Below is Afterbuzz’s hew Dancing with the Stars “after show” for Week 9. Kristyn Burtt breaks down the performances. Co-hosts Jake DuPree, Suri Serano, Anna Trebunskaya also join in to help and their special guest is pro dancer Henry Byalikov. It gets really interesting at the end when they discuss finale freestyles.
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Time.com interviewed judge Carrie Ann Inaba about Dancing With The Stars Season 16. They ask her straight up about being the “lift police”, punishing the star for what the pro is doing, and more. Below is a take about who is her favorite is to win the season. She also answers a question on whether Maks Chmerkovskiy will be back to dance in the future.
Who is your favorite to win this season?
As far as my scores go, I think Zendaya [Coleman] has gotten the highest scores from me. I love the way she interprets music when she dances. It’s a full-body interpretation. I think Kellie Pickler is a fantastic dancer. I don’t know if she’s always really in tune with her emotions. She’s always very concerned with the technique. I think she had a breakthrough on the paso, and I hope it continues. I’m hard on her because I know the finals are coming,and if she thinks there’s nothing else to work on, she’s not going to improve. In the finals, people vote for you when you surprise them and you give them something new. If you’re the same, the audience gets bored very quickly. The audience loves to see a breakthrough, they love to see something unexpected. I push people to do that, because I’ve been on the show for 16 seasons, and I know what works. I’m always trying to give people hints on how to win.
Speaking of Zendaya, when you’re pitting a 16-year-old against someone like DL Hughley who is 50, do you think the show is stacking the deck a bit?
No, because not all 16-year-olds could handle the pressure. Our show is tremendous on your emotions. It’s physically exhausting, the hours are crazy, and she’s also going to school. I worked on a show called American Juniors, and it was so hard for the kids to balance. She’s able to grasp that it’s a television show, which isn’t always easy. She’s able to grasp that the comments are about the dancing, not her. When it’s a younger child or a teenager, I worry that they will misinterpret what’s said on the show or on social media, because there is a lot out there.
Kellie Pickler’s experience facing a panel of judges on American Idol must give her some advantage when it comes to weathering criticism. Even when Len’s at his worst, he’s no Simon Cowell.
I worked with Kellie on Idol [as a choreographer] and that is a different situation, because on that show, it is everyone’s dream to become a singer. It’s not everyone’s dream to become a ballroom dancer. It’s not nearly as hard on your soul to get negative feedback. Although some people really get into it and forget that they aren’t going to be a professional ballroom dancer, but I do think that’s a big difference between our show and a lot of other shows. There’s nothing at risk, except your ego. We give a really cheap trophy. It’s a big old mirror ball, that does not cost that much, but it means a lot to people, because it’s a good old-fashioned sporting competition.
Is Maks Chmerkovskiy coming back? He was always a fan favorite.
I don’t know. I don’t know what the producers will choose. He came back once this season, so I don’t think there’s any bad blood necessarily. I try to stay away from it. As a judge, we don’t have any meetings on the set, we don’t go to the set, we’re never allowed near the dancers. We’re never near the celebs. We aren’t allowed in the studios during rehearsals. It’s nice, because as a judge I don’t want to know what’s going with the dancers. As a judge you want to stay neutral. Tom [Bergeron] has a party in the middle of the year for the cast, but we never go. I want to support Tom, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix with people. I don’t want it to affect my judgment.
More at Time.com. Let us know what you think?
My thoughts: Carrie Ann may try hard to be neutral, but, I think she needs to try a little harder!!!
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
…and check out how Kelly Monaco, Andy Dick, and Chaz Bono make an appearance. This is a good one…
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Above are pro dancers Anna Trebunskaya, Chelsie Hightower, and Sharna Burgess as they arrived at ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” 300th Episode Celebration in Hollywood, California last night. You can view loads of new pics of the whole cast as well as some alumni at Zimbio Pictures. Too fun!!
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Awww, the dancer confessionals are always fun!! This is the International version which everyone should be able to watch? I hope so. Thanks always to Jimmbboe.
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Below is Tom Bergeron talking with Fox 11 (thanks to Elmari for this gem) and Access Hollywood about Dancing With The Stars, the 300th episode, the Finals and why they decided to go with 4 couples, America’s Funniest Videos, and more. I always love interviews with Tom…
OK Magazine also has an article up with Tom and Bruno talking about the 300th episode and the new format next season…
“I’m a glass half full kind of guy,” says Tom. “I get the rationale behind it. There’s no denying the numbers have been slipping. On the plus side we still beat The Voice last night by two million viewers, but they are beating us in the demo and that’s what the advertisers look to and that’s the strategy behind, I think, pushing the Tuesday viewers into a Monday show.”
