Dancing with the Stars Season 15 Stats Class – Week 4’s Challenge
Since this post would be moot point come the Results show tonight I figured I would help give an idea of various dances and what not that are available from throughout the seasons:
Looking at the above breakdown there are eight dances that had minimal exposure throughout the series, but do I define “seldom used dances”? Well they are those dances that we have only seen once in a small handful of seasons. When looking at the number counts there are eight dances that were danced less than 25 times… actually the most from this group would be 11. Here are those dances and when they were featured:
Season 7 Week 5
Hustle, Jitterbug and West Coast Swing
Season 8 Week 4
Lindy Hop
Season 9 Week 4
Bolero, Charleston, Lambada and Two-Step
So now let’s look at how the dances scores were averaged and compared to one another:
Let us also look at the dances that are not in the Top Ten highest scoring dances and see where all the other dances lie:
Those dances highlighted in “yellow” are those that not only have had minimal exposure on the show, but also scored rather low in the grand scheme of things. Those dances that are highlighted in “pink” are those that have had some exposure on the show but still scored low. If anything… if I was helping produce the show I would probably use the above dances (and maybe include other dances that have had minimal exposure on the show like the Charleston, Jitterbug, Lambada, and Hustle) as the pool of dances to be used for the upcoming week.
Looking through all the dances that have been featured on the show and have had some exposure I realized some interesting things. There were several dances that were introduced into the show in the midway point of the series and have been staples ever since (Argentine Tango, Viennese Waltz), while there were other dances that were “taking a break” as it were but then have been staples since them (Salsa, Tango, Waltz).
The Mambo was only featured for a handful of seasons in the middle of the series: Seasons 3 thru 7.
So knowing all this… which dances did I pull the below preferences from? Well the easiest would be the following: Bolero, Lindy Hop, Two-Step and West Coast Swing. These four dances not only got the least amount of exposure on the show but also had average low scores during their short run on the series.
The Mambo has been on the show for only five seasons and was scored low frequently so I would toss that dance into the mix.
Finally what about the other four? Aka the Charleston, Hustle, Jitterbug, and Lambada? It is hard to say since they ranked high on the scoring table. I tended to shy away from these dances in my quick analysis below, but feel free to include these in your comments if you feel inclined that you’d like to see a particular celebrity dance these dances.
So my final pool would be from Bolero, Lindy Hop, Two-Step, West Coast Swing and Mambo.
But before we start figuring out what dances would provide a challenge to each of the dancers… let’s look at who has already attempted any of the above dances?
So in regards to dances: Shawn, Melissa and Gilles all have a little bit of an edge by having done the Lindy Hop in their original season, but the Lindy Hop had an average score that is in the higher half. Personally, if I were to choose dances that I would like to see next week they would include the Bolero, West Coast Swing and Lindy Hop.
So knowing the above… what dances could possibly challenge the individual dancers? (Warning very long post to follow)
KELLY MONACO
Kelly was very much a late bloomer in her season. Not really getting the high scores until much later in the short season in the summer. That being said, her weaker dances seem to be all over the place… so honestly what is there to see? Let’s go with something fun like the Lindy Hop, Mambo, or even West Coast Swing.
DREW LACHEY
From his original season, Drew Lachey’s weakest dance by scores were the Cha-Cha in Week 1 (which he just did last night) and the Foxtrot in Week 7 which he completed as his first dance in the All-Star Season. Just looking at the overall outlook of his dances in general he tends to falter more in the upbeat / higher speed dances. So the dances to really challenge Drew Lachey would probably be the Lindy Hop or Mambo.
EMMITT SMITH
When looking at all of his scores, Emmitt has had the most trouble with the Tango. A dance that is very serious, as a very specific set of rules and structure to it. Looking at the grand scheme of things, Emmitt tends to have trouble in dances that he isn’t able to “charm” his way through. That being said I would want to see Emmitt try his hand on the Bolero or maybe the West Coast Swing, maybe even the Two Step.
APOLO ANTON OHNO
So the two dances that Apolo had the most trouble in his season was the Cha-Cha and the Jive. He has already done the Cha-Cha in week one so the obvious suggestion would be the Jive, but let’s take it a step further and see how he fares in either the Lindy Hop or the Mambo.
HELIO CASTRONEVES
Helio is also one of those dancers whose weaker dances are all over the spectrum. The lowest scoring dances include the Foxtrot and the Rumba. So if anything why not toss him the Bolero or the West Coast Swing… something smooth and silky to see if he could shine without resorting to his brilliant smile.
