Dancing with the Stars – Winning Freestyles Through the Years, Part Two
Okay, here’s part 2 – be sure to watch part 1 so you can get the full history.
Part 2 could be called the “Hough-Ballas-Johnson” Section. 🙂 What I notice about Derek and Mark’s early Freestyles is that they craft something exciting but they still get a lot of actual dancing in there. I remember critics saying it was all lifts and no dancing….crack is wack, ya’ll. Looking forward to seeing both freestyles from them this Monday as they’ve both matured so much in both style and choreography.
Season 7 – Brooke and Derek. I loved this freestyle. It’s funny to watch now as Derek is a good bit smaller – you’ll also note that this is the beginning of his recurring back problems. What I loved about this freestyle is that, from Brooke, it was unexpected, I think. She was the best dancer this season and I remember thinking that there was no way she was beating Warren the showman – I think this dance might have done it for her.
Season 8 – Shawn and Mark. Shawn is just the cutest thing ever. 🙂 A great dance by Mark – lots of gymnastics and I seem to recall people picking on both Mark and Derek for having gymnastics when dancing with Shawn, but what people still don’t get today is that the show is about the celebrity and, just like all the previous freestyles before them, it’s about making it so that it not only shows off your celebrity in their best light, but that they have FUN with it. Gymnastics, yes – but Helio had his racing car, Emmitt’s fit his personality, Brooke danced to a song from her favorite movie…the list goes on. That is the key.
Season 9 – Oh how I miss Kym Johnson. Donny Osmond was the massive ringer of Season 9 and one of the biggest ringers in terms of fanbase in the history of the show. This was a good freestyle, and it fit Donny to a tee – and it was pretty darn good, as I recall. I like it better now than I did at the time. Donny was pimped to high heaven by Entertainment Tonight – he was everywhere all the time and his fans were obnoxious as hell. So, it was a bit tainted at the time….but it’s gotten better with age. Note that Donny said that his perfect score was the first time that season. This was before they handed out tens like candy. 😉
Season 10 – Nicole and Derek – great dance, ‘cept for that little bobble in the one lift. Oddly, for Nicole and Derek this wasn’t my favorite dance of theirs. They had earned the trophy the week before with the 50’s Paso. That dance, along with the Pretty Woman Tango, the Buble Foxtrot, Lady in Red Rumba and many others which all could be in the list of best dances ever. Their dances up to this point had been so amazing, so memorable that this amazing freestyle was actually a let down. Now THAT is saying something about a season. 🙂
Season 11 – Derek and Jennifer – now this is probably the most perfect winning freestyle for a celebrity ever. Why?? It was tailor made for Jennifer from the opening bit. Priceless. I remember the whole internet screaming “She carried a watermelon!!!” 🙂 The whole dance was an homage to Dirty Dancing. It’s about Jennifer, yet not what people were expecting. It wasn’t the best danced freestyle, I don’t think – but it was what a freestyle is supposed to be.
Season 12 – Hines and Kym with a freestyle that still makes me smile. Kym was always great a freestyles, and making them all about her partner. Football player dancing to a marching band playing the Jackson Five while wearing an “S” for steelers on his chest. She pretty much covered all the bases. 🙂
Awesome awesome post! If I had to choose my favorites from this selection, it would be too hard. But, I have to say, my heart starts beating even more watching Jennifer and Derek again. *sigh
It’s so great to see Kym again too. She was stellar. We can’t ever forget her mark on this show!
Love seeing this old clips.
God how I wish they would bring Kym back. What a class act. I can’t remember if she wanted to leave or they phased her out. If it was the latter, BIG mistake.
I think that seasons 8 and 11 perfectly encapsulates how the freestyle determines the winner. Gilles and Cheryl completely bungled that freestyle and Shawn and Mark had a really great one, leapfrogging over Gilles and giving Shawn the edge. But in season 11, I feel like Jennifer’s freestyle was fun, but not amazing – and I think Kyle had the superior one. BUT because Jennifer’s wasn’t bad, she was able to hold win despite Kyle’s slightly better freestyle (in my opinion, anyway).
