PureDWTS Season 18, Week 6 – What’s Left to Dance?
So we’re at the halfway point in the competition – 5 more weeks to go, and there’s still 8 couples left…seems like a lot, but I guess numerically it makes sense. We’ve got party anthem night this coming Monday, Latin night the following Monday, and then who knows. Will the guest judges cease once we hit week 8? Will the themes cease? When’s the team dance? What other funky sh*t are they gonna throw our way between now and the finale? 😛
I don’t have ALL of the answers, but I’ll try and paint the clearest picture I can of the remainder of the season. Here’s the list of what the remaining couples have left to dance in the coming weeks – I’ve already removed their party anthem week dances, so consider this the remaining dances for Latin week onward. I’ve added a bit of my own commentary as well. And because I’m nice, I did it both a list format AND a handy-dandy chart. 🙂 I have a question mark by the Viennese waltz (see why below) and I honestly doubt we’ll see anyone else doing the swing this season, but I went ahead and included it since we did see it from two couples already.
Meryl & Maks – remaining regular dances: rumba, paso doble, jive, waltz, quickstep, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: contemporary, jazz, salsa
Kinda interesting how Meryl & Maks have basically done two of everything: two Latin dances, two ballroom dances, and two “other” dances – probably the most evenly divided-up of all the couples, and gives them the greatest variety of dances left to do heading into the second half of the competition. I don’t see her necessarily struggling technically with any of the dances she has left – but I do think some of the relentless shippers have built up their rumba so much in their heads that they’re going to be disappointed if they do anything short of making out on the dance floor. I also think Maks’ skills as a choreographer might make some of these styles questionable – I’m highly skeptical of how he’ll do with contemporary & jazz. I’m also wondering if he’ll be able to resist the urge to waste time in their quickstep – that seems to be one dance where he seems to love throwing in long sections of running up and down the stairs or fiddling with props.
Charlie & Sharna – remaining regular dances: samba, paso doble, waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: salsa, Argentine tango, swing
Charlie’s only burned through one ballroom dance so far, and I think he has the potential to really kill it with the ones he has left – if Sharna can choreograph some impactful routines. Kinda glad he got rumba out of the way already, since he seems a tad uncomfortable with the really lovey-dovey dances; I think he’ll probably handle Argentine tango better, because it has such a strong technique component and it moves faster. But I’m fully expecting rumba to crop up again for him as his “redemption dance”. I’m hoping he can really summon some rage (does this kid even have an angry bone in his body? 😛 ) for the paso doble, as that’s one dance that I see going completely against character for him.
James & Peta – remaining dances: cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, waltz, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: jazz, Argentine tango, swing
Unlike a lot of the others, who have burned through almost all of their Latin dances, James has actually gotten all but one (maybe two) of the ballroom dances out of the way, and still has 4 Latin dances to work with – and considering he handled his salsa & jive pretty damn well, he could potentially ace the Latin dances he has left and really build some momentum headed into the finale. I’m hoping Peta learned her lesson with the judges during switch week, and is able to choreograph a really by-the-book rumba for James; maybe getting hosed during a week when nobody actually got sent home was a blessing in disguise for James. I’m thinking his Argentine tango has the potential to make jaws drop – he’s proven he can handle complex choreography and can commit fully to the mood of each dance.
Amy & Derek – remaining regular dances: samba, rumba, paso doble, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: Argentine tango, jazz
I love Amy to bits, but YIKES – I worry that they got the majority of the dances that were going to be easier for her out of the way early, and now she’s stuck with the stuff that may prove pretty difficult on prostheses. She’s probably going to struggle with tango, since she can’t really pivot; I think quickstep & Viennese waltz could cause problems since they involve crossing one ankle over the other at some point; rumba will probably cause problems due to the hip action; she might actually be able to do samba decently, since she is actually able to bend her knees and has a strong core from which she can get the bounce, but pivoting steps like samba runs may be out of the question. Argentine tango? I’m having nightmares of her getting her feet tangled up during one of the sequences of footwork. I’m hoping Derek has got some serious tricks up his sleeve, because I think Amy’s going to really need them in the coming weeks.
