Jive | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS 14 End-of-Season Award Winners – Which Dance Was the Best?

Lesson Court learned from putting together these awards: perhaps the “other” option should be eliminated, starting with next season’s end-of-season awards I got an insane number of write-in responses for the “best dance” and “celeb you most want to see on the all-star season” categories, and let’s just say it was no easy task weeding through all of the write-ins I also learned that some people are too lazy (or inattentive) to click “read more” and vote in the other categories, and as a result we got almost double the number of votes for the “best dance” category than we did everything else. I love our readers, but sometimes they drive me a little bit bonkers

Other responses:

Donald & Peta’s freestyle – 23
Melissa, Maks, & Val’s samba trio – 10
Katherine & Mark’s Argentine tango – 8
Maria, Derek, & Henry’s samba trio – 4
Katherine & Mark’s jive – 4
Maria & Derek’s rumba – 3
Roshon & Chelsie’s freestyle – 3
Katherine & Mark’s freestyle – 3
Maria & Derek’s Viennese waltz – 3
Katherine, Mark, & Tristan’s cha-cha trio – 3
Sherri & Val’s foxtrot – 2
Team Paso Doble – 2
Maria & Derek’s Argentine tango – 2
Katherine & Mark’s 2nd paso doble – 2
William & Cheryl’s samba – 2
Gladys & Tristan’s cha-cha – 2
Tristan & Karina’s waltz demo – 1
Tristan & Chelsie’s DaD samba – 1
Melissa & Maks’ paso doble – 1
Katherine & Mark’s samba – 1
Roshon, Chelsie, & Sasha’s paso doble trio – 1

Courtney: Can’t say I’m too surprised at the results – the two that I predicted would do well ended up on top, and the rest got a small share of votes, likely from diehard fans of that particular couple. I do think the jive trio was the dance of the season – the fact that they took a dance that was hard to do with only 2 people and managed to create something fun, energetic, and proper with 3 people was beyond impressive to me. And the fact that they DIDN’T get a perfect 30 for it??? APPALLING. I seriously think people don’t realize how HARD it is to lead 2 women – and Donald’s the only one that took on that challenge in his trio dance, and he KILLED IT. I didn’t see Roshon or William trying to lead two ladies. Maria & Derek’s paso was good – for this season. I just can’t seem to get too excited about it, though, because it just wasn’t up-to-snuff with the paso choreography I’m used to seeing from Derek. As for all the other responses – I think they all were those couples’ best dances, but probably not the best dance of the season. Write-ins? It’s the usual smorgesbord of random dances, and I usually find myself shaking my head reading some of them, and saying “Really? You REALLY think that was the best dance?” But alas, different strokes for different folks. The only one I’m gonna comment on is Donald & Peta’s freestyle…and I guess Katherine & Mark’s, too. I always shy away from including those as options in the “best dance of the season” category, because it seems that, unless a couple REALLY picks a dud, it’s a dance that most couples do well with, and the scoring is pretty inflated – it almost seems like too much of a gimme. That said, I did really enjoy Donald’s freestyle – but I didn’t think the level of difficulty was as high as his jive trio was. And I thought Katherine showed better endurance in her jive than in ther freestyle.

Vogue: Court, you took the words out of my head this time. My favorite dance of the season (and the dance I thought was the best) was Donald and Peta’s Jive trio. Donald’s fast leg and footwork amazed me at the time. So much so, I screamed to my husband in the other room to come watch (and we had to replay it after the show several times …which I don’t ever remember doing with him as long as I’ve been watching this show). Our mouths literally dropped to the floor especially when Donald jumped over the top of both girls. A blow away for me as well was their Freestyle. I also loved their Paso Doble and Argentine Tango with the amusement ride twirl. Other stand out dances for me that I thought were the best were Derek and Maria’s Bollywood Trio dance and Paso Doble. Looking back now, I will remember Derek and Maria’s Bollywood Trio dance the most of their dances even though it probably wasn’t her best dance technically, but, it was different, so creative, theatrical, and entertaining. Another dance I have to give props too is also William and Cheryl’s Argentine Tango. I loved all the passion in that dance. William was so into his character and I loved his tails which is when he looked the sexiest in my opinion. Anyway, great poll and results!!

