PureDWTS Season 21, Week 5 – Power Rankings
Well I gotta give TPTB some props – at least they managed to last through 4 weeks before kicking the manipulation machine into high gear. But man, did they overcompensate this week – aside from Paula still at the bottom and Bindi still at the top, the scoreboard got all shuffled up this week. Alexa shot up from being 2nd from the bottom last week, to getting the high score this week and 4th place in combined scores; Carlos jumped from 5th place last week (and in jeopardy) to getting the 2nd highest score of the night and 2nd place with combined scores. Tamar went from being part of the 3-way tie for 2nd place, to being in 7th place after this week; and poor Alek, with two weeks worth of emotional trauma (and low-balled scores) under his belt, is now second to last. Andy managed to jump from 7th place last week to 5th this week, while going from straight 7’s and 8’s to straight 9’s. I will credit SOME of this drastic shuffling to some people getting switch partners that were much better at harnessing their talents than their original pro, while some ended up with pros that were worse than their original partner. And for the love of Jeebus, judges – be a little more understanding that it’s switch week. I get that you have an agenda, but it BLOWS MY MIND how you can talk about how the switch is so tough in one breath, and then dole out nitpicky critiques and lowballed scores in another. Thankfully, the double elim that we were hearing about for next week was a false alarm, and only one couple is going home next Monday – but last night’s scores do make me seriously wonder what the narrative is going to look like in the coming weeks.
I found myself agreeing with Maks far more than I thought I would – and I was particularly pleased that he finally called Allison out on her busy, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink choreography. Will be interesting to see if that comment is received the same way that Alfonso’s comment to Alexa was a few weeks back – although judging from Twitch’s twitter timeline, I’m guessing it’s not going to be received well. Also felt like Maks might have taken an interesting, subtle jab at the switch-up itself, when he told Tamar “You just got together this week, so you didn’t get to connect”. He wasn’t immune to the wonky-ness, though, and he gave a couple scores that made me raise an eyebrow. I do commend him on giving more coherent critiques this time – overall, I’d give him an 8 out of 10.
Other observations? I am very aware that Nick is a Backstreet Boy – therefore, I do not need to to see Nick doing the “Backstreet’s Back” move every week to remind me. This is the 3rd time it’s gotten thrown into a routine, and twice was enough for me – find something else for this guy to do. Was it just me, or did the first half of the show seem to be devoted to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it boner joke? Caught at least 3 innuendo-y moments. Also wish they would have kept Tamar in the outfit she wore for the intro dance – she looked STUNNING, and then they put her in that weird, feathery swan dress for her actual dance. No me gusta.
Since this is a ranking of who I think is most likely to stay or go (based on this week’s scores and last week’s), I’m half-tempted to do a “switch-up postmortem” tomorrow where I actually rank how well I thought the pros handled the switch, and maybe throw in a poll to see how you guys felt about it, too…would that be something you’re interested in?
1.) Bindi & Val (Derek) – Really and truly, I think Bindi would have excelled with any of the male pros this week, because she a) just has that much natural talent and a great work ethic and b) Derek laid a great foundation for them to rely on in weeks 1-4. So I think Val got a bit of a free pass with this one – I didn’t see Bindi sucking at really any dance or partner they threw at her. It was a good cha-cha – choreography was a tad stop-and-go, but it’s a complaint I’ve had about his choreography before, but Bindi handled it well enough. Maybe saw a slight bobble up on the stage when she may have gotten a tad off-balance, but overall I think she handled it well. The thing is, I thought it was at least as good as Carlos’…and yet, he got (3) 10’s while Bindi only got (1); and the 10 she did get was given simply “because I can”, according to Maks. I think that was the one thing he did that annoyed me last night – if you’re going to give a contestant a 10, tell them it’s because they earned it; not simply “because you can”. Talk about an empty compliment.
2.) Nick & Witney (Sharna) – You know sh*t’s probably going to go sideways pretty quickly when the pro is visibly intimidated by the celeb, the celeb clearly senses it, and suddenly the celeb is taking over choreography. Didn’t you watch Douchelord Gilles in season 15, Witney??? I don’t think this paso was meant to be funny, but it was to me – Nick was comically overselling every move, and the end result was actually kind of hilarious. He was doing some seriously weird stuff with his hands and arms, and there were a couple times where his butt seemed to be jutting out abnormally far. Did I mention the complete lack of shaping through his torso, too? I’m not sure where exactly the blame lies on this one – Nick for seemingly taking the reigns, or Witney for letting him…but this kinda fell apart for me, and I think 35/40 was a very kind score for what looked like zero time spent on drilling technique. Nick still seems to be the “chosen one” this season (or at least one of the chosen ones), so I doubt he’s going anywhere soon…but I daresay Witney better thank her lucky stars that Nick is popular, because I wouldn’t consider this routine a success.
3.) Alexa & Derek (Mark) – After last week’s totally bungled foxtrot, Alexa needed help – bad – and I think there’s only one pro that could have handled the task: Derek. And man, did he deliver – Alexa went from a 21/30 to a 40/40 in one week! Loved the concept and choreography on this one – just felt really dramatic, and almost epic. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to take Alexa’s frame from limp noodle to finely-tuned piano string in less than a week. My only gripe is this: I’m beginning to think that Alexa either just has a short neck, or isn’t able to extend it very well, because yet again I felt like her neck line looked kinda clipped again this week. Please, hair department – give this girl a beehive and watch her neck grow. I normally don’t like the troupe being used so heavily in a routine, but loved the bit where they all linked up at the end and tangoed together. Loved that Alexa looked confident and invested for the first time this season – did she even mention Carlos once? 🙂 Still not sure how she’s doing with votes, so I kinda wondered about this score – although of the 3 routines last night that received at least (1) 10, I think hers was the most deserving. Will be interesting to see if she’s able to maintain the momentum from working with Derek when she returns to working with Mark.
4.) Carlos & Lindsay (Witney) – I daresay Lindsay kinda put Witney on-notice last night – because Carlos looked better with Lindsay than he has all season with Wit. Lindsay somehow managed to preserve the stage presence Carlos has (which we really haven’t seen full force since week 2), while somehow correcting a lot of the quirks he seems to have – his arms didn’t seem so wonky this week, and she seemed to get him to keep his shoulders down more often (though I did still see them sneaking up when they were in promenade position). Definitely a fun routine, and good choreography – but I think it was overscored, relative to Bindi and Alexa, especially since I still feel like Carlos’ technique is flawed. I’m wondering if the score had more to do with a) the fact that it was just a really fun, energetic routine to a good song, or b) Carlos is not getting the votes and they needed to give him a boost. Are they really dead set on convincing us that the married couple is worth keeping? It just bugs, considering that they chose to do this in a week where there’s only going to be one elimination…and Paula’s really in the basement. Is Carlos REALLY suffering that badly that he needs that much of a cushion from Paula? Kinda makes you wonder if they purposely stuck him with Lindsay (instead of Allison, who I’ve been told he was pretty vocal about wanting in the switch) – because they knew she could give him a boost.
5.) Tamar & Louis (Val) – Was Tamar sick this week? When she was talking in the red room after getting her scores, she sounded really hoarse – which makes me wonder if she was just not feeling 100% tonight. Anywho – I feel for Tamar a bit, because she got saddled with one of the tougher dances to contend with during switch week. Samba is tough enough when you’re with your regular partner, but when you’ve gotta do it with a new partner (that you happen to tower over by a few inches) and he’s not holding back on the choreography, you’ve got a tough row to hoe. Unfortunately, Tamar seemed to get a tad unsteady on her feet from time to time, which probably could have been fixed easily had Louis gotten her to close her thighs more on each pass. I also agree with Maks (and the other judges, who’ve said the same thing about her in previous weeks) that Tamar seemed to come alive when she was dancing by herself…but she shuts down a bit when she’s dancing with a partner. Saw a little bit of the weird tango eyes in this one, too. I think Tamar will be fine next week, but I do wonder if she has some walls up that are really preventing her from connecting to any partner.
