Trio Dance | Pure Dancing with the Stars

DWTS 16, Week 8 – Power Rankings

Well, this is probably going to be a pretty short ranking, because besides nursing a killer migraine…tonight just kind of sucked.

Ballroom round? Too short, and pretty ho-hum. Trio round? Only one real standout, a couple that were so-so, and the rest were fails. And of course, Len continues to be a horrible human being. I miss Andy more than I thought Let’s get this over with…

1.) Zendaya & Val – First off, I probably would have picked a different song for their foxtrot – the fact that it’s a capella made it feel a bit thin & boring. On top of that, it seemed like it took a little too long to get into the dance, and what I saw, while pleasant to watch, didn’t really excite me. As for their salsa trio – where was the salsa? I saw a lot of vaguely hip-hoppy stuff and a lot of side-by-side actions, but very little interaction between Zendaya herself and the two guys she was supposed to be dancing with. And I generally just found some of the choreography to be a bit odd – once again, rather stop-and-go. It wasn’t a bad dance, per se, but I would dispute the fact that it was a salsa and call attention to the fact that the bulk of it was done individually, as opposed to in couples. Hell, salsa’s even one of the easier dances to do with 3 people…would it really have been that hard to do a bit more work in-hold? Oh well…they’ve got a 58, so they don’t even have to worry about it…

2.) Kellie & Derek – I feel like they were the only couple tonight that really put a ton of thought into both of their performances, and even figured out a clever way to link the two together. The Viennese waltz was very pretty, though I would have liked a little bit more of it to be in-hold, because Kellie can handle it; the paso trio was the only dance that really stuck out in my mind tonight, because it was so exciting to watch and it was the only one that actually seemed to work WITH the props they chose, as opposed to just having them there (like several other couples). Len’s score AND his comment to Bruno about having “something up his ass”? Uncalled for, inappropriate, and I’m just done with that SOB. If Fox can issue an apology for Steve Tyler’s behavior on Idol, then they can certainly issue one for Len’s behavior on DWTS. Dude is seriously crossing the line.

3.) Aly & Mark – Man, they’re REALLY trying to make Aly “happen”, aren’t they? Yes, she has grown – somewhat – in her time on DWTS, but I still find her a bit underwhelming to watch. I actually agreed with (ack) Carrie Ann about her Argentine tango – for as acrobatic & flexible as Aly is, her leg lines seemed a little…weak. I don’t think it was 29-worthy – maybe 27-worthy. As for the jive trio – it wasn’t bad, but it was just so BLAND. Part of it was Aly, but I really just found the choreography to be a bit blah as well – Mark seemed to be erring on the side of safe again. I have to wonder if she’s not getting the votes – because they seem to be scoring her awfully kindly these days.

4.) Jacoby & Karina – The Viennese waltz was better than I expected, though not his best dance. Liked the drama of it, but I thought it could be a bit neater. Actually enjoyed their paso trio with Cheryl, but I feel like the only real problem seemed to be that there was just so much choreography jam-packed into that routine that Jacoby got a little distracted…which could explain why he just kind of flung Cheryl off to the side. I think they just got so caught up trying to show everything that Jacoby was capable of doing that they may have overwhelmed him. But overall, I thought he did pretty well with both of his dances tonight…let’s hope that translates into safety. Not sure what to think after he ended up in jeopardy last week…

5.) Ingo & Kym – Eee gad…this partnership really kind of imploded this week, didn’t it? Kym seems like she’s at her wits end, and Ingo got really, really whiny this time around – that package did not do them any favors. For all the fussing that they were doing, I think their foxtrot turned out halfway-ok…it was definitely better than Sean’s tango, despite a few little stutters. The jive trio was basically a dud – you could tell the ladies did everything they could to ensure that Ingo was moving as minimally as possible during that dance, as they did most of the heavy-duty dancing; there was also a rather prolonged entry & exit, perhaps to cut back on the time that Ingo was actually dancing. I think they’re definitely bottom 2 fodder tomorrow night, and might even end up going home. They’re just getting hard to watch…

