thought, methinks…
3.) Donald & Peta – This was the only other couple I thought really handled their piece of music well tonight, and I thought their “royalty at court” kinda theme was a cute interpretation. Although Donald gave it a valiant effort and I did see some really good moments (especially when he was out of hold), he did seem to have some footwork issues (a problem all of the VW’s this week seemed to have), and I thought I saw him get off time once or twice. Then again, it was hard to tell whether someone was on or off-time this week, as so many of the pieces of music had some wacky tempo changes. I wish Carrie Ann could have just praised them, instead of bringing up some non-issue about a lift that she herself didn’t see but thought might have been there anyway (seriously? WTF??? Just score what you saw and shut up about things you didn’t!), but I think the judges were about right in their scoring. I think Donald’s pretty safe, but I think he still has some work to do on his ballroom frame if he wants a shot at the finals…
4.) William & Cheryl – I’ve gotta say, William gained a few points in my book this week – I kind of loved it that he was not cool with doffing his shirt for the Team Paso 🙂 I think what really impressed me thought was his reasoning for it – he wanted to make it “about the dancing” and not about the gimmicks…which is what many of us have been saying for WEEKS. We want to see William the dancer, and not William the hot piece of ass! Kinda cool that Donald backed him up, too – even if Cheryl & Maks ultimately won and they doffed their shirts anyway. Anyway! His Viennese waltz…like Donald & Jaleel, I don’t think it was necessarily bad, but there were some issues…chief amongst them, the footwork. All of the guys that did VW this week seemed to vacillate between being too flat-footed to being too tippy-toed in their footwork…and consequently, I think all of them missed the mark a bit. I don’t think William messed up any steps, and overall the dance was clean and fairly-well executed…but like Katherine’s rumba, it just wasn’t 100% there. I still get a bit bothered by the fact that William appears to be kinda disinterested when he dances…he could be totally invested, but the look on his face says to me “Meh. It’s ok.” Also have to point out that the smoke monster seemed to be very present in the first 20 seconds or so of his dance – which may have conveniently hidden some of the footwork problems I mentioned. At the end of the day, I bet they’re safe, but the judges do seem to be cracking down on him…guess we’ll see what transpires in the next 2 weeks!
5.) Roshon & Chelsie – I still think he got a bit hosed this week, although not nearly as bad as last week, and the poor kid did have to contend with a very non-classical song (sorry, but having an orchestra play “Bad Romance” does not make it classical) and a wardrobe malfunction from his partner, that likely cut out one of the more dramatic parts of his routine. He did seem to have a few wonky moments of footwork, but overall I was impressed by how well he kept up and how he dealt with some of the lifts. And you already know how I felt about him in the team dance 😀 So the question is: does he have enough to keep him out of the bottom 2 tomorrow night? *sigh* I wish I could say for sure, but only one point separates him from Jaleel – and on a night like tonight with 2 dances, one point may as well be zero points. However, I’m gonna venture a guess that he gets a bit of a boost from being in the bottom 2 last week – likely not a huge one, as those of us who were voting our fingers off trying to keep him out of the bottom 2 last week were still not enough; but maybe just enough that he can edge out Jaleel and stay out of the duel this week. But I’m afraid it will probably be curtains for him next week, with the double elim and no dance duel to save him 🙁 I think there’s a slight chance that Melissa could squeak by this week, and leave Roshon & Jaleel in the duel…in which case, all bets are off, and I’ll probably end up losing my mind. 🙂
6.) Jaleel & Kym – Yet another victim of bad Viennese waltz footwork. And a strange song, too – still trying to wrap my brain around that one. I mean, it was pleasant to watch, and it was smooth, and there were no mistakes – but when it came down to it, I found it a bit repetitious, and like some of the other dances tonight, I didn’t sense that he was 100% in the zone. When it comes down to it, I think Jaleel kinda got lost in the shuffle tonight in both dances, and that will ultimately kick him down into the duel with Melissa, as opposed to Roshon. And just like last week, this duel will likely be a no-brainer – Jaleel will emerge victorious, only to be sent home in the double elim next week. Unless he somehow manages a comeback dance like he did last week…
7.) Melissa & Maks – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think Melissa was the weakest dancer still left in the competition – and based on her scores, I’d say there’s a decent chance she could end up in the bottom 2 tomorrow night…and if that’s the case, then I think we can pretty much kiss her goodbye, because I don’t think she stands a chance against any of the other dancers left. But I will say this: while her Argentine tango was not the greatest, I daresay it wasn’t nearly as bad as the judges made it out to be. I actually thought the lifts were pretty cool – that one in the beginning was amazing. Took some serious cojones to do that one! I hated their song – far too much going on, tempo-wise, for a decent A. tango, so I do have to cut them a break there. All in all, I think they got pretty shafted tonight – but in the end, I don’t think there was much they could have done to prevent it, as I got the feeling that the judges had already decided at least half of the bottom 2 before the show even started tonight. I think Melissa’s had a great ride, though – she survived far longer that I personally anticipated, and I do think she’s got a cool vibe about her. Will be disappoining to see her go…if that’s indeed what happens…
Now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t shake this horrible feeling that tonight’s scoring may backfire a bit and result in a bottom 2 that the judges’ didn’t intend…I think the two most likely candidates are Jaleel & Roshon, based on the fact that both of them have made an appearance in the bottom 2 within the past 2 weeks; but I still think there’s an off-shot that we could get a BIG shocker, and have William or Donald end up there, as they’re only 1 point above Roshon. Donald, I honestly doubt, just based on popularity; but have William’s fans gotten complacent? Who knows. But I have to guess, so I guess I’m gonna go with Jaleel & Melissa in the duel, with Melissa getting the boot. But if it’s Jaleel & Roshon…who knows.
So what did you guys think of Classical Night? And who do you think will end up in the duel tomorrow?
What a night. I wasn’t wild about the music, but, some of the dancing was out of this world. Here goes…
1. Derek and Maria – Wowza! Along with little girl who could sing classical music, Team Paso, these two stole the whole show hands down!! Girl gave IT and proved to herself she could dance tonight with the best of all of Derek’s partners. Derek choreographed another stunning, unforgettable, show stopping Paso Doble. He never disappoints! They took my breath away! Just stunning! 30+++
2. Donald and Peta – I loved them once again! This dance had elements of everything in it from being charming, dashing, passionate, romantic, and what’s more, timeless. Kudos to Peta as she is fast becoming one of the best choreographers on this show.They were like watching Cinderella and Prince Charming …errr or maybe the King and Queen in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Whatever, I just loved them. 30!!
3. William and Cheryl – I loved these two!! I loved his glides and extensions. It was passionate and heartfelt. I loved their faces and how into character they were. Just excellent. 30!!
4. Roshon and Chelsie – The music was a little weird for me, but, he was sharp and intense. He was so concentrated. It was like he grew up 10 years from last week. I loved the spinning and his fast footwork. 27
5. Katherine and Mark – This dance felt weird for me from the get go. I felt disconnected to them for the second week in a row. I was even half way bored. I liked her dress and the theme though. 26
6. Melissa and Maks – These two are not going to go out without a fight and it shows. Both danced with such a fierceness. However, I finally figured out what I’m not liking about Melissa. It’s her faces and eyes. She always looks so scared. If they make it another week, I wish someone would help her with her faces. 24
7. Jaleel and Kym – He was stiff and heavy in his legs and footwork tonight. The same came out in the team dance. 22
As for the teams – Give it up to Team Paso. OMG, it was sheer brilliance at it’s finest. It was powerful, full of muscles, fire, and passion. I loved Peta and Donald the most in it.
As for the Dance Duel, I think it will be between Jaleel and Melissa. If that’s the case, I think Melissa will be picked to go, but, I wish it was Jaleel to go so bad.
I can’t wait for Heidi’s Numbers post especially with the Team numbers playing into it all this week.
Once again, excellent Court. I so agree how theme nights can mess the couples up.
I enjoyed tonight!
If Melissa avoids the bottom 2 again than this really is Maks show. She’s a nice woman, but she looks scared to death when she dances. She’s an actress but is not emoting. But she has one thing going for her. Her partner has an increasing irrational fan base. Determined to keep him in it at all costs.
Maria is definitely the come back girl with a knock out dance that could set her back in line for the finale.
Katherine was solid but forgettable.
William, Donald, and Roshon are my favorites right now. Roshon looks so sad he is not connecting with the viewers. His legs do get wobbly though. I hope he avoids the dance off. I enjoyed both waltzes from Donald and William. And even better I like how it was shown that William is not the one who wants to depend on his sex appeal to make it. And I loved how Donald spoke up for him. Unfortunately some of the pros have to increasingly depend on stunts and tricks in their choreo.
Jaleel, eh.
Liked both group dances. Tango probably sharper but I liked the passion of the Paso.
…Still think it will be Roshon & Melissa in the Duel, with Roshon winning…. maybe, Jaleel & Melissa.. still, Melissa leaves. And, the judges tippes their hand tonight. It will be Maria, Donald, Katherine, & William in the semis….
first up the team dances: for me team tango took it. They were cleaner and much more in sync with each other and the choreo was more interesting. (as opposed to team paso’s choreo which we saw most of in last season’s team paso)
Individual:
1)Maria and Derek
2)Donald and Peta
3)Katherine and Mark
4)William and Cheryl
5)Roshon and Chelsie
6)Jaleel and Kym
7)Melissa and Maks
I think the bottom two will be Melissa and Jaleel(maybe Roshon) but if there’s a shocker it could be Katherine – not that she needs to worry – the judges won’t send her home(prpbably not even if she was up against William)
Finally, I got to watch an ep just to enjoy it! 😉
For me, the best of the night were Maria and Derek and Donald and Peta. Both were lucky enough to get good music that really matched their style of dance.
Team Tango did it for me, hands down! It was amazing and nearly flawless. Roshon, to me, was the best of any of the teams.
My prediction for the bottom 2: Jaleel and Melissa, with Melissa going home, unfortunately.
My wish for the semis: Donald, Maria, Katherine, and Roshon. To me, those are the 4 best dances left, and they deserve to be there. Just my 2c.
Maria and Derek definitely had the best dance of the night, and they clearly benefitted from good music. I thought she might have stumbled a bit at the end. Would I have given it a 30 based on past paso dobles I’ve seen on the show. No. Judged against those pasos, I would have probably scored it a 28, maybe a 29. However, given the scoring so far this season, it probably was 30-worthy.
As for the Viennese waltzes, Donald’s and Peta’s seemed the smoothest of the three, although his footwork was bad towards the end, which detracted from the dance. I probably would have scored William’s the same as Jaleel’s — a 24. I thought William’s movements were kind of choppy. I have to say I rewatched Roshon’s and Chelsie’s Viennese Waltz a couple weeks ago, and I thought theirs was better than any of the three tonight because it flowed from movement to movement.
Chelsie and Roshon got hosed on the music for their Argentine tango. It really was not a good choice. I was kind of disappointed that Chelsie did not work more on Roshon’s footwork. I was expecting the steps to be a little more intricate and sharper. However, I was pleasantly surp thought he had the ability to tuactually surprised by the lifts. He did much better than expected. This was the first time I felt during a dance that he was concentrating on performing the steps properly rather than simply enjoying being out on the floor dancing. It took a little bit away from the performance. Of course, it’s understandable, given judges’ comments last week. BTW, I am so glad he and Chelsie killed it in the Team dance since they were the last ones chosen. That’s vindication for you.
