DWTS Season 18, Week 5: Who’s Dancing What…and When?? (SPOILERS)
Disney week? Okay. I’m not as jazzed as everyone else, but I do like Prince Charming. But just who is going to BE Prince Charming – that is the question. 🙂 Actually, it might be obvious from the list below….
And Courtney got her Wish!!! 😀
Note – these are in no particular order. Yet.
ETA: Quoting Courtney, “We got some hardcore Disney fiends up in this mofo!” 🙂
Charlie and Sharna – Jazz (“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins)
1-800-868-3412
Danica and Val – Quickstep (“Be Our Guest” from Beauty & the Beast)
1-800-868-3403
James and Peta – Contemporary (“Let it Go” by Idina Menzel, from Frozen )
1-800-868-3402
Drew and Cheryl – Quickstep (“Friend Like Me” from Aladdin)
1-800-868-3409
Amy and Derek – Waltz (“So This is Love” from Cinderella)
1-800-868-3410
Candace and Mark – Samba (“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid)
1-800-868-3407
Meryl and Maks – Samba (“I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” from The Jungle Book)
1-800-868-3406
Cody and Witney – Samba (“Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King)
1-800-868-3408
NeNe And Tony – Foxtrot (“Cruella De Vil” from 101 Dalmatians )
1-800-868-3401
So, going off of the suggestions from Court’s song list post, the dance styles revealed above, and the hints the couples and Pure have dropped, I’m going to guess that:
Amy & Derek – Cinderella, So This is Love
Cody & Witney – Lion King, Hakuna Matata
Candace & Mark – Little Mermaid, Under the Sea
Meryl & Maks – Jungle Book, I Wanna Be Like You (they said they’re not doing Disney princess)
Danica & Val/Drew & Cheryl – both quicksteps, and I haven’t seen any hints about which movie, so I’m guessing one will be Aladdin, Friend Like Me, and the other, Beauty & the Beast, Be Our Guest (Jungle Book is already taken, as Court said no movies will be repeated)
Charlie & Sharna – *really* not sure; since it’s jazz, the possibilities are (almost) endless – all the suggestions in the song post are from movies that are “taken” – but this is the one I’m probably looking forward to the most.
Oh boy. Derek as Prince Charming and Maks as a knuckle dragger? Type casting, yes, but the bellyaching and caterwauling are going to make what went on this past week look like a lovefest.
Well, since Cody Proclaimed on his Twitter they are going to call him Simba, I would say he has Lion King.
I’m actually looking forward to Nene & Charlie’s dances.
Just a bit of a hint: not all of the songs the couples are dancing to made it onto our wish list…we made the wish list before we actually knew what everyone was dancing to.
Hey, first time commenter here-I only discovered you guys this season though Im an avid follower of the show since season 10, from across the pond:)
So I was thinking, how sure are these spoilers? Cause it seems like such a waste of sambas for disney week, considering latino week is supposedly coming up? And there are so many other styles that would suit typical Disney songs so much better. Since its the first time they do Disney week I guess they should have chosen the more obvious styles and songs…Its not like they exhausted those.
Annie, we’re 100% positive. And there’s still PLENTY of Latin dances left for Latin week. I think all the songs picked suit the dances they were intended for quite well.
hahaha I am so excited for NeNe and Tony’s dance.
I have a question, based on the dances/songs you know, who do you think will stand out?
are more songs going to be released soon? I can’t wait to see what Charlie and Meryl are doing! I thought for sure they would be princes and princesses but I guess not!
And, so Derek/Amy are doing Prince Charming and Cinderella, huh? 😉
Ok, well since DWTS just Instagrammed a pic of Cody & Witney cuddling with spaghetti and a picture of Lady & the Tramp I’m colored confused. Either Cody is wrong or the Muppets did the wrong picture again.
Or they just like effing with our heads.
Possibly a combination of all the above.
Never tried predicting scores before but figured I would give it a try, Donny is the 3rd score:
Charlie: 10, 9, 10, 9 (I think his “comeback” story will start this week)
Danica: 9, 10, 9, 9 (I think Len will love her technique but it may lack “show-stopping” performance that the other judges want)
James: 9, 9, 9, 9 (almost gave him some 10s on this but not sure if he is there just yet)
Drew: 8, 7, 8, 8
Amy: 8, 8, 9, 8 (first dance in hold so I have no idea what to expect)
Candace: 7, 7, 8, 7 (I don’t think she has any hip action and if they gave her 7s for her QS she may not have much of a prayer)
Meryl: 9, 9, 10, 10
Cody: 8, 8, 9, 8 (he’ll probably throw some of his “moves” in but not sure how the judges will react)
Nene: 8, 8, 8, 8 (I could see Donny giving a 9 if it’s really entertaining)
Derek as Prince Charming? I take it! 🙂
I wonder if Amy/Derek are dancing to “So this is love” or “A dream is a wish” But either way , Derek as Prince Charming, I’ll be holding my breath.
I can’t think of any songs from Lady and the Tramp that are sambas – the only songs I remember are He’s a Tramp and Bella Notte…anyone remember differently? Plus I’m pretty sure Cody said in a post-show interview that he’s doing Lion King.
Everyone can thank ButterflyWhirl for forcing our hand, as she correctly guessed all but one song immediately after the initial post went up, making me wonder if it was really worth making you all play the guessing game all weekend 😛 And yes, I really did say “We got some hardcore Disney fans up in this mofo!!!” Happy Thursday, my loves…discuss 🙂
I am happy with pretty much all of them except for Meryl/Maks and Amy/Derek because those songs have been done before on the show. Either way i am still so excited for disney week and Thanks for letting us know!
@Beverly – “Friend Like Me” was also used before – it was Shawn & Mark’s quickstep in season 8.
Just FYI for those that didn’t see the prediction post – you can find videos of previous performances of “Friend Like Me”, “I Wanna Be Like You”, & “So This is Love” here: https://www.puredwts.com/2014/04/09/puredwts-season-18-week-5-disney-week-song-predictionswish-list/
I’m just realizing that Sabrina and Louie danced to the same song( that Amy has) in all stars and she was Cinderella as well.
I loved this: “We got some hardcore Disney fans up in this mofo!!!” You can say that again and Butterfly, good job!!
Amy/Derek got the perfect song! So happy about this. Prince Charming! Feels so right for Derek.
A Jazz to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?!?! That sounds so cool! 😀 Can’t wait to see what Sharna has come up with for this dance (hope she takes Charlie out of he big bad and starts dancing with him :P)
Amy and Derek’s dance sounds like it’s gonna be really sweet and cute. Can’t wait to see Amy as Cinderella. Also looking forward to seeing how she handles ballroom dances.
