DWTS 15 All-Stars: The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate – Joey Fatone Edition

Today I continue my series with season 4 runner-up Joey Fatone – for those who want to play catch-up, check out my previous editions featuring Kelly Monaco, Emmitt Smith, and Drew Lachey

For Joey’s best dance, I picked his 2nd jive to “Jump, Jive, & Wail”:

And for his worst dance, I picked his 2nd cha-cha to “Groove is in the Heart”:

Without a doubt, Joey sure has got the showmanship portion of dancing down pat – to this day, I  still think he’s one of the most entertaining celebs that have ever graced the DWTS floor.  And he moves big – he always seemed to do a really good job of using the entire floor and stretching each step to its limit. However, the big caveat that often comes with moving big is moving sloppy – and I think Joey, being a bigger guy, sometimes loses a bit of technique & precision in the process of “moving big”.  I find it a bit interesting that he & Drew seem to have the opposite problem: Drew has the precision, but not the size & degree of motion; Joey has the size & degree of motion, but seems to lack the precision.  And unfortunatley, when it comes down to it, I think the judges will (or at least SHOULD) favor precision & technique over size & impact.  With strong technicians like Gilles in the competition, I think Joey’s going to have to work on really refining his movements, while not sacrificing the big entertainment value he brings to the stage.  I’m also noticing another possible problem – and I actually think the fault lies more with Kym: some of their choreography in their original season seems to favor style over substance.  I’m guessing that Kym was trying to really choreograph to Joey’s strengths as a showman, but upon close scrutiny, it seems like there’s a lot of “fluff” and not a whole lot of basic steps in some of their routines – I think they got called out for it big time in that 2nd cha-cha.  They may have been able to get away with excess “fluff” in their original season, but with so many talented, strong technicians this season, I don’t think they’re going to have any choice but to buckle down and give Len some good meat-and-potatoes choreography.

So now comes the obvious question: how is his time in the Vegas show going to give him an edge this season? Well I think obvious benefit is just being in the “swing” of being onstage – as I said in my post about Drew, I think anyone who has been performing on stage within the last year or so is probably going to have a bit of advantage in that they are still in the groove of performing, and are likely feeling confident in their stage presence..  Given that Joey has actually been doing ballroom for the past few months in the DWTS Vegas show, too, I daresay he is a lot less rusty than some of the others who haven’t done any dancing since their initial seasons.  In particular, he seems to have cleaned up his technique and become quite the lifter:

All in all, I think it will be a big advantage for Joey, given that it’s actually given him time to sharpen up his skills.  But I do see a few possible drawbacks, the biggest of which being burnout – Joey has already been dancing for a little over 3 months straight in the Vegas show, and although he seems to have a bit of a break between when the Vegas show wrapped earlier this month and when rehearsals begin in the next week or so, I think its entirely possible he may just get exhausted by the middle of the season.  We’ve seen how celebs meltdown after only a few weeks – can you imagine a few MONTHS? And keep in mind that the pace of the tv show is pretty breakneck compared to the Vegas show – Joey really just had to repeat the same routines night after night out there; now he’s gotta go back to learning & performing new ones (and performing them well!) in only a few days.  Keep in mind, too, that the Vegas show is a lot less “strictly ballroom” than the show – there was quite a bit of hip-hop, jazz, disco, and other genres thrown in out there.  It was what I like to call “watered-down ballroom” - and we all know that’s not Len’s cup of tea.  Will Joey be able to make the transition?

Court’s verdict: Joey will definitely be one to watch this season, but he’s going to have to clean up his technique quite a bit if he wants to be a real contender.  Kym is also going to have to focus on giving him routines with a lot of basic steps and without a ton of fluff, so they don’t get called out for lack of content.  Overall, though, I see him lasting quite awhile, and possibly even making it to the finale

So what are your thoughts on Joey? Big contender, or overrated?