Katherine’s rumba was pretty, but didn’t feel like a rumba. I was thinking that it was a good week for her to do a rumba because she could blame the lack of steaminess in the dance on the music selection.
I missed part of Melissa’s and Mak’s AT, so I can’t really comment on the performance on than to say that what I say didn’t come across strongly as an AT.
Team Paso had better music than Team Tango and also better lighting effects.
Awesome post as usual Court! And I agree with just about everything 🙂
Team dances: Sorry, I gotta give it to Team Tango. They were just awesome. I loved the choreography and feel of the dance. And aside from Jaleel slipping up a little and Maria having a few little issues, the execution was fantastic. And I was surprised at how in sync they all were. I liked Team Paso too, but I feel that the were not near as good at staying in sync and there were moments of sloppiness. I think Roshon and Donald were the MVPs of their teams.
Maria/Derek- Maria was just AMAZING tonight! I’m so proud of her. Derek of course never disappoints with his Paso choreography and Maria helped deliver it even more. She was strong, passionate, powerful, crisp, and clean. I think it was worthy of a perfect 30, way to go Menough! 🙂
Katherine/Mark- I really liked their Rumba. It was very sophisticated, beautiful and classy. While it did get a tad cold, I put a lot of blame on the song. It did not have near enough sensuality for it to be a strong Rumba piece. I too loved Katherine’s legs, and I think she moves very well.
Donald/Peta- Loved Donald’s VW! Their interpretation was great and I think he actually did pretty well technically speaking. His footwork was quite good in most of the dance (except for the fleckerl, Yikes!) and I loved his grace and fluidity. Now if he works on his frame he’ll be good to go in ballroom!
William/Cheryl-I think he did a good job tonight but he was still overscored by a little for me. I think the smoke covered up some clunky footwork and I also didn’t think he was all there. Still, I loved the feeling of the dance and it was very pretty. Good job.
Roshon/Chelsie- I actually loved these two tonight! I didn’t like the song choice at all, but he did really well despite that. I liked the lifts, and some of his leg hooks were fantastic. He does seem to get a little wobbly in the legs, which comes from a lack of strength in them probably. Roshon seems to be the opposite of many male contestants on the show, he has fantastic movement and flexibility, but lacks in stability and strength. Still, I think he is a fantastic dancer! Underscored I think by one or two points.
Jaleel/Kym-Still don’t care for Jaleel I’m afraid. I don’t really have much to say about this dance other than it felt kinda off. He did have some pretty good lines though.
Melissa/Maks- I felt really bad for Melissa. While she is the weakest one left and her time is up in terms of ability, the judges are too hard on the poor girl. The AT wasn’t great, but it was worthy of a 23 I’d say. She got hosed by the music especially. I’d be okay with her leaving if it wasn’t for the fact that the judges are practically FORCING her to leave. I still want her to outlast Jaleel, but if she ends up in the dance duel, I don’t think she can beat anyone. 🙁
I agree with you completely Magnolia- Donald, Maria, Katherine and Roshon are the best dancers left and hope hope hope they are our top 4. I think Team Tango also deserved a 29 at least- Len pissed me off a little with his scoring for that. They were much cleaner than Team Paso and were more unique- I felt like we hadn’t seen that before. And who knew the Tango would be Roshon’s dance?
Great post! 🙂
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave Maria and Derek a 30 just so they could create a competition between Maria and Katherine for the third spot in the finals. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Donald’s and Williams spots in the finals are secure.
Er, except for the little fact that Maria and Derek actually earned that 30.
Thanks Courtney…always stay up past my bedtime to read your rankings. 😉
I dislike all theme nights and classical night is my least favorite. Just not a classical music kinda gal, I guess. Maria and Donald were my favorites. I know Katherine can dance really well, but she bores me to tears! The judges really pissed me off tonight with Melissa…they really like to bash her. Hubby actually grabbed his cell phone and ask me what her number was…well, I about fell off the couch, cause he is not a big fan of the show and certainly never votes! He liked her dance and felt bad for her, I thought that was sweet. Think she will go home, but SO wish it was Jaleel.
Wow, I really agree with you. Tonight was interesting. I agree about possibly Melissa going home tomorrow. I’m not sure. It’s a tough call.
Heh. Everyone is using the word “hosed” now. :::pats self on back::: 😀
I was really impressed with William tonight. I thought it was the first week I saw him do a real DANCE with no gimicks…and I thought it was great. Definitely his best dance and worthy of the three 9s.
I thought Katherine’s dance was amazing but lacked some chemistry, but I attribute that more to her getting a really weird song choice for a rumba.
I liked Maria’s dance but didn’t think it was good enough for a 30.
Donald’s frame was fantastic and I liked his dance, but there were some moments that looked a bit awkward.
Roshon’s dance had great intensity, but I thought his footwork was a bit off.
Jaleel’s dance was okay, but just seemed to lack the performance factor.
I was not a fan of Melissa’s dance. Seemed very rushed to me.
Just a note about Katherine and Mark’s dance… It wasn’t an evocation of Game of Thrones rather than an evocation of 300, graphic novel by Frank Miller and movie by Zack Snyder. Leonidas at the Thermopylae, dreaming of Gorgo, his queen, and knowing he would not see her again in this life. Quite powerful, and I about died of geekgasm when I connected the dots. Though the Berg may be forgiven for the mistake, seeing as the queens of both stories are played by the same actress…
My favorite and memorable dances of the night were
Maria and Derek’s paso – LOVED it! Derek proved why he’s the best choreographer on the show. She’s proven to be a contender for the finals.
Donald and Peta: They deserve to go to the finals. He’s having fun and very likeable.
Team Tango – Loved the choreography and Roshon was on fire. That may save him from the bottom 2.
I didn’t hate any of the other dances tonight but I felt bad for Melissa. I thought she did a great job (geez a 47 year old with back issues and a partner with an ankle injury the judges made her feel like she danced like crap) Their music didn’t fit with their dance. It may be a blessing for them to go so Maks can rest up his ankle.
Jaleel and Kym – I didn’t like their song and I felt Jaleel wasn’t on his game like last week. If he wants to get to the finals, he’s got to be consistent. I gave all my votes to them just because I like to see him to as far as the semis. I think they’ll be in the bottom 2 with Maks and Melissa. My other choice for the bottom 2 will shockingly be Katherine and Mark just because they danced 1st
1. Maria/Derek
2. Donald/Peta
3. William/Cheryl
4. Katherine/Mark
5. Roshon/Chelsie
6. Jaleel/Kym
7. Melissa/Maksim
Melissa and Maksim, the weakest team left in this competition, hoping her dance card has run it course!!!
And may I add though I love Canon in D, that is not a song appropriate for the rumba.
Now I agree 100% with the post. specially the theme weeks screw everything… =/
Maksim is not my favorite pro, but he did a GREAT think in Motown week. He just didn’t care about it. Melissa’s VW was normal, the outfit, the steps… I liked that.
Well, I think – and hope – B2 is Melissa and Jaleel. On a Rumba, and unfortunelly (for me), he already had the rumba. So he’ll just repeat his choreography and win… =/
Team Tango needs an Emmy nomination IMO. FABULOUS dance. Proud of Roshon bringing it in that group Tango!!! I didn’t like his A. Tango as much as I was hoping. Big part of it was the song. I totally get the critiques with his feet this week. It almost looked turning them inward too. Maria’s Paso was Fabulous. Great job Derek!!
Jaleel thanks for ruining Downton Abbey for me. Seriously when I hear the theme song again I better not think of his V. Waltz. Over dramatic, I know.
ETA: Just a wee snippet of 300, which may give you an idea of what Mark was trying to achieve with his choreo tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGrEp9FqF3c
(To the mods: If it comes embedded intead of linked, you are welcome to edit this to suit your preferred format)
Re: “creative camera work” – I hate the overhead camera. Anyone else?
Ballroom booing for Team Paso – cause they realized that team Tango got screwed on their score (unless Sarah Palin was in the audience and we didn’t know it)!
I actually had some more respect for Maks tonight – the judges were HORRIBLE to Melissa – reminded me of how they were judging Hope – and he just took it. She is this seasons Ralph, isn’t she. The judges just don’t seem to like her.
I think I might have said this before, but Katherine doesn’t do well with characters. the more that Mark puts her into character, the more she shuts down. This should have been her week – her music, just losing herself in the dance – and he had her in some greek tragedy outfit theming.
And I was soooooo happy that Derek and Maria got the first 30 of the season. Absent of crazy over-scoring for other couples, he’s done what he usually does – finds his partners strengths, choreographs to them and teaches his little behind off until they provide a 10-worthy performance. Bravo Derek.
Don’t really care about the rest – sort of my m.o. for this whole season.
Thanks for the recap – I actually watched part of it before reading it this week!
I would have ranked tonight’s dances as follows:
1. Maria/Derek. This dance was a testament to (i) Derek’s brilliance as a choreographer (he even incorporated a break for Maria in the middle of the routine), (ii) Maria general fitness and willingness to work endlessly (some of the plank moves that she maintained were truly impressive), and (iii) Maria’s acting skills (her expressions were spot-on, although no match for Derek’s while circling her during her “break”).
2. Katherine/Mark. What a terrible music choice … this is wedding music, not wedding night music. This rumba was, perhaps, the best dance of the season from a technical standpoint … it was so slow, had so much control, and had some of the best shaping ever seen from a female celeb on DWTS. Given the music, it had to be cool (not raunchy). However, as a result, I knew that it had no chance for 10s from Carrie Ann and Bruno (who only like raunchy Rumbas). I expected better from Len … he got exactly what he has been demanding all season and didn’t reward it.
3. Donald/Peta. Donald delivers consistently excellent performances every week, and Peta finally stepped up the technical difficulty for this routine. His “rolled-forward” shoulders (which I don’t believe he could correct within the time frame of a DWTS season) are never going to allow his Ballroom frame to look exactly right to me, but he is easily the best NFL player/DWTS dancer.
4. William/Cheryl. Cheryl needs to step up William’s choreography if she wants him to be deserving of the Finals. No obvious mistakes, but only okay.
5. Roshon/Chelsie. Horrible music for AT. Chelsie didn’t give him enough to do during the first half of the dance, and he really stumbled in the first lift. This got much better as it went along. I often feel that Roshon and Chelsie aren’t on the same wavelength. They won’t get past next week if they don’t overcome that. OTOH, Roshon was a rock star in the Team Tango … easily his best performance of the entire season.
6. Jaleel/Kym. The comeback clearly only lasted one week. Enough said.
7. Melissa/Maks. This was a total trainwreck. They are lucky that the judges weren’t given any paddles lower than “7” … I made that up; I have no idea what paddles they actually have available. Melissa’s dress (?) was a disaster, and she looked like she was running through the whole dance trying (unsuccessfully) to catch up to Maks. This was also bad music for AT.
Team Dances. IMO, this was a landslide for Team Tango. Their choreography was much more intricate … Derek’s signature was all over it, and their synchronization was lightyears better than Team Paso. Jaleel was not good in his solo, but William and Melissa were equally bad in theirs. I thought that the scoring margin should have been much, much higher … on the order of 3 points.
Elimination Prediction. I think that Melissa/Maks’ fanbases will come through for them again … even though she is, by far, the worst dancer remaining in the competition. I think that the Dance Duel will pit Jaleel/Kym against Roshon/Chelsie. Objectively, Rumba should favor Jaleel/Kym, but I think that TPTB are finally fed up with him. I think that the rehearsal edit (finally showing Jaleel treating Kym disrespectfully, albeit in circumstances that appeared truly accidental) tips their hand as to the outcome that they want tomorrow night.
