DWTS 15, Week 5 Power Rankings – Part II
So now that we’ve seen everybody dance both their team dance & individual dance, I can finally start to get a snapshot of where things stand heading into week 6. As I promised in part I, I’ve really just taken my commentary on last night’s dances, copied & pasted it here, and added any additional notes I found pertinent to go along with my commentary on tonight’s dances. I know many of you have already read the spoilers we posted last night for tonight’s show, so there aren’t probably any huge revelations for you; for those that haven’t, I doubt there are any huge revelations for you, either…it became pretty clear to me that they put the stronger individual performances on Tuesday night and the weaker ones on Monday night, perhaps in an effort to increase viewership for Tuesday night’s show. As for the team dance – I think you guys can probably guess where I stand 😉 And the other thing that became quite evident after tonight? They are really doing their damndest to protect Gilles and ensure he sticks around. Gilles gets the high score of night 1; 3 of the 4 couples on night 2 get the same (2.5 points lower than Gilles’) score, and the one person that even comes close still falls .5 points short of Gilles, despite dancing one of the most beautiful waltzes I’ve ever seen on the show. The message is clear: protect the whiny, egotistical Frenchmen at all costs. Gag me.
Speaking of week 6 – it is country week, and each couple is doing an individual unlearned dance and a group dance. The group dance will not be scored, except the couple that does the move that impresses the judges the most will get two bonus points – which is practically nothing, in the great scheme of things, since we’re taking all of the points from this week and all of the points from next week and adding them together. It’s gonna be a fanbase battle royale…hope you guys voted hard!
1.) Sabrina & Louis – I was skeptical about Sabrina being able to carry off such a soft, romantic dance, since she seems to hit everything so hard – but this was actually quite lovely. She showed a lot of control and some of her lines were just beautiful – at a couple moments, I honestly thought she would fit right in on a dance floor filled with American Smooth professionals. I even believed adoring looks she was giving Louis – and while I agree that vulnerability may not be Sabrina’s strong suit, I thought she absolutely showed it tonight in this waltz. Funny how you call her out on it, Carrie Ann, and then give her a 10 anyway. If you aren’t gonna nut up, then you gots to SHUT UP. Loved the theme, loved the choreography, loved the execution – and love that someone from Team Call Me Maybe was able to give Gilles a run for his money in the individual dance round 🙂
2.) Gilles & Peta – Well, guess I can’t really get too mad at the overscoring of this one, since it’s kind of become par for the course this season. I actually thought Gilles had some really nice lines in this rumba – he was actually extending both his arms and his legs nicely. But my big problem was that I still felt like Peta was doing all the work…and it got a little repetitive. To concur with Len, I got tired of the leg extensions and displays of flexibility really quickly, and it seemed to slow everything down just a little too much. It was a time-waster in an already shortened routine. It seemed like the first part (the a cappella part) was nice, and then once the crescendo hit with the instruments it was all overwrought emotion from there on out. I would have probably given it a 28, tops, because I felt like there just wasn’t as much content as there should have been. 29.5 is an awfully cushy score. Adding in after Tuesday night’s show: I wasn’t so upset about this score last night, but now I am, considering that Shawn & Derek did what I would consider to be a FAR superior rumba, both in terms of technique & performance, got reamed by the judges, and ended up 2.5 points less than Gilles. The pimping is obvious now, and TPTB (and Gilles himself) seem hellbent on changing the name of the show to “Dancing with Gilles Marini!…and some other people”. But I do feel a bit vindicated knowing that Gilles’ magnum opus of a team freestyle got called out for being a ridiculous mess and got 2.5 points less than Team Call Me Maybe…that really must chap his ass, as does the fact that Sabrina is now at the top of the leaderboard 😉
3.) Shawn & Derek – Seriously, on nights like this, I just want to MAIM Carrie Ann. I don’t know what her problem was, but she seemed to have a bone to pick with just about everyone on Team Call Me Maybe – so Shawn wasn’t vulnerable (like Sabrina…think CA was running out of complaints?), and she and Derek dared to insult CA by including a “lift”? Riiiight. And Len said there was no hip action??? You know that the judges are out of their gourd when the one making the most sense is the flamboyant Italian with ADHD. I thought their rumba was gorgeous – lots of content (unlike Gilles’ rumba…), some great execution from Shawn (I thought her hips were pretty damn good), and best of all – we got to see a more mature, emotional Shawn. I don’t know WTF Carrie Ann was talking about – but then again, does anyone really? 😛
4.) Melissa & Tony – I just love these two this season – low drama, good dancing, legit choreography. I just wish they could be a bit more impactful, because I’m a little worried that these two may have gotten a little lost in the shuffle (and nonsense) of tonight. But I did think their tango was cute and appropriate, and Melissa stayed on time and seemed to embrace her sexy Britney character. As I usually find, though, her legs were a little on the soft side, and she seemed to place her feet just a bit too gently for a tango. She also seemed to have a few frame issues – but I actually feel for her on that, not only because she is likely still babying her neck injury, but because she and I have the same problem doing tango: our arms are so long that we have to really bend it at an extreme angle in order to get a good point of contact – and then our frame goes a little wonky. The same long arms that make lines so pretty in Latin and the smooth dances? They’re a b*tch during the standard dances. 😛 But overall, I thought she did great this week, given she was dealing with such a painful injury…hopefully she’s feeling quite a bit better next week.
5.) Apolo & Karina – I would reiterate my earlier rhetorical question about what CA’s problem is, but it’s just becoming redundant at this point – I thought Apolo had more content and real samba steps than both Kelly AND Emmitt, and more stage presence than Emmitt – and yet he’s still two points behind Emmitt, and has CA taking little jabs at him about lacking chemistry or not being where she thinks he should be. Pssssh. She can go…do something inappropriate, which I doubt John would appreciate me spelling out here. 😉 Anywho, I actually thought Apolo had some great hip action here, and seemed to really have fun out there – even moreso than Emmitt. I would even say his hip action was better this time around than with his first samba with Julianne that got him a perfect score. I still think Apolo is on-track to the finals, but I’m seriously getting irritated with the judges (CA in particular) for just nitpicking with him. At this point, I think they’re going beyond being constructive, and are toeing the line into Ralph territory…let’s hope Apolo just absolutely blows them out of the water next week, so they have no choice but to compliment him. I hope CA’s head explodes. Bwahahahaha!
6.) Emmitt & Cheryl – Lack of hip action and excessive shimmying aside – I actually ended up really liking this routine Probably my favorite individual routine of Monday night, as Emmitt just seemed to be having a ton of fun to a really cheesy song. I got a little worried at the beginning when I saw Cheryl doing a lot of shimmying around Emmitt, thinking that this would be a repeat of their bolero where Cheryl just did a lot of dancing around him. But once they got into the routine a little more, I thought he did a pretty good amount of moving himself, and there actually was a considerable amount of samba content in this routine (you listening, Val?) Could have done without the giant inflatable parrots, but hey, we can’t always get what we want Adding in after Tuesday night’s show: Still the best individual routine of Monday night, IMO, but pales in comparison to Apolo’s samba. Wayyyy overscored, considering I thought Apolo had far better bounce, hip action, and content, and got 2 full points less.
7.) Kirstie & Maks – Technically, I think it was the best routine Kirstie’s done so far this season, but I just ended up feeling kind of “meh” about it – probably because both Kirstie & Maks looked uncharacteristically cheerless in it. Seriously, between the black costumes and their intense, focused expressions, I thought they were quickstepping at a funeral. Did Mrs. Robinson die at the end of The Graduate? I’m confused Guess after I heard what song they were dancing to, I was expecting this dance to be as camp as Christmas – but it was just too tame. I think she started off strong and had a good frame, and then maybe got a little bungled up on the bouncing sections, but overall I liked the choreography. Just wish they would have remembered to have fun with it If we were basing this week’s elim solely on this one dance, I’d say Kirstie should probably be a bit worried – but since she’s got the team dance (and next week’s dances) to give her a boost, I wouldn’t be too worried…yet. Adding in after Tuesday night’s show: I take that back – I’d be worried if I were Kirstie, as she really blended into the woodwork this week amongst some far more memorable routines. Even Kelly’s sh*tty samba was more memorable than this! I hope Kirstie taps into some of her inner entertainer next week, because she’s gonna need it if she wants to remain relevant and stick around.
8.) Kelly & Val – Anyone else think they may have phoned it in on this samba, given how stressed and busy they were showing Kelly to be in the reheasal package? I don’t feel like Kelly or Val really got 100% into this routine, and for the first time since week 2, I saw Kelly get a little bit intimidated and unsure of herself out on the floor. She also seemed a little wobbly, and I saw some funky arms & legs…a few “Bambi on Ice” moments. I could have done without all of the touchy-feely-sexy-ooh-look-at-how-much-chemistry-we-have stuff at the beginning, and I would have liked a little more meat & potatoes samba in this samba, but that kinda goes without saying. Len & I were surprisingly like-minded in regards to tonight’s show But again, I have to wonder if Kelly & Val had a rough week between her work schedule and the team dance rehearsal, and maybe knew they were kind of half-assing it – because neither one looked very surprised or upset by the critiques or scores they got. Perhaps they took a calculated risk in a week they knew wouldn’t matter too much? If I were Kelly, I would be slightly worried after this routine – for the simple reason that it seemed to really expose her weaknesses. Adding in after Tuesday night’s show: Not much to add. Still looks half-assed to me, next to some really great routines we saw tonight. I think Kelly should be worried, as I think she & Kirstie would easily be in the bottom 2 this week, if there were an elimination.
Thoughts on Team Gangnam Style:
*picking jaw up off floor* Now I had been hearing how truly trainwrecky this dance looked since Wednesday…and yet, nothing could prepare me for how shockingly BAD this dance was. I would even go so far as to say that this was the worst team dance in 8 seasons of dancing with the stars – worse even than the infamous “Single Ladies” mambo, complete with men in leotards. I think every single pro & celeb that participated in this nonsense should be mortified – because that did nothing to show me how great their dance skills are, or even how entertaining they are…all it showed me is that they didn’t have qualms with going for the lowest common denominator and just acting like complete fools for shock value. We got one section of half-assed, out-of-context cha-cha, a lot of copied moves from the “Gangnam Style” video that were neither done correctly nor in synch, breakneck transitions, wardrobe malfunctions (notice that the other team knew better than to futz with a costume change mid-dance), and just general flash, trash, and asshattery during each of the couples’ solos. I think Kirstie fared the worst, as she seemed totally lost during her solo and seemed to get flustered; Kelly’s face told me that she likely felt like a complete moron; both Emmitt & Cheryl seemed like they knew they had blown it; and then Gilles, king of the douchebags, and Peta, his doormat partner (who I’m beginning to dislike for the simple reason that she doesn’t have the sense to reign in her partner’s obnoxious behavior), prancing out onto the stage like a couple who just decided to do crystal meth together…while taking a shower. I couldn’t even enjoy this dance in an ironic, “pure fun” kind of way – because it wasn’t even amusing to me. It was just…pathetic. The only couple I kind of felt sorry for was Emmitt & Cheryl – and really, moreso Emmitt – because I got the vibe from the rehearsal footage that this was NOT a routine that Emmitt enjoyed. I daresay he probably wished he was on Team Call Me Maybe, where the football theme would have made him feel right at home. I think they should be thankful they got a 27…because I probably wouldn’t have given this any more than a 23. Not enough content or display of legitimate dance skills for me to give much more than that.
