DWTS Season 18, Week 4: Who’s Dancing What…and With WHO?? (SPOILERS)
So, as I had predicted but had hoped to be wrong, the producers did what ever they wanted in terms of the pairings. They will find some way to explain it away, but there is video evidence that you could use twitter to vote (at the 4:14 mark) – so don’t buy that excuse. These are the pairings THEY wanted to see, so they made it happen. Also don’t buy the scheduling excuse – there is one change they could have made to not upset one of their “stars” but chose not to do it. But you know what? I’m pretty sure that it will turn out to be very interesting. And the potentially upset “star” in question ain’t so upset. Let me just say this:
Tony IS already upset. 😀
Karma is a bitch and this may not be the trainwreck they hoped for. Anyway, Courtney and I have lots of other little details and we’re hoping to find out more. For now, here are your new pairings (from what we understand, anyway) and a couple dances.
ETA: So, Danica and Maks are NOT getting along. Apparently, the old Maks (“Just do it”) is back.
ETA2: Apparently, Nene is surprised. In a good way. 🙂 And Courtney tells me that there are no duplicate dances this week. Every couple has a different dance.
ETA3: The number of question marks is directly proportional to how sure we are that someone has a given dance. Or is that directly DISproportional?? I’m tired. 🙂 Anyway, the more question marks it has, the less sure we are that that’s the dance they have. Three ??? means we arrived at them by process of elimination. Also adding – Tony is apparently not mad at Derek but at the producers for the dance given to Derek and Nene.
ETA4: The rumba for Charlie appears to be confirmed.
ETA5: Apparently Meryl & Val ain’t getting along great, either – he seems a bit starstruck by her, but he also seems to have zero patience with her. Their routine is really, really fast and poor Meryl can’t seem to do anything right for him.
Charlie and Peta are getting along great and had their dance choreographed by Thursday so they’ve had lots of time to polish it.
According to our source, these are the dances. The couples that are doing well are Derek/Nene, Tony/Candace, Charlie/Peta and Drew/Witney. The couples that are struggling are Meryl/Val, Danica/Maks, Cody/Sharna and Amy/Mark. James/Cheryl are apparently neither good nor bad. Whether we see any of this will be very interesting. A bunch of people who change the voting rules when it’s time to count the votes isn’t above changing the narrative in the editing room, are they?? I expect we’ll see the opposite of what we’ve heard when it comes to Meryl and Charlie – and possibly Nene, mainly because they paired NeNe and Derek to see problems. Question is – did those couples doing well give them ANYTHING to use?? And did those couples doing poorly give them anything to make it look positive? I guess we find out tomorrow. 🙂
Charlie and Peta – Rumba
1-800-868-3412
Danica and Maks – Jive (Music: “Love Me Right!” by The Swag Geeks & Brook Penning )
1-800-868-3403
James and Cheryl – Tango (Music: “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry )
1-800-868-3402
Drew and Witney – Cha Cha
1-800-868-3409
Amy and Mark – Salsa
1-800-868-3410
Candace and Tony – Quickstep (Music: “Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet )
1-800-868-3407
Meryl and Val – Argentine Tango (Music: “Too Close” by Alex Clare
1-800-868-3406
Cody and Sharna – Foxtrot
1-800-868-3408
NeNe And Derek – Jazz (Music: “Grown Woman” By Beyonce
1-800-868-3401
if nene is with Derek, that probably saves her from elimination as i am sure some Derek votes will come her way. i bet many fans will be confused on voting for celebrity or pro.
I’m trying not to be upset about the NeNe and Derek pairing, but what dance would possibly not make the height difference awkward?
Don’t be upset, Katie. Trust me. 🙂
So Mr. Green is giving the “Fam” everything they want this year. Great, be careful what you ask for though!
One thing is certain, Derek will treat Nene with respect and probably get a pretty good routine out of her instead of treating her like a pariah. The fam ( especially Maksim)and their fans were willing to move heaven and earth to avoid a Nene/Maksim pairing, as if he were to good. I hope some people see this . Best of luck to Nene and Derek, although they won’t need it.
If NeNe is indeed with Derek, that is the dance I will look forward to the most just because I know Derek’s gonna make her look better in a week than Tony has in three weeks (or more). If they dance like a Jazz routine the height difference, I think, won’t be much of a problem so I hope they do that.
Well I can understand why Tony is upset. NeNe has Derek. That’s the last thing he wanted to happen. I don’t care for NeNe, but I’m looking forward to this dance. @CC, you’re right, Derek is going to make her look great in the 6 days they have to rehearse, which is something Tony couldn’t do in an entire season. NeNe will see what good, creative choreography is and then have to go back to boring, uncreative Tony.
I am hoping for jazz as well however given their desperation for ratings I could easily see them screwing Derek over and Cheryl should have Charlie. I am curious to see if they will try to save some face by saying why Val is dancing with the season ringer instead of a Derek.
How can I not be upset? Derek and NeNe?! Are u kidding me? The worst scenario I could imagine. I mean, not that I don’t believe in Derek’s ability to make her look good, but I really don’t wanna see them dance together, I don’t know why. Yup, I’m upset.
I’m really excited for the Nene/Derek pairing. I have a feeling that he’ll be able to choreograph something exciting and diverse for her.
Guys, I’m gonna try and give you a bit of peace of mind: let go of your height-difference hang-ups, let go of worrying about Derek having the “worst” female celeb as a partner (and really, guys, she’s pretty good for being the “worst” this season!), and just accept that TPTB are a bunch of SOB’s – let me worry about that in my post where I prove they just cherry-picked the couples themselves. Trust me when I say that Derek is gonna come out of this smelling like ROSES – we’ll explain why later. And as for “the fam” – let’s just say this scenario may not work out in their favor like they may think it will. Let’s just say one of the fam members and his switch partner aren’t exactly getting along well…
Quick, how long will it take for the NeNe ringer talk to start?
The only guess I can make from that is that Tony and Candace aren’t getting along…which surprises me.
How will the following weeks elimination go? Will the celeb eliminated take the pro from the “switch” week? If Nene gets eliminated will she take Derek or Tony? If Cody gets eliminated will he take Sharna or Witney? Or was that why week 1 had a double elimination?
Natasha, we don’t need a novel explaining why you think we’re being “unfair” by “accusing” TPTB of throwing away votes. I’m kind of over DWTS apologists these days – the partner switch was a complete f*ckup on the part of those in charge. You wanna talk about this? Send it to me in an email and I might have a look at it.
I can’t wait for Derek to do his magic with Nene and then what will the haters say? 😀
Jess, so true. lol
Im not upset about the pairings because they are what i expected tbh im interested in seeing mark amy and mark already said hes getting creative ☺and i think derek nene could be the best dance of the night in terms of entertainment ☺ none of the celebs sound like they are enjoying this week really tho and i think its a pointless ratings gimmick that went sadly wrong along the way.
If I would be Tony, I would be veeeeery scared right now, but how can you be SO sure that he is upset? 🙂 Did he say something or what?
Tamara, we know shit. Let’s just leave it at that.
Doesn’t surprise me if Tony is upset. I can see NeNe having a breakthrough this week and then going back a couple steps when she’s with Tony again.
“Let’s just say one of the fam members and his switch partner aren’t exactly getting along well…”
Please let us know, Im guessing Maks and Danica. Though they’ll proably show us during the package on Monday.
Courtney, I hate that you let us live in the dark, wondering what the hell is going on 😛
I guess I’ll just have to wait how is this NeNe&Derek pair going to work out. But I’m still not excited. Not at all.
“Let you live in the dark, wondering what the hell is going on”?! Pretty sure we just leaked the entire list of partners, and two dances. Shame on me, keeping you guys in the dark about EVERYTHING – god forbid I space out the info I give you guys, and try to protect my source for future spoilers. Psssh…
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I don’t really care about Tony, but I’m super nervous about Candace. I really like her with Mark, but I know she hasn’t been standing out the past few weeks. I don’t think Tony will do anything to help her cause.
Ooh can’t wait for the next post then, more details!
I really really did want to see Derek and Meryl just have one dance together. But, since that isn’t going to happen, I actually am very cool with him getting Nene. Can’t wait to see what he can do with her vs Tony. No complaining from Derek haters AND Tony upset? Sounds good to me!
They really should just have called it producers choice switch up week. There is no way Derek fans and some Meryl fans who wanted DerekMeryl, let alone most Nene fans voting for anyone other than Derek, were out-voted by anti-Derek fans voting for DerekNene. How can people not see right through that? Let alone some of the other questionable pairings? So stupid.
How about instead of complaining about what information we don’t have, we say thank you to Courtney for the information she has given us? Because it’s a lot of and she didn’t have to share. Just sayin’ So thank you so much Courtney! 🙂
Anyway, I’m looking forward to Amy and Mark’s dance and Nene and Derek’s too, I’m sure they will be great!
Yeah I’m worried for Candace too. She really could end up being the loser in all of this and we could have a surprise elimination on April 14…. That’s too bad because I would rather see at least 3 others leave before her!
I’m excited to see Cody & Sharna. She’s the one I wanted to see with Cody from the beginning.
@Courtney, thank you for the spoilers. This just may be a fun week after all, especially since there has been bickering. 😉
I can’t wait to see all the new pairings dance together! Normally, I fast forward to my favorites, but now I will watch the whole show including the rehearsals and scores fluff in the pit!
It will be good for better ratings for the DWTS fans, but not sure if this will bring more casual fans to watch the show? It’s a bit like a soap opera! Who will act like a spoiled brat, who will not get along, who will dance better with the new partner, who will dance poorly because of the new partner, etc?????
I agree, Nene, will shine because of Derek. I would’ve paired Cheryl with Charlie. Meryl will do well with anyone. Wonder how Danica will to continue to love Maks after this? Why wouldn’t tony be happy with Candace?
The Derek/NeNe pairing is the only one that interests me. I think it will be fun and fantastic. As for the producers, a pox on them. All their gimmicks and manipulation aren’t working because the ratings keep going down in the demo. It serves them right.
Wow, Courtney, calm down… It wasn’t my intention to be ungrateful or spoiled reader. I also put “:P” in my post, so you didn’t have to take it so literally 😉
I was just saying that you say that Tony is upset and that you know the height difference won’t be a problem. And of course I want to know how do you know and what do you mean by that. But I can also understand that you have your sources and that you probably can’t share everything with us. I do appreciate that you share with us what you can.
Yeah, there is no need to worry about Derek. This isn’t going how some fans think it might be going, if our sources are correct. 😉 And I’m not just talking about Derek and Nene when I say that.
Of course, how will they do the editing…..
So TPTB pretty much ignored the votes in every single case, except for Amy – and I’m wondering if they did that, simply because she’s a double amputee, and if they royally screwed her over, people would be *very*, *very* upset. Or perhaps they feel like they have to treat her with kid gloves. Or perhaps they realize that Mark (or Henry if he had still been in) are the only male pros that would be able to figure out how to make it work for her – and the only ones that would be willing to ask Derek for what has already worked, ideas and suggestions.
If these were the actual pairings from the votes, I wouldn’t be thrilled, but I’d be okay with it. If TPTB had simply said, “we’re picking partners for the celebs ‘randomly'” (we all know how random that would really be), I could live with that too. Again, wouldn’t be thrilled, but it’s what we expect at this point. But to pretend that these are the pairings that people voted for and chose…that makes me mad – which is why I’m so grateful for this site, and our amazing mods, and I can’t wait until they let it rip on TPTB.
Thank you ladies for this post. I am finished with DWTS….well, finished watching. I will come here to get your thoughts and tell me all the gossip. I mean I can’t go completely cold turkey and you ladies are absolutely fabulous with what you do. But all of this manipulating that has reached epic proportions has worn me out. Honestly, I have DWTS fatigue. I appreciate you ladies fighting the good fight!
I don’t understand why ANYONE would believe that anyone other than the original pro would get voted off. That makes no sense.
@EPMusic – I agree about Candace. I really thought she would overtake Danica in the little rivalry story the show is trying to create between them but I’m beginning to think I’m wrong. Candace having contemporary the first week was almost a disservice because of the high expectations after. I do hope she’s able to stick it out so we can see her ballroom progression. I would rather see her story than Danica’s (still not sure what her story is).
Yep, they’re giving the Fam whatever they want. Why not just give Maks the MBT now and end this charade. They have lost any shred of credibility. I know Derek can make NeNe shine but that’s besides the point. They made fools of us. I didn’t catch what Tom said until I played the video (thanks mods for catching it).
These pairing…..I gotta say these are something.
Nene and Derek: Yeah so this is has to be some kind of sick joke but should be pretty funny rehersal footage. She might do well. I’m hoping that it’s the samba or a quickstep.
Cody and Sharna: Kind of a perfect pairing. I’m glad he has foxtrot though 🙂
Meryl and Val: From one brother to the other? Yeah not buying that Val somehow got more votes than Derek. at all. Thanks Conrad for making me not want to vote for this dance already. Hoping it’s the rumba just so Maks doesn’t get to dance that with her.
Candance and Tony: Could be a trainwreck or could be really good. I’m on the fence. My hope is that she gets foxtrot. I like Tony’s foxtrots.
Amy and Mark: the best pairing of the bunch! I hope it’s the paso or the waltz. Mark does great with those.
Drew and Witney: Like the pairing but I really hope he gets cha cha or jazz.
James and Cheryl: So they are a good pairing. I just hate the fact he has tango with Cheryl (not that Cheryl does bad tangos…she does great ones but I was hoping he would get cha cha or contemporary.
Danica and Maks: Yeah. This is going to be amusing but I hope they get paso. I don’t want to see a Val and Danica paso but love Maks’ paso dobles so that’s my only reasoning.
Charlie and Peta: Well, I love Peta but just hoping they give him rumba just so he gets that out of the way early in the season.
Of course Derek would get Nene. She has all that stripper dance training. Derek ALWAYS GETS THE GREAT DANCERS. It’s not fair!
Ok, I had to get that out of the way.
It’s a shame TPTB dropped the part about the celebrity choosing to go back to the old pro or stay with the new pro.
I have nothing to add really. I just think this is awesome and suddenly some things are just so crystal clear. Oh, I can’t stop laughing.
I’m voting for Derek and Amy the rest of the season anyway.
And maybe it’s just me but I hope we get a Julianne and Mark dance in the opening number (if there is one this week).
Candace has a formidable fan base but does not appear to want it enough.I believe Danica is hungrier, but also more vulnerable and, with Maks pulling and dragging her over the dance floor, this could be interesting.
OK, I’m joking but had a thought, maybe whatever it is that Tony has on the producers, maybe this is their way to get back at him. Make it good and clear…
A Samba or QS from NeNe and Derek could potentially look awkward lol I just had an image of tiny Derek trying to do samba rolls with big NeNe hahaha
Thank you so much for all the info. Going back a bit, you were so right about the Amy/Derek pairing before we knew exactly who Derek was getting, and I’m sure you’re right about all this as well. Very much appreciate your generosity while still walking that fine line that protects your sources. I think that the NeNe/Derek dance will be the dance of the night. Derek will use everything that NeNe brings to the situation, including her height, to her advantage. That’s just the way he rolls. In addition, Derek probably sees this as a fun kind of challenge (does he ever see challenges any other way?). It’s the one pairing that could finally put the lie to what the haters say about Derek, and also confuse the crap out of them so bad that they’ll be stammering when it’s done, so in that sense I’m glad it’s happening — for one week. Most important is that Amy got Mark. What bothers me is that the phone number is apparently following the pro, not the celeb. I for sure think it should be the other way around. I love the fact that the mods are pissed as hell about what TPTB did with this thing, and also that they’re serene about how this will all work out. Thanks for being so good to us.
James with Cheryl… Not my first choice, but actually a pretty decent partner for him, regardless of the producers throwing the votes out. And with the Tango, I think James will continue to impress. I’m excited for this pair now!
The people who aren’t getting along would either be Maks and Danica, or Tony and Candace. Both Meryl and Charlie are *far* too professional to not do their best to make the new partnership work, no matter what their personal feelings on the matter are, or who they were hoping to get.
As far as who’s going to look better with their new partner vs their old – Meryl will probably look about the same with Val as with Maks. I can’t really see Val being able to bring anything new out of Meryl, but I don’t see her taking a step backwards either. Charlie will also do well, though there might be a slight regression. It really depends which Peta shows up. She’s been more like her season 14 self recently, which gives me hope. Amy will also do well, though it won’t be quite as good as when she’s with Derek – but Mark will do his best by her, and Mark at his best can be fun and creative.
NeNe will look *much* better with Derek, and he will bring things out of her that Tony *never* could. I think both James and Cody will take a step forward with their new partners – both Cheryl and Sharna will be able to bring something more to the table than Peta and Witney, respectively.
Unfortunately, I think Drew, Candace and Danica will all suffer this week – Drew mostly because Witney just doesn’t have the experience and maturity yet, Candace because she got shafted with Tony, and Danica, because I don’t see her personality meshing well with Maks – and Maks will be constantly comparing her to Meryl (even if it’s just in his head), and Danica can’t win in that comparison. I can see Maks being very unhappy to have lost his “perfect partner”, even if it’s only for one week, and being less patient than normal, because he’s gotten used to Meryl’s abilities and work ethic.
I am glad aDerek got Nene as once again he will silence all the jealous opposing fans (Maksim and Tony). Derek is the best male pro dancer and choreographer and the others can’t stand it. This will show you can give anyone to Derek and he will get them to shine. There is a reason Derek is the five time winner, Emmy winner, and only one of the pros starring in their own movie. He is the Fred Astaire of this generation!
I never thought Nene was bad, and I thought Suri said that Tony was very happy with Nene.
I also think that Meryl cant be upset with Val because she knows him better than the others.
Sharna will look much older with Cody.
Charlie and Peta look like a miss match.
Cheryl and James tango would very very good.
Drew will suffer from having to dance with Witney
This whole voting scandal makes me really believe now that the show’s votes are tampered with every season. Will continue watching the show but probably won’t be voting. My guess for the couple not getting along would be Maks and Danica. The personalities don’t seem to match but hey they might surprise us. Looking forward to Nene and Derek if they are a couple. Derek has had partners that were taller than him although maybe none as tall as Nene. But hey guys what’s that saying? It’s not the size, it’s what you can do with it. Oh and I believe Derek can do lots with what’s given to him.
@Susan – I’m pretty sure the phone number stayed with the celeb, not the pro. Charlie and Sharna danced last on the first night, and he and Peta have the number ending in -12, while James and Cheryl have -02, and James danced second on the first night.
Can I just say I LOVE the way your giving fun little juicy tidbits we wouldn’t be able to hear anywhere else! Who complains about that?!
Also, your guys’ zero tolerance for bullshit cracks me up. Love it
Keep up the great work!
Are Heidi and I the only ones who are ok with Derek dancing with NeNe? I think she has a fun personality and Derek is Derek, he’s pure awesomeness! I honestly don’t think it was rigged, but I do think they did an awful job explaining how to vote. There’s a reason dwts lacks in ratings for the 18-46 demo (or whatever it is)they clearly don’t understand how a hashtag works. but in their defense I believe Tom said vote using the hashtag #dwts followed by the celebrity and pro. I hope they do the switch up next season as well but do a better job explaining rules! Believe it or not I can’t wait for Monday!
Anyone get information on what Derek and Nene have as their dance next week?
@Kashti – I’m fine with it.
@Margaret – Yes, that’s coming later.