Not so crazy about Cody, Meryl, Danica and Drew’s songs. Every other song and dance I am very much looking forward to.
A who’s dancing what post on a Thursday! I feel like Christmas came early!
So a bit bummed that Meryl and Maks didn’t get Hakuna Matata for their Samba. If you don’t wiggle your butt and feet to that song then you’re dead. With the vast Disney songbook their really was no reason to repeat 3 songs already done previously.
@Susan2 – They may not have HAD to reuse old songs, but it also might have been quite a bit cheaper…they may have had replay rights to those 3 already. And from the way Deep Throat made it sound – Meryl & Maks actually chose “I Wanna Be Like You”. Meryl said she didn’t want to be a princess, and wanted to do something different. DT also said that they may have had trouble clearing the rights for “Be Our Guest” and “Hakuna Matata” – those were delayed a bit, while they got the rights for all of the others without any issues.
I am a bit underwhelmed by Disney week. I hope it plays out better than I think it will. And are they putting a wig on Amy? Cinderella is blonde. I would have rather seen Witney and Cody as Cinderella and the Prince. They would more look the part.
wow, such a great bunch of song choices, surpassed my expectations for sure.
The only am not too keen on is drew and cheryls… And maybe Amy and Derek…. But am sooo looking forward to Maks being a monkey. I am so glad they didnt make the easy and (obvious) princess out of Meryl … And Mark coreographing to Under the Sea, wow, I think it will be excepcional. Cant remember last time I was so looking forward to a show (except finals that is).
@MelissaC but given Cody’s awful frame and posture he would butchered the Waltz. Not very “prince” like, I would say haha 😛
My only complain is they didn’t use more varied dance styles like the Viennese Waltz, Jive, Salsa… Think those would have been probably better. But hey, it’s Disney Week, something I have wanted for a very long time now so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much 😛
Something I just noticed… I think Candance has been given the most difficult dance styles 5 weeks in a row – first, contemporary, then rumba, then jive, then quickstep, & now samba. She was underscored this week on her quickstep & now I’m beginning to think she really is being screwed by TPTB. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me…
Anyway, I’m really excited for next week! Can’t wait to see all the couples’ costumes!
I’m okay with Amy as Cinderella. Even as a non-blonde. Cinderella has to put up with a lot of bad stuff while still retaining her optimism and kindness. Suits Amy perfectly.
The Friend Like Me Quickstep Mark and Shawn did was my favorite of all their dances and it’s an incredibly charming song, so I’m okay with it being used again.
The other two re-used songs were more recent. The Jungle Book one was as recent as last season. I guess 3 out of 9 being the only re-used ones isn’t too bad. I never even thought about getting the rights and all.
Stoked about the Sharna and Charlie Jazz to Super….. . Do think it would have made a better Quickstep though.
“I wanna be like you” is a terrible song to samba to! I’m wondering how Meryl and Maks are doing…
I agree with whoever said Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious should be a quickstep. It would have been better for Charlie to have jazz later because he already used up contemporary on week 1, which is probably his strongest, and he’s not going to be stellar at latin dances. Jazz is the loosest and easiest to get high scores in because the judges aren’t really qualified to judge contemporary and jazz styles.
Wonder if Candace is going to wear the sea shells (iconic for Ariel) or refuse to.
The song choices aren’t too good. I’m a little disappointed.
Thank you, Pure mods!!!! I am beyond excited about these dances!! I totally squealed with joy when I read about Charlie and Derek’s dances from my favorite Disney movies ever! It’s going to be a very magical night!
Charlie and Sharna as Bert and Mary Poppins dancing with the animated penguins in the countryside will be super fun and amazing! It will be one of the highlights of the show!!!
And Amy as Cinderella with prosthetic feet and handsome Derek has Prince Charming with that beautiful love song will close the show and will be unforgettable!
I can’t wait!!!
And why won’t they let Meryl be a princess??? I get that it will be Charlie’s turn on top of the leader board but still! Maybe they want other females to shine like Amy and Danica.
And it’s funny that according to post show interviews, Charlie and Meryl already understand how the show works with the judges scores going up and down depending on the producers. They know that they are supposed to be in the finals. They are always so good with the perfectly diplomatic soundbites!
Did I say that I can’t wait?????!!!! Thanks for the spoilers!!!!!!!
Just read Courtney’s comment that Meryl may have not wanted to be a princes anyway. What a bummer. I hope it turns out well anyway!!
Thank you, Butterfly, for doing all the work and getting them correct, so we can see the spoilers early!! I haven’t been this excited for a DWTS show in years!!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious = wayyyyyy too fast for a quickstep. You’d have to slow it down substantially before it would be danceable, and by that point, it wouldn’t even really sound like the same song.
All I keep hearing is “Poor Meryl. Why won’t they let Meryl be a princess???” Once again, I reiterate: Meryl CHOSE not to be one. She didn’t want to be one. She is just fine with the song they chose.
I’m glad Meryl chose not to be a princess. I’m sure the woman is tired of that cliche. Probably why she embraced that Tango. Wants to show different personality.
And yes, supercaliwhateverwhatever will require oxygen at the end…,
With Donny Osmond as a guest judge, I kind of wished someone would do a paso doble to ” I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan (probably would fit Cody the best lol).
I am not particularly excited about any theme weeks, so Disney Week didn’t really get me that excited, just hoping for waltzes :-D. But looking at FOUR Standard dances and a bunch of Sambas (do i love sambas ever since Apolo’s tiger samba lol), I’m pretty pumped now. It’s always a delight to see the ballroom gowns. All the songs are pretty promising too. Next week looks like it’s going to be fun.
I noticed that S16 and S17, a couple could only get either contemporary or jazz. Now Charlie and Sharna are getting it again. Though, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a super upbeat song so I’m looking forward to seeing a real fun number.
So excited for this! And I am glad that Meryl chose not to be a princess – I think this will be a good dance for her! And the two quicksteps should be fun!
Perhaps a Super… Quickstep on Meth? lol.
My guesses on scores (Carrie Ann, Len, Donnie, Bruno):
Charlie and Sharna: 37 (9,9,10,9)
Danica and Val: 36 (9,9,9,9)
James and Peta: 38 (10,9,10,9)
Drew and Cheryl: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Amy and Derek: 36 (9,9,9,9)
Candice and Mark: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Meryl and Maks: 39 (10,10,10,9)
Nene and Tony: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Cody and Witney: 33 (8,8,8,9)
I think Meryl who dances as a princess on some of her skating numbers, would b tired of that role.