SABRINA BRYAN
Considering that Sabrina was only around for a handful of weeks in her season, the weakest dances tend to stem from the ballroom dances (Foxtrot, Quickstep). Since she has already done the Quickstep… and there is a long list of ballroom dances that she has yet to do (Tango, Argentine Tango, Waltz, Viennese Waltz) I would love to see her in the West Coast Swing where she cannot be hard hitting by any stretch of the imagination. If it must be a latin dance, then look at the Bolero. Another possibility would be the Two-Step
SHAWN JOHNSON
For a young lady with a lot of energy she had an awful amount of trouble reigning that in for the Lindy Hop, Salsa and Jive… which I thought she did well in the Jive. So what would be interesting to see her dance? How about the Mambo, or perhaps the Two Step?.
GILLES MARINI
Ah yes… TPTB little golden boy that could do no wrong *snores* anyway, he had trouble with the fun and flirty dances in the Cha-Cha and the Jive, which although he was scored well, I didn’t necessarily agree with… very easily I want to see him in the Mambo or Lindy Hop in this case. It has been mentioned in the comments that seeing Gilles do the Two-Step would be a riot… and I would be inclined to agree.
MELISSA RYCROFT
Melissa’s weakest dance during her original season was the Jive which didn’t really count because she was injured that week… the Waltz was the next weakest dance… it is a very smooth and slow kind of dance… the Paso Doble is also very defined and a very grounded dance so personally I would love to see Melissa attempt the Bolero or the West Coast Swing both of which are very grounded dances and incredibly smooth.
BRISTOL PALIN
In comparison to other dancers Bristol is just plain weak… so lets just compare with the dances she did within her season… and there is not real weak point for her. Sure her lowest scoring dances include the Rumba, Cha-Cha and Jive and she did the Cha-Cha as her first dance of the season. So there is much that could easily challenge her: Bolero, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Mambo… just to name a few.
KIRSTIE ALLEY
Essentially any really fast paced dances or those with a crazy amount of control would challenge Kirstie so right off the bat I would see a Bolero (but she would kill anyway with ante-ing up the sex), Lindy Hop (but it might be far too fast paced… while Mambo and West Coast Swing would be more middle of the road for her.
Love this post…wonder if the pro’s and stars are reading it…if not they should be…thanks for the education…
Is it bad that I want to see two things.
1. If Bristol stays again I want her to Jive, Not lindy or WCS but straight up Jive which she hates.
2. Bring back Country two step so Gilles can do it, I don’t even have a problem with Gilles I’m pretty indiffrent to him but I think it would make me lol.
Personally, I’m holding out for polka. lol
If I had to choose for the celebrities, I would choose the following:
1) Kelly and Val: Lindy Hop
2)Drew: bolero
3)Emmitt: Waltz.
5)Helio: West Coast Swing
6)Sabrina: waltz
7)shawn: west coast swing
8)gilles: two step
9)mellissa: two step
10)bristol: lindy hop
11)kirstie: mambo
@Courtney – Isn’t Two-Step an off shot of polka? I am not entirely sure… but I am not familiar with the Two-Step to be able to decide who I’d like to see attempt that dance.
Also I thought about going through the massive list of dances they haven’t done yet… but I figured since this is the All-Star season why not just focus on the dances that haven’t been featured much this series. Otherwise if I opened it up to other dances… I think my brain would explode.
This is very interesting, thank you. I hope we get to see the couples picking the dances tonight, but I kind of doubt it.
@Marianya – It might be, but I actually find the basic footwork of country 2-step to be more similar to foxtrot. And if I were to compare polka to any other dance, I think it would probably be most similar to Viennese waltz…just danced in 2/4 time instead of 3/4 time, and with a bounce. 😛
Thanks, Marianya! I’m a detail junkie and LOVE stuff like this.
LOL Crystal. I personally would like to see Bristol attempt bolero or lambada. Remember her rumba? I bet she hates the steamy stuff too!
I’m curious to see how TPTB define lesser-seen dances. Not sure I’d put waltz or v. waltz in there, but that’s JMO. Several stars have even danced mambo, but who knows. I often don’t see things the same way as TPTB… 😀
Have any other details been given about how this will work? I usually don’t watch the whole show (only the dances on youtube), so I don’t have to sit through all the filler.