DWTS 15 All-Stars: The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate – Drew Lachey Edition

So far, we’ve taken a look at both Kelly Monaco & Emmitt Smith’s original seasons on DWTS.  Today, we backtrack a bit to take a look at Drew’s original season

For Drew’s best dance, I waffled back & forth between he & Cheryl’s tango & paso doble…but I ultimately picked their famous “Thriller” paso doble, as I think it best shows off how Drew was the total package of skill & showmanship:

And while I noticed that Drew & Cheryl didn’t really have any truly terrible dances in their original season, per se, I ended up picking their week 1 cha-cha as their worst dance, because Drew looks a bit awkward and unsure of what to do with his hands:

Ohhh, how I DON’T miss the days before the show began broadcasting in HD Once again, I’m struck by the same thing I see when watching Emmitt & Kelly’s dances: the quality of dancing on the show has improved drastically since the first few seasons. Even though I think Drew was much better than Kelly & Emmitt from a technical perspective, I still think he’s going to be hard-pressed to match up with the skill of Joey or Gilles (two guys who didn’t even win their respective seasons), right out of the gate.  I also think the choreography back then wasn’t as good as it is now – and that could prove problematic for all 3 of the early winners (Kelly, Drew, & Emmitt), as the pros have all stepped their game up quite a bit since those seasons.  It could be a bit jarring for them to go from easily handling the choreography on their own seasons, to having to fight tooth and nail to just get a decent score each week of the all-star season, with the bar being raised so much.  On the plus side, Drew seems to have a good deal of “attack” to his dancing – he isn’t hesitant or wishy-washy, and goes for everything 100%.  Seems very confident out on the floor, and doesn’t seem to have any glaring timing issues.  But man – I had forgotten how short Drew is.  He moves “big” for his size, and does seem to extend his limbs impressively far, given his stature – but I’m picturing him next to the very willowy Gilles, who had quite possibly the most fantastic extension in his arms & legs of any guy I’ve ever seen on the show (except maybe Roshon, but I swear that boy was made of rubber!)…and I’m just imagining that poor Drew is just not going to measure up, no matter how far he stretches.  Not his fault – but it’s unfortunately the hand he was dealt by nature.  Part of me thinks he may have been physically better matched with Chelsie, since she would have given him an extra 2″ of leeway, but I do think he may actually have an advantage with Anna – these two seem to have really hit the ground running with “getting themselves out there” since the announcement of the cast.  They are tweeting up a storm, have set up an official Facebook page which they are updating frequently with videos and pictures, and just seem to have forged a really great partnership – I seriously can’t stop smiling when I see these two!

So what, if anything, has Drew done since season 2 to keep his dance skills sharp? Well, he has been practicing for the 98 Degrees reunion tour, and they actually performed on the Today show yesterday:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ok – admittedly, 98 Degrees was the boy band of the 1990′s that did the least amount of dancing…and the little they did do was pretty basic “work the mic, jazz square here, hand gesture there”-type stuff.  But Drew actually seems to be taking this choreography, no matter how cheesy it looks, pretty seriously – he’s snapping his head nicely, making good eye contact, and staying on time.  And as crazy as that sounds – I think that may actually be an unexpected advantage he has this season.  I know everyone seems eager to point out that Joey being onstage in the Vegas show is huge advantage this season, and it is – but I would argue that really ANY contestant that has been onstage in some song & dance capactity within the last year or so has probably got an advantage.  Gotta keep those performing skills sharp!

Court’s verdict: Drew is obviously going to have to step up his game quite a bit in order to compete with more recent contestants like Gilles – but he could be a bit of a dark horse this season, given his work ethic and the chemistry he has forged with Anna.  He is probably the most skilled of the “early” champions, and if he’s willing to put in the effort (and Anna can give him some good choreography), he could give some of the favorites this season (Gilles, Joey, Shawn, etc.) a good run for their money.  One to watch, for sure!

So what do you guys think of Drew? Possible dark horse…or a possible dud?