6.) Andy & Sharna (Allison) – Just watching Andy dance with someone other than Allison makes me wish that he had gotten someone other than Allison as his partner this season 🙁 I think we’ve all seen shades of his potential throughout the weeks, but that potential seems to be getting bogged down and lost in the shuffle with Allison’s overcomplicated choreography. With Sharna, the choreography got cleaned up and clarified, and he was able to actually focus and do it well – saw a few little quirks with feet and frame here and there, but overall, it was the best dance we’ve seen him do…great musicality, great stage presence, and he was able to actually keep up with the choreography. And oddly enough – Sharna seemed to be more at ease and having more fun this week than I’ve seen her do the last few weeks with Nick. Not sure if it’s the pressure of having this season’s “chosen one” or just Nick’s own intensity rubbing off on her, but I feel like Sharna’s been a little more intense herself this season. Was nice to see her cut loose and enjoy herself this week. Still feel like Andy could be in danger in the coming weeks – but I think Sharna may have bought him an extra week of safety.
7.) Alek & Emma (Lindsay) – You all probably already know how I felt about this one 🙂 So I’ll try to keep the swooning to a minimum, but I make no promises. If there was one thing that Emma succeeded in, it was getting Alek to actually smile and connect with her (in a major way) during the dance – one thing that has kinda left me wanting with he & Lindsay so far is that they have more of a brother/sister chemistry, which tends to make dances like the tango and paso seem a bit…tepid. Ummm…no worries about that with Emma 😉 This rumba was HOT. Loved the “manhandling”, the face touching, and really – just the way he LOOKED at Emma. Those were MOMENTS, and they’re the same ones I’ve been praising in Bindi & Nick’s routines the past few weeks. Sure, he didn’t have a whole lot in the way of hip action, but Maks was right when he said that Alek is sturdy (he was there at every moment for Emma), and he’s got some gorgeous lines (that lunge was great!). I think this was underscored by AT LEAST 3 points – I would have given it at least straight 8’s. Not sure why they felt the need to lowball so much – is Alek just running away with votes, and potentially stealing Carlos’ thunder?
8.) Hayes & Allison (Emma) – Poor Hayes – someone had to end up with the weak pro, and I guess he drew the short straw. I’m wondering if he’s slaying in the votes, anyway, and so they didn’t have any qualms sticking him with the weak link and putting Carlos with Lindsay – even though, by my count, he should have gotten Lindsay and Carlos should have gotten Allison. Once again, Allison just seemed to load up this dance with every step she could think of EXCEPT the basic Viennese waltz step – and then she very quickly ran out of things to do, and so she just repeated some flaily arms and way too quick shadow position steps. Poor Hayes kept up as best he could – and I think he actually did a decent job – but the choreography was just so chaotic and jumpy that I could barely recognize this as a Viennese waltz. Random, rhetorical question: if so many folks are using outside choreographers behind the scenes, why isn’t Allison??? She’s arguably the one that needs it most, since she has so little ballroom & Latin experience. Somebody, for the love of god, get Wendy Johnson on the phone and tell her to start whipping up some routines, and then lock Allison in a studio with Shirley Ballas for 3 days straight and don’t let her come out until she’s at least as competent as Lacey. Thankfully, I think Hayes has enough votes (and enough of a bubble, no matter how small) to keep him safe through next week’s elim. But I’ll be glad to see him back with Emma…
9.) Paula & Mark (Louis) – God bless Mark – I think he managed to ensure that both he & Paula had a great time this week, even if she’s still not able to do much. I actually thought it was really smart of him to do single-time jive – why haven’t more pros done this in the past with older contestants that clearly can’t keep up with full-speed jive. But I was actually pleased with how well she was able to do some basic jive moves as that low speed – I saw swivels, some sliding doors, and basic in-place. Sure, there wasn’t much in the way of kicks and flicks, but I think Mark went for what he knew Paula could carry off successfully, and then didn’t worry about the rest. I think the most important aspect of this performance was just that these two had fun…and they did 🙂 I think Paula’s pretty much toast next week, but I think she’ll be ok with that – she’s just not got a whole lot left she can do, and I think our little buttercup would melt under the pressure of multiple dances in a week.
So those are my thoughts…what are yours?
I was agreeing with Maks too for the most part. Excellent again, Court. I love your idea of a “switch-up postmortem” tomorrow too!
Ok, here are my rankings….
1. Derek and Alexa – I have no words. These two left me speechless. They just KILLED it out there. Alexa improved so much. She was totally into it and not thinking about Carlos. Derek’s choreography couldn’t have been more perfect. “Holy wowwww” is right, Alexa! Perfection! A 10 from me! My Dad said the same after the show. They were his favorite.
2. Carlos and Lindsay – What a comeback for Carlos. Goodness. He was fast and furious out there. He didn’t miss a beat. He was having so much fun, relaxing, and having a blast. Much better this week and totally into it. Good job to Lindsay too. I continue to be amazed at how much she has grown as a choreographer. I’m liking her more than Witney.
3. Andy and Sharna – What an improvement for Andy. I loved all the tricks and their passion. Such clever choreo by Sharna. The lights were breathtaking too. Beautiful production. I loved it.
4. Alek and Emma – These two were just so lovely, so romantic, and so beautiful. They were so heart touching, I wanted to cry. I loved their lines together. Such excellent choreography by Emma. I was blown away and shocked when they only got one 8 and three 7’s!
5. Bindi and Val – She was just like a bird out there. I loved her sass and spirit through out. Great footwork. I agree with Julianne, she is a “ray of sunshine”. I will say that I thought her leg work could have been a little more polished. Still, a really great dance.
6. Hayes and Allison – Once again, Hayes blows me away. He was Prince Charming out there. His lines and sways were so beautiful and elegant. He just keeps growing out there. Impressive.
7. Nick and Witney – I can’t believe I’m putting these two so low. I really liked this dance in parts and not so much in other parts. His posture needed work and it seemed a little messy. I also didn’t think he was into it all as much…and the same with Witney.
8. Tamar and Louis – I loved this dance. It grabbed me with the intro. I loved the slow and then fast movements through out. Very cool choreo by Louie and I’m glad he pushed her. She seemed a little nervous and out of it, but, I really liked it. After the show, my Dad told me this was his second favorite and he thought they got ripped off in scoring.
9. Mark and Paula – LOL to these two. I was cracking up the whole time. They were so entertaining and fun! They had a blast out there! Great choreo and production from Mark too. It fit her and her personality perfectly.
“I’m half-tempted to do a “switch-up postmortem” tomorrow where I actually rank how well I thought the pros handled the switch, and maybe throw in a poll to see how you guys felt about it, too…would that be something you’re interested in?”
YES, PLEASE!
On a sidenote, it seems ABC has forgotten to block new videos they upload to international viewers so fortunately I can see last nights dances on youtube now without using a proxy 🙂
“switch-up postmortem” tomorrow
That would be amazing!
Court, yes please!!! If you have the time, I’d love to have a switch-up postmortem from you and a poll.
I DVR’d last nights’ show so I could FF if Maks was a total turd, but to his credit, I didn’t have to blur through the judges’ comments the way I thought I would. As a guest judge Maks is tolerable, but I wouldn’t want him to have a permanent seat at the table. I think once he got secure in his chair, he’d lose his “party manners” and let the title of Judge go to his head.
OK, now I’m off to read the actual power rankings. 🙂
Yes and please to the switch-up postmortem and poll suggestion.
Courtney, can you explain what single time jive means? I think I might know but I love technical talk like that.
Did Allison and Hayes have any extended sequences of in-hold Vienese Waltz moves? Cause I didn’t see any. My favorite thing about VW is the ethereal in-hold and changing direction sequences. Don’t know what they’re called technically, but they make my heart melt and I would have appreciated seeing in their dance.
I hope Hayes is okay with voting, because I’ve gotten rather fond of him and want to see more of what he and lovely Emma can do.
As always, a must read! And yes please to your postmortem idea!
My favorite dances of the night were Alexa, Alek, Bindi, Andy, and Carlos. I also think Mark did a great job with Paula.
I found it weird that the judges slammed Alek on expression, WHAT? vs technique. Sure the *technique* would have been better with someone with some sort of dance and performance experience, but for a regular guy, it was pretty darn good, but the expression, that was great imo. One of the most honest rumbas I’ve seen.