Even if Maks and Danica’s personalities don’t seem to mesh I can’t seem them openly not getting along. Danica is his brother’s partner after all, he will make it work for one week to support Val in the long term. Gotta be Tony and Candace. If he can deal with Kate G. for half a season though what’s so bad about Candace for one week? He’s probably just pissed Nene has Derek and taking it out on Candace.
Thanks Courtney!
Mark and Amy have paso doble. I’m sure, because she is wearing paso doble skirt on that picture.
@Tamara – I thought the same thing, but paso doble is not one of the dances this week. Sorry.
My my, lots of people going straight from comment moderation to the trash today…
These pairings aren’t that outlandish. Derek probably couldn’t travel so Meryl got Val. I saw lots of people who tracked pairings say Danica/Maks pulled ahead in votes to Maks/Nene, and ofc Amy/Mark so not surprised Derek ended up with Nene and Tony with Candace.
The male celeb list aligns with the non-hashtag (without spaces) voting, IIRC.
But here’s the point that you (and a lot of other Maks fans that seem to be pushing this “But this matches up with the votes!” agenda) seem to miss: there was little to no clarification over whether the hashtags should have had spaces or not. On the show, they didn’t; later on, in the press release (which few people read), they did. Whether the data matches up based on one and not the other is moot – it’s the fact that they were unclear with the viewers over which they would be counting; and the fact that they opted to go with one and not the other does mean that votes were thrown out, and that they were selectively picking which votes to count. And the fact that those ascribing to this theory also have to throw in “well Derek couldn’t travel so that’s why this happened” in order to explain away the results kinda pokes some holes in the theory as well – you don’t know that for a fact. You’re assuming that. And do you really think TPTB are going to give us the courtesy of explaining that Derek couldn’t travel? NO. They’re going to act as if it was Val that the viewers voted for all along. It’s deceptive, and they are cherry-picking which results to use and which to disregard. If it helps you sleep at night, continue to tout this flimsy theory – but I’d rather have the truth, thanks.
I’m actually excited Derek got NeNe because she’s hilarious and I think the package between these two will be fun. Derek can make anyone shine so I’m not worried.
As for the fan. Are we really surprised that Maks and Val basically switched? They were campaigning for it all week with help from Zendaya. Since voting is rigged, clearly TPTB wants to keep a certain pro happy.
I don’t get why Tony is mad about Candace, if that is the case, she’s not a horrible dancer by all means but then again going from Mark to Tony is a downgrade.
Tony’s not mad about Candace. He’s mad about something else.
Isn’t this pretty much the way Maks’s group of crazy fans were voting?
If I had to wager a guess I’d say that with such a strong cast, no elimination this week and everyone going back to their original partners, most fan bases didn’t spend a whole lot of time voting, other than the obsessed Maks fans who seemed to be glued to Twitter 24/7 trying to prove something to Derek’s fans (and themselves).
Disclaimer: I am not trashing all Maks’s fans. Maks has some very nice fans. I’m talking about a specific group whose entire lives seem to revolve around him.
Just playing detective LOL (not that I’ve ever been good at it).
It stated that Tony is already upset, so is that a clue that he isn’t one the ‘fam’ not getting along with his partner? Thanks.
Also, Candace is a very upbeat person. So, I don’t see why she wouldn’t get along with Tony. Not that Danica isn’t, but just guessing.
Is Candace doing a Waltz or Quick Step?
Hmm, someone is upset. I wonder if we will see what really happened during rehearsals or the wizard will manipulate it.
My mistake — phone numbers are staying with celebs.
Well, since we’ve been totally screwed out of seeing what amazingness Derek and Meryl could create, I’m really looking forward to seeing what amazing things he brings out of Nene! She was my 2nd choice for him (but it was a very, VERY distant second choice…)
If Tony is not mad about Candace, it must be something about NeNe/Derek. Well, I can understand him haha 😀
Tony should be happy that NeNe got Derek because it pretty much assures she will get enough votes to last another week.
The only way I’m going to get over NOT seeing Derek dance with Meryl is if he and Nene have a stripping contest.
I would bet ALOT of $$ if the whole country were polled they would vote to see Meryl&Derek–not just us fools who spent time listening to producers of this tv show like they were really telling the truth to viewers
A lot bothers me about all of this mess, the waste of time is one but more than that. Under all of this is an underlying meanness making fun of Nene. Sure she signed up for the show but just the way they use people with vulnerabilities to pick at, Andy Dick being another–the whole thing makes me sick. It just like when comics go from being funny to mean and bullying.
The Cher-ME-kowsky gang, producers, ALL a bunch of losers with ugly souls to match the rest of their problems. There’s a reason Derek is acclaimed and enjoying success in his life and so well liked.
PH-U said recently u had a DM with Derek–if u have another tell him to not hang back or make excuses for these losers this time, pull out all the stops and just blow everyone’s minds like we know he can. He should take not only the other guys on this show “to school” but the idiots who run this show as well
I love that Derek is with Nene! He’s going to work magic with her. I can’t wait!!
Plus James with Cheryl! I reckon that Tango will be amazing. Cheryl is a drill sergeant and gets really good stuff from her partners. This might be 3 weeks in a row that James impresses me 🙂
This absolutely sucks! DWTS totally ignored the will of the viewers after all of their crap promotion of “You get to decided who dances with who.” We voted religiously for a week and our votes weren’t counted. Three different independent Twitter data counts had Meryl as the number one celeb in votes and Derek as the number one pro partner for Meryl. All three data analyzers couldn’t be wrong. DWTS ratings continue to erode. Pissing off core voting viewers isn’t going to help turn that around no matter how much drama they try and create.
They need to remove twitter voting. The “few” can manipulate too much with automated bot voting. There is no way that America (at large) would pair NeNe with someone who is not tall. She had to go to Maks and that would have been a good pairing for the drama at least.
Um, I’m not a Maks fan?? O_o I’m a fan of the show and figure skating, and with M/C being on this season, I am following the news for the first time. I’m not pushing anything nor do I have an agenda. I’m just observing I’m not especially surprised by the pairings. IA nothing was clarified and everything is confusing, but they aren’t out of nowhere.
This is exactly what I was hoping for with the switch up. Derek with Nene, and I am a huge Derek fan. I, too, hate that he is slammed every season for “always” getting the best dancers. Now the audience has had three weeks to see Nene is not necessarily the best dancer right now and Derek will find a way to hide her weaknesses and accentuate her strengths. I love it. I am really looking forward to Monday, and will be happy when Amy and Derek are back together.
And if I were Tony, I would be extremely pissed about Derek and Nene, assuming that’s what he’s upset about.
Thanks for the leak, ladies. I look forward to learning more.
I agree with Debra. Why would Tony be mad about Nene when that means getting the votes for next week?
It has less to do with who NeNe is partnered with and more to do with what dance she’s doing with him.
Well at least it will be entertaining to watch. I never got invested in the twitter voting thing because it was so confusing to so many people I just figured that something funny would happen. I have always enjoyed the brothers C, so I will enjoy the switch with Danica and Meryl.
Hi – first of all I misspelled my own new nom de email when I posted before, so they may not have gone through.
I think this will probably work out great for Derek. Derek has heard for multiple seasons now that he’s handed the best celebs, and that’s why he wins. I used to wonder, because he had a whole string of bombshells. When I stepped back and looked at the big picture, I no longer agree. I think he’s brought some very stiff-moving dancers to the finals, and some of his celebs that won would have been failed by their pro. He’s popular because he’s got a great eye, can see past his own ego, and takes care of his celeb in rehearsal and on the floor. They’re not going to look bad, so they trust him.
Here he has the female celeb who is, by any measure, the “worst” of the bunch. She’s extremely tall. She’s got rhythm but probably not great at hitting those lines. Derek will deliver a fantastic routine and make her look great, and pretty much prove that his wins have more to do with how astute he is and how well he’s able to bring the best out of a partner, and not about getting the ringer. IOW, I bet anything this is his own personal best result and tops on his wish list. His point will be proven.
P.S. If it’s not rigged how does one explain Charlie with Peta and not Cheryl? I’m pretty sure Peta wasn’t even second in the twitter voting for charlie.
Now I am excited to learn what dance Derek & NeNe have. Must be a dance that Tony wanted to dance with her.
All I’m saying is that out of these pairings, Derek and Nene will be the talk of the night because it’s the most unexpected. I said last night on twitter that Meryl & her fans lose out because she is basically dancing with the same person & it’s not going to look any different. She doesn’t get a new experience. Bring it on Derek and Nene!!! But I will be giving all my votes to Amy because I want to see her and Derek back together no matter what!
Hmmm…he’s upset about the dance she’s doing with him…not sure if I should take that as he’s upset because he wanted to do the dance with Nene or upset because he knows the dance will not fit with a Nene/Derek pairing because of the height. Hmmm…maybe an Argentine Tango? I know Tony likes that dance…or maybe the Foxtrot? First dance she has in hold and it’s with Derek, maybe not an ideal situation in Tony’s mind.
DITTO to what Elmari said!!
Hmmm then I wonder what dance Nene would really excel at…still don’t understand why Tony is so upset unless they had talked extensively about doing that dance together. Anywyas,Elmari, how are Maks and Val practically the same person? Danica even said on twitter something to the effect of “wow this experience is so different.” They may be brothers, but they have very different personalities, and different choreography styles as well. I’m actually super excited for Val and Meryl to dance! I love Val’s choreography.
Before expressing this next opinion and in the interests of full disclosure, I am not a fan of the skating of Davis White. Nor am I a fan of Maks’ choreography, but I believe the limitations we see so far are as much down to Meryl as Maks. I’m not trying to divert into a fight about ice dance, but my personal point of view is Davis White were smoke and mirrors. For any Derek fans who are dismayed he didn’t get Meryl, I think he has the best female partner of the season, and would have had to work his visual magic on Meryl as much as if he had somebody without an ice dance title.
So, the NeNe situation is pretty much giving him the “worst” possible option, which is actually the best posssible, shut-up-all-critics option. Although I completely agree that it’s extremely distasteful to sort of implicitly make fun of her, which the show seems to be doing.
I wanted to see Cheryl with Charlie, because I thought she might address some issues, such as his rear end sticking out, and maybe get him to dance less in “segments”. But Cheryl – my fave pro along with Derek – made out just fine with James and their tango should be great.
However, Peta with Charlie means Charlie has a choreographer who might give him another week where he scores below Meryl, as Meryl has Val, and Val is a smarter choreographer than Peta. So if there’s agenda, it’s to start pushing Maks/Meryl. Giving Charlie Cheryl would pretty much have guaranteed he regain his position ahead of Meryl. Peta increases the chances of mediocre.
I may have it wrong but I remember Tom B. saying the first night they couldn’t/wouldn’t put Derek with Meryl because he had worked with both Meryl and Charlie with their ice dance routine for olympics. Maybe that’s why he ended up with Nene. Just a thought.
If that’s the case, then they should have made it clear from the get-go that voting for Meryl/Derek would be pointless.
Not surprised by the “old” Maks coming back. He has to work harder now. Although Danica does have a strong dance background she is not an Olympian.
And that is a reason why Maks never won. As soon as it gets harder, he gets all grumpy. I can’t stand him, I really can’t. He is an asshole in my opinion.
I don’t like Danica either, but I have to say that I feel a little sorry for her right now. I think that the only person who wouldn’t let Maks to walk all over her, would be NeNe.
What surprises me about this whole thing is not that the producers manipulate everything but that so many viewers(myself included) have been so easily manipulated for so long. If you ever have the opportunity to have a conversation with one of the pros in an unguarded moment (at the Martini Bar on a DWTS cruise or after a BWAT performance were great places for this), you get a different perspective. Basically, the producers treat the pros and celebrities like cattle. Some of the pros may have larger stalls at the DWTS ranch but no one has the influence the fan groups like to think someone may have. And the packages are skewed to the producers agenda, which may change from week to week. It’s all about the ratings and the $. So I continue to watch the show because I love to see dancing, but I ignore the generated drama because I believe it is just that- contrived and generated by the producers to stir things up. Watching for the dancing alone is much more enjoyable!
Don’t under estimate a Derek/Nene paring. Its going to be EPIC! I can imagine a cool jazz routine that will turn heads. I think Tony is REALLY enjoying working with Nene and doesn’t want any thing to come between them, including a a great performance from another Pro. 😉 I’m kinda done with the whole Maks thing. If his so called loopy fans wanted to prove that he had changed and was this world class teacher, they would have wanted him to match with Nene and showcase her with an out of this world routine. Instead, they make it seems like Nene would be the worst thing ever, oh no, they don’t want him to be “unhappy”. I thought this was supposed to be about the celebs? Guess not.
I did state on another thread that I was taking comfort from the thought that what goes around, comes around. Maybe it is this moment. I’m trying to contain my glee, just so to keep myself from getting disappointed again. Doesn’t mean that I have forgiven tptb for their terrible treatment of the fans who spent days on Twitter voting.
Thank you so much to the mods here for giving us delicious bites of what’s to come on Monday’s show. Every bit of it is very much appreciated. Of course, I cannot wait for more.
“ETA: So, Danica and Maks are NOT getting along. Apparently, the old Maks (“Just do it”) is back. ” HA HA Serves him right… I hope he gets a glorious intro. package on Monday!! I feel bad for Danica though.
Careful what you wish for fam…. I still think it is rotten how they handled Nene. She isn’t the most likable person in the world, I am no fan ,but she didn’t have to be treated like the ugliest kid in the Chmerkovskiy gym class.
I’m so happy that after voting a few times I thought to myself TPTB will do whatever THEY want or need to do as they have been doing for awhile and I just stopped.
I agree with so much of what everyone is saying here but my bottom line concern is what this could do to the chances of Charlie and Amy in particular. Will people remember to vote for THEM and even if they do will this stunt still hurt their chances?
And what really intrigues me is WHY Tony would be upset about the dance? Nene will do with Derek. I didn’ t know that Tony had any particular specialty that he would be that attached to. Unless TPTB are going to have Derek dance another rumba with NeNe and Tony thinks he would suffer in the comparison, I can’t imagine what would upset him.
This whole thing could have been a lot more fun if they’d just stuck with Dereks orig idea but now I think it will result in C-clan fans feeling they’ve won, put Derek down and some of Derek’s fans are going to be really mad they can’t see Derek and Meryl and that TPTB will screw over even the most talented person on the show to try to give Maks a trophy. I hope Nene takes Derek the munchkin, seriously and by the end of the week she’ll probably take him hostage and refuse to give him back!
Damn, if Maks really is giving Danica so much of a hard time that it’s obvious to outsiders they aren’t getting along than he’s more stupid than I thought. This is your brother’s partner moron, give her a good routine and suck it up for a week. Don’t you want your brother to stick around?
I would think there is no elimination next week when they switch happens…since there was a double elimination the first week they probably won’t have any elimination the week of the partner switch imo….would not be fair for the original partners if they did that.
My guess is Tony is upset because he’s coming of two difficult weeks with the jive and the rumba, and Derek/Nene have a dance that is more in her wheelhouse. (Hip Hop? Jazz?) Something not in hold makes the most sense, tbh, because of the height disparity.
Just a shot in the dark.
Perhaps Maks is trying to get a contract with Nike as a spokesperson…Kidding.
Somehow I feel sorry for Danica. I think she would have done well with Mark, but I’m glad Amy got him. We’ll have to wait to see their package , then…
If Danica & Maks don’t get along – I wonder if it will be somehow adressed on the show as Danica tweeted ”Goodness, the experience with my new dance partner is so different…! Still great, but different” I’m afraid they will just hide it…I mean people are giving Maks credit for behaving this season…but he only behaves when he has a ringer deluxe like Meryl?? Not good (and Danica isn’t even a beginner at dancing)if you ask me.
And I’m still angry at the producers that we will missed out on a Derek-Meryl performance. The majority voted for them to dance together, didn’t they? And I’m not thrilled that the C-bros got their way.
But have to say I’m excited about Derek & Nene. Can’t wait to hear what dance they have. I would love it to be Hip Hop or something else fun and upbeat!
what DLT said
I hope they show the footage of the “just do it” Maks. I was getting sick of reading how he was being such a “good boy” this season, when we know its because of Meryl and he doesn’t want to mess up his changes of getting the mbt. Maks may be a good dancer but hes not a good teacher with his lack of patience and his “my way or the highway” approach. The whole time I keep thinking it could be Gleb out there.
Hip hop/Jazz may be in NeNe’s wheelhouse but it is not something that Tony can do very well. If it is that kind of dance then he should be glad that Derek is stepping in 🙂
In the instructions TPTB issued while voting was going on they made it sound like they were all about counting as many votes as possible. And they did address spaces there. They said: “In calculating votes, we’ll consider any tweets that contain the three parts listed above (they must be adjacent without other words in between, though spaces are fine).” Seems to me, if spaces were REQUIRED, they would have said that considering that the entire purpose of the statement was to clarify the voting process for everyone.
It’s really turning out to be quite funny. The C bros. fans are the ones who started insulting NeNe by trying to “stick” Derek with her. Well, they’ve gotten their wish, except Derek doesn’t get stuck. Ever. This is a “be careful what you wish for” if there ever was one.
The fact that Danica and Maks aren’t getting along makes me totally gleeful. I’m remembering when she was trying to get Val to say please during one of their rehearsals. Val was getting visibly irritated. Can you imagine how Maks would respond to that kind of behavior? I shudder for Danica as I LMFAO.
As for Tony being upset, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving fellow, he of the “landslide” season 15 win. I can’t wait to find out the details because I know it’s going to be something petty and ego driven.
Meanwhile, in the land of Derek and Mark, there will be laughter and hard work, and then joy in the performance. Be careful what you wish for indeed.
Interesting that Maks and Danica aren’t getting along. Maybe the Maks only put on a show of the “new side of Maks” because he had a ringer.
Danica honestly seems like a sweet person (even though I’m not necessarily voting for her) but to hear the old Maks is back, I hope he doesn’t treat her like crap like he has done to other partners in the past.
Also being that she’s his brothers partner, I wonder how it’ll play out.
It is really discouraging to think TPTB did not already KNOW that the Derek/Meryl pairing would get the most votes and so they needed to say that “couldn’t” happen in advance of the voting…methinks there is more to that story or they really are clueless.
And I don’t think I have ever defended Maks !! but I can’t blame him for just telling Danika to do it. With all her ballroom training all he should have to do is design the dance and smooth it with her. But I guess NOBODY wants to point that out either.
Maks and Danica sound like it is more a clash of personalities then dance ability. If u watch the behind scene footage she would rather run her mouth and try to get Val to say please when he gives instructions than just do what he instructs. I don’t see Maks handling her as well as Val. I’m not trying to bash Danica, but I wish she would lighten up a little. Yes I am a huge Chmerkovskiy Brother fan but did not vote Maks with Danica, I preferred Maks with NeNe.
From what I heard from Deep Throat, it’s not so much that “bad Maks” is back and poor Danica is a victim – it sounds more like they’re just a very mismatched pairing, which I agree with. Think about it: Maks is used to “watch me do it, then you do it” with Meryl – he likely doesn’t have to give her a whole lot of clarification, since she’s such a pro already. Then we have high-strung Danica who overanalyzes every step until it screams – from what I understand, it’s more of a matter of Danica wanting to perfect everything, and wanting a lot of feedback and direction from Maks, who gets flustered with how nitpicky Danica is being and says “Don’t worry about it, just do it!” Seems more like a combination of lack of patience on Maks’ part, and Danica just being a rather needy partner that requires quite a bit of nuturing that Maks may not be used to giving.