This is usually around the time when I stop voting for favorites and acknowledge that it’s time for weaker dancers to go home. But I’m so annoyed by how the judges are scoring Melissa and Maks that I just couldn’t do it tonight. Is she the weakest dancer left? Yes. Is she as weak as they have been scoring her? No. I’m still frosted by her getting a lower score for her dances than Sherri and (which male was it?) did when they forgot part of their dances and consistently a couple of points lower than Gladys, who was charming, but let’s be honest, not as strong a dancer as her scores would indicate. I did think that Maks overdid it a bit with the lifts tonight, but in general, the dance was executed well. I think it could have scored at least a 23. On the other hand, I thought Roshon’s Viennese Waltz had some issues that he didn’t get called on. I actually think Roshon is the best of the male dancers in terms of his ability and potential. His major problem is that he is a boy among men. He’s simply not convincing doing a rumba or a paso yet. He doesn’t have the build or the sexuality for it yet. But if we could throw him into a time machine and age him another five years or so, I think the standings would be looking a lot different. Being a young girl in the cast isn’t a problem (and has worked to some of the stars’ favor), but it’s a big disadvantage for the younger males, who wind up looking like little boys when they’re compared to a William or a Gilles.
I’m having trouble deciding who I want to throw my ultimate votes to. I like Katherine, but Mark has lost favor from me, for reasons I’m not quite sure about. Kym is my favorite female pro, but I can’t get behind Jaleel. Derek is such an excellent choreographer. I love to see what he’s come up with each week, and I like his style as a dancer. I like Maria, but I think Katherine and Donald are better dancers. That being said, I like Donald as a contestant, but his dancing doesn’t move me. Peta is growing on me as a pro, though. I guess it’s going to be a week-by-week decision for me from here on out.
As for the camera work, don’t get me started on that. I’ve said for years that the director(s) make the oddest cuts. We’ll get a close up when something whole-body dramatic is going on and a long shot when it should be a medium shot. They’ll use an angle that blocks one of the dancers out of the picture for several beats or even measures or go to an overhead shot that shows us nothing of interest. They’ll cut to a different camera when the one they’re using still has the best angle. And this season has been particularly bad for picking up crew or audience members who are moving around in the background during a dance number. It all drives me nuts.
OMG, Maria & Derek were AMAZING!! Inventive, brilliant choreographer. He knows how to play to the strengths of his partners so well. I mean she was full on into that routine! Mesmerizing performance!! Way to go! Well deserving of the 30 it received. So proud of Maria & Derek!
I loved Team Tango too! Very creative choreography! It was so nice to see Derek & Mark work together on the same team and WIN! They are all so creative. Proud of all of them.
Fantastic night! So happy my favorite couple has finally taken the leaderboard and with a perfect score no less.
Because of the team dance scores, I think Maks and Melissa are safe this week. I predict a Roshon vs Jaleel dance-off.
I’m sorry, I think if you’re going to have theme weeks, fine, but give the pros music that at least goes with the dance that they’re doing. That’s why I feel Melissa and Maks got majorly shafted tonight. How can you do an Argentine Tango to “Marriage of Figaro”? Seriously.
OH MY GAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWDDDDDDDDDDD, Maria KILLED the Paso tonight! For the most part, I was finding myself bored and when Menough took the floor, my heart was racing and honestly, I did not see a single error. But I thought for sure I had missed something and that CAI would NEVER give her a 10. But then she pulled it out, I flipped out. Then Len took forever to take the paddle out and he seemed to be teasing us, and pulled out a 10, I started screaming like a child at the K-Mart Blue Light Special and Bruno pulled a 10, I was jumpin’ jumpin’ 🙂
Maria was the comeback kid for me personally, as I was not too happy with the salsa or the tango, tbh. DEREK ROCKS!!! He can choreograph around Jennifer Grey’s neck, and now around Maria’s EVERYTHING!!
Shout out to Roshon as well for KILLING the Tango!
Great analysis!! Thanks so much for this!
Maria and Derek exceed my expectations yet again. I never tire of watching those two dance.
Question: Was anyone surprised by how the packages portrayed Derek, Mark and Jaleel tonight? For Derek and Jaleel, their individual packages did not really make them look that nice (however, I loved Maria’s sassy “Sorry I’m not attractive enough for you” because I think she is beautiful and hopefully she knows that too) and in the team dance package they showed Mark losing his patience and cool with Katherine. Now, I know that the producers are always trying to manipulate us and only show what story they want us to see and I know they love to show Maks’ bad boy side as often as possible and they usually liked to show Mark acting out in previous seasons (like with Chelsea Kane); however, I thought for this season they seemed to be on these three men’s sides (or rather in their favor) so I was just curious if anyone else noticed that tonight as well? I know with Jaleel many of us have lost favor with him, but I thought it looked like after last week the show was back to trying to keep him safe but maybe not?
Okay im just going to go ahead and say it, Maria and Derek are special and tonights paso really proved how much. I know this sounds crazy but i feel like we are watching their love unfold right before our eyes and they cant control it. No other couple has the chemistry they have this season.
I feel after last weeks group dance, she disappointed Derek and it really showed in their post interviews. You could cut the tension with a knife. They weren’t their same fun loving selves. I think Maria for the first time saw the fiercely competitive side of Derek and how he doesn’t like to lose. And she felt like he thought SHE was the reason! He was frustrated with her yes and it showed but that is bc derek is such a perfectionist. He knows what shes capable of. She was upset and cold in that interview last week and Derek knew it. She gave him the cold shoulder. They didn’t even touch each other which they normally do in all their interviews…. The body language was different. Maria was obviously hurt and holding back her tears. Then we see the midnight video of the team dance and Derek grabbing her and not wanting the paparazzi to hear what he was telling her… Then the warm menough hug…. Our couple was back and had obviously cleared the air about that night.
Maria, Derek is totally in love with you. It’s written all over his face. Everything he says and does… The way he looks at her? Touches her? I’m sorry but everything I see tells me he wants to be with her. All of the “jokes” always have a ring of truth to them. Like this mornings extra clip where he said they don’t plan it…. It all comes naturally… How they really Iike kissing ” nah just kidding”…. all of those interviews show Derek’s feelings.
Tonight…. Him pushing her to be her best and shine came through… There was no hesitation with her tonight. Tonight’s dance reminded me of the gorgeous rhumba where Maria let herself feel it!!!! It was so sharp and crisp…. She owned it. And Derek let her.
The backstage scores really showed a lot too. Maria loves Derek. She said it and meant it! You could totally see him get misty eyed when she said it. I think that was the only way she could say it. The journey will eventually end and they both know it. They are riding the high.
The music wad perfect. Tragic love story indeed.:(
Katherine & Mark – again, technically a very good dance, but it needed more warmth for a rumba. Sexy can be subtle.
Melissa & Maks – I respect her for doing the work and giving it her all every week, but she just looks so uncomfortable (not physically) during the dances. Maks looked like he was tuning out the judges while they were giving their comments.
William & Cheryl – seemed choppy/clunky to me.
Roshon & Chelsie – Wow – he really stepped it up this week & killed it in the Team Tango dance!
Donald & Peta – he keeps getting a little bit better each week, and really seems to connect with the audience. Some funny footwork moments, but better than I was expecting. 🙂 His solo in the Team Paso seemed to be stronger than his Rock Week Paso.
Maria & Derek – the dance of the night. As soon as they finished I was pretty sure they would get the first 30 – well deserved!
Jaleel & Kym – could really see him thinking about the dance & the performance. Meh
Team dances – Team Tango had the better dancing, but I liked Team Paso better – primarily because I LOVE the music the used.
Can’t wait for the Numbers post – it seems to be a pretty tight spread.
I just hope Derek Hough doesn’t get yet another MBT…yawn
Omg Maria & Derek in love each other lol lol ??? Really?? Give me a break! They have a good chemistry, worked well together but I dont think that there is more to it 😉 plus Maria has a boyfriend ;).
Excellent paso tonight, good for them(credit to Derek’s choreo) and I think that she was slightly overmarked.
I think that the music didnt help some couples ie: Katherine&Mark, Chelsie&R(that was a bad version by the way).
I was distracted by Melissa’s dress which was awful and totally inappropriate for this dance. Maks should at least look at times like he is listening to judges comments;his attitude is an hindrance to his partners imo.
Team Tango:good solos, genius choreo,great beginning/ending everybody was in-sync:well done :). That has to be one of my fav.team dances ever in this show.
Roshon & Chelsie and Donald&Peta were excellent in their team dances.
I feel like unfortunately Jaleel &Roshon might find themselves in the bottom 2 tomorrow 🙁 :(.If thats the case then I hope the judges save Roshon(I think he is the best dancer out of the 2 , works really hard plus I love his partnership with Chelsie).
I want Melissa & William in the bottom 2 with Melissa going home but I dont think thats going to happen 😉
Most impressed by the Argentine Tango of Roshon & Chelsie.
Not surprised by the Paso Doble of Maria & Derek.
Loved the Rumba of Katherine and Mark.
Prefered in the team dances the Tango over the Paso Doble.
For any who wondered, the problem which resulted in video interruption during Roshon/Chelsie’s AT was almost certainly not a wardrobe malfunction but rather a misplaced hand (resulting in inappropriate visuals for a family-friendly show). The problem lift is rehearsed at 1:30 in the video below. Self-evidently, during the performance show, Roshon must have placed his right hand (which is supposed to be on Chelsie’s stomach) a little too low.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emilPxVOXME&feature=player_embedded
JMO, this is a poorly conceived lift by Chelsie. Indeed, I suspect that the potential problem was evident during rehearsals and the production team was prepared to make the necessary censorship move should the lift be mis-executed (as it clearly was).
Katherine&Mark: Underscored. I think it was the best rumba of the season. I understand bruno wants it more raunchy, and Carrie Ann didn’t scored a rumba higher than 9 yet. But why Len didn’t give it a ten? Is it because Mark danced shirtless? If that was the case, then Len should take a point off from Donald’s paso doble, Derek and William’s salsa. Whatever… My score is 10-10-10.
Melissa&Maksim: I can’t believe they’re still in the competition. And I’m afraid they’re gonna stay for another week. I mean I don’t hate Melissa or something but all other contestants are way better than her. My score 7-7-7
William&Cheryl: I think it was one of his best dances. It wasn’t perfect of course. My score 9-9-9
Roshon&Chelsie: It wasn’t as good as I expected. But not bad. My score 8-8-8
Donald&Peta: I think he deserved 10s. Well, normally I wouldn’t find it underscored but if Maria’s getting tens, he should get 10s, too. Underscored. My normal score is 9-9-9
Maria&Derek: Seriously? Len was waiting for that paso to give his first ten? Thats what I call favouritism. I remember Derek’s previous pasos and that was nowhere near them. It was clean, she didn’t made any mistakes. But it lacked content. And choreography was kinda weird. Most of the time Maria just rested, Derek danced around her, and when she actually danced, it wasn’t very hard. Obviously, judges trying so hard to bring another female contestant to semi finals. Overscored by at least three points imo. My score 9-9-9
Jaleel&Kym: Underscored. Normally, I wouldn’t find it underscored but he wasn’t worse than William. So, I think Jaleel should get three 9s. Or William should get three 8s-of course if Maria would get three 9s because there definitely wasn’t a huge gap[6 points] between Maria and William/Jaleel.