Alek & Emma’s rumba is re-watch worthy. Think the package led the viewer to anticipate a raunchy dance instead of the graceful, romantic one delivered, full of good lines, continuous flowing seemingly effortless motion & great eye-contact.This was an all niner for me & Alek just got caught in in a bad line-up position…after him the judges changed their tune giving out 9s & 10s.
Maks scoring Alek a “7” was unfair as he hardly watched the dance & was writing w/ his head down through alot of Alek’s dance. Think these scores put alek in jeopardy next wk.
IF Alek is in jeopardy next week, it will likely be a faux jeopardy. I think he’s killing it in votes.
I normally hate the rumba because it comes across as melodramatic and overacted like a scene from a silent movie. However, I LOVED Alek’s and Emma’s rumba. It was sweet, romantic and sexy all at the same. Alek’s movements were smooth, unlike most of the male contestants who perform this dance, and he was both masterful and gentle with Emma. I think that’s what I enjoy most about Alek is – the dichotomy of power and gentleness that he has.
If TPTB’s machinations result in Alek being elimated before the finale , this is one season I won’t be watching until the end. I stopped watching last night after they lowballed him on the scores.
@jess – I LOVED the way that subtle, genuine grin would spread across Alek’s face every time he looked at Emma in that dance – so yeah, the remarks about facial expression from the judges just rang as kinda disingenuous to me, too. I think Bruno was the only one that actually commented on technique. Would have loved to hear what Carrie Ann would have said – kinda weird that they skipped over the only one to give it an 8. But as I was discussing with someone on Twitter last night – I’m wondering if Alek’s popularity is surging, and thus TPTB feel the need to temper his scores in order to create a tighter race. I found it odd that they made no mention of what happened to Spencer, and conveniently left out footage of his trip home to Roseburg with Emma…and it’s not like that trip was a secret. Both of them were posting pix left & right on social media! So it really makes me wonder if TPTB gave him the “calm down there, dude, you’re getting a wee bit too popular” treatment while executing #OperationSaveTheMarriedCouple.
1. Alexa and derek , holy this dance is the best dance I have ever seen on dwts which says alot becuse dereks work alone is magical but the dance last night just felt powerful and left me feeling very empowered watching it. The choregraphy was insane. It’s 1 of the routines that you will never want to forget 5 ☆
2. Andy and sharna, oh man I want him to be bond now , the man can act lol for the fart face
3. Alek and emma, he loves that girl and the dance was amazing, there’s a point in the dance where she turns her head and he reaches for her face to turn it back and most of the time you can tell that of course it’s choregraphed but when he did it, he did it out of love and wanting her to see him
4. Carlos and lindsay , great dance
5.hayes and alli , loved the dance
6.paula and mark , to funny
7/8/9 Nick and witney , bindi and val and tamer and louis – I don’t remeber these 3 dances they were non memorable
Agreed, PH. It definitely would be faux jeopardy if Alek lands there next week. TPTB might not be able to resist the drama of it, but the result would be Alek raking in even more votes. So not sure that would be a smart move on their part.
They better not have miscalculated. I can’t stomach those judges sitting there with their “surprised” mouths hanging open at an elimination they caused if he gets sent home next week! It also makes me mad that Emma didn’t get enough credit.
“Tamar seemed to come alive when she was dancing by herself…but she shuts down a bit when she’s dancing with a partner.”
Is it just me or is she the opposite of Alek, who seems to become stiffer the farther he is from his partner?
Yes to the switch-up Post mortem and poll!
I agree with your rankings. The manipulation was blatantly obvious that they want the PenaVegas to stay in this competition….at the expense of Andy Alek, Hayes and maybe even Nick. I thought Nick’s score should’ve been a little higher, along with Bindi and Alek’s routines.
Alexa and Derek KILLED that Tango! Bindi and Val rocked the Cha-cha! Andy and Sharna did a wonderful AT. Nick’s Paso was decent but I do think Witney was intimidated by him.
Other than that, I don’t really have much to add. Other than this Switch-Up night turned out really well for all. I think the different couples really worked well together(Save for Nick and Witney) . I also think the Twitter Votes for Bindi and Paula were negated for benefit of Paula, who I don’t think would’ve done better with Val. Likely worse.
@Cidra: The contestant ahead of Alek is Tamar, so if you think he’s getting decently more votes than Tamar (1% should do the trick), then he’s safe.
Yes to the switch up postmortem post!
Scoring was a bit wonky last night. I’m actually surprised the judges were harsh on Alek and Emma, you would figure the producers would want to push a real blossoming romance for more publicity. But it was nice to see some of the celebs that have been struggling really shine. I actually enjoyed all of the routines in some way but the only ones that seemed lackluster compared to some of the others were Hayes, Nick and Tamar.
I will be really upset if anyone but Paula goes next week. The cuts will be really hard after that. I really like watching all of the rest of the couples, though I favor some over others 🙂
At risk of getting hung by the shippers (which is getting a tad…OTT. Sorry, I say it to all shippers), Alek was good…but he wasn’t THAT good. He was a tad stiff, and his hands were weird. And if he was dancing with anyone other than Emma, I would have given him the same score. I think he could have gotten one more 8, at least, maybe two (I think having great chemistry SHOULD count, hence the higher score from me when with Emma) – but then, I think Bindi deserved a perfect score LAST week. So, they get it wrong all the time. Not sure that they’re sabotaging him. If they are underscoring, it’s a drama thing.
I think that they are trying to save Carlos, for sure, but I thought Alexa’s dance kicked ASS. Not sure it kicked “perfect” ass, but it was only off by a point on rewatching. Mark my words, though, once they’ve gotten rid of Paula, and maybe Andy, the scores for the PenaVega’s will get REAL and you’ll see two angry, blindsided pros. Not sure why they would be either, since this has happened MANY seasons. Off the top of my head, Hope Solo springs to mind. They over scored the crap out of her until they got rid of the worse dancers and BOOM – her scores dropped to where they should have been all along and Maks was PISSED. I’ve seen it happen to several pros, like Mark…possibly even Derek, minus the “pissed” part. 🙂 I know it’s happened to Maks more than once. Every other season (or more) they are overscoring good dancers to keep them safe until the bad dancers get the boot.
My rankings are literally the same except for switching Alexa and nick. I just want to say one thing about hayes and Alison’s dance: it reminded me of the one that aliaj and Abbie did on scd but without a lot of the content. Allison has some great moments and dances but they are usually sandwiched between two mediocre ones so that slightly worried me since she did so well with riker last season and this season just seems like she is going to throw everything but the kitchen sink in there expecting Andy to be equally as good.
I for one am sooo tired of the Carlos/Alexa thing. Ok, they’re married, we get, but stop with always mentioning it and always bringing up who outscored who every week. I’ve said before, I wish both could be eliminated in the same night. Carlos needs to go before Alexa, he just irritates me. But after last night, TPTB did enough manipulation to keep them around.
Paula’s act is getting old too. I give her a lot of credit for doing the show and I have nothing against her personally, but she needs to go. In my opinion, anyone else going before her would be wrong.
I adore Bindi. She is a ray of sunshine. If more people were like her, the world would be a much better place. She is a joy to watch. I think Val had more fun with her in one week than he has with Tamar all season.
Derek’s choreography was terrific. He gave Alexa what she needed with the perfect score. She should be grateful she was paired with him.
Alex better be sticking around. First the school shooting and then his friend getting stabbed. And yet, he made practices and did the dances and did them well. Make was right, he is the dark horse this season and the dark horse needs to stay.
Andy did so much better without having every dance step out there thrown into the dance. He didn’t have to struggle to keep up like he does with Alison.
Tamar was ok, but there was no connection at all with Louis. I think they’re both glad the week is done.
Hayes was good and I thought the judges came down on him too hard. He’s 15 and doing a great job.
Elimination next week should be Paula. She’s not going to be able to keep up much longer especially when they start 2 dances a week. So it’s time for her to go. I can’t even say who would be in the bottom two with her after the scoring this week. Like Courtney said, we made it 4 weeks with any full out manipulation by the TPTB. Guess that’s come to an end.
best week of the season. longer dances, good concepts that didn’t overcome the dances.