My favorite from this group is definitely Shawn & Mark’s. It was just extremely fun! My least favorite of these is probably Donny’s. I just never liked ANY of his dances. And it isn’t even that Kym’s choreography was bad, I just never liked his dances. I watched pretty much all of them and wasn’t a fan of any 😮
@Fig I agree with you, personally I liked Kyle’s Freestyle the most but that’a not to say Jennifer’s was bad.. because it was great. The watermelon totally cracked me up :p
It was the hough Ballas Johnson era. It great to see Derek had evolved as a freestyle choreographer. I thought Jennifer’s perfect. A Dirty Dancing homage but one you didn’t expect. They took the watermelon scene and Baby showed them she can dance! Loved it!
also liked Kym’s idea with the marching band for Hines and put on a half time show. She is missed. She would have been perfect for Drew this season.
Fig, I think that Jennifer’s spoke to her past and Dirty Dancing in such a way that it struck a chord with a lot of people who were huge fans of the movie. While Kyle might have the better danced freestyle, Jennifer’s touched a chord – and that’s really the point I’m trying to make to some of the crazy Meryl fans. Being the best dancer in a season is kind of irrelevant, if you don’t MOVE people. Which might be why Maks is playing the showmance card so hard…he doesn’t know how to do it choreographically any other way.
Derek’s free styles are the best because he knows how to highlight his partners. That’s something Maks hasn’t figured out yet.
Ah, part 2! Thank you, Princess H!
In this group of winning freestyles, it is very clear that the choreography fitted the celebrities, which made for very entertaining performances and they were better than ever.
I miss Kym, too. I truly admire how she was able to wear skimpy costumes but still came across as classy. Enjoyed her FS w/ Donny and Hines. As for Mark’s FS choreo, I like Kristi’s more than Shawn’s although hers was really cute.
Like you, Princess Heidi, Nicole’s FS wasn’t my favorite of her dances. Mine were the 50’s Paso, AT, Foxtrot, QS, Lady In Red Rumba, and finale Jive. Love seeing how Derek has evolved as a choreographer over the seasons/years.
What a wonderful stroll down memory lane!
I agree Heidi, that it absolutely suited her and struck a chord with a lot of fans of the movie (of which, I admit, I am not – never really cared for the movie). I was just illustrating the point that even Kyle’s slightly better (in my opinion) freestyle that was also just the EPITOME of Kyle wasn’t enough to make him the winner because Jennifer’s was good enough and memorable enough to win, dispelling the myth that the best freestyle wins each season.
I like all of these freestyles but Hines just leaves me cold now. That season and that final, I remeber loving it. Now…not so much.
I’m really looking forward to Amy’s freestyle. I bet the thought must have crossed Derek’s mind more than once this week: “if only we could have her change feet in the middle.” 🙂
Since what I am going to say will be an unpopular opinion, I am going to try to be as eloquent as possible. If I could pin point a thing that really bugged me about Derek on this show – it was these three freestyles. To me, with the exception of a few modifications per partner, all three of these freestyles seemed to be the same to me. They all kind of melt together in my mind. The judges rave and rave about his choreography and I never understood why he was such a big deal because he basically did the same thing every year. So every year he has been in the finals, I’ve always rooted for the other star because the over the top love for the same choreography was obnoxious. It wasnt until his freestyle with Shawn that I was finally saying “THERE WE GO, THATS WORTH THE LOVE”. lol.
I think after the all star season, the show really changed and the way Derek has approached his choreography has changed too. This is also why I think Maks doesnt fit the show anymore. It got a major face lift after the Allstar season and he doesn’t want to lift his face with it. lol
And I will be ok being the only one who feels this way… hahahahha
I loved Jennifer & Kyle’s FS that season. Kyle was just so enchanting(for lack of a better word). Those 2 FS’s and their instant dances made this one of my favorite season finales.
Derek is soooo good at his freestyles. It amazes me how each of them are so tailored to his partner. In retrospect, while I LOVED Nicole’s freestyle, I agree it wasn’t her crowning acheivement, but it still was the best of that night AND she was spot on the weeks prior to this.