6.) Sean & Peta – Well, I think Sean is probably the weakest dancer left, and I think the judges made clear that it’s Sean they want gone tomorrow night. The tango felt stompy & awkward, and I could tell that Peta was doing a good deal of backleading in that one. Jazz trio? Despite having Sharna there to at least offer up some good advice, I think Sean’s trio was probably the biggest fail of the evening. Like Ingo’s trio, it seemed like they tried to put the ladies front & center whenever they could, and had them doing most of the real moving…although I feel like there was even less actual dancing in this dance than Ingo’s, and Sean was even more awkward attempting some of the jazz steps than Ingo was with the jive steps. I was pretty much done with Shawn a few weeks ago, and I’m definitely ready to see him go now…the question is: will it be him, or Ingo?

So was anyone else let down by this week’s dances? Go ahead and sound off, I need to lie down…

DWTS 15 End-of-Season Awards: Which Dance Was the Worst?

And the fun continues…

Write-ins:

Gilles & Peta’s Bollywood – 3

Bristol & Mark’s cha-cha – 2

Shawn & Derek’s non-samba samba – 2

Kirstie & Maks’ paso doble trio – 1

Shawn & Derek’s bhangra – 1

Gilles & Peta’s cha-cha – 1

Melissa & Tony’s freestyle – 1

Sabrina & Louis’ paso doble – 1

Shawn & Derek’s rumba – 1

Kelly & Val’s contemporary – 1

Courtney: This is all I’ll say about the write-ins: it’s obvious when someone is writing in a certain dance simply out of spite, or just to try to get a reaction out of people. How very puerile of them Was Pam & Tristan’s cha-cha a bizarre, fumbly train wreck? Yeah, but I almost think it’s unfair to even count first week dances…because they’re the ones with the highest potential to look like crap. I usually find myself more turned off by bad dances that occur later on in the season – because by that point, you can’t cite “first week jitters” as a reason to f*ck up. For that reason, I actually think I chose Gangnam Style – I hated that dance because it was a cop-out. They basically got a free pass to do ANYTHING they wanted – they could have put a completely unique spin on it, thrown in some cool tricks & lifts, and incorporated some ballroom steps to please Len. Instead, it was as if they said “Y’know what? Let’s just copy the video, add some additional raunch, and call it a day.” Was it fun? Sure. But I can think a dance is fun and also think it’s terrible. Case in point? Carson & Anna’s pirate Viennese waltz in season 13. Amusing in a trainwreck fashion, but I definitely wouldn’t say it was my favorite of that season…or even that week, and it was still a complete mess. I think my second choice was Bristol & Mark’s quickstep, because it just ended up being a complete mess, both in terms of choreography & execution. Not sure what to make of the surfer flamenco – I guess I would categorize that one as a “cop-out” as well, since it seemed like they said “Welp, we don’t know any flamenco, so let’s do paso in skimpy swimsuits and hope nobody notices!”

Heidi: Courtney!! How dare you say that people write in comments just out of spite!! That NEVER happens here!! Well, okay, only every other day. Totally agree with you that I wouldn’t look at first week dances and cry out “worst dance ever!!” So many of them DO look like crap in the first week. Anyway, when I looked at this category two dances immediately came to mind – Team Gangnam Style and Gilles’ Bollywood nightmare. Team Gangnam style just disgusted me because they didn’t even TRY. Any actual dancing that was included was sloppy and disjointed – I seem to recall thinking that Emmett was the only standout from that mess. Pretty sure that’s the one I voted for…although I could have written in Gilles.

Vogue: When I saw this poll, I almost voted for the Team Gangnam dance as the Worst dance. I remember thinking it was just awful comparted to Team Call Me Maybe’s dance which was so well executed, choreographed and full of creative content. In the end though, I voted for Val and Kelly’s Surfer Flamenco (what an awful combination) as that dance beat them all as worst dance ever in all of the seasons of Dancing With The Stars PUT TOGETHER!