In no particular order:
carlos – great dance. more technical.
alexa – still need to fix her hips and put them foward. liked the concept and the notalgic touch of season’s 9 team tango =)
andy – his best dance. without a doubt. sharna = gorgeous.
paula – simple and effective.
tamar – she just wasn’t in the mood. it could be her dance. it seems she’s not there. there’s no fun, there’s no feeling good.
bindi – shes’s so sweet. her legs were sharper, wich I loved. good choreo that focused on her.
hayes – well, there was missing some vw content. interesting, but not his best dance.
nick – I feel that his dances are not clean. Yes, he can dance. But even with Sharna (that has more experience than Wit) I feel this. In this case, the posture.
Alek – he had a terrible week. Think the rumba was romantic and had a good choreo. But miss the hipaction and the performance… but I don’t mind. I like the guy. =)
By now, I think top 3 is gonna be Bindi, Nick and Alek. And I guess Bindi will win. Unless ppl don’t want to see derek with another mbt.
My favorites of the night were Alexa, Bindi and Andy. I did not worry about Bindi during the switch-up week one bit. I sensed she would do great no matter what. I actually think her dance was one of the most technically difficult routines of the night, and she did really well. I liked Andy’s dance too because it was the first time I saw him really enjoy the dance and “just dance” without worrying about the steps etc. Hope that makes sense. I think Tamar had one of the worst switch-up experiences, and I am sad about it because I really like Tamar. IMO, Louis got too excited about having a good dancer for the switch-up and he wanted to show the world that he can choreograph cool, difficult routines too. Even though I want to believe it was all well-intentioned, the routine was just so difficult and the tempo so quick that Tamar looked overwhelmed at times. I think she still had great moments in that samba, especially when dancing side by side, but getting those 7s really hurt her overall score. I really hope she is safe next week.
Yes to switch up post mortem – that should make for a fab discussion! Here’s my take on the performances last night:
1. Alexa & Derek: Derek managed to bring back Alexa’a confidence and was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Mark and her. Think, be understood Mark’s disappointment and was able to channelize Alexa’s under confidence to create a powerful comeback. All that aside, the choreography was spectacular. Two tangos in 5 weeks and both entirely different in feel and choreography. Derek is an absolute genius and I am all for another Emmy! I really wished his choreography and the magic he creates week on week, got some credit from the judges. I mean, this week and last Derek has done some magical work, and while the scores at great, acknowledging him and the pros in general, would feel really nice. Btw, does anyone know some fun trivia on how many times has D been the pro to get the first perfect score of the season?!
2. Bindi & Val: I was almost certain this wasn’t gonna fly but it was the big surprise of the night for me. Val managed to bring his sweet and patient and considerate side to the floor and I guess Bindi’s infectious smile just got to him too. Their cha cha was very well executed. It was a no shenanigans, straight, clean fun cha cha. And credit to both for making it happen. Also, it was so good to see Derek cheering for them all along, from his blog to the show. All the Derek v/s Val folks could calm down a tad bit 😉
3. Andy & Sharna: I have said this before and I will say it again – Sharna is an excellent Pro because she is a fantastic teacher. I totally see similarities in her style and Derek’s as far as their focus on their partner’s strengths and weaknesses go. She managed to bring out a totally different side to the happy go lucky Andy we have seen so far. A little raw, a little sexy, a little angry – a little more of him than we have seen so far. On a side note, I would love to see Derek and Sharna perform something together 🙂
4. Alek and Emma: Let’s just say they were adorable. If dance is about feeling something and expressing it in motion – this was just that for me. Emma could bring the smile to Alek’s face like nobody’s business! There’s clearly some chemistry brewing there. The scores on the other hand, were completely insane. The choreo as well as the performance itself, at the least deserved 2 8s and 2 9s. That would have made some sense. I was actually really happy that Emma kept the dance romantic and classy instead of making it all raunchy coz I think that would not have been either of their styles right away. I know he is going back to Lindsay, but I think this story ain’t over yet 🙂
5. Carlos & Lindsay: A really good quickstep, but incredibly overscored. Straight 8s, with a sprinkle of 9 maybe, but 10s just didn’t cut it for me, specially when compared to Bindi/Alek/Andy, not counting Alexa coz that was another league altogether. Saving the couple theory – sounds more and more plausible.
6. Nick & Whitney: This one made me mad – coz what I like about the Paso is the passion and the posturing and this totally lacked both. And this gor higher scores than Alek and Emma?! I have never been a huge fan of Whitney’s attitude and this dance just showed such a lack of connect between the two. And if Nick is ‘the chosen one’ this season, then Sharna has some tough weeks on her hand. I am not the least bothered with the package coz honestly that didn’t make any sense :/
7. Hayes/Tamar/Paula: Except for Paul’s mad Jive and the amount of fun Mark and she had, I think the rest of the night was a blip on the radar. Hayes continues to be sweet and charming, but it was a lukewarm performance overall. Tamar, definitely didn’t look good and she can work it – so I was kinda bummed to see her low. Maybe she will be back to being her confident self when she is back with Val next week. Though, they really need to figure out their relationship and find some place to connect. That could make it or break it for them from here coz 2 bad weeks, and you could be out of the game.
I am excited for next week – while Paula seems to be there obvious one, this show is known for some surprise eliminations. So lets see what Monday brings 🙂
No rankings, just some of my thoughts.
Alek and Emma. That dance was so heart felt. Honestly, just gave me chills plus the fact that Alek is not just NOT a dancer, he’s not in the entertainment field at all. He is a regular guy, a great regular guy, who is handling this DWTS’ thing beautifully. When his scores were given, I knew TPTB were doing their agenda. I’ve been voting Alek every week. Someone mentioned that TPTB might think Alek is taking votes away from Carlos, part of their first married couple but here’s the thing. If Alek is eliminated, my votes won’t be going to Carlos. I just don’t care for him at all. He gives me that used car salesman vibe.
We know from deep throat that Val wasn’t good to Bindi the whole week but you wouldn’t know that from the package. Fair to say, I’m sure all the packages left out some of the true story, good or bad.
Derek is magic. I felt for Mark with some of the comments Alexa made about him in her package. I didn’t feel it was inappropriate what they showed Mark saying from the week before. Alexa just seems more concern weekly as to how Carlos is doing and his scores. Random thought..Alexa’s skirt bothered me big time. Odd, I know.
I agree with Louis that Tamar could stand to be pushed more. In saying that though, I felt like he got over excited to have a partner who could actually dance and he put way too much in there. His week to really shine so to speak.
i didn’t enjoy Nick and Witney. The package or the dance.
I so wish Peta would have been able to dance with Andy. It’s clear he would be doing better with someone other than Allison.
You do have to ask yourself why isn’t Allison getting help? Season after season, we see the same thing with her. It’s a shame for the celebs.
Thank you to all the mods. This site adds so much to my viewing pleasure.
Echoing Lori and saying YES, PLEASE to another post to rank how the switch up partnerships worked and a poll!
Usually, I think switch up is unnecessarily stressful on the contestants so I feel bad for them even though I might enjoy some of the switches for selfish reasons. But several of these stars benefitted greatly from the change up and no one seemed overly stressed besides Tamar (who should be safe for a while) and Witney, whose job is also safe. I was especially happy for both Mark and Paula who obviously had a blast together and invited us to enjoy the results! It’s actually a shame that this wasn’t her bow out week since it was a high for her and the audience. And I’m so glad that Andy got to show some of what he can do.
I like Hayes more each week. Something I never expected when he was announced. Sure, it wasn’t a great waltz. But he acquitted himself really well and is trying to succeed without putting anyone else down or any snark about the show, pros or fellow contestants!
While I adored Riker/Allison, I seriously wish Andy was paired with someone else. Anyone else. Yes, Sharna bought him another week at least but I don’t care about the “precious” married couple. I’m totally over them AND Tamar’s inability to connect with a man (other than her husband apparently.) And I’m tired of the chosen one, the Backstreet Boy too. He simply isn’t all that compared with other stars this season.
Right now, I’m entertained by the attempts at TPTB to manipulate this season. But I wasn’t amused last night when hearing “the pairs we voted for” drummed into my head over and over again! Or by those wonky judges votes.