UPDATE: Thanks to @BeerBabeSuzi (an NKOTB friend of mine who also runs a fantastic 98 Degrees fan site that’s been around for 10 years!), here’s some video of 98 Degrees performing at the Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania over the weekend – and it looks like Drew has been practicing his Latin hips The song is “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)” and it starts at about the 2:50 mark.  Check out Drew on the right, getting pretty into his dance moves

DWTS 15 All-Stars: The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate – Emmitt Smith Edition

So last week, we took a look at Kelly Monaco’s best & worst dances from her original season.  Today, we’re gonna skip over Drew (he’s coming later – and there’s a good reason why ) and move onto season 3, which Emmitt won with Cheryl – and he’s partnered with her again this season.  Let us reminisce…

For Emmitt’s best dance, I chose his mambo, which got a 29:

And for his worst dance, what else would I pick but the infamous, comically bad “Simply Irresistible” tango?:

Ok, is it just me, or is Emmitt kind of a “small” mover? I mean, he’s a big guy, but in both of his dances he strikes me as a bit cautious in the way he moves…I’ll admit I wasn’t a religious viewer back in season 3, but rewatching a lot of his stuff now, I have to think “Wow…and he won his season???”  Like Kelly & Drew, I think his big struggle is just going to be “catching up” to the rest of the contestants from more recent seasons – because the choreography, the energy level, and the overall performance value have all gotten A LOT tougher.  It’s also been 6 years since he last danced, and while 43 isn’t terribly old, it can sure feel that way for a former football player with 20 years of wear-and-tear on his body – he may find that it’s not as easy to move now as it was 6 years ago.  On the plus side, Emmitt’s got a fun personality on the floor – he seems like he has a great time out there, and isn’t afraid to cut loose and shake his stuff.  He’s also got a great personality, which never hurts. 

 Court’s verdict: Like Kelly, I think Emmitt’s biggest struggle is just going to be catching up to the caliber of competition the show has reached since his original season – and unfortunately, everyone this season (with the exception of Bristol) is a pretty decent dancer, so there’s not going to be a ton of bad dancers to burn through to shield Emmitt from elimination.  He and Cheryl are both going to have to step their game up – and he may find that he needs a bit more time to practice than some of the younger, more mobile contestants.  He’s got the personality factor working for him, but in order to stick around, he’s going to have to pair that personality with some more difficult choreography.  Will be interesting to see what he & Cheryl pull out!

So what do you, our PureDWTS readers, think of Emmitt this season? Will he repeat the success he had in season 3 – or be sent packing early?

DWTS 15 All-Stars: The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate – Kelly Monaco Edition

Ok, so for a NORMAL season, this is the time where I’d usually cull videos from YouTube that show our new crop of celebrities doing dance-related things in their past that may or may not help their performance on DWTS, and then Heidi, Vogue, & I would point & laugh and generally have a grand ol’ time offering our commentary   But obviously, this season is not following that pattern – there’s not much point in looking at videos of Kirstie dancing around in the kitchen scene of Look Who’s Talking or Drew Lachey gyrating onstage with 98 Degrees when we already have footage of them dancing on DWTS…so why not take a look at some of their best & worst performances from their original seasons, and see how they stack up? In addition, I’ll try to add videos of any dancing the celebs have done SINCE their season, that may or may not help them this time around.

Today we’ll start with the ladies, and we’ll start at the very beginning: season 1, which Kelly Monaco won.  For her best dance, I picked her freestyle:

And for her worst, I chose the waltz:

Ok, first thing that jumps out at me here: the bar has definitely been raised quite a bit since season 1 – the level of the dancing is much higher now than it was in Kelly’s season, which could pose some big problems for her.  I’m always a bit reluctant to pick someone’s freestyle as their “best dance” (because I think freestyles are usually pretty universally-pleasing, since the couples can do whatever they want), but in this case, I feel like it actually had quite a bit of ballroom content and thus was more on-par with what she was capable of in a regular dance.  With that being said – it’s still a pretty weak freestyle, when you look at the freestyles we’ve seen since season 1.  Kelly’s getting off-time, missing steps, and generally looking pretty wobbly on her feet – it may have gotten a 30 back in season 1, but I’d be surprised if it would have gotten anything more than a 23 in a more current season…and I think she’d be lucky to even break into the 20′s during the all-star season, if it’s going to be as competitive as I think it is.  As for her waltz – it was during the first week of the first season, so there was undoubtedly some major nerves at work and I think she just ended up very stiff & scared.  And did I just see some pretty blatant lifts in there??? I don’t necessarily think it was bad…it just wasn’t very interesting to watch.   But there isn’t going to be any room for nerves on this season, so Kelly’s going to have to overcome those pretty quickly if she wants to stick around.

So has Kelly been doing any dancing since season 1 wrapped that might help her this time around? Well…yes and no.  She did a brief stint in the burlesque revue Peepshow in Vegas back in ’09, along with Mel B (WARNING: It’s slightly racy…avert your eyes if you’re offended by pole dancing, lingerie, and gyrations):

Ok, so it looks like Kelly didn’t do a TON of real dancing in Peepshow…seems like just a lot of gyrating suggestively and being a sexpot.  So while it might not necessarily help her with her actual dancing, I do think it might help her stage presence in that it will help her evoke a more confident, sexy, smoldering character for dances like the rumba & Argentine tango.

Court’s verdict: All things considered, I think Kelly’s unfortunately one of the weaker contestants this season, and has got a lot of hard work ahead of her if she expects to stick around – the fact that there are several non-winners (Joey, Kirstie, Melissa, even Pam) on this season that are quite a bit better than Kelly in terms of dance skill tells me she’s got some tough competition.  However, she’s also still young and in good shape, which could give her an edge over some of the older contestants.

What do you guys think? Does Kelly have the juice to go all the way, or will she flame out early?

DWTS 15 All-Star Cast Rumors List: Who’s In, Who’s Out, Who’s a Maybe, Who Knows???

With all of the coverage of the upcoming all-star season we’ve been doing, we realize it can get a little hard to keep up and remember who’s said yes, who’s said no, who’s just a maybe, etc.  So for the sake of maintaining everyone’s sanity and trying to keep at least some degree of organization, here’s a handy list of what celebs we’ve been covering as it pertains to the all-star season, broken down by their original season, along with a brief summary of where they stand.  We’ll keep this post stuck to the main page until the cast announcement, and we’ll post updates in red as they come in. 

ETA #1: Updated with coverage of Joey Fatone & Trista Sutter, and an update of Ralph Macchio. 

ETA #2: Added info on Kelly Monaco. 

ETA #3: Update on Maria Menounos. 

ETA #4: A little over 24 hours until the cast announcement and updates & rumors coming fast & furious! Thanks Vogue & Heidi Updates on Gilles Marini, Joey Fatone, Melissa Rycroft, Stacy Keibler, Kendra Wilkinson, & Carson Kressley; added info on Melissa Joan-Hart & Pamela Anderson. 

Season 1:

Trista Sutter – a few interesting tweets that seemed to imply she was heading somewhere to do something secret, but now says she is definitely not taking part in the all-star season
Kelly Monaco – hinted at a GH fan event that she was “going to need fans’ help with something that’s getting announced next Friday!”

Season 2:

Stacy Keibler – played coy, said “possibly” if she was asked to return; says we’ll “have to wait & find out”; rumored as a possible X-Factor host; Entertainment Weekly claiming she’s not likely to do the show
Drew Lachey – said he “had a blast and would be open to doing it again”, but wasn’t sure how things would play out

Season 3:

Jerry Springer - said he may do SOMETHING for the show and would love to be in the audience, but wouldn’t dance again
Mario Lopez – spilled the beans about being asked to do the all-star season on Live with Kelly way back in May, and was thinking about it; however, he now says he’s “too busy” and “doesn’t think he’ll be able to do it” – mentioned as a rumored candidate to host X-factor
Joey Lawrence - asked fans on Twitter to vote for him to get on the all-star season

Season 4:

Joey Fatone – says he isn’t really sure if he’d do it or not, and that he hasn’t gotten a call yet; Entertainment Weekly claiming he’s “likely” to do the show …Read more

DWTS Season 14 – Dancing by the Numbers Wrap Up

Blah blah All-Star Season blah blah.   That’s months away yet and I don’t find myself interested in it. Yet. I’m sure that will change. Sooner or later.  I’m still thinking about the season that ended a mere two weeks ago. Because that’s who I am.