Just saw Karen’s response, which I think sums it up well too – it’s not that either one is being difficult; it’s that their M.O.’s just clash completely. Danica would have probably been better off with Tony, to be honest…
I feel for the celebrities! You grow a bond with your partner–there’s support, familiarity, and most importantly, you grow trust. Going into this new partnership, even for just a week, can be really hard to adjust to, and I honestly hope that every partnership will more or less do well. Not sure I understand why some people here are looking forward for some of the pros to truly suffer. Let’s remember that they’re all people. Idk, I guess some people like the drama, but I’m here for the beautiful dances.
There was a huge Twitter campaign to pair Val/Meryl & Maks/Danica so I would have been very shocked if those pairings hadn’t happened. After all, you could vote unlimited and that campaign was huge and well organized! I don’t know how people were voting for the other pairings.
Not sure if anyone else had said this or not because I’m not seeing all of the comments for some reason, stupid phone, but I hope Derek and Nene have jazz and their song is Justin Timberlakes sexy back. That would be awesome!!
There was also a huge Twitter campaign for Meryl & Derek, Lisa – bigger and more well-organized than the Meryl/Val one. And yet it didn’t happen. Hmmmm. And you “don’t know how people were voting for other pairings”? I’m sorry, I must have missed the memo that said everyone in America had to vote Meryl/Val & Danica/Maks…
Uh oh. Maks had better behave and not act like a spoiled brat and treat Danica poorly. People are not going to vote for Meryl and Maks to win no matter how awesome Meryl is.
I have a feeling that the Meryl Derek dance may come in the finale somehow. And Meryl and Charlie will dance together in something. Producers shouldn’t lose the opportunity for that to happen!
Nene and Derek…. I’d like to see those 2 do something “Bollywood”… 🙂
Thinking about who has what agenda is giving me a migraine. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy this ride because I have a feeling something unexpectedly awesome is going to come from it.
Has Nene done contemporary yet? That might peeve Tony off if she does it with Derek and not him.
@CC what makes you think Derek wouldn’t teach Nene how to roll HIM? 😉
Maks had said in an interview or on twitter that he wanted his brother to have Meryl if anyone was to have her. So I think his fans put out that request. I didn’t hear who Val wanted Danica to partner with.
I hope Tony being upset isn’t edited for the show. That would be a shame for Tony.
I didn’t realize the resentment for Derek among the male pros. Don’t they think Derek deserves the praise? It’s not like he’s a kiss or lazy ass.
Courtney- I just meant, I didn’t know what campaigns were going on so I couldn’t comment on them. Didn’t say I voted for them or supported them…just made a comment that I had seen a campaign that was pretty big so I wasn’t surprised.
Heart #117, as well as a Meryl/Charlie routine, I won’t be surprised if the Team Dances in a couple weeks (presumably) will be Team Meryl and Team Charlie. 😉
As awesome as I think it’d have been to just see Meryl and Derek do one dance together, I’m actually very excited to see what he’ll do with Nene. With Tony, she’ll probably be out in the next few weeks, so I’d like to see her have one great dance first.
This entire Twitter voting fiasco has been so disappointing! I barely trusted TPTB before, and after reading all this, they’ve just completely swirled down the drain!
I’m concerned for Derek having to work with NeNe this week – not for dance, he’s a master there – but because I saw her on Donald Trump’s ‘Apprentice’ show – and SHE WAS POSITIVELY VILE!!!! Mean as a snake!!!! I hope THAT NeNe doesn’t show up for rehearsals with Derek. Once she’s back with Tony … WHO CARES!!!
Don’t know why Conrad and his minions cater to the C boys … they do nothing for me … never have. 😛
Amy will get all my votes … but who knows if those votes will even count. I’ve spent untold hours through the Seasons voting with an embarrassingly enormous number of e-mail accounts … always for Derek. But if he leaves the show … that’s it for me. I won’t waste my time voting, since they probably aren’t on the up-and-up in counting them anyway.
Thanks for this great site … I always enjoy everything you share with us …
And, speaking of sharing … Pretty Please … TELL, TELL … WHAT MORE DO YOU KNOW???
@ Heart #120: I don’t believe there is resentment for Derek among the male pros. I think they’re all friend and get along pretty well…I think it’s more some of the diehard fans who sometimes behave nasty…but of course that’s just my guess.
Well now that the cat’s out of the bag, I like that Peta has essentially confirmed her partner.
And Maks better behave himself. I’m going to feel bad for Meryl if he’s behaving like a jerk & that comes back to bite her when they’re partners again.
Damn imagine if Maks ever had to work with Elizabeth last season, they would have killed each other. As much as Danica may over analyze steps Elizabeth (I think) was 10 times worse. Any word on how Val deals with her on a weekly basis? Again, she probably seems easy compare to Elizabeth so for Val it’s probably a welcome.
All I’m going to say about this whole debacle is that for the first time ever, a few mil. women are probably wishing they were in NeNe’s shoes 🙂 lol!
I’m not happy about this pairing of Nene/& my DEREK as he has NOTHING to prove. I have an open mind but I can’t even imagine it-lol I know he won to dance with Meryl but obviously he or TPTB chose otherwise.-All I can say to that is a great BIG BOO & my fingers hurt from voting for the dream team pairing of he & Meryl but like my friends say, “it’s all good”
I will say though the James/Cheryl pairing is a hot one-Guess I’ll watch them.
After this fiasco with the Twitter voting, I must admit Im concerned if our weekly votes are really counted-just saying!!
@Cher .. I just had an image of that and omg that would be amazing. NeNe behind Derek doing Samba rolls.. Yes please!!
I just cannot wait to see what they come up with for whatever dance they do 😀 I am actually excited despite the fact all this switch up crap is…well… Crap.
Cody doing a Foxtrot with Sharna? That should be fun. The height should not be much of a problem so I think his frame will improve. I do think that we are going to see, yet again, Cody doing a little bit of his hip-hop moves.. Le sigh.
Anyone else super excited about Val and Meryl dancing the Argentine Tango? The last two he choreographed were phenomenal!!
#22 LMAO Courney–take no prisoners
Candace concerns: Maybe TPTB want her out, and gave her Tony.
NeNe concerns: (Not any) and conversely–gave NeNe Derek to keep her in.
Question is, Does Tony recognize an insult when it’s thrown his way?
Heart, I’ll answer your questions (JMO)
Who will act like a spoiled brat…pick Val or Maks
who will not get along….Tony
who will dance better with the new partner….Derek
who will dance poorly because of the new partner….Candace
#41 Did Mark & Jules reconcile after her snarky comments the 1st time she guest-judged?
#60 Courtney–still LMAO
Gotta stop for now, but I love the comments regarding this matter. I’m sure Conrad is reading along with us.
Finally–Manipulating Reality Shows ticks me off. But we don’t get to define the shows’ “Reality.”
However, back in the ancient days of game shows and payola, aren’t there some laws in place now that keeps them from tampering since the Celebs are paid to do this? Conrad might want to brush up on that. Or hell, maybe Sean’s lawyers are!
Audrey – I so agree with you. I wish that people could only vote once and done. Then we’d really see what’s what. I’m excited for Monday more than I’ve been this whole season
Meryl and Val: Argentine Tango.. I can live with that. I think an Arg. Tango from Derek and Meryl would have been a lot better but, Val’s Argentine Tango with Zendaya was great imo. (not so much the one with Elizabeth)
@S I am… His Argentine Tango are masterpiece! can’t wait to see their routine.
Wow….thanks for all the info!! I’m really excitIed about the Derek/Nene pairing. I’m hoping they have hip-hop or Broadway, with Nene’s larger than life personality not to mention stage presence either one of those would be a crowd pleaser for sure. I think Peta/Charlie will be quite striking just from an aesthetic viewpoint, hopefully they blend well together. As for Meryl….yes I’m bummed that I won’t get to SEE her and Derek work together. BUT an Argentine Tango between her and Val just sounds to good to be true!!!
For all those who laughingly voted for Derek and Nene, get ready to eat a heaping serving of crow. Perhaps a crow pie or a crow torte? He’s going to be fabulous with her and this is the first time this season I’m looking forward to watching her dance.
I’m actually feeling bad for Maks that Meryl is dancing Argentine Tango with Val instead of him. With him dancing with Forever Tango this past summer and Meryl’s ability to dance any steps he gives her, this should have been a memorable dance for them.
Maks and Danica as partners sounds like as good an idea as sticking your finger in an electrical socket.
NeNe and Derek? Such a bad pairing (idk if BAD describes it… maybe unexpected), but yet, I’ll have to vote for them due to the probable shock factor of how much of an improvement she makes with Derek. I mean, Tony’s decent with good partners but his choreography goes stale when given a challenge. With Amy, I’m realizing Derek just does well no matter who he’s given.
Who thinks that THIS week Nene will be “required” to wear heels for her dance?
Gotta follow them rules….eerrrrr, at least when it comes to that pesky Derek Hough…and uummmm, when we feel like it….ooohhhh and when we start doing the math to MAKE SURE one of the Cherm’s get that damn trophy ! I hope all these manipulators have migraines every day stressing their brains for an outcome THEY want, instead of what viewers want !!
And I still want to see Derek dance with Meryl and Cheryl dance with Charlie.
I think we can all agree that Nene is going to get her highest score of the season with Derek. This concerns Tony because he probably won’t be able to replicate that going forward. The main difference with Tony and Derek (yes, there are many) is that Derek is magnanimous and would want Amy to do well with Mark. He isn’t threatened. It is about her and not him.
Thanks for sharing……I was dying to know how they will ignore our votes and have their way. Derek is the BEST. There’s no doubt in my mind he will make even NeNe look great……height difference and all. What I wouldn’t give to take one of his classes…*a girl can dream* Val and Meryl…..totally shocked *rolling eyes*.
The ones I voted for who are together are:
Danica and Maks
Meryl and Val
Drew and Witney
I am excited to see this all shake out!
Candace tweeted that she’s having a lot of fun with her new partner! That’s good to know she’s having fun with it (but, I knew she would).
TPTB want Maks to win. Their plan is to have Maks get Danica eliminated, because they know the family will have to split vote. That fact along with the fact that Ice Dancing fans will have to split their vote makes it hard to control final vote, especially since it might be Derek as the fourth person.
They also get their surprise elimination, which helps ratings.
Ok I know this isn’t true but imaginations can run wild in a week trying to analyze this switch stuff.
I for one can not wait until things are back to normal.
From what I understand, Memere, you don’t have to worry about Derek and Nene. She was apparently impressed (or even shocked) by what she saw from him and is listening to what he says.
#PH — The NeNe/Derek pairing is turning out to be the most interesting aspect of this whole mess.
Maks already choreogrpahed a Jive. I hope he does not have it again.
I thought that Amy would dance paso or a ballroom bc that skirt on the instagram pic…
Btw, I loved NeNe-Derek. It will be certainly a pleasure to watch. The guy can fit himself with any star and she’s a lot of fun to watch. Think she’s a char that he never had on the show and I’m pretty sure they’ll do an excelente job together =)
@ #132 Dance with you
Regarding your last paragraph, I also thought that there were laws in place after the $64,000 Question debacle a few decades ago. I know Pat Sejak on Wheel of Fortune has alluded to them when he shows the $1 MM card whenever it’s on the wheel – he says he has to.
Moderators, do you have any knowledge on this? It would be nice to know that there might be some constraints on TPTB, even when they made such a mess of the switch voting.
THANKS P.H. for easing my mind about my guy … have loved him since seeing him help his little sis in rehearsals/Season 4 with Apolo.
Seriously, Miss NeNe was like a COBRA ready to strike on that ‘Apprentice’ show … so glad to read she’s (happily?) going with the flow in rehearsals.
I do hope she has an enjoyable week with Derek, cuz she’s one LUCKY WOMAN … I, for one, would LOVE spending a week with Derek!!!! If I were a betting woman, I’d gamble A BUNDLE NeNe will have her best dance of the competition (at least thus far) on Monday. Wonder what it will be … any hints?
I am a bit sad not to see Derek and Meryl together … would have loved seeing at least one dance from them!!!! 🙁
Most of these new pairings suck. I especially wanted Charlie with Cheryl because she is one of the best female choreographers who could deliver a mature and traditional dance for him and work on the things that he’s been having trouble with. As much as I like him with Sharna she hasn’t been very traditional this season. I’m not a big fan of Peta. She seems to really over-sex her partners and that’s not really Charlie. They are totally miss matched and I feel like he was given Peta so Meryl would continue looking superior to him (as she has a much better partner with Val). I also don’t like the idea of Nene with Derek as he will probably help save her for another week. And Amy with Mark? You’ve got to be kidding me, TPTB. I was actually looking forward to the switch up but if these are the pairings then I’ll pass (even though I’ll still watch the episode of course).
I bet Tony is pissed…if NeNe gets a higher score with Derek OR is singing his praises…then Tony looks bad..lol. (And there is my confirmation from Court #64) Well heck just when I thought I was uber smart…Courtney took me down with one sentence. What dance would they get that make Tony mad? It has to be something where height doesn’t matter and where they can get a good score. It has to be upbeat and fun I would think. She has done the jive and cha cha so…hmmm. Help me out folks, a dancer I am not…lol. Can you tell I am writing this piece meal yet…lol.
The pro issue is why in my opinion Maks didn’t want the switch and probably threw a huge fit about it. I think they made the statement about Amy and Mark on the show and had to go with it, but already knew they couldn’t really do anything ugly with Amy, because they would look like bigger douche bags (ummm can I say that) than they are anyway. (Hope I don’t end up in the comment moderation trash today Court…lol 🙂 )
Plus in their narrow minded view, they probably thought they would fool everyone until Pure came out with the numbers…lol.
I hate to say it folks, but nothing will quiet the Derek haters, if he dances with a cement block it would suddenly become a ringer. If they admit Derek is the genius he is, then they have to look at the Cherm bros and admit they are great pro dancers but not teachers and I don’t think that is going to happen. I hear you Raine about wanting Derek to school the producers BUT he isn’t going to bite of his nose to spite his face. Remember he is the creative director for the Macy’s Stars of Dance and I think is going to have a different but better job going forward with DWTS than simply pro. I think he is a smart business man.
Well Monday night is going to be interesting. I think in the words of Jennifer Gray “you can’t put baby in a corner,” will be highlight of the night with the Derek and NeNe routine. And I think Tony should be afraid, because NeNe is not known for her “politically correct” behavior and while she may be told to put a lid on her thoughts while on DWTS, just wait until she is voted out. She will probably have a lot to say. Between she, Sean, and Bill Dee secrets of DWTS may not be so secret anymore after the season.
I’m really excited about this! As I’ve said, I’m trying to keep an open mind to this. And I think Derek will work WONDERS with NeNe!
I have another prediction: I think that we will see a Meryl/Derek dance, if only for a few seconds, later this season. Why? TEAM DANCES. If they are on the same team, they might be able to work something out. And barring anything crazy with Amy, they may even be able to trio together. Wait… who am I kidding? That would be a fam/non-fam matchup. Not good.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think we’ll see a Meryl and Charlie dance together at some point in the competition. I’m not sure how, but I bet we will.
“Karma is a bitch and this may not be the trainwreck they hoped for.” PH, are you referring to Derek, Fam, or producers? THANK YOU for releasing a bunch of stuff, and I would so much appreciate it to know more! But that would be too greedy.
I also wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for being so accepting of me on this site! 🙂 🙂
I think the Celebs who got screwed the worst in TPTB’s manipulations were Drew and Candace! I LOVE Amy but I might be tempted to throw all my votes to Candace this week. I would HATE to see her voted off next week because she got saddled with the weakest choreographer of the remaining male pros in my opinion. So yeah, I think I’ll vote for CCB next week!
Thanks Court for sharing what you know! I greatly appreciate it!
Awesome work! Now I will have to watch to see NeNe! Why is Tony upset and what does he do when he is. Is there telling that people are overhearing in rehearsals. Just curious how that little tidbit got out.
Would love the mods thoughts on
1. Did the lack of twitter votes for the pop stars give any indication on elimination support voting?
2. Do you agree this will unite the Derek fans in bloc twitter voting for encores or any future twitter voting?
Sherry2
I see it more as a dig to Derek trying to prove a stupid point- NOT NeNe, after all she’s dancing with the most decorated pro on the show-the height difference will be the only thing she’d have to deal with -knowing Derek he’ll make that work too-he’s the best -she’s lucky IMO
Aw, Candace fans on twitter are still hoping she is paired with Derek. They most not know their votes were never counted. I am sure they will still vote for her. I love Amy & Derek together so my votes will follow Amy no matter who her partner is. They will be back together again so I don’t want Amy to leave early.
Meaning fans of other pros trying to prove an unfounded point regarding Derek & his previous partners.
Nene is in great hands-and Tony knows it too-lol
The fact that NeNe is pleasantly surprised by Derek means that *someone* was talking down about Derek to her, and basically making her afraid or hesitant to dance with him – or certain that it would be a disaster.
Maybe they gave jazz? Nene and Derek.
It is funny if nene is surprised by how good Derek is considering his wins and Emmy. Tony must be spreading lies, lol
“They are totally miss matched and I feel like he was given Peta so Meryl would continue looking superior to him (as she has a much better partner with Val).”
Lizzie, you and I are likeminded. Charlie got off to a stronger start. Getting Cheryl would have made him rebound “likethat” next week, so of course, give him Peta, and Meryl, Val. I have to say I’m sort of curious how much Val is going to be able to get Meryl to actually do it at the level of footwork, control, and balance.
Now, I’ve watched Maks for years. If I’d known this place existed I’d have participated or at least lurked long ago, because Pure DWTs is singing my song. Maks, in addition to being most of what Pure DWTs says he is, also thinks he understands fans, marketing, etc. He’s got a manager who is lowest common denominator, so if you understand p.r. at all, you can see his very basic, dumbed down moves from space. (Such as the whole Kate Upton deal.)
So, my perspective. Meryl Davis’s fans hold her in a certain light. Charlie White thus far has failed to validate the way Meryl Davis’s fans want to see her. Since I’ve followed this for years, I can’t help but believe that everything Maks has said and done in regards to Meryl is pitched straight at her fans, because he’s researched her fans. “I’m attracted to her. She’s a princess. Nobody else can have her. She’s the greatest talent on the planet.” All of this is what MD’s hardest-core fans want to hear, because she’s offbeat, and has often skated in the shadow of Charlie, who has a conventionally glamorous girlfriend. Just understand Charlie has said that when he wants to be passionate on ice, he thinks of Big Blue (Michigan Football). Not Meryl.
Okay. My point is, Maks “Not getting along with Danica” is, I suspect, intentional. Maks can only work with Meryl. Only Meryl. He is so emotional about Meryl he is rude to Danica.
Let’s see if he’s calculated accurately about the size of Meryl’s fan following.
Anyone else think Meryl and Val will get the first perfect score of the season? When I saw they had Argentine Tango, I rolled my eyes.
I just can’t go with this Derek and Nene thing. I just can’t. This whole switch up thing was a fail. If they weren’t going to use the votes, they should’ve just picked names out of a hat on live television. But they probably would’ve found some way to fix that, too. Either way, like I said, the whole thing is a fail.
Fancy – Meryl Davis on ice and off, struggles with holding her limbs in space without external support. You saw the kicks in the foxtrot. Bam up bam down. Argentine Tango requires sustained lines in space, lots and lots of held lines. Not limbs pinned by the partner and not bam bam. If Val can get her to do it, props to him. I’m expecting workarounds.
I’m new here so don’t laugh at my obvious unawareness at certain things but reading through the responses on here, I’m wondering about something.