And BRAVO to Derek who not only choreographed a phenomenal AT but CLEARLY showed what a genius teacher he is and how he changes his approach based on what the celeb needs to learn and succeed. That’s something his colleagues could learn from.
What Derek did with Alexa is a perfect example of why he has 5 MBT’s. And why I hope he gets a 6th. The pose in the screencap that he posted is insane. The multiple-couple-linked-arm tango was brilliant. Happy that Alexa got to experience that. Mark was deliriously happy.
Speaking of Mark, the beginning of their dance where he’s walking from the truck to the house is about the funniest thing I’ve seen in a very long time. Definitely her best dance. Glad they both had fun.
In the end Bindi and Val worked. As has been said, he is indeed his own worst enemy. I do think he appreciated Bindi in his own way and it was relatively pleasant to hear him talking with and about her in interviews. I liked that he actually came up with an animal metaphor of his own.
I feel like Hayes took a step backwards, definitely Allison’s handiwork. I like her as a person and a dancer, and I think she eventually could be an effective pro, but right now she’s not.
Tamar — someone mentioned that they thought the reason she did the show was for the publicity for a new album, which has now been released so she’s kind of “done” with DWTS. That may well be true. To me, she actually looked bored while she was dancing. I think Louis handled her the wrong way. A simpler routine that was technically sparkly would have been great. I don’t think it’s going to get much better when she goes back to Val. I have a feeling we’re not going to see anything really great from her.
Alek — I wasn’t that impressed with his dancing. I think he really did have trouble concentrating with Emma all around him. But I think he’s totally safe.
I could not believe that Carlos mentioned “yet another man with his hands all over Alexa.” He needs to grow up. He had a great dance last night, mad props to Lindsay. But I want him gone. I don’t like him. I’m tired of his jealousy and insecurity and blah blah blah.
For Andy and Nick, I was very curious to see how each would do with a different pro, and for me neither one of them improved. I really like Andy, and I think if he had been given a better foundation by Allison that he would have done well. But she didn’t and he didn’t. With Nick, I specifically kept my eye on him exclusively during their dance and his posture/posing/etc was horrible. I feel like there’s part of him that’s on permanent lockdown. He’s just not all there.
As usual, I think Court’s power rankings are right on. While it really bugs that TPTB manipulate the switch-up to fit their own agenda and then spend all night telling the audience these were the parings “you chose”, overall I enjoyed this switch-up.
Favorite dances:
Alexa/Derek. This is the way I hoped Alexa would dance all season. She finally realized her potential and definitely was a leading lady Monday night! Derek’s concept for “Pompeii” was fantastic. Straight up tango with the set and costumes creating the theme–every detail pitched perfectly (as usual).
Andy/Sharna. So thrilled; I love it when nice guys do well! Sharna gave Andy enough content to be credible and worked on his technique so that on the night, he was able to actually dance without having to think like crazy. He could trust his body to remember the choreography and concentrate on delivering a strong smoldering AT performance. I like “sexy Andy” as much as I like happy-go-lucky Andy.
Bindi/Val. I’m not a ChaCha fan, but I actually enjoyed this one a lot. Bindi danced beautifully. ChaCha legs are tricky and I thought hers were quite good. And the ray of sunshine even made storm cloud Val crack a smile and look like he was having fun.
Carlos/Lindsay. I like Quickstep when it’s danced well, and this one qualifies. It was fast and fun with good body contact, good floor coverage, decent frame and nice mixture of steps. Carlos isn’t my favorite person, but when he dances well, I enjoy watching him. I think Lindsay is a better teacher than Witney and is a lot more mature.
Least favorite:
Nick/Witney. Negative edit aside, this match up was just awkward. While there should be tension in the Paso Doble there should also be passion. These two had the wrong kind of tension and no passion. I saw no connection between them when they were dancing.
As for our lovebirds:
Of course, I thought Alek and Emma are adorable together, but it didn’t translate into a great rumba. The hip action wasn’t there, and Alek was walking some steps instead of dancing them. However, Rumba is a nightmare for most male celebs. So I think performing it with Emma probably produced a better dance than if he’d had to rumba with Lindsay. At least he didn’t have to “act”. Alek’s lunges were lovely and he did that drag with such strength, control and ease–I loved that bit. Alek’s partnering skills are excellent. He’s so attentive to the lady. I wonder if he’s stopped blushing yet?
The thing about Mark’s comments regarding Alexa – it’s what everyone has been saying about her all season. She is not competitive, she doesn’t care, she only concerns herself with Carlos. Mark wears his heart on his sleeve, and as the teacher he needs to get her invested and feel like there’s reciprocation between them as a couple. I think Derek coming in and helping boost her confidence up with a great dance was just the right medicine that girl needed. Hopefully it’ll carry on through the season because she is a good dancer, and although I don’t in a million years see her winning, I think they have the potential to perform some good routines together.
I’ll also add that I laughed SO loud at Mark during his routine with Paula. Perfect dance for her, and he never overdanced either. She can go out on a high note with that dance.
Tamar and Louis reminded me of Louis and Kendra. He pushed a girl with some talent way too hard with too difficult of choreography and she looked completely unsteady and unsure. Disappointing, but I guess we know what happens when Louis gets a girl with some talent.
I did not like Witney and Nick’s dance at all. It barely seemed like a Paso, and his technique was so sloppy. I stated my thoughts on it in the member’s section, but I do have to wonder if Witney put much effort into this one – either on purpose because she’s not invested in him and/or helping Sharna – or subconsciously because she was intimated by Nick. Maybe a helping of both.
Alek and Emma were cute and I think relative to the other dances were a tad underscored, but not by much. Maybe one more eight. It does seem like they are trying to be harsher on him now.
Bindi and Val had a great dance, but not perfect. One ten was plenty. She looked wonderful though.
Carlos and Lindsay definitely had his best dance of the season, but overscored. Agenda or getting caught up in the fun of it all? Probably both.
I think Hayes did well, but I do wonder if he was lost in the shuffle last night with his dance. Hopefully he doesn’t get Willow’d next week, because that was the dance to do it (among all the other more memorable ones – solid but not amazing).
I thought Andy and Sharna were great, and I think she is a better teacher for him – but I also think he benefited from more rehearsal time and a dance very well-suited to his abilities. There were still some weird legs and feet things going on.
1 Alexa Derek: best dance of the night by far..i wish Derek was originally paired up with Alexa instead of that overenthusiastic Bindi
2 Carlos Lindsay: i daresay Lindsay is a better choreographer and teacher than Witney. Witney lucked out having Alfonso and has a win to her credit.. also it was not difficult to teach and choreograph routines for someone like Alfonso, he is already a great dancer. Alfonso could have won with any of the pro girls we have on the show.
3 Nick Witney: did not like Wit’s choreography but Nick sold the performance with his charisma and stellar presence alone..also felt Wit was trying to phone it in but Nick is smart and glad he took over the choreography and dint let her phone it in..Nick is a charmer, the best!
4 Hayes Allison: beautiful and elegant dance, nicely choreographed by Allison.. i think it was massively underscored. 🙁
5 Alek Emma: HOT
6 Bindi Val: i hate how overly enthusiastic she is..she sometimes put so much energy in a routine or a particular move ..it looks awkward to me..all her dances seems the same to me case of that
7 Tamar Louis: now that Louis got a talented partner, we got to see how is he as a teacher -and he is not good..there is a reason why he gets the oldies. Tamar got screwed cause of Louis’s bad choreography and teaching
8 Andy Sharna: Did not like
9 Paula Mark: it was kinda uncomfortable to watch
looking forward to your switch-up postmortem post and poll. bye 🙂
I would love the postmortem switch-up post!
@cheryl. Your comment isn’t weird. I hated Alexa’s skirt too!! Lol
I agree with a lot of what I’m reading above!!
Nick- I was mad he did the paso with Wit. I love a Sharna paso. She was soo fierce in S18 with Charlie. I didn’t like the song or choreo of Nick & Wit. And the package made them both look bad IMO. She looked like she was phoning it in & I thought I was seeing Giles 2.0!! I’m starting to worry that Nick won’t make the finals. I’m just thinking a lot of people aren’t connecting with him. His packages don’t do him any favors.