Thoughts on Team Call Me Maybe:
As I said on Twitter, this routine was so stinkin’ cute But with a song like that, can you go any other route except cute? I thought the theme was genius: it fit the mood of the song perfectly, capitalized on the celebs strengths (3 girls with cheerleading skills and one guy that is just cool…and hot ), and made for some cute costumes and scenery. Loved the stepping portion at the beginning with the guys; thought the group sections were a nice combination of freestyle moves and enough proper ballroom to please Len – they were also sufficiently synchronized, given that some of the moves (like the leap frog over their partners) are hard to really do 100% in synch. I also thought the individual sections were nicely reflective of each partnership – Sabrina got to be sassy with Louis, Shawn & Derek got to be fun & cheesy, Melissa got to be “pretty” and move smoothly with Tony, and Apolo & Karina got to make up for their hip-hop mishap last week At the end, I was left smiling and feeling proud of them – they could have gone totally crazy and gone for shock value rather than technique, but they managed to throw it a lot of real dancing along with a great deal of entertainment value. I would be pissed at CAI giving them a half-point shy of a perfect 30, but we all know she’s saving her 10 paddle virginity for Team Gangnam Style this week. :::eye roll::: Oh well – at least they can only hope to get a half point more than Shawn’s team, tops. That’s good enough for me Adding in after Tuesday Night’s show: Team Call Me Maybe still reigns supreme, by far – and I am just so darn pleased to see the egomaniac get 2.5 points less than Call Me Maybe, despite all his waxing poetic to anyone that would listen about how “hot”, “epic”, and “incredible” his team’s freestyle was going to be. Would you like some au jus to make that foot taste a bit better in your mouth, Monsieur Marini? 😎
So I guess that wraps up Guilty Pleasures week, kids – what did we learn, besides the fact that Carrie Ann is a bitter woman, Gilles is so in love with himself that he can’t even see straight, and that a bad song isn’t necessarily a death sentence…and that a good one doesn’t guarantee success? 😉 Let’s hear it!
Excellent Court!!! Ok, here are my rankings tonight and I can’t wait to read everyone elses too…
Derek and Shawn – Wow, I’m stunned!! This has just surpassed all of my favorite Rumbas on DWTS. It’s one of my fave dances too now. Simply stunning and unforgettable. Romantic, full of emotion, and just beautiful. 30++++++! I loved their package too.
Louis and Sabrina – Beautiful beautiful dance!! I loved the romance and all the spinning. I truly felt like I was watching a fairy tale watching them. Good job Louis and Sabrina. 29.5
Apolo and Karina – Loved them! I loved the energy, their chemistry, and the fun of the dance. Loved the spins, the thrusts, and the choreography! It could have used a little more oopmh, but, still really entertaining! 27
Tony and Melissa – Hmmm, this tango was fun,…but, kind of lackluster. It could have been more powerful and sharp. I was hoping for a little more creativity in choreography from Tony, but, maybe he wanted to take it easy on her with her neck injury? Even still, she’s a little spitfire. Love them! 25.5
Team Gangham -Ok, I love the song, but, so much of it was odd. I hate to say it, but, I didn’t like it. The costumes were odd too. The moves were off and it was sloppy. I don’t know. The whole thing was just so ODD!!! From them all, I enjoyed Cheryl and Emmitt the most. I give the dance a 23.5 at the most.
Ok, ranking the individual dances in order combined with the scores I gave them last night:
1. Shawn and Derek 30
2. Sabrina and Louis 29.5
3. Emmitt and Cheryl 29
4. Apolo and Karina 27
5. Maks and Kirstie 26.5
6. Peta and Gilles 25.5
7. Melissa and Tony 25.5
8. Val and Kelly 25 (Like Court, I think these two should be worried)
Winner of the Team Dance: TEAM CALL ME MAYBE! No doubt about it!!!!!!
I can’t wait for Heidi’s Numbers post!!
Seriously?? Seriously?? As I mentioned on another post, how could the team dance tonight get 9’s, and Shawn get an 8. And Apolo an 8.5. I couldn’t believe how Gilles seemed to be running the rehearsals, and that he gave them a “pep talk” (for lack of a better word) about how they were the dream team and how they were so much better (despite lack of technique) than the other team. Ugh! I’m not a Maks fan, but I was ready to be one for a few minutes when he told Gilles to stop talking. And then Gilles comments about how Maks isn’t receptive, yadda, yadda. He is the pro, you know. At the end of the show, during the credits, Tony was leaning over to Derek, shaking his hand and saying something…I’d like to think he was thanking Derek for not subjecting them to such an idiotic routine, and saying how happy he was that they did an actual dance…
Courtney, I had more fun reading your review on team Gangnum than I did actually watching the dance. It was horrific and disgusting.
Shawn and Derek were outstanding.
Shawn getting the lowest single score of the week is just %$%$##$#%$%ˆ$ˆ%$ˆ$%%#.
But the thing is, no matter how bad the judges score are, if she keeps doing this there is no way she is losing the MBT. She miles ahead of Gilles as a dancer and she actually gave a honest performance, unlike Gilles and his bodyguard over the top face.
she still has the paso, argentine tango and cha cha to dance, her best dances from her season, and Derek is master in paso and A.tango.
Poor apolo, he had more content than Gilles and emmit together and still got screw by the judges once again.
Loved Sabrina too, the dance was dreamy, felt like the movie.
Courtney,
You said that the Single ladies mambo from Season 8 was the worst team dance- but I think the single cha cha from Season 7 was the worst. They got a 20 while Team Paso got a 29, and they were so unsynchronized.
i hope people didnt have the same problem as me, I forgot it came on an hour earlier and turned in only in time to see the team dance.
It was a HOT MESS, and made my entire family ROFL. It was so bad, it was good
I thought Emmitt looked like he was having the time of his life during that team dance. As someone on Twitter said, and I agree, that was the Emmitt of Season 3 that I fell in love with. I thought they all looked like they were having fun. I enjoyed the group dance tonight and thought it VERY entertaining. It was so bad that it was marvelous. *LOL*
I also thought that most, if not all of the couples both nights were missing something, be it chemistry, honesty of emotion, crispness, commitment, joy… something was missing from everyone, even the frontrunners.
Great summary again! Also trust your review unlike others since you actually know ballroom. What you said about Melissa and Tony is spot on. It lacks impact. Given her injury, should garner votes for her. Also I fear Apolo getting the Ralph treatment.
Ugh…judges can’t score relatively to save their hides. Anyways…
Sabrina & Louis- I thought this was quite beautiful. I could easily picture these two at the ball, and being the best couple on it to boot. Fantastic fluidity and smoothness, the most controlled I’ve seen Sabrina, and a touch of delicacy and softness we haven’t seen from her yet (which is awesome). Great job these two. I think I saw a few minor stutters, but I thought it was lovely.
Shawn & Derek- Wow, I loved that dance. Amazing legs, beautiful lines, fantastic connection with Derek. I also thought it was the most emotional we’ve seen Shawn, I found it quite touching and just one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. I also loved the choreography: it had plenty of rumba content and also included some touching moments that were so memorable. I think she could have used a little bit more hip action, just a little, but not near to the severity Len the Blind Bat seems to think. Even then, how can you justify giving an 8 JUST for lack of hip action? Len has seriously annoyed me when it comes to Shawn and Derek. Hey Len, your double standard is showing. And it ain’t pretty. And frankly, neither are you 🙂 Underscored by a half a point or a little more IMO.
Melissa & Tony- I’m a little worried these two got lost in the shuffle. It was a good, sexy, solid tango with plenty of content. But I feel that it lacked memorability. It was pleasant to watch, was very good, and had good choreography, but that’s ALL I remember about it. Hoping she blows us away next week, she’ll need it I think.
Apolo & Karina- I thought Apolo did a very good samba. It had good showmanship, good technique and precision, and great rhythm. Only real complaints I have are that: 1) It could’ve used some more bounce (even though it had more bounce than Emmitt’s) and 2) While his hips were rhythmical, I felt they could’ve been a bit smoother. They looked a bit…thrusty to me, when I felt it should’ve been a bit more slick and continuous. But otherwise, very good dance. Better than Emmitt’s I agree (even though I loved it).
Team Gangnam Style- Okay, as much as I HATE to admit it…I found myself enjoying the pure trainwreckedness and insanity of it all. It was fun to me, while I can’t stand to admit that. But not fun for the right reasons. This was indeed, a hot mess and a VERY sad technical performance. If this was just judged on how much fun it was, I would say great job. But technique is the other half of the equation people, whether you like it or not. This was flat out terrible all fun and hilarity aside. And I couldn’t help but gag with the ridiculously stupid costumes, though I remember Cheryl and Emmitt’s not being that bad compared to the others. I just…yikes. People are going to love it for how fun it was, but beyond that, this just sucked. I wish I could say I hated it because of how bad it was and how much Gilles hyped it up, but I laughed and actually enjoyed the ridiculousness of it.
Well… All I can say is I’m glad the 2 nighter (aside from the Finals/e) is done and over with.
From MONDAY:
Kelly & Val: I wouldn’t really say it was half-assed, but I’m not disagreeing with that statement. Kelly definitely seemed off her game this week. I think she had too much going on outside the studio. This samba was okay. Kelly is one of my favorites, but there was something that you all said about her and Val last week that I guess stuck with me? I wasn’t as excited for them. I hope it comes back because I do like Kelly.
Gilles & Peta: No comment. Actually, one comment: This dude pisses me off to no end.
Kirstie & Maks: It was a meh quickstep, and I guess it was her best dance of the season but I think Kirstie’s time is up. Sure she’s funny and sure she’s got a huge fan base…but…it’s just time. She’s got the Rumba next week. No doubt they might play up Maks’ falling last time. I guess I just really want her gone now.