Sidenote: I am hoping for some 3d dalmations but Nene rocking a cruella wig would be hysterical. Now for Danica and Val…..Val as Lumiere would be hysterical unless of course they are using him as the 3d. I just hope we do not get a 3d Baloo (the bear) from the Jungle Book. Hoping we get King Louie.
Someone mentioned that their having animation, 3-D also w/the dances. Similar to the one like Derek/Zendaya n Mark/4got her name did.
@vin – “I am hoping for some 3d dalmations but Nene rocking a cruella wig would be hysterical.”
Thanks for that!! That’s what I call Must See TV! LOL!
‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ by Charlie and Sharna. Should be interesting.
Hm, I’ll predict the scores and I’m gonna take a shot at the dance order too, just for fun (CAI, Len, Donnie, Bruno):
Cody & Witney: Samba : 31 (8,7,8,8)
Amy & Derek: Waltz : 32 (8,8,8,8)
Charlie & Sharna :Jazz: 40 (10,10,10,10)
Candace & Mark: Samba : 33 (8,8,9,8)
Danica & Val: Quickstep : 36 (9,9,9,9)
NeNe & Tony : Foxtrot : 33 (8,8,9,8)
Meryl & Maks: Samba : 37 (9,9,10,9)
Drew & Cheryl: Quickstep : 31 (8,7,8,8)
James & Peta: Contemporary : 38 (10,9,10,9)
Elimination: NeNe or Candace (MAYBE Cody, but I doubt it)
Does anyone know since they are including some animation in the dances are they using all of the originally recorded versions of the songs?
@Court – I didn’t expect my guesses to be quite that accurate; I was just applying some deductive reasoning to the clues that had been given here and in interviews, and trying to get some discussion started. I was really surprised at the impact they had. 🙂
Rainemayer, I was just wondering the same thing.
I have been waiting until Disney Week to bring this up, anyone else think Meryl looks like Mulan???????????
I’m still holding out hope for a surprise cameo from Idina Menzel. Her Broadway show is dark Monday night.
I’m a little concerned about Meryl’s song but she always seems to embrace a good challenge.
Izzy, Meryl has very unique, beautiful eyes with an almost Asian look to them so I can see the Mulan reference, however I think she most resembles Belle.
That could just be projection on my part since Belle is my favorite Disney heroine.
I honestly expected there to be more Standard Ballroom, so I’m a little surprised we have a lot of latin. Based on Charlie and Sharna’s Jazz song it sounds like its going to be more broadway-jazz as apposed to the contemporary-jazz that I enjoy more so that’s a little upsetting.
Caught a clip of NeNe & Tony rehearsing on The Insider last night – looks like NeNe’s definitely embracing the Cruella De Vil role, strutting around with an imaginary cigarette and looking haughty. Will be interesting to see if they do the two-tone wig on her and whether she’ll have a fur coat. If I’m the most excited to see Charlie’s dance – I think NeNe’s is a close second. 😛
Three sambas is a lot of Latin? Ummm…kay.
Initially I wasn’t TOO too excited about the potential cheese factor with people dressed in costumes and using the animated CGI characters (mostly because I think that stuff takes away from the actual dancing) it will be such a refreshing change from the vibe of the switch-up week so I welcome it.
I’m thinking Charlie and James might stand out some only because they have such different dances from everyone else (and they’re both great dancers).
Just more latin then I expected since when I pictured Disney I pictured lots of Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Contemporary and Fox-Trot routines.
I am just so glad that everybody is back with their original partners that I am going to embrace Disney week. Should be a fun night.
Meryl loves Disney princesses and her phone screen is even a picture of all the Disney princesses, so I’m surprised she wouldn’t have wanted to be one…
Anyway, I am most excited for Amy, Danica, Nene, and Charlie’s dances based on the song and characters.
A little nervous for Meryl, but I’m sure she will do great. 🙂 Super excited to see NeNe’s, Charlie’s, and Cody’s too. Thank you so much for the info!
In an interview with Maks and Meryl, Maks was not to thrilled about Disney week. He said that production was pushing him to be a character that he doesn’t resemble and that he would be playing a 10 year old boy. I just hope their dance is amazing.
Maks has said he will be playing the 10 year old boy, so who does that mean Meryl will be portraying? I am excited to see Charlie and Sharna’s jazz, sounds like it will be very entertaining.
Disney Week could be a blast and I’m really looking forward to it. I do worry a bit with all this talk of 3-D animation. The couples could get lost in all the extraneous crap being projected on the floor and the dang production Muppets are likely to screw up several routines by missing cues or pushing the wrong buttons. Can you imagine Jungle Book characters popping up in the middle of Amy and Derek’s beautiful Cinderella waltz?
Charlie and Sharna’s jazz should be amazing, and for once I want to see NeNe and Tony. Cruella is one of my all-time favorite Disney baddies. I can’t imagine NeNe passing up the opportunity to don the black/white wig and fur coat (according to Court, she’s already practicing her long-handled cigarette holder moves). I was Cruella a few years ago for a halloween party; it was a blast! 😛
I’m also excited for Week 5 and think it’s going to be entertaining and glad to see the couples back with their original partner.
I saw a video of a priest singing the “Hallelujah” song from Disney movie Shrek and it made me think that Meryl would have made a could princess (when she was a human) I think she looks like her. But then I read Courtney’s post that said Meryl didn’t want to be a princess. Also, I recalled that it seems that this song was done in a dance in a past season.
Oh, yes, and I would like to Thank you so much for posting the dances and songs and movie titles for Disney night. You’all seem like a group of nice people who give their opinions kindly, are advice helpful with answering questions. It seems peaceful and glad I made the choice to register and I hope the show goes on and on into more seasons. Enjoy the show Monday and see you afterwards. Have a great weekend.
Okay Cidra, now I want see a picture of you as Cruella!
I’m no Tony and to a lesser extent NeNe fan either but I’m looking forward to this dance as well.
What I really would be jazzed for is someone to dance as Malificent. She’s my favorite Disney baddie. Unfortunately there’s no song associated with her, unless you count evil cackling.
@Susan2 Well, there IS Lana Del Rey’s version of “Once Upon a Dream” that is being used as kinda the “theme” for the new Maleficent movie. So that could have sorta maybe worked? Would have been cool to see someoelne be Malecifent though. I think Sharna could have pulled the look very well 😛
I’m really looking forward to Disney week – sounds like it’s gonna be lots of fun. Only small grip – was kind of hoping they’d give Charlie a Standard Ballroom this week since his “non-rhumba” got nailed by the judges last week for being “too contemporary-ish”. Now he’s getting a jazz. I really don’t want the nay-sayers to think he’s a one-note dancer. He needs to excel at more challenging styles. Should have saved the jazz for later. After all, Meryl hasn’t even gotten a contemporary/jazz and already people think she’s light-years better then him just because for one week she got better choreography in a Latin style.