Carlos-I’m glad he did better this week. I agree with whoever upstream said Wit has been put on notice. Over scored some but glad the judges were kind to him. They’ve been nasty to him some weeks.
Alexa-So WTH is going on with her & Mark? She did so good last night. Do she & Mark just not get along?? She does her best dance with someone else plus Mark was lighter this week than he has been all season. Something is just up!
Am I crazy @court @princessheidi? Is it just me that doesn’t get the Mark/Alexa dynamic?
Alek-it pissed me off that they left all of this week’s events off his package. I smell intentional manipulation. Dude has been through the ringer two weeks in a row. Amazing that he has done two good dances with everything in his life!! He & Emma were precious though. Would love them as a couple!!
Andy-thank you Sharna for helping him out. Alison’s ADHD choreo has been hurting him all season & he did amazing with a simpler better choreographed routine. You could actually see him in character, not just desperately trying to keep up!’
Hayes-I like Alison. I think she is talented sweet & beautiful BUT if they can’t put her in a Shirley Ballas boot camp, she needs to go. She does a disservice to her star whenever she does ballroom or Latin.
I loved Paula & Mark. She looked happier than I’ve seen her all season. Looking at you Louis!!
And speaking of Louis, I felt bad for Tamar. She looked so nervous & uncomfortable!!
I don’t have much to add, but I just wanted to say that I always love reading the Power Rankings (and are some of my favourite posts to read when I go perusing through the archives :P) and this week is no exception.
Also, yes please to the switch-up postmortem post :).
There was a post recently about Carlos and his control issues and I noticed something today while watching the interview videos (saw it previous weeks too). This guy just can’t let his wife have camera time! He always right there and last night it was bad. Then she and Derek were doing thief press line and he had to jump right in between his wife and Derek to the point where the interviewer or maybe Lindsay had to pull him back.
Last week he and Sharna were singing in a interview and up pops Carlos! I think he has some major insecurity issues. Did anyone else notice the mugging for camera time? Something about this guys sends me warning signals……
I’d love a post-mortem! That’d be great.
My favorite dances were Carlos and Linday, Bindi and Val, Alexa and Mark, and Alek and Emma.
-Carlos is a cutie! I love watching him dance and I actually really loved his QS with Lindsay. I don’t however, think it deserved 3 10’s. While it was good, I spotted a point or two where his feet could have been a bit cleaner. Other than that, it was great.
-LOVED Bindi and Val’s cha-cha. I liked that he looked that he was genuinely enjoying dancing with her. It seems as though Bindi’s personality rubbed off on him. Julianne is right. She really is a ray of sunshine. I liked that he was able to bring out her sassy side.
-All I can say about Alexa and Derek’s tango is WOW. That was fantastic. I liked that he was able to build up her confidence! Derek’s tango’s are some of his best. I’m excited to see her do a paso with Mark, since I feel like Mark’s paso’s are some of his best dances.
-Alek and Emma’s rumba was hot hot HOT. I was expecting some slightly raunchy stuff judging by the video package, but I’m glad they kept it elegant and classy.
I didn’t watch the season with Gilles – what happened that people are comparing him to Nick in last night package?
Loved having Maks back in the ballroom. He is always entertaining. I found myself agreeing with him on everything last night. It was nice to have someone there to actually critique and not just list a million adjectives or score based on their emotions (CAI).
1) Alexa and Derek: I think this will be the only time I list Alexa this high on my rankings but wow great dance and 100% that goes to Derek’s choreo. I’ve watched the dance more times than I’m willing to admit online today and I just love the ending where they link up with the troupe.
2) Carlos and Lindsay: Once again, like Alexa, this is probably the only time that Carlos will be this high in my rankings. Fun and energetic quickstep. I was impressed with Carlos’s frame as well. I really enjoyed him with Lindsay more than him with Witney. I do think he was over scored to keep the “married couple here” and I could do without the comments in his package about Alexa.
3) Bindi and Val: I really enjoyed this pairing. Zendaya is my favorite of Val’s partners and this felt like a Zendaya/Val routine. Bindi does need to watch her shoulders cause they tend to rise up when she dances, but I blame that on the height difference between her and Val/Derek.
4) Andy and Sharna: Wow! I did a double take when I watched this dance because I couldn’t believe it was Andy. Andy being paired with Sharna clearly showed how weak of a pro Allison is in comparison. Lots of great lifts. There was a few awkward leg moments, but his best dance yet. I think Sharna might have saved Andy from being eliminated next week.
5) Alek and Emma: I can’t believe this was Emma’s first rumba on the show…but come to think of it Allison hasn’t done a rumba yet (and I’m sure hers would be too fast paced anyways). Really enjoyed the connection between Emma and Alek. It was subtle during the dance, but still noticeable. I agree with Maks that he was a bit too stiff at times, but I think he was much better at the rumba than the paso. I would have given it one more 8.
6) Tamar and Louis: So much content. I think Louis was excited to be able to choreograph for someone who can actually dance, and I also think he wanted to show people why he should stay a pro. The problem I noticed was that Tamar she seemed to have trouble moving her ankles and that is what made her wobbly. I 100% blame those boot ballroom shoes. She was way too constrained and those should not be worn by a non-professional dancer…especially during a samba.
7) Nick and Witney: I can’t believe I have Nick so low, but the paso just didn’t work for me last night. His butt was sticking out, he was lunged forward, and it looked like he was karate chopping wood and not doing correct arm movements. Witney just didn’t seem “in it” last night. I was expecting more with it being the final dance of the night, but honestly it should have gone early on so we could forget it even happened.
8) Hayes and Allison: Oh poor Hayes he got stuck with Allison. I was so happy with Maks’s comments and Bruno’s as well. Where was the VW? Why were they moving so freaking fast? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…Allison has one speed and its fast. No matter what style she is dancing it is always danced more aggressively and quickly then it should be. Loved Bruno’s comment about them just jumping around because that is what it felt like. Thankfully Hayes will get Emma back.
9) Paula and Mark: I really enjoyed these two together, much more than Paula and Louis. Mark embraces Paula’s fun side and knows she would rather just go out there and have a good time. It reminded me of Peta and Tommy Chong. Sure they needed some more jive content, but only so much can be expected from Paula.
I would love a switch-up postmortem focusing on how the pros handled the week. As for Maks, I didn’t so much disagree with him as not feel him as a judge. For the guy who Juliann said “phoned it in,” he lacked any empathy for the celebs who I think handled it very well. Not particularly articulate either.
At the top for me was Alexa/Derek (very powerful and tight, though her skirt bothered me too), Carlos/Lindsay (his stage presence and improvement was great), and Bindi/Val. Watching her last night, it felt like we were seeing the winner! She just shines!!
I loved Andy/Sharna together so much. AT is probably my favorite dance and this one was very good. Hot too and Sharna was genuinely happy for him.
Tamar/Louis – I enjoyed this dance with the Beyonce vibe and thought she looked more comfortable (in the eyes). Underscored IMO particularly in comparison.
Nick/Witney – weird package and I/ve had enough of the rockstar black leather look. Should have really switched it up with a classic paso doble – matador and bull with red and lace. He should have told himself to work on his posture too!
Alek/Emma – not sure why the romance angle bugged me (remember Mark and Sabrina’s rumba), but he was just too sturdy and had no flow.
Hayes/Allison – a beautiful waltz, but would have so much better if it was slower. I don’t get why Allison can’t figure this out.
Paula/Mark – fun, cute and a bit raunchy. It was simple and slow, but she remembered her choreography. She’s grown on me.
Part of me feels like Witney hasn’t been all there this season, like she knows she’s not going to win, and the chosen one will be someone who’s going on the tour. And I”m sure Carlos is just a ray of sunshine to work with. I’m ready for the PenaVegas to go, as much as I’ll miss Witney & Mark.
Last night also really reminded me why I’m so happy Allison is pregnant (other than it actually being great news). She is just not a good fit for the show, and it makes me so sad for both Hayes & especially Andy. I wish he could permanently stay with another pro. Allison is such a talented dancer, and I give her credit for trying, but I think it’s time for her to exit the stage to make way for someone like Lindsay to stay a pro.
@Sara Gilles was a giant twatwaffle who thought he knew everything. I loved him season 8, but he is one guy who should have ran as fast as he could in the other direction from the All Star season; it was not a flattering look on him the way he treated Peta.