While the logistics of the new format have yet to be worked out, Tom thinks eliminating an hour from the series each week will help the show feel more robust in its content.
“There have been times in the past, and this will not come as a news flash to you, late in the season we’re stretching to fill two hours,” he admits. “It’s sort of like, how much water can you put in the soup? This will afford us the luxury of not having to worry about that. We’ve gone from sometimes stretching to fill the three hours to now saying, okay, we’ve got an embarrassment of riches here with what we can do in two. Interestingly the research we’ve had over the past few years shows that only about 40 percent of our Tuesday viewers have watched the Monday show. I would’ve thought there’d be much more crossover.”
Judge Bruno Tonioli supports the changes as well and is excited to see what the production team will do to rework the series. Of course, cutting back on the number of hours DWTS is allotted each week probably means we won’t have the opportunity to see Bruno strut his stuff on the dancefloor again, like he was coerced into doing with Peta Murgatroyd and Sean Lowe during their encore “YMCA” performance this season.
“When they made me do the ‘YMCA’—that wasn’t expected,” says Bruno. “That was a surprise because I thought I only had to kind of mess around and then I had to turn up and learn the whole routine with 25 year old dancers. You should have hear my language—it was not for printing. But then after that I really enjoyed it so it was going back after 30 years of dancing sharing the stage with the kids, which I really enjoyed. In retrospect it was good. If I had known I would have said no.”
More at OK Magazine.
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Unfortunately, the couples didn’t do any interviews after the show last night with On The Red carpet, etc. Some of them might have went straight to rehearsals for next week’s finals. There was also a 300th episode Party they might have attended, but, Ingo and Kym did chat with E News a little about their elimination.
“My talent was just a little bit below that (the strength of the four finalists who made it) and I’m just happy where we ended up,” Ingo says.
His partner Kym Johnson adds, “Ingo hadn’t danced before. He was one of the ones in the competition that didn’t know anything about dance in general, so he was really learning from scratch. He improved out of sight every single week. If there was a mirror ball for most improved he’d get that!”
Ingo sums it up by saying, “We expected to go home tonight. We weren’t nervous tonight, we’re really happy how far we got!”
As well they should be. They danced their best dances Monday night and didn’t go out without a fight. I’m always going to remember Ingo for his sparkly eyes, his facial expressions while dancing (which I loved loved), his passion, and determination. And then there is his cute son Peanut. Stay tuned. We may have more with them and Good Morning America later.
Also, and off topic, what did you all think about Angelina Jolie’s decision to come forward about having a double mastectomy? I thought it was awesome. My Mom had the same thing done in the early 90′s and she’s never had a recurrence yet. Below is Kellie Pickler with her thoughts on it from E News….
“I think it’s amazing that she’s come forward and talked about this because there’s so many women that need to hear this and need to make sure that they’re getting their check-ups,” Pickler says of Jolie’s decision to under a double mastectomy after doctors told her she had an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of getting ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Pickler stresses, “Early detection is the key.”
More at E News.
Ok, that is all for now, Dancettes. More in a bit. 
xx
ETA: PopTVDotCom has some coverage of the 300th episode party held last night. You can check out all of their videos here.
ETA2: On The Red Carpet is a little late getting their elimination interviews up, but, here they are now in all of their glory. George asks them on their Freestyles, why they deserve to be in the finals, the new format next season, and much more. Thanks to EPMusic for the heads up!!
Be watching Access Hollywood. They may post some new interviews too.
Also, see this link to see Ingo and Kym on GMA today.
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
This show is so predictable. So….what happened? Well, since Kellie was in jeopardy last week, it was Zendaya’s turn this week. I would wager that them calling Jacoby safe first and putting Zen in danger (after putting Kellie in danger last week ) means that TPTB are hoping for Kellie and Zen in the top 2 next week. Not sure that will actually happen, but that’s what I see being telegraphed. I could be wrong. I have been before. And lord knows TPTB don’t always get what they want.
Anyway, as expected Ingo…and his cutie pie spawn, Peanut…went home. How did we do? Well, this one was a no brainer.
Heidi: I said Ingo was going home with NO back up plan.