I can’t decide if that’s going to work for Charlie or against him. He’ll go into the later rounds with only ballroom to do and he should be good at it. On the other side, theoretically, Meryl will have to do Jazz and/or contemporary and Maks hasn’t been able to choreograph outside of ballroom to save his life. I guess we’ll see if TPTB really want to give him a great shot to win – if Meryl never gets Jazz or contemporary, we’ll know. And if Charlie finishes the competition doing only latin, we’ll be sure.
By allowing couples to do both contemporary AND Jazz, they have more dances with which to manipulate the results.
My guesses on scores (Carrie Ann, Len, Donnie, Bruno):
Charlie and Sharna: 39 (10,9,10,10)
Danica and Val: 35 (9,8,9,9)
James and Peta: 38 (10,9,10,9)
Drew and Cheryl: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Amy and Derek: 36 (9,9,9,9)
Candice and Mark: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Meryl and Maks: 36 (9,9,9,9)
Nene and Tony: 34 (8,8,9,9)
Cody and Witney: 34 (9,8,8,9)
I was re-watching Meryl and Val’s dance just now, and I have to admit–I actually really, really liked the choreography. And I recall enjoying his past dances too, like with Zendaya and then his Latin ones with Elizabeth and now Danica… Since I’m not at all experienced in ballroom dance though, I was wondering what Courtney thought: do you think Val’s becoming the #2 best choreographer on the show right now? (D Hough being the first of course.) Just wondering what people from a dance-educated background would think. 🙂
As much as I love the choices they have, I was oddly hoping for a tango to “Be Prepared” from The Lion King but at least they used a song from it so I’m happy 🙂
Meryl is probably going to have to contemporary and/or jazz, like you said, in the coming weeks. While I’m concerned about Maks’ choreographing abilities, tbh, contemporary isn’t that difficult to choreograph. Look at Charlie and Sharna’s week 1 contemporary — it was practically all lifts, and about 3/4 of them were from Meryl and Charlie’s past ice dancing routines anyway. I’m sure Maks can handle lifting Meryl; she’s so light anyway. Practically anything that isn’t strictly another style, like a rumba or tango, is contemporary. Contemporary is basically dancing with emotion and lyricism.
Pure mods, can you clarify this for me: Are pros who aren’t familiar with styles (like Maks isn’t very familiar with contemporary and jazz) allowed to consult choreographers of that style to help them achieve authenticity? I know Maks and Erin brought in Mandy Moore to choreograph their finale contemporary routine, but I’m guessing the finale freestyle may be a special case.
I’m surprised that they are giving Charlie jazz this week. Most contestants do either contemporary or jazz for the whole season, even if they make it to the finals. That’s downright generous, in my opinion. Jazz is one of the easiest styles to dance, and is scored the most generously because frankly, the judges aren’t qualified to judge contemporary or jazz. Charlie is going to struggle (and has struggled) with latin dances (last week’s rumba, for instance). I think his rumba was beautiful, but I have to agree with Len and Carrie Ann, that while Peta’s hip action was good (obviously), Charlie’s hip action was pretty lacking. Meryl will probably have the same problem, but we’ve seen in past dance-offs they have in shows like stars on ice that Meryl can and has used pretty decent hip action. Ballroom is going to be better for Charlie, probably, but as the man he’s going to have to lead. Leading is always pretty difficult, and on ice there’s less of a man-leads-the-woman dynamic than in the ballroom. Meryl has said that she has to let herself be led because that’s the way it is in ballroom dances.
I’m interested to see how Amy does in ballroom dances. It’s going to be difficult for her, I think, because while she’s really good at hip action, taking those gliding steps will be difficult with prosthetics. If anyone can help her though, it’s Derek. I think Amy was incredibly, incredibly fortunate to get Derek as a partner. Without him, I would not even think Amy as even somewhat a contender. Derek really brings out the best in his partners! 🙂
Thank you, Pure mods for the inside intel! Please do keep those little details coming, especially when dress rehearsals come around 🙂
The way TPTB play fast and loose with the long-standing norms of the show these last couple seasons, it’s entirely possible that Maks (and I say Maks, not Meryl) will be able to avoid Contemporary and Jazz if he says he doesn’t want to do thoses styles. It sure looks to me like there’s a whole lot more cherry-picking of dance styles these days to give certain couples an advantage and stick it to other couples.
If Maks has to choreograph contemporary, jazz, or anything else he doesn’t know, I believe he *can* call in outside help. Karina had someone help with a mid-season hip-hop. The bigger question is would Maks “lower himself” to asking some lesser being for help? The most I can see him doing is bringing in little bro (who can do *everything*, as far as the Chmercockys are concerned).
Kristine, I think it’s a huge mistake to look at contemporary as “easy” – if it was that easy, the DWTS pros would be a lot better at it. It’s not easy at all, not to do a good one, anyway. Maks had Mandy Moore help him (if it was easy he wouldn’t have needed her) and the dance still sucked because he’s just not experienced in it. He can neither dance it nor choreograph it, IMO. It requires a much more relaxed and fluid posture, from what I’ve seen and he is a BALLROOM dancer all the way. He is NOT the well rounded dancer that Derek, Mark and, to a lesser extent, Val are. There is nothing wrong with that – but it will impact him when it comes time to do contemporary. Lucky for him, the judges go pretty easy on contemporary and jazz routines – I think the audience is actually smarter and if it doesn’t connect emotionally in a big way (Derek/Kellie, Derek/Amy) it ain’t going to happen.
Of course the pros are allowed to bring in outside choreographers. I think it happens far more often than we’re aware of. Shirley’s been in there, Mandy’s been in there, Derek had someone show him Bhangra, Peta had someone show her Bollywood (and it still sucked), Maks had Mandy….there are tons of examples of outside choreo help.
As for Charlie leading? Bull – a skilled woman can back lead and half the audience won’t even know. But I think he will be able to lead with little problem, actually.
Cidra, I think he would ask for help….the problem is he is not a good contemporary dancer. At all. That dance with Erin was just bad and it wasn’t Erin’s fault, as I recall. Tony did a better job, but only because it was lift, pose, lift, pose, lift, pose without the lyrical feel that Derek and Kellie’s had.
I think that, if there is a restructuring of the judges’ panel along with Conrad Green, they need to have a bigger variety of judges. In the beginning, having three ballroom experts worked. That’s because the show, and frankly, the dance world in general, was more divided. Styles had their borders, and that was that. Nowadays, the lines between styles are more blurred. And, as it has been said on this thread, the judges now aren’t as fit to judge these styles. A new producer is a great opportunity for new judges! (And maybe a new cohost?)
