Louis Van Amstel, Tristan MacManus, Karina Smirnoff, And Tony Dovolani Review Week 7 On Dancing With The Stars
Louis pens a new blog at ABC for what he thought of the dances for Classical night on Dancing With The Stars. Like many of us, he thought the judges scores were a little low for Melissa and Maks. He’s worried the most for them. He pretty much pegged it until I read what he wrote for Derek and Maria. What do you think? I totally disagree. They deserved every bit of the 10′s they received in my opinion. Heidi’s right. He seems to have issues with Derek?
Maria Menounos and Derek Hough’s Paso Doble. Maria looks so beautiful in that red dress — very appropriate for Paso Doble and the song they were given. In comparison, I believe Maria is the lesser dancer of the remaining celebs. That routine is easier than the others and her movement is sometimes stiff — even though it’s Paso Doble. Having said that, Maria has an iron determination and doesn’t surrender. I highly applaud her for that. Even though the video package showed her insecurity and frustration, she did deliver a very solid performance. Sorry judges, I really liked it, but not enough for Katherine to have to watch her back. Wow, I can’t believe the judges comments and scores. I’d say three 8′s for difficulty level and maybe two 9′s for performance. Not 10′s.
Overall. It’s now up to you guys to vote for your favorite couple. I’m mostly worried for Melissa, but in my opinion I feel the judges over scored Maria to save her. Or will Roshon be the one going home because he’s been in the bottom two a few times already?
Tristan MacManus had some thoughts on the night as well at Entertainment Weekly.
On Monday’s Classical Night dances: I saw a couple of them all right, didn’t get to see them all. Good competition tonight eh? Derek and Maria were really really good, so it’s nice to see someone get a full score I guess. Certainly after a difficult week, and at this point in the competition it’s good to see someone get those scores.
Donald Driver wants that 30! It’ll put a spark in him. If he can see now that someone can get them, then he’ll want to make sure they get the next perfect score. Donald’s great, he’s gonna be around for awhile.
Who will make the finals? I don’t really know! The way the competition’s going, you don’t really know what’s going to happen week to week. Might be easy enough to pick out one week who’s gonna be there, and then the next week, like I said, because the competition is so hard, next week someone turns around and has an unbelievable performance, know what I mean? Even if you look at the scores for this week — last week, people were saying well Maria, she didn’t do a great performance. And now she’s got perfect scores. I think Donald’s gonna be there, certainly. He’s been great from the start. I’d really like to see him do well. Mark and Katherine were superb as well. Maybe Maks and Melissa didn’t have a great night tonight, but as the weeks have been going on and on, she’s certainly been getting better. I thought they were quite good tonight. You never really know!
On William Levy initially shying away from Team Shirtless: Well, I guess if I think about it, had I been on that team, there would have been a team decision. It wouldn’t be just my decision. That’s what happens — if you’re dancing for yourself and your partner it’s easy enough to make a decision there, but when you’ve six people on a team, well…he didn’t want to take his top off tonight, and he ended up taking his top off. That’s what happens. Yeah, it was what it was.
Below is Karina Smirnoff and Tony Dovolani’s thoughts on Classical night at Good Morning America this morning. They have nothing but high praise for Maria and Derek! Great review on the night. Check out Karina’s mention on Maks and his tights!
That is all for now. Be sure to let us know what you think!! xx
I’m so glad I discovered you few...
Petty much, Louis? *Eye Roll*
Louis’ had a grudge against Derek for eons now. No surprise at his comments from me.
Anyone who thinks Melissa is a better dancer than Maria has a serious credibility problem. Perhaps he knows that Maks would shun him forever whereas Derek won’t give a rat’s ass?
Definitely, he has some issues with Derek. I can’t believe what I read and there is obvious jealousy out there. They were fantastic !!!
Louis is so jealous of Derek,because Derek is the best on the show and have the most mirror ball trophies.
I agree guys, total jealously. I thought Louis had more brains than that. At least Karina and Tony had some nice things to say.
Louis is a Asshole, with a capital A. Last season, he said some none too nice stuff and Derek and Ricki, hella people bombarded him with tweets and he tweeted “I love Derek…”. Whatever…
Wow, Louis, just wow. No words.
The bit about Maks’ tights was funny.
Anyone who can find anything to criticise in either Marias rumba or paso has either got issues or an agenda. I think with Louis it is a little of both. I also think he has NEVER gotten over the fact that he was the first pro ever kicked off the first show of DWTS with Trista Sutter. He has been bitchey for the most part ever since.
Both of those dances of Maria’s deserved 30′s and I think the judges just weren’t “prepared” for her to deliver that powerful a performance in week 4. TPTB had prob cautioned them about 30′s too early.
The Derek-hate is just off the charts and Maks fans were so incensed last night some of the stuff being said was even more unbelievable than usual.
I don’t actually find Louis to be jealous. I find him to be pretty much correct. Taking last night’s Paso out of the equation, I would call Maria the lesser dancer of the bunch too, with the exception of Melissa, who I think is pretty much awful. I think Katherine, Donald, Roshon and Jaleel are the best four dancers. I may put William on around the same level as Maria though, come to think of it.