Violet, I thought I heard Tom say that the couples would get to pick the dances tonight. But not sure how that would work with the elimination being at the end of the show. Courtney, do you have any intel on that (that you’re willing to share :)) You know, cuz I can’t wait a few hours. lol
@mmc – Well I will probably add the following to the post but this is what I originally defined “seldom used dances”… are those dances that we have only seen once in a small handful of seasons. When looking at the number counts there are eight dances that were danced less than 25 times… actually the most from this group would be 11. Here are those dances and when they were featured:
Season 7 Week 5
Hustle, Jitterbug and West Coast Swing
Season 8 Week 4
Lindy Hop
Season 9 Week 4
Bolero, Charleston, Lambada and Two-Step
I added Waltz and Viennese Waltz (and I probably should have added others) because the number of times they were danced throughout the series was less than 100… but the season that they were featured fluctuated:
Argentine Tango (introduced Season 8 and a staple ever since)
Mambo (included in Seasons 3 thru 7
Salsa (included in Seasons 7 thru 9, 12 and 14)
Tango (included in Seasons 1 thru 7, 9 thru 14)
Viennese Waltz (introduced Season 5 staple ever since)
Waltz (included in Seasons 1 thru 4, 8 thru 14)
So really… if I was smart I would actually take out anything that has been considered a “staple” in the past few seasons (thus taking out Viennese Waltz and Waltz)…
So the final list I would choose from would include the original eight and also the Mambo… maybe I’ll change my post accordingly… hmm.
Marianya, thanks! I LOVE THIS!!
How I’d love to see someone do a Mambo(for my enjoyment not necessarily to challenge someone)!
For the most part, I don’t care who gets what dance except for Bristol getting the JIVE! lol We are all so bad.
@Andrea, I thought I heard that, too. I’m just hoping it’s not after the show, so that WE don’t know! 🙂
I keep wondering how they’ll do it. I remember at certain times in the past when they had to pick things out of something, they had mini mirrorballs and opened them up to reveal, like, that they had “50s” or “90s” or whatever.
So I’m curious to see if it will be something like that. Say, they go down the leaderboard and say okay, Melissa, pick a mini mirrorball, and she picks and opens it up and it has Apolo’s name inside. Then they have a list or something of dances you can pick, nobody repeats (I hope) and she picks one off the list and assigns it to Apolo. And so on and so on.
That’s just what I’m imagining, it will probably be something completely different! LOL.
Thanks for running the numbers on this for us Marianya. I like your amended list in #10. Lots of good “stick it to the competition” choices there 🙂
Court, didn’t anyone tell you, there’s going to do Polka Theme Week? “Evvvverybody POLKA!!!” LOL
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Maks is told he has to choreograph a polka. LOL
I’m so looking for lambada… you have no idea. hahahaha
btw the best lambada on dwts was derek’s. he did the basic step right and a lot of moves that could easily be on a lambada.
I think Derek, Mark and Chelsie (and Lacey, if she were on this season) have the least amount of reason to be scared of a variety of dances. Not so much because of their partners, but because I think those three are the ones with the most experience in a wide variety of dances. I could be wrong.
Maks might actually be better at polka that you might think – it’s danced pretty prevalently in eastern Europe. I’d actually be curious to see Cheryl trying to choreograph a polka – she strikes me as the one who might be the least experienced with it. It’s not really a hard dance, though – most instructors I’ve met seem to have at least a passing knowledge of the basic movement. The challenge is actually finding a pro that likes it enough to dance more than just the basic step with you. It’s actually a pretty fun dance, if you aren’t afraid of looking like a complete doofus 😛
Hey, I have Polish heritage and am originally from Wisconsin. I love a good polka! Can’t really have a wedding reception without at least one (often the Beer Barrel Polka) – the marriage wouldn’t seem valid. 😀 And you make an excellent point about Maks having experience with it. I was actually more thinking about the look on his face when told he has to do one for millions of viewers on DWTS. Although with Kirstie, he may actually embrace and enjoy it.
Good to find someone else who appreciates a good polka, mmc! 😀 The bf & I are both of German descent, so we have no qualms bouncing around to a good polka band. And you’re right about Maks – he does seem to embrace the “silly” more readily with Kirstie than he probably would in any other season. Now I’m actually kind of hoping polka is an option, and that someone sticks Emmitt & Cheryl with it – now THAT would be a sight to behold 😛 I just don’t see cool, soulful Emmitt being able to get down with a good polka without looking and feeling like a complete goober…and after seeing Cheryl in dirndl and Emmitt in lederhosen??? The cheese would practically write itself. 😛
Now I’m really curious to see what dance styles are on the roster for next week. I’m guessing we’ll see the hustle, west coast swing, the lambada, bolero, and maybe the jitterbug. If they really want to mix it up, they should throw in the polka & the peabody. I’m hoping that salsa/mambo isn’t an option – it’s been done too much and wouldn’t be fair to those who got one of the aforementioned styles.