Is there some kind of rift between the male pros on this show? Specifically, Derek/Mark Vs. Tony/the brothers? I know Derek’s fans and fans of Maks are in a constant state of bickering (not all, just a whole lot) but I never knew if that extended to the actual pros.
Seems like a lot of people are on board with the idea that the producers will do anything to get Maks a win this year. Do you guys think they feel they need to do that to keep the fans happy because Derek has had too much success on the show?
Thanks for sharing the great scoop.
I think Meryl and Val’s Argentine Tango will be perfect 10s.
Charlie and Peta are mismatched.
Meryl and Charlie’s packages will likely be centered around Stars On Ice and them having to practice both dancing and skating now. They had to learn 5 new skating numbers in less than 4 days! So the switch is probably no big deal for them.
NeNe and Derek: Ok I’m curious. I think she will be in heels this week. I’m surprised they didn’t get the Argentine Tango to really make Tony look bad.
Amy and Mark will also be amazing.
Candace and Tony should be fine in the end.
Cheryl and James will look great.
@163 Fancy
Wouldn’t it be better if she was dancing Argentine Tango with Maks, though? Maks is the one who did Forever Tango. I read that Val’s first time doing Argentine Tango was with Zendaya a few seasons ago, so it’s not like it’s his best dance whereas it should be one of Maks’.
I’m sorry to read that we won’t get to see one dance from Derek and Meryl — it would be like having Astaire and Rogers on the same bill and then not pairing them. Talk about a missed opportunity!
That said, I actually love the idea of Derek giving Nene a memorable, fantastically choreographed dance to remember her experience by. You know he’ll come through for her, as he always does.
My guess is that Maks was concerned about Meryl being shown to even greater advantage with Derek, and the producers indulged him for whatever reason. While his comments about the show, his previous partners, etc., are invariably self-serving and kinda dumb, I think Meryl is a rare, ethereal talent and I don’t doubt that he is genuinely inspired by her. But if they ultimately win, it will be because of her ability and their chemistry, rather than his choreography.
It’s sad that Derek and NeNe are getting along, and she is enjoying her time with Derek, and that they WILL have the best dance she’s ever done… And the Derek haters will find some reason to hate Derek. It’ll be “too much in hold” or “too much out of hold” or “doesn’t use enough of the floor” or “uses too much of the floor” or “lacks one specific move” or “her footwork was bad in one spot”……..
dan -this is a reality show. Derek, Mark and Val have known each other for years and seem to be good friends off camera. There have been lots of clips off the show of them doing things in the evenings – some with Maks as well
Candace’s fans might want her to be paired with Derek, but Candace herself asked to be paired with Maks or Val. She has tweeted for years about wanting to be on DWTS, and about her crush on Maks.
I love Derek, but I don’t like Nene, so this was the worse possible pairing for me. The only good thing about it is that Derek will be able to shut up his critics by making her shine.
I’m in total agreement with those that are saying this is bad for Candace if Tony is her partner. The producers are clearly downgrading her and moving her out. And it really saddens me, because she’s a very good dancer and has the potential to be a great dancer.
It’s being set up to give one of the C brothers the win.
It doesn’t matter that “Maks has already choreographed a Jive” as IT’S NOT ABOUT HIM, it’s about the celebrity.
Nene keeps says she’s pleasantly surprised. Maybe, due to how create he made it work with the height difference?
Drat, I meant
Nene says she’s pleasantly surprised. Maybe, due to how creative he made it work with the height difference?
No, Butterfly, I don’t think it means that at all. I think she was duly impressed by his moves because of her own doubts – she’s the one who called him “munchkin” plus he’s as much a white boy as one can get. And really, do you blame her? She is a tall, big boned woman and he’s an average height, slender guy – she has to be concerned that she’s going to look bad next to him. I sure don’t blame her for being worried. I think the reaction I’ve heard about is her being relieved and very pleasantly surprised how well it’s going to work.
We’ll see! 🙂
It’s two separate things as I see it, Fancy. TPTB are assholes for screwing this up so royally, especially when it could have been so EASY if they had just put a bit of thought into it. That’s separate from seeing what Nene can do with Derek – and I suspect it is a LOT. She’s not the best dancer on the show this season, but she’s not the worst either. And I think she will hold her own on Monday, against all the ringers.
Yeah, because of DEREK they are friends off camera. If it was me and they had said the shit they said, I sure wouldn’t be friends with either of them.
some of these pairings sound really interesting, even if it is “producers choice” as someone posted, lol. i think the bigger elephant in the room (that people might finally start questioning, since the switch-up pairings are obviously not decided by the viewers) is who decides who wins the show each season… producers mirror-ball? 😉
Wow Diane #162…you are giving Maks credit for being smarter and much more manipulative than I think he is capable of being. Wouldn’t he have figured out before this season to just shut his mouth and be kinder?
I feel bad for NeNe in some ways as well as some of the other celebs. NeNe will have a great week with Derek, he will make sure of it, but reading all the crap and how she “passed” off by the guys who OWN a company together is really pitiful. I hope when the season is all over, she does realize who had it out for her.
I hope we aren’t going to have a repeat of the All Star season, when the outcome was unfortunate. This is nothing against Melissa, but again she was a pawn in that situation.
If I was a pro I wouldn’t want to win because someone thought it was my turn. I would want to win because I had made my celeb the best. I have never been a dancer but I sing and have since I was a little girl. If someone had told me my vocal coach had never won and that is why I had won, it would have taken the joy out of the win. However, these Maks and Val fans don’t care, they want a win by any means. It is sad, really sad. I guess they don’t see how they are selling their pro who they indicate they love so much short. I really think that in general, for the most part, the television audience ultimately picks the winner. However, that still confuses me a little in regard to the Melissa win.
Yeah, because of DEREK they are friends off camera. If it was me and they had said the shit they said, I sure wouldn’t be friends with either of them.
Word. People say that Derek is evil and all that. The thing is, he is way too nice. If it was me, I wouldn’t talk to them at all. I wouldn’t even look in their direction. I would walk right by them if they would try to say something to me.
But Derek? He talks to them. He hangs out with them. I’m sure he knows the garbage they say about him. But he just lets that roll off his back and can handle being in the same room with them. I couldn’t do that.
Keep your friends close, your frien-emies closer! Derek is not a bridge burner regarding this show or the peeps on it. I would say Maks is damn lucky to even be back on the show. Maybe his fans pushed it, even though PURE has pointed out time and again Maks or no Maks makes no difference in the ratings.
Man I love these boards….
A few things:
1. I kind of get why TPTB might have ‘confused’ people with the space/no space thing. Anyone who knows twitter knows that there shouldn’t be a space, but if TPTB wanted #DWTS trending high – there’s got to be some monetary value to that – the spaces makes sense. To all of us that use twitter, not so much.
2. I also think I get why TPTB are working to keep the ‘fam’ happy. As much as we all love derek (and man, i can’t imagine the show without him) – he is going to leave and go onto bigger and better things. They need Pros that can pull viewers. The C-bros may not be pulling as many as Derek does, but they sure do better than the new pros (and good lord, Tony). Planning for the future i guess. I just wish they’d let some of the newbies (Henry, Tristan) get some good partners to stick around longer – they might be the better pros to pull the DWTS demo.
3. I too can’t wait for Derek/Nene. He is such a master choreographer – he creates dances that make his partners shine, as opposed to just walking around the dance floor with them (ahem Maks) or dancing around them (ahem Peta et all…). He uses their strengths – for Jennifer, flexibility and lines, Amber – showmanship – and makes them look better, puts them front and center in the performance (ahem Mark) that engages the audience, who then get invested and vote. Even if her scores don’t move significantly (ahem Three Stooges) it will be her best dance – and I bet her highest viewer votes.
As always, thanks for the great info and board to all the moderators!
Why, pray tell, is Tony so upset? Can you give any details?
The way Derek handles/ignores the crap that swirls around is really another part of his brilliance. Derek knows better than to, and has the discipline not to, squander any of his energy by bringing any of that stuff into focus. Way too much a waste of what he knows is most valuable, which is creative energy. All of his energy goes toward creating positives. Period. If he didn’t live by this rule I don’t think he could do all of what he does. And none of this is moralistic. It’s the ultimate in practicality, and something to which I aspire. We will most certainly see it at work in his dance with NeNe. Seeing NeNe’s transformation after a week in the presence of this energy master will be remarkable.
If this is how DWTS handles viewer votes, why vote at all? This whole thing reminds me of the rigged quiz show scandals in the 50’s that were investigated by Congress and shut down. I don’t see how TPTB can honestly explain this whole mess. While it’s not the end of the world, and I understand wanting to improve ratings, etc., I’m a longtime fan that’s not going to support it any longer by voting. It seems like a slippery slope to me. I also don’t feel Derek needs to prove himself to haters by doing a good job with a tall woman who isn’t a ringer. I’d much rather see him dance with the ringer that so many of us voted for. His excellence brings such joy to people. Obviously, I haven’t made the lemonade out of the lemons yet. 🙂
183 Sueb – The thing that gets me though Sue, is that in the release they issued to clarify the voting process, TPTB said “spaces are fine.” Not “mandatory,” not “your vote won’t be counted if you don’t include spaces” just “spaces are fine.” By that point, they certainly knew about the questions about voting and that many were voting without spaces, that seems obvious from the decision to issue the clarification. So, it seems they were either intentionally misleading or they didn’t decide that spaces were required until after the voting was over so they could justify the pairings they wanted.
Personally, I don’t think this sitution suggests they mess around with regular voting. That is an established process that I think is monitored (maybe because of the quiz show scandals of the past?). I just think they tried to do something new and didn’t think it through properly and created one big, unholy mess that they then had to figure their way out of. Unfortunately, their solution seems to be “let’s just figure out a plausible basis for the pairings we want, limit the damage by making it one week only, then carry on as normal and hope nobody notices or creates too big a stink over it.” I am sure that’s why the decision to announce it’s just one week right off the bat. It diffuses the whole situation and increases the chance that it’s just a blip everyone forgets about quickly.
If Danica & Maks have the Jive, does that mean Danica & Val won’t get to do Jive? That would be ashamed, because I love watching Val do the Jive, he is the BEST at doing Jive
Well, I seasons ago accepted that this show lacks scruples and stopped voting, so I didn’t invest in this contrived, cockamamie, clusterF of a partner switch. My only concern was that Amy, given her unique challenges, be paired with someone with an approach to do her justice and was relieved that she got one of the two remaining options.
I did not want to see Meryl with Derek given their history but was hoping to see NeNe with Maks for physicality and entertainment value but now find myself looking forward to how/what she does with her “munchkin.” Meanwhile, the thought of motormouth Danica sharing the same rehearsal hall as ‘thou shalt not talk in my domain’ Maks is amusing to no end. It could yield a good dance, but there is a physical and energy difference to overcome there. I also think Meryl is better paired with Val on every count and take a bit of satisfaction that the Maksonistas are POed she’ll be dancing AT with someone else. Lastly, I can see Candace and Tony’s conservative natures and personalities meshing very well.
On the male side of things, Disappointed Peta got Charlie ad Whitney seems a misfit for Drew. Meh on Cody and expecting good things from James and Cheryl.
Could Tony be upset because he thinks NeNe might want to stay with Derek? We all know how Derek reaches deep into the soul of his partners and brings out the best in them. Derek just works magic and NeNe will be no exception. I will be voting for Amy since she will be back with Derek after this week. Derek sweetens every situation. He and NeNe will be amazing.
The person with the really big challenge this week I think is Drew. No one seems to think Whitney is all that much and even tho people like Drew … Glad Val got AT with Meryl – it should be exciting and Maks is always supportive of his brother (and Tony) if no one else
I just don’t like how they switched things up. It’s understandable that Derek couldn’t travel with Meryl this week due to his commitment for his movie plus the Macy’s Stars of Dance performance on Monday. So then who was his 2nd female that he got the most votes. LOTS of people wanted to see Candace with Derek.
Regardless. TPTB switched things up to the ChmerCocky brothers liking.
I dunno – I still have a shred of hope that the actual winner is by votes. Surely they would have preferred a Zendaya win, since she’s the Disney darling. And look at all they did to keep Chelsea Kane on the show only to have her get the boot at the finale. Wasn’t Corbin also “connected” in some way that they would prefer that he win?
I still think that perhaps it’s not “the win” that matters to them, but the journey along the way. And if they can make that Journey as “exciting” (in their minds) it keeps the ratings high as people turn in to see what will happen. They will manipulate the hell out of the show (the packages, the judges scores, etc) to make sure the people they find important stick around for a long time…but I have to wonder if who actually gets the mirror ball by the time they get to Week 10 or 11 really matters to them. Now, did they tell Billy Dee he had to quit for medical reasons? Beats me. Perhaps Nene was next in line and they were salivating to see her dance with Derek. Or perhaps they told him to quit for medical reasons so they didn’t eliminate the man in a crap way like they did Diana?? Who knows. I’m certainly no DWTS apologist, but a thinking person (yeah, yeah, I know) would recognize that if the chant of the show being “fixed” becomes too loud, it’s OVER.
Good points! I’d hate for the show to be over. I’d just like to see them not mess around with voting. The rest is fair game.
Well it looks like 4 of my predictions were right (James & Cheryl, NeNe & Derek, Drew & Witney, Charlie & Peta) I also had:
Amy & Maks (I wanted to see how Maks would handle a double amputee)
Meryl & Tony (I wanted to see what Tony could do with a ringer since his partners are either a hit or miss in the dance category)
*This statement does not apply to Stacy Kiebler, Audrina Patridge, Chynna Phillips, or Melissa Rycroft)
Candace & Val (It seemed like a good match up at the time)
Danica & Mark (See Candace & Val)
Cody & Emma (Can’t happen now)
Billy Dee & Sharna (Can’t happen now)
I might be the minority here, but I’m glad Derek did not get Meryl, just due to the prior work-relationship they have. He(Derek) did help choreograph Meryl and Charlie’s routine, and if memory serves right it was for the Olympics, so I don’t feel that he should be paired with her. All other stars are being paired with pros they have never worked with before, why should Meryl get the “leg up” in that case and work with Derek? I know people are saying that she had expressed interest in dancing with Derek, and that it was only Maks who wanted her with Val, but if you are going to nitpick Maks’ reasoning then let’s nitpick Meryl’s reasoning- why would she want Derek over the others? Oh that’s right SHE HAS ALREADY WORKED WITH HIM BEFORE! Not that much better of a reason than Maks’ “I trust Val more”, or Derek’s “Amy wants Mark because she trusts him more” excuses. *and as for the rumours that “Old” Maks is back, I’ve noticed that Meryl was really the first star he’s had who didn’t talk back to him, she did any good student does, and listened to what the teacher said. From weeks 1-3, doesn’t look like Danica is like that and probably complained because he began to “push” her to do better(not accepting the “I can’t” or ” I’m not a dancer.” excuses.*
Okay rant aside, are we 100% sure that these are the pairs? I know most times if something is leaked it is correct, but are we sure?
Oh and a friend who works in marketing brought this up when we were discussing the show’s screw up of a switch. He mentioned that if the show is only shown in the USA(and we know you can’t really vote outside USA unless you create a fake address and fib on the zip code part) they might have meant for only USA viewers to vote. Not the best plan if they were using twitter since you cannot limit tweets/hashtags to a specific country, but he mentioned that might have been what happened. E.G.- they wanted to see what the “fans” wanted to have happen and when they saw votes from outside the “designated vote area” they started to regret their idea as it was making it harder to control (not a grat excuse but it is plausible). Therefore they either eliminate some votes to “fix it” or just went with some random order to try and fix the whole thing.
Lynn, I don’t think I’m giving Maks credit for being smart, necessarily, but manipulative, yes. Or at least wannabe. Doesn’t mean it works. If it worked he’d have had the mirror ball by now. Maks, IMO, spends too much time on non dance-floor b.s. and drama, and no time addressing his shortcomings in choreography, or in problem-solving his celebrity’s abilities in order to showcase their best while concealing their issues. It’s overcompensation.
Those are areas where Derek, obviously, excels. That’s why Derek wins. Not from getting the best partners. All these seasons I’m still amazed that despite all the drama, all the I’m a good boy now, the new, improved Maks, his choreographic approach is still the same. Tony at least redeemed himself for me when he choreographed for Melissa Rykoff. He lucked into somebody that he usually didn’t get, and at least by All Stars wasn’t just doling out granny choreography anymore, and it was miles better than what he’d done with Stacey Kiebler.
Showmancing is one of Maks’ big go to’s. He’s so on the nose with how he talks about Meryl it could be taken out of Davis White fanfiction. I don’t completely trust he “didn’t want to switch.” I’m thinking that’s all part of his pitch towards the presumed huge Davis White fan following and what he’s picked up about them. He’s saying everything about her they wanted Charlie to say.
For anyone else yeah, this would be OTT, but not for him. He’s got this cycle, this pattern.
That said, I’m very curious how Val designs Argentine tango for himself and Meryl. I wouldn’t presume she can hold (unsupported) lines in space the way Zendaya could or how Amy can this week. I’ve never seen her do it. This is more of a challenge for Val, given the dance assignment, than people may believe.
When Amy and Derek have Argentine tango, whenever it comes, that will kill.
Teresa, if that was the case then they shouldn’t have allowed us to vote for Derek and Meryl. How hard is that to understand?
I felt Derek and Nene’s dance had to be jazz. Anything in hold would have been unfair and downright cruel to her. I’m sure all the Maks fans will be disappointed along with Tony, given the countless hours they spent voting for this pair with the hope that they would embarrass themselves. Check it, Maksinistas.
I am so sad about the fact that producers are practically laughing in our faces… I really love this show, and it has a special meaning in my heart ( heck I started dancing because of it…) but the more the producers are acting like assholes (sorry for the word) the less I want to watch this show and that makes me so sad… thank god there is no drama in the version of DWTS in my country… well at last not this big.
That´s been told, I am curious to see Cody and Sharna and James and Cheryl…
Thanks to the mods for all the juicy scoops!
Looking at the dances for Monday, it seems that most of them suit the pro really well. They are dances that the pros have stated in past interviews that they prefer. I may be wrong in this observation, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the producers tried to minimize the challenges of a new partnership by letting the pros do what they like best.
Yeah, SueB this is what I said several days ago – there is a reason to keep giving Val (and Maks) great partners. Derek has one foot out the door. It’s a miracle he’s back this season at all, but they managed to entice him with Amy. They know as well as we do that he would love to dance with a great woman like her. Since they know he’s leaving, they have to have someone to fill that role. I, personally, don’t think Val is it. They keep trying to make him happen -but I don’t think he is. Just look at what happens when Maks comes back. It’s like Val has faded into the back ground. And I seriously doubt that Maks is back long term, so best to keep both C-bros happy so Val sticks around.
I really do think they should give Henry another shot.
Yes, Carol, it should mean that. The dances most likely follow the celebrity, not the pro. Why would they follow the pro??? The show isn’t about them. So that SHOULD mean that Danica is done with the jive after this week. Unless she gets toward the end and it comes up in one of the repeat dances.
Of course, if someone isn’t doing as well as they want that person to do, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a repeat dance earlier in an effort to get them better scores. It’s a shame I have to qualify everything now because in the back of my mind there is the thought that the producers will change the rules to suit them, when it suits them.
Has Tony every choreographed Jazz before? I don’t remember seeing it. He should be glad Derek is handling this one. NeNe will look amazing, giving her a chance to stick around longer.