Team Tango was better than Team Paso and Team Tango should get three points higher than other team imo.
The show is so predictable. I think they[judges] already made up their top 4. Its not fun to watch anymore…
Derek and Maria, outstanding!
I though Melissa and Maks were the weakest, but at times I think they’re a little too hard on her. Maks looked a little annoyed with the judges comments, but kept himself in check! Team Tango was awesome, I don’t see any flaws that Len saw. Sometimes he is very hard to understand. They were in synch, great choreography. Had to be mostly Derek’s!
I agree Melissa will most likely be in the dance duel with either Roshon or Jaleel.
6am just getting off of work and finally watched the dances response to the night
im sorry a lot of these dances bored me to tears…last yrs classical week was phenomenal, this week was NOT
in no particular order
kathering & mark – she has pretty elegant arms, but we’ve known that for 6 weeks now, so whats new?…not much. ok routine but didnt see much hip action and 30 secs into it i was bored
william & cheryl – gotta hand it to him…this was pretty solid, and i was impressed with how fluid his arms were. but his feet? un unh it was like stomp stomp stomp glide stomp…really chunku
donald & peta – u can tell this dude is practicing his behind off and it was decent, but he has the opposite problem as william, i though he was pretty smooth on his feet, but his arms are not graceful at ALL. i thought they kinda got screwed to with their song ( not that the song was bad, but just the watching a v. waltz to it was kinda weird)
Roshon & Chelsie – i would like to blame most of this routine on the HORRIBLE music (lady gaga classical…Really?!), i dont understand this choice at all. not only did it not fit the dance style…it didnt fit the weeks theme either (its almost as if it was some sort of inside joke between producers or someone lost a bet)… the routine was SLOW way to slow for how i like my A. tangos (i wanna again blame the music partially)…werent really any crescendos in the dance and like katherines i almost fell asleep which is saying a lot cuz i love team rochee
jaleel & kym -i only watched the routines once, to get first reaction opinion…and all i remember about the routine is that jaleel was wearing a soldiers costume…i guess that says a lot about what i thought of the dance
maria & kym – i think there score was a culmination of a lot of things happening tonight.
1) everyone else being pretty boring to slightly unmemorable
2) i said in a previous post…if majority of the dance is in hold – it would be great, and if it was mostly out of hold -it would be bad. lo and behold., 98% of that routine is closed hold. dereks a smart cookie.
on any other night would this routine have deserved a 30…Heck NO…but shoot i say give it to them for just not putting me to sleep!
team tango – GREAT loved the formations…and i would have to say the dance got better as you went along. meaning i thought Maria < Jaleel < katherine < roshon
Paso – loved the Cape bit…but not much else
overall…ok night with a side of zzz
i mean derek not kym..lol
Can someone explain a fleckl (sp) to me. When len criticized I went back and looked at Donald’s dance again and couldn’t find it. I thought their dance was great. Appropriate music always helps.
While I am not a dancer, Maks and Melissa’s music seemed way too fast for the A tango. Whe looked like she was holding on for her life through most of the dance.
Loved Team Tango..Roshon was great…
I personally loved classical night. It was, along with week 1, my favorite week of the season.
Some couples did get a bit more challenged with the music then others but I don’t think there was a piece for which a pro couldn’t rise to the occasion and come up with an interesting story (I only wish they didn’t put Lady Gaga in the mix, that was very strange). Unlike Courtney I love storytelling in a dance even if it’s as cheesy as vampires.
Melissa- I’m sorry, IMO she needs to go, in fact I wish she was already gone. I don’t think the judges were too harsh. I couldn’t look away from her crotch while she was dancing which made me really uncomfortable, both for me and for her.
Jaleel- he didn’t bring it this week like he did last. Elegance is not his forte. It was pleasant to look at.
Roshon- he was a disappointment in the AT especially, as the judges stated, because of his feet and legs. If it weren’t for that glaring problem it could have been very good. Excellent in the team dance but I don’t think that will save him from the B2.
Donald- he was a bit forgettable to me. Cute storytelling with the costumes and some nice choreography. He has posture issues that are not going away. Very respectable.
William- my favorite of the three Waltzes. I’m biased against the Waltz in general because I find it boring if it’s done in a traditional romantic way. But I gotta say William did make my cold heart feel some emotion in places. Finally some content from Cheryl.
Katherine- I thought they did really well combining the Rumba with classical as the music required. Her legs are truly amazing and I enjoyed how slow it all was. I think they deserved at least one 10 for that effort. I don’t like it when things HAVE to be a certain way (Rumba steamy, Waltz romantic…). Diversity is a good thing. I didn’t like the costumes though.
Maria- I enjoyed it very much. Great storytelling. I have two minor complaints which, if I was scoring, I would probably not even consider to include in the score. First one is that, as much as I loved Derek’s choreography, the story behind the moves and the drama of it all, as I was watching somewhere in the back of my mind there was a thought creeping. The thought that she didn’t do any dancing on her own. I admire Derek for his ability to conceal his partner’s weaknesses but if I become aware of it during the dance it bothers me a bit. She just didn’t cover any ground on her own and it’s something that is typically seen in a Paso- which is what snapped it to awareness for me. I wish it hadn’t cause the dance was almost brilliant. My second minor complaint is with the costumes. I was a bit confused with Derek being all black and sleek but not a vampire. It would have made more sense to me if he were dressed in a peasent-y fashion while she rocked the sleek black look. Overall the best of the night even if I wouldn’t put it 3 points ahead of Katherine.
The best part was everybody jumping up and down when they received their 30. Even the evil one.
Team dances were both quite good but not great IMO. If team Paso stayed on time I wouldn’t know who to put ahead because they had the impact while team Tango had intricacy. As it was team Tango deserved the better score. I loved the beginning with Katherine conducting the rest. The team packages were very tame even if there was some swearing going on.
Overall a really enjoyable night. I loved the music (O Fortuna! maybe my favorite piece of music ever), I was pretty much on board with judges’ scoring and comments and I loved seeing team spirit and cheering for one another.
Last night was kind of a snoozefest.
Maria and Derek – Now that is what I have been waiting for. Another memorable dance just like his Psycho Tango, it was brilliant, and executed flawlessly. No evidence of any injuries affecting her performance whatsoever.
Donald and Peta – Long live the Queen…. I just had to say that. As usual Donald did not disppoint. The dance was beautiful and graceful, and for a moment I was swept back in time. Breathtaking.
Roshon and Chelsie – I was worried for Roshon, but I loved their AT. He really stepped it up this week, his solo in the Team Tango was brilliant.
William and Cheryl – Finally, we see some dancing from William. No sex, no rubbing Cheryl (his kids were in the ballroom). Just beautiful dancing.
Katherine and Mark – I thought they played it safe. I felt Katherine was just doing the movements along with no emotion. Um, and the ending pose was the exact same ending of Louis and Kellys rumba.
Jaleel and Kym – I just can’t embrace these two. Their dance was okay, nothing memorable. Kym seems different this season and I think that has to do with Jaleel.
Melissa and Maks – They tried, but Melissa is too frantic and all over the place. I agree with CAI, quality is better than quantity.
I think Jaleel and Melissa are bottom two. With Melissa finally going home. Hey, Maks is injured anyhow, right.
Team Dances – Now this is where I may get in trouble. I have to agree with….. Vogue. 🙂 Team Paso was the highlight for me, the music, the fire, when the show was over I couldn’t get that song out of my head. With Team Tango, they were great, I hated their song, and the only thing I remember is Roshon’s solo.
Does anyone else think that Melissa’s ‘”costume” looked more like what she would have worn doing a rumba? That did not look great for an Argentine Tango IMO. It’s like Maks was banking on their dance being changed so he designed a rumba costume?! Derek and Maria’s dance blew me away, was her break out performance for sure! Love how Derek always choreographs to his partner’s strength…Duel should be between Jaleel/Roshon and Melissa with Melissa going.
As far as the music choices were concerned, i thought some of them just didn’t make sense. So given that fact, i thought the celebrities and pros handled it very well. As far as the elimination tonight, if i had to make a guess as to one of the couples being in the bottom two, i would probably say that melissa and maks will be in the bottom two.
and kudos to the people that run PureDWTS, you all are doing a great job. Keep up the great work!! I look forward to reading your blogs each week!!
Well that was interesting. While I’m not a huge Maria fan, I loved their dance last night, and for me it was the best dance of the night.
I didn’t think Katherine’s was wonderful, but based on the judges comments, I was expecting her to get 10s and was pleasantly surprised when that didn’t happen.
Mellissa always looks scared or trying to really really concentrate on her steps.
I like Roshon, and see his improvement.
And sorry, but I’m a Jaleel fan and he got my votes tonight even if it wasn’t his best dance.
Since we’ve seen in the past that Roshon hasn’t been able to pull the fan votes, I’d tentatively call it for Melissa and Roshon to be in the dance duel tonight with Melissa going home. It could be Jaleel though. In either case, I suspect Melissa will go home if she’s in the duel, no matter who she has to dance against.
Then again, Maks has some rabid voting fans out there. I just don’t know if it will be enough to overcome the point spread.
Maybe Maks designed the dress with the Rumba Dance Duel in mind! Though apparently they haven’t been able to prepare it…
I didn’t like Classical night at all. I thought most of the music was horrible, sans Maria’s, Donald’s, and the team dance music.
1) Maria and Derek. This was awesome. On an utterly boring night, for me, this made the evening come alive. I knew Maria would do well in hold–she always does.
2) Donald and Peta. Loved it. I think Peta is really showing her strengths as a choreographer, and Donald is a complete joy.
3) Roshon and Chelsie. I still love them, even if I am noticing his little wobbles a bit more.
4) William and Cheryl. I really liked them tonight. It surprised me. I am warming to William a bit. When it comes down to the finals, I want it to be Donald, Katherine and Roshon–but if one of those 3 get knocked out, right now I’d have a hard time deciding between William and Maria.
5) Katherine and Mark. I think this might be the first dance of theirs that I hated. It might have been the music, which had me thinking “WTF is that?”
6) Jaleel and Kym. Jaleel did okay tonight to me. He wasn’t bad. He just wasn’t as good as the rest.
7) Melissa and Maks. Like I’ve said for weeks, I like them both, but it’s time for them to go. I do have to say though, I commend Maks for keeping his lips sealed during that critique. Good for him.
The team dances–If Team Paso would have had stronger dancers and the synchronization, etc. hadn’t slipped a bit, I would have preferred this dance. I liked the choreography much more. I will give it to Team Tango though, because they were much more on point with their actual dancing. I hated those costumes, though. They did not look Tango-y at all to me.
Hoping Melissa goes home tonight, but I’d take Jaleel too. All of the others I really want to stay.
While the vampire thing is getting a bit tiresome, I thought it was brilliant of D to choose it. It gave Maria an easy character to connect to which she did. I thought the Team Tango costumes were lackluster. Black and white doesn’t pop no matter how they light it. But the choreo snapped, crackled and popped. 🙂 Maks continues to give me a knot in my stomach. The looking away while judges are speaking and what looks like seething anger beneath the surface…it’s not a ‘bad boy’ persona AT ALL. He needs to go watch Marlon and James Dean if bad boy/tough guy is what he’s going for. There has to be vulnerability at some point. Otherwise you’re just an a**hole misogynist and they’re a dime a dozen. Also, I’m not a dancer, but it looks to me like he needs to beef up his leg muscles. Depending on who his partner is, he frequently looks like he’s about to cave and fall over. Derek never falls or topples regardless of the height/weight of his partner. Just an observation…:)
I believe Katherine and Mark were the best, loved evrrything about them. Maria and Derick are too trashy
Sukra, you’re actually comparing Maks’ leg muscles to Derek’s? And saying that Maks needs to beef up his leg muscles? Do you know the difference in size between Maks and Derek? Wow.