DWTS 15, Week 8 – Power Rankings

Not a whole lot to say about tonight, other than that everything felt incredibly frantic as they rush, rush, rushed to fit 14 routines into 2 hours (which was no bueno, considering the ballroom round was drastically cut short and the danced seemed to be over before they even started), and that the judges did their usual wacky scoring (which really means nothing, considering how close the margins are). Literally, guys, this is an even bigger battle of the fanbases this time, as there are even MORE points and even SMALLER margins than the week Sabrina got sent packing. So if somebody’s not getting the votes – methinks they’re pretty much doomed.

1.) Shawn & Derek – They’ve got the 2nd highest point total from the past two weeks, and in perhaps an even bigger advantage – a bunch of pissed off fans. Ok, so maybe there wasn’t a ton of samba in their trio – I still think there was enough there to warrant at least an 8, and it was still a wildly entertaining routine that actually evoked more of the excitment of a pro dance to me than just a regular dance with a celeb. The way Len was acting, it was as if Derek & Mark had walked center stage and defecated or something…while Shawn watched. And the whole “If you go home tomorrow night, don’t blame me, blame them!” comment? Was that REALLY necessary? Just felt like a low blow and not any sort of constructive criticism. I really think Derek probably knew they were taking a risk and choreographed more of a crowd/audience-pleasing routine than a judge-pleasing routine, intentionally – it was a calculated risk, maybe to jump-start the fans into voting. But I don’t think he was expecting Len to take it so personally. As for their Viennese waltz – despite it being awfully short, I thought it was quite pretty and very fluid, and Shawn had some butter-smooth turns and showed a lot of emotion. I think they’re probably the safest from the double elim tomorrow…seems like they’re getting a lot of votes and still pretty decent scores, in the great scheme of things.

2.) Emmitt & Cheryl – I find myself drawing a bit of a blank on his Viennese waltz, despite the fact that I have several notes written about it – “smooth & fluid, didn’t see the alleged mistake, not very high level of difficulty”. I daresay that it probably left me lukewarm: no big problems, and pleasant to watch, but nothing particularly impactful or impressive. Just as I said last week, I think the biggest problem I have with Emmitt at this point is just that he seems to have plateaued in terms of difficulty, and Cheryl really isn’t pushing him as hard as she should choreographically at this phase of the competition. Most of the other couples are pulling out all the stops – but Emmitt & Cheryl seem to be sticking primarily to the “Do easy choreo and just charm everyone’s pants off!” method. Their trio – ok, very cute, and I definitely enjoyed it more than I did Gilles’ trio….but 30? Really? I saw an awful lot of backleading & stationary ass-shaking going on…I think many other couples had much more difficult steps in their dances, and they did them with much more impressive execution. I guess the judges were maybe judging more on entertainment value than level of difficulty and content (unless your name is Shawn, in which case it’s ALL about content). I guess I’ve just kind of given up on trying to understand the judges’ motives at this point Regardless, I think he’s likely safe tomorrow, but things could get dicey next week… Read more..

DWTS 15, Week 8: And the Trios Are…

The couples got to pick the 3rd members of their trio dances last night after the show, and they could chose between eliminated pros from this season, or any of the members of the troupe – apparently the “2nd celeb” idea got scrapped (thank you, 8 lb, 10 oz baby Jesus). The couple with the lowest cumulative score got to pick first. So without further adieu, here are your trios for week 8:

Kirstie & Maks + Tristan MacManus

Kelly & Val + Louis Van Amstel

Emmitt & Cheryl + Kym Johnson

Apolo & Karina + Sasha Farber

Melissa & Tony + Henry Byalikov

Gilles & Peta + Chelsie Hightower

Shawn & Derek + Mark Ballas

We don’t know everyone’s dance yet, but I can tell you at least one of the trios is a jive, and at least one is a salsa. Personally, I think some of these choices were a little puzzling…not sure I would have picked the same people, myself. What do you guys think? Discuss

DWTS 15 – What’s Left to Dance?

So obviously, this season is beyond wacky – double eliminations, no eliminations, new dance styles, guest judges, the whole shebang. And there have been quite a few questions about what dances are being done each week…while I don’t pretend to have a super-clear picture of how the rest of the season is going to unfold, I do have a little bit of info, and I think the bulk of our readers are smart enough to deduce a lot of things So here’s my best (educated) guess at how the rest of the season will unfold – and keep in mind that, like other things this season, some of the stuff in this post has the potential to change. The double elim’s were scheduled for weeks 4 & 6, and then were moved to weeks 3 & 8 without explanation. It’s kind of a crap shoot, kids.