Courtney: Said Ingo was going home. Court had Jacoby in second to last place, but I’m not sure she thought he was at risk. I’ll let her say.
Vogue: Said Ingo was going and had zen in second to last…but again, I’m not sure she thought that Zen was at any risk.
Winners?? Eh….who cares. Derek and Kellie got an encore FINALLY. That was nice. 
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Okay, the scenario for Week 9 is underscore Zendaya for the first round and massively overscore her in the second round, putting her in fourth place. Clearly, Ingo can’t beat her in votes. He might be able to beat one of the others (Aly?), but he can’t beat her. So, she can handle the underscore in the first round for the DRAMA.
Actually, talking to Court on twitter and she and I disagree a tiny bit on Zendaya’s quickstep. I agreed with the judges: she’s still unsteady out of her turns and that first run, in particular, Val was dragging her. He was dragging her a bit later in the dance as well. I don’t think she was underscored by a lot, but maybe a point. Here is where I am conflicted. IF she were dancing with Derek, they would be docked 2 or 3 points by Len for the Go Karts, the outfits and the fact that she is AGAIN wearing sneakers. I mean, really?? If you can’t do the dances in heels like everyone else you should be docked. But I HATE it when Len does it to Derek (and only Derek), and I don’t agree with it. BUT, if you’re going to do it to Derek – then you have to do it to EVERYONE. That’s the thing about this show – it’s so freakin’ uneven. A 24? A bit low. I say 25, MAYBE 26. And that Hip Hop? SO over rated. And overscored. I mean, really? I expected SO much more. Maybe if I didn’t watch SYTYCD and she hadn’t been dancing hip hop since age 8…..And the judges are pimping her album during the critique? Hey!! Look!! They just jumped that there shark!!
I was actually impressed with Aly’s first dance AND she seems to be coming alive when talking – she’s losing that monotone, rehearsed sound to her comments. I don’t agree that it was worthy of a thirty, but I have to agree that she’s stepping up her game. The second dance?? It was not unique or particularly inspired – but it didn’t suck. I just don’t think it lived up to the hype that Mark was giving it. I appreciate that he was excited about it though, but after Shawn’s samba AND Bhangra last season I was a bit disappointed. Really, the in sync comments were galling on a her and Ingo both – does crack also may you see things in sync??
Jacoby won the night. Seriously. That was a great AT and his Lindy was fun as hell. I can’t argue with his scores at all. Fantastic. Loved him. Was laughing out loud at him once again. He makes me want to do an entire cheesecake devoted to just him (and Peanut in a fedora).
Kellie – fantastic AT, as to be expected with Derek. I agreed with the judges on the Flamenco, as she did seem to tire out a bit. Still amazing and light years ahead of what Val did last season. But Jesus…Derek was freakin’ AMAZING. I’ve never seen him dance like that. That was hot and spicy and incredibly difficult. Wow. I can’t wait to see him tap dancing in his movie (how’s THAT for pimping?). How in the hell do you do that with your feet??? I can’t even imagine. He pretty much put any other Flamenco to SHAME on this show. As Court said on twitter – it’s a shame that Flamenco is the man’s dance like Paso. I could see one of those every season. Done right.
Anyway, where DO we stand??
Zendaya’s scoring is a bit of a red herring designed for Drama, I’m thinking. As I said earlier, I don’t think Ingo can touch her and really, that’s all that matters. You only have to beat one person. And the fact that they felt free to score her somewhat fairly (overall) tells me that the pimping has worked and she’s getting the votes. Maybe. Who knows? Zendaya’s scoring tells me that Ingo is a goner. I’ll be shocked if it’s anyone other than him. What does Ingo need to do to stick around? He needs ONE of the following:
- Ingo needs 10,700 more votes per million votes cast than Zendaya, OR;
- Ingo needs 25,000 more votes per million votes cast than Kellie, OR;
- Ingo needs 28,500 more votes per million votes cast then EITHER Aly or Jacoby.
I don’t think he’s beating Zendaya. Kellie? Anything is possible. I’m still not sure that half of Derek’s fans haven’t said “f#$k it” and walked away in disgust last season. Eh, I doubt Ingo beats Kellie, regardless. I don’t see him catching either Aly or Jacoby either.