Emmitt & Cheryl: Best individual dance of Monday, yes. Best dance of the week? No. I do like Emmitt, and this samba I really enjoyed. I almost considered bypassing my disinterest in Cheryl and actually vote for him this week, but in the end, I just wasn’t really willing to. He’s safe no doubt. But I’m just “whatever” with him at this point.
Team Call Me Maybe: I just want to watch this over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Easily the best Team Dance I’ve seen in the history of the show. It was so creative and really vibrant and just a damn good routine. All my major favorites were on this Team, so my bias is most likely getting in the way, but who cares? Everyone knows this would have gotten the encore if there were a results show this week.
From TUESDAY:
Melissa & Tony: I wish I had something to say about this. My stupid brothers and their friends were talking the entire dance so I wasn’t really focused on it and too distracted to actually watch seriously. I remember the beginning and the end, but everything else… it’s gone. Which sucks because these two are my all time favorites. 🙁
Shawn & Derek: Lift? Who cares? No hips? Who cares? This was so much better than Gilles rumba where Peta did all the work. I will agree with a couple of people on the other post where it felt like a lyrical contemporary/whatever at times, but it was still breathtaking despite the cheesy song. Also, I find it weird that they gave this song to Romeo & Chelsie as a Waltz the first time around, and Shawn picks it as her guilty pleasure and they give her rumba? Don’t get me wrong, the song fits the rumba so much better, but…yeah.
Apolo & Karina: Carrie Ann, go get fired. Please. You clearly don’t know an amazingly difficult routine that was pulled off with amazing flair when you see one. Take off the sex goggles and actually WATCH THIS MAN DANCE! An 8.5? Please.
Sabrina & Louis: So for some reason I lost all my excitement for Sabrina the past couple of weeks, but seeing her in Team CMM and again in this Waltz, I’m so glad to say I’m back on her side. For the first time, I actually saw Louis making an effort to smooth the edges. Granted, their past for dances were “fast and furious” but still. He’s tamed the Cheetah, and if Gilles got two 10s for his dance, then Sabrina deserved 5 for this one.
Team Gangnam Style: So no surprise here: Gilles as the centerpiece and taking the choreography from the music video. YOU’RE SO ORIGINAL GUISE! I will say this though: Thank God for Maks shutting up Gilles. And despite being a hot mess I actually thought it was rather entertaining. Team CMM still slaughtered them, but yeah, I’ll say it was entertaining at most.
Heidi… Crystal meth in the shower?! I just spit my wine out in hysterics!!!! I am so over Len… He was the same way with Nicole and Derek- to which when the season ended he went onto say she was the best dancer EVER on the show. I loved their rumba x100- ok it was slightly contemporary so give them a 9- but an 8???? Honestly Dereks choreography is light years ahead of the other pros- hands down.
OOOOOOHHHHHH Courtney! You almost made me snort out my tea with the “au jus” line! Love your remarks. I have to say, the Iconic Titanic Rumba is my all time favorite!(I’m sure next week’s will probably top this; as usual there are a lot of favorites when it comes to Derek.) Derek’s vision for dances is truly extraordinary! Loved the whole dance but my jaw dropped with the ending! Who else but Derek could come up with that! He is the only creative choreographer on that show. That is why the rest have “50 Shades of Green”! Derek says it’s better to have memorable dances then scores. Well he has tons of those; I remember every one! Derek is truly the best!
That’s Mon sewer Marini to you, Court. 😉
For my reaction to Team Gangnam Style, I believe my twitter comment said it all “Oh no, my eyes!! =P ” I totally agree with you on CAI, wth her deal?? Loved Apolo and Karina’s Samba and Shawn and Derek’s Rumba! 🙂
Gilles level of douchiness hitched a new hight tonight, it was painful to watch him during the rehearsal video, thank god for Maks. How desperate you are to dance in your underwear, just go away you sick bastard.
Tonight was so much better than last night, except the team dance. I loved all four couples. I’m worried as well about Melissa getting lost in the shuffle.
Team Gangnam Style…wow. My hubby even looked up and said “Oh.My.God.” I was just cracking up at how silly it all way. Gilles is so…yuck. I wish wish wish he would be eliminated before the finals. I want him gone worse than anyone else.
Off to vote more for Melissa.
Gilles needs a big ol bottle of stfu, I mean seriously! It is unbelievable what comes out of this mans mouth. When he said something like “well I can’t say I’m a better dancer than Maks”, hahaha you most defiantly cannot compare yourself to a professional who has been dancing since the age of 4 and has been on the show 10 times longer than your current parter. Even though the gangam style was a hot mess to say the least, if anyone would have the slightest idea it would be Maks.
Every time he opens his mouth I try and think ” he was on Sex and the City the movie, and was hot” to try an cope, but not even that can help. I sometimes wish we could vote who’d we would want booted off rather than stay another week, because if that was the case I’d most defiantly stay up allllllll night and vote him off.
Joey – would love to take credit, but that was Courtney. I only called CAI a crack whore. 🙂
So what gives? Shawn and Derek get knocked by CAI for a lift, and just before Melissa and Tony started their routine with his lifting her down from the stage. I went back and looked – there were several times her feet were not touching the stairs. Then CAI criticizes something, but still gives a 10!
Giles is turning into the Jaleel of this season. And also the other guy from last season (Cheryl’s partner, what’s his name?) :). I really hope he’ not pulling the votes and will be gone soon.
Just in case, I voted for Apollo and Karina because they are being Ralphed by at least Carrie Ann. (the less said about her judging the better).
Loved Sabrina far more than I thought I would and again, although I’m not a rabid Derek fan, Shawn’s dance was the best of the night. And there’s no way that was a lift. Sabrina had a lift and wasn’t called on it?
Emmitt is just fun to watch.
I am thinking possibly Kirstie and Melissa in trouble and if God was kind, Giles, but I doubt that.
@Evaine
Your comments made me happy because I totally agree with you. I know I’m in a minority here and was hesitant to comment lol
Initially, I thought the team dance was awful and then I found myself enjoying it (and that Gangum craze annoys me). It was guilty pleasure week
and they totally embraced the theme. I liked that Gilles just get all into it and didn’t mind acting foolish. He was also the captain of his team, that’s the reason he may come off “bossy”. i think he was also trying to motivate his team
I also agree that something was off in the couples dances tonight. I thought Shawn and Derek were great. Shawn danced beautifully. Tony and Melissa was just boring again. I just can’t get into any of Tony’s choreography but I’m happy for him that he got Melissa 🙂
I’d been waiting since last night to see Team Gangnam Style, and as promised, I’ve never seen anything like it before..A mess, yes, but a highly entertaining mess. I think they accomplished what they set out to do…. The worse part to me was Bruno and the towel. Yuck.
I’m loving Sabrina and Melissa more each week. I really, really hope they stay over the whole Gangnam team. Sabrina is a softer, smoother dancer in the waltz. It was truly magical. Melissa could’ve more impact on the tango, I’m giving her a pass this week for her injury. Hopefully next week she will bring it.
Shawn’s rumba is gorgeous and really showed her maturity. I really think it’s Shawn’s (& Derek) to lose. If this is really Derek’s last season, I will be so happy for Derek (& sad too, my fav male pro!).
I seriously think the judges has already planned the scores for Apolo because it seems that he’d gone up couple of points or so after each week, whether he performed well or not.
I meant worst…
Team Gilles…. terrible, just terrible… so much inflated ego and attempt at “vulgarity” it all just turned into a debacle. Poor choreography, nothing was in sync and oh well.. you get my drift. Should have got 7’s…… Karma Gilles, Karma
Now that I’ve calmed down from how insane the judging has been this week…I can comment on the dancing. 🙂
1) Shawn and Derek – Absolutely beautiful. They really made me feel something, and I think it’s one of the best dances Shawn has done yet (and I loved her quickstep and her mambo!) As far as the “lift” – doesn’t one partner have to pick up the other for it to be a lift? Shawn jumped, and all Derek did was keep her from going splat on her face – I don’t know the technicalities of it all, but I wouldn’t call that a lift.
2) Apolo and Karina – I think they did an awesome job. It was fun, sexy, and had a lot of content and difficulty. He and Shawn are my two favorites.
3) Sabrina and Louis – I really liked this from them. I go back and forth with Sabrina – a couple of weeks ago I would have been fine if she went home, but this week I’m hoping she sticks around until the semis.
4)Emmitt and Cheryl – I’m not really a fan of either of them, but I enjoyed this samba, and I thought it was the best of Monday night’s individual dances.
5)Melissa and Tony – I enjoyed their tango, but it felt a little underwhelming. I think that’s because of her injury. She and Tony are my third favorite couple this season. I really was rooting for her in season 8, but I wasn’t sure before this season started if I was going to care or not if she went home early – but the more I see her and Tony, the more I want them to stay. Third spot in the finals! (Hopefully!)
6)Gilles and Peta – I wish I could put them at the bottom, because I’m finding Gilles incredibly annoying this season. I wasn’t a fan of him last time, but I attributed that to the fact that I’m not a fan of Cheryl’s. I really wanted to give him a chance this season – but he’s even worse this time around. And I liked Peta last season, and this season I’m not enjoying her at all. But I have to say their dancing was better than Kirstie and Kelly, so they’re not at the bottom.
7)Kirstie and Maks – I think she did a pretty good job, but it wasn’t as fun as I was hoping for.
8)Kelly and Val – I didn’t feel this at all. Just meh. I’m really disappointed, because the first few weeks of the season, I was really liking her and Val, and over the last couple of weeks, they’ve turned me off.
Team dances – no discussion. Team CMM was miles better than the other team. Voting for Apolo and Melissa, since I think they need more help at this point in the game than Shawn does.
Looking forward to next week – hopefully the judging will be better.
I thought Sabrina did fantastic, loved Shawn’s and Apolo’s dances, thought Melissa was very good, but still missing something tonight (most likely the forcefulness of it b/c of her neck). Think Apolo’s samba was FAR better in performance and choreography than Emmitt’s and Kelly’s. There is no WAY IN HELL CAI can look at Apolo’s first season dances and then say Karina isn’t doing challenging enough choreography! That is just INSANE for her to say crap like that. I just can’t with the scoring of Kirstie at the same level or better than the better dancers.
Gilles trying to choreograph the routine with 4 pros standing there shows what a douche he has become. He seemed to respect Cheryl – WTF is his problem, besides his ego this time? Maks can be a jerk sometimes, but that “you’re done talking” was perfect!
And the fact that CAI wrote that crap blog about how Apolo shouldn’t rely on sexiness AFTER the “baby making” comment to Gilles AND him dancing in a towel/underwear, just makes me mental. She obviously wants people to see she’s an idiot – no other explanation.