@sasa – Let’s get one thing straight: I never said I didn’t like storytelling in a dance. I just commented that some of the stories tonight were weird. Big difference.
@Ayana – I can’t say I’m too surprised by the packages for the 3 you mentioned this week. I’m actually kinda surprised that Mark didn’t come off even worse in the team dance package, given how hostile he was in the season 12 team dance package. He may have gotten a bit short with Katherine this week, but compared to him screaming his head off at Chelsea & his teammates a year ago, he looked like a puppy dog this time. As for Derek – he seems to get at least one “jerky” rehearsal package per season. Last season, I think it was he & Ricki’s freestyle rehearsal package, and then in season 11, there was one where he said something and Jennifer stormed out of the studio. I think all couples have their spats – guess it just depends on how often it happens. As for Jaleel – meh. It’s hard telling what’s normal and what’s jerky with him sometimes – I just think he doesn’t have much of a filter. But to reference a point my good friend Sally made yesterday: it’s a bit humorous that Kym gave him a stuffed koala bear, considering that koalas can actually be quite aggressive and prone to biting if they’re not handled properly. They can also carry chlamydia. Sneaky, sneaky, Kym 😉
@Becky & Elsee – My mom could barely watch Melissa & Maks’ Argentine tango, because she just kept commenting on how much she hated Melissa’s costume. I kinda have to agree – I actually thought it looked more like a ballet costume, or something she might wear to do a more lyrical freestyle. Definitely not an Argentine tango costume – but then again, neither was their music, and Chelsie’s costume wasn’t really all that Argentine tango-y either. Last night was just weird…
Why Sandra, I guess I was. 🙂 I was making an unprofessional observation about strength and falling. Maks does, Derek doesn’t. I find it odd.
Well I think they probably were going for a bit of ballet style as Maks was in tights!
I disagree about the team dances! I think if anything the judges should have evened them up. Team Paso had a lot less negative comments than team tango. But in my opinion we already know by now who the judges favorites are. And sorry Derek fans, while I liked his Paso if Katherine and Donald only got 27’s then that’s all Derek and Maria should’ve got. Donald’s in my opinion was by far the best dance of the night!
I think its going to be Melissa going home!
Be interesting to see how the percentages work out…
Did you catch Tony and Karina on GMA this morning?
She said Maks was wearing her favorite costume. Tights !!
I thought Jaleel looked uncomfortable in his costume. That could explain his stiffness and lack of fluidity.
Overall, I think Classical week was a bad idea. The music and dance styles just didn’t blend well.
KC, positive or negative comments really don’t mean sh*t when it comes to the judges – they can rant and rave about how great a dance is, and then give it 7’s. They’ve been doing it for years. And the numbers are what count – not the comments. The total percentages aren’t calculated based on how positive or negative the judges’ comments are. I still think team paso was a mess compared to team tango.
So this was an interesting one. I surprisingly only disliked one dance. :
1)Maria & Derek : LOVED IT! Reminded me of Dracula and that vampire movie with Bradd Pitt, the actress from Spiderman, and Tom Cruise. She is in it to win it!
2)Katherine & Mark: Another one that I loved. Awesome job and awesome choreography. More Rome or Spartacus than Game of thrones though 🙂
3)Donald & Peta : It was really nice and classy. good for him.
4)Roshon & Chelsie : It was REALLY good. I though a ten would be thrown his way before the judges started talking.
5) Jaleel & Kym : I liked it a lot.
6) William and Cheryl: I liked it but it was really forgettable.
7) M+M: It was a mess.
Team dances: Easily, I can say I liked team tango much better than team paso.
Courtney, I thought team Paso was better and the comments only CONFIRMED that for me. But a I was pointing out the judges enjoy making themselves look bad. I really thought if anything that Carrie Ann would give a 10. Then again her “Pete” weren’t on that team. And im not going to argue about it. Everyone has their favorites including the judges.
I can pretty much say “Ditto” to Nathans comments #31. That is pretty much what happened where I was watching Maria and Derek,too. From the moment she looked up, when Derek approached with the stake, everyone froze and almost didn’t breathe til the end. It was a different choice to characterize the dance and It was brilliant..this was the week Derek said he had to get the music changed cause what they got did not fit paso,brilliant choice. He said he cracked down on Maria more and she never lost her focus, executed the choreo seamlessly.The “fans” and “plank” moves were dramatic and so smoooth. The guy can really deliver under pressure and bad circumstances–I think some of those times have been his most artistic and unique. It was, as Bruno said, spellbinding. Also great that they “felt” how good it was even b4 seeing any playback I am sure when they watched it back it was emotional, it was that good. Derek said later, he was so proud of Maria and the dance.
And the team Tango-Wow!! Unusual, innovative choreo and costumes and the precision with 4 couples WOW. Loved the beginning, the set-up to the end and the ending itself. Really the whole thing was so fresh and tingling to watch. Again great music and I am going to do something I hardly ever do…give a kudo or 2 to Mark. I could see Derek’s touches all over this choreo and I think Mark really “worked With” Derek and Kym and the result, to me, was so great, deserved a 29 or 30. Roschon wowed in the team dance, too and I was really worried about him in the group. The Paso team ,I was embarrassed-they lifted so much of the “BringMeTOLife”paso, at least 3 segments . You just get these weird vibes anymore from both Maks and Cheryl and It’s like they are just not trying to come up with anything fresh.
I felt a little bad for Cath, bad music for rumba and bad ??costumes, it was distracting. And I guess about those same feelings for Melissa and she just looks, “unsure” all the time. Loved Donald., again. I love classical weeks but last night half of the music just sucked and the other half was great–no in -between. GREAT night Maria and Derek and Team Tango !!
Hmm…Classical Night. Gotta love classical music. Both team dances had some crazy pieces. More on that later.
Katherine & Mark – It was a good rumba, but there is no way on God’s good earth that “Cannon In D” is a rumba song. I got a more waltzy feel to it. Still, it was a good dance. My Greek mythology nerd came out during this dance, so I actually liked her outfit. I’m surprised Bruno didn’t call her Aphrodite…Anway, she’s most likely safe.
Melissa & Maks – Can I call the judges out for being way to harsh on Melissa? It was the weakest dance, but it wasn’t THAT bad. I thought she should have had at least one 8. Bruno said it all: Mozart is crazy, and having actually played some of his music (band nerd, holla!) I can back that up. She’s most likely going to be in the dance duel.
William & Cheryl – I was almost 100% sure this man was gonna get a 29 for that after the judges spoke. Finally! A dance where Cheryl can’t play up the “hot piece of ass” card. It was a good VW, and who doesn’t love “Ave Maria?” Well…I shouldn’t ask that on this website. lol He’s going to be safe, and not because of his abs this week.
Roshon & Chelsie – TPTB cheated, in more ways than one tonight. First with Bad Romance (seriously? Seriously?) and then again with the shot of the huge mirror ball at the top. Now, I didn’t know there was a wardobe malfunction, but at the time I thought it was a technical blub, so I thought it was cheating. It wasn’t a bad dance, but I think he had a few problems leading Chelsie. I hope he’s safe…
Donald & Peta – I thought it was great. My bias is speaking, of course, and I think I did see the fleckle get messed up but props to Peta for wanting Donald do attempt it. And for the fourth week in a row, he gets another 27. Not a bad score, but you can tell he’s wanting more.
Maria & Derek – Probably the best dance of the night. I have to disagree with Court, however. It was worth at least one 10. I don’t know about 3. If I were a judge, I would have dinged her for sitting on the ground for too long. I mean, Len did it with Mya for other things, I don’t see why sitting on the floor NOT DANCING be any different. BUT, before anyone gets mad at me: let me repeat myself “Best dance of the night and worth at least one 10.”
Jaleel & Kym – Meh. It was good, but not great. My mom recognized the song from Downtown Abbey. He’s having one heck of a roller coaster this season when it comes to scores. I mean, there’s not much else for me to say about it because I really do want Jaleel gone now.
Team Tango: Crazy, crazy, crazy music. And yet…I loved it, the song that is. I’m inclined to agree with Len, I felt the beginning and ends were really good. I felt that Maria’s Tango solo was on the other end of the spectrum comapred to her paso. I don’t think it was as good as her paso was, or her tango from week 4. I thought Katherine’s section was quite good. Jaleel, again “meh.” Roshon killed it. He saved whatever damage was done by anyone else and definitely deserves MVP for team Tango.
Team Paso: I actually thought Team Paso was better. I did, because even Melissa seemed to be on her A Game for the team dance. I saw a mistake from Will, but Donald was probably the saving grace for Team Paso. I thought Carrie Ann was gonna the team a 10, especially after she gave an imperfect Team Tango one. Len’s 8 I totally disagree with. This should have been either three 9s, or a 28. But that’s just my opinion.
I think Chelsie’s silver dress was paying homage to Lady Gaga in the music video. Thought Chelsie’s hair was a little more Motown. Roshon looked very dapper.
The lady gaga song was odd. When they said classical week i was expecting songs like the others had but when that song started going I was confused yet pleasantly surprised. Jackie Evancho was incredible! She was my fav thing about AGT her season and really has shown that there is a market for classical opera.
Actually I don’t think Len was too overly impressed with either Team dance this season.
I am so disappointed in Melissa. She was back to looking as if Maks was dragging her around the floor. I wanted to see more of the confidence she had last week. It’s unfortunate – she’s really not in the same league with the others, but I hoped she could hang on a bit longer. As soon as they gave the scores I thought “she’s gone”. We’ll see tonight.
Loved William! I did not expect much from him with the v waltz, but it was good! And Katherine and Maria and Donald – they are all bunched up at the top for me.
I thought Roshon did a good job – he’s pretty consistent.
Jaleel did not impress me.
No idea who’s going home. I hope it’s not any one of my 4 favorites!
Also, I may not be an avid Derek fan, but I do have to point this out: He knows what he’s doing. I was beginning to think Maria might be his first for what I’m about to say, but I’m kind of glad I’m wrong.
Derek is the only professional that has managed to get a 10 out of EVERY SINGLE partner he’s had.
Jennie: One perfect score and a few other 10s.
Shannon: Only one for her VW, but a 10 nevertheless.
Brooke: 3 perfect scores.
Lil’ Kim: Her jive and Paso.
Joanna: 2 for her Futuristic Paso
Nicole: 4 perfect scores.
Jennifer: Too many to f*cking count for a lazy person.
Ricki: Got the first one’s for her Tango.
And finally Maria. I was beginning to think Maria didn’t have it in her to get a 10, or for the judges to like her dances well enough for a 10. Although I knew it was only a matter of time, I was beginning to lose a little faith.
And yet, they didn’t get the SCORES did they?
I think Team Tango was clearly the superior dance – at the very least, it was danced far better.
Also, I loved classical night last season, but this season it was not nearly as good. Probably the music choices. And I totally agree with whoever said that they hate the overhead camera. I do too! I don’t think it adds anything at all.
Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wish came true and I got the breakthrough performance from Maria and Derek that I’ve been waiting to see! That was on hell of a Paso. Maria’s emotional commitment was total and she was “in” the performance every second without sacrificing technique or timing. Great costuming too, IMO. The 30 was completely deserved and earned — with blood, sweat and tears! Can you tell I’m happy 😛 😉
Also loved Team Tango’s performance. I felt it had more content, cleaner choreo, better synchronization. Team Paso was flashier and more “passionate” but it was sloppy and hectic in places.
Katherine and Mark’s Rumba was interesting and well done but not fantastic. It was a pleasure to see a “refined fumba” and I give Mark credit for knowing raunch wouldn’t work with the music or with Kath’s reserve. She definitely needs to take lessons from Maria on how to project the character of the dance. I think she feels it somewhere inside, but it’s not coming through.
Go Ro! Liked that ATango. Chelsie did a great job finding effective lifts that didn’t require a lot of solo strength from Roshon. The music choice sucked. Chels needs to step up like Derek and say “no, we’re not dancing to that shite; give me something I can work with.” Girlfriend also needs to glue herself into her costume from now on.
The VWaltzes were all average for me. I agree with the comment above that Ro’s Rock Week VWaltz was better. Put the good qualities of all these 3 together and you’d have 1 good dance. Donald’s frame was not what it needed to be and I thought he was a little “stompy” in places. He’s better out of hold. Jaleel’s was bland and not particularly elegant. I enjoyed William’s performance the most. Thought he produced some nice lines, but he was concentrating so hard he couldn’t sustain the performance all the way through. If only Cheryl had spent more time in the previous 6 weeks giving him some dance basics instead of ripping the poor man’s shirt off.
Melissa and Maks had an ambitious routine to a difficult piece of music. So I give them credit for trying. The opening lift was eye-popping. However, I didn’t enjoy the rest very much. Where does Melissa’s strong, confident, cool personality go when she’s on the dance floor? She always looks hesitant, scared, and slow out there. I thought the judges were kind to give 7s.
I think Melissa and Jaleel should to be in the dance duel with Melissa going home. However, I can see Melissa riding a wave of sympathy and rage votes into the 3rd position. If it ends up that Ro and Jaleel are in the bottom 2, I’ll throw a tantrum if the Stooges save Jerkel.
Not usual to see that some people got better music than others this week, that happens even on a non-theme week. I enjoyed hearing the classical music though.
The only dances I liked were Maria & Derek, Donald & Peta and Katherine & Mark. I thought Katherine & Mark did really well for a terrible rumba song.
I am so glad Roshon did well and got love from the judges because the show did him no favors tonight….the only one not to get a real classical song? the horrible camera work during his dance? geez…
Team Tango was so much better than Team Paso in my opinion. Other than a few minor things in the solos, the choreography was awesome- totally unique and they were very in sync. I enjoy Team Dances usually but I thought this one had a lot more intricacy than usual and they handled it so well. It was one of the most interesting I have ever seen on the show. Team Paso had an amazing piece of music. Without it, the dance would have been even less impressive. The choreography was typical and boring. They were not as in sync and they had less couples to deal with! The solos were also pretty weak, except for Donald &Peta’s solo. I am glad Team Tango won, but it should have been by a greater margin.
It should be Jaleel and Melissa in the Dance Duel but I think it will be Jaleel and Roshon:( If Melissa does avoid the duel, we will really be able to tell how big Maks’ fanbase really is. Melissa really should go but since I don’t care for Jaleel (except for last week’s dance) and William if she stayed a little longer and happened to outlast them it wouldn’t be the end of the world:) The finals should be Katherine, Donald and Maria, I don’t think my opinion on that will change much in the next few weeks. But I don’t think we can keep William out of the finals though……probably at Maria’s expense too.
Were you directing that comment at me PH? If so, I don’t deny Team Tango was good. I just thought Team Paso was better. It’s that simple. =)
#12 Heidi
The dance was not perfect. Maria’s footwork was off at the end, for example. If one of the judges had wanted to deduct a point, he or she would have had a basis for doing so.
Past seasons have shown that the judges don’t necessarily award the first 30 to the first dance that arguably merits a 30 and that they may award a 30 to a dance that does not deserve a 30. Last season many people opined that Derek’s and Ricki’s Psycho Tango was the best dance of the season, yet it scored a 29. The judges gave the first 30 to JR and Karina, even though Ricki was atop the leaderboard more times than J.R. Same thing with Evan and Anna vs. Nicole and Derek. Evan and Anna scored a 30 the week before Nicole and Derek, even though Nicole and Derek had been atop the leaderboard four times as compared to Evan’s and Anna’s two.
As this season has shown, scores are manipulated to achieve a desired result by TPTB. I stand by my opinion that that 30 was given to Maria and Derek precisely to make it appear that there is an element of doubt as to who the final three will be.
My friend follows Maks on twittr and sent me tis directly from his twitter:
“Safe to assume that if @MelissaEGilbert and I are in the ‘dance duel’ tomorrow, we’ll get kicked out by the judges! Please keep her in!!!”
Guess they know the writing is on the wall
twitter*
KC,
For me, Derek & Maria’s Paso was the standout performance of the night. It had passion, artistry and fantastic choreography, which was executed beautifully-IMO So, I feel it was fitting that it received the highest scores of the night. Well deserving of that 30!
To be honest with you, Katherine & Mark’s Rumba was not as fluent nor did it have the chemistry that Maria & Derek’s maintained throughout the dance, yet they received the same score (27) that Maria & Derek received for their Rumba in week 3-just saying.
Of course Maks knows that Melissa is the weakest link. It is time for her to go.
Gee, I wonder which two will be eliminated next week? I guess now we will start to see who is pulling in the fans, and who is not.
I believe M & M first said that about the duels on camera since before the first one.
I think the overhead camera is a great addition along with a lot of the set improvements. I think the show has stepped up the production values quite a bit and the changes can be useful for the pros when it comes to them being able to portray many of the dances.
A note on Jaleel: Is is just me or did Kym take special care that his hands didn’t stray overmuch? It looked like she was purposefully placing her hand over his to check his placement. And what about having his arm around Brooke’s waist? I’m not liking the vibe I get from him. At all…
Maks had a terrible accident as a teenager that could’ve paralized him & that’s why he still has weakness in his leg sometimes. It’s a miracle that he’s a dancer. I adore Maks.
Thought Maria’s dance was good, but not enough dance content for her to get a 30. Derek’s dancing deserved a 30, but not Maria’s. Best individual dance for me was Donald’s.
EL—Seems creepy, like how Mark usually is all “handsy” with most his partners. As for Brooke, mnay celebs put their arm around her. Romeo, David A., Gavin, etc. (Maybe even JR).
typo: mnay=many
Yes, EasterBunny It’s been mentioned. He does have excellent doctors though, top notch.
No, Tony – not you.
I think that Maria and Derek got the first thirty because, based on THIS SEASON’s dances, it was a 30. Sure they manipulate the scoring – but they’ve been doing that all season. And based on their own yardstick for this season, that was a 30 dance.
I thought Maks retweeting his fans trashing the judges was far worse than his comment about knowing they were going home if they were in the bottom 2. Time for him to grow the hell up.
Maria & Derek – The rehearsal package had me worried Maria might come off as whiny, but the impact of that Paso overrode any of that. I was most impressed with Derek: choreographically, THAT was his Psycho Tango of this season. Giving Maria the character and keeping her in hold or grounded, her strengths and minimized her weaknesses.
Katherine: Again, great technique. Lacks chemistry with Mark and the theme and music (worst fit of night IMO) didn’t help. Neither did going first. Gonna venture to say this one may have been overshadowed by many that came after.
William: It would be helpful to him if there wasn’t such a height difference with his partner. In the QS, it manifested in a stuck out bottom to compensate and last night was too much bend in the knee throwing the feet off. But his upper body, partnering and emoting were commendable. And I like that he wants to be here on dance merit.
Donald: Still not quite right in frame and feet but comparatively NOT BAD. This performance seemed to fit some of his exaggerated tendencies and was one of my favs of the night.
Roshon: Tied with Melissa for runner up of most unfortunate music assignment (Gaga + Classical = Seriously?!?) His feet and legs were blatantly off and didn’t feel he captured the character either.
Jaleel – Powerful performance in terms of impact. Not so much in terms of technique.
Melissa: She’s gutsy and probably works harder than any other contestant (and that’s saying something this season), but that dance demonstrated all the shortcomings of this pairing. Surely the music wasn’t the best fit, but they could have approached the music differently and even the best music can’t make up for the lack of (comparative) ability, physical compatibility and partner/audience/dance connection here.
Team Dances: Team Tango in terms of innovation, Team Paso in terms of raw impact. Roshon and Maria were best in Tango, Katherine needed tighter hold and Jaleel surer legs feet. All were good in Paso save Melissa was overshadowed.
Who Betta Be Ready to Rumba: Well, it SHOULD be Melissa all things considered. But given voting, performance, package formatting, and dance duel patterns, I anticipate Roshon and Jaleel will more likely end up in the bottom two with outside surprise chance of one of the top 4 (possibly Katherine).
Agreed, Donna. I was actually quite impressed at how he held his tongue during the judges’ critiques last night – Carrie Ann was definitely baiting him, and he didn’t take the bait – but I guess he just couldn’t resist stooping down to their level on Twitter. *sigh* I think he just should have stuck to tweeting support for Melissa and encouraging people to vote – leave the judges out of it entirely. Yes, they were pretty sh*tty last night, but retweeting hate tweets to the judges just shows that they did get under his skin – rule #1 of internet warfare: don’t feed the trolls. They thrive on attention. Same applies to the judges – don’t even gratify their bad behavior with a response. Just do you and keep it movin’…and work on your rumba duel. 🙂
Calling those 7 tweets that Maks retweeted “hate tweets” is a little strong, I think. And they really weren’t hate tweets “to the judges” either. The ONE tweet with CAI’s twitter name on it requested that she and Bruno stop judging with their hormones. If that’s trashing… well… lots of pot, kettle, black that I saw on twitter last night and many other Monday nights from fans of ALL persuasions.
“If Melissa does avoid the duel, we will really be able to tell how big Maks’ fanbase really is”
There needs to be a differentiation made between “big” and “disturbingly obsessive.”
Between both of their injuries and those mean ole judges, I can see the general public throwing her some votes as I can see fans of eliminated contestants (i.e. Glayds) gravitating to her with their votes. If all else fails, the show likes to keep Maks around.
I still SMH at the lady who claims to have more than 3,000 emails–funny.
Even if one had that many addies, it’s not physically possible for one person to vote them all in a 15 hour period…unless that automated voting system being bandied about is alas in place.
That lady with 3000 emails must have several computers and slaves voting for her. It sounds like a mini corporation or a sweat shop.
All I can say is DEREK and MARIA rocked it….it was sensational…..they are trending all over today! So glad I am a fan of theirs…..they deserved the 30 and the choreography by Derek was amazing as usual…..Maria got lucky to have him as a partner and vice versa….their chemistry is HOT too…….Congrats to them!!!
@Evaine – Regardless of how “hateful” the tweets may or may not have been, I don’t really see what good it will do that he retweeted them – I highly doubt Carrie Ann will start changing her judging strategy based on a tweet from a Maks fan that he happened to retweet to her. If anything, I could see her being even more petty and cruel next week, and just critiquing them that much harder – just to assert her authority as the one who wields the scoring paddles. She may be a b*tch…but she’s the b*tch who gets to give the scores. I don’t think anyone can really afford to get on any of the judges’ bad sides, regardless of how ridiculous the judges may be.