Heidi: Yeah, I agree with the top two – by a MILE. Say what you want about the “talent” this season, but Donald and Maria were the two most memorable. As for Derek’s choreography – I think that Maria was one of his least naturally talented partners EVER (she’s in a club with Joanna and Shannon and wouldn’t have gone as far with ANYONE else), yet his dances with her were just as memorable as anything anyone else did. That’s quite an accomplishment for both of them. He has a way of doing that. He was really challenged with her – she wasn’t naturally talented and she was pretty injured the whole time. Poor Derek though – he’s set his own bar too high. But the Bollywood Samba I also loved, and their rumba just because they were so into it. As for the write ins? Sad to say I don’t actually REMEMBER a lot of those dances. Most of Katherine’s dances have left my brain. Oddly, several of Willy’s I remember out of sheer disgust. Someone wrote in DaD?? All I remember is Chelsie almost getting blown off a table.

*photo courtesy ABC/Adam Taylor

Vote for Your Favorites in the PureDWTS Season 14 End-of-Season Awards!!!

Ok kids, it’s time once again to vote of our biannual “end-of-season” awards…our sort of “wrap up” for season 14, where we see what you guys think were the highs and lows of this season If you want to get a feel for how these awards work, you can check out previous seasons’ award recipients here.

First, the rules: I’ve picked what I deem to be the most likely candidates (with the strongest chance of winning) for each category – of course, some of you are going to disagree, and that’s fine. If you don’t see your pick listed as an option, you can write-in your own nomination in the “other” box. But here’s my biannual disclaimer about the dreaded “other” box: if I can’t read what you wrote because it’s badly misspelled/grammatically nonsensical/generally incoherent, YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT. If your response to the question does not make sense (i.e. you simply vote “Donald” for best dance), YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT. If you simply repeat one of the already listed responses because you can’t be bothered to actually pay attention, YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT. If you’re just generally being a nudnik and giving harassing responses, YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT. *shakes head* I still can’t believe that I have to give this spiel twice a year…

…anywho, we’ll give you guys a week to get your votes in, and then we’ll reveal the results in a series of posts starting next week. Now ready…set…VOTE!!!

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 9 Power Rankings

Well kids, I’m back after a few days in Vegas, with a few fun stories to tell (be on the lookout for my review of the DWTS Live in Las Vegas show later this week!), but first, let me get back into the swing of things with this week’s power rankings – I’m gonna try and keep tonight’s kinda short, as I still seem to be suffering the effects of the time difference…or just burnout. Vegas is tiring!

Overall, feeling a bit ho-hum about tonight – no truly stand-out performances; some overscoring going on across the board, likely to keep the margins close; and an overall lack of content in the bulk of the Latin dances (with the exception of Donald). Not exactly the nail-biting semifinal I was hoping for, but thankfully, it was only 90 minutes, which may actually give me a chance to catch part of the Hawaii 5-0 finale or America’s Got Talent premiere before dozing off

1.) Donald & Peta – After tonight, the only thing I feel fairly confident in saying is that Donald is a shoo-in for the finale, based on fanbase alone - and that’s even with the 2nd lowest score of the night. I don’t think there has ever been a more LIKEABLE contestant to do the show – seriously, I grow to love Donald more and more every week. And doggonit, some of the Pack FINALLY came out to support him tonight! Loved seeing Aaron Rodgers in the audience, cheering for “Quickie” I liked his waltz, but didn’t love it – the music was throwing me a bit, as it actually seemed to make him look kind of off-time, even though he wasn’t. His posture does seem to be improving, though, and he seemed to really connect to the emotion of the dance. His samba was actually my favorite dance of the night – I think it was the only Latin dance tonight that truly had a lot of real content, and I loved that they opted to go a different route than the standard “shake your ass as much as you can, and we’ll just call it samba” route. It had a storyline, it was different, and it was cute. My only complaint? Donald seems to stutter a bit when getting back into hold from being out of hold – he seemed to miss a few hand leads with Peta, and she ended up finishing them herself. Overall, I think they had a pretty damn good night, and I (knock on wood) don’t foresee any big problems with them making the finale.