From here on out Im going to act as if Gilles isn’t on the show. I won’t wake up each Wednesday as ticked as a clock. I’m just going to leave the room when he’s on and cross my fingers he gets eliminated. It will lower my level of frusteration and irritation.
I’m taking notes for the next time a dance is “entertaining” but danced VERY shitty to see how everyone feels about it then. Just sayin’. I have a feeling that “entertaining” from other couples won’t measure up. The ONLY good thing about that dance was Maks telling Gilles to STFU. FINALLY Maks gets it right. 🙂
Crap is crap. And it’s still crap when overscored.
Oh I forgot to say how much I liked the ending of Derek and Shawn’s dance, that “never let go moment”. That was a nice touch and very moving. Derek just doesn’t miss a thing, does he?
27 for that group freestyle? That was one of the worst dances I’ve ever seen on the show. A real embarrassment. The judges seemed determined to pan all the individual dances tonight.
I have to admit, I loved the group dance tonight. It was fun, and I was entertained. DWTS to me is a show for entertainment, I honestly don’t care about dance skills. It is a popularity contest. Fun, fun! However, I can’t stand Gilles. Would love to see him and Melissa in the bottom two.
I absolutely love team mambo. Compared to this Gangnam… that was perfect. THAT WAS FUN despite the tecnique.
=/
Judges scores still incoherent. What is a shame.
I agree with len about Shawn’s hipaction, but the choreography was lacking moves where she could show it. IMO. But that was a memorable rumba. Derek at his best, non recycled.
I’m just PRAYING week 7 is not Halloween Week. May it be a normal week with argentine tangos? Yes? Please…
Did anyone notice how Gilles had himself front and center whenever possible? If anyone doubted his huge ego before, they can’t now. And I didn’t enjoy him ripping off the towel and then acting shy standing there in his underwear. That dance was one huge, colossal mess! It didn’t look like they put in any rehearsal time, that the consensus was just do whatever you want when it’s your solo and then we’ll do the gangnum steps for the rest of it. Each and every one of them, especially the pros, should be mortified. I did enjoy Maks telling Gilles he couldn’t talk anymore. Could he get him to keep quiet until he’s gone? I don’t understand how Shawn and Derek’s dance was scored so below Gilles. It was beautiful and showed how much Shawn has grown. It was way better than Gilles. Sabrina’s was good, but I didn’t think it deserved the near perfect score it received. If there was a bottom two this week, I’m betting it would have been Kirstie and Kelly. It will be interesting to see what happens next week and how it will change the standings.
All of tonight’s individual dances were clearly superior to the first night’s set.
I loved the choice of song for Sabrina’s waltz and the set pieces. Cinderella is one of my favorite Disney classics! It was a nice dance but I did notice a few of the stutters in it unfortunately…they just really seemed to stick out to me. I am glad that someone beat Gilles in the overall total though!
Shawn & Derek were beautiful. The staging was perfect. I really do love Derek’s complete attention to detail and how creative he can be without going overboard with the props. There are no words for Len’s score and even Carrie Ann’s. Ridiculous. I am so excited to see some of the rest of their dances this season, some of her and Derek’s strongest are still to come. As much as I want my own favorite to win, I want even more for my 3 favorites to make it to the finale so I get to see them dance every style.
I expected Apolo’s performance to be lacking energy with his illness but he really did well and performed with energy too. It isn’t as memorable as the first samba he did (IMO), but it was done really well and he really IS a better dancer now than he was then. He did give his all, you only could tell he wasn’t feeling well when he wasn’t dancing his two routines. Carrie Ann is just so out of line here. It’s crazy how far from reality she is with her scoring of Apolo and how Len is with the scoring of Shawn.
I loved Melissa’s character in the tango and I like her personality in general. Tony has done better routines this season but he still fails to make her REALLY stand out, which is their main problem. I do love to see Tony so happy and excited and I hope they stay longer.
I laughed LOUDLY at Gilles’ comment…..”Well, I can’t say I am a better dancer than Maks so I will listen….” And his complaining of Maks being an alpha-male. Really?? What do you think you are Gilles? I wonder if Peta has a problem with Gilles comments about her man.
Kelly is right, train wrecks can be fun to watch. I won’t deny that. It was fun to laugh at. My problem is the dance looked like it was pulled together in one hour of work, where Team CMM’s dance was so hard and risky, and obviously took so much time and effort to make everything work, that it just seems so unfair the other team couldn’t be bothered to work on transitions or technique or creativity at all. Just for the obvious effort made for quality, Call Me Maybe should have slaughtered the other team. I wouldn’t have minded the theme of shock and silly for Gangnam if there was actual creativity and interesting choreography in the midst of the shock value theme.
P.S. Gilles and Peta’s outfits were just so…..icky. Not funny at all to me like some of the others.
1. Tony and Melissa – This tango felt rushed to me and lacked sharpness. Melissa looked like she was constantly trying to keep up with Tony’s footwork.
2. Shawn and Derek – Loved, loved, loved this dance even though I absolutely hate the rumba as a dance. After rewatching the dance five times, however, I did understand Len’s comment about the hip action. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t have scored it anything less than a 9.
3. Apolo and Karina – This dance contained the best hip action by a male celebrity on DWTS since I started watching in Season 3. The dance gets better and better each time I watch it. I’ve mentioned before that my two favorite sambas are Karina’s and JR Martinez’s and Apolo’s and Julianne’s. However, I think this one tops it based on the quality of the movements. And the opening sequence with Apolo doing a flying leap onto the bed was great.
4. Sabrina and Louis – Okay, I was underwhelmed by this waltz. It felt like it was a series of poses rather than an actual dance. However, it was still better than any of the individual dances on Monday.
5. Team Gangnam – A hot mess. I thought the only part of the dance that was any good was Kelly’s and Val’s solo. And Gilles’s and Peta’s solo was just annoying and crude.
4.
I still don’t get the scoring on the show. But I’ve decided that I can’t think about it anymore, as THEY DON’T MAKE ANY SENSE. Thanks for the summary, at times better than the show!!!!
Quick random show question – did Tony and Melissa have to do the group dance and then immediately do their individual dance? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to open with the group dance on night 1, then end with the other one on night two so no one had to dance back to back?
After seeing Team Gangnam Style dance, I know why C Bro’s publicist said what she said, she had good reason to be jealous. Tsk Tsk!!! High School vs just “high”……
Shawn & Derek’s rhumba was beyond beautiful and their package with the way Derek talked with her about being vulnerable. Class act that Mr. Hough is!!
Team dance tonight as Sheridan has said Karma Gilles Karma.
Derek and Shawn – perfection – once again.
sueb–From what one of our lovely hosts posted last night in the Spoiler post, there was a break built into the live show. I think they took almost a full hour break before they started the second half. They didn’t start posting spoiler scores until after 10pm EST.
Maybe if Carriann’s head wasn’t so far up Gilles ass she could actually get a good look at the much better dancers on the show. Saying Apolo is relying too much on sexiness was the last straw for me given how she drools over Gilles, who relies on sexiness every dance and fawns and strokes her ego for votes. I still can’t believe that at the beginning of this season Gilles was the person I was most looking forward to seeing dance again. Now I’m Apolo all the way (slosely followed by Shawn).
What’s really impressive about Apolo and Shawn is that even though they won their years they have actually become much better dancers this year. No resting on their laurels. Also big kudos to Karina and Derek for making them better dancers.
Ditto to EPmusic – after the live show wrapped last night, they took about 45 minutes to let the couples change costumes, let the crew get set up for the next hour, and let the audience get up & stretch their legs (in this case, taking a spin around the dance floor themselves :-)). Then they lined everyone back up and taped tonight’s episode – although from what I was told, the 2nd hour was done at a rather leisurely pace, since it wasn’t live. It took about 15 minutes alone to switch up the sets from Melissa’s dance to Shawn’s.
Totally agree NancyM. Shawn & Apolo are my favorites. Love that they have improved their dancing since their seasons.
I can’t say the same for any of the others. I do like some of the others too, it’s not meant to be a diss. But I wouldn’t say any of them are dancing at a higher level than their previous seasons. Most are just even.
Derek is so getting a Emmy nomination this season, he could actually win this time. This rumba was just as good as any contemporary routine that I’ve seen in SYTYCD, and this year wasn’t their stronger year with choreo.
Love all the insight into the dances. Best line of the night was Tom telling CAI she was Derek and Shawn’s iceberg! LMAO
Best Rumba – Shawn
Best Samba -Apolo
Best team Call me Maybe or as someone said Team no ego!
Thanks EPMusic and Courtney – I must have missed that.
I loved the team dance tonight! I was laughing the whole time. As others have said, it was so bad, it was hysterical. I’m not upset about it because I knew from the intel here that it was going to be a trainwreck ahead of time. Was there any content, no. Was Gilles the egomaniac he’s been, yep. Did it deserve a 27, of course not. But they didn’t take themselves seriously (except Gilles, what an idiot) knowing how bad it was and decided to roll with it.
Honorable mention of the entire season goes to Maks for putting Gilles in his place!
And for not freaking out and yelling when he knew it was going bad like he used to. He had fun and didn’t take it seriously. Whatever meds he’s been on, keep em’ coming. I kid. I like this Maks. 🙂
One new thing I learned about Derek tonight is he would make a phenomenal mentor to someone just starting out. I was so impressed by the things he said to Shawn and the way he just held her at the end of the dance.
Poor Apolo, sick with the flu and then had to endure Carrie Ann’s BS too. The look on his face was priceless though. I have a feeling he has her number.
Shawn and Derek were totally robbed. It is no way that the stunning Rumba could be given an 8.
I gotta agree with those that liked that train wreck of a dance. It was terrible, but boy did I laugh my ass off. Sometimes all ya need to do is sell it, sell it, sell it and I thought they did that, despite its messiness. Compared to the other group dance, it was grossly overscored, but I did get a kick out of it nonetheless.
Also did anyone catch that girl in the blue dress who tried to high five Maks as he went up the stairs? I LOL’d at that one, too.
I wish Melissa had more conviction in her dancing – I actually don’t enjoy watching her dance much because it’s so soft, which is stupid cause she is a good dancer and I like her personality. But between her weak legs and the abuse of the leg kick and Tony’s less than great choreography, I just think it’s a step behind four or so of the other celebs.
I thought Sabrina’s dance was lovely, although I did see a bit of a wobble but overall very nice. Louis looked great as a prince.
Shawn and Apolo were ridiculously underscored compared to the other couples. What a travesty. Poor Apolo Anton Macchio.
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll have to agree with Gilles’ description of their team dance. It WAS certainly hot, epic and incredible: a hot mess, an epic fail, and an incredible waste of my time.