My rankings:
1) Alexa & Derek: Wow, wow, wow. This was stunning. Derek really knows how to bring out the best out of his partners. I loved the drama of it, the setting, the troupe. everything about it, to me, was perfection. This is probably my second favorite dance of the season (Bindi’s Contemporary being #1 of course). I really hope Alexa continues like this and the perfect score pushes her to be more of a competitor. PS: Court, Alexa actually did mention Carlos before their dance. She said she didn’t want to go home yet because she wanted to continue supporting her husband – to which I said: “girl if you get eliminated you can support him from the audience. calm. down.”
2) Bindi & Val: I was not expdcting Bindi to be this good at these kinds of Latin dances.. she surprised me so much! Her legs were fantastic and she was shaking and shimmying wonderfully 😛 She does seem to throw her arms around every now and then so hopefully she fixes that. Other than that, I thought this was amazing. Val was cool too..
3) Andy & Sharna: Bloooown away by him. This is the dancer that has been hiding inside of him all this time and all he needed was a switch up. How I miss Peta and wish she could have taught Andy.. he could have been so much better from the start.
4) Alek & Emma: Not much left to say about these two other than that I hope they procreate 🙂 LOL. Ok but seriously, I thought this dance wasn’t his best but still pretty good and I think Alek might not be as terrible in Latin as I thought he might be. Still think this was underscored by a couple points.
5) Carlos & Lindsay: I would say this is probably my favorite dance Carlos has done this season. There were a lot of different steps there and he kept up very nicely. Not sure it deserved all the 10’s it got but I still enjoyed it. Man, Lindsay is killing it this season.
6) Tamar & Louis: It wasn’t her best but I think it was slightly underscored.. maybe by one point. I think Louis just gave her way too much and in the end she just struggled to keep up. Hopefully she redeems herself next week.
7) Hayes & Allison: It was cute but kinda forgettable. I don’t remember much of it other thank thinking the choreography wasn’t all that great.
8) Paula & Mark: I don’t even care if the dance wasn’t that good.. it was the most fun dance of the night and I loved it.
9) Nick & Witney: I just didn’t like it.. It lacked the strength and passion I like to see in a Paso Doble. His butt was weird, his arms were weird and the whole dance was a bit of a turn off. Couldn’t bring myself to like it at all, to be honest.
PS: If we could stop using EDM-music for Paso Dobles that would be great, DWTS. Thanks! *eyeroll*
I was very pleasantly surprised by most of the dances last night.
Carlos & Lindsay blew me away. Very impressed with her choreography this season.
Alexa & Derek. That was a finale quality performance. My only criticism would be the material of Alexa’s skirt. It looked long & heavy and may have limited us from seeing her full extension.
Mark & Paula – great choreography for her. I do think its her time to go.
Alek & Emma. I loved this rumba. Its never my favourite dance because of the over-exaggeration of emotion but this one felt right. Definitely under-scored.
Bindi & Val – what was with Val’s comment about giving teaching her the things Derek didn’t have time to? I’m not a dance expert, but he said this was the most difficult Cha-cha he’s done on the show, Really? I wasn’t impressed with the choreography. Regardless, they both looked like they were having fun. She’s just such a delight. Loved when Tom asked if they could keep her for next season too.
Nick & Witney – why was Nick telling Witney what to do? Not impressed with any of it…
Tamar & Louis I don’t get the Tamar appreciation. She makes no attempt to connect with her partner – Louis or Val. Her eyes always look blank.
Hayes & Allison – sorry not memorable for me
Andy & Sharna – Can he keep her? So much better than Allison.
I thought Maks did a fairly good job as judge. Clearly not impartial. Val should not have been given that 10.
I can’t wait to read a Switch up Post Mortem tomorrow.
Whoops! I forgot to mention Andy and Sharna’s AT. Phew that was hot too! He was really good! I’m starting to think its not so much him, but Allison, bless her heart.
Alexa and Derek’s Tango was my favorite of the night… I’d even say my favorite dance of the season (so far). I loved the part towards the end where she and Derek had their arms locked with the troupe and did those kicks – reminded me so much of Season 9’s Team Tango (which Derek was a part of), one of my all-time favorite team dances. Also, I did not realize how tiny Alexa was! I mean, Derek looked like The Hulk dancing with her, haha.
I had high expectations for Nick and Witney’s Paso (because I loved her and Alfonso’s Paso) but was left really disappointed. This seems to be a pattern I keep getting myself into week after week about Nick. So I guess from now on I’m going to have zero expectations about Nick and maybe I’ll find myself actually enjoying his dances. I thought the judges were very kind with their scores – I personally thought it deserved a couple 7s (definitely not 9s).
I’m also getting a bit confused about whether or not there is an agenda to get Nick the MBT. While I thought his scores were generous, I also thought his package showed him in a negative light. In fact, I think most of his packages have been pretty negative. They keep showing him as intense and a perfectionist but I honestly don’t think he’s like that all day long. This reminds me so much of how TPTB showed Apolo/Karina and Charlie/Sharna in their seasons and we all know things did not end well for either of them. I just hope the producers will show some light-hearted moments between him and Sharna in the future.
Paula and Mark. First of all, I was disappointed Mark wasn’t paired with Bindi for the switch-up but I really liked him and Paula together – they ended up being my favorite pair of the night. It was nice to see fun, goofy Mark and I thought their routine was cute – although I could have done without the flashing – during the dance and after. But I think Mark summed up Paula really well when he called her “bad grandma”. LOL
@ Courtney – like everyone else here, I would also love a “switch-up postmortem” on the pros. If you have the time, it would really be appreciated!
And super random – I wished for their fake lie detector segment, they had Jimmy Kimmel conduct those interviews (like he does on his show). Plus, I think it’d be hilarious to see Guillermo dressed up as the “truth fairy”. 🙂
Tonight was very interesting. Think we definitely got to see some agenda scoring and more importantly who’s got the teaching chops in the pro department. Yes, Courtney, I think that post idea you had about the pros is a great idea.
Bindi & Val- I was a little worried on how their personalities would gel here, but man did this end up going well. This is definitely a cha cha I actually find myself rewatching constantly. Such fun, bubbliness, and sunshine. Bindi did a fabulous job. She has a small tendency to get excited and throw her arms away a bit, but otherwise, this was fantastic. I thought Val’s choreography had some odd stop & go moments like usual too, but I think he did a really nice job with her overall. Great job to both of them. One of the scores I actually agree with from the night.
Nick & Witney- I’m just left…confused by this one. I have almost no idea how to feel about how Nick just took over the rehearsals like that…I have no idea how to feel about the dance, be it performance-wise or technique. It was just…weird. I agree about the butt thing especially, and how HARD the guy was trying to be intense was just…strange. Definitely think the score was kind. And I also don’t quite see him running away with the mirrorball at the moment.
Alexa & Derek- I was SHOCKED by this dance. Derek brought Alexa just what she needed: confidence and focus. It showed in spades in her tango. Alexa actually did an incredible job in this dance, both performance wise and technique. Courtney’s comment on her frame improvement hit the mark especially. Fabulous! Derek did a phenomenal job with her (not surprised honestly) and I hope she carries it on to her work with Mark. I also think she deserved the highest score of the night. ALL 10s?? Not totally sure, but I definitely felt at least 2 10s were in order here.
Carlos & Lindsay- A lot of comments on these two mirror those with Alexa and Derek for me. Carlos improved dramatically and did a great job and Lindsay definitely showed Witney how it’s done (and earned herself a spot as permanent pro in my mind). Now I do not feel that he was quite as good as Alexa, and really felt he was not much better (if at all) than Bindi, so I can’t say I agree with 3 10s on this one. One? Sure. Definitely think he is suffering in votes compared to Bindi, Alek, and Nick.
Tamar & Louis- I think these two got a lot of short sticks drawn on the switch up. Really hard dance, really hard week, judges were HARSH as can be. I do feel that Tamar had balance issues and I still feel the whole disconnect from her in hold, but I feel like the critique of her didn’t quite match the level of judging some other couples received. I think her score was pretty close, but the judges were definitely harsh on her and Louis.