Dear troll,
If you think the person who wrote this post was “so upset” – you are projecting in a huge way. Considering the other things you wrote in your three attempts to post here were all rather outraged sounding, I’m sure this is the case. You are the one upset – otherwise that sound of gnashing teeth wouldn’t be so freakin’ loud. 🙂 Let me reassure you – I’m not upset at all. I think it’s HILARIOUS that Maks fans are now desperately trying to convince me and Courtney that DWTS is absolutely fair (except when Derek wins, yo). I also think it’s hilarious that Nene is having a good time with Derek and that Maks and Danica are fighting and that Meryl is doing an AT with VAL. LOL – you poor things. Even when you “win” (by hook or by crook) you lose. 🙂 Poor thing.
If you want to post here, dear troll, you make it about the show. Not me, not Courtney, not “Derek fans”, and not the site as a whole. Until you can figure out them’s the rules, ya ain’t playin’ here. I haven’t blocked you yet (cuz in reality, I’m the one who delays toooo long in blocking people), but I will if I have to.
Have a Nice Day!
Heidi
LOL Fran – did you do that with a straight face? “his partners are either hit or miss in the dance cateogory” *This statement does not apply to Stacy Kiebler, Audrina Patridge, Chynna Phillips, or Melissa Rycroft)” Um…that’s FIVE partners that you just excluded. And I would add Marissa Jaret Winokur, Leah Remini and Jane Seymor. Yeah, poor Tony.
I don’t know, i think the pairing came out perfectly. I love Derek to death and that is why i feel it is a compliment to him that he can make anyone he dances with look amazing. Personally the whole switch up idea was just a waste of time, but it happened. The whole Chmerkovskiy fam thing is not true in my opinion. It’s not their fault they have a huge fanbase. Zendaya has 4.27m followers on twitter and people love her. When she posted “let’s keep it in the fam,” all her 4.27m fans and all the fans of the bros went to work. This switch is completely right. I saw the meryl/derek switch votes, but they were clearly outnumbered. Maks is a person who loves dancing, and i totally respect him for that. I love both Maks and Derek equally, but I think Maks is always in the line of fire. If he’s happy, people are upset, if he’s angry people are upset. I think the man deserves a break. I understand his attitude hasn’t been the best in the past seasons, but i think he sees meryl as more than just a “ringer.” The interview after the week three foxtrot (http://www.accesshollywood.com/meryl-davis-maksim-chmerkovskiy-talk-near-kiss-on-dwts_video_2093337)clearly showed that he just appreciates her. He liked his other partners, but he actually said that he is enjoying himself and not even worried about winning. Maks and Meryl were robbed their first two weeks and everyone knows it. He did not get upset and it seemed as though he honestly didn’t care. He was just happy he could have fun while dancing with someone he connects with. I think Danica is a sweetheart, but she does seem a bit playful and anybody who loves what they do saves the playfulness for break-time or after practice is over. Honestly, the only people that are complaining are the fans of Derek. It would have been the same complaints reversed if Derek would have got meryl. All the Maks fans would’ve been throwing a fit saying we voted three times as much as the meryl/derek fans. Honestly, we are people that like to get what we want. We will always call something rigged if what we wanted didn’t happen. I don’t care about this switch anymore, all it did was create more drama. I love dancing with stars this season because of Meryl and Maks’s relationship. Even if Meryl and Maks don’t win the MBT, i just want them to be a couple. ;P This has been the most interesting and most enjoyable DWTS ever! (btw, i love all the contestants and pros, they’re amazing) ♥
You miss the point, Teresa. The producers let us vote for what we “wanted to see” in terms of pairing. If Meryl was going to be off limits, they should have said so straight away. Instead, they made it open season, wrote up the rules…and then did whatever they wanted.
The point about Maks is that he was an ass to say such a thing. He said HE only trusts Meryl with Val – not at all the same thing as Derek saying what AMY wanted. Maks made it about him, Derek made it about his partner. Which explains their records a good bit.
As for the outside the US thing?? Excuses excuses – getting tired of hearing them. They don’t care where the votes come from – they get Ad revenue from them, most likely. Same goes for twitter.
i think Maks didn’t want her with anyone because he has actually grown to LIKE her. In the beginning i thought he was ignoring her and kinda just using her stardom, but it seems to have changed. I think he only wanted her with val because the cameras can’t follow them. If Maks wants to scold his brother for getting to touchy with Meryl, he can because that’s his bro. In some pics of val and meryl, maks was not at all comfortable with val hugging her. It seems that Maks wanted this to happen so he could keep an eye on meryl.
Oh tiny – you just don’t understand numbers and research, do you? Well, you can believe us or not, your choice. But you are wrong. Four different people analyzed the numbers and none of the pairing got matched that except Amy/Mark as shown in Courtney’s post. And Maks fans throw fits when the wind blows the wrong way. Too bad.
And I’m pretty sure it’s more than Derek fans complaining – it’s everyone EXCEPT Maks fans. Except they aren’t really happy either, are they. 🙂
I never thought these words would ever come out of my mouth but…. I will be glad when this week of DWTS is over.
Charlie and Peta’s rumba, if that is what they have, will be…interesting. Everyone says Meryl has always been the more intense and expressive of the two, and while he’s super charismatic, he’s not a natural actor. If it took 17 years to draw the passion out of him, idk how far he’ll get with Peta in a week. Sharna has done a good job with him so far, so I wish he could have done the rumba with her.
Oh dear. Troll can’t read. Buh bye.
Heidi, I disagree Maks isn’t back long term. What else is he going to do? LOL
ITinyPerson – totally agree with you
But if he finally wins, Donna, why would he come back?
And if he doesn’t win…why would he come back?? 🙂
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Just want to say that Maks and Meryl being a couple creeps me out (sorry!). I like Maks but I don’t want her to be the 3rd woman on the show that he has been with. She deserves better.
Yeah Heidi, I just wish Tony had a few more ringers to add to his DWTS resume. They should mix up who gets what type of partner every season. Some pros always get the young, athletic contender. Tristan doesn’t ALWAYS have to get them. I mean Nancy, Gladys, Pamela, and Valerie were total ringers. That’s 4 ringers out of his 5 celebrity partners, sooo unfair. Let’s give Val, Peta, and Mark a chance for the MBT.
I just think that this was the best pairing (although i hated the whole idea from the beginning). Mark is a really gentle so he needs to be with amy. He will treat her as Derek did. I don’t think maks fits with anyone besides meryl to be honest. It’s becasue his personality is so sports-like, and meryl is an athlete. (Plus they’re in love) >.< Charlie and peta is a good match because Charlie is very nerdy (in a cute way) and peta is spicy, so she will try to bring that hidden pizzazz out of him. Sharna and Cody are both from Australia if i'm not mistaken, so that have something in common, which will probably lead to him respecting her more because she is older and more experienced. Cheryl and James will be amazing because they're both fun and nice. They seem like they'll be best friends. Nene and Derek are both fun and understanding. She just wants to be given a chance and Derek will give her encouragement. Tony and Candace will probably work well because he is mature and she is as well. They will have an educated talk and then find ways to make everything better. Drew and witney will probably do better than what people expected because she isn't going to be afraid of bringing that young soul out of drew. All her routines are energetic and cool. I thin drew will enjoy that. Val and meryl…val is val. It didn't matter who meryl would have danced with. I kind at first wanted to see her with derek too, but we saw their epicness through her and charlie's gold medal performance. I think this is going to be interesting. If maks loses his temper, that's his fault. If he really cares about Meryl he would suck it up and just wait for her return while genuinely being kind to danica.
oh and thanks leah, i appreciate that 🙂
Oops I accidently submitted the same comment twice. Sorry!
Er, Mark has two mirrorballs and has danced with three Olympians. Just sayin’.
#nl i do agree with you on the fact that she’ll be the third woman he dates from the show, but this is completely different. His chemistry with her is off the charts. She isn’t like the other ladies who just found maks to be extremely attractive. He knew they all thought he was hot and he probably thought that to be childish which probably made him a bit angry because he is extremely serious about dancing. Meryl actually makes him chase her. You’ve got to see the pics of val hugging her. He was so sad because he knew that val could possibly get her in the switch. Plus the interview, which is here — he grabbed her and she was totally unaware. He said she was strong which clearly means he knows when women fall for him. She is strong woman lol She was kinda like oooh wait when he put her face to his in the interview hehehehe She is 27 and he 34, it is about time they found love.
*Gag* You’re kidding about the “they’re in love” right?
There is a HUGE difference between trying to argue that it wasn’t rigged and it was completely fair and just saying that you like these pairings. They are not the same thing. It’s totally fine to like these pairings, but if you try to tell me that these are how the votes actually went, then you have no sense of the research and the tracking we used. You don’t get to just say it’s fair when several people know that it’s not.
And I expect commenters to contribute more than just an “I agree with so and so” here. Having someone agree with you also does not make your opinion more valid or more factual.
QUIT putting links in your comments.
Charlie and Peta rumba? Hm. I’m personally not a huge fan of Peta’s rumbas and because the rumba is one of my favourite dances to see, I was excited to see him dance it with Sharna, who I believe could choreograph something great. Although, in my opinion, Karina always has the best rumbas.
I’m curious to see how this all plays out and I’m actually excited to see NeNe and Derek to the jazz because Derek can choreograph amazing Jazz routines to make his partners look great! (re: Kellie Pickler’s and Amber’s — AMAZING!)
For this whole Fam vs. Derek talk. I agree with you 100% that TPTB are trying to keep the Fam happy because they know Derek is leaving. I feel like DWTS is turning into the “Fam Show” though which puts a sour taste in my mouth. Hopefully when Derek leaves, Tristan is back in because he’s such a breath of fresh air.
I know! I was being sarcastic. It’s like the TPTB are doing everything they can to hinder Derek and give the aforementioned pros the highest chance of winning.
I don’t feel so bad about Peta with Charlie and not Cheryl, since the dance is the rumba. I’ve liked a bunch of Cheryl’s rumbas, but that’s not where she could have made the biggest contribution in a proposed pairing with Charlie. She can have impact with James’ tango and give him something new he can take back to his partnership with Peta.
Does Derek really have his foot out the door? To me, it seems he’s made lemons out of lemonade and is taking a diversified approach to his career. DWTs is one of the legs of the stool, so to speak.
But princess, let’s say that the voting is rigged. Let’s say that you guys are either 80-99.9 percent right. There is still a chance (regardless of it’s size) that this WAS right. This show is for entertainment purposes and I’m entertained. IF it is fair, why won’t you give that thought a chance? There’s a large chance I could be wrong about the show not being rigged and i am cool with admitting that if it is true, but I am fair. I look at all sides and asses the situation. Nothing is 100% accurate because nothing is perfect.
Ooh a shipping troll, how very romantic. I can’t believe ( it’s just a troll on a wind up) that someone can honestly say Maryl and Maks have been robbed…. so 3 out of 4 10’s is robbery??? OK, I hope the judges give them 10’s every week for just walking onto the dance floor, maybe some people will finally be satisfied, not likely. Derek and Nene’s Jazz routine should be epic!!!
LOL at the hens that keep running to this site and then reporting all of the “bad stuff” going on here at the official ABC site…y’all are too funny!
oh and I’m sorry about the links, i didn’t know, i’m new :/
nonono i’m a not troll, i’m not talking about week three, i said their FIRST two performances, clearly the first two weeks were about meryl and charlie, and they just wanted to put a friendly rivalry between saying who could get the better scores
Heidi, why is he back now after everything he said about never coming back again even if they guaranteed him a win? To just have fun. It’s not about winning at all!
Or so that’s what he tells us. This week. LOL
I think the last year was a huge wake up call for Maks. No one’s banging down his door with other offers.
Maks and Meryl in love? That is crazy talk and I assume it is a joke!
He said he only came back for the chance to dance with Amy, Diane, not to mention that he has a million other things going on. Yeah, I think he’s been halfway out the door for a year now. I think he’s about there. I can’t imagine the show will challenge him after this.
ITiny – just admit that you don’t understand the research and leave it at that. We looked at all the ways the votes could be counted and none of these were accurate, but one or two. What I am sure of is that the producers have figured out a way to make this look legit – by rewriting their own rules to the vote. And if you don’t think that is rigging the contest, then you’re a true apologist and we have nothing further to talk about.
I would also ask that you keep the shipping talk to a minimum as I think it’s ludicrous and it makes me nauseous. Mainly because I think you’ve been scammed. And I think Meryl has more taste than that. And she already has a boyfriend, from what I understand.
I don’t really understand why people are so desperate for it to NOT be fixed. Just admit you like these pairings and leave it at that.
All that talk about lovey-dovey looks feelings and such sounds like the fan fiction you might find on Tumblr. I think it’s mostly teen girls writing that stuff ( I hope), on this board it comes off as troll-ish.
Poor Meryl, sure Val is shorter than Maks but Zendaya AT was atrocious (technically speaking) when Maks is a real good at AT
Also, if Maks is as manipulative regarding dwts as has been discussed today, then he knows how to play it. Val did that quite successfully also. Not sure who else had gone down that road but pros know how the fans love it. I always thought this show was rigged and more and more reality shows are showing they are fabrications. It is definitely like the Wizard of Oz. I so appreciate this site though. Great place full of incredibly informed people!
*sigh* ok i will keep my fantasy to myself, and i already admitted to liking these pairings. maybe i don’t understand the research, idk, but what i want to know is, what’s gonna happen after the switch? what if all of this was a waste of time? What if Derek still wins the MBT, then what will be said? Take my “ludicrous” statements and feelings completely out of the equation…What if Derek does win? I know you will be extremely happy and i will be extremely happy too, because Amy is truly inspiring. I just think meryl is a beautiful person and i think she is just happy to be a part of this experience. It just seems as though people are more concerned with the pros than they are with the “stars.” If people are voting solely because of the pros, then the show should be called Dancing With the Professionals. I’m just going through the journey. I just like watching the show. Whatever happens, happens. I apologize if I said things that were a bit fantastical, I’m a bit strange 😛
I’m disappointed that Charlie and Peta have the rumba – given Peta’s previous rumbas, I don’t see this playing out well. Peta is just *so* intense, and she tends to over-sexualize, and doesn’t have the relationship with Charlie to really make that kind of rumba work. I think that Charlie has built up enough of a relationship with Sharna that when rumba came around, they would have done a good job – and Sharna would know how to pull out the right emotions, without necessarily being “in-your-face-sexy”, the way Peta often is.
oooh you’re right, butterflywhirl, i never looked at it like that, peta is a bit “flashy”, i still wish them the best of luck though, i hope he has an influence on her too
How do I find myself defending Maks? He lost me a few seasons ago, BUT, I don’t like hearing again and again that he came back because he has nothing else going on. Maybe he likes being in the spotlight so it’s a factor. But from what I understand, he made 1 or 2 movies, a music video, created a new line of jewelry, has a number of dance studios. My opinion is he came back because he had to finish his contract and he chose to dance vs judge and they promised him a ringer. And yeah, he missed the spotlight but not because he doesn’t have other things going on.
I agree that the show has become more about the pros as their fan bases are so strong. It is a shame when the pro forgets the celeb and makes it all about him/ her. Maks is the worst offender in this regard imo which is why I wish he had not returned to the show.
Thanks Heidi for the context about Derek. I wish he weren’t halfway out the door, then. I enjoy the routines he puts together, but mostly I just enjoy how smart he is. It’s the whole process that I like with him. His choices. How he makes his concepts work. The way he can step back and take in the big picture of a given season. His complete commitment to his partner when he’s performing. As great a performer as he is, and as dispassionate “don’t take it personally” as he is, he’s got the impartiality to be empathetic, too. He’s got a director/producer brain as much as a performer brain. All of that is showcased on DWTs.
There’s something from the 8th season that was just so Derek to me. It was the group dance. Gilles Marina was headed off the floor with Cheryl in a lift, and on the sidelines you can see Derek hustle over to assist her down (in the dark, on the sidelines). He saw something that made him think he should get over there.
He’s such a great problem solver. I love people like that. Who can break something down and re-fit the pieces together. He’s a young guy and I also like how he takes complete responsibility. I’m interested in him because my actual No. 1 favorite pro is Cheryl (Derek is sort of “1a”), and there’ve been times I’ve felt the show storyboarded her out of a third trophy – especially in Gilles season where he danced better than Shawn but they started scoring Shawn on par with Gilles, to match her vote, I guess. In the abstract, I sometimes think I should resent all of Derek’s wins, but when I actually look at him on DWTs, I just can’t resent him. He’s not putting anything over or getting away with anything with a smile or charm, or favored pairings. He’s just SMART in the right way – working with his partner, creating and executing. That’s it. Can’t hold it against him. It’s right there.
For the record my favorite Derek partner was probably Joanna Krupa.
Yeah, and if Maks is the person everyone says he is, It would be a shame to find out he is using meryl. I don’t think his career would be able to recover. Gosh this show is filled with drama T-T
“I just want them to be a couple” …this is why I shake my head. It’s just entertainment. Why would anyone care? Shippers..,,
With all the crazy changes the show has been making to try and revitalize itself, I can’t help but wonder how possible it is for the *producers* to be replaced…everyone answers to somebody, and if Conrad and Co. still aren’t getting the numbers that the network wants, and if they’ve changed every other factor, the only thing left to do is have a changing of the guard. Now that’s one “Switch Up” I would like to see!
Charlie was super uncomfortable just posing for some open-shirt photos for an ESPN pictorial a few years ago, so if Peta thinks she can get something really racy going with him in the rumba, she’s got her work cut out for her. Sharna made a noble attempt to get him to be a “bad boy” but I didn’t feel he pulled it off at all. In fact, I was cringing for him. I don’t want to have to cringe through the rumba too.
Maks and Meryl in love. Barf Alert!!! Oh please, is this a joke? Maks may like and respect her but mainly he see her as his ticket to the MBT. If she was a non-contender D lister, you would see the real Maks and I assure you it wouldn’t be a loving relationship. Yeah, he loves her alright – all the way to the MBT. LOL
There’s some footage shot today of Candace and Mark together. Strange.
So glad NeNe and Derek are doing Jazz. I have absolutely loved Derek’s previous Jazz routines (Amber’s mostly… I think I rewatch that once a week). Think theirs is gonna be awesome and I already see complainers saying “Of course they give NeNe and “golden boy” a dance where height difference doesn’t matter”. Waaa waa waah.
Charlie doing the Rumba sounds.. odd. Idk how that’ll play out. Candace should do a pretty good QS but Tony’s QS are boring. Drew and the Cha Cha worries me but hopefully he’llat least do ok. Very much looking forward to Amy’s Salsa. I think she’ll do great! Mark is good with Salsas I think. James and Cheryl and the Tango… I can see that maybe get a 10 if James keeps improving. It would be a very hot dance to say the least.
#Jara — I second the “Barf Alert” and otherwise offer a friendly amendment that what Maks loves about Meryl is she’s making his job easy. Such a waste that he can’t be inspired by the fact that she worked at her craft for 17 years in order to accomplish her goal, but only that she can get for him what he has otherwise not been able to get for himself. I’m really sorry that Meryl, who deserves way better, has been paired with this slug because I want him to go down!!!
omg i should have never brought that couple stuff up i guess, but to the other stuff i said about the show revolving around the pros and not the stars, it is true, the show is always about the pros smh everyone keeps rooting for their favorite pro to win the MBT, well what about the people that the pros need, the actual stars, you know the people that make the title? as much as people don’t like to admit it, they care about who can help the pros win…
Fran…
They sure are and have been doing so from the onset. You can just imagine the uproar if one of the “Fam” was assigned a partner who had no feet. Of course TPTB had no way of knowing that (1) Amy can dance (2) the public would fall in love with her and (3) the viewers would love Derek even more (if that’s possible) because of the way he cares and treats Amy. So it looks like the joke is on TPTB.