My God, how I loved Hines and Kym’s freestyle. It was genius! Simple, but again, tailored to him. It was like HE was the star of the Superdome Half Time show. And the mix of songs was cool, great lifts, and KYM!!! OH MY GOD HOW I MISS HER. Watching her dance gets me all giddy you have no idea LOL.
Donny’s? OK 6 years later, and I’ll finally give it to him, THIS was a GREAT freestyle. I love Broadway as it is and his personality fit the dance AND IMO this is the best the band ever sounded. In fact, it is my favorite performance in the 18 seasons of the show. (That and Kelly Osbourne’s Cabaret Charleston music)
And I can’t get enough of Brooke’s either. So simple, but FUN!!
Thanks for taking me down memory lane!!
So much fun watching these all again! And I agree, I miss Kym ALOT.
I’m still blown away by that move in Shawn and Mark’s freestyle where they start in sort of a pushup stance on the floor then propel themselves upright backwards without hands.
When I saw them come out in those creepy bedazzled masks and gloves, I do remember thinking that Mark went and lost his damn mind.
Loved Hines and Kym their season and would probably have loved their freestyle even if it was only vaguely good, but it was freaking awesome.
Kym always crafted great freestyles, even the ones she didn’t win with. I still remember the one she did with Joey Fatone, and I think the one she did with Warren was also really good. Outside of Hough/Ballas, she’s the best freestyle choreographer the show has had. The two times she made the finals and *didn’t* win, she lost to the Houghs (Julianne in season 4, Derek in season 7). I miss her lots. 🙂 I think Sharna and Emma both have a very good shot of creating similarly good freestyles – Emma’s last season for Bill really fit him and was tons of fun, and what Sharna had planned for Charlie sounded really good (still bummed we won’t get to see it).
These old freestyle clips are truly a treat! Thank you!
I had forgotten how much enjoyment this show has brought me over the years. Bravo to DWTS.
@Megan #13
Now I love me some Derek, so I admit that I’m always sensitive to whatever criticism he gets, so allow me to add to/qualify your statements: In Season 7, 10, & 11, Derek had the most brilliant choreography tailor made for his partners every single week. IMHO, knows how to capture the emotion through EVERY movement of a dance better than anyone. Seriously, I went on a “Dancing With Derek’s Partners” little marathon last night I can say that even with my bias towards him now, I’d still stand by that statement. There was absolutely nothing wrong choreographically in those above freestyles. (To this day I’m honestly amazed at how ambitious those moves he did with Brooke were. I loved Nicoles, it was great way to end the season with a bang, but they were killing it so consistently that season that I understand why their freestyle was a bit anticlimactic. Jennifer’s was a perfect homage to her Dirty Dancing past and I loved it. I do too think Kyle had the better FS too. But as someone else said an awesome FS doesn’t win you the season, but a bad one can cost you the win.)
But I will say that for Derek’s first 3 FS, the vibes were a bit samey-samey. Based on that, that’s why I used to think Mark was the more creative choreographer compared to Derek. I say “used to” because somewhere along the way, Derek’s freaky mad-scientist genius streak began.
I like seeing these as an evolution of Derek’s choreography. IIRC he was always more of a traditionalist in the earlier seasons, while Mark was always an absolute showman. Mark is all high-energy, maximum impact, crash-bam-wow dancing and his freestyles reflect that to this very day. These days, Derek is a risk taker and the most creative choreographer on this show. His penchant for capturing emotions and perfecting technique in ballroom/Latin dances in his earlier days gradually has translated into his Freestyles (and really any dance he choreographs) coming to life as poetry in motion. Derek creates art on the dancefloor, period.
FLOVED Shawn & Mark! Wicked awesome dancing. Had me captivated from start to finish.
And I thought I was the only one who missed Kym! She was a great choreographer, sweetheart, all of that. She was just made of awesome. My favorite female pro :’) A+ for creativity on both those FS. Forgot how much of a showstopper Donny’s was, I think because my disappointment over Mya’s overshadowed it.