2.) Maria & Derek – I’m surprised about these two for 2 reasons: despite some pretty bad injuries, they managed to crank out 2 dances that didn’t completely suck, and the judges didn’t lowball them. If anything, I think they actually overscored them a bit – I don’t think their Argentine tango was even close to being as good as their paso doble, although the choreography was great and Maria didn’t mess any of it up; she just seemed to dance it very cautiously, though, and her legs looked pretty soft – kinda expected for a dance done on such broken feet, but I can’t really overlook it. I did love the beginning of it, though, with just their feet visibile under the curtain…kind of a nice twist. I wasn’t too keen on their jive, for the simple reason that there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of jive actually in it – again, likely an attempt to baby Maria’s injuries, but I can’t really give it a free pass. Maria seemed extra cautious in this dance, as the actual jive steps she did didn’t really have much bounce to them. Plus I’m just getting kinda sick and tired of that damn “Tightrope” song – they use it in the DWTS Vegas show, too, and I don’t really like it there, either. Not really a fan of their jive, but I can’t say it was terrible, either – it was adequate. Overall, I think the judges were awfully kind to them tonight – I like them as a couple, but tonight wasn’t their A-game. However, I think their high score (though still decently close to pretty much everyone else) will likely usher them into the finale, since going into this week I really saw Maria & Katherine duking it out for the 3rd spot in the finale (along with Donald & William) in terms of votes…and although I’m not so sure now that William has the finale all tied up, I do think Maria has done enough to make her untouchable to at least Katherine, which basically ensures she’s in the finale. I think we’re in for another Hough freestyle – here’s hoping that Derek finds a way to work around their collective injuries and redeem himself a bit from his so-so freestyle with Ricki last season!

3.) William & Cheryl – William seems to have worked on his posture in ballroom, but now I see his footwork suffering. That tango looked more like a paso at times – a little too stompy or marchy, and once again, Cheryl seemed to be doing all of the work. There was a lot of William standing in place and moving Cheryl from side-to-side…and the big drawback to that is that Cheryl tends to backlead, so she looks like she’s moving too dramatically for the amount of force William is leading her with. If the guy looks like he’s not leading hard and the woman’s moving hard, it basically screams “she’s doing all the work”. Not good. Overall, it wasn’t a bad tango – he didn’t mess up and the character was there – but it wasn’t really great, either. As for their samba – *sigh*. Content, people – CONTENT!!! I’m honestly shocked that Len didn’t call them out for a lot of “messing about” and “excessive gyration” in this dance – I thought Donald’s had far more content and far better bounce. This seemed to be more about ass-shaking and walking from place to place than actual samba steps…yet it got a 30. *shrug* I gave up last week, so I’m not going to even try this week…guess they need William around for the finale in order to really drive this ABC merger home. Due to scoring, I think William going home is probably not a HUGE possibility, but I also have to wonder if he’s a whole lot better off in the votes than Katherine - in terms of combined score, I think William might be the only one Katherine might have a chance of catching up to. Will be intersting to see if she actually does it…

4.) Katherine & Mark – Oy…just not a whole lot to say about these two tonight that I haven’t already said in previous weeks. I found their quickstep to be rather bland – not just in terms of entertainment, but for once I actually saw Katherine get a bit tentative & hesitant in her choreography. Some of the bouncing around seemed awfully timid - like Maria’s jive. There was nothing glaringly WRONG with their quickstep, but it just didn’t seem to make a ton of impact…it was ok, but not great or terribly memorable. Sorry, but I thought their salsa was bizarre mess – another dance suffering from a noticeable lack of content, and Katherine seemed to be struggling to keep up – and whatever happened at the end that made her freak out just made me cringe, as it seemed like the final nail in the coffin for Katherine on an off-night. She’s at the bottom of the leaderboard now, and I while the spread seems pretty close, I don’t think she has a prayer of beating Donald (the next person up) in votes, or Maria in combined score – the only person I could see her POSSIBLY catching up to in order to earn herself a spot in the finale is William, and I think ultimately his fans will come through and keep him in for the finale – which may leave Katherine out in the cold…which sucks because I do think she’s the strongest dancer left technically, but she also seems to lack connection to the dance and the audience. Kinda stinks that she’d be eliminated this close to the finale, but hey – it happens every season, and the show still goes on.