Why is that strange, Carlie? Derek said he was in with Amy and her new (Mark) partner and Candace is Mark’s old partner.
If there was any dance,I wouldn’t have wanted Charlie to do with Peta it would have been the rumba. Hopefully she’ll tone it down (she’s been good this season.) I’m satisfied with the pairs.
#iTinyPerson Riiiight, so Derek fans are thrilled with Amy because surely someone with no feet, who can’t even feel the dance floor, is without a doubt the path to another win.
Tiny, this isn’t Maks’s first season of people thinking he’s in love with his partner. His career hasn’t suffered one bit because of it.
#Susan well not to be mean, but there are those who feel as though, THAT is the advantage 🙁 her story is really touching and it does make people want to vote, not taking away from her capabilities, but it is true
#Donna yeah but he’s never had a kind, Olympic gold medalist either. lots and i mean LOTS of people know meryl and they know what kind of person she is, the couple thing is spreading like wildfire, if he hurts her, many people will be very upset
NeNe and Derek are doing jazz? Well, I’m now officially excited 😀 this may not be so bad as I thought at first 🙂
My apologies for this being off-topic, but since we’re discussing pros, and romance, I thought I’d pitch it out. I wonder if Tristan being out this season has anything to do with him getting married in January? With him being less “ship-worthy”, or not as many of the ladies panting over the hot Irish guy now that he’s married? Just wondering.
tristan was ship-worthy (js)
Tiny, please don’t hope for a romance between Meryl and Maks, especially while they are still on the show. Honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to start a relationship in this atmosphere. Yes, there have been some on the show, and none lasted. And a showmance? I think it’s an even worse idea, because someone is going to get hurt. Maks has been on the show long enough to know that a showmance can get votes…. Play it up on the dance floor to make people think there’s something going on, deny when asked, become the subject of fandom and fanfictions for years, with people positive that what they saw ON TELEVISION is “the real thing!”
Enjoy what you see, yes. But try not to become TOO involved. (and here’s a hug for you)
*sigh* aaw well maybe you’re right lori, i guess i can’t get my hopes up anymore, it could’ve been nice though, but maybe it is all in my imagination (and thanks)
@ #24 – PH: I thought it odd because it looked like Mark and Candace were rehearsing, and I thought the switch-up was supposed to be complete. (Candace only with Tony, and Mark only with Amy).
Ummm…so what, iTiny?
Maks has had a kind, Olympic medalist before, tiny. Do your research.
Perhaps they are rehearsing with their partners at the same time.
misty may treanor was in the summer olympics and she did not receive the publicity meryl is getting because meryl is the 1st olympic gold medalist in ice dancing, there’s a difference when i meant olympic gold medalist, i meant her and meryl did different things, maybe i should’ve clarified better, misty was three time gold if i’m not mistaken and volleyball, but meryl and charlie was a fan favorite to win their gold which made their popularity rise, so fan wise, people know who she is because it’s a fresh win
Josie #211 and ButterflyWhirl #239: I’ve been following Meryl and Charlie for years and completely agree. Add in the fact that Tanith went to Florida for SOI(she is not in the show) with Meryl and Charlie and I think his rumba will be 7s across the board like Candace. He already had issues showing emotion on the ice but when Tanith is in the arena it seems to be worse. I think this last year leading up to Sochi was an exception because he and Meryl seemed to be a bit closer, probably from all the sponsor obligations and such.
I think TPTB are purposely giving the new couples dances that challenge their weaknesses.
Princess Heidi: At the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, there is a Move It Shake It Celebrate It block party each day in front of the castle. When the floats head “backstage”, a song called Celebrate You plays over the loudspeakers. I’m not sure if Corbin Bleu sings that version but he has definitely recorded that song as I have it on my iPod. Not sure what else he has done with Disney though. I know he has been on Broadway too.
#Susan. Yes, he loves that Meryl is making his job easy. Once again, it’s about him. If this was really about Meryl, he would work his ass off to showcase her talent and abilities to the max. I like Meryl but would never vote for her.
When Maks wins, will he pull a “Tony” and run to his Fam and leave Meryl just standing there? And on the off chance he lost, will he be like Val (Zendaya) standing on the side grimacing rather than going over to congratulate the winner? Inquiring minds want to know :o)
@iTiny … You said he never had a kind, Olympic gold medalist. Guess you forgot about Hope Solo, a kind, two-time Olympic gold medalist. Guess you also forgot how Maks abused her.
#iTiny Sort of reminds me of that old joke of one person finding a fly in their soup and then another customer complaining that they didn’t get a fly in their soup like the other guy. You are making an enormous assumption that other pros could have presented Amy as effectively as Derek, because without that, she might have been seen quite differently. It is not at all reasonable to assume that Amy would necessarily have been seen as an “advantage” (your idea) if her pro had not been as skillful as Derek.
The arguments brought in an attempt to de-legitimize what Derek accomplishes are contorted beyond belief. Although it would not be possible for them to do so, it actually would be more helpful to the ones they idolize to embrace Derek’s excellence for what it is. Life is not a zero sum game. Derek doesn’t have to be diminished in order for someone else to achieve. That’s where the contortions come in. The reasons Derek has won an Emmy, is starring in “Make Your Move” opening later this month, is going on a 44 city tour with his sister this summer are the same reasons he has won 5 mirror ball trophies, not because he has been given preferential treatment and assigned a partner with no feet.
#Jara Absolutely. Maks has such an opportunity to rise to the occasion and he just doesn’t f—ing get it. He’s just happy he doesn’t have to be dragging someone else around — and an unappreciative someone at that!!!!
Didn’t Misty go right out with an injury?
Anyway, I’m nervous for Charlie with the rumba for a variety of reasons most ppl have already touched on, but maybe it will turn out to be a big success. Peta is a good teacher and she’s done good work with James this season.
I loved Zendaya’s AT, but if it wasn’t technically great that makes sense because it was Val’s first time dancing AT let alone choreographing it.
What happened to this spoilers thread? Lol
Charlie doing a rumba with a new partner is going to be interesting. Not sure how much chemistry will happen, especially with limited practice and charlie isn’t the best actor in portraying passionate love.
My favorite sensual rumba was Apolo and Julianne’s. There was so much chemistry between them!
Yes, misty tore her Achilles.
Yes, iTiny,Hope Solo wrote in her autobiography all about how Maks hit her during rehearsals. THAT is when I lost all respect for Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
iTIny, if I may, a few notes from a longtime DWTS viewer/observer:
1) Maks or Meryl complimenting the other does not equate to them being in love with the other.
2) Maks’ chemistry with Meryl seems to be one of the lesser ones he’s had with a partner and not of the romantic persuasion.
3) Any fawning they may do over each other is for show only and will end with the season. Please prepare yourself now so we won’t have to read you railing here/elsewhere about how you were lead astray and this one is evil for wronging that one.
4) If you knew Maks’ track record with women, both you and Meryl would want better for her.
Laila was another superb athlete Maks had who, while not exactly sweet, likely would’ve been an Olympic gold medalist had her discipline been included back in the day. Has any other pro had four such high profile, accomplished athletes?
Oh I’m a huge Beyoncé fan, and Grown Woman is such a good song… I officially can’t wait for this NeNe/Derek routine. I think it’ll be epic.
Sounds to me like you’re doing a lot of justifying for being wrong, tiny.
Heather, you might be right in some cases about them challenging the new couples – but I don’t think NeNe was given a dance that would highlight her weaknesses. But perhaps that’s because she might be the next one out.
Misty did go out with an injury – not sure what that has to do with anything though. Fact is, he’s been given LOTS of great partners before that he didn’t win with, not just Misty. It’s not like the producers were trying to keep him down. On the contrary.
Shippers, Heart. They jack up everything. 🙂
Wynn, Mark had Kristi, Shawn and Aly – that’s pretty damn good.
Why is tony upset nene and Derek getting jazz? Wouldn’t that be better since he cannot really choreograph jazz?
Heather #269:
Again, you are completely right about Tanith following Charlie around his Stars on Ice tour will hinder his chances of being able to be completely free to act during the rumba dance. Too bad she doesn’t have anything else to do except to keep an eye on him.
Poor Charlie can’t win this week with a rumba. He will be “cheating” on Tanith, Meryl and Sharna! He will be tired of all the relationship questions during the interviews.
Keep on commenting on the history of Charlie and Meryl’s ice dancing relationship and how it may affect DWTS. They are my favorite two dancers this season!
He’s mad that Derek got the “no rules” dance with her – but you’re right, he should be glad. To his credit, he refused to be baited into hating on Derek and apparently blames the producers.
Great song for Nene! Should be interesting.
That’s good to know about Tony even if not a fan. Seriously trying to go to rivalry and drama. Glad it is backfiring.
I just want to say thank you to everyone here at Pure for all of your hard work in providing us with the latest news and updates. I think it might have killed me to have to wait until Monday night to learn anything about the switch and dances. You’re all outstanding with what you do!
It certainly sounds as though Monday night will be interesting to say the least, as will the following week when they go back to their original partners. Not only will it be interesting and/or entertaining to see how the celebs do with their new partners and their selected dance, but Julianne Hough will be a guest judge this week and I’m really curious how she’ll be critiquing everyone as well as scoring.
I had hated the idea of the switch up but I have to admit now that it’s getting closer to Monday, I’m excited to see how it all plays out.
Heart #286:
I agree about Tanith. I’ve never really liked the girl since she started dating Charlie. I feel like she’s your typical trophy wife with nothing better to do then to follow her successful husband around everywhere. It’s getting annoying – and I’m not just saying this as a Marlie shipper (yes, I have to admit that I prefer Charlie with Meryl).
I hope Charlie can do a good rumba but I’m a bit worried for him this week. We all know TPTB are pimping Meryl hardcore. It seems like they are trying to make Charlie the scapegoat because they couldn’t get Meryl on the show without him. And that’s why I hope he ruins their plans by outlasting Meryl. Not to say that I don’t love Meryl, I do of course, it’s just that I don’t like it when TPTB play favorites.
I disagree about Tanith’s presence comments. Charlie seemed to do exceptionally well in the contemporary and the jive, both weeks when Tanith was around. For the contemporary, his chemistry with Sharna seemed better than his entire career with Meryl. Tanith has other obligations and makes time to support him. She is a successful woman in her own right. She was in LA for commentary for Universal during the jive week. Remember, not too long ago, Charlie was Tanith’s boyfriend and not the other way around. Some people actually care about their significant other and want to spend time with them. That is what most people who are in love do! There isn’t always some hidden agenda. Life’s too short.
Charlie and Sharna are a great match. I’m not sure about Peta but Sharna said all the pros are amazing.
#163: Diane Dobbler: Seriously? Charlie actually said that when he’s trying to be passionate on the ice, he thinks of his university instead of Meryl? No wonder their Canadian ice dancing rival’s fans critiqued C&Ms artistry. Well, maybe he said it prior to Vancouver Olympics because his movement and acting on ice improved dramatically in recent years, IMO.
PH: haha! I don’t mind shippers so much but I thought it was funny when Maks and Meryl’s love affair became the topic for the day in the spoiler thread! Tiny just got a little too excited!
I’m beginning to think that anyone wanting to post about romantic entanglements/dance assignments of Charlie/Meryl/Maks/Sharna/Peta/Val/Tanith needs to type it out and then DELETE it before hitting the submit button.
One should not confuse an on screen/on ice showmance from a real romance.
Amen PH. Anyone who thinks there could be romance going on has apparently forgotten the Val/Kelly season. Yuck. And I thought Meryl had a boyfriend. Did I dream that?
I think Charlie and Tanith are a cute couple. She seems so supportive of him and his parents love her. At the Vancouver Olympics, Tanith ran around taking pictures of Charlie and Meryl so they could have their souvenirs of their Olympic debut even though she was personally disappointed in not getting on the podium herself(she placed fourth with Ben Agosto). She and Charlie seem very much in love(they’ve been
together almost 5 years)and share a condo together.
No wonder Tony is mad! He has to choreograph the dreaded quickstep with a new partner who doesn’t have a lot of dance experience. His week is not going to be fun at all while Derek gets to choreograph a fun Jazz routine! I would resent that assignment too! Hopefully, it’s not the quickstep but an easier and more fun dance for Tony and Candace.
But tony should have perspective. Nene getting Derek to do a fun routine for her helps them to get votes and he gets to be in the competition longer. If anything, Derek is helping him.
Melissa: I was thinking that Tony may not look so favorable as an instructor if he cannot get Candace to do well so if she gets eliminated the following week, he would get blamed? I guess that would be the same for all the pros.
Who are TPTB actually targeting to be eliminated next? All I know that it’s not Amy, Charlie or Meryl. I assume that Drew and NeNe are the next 2 on the list?
Personally, this is just a waste of time and dancing for the Pros/Stars. I dont like any part of this Switching crap. Whomever ends up with whom is just going to have to grit their teeth and get through it. It’s a shame because if Meryl is doing the AT this week that will be a bummer because I really wanted to see her do that dance with Maks. He is so much bigger and can really move her around. But like I said to me it’s just a throw away dance. Sad when each of the couples are getting into their grooves, they are split apart for the next dance. LETS GET BACK TO ORIGINAL PARTNERS AND DANCE ALREADY!!
@Colleen #292 It’s always been the other way around. Davis/White were already getting better results when they started dating supposedly in 2009. We will obviously have to see what Peta choreographed but given his track record and limited rehearsal time, I just don’t see him doing well this week.
Meryl on the other hand is fantastic at lifts and as I said earlier I suspect she will get perfect 10s.
Kudos to the great team here. Every time I check in the post is updated with new info! I forgot that I’m traveling tomorrow-Tuesday so will probably have to watch Tuesday night on DVR.
@Heart I definitely ink NeNe is next though I would not mind Cody leaving either. He just doesn’t seem to care.
Please, tell me Meryl didn’t meet her boyfriend over the internet and hasn’t actually met him yet. 😉 Just kidding!
Her name’s Meryl, not Manti 🙂
I really hope Derek isn’t leaving for good. I think he needs a break, but hopefully he comes back eventually.
@Heather 302
The mainstream media did not know a lot about Meryl and Charlie up until this recent Olympic cycle and after Tanith and Ben retired. Tanith and Ben were heavily promoted by the USFS, mostly because of Tanith during Vancouver. The USFS tried to pitch it as a rivalry with the upcoming Davis and White. Tanith even had sponsors in 2010 while Charlie and Meryl had none despite their results. On paper, Charlie and Meryl had better results but there is no doubt that Tanith was the reason a lot of people watched ice dancing in Vancouver. Tanith had more twitter followers in 2009 than both Meryl and Charlie combined. Charlie had to wait for Tanith while she signed autographs for fans in Vancouver even after winning the Silver medal.
Charlie may or may not do well with Peta and a lot will depend on Peta’s choreo and coaching skills. Latin has never been his forte even in ice dance in their entire career. I really don’t think he cares about the scores that much. He just seems to love a good challenge and seems to be enjoying whatever is thrown at him. He had some good moments in the tango even though it was hard to sell the bad boy image in its entirety. The technique was pretty good and if he can build from whatever he learned from that, he should be ok to hang in there.
Maks knows what the audience wants and has probably relayed that to Val. Meryl will probably get 10’s. I’m not a fan of Maks’ choreo which seems like a lot of filler but they seem to be able to sell it two times over. I’d be interested to see what Val comes up with since he is better at choreo.
I’m excited to see all the switch up pairings. I’d love to see what Derek can do with Nene. I think Drew might be the weakest this week.
@Courtney, #304 (Her name’s Meryl, not Manti), ROTFLMAO!!!! Never in my wildest dream would’ve thought that John Travolta would be commenting on this site…. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I admit I never heard of Meryl and Charlie until the Olympics(and I used to love ice dancing!) and then I just loved this team(actually more Charlie than Meryl. I tend to watch him rather that her. I like his personality)I must have watched all their dances on youtube after the Olympics and I thought they did a pretty mean Argentine Tango on ice. Also, didn’t they do a short dance featuring a Rhumba?
I was dismayed when they paired Meryl with Maks(I have watched most DWTS seasons and I just never warmed to him). I like Sharna and I have enjoyed all their dances so far and I really hope they go to the finals.
It was a samba. I don’t think there is a rumba pattern for ice dance yet, actually.
@ Bethany 309 For the 2011-12 Senior Short Dance, Rhumba was the required dance. They skated a portion of it to JLo’s On the Floor. That was their weakest short dance in the last quad.
#308 Agree with you. That was a mean Shpilband Tango.
Not liking Maks and his gimmicks. It seems like this season he is more into strategizing to win instead of actually putting effort into choreo like the other pros. I’d like to see both Meryl and Charlie get far but it seems like TPTB will take advantage of anything that is thrown at them to create more drama, especially towards the end.
So far, their rivalry shtick is not working quite as planned for any of the rival pairs to get the perfect drama effect for- Cody & James, Danica & Candace and Meryl & Charlie.
Thank you Colleen. I like their Shez routine but I think I love their Samson and Delilah FD the best. It was their breakthrough dance and it was so beautiful. They looked so young.
I’m hoping they will showcase an ice dancing routine in DWTS so people
will have an inkling on how good they really are and spark more interest in ice dancing. We should be very proud of this couple-very hard working, well spoken and very humble.
I am also in awe of Amy and hope she goes far.
Aw, a few fans on Twitter are condemning people on this site. Calling us “hateful, disrespectful, & cruel to his fellow pros!(Maks) All fans bad mouth…But these fans are extremely ugly!” All because we are all Derek fans. Um, OK I am a Derek fan but I don’t think everyone on here is. Plus I have not seen any hate or anyone being cruel.
P.S. I love this site and everyone one who runs it. Great Job one and all 🙂
Pay them no mind, Carolyn. We surely don’t.
Thanks Courtney. I will ignore them. Let’s see, cool song NeNe is dancing too. Should be a fun dance.
I feel better knowing I was not out of my mind when I mentioned early on that both Meryl and Charlie have experience with Ballroom and Latin. They go into the switch this week with a unfamiliar partner while others go in with both an unfamiliar partner and dance.
I am not a fan of Salsa so I hope Mark’s creative juices were flowing this week. I am torn because, while I hope Derek knocks ”em dead with he and NeNe’s jazz dance, I fear it may overshadow Amy. Here is to hoping both will rock!
I’m actually looking forward to some of the pairings especially Nene & Derek.
I think this thread is exactly why Cody, Danica, Drew, James, and/or Candace will be the shock elimination. Let me explain. Much of the comments have focused on Amy, because she is amazing, and Meryl and Charlie, because they are amazing. Also NeNe, because we are all excited to see her with Derek! I can’t wait to see that! But overall in the comments, the other four name have come up less. They just aren’t getting as much attention. It is a tough season because so many people have talent – even Drew and NeNe, who may not be the best dancers, have rhythm and charisma. I think that everyone has touched on what I was going to say about Meryl, Charlie, Amy, and NeNe, so I’m going to talk about the other pairings instead.
Cody and Sharna: iTiny pointed out that they are both Australian. That actually makes me really excited! The first out me Keyshawn met Sharna, he called her British. So I’m excited to see how they bond. I also think that Sharna will help Cody in terms of getting him more interested into the show and getting him to listening to the pro. I mean, she had Keyshawn and Andy, for crying out loud! I think there will be fun possibilities for these two this week. It is also good that they have foxtrot. On So You Think, Witney did a sexy foxtrot with Fik-Shun, and it was a bit awkward.