I found Derek’s FS similar on a superficial level only. Nicole’s was the proper dance blend that I think Val and others tried to do. While Brooke’s was inspired by Grease and a bit more theatrical and then Jennifer’s story with Dirty Dancing. I didn’t find Mark’s FS so different from Krisri and ?Shawn but different enough, both good.
What I did notice too is he was traditionalist early especially with ?Jennie. Wow. Love the choreo he gave her and the work he did with her. With all his success, he is kinda underrated IMO for his work his partners. He doesn’t just cover up weaknesses but makes them dance too.
Thanks again, love these!! So much fun to watch them again. I also miss the beautiful and classy Kym. She, like Derek, choreographed to her partner’s strengths while adding fun and humor. Oh, how I wish I could see Charlie and Sharna’s freestyle; I bet it would’ve been awesome.
Keziah, I think what happened was Nicole. Her Freestyle may not have been his best work, but if you look at her body of work across the season, Derek did something that Maks has YET to do and that is push to the very limits of Nicole’s ability and talent. Some of the dances they did…I just remember hearing in advance some of the dance/song combinations they had and wondering how in the hell Derek was going to make it work. A tango to Pretty Woman?? A 50’s Paso?? The quickstep earned him an Emmy nomination. Lady in Red rumba sounded so cliche, but no. That last Jive?? So many amazing and memorable dances – including my favorite dance in all of DWTS and that was their Foxtrot to Michael Buble. Anyway, he set the bar very high for dancing with a ringer, which is where Meryl is suffering – she should be BIGGER and more memorable than anyone else this season. In upping the bar every week for Nicole, I think Derek broke something loose in himself…he started looking at how the dances are shot, he’s always worked with the orchestra, he re-arranged a Madonna song for Maria…he manages the whole thing. I also think that the variety of partners Derek had made him work harder to show them to their very best. Then give him Shawn Johnson and the transformation to mad-scientist was very nearly complete. 🙂 I think it also benefited him that he started working with all kinds of people outside the ballroom world and the inspired him.
I don’t know if this might be the wrong place to post this, but I just feel like I want to share something I have been thinking about in regards to Amy and her freestyle. I have been seeing a lot of people talking about how memorable and impactful Kellies freestyle was due to the emotions involved in it, and expecting something similar from Amy. Now, feel free to disagree with me as this is just a thought, but I feel like that type of freestyle would be a lot less impactful if Amy did something like that.
Mainly, I feel like one of the things that really made Kellies freestyle work, was that it allowed people to see a side of her which was not necessarily considered to be inherently her, or the type of performance which one would directly associate with her personality. Amy, on the other hand, has had a few routines which has really highlighted her emotions, so that I feel like while a contemporary-esque or emotional freestyle would probably be incredibly beautiful,it might be more memorable, or impactful, to get to see something else from her. (Of course, this could be applied to all the contestants, but this was the example I chose to bring up)
Anyway, I don’t know if that made any sense, but it it just something I have been thinking about and wondering how other people feel about it. 🙂
Ems – ITA with your sentiments. If Derek decided to got he “contemporary” route, for me, I would be comparing it with her original routine from the Most Memorable year. I hope that’s not the route he goes but then again this is Derek we’re speaking of – choreographing genius – so I’m sure even if he does he would take it in a direction that would make me forget it was contemporary.
Good point, Ems. Might be why I yawn at Meryl’s FS because it is predictable. Beautiful? Sure, she is a great dancer. Meryl dancing well is not a surprise. We haven’t see anything different an dose spins and poses. Angst and showmance.
I am not sure on the tone and no idea about ?Amy’s FS. Her contemporary was amazing and emotional. But who knows with Derek. He does seem to be about surprising themselves and viewers.
You made sense, Ems – and I don’t think she’s going that route in any case. Not the same route anyway. I’m quite confident that Derek has crafted some thing just for Amy. That’s what he does best.
FYI…Derek tweeted a pic and Amy has her running blades on. In another pic, she’s wearing a different set of feet while practicing the Samba, so…. I don’t think it’s going to be a contemporary freestyle.