Danica & Val – remaining regular dances: rumba, paso doble, waltz, tango, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: salsa, jazz, Argentine tango, swing
Danica is one big puzzle to me – I don’t think she technically struggles with any of the dances (she’s conveniently overcome her arm problem), but at the same time I don’t feel like she really masters any of the dances like Meryl & Charlie, either. I think she may hit a snag with the rumba as she seems to obsess over dance steps, and rumba is one dance where you have to let go a bit and just let the emotion take over. I don’t really have a whole lot else to say about Danica – she’s not the best for me, but not the worst; and she’s not really leaving a very lasting impression on me, either way. Bad? 🙁
Candace & Mark – remaining regular dances: paso doble, waltz, tango, foxtrot, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: salsa, jazz, Argentine tango, swing
Thankfully, she’s gotten most of the Latin out of the way – she really only has paso doble & salsa left to contend with. I think she’ll handle the ballroom better than the Latin, but I still worry that the judges are just gonna nitpick her to death like they did with her quickstep, because they’ve decided she’s disposable. Will be interested to see if they let her do jazz at some point – with the season half over and the theme weeks winding down, I’m wondering if we’ll begin to see less jazz & contemporary. I think she & Mark would knock the jazz out of the park – so if she does get to do it (maybe as a trio dance?) I think it has the potential to be a comeback for her.
NeNe & Tony – remaining dances: samba, paso doble, waltz, tango, quickstep, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: contemporary, Argentine tango, swing
Well NeNe’s burned through all but two of the Latin dances , and she has only managed to check one hardcore ballroom dance off the list…seems like there’s not a whole lot of flashy dances left for her to really sell. And I’m not sure that samba & paso doble are going to be ones that she can really “wing it” with – samba’s heavy on the technique, and paso doble is heavy on the aggression. IF she survives this week – and that’s a big IF – it looks like it’s gonna be a pretty bumpy road for her from here on out.
Drew & Cheryl – remaining dances: samba, rumba, paso doble, foxtrot, Viennese waltz; “other” dances: salsa, contemporary, jazz, Argentine tango, swing
I’m afraid things don’t look particularly easy for Drew, either – the dreaded samba is in the mix, as well as the nitpicky-on-technique rumba. He only has one or two ballroom dances left, and oddly enough, he’s the only contestant left that hasn’t done at least one “extra” dance – he’s the only that has only done real competition dances so far. Can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing – did I read somewhere that Cheryl’s not really fond of contemporary and/or jazz?
Other random thoughts…
Where the hell are the paso doble & the Viennese waltz??? Since paso doble has been included in every season since season 1, I highly doubt they’ve scrapped it as one of the regular dances this season – I’m guessing that the theme weeks thus far just have not really been conducive to the aggressive feel of the paso (think personal story week, Disney week, and party anthems week). We’ll probably have a pretty paso doble-heavy Latin week – for some couples, it’s one of only two Latin dances they even have left to do. Now as for the Viennese waltz – we may or may not see it this season. The fact that we haven’t seen a single one yet (while we have seen two standard waltzes) makes me wonder if they decided to cut this season down to just waltz, or maybe have the couples do only one type of waltz through the course of the season (either waltz OR Viennese waltz – not both). They’ve done it in previous seasons – there’s been seasons with only the waltz, seasons with only the Viennese waltz, seasons where the couples did both, and seasons where they only did one or the other. Guess we’ll just have to wait & see what kind of season this is – I personally prefer the Viennese waltz, because I find it more exciting to watch, but obviously I’m not the one in charge (despite what some fringe fans seem to think)…
What about the team dances? I’m hearing week 7, which is Latin week – which means that the team dances will most likely be Latin dances (my money’s on either both teams doing cha-cha, or one team doing cha-cha and the other doing paso doble), and one team will have 3 couples while the other has 4. They’ll most likely get picked immediately after Monday night’s show, and then go straight to rehearsal. If they follow the scheme of previous seasons, then the two contestants with the highest cumulative score will serve as the team captains – as it stands right now, that’s Meryl (134 total points) and Charlie (131 total points) – but the scores they get Monday night could change that (I doubt it will, but the possibility is there). They’ve also done a coin toss and allowed the winner to either get first pick on the song or the team members, but that could change this season, too. I could go into great detail on all the things that could happen – but that’s best left to a “Team Dance Speculation” post coming up over the weekend 😉
Are we going to see the trio dance again? Haven’t heard anything official, but I would assume so – it’s been too popular in the past 4 seasons to NOT do it. I’m guessing week 8, and as always, it will be either a Latin dance or jazz. I’m guessing they will still be able to pick from either a current troupe member (Sasha, Artem, Lindsay, or Jenna) or an eliminated pro from this season (Henry, Karina, Emma, Witney, or whichever pros are eliminated in weeks 6 & 7) as their third trio member. No, I have no reason to believe that Tristan/Chelsie/Anna/Gleb/etc. will be available as choices for the trios…and yes, there are fans that still think it’s a legit possibility. 😯
Anything else coming up? Again, no official word, but I would expect to see the supersized freestyles again (cause they sure seem to love supersizing!) and either an instant dance and/or 24-hour dance challenge during finale week.