Drew and Witney: This is a bit of an awkward pairing, as she is so young and he is kind of old. But it is good that she got a cha-cha with him, as she has already done a cha-ch this season, and therefore she is used to choreographing it. This might be the most interesting pair on the guys’ side.
Danica and Maks: This is the ultimate personality clash. Of all the pairs, this will be the most likely to explode. And with such a technical dance as a jive… Oy vey Izmir. (That is Yiddish, special for Maks and Val Wolowifz). I don’t know if I will be able to watch it.
James and Cheryl: Cheryl is a good tango choreographer, and James is on an upswing, so this is pretty good for both of them. I think that Cheryl can also bring a different technical aspect than Peta; they are from two different area of the world, two different styles, two different ideas. This could be good.
Question: what is the difference between a regular and Argentine tango?
Candace and Tony: I think Candace got the short end of the switch-up stick. NOT ONLY is she paired with Tony, but she is paired with a Tony who is annoyed because Derek is kicking buy with NeNe. A quickstep is also difficult to do with an annoyed partner, so we will see what happens here. I don’t think this will be a train wreck, but it might not be the best dance we will see Candace do.
So I am going out on a limb and going to attempt to guess scores.
Charlie: 36 (9,9,9,9)
Danica: 34 (8,8,9,9)
James: 34 (9,9,8,8)
Drew: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Amy: 36 (9,9,9,9)
Candace: 34 (9,8,8,9)
Meryl: 40 (10,10,10,10)
Cody: 36 (9,9,9,9)
nene: 34 (8,9,8,9)
If you don’t drink the koolaide, you might be a hater.
If you don’t have rainbows shooting our yer ass, you might be a hater.
If you actually say what ya think, you might be a hater.
If you call us haters after years spent on actual hate towards Derek, you might be a HYPOCRITE.
This Jeff Foxworthy moment brought to you by the letters L, O and L.
Heidi, Love it!!!!
Vin, you are a very brave soul. I would never even attempt to figure out the scores. Although the last time Julianne was a judge all the judges gave the same numbers. I wonder if they will plan that again.
At #320 Heidi.. LOVE IT! TRUTH! Just want to say I enjoy reading everyone’s comments on Pure and this thread has been particularly interesting. I don’t comment a lot, but I do read. =) As for fanbase wars, in the case of Derek and Maks.. I believe the fans they have reflect themselves and the pro dancer they love. I am a fan of the one that never talks shit about his co-workers, works hard & gives 1000% with every partner he’s given, and earns every accolade he has been given. So guess which one I am a fan of??? 😉
I am sure this has been discussed on this site before, but there are waaaay too many comment threads for me to research it, but has anyone ever done any research regarding youtube view counts and eliminations? I was watching some dances today, and on the two accounts that seem to be the most popular (have the most views), James is getting FAR more views than anyone else. I wonder if this has any correlation to who is getting the most votes? I was expecting Amy/Charlie/Meryl to have the most views, but it is seriously James with the most!!
I’m exhausted from catching up here:
Shippers, Manipulation and blocked posters—-OH MY!
Here’s to Monday night.
Reading my Mixology book next!
Just curious, where do you get all these informations about how are the pairs getting along?
@PH #320, what do you mean? I know this has nothing to do with this post, but I’m confused!
Hmmm…Meryl and Val not getting along…kind of hard for me to imagine at the moment, not saying I doubt your source but I guess I just assumed they would be fine with one another. I’m sure having the Argentine Tango doesn’t help though as it can be a difficult dance to nail even under the best situation. I still think the producers won’t show us any of the bad stuff though, at least when it comes to the C brothers and their new partners. Gotta say…I’m probably interested to see Derek and Nene the most. I’m predicting no perfect scores this week though.
Whenever you drop these nuggets of info it just makes me want to know more! Hahaha.
Shippers make me cringe beyond words…
On another note, I am fan of great dancing AND great journeys. I was sucked into the Maks charisma when I first watched this show and I bought into the Derek hate. Then I started thinking for myself and actually started watching the show for the right reasons. When doing that I began to see the differences. I don’t care what happens outside of 8 – 10 on Monday nights. I don’t care about the OTT fans. I care of about what I see on the floor. That being said, Derek IMO produces amazing work with WHOMEVER he gets. I enjoy his work and I enjoy his camadarie with his partners and his co pros. His work makes me smile.
Can’t say the same for Maks. He has glimpses of greatness, (Mel B and even Meryl) but it always comes with a side note.
I don’t think we’ve done any serious research on it, Jamie, but I think our impression has been over the years that youtube views are reflective of many more things than win/lose. Bill Nye was getting more views than anyone the season he was on. And I’m sure Zendaya was knocking it out of the park. I think there are probably too many factors that go into what makes someone watch a youtube video to say with any certainty that it means he will win while those getting less views won’t go far. I think Maria Menounos’ videos with Derek were also killing it in views – it was her or one of his other partners that didn’t end up winning.
You don’t really expect us to tell you that, Inka, do you? Same place we are getting who’s dancing with who and to what dance and song.
Which post of mine are you referring to, Aviva? The hater one? I was responding to Carolyn who was disturbed by Maks fans calling everyone here “haters”. I was saying that unless you kiss Maks’ ass you’re bound to be called a hater by them…and they have a long history of hating on Derek so it’s rather hypocritical of them to be complaining about us. I even saw one saying that Derek should “denounce” us for what we say – um, yeah, first, Derek can denounce me all he wants he doesn’t actually dictate to me what I say and do – he actually has nothing to do with how I feel or don’t feel about Maks. Imagine that! And second – Maks should denounce them for their years of hating on Derek, if that’s the case.
What, the C bros not getting along with partners and Derek is fine with nene? This is more lies from this bias site! Just kidding but echoing the sentiment a few are posting in various forums where apparently Maks fans go to complain about this site, lol.
What is funny is they have no problem looking at the inside info you guys share but pick and choose what they want to believe.
I am kinda surprised but not about amy and mark. Mark while some think is patient, he is not IMO. He just lacks IMO the outbursts like other frustrated pros. He was impatient with talented partners like Katherine. I can see him wanting to do his usual stuff and maybe not catering it to Amy. Also you know he can be cheesy. He better not make Amy crawl on the floor like he made Aly do when she had salsa.
I’m intrigued at Meryl and Val not getting along…The AT isn’t Val’s strongest dance, so what on earth is he choreographing that is giving an *olympic champ* who won worlds with a fs version of the AT, a rough time? How odd. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Derek does with Nene, and I’m actually interested as to how the Drew/Whitney pairing is going to work…
@Jamie – I randomly started paying attention to views on youtube last season, specifically the two main channels (dancingwts09 and VocalVault). Now obviously I have nothing scientific to back my claims and this was based on one season and the first season that they changed the format and voting, etc, but basically views didn’t translate into votes. Snooki, for example, consistently had a lot of views and she left mid-way through. Elizabeth and Bill E. usually had some of the fewest video videos and they stuck around longer than Snooki. We have to remember that a large majority of the audience is older and not necessarily going online to youtube to watch the dances again.
Drew and Danica this season seem to be pulling in the fewest views with Candance and Nene close to them (depending on the week) but I think a lot of Drew’s fans are that older audience.
I watch Kate Gosselin’s Paso Doble whenever I need a laugh so I know my youtube views do not always translate into success on the show.
Oh I saw he denouncing one too. Also that Derek is complicit in everything said because he knows what is going on and does. Only causing drama for other pros while acting like a good guy. Huh? Versus Maks or Val flat out saying disrespectful things about other celebs, pros and even their own past partners. Or Maks himself insulting the show and how he was done with it the past few seasons.
#318 Aviva — Can I just add “Mazel Tov” for your excellent Yiddish expressions? The Wolowitz (aka Chmercocky) brothers have certainly earned every pointed reference. And for their brother-by-another-mother Tony, can we please stop the whining? It’s like the minute any one of them has to really stretch their efforts, they’re kvetching, which is something one never ever ever hears from Derek. Watching him get 7’s for some incredible dance and laughing it off — that’s how a mensch does it. As opposed to Tony arguing with Carrie Ann about NeNe’s arms. How pathetic. I am looking forward with unbridled glee to see how all their fans comment when NeNe kills it with Derek. Their reasoning and excuses are bound to be legion. And I’m really really looking forward to what NeNe has to say about the experience.
Lippy, I was not a fan during Kate’s season so I had to look up her video. I can see why that gives you a good laugh. Wow, that was so bad it was funny. I just gave it another hit. So I would agree youtube views mean nothing :))
The only thing about the Derek/NeNe partnership I’m not looking forward to is that it almost guarantees another week of NeNe, and therefore another week of the awful Tony.
I doubt that Val is loosing his patience with Meryl… If he can work with Elizabeth and Danica and make them look great, he sure as hell can work with someone like Meryl. He’s also not the type of guy to get starstruck by anybody and I think he know Meryl pretty well by now because she’s been hanging out with Maks and him… They’ve had lunch together, dinner…
If he is upset or stressed out, it could be because of the dance, given that AT is not his area of expertise. Argentine Tango is not a ballroom dance and the first time he ever did that dance was on season 16… Maybe he’s stressing out bc he wants to give her great choreo so she can shine. Also that’s a bad song for an argentine tango in my opinion.
I’m curious to see how the rehearsal videos will be edited…
@PH #331, I’m not a hater, right?
@Susan #337, you really shouldn’t because I speak fluent Hebrew and have had a major Yiddish influence in my life. But it takes a little chutzpah, or even some meshuganah, to bring it up onto a fansite. One of my old camp counselors would be shepping so much nachas to see me using Yiddish like this! 😉 lol.
It’s interesting that Meryl is having trouble. Not much can throw the Olymipan off of her game – but it might be the fact that Val isn’t specialized in the AT and that Meryl has a lot going on this week. She is now doing ice skating at the same time as ballroom dancing, so some old habits are bound to come back.
Believe what you want, Maina – all I know is that I trust our source more that the gut instincts of some of the fans.
#339 Steve J — What might make it more interesting is to see NeNe back with Tony after her stint with Derek. I don’t think Tony will hold up well in the comparison, and NeNe is not one to mince words, so that could make it kind of fun.
As for Val’s “stress” at having to choreograph AT — GROW TF UP!!!!!! His partner is the one who has to perform on ice and learn a new dance at the same time. If anyone has cause to be stressed, it’s her, and he should be the stabilizing influence for her.
And about Derek’s “direction” of this site, this idea could only come from those who have nothing whatever better to do than live or die by posts. Derek is so insanely busy with substantive projects he has no time at all for any of this, even if he wanted to — and I guarantee, he does not. He would not be so foolish to waste any of his energy. As I said earlier in this thread, he would not be able to accomplish all of what he does if he allowed his energy to be syphoned off by this or any other distraction.
With regards to our “detractors”, I’m only gonna say this once (and I know they’ll see it, cause despite their protests to the contrary, they do lurk here for the spoilers – and also to satisfy their insatiable urge to talk sh*t about us): they are a non-factor in our lives here. Nothing that they say or do affects what I write, how I write it, or when I chose to write it AT ALL. However, apparently whatever we write affects their lives DEEPLY, if they’re spending this much time getting deeply disturbed by it and are playing “tattletale” to Maks, Val, or whoever. Hehe…they flatter me. Thanks for letting me live in your brain rent-free, sillies 😉 While you guys were offering up recommendations for our “punishment”, I was eating churrasco with my Brad Pitt-lookalike boyfriend, going shopping at Victoria’s Secret afterward, playing with our kitten, watching The Wolf of Wall Street, sleeping in, and enjoying the gorgeous weather out on my bf’s Harley. In other words – zero f*cks given. Please, keep hating – it just gives us more hits. 🙂
And yeah, they may hate us, but they have absolutely no qualms whatsoever with coming here and scoping out the spoilers we post – we can totally tell who links to us. Looks like the cretins over at TWoP are too saddened by the imminent closure of their lair to hate on us anymore, but we appear to have a new contender for haterade over at Figure Skating forums. Thanks for the hits, ladies – we’ll keep being as “crazy” as possible so you guys have something to talk about other than whether Meryl and Maks are dating or not. Thanks again for the hits! Love ya. 😉
Too Close is a weird song for an AT. Nene and Derek’s song is pretty good for Jazz though. I have a feeling that NeNe will do well. Meryl seems she’ll do well too. She’s my favorite right now so I’m hoping! I have a feeling Drew is going to be the worst of the night. He hasn’t really been doing badly but I’m just not sure Whitney is the right partner for him. Charlie has the potential to do really well with this rumba. Frankly,I’m more worried about Peta’s choreography than Charlie’s dance ability. I’m not sure how Danica will handle a jive. Jive is my favorite dance so hopefully Danica impresses me. She’s a good dancer but with the exception of last week,she’s kind of been fading into the woodwork. This is her chance to get out of that. I have a feeling Candace isn’t going to do so well. I might skip over her because I can’t stand the quickstep and she’s already been disappointing me. I think her first week she showed a lot of potential but she hasn’t done a very good job living up to that. Last week she wasn’t terrible but I love Mark’s jives so I was expecting a lot more than that. James is paired with Cheryl and I have a feeling they’ll do a very good job. I was hoping Cody and Sharna would be paired together. I think this could easily be Cody’s best week if Sharna can manage to have really good choreography and polish his technique up.
From what I’ve heard, Candace is actually handling the quickstep quite well, and she and Tony are getting along well – and Drew and Witney’s routine is supposedly very cute and upbeat. I’ve heard that Sharna is getting a tad flustered with Cody because he has a very short attention span, and his frame needs a LOT of work…and as of this time yesterday, his frame was still looking pretty bad, according to our source. Source also said that Charlie & Peta’s rumba looks good – technically – but they look like siblings doing it, because of their similar hair. 😛 Source was lukewarm on James & Cheryl – says the routine is good technically, but the song sucks and there’s not a whole lot of heat between them.
Re: the latest update (who’s struggling, who’s not) – I’m a little surprised at a couple of them. I guess it partly depends on if they’re struggling dance-wise, or relationship-wise (or both).
I’m happy to hear that Witney is doing well with Drew. Maybe this experience will help her handle Cody better. Not at all surprised with the reports on Derek/NeNe, Charlie/Peta (was only concerned here with the possibility that Peta would over-do the sexy), Candace/Tony (he was able to work with Kate G., so I didn’t think he would have trouble getting along with Candace – it will be interesting to see if he was able to up her dancing). I can also see both James and Cheryl being very business-like about the week – let’s get the job done, do well, and get back to our real partners type thing.
Also not surprised re: Danica/Maks and Meryl/Val. Val can be a bit of a perfectionist, and he may be expecting more out of Meryl than he should. I think Meryl is great, and amazing on the ice, but I don’t think she’s amazing yet on a dance floor, and Val perhaps was expecting her to be like a professional ballroom dancer…and she’s not. So I could see him getting a bit impatient – plus, as someone above said, with the SOI tour, she’s now skating again, so old habits maybe returning.
I am a little surprised that Cody/Sharna are struggling – but perhaps I shouldn’t be. I don’t see Sharna being willing to take attitude from Cody (both since she’s older than he is, and since they’re both Aussies) – and, given what we’ve seen so far, I think Cody has (can have) a little bit of attitude. Also, we saw how Cody struggled with the tango, and foxtrot is another dance in hold – so I’m guessing Cody doesn’t particularly like the foxtrot.
I’m also a little surprised that Amy/Mark are struggling, but again, as I think about it, I’m not. I think Mark is probably feeling the pressure of wanting to live up to what Derek has done with Amy – maybe, on some level, wanting to prove that he’s just as good as Derek – and Amy does have some challenges. I’m sure Mark is doing his best, though, and I would be *very* surprised if they aren’t getting along as people. But I can see them struggling from a dance perspective.
Both the NeNe/Derek and Amy/Mark pairings are going to show just how good Derek really is – and I think some people aren’t going to like that. I also think that the switch may show how much matching pro/celeb personalities are important to how a couple does – because does *anyone* really think that Danica/Maks would be a good pairing, personality-wise? Maks does *not* do well with talkative, neurotic women. Whoever usually does the initial pairings seems to do a pretty decent job, overall – sometimes there are wonky ones, but for the most part, the pairings each season are fairly decent. My guess is that person wasn’t part of the group that decided who would get whom for the switch.
Thank you Courtney for sharing what you can with us. It makes things fun 🙂
Melissa, I don’t think (in this case) it necessarily means they aren’t getting along, just that they were struggling with their routine.
And yes, people have no problem deciding what to believe.
No, Aviva – actual haters don’t usually last here because they can’t limit their hating to just Derek (or whoever) they have to hate on other posters and mods and the site itself so they end up getting deleted. Of course, THEY don’t understand that – they think they get blocked for hating on Derek. And they aren’t smart enough to see the error of their ways. 🙂 You can say what you want about Derek, but you don’t get to bash us.
I agree that TPTB are inexplicably grooming Val to replace Derek as the number one pro once he leaves, and I don’t get it. Val has never done anything for me. He has a dull personality and his rehearsal packages reflect that. What has he done to garner so much favor with them? I love Henry and Tristan…why not give them a chance with better partners? They are much more personable then Val will ever be. And we know Tristan is funny! TPTB really don’t know their audience.
You have great sources! Val is going to be uber stressed as he won’t have done camera blocking will he? Both he and Peta are in the same boat I guess. It is possible one reason Peta isn’t stressed is because her choreography is easy for Charlie. Val is going to want to impress the world tomorrow and that is where the problems will be I think. He has to outdo his brother and make a dance that is youtube worthy. I know this is one of his goals to have dances that are watched on youtube.
Courtney-It’s nice to see Candace is handling the quickstep well. That’s a pretty difficult dance and usually even the best dancers don’t do so great (remember Zendaya’s? I cringe just thinking about it) James’s and Cheryl might be one of those partnerships that looks good on paper but not so great on stage. It’s nice to see that those people are doing well. Cody did very well the first week but since that it’s been a little lukewarm. I can see why Sharna would be frustrated about his frame. It especially bothered me in his Tango.
First, I just want to give kudos to you guys – your spoilers are crazy detailed! your sources are excellent, I’m sure! 🙂 (just how i like them haha)
I don’t think Derek and Nene will do badly. She’s not a terrible dancer, and jazz is one of the easiest to fake even if Derek wasn’t a darn good choreographer. (btw, still not over Derek and Shawn not winning all-stars… they were clearly superior) Song is decent too for a jazz! Any info on how the jazz looks right now?
Gosh, Too Close is a terrible song to Argentine Tango to! I wonder how that’s going to turn out. It could either be excellent and 40 worthy, or off. Does your source have any info about how the Meryl/Val Argentine Tango is going (is it really fast? complex? lots of lifts?)? 😉
Any word on how Amy/Mark are doing? I know you guys said they were struggling, but they were probably the only pair that the fans (and Derek/Amy themselves) wanted..?
For Charlie/Peta, sounds like from what the spoilers are, Peta toned down the sexy which should be good for Charlie (if Charlie’s girlfriend Tanith is heavily featured in the rehearsal footage, I am going to be pissed. she is shoved down our throats so much it’s getting annoying like Charlie week 2 was like “i can’t be a bad boy because i have a girlfriend”. eye roll)
Also, clarification: I know Meryl and Charlie have a show tonight in FL – are they at the blocking/dress rehearsal/show rehearsal today (Sunday)?
Your site is AWESOME.