I have a feeling it’s going to be very interesting, in any case.
PH, I saw that pic but I thought it was a screenshot from this past week’s qs rehearsal. Whatever it maybe, I am sure it will showcase.
Could be. I thought it was new since he was talking about his birthday. And he doesn’t screencap, he just steals from my site…or someone else, but I haven’t seen that one before. 🙂
@ PH #23,
Yes! Wish I could “like” your post! I actually think the first “Derek…you are a GENIUS!” moment was his Futuristic Paso w/Joanna. That was just…stellar! Your explanation though, that Nicole changed him…Now that i think about it, maybe it did. He did say that he used to hold back in choreo and progressively amp it up as the weeks went by, but now he just goes full out for every dance. Whatever it may have been, the way that he interprets and visualizes music into seamless movement is incredible! He gets every nuance of the music so beautifully…I think being a multi-talented musician definitely has to do with his amazing record too. (I think Mark & Val have an amazing ear for music as well, them being musicians too. Those 3 are the best pros on the show to me.)
Don’t get me started on Shawnough! A mesmerizing dynamic duo, those two! Every time I go into detail about how incredible they were I can’t help but be shocked they didn’t win All Stars. But that’s another discussion….I will say this though: His body of work every season is so impressive I don’t even know how he keeps reinventing himself. I don’t expect Amy & Derek to win on Tuesday, but if this is anything like a repeat of All Stars, I hope Derek gets an Emmy nod 😉 Emmy>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> $12 Mirror Ball Trophy
@ Megan #13, I do agree with you as well that I wasn’t “wowed” by Derek’s FS’s with Brooke, Nicole, Jennifer (& Ricki). But that doesn’t take away the fact that he did put together some incredible dances for these women throughout their seasons so I”m not mad.
Nicole’s is probably my least favorite FS Derek has choreographed but to me, it was the best from that season since Evan’s was pretty bad & Erin’s was really bad (imo). While I get the feeling that most people here loved Jennifer’s FS, I have to admit – and please don’t get mad at me! – I have never seen Dirty Dancing, so when the dance started w/ her holding a watermelon, I was like, “What??” So I didn’t get the nostalgia feeling from that FS but I still think it was good enough to win.
It wasn’t until All-Stars that Derek has really impressed me w/ his FS’s. First with Shawn, then Kellie, then Amber & now,(hopefully) w/ Amy.
Speaking of Amy, I think Derek (from All-Stars to present) tends to choreograph his FS’s that are completely different & totally unexpected. A lot of people complained that Amber danced a lot of hip-hop throughout her season & even though her FS was hip-hop, it was (to me) completely different, new & fresh. So I trust Derek that he will come up with something good & memorable for Amy even if he goes the contemporary/emotional route.
On a side note, I’m still bummed Charlie’s not in the finale. I think it would have been a great finals if he were still in.
Jane #32 At the time when I saw Jennifer and Derek’s FS I hadn’t seen Dirty Dancing yet (but I’ve seen it a few times since then), so I didn’t get the watermelon reference or the nostalgia feeling either. But I enjoyed the dance, and it was good enough to win. Actually I enjoyed Jennifer and Derek’s FS more than Kyle and Lacey’s, but that might be my own bias because I don’t enjoy hip hop.
I agree with those who said they miss Kym Johnson…I miss her too! I love the FS she did for Donny and Hines…so entertaining and she tailored the dance to their personalities and strengths. She always had great costumes too!
I’m looking forward to seeing all the FS in the finale…it’s just such a shame we won’t get to see what Charlie and Sharna would have done 🙁
I think the Futuristic Paso got the whole ball rollin’ for sure, Keziah.
I would not be at all surprised to see a nomination come out of this season, that’s for sure.
I think it’s all relative, Jane. It’s hard to look back – knowing what you know now – and see how damn good those freestyles were at the *time*. No one else was doing anything better than that, for sure.