So who you guys actually see moving onto the finale vs. who do you hope is moving onto the finale?

DWTS 14 Week 8 Power Rankings

A few things became abundantly clear to me in the midst of tonight’s show: the judges’ heads have been up William & Cheryl’s asses so long that their oxygen supply has been cut off (and brain damage has occured), Carrie Ann switches motives faster than most people blink, Maria & Derek should probably just knock boots and get it over with, Roshon is this season’s forgotten man, and Katherine’s dancing is about as exciting as eating dry white toast. Let’s just get straight into it…

1.) William & Cheryl – The pimping of these two has just gotten so out of control that I don’t even know what to say anymore – it’s inane, ridiculous, and it’s putting me off this show entirely. You guys wonder why I’m so far behind on the cheese? Because this season has left such a bad taste in my mouth, and 70% of it is because of these two and the lavish, undeserved praise they get. But since me complaining about that does little to deter them, I guess I’ll focus on the dancing, which overall was not as stellar as the judges would have you believe. That foxtrot? Ok, it wasn’t bad, but I’m still not seeing a whole lot of showmanship from William – the man looks like he’s constipated out there. And Cheryl’s still doing a whole lot of dancing around him, rubbing herself on him, and generally doing some attention-whoring of Ballasesque proportions. Go ahead and whine about how I “shouldn’t judge the celeb based on the choreo”, but when all he’s doing is standing there and occasionally gesturing, what the hell am I supposed to think? Am I supposed to just ASSUME he’s a great dancer, even though I don’t get to see it underneath all of his partner’s showboating? The dancing isn’t about William at all – it’s about Cheryl dancing around him. And that was the story of their paso doble trio as well – it was the Cheryl Burke show, with special guest appearances by Tony Dovolani & William Levy. There was a lot of walking from place to place, and William noticeably got off-time…although it was only mentioned in passing by one of the judges, while they absolutely HOSED Roshon for the same thing. I give up. There’s clearly an agenda in place that necessitates William sticking around as long as possible, and I don’t like it. With any luck, this whole mess will completely blow up in the faces of TPTB…but my luck hasn’t been so great lately, so I’m not holding my breath. These two will be safe tomorrow night…

2.) Donald & Peta – Thank GAWD for Donald! The man is the personification of what I want in a celeb on this show: he’s having fun, he’s working hard, and he’s giving us some legitimately GREAT performances. Aside from Roshon’s foxtrot, this tango was the closest thing to perfection for me in the ballroom round tonight – Donald had the attack, and the way he was snapping his head and his feet was divine! I will say that he still seems to get a bit off-balance here and there, and it seems to happen when he gets a little too excited – hopefully he’ll gain a bit more control over some of his more dynamic movements. I also have to tip my tiny top hat (which I’m still wearing from the team dances last week ) to Peta, for coming up with some choreo that both pleases Len and is also pleasing to the eye – not an easy balance! And that trio dance? Wooooooooooooowwwww. Just….WOW. I think the trio idea overall kinda failed, but this was the one gem of the evening – I don’t think I could have asked for a better group than Donald, Peta, and Karina. Both ladies rock at jive, and Donald impressed the hell out of me with the way he partnered TWO ladies. You guys notice that neither of the other guys did that in their trio, right? Probably because it’s f*cking hard – something that doesn’t come naturally to a novice male ballroom dancer. So he gets a ton of respect from me for handling two very vivacious ladies, and also for just delivering a totally FUN performance…props to all three of them for that. I can only hope that Donald is growing on other people like he’s grown on me, because at this point, he’s the only one I see as a lock for the finale… Read more..

DWTS 14 – What’s Left to Dance?

Well, we’ve reached the halfway point (sort of…) of the competition. Only 7 of the 12 couples we started with remain, and each couple has 6 dances down and 6 more regular ones to go (not counting team dances, freestyles, etc.) in the 4 weeks left in the competition. Now we get down to the nitty gritty and see what everyone is really made of…because starting next week, they all have to do 2 full-length dances per week. So let’s take a look at what each of the couples has to contend with in the coming weeks, shall we?