Oh me too, me too! I love polka too (I’m a Hoosier by birth, of German descent too.) I think Maks and Karina would create great routines, and think both Kirstie and Apolo would enjoy the fun!
I just spit coffee on my computer screen thinking about Emmitt, Gilles, Maks, and Val in bedazzled lederhosen. :::giggle::: It brings to mind Bill Murray in Charlie’s Angels. Isn’t he dressed up with lederhosen and a tuba?
Yea Jess! I’m German too. Double-polka-whammy for me! 🙂
Ai, it’s turning into a polka convention in here 😛
mmc and as if the bedazzled lederhosen wasn’t enough, my guess is Val would be without a shirt, as usual.
@Cidra – I’d prefer Val over others any day of the week… like Gilles for example. >.<
The grab bag is probably the best way to pick the couple they have to saddle with a dance, curious to see how mean this can get!
Did anyone out there catch Louis mentioning: “What if they pick the polka?” *evil cackle*
I heard it, Marianya. 🙂 I thought of this conversation and laughed.
If you look at all the scores above, Gilles had the highest of all of them including the winners.
Wow! Angela can count! So glad she came by and educated the rest of us illerate bozos. *eye roll*
Angela, just go away. You’re obviously out of your element here, trying to push Gilles onto the rest of us like some schoolgirl trying to convince everyone that Justin Timberlake was the hottest member of NSYNC.
My poem for Week Three
THE DANCING BAR
The bar was open for something shaken and stirred
The dancers were ordered, they heard Len’s every word
Shake it up, raise the bar, sparkle, shine, as never before
Let loose with something dazzling, on the ballroom floor
The dancers quivered, they shook down to their knees
Taking many shots of libations, they came out to please
They were drunk with excitement, took their dancing turn
Shaking their hips, flying high in the air, feet felt the burn
The Paso Doble dominated, the dances with flair anew
Kelly, Sabrina, Emmitt, Bristol across the floor they flew
Val, Louis, Cheryl, Mark took their orders from their mate
Did their choreography shake it and stir it up first rate
The Cha, Cha, Cha took its place in the dancing shakers
Drew and Kirstie paid homage to their original makers
Anna and Macsim shook up the cha, cha, cha for sure
Will each of these couples for another week endure
The Quickstep of The Banana Man astonished our eyes
Shawn and Derek found themselves claiming the prize
The Quickstep King, Helio, in dapper pinstripes of black
Chelsie donned the black, white theme hoping to be back
Gilles was the most daring, flying through the ballroom air
His Tango with Peta was filled with a sensual, sexy flair
Melissa and Tony jumped off the stage in brilliant pink
Their Samba full of energy, did you every really think
They would score so high, they lived up to Len’s dare
Apolo and Karina, glided on the floor with romantic air
There was a catch with week three of the dancing show
Two couples would have their time cut short, have to go
Tom and Brooke as nervous as the dancers on the floor
Gave the news one by one whose time would be no more
How could two former champions be the ones, have to go
Drew and Helio it wasn’t their time to go, to leave the show
Their goodbyes were said, the others hugged and cried
Oh dear who is next to go, next week they will be denied
A twist brand new, dances chosen by each dancing duo
To bedevil their competition, to baffle, to take their cue
The dancing bar was closed for another week on the floor
The dances were shaken, stirred, we will be back for more!
Written By Lois A Troutman, October 10, 2012
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, ANY ALL STAR CAN HAVE TO GO!
IT WILL BE SHAKEN AND STIRRED ON THE DANCING SHOW!
@Courtney – If lifts are allowed this week, Do you think the pros will still have to fulfill certain requirements for each dance? For example, Not in Hold Enough or Not Enough Charleston. Or is this night just a FUN night of great dancing, (In a sense).
Thank you! BTW, Miss Heidi and Miss Courtney, You are doing a fabulous job!!