For me what it is, is that Maria dances wonderfully in hold–when she is out of hold I often think she is stiff and nervous.
That being said, I find it very impressive that Derek was able to pull off a 30 worthy dance (and I do agree with that score) out of Maria, when Mark, Kym, Chelsie and Peta have not been able to acheive that with theirs, who in my opinion have more raw talent. It simply speaks to Derek’s strengths as a teacher and choreographer.
Violet, u went from “worst of the bunch” to equal with William and better than Melissa. How does that agree with Louis who says she the bottom?
I said “pretty much correct”, as I always knew I thought Melissa was much worse. As I was typing and thinking about it, I decided William was on par with Maria.
So, I don’t all the way agree with him, I just don’t really see the jealousy. But that’s just me.
That’s the problem, Violet, Louis DID include Melissa. I’m not going to argue that Maria is the best dancer in the bunch – there are quite a few good ones. But to put Maria below Melissa (and even William, IMO) is just silly.
Well I don’t think Maria and Derek should have gotten 3 8′s. Their paso was insane. The way the judges have been on crack with scoring this season, Why shouldn’t they get a 30 then? I think that score was fair.
Louis is not always right, but I think he is pretty much spot on in most of his comments. Whether or not he has something against Derek, I don’t know, but I hardly think he has a bone to pick with all the pros. Most of the time I think he calls as he sees it. JMO though.
To see Louis at his worst with regard to Derek, you have to go back to season 10 and watch some of the post show interviews with the media. Horrible.
I don’t think Louis put Maria below Melissa as a dancer but in terms of choreography and technique Melissa’s is more difficult and challenging. IMO, Derek is a smarter choreographer in putting less difficult choreography for Maria who isn’t a dancer and she’s exceled. Her dance was executed cleanly.
May I add what I love about Derek – he’s humble and doesn’t take this competition seriously like Maks and Louis. And that’s why they haven’t won a MBT.
Tony seems like such a down to earth chill guy. I really wish he would win at least once so he can have a trophy to show for all his hard work. As for Louis, its no secret he is my least fav pro. After I read this: “judges, I really liked it, but not enough for Katherine to have to watch her back. Wow, I can’t believe the judges comments and scores. I’d say three 8′s for difficulty level and maybe two 9′s for performance. Not 10′s.”, all I can say is jealousy at its best. Let me say this there is a reason why he isn’t on the show competing.
Forgot to add, Karina is gorgeous in yellow, absolutely stunning.
Karina says she’d put money that Donald will be in finals, and Tony agreed. I know that Louis has said that as well. I hope that all of Donald’s drive and determination finally paysoff and lands him that spot in the finals.
As for the comments about Derek, all I can say is that Louis needs to take a Midol…
Last week, he backed off a bit (due to her injury), and their scores went up… I can’t understand why he doesn’t do better at tailoring the dance to the celeb…
But reading his comments about Melissa, it made me think – once again, Maks is overloading her with the choreo.
I think Louis’ comments were in line with his style on the show. He tends to give his partners challenging choreography. He said he’d bump up Melissa for taking on a challenge and knock down Maria for simplicity. That’s in line with the Louis I saw on Season 12 who constantly gave Kendra difficult choreography. I think it’s valid to judge technique and difficulty while letting the audience reward a creative perfromance with their votes.
I don’t buy the “Louis is jealous of Derek” line of thinking at all (and yes, I’ve been watching the show since the beginning and I know the history). But my eyebrows went way up when I saw his comment about Maria being the weakest dancer. Melissa is not, and never has been, an awful dancer. She’s competent. Maria is a bit better than competent, at least in most of her dances. That impression is helped immeasurably by Derek’s willingness and ability to choreograph to her strengths and weaknesses, which is not a strong point for Maks. But in a dance off between the Melissa and Maria (and given unbiased judges), Maria would still be given the edge, either 3 for 3 or 2 for 3.
Totally agree that Maks’ choreographies don’t suit Melissa very much which makes her look awkward. The best one was the Waltz last week. This week I didn’t feel that the dance was the Argentine Tango. It lacked quality. Even the costume was the Rhumba style costume. In my opinion, there is no point in making it difficult if that doesn’t make her look good.
In my opinion the pasodoble of Maria and Derek was the most entertaining dance of last night besides the team tango.
Said that I’ve to admit that the technical level of this dance didn’t deserve more than an 8, even if Maria executed the choreography without a mistake and during the whole dance in character. Derek’s choreography was the less difficult one of the night and lacked the typical content of a pasodoble – the woman out of hold dancing around the man, going away and coming closer again. I was wondering why CAI didn’t call Maria out last night while she did call out William after his rumba last week.
Maybe last night was the time to save Maria from the buttom two. Tonight is the last time they’ve a chance to kick out the weakest dancer even if he could pass a better dancer by votes. I guess they hope Roshon or Jaleel would end up against Melissa in the buttom two to kick Melissa out of the competition. What would mean that Maria doesn’t get the votes to cover up a lower spread against Melissa and would’ve to dance against Roshon or Jaleel in the dance duel and could lose it.