Tonight I will keep my comments short and not so sweet. The Team Gilles group dance reminded me of the difference of laughing with others or laughing AT someone. Most of us were laughing AT them. The judges scoring them a 27 was simply nonsensical as were many of their other scores. I wish Mark Harmon from NCIS would drop in and give the Judges a Denozo (sp) bop in the back of the head. They need it.
#Patricia: Best comment I’ve ever read!
I usually let slide everything the judges say because I really don’t care what they say, I know who I vote for. But tonight, CA and Len were ridiculous with Shawn and Derek. Especially Len who was downright mean. I mean an 8? And minutes after a 9 for Team Ego? Gimme a break! I really hope Shawn wins it all, just to see the judges reaction to their precious Gilles losing to her!
Forgive my English please!
I don’t quite understand why the nitpicking is going on with Shawn and Apolo, and yet Gilles continues to get praise. The man is technically incompetent in comparison to Apolo, and Shawn’s dance had a ridiculous amount of content and emotion. I might be able to understand the hip-roll issue, but awarding Shawn a freaking 8?? Ridiculous. Hopefully fan votes will make up for this calamity.
My only solace in the whole Gilles pimping crap is that he IS NOT pulling in the votes that they would like. If he makes the final 3, I quite possibly could see him leaving at the 3rd spot.
Poor Apolo, Did anyone notice the little sweat beads on his forehead? The poor thing must have had a fever. He really should have went over and Bitch Slapped Carrie Anne…
The GAGnam team dance was ridiculous. Just Plain Awful!
I loved Team Gangnam! It was goofy, yes, but a whole hell of a lot of fun!!!!! It brought a bunch of laughter into the ballroom and into our lives!!!! As Len said, it was the most fun in the ballroom for 15 seasons! It thought it was a delight to watch!!!! To heck with the technicalities!!! I loved Team Call Me Maybe too. Both were highly entertaining!!! But, for sheer fun and seeing the group have so much fun doing it, my vote goes to Team Gangnam Style!!!!!!
Team Gangnam style – WOW, I just sat and stared at my TV for a good 5 minutes after trying to figure out what I’d just seen. My brain just rejected it as a dance, I’ve seen better from drunks at the bar.
Don’t get the lift thing with Shawn. Didn’t they clarify the lift rule a few seasons ago as “when the partner’s feet leave the floor during a move that could not be completed alone” or something similar? If that is the case, that was not a lift, Shawn could have completed that move alone – she would have hit the floor and being a gymnast probably stuck the landing 😉
I love Apolo and do not understand the nitpicking of him either. Shawn shines in every dance. I am not a fan of Sabrina, don’t know exactly why, just am not. I think Tony and Melissa are doing a great job. Of course Kirstie is not a great dancer. She is staying in because of Max. I like Emmitt but for some reason don’t want him to win again. Gilles is being a bit much this time. He is doing fine but I have changed my mind about wanting him to win. I am a soap opera fan and watch GH but I am not voting for Kelly just because of that reason. She has had shining dances, but I just do not think she is going to win.
My choice at this point for the top three are Apolo, Shawn and Melissa.
Loved your comment, Patricia.
I also wanted to concur with several posts above that mentioned that both Shawn and Apolo have improved their dancing technique this season. I loved their dancing in their original seasons, but their lines and footwork this season are simply wonderful. If both of them make the finals (fingers crossed), this will be the best finale by far of any season. We’ll get the technique of Evan and Nicole’s season but with more personality and charisma.
BTW, I think Apolo and Shawn are better “actors” on the dance floor than the “real” actors are.
I see there’s another jess so I can be an old one…
I loved that gangnam dance in a Carson kind of way. I lmao truly. That being said, Carson never got more than an 8 in all the weeks he was on, mostly 6’s a few 7’s if I recall. And this is the all stars season so I would expect more, so I think it was overs cored, but I did love it.
I am not sure that there is so much pimpage for Gilles going on. I think the producers actually want to get rid of him. I am a long time Gilles fan and I have to say I was so turned off by him last night that I didn’t vote for him. The producers have to know how these packages are coming across, they have to also know that the judges points can be easily overturned by the votes.
I think they are deliberately showing Gilles as an ass (not to say he isn’t) to make sure he doesn’t get the viewer votes. I mean if they were really protecting him, they would be editing him big time. I have to think that Bristol behaving like an spoiled child and Mark admitting to dumbing down the routine for her in their package swayed viewer votes.
It was Kirstie’s honest and vulernable moment in her package that had me vote for her on Monday. Yes, it is more appealing to vote for the underdog, who really just wants to do well.
Just a thought, but would be interestd to hear what others think.
Team call me maybe def wiped the floor with team gangnam style, however I will say the gangnam team had me rotfl! I really didn’t get the outits tho, I’ve never seen the actual video for the song so I don’t know if ideas came from it. Cheryl looked like she had on a nightgown, emmitt looked like he was going to the gym, maks looked like he was late for gym class, and peta and Gilles looked like their goal was to show as much skin as possible. Frankly I liked the suits they had on better. Val and Kelly’s solo was the only one where they at least tried to do some actual dancing. While I may have laughed it did not deserve a 27. I think CAI needs a cat scan to make sure she didn’t bump her head when she fell out of that chair, Apolo not having chemistry with Karina, relying on sexy? Part of me would really like to send her a tweet telling her to open her eyes and get her head out of Gilles ass, but I’m not gonna waste my time, I doubt she’ll see the error of her ways
@KT – Well, I guess we go back to the old “good edit vs. bad edit” argument – some fans like to claim that a certain contestant or pro “just got a bad edit” whenever they have a rehearsal package that makes their favorite look…less than savory. However, we’ve obviously got multiple inside sources, and the sources have all said the same thing: there is no such thing as a “bad edit” – what you see in rehearsal, is what makes its way into the package. If a couple is fighting nonstop and that’s all the editors have to work with, then that’s what’s going to be in their package. Likewise, if a couple is relatively drama-free in rehearsals, their package is going to be relatively drama-free. As much as some may not like the notion, the rehearsal packages are actually a pretty accurate representation of what goes on behind closed doors. Sure, they may cut a package to seem a bit more dramatic, but overall it’s garbage in, garbage out – if the couples give them crap footage, then they’re going to get a crap package. If anything, the editors actually try to create a package that makes the couples seem as likeable as possible – for example, the whole Bristol/Mark blowup from week 2 or 3 was actually quite a bit longer and more drawn out and nasty, and they managed to make it look like a 1-day tiff, after which Mark & Bristol kissed & made up.
That said, from what I’ve been hearing from the inside, Gilles is every bit the ass he comes across as in rehearsal, on the live show, on Twitter, in interviews, etc. He’s prone to some diva behavior around the rehearsal studio (playing his music on full blast so it is heard throughout the building, stealing a masssage table & massage therapist from another pro who was in the process of getting a massage), has thrown some temper tantrums about seemingly silly things (I guess he was really upset about the dress rehearsal fake elimination video that leaked on YouTube where Kelly said the f-word – apparently he didn’t like the way he was depicted in the clip), and is prone to some erratic behavior that tends to make other cast & crew members uncomfortable (I heard something about him having his legs wrapped around a crew member’s neck). Knowing that, I’d say that Gilles isn’t getting bad edits – he’s just really an ass, and that’s all the editors have to work with.
Dyann, the GS outfits were taken from the Gangnam Style video. You can see it on Youtube if you have time (look for PSY’s official video). The video is hilarious and has more than 500 million views.
Courtney, I don’t know that I entirely buy that there are no bad edits. The producers have hours and hours of rehearsal footage and they can choose what they edit to show us. To be sure, if a couple really did nothing but fight or were nothing but drama free, then that’s all they can show. But I am prepared to assume that most couples will have a mix of drama and normalcy (heavier on the normalcy) in their footage, so the judges can choose the footage that will make for a more “interesting” package. I do get that even sometimes when the drama footage might only be a couple of hours of the footage, the judges might think those hours greatly affected the mood of the rehearsals and choose to play up that footage (or vice versa), but they certainly get the choice on whether to do a good edit or a bad edit. I worked in the industry long enough to know that editors can and do make those choices. Editing can make or break anything (although sometimes the editing will give an accurate picture, even if it breaks you).
If Team Gangnam is the most fun Len’s seen in 15 seasons like someone mentioned above, then I wonder what show he’s been watching. That freestyle was painful to watch. The beginning started out good, but when it went into the solos, it went downhill fast.
@Courtney
I love all the inside confirmation. Thank you Court. I didn’t know about the leaked f-bomb footage and of course now it’s been taken down so I can’t see it. I read a description of Kelly’s part but what did Gilles do in it that made him look like an ass, again? It didn’t say.
And after reading Kelly’s bit, she really needs to come up with another facet to her personality, IMO, that goes beyond high-class call girl. All I get from her is fu**ing and fu**ed and her huge t**ts. I appreciate that she works her buns off and doesn’t complain but it feels like the only way she thinks she can get attention in life is hinting at sex constantly. Sad but I’m hoping she can give us something of more substance because it’s getting old.
Oh Gilles, Gilles, Gilles. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he doesn’t win. WOuld be eveb better if he didn’t even make the final. A lady can dream….
For anyone ticked off at Team Gilles for that atrocious dance, I get being mad at the judges but I do love how Team Gilles, actually everyone BUT Gilles approached it.
Team CMM v. Team Gangnam Style was like the Yankees v. The Bad News Bears. The great part was that they new they weren’t going to be able to match up so instead of being bitter and taking themselves seriously, they just threw in the towel and had a blast. That I appreciated. All of course except Mr. Ego.
Ashley: I would love to see that expression on his face also. I still think Shawn and Derek will win it all! Because they deserve to.
Yes, Sandra77, that’s what I said – they can often edit for a more exciting package. But they still have to have the material there to work with – it’s not like they can CGI Maks having a fight with Kirstie. I still say that the “sensationalized” package only happens about 15% of the time, tops, and the other 85% is a pretty accurate representation of the partnerships. I don’t buy your “editing can make or break anything” claim – if that was the case, then Hope & Maks should have been gone far earlier in their season than they were, because they were downright miserable to watch in rehearsal. And no, that wasn’t a “bad edit” – Hope & Maks actually fought so much and made those around them so uncomfortable that the camera people working with them asked to be reassigned to a different couple. And why would the judges be choosing the footage for the rehearsal packages?
