Mark Ballas Blogs On Dancing With The Stars Season 19 Week 3
Mark Ballas writes of how disappointed he was in the scores for him and Sadie Robertson last night on dancing With The Stars….especially being Carrie Anne said it was one of her favorite dances, but, then she scored them like everyone else. Other than that and the elimination of Randy, Mark was happy with how the night went down. Below is more from Hollywood Life.
Really proud of Sadie tonight! I thought her technique was great; I was really impressed with her frame, considering it was her first ballroom dance. I was a little underwhelmed and disappointed in the scoring. Carrie Ann Inaba said it was one of her favorites of the night, but then scored the same as everyone else. I felt like it could have been 9’s across the board.
I was very impressed with Tommy Chong, I thought he did wonderfully. So cool to see how well he moves, especially at his age. It’s amazing and just goes to show that dance has no age. I was also really impressed with Derek Hough and Bethany Mota. What a great rendition of “Singing In The Rain” – not easy shoes to fill! I also thought Val Chmerkovskiy and Janel Parrish did a great job.
It was a little early in the season, in my opinion, for 10’s. I’ve never seen 10’s this early in the competition, but I felt that the dances that got them definitely earned them. I would have given those dances 10’s, too! But I was surprised that the judges gave them out this early in the season.
I agree with Mark that it’s kind of early for 10s. And I know I’ll be shouted down because Derek has such a big fan base, but I didn’t think Bethany and he deserved 10s. Janel and Val did. I go back to something Len Goodman said last season to Charlie White: a 10 is special; that wasn’t special. (Later, he did give Charlie a 10, though.)
My point is that Val’s choreography was MUCH harder than Derek’s. I can see giving Bethany 9s but not 10s. Just one opinion, and I say that as a huge admirer of Derek.
Ken I agree with you. Glad im not the only who thought that. I got mobbed on another site by saying that. Bethany and Derek were good but it wasn’t 40 worthy. Maybe one 10 if they had to but not 4 of them
Ken and Caitlyn, I have to disagree. Derek’s choreography was just as good (and hard) if not better than Val’s. Both routines were “different” in creativity. I really liked them both for what they each were about. I think both deserved 10’s too. They both wowed me and were “special”. Mark’s was really good too. I think they deserved higher scores, but, their routine wasn’t 40 worthy imo.
Agree with Ken and Caitlin!
Ah… saw the Australian DWTS – they gave perfect 10’s – in week 1 !!!! yes, week 1.. for Contemporary dance (it was first time on the show) (last years’ season) and Kym Johnson was one of the judges (4 of them) …
The haters are out there – I simply ignore them..
I have to agree ^. This didn’t feel like a 40 dance to me. Personally I think the show had painted itself into a corner. Janel had gotten 10s with a very entertaining number (probably scored a tiny bit too high), it was a big deal to have gotten approval to use Singin’ in the Rain and for Mrs. Kelly to make an appearance and Derek is an amazing choreographer who idolizes Gene Kelly. Put all of that together with going last and everyone expected a high-scoring show-stopper. I just wish this song had been a pro number, with Derek doing the choreography. I think he had to hold back a lot for Bethany. First there is her injury, second she’s new to dance and third I just don’t see much personality from her (other than her you know what face upstairs during the other dances). To me this felt more like an 8/9 dance. For me it wasn’t very memorable and I expect a perfect score dance to have “wow” moments and be memorable.
Shouted down, Ken?? If you can’t handle disagreement, you may want to consider NOT posting here. Especially if you’re going to label every disagreement as being “shouted down”. Not very nice to completely diminish the opinions of other posters to shouting. That sort of shit will get you in more trouble than thinking Derek and Beth shouldn’t have gotten 10’s.
And oddly, most everyone here has already said that her dance shouldn’t have gotten 10’s. Where you’re more likely to get disagreement is on Janel – if Bethany, didn’t deserve 10’s, Janel is much farther away. Funny thing about choreography – Bethany’s looks simple, but sometimes that is much more effective. I fail to see where Val scored any major (or even minor) choreographic points. He still has a long way to go.
@KarenT brings up some good points. I thought Janel and Val’s dance was really high-energy and well executed; Bethany’s was done with some nice precision, but it was fairly easy to execute–umbrella was very clever choreography but tended to distract from footwork. Perhaps this is just because of the injury. I also noticed Bethany’s faces in between dances, especially last night. I suppose she is a teenager and is learning.
The “problem” that both Bethany and Sadie have is that they are not yet aware that the camera is on them all the time and that some wacko people out there are going to analyze every non-joyous smiley face. They are not the Janel-style actresses who knows to be always ON when in a studio. There have been several occasions when both girls have been unsmiling on camera – so what? Do you smile every second of every day, and when you are NOT smiling does it mean you are angry, bitchy, pissed off or any other negative emotion?? Of course not, that’s ridiculous. Frankly, I prefer normal teenager (as long as I don’t have to live with them) to mugging actress.
“Distract from footwork”??? It was a Jazz dance…what kind of footwork are you referring to, rob?
She was a half step behind Derek.
lol Rob, I don’t think so. I guess if I looked hard enough I could see Janel a half step behind Val too.