So, in looking at the way the show turned out, I saw a few people discussing what William’s REAL voting block was like. Some had a tendency to say “Oh, Katherine must have been killing it” or “Maybe William didn’t have it all along and he was getting by on margins” – well, being the nerd that I am, I just have to go back and LOOK and see if there are any conclusions to be drawn.

The final scores ended up being very close, with only one point separating Donald and William from Katherine.  In order to win, Donald or William needed 3,740 more votes per million votes cast to get by Katherine. Obviously, Donald got those votes because he ended up beating her. William, on the other hand, didn’t get those votes because he came in third place. Pretty simple, right?

That’s not to say that William WASN’T getting more votes than Katherine, because he could have been – he just couldn’t cover the spread.  I’m inclined to believe that William was pretty solidly in third place (and no better) all along – because of the pimping or in spite of the pimping, take your pick. Why do I think this??  Well, 3,740 is chump change when it comes to votes, but he couldn’t get past Katherine. While Katherine was a beautiful dancers, she was quite over hyped in the latter weeks as well (by the judges) – but she and Mark together were also very likeable.

The previous week, Katherine, William and Donald all had to get past Maria by the following margins:

-          Katherine needed just over 13k per million votes cast to get past Maria, AND;

-          Donald needed 8,700 votes per million votes cast to get past Maria, AND;

-          William needed 4,350 votes per million votes cast to get past Maria

They all did that and Maria went home – so it seems to me that she was fourth place all along. Those aren’t huge numbers.  However, there IS an argument to be made that Katherine was helped A LOT by her “back spasm” and the fact that people still think someone is safe with the high score. Sure, that could have helped Katherine…and maybe it did.  It’s hard to say for sure. But it seems to me that if people got lax on voting for Maria because she had the high score, it would have been William in trouble and not Katherine.  Because at the time it mattered the most, and with no sympathy vote in play, Willy couldn’t get past Katherine.  For that reason, I think the winner, 2^nd place and 3^rd place were pretty solid. …Read more

DWTS Season 15 – The All-Star Season

Season 14 has concluded for Dancing with the Stars and TPTB have spent at least half of the season if not the past year fanning flames for Season 15. In the now-official announcement of an “All Star Cast” being on the horizon. For those that are confused, Vogue posted a video a while back of Mario Lopez joining Kelly Ripa on her show “Live! with Kelly” and mentioned that he was approached to be a part of the cast of Season 15.

But before I go any further let’s go back a few years. Back in late 2009, John posted a “All I Want for Christmas” DWTS wish list, who would have thought that some of the items would have come true:
1. Replace Samantha – TPTB DID replace Samantha with Season 7′s winner: Brooke Burke. In some ways that was an improvement, and in other ways… it still felt the same. Ah well
2. No Live Band – No such luck. *pouts*
3. More Behind the Scenes – I think there is quite a bit behind the scenes footage now… moreso than I remember there being before.
4. How about a themed DWTS? All sports people or all singers or all tv personalities. – Unfortunately when John first mentioned a “themed DWTS” he meant all the celebs be from a particular group versus themed nights… can’t have everything.
5. Dancing with the Stars All Stars – More on this later
6. More Pro Dances – This is also hard to see if it has happened or not.
7. DWTS Tour – Well we got a Vegas Live show now… that’s better than nothing.
8. Edyta For the Win – Unfortunately Edyta left after Season 10. So unless they bring her back for the All Star Season and make it so she wins… I don’t see this happening.
9. Fewer Contestants – Ever since Season 9 (which had a whooping 16 couples), TPTB had only 11 or 12 couples per season.
10. A DWTS Professionals Special – We’ve had a few specials that showed some of the best routines from previous seasons, be it celeb/pro dances or pro dances or pro group dance numbers. I say this was a win.