And yeah, if you’ve never seen Dirty Dancing, it would be REALLY hard to grasp why everyone was jumping up and down about that one and exclaiming how great it was. All the context is missing, not to mention that Jennifer almost didn’t dance the next day because she was injured from it.
I think it’s a “you had to be there” kind of thing with the early dances. 🙂
I’ve been a DWTS watcher since it started. I’ve always Derek is a great choreographer and I’ve always enjoyed his dancing. I think he is the reason I continued to watch over the years. I’ve skipped watching
the last few years because the judges just infuriates me and all those
goings on in the background – enough said.
I do watch some of the dances on youtube and I have to say Kelli Pickler’s just wowed me. I also think Nicole was good and Derek’s choreos for her really challenged her and produced a lot of memorable dances.
Maks sorry to say has never impressed me at all. I hope Derek gets another Emmy for choreographing this season.
I agree with PH (#35) – they were *amazing* at the time. I remember how excited I was with Brooke’s FS – the tricks were great, and it was so much *fun*. I do think there was a definite shift happening in Derek’s choreography that started (probably) with the futuristic paso, and really got rolling with Nicole and Jennifer. Derek then took a season off, and if you look at some of his dances with Ricki (Psycho tango, anyone?), you can see new influences coming in – and it has just kept going from there. Certainly the All-Star season was another shifting point. All in all, it’s been really cool to watch – though most of it is seen in hindsight. 🙂
Catching up after a busy weekend away from the ‘net and so glad PH got part 2 and 3 of her freestyle series up. This trip down memory lane makes me both happy and sad. Happy to relive the memories, sad to be reminded how TPTB have screwed with my “perfect” guilty pleasure.
S7: Such full-on fun from Brooke (*not* Brooke-bot) & “boy-man” Derek 😛
S8: Loved this one! Perfect blend of “Shawn-ness” & full-on-fun dancing!
S9: How I miss “she of the awesome boobage”! Kym=Class. Perfect for Donny.
S10: I was Evan/Anna; but Nicole/Derek had the better freestyle even w/the bobble.
S11: Physically careful (because it had to be) but perfectly pitched for maximum effect; hats off to Jen/Derek!
S12: Hines/Kym were a joy & these 2 sold this freestyle so well.
For me, this time period is when they got the mix right between “ballroom competition” and “entertainment show”. I wasn’t a big Derek fan during this time, he was too “young and brash” for me then. Looking back now, I can see how he was quietly evolving into the pro & person that I appreciate & admire today.
I echo what Cidra said about Derek’s early years and how much I appreciate what he’s evolved into. Plus, he’s grown into his teeth 🙂
Great post! I would love to hear your opinions on the second-place freestyles over the years, too. Which celebrities lost because of the freestyle and what they could have done better, and also which dances you thought were superior to those of the winning couples?
Shawn and Derek >>>>> Melissa and Tony
I also thought Joey and Kym’s freestyle was terrific blend of multiple styles and entertaining but Apolo and Julianne were good too and very popular.
Gilles and Cheryl famous boring Flashdance routine and Mya and Dmitry hairspray was fine but nothing amazing or different. Just meh.
I miss Kym so much!! I know she will be in Oz to judge this fall but next spring for season 20 I hope they have her back!!!! She is such a ray of sunshine on the show. I do love some of the new female pros but none of them have the same flair or something special that the original four did!! Anna, Cheryl, Karina & Kym! I so hope we get to see them back in action together again!
Re: #40 – I think looking at the rest of the freestyle would be interesting as well. I agree with Melissa #41 that Shawn and Derek’s freestyle was *miles* better than Melissa and Tony’s. I believe that was the only season where a significantly better freestyle *didn’t* win. There were a couple of seasons where another one of the couples had a equally good, possibly slightly better, freestyle and didn’t win – in Season 4, Joey Fatone’s was really good, as was Kyle’s in Season 11, and there may have been others too. And then there are the seasons where everyone else pretty much bombed the freestyle – Season 8 (both Gilles and Melissa had pretty terrible freestyles), Season 5 (Mel B’s lackluster freestyle, and the infamous “doll dance” from Marie), etc.