@Sandy – In short, who knows 😛 I have a feeling the judges will suddenly be subject matter experts when critiquing couples they are typically tough on (Apolo, Shawn) and may point out more technical aspects like “Not enough in-hold” or “Not enough basic steps”. Then they may do a complete 180 and act like they’re complete novices when critiquing couples they like – I could totally see them claiming to “not know much about Bollywood”, then gushing about how much they enjoyed Gilles’ routine. So from that perspective, it could be a complete crap shoot.
However, I’m thinking this week may be less about the finer points of technique and more about the overall entertainment value and general mood of the dances – the critiques and scores may be less about “in-hold/out of hold” and “how many basic Charleston steps did you have”, and more about “Did your dance appropriately convey the mood & feel of rock ‘n’ roll?” Does that make sense?
Yes that makes sense. 🙂 Thank you!
Off the top of my head…do ANY of the dances other than Charleston and Mambo have actual “rules”?? Seems like Kirstie and Shawn got a bit hosed in that respect.
Bollywood doesn’t have “rules” in the same sense as a lot of the ballroom dances, but hand gestures are incredibly particular (not like the judges would catch that).
I thought Bolero also would have actual “rules” as well as Jitterbug since those have been on the show before.
If Courtney’s speculation about Hustle and Disco being similar in the sense of DWTS then Disco have steps that would probably be expected as part of the routine… but a lot of Disco routines I have seen are lift heavy.
Personally Hip Hop is very different from Breakdancing which is what Apolo actually does… so it’ll be interesting to see how that works out.
But these are more my opinions.
I’d say the two that have the most to worry about in terms of “rules” are Shawn & Emmitt – they’re they only two with dances that have actual ballroom syllabi. However, I’m not sure any of the 3 judges are particularly familiar with bolero, so Emmitt could get a bit of a reprieve there. So really, I think Shawn & Derek are the only ones that really have rules to contend with – but that could be more of a boon than a burden in this case. If there’s set rules, it will give you a lot more direction in choreographing the dance; I have a feeling those with less solid boundaries (Kelly & Val, Gilles & Peta, Shawn & Mark) may end up with routines that seem a bit aimless and unsure of themselves.
There’s actually not a Charleston syllabus – so much of the Charleston has just gotten incorporated into the jive & quickstep syllabi, so there’s not much left to comprise the “rules” for Charleston. Let me see if I can dig up my jive/Charleston/jitterbug/Lindy post…
Yeah, the Bollywood is going to be tough. I wonder if the judges will actuall :::gasp::: do their homework on these dance styles.
Good point Marianya about the difference between break dancing and hip hop and I did see where that’s the dance that Karina did NOT want to get, so it may not be as cut and dried Apolo’s week as we think.
As for the Charleston…if it doesn’t LOOK like the typical charleston that people expect, I think Kirstie will be in trouble.
@Heidi – I just rewatched the Apolo / Julianne freestyle… it is a fusion of hip hop, breakdancing and other stuff. But Apolo knows some breakdancing while Julianne knows some aspects of hip hop… whileas I am not entirely certain if Karina knows any hip hop.
And looking at past ballroom dancers on So You Think You Can Dance… hip hop is the dance style that they tend to have the most trouble with (well that and contemporary)… unless they have had prior experience in some capacity.
Yeah, Marianya, Julianne should be well versed in hip hop. Derek even taught hip hop at one point. I think he, Mark and Julianne all did a lot of it when they were younger.
@Courtney – Found the post you were talking about: https://www.puredwts.com/2012/01/07/puredwts-ask-courtney-whats-the-difference-between-jivelindyjitterbugcharlestonetc/
After reading the comments above, I have a feeling my fun night of dancing might also turn into a night filled with too much wine and a mute button securely in hand. I have a feeling these judges might piss me off. And the bobble head Paula too!
lacey is great at hip hop also.
next week is going to be interesting, and like you said the ballroom/ballroom adjacent dances and non-ballroom dances will all have pros and cons
mambo & jitterbug – might have an easier time choreo wise but going to have stiffer critiques because these have both been done several times on the show
disco& rock n roll & charleston & bolero – the styles are just familiar enough not to have a difficult time choreographing but just foreign enough to the judges to not have as strict critiques
hip hop & bollywood -might be difficult to choreograph for professionals, but its probably only going to be judged on how fun, entertaining, and upbeat it was
contemporary – going to be difficult to choreograph and dance (you dont just pick up contemporary in 4 days) and paula, carrie ann, and i think bruno actually have experience in this to critique it – going to be interesting to see if the judges gauge emotion/story telling or technique
i think the middle groups have it the easiest and the others the hardest
Thanks Marianya 🙂