Of the above Top Ten wish list, I wouldn’t be surprised if TPTB actually went through the list and looked to see what was doable. Now the big one: Since 2009 PureDWTS have mentioned a desire for an “All Star Season” and how cool it would be to bring old favorites from previous seasons and watch them compete for their chance at the mirror ball trophy. In fact Cheryl Burke once tweeted that a possible “All Star Season” was in the works two seasons from when she first mentioned it. Looking at the date of the post… the “two seasons” lead into Season 15, then add to that Mario Lopez’s comment of being asked to be a part of the All-Star line up. Well… let’s just say that at the date that this post was original written (April 27th) we now know that this is a definitive possibility.

So where does that bring us? Well, I got curious, since I (Marianya) predict scores for the show… having an All-Star season would totally bust my predictions and calculations, because these would all be celebrities that now have some sort of prior dance experience coming in. Another factor is how many of them would actually remember want was taught to them the first time they were on the show? To me it doesn’t seem to be very many, but I could be dead wrong. One thing’s first certain, the expectations would be higher and the scores would be crazy!

Then there are the celebrities that are participating in the DWTS Live Show at the Tropicana, namely: Carson Kressley, Joey Fatone, Kyle Massey, Sabrina Bryan and Tia Carrere. Would they be counted out since they are already participating in another DWTS related show?

Taking what Tom has already mentioned on the show, he said that the contestants would include:
- Past Mirrorball Winners
- Fan Favorites
- Controversial Characters

Umm… I don’t necessarily mind the “controversial character” because I do see the draw of that to the show, but I have an issue with past Mirrorball winners. I mean, I would much prefer that everyone in the cast not have won before so it would give the celebrities a second chance to win. People don’t necessarily have to agree with me, but dammit I don’t think it would be fair for the celebrities in particular if there were past winners in the All-Star cast. In fact, I would much rather have a separate season (perhaps for Season 20?) where all of the previous Mirrorball winners would compete to see who is the best of the best… but that’s just me.

And then there is the question of: What constitutes a “fan favorite”? Do they have polls, numbers, know who averaged the most number of call ins? And on top of all that: Will they be nice and take one celebrity to represent every season of DWTS thus far, but wouldn’t that give those of Season 14 an unfair advantage? The questions are endless.

Still, this will undoubtedly bring a lot of the fans that have tuned off the show back on if they have the right mix of celebrities. I’ve talked to a number of my friends that were fans of the show but haven’t really had any huge desire to watch the show in recent months, so perhaps bringing in an All-Star season is exactly what is needed to bring a jolt into the series.

Next up… I’ll have posts analyzing the scoring progressions of two of the stars that were rumored to be approached for the All-Star Season: Mel B and Mario Lopez as well as adjustments to the upcoming season.

Court’s DWTS Las Vegas Adventure (Live Show Review & Other Miscellanery)

As many of you know, I was in Las Vegas last weekend and had the pleasure of seeing the DWTS live show at the Tropicana – which, of course, I will review for you guys, since certain other individuals *cough*JOHN*cough* haven’t managed to write the 2nd half of their review of the premiere of said show This post could get a bit wordy, as I took quite a few notes (and just have a really good memory, to boot) and I’ll throw in a few other possibly-unrelated-to-DWTS details for context, as well as some general Vegas info, since some of you have asked about my trip - so if you’re only interested in my review of the show, feel free to skip the next few paragraphs.  And if you hate spoilers (i.e. you want to be COMPLETELY surprised when you see the show), I’d either just skip this post altogether or just read my overall take at the bottom - because I’m not holding back.  You’ve been warned And special thanks go to Heidi, for helpin’ a girl out with some picture merges that were driving me cray-cray