The judges are more qualified (with the exception of Len) to judge jazz and contemporary.
I didn’t say contemporary is easy; I said contemporary is easy to choreograph, partly because such a broad gamut of dances qualify as contemporary (same with jazz). You have afro jazz, traditional jazz, broadway jazz, contemporary, edgy contemporary, pop jazz, etc etc. – so many variations that all look incredibly different (and really, can all be different styles on their own), but are categorized under two very broad genres. Contemporary is especially easy to choreograph for when the choreographers are working with people like Meryl and Charlie, whose job is to exude lyricism on the ice. They are graceful, and contemporary is about being graceful, delicate, but certain at the same time. I agree that the pros aren’t all good at contemporary, and It’s not surprising; ballroom is pretty different in many ways, especially the latin dances. I was saying that Meryl and Charlie, from their background in particular, contemporary is easier than other dances (like latin) for them. I agree, though, that overall making contemporary look good is not always so easy.
You’re right. Maks isn’t a terribly good contemporary dancer. I’m not surprised though. Look at his body type (muscular, broad, tall built) — if you look at amazing contemporary dancers like Travis Wall, Billy Bell, Jakob Karr, and Ricky Ubeda to name a few, they all are the shorter, leaner, and less obviously muscular type than Maks is. They are extremely flexible (incredible extension, over splits, etc.), agile, and many other qualities like those, and that is partly due to their build. Derek on the other hand has some of those qualities, too, and he’s pretty good at contemporary.
I am a contemporary dancer myself, and you can generally see two types of contemporary dances, especially at the amateur or competitive (not professional, mind you) level: 1) both the girl and the boy are incredible contemporary dancers, or 2) the girl is an incredible contemporary dancer, and the boy might have some good contemporary qualities, but largely does lifts. Both types can and have produced amazing dances. Contemporary dance, it is sometimes said, depends on the girl and how much she can do. A couple of amazing lifts or turns can really make a dance.
Erin and Maks’ contemporary was not the worst I have ever seen. I think it’s unfair to say that Maks was the problem, because while he wasn’t outstanding, he supported Erin in the lifts well, and at least didn’t detract too much. You often don’t pay much attention to the guy in this type of dance that they did anyway, especially on first watch; you often pay attention to the girl. Erin, on the other hand, while she did well for her lack of dance background, had various flaws. For example, bent legs, truncated extensions, stiff body, sickled feet, and she didn’t lock in her core when she did that assisted extended aerial flip. That’s why the ending position of that move turned out so awkward looking – Erin didn’t extend her upper body straight, and ended up clinging to Maks’ arm. It’s a tough move, and I’m pretty impressed that she attempted it, but the dance itself wasn’t technically perfect, and it was a little stiff. If Meryl did that dance with Maks, I suspect it would be pretty good because she has the grace and technique to perfect contemporary dance. The thing with Meryl is that even if Maks isn’t a good contemporary dancer, since Meryl is graceful and can do impressive lifts and turns, as long as Maks gets someone to consult so that the choreography is good, then it can still be a good dance.
Yeah, still don’t agree. These are ballroom trained dancers here – to claim that contemporary is going to be easy to choreograph for those not trained in it is, well, insulting to people who do choreograph it, and choreograph it very, very well. I also don’t agree that Maks doesn’t have to be good for Meryl to turn out a good contemporary routine – they are partners, if one of them can’t do it, it doesn’t work. Of course, Ballroom is more difficult – but that’s a different thing than saying contemporary is easy.
Okay, Erin and Maks wasn’t the worst you’ve seen in the universe – I was referring to DWTS. You’re also making rather broad generalizations of how people watch a dance, when everyone is obviously different. I certainly don’t focus on the woman – my eyes get drawn to different people for different reasons. Maks is the pro, Erin isn’t. You wouldn’t expect her to excel. Maks, on the other hand, I would expect to know better than to choose something that he’s NOT good at. Even choosing contemporary was a dumb move. She was never going to beat either Evan or Nicole, but did he have to make it so easy and so obvious??
I think Erin and Maks’ dance wasn’t the worst in DWTS either, I can think of a couple other dances that were worse perhaps for different reasons. Dance is subjective though and we can agree to disagree.
Ok, perhaps I worded that incorrectly. I should have been clearer and tempered my phrasing. I didn’t mean that it is easy for a non-professional to choreograph contemporary necessarily. I mean that if there is inspiration (from a good dancer, a song, or idea), then it is often not too difficult to choreograph a contemporary dance to it, because contemporary can accommodate so many different emotions. Do you really think Maks choreographed that finale contemporary dance? Tbh I’m pretty convinced that Mandy Moore choreographed that whole dance. I wanted to express that there are so many different types of contemporary and ways to express those types of feelings that it is often not too difficult to find a style and difficulty level that suits any dancer. Obviously there are different levels of difficulty in contemporary dances, and I was saying that to choreograph a dance that can be classified as contemporary, it doesn’t have to be difficult (not saying that these are the professional level dances, though). Contemporary dance is any dance that expresses a strong emotion (it doesn’t have to be technically difficult with many lifts and spins, there are plenty of dances whose emotions are so harrowingly beautiful without technical difficulty), and there are so many ways to express emotion. When an emotion is strong enough, it often isn’t so difficult to express those feelings into movements, even if it’s just in-your-own-bedroom-only-for-yourself type dancing. And all those types of dancing are still classified as contemporary dance because of that emotional element. I admit that my wording of that concept was not ideal though, and I apologize if I offended.
That being said, a dancer with many virtues is, predictably, easier to choreography for than one who cannot do as many impressive moves. There are some stunning dancers, like Jeanine Mason, Melanie Moore, and others, who can take whatever style, dance, etc. and even bad choreography and make it look good. THAT is what I mean. When a dancer, music, or even idea inspires a choreographer (think muse), it isn’t difficult for him/her to choreograph an amazing contemporary piece for it, and if the dancer is very skilled, it also isn’t difficult to execute the choreography beautifully. That’s how for amazing choreographers like Travis Wall, choreographing contemporary dances are “easy” (he is also a force of nature anyway).
Yes, Meryl and Maks are partners, but I’m saying that it is possible to mask imperfections. Look at Amy and Derek’s contemporary – it was beautiful, and played to her strengths. It was lift-heavy and she didn’t have as many independent sections, and that is how Derek successfully masked the fact that she couldn’t really dance on her own in those special prosthetic feet obviously. He did that well. By extension, it’s not hard for Meryl and Maks to mask the fact that Maks isn’t perfect in contemporary. For example, he can just do the emotive walking type movements and lift supporting while Meryl does the more technically advanced moves. Many contemporary dances are like that and many of them are still exceptional, is what I’m saying. Maks isn’t the worst of the worst contemporary dancers, not by a long measure, but he’s not the best for sure either. I’m sure they can manage. Their foxtrot was pretty much contemporary style anyway.