I totally agree with PH. Bethany’s was simple, but effective and it made for a really pleasing, seamless dance. Plus, you also have to take into consideration that Bethany’s ankle is a bigger problem than she’s letting on. So Derek has to choreograph for an injured partner.
We’ve had 10s in week 3 before, so I wasn’t bothered by them. Perfect scores in week 3 was a bit…worrisome to me, but I think if Len were judging this week instead of Kevin, both Janel and Beth probably would have had 39, rather than 40.
As for what this post was about: I agree with Mark. He and Sadie were lowballed, and Carrie Ann’s comments did not match her score. I was a little peeved that Kevin gave Tommy and Betsey higher scores than he did Bethany. But there’s nothing we can do about it now. I hope her samba next week looks as good as her cha-cha did.
Meant Sadie, not Bethany in that last bit of my comment.
LOL…nice cover, Rob.
Interesting about Beth and Sadie’s “faces” because people have been talking about Alfonso’s “face” when others get judges comments or scores. For example, Betsey’s and Tommy’s scores. Yes, they were absurd, but he has been watching the show for years-he should realize the BS and should have known going in he’d be judged with a fine-toothed comb. Karina & Tony are pros and they get caught making “faces” 🙂
I love Derek and I too think if with a different partner it would have been amazing…I would have loved to have seen him do that with Kellie Pickler 🙂 Val’s choreography was the best of the night and it was the best dance…only one deserving of a perfect score. And I can’t stand Val !! (As long as he did choreography and not Sharna LOL.)
Funny to hear about 10s on week 1 in Australia—I felt Witney & Alfonso’s jive was worthy of all 10s.
Good point, Tony – getting back on topic, that is. Mark actually thought both Janel and Bethany did great, just wasn’t sure about the perfect scores in week 3. A point everyone at this site has made. As for Sadie – she was indeed low-balled and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. That’s two weeks in a row. I think she should have been very close to Janel and Bethany, instead of 8 points away. Are they afraid she might win the thing and are trying to discourage it or what?
Kevin’s scores? Can’t really look at them the way you would the others – the man was going with his gut. And when he wasn’t sure, he probably went with the other judges. Frankly, I think the panel needs a guy who scores based on how the dance made him feel. And let’s be honest – experience or no experience, what Betsey and Tommy are doing in terms of dance is nothing short of AMAZING. They are both over *70* years old!! That’s mind boggling! People’s reactions to their scores reminds me of people reacting to Amy last season – like she wasn’t a double amputee but had both legs. Some crazy people went so far as to criticize her “footwork”.
This show has NEVER scored the dancers relative to each other except when it suits the judges agenda – that’s a fact that’s been demonstrated over and over and over across the seasons. Sometimes it’s as infuriating as hell, sometimes not so much. It’s infuriating when people like Alfonso are nitpicked to death because he set his own bar so high in week 1. It’s infuriating when people with few limitations get away with shit that Derek and some of his partners have been torn to shreds for. When it does NOT bother me is when the dance is something that should be viewed as incredible, considering the circumstances – that’s Betsey and Tommy (and Amy, last season).
Nicole, lex – that dance with *Nicole*.
As for Val – sorry, but I thought that dance was good, but also not worthy of a 40. Not sure when rubbing your partners abs became “great” choreography.
I will also add that I find it amusing that people are suddenly basing their thoughts on the scores on the choreography when it used to be the biggest complaint of Maks fans everywhere. 🙂
ETA: meant to add, that you know it wasn’t Sharna because of the ab rubbing. 😀
I watched Janel’s Jazz a few times and I broke it down this way:
-Catch rag in mid air and rub your partner’s abs with it
-Lift
-Paso Doble steps
-Lift
-About 4 seconds of side-by-side choreography
-Lift & big finale
Exactly how is that Jazz “complicated” or “special”? Hell, considering how many lifts there were even Betsey could have done that dance since she proved that she can do some nice lifts.
I do admit that I liked Janel and Val’s Jazz routine but it was by no means “harder to do” than Bethany’s.
Those saying Bethany steps were easy? Ask Charlie White how easy it is dancing with an umbrella.
@PH: Fair point. I haven’t looked at it that way yet. I did think Kevin was supportive, and I enjoyed his presence on the panel. He was kind of the light in the dark that was Carrie Ann and Julianne.
I do think it’s refreshing to see Tommy and Betsey get such positive feedback after a long time of the older folks getting slammed by the judges. And you are right, for their age, what they’re doing is pretty amazing, and very commendable.
I might have enjoyed Vajanel’s performance more, if I hadn’t felt that VAL used the extra dancers to hide(and distract from)Janel.
As for Mark/Sadie I too was disappointed in their scores.
I am one of those who thought that a perfect score from all the judges on week three is over the top. But I have to disagree that a “harder” choreography is better and more deserving of the perfect score. Harder does not necessarily mean the best or even better. Honestly, I did not find Janel and Val’s routine harder than Bethany and Derek’s. A seemingly simple choreography is actually harder to pull off, especially when you have an ankle injury, because it takes more control and finesse and precision. Both Bethany and Janel’s routines were called Jazz, but I think there was more Jazz in Bethany’s than in Janel’s.