One bad package for a couple that usually has pretty copacetic rehearsals? Ok fine, maybe that’s just a one-time bad edit. But a couple that is shown fighting in rehearsal week after week after week? Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence, 3 times…now that’s a pattern. We’re 15 seasons into the show, and by now the pros (and the viewers) should know how it works: if you give the cameras drama in rehearsal, your package is going to show drama in rehearsal. If you give them sunshine & rainbows in rehearsal, you’re going to get sunshine & rainbows in your package. I have to laugh at any pro (or viewer) that claims their favorite “just got a bad edit” when we see clips of them swearing, arguing with their partner, and just generally making an ass of themselves. So…those things didn’t really happen? That was all just special effects & CGI?
Shawn and Derek absolutely deserve to. I love how Shawn has grown as a person and a dancer and Derek is such an amazing choreographer and great guy. I think TPTB, for ratings, want to have a repeat final two of Shawn and Gilles. Why, at this point, I don’t know because with his attitude this whole time she’s going to beat him by a huge margin. I’m just hoping he doesn’t even make top three much less top two.
Derek would make a great Director. To have the vision to create the story and dance to CMM, was genius.
Great assessment, Court, and love all the excellent comments above. I deliberately didn’t say anything last night beccause I needed to calm down. I’m still irritated about a lot of things, but I’m focusing on the positive.
Loved Shawn and Derek’s rumba. For me it was perfect in every way. Shawn looked gorgeous and Derek was dreamy as Jack. Derek outdid himself with the choreography (and that’s saying something). Shawn’s performance was mature and emotionally committed without looking the least forced. The ending was sublime.
Sabrina and Louis made a great Cinderalla and Prince Charming (never thought I’d say that about Louis). I give Louis credit for helping Sabrina soften her hard edges. There were a few minor wobbles, but overall their waltz was lovely. So happy for them.
I thoroughly enjoyed Apolo and Karina’s Samba. There was plenty of content and lots of personality in that performance. Apolo gave it everything he had despite his illness. The sweat on his face after the dance was a dead giveaway on how sick he was. An athlete of his calibre wouldn’t sweat like that after a mere minute’s exercise if he was well. He’s no dummy, he’s got CarrieAnn’s number, and he’s not going to be goaded into responding to her.
Wish we could have seen Melissa do that tango without the neck injury because I think it would have been a lot better. It wasn’t bad as is, and she gave it a valiant effort. I would guess Tango is probably one of the worst dances to do with a herniated disc in your neck.
As for Team Gangnam Style, focusing on the positive, I’ll say it was mostly pretty funny (except for Gilles and that towel). I appreciated the way Emmitt just embraced the utter foolishness of his situation and handled it with grace and style.
Surely the general viewing audience is getting a clear picture of Gilles’ outsize ego and overall douchiness. If so, then even with protective scoring from the judges, he could be vulnerable. Wouldn’t that be great?
@Ashley L – I myself am actually having a hard time remembering the f-bomb clip, because it was only up for 24 hours in week 2 before Il Divo himself threw a fit and probably got TPTB to flex some muscle and have it taken down. Really the clip was just some off-color banter between Tom, Brooke, Shawn & Derek, Kelly & Val, and Gilles & Peta, and it was during the fake elim they do during the dress rehearsal just to get the camera blocking down and get the lighting & sound all calibrated. Tom jokingly asked Kelly & Val how it felt to be in jeopardy, and Kelly said something to the extent of “It sucks, we haven’t even f*cked yet!”, to which Val adds “Now you know she’s a liar!” Lots of laughs had by all on set, and Tom makes a quip that implies that Val is a minute man. That was the kind of jocular mood that was going on – and when Gilles & Peta were announced as the fake eliminated couple, Tom did a little fake exit interview, and Gilles made some jokey comment about feeling like he’d had multiple colonoscopies and how things were fitting into his bum quite easily at this point. I actually found it to be rather funny and seemed to make Gilles look more human & relateable, but apparently Gilles didn’t appreciate footage being out there of him being off-color and joking about putting things in his bum-bum. Really, I think he was just pissed that he wasn’t the star of that clip – Kelly was 😛
@Ashley L – I was thinking that as well. A repeat of Shawn and Gilles, but honestly as much as I loathe Gilles, I really wouldn’t want to witness Shawn beating him again. Not sure how the viewers would respond to that.
Hopefully it will turn out to be the Olympians up against one another. Unless, it ends up Apolo and Gilles….
@Courtney
That clip sounds hilarious! Too bad they took it down.
@Sandy
I’d been hoping for Shawn and Apolo since the season began to be the last two. I think I want Melissa and Tony as the third spot at this point. It changes from week to week though for that third position.
I really love this site and think all who run it do an amazing job! I love all the inside information too. Thank you for all you do.
Court’s excellent memory never ceases to astound me. One of the few things I remember from that video was that it seemed to me that Gilles actually muttered an F-bomb as well. I think it was when he was fake eliminated. It was a great clip; too bad they were forced to take it down.
I think the official reason they probably gave for taking it down was that it was never meant for the public eye and was obtained by surreptitious means (allegedly, Mark’s friend who was visiting the set, who took a video of the camera monitor on his phone). Off the record, I think they were probably a little embarassed by their host and cast members being so off-color – even though I found it hilarious and relateable. Apparently even Kelly thought it was hilarious – but a few nutjobs on Twitter were sending messages to her bosses at GH complaining about her potty mouth, and I’m sure Gilles’ tantrum didn’t help.
If I recall, Evaine, I think Gilles muttered something in French, too – do you remember what? You’re the only person I know that speaks it.
Ooh, you’re right, yes he did mutter in French. I can’t remember for the life of me what it was, but it was good-humoured and silly and slightly off-colour as the rest of the conversation was. I remember chuckling at it now that you’ve mentioned it and I think you and I spoke about it on Twitter.
I’m with you, I thought it was one of the best clips ever to come out of DWTS. Showed them all as real folks. 🙂
#70 Ashley,
If they felt like the Bad News Bears instead of NYY, then they have Peta to blame. She picked “family members” first over the talent of the celebs.
Can’t really add much that hasn’t already been said. I did laugh at the ridiculousness of team gangam and team call me maybe was technically better and was fun. They were so totally different, but admit that I enjoyed both for very different reasons. Team call me maybe got the higher scores which they deserved. As far as individual dances I feel that Apollo and Shawn were robbed. For me they were the best. I did not see Shawn’s jump as a lift at all and could be wrong, but thought Sabrina’s waltz had her feet not completely on the floor which CA normally yells and screams about. Why CA gave Sabrina a 10 I thought was a bit high considering her comments. It was a nice waltz, but not the best I have ever seen. I am disgusted with the judging and their scoring. Most of all CA and Len. Bruno is just Bruno. I do not understand how CA thinks. One week she talks about the sexiness of Apollo and then she talks about how he can’t rely on it. Color me confused. Derek is without a doubt the best choreographer ever. I am going to miss him. I still miss Julianne and to have both of them gone will be sad as far as watching this show. To hear all this stuff about Gilles is disappointing as he was a favorite during his season. I do admit that Cheryl is not a favorite of mine, but Emmitt is not the same standout Emmitt that he was of his season. Still not understanding what is or is not going on with Val and Kelly. The comment about the dressing room during their package and then Brooke mentioning it makes me wonder are they just trying to build up a showmance or what is going on. Color me confused. At least they did not hang all over each other as they did before. Kirstie’s dance was not fun as she normally is and I don’t know if her fans will rally around for her as she was in the Bottom two at the last elimination. Dancing wise I think it is her time, but who knows. I voted for Apollo. I think he has been underscored consistently each week. I love him and Karina. She is great and gives him hard routines and for me he delivers. I forgot to mention Melissa and I do think she is a great dancer and love the fact that Tony got her as his partner again. He seems like he is having so much fun this season, but JMO I do not see Tony as the same type of choreographer as Derek and therefore while I do enjoy their dances and love the both of them they just don’t wow me in the same way that Apollo/Karina and Shawn/Derek do. Looking forward to next week as I am one of the few who like country music, but not looking forward to the judges and what type of mood they are in on any given night.
@Sheery
True and given the chance to do it again, I think she would have done the same thing again. Being they all live together and seem like a very tight family, I can’t say I don’t get it but for the viewer, that means we’re always going to be able to predict who picks who for a team dance. There’s no element of surprise becasue you know they’re never picking Karina and her partner for anything. This is what happens when you mix business with pleasure and/or family. I just hope Maks and Peta never break up or else they may as well recast half of the pros!
I LOVEDDDDDD Derek and Shawn’s rumba! i was yelling at the tv when CA called them out. and LEN!? ughhh! anyway team call me maybe was amazing! and team gagnam style was…crazy? i guess that’s how you could put it :S
These are my overall rankings:
1)Shawn and Derek
2)Giles and Peta
3)Sabrina and Louis
4)Kirstie and Maks
5)Apollo and Karina
6)Melissa and Tony
7)Kelly and Val
8)Emmit and Cheryl
The freestyle was somrthing though lol.
The other part of that video was Gilles little obnoxious remark (isn’t everything out of his mouth though!). When he was doing his “exit” remarks with Tom (please be true soon), he said something about “everybody being happy backstage”. As if, the rest of the celebrities were happy he was “gone” because they then had a chance to win. Apolo has the stomach flu – Gilles has it too but the effects come out the other end – his mouth! God, please give him laryngitis for the next 5 weeks!
Spot-on about Gilles, Courtney….I almost spit my drink out when you said “Dancing with Gilles Marini! …and some other people.”
I’m tired of the biased-ness (maybe a word….MEH) of the judging and CAI’s stupid comments during any critique. Sad, really.
It’s funny because the beginning of the season I said “now WHO is gonna be the person I end up liking and not realizing it?” …..I thought I would remain a Gilles faithful, but nope! Apolo and Shawn. Period.
Courney,Evaine I’m french and what Gilles said as I remember it was that Tom asked how Gilles felt like and Gilles said it’s shit man! We’re in some deep shit but hopefully we’ll make it through to next week.
He said it in french and Tom said he felt like he was on the United Nations of dance
He said it in french and I thought it was taken down because Princess egomania =Gilles threw a tantrum and because TPTB were scared Gilles had said something bad since he talked in another language.
About the team dances Team Call Me Maybe is a true testimony of Derek’s talent how he made an incredible freestyle out of a song he didnt like is pure genius.Team Call Me Maybe whipped Team Gangnam style asses.
Team gangnam style is by far the worst dance I’ve ever seen in 15 seasons I think the pros should be ashamed of showing this crap on tv if I was on that team I wouldnt have danced it and I would do everything on that show but that freestyle wasnt dancing just nudity and imitating badly the video.