I am absolutely in awe of how Derek choreographed that contemporary, now that I’ve heard Amy explain what it took for her to do it on those pointed prosthetic feet. She is amazing.
Disagree, Kristine, I heard people say how Derek covered Amy but disagree, That dance was a great expression of her learning to walk away. Also the amount of core strength to dance on those feet was like trying to dance en pointe. Also Melanie Moore is not all around dancer. Brandon and Janine are good examples of all around. Brandon killed every genres. Actually from sytycd ballroom, Paul and Lacey best all around dancers and surprisingly Pasha. Pasha was competitive, competing with other dwts pros back in the days. Yet he is stronger contemporary and jazz when he did it on sytycd than Maks. Maks is just not a good contemporary dancer. It happens. Benji’s cousin couldn’t adapt to ballroom so mia literally benched her in the bench dance. Contemporary is disceptive. While ballroom is so technical, it brings a different set of challenges, which is why the show should stop trying to do both with novice dancers.
Meryl should be fine. She and Charlie worked with Alex Wong who is an amazing dancer, I am sure she can give Maks pointers. My concern is more Maks choreographing and dancing it. If tptb, they wouldn’t have had Val do AT since Maks could do that dance. But given Meryl jazz or contemporary while away from Maks. Then again, Meryl can be killing it with the votes.
I do think ?Charlie can win. I do kinda agree and wish ?Sharna gave Charlie more for her contemporary. It felt lazy to just use their lifts. But I think their jazz with be amazing. Great song for great staging which is Sharna’s strong point.
Kristine, you use paragraph after long paragraph tying yourself in knots and I’m not sure why. Agreeing to disagree takes one sentence. You bring in SYTYCD which I don’t care about since the discussion is about DWTS. You bring Derek and Amy into a discussion about Maks and Meryl. Why? To try to put Derek on a level footing with Maks? To prove that you don’t have to be a contemporary dancer to have a good routine? You failed. Derek is the best contemporary choreographer on DWTS, by far. And, for a supposed dancer, you very conveniently miss the whole message of Derek and Amy’s dance, as Melissa said – that tells me you aren’t a very good comtemporary dancer OR you are throwing out red herrings to attempt to change the conversation away from Maks and his shortcomings regarding contemporary. Maks IS NOT a contemporary dancer – he was not able to mask it when he was with Erin, and I doubt he’ll be able to mask it if he does it with Meryl. Although he certainly puts a ton of walking in his ballroom dances so he should be good at that. Again – I never said Maks was the worst of contemporary dancers…I said he was worst on DWTS. And if you would relax and quit trying to hard to appear like some sort of expert by using long paragraphs of extraneous information, you would realize that since this is a ballroom show (supposedly) and Maks is a ballroom dancer, there is actually nothing wrong with sucking at contemporary.
Kristine didn’t say that Maks is a good contemporary dancer, nor that he is a good contemporary choreographer. She made good points about contemporary choreography and how a good choreographer can mask his partner. I agree totally with what you said, Kristine. CAI and Bruno after that freestyle contemporary both said that Maks did well for not being trained in contemporary, and well, determining whether a dance was bad or not and saying who is the worst or best dancer is all subjective, and cannot be generalized. Many different criteria can be involved.
I think more credit should be given to Amy though. You can’t do what she does without determination and passion.
And I disagreed with what she said, Lianne. What is the point of the many paragraphs describing how good choreography can mask a partner if not to apply it to Maks, since that was what the conversation was about, eh? I don’t think Maks is able to do that even if it is choreographed by someone else. There is a direct implication in Kristine’s paragraphs that you’re trying to back out of on her behalf. You then circle around to Maks again to say that Bruno and Carrie Ann said he did well for not being trained – well, yes, for NOT BEING TRAINED. That’s the polite way of saying “you didn’t totally suck like we thought you would.” Congratulations. 🙂 So, is this about Maks or not? Which is it? I think both of you are very confused on what it is you’re trying to say, all in defense of Maks when he doesn’t really need defending. Try less words and more directness next time – something like “I don’t agree, Heidi, I think Maks did well for not being trained.” Or perhaps, “I agree Maks is not a contemporary dancer, but that’s to be expected since he’s not trained in it.” All the other crap is just making my head hurt and all you’re really wanting to do is defend him in some way like good fans.
But I’m sure that Kristine is very grateful that you backed her up. 😀
Teni, how ’bout you let the mods decided when its time to put an argument to rest? 😉
@Vic – That’s unfortunately a rather complicated answer 😛 The thing that I find to be most different about pros like Derek, Mark, Julianne, and now Karina vs. the Chmerkovskiys (and to a lesser degree, Tony) is that their choreography is suited to different things: I think the former camp’s creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is better suited to DWTS, and I think the latter’s rigid adherence to more straight-ballroom choreography is better suited to the real ballroom competition world. I think all the pros kind of started out with very “strictly ballroom” choreography in their first few seasons, and then once they got a feel for how the show works, they began to venture out of the box a bit more – and it’s taken some longer than others. I think Val is slowly beginning to move from the “strictly ballroom” camp and become a bit more creative, but just from the attitude I’ve seen from the fam (“this is a ballroom show, it should be only real ballroom choreography!”), I don’t know that he’ll ever be able to completely jump out of the box like Derek has – it seems like you really have to fully let go of the idea that DWTS is a “real ballroom competition” in order to really embrace the attitude of DWTS. So I guess to answer your question – I would say Val is probably second to Derek in choreography in the current crop of male pros, but I still feel like there’s a fairly large gap between Derek’s level of mastery of DWTS-appropriate choreography and Val’s. I’m also a bit skeptical of how Val would fare if he was given a less-capable partner now – since he’s only had two so-so partners (and it was over 2 years ago), I’m not sure if he’d really be able to adapt his choreography well to suit that partner. That’s probably the other component of choreographic success on this show – adapting to fit your partner, while still being creative and entertaining.
Sometimes I think when the pros say, “this routine is something you’d see in a real ballroom competition” is a euphemism for “my choreography sucks, so this is my excuse.”
True story, Jane 😛
Thanks for the info Courtney 🙂 Yeah, I think Val might not know when to make a less able partner shine with his choreo. I feel like Mark struggles with the same thing, to a certain extent…And he either goes way crazy (Chelsea’s jive) or within the limits haha.