First impressions: anyone who still has samba left to do is likely at a bit of a disadvantage, as that’s the dance that really seems to trip a lot of people up. Those who are still waiting to do Argentine tango could have a slight edge, as it seems to be a dance that can really redeem a couple when done later in the competition. I think Donald & William are likely going to struggle a bit with their remaining ballroom dances; Jaleel, Maria, and Katherine are probably going to be a bit challenged by their remaining Latin dances; and Melissa & Roshon are probably going to struggle with just about everything, since they don’t seem to be in the judges’ favor.

Jaleel & Kym – remaining dances: paso doble, waltz, quickstep, Viennese waltz, salsa, Argentine tango

I’d say Jaleel actually has one of the better sets of remaining dances left to do – it’s a good mix of Latin & ballroom, and he still has both of his “extra” dances to burn through. He seems stronger in the ballroom dances than in the Latin, so I don’t see waltz, quickstep, or Viennese waltz being a big problem; and I could see him really doing well in the paso doble, since he seems to have some anger issues he needs to work out . He seems to have to intensity necessary for Argentine tango, but I have to say, I’m skeptical about how proficient he’s going to be at the salsa – he’s got the personality, but I’ve noticed that his footwork tends to suffer at the expense of his showmanship…especially on more energetic dances like jive & samba.

Donald & Peta – remaining dances: samba, jive, waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, salsa

I seriously love Donald, but I think he’s got his work cut out for him the next few weeks – he’s still got two of the more difficult Latin dances left to deal with, and since he still seems to be struggling a bit with ballroom posture & frame, I think the waltz, tango, and Viennese waltz are going to be a challenge. I think he’ll have a blast with the salsa, though – I can just see the big ol’ grin on our “hunkey dunkey” football player now I’m just a bit concerned with the judges – I think they’re warming to Donald, but I don’t think they’re as willing to overlook slight errors with him as they are with Katherine, William, or even Maria. He’s gonna have to be on-point every week if he wants that “10 from Len”.

Maria & Derek – remaining dances: samba, paso doble, jive, waltz, Viennese waltz, Argentine tango

I really wish they had already gotten samba & jive out of the way earlier this season Those are two dances I just don’t see Maria having an easy time with – no one really and truly nails the samba (and along with cha-cha, it’s Derek’s LEAST favorite dance to choreograph), and with the exception of Nicole, it seems like really willowy ladies seem to have trouble with the jive, as it takes more time & effort to get those long legs kicking & flicking properly. She might struggle a bit with paso, but Derek is generally pretty good at choreographing paso doble to his partner’s strengths, so I don’t think it will be too problematic; waltz and Viennese waltz shouldn’t be a problem; and the Argentine tango could be their secret weapon – if there’s one dance that might win them the pimp spot, it’s this one, as Derek has choreographed some of the most dramatic Argentine tangos over the years.

Roshon & Chelsie – remaining dances: paso doble, jive, waltz, tango, foxtrot, Argentine tango

First things first: while I still think Roshon is technically the best dancer still left in the competition, the judges (Carrie Ann in particular) have made it pretty clear that they’re VERY eager to point out any mistakes he makes – so he’s going to have to be damn near perfect in every single one of these dances, if he wants to stick around. He’s done pretty well with the ballroom dances he’s had so far, so I think waltz & foxtrot shouldn’t be a problem; he also has a bit of an edge in that he’s already done the jive in the dance duel (and gotten some critiques from the judges on it), so he knows what he needs to work on. The potential problems I see? Paso doble, tango, and Argentine tango – all require a certain degree of maturity and masculinity to really pull of well, and as we saw with the rumba this week…Roshon seems to struggle a bit with being a manly-man.

Katherine & Mark – remaining dances: cha-cha, rumba, tango, quickstep, Viennese waltz, salsa

Well, when you’re a pretty good dancer and the judges seem to fawn over your every move, it doesn’t seem like you’d really struggle with any remaining dances – and to some degree, I get the feeling Katherine’s gonna have it made from here on out. However, I see cha-cha, rumba, and salsa sticking out as potentially weaker dances for her – all require a certain degree of sexiness to pull off successfully, and I still don’t think Katherine is really comfortable with being sexy & sassy. Her samba was ok, but I never got the feeling that she was 100% committed (or comfortable) with it; and while I thought her Argentine tango was great in terms of technique, she seemed to have emotional commitment problems there as well. Can she pull off the sexiness? We’ll see. Given her really good track record with the ballroom dances, I think tango, quickstep, and Viennese waltz should be a cinch – provided that Mark can continue to be “good Mark” and avoid any gimmicks. Read more..