First things first: the question I’ve been seeing the most is “Will the couples be able to get through all of the 10 regular ballroom & Latin dances by the finale?” While I can’t say for sure, in all likelihood I doubt they will, given how many other extraneous dances they seem to be trying to fit into the schedule – unless they try and double or even triple up dances in some weeks, which I think is just asking for trouble. So it’s entirely possible that you may not see Gilles doing a quickstep, or Shawn doing a samba, or Apolo doing a tango, etc. Sorry kids – don’t shoot the messenger. So every couple has 5 regular dances still remaining - here they are, in no particular order.

ETA1: That’ll teach me not to look more carefully before hitting “post” I see now that Shawn & Derek ALSO have a fusion dance comprised of 2 dances they have yet to do, just like Gilles & Peta…while everyone else has done one of the dances in their fusion this season. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there was a bit of pre-planning in who picked what…but I can’t imagine any way they could do that, judging from how sloppy & disorganized the selection process seemed to be. Guess it’s all just a coincidence.

ETA2: Since this seems to be just too difficult for some to process on their own, let me spell this out loud and clear: THERE ARE TWO DANCES NEXT WEEK. TWOOOOO. NOT THREE. I know you saw Apolo’s tweet about 3 dances – the dude is referring to the fusion dance (which is ONE DANCE) as two dances, since it is two dances mashed together into one routine. Then there is the swing marathon. 1 fusion dance + 1 marathon dance = 2 dances. I can assure you, there is not some 3rd “secret dance” that the powers that be are going to spring on us at the last minute. Got it? Good, cause I’m done spoon feeding information to anyone that can’t be bothered to read this post.

ETA3: Small update – there will be one more dance this season (in week 9) that is a “new” style that the couples will pick for one another. No, I don’t have the list. Still not a peep about the Argentine tango – so at this point, I’m assuming we aren’t going to see it.

ETA4: Looks like they scrapped the idea of having celebs as the 3rd member of the trio dances, and we’re back to using pros (and troupe members) - phew! Also looks like salsa has been thrown into the mix as a possible trio dance, and it’s been confirmed: back-to-back double elims in weeks 8 AND 9 Start making those extra verified accounts, kids…

Gilles & Peta – remaining dances: samba, paso doble, waltz, quickstep, Viennese waltz

Ruh-roh! Gilles only has 2 “sexy” dances left for him to get overscored on, based solely on his sex appeal. Then he’s got three of the pretty staunch ballroom dances to contend with – any bets on which of the 3 (or more) that he miraculously won’t get to this season? I could see him somehow dodging the waltz, since that seems to be a dance that has to be amazing in order for a couples to get votes. If there’s any dance I’d say Peta might struggle with choreographing, it’s the quickstep – for the simple reason that she’s only choreographed one so far on the show (for Donald) and I recall thinking it was a tad weak.

Shawn & Derek – remaining dances: samba, paso doble, waltz, tango, Viennese waltz

I think the fact that these two still have paso doble left bodes well for them – it’s a dance for which Derek almost always comes up with stellar choreography. Viennese waltz will probably be a good one as well. I do worry about the samba a bit, though, because it’s a dance that Derek has said is one of his least favorite to choreograph, and if I recall, it was one that Shawn got mixed reviews for on her original season. I wonder if it would benefit them to use it as their trio dance. Read more..

DWTS 14 End-of-Season Award Winners: What Was the Biggest Controversy?

Other responses:

All of the above/any combination of the above answers – 17 (Sorry guys, too many different combos to list them individually!)

Derek & Maria’s kiss – 1

William & that stupid running & sliding move in every single dance – 1 (Annoying, yes, but is it really a “controversy”, per se?)

Katherine’s “injury” – 1

Derek’s behavior – 1

Cheryl’s Emmy-worthy creativity *sarcasm* – 1

None – 1

Rock & Roll Week – 1

Overstating Maria’s injuries, ribs NOT broken…hurt, yes, but not broken – 1

William wearing the same shirt in many different colors – 1 (Again, it’s annoying, but is it really controversial?)