I agree with you, Jane. For me the hallmark of a talented choreographer is one who can adapt their skill set to meet the needs of the situation in which they find themselves. DWTS has moved far beyond its roots as a celebrity knock-off of a ballroom dancing competition. While I don’t like all the changes that have been made in the last few seasons, the pros who’re on the show either need to embrace the changes and adapt or find other work, in my opinion — that’s what being a “professional” means for me. (Same goes for the judging panel — looking at *you* Len Goodman).
Animation with the dances, ‘eh? 🙁 I wonder if the choreo had to “bend” to fit the animation, or the other way ’round? Seems like that would make the pro’s job even tougher.
Sally, I would hope the producers would work the animation around the pros choreo but we know how this show works.
Jane, I agree. The pros need to learn to adapt to what the viewing audience want to see. I would say most just want to be entertained.
Yeah, Derek took people like Joanna Krupa, Lil’ Kim and Jennie Garth a long way into the competition. Val couldn’t do that with Sherri Shepherd or Clooney’s ex who’s name escapes me now. He also couldn’t win with a ringer against a novice. It will be interesting to see if Val can escape that mentality that has held Maks back. If he can, he could be the next big thing, although he has a long way to go to get close to Derek. He definitely needs an attitude adjustment where Derek is concerned if he is ever going to get there.
If you go back to season 5 and watch Derek’s dances with Jennie, or season 6 and his dances with Shannon – he was strictly ballroom for a while too. Actually, probably with Brooke too. But then he was handed Lil’ Kim and had to really adapt to her personality to get her to shine. Then Joanna Krupa who danced like a model….his Futuristic Paso with her, I think, started him on his leap out of the box.
The pros training is so different. While most of them were professional in latin/ballroom, many of them are not trained in other styles. When the show started, they all had more or less equal knowledge. But not any more. And I think it’s not an easy for many pros to be forced outside their comfort zone, and to learn new styles through trial and error in front of the general audience. Some, like Derek, Mark or Julianne have been heavily trained in entertainment productions, so they had the ability to change and adapt their choreo from before the show… so they had it easier I’d say
Or, Anna, they took the time to learn other styles. Derek, for example, took 3 months and learned tap for a movie. He’s also been spending a LOT of time with non-ballroom dancers, such as Nappytabs and others, working with them on various functions and projects. Derek, and to a lesser extent Mark, have taken the time to step outside the ballroom world and learn other styles – and I’m not just talking in school. Cheryl also got a lot of training in AT. This s something that ALL of the other pros could do if they wanted to. Nothing is stopping them. If they don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine – but neither they nor their fans get to say “Derek and Mark have it easier”. No, Derek and Mark worked at it.
I also think that the pros’ philosophy about teaching dance and about the show is very different… and whether we like it or not, I respect their decision to stick to their philosophy.
The fact that some pros want to stick to proper, standard dancing is not wrong in itself. That’s what they are passionate about, and they want to see that spirit and tradition being showcased and carried on to a broader audience.
PH, by saying they have it *easier* I did not imply that it’s a piece of cake for them. But, they do have their body trained and exposed to other dance styles, so it made the learning and deepening of the technique much easier.
Which any of the other pros could do if they wanted to – no one is stopping them. What bugs me is the pouting when their way doesn’t give them a win, yet they refuse to try to adapt their method. They would rather complain about Derek or the show. Sure, stick to your standards – but don’t bitch when your way doesn’t give you a win. You can’t have it both ways.
But besides any dis/advantage in learning new dance styles, I believe some pros are more tempted and attracted to other dance style than others. Derek may be able to leave his mark with a hybrid type of dancing, but I would imagine Karina to never even consider that. She worked her a** off to reach a certain caliber of dancing in latin/ballroom, she is being recognized for that, so why change that?
This is my last post, I promise I’ll stop after this.
I think it is very unfortunate that the fans, the media and the general public seem to keep a tally of the mirror ball wins as if that is the ultimate measure of the quality of a pro dancer. This is not to say that winning doesn’t mean something, it is certainly proof of many qualities. But if we are going to measure the “worthyness” of a pro by his/her wins, then sure at some point its gets to some of the pros. Especially to those pros who are passionate about the art of dance, and what to transmit it in a certain shape and form.
Just my 2 cents… but thanks to this blog for allowing me to state my opinions 🙂
One of my Instructors in Culinary School once told me “Even though you may think you know everything about cooking there will always be someone that knows more.”
He told me this so I could realize as long as I stayed at a comfortable level in my cooking I would really never learn anything new. If you don’t go outside your comfort zone, you will never achieve greatness.
I think the same could be said for dancing.
Sure some pros want to learn new styles and others don’t, but that’s not the point. If they want to be successful on DWTS in it’s current form, they need to adapt. If they don’t want to adapt, then they need to either not whine about it when they don’t win, or leave. Frankly, I’d rather they leave.
As for Karina, I think she’s done an excellent job of adapting her style over the seasons she’s been on DWTS. She was very traditional initially and many viewers found her hard and not particularly likeable. When she came back to the show after taking time off, her approach was different, and while she still finds it tough to embrace some of the radically different styles (like hip-hop), she’s open to giving things a try and she’s become a much more popular pro and successful pro because of it.
Bottom line, the show is what it is and if a pro isn’t getting the results they want with the style of dance they’re comfortable with and passionate it’s up to them to adapt or leave. None of them (lookin’ at you Maks and Val) are that important that the show is going to change to suit them.
@ Cidra +1
@Cidra +2
When I first heard of Disney week, I rolled my eyes a bit, but now that I see the line up of dances and songs, I’m kind of looking forward to it, particularly Charlie (love the song and the choreo preview), Amy (she’s a weekly mystery), and Candace and Cody (for their songs). Also really like Danica’s song which I think, along with QS, will suit her well if Val can get past his QS jinx.
One of the things I will say about Maks is that, with rare exception, he’s a hardcore traditionalist and holds his partners to that. Granted it may not make for the most winning Freestyle or versatile dancer/dancers/entertainment, but the dance purist in me both misses and appreciates that in this show.
@Cidra – Touching on Karina. That girl has been raked through the coals over the years, comments about her were mean and brutal and yet she still managed to hold her head up high and be a professional. I don’t know how she did it. There is nothing more difficult than having to work with an ex, let alone a bitter one. Kudos to her.
@Cidra (#104) +3.
Wynn, agreed. I think it’s important to learn traditional techniques and styles then add your own flavor in. Now being innovative doesn’t have to mean learning new dance styles. That’s diversifying. Being innovative can also mean taking a dance style you know and making it look completely truly new. It’s important to balance both, I think.
Cidra+infinity!
Karina really started to “get” the show during her Billy Ray Cyrus season. You could see how hard it was for her as as world Dancesport champion to have to partner a dance challenged celeb like Cyrus. I still remember her breaking down in tears in the bathroom during rehearsal with him and how horrible I felt for her.