SPOILERS!!! DWTS 14, Week 6 – Who Got the Boot???

Court here, subbing in for Heidi, who is boozin’ it up in the mountains or something. I wonder if drinking at a higher altitude gives you more of a buzz…

…well, now that I’ve wasted enough space so as not to catch the ire of some of the Twitter folks who haven’t watched the show yet, I can say that it ended up being Gladys & Roshon in the dance duel, with Roshon being saved by the judges and Gladys sent home. And despite the fishiness of having 4 couples in jeopardy, there was no double elimination, as was previously rumored.

So how did our predictions stack up?

Heidi: Assumed there would be a single elimination, with Maria & Roshon in the bottom 2 and Roshon getting saved after the duel. Also thought there might be a chance that it would be Melissa & Roshon in the bottom 2, with Roshon still getting saved.

Courtney: Assumed there would be a double elimination, and predicted Gladys to go home outright, with Roshon & Maria duking it out in the jive duel with Maria ultimately getting saved. Thought there was a minute chance of Melissa landing in the duel with Roshon, in which case Roshon would be saved.

I’ve gotta say – even though I think Gladys was probably the weakest dancer still left in the competition and it was her time to go, I feel so bad that they made her do the damn jive duel…that was just cruel. But she impressed the hell out of me with the effort she gave – it was a much closer duel than I expected. But overall, I’m glad Roshon is safe for another week – even though it scares the crap outta me that he still landed in the bottom 2, with all of the outrage I saw here at Pure and on Twitter over how truly SCREWED he got by the judges this week.

So we didn’t get a double elim after all. Part of me is relieved, as it probably saved us from losing Roshon and possibly Maria or Melissa; but part of me is also a bit worried for next week, as it’s the team dances, and one team is going to end up with 4 couples while the other ends up with 3. The last time that happened was season 9, and the team with more couples came into the team dance at a big disadvantage and basically got trounced by the team that only had 3 couples. More couples = more need for synchronization = less room for error = more egos. And yet another tricky little way for TPTB to give the edge to some while shafting others. Heidi, where are you? Bring us booze.

DWTS 14 Week 6 – Motown Week Song Predictions!

So next week is Motown week, and I could not be more pumped! Seriously guys…I love me some Motown, so this was a fun list to compile

Here’s the deal: so far, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, and The Temptations have all been confirmed as acts that are going to be singing live as the couples perform on Monday night. I’m not sure if they’re going to be singing for every couple or not, and I’m not sure if the songs the couples are dancing to are going to only be songs by those particular acts – the deets are a bit murky as of right now. We also don’t know for sure what dance Gladys has yet – our reader Magnolia (@TristanDWTSFans on Twitter…follow her, she’s cool ) has promised to let us know as soon as she finds out. There’s been speculation that it’s jive, so I went ahead and compiled a list of Motown jive songs just for the hell of it Since TPTB have also expressed an affinity for recycling songs in the past few seasons in particular, I’ve pored through music from previous seasons and pulled out previously used Motown songs that we might see again. I’ve bolded the songs that are my “best guesses” for what we might see on Monday night, based on all the info above. If we get confirmation on any more songs, we will reveal it in Heidi’s “Who’s Dancing What?” post on Sunday, and I may update this post with other pertinent info as it comes out.

But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the cool sounds of Motown - DWTS style!

ETA: According to Donald’s Twitter, there’s supposedly a “Motown Marathon” dance to be done on Tuesday…take it with a grain of salt as we wait on the press release for next week to confirm. As for a possible song? Not sure what dance this Motown Marathon is going to be, but I imagine that the music will have to be something that can be looped continuously until the marathon ends, and it probably will be instrumental only. So in other words – I have no idea In the meantime, send me your soul food recipes at courtney@puredwts.com!