That titanic rumba was themost beautiful dance I’ve ever seen I was so proud of Shawn of showing emotions, I know how hard it can be to let your guard fall down and allow people to see your true being it takes strength I was so proud of Derek for being such anamazing teacher and partner, how he choreophaphed that dance to perfection, and how he talked to Shawn I was crying when they hugged after their rumba and wouldnt let go of each other.
I justlove Derek and Shawn pairing I think she’s one of the most improved she’s becoming a woman and a beautiful dancer.
My favorites to go to the finale are Shawn, Apolo and Melissa or Sabrina with Shawn winning that MBT.
“Cinderella” was not wearing glass slippers…..That wouldn’t have been so hard to do, clear plastic would have looked so much better than those clunky shoes she was wearing. Other than than, loved the dance.
As much as I dislike the judges’ underscoring of my favorites, it does motivate me to vote each week. Perhaps that’s part of TPTB’s strategy — they want both Shawn and Apolo to be in the finale and underscoring them will get their fans to vote long and hard. I personally think that a finale involving two Olympians is a great storyline — who will get the gold, who will get the silver.
The other thing that has to be taken into account is that a close competition is likely to draw more viewers than one where there is a runaway winner. TPTB probably want to create the impression that neither Shawn nor Apolo is running away with competition.
That’s right, Cynthia, he did say something about “la merde”. I was hoping I’d saved the clip to my hard drive, but I hadn’t. :/
yeah Evaine he said C’est la merde meaning we’re in some deep shit I thought it was funny that’s the only time Gilles hadnt gotten on my nerves or made me gag.
Shawn was such a beautiful dancer in that rumba I can’t stop watching their quickstep, mambo, team CMM and rumba dances on repeat.
OK, I’m glad this week is over because I’m getting cranky here, and that’s not me at all.
First, why is it a lift if you elevate off the floor under your own power and launch yourself at someone else?
Second, I’m beginning to see CAI angling for Giles as a replacement for her lost boyfriend. Her obvious enchantment with him (and blindness to his faults) is a bit sick-making. Dream on, girl!
Third, the last thing I needed to see after that awful Gangnam team dance was a bunch of guys in their underwear. Giles, listen up! Without clothes you’re really not at all alluring!
Fourth, I’m getting a bit nauseated at the teenage lust displays between Val and Kelly. Rent a room!
Lastly, time for Kirstie to go. She’s not funny any more, though I do like Maks when he’s with her, and as she and I are of an age I have great respect for her efforts. But the boy-toy stuff is getting old. I have no doubt that Maks is really special to her, but act your age, woman!
Boy, I feel better now!
I just want to say YES to Derek in football pants and circa 1997 Leo hair.
I hope in the cheesecake this week, ye have a section called ‘most likely to suffer whiplash’ award…did anyone else catch when Apolo, Derek, Louis % Tony came through ‘DWTS High’ banner..emma was nearly brought with them lol oksana seemed a little more steady 😀
Thanks Courtney for replying. You guys do great work and it helps us understand what’s up.
I agree Emmit is not the Emmit of old, but I think he’s laying low after that one week of the bad package. He seems to be letting loose more on the floor and in rehearsals. Not sure it’s enough at this point with Apolo and Shawn, but it is good to see him getting back to the fun of his old season.
I loved all of the individual dances last night. They were much better than the individual dances from Monday.
I read a comment on twitter last night that stated Derek & Shawn’s rumba was more like a contemporary dance than a rumba. I am not fond of contemporary so I don’t understand why someone stated that. I thought Shawn did a beautiful job with it. I loved her first rumba with Mark and it was difficult for her to do when she was 17. You can see how much she has grown and has matured.
Loved Sabrina & Louis’ Waltz. It was wonderful to see Sabrina in a slow dance that can show her softer side. She looked beautiful and Louis looked dashing. She said she has the rumba next week so I am excited to see that one too.
Great job with the Power Rankings. I enjoy reading it each week.
I think it is important to remember that everyone wears masks. How we behave in public is not always how we truly are…sometimes it can be as simple as manners. You simply are not going to show your worst side when out in public. On DWTS however public and personal get all mixed in together, just like in a marriage. How many of us have found out little quirks(a nice way of saying, truly annoying things) about our partners the farther into a relationship we get with them. That is what is happening with these couples as well. At first, they all seem nicey nice and then as the weeks go one, the masks have come off in practice because they are together so much and under somewhat stressful situations and you begin to see the “real person” behind the mask. Obviously Gilles was able to hide behind the mask in his first season, but has also changed and has become more of a diva…he has bought into his own hype and now we see the person who he really is. It’s like Courtney said…”garbage in and garbage out”. The pro’s are a bit different because this is their job so we see less of their “realness” but even for them some of it floats in. It’s like when things “leak” about the stars and their demands behind on the scenes when they are on a movie set or at as concert venue. People are so surprised that they aren’t who they appear to be on stage or in press situations. DWTS and other reality shows bring out the good, bad, and the ugly…and man are we seeing the ugly of Gilles.
One more thing, I read Carrie Ann’s tweet about why she scored Derek and Shawn on the “lift”…in defending herself she told on herself. She posted the definition which at the end says “at the judge’s discretion”…so she used her discretion to call it a lift….and that to me makes it more dismaying.
Sorry that this is long, everyone…but I have watched both episodes twice to make sure I saw what I really saw and saw WAY too much.
The ladies who run this blog always say exactly what I’m thinking!!
Val & Kelly – always loved these two before, but eh. And I always love Val’s choreo. Not this time.
Kirstie & Maks – I don’t understand when ANYONE doesn’t have fun dancing, so what the hell happened that made KIRSTIE AND MAKS dance so cheerlessly? That being said…Kirstie really wants to be here and brings out the best in Maks, so that’s why I always love her on the show.
Peta & Gilles – barf. To everything, from the package to the dance and ESPECIALLY to the judging.
Emmitt & Cheryl – I enjoyed this cause Emmitt is always so fun, he would have had a BALL had he been on Team CMM. But there wasn’t anything special about this dance – except that Cheryl’s dress looked like it was stolen from the Kym Johnson collection.
Team Call Me Maybe – surpassed my expectations. I love performance to be dark, sexy, dramatic – but I was giggling and squealing during this whole dance. Derek did something fantastic here! Everyone danced at such a high level, and incredible that they all learned those fast and intricate team sections AND their own individual ones, and the transitions were seamless. Loved the Sabrina/Louis -> Shawn/Derek transition.
Melissa’s dance was great! I like this darker side of her. It’s too bad about her injury, this tango would have been sickkkk if it weren’t for her neck! (Thank you, Tom, for letting Len have it. In a battle of..hell, ANYTHING – Tom will win every time.)
Shawn and Derek – Derek keeps outdoing himself this season. Incredible. And Carrie Ann is so full of crap (when LEN looks at you like you’re stupid, you know you’re making things up). It’s really been amazing what Derek has done with Shawn this season – her dancing was always good, but now it’s amazing – and now, he’s softened her steel exterior – incredible on his part.
Apolo is HOTT, and his attitude makes him 10x hotter than he is physically. There was so much great body action in his samba (as a Latina AND a Latin ballroom dancer, I’m not at all easily impressed by hip action, but I drooled a little bit) and I think he’s having a great effect on Karina, like JR and Ralph did. And this was an EXTREMELY difficult and fast routine, I don’t know how he did it (and with a pimp shirt on!). Kudos to him for matching Karina…and is it me (don’t get me wrong, she is definitely my favorite pro), or does she look like a porn star when she has pigtails? “Her hips are going like crazy.” I always wonder if the stars know anything about their pros’ dancing. And I just feel the need to say how INCREDIBLE this choreo was – that section with the paso doble twist turns in double hand hold was my favorite part!!!
Sabrina and Louis were just so pretty!!! It was adorable and beautiful, and Louis looked awesome in that…waistcoat? Idk. And loved his expressions when he picked up her shoe at the end of the dance. Loved even more when he gave Bruno the shoe.
Team Gangnam Style. I can’t. Everyone except Gilles looked like they wanted to kill themselves. Highlights: Maks telling Gilles to STFU (I’ve always loved Maks, but damn). Everyone except Gilles knowing how bad this dance was going to be. Gilles really thought he did something awesome!!! At the end, his eyes were twinkling like “WE DID IT!” HAAAAAAA!!!! I watched it so many times and laughed my ass off every single time because I just couldn’t believe it. I mean, I knew last week that the deck was completely stacked in favor of Team Call Me Maybe, but I didn’t think it was going to be a massacre like it was.
Maks was right, DWTS will never be the same – Team Gangnam Style’s dance became a new low, but hell if it wasn’t funny as crap.
And I forgot to add…awesome job to the band for butchering the songs, especially Give It to Me Baby, it was just marvelous XD
Forgot to add, on the positive side of my rant, can’t wait for this week’s Cheesecake Awards! Every other move seemed to be made for it, and I kept thinking, PH is going to have fun with this- and then something else cheesecake-y would happen!
@90 Auntie Bellum
After last week’s shoepocolypse (Sabrina broke two heels in rehearsal, Shawn’s heel broke during the live show!) I doubt clear plastic heels would be worth the risk.
“And I just feel the need to say how INCREDIBLE this choreo was – that section with the paso doble twist turns in double hand hold was my favorite part!!!”
Loved that part! 🙂
#100 Anna, much as I dislike Gilles, I don’t think you can blame this all on him or say he was the only one who thought it was good. After all, according to Peta, she and Maks were the leaders as far as choreography, and they made the celebrities leave the room while they worked on it. So they were certainly involved in creating that mess.
Donna, it was definitely not all Gilles, and of course the pros had a hand…but Maks knew what it was and wasn’t shy about saying so (which somehow actually surprised me), but it just looked to me like the train wreck-edness of it all was actually completely lost on G.
MNBonnie – right?? Love seeing cross-dance choreo (does that make sense?), and Karina is probably the ones that does it best!
#106 Anna, in my opinion, Maks hasn’t cared much about DWTS for a few seasons now. He did some beautiful dances with both Erin and Brandy but since then I think he’s had partners he doesn’t feel are going to win anyway, so the quality of his dances has gone steadily downhill. So seeing him put together something like this mess, and admitting to it, sadly doesn’t surprise me.
Thanks Courtney! I agree with everyone on this site and probably everyone that watched the shown that Shawn was robbed. I’m wondering if Len will have a change of heart about his score next week…sometimes he does. The judges really annoyed me with their comments for this performance. It was a catch.
I liked gilles performance, but the truth is Peta was the one doing everything…so i wouldn’t have scored it more than an 8.5.
Kelly is starting to get on my nerves. She seems moody and dramatic…i do like Val though and think he is an amazing dancer.
Tony and mellisa did alright, but they weren’t special. I would say the same about karina and apolo.
