Afterbuzz TV Reviews DWTS Season 21 Switch-Up Week, Let Us Know If You Agree With The Panel
Below Suri Serano, Jake DuPree, Divadarv, and Anna Trebunskaya review “Switch-Up Week” for Dancing With The Stars Season 21. The show will begin at 7:00pm ET in the video below. In case you miss it, it will play after the show as well. Let us know what you think in comments as always!
Amazing how they say Alexa’s package was edited to make it look like she doesn’t like Mark yet Nick’s package was portrayed correctly. Love how they pick and choose who they support. If the producers are editing things to make “good tv”, they are doing it to everyone.
I just got done watching this live. It was interesting to hear Anna talk about how she taught Gary and how she even used Gary’s ability to recall long term memories of his football drills as steps. She did a great job with him.
I thought they were a little bit too harsh on Alek. No, I don’t believe he lost focus entirely because he was so fixated on Emma’s badonkadonk. Give me a break. He was still dealing with the aftermath of the shootings as well as the new stressor of his friend’s stabbing. I actually don’t even agree that he lost focus at all. He seemed very present and in the moment to me in the dance.
I disagree with them also on blaming the frantic look of Allison and Hayes VW on the too fast song. You can still do proper, flowing VW choreography even with a slightly quicker tempo. Too many steps in too little time equals choppy and frantic.
Also thought Darvina made a good point about Mak’s remarks to Bindi. It kind of got shot down by the other two panelists but I agreed with Darvina that he was a douche to Bindi.
@Katie I was thinking the same thing. You could tell the tone of the show changed now that Anna is back; even if they other people on the panel disagreed, they wouldn’t speak up.
Nick’s package editing did not do him any favors, but maybe he was right and he could tell Witney was phoning it in? In his AB interview he said he takes full responsibility for the the low scores, so either ow I the messed up, or taking the heat off Witney.
I’d like to see him and Sharna do a Paso…
They were so harsh with Alek too!! Wish Jake and Kristyn were there.
Just wondering, how often are they truly accurate? I feel like maybe Anna might know some tidbits just this season since this season she’s a pro, but these other people aren’t (still unsure who they are, are they dancers?)
No more accurate than we are. Probably less, IMO. Everyone has biases, for sure, but I don’t think we’re too worried about offending anyone like they are. When you’re worried about offending someone, you’re more likely to make a bad call.
I thought they were absolutely spot on regarding Alek’s rumba. Taking my rose tinted Alma glasses off, the reality was that technically his rumba wasn’t very good. People forget it’s the hardest male dance and considering it was switchup week and all the crap in Alek’s personal life recently, it was never going to be very good. He needs a break through next week to remind us why he’s lock for the final and with Lindsay I think he’ll have one next week.
As far as Alek goes, I think though the majority of us aren’t technicians so to us, it was just a beautiful dance, full of gorgeous lines and lunges (about as much as I can tell about dancing)…stiff in some places, but I felt like he DID emote this week. Usually, they are at least a little more polite about it. Anna talking about Alek being distracted by Emma was just harsh. Maybe he was, but I would venture to say despite the package, he was probably more distracted by the fact his friend got stabbed and there was a shooting at his school. I expected more of “it was a beautiful dance, but he really needs to work on his technique” And if we compare 7s, no way is Tamar and Alek and Hayes in the same league as Paula, whom they said she should get all 7s. That being said, I agree…Lindsay is going to get the technique straight and he is going to peak in the right time to head for the final. 🙂
There wasn’t one critique that I really disagreed with this week. Highly unusual. I hope they’re wrong about Andy. He’s such a breath of fresh air. The only person I wouldn’t be sad about is Paula and only because I think we’ve seen everything she can bring to the table. Actually, after last night I wouldn’t be too sad over Nick either, but he’s not going anywhere.