Foxtrot (Donald & Peta and Maria & Derek):

“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” – Marvin Gaye (Laila & Maks’ foxtrot in season 4)
“Baby Love” – The Supremes (Monique & Louis’ foxtrot in season 3)
“My Guy” – Mary Wells (Joey & Kym’s foxtrot in season 4)
“Jimmy Mack” – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (Mel & Maks’ foxtrot in season 5)
“Pride & Joy” – Marvin Gaye (Jason & Edyta’s foxtrot in season 6)
“I Hear a Symphony” - The Supremes (Marie & Jonathan’s foxtrot in season 5)
“I Just Wanna Make Love to You” – Etta James (Vivica & Nick’s foxtrot in season 3)
“My Girl” – The Temptations (could also be a rumba, if slowed down)
Read more..

DWTS 14 Week 3 Power Rankings

Well thanks to the majority of tonight’s performances, I now have red, puffy eyes and a runny nose – and no, the show did not give me a rhinovirus Even though I tell myself I’m not going to, I still get verklempt each season when personal story week rolls around, and end up a big, blubbering blob of hormones that is willing to overlook some pretty glaring technique errors and overall mediocrity & lack of content :-P

Tonight, however, I refuse to overlook to continual over/underscoring and favoritism by the judges, and what I felt to be a rather contrived display of emotion on one individual’s part. Shall we get to it?

1.) Katherine & Mark – I always find myself without a whole lot of notes on these two. What more can I say, other than that she’s beautiful, a great dancer, and an overall likeable person? Thought Katherine danced a lovely waltz, and it’s becoming clear to me that the ballroom dances are really going to be her forte, and perhaps the rumba as well – any dance where she can really show off that posture and those gorgeous arms. Was there a lot of actual waltz steps in this one? Well, no, but on the whole, I don’t think anyone had a TON of real content and syllabus steps in their routines tonight…so I guess I really can’t fault anyone too much for that. With the points spread being relatively close tonight, I can’t say for sure that ANYONE is truly safe…but I think Katherine is probably safe this week. I think she is growing her fanbase, and seems to have kept Mark relatively calm this season. I enjoy watching these two dance

2.) Donald & Peta – I don’t think they had the best routine of the night (or even the best rumba), but man – Donald is endearing himself to pretty much EVERYONE, myself included I don’t think I’ve heard a single unkind word about the guy from any of the regulars here, and the fact that he has managed to go from dancing 3rd, to dancing 10th, to getting the pimp spot in 3 weeks tells me that he is proving to be a force to be reckoned with - he’s probably pulling in quite a few votes. And I do see him improving each week – I love that he devotes himself 100% to his performance each week, and is a joy to watch, but the guy is legitimately improving as well…his arms, legs, hips, and posture have all gotten noticeably better with each week. And I think if last season was any indicator, we shouldn’t underestimate the ones that slowly & steadily improve each week, as they’re the ones that could sneak into the finale out of nowhere…I think I’ve finally decided that he is indeed our dark horse this season Watch out, Katherine, William, Jaleel, & Maria!

3.) William & Cheryl – Grrrr….I can’t believe we’re in week 3 and the over-the-top tongue bathing is still going! This was an ok-to-moderate salsa – I wouldn’t say it was stellar and I wouldn’t say it was bad, either. But a 28??? C’mon, one point less than the top scorer, who did one of the best waltzes I’ve seen on the show to date???! I don’t get it…I just don’t get it. William doesn’t miss steps, and he stays on time; but I also feel like he never truly gets into the dance, and always dances so apprehensively, like he’s afraid he might hurt himself. Cheryl needs to take time out from her busy schedule of designing atrocious costumes from herself and actually bring him out of his shell a bit more, and work on his range of motion. Luckily for them (and not so luckily for us), I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon, with all the judges blindly worshipping his every step. Ai ai ai. Read more..