However, she learned from her misconceptions and never looked back after that. Karina has the mark of the an exceptionally intelligent person who learns from her mistakes, forgives herself and moves on.
Something certain other pros on the show should learn from as well. Cough, cough…..Maks,Val ahem.
That picture of all those dance costumes on the rack made me feel ridiculously happy. Does anyone else get as stoked about the costumes on DWTS as I do?
So, she doesn’t have to change it – but she, nor anyone else, doesn’t get to claim that Derek has it easier when he just worked harder to cultivate different styles. She or any of the other pros could do that as well. Again – you can’t have it both ways. If you want to win the show, you ADAPT to the show. You don’t whine and complain about those who do. Not that Karina ever has – SHE never would.
I’m not sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China, Anna.
Agreed, Tina – but there are few pros on DWTS that are capable of that either.
I do, Susan2 The costumes are a big draw for me. Although I miss Randall’s special touch, I still look forward to seeing what everyone’s wearing (or in Peta’s case, not wearing 😉 ) each week.
Disney Week is just one sleep away! 😛
With Maks it’s not just a question of him changing behavior. It’s his energy. He is ceaselessly disgruntled. He could change his behavior, and the words he speaks, and he would still come off as peevish. That’s his energy. And I think that part of Maks came about when Val was born, and Maks went from being the center of the universe to someone whose job was now to safeguard the new and improved center of the universe. Maks’s energy is stuck there. And so that is what animates him, regardless of what he says or does. It’s very lucky that Val didn’t win with Zendaya because that may well have sent him over the edge. All that having been said, I very much don’t want him to win because then it will be, “See, when I get a good partner —– like Derek always does —– I can win too.” I would just really rather not have to hear that.
A good teacher knows the material and imparts it to a student. (Val) A great teacher inspires a student to learn. (Karina) A gifted teacher knows the material, inspires the student AND figures out how the student learns and adjust their teaching methods. (Derek) Just my opinion.
Yeah, some of the pros frankly aren’t very good teachers. But that’s ok too. That doesn’t mean they are any less great as professional dancers themselves. Not everyone can be a good teacher, otherwise the title of teacher wouldn’t mean anything.
#109 Sandy, That’s why I admire her a lot more….she was treated badly and has been able to forgive and forget.
I’m totally speculating here, but looking at past seasons, week 6 (next week) or week 8 (in two weeks) could be the group dance week because there will be an even number of couples. After this Disney week, we’re going to have 8 couples left, so that would make for a nice, even 4/4 split into 2 teams. If this is the case, I suspect that we’ll see Meryl and Charlie at the top of the leaderboard, tied either with each other or 1 and 2 so they will be “pitted against each other” and each leading one of the two teams. Ah, show business. I also then can see perhaps one of the female celebrities leaving tomorrow (perhaps Candace, unfortunately, due to her low judges’ scores these past two weeks, although she has a strong popular vote), to have a balance 4 female celebrity pairs, and 4 male celebrity pairs.
LOL mere speculation on my part. We’ll see what happens very soon! I’m excited for tomorrow! Please keep some spoilers coming our way!
Wait I totally forgot about Nene…. forget what I said about Candace. I certainly can see Nene being eliminated tomorrow.
#113 Susan2: I love the pretty Disney dresses too!!! I wonder if the blue one is Amy’s Cinderella dress? And one of the yellow ones could be Danica’s Belle dress? I can’t wait for the Disney music, costumes and dancing!! It will be so much fun, except when someone has to leave the show. I will be sad if it’s Candace. I would rather it be Nene.
@ Heidi….I understand and agree what you are saying concerning the pros needing to adapt to situations in DWTS. To me, it’s about embracing each situation as a new challenge whether it be the dance style, music, potential of their partner, etc. Rather then wasting their mentality on finding excuses, better to practice acquiring a “positive” attitude and embrace a new challenge with it. If I was a pro dancer on this show, I would swallow my pride and learn from the pros that do have a good positive attitude who grab a challenge and nails it. Learning to have patience while teaching is a big key factor in this type of entertainment show. It isn’t always about the win as much as putting forth your best effort to help make their celebrate partner the best dancer they can possibly be as each week progresses. Either embrace the challenge or except the end results.
I’m looking forward to seeing this week’s challenge and how all the couples embrace “Disney” week.
See you after the show folks!
I love Derek’s facial expression in the rehearsal picture with Amy. Looks very dreamy Prince to me.
I can’t tell which of her prosthetics Amy has on. I wonder which one would be better suited to the rise and fall of the Waltz?
@ Cidra in regards to Peta and her costumes or lack thereof: My husband watched with me last week for the first time and one of his most memorable comments centered on Peta’s lack of costume. I had to laugh since I thought the purple was one of her more conservative costumes.
And NO he did not watch because of Erin. Just sayin.
@PJ – But Erin is the reason the ratings for the show are up! She’s a pro and the best in the biz! A lot of men are tuning in just to see her! She is single-handedly saving DWTS from cancellation!!! 😛
And if anyone didn’t catch the sarcasm dripping off that sentence…let me clarify: I was being very, very, VERY sarcastic. 😎
@ Courtney lol – I really can’t repeat what he thought of her interviewing skills.
Just read Cheryl’s blog on Access Hollywood. It makes me a little nervous for Drew tonight. She said she upped the choreography but that he had a very busy, tiring week and she doesn’t sound super confident. She said she wished they didn’t have the Quickstep this week. I’m hopefully he can pull it off though, I just don’t want him to take a step back from his awesome routine last week.
@Anna – I’m a Derek Hough fan and even I get embarrassed over how far his fans take it. I don’t care if he wins the stupid MBT or not – it is not a reflection of his mastery. The show will always be a popularity contest. I’m just glad my favorite happens to be the most popular.
Gee, A “derek fan” showing up here to rag on Derek fans. Someone who’s never posted here before. I’m sure she’s absolutely truthful and is the biggest Derek fan around. 😉
#131: talk about damning with faint praise. Yikes.
This gal has deep respect for Derek Hough and admiration for his accomplishments, dedication and commitment, always ready for a challenge, and in my book he can be my “prince charming” any day. Amy is so fortunate to have him as her partner to take her on a wonderful journey and help her on her journey. I commend her for not letting life win but instead push forward and beat it at it’s own game. I don’t have sympathy for her because I don’t feel sorry for those who fight back at life with a humble and gracious spirit, but I so admire this lady.
All the couples were great tonight and played their parts so well. I enjoyed this so much and it was a successful Disney night for me. A few of the scores were different than what I would have thought, but who am I but one who loves to watch great dancing.