Carrie Ann Inaba Writes About Switch-Up Week On Dancing With The Stars

Carrie Ann Inaba has written about Dancing With The Stars last night at Parade. She talks of how “change is hard”. She commended all the couples for handling the switch-up dances with “grace and dignity”. She also mentioned a few of the couples. Below is her take on Alfonso and Cheryl for one…

Now, let’s move on to Alfonso Ribeiro and Cheryl Burke who performed a really good flamenco. I didn’t get a chance to comment on their dance so I will do so now. It had incredible chemistry. I agree with Julianne there. They had a mature partnership, which seemed as though they were part of one. I commend them on that. I loved seeing Alfonso’s passion come out and the way he commanded the stage. My comments are quite specific. Flamenco is a proud dance. It is in some ways an act of defiance, an expression of a gypsy culture that is an emotional expression that is almost like a crying out to the Gods. When you dance the flamenco, you can be small in person but you must dance it larger than life. You must fill the room with your gestures and your soulful expression. Their dance was nicely choreographed, however, Alfonso didn’t expand outward. He didn’t fill the room with passion. It was a one-dimensional performance in this way. He needed to lift his torso more, and his arm movements needed to be more expansive to have more tension. There was however, one brilliant moment in the routine that left an impact for me. He was dancing side-by-side with Cheryl and he was looking directly into my eyes for two counts of eight. In that moment he was so in the dance. I could see it and feel it. His arm movements were still a bit shortened, but that passion, it was mesmerizing and powerful. Go Alfonso!

I felt passion all over that dance on my TV set. The best dance of the night along with Derek and Sadie and Mark and Bethany in my opinion. More at Parade including a surprise visit from her boyfriend from Spain (he’s so cute).