I know there must be maks and val sites but the only sites I seem to find are this one, the abc one, pure derek and wetpaint. That being said – I like the spoilers, videos, pictures and news. Looking forward to Monday
#352 Judy, based on the photos the show has posted on Instagram today, both Val and Peta are back in LA and at rehearsals.
@Jocelyn, you can pretty much dance Jazz to any song. From contemporary-jazz, to hip-hop-jazz, it is very flexible.
@Butterlfy, I agree on Witney! She is one of the pros that I really love, and I think that having experience with 2 stars will help her develop a lot as a pro. What she needs is a firmer hand as pri, and I think she will develop that. She has her own kind of difficult partner, not necessarily a Billy Dee, but difficult in his own way. I personally hope that she and Cody make it to trio week, solely because I want to see which pro she picks for the trio dance.
I also think that Mark’s stress comes from measuring up to Derek, but also probably from choreographing for Amy. It is a little bit difficult trying to choreograph, in a week, for someone with no legs. Derek had two weeks before the first show to play around with Amy, even though that sounds so wrong. But it is helpful.
I am just so excited for this week!
Random non-sequitur: the smiley face ( 🙂 ) used on this site looks kind of mean on the site itself, but significantly less mean in emails.
#346 Courtney:
I totally LOL’d when I read that Charlie and Peta look like siblings doing the rumba because of their similar hair! I hope it’s not cringe worthy! They have all weekend to work on the “passion”! Unless Charlie has Stars On Ice performances every night.
I know there must be maks and val sites but the only sites I seem to find are this one, the abc one, pure derek and wetpaint. That being said – I like the spoilers, videos, pictures and news. Looking forward to Monday .
Oh no! I was surprised to read about Val and Meryl! He better be nice to Disney Princess Meryl! Of course he feels pressure to do well with his brother’s partner. I hope it turns out better by Monday for Meryl.
I LOVE all the spoilers here!!!!!!!
I love this site because you are honest and don’t pull any punches This is my first time commenting I think the switch dance was rigged and you have pointed out all the reasons why it was I used to be a Maks fan but since I saw how he abused some of his partners I have lost all respect for him I think Derek will do an awesome job with NeNe and I love what he is doing with Amy She is amazing! Maks has been out of the loop for a while and it shows I think he has been promised a win or he never would have come back He has said as much in interviews while he was off the show or maybe he just needs to be on TV to boost his ego He’s a camera hog that’s for sure Derek has impressed me more and more he Talks the talk and he walks the walk He has a great future and that just burns some peoples butt!!
THANK YOU for all the Updates :)!! YOU’RE THE BEST !
And my hopes for a good Tango from James just went out the window. I was hoping he and Cheryl could get along.
Plus… “Dark Horse” for a tango?
When I first visited this site, All-Star season, I was one of those “But Kelly and Val act like they are in love” fools. That was before I learned those little moments on tape are…let’s say planned.
Pure is not anti-Val or Maks or anti-any pro and they are certainly not pro-Derek. Although sometimes Tony is not liked much but his actions and words help him out there (To be honest Tony even has his moments of cool).Except for Heidi but I wouldn’t call that pro-Derek more….urm, got to keep it PGish here. 😉 Everybody knows I’m pro-Emma.
I think I said this last season but I’ll say it again. PureDWTS is like entering the rabbit hole of the Matrix. You can read the info here and awaken outside of the Matrix to reality or you can disbelieve it and stay in the Matrix of DWTS.
The truth can suck sometimes. I think the distractors are more on the side of not ready to see the truth yet. What is the truth you ask? TPTB don’t want thinking viewers, they want sheeple that they can think for. So if Pure is anti-ANYTHING it would be anti-TPTB with a side of anti-bullshyte.
And telling the ladies (& guy-Hi John!) that they suck, are making things up and are hating on certain pros, well that isn’t the truth. Are they blunt? Well wouldn’t you be too if you are constantly told that you don’t know what you are talking about on a blog that is basically a second job to them that THEY DO NOT GET PAID TO DO. To be honest after some of the crap I get it is kinda hard to be little Miss Merry Sunshine with Rainbows Shooting out your butt.
So instead of saying you suck for all the hard work you do, why don’t you try saying Thank You instead? Better yet ask yourself WWTD? (What Would Thumper Do?)
“If you can’t say nothin’ nice’ don’t say nothin’ at all.”
Wise bunny.
@Tony, there seems to be one poor music choice every week this season.
Week 1: (IMO) Walk Away for a Foxtrot
Week 2: Say Something for a Rumba
Week 3: All of Me for a Foxtrot.
So having one bad music choice doesn’t surprise me.
I’m worried for Amy now. I hope they can atleast score 8s.
Yikes. Well James seems to have been given the weird song of the night.. A Tango to “Dark Horse”? Just sounds weird. Argentine Tango-ish maybe but not even… Well, I hope he and Cheryl manage to do a good job on it regardless. Surprised that there isn’t any heat considering Cheryl loves to get hot when she has the ‘sexy’ partners. Guess James it too loyal to Peta and doesn’t want to give Cheryl what he only gives to Peta 😉 haha
“Too Close” for Argentine Tango sounds odd too but I can see that working somehow.
Thanks for all the dance and song info 🙂 Greatly appreciated on my part. Spices up my very boring Sunday evening. Thank the heavens for PureDWTS.
@Aviva: You have a very good point there. Bad music rampant this season.
To clarify, since people seem to be jumping to different conclusions: just because we say a couple is “struggling” does not necessarily mean they aren’t getting along. Some are struggling with the dance itself; some are struggling to get along with their switch partners; some are struggling with both. In Amy & Mark’s case, source says they just seem to be struggling with the dance – and it has more to do with Mark just having to adjust a lot of steps to accommodate the limitations of Amy’s prostheses. They’re getting along just fine.
In Meryl’s case, it’s a bit of a struggle with both – I think Val has just choreographed a very, VERY fast & ambitious routine for her, and the big struggle right now is that they’re sacrificing movement quality for speed (never good – think Zendaya & Val’s quickstep). I think Val was assuming that Meryl would be able to catch on quickly, but in her defense, she hasn’t had a super-intricate, super-fast routine yet. Hence, there’s a bit of frustration.
In Danica & Maks’ case, it’s just a case of really mismatched M.O.’s – Maks wants her to just do the step without thinking too much about it, while Danica wants to stop and analyze each step and perfect the technique before moving on. Hence, there’s a bit of frustration here, too. However, I think the dance itself is turning out fine – it’s just a personality struggle to get to the finished product.
In Cody & Sharna’s case, it’s also a bit of a personality clash – Cody apparently has a very short attention span and gets distracted easily, and Sharna’s kind of no-nonsense. His frame seems to be a big issue, as is the fact that he’s just not really wild about the foxtrot.
So are we clear now, before anyone else starts whining about Amy & Mark “fighting”? 🙂
@Court, thanks for the clarity! I feel like all of those points have been echoed by many other people, but I like the way you worded it.
@Tony, it also seems to be only one per week, which is weird. It seems annoying for the pros, stars, band, and everyone.
@Tony, maybe they are using the song Dark Horse because James is the dark horse of the season 😛
Well let me add my THANK YOUS to the mods here at Pure! I think you guys are THE BEST and love that you have scoops and commentary for us to discuss with fellow DWTS fans. I think the people that hate on you guys just don’t want to face reality about their favorites.
For all the hype that Maks/Meryl get, I don’t know if they are actually grabbing the audience. For example, my 22 yo intern thinks Meryl and Maks are actually ‘kind of creepy’ (in her words) because of the hint of showmance they seem to be pushing. She thinks he looks way too old for her, but she didn’t know Meryl was 27/28. I do think the producers are pushing this couple onto us though and if they keep doing that, it will def backfire.
In regards, to the last scoop we got… I hope we do get close to honest portrayals in the packages. If we get certain storylines, then these insider scoops would become so frustrating to me because WE would know what really happened, but the general audience would not. Derek/Nene actually having fun & working well together would be more interesting than them being at odds… because who would have thought they would have gotten along. And I would LOVE to see Maks go off on Danica because *I miss old Maks*…. hahaha (sarcasmmmmmm right there). I know the producers want to see drama, and they always do get drama when it comes to Maks/Val.
Anyways, really looking forward to tomorrow night! Thanks again mods!
thanks for clarifying Courtney. I’m just worried if Mark can choreograph as cleverly as Derek. Though he is the best replacement, compared to the other options. I just don’t want Amy’s score to suffer
I agree that youtube views may not translate to votes however James band is well known and followed internationally–by teenage girls!!!!—yes many of the views are probably duplicates. However, most of those views will translate into votes as we know young fanatic girls LOVE their technology and will be calling in on all familiy members phone, facebook, etc.
Maks already started complaining about judges and only time before his real self comes out.
Thanks for clearing up the info, mods. Always love the info you provide.
Seems like both Val and Maks are impressed by Meryl but sacrificing perfecting technique with choreo. Maks giving her filler while Val giving her too much.
Hey, does anyone know Amy and Mark’s salsa song. I think that is the only song I would actually care about.
Three cheers for the best blog site around!
It’s weird how much people elsewhere love to talk about how much they don’t like this site but they can’t seem to keep away.
Is Meryl and Val’s Argentine Tango as fast as Zendaya/Val/Maks/Anna’s? (or maybe the portion Maks/Anna danced? Or as fast as Zendaya/Val’s quickstep (I just watched that and it was not too polished)? If it is, that could be a struggle since those dances were pretty intricate and they don’t have too much time to practice this week.
I think Amy and Mark will have an adjustment to make, but I bet they can pull it off 🙂 Glad to hear Nene and Derek are doing fine too!
Thanks Courtney for the updates! Much appreciated!
I’m gonna go back to watching Wrestlemania XXX (my son BEGGED to buy it on Pay Per View), which is about as rigged as DWTS is lately! LOL 😀
#jess 377
Amen.
Love being spoiled by all the spoilers. If the haters hate it so much, why do they keep coming for more? It is going to be a fun Monday night, partly because no one is going home.
Busted!! pic from Cheryl’s twitter with James in background!
I have been waiting since FOREVER for them to use Ballroom Blitz as a quickstep. I am so excited for Candace’s dance now…… Even if it is with Tony haha
I am pissed about Meryl and Derek not dancing together.. but seems like Derek has Make Your Move publicity stuff to do. On Apr 3 (Thursday) he posted on his twitter that he had a 5am call time for the Make Your Move tour. If he were in Florida with Meryl, he could not do press stuff. Also, he’s doing Macy’s Dance of the Week or whatever with Henry, and Kathryn (from sytycd, step up revolution). Oh well. We’ll still have tons of Derek on Monday night!!
We know all this, Katrina – and all his press were remotes. He could have done them anywhere.
@Kim, where? I didn’t see it!
Aviva..go to her twitter account it is the first post from @johnplaterodude
@Kim Not saying that they aren’t partners this week, but that pic was from Sayers Club where Mark was performing. Any number of people from the DWTS cast could have been there to support him.
So, wow things change but really stay the same. Our votes should follow the celeb this week right? I am worried that people will vote for Derek and NeNe which could cause a “surprise” we don’t want for those of us who like Derek and Amy. The same would be true for any other celeb…if you want to see Meryl and Maks…you would actually vote for Meryl and Val…have I got that oh all knowing mods…lol?
anerry of course! Just not in the pic and 5 ft from each other.. 🙂
Hey Cameron: The pros did Ballroom Blitz–I think way back on Season 4 or maybe 5. Just remember all the ladies being in green.
I have been coming here every day, several times and at different times. I have enjoyed reading the speculations, the intelligent comments, and most of all the spoilers. For legit DWTS spoilers, this is the go-to site. Many up-thread have already stated excellent reasons why. I’d like to add mine:
1) This is the ONLY sane site about DWTS. I have come to this conclusion after more than a month of searching the net for info about the show when I first got invested in it. All the others I’ve gone to were so vile that I could not fathom how and why anyone would want to visit and give them hits.
2) This is the ONLY site that does not insult the audience’s/fans’ intelligence. I’d rather you tell it to me straight than fudge things over. I like using my brain as much as my emotions on things and situations even for an entertainment show.
3) This is the ONLY site that educates people on the different dances and the show. Now, I can already tell if the dance is a Foxtrot or not, whether rules were broken or not, or if it has enough content or not. Seriously, where else can anyone find a site that covers almost everything, if not everything, about the show?
4) ALL the pros are given space here; updates about them abound. Even pros who are no longer in the show are still featured here. What other sites do that? Appreciation and recognition is given to the pro that does his/her work well. For those who don’t, should they be praised?
5) This is NOT a site for the narrow-minded and for those who think with their ____ (insert your own term here, hehe).
Thank you again to all the mods here! Truly appreciate what you do for the show’s fans. 🙂
#371 LOL Fran, that’s exactly what I thought 😉
Thank you mods for your impressive info, insight and analysis that keeps me coming back for more. I wish you were producing show instead of TPTB that seem to be running what was a spectacularly entertaining dance show into the ground, imo. It just makes me sad. I hate the switch-up concept because one of the interesting aspects of the show to me was the performance arc where the celebs would get better week to week as they got more and more comfortable with their pro and the switch-up throws a wrench into that. I would’ve accepted the switch-up better if Derek got Meryl, because those two dancing together would’ve truly delighted this fan. But Derek and Nene? No thrill there, but he will make her look marvelous, I’m sure. Anyway, thank you again for this wonderful site!
@nobleze, I couldn’t have said it better! When I started watching the show, I knew nothing about dancing. This show has shown me, like you and I’m sure many others, the differences in the dances and points out where pairs go wrong. Yes, everybody has their favorites, but everybody is given time on this site. Thank you to all of the mods for the work and dedication you put into this site. It makes watching the show still worth it.
Wow…that was a lot to catch up on after the weekend!
I’m excited for Nene and Derek. I love when Derek gets the opportunity to do something different. Maybe this will put some detractors to rest in regards to “Derek always gets the good partners!” hahaha who am I kidding.
I’m happy to hear that Drew and Witney and Tony and Candace are doing well as I was worried about those pros the most. Hopefully this will help Witney gain a bit more experience and bring a bit more authority back to Cody. Not surprised about Cody and Sharna.
In regards to people hating on this site, they’re just upset that what you’re telling them isn’t exactly what they want to hear. They’ll rely on what you say in regards to who is dancing with who and what dance they’re doing, but the second you say that some might not be doing the best, it’s all false. If they had read this site before (which we all know they have) they would know that all pros are given the spotlight and everyone isn’t “just a bunch of Derek lovers.” Derek just happens to be giving the Sabrina attitude lately of everything being butterflies and rainbows. And I also remember a comment last year where Courtney specifically pointed out all the couples she rooted for each season and the pros changed each time. All pros are called out for stupid things that they say (ie, Sharna before the season began and she has done exclusive interviews for Pure)…The C bros just happen to say a lot of stupid things.
Moral of the story…thanks to all the mods for all the spoilers and everything done here at this site. Although some do not appreciate the greatness, I very much do. I would not enjoy DWTS nearly as much as I do without this site.
I’m only half way through reading all the comments but wanted to post – my apologies if I’m repeating thoughts.
I’m thrilled with the Derek/Nene pairing. although I’m not a fan of hers, I think they’ll pull off an awesome Jazz routine, getting better scores than she ever will with Tony.
Putting Amy with Mark was a bit of a safe place for her – his and Dereks teaching styles are the most similar. I couldn’t imagine her with either of the Chmerkovskiy brothers.
Charlie with Peta will be interesting since he doesn’t have the body or personality for her to make him play a sexy role. I agree he and Cheryl would have been a good match.
Witney and Drew are the strangest pairing. It’ll be hard to make him not look like a dirty old man dancing with her.
I love a good Argentine Tango – and know Val & Meryl won’t dissapoint me.
I like Tony & Candace together. If they’re having fun – those two smiles should light up the ballroom.
I won’t miss Cody if he leaves – I don’t think even Sharna’s choreography can save him.
Maks is my fav male dancer and since I love him paired with Meryl, I may have a hard time cheering for him & Danica.
I believe that is true, Lynne.
[…] new blog at Access Hollywood. Unlike Peta, she won’t reveal who her partners is (even though we know already. ). Though here is what she will tell […]
Just took a peek at the phone numbers you posted in the above article … the numbers haven’t changed. Amy/Derek’s number was 868-3410 – and Amy/Mark’s number is the same. So the voting phone numbers have followed the celebs. Looking forward to what tonight’s show brings!!!
So next week is Dsney week, huh? I guess there will be no rights problems because Disney owns ABC. I bet we will see something along the lines of Aladdin, and I also have a feeling we will see something from Frozen. Because Frozen.
I think Sharna very much has the same teaching style as Cheryl. Neither one suffers fools or whiners gladly. If you show up with a good attitude and willingness to learn, then you’re in good hands. I can see where Cody might test Sharna’s patience.
It’s just a weird pairing to begin with. Sharna has a sensual womanly stage presence. To pair her with a young, somewhat immature teen idol seems bizarre.
I’m trusting that Mark, after his initial learning period working with Amy’s prosthetics, will do a fun Salsa for her. I can see him really wanting to make her shine. For all his eccentricities he really does seem to have a good heart. I’m very pleased Amy is with him for the switch.
A too fast Argentine Tango that sacrifices control and passion for flashy speed is in my non professional opinion the exact wrong thing to give Meryl.
As we saw last week, Meryl can give us a convincing smoldering sensuality on stage. She’s a master at holding sustained shapes. Val should use those attributes in choreographing an AT for her. If that AT looks rushed and sloppy and Meryl gets marked down for it in the scores, I’ll be pissed.
I am very disappointed that Mark got Amy. I do look forward though to seeing what Candace and James do with their new partners.
I still loathe NeNe and wish she and her rap sheet would just go away.
So Nene and Derek are the only ones getting a non-ballroom/latin routine this week? Gee how convenient for Derek. Bet you they’re going to get 10’s.
I feel like Cody and Sharna’s foxtrot will be a mess. Bet she wishes she was doing it with Charlie.
Speaking of Charlie, I hope his rumba with Peta is as good as she says it is.
And Candace and Tony are getting the first quickstep of the season? Yikes! One of the hardest dances to learn, especially with a new partner.
Sounds like TPTB have really played us or fools with the switch-up pairings. I’ve been out of town for a couple days, busy with other stuff, and will be missing the show tonight. Normally, I’d be trying to work things out to watch DWTS, but it’s not worth the effort this week. For the celebs and pros’ sake, I hope it’s not a total trainwreck. I’ll be flying home tomorrow so I’ll get my online votes in and will catch the highlights tomorrow. Can’t wait to read everyone’s comments. They will be better than the show, I’m sure! Have fun, all! 😀
@Lizzie – There was speculation that the reason NeNe & Derek might have gotten jazz was due to their height difference – really, unless she had gotten Maks in the switch, I think they would have had to give her a dance that minimizes the amount of in-hold work that is done. As for Candace & Tony – source says she’s handling quickstep surprisingly well. Says it “suits her” – maybe because it’s not sexy or sassy? Source also said Peta & Charlie had the easiest time of all the couples this week – no bickering, no struggling with choreography. It all came together really well for them. Wish I could say the same for Sharna & Cody…they were apparently on the struggle bus…
Do they not share the dance order anymore?
@Maina – Nope, not since week 1. We think it’s because they either a) want to leave the door open to eliminate someone in a similar fashion that they did Diana and Sean, or b) want people to tune in for the ENTIRE show, rather than just turning on DWTS when their favorite couple is dancing.
[…] quiet all week since the couples were supposed to be surprises, but the pairs leaked along with spoilers about how the couples were faring together. No real drama played out onstage and I strongly felt […]