Actually, I thought that Paso was pretty content heavy – just not a lot of the out of hold content. That doesn’t mean the content was lacking at all.
If they can give William tens over and over again for doing little to nothing besides taking off his shirt, they can certainly give Maria tens when she executes actual dance moves perfectly. Which she did.
Please, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t saying that William deserved his 10′s during the last weeks. Only in my opinion this dance was technically on a lower lever than all the other dances of last night and no one deserved a perfect score yesterday. I saw more like a tie of three couples or less than a three point spread. between Maria and the runner ups.
Honestly, I don’t think they should have gotten 8s. But if that is Louis’s opinion then its his. I don’t agree, and from reading the comments here, quite a lot of people don’t agree, but oh well. I personally didn’t think they were going to get a 30, maybe a 28 or 29 based on how the judges have been scoring this season.
Other than that comment about Maria, I actually really like reading his comments. Pretty entertaining.
You know after reading his blogs every week I would LOVE to see Louis come back and be a judge on the show!! He could take Carrie Ann’s place!! I would love to see him, Len and Bruno every week hashing it out! I think it would be a great dynamic to the judging aspect of the show.
I’ve always thought Louis would make a good judge too, but, not if he’s got issues with Derek.
If you think our current judges have favorites, you ain’t seen nothing yet, if Louis were to judge.
I think Louis would be a good judge. At least that would be another Ballroom expert besides Len.
I hate to say it, but, it would probably go to Louis’ head too.
Wow…I just watched the Tony/Karina video – she said exactly what I said!!
You have seen that chore for Team Paso before, Karina.
Louis is jealous of many, not just Derek! He’s a little bitter and unhappy man, and he’d be the worst choice ever on a show with pros he’s competed against!
For choreography, presentation, and Derek, I’d give that a 30 and considering the scoring this season it deserved a 30, but Maria danced a 28 or 29. Derek is very very good and he knows what he’s doing and he is very very competitive and not a saint, but out of 40 or 50 hours of footage the 1 or 2 minutes of chosen footage rarely showcases his negative moments because he’s the golden boy and ratings grabber!
I’m thrilled they got a 30 and I love Derek, and just wanted to remind everyone, and PH knows this, you see what they want you to see!
I see many of the celebs at around the same level! Had William not had mishaps in the live shows on dances where he had amazing and perfect rehearsals, some might feel differently, but it’s a live show and when they’re on the air, that’s what counts!
I did love Mark and Katherine’s Rumba and I thought William’s waltz was at least one point better than Donald’s and both he and Donald were better than Jaleel, who again to me, was forgettable. In the short clip on GMA I saw Donald’s upper body flub which really stood out, even though I missed it last night, and in the VW I love an elegant frame.
Please don’t let me start about Mr. Van Amstel!! Even though he was never in my fav pros list, I was always enjoying reading his comments and I was agreeing with him almost all the time. But this time he went way to far with his jealousy…I couldn’t believe what I was reading!! And of course I am refering to his comments about Maria! Before this, I wanted him to replace one of the judges of the show or being the fourth judge but now, not so much!
) but at least he didn’t block me like Cheryl did! And trust me…he had many more reasons to do it than her!!!!
I am not going to write more about him…I already wrote my opinion directly to him on twitter cause this time he has really pissed me off!!! Didn’t get a feedback from him (while he answered to some others about this subject
Louis is really something else. How can one person be as objective as they come and as biased as they come at the same time? He truly covers all extremes. I guess when he’s not emotionally invested he has an ability to judge rationally but when he’s heated about something- watch out. I find his praise of Donald over the top just like his projected scores for Maria this week.
I knew when the dance was over that they’d get three 10′s, but I bet if they had danced a bit earlier in the season it’d be a 29. It was about time that someone got a perfect score and for entertainment value it deserved it – but it was definitely one of the more basic dances that I’ve seen get a 30, at least in the past few years. Cool routine, but not the most difficult. I would agree that Maria is the weakest of the dancers left outside of Melissa – she is about on par with William but a step above him in terms of who I’d like to see go onto the semi’s.
Louis is another one of those pros that talks a lot and ends up looking catty. I think he has a good heart but lets a little bit of the green monster color his comments.
As far as just dance ability goes I think Melissa is way on the bottom and Maria is next with quite a margin on Melissa. For me William is a better dancer than Maria is. Roshon and Donald are on about the same level for me, but I see way more potential for improvement in Roshon than do I see in Donald. Katherine is technically superior to everyone else.
But we all know that’s just a part of the whole story. It’s about improvement, clever choreography, popularity, chemistry…
I’m not even going to dignify Louis’ remarks by commenting on them. Loved the interview with Tony and Karina. Doubt Tony will ever win an MBT, but he’s a good guy. I’m really impressed with the way Karina has grown and matured so much in the last couple seasons. I’ve come to really appreciate and enjoy her.
Tony can laugh at himself too. I think Tony would be a great entertainment correspondent. He covers dwts well and less bias than Louis. I sold never want Louis as a judge. He would go for more difficulty even if the celeb struggles because that is his style.
I also thought I saw some similar paso moves in his dance with Karina that Maria did. Ha!