@sherry, wynn, & Harriett – I have a simple explanation for how she votes with 3,000 email accounts: she doesn’t. She’s totally fibbing. And I happened to get a detailed explanation of that “magic software” that everyone’s been whispering about – and let’s just say it can be magic, if one has the patience to get it all set up and preload those 3,000 email accounts into it, and one has a very reliable internet provider. Otherwise, it’s pretty useless.
LOL Harriet!! First thanks to Courtney and all the people at Pure DWTS not only for this post but for all of them and putting up with the sh….um crapstorm as I believe Miss Courtney said. ;D I do like DWTS but why can they not just do back to the season 10 stradegy: KEEP IT SIMPLE! No dance duels, WTA Cha Cha’s, Munipulation by the judges naughty parts, no mexcian stars etc….ANYWAY I didn’t get to watch last night live but I have watched a few of the dances and I DO think Maria and Derek earned that score. The Paso was great and its nice to see one of the step-children top the leaderboard. 🙂 Donald and Peta really impressed me aswell. I have to go watch some of the others but I KEEP forgeting Jaleel and wish I could kick him out and bring Jack or Sherri back. I also miss Martina. P
Ofcourse, I mean mAnipulation in the above/below post. 😛
It finally happened. I’m quite a bit agitated with everything that has to do with Jaleel. I spent weeks completely defending him but now I can’t and it’s not only him. It’s the judges and the idiot who picks the music. Sorry for the idiot comment but that’s how I feel.
Whoever picks the music… get rid of them. Find someone who actually knows what they’re doing and find someone who knows what a Rumba, Viennese Waltz or any dance is. Every time I think of bad music, I think of Mark Dacascos’ Rumba. The music was too fast and the Rumba is a SLOW dance!
The judges…. well, I get what they’re doing. They’re trying to even things out so we don’t get too many shocking eliminations, which we already have. They gave Jaleel a 29 last week because they didn’t want him in the dance duel again. Last night, they got a 24. That’s a big difference from last week and they didn’t want him in the dance duel. Maybe they do now? I’m trying to figure out the judges’ problem with Jaleel unless they have no faith in him that he can keep improving. He just goes up and down a lot.
Jaleel, what is going on with you? You’re up and down a lot this season. Week 1, up at the time. Week 2 through last week, he’s down. Last week, he’s up. This week, he’s down. In his ET interview where Kym gave him the koala bear, he looks like he’s not into the game or he’s tired or something. What is his deal? The whole tabloid thing happened a month ago and he needs to move on from it. He was great like he moved on last week but now this week, something’s up. He doesn’t act like he’s really into the whole thing anymore. Now he gives people to talk about like with the tabloids, the kissing or accidental touching on Kym etc…. Be strong, Jaleel! You need to be strong and focus, focus, focus! Forget the tabloids and the bashing from fans on twitter, message boards, be more careful how you act in rehearsals and just focus on the game! He’s a great basketball player, you’d think he’d know a little about focus.
Sorry, I was trying not to be negative but like I said, it’s just aggravating to see your favorites do this at this point when we’re so close to the semi-finals and I gotta vent sometime. I’m getting a bit fed up with the partners Kym get, especially since Hines and the ones who act like they wanna do nothing but date Kym. I know she’s attractive but she gets single or divorced men who are unfocused (Hasselhoff, anyone?). I think it’s better if she got someone who is happily married and who doesn’t have a screwy personality. I guess Kym just have a patience of a saint and that’s why she gets those kind of partners because TPTB knows she won’t punch them in the face. Kym is a great person, dancer and choreographer and I wish she’d get a partner who could help her get far as possible. I’d rather see her dance with Hines every season than see her dance with someone who isn’t good enough, whether it has it do with his dancing skills, behavior or personality.
Alright, my venting’s over. Carry on.
@ Courtney: “She may be a b*tch…but she’s the b*tch who gets to give the scores.” I agree with you. She always is going to be tougher on people when they are trying to annoy her like that. When Maks realizes it it will be too late. That’s one thing I hate about him: I get that everyone will defend their partner and all that stuff BUT there is a right way to do it and the wrong way to do it. He always goes w the latter.
Oops, I just realized I said something that may be misunderstood. I don’t mean Hines is one of her bad partners. He was one of her BEST partners! I meant partners AFTER Hines. Hope that’s more clear now. 🙂
Well, Court, I guess the good it does is it that it helps him and Melissa feel like SOMEONE is supporting them. Is it the wisest thing to do? Probably not, but hell, it’s pretty damned mild. Honestly, I’ll be shocked if they stay out of the bottom two tonight – and if they do, they’ll most probably, definitely be heading home in the double elim next week. But SHIT, they’ve been treated pretty harshly this season, and it’s sad because Melissa SO loves it and when the judges DO give her a crumb of support or approval, she just blooms. She is definitely NOT the soccer type.
Oh, and if you have a lot of RAM in your machine? The ABC site is really fast and you can get an effton of votes done in an hour. 200? It’s on the far edge of possible if the person’s a quick typist or has copy, paste, switch windows down pat. 🙂 100 an hour is totally doable without even breaking a sweat.
@Liz: I think he is really trying but some dances aren’t great for people. He is very light onn his feet and picks up choreogrpahy really well but I’ve actually made a lsit of dances that really suited him and exceled at: cha cha, samba, rumba, and foxtrot. These really showed his showman skills and viewers could tell he was in his element. I think he is overthinking a lot in the other dances (his jive and this weeks dance comes to mind off the bat)
On a side note, who is dancing to gavin’s song tonight? I really hope its Karina and Tony. I can totally see Gavin making that happen.
I completely feel for Melissa and Maks. Don’t get me wrong, I know they are the weakest couple dance -wise but I still think people would rather her still be around more than Jaleel. The judges were too harsh on them. I think they felt they really had to score them super low to ensure they end up in the bottom two. I hope it backfires on them. Maks was seething but kept his cool …good on him. Really happy for Maria and Derek.
The Team Tango dance might be my favorite dance of the season so far in a season of good, but not amazing routines. As others have noted, I LOVED Roshon’s bit and I thought they were way more in sync and innovative with their choreography. Team Paso had the more dramatic song and costumes, but snoozefest on the choreo – not that it was bad but it looked like a retread of a few Team Paso dances.
I just hope Jaleel goes home. I’ve NEVER seen Kym get so manhandled – and obviously not willingly. Gross. What a creep, haven’t liked him from the start and some part of me wants Kym to write a tell-all and expose his ick factor. I have worked with lots of men and have had to be very creative in how I spurn their inappropriate advances without offending anyone and maintaining the professional atmosphere and integrity of my job. Kym is doing a marvelous job of it, but really, no one should have to put up with that, least of all the nicest pro in the world.
Anyway, if I was a voting kind I’d be giving all mine to Roshon to put Jaleel in the dance off and hope that somehow, someway, Melissa beats him – although i think regardless, Jaleel will be gone in the next week or so. Ideally it is him today and Melissa and William next week with Roshon, Maria, Katherine, and Donald (who I think will kill it in the finals).
True, there is a difference between big and obsessive. Absolutely. That’s what I tell Derek fans all the time. But besides that…I think that Melissa has a fanbase all her own.
I have to agree with Courtney – I have wondered on occasion of Maks’ stuff from last season was coming home to roost this season. Petty and childish on the part of CAI?? Of course. But she does give out the scores.
I didn’t get to watch last night’s dancing, however, watching previous segments, I find that the judging is pretty lopsided, especially when you have favorites. A GREAT judge will judge according to the performance, technical ability, and interpretation. Every couple should be judged by whatever they do as a couple and not be compared to another. But this is not happening. What is so sad is that we have become judges on our own and judge emotionally, choosing our favorites also. I have always felt that competitors should be fairly judged and not be verbally bashed for their work. Put yourself in their shoes, you who do not have experience, go out there and do your best, get judged and verbally abused. How is that??? They should just score and stop with the stupid comments that they feel should be made. Carrie Ann stop with the twitching of the neck or rising of the shoulders. Bruno, what can I say, your comments should not be so sexist, need I say more? Len, you should be judging real ballroom competitions since you want them to be so perfect that they cannot make mistakes or is technically wrong. In real life competitions, it is how you recover from making a mistake and finishing your performance that counts. I’ M JUST SAYING……!!
Just re-watched Donald’s dance and CRAP, That was a hard routine. He gets the award for most complicated yet dynamically performed routine. While I do think Maria totally earned the top spot and I loove her I think her routine was certainly more elementary compared to Donald’s. Not trying to denegrade Maria or Derek at all because she danced AMAZINGLY. Just a note from watching Donald’s routine.
Whoa. Just wanted to say that violet above me is NOT me. But hi, new violet 🙂
Fig – You and I have the exact same favorite final 4 picked… 😀 I’d love to see Roshon, Maria, Katherine, and Donald in the semi-finals!!! Sigh…..
@Courtney, #55
I didn’t mean that you don’t like storytelling in general. You wrote that you don’t like wacky characters so my point was that I like storytelling even if it’s cheesy or ridiculous or wacky. I almost always prefer it to just dancing to music. Bring on the vampires, mimes, gorillas, murderers… I like it all.
I would like to see Roshon make it to the finals just to see his freestyle dance! I love his dancing =) For the finals I would live to see Donald, Roshon, and either William or Katherine
love to see, not live to see…oops
I guess Maks just feels like he has to get his frustrations out somehow. I noticed this season that whenever the judges slam Melissa, Maks has stayed quiet. He’s been calm this season and even after her Salsa and last night’s dance, he looks like he’s not paying attention to the judges. I think he’s trying to restrain himself like counting to 100 or singing a song in his head until the judges are done. He must’ve gotten a warning from the producers about being too outspoken last season like he was with Hope. So what happened last night must’ve put him in the doghouse.
Still, it’s no excuse for Maks’ behavior on twitter. Let the fans do the retweeting! He’s the one on the show and being judged. If Melissa makes it through tonight, I’d like to see how they are judged next week after those retweets.
I second or maybe third? Fig and Sally
Final 4 with Donald, Maria, Katherine and Roshon! Great evening of quality dancing there.
I would like to see Katherine, Roshon and probably William (I’m still not 100%) in the final. But Roshon’s chances are really very slim. I had a feeling this week that the he and Chelsie were kind of discouraged. Which I can understand but it sucks. You need to go down fighting!
Doubt he got any kind of warning, they want him to blow up. Ratings and media coverage…
Maks quiet is better than Maks being inappropriate. But I do wish he could at least look at the judges and keep an even face instead of not looking at them while still obviously unhappy with what they are saying. But we can’t have it all and Maks is who he is, so it is an improvement.
I know not everyone watches the OTRC videos and other interviews, but he has said several times that he won’t change anything about himself or his choreography to be more like what would get a high score. While I get his point, I do think he could adjust some things to give his celeb an even better chance of winning. But, with all the votes he gets regardless, I guess you could say he doesn’t need to do that anyway. I just think there are things he could work on as a teacher to make his celeb a better dancer. I’ve noticed that if his celebs come in pretty natural or with some background, he makes them look good, but if they do not (like Melissa and Hope) they improve so little in basic dance skills, posture etc from Week 1 to the end of their run, whereas Derek or Mark or Kym and even Cheryl, can make a someone with no experience or very little natural talent look very good and have much improved technique by the end of their run on the show. I just never understand that, since Maks has a lot of background in teaching.