So why was I in Vegas in the first place, you ask? My best friend Kendra is getting married at the end of July, and she wanted a bachelorette party for the ages – so naturally, we HAD to go Vegas There were 12 of us altogether (11 rowdy bachelorettes and 1 gay bachelor, who I must say put us all to shame with how fabulously he was dressed the entire trip ), and the majority of us stayed at the Flamingo, since we were able to get a great rate on standard rooms – with 4 girls to a room, it was only $82 total for each of us for 3 nights, which is pretty awesome for a well-known hotel on the strip that isn’t a total dive.  Overall, I wouldn’t say the Flamingo is a particularly special or ritzy hotel (if that’s what you’re looking for, I’d go with the Bellagio, Palazzo, or Venetian…but be prepared to shell out big $$$), but if you’re on a budget, it’s certainly more than sufficient – the rooms are clean and the decor is kitchy & cute (think 1960′s, Rat Pack, original Ocean’s Eleven – lots of dots, stripes, retro furniture, and of course, pink ).  I’m very into the nostalgia of Vegas, so the Flamingo appealed to me in that it was originally built by infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel, and legend has it that the actual motive behind his murder was to change the management of the Flamingo.  But anyway – if you’re in Vegas, I definitely recommend trying their Paradise Garden Buffet – it’s pretty affordable, as far as buffets in Vegas go, and is quite good…especially the brunch buffet.  Plus the views of their courtyard and flock of live flamingoes are gorgeous Also at the Flamingo? Donny & Marie Osmond’s live show – I didn’t see it (no time, and honestly, not much of a desire), but I did see these in the lobby:

The one on the left is Donny’s costume from his freestyle with Kym in season 9, as well as his MBT (and yes, according to the guest services director that I asked, it is his real MBT – apparently he insisted it be put in the case with his costume); the one on the right is Marie’s dress from her quickstep with Jonathan in season 5 (and one of those freaky dolls she designs – guess they had to put SOMETHING there when they found out that Donny wanted to display his MBT, although I’m not sure why they didn’t display this doll instead).  I found Marie’s costume pretty unremarkable up close – for as fabulous as it looked on the show, upon further scrutiny, it’s really just a tan silk gown with some gems glued on; but Donny’s suit is very well-made and clearly took a lot of work.  Interesting how different the costumes look on tv vs. in person (more on that later). …Read more

DWTS 14, Week 7 – Who’s Got the Edge in the Team Dances?

So we now know for sure what the team dances are (paso doble & tango) and who’s on what team (Katherine, Maria, Jaleel, & Roshon vs. William, Donald, & Melissa).  So who’s gonna win? Let’s see how they stack up.  I looked at several factors that could come into play in helping to determine who has the advantage – experience level of the pros on each team, experience level of the couples on each team, number of couples on each team, what dance each team has, and other miscellaneous factors that may affect the outcome.  So let’s get to it!

Pro Team Dance Experience

Derek: 6 wins (seasons 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13), 0 losses, 0 ties; average team dance score: 27.5
Cheryl: 4 wins (seasons 7, 8, 10, 13), 1 loss (season 11), 0 ties; average team dance score: 26.8
Kym: 2 wins (seasons 7 & 9), 1 loss (season 13), 1 tie (season 12); average team dance score: 25.75*
Maks: 2 wins (seasons 11 & 13), 1 loss (season 10), 1 tie (season 12); average team dance score: 25*
Chelsie: 1 win (season 8), 0 losses, 1 tie (season 12); average team dance score: 25*
Mark: 0 wins, 2 losses (seasons 8 & 11), 1 tie (season 12); average team dance score: 23.67*
Peta: 0 wins, 0 losses, 0 ties (never been in a team dance); average team dance score: 0

*Since there were 4 judges’ scores given for the team dances in season 12, I subtracted Donnie Burns’ score from the two team dances in that season in order to normalize with all of the other seasons, which only had 3 judges’ scores. 