Andy & Sharna- Apply Alexa/Derek and Carlos/Lindsay comments here. Thanks to Sharna’s lovely choreography and not Allison’s warp-drive choreography, Andy really had time to get grounded and did his best dance by miles. He was more solid than ever, stable, in control, and he actually seemed extremely comfortable in the choreography. I really think Andy’s a good dancer who got saddled with a pro who knows so little about ballroom his potential can’t even come to fruition. And it’s a huge shame, I love Andy. I also saw some weird feet issues, but overall I don’t feel like it was overscored by too much, I still think at least two 9s were in order.
Alek & Emma- I’mma leave some comments to myself on this one lol. But seriously, HOT, but romantic, sweet, elegant, and sensual. A perfect chemistry/performance mix for a rumba. Could I stand for his face to be a liiiiitle more expressive (need more moments like he had when he was face to face with Emma!) and his hips and arms to be a little smoother and rhythmical? Yes. But he had fantastic lines, was super sturdy, and had the chemistry and connection with his partner to a tee. I do think this warranted a higher score compared to some of the generosity we saw. I feel that how much they harped on his face was kinda silly. I also would’ve given this at least straight 8s (maybe would’ve thrown in a 9 because of the phenomenal chemistry, which sells a rumba to me). I do, however, totally agree with Julianne on something, Alek is right on that border line to really taking off. The guy’s got great potential, just needs a little more and he can soar.
Hayes & Allison- I think this was a Viennese waltz only in name. And a good 80% of the problems I had with this dance could easily be pegged on Allison. Warp-drive choreography took another soul here. Hayes really had some moments where I went, “Man, if he did this with Emma this could have actually been kinda nice.” Allison girl, go train. Go train now, or I honestly don’t want to see you tear up anymore potential.
Paula & Mark- Man this was just a good time 🙂 I think everyone (myself, the viewers, Mark, Paula, judges…everyone) knew jive would not be her thing, but Mark did a fantastic job and took it the route I think would lead her to the most success. It was simple, appropriate, super fun, and effective 🙂 Paula actually did a pretty good job and kept up, was actually fairly clean, and had a really good time. That’s really all I could want from her at this point 🙂
Yes to the switch-up post-mortem idea!
I was pleasantly surprised by this week. When the pairings were announced I wasn’t feeling most of them, but in the end I wound up liking several of them more than the original pairings, and one of the few I was initially excited about ended up as sort of a disappointment.
(Note that this is in order of who I think had the best dances, not who I think is most likely to stay or go next.)
1. Bindi & Val – I sort of wanted this pairing to happen just because of the absurdity of it but in the last few days leading up to the switch last week I had a change of heart. In the end it happened and while I was initially concerned about how Val might treat Bindi with them being so different and all in the end it seemed to work out okay. The bit with the snake in the package was hilarious. As for the dance, I Loved it! It was super fun and well executed. I would have given it a 9, but very close to a 10!
2. Alexa & Derek – This was such an awesome dance! I feel like everything that can be said about it has been said so I’ll just say I loved it. Glad to see Alexa back on her A-game after her lowest scores yet last week. I’d give it a 9, not a 10 but it was still awesome. Great to see her out of the la-la land she seemed to be stuck in last week (or would it be more like Carlos land?). I hope last week was just a bump in the road because I’ve sort of surprisingly been really enjoying watching her dance for most of this season.
3. Andy & Sharna – This made me wish Peta could have competed with Andy, or that Sharna could have been paired with him from the beginning! This was an amazing dance and I hope he’s safe this week. 9
4. Carlos & Lindsay – Wow! Lindsay really has become a fantastic teacher! Their package was hilarious and the dance was great. I do think they were overscored (10’s seemed a bit high) I guess it’s whatever since he’s been kind of underscored lately (not last week but the cha-cha and jazz). 9
5. Tamar & Louis – I do think Louis was a bit overenthusiastic about having a capable partner, which probably backfired to some degree, but I still enjoyed the dance. I think her heels may have been a bit too high which was probably also part of the problem. And I agree she needs to connect with her partner (whoever it is) more, though I thought she was doing better with that last week. Still thought it was underscored. 8
6. Alek & Emma – One of my favorite pairs of the week! Love how happy they were to dance together. A lot has been said about this already so I’l just say I thought it was underscored which might have been due to manipulation from TPTB. I would have given it an 8 myself. Even if he ends up in fake jeopardy he’ll be fine next week because he has had a ton of support up until this point and the shipping plus the somewhat-low scores will get him even more votes.
7. Hayes & Allison – I wasn’t too sure about this pairing when I first heard about it but it turned out to be another awesome match. They meshed well and I enjoyed the dance, although it was a little step back from last week from Hayes and Allison did make it kind of jumpy. I would have given it an 8. Also, does anyone else think the reason for Allison’s frequent “kitchen sink” dances may be seen by her as overcompensation because of the criticism she gets? Like she might be trying to “prove” herself to be worthy of being a ballroom pro on this show, but it’s sort of backfiring on her.
8. Witney & Nick – This was a couple that I was really looking forward to watching but ended up disappointed by. The dance was alright, but I expected more from it. And I was extra-disappointed because paso is one of my favorite dance styles and we have yet to see a truly amazing one this season. I also didn’t appreciate how Nick treated Witney in the package, though I’m sure her mom wasn’t lying when she said they did have fun this week as well. I didn’t think this was worthy of getting the coveted “last dance of the night” spot, but it was still okay. 8
9. Paula & Mark – I really wanted Paula to end up with Val this week, and if not him then Derek, so I was very upset when she ended up with Mark. I just wanted Mark to have at least one week of happiness this season, especially after how the last one turned out for him. This ended up being the surprise of the week for me. I absolutely adored this pairing. I absolutely loved how Mark was with Paula, even if he was initially upset to be paired with her. I thought it was so cute how scared Paula was at the beginning (I about died laughing at “you’re so edgy!”) but by the end she was so happy to be paired with Mark for the week. The dance played to her strengths (well, as much a possible at least). Paula seemed so much more relaxed than any other time she’s danced on this show. She’s still not great, but this was probably her best performance to date. And she seemed to be having so much fun! They both did. That whole package/dance is a textbook example of why I love Mark (I wish they went after Alexa/Derek because that package seemed to be trying to make him look like the bad guy). I do think Paula needs to leave next week and probably will because I think she’s done about all she can do. I put this one at the bottom because it technically was the “worst” dance, but to be honest this is one of the ones from this week I’ll probably end up watching the most. 7
I’m kind of apprehensive for next week because they’re re-creating iconic dances and I just don’t think many-if ANY-of them will be able to live up to the originals but I guess we’ll see what happens.
I think Derek will be able to recreate an iconic dance and make it look good. I wonder what Dance they’ll give him and Bindi. I’d LOVE a Paso Doble. That is my FAVORITE dance of Derek’s.
I just have to say that I am SO OVER Carlos. His comments about other men and Alexa just make me SO MAD. I have done alot of social dancing and some competitive dancing over the past ten years and I can tell you that the majority of the people I see dancing are NOT thinking about who they are dancing with in a sexual way AT ALL. They just want to dance because they love it! There are tons of married couples in the ballroom community who dance with other people at ballroom socials without even batting an eye (in fact, if you aren’t doing it you are definitely in the minority). Ballroom people in general have no problem with it because they know we are all there because we love to dance. Unlike Carlos, who has shown us again and again the insecure, straight, macho, non-dancing guy’s thoughts about women and dancing. TPTB, you made a HUGE mistake in picking Carlos and Alexa for your married couple on the show. Big. HUGE. Ok, rant over. (sorry, its just been bugging me for a while now)
Forgot to say in my previous post that I was pleasantly surprised by Andy and Sharna, as well as Alek and Emma. Those two ladies sure do know how to choreograph to suit their celeb! I don’t understand why Allison can’t see that and how well it works and strive to do something similar. The girl is oblivious. Which is a shame, because she seems super nice and easy to work with.
@Kelly…#47
I saw a photo of Bindi sitting in a corner and Derek reaching his hand to her and it said, ” Nobody puts “Baby in a corner.” Supposedly, they are doing a “Dirty Dancing” number. But, no mention of what song or dance style.