I love kirstie, she’s 61 and is being judged on the same level as people in their 20’s and 30’s. I think
she is amazing and an awesome dancer and individual.
Sabrina did a very good job and seems sweet, but that seemed overscored to me as did cheryl and emmitt.
I liked both of the team dances.
I would have placed Shawn in first place.
It sounds like the team dance was primarily choreographed by Peta & Maks. Now, I really want to know what the dance would have looked like if Cheryl & Val had done it. It couldn’t have been worse.
Apolo was under scored big time. I still hate karina, but I understood why she was upset. Shawn did not do a lift. I don’t remember Sabrina’s dance but she usually bores me.
I think that we, the viewing audience, should all chip in to buy Gilles a glass stomach, because Carrie Ann has got her head stuck so far up his ass that she can’t see the amazing dances that are going on in this competition. Shawn and Derek performed so beautifully and elegantly that it gave me chills. Derek and his sister are some of the best choreographers I’ve ever seen. And Apolo’s dance was just phenomenal despite whatever sickness is obviously ailing him at the moment. Their scores were an absolute travesty. I know I’m just echoing everyone else with those sentimens, but I definitly disagree with most of the posts I’ve seen so far concerning the Gangham Style team dance. I didn’t find it entertaining in any way, shape, or form. I didn’t even find it humorous, I found it embarrassing to even watch. I cringed. I’m not exactly sure what even happened out there on the dance floor but it was complete and total garbage. It was just a complete and utter clusterfuck, a total non sequetor. I’m still not completely sure I didn’t get into some bath salts last night.
Courtney, Heidi, Vogue, etc, do you guys know what Shawn’s dance is for next week yet?
The others have all said theirs, but I haven’t heard Shawn’s yet.
Thanks!
Shawn has cha-cha.
Just listened to Afterbuzz TV and Shirley Ballas was a guest. She has the same feelings about Gilles as most of us do….to into himself and very plastic. I love her!
Thanks, Courtney! And yeah, Carolyn, I heard some of comments too. She would make an excellent female version of Len on a DWTS show. Very blunt and to the point.
Shirley Ballas was amazing in the after buzz, her comments on Gilles was just perfect, she called him self absorbing, she pretty much hated his dance.
Well, one thing for sure the individual performances on Tues were better than Monday night and Team Call Me Maybe kicked serious butt.
The best dance of the night and week for me was Shawn & Derek’s Rumba! It was an incredibly passionate performance. So nice to see Shawn blossoming into such a beautiful young lady and performer. Derek is a very passionate teacher and he knows how to bring out the best in his partners. I loved their package and how he encouraged her. That routine was incredible and ending was genius. He’s the best to me. I’m so proud of both of them.
IMO-Len was wrong on so many levels. Giving them an 8 and saying he has standards then turning around and giving GS a 9.- B please~ Can’t believe he gave a performance of this caliber a lower score than that GS joke. Carrie A. called Shawn’s jump a lift but never mentioned Sabrina’s lift. I like her but that lift was so obvious. The judging is so suspicious this season. This puts a damper on the season-IMO
Shawn & Derek are a very strong team and it seems like each routine is better than the last one-amazing! I think they have what it takes to make to the finals and win. Can’t wait for their next routine.
I finally saw the part two dancing and I gotta say that they were significantly better than team Gilles. Beautiful dancing by Shawn and Sabrina. They both showed a different side to themselves by slowing down and showing a softer side. Congrats to them. With Apolo and Melissa I thought that there was something missing in their dances but overall they did solid performances.
Now I know exactly what everyone is saying about team Gangdam. Even though the beginning started off good, the routine was messy but it was soooo much fun to watch. Like Tom said, for me, it was the most fun I had watching the show in all 15 seasons. The thing about the song and video is that it doesn’t take itself seriously so I think when watching this we should also not take it seriously and just enjoy it for what it is.
At the end of the day team CMM still won as they should have and we got to see some serious entertainment. However, I do think team Gangdam won in some way because it is this dance and not team CMM’s dance that is being the most talked about.
For those interested, you can watch the Afterbuzz interview with Shirley Ballas for what Laila and Carolyn mentioned here. It’s a good one!
Thanks Vogue 🙂 As always, You are the best!
How is it that there are so many weeks where only Gilles&Peta and Shawn&Derek have the same dance? It’s like they’re putting them head to head on purpose. And we all know the judges love Gilles for some unknown reason.
Thankfully, most of the scores aren’t mattering as much this season and a lot of falling on the audience.
Cidra I see your remark about “never thought I’d say that about Louis” you will be happy to know that Louis is a sweet person. Many of us exercise with him everyday and work with him. He is a tyrant on a hard wood floor however every lady is better now than when she started.not just in terms of movement but because we have all achieved more than we dreamed was possible because of his insight support and prodding. He is a gifted motivator and fantastic teacher. I think many people have an impression that was formed in those first shows and some packages were unflattering. I can only tell you on a day to day basis he bears no resemblance to some of what I read on this site. All of us are better for knowing him and the other dancing ladies who surround Louis.
Dee up close 22 there was no lift by Sabrina she always had foot on the floor.
Edwina, Thanks for the “insider info” on Louis. I’m sure he’s basically a nice guy, especially away from the show.
As for the “unflattering packages”, I agree with what Court has said in numerous other posts. If you don’t want an unflattering package don’t do or say anything that’s going to reflect badly on you because the producers of the show are going to jump all over it like dogs on a meaty bone.
Kaitlyn – this Shawn and Gilles getting the same dance again is getting annoying in a sense that the judges keep over scoring Gilles, but at the same time is good because Shawn is showing that she is a better dancer no matter the scores. In the end I’m not sure if helps or not.
Edwina,
I trust your judgement on Louis, however I cannot forgive his comments about Cheryl saying that overweight ladies shouldn’t be allowed to dance or something like that, it deeply hurtme since I am overweight if it is one thing I cannot stand is people making judgements about what I cannot or can do just because of apparences, I also do not lie his repeated criticism on Derek that sound a lot like jealousy because you have to admit Derek is a genius choreographer and Louis doesn’t have the vision Derek has.
Louis also got on my last nerves this week when Sabrina talked about how much she loves to watch disney fairytales and Louis told her to grow up, several times and during interviews, which I found judgemental and disrespectful since he told her that in public.
If Derek had behaved like Louis has, I would have the same criticism for Derek as I have for Louis.
I have no doubt that Louis helped you ladies and is a good teacher, but I had too many bad teachers or good teachers with a mean streak to allow one to teach me now, especially teaching something that should be fun like dancing.
I think you don’t have to be a tyrant to teach a good teacher is someone who can teach you and who you look forward to his classes and him teaching you.
People learn better when they’re enjoying the classes not when they feel they’re at the army, now that I’m teaching it’s my goal.
It’s just my opinion on the matter I respect your opinion edwina but I just cannot stand Louis and I will not vote for Sabrina and Louis because of Louis, if Sabrina had been with Derek or even Mark, I would have supported her till the finale, and I’m sure she would’ve won or come in second but with Louis and his bad choreography and costumes I’m not sure she’ll get to the finale.
Laily, Kaitlyn I agree it’s annoying how TPTB always give Shawn and Gilles the same dances, I think they do it on purpose to put Gilles against Shawn and plan on a finale between between Shawn and Gilles with I hope the same outcome as season 8, Shawn winning and Gilles loosing the MBT.
If Edwina wants everyone to believe how wonderful Louis, she should be talking to LOUIS about how badly he comes across in a lot of interviews. It’s not like most of us don’t have an actual reason why we can’t stand him.
Thanks Heidi for convincing me I’m not alone btw love your work for Derek PDH is one of my fave websites ;D
Hi Cynthia I know exactly the interview to which you refer and Louis’ point was that professional dancer’s tool is their body and it takes tremendous work to keep it in shape and that partnering is teamwork and it is the responsibility of a professional dancer to stay fit for themselves and their partner. I too am overweight and have list 50 of the 80 I need to loose as a result of Louis work and encouragement. Except for the twiggy actresses who have other Heath problems because they often do not eat properly to stay skinny, many if louis’ friends are battling weight issues. It was because Louis was a tubby 9 year old that his grandmother sent him to dance class so he is more supportive and sympathetic thank you might think. Needless to say he has learned a great desk about the press since those early years when the pros were thrown to the wolves without representation.
Last week Sabrina danced to Bee Gees, no surprises here, she already floats like a Butterfly and stings like a Bee.
Maybe Barry Gibb watched her and decided to come to a show to cheer on Sabrina! 🙂
Shakkar, if you don’t like the level of Gilles “hate” here (and you really need to learn the difference between hate & dislike), you are free to leave. What you are NOT free to do is take aim at other posters and their opinions, or scold anyone for thinking & feeling the way they do. There are differing opinions in this world – and yours alone isn’t the right one. Final warning.
Hi Edwina,
I don’t know him but I think if he was a true partner to her he would have asked her in private if she was alright and if she needed his help, he shouldn’t have critisized her in interviews.
After that interview he should have seen that his comments hurt people like me and you and apologize explaining that he didn’t mean it like that, you crtisize in public you apologize in public, he made ladies like me and my friends feel like we shouldn’t even be allowed to dance just based on our apparences and it’s not ok.
I don’t know him or his history and if he helped you then good for you but to me when you push someone to change just because you don’t like how they are it’s called bullying, I much prefer being pushed to my limits by someone who will take the time to gently explain and talk to me, make me see that “showing weakness is showing strength” ;D.
I won’t vote for Louis because also of his constant criticism of Derek and his partners, that look to me a lot like jealousy, because you have to admit Derek is a genius choreographer.
I agree with Courtney, if you don’t want the producers to make a package showing you with a bad attitude, then don’t give them anything showing your bad attitude, the same with the press if you don’t want them to show a video of you or printing your words of criticism to your partner, then don’t say anything bad to your partner, Louis should know how it goes with the press and the producers, you say he learned a lot, but he didn’t this week when Sabrina said that she still enjoys watching Disney Fairytales, and Louis told her to grow up, several times and on several different interviews, which I found disrespectful to Sabrina and to his bosses at ABC, since its Disney affiliated tv channel.
It’s for all those reasons that I won’t vote for Louis, I respect your opinion on him and I don’t know him, but based on all that we know about him and the side he shows on camera and on his blog, I won’t vote for him .
I will support a pro that always at least on camera and interviews, respects and supports his partners and who will push his partners to their limits, by gently talking to them and convincing, the end result is the same the star goes beyond her limits and she’s happy that she can do it, she knows she did it on her own, not because she’s been pushed bullied to do it, but because she has a pro that knows she can do it and trust and have faith in her, like Shawn and Derek.