Team Tango: I’d say their biggest advantage is having Derek – the guy’s undefeated, so he’s clearly figured out the formula for what works and what doesn’t work in the team dances.  Say what you will about team dances being a product of all the pros working together (I agree to some extent), but the only common denominator in every single team dance win has been Derek, regardless of what other pros have been on each team with him, what the dance style has been, etc.  Many of the pros have also gone on record as saying that they tend to let Derek take the lead when choreographing the group portions of the team dance, so I’d say he probably has a lot to do with the success of each of the teams he’s on, as the judges do tend to really harp on synchonization, interesting formation patterns, and overall performance quality in the group portion of team dances.  I’d say Kym is an asset as well – she’s been on a team with Derek twice before (one of those times was another team tango), and when she hasn’t been on a team with him, she’s managed to tie once, and the 1 team dance she lost was not really all that bad, IMO.  I don’t really know if Chelsie is battle-tested enough to say whether she’s good in the team dance or not – but I don’t get the impression that she is one to make waves, so she will probably be very cooperative and easy to get along with.  My only concern is Mark – he seemed rather volatile in the team dance rehearsals in season 12, and seems to have a penchant for very flashy, high-energy, in-your-face choreo…which doesn’ t always translate well in the team dances.  I’m hoping that he lets Derek take the lead on the group choreography, and really focuses on giving Katherine some good, solid solo choreography this week.

Team Paso: While I think they don’t have quite the same edge that Team Katherine does, I don’t think they’re super weak, either.  Both Cheryl & Maks have been on teams with Derek before, so they’ve probably at least picked up a few tricks and strategies – I would say Maks is probably the stronger choreographer, judging from what I’ve seen him do in other team dances and pro dances.  The big question mark here is Peta – we just don’t know how she’s going to fare, since this will be her first team dance.  I doubt she’s going to suck at it (I don’t think anyone has really sucked at it – except maybe the unfortunate souls in the team mambo in season 8…), but it may take her a little longer to really get a feel for how the team dances work and what to do for Donald’s solo.  I think she’s probably going to rely on Cheryl & Maks for the group choreo, and isn’t likely to make any sort of big fuss, since she’s the new kid on the block.

Who has the edge in pro experience? I’ve got to give this one to Team Tango - they’ve got the only undefeated pro, and each of the other pros has been in at least 2 team dances. …Read more

DWTS2012 Mark Ballas And Katherine Jenkins Dish On The Dance Duel And Their Upcoming Samba

There is most likely going to be a video interview with these two (like with Maks and Melissa), but, for now, enjoy an article from Access Hollywood on Mark Ballas and Katherine Jenkins. Mark says the “Dance Duel” doesn’t bother him since it might help him and his partners versus previous seasons. Katherine, however, feels the opposite. More below including how they are prepping for their dances coming up….

“It’s horrible,” she said. “You feel like you’re being picked apart.”

She may be a frontrunner, but hitting the ballroom week after week has been a nerve-wracking experience for the classical singer.

“When I’m singing, I’m never nervous… I’d prefer to be in a little bit more control,” she told Access.

“Katherine likes situations she has 100 percent control over, and this show is the complete opposite. She can’t control anything,” Mark laughed.

The duo is rehearsing a samba for their competition dance, a marathon number for the group round, and a jive should they end up in the “dance-off.”

It’s unlikely the pair, who tied for the leaderboard top spot with William Levy and Cheryl Burke last week, will have to take part in the “dance-off.” Instead, viewers are eagerly awaiting Mark and Katherine getting their first perfect score of the season.

Mark, however, said they just want to do a great job.

“We try not to worry too much about the scoreboard,” he said. “As long as we walk off thinking, ‘We couldn’t have done it better,’ then that’s when I’m usually satisfied,” he said. “It would be nice to have three 10s at some point, but getting that 10 out of Len is not an easy task.”

You can read the full story at
Access Hollywood. Below is a picture Mark tackling an image of Len that he posted at his facebook and twitter accounts on Thursday.

Mark Ballas on WhoSay