DWTS 14 Week 2 Power Rankings

First, a warning: I kinda phoned it in on these rankings. For those of you not watching the drama of “U-Versegate” unfold on my Twitter, my tv & internet inexplicably crapped out right after Melissa & Maks danced – completely missed Jack & Gladys, & only saw part of Katherine before reader Nathan graciously sent me a link to an internet feed, which I could access at that point because my internet was back up. Long story short – I read the U-Verse customer service rep the riot act, and I have a tech coming out tomorrow morning to figure out the problem, but at this point I’m just kinda ready to be done with tonight. But a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone (jimmbboe, Will, Maria, @Team_MGMC, and of course Heidi!) who tracked down videos of the performances I missed – I don’t know what I would have done without you

Well, overall, tonight kinda sucked ass Wish I had a better way to put it, but there were very few moments that delighted me, and many that made me wish my internet had stayed disconnected. Both ridiculous over & underscoring going on, and some blatant pimping & shady business going on involving a certain couple…oh, and by the way, if you’re a William & Cheryl fan that isn’t mature enough to handle differing opinions, do us both a favor and skip this post. The “hold for moderation” list here at Pure is becoming more competitive than the VIP roster at Tao in Vegas – seems like some folks are just DYING to get on it

1/2.) TIE: Katherine & Mark and William & Cheryl – I think one of these couples deserves to be in the top spot; the other does not. I shouldn’t have to tell you which is which I do think Katherine has been the most consistent of the past two weeks, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well she’s done – I was definitely worried about tonight, thinking that she would be stuck being the reserved English rose that couldn’t let loose in the jive. But she brought her A-game – and she not only looked like she was having fun, but she had the best jive technique of the night. Very energetic, sharp, & clean. And she actually did jive choreo, which is more than I can say for some of the couples doing jive tonight…ahem. I thought she looked gorgeous, too – like a young Twiggy As for the other couple that I have in the lead – the only reason I have them here is because TPTB and the judges seem bound & determined to jam him down our throats as the hottest dancer this season at every turn, and some folks seem to be buying into the hype. I am not one of them – I thought his posture in his quickstep was atrocious (he was hunched over for most of it!), and he did loose his timing & footwork a few times…yet miraculously, no one seemed to point it out. Hmmm. And the guy still looks terrified to me when he’s dancing – like he’s afraid he might poop his pants. Once again, I reiterate – I’m sure William is a really nice guy. But all of this shameless promotion of him I’m seeing from TPTB, the judges, and even his partner (who I’ve lost some respect for) just turns me off completely. After the 3-ring publicity circus of the past 2 weeks, I would not even consider tossing a single vote in their direction this season. But hey, that’s ok, since they seem to be bogarting Maria & Derek’s votes now…and yes, I’m totally calling shenanigans on that one. Anywho…based on scores (and some creative promotion), I think these two ought to be safe from tomorrow’s elimination.

3/4.) TIE: Maria & Derek and Jaleel & Kym – I’m gonna apologize in advance for multiple ties – but the scoring of these past 2 weeks just has me all discombulated and unsure of what to think I’m still in disbelief that the judges honestly thought William & Cheryl’s quickstep was as good as Maria & Derek’s, which I found to be a bright spot in a dismal evening of routines. It was fun, it was clean, and Maria is starting to relax – and when you take into account that Maria actually hurt herself pretty bad, I think it’s even more impressive that she was able to pull off such an entertaining routine. I found her technique to be at least a point or 2 better than slouchy William. As for Jaleel – I feel bad for the guy, because I feel like they got shafted worst of all by their song tonight. That was one sh*tty jive song – can you blame them for looking a bit lackluster and low-energy when they have to dance a silly dance to a song that’s probably better suited to a rumba or waltz? I honestly wouldn’t have known what to do if tasked with doing jive to a song like that. So while I think it wasn’t as impressive as his foxtrot last week, I honestly can’t fault him (or Kym, for that matter) for doing a bit of a lackluster routine. Scoring-wise, I think they *should* be ok – but the spread is really funky this week. I suggest everyone keep their eyes peeled for Heidi’s numbers post tomorrow…it should be…interesting. Read more..

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DWTS 14 Week 8 Power Rankings

DWTS 14 – What’s Left to Dance?

SPOILERS!!! DWTS 14, Week 6 – Who Got the Boot???

DWTS 14 Week 6 – Motown Week Song Predictions!

DWTS 14 Week 3 Power Rankings

DWTS 14 Week 2 Power Rankings

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