Dance marathon – 1

Courtney: Again, it looks like we have several different interpretations of the term “controversy” here. I guess the way I interpret it within the context of the show, a “controversy” is something that occured that caused a great deal of debate and dissenting opinions on the issue – but maybe some other people interpret it as something that just really bugged them personally. I guess I need to be a bit more specific in my explanation of next season’s awards, perhaps along with eliminating the write-in category Anywho! I think the results are about right on the money – I found the most prolonged, contentious, polarizing issue of the season was the question of whether or not William was getting unfairly favored by the judges and/or the TPTB, and just the judges being highly subjective in their scoring across the board. I don’t think we’ve ever had a precedent for a situation like the one that unfolded this past season – I can’t recall a time in a past season where the judges were so blatantly displaying favoritism towards a certain contestant. Granted, there is always some degree of subjectivity, and the judges do tend to pick favorites each season, but I don’t think we’ve seen it before to the degree that we did this season. As for Jaleel’s behavior, the dance duel, & Cheryl’s behavior – yes, they all generated a great deal of debate and polarity in opinions, but perhaps weren’t as prolonged as the William/judges controversy. As for the trio dance – I know some of you are probably balking at the notion of it being “controversial”, but I seem to recall quite a few debates about which couples would pick which pros and how it would be advantageous to some and a disadvantage for others, so there was at least a bit of controversy there. Especially on the topic of who would get Tristan

Vogue: I think this poll was spot on as well. As much as I loved William himself and his dancing too, the pimping was over the top. I was patient about it at first and could understand the interest in him being he was a new sexy Latin star to hit the Hollywood scene, but, the hype and the manipulation from the producers and the judges scoring and then Cheryl herself out of control took it’s toll on a great many of fans. Sadder yet, was that William himself could see it too and it wasn’t something he welcomed. I really admired his humbleness through out it all which made me a fan. I wish I could say the same for Cheryl. I’ve lost a lot of respect for her that I once had. I was also outraged with Jaleel’s behavior. I was so glad when he was finally picked to go.

Heidi: I think the top three were the only real controversies – and they were doozies. The rest? Nah. And the write ins?? Some people need a little reality check. :-) Although I did snicker at the “emmy worthy creativity” one. Every season there is someone who is the judges favorite – but it’s usually someone who is the best dancer. Not this season. This season they had their favorite….and he was also pimped to high hell at every opportunity by the show itself. It was quite ridiculous. Now can we go to my favorite moment of the season? Carrie Ann’s mouth falling open when said controversial dude took THIRD place. Anyway, after a while it seemed to be a highly orchestrated dance (pardon the expression) between production and judges to make sure this guy went to the finals. Of course, they seemed determined to get Katherine there as well (and keep Donald away), but it was at a much higher level with Willy…and Katherine could really DANCE. Madness.

*photo courtesy ABC/Adam Taylor

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

Dancing With The Stars Make-up Team Releases Behind The Scenes Photos Of Week 8

The Dancing With The Stars Make-up Team at Facebook has released loads of new photos from behind the scenes of week 8. Below are just a few. I’m always reminded of how much work goes into this show besides just dancing and how many people are involved. Be sure to see the link to see the full album. If you’d like to see the full size of the pictures below, click them. Stunning!

ABC Releases Dancing With The Stars Season 14 Dancer Confessionals For Week 8 (Video)

Always fun and entertaining…and touching especially this week!!

More Fun Dancing With The Stars Interviews After Week 8′s Dance (Videos)

Tony Dovolani went backstage to get the couples reactions on their dances last night after Dancing With The Stars for Extra. This is cute, but, Tony’s suit has to go. LOL!

Also, don’t miss seeing the After Buzz TV interviews. Donald and Peta tease about something, but, wont tell what it is (Encore, maybe?)? Maria and Derek tell of how their Waltz came together. Maks and Melissa enjoyed the three way. Lots more below. Afterbuzz TV may post more interviews, so keep checking back at the link.