Let’s say a miracle happens and Ingo beats someone. Zendaya is next on the list. What does Zendaya need to be safe to next week? She needs ONE of the following:
- Zendaya needs for Ingo to NOT get the 10,700 more votes per million votes cast than her, OR;
- Zendaya needs 14,300 more votes per million votes cast than Kellie, OR;
- Zendaya needs 17,800 more votes per million votes cast than EITHER Jacoby or Aly.
I honestly have no idea if Zendaya’s youngsters are voting for her and/or if the general audience is voting for her or not. If it weren’t for the fact that they’ve been pimping the crap out of her all season, I would suggest a shocking elimination for Zendaya, but I don’t see that happening for her. I think it’s all “mission accomplished” at headquarters.
Let’s say that Ingo and Zendaya are safe. What does Kellie have to do to avoid a shocking elimination?? She needs ONE of the following to happen:
- Kellie needs for Ingo to NOT get the 25,000 more votes per million votes cast than her, OR;
- Kellie needs for Zendaya to NOT get the 14,300 more votes per million votes cast than her, OR;
- Kellie needs to get 3,600 more votes per million votes cast than Aly OR Jacoby.
I have to believe that Kellie is beating Aly at this point, but who can be sure?? I really can’t make a call. I can only make ONE call and that is this:
Ingo be going home. I’m not even going to guess a second choice because I don’t see it…and if I did see it I can’t imagine who he might beat.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
So, dance pro Louis Van Amstel has weighed in on last night’s dances on Dancing With The Stars at ABC. While reviewing the couples, he gives them some advice too.
Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s Argentine Tango. Without a doubt Kellie has the best legs of any celeb that has ever been on “DWTS,” even Nicole Scherzinger. It was a very classical, less is more Argentine tango with great lifts, especially the last two. I’d love to see more inner fire next week. Great scores!
Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson’s Samba. I must say Ingo looks the most comfortable in this dance. He looks masculine and he is very aware of his body. I’d like to see more samba bounce and less walking around. Wow, I agree with Bruno and I agree with Carrie Ann about being the underdog. And I agree with Lennie. That’s a first!
Aly Raisman and Mark Ballas’ Rumba. It’s very clever on Mark’s part to make this more of a contemporary rumba. It was beautifully executed. It was sincere and not overdone trying to be too sexy as a young lady. Aly wore a very flattering dress. Again, I agree with the judges. Bruno was a little too kind. In the final, like Kellie, I’d like to see more inner depth. I like that Mark cleaned up – very handsome. Great scores!
Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff’s Argentine Tango. I loved their song. Karina and I used that when we competed together. The set was absolutely amazing and Jacoby totally impressed me with the combination of content, masculinity, calmness and he is so great at partnering Karina. [Their dance was] best of the night so far. I agree with judges. If the others got 10s, they should get 11s.
Zendaya and Valentin Chmerkovskiy’s Quickstep. OK, here we go. The intro was too long. They didn’t stay in close hold all the time, and there was a lift BUT BUT BUT, Zendaya has the energy both Kellie and Aly were lacking in comparison. The dance was awesomely executed. I disagree with Carrie Ann completely. For breaking the rules they should get deducted, but for entertainment value it should definitely have been three 9s. It’s always a risk to break rules.
And below Louis gives his final take and predictions which I agree with. What do you think?
Like I said many weeks ago, Kellie and Zendaya are for sure in the final, while Jacoby and Aly fight for third. There’s a fourth couple final, so, in my opinion, the only way Ingo can make the final is by his fan base.
After tonight, it’s no longer clearly between Kellie and Zendaya in my book. Jacoby and Aly have made their mark and could actually win as well if they go all out next week.
I can’t wait to see all the freestyles. Sometimes I wish there was a cumulative score so that when a couple does fabulously all season and then loses the freestyle, they wouldn’t necessarily lose the entire season.
For more on the second set of dances (which is a good read as well. Though not sure I agree with what he said on Derek and Kellie’s flamenco. I think it was perfect), see ABC.
Also, be sure to visit this link at GMA. They have a fun recap and some interviews after the show.
Stay tuned. Miss Heidi’s new Number’s predictions post is coming up next. xx
I'm a fashion and music nut....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. Derek Hough (one of my favorite dancers) said at a recent Get Healthy event that ‘dancing’ is an outward expression of what is going on inside you. He says that in some ways, everyone dances and it's so true. To TPTB, how about this song for next season's theme song? Robin G Ft. Wilunleashed - A Good Time (Original) // Download High Quality
Can you imagine if Jacoby/Karina had gotten massive votes and beat...