Team dance wise – I thought that Team Tango were better. Team Paso had by far the better music, but to me there was not enough group work at the beginning before rushing into their weakest member doing the solo and it is always a risk doing group work with two male celebs. It was good – fire is always eyecatching – but in my view not the best group Paso as the judges were claiming. Also, maybe just me, I’m kind of done with the whole shirtless thing now. The Team Tango group choreography was terrific and they were on time and slick. Roshon rocked it (and where was that type of choreography in their individual dance? This was fabulous.) Individually, none of the others were quite as good – really worried about Maria’s foot at the end. Girl doesn’t complain like some – cough…William…cough – but was quite clearly standing on one foot after scores and I think that she underperformed in her individual section due to hurting her feet after her first dance. Overall a good night for group dances, though by having the scores so close they didn’t really change the overall position that much.
Individual dance wise I though Derek did a brilliant job with Maria. The dance was mesmerising and was brilliantly acted – especially by Maria – her look at the end was fab! Derek showed his ability to make his partner shine by keeping her in hold and allowing her a period standing at the start and sitting in the middle. She was clearly stoked to get the first 30!
Donald was definitely the second dance of the night for me – the idea was clever and he is charismatic on the floor. The VW can be a little yawn worthy to me so keeping my attention is always a good sign!
Really beginning to see the potential in Roshon. Thought Chelsie could have given him tighter choreography and agree with whoever said the girl has to say no to crap songs. The boy has so much potential. If he makes it and depending on who is left he might shine next week when two dances requires more stamina.
For me the two ‘favourites’ were fine but nothing more. Kathryn is elegant and classy but there was no oomph in her rumba for me. William tried hard – but I concentrated more on the singer than his movement.
Jaleel was smooth, but I’m afraid he just doesn’t quite work for me. Agree that his ‘breakthrough’ last week was part of the manipulation of who should be in dance duels.
If Melissa escapes the dance duel then the judges have no-one to blame but themselves. They were too nasty and obvious. If you want someone to go give them low key comments and so-so scores and let them slide into the background (a la Jaleel). Think she looked better in this dance than in the group Paso – feel really sorry for both of them and think they should have probably had their time in this competition, but would not be surprised to see them survive.
I loved Derek’s paso with Maria. Kinda perplexed with LV’s take of the team dances! how can team Tango dance around with props when they are in close hold most of time? if team Roshon/Chelsie makes it through next week, I hope Chelsie fights for more compelling music for their dances I feel that their music, so far, had been fluffy (except for week 1).
It wasn’t just his retweeting…it was also his “hehehehehe, just letting the fans do the talking.” As I said earlier, grow the hell up Maks.
And Evaine, I understand Melissa enjoys being there. I’m sure Sherri did too. And Gladys. And Jack. That’s not a reason for her to be kept around when she’s clearly the worst dancer left. And this is the first week I can fully support that statement – there is no one left, IMO, who’s a worse dancer than her. In previous weeks, you could make a case that there was.
If you’re not a great dancer, for which I think Melissa certainly qualifies, and you’re not someone like Gladys personality-wise, you’re gonna have to show consistent improvement to stay in the game with great dancers. Especially week 7. Once you start improving there is little to no room for going backward again. Like when Gavin danced a charming Rumba but then next week showed his weaknesses with the Samba. He went home.
And I have absolutely nothing against Melissa as far as her personality goes but she’s no sweet Gavin (no one is) to have that to fall on to.
If Melissa stays out of the bottom two this week I will have to think that the public is being totally foolish.
Not the public, sasa. Just a certain segment that comprises her pro’s fan base.
I can see why Maks is mad, but his partners just are that good. Like Hope last season, Melissa sometimes just flops into Maks arms or is dragged around the floor rather than smoothly moving. As well, I think he tries to give his partners tough choreography just to catch up with the others, but I think Melissa would look better if she did more slower, less-challenging movements.
I honestly can’t say I blame Maks for being ticked with the judges. He can’t do anything right in their eyes, can he? Especially with Carrie Ann. She’s as biased as they come, but I digress.
As far as the retweeting goes, again, I don’t blame him. Maks isn’t stupid (he’s stubborn and moody but not stupid), and I think he has figured it out by now that the judges will never allow for him to win, even if he had the best partner ever. He’s also probably very aware that if he and Melissa are in the b2, they’re toast. Even if she is amazing in the dance duel and the other person just stands there, odds are she won’t win it. It sucks, but that’s the nature of the beast.
I also think we need to take into consideration that the man is injured, and pain can make you be in a crappy mood. That’s probably why he refused to look at the judges…he already felt bad cause of his ankle, so why make him feel worse?
Oh Sarah…I doubt Maks didn’t look at the judges because his ankle was hurting him. He pulls this crap all the time.
For the most part, I agree with mimi #64 and nathan #31:
1)Maria & Derek: Riveting, spellbinding, exciting performance. Loved it! Best of the night for me. Choreo genius Derek scores another one!!
2)Katherine & Mark: I loved the choreo and Katherine’s beautiful technical performance. Sure, it wasn’t steamy but I thought it was superb.
3)Donald & Peta: I’m more and more impressed with Peta’s choreo. Donald did a fine job & I like his personality.
4)Roshon & Chelsie: I felt like the too-slow music was really hampering them and there were awkward movements and moments. Having said that, I really love Roshon’s personality and energy and commitment.
5) Jaleel & Kym: I’m a huge fan of Kym, but Jaleel just creeps me out and I can’t enjoy his dancing for that reason.
6) William and Cheryl: OK, but ho-hum
7) Melissa & Maks: I agree it was a mess. I just felt sorry for her trying to keep up with him, and her scared face just had me worried all the time.
Team Tango, for me, won by a mile, but I loved the music of Team Paso the best.
Wow.. just read through 133 comments and enjoyed most of them.. haha! Gotta give a huge shout out and high five to my girl Maria! Maria and Derek’s Paso was hands down deserving of a perfect score and for me the best of the season… FOR ME…. =) I was waiting, waiting, waiting for another breakout dance from Maria since her rumba to show the audience that she has what it takes to compete with the Katherines and the Donalds in this competition. I give it up to the Greek Goddess… she has been injured since week 2 since the DWTS cast was announced, she works like 1000 jobs, and she is neither a previous athlete, entertainer, nor a dancer. I think her perfect 30 was definitely deserving, all things considered. The perfect storm for Maria and Derek. I gotta give my love Derek some major props too for his amazing vision, choreo, and for pushing Maria this week to reach her best. That’s why he is the best to me on the show.
I loved Donald’s VW. I thought he and Peta captured the dance perfectly and I loved the storyline that Peta created. I really felt bad for Melissa because you can tell she is improving and she is doing some difficult choreography, but she still does not like refined and comfortable dancing. I thought Katherine’s rumba was nice, but like others, I was quickly bored by it.
For me Team Tango totally owned Team Paso. Not only did I see choreo that Derek came up with last Halloween’s Team Paso dance, they were so out of sync in many places. Are people not seeing this?! Team Tango’s really creative choreography and costumes captured my attention from the beginning. I just loved it!
Whoops.. about Melissa, I mean she still does not LOOK refined and comfortable dancing.
Review of the Night:
Katherine & Mark – Rumba – What a great way to open Classical Week Katherine! But I have to say I think the music threw you off. It wasn’t my favorite dance of hers I have to admit! I would have given it a 9 also. Score 27 well deserved!
Melissa & Maksim – Argentine Tango – Ummmmmm………. It was ok??? I guess. Judges we’re kinda harsh tho in my opinion. But 21 good score for it. Kinda nice tho.
William & Cheryl – V. Waltz – It was ok too. NOT a William and Cheryl fan but I have to admit it was one of their best dances. But it was kinda clunky in places and wasn’t smooth enough but I would have given it a 9 too! Score Great!
Roshon & Chelsie – Argentine Tango – I really thought this dances was going to be a mess for him. But it was really good. Didn’t feel the music that well but overall exceeded my expectations! Good Job Roshon!!
Donald & Peta – V. Waltz – Donald if you want a 10 from Len. Don’t say it. Because he will think up stuff to critize you! But the dance was good but not his best. I think Peta needs to push him a little more to make him into a GREAT dancer!
Maria & Derek – Paso Doble – WOW! WOW! WOW! I mean seriously WOW! I love the concept of that dance, the energy from that dance, EVERY single thing about that dance I loved. Finally MARIA broke out of her shell! Hopefully people will give this girl a chance to shine! Maria SCORE FREAKIN WELL DESERVED! 🙂 🙂
Jaleel & Kym – Accidently missed his performance but I guess it was ok too!
Team DANCES:
Team Tango – I loved the beginning. Loved the music. Loved Maria’s and Roshon’s solos. But I think the Tango took over Katherine tonight for some reason. Just need to get the character of the Tango! Jaleel I liked his tango before! Bring it Back! But aside from that TEAM TANGO rocked it! 🙂 I would have given it a 9.
Team Paso – Loved the fire and attack. But it wasn’t my favorite. Kinda sloppy in place – expecially from Williams part. And I think they needed to keep the shirts on. It was really a distraction from the Team Dance. I would have given it a 8.
Best Dance: Maria & Derek’s Paso Doble
Worst Dance: Melissa & Maksim Argentine Tango
Best Team Dance: TEAM TANGO!
Ok since Jaleel went home I’ll predict next week double elimination:
Melissa & Maksim
Roshon & Chelsie or William & Cheryl.
I think the judge’s were thinking that Melissa would have been eliminated because she was the worst dancer left and surprised she was not in the dance duel. Since she survived that I have really big concerns that Maria and Donald could be part of the double elimination with Roshon, and not Melissa. I would bet her fanbase is pretty big ??
Oh, @mimi, don’t let Miss H catch you saying that! lol I learned my lesson (and actually understand better now!) last night! 😛
@mimi: I’m talking about Melissa’s fanbase comment! 🙂
Caution Taken, Meggie SSSHHH!!! Altho I thought she was referring to people thinking Maks’s was as big or bigger……………………
HIS FANBASE !!!!!!,
for all of you in the gutter right now LOL
(Actually, I would give odds, his is kinda tiny) !!!!ooopppps–bet I might get banned or deleted right now ?
Actually, what bugs me about the automatic assumption that a fanbase must be huge due to voting results – and any PRO’s in particular – is that it is based entirely on assumption and speculation and completely ignores the fact that it doesn’t HAVE to be true at all. It’s the use of assumption or speculation and ignoring a lot of other data that I find annoying (and as you may have noticed, this applies in a lot of areas of DWTS lore). The knee jerk “oh, so and so’s fan base must be huge” just ignores way too many other possibilities.
It’s what I say to Derek’s fans all the time. You might THINK Derek’s fan base is the largest of the pros – and you might be right – BUT, a) you can’t be sure; and b) fanbase size means NOTHING if those fans aren’t voting. Do the simple equation: Say Tristan is brand new and has 5 fans, and Derek has been around for a while and has 10 fans. If Tristan’s 5 fans spend all night long voting, but Dereks 10 fans – knowing they double the number of Tristan’s fans – only each vote for an hour, who wins?? Well, Tristan does, of course.
# Heidi
SOOO TRUE….and I hope “certain people” are really paying attention and planning to give up some personal time more than usual ! I think it’s worth it