Oh please Anna, jealous a little….Lindsay & Emma have taken an American hero, a complete neophyte to the dancing & entertainment world, to this point in the competition, having him deliver consistently solid performances, filled w/ musicality, technique, solid lifts, man-handling & actual dancing that doesn’t entail hiding behind the female pro …while, your pro teaching skills may have been lacking in comparison as you just dressed Gary up in a costume, dolled yourself-up, too, for that matter, & had him take a few steps here & there showing little progress.
Sounds like you just watched the set-up raunchy package of Alek being a healthy male in a den of sexy pros, which incidentally is what DWTS encourage s w/ the sexy costumes & opening numbers, & not the beautiful, romantic, gentle & effortlessly flowing dance Alek delivered. Alek & Emma’s eyes were locked through most of the dance & were not on her bum, as you say. (agree w/ comments by “SB” above.)
For me the overall, dance was worthy of all nines, relative to the rest of the pairs. Not watching PBS professional ballroom dancing when I tune into DWTS & it’s the overall effect of the dance that stays w/ the viewer, making him want to re-watch the dance, that makes the dance standout for the average TV viewer. Still, Anna, w/ your witchy comments on Alek you sadly managed to put a damper on my enthusiasm for investing in a dancing couple each week & certainly for watching Afterbuzztv.
As an aside, was glad Emma finally had a partner that she didn’t have to carry & is her own age. Nice to see Emma’s lovely choreography…in some ways, Alek made Emma look good as the solid/strong frame for her sensuous movements…which is the role of the male partner.
I love Anna starting at 13:46, When she says to Suri, “I wonder if it’s because you know him (Maks) personally.” You can tell Suri got a bit disoriented after hearing that from Anna. lolz
@ Jodie I know Suri is a former gymnast turned dancer. And Darvina, is Keo’s roommate, and went to the Theaterchool in England with Derek and Mark. Mark is her best friend.
While I am not a fan of Anna on Afterbuzz, and agree she is often too harsh (or just plain wrong), I gotta step in and disagree with Victoria. No matter how you slice it, comparing Alek to Gary is just nonsensical. Gary is something like FIFTY years older than Alek. Hell, even 20 years older would be a huge difference. Calling Anna “witchy” because of her comments is a step over the line in this case – and your comparison doesn’t hold the least bit of water. Not even a little.
I also don’t agree that Alek’s dance was worthy of 9s. Not even close. He could have gotten a couple more 8s and that would have been fine. As a rumba, it was good *for a complete non-performer*. But not better than a couple 8s and a couple 7s. As for Anna feeling he was distracted by Emma – maybe he was. Most of the shippers just LOVE that relationship and if they see something there, maybe Alek is distracted by it as well. But WHO CARES if he is? Maybe he needs a distraction like Emma, considering everything he’s been through this week. And, best of all, much of the DWTS audience is so in love with “romance” (real or faux – thanks Meryl and Maks), it doesn’t hurt Alek’s chances to win – it HELPS him. Which I find rather sickening, but that’s just me. 🙂
@Katie I agree seems to be a trend on AB they pick and choose who to support.
Anna’s critic about that Paso seemed spot on. However, she directed it all towards Nick most of the points she made IMO fall to the pro. She made not one reference to Witney none of them did beyond the comment at the end that the package may have made Witney feel bad. If a celeb tries to take the lead, which we have seen many times, then PRO needs to step up and be just that. There is a trend emerging here Cody, at times Alfonso, Carlos and now Nick.
Nick owned the entire shortcomings of this so good for him.
Was so disappointed. No problem with the female pro dancers because they are all good. However, wanted so bad to see Derek dance with Paula. I wanted finally to see him teamed up where he might have a little challenge. I think it is all fixed.
#JJayay So a woman with two prosthetic legs is not enough of a challenge for you?
Do you remember NeNe and Derek in the switch-up or do you have a selective memory, JJayay?? (rhetorical question) 🙂
I think jjayay is the one who’s actually challenged. 🙂
Here we go again with the Derek isn’t challenged enough crapola.
When any other Pro has a celeb without any feet and can get her/him to the final two, or can get an overweight to the MBT; then maybe they might be a little, tiny bit close to Derek’s level of “Masterrific.”