So what do you guys hope to see in the coming weeks? Who do you think has the right dances left to succeed this season – and who is screwed? And if you haven’t already, be sure to vote in Vogue’s new poll here! 🙂
Wow, fantastic synthesis of the weeks to come! Thank you!
I didn’t realize that Amy has burned through most of the dances that might be easier for her! If anyone can bridge the gap though, it’s Amy, and Derek is a fantastic choreographer.
I really like this post! It breaks everything down very clearly. With this also, I think there will be a four-dancer finale. I didn’t realize how many dances everyone has done – and how many everyone has left to go.
Honestly, I don’t think TPTB have figured this one out yet.
I expect to see a lot of pasos on Latin night… Most couples don’t have very many Latin dances left, and Candace and Mrk only have the Paso, so they will need to make use of it.
Does this list include the dances that we are speculating for next week, or no?
Oh, one more prediction. NEITHER MERYL NOR CHARLIE WILL PERFORM A QUICKSTEP THIS SEASON. Sorry for the all caps, but I think this is an important point. The required dance for ice dancing this year was the Finnstep, which is similar to a quickstep, and the rhythms were supported to be quickstep rhythms. So I have a hunch that we will not be seeing a quickstep out of either of them this season.
And that also saves the Maks awkwardness you mentioned, Court.
Aviva, that’s a good hunch I think. And if they do get a quickstep, then they should be pretty good at it anyway given their background.
It’s tough to pull off a quickstep. It’s hard to keep the frame and get those feet going at the same time.
I had re-watched Charlie/Peta’s rumba last nite and Len made reference to the “judges choice” dance and that he’d like to see Charlie try the rumba again-so your thinking is right on there 🙂
And I completely see Meryl/Maks avoiding contemporary/jazz, and that their rumba will be as built up as Kelly/Val’s was 🙂
Awesome information packed post!
Court, WHY aren’t you making them wait until there are even numbers for the team dance and WHY aren’t you making sure that Tristan, Anna, Gleb… get to dance in the trios??? You and that Hough are ruining this show!
@Aviva – The list takes into account the dances for this coming week, which have all been confirmed. And I don’t think you can state with certainty that Meryl & Charlie won’t do quickstep, Aviva – I don’t think TPTB really give a rat’s ass what the “required dance” for ice dancing was this year. At the rate they’re burning through the dances (and assuming that we don’t see the Viennese waltz), I think both Meryl & Charlie will have to do the quickstep – there just aren’t enough dances left, otherwise, especially since we’re headed into multiple-dances-per-week territory after this week.
Excellent post! Thanks for all the information and insight.
My question is, if Meryl and Charlie are team captains, and Meryl gets to choose first, do you think Val would be their first pick? Initially I had thought she would want to pick Derek and wondered how Maks would take to that. But things have turned another way. Especially since she’s danced with him, I can’t imagine Maks really “allowing” any other choice. The more I think about it, the more I think they would pick Val, which means that Charlie would be able to pick Derek, which actually means that no matter who gets to pick first Charlie will be able to pick Derek, which makes me feel happy all over. I think Derek and Charlie on the same team would be really impossible to beat. Their team dance will be friggin’ awesome.
I’m sorry, Court. You’re totally right. I agree that the producers really don’t care what advantage they have, especially if they are trying to get both M and C into the finale. This leads me to two questions/statements, though.
1. Is every couple going to perform every dance? How is that going to work in terms of the number of weeks?
2. Let’s say one of Meryl and Charlie ends up doing a quickstep to that song from My Fair Lady. Would they be able to get away with it and, if so, would the one of the two who gets it tell us the favorite of the producers? Or am I overthinking things?
This post is one of the reasons I love Pure. Thanks, Courtney.
Can not wait for team selection, if Charlie would pick first he could choose Val, I doubt Maks would pick derek. Wish it was an even number so teams could be equal. I think this could be the greatest challenge to Derek’s win streak
I’m wondering if Amy and Derek have discussed or how they will handle it if it does get to a dance where she just can’t do alot of the elements for the dance–and I mean not even come close to replicating it–I wonder if they will just do what she can and let the chips fall and if the scores are 5’s when everyone else gets 9’s and 10’s will they just play it like Bill E. and just see if she gets enough audience votes or if she will withdraw like Billy D.?
I have a feeling from the little I know that altho people with prothestics fall and they get pretty used to it, they are uncomfortable mostly because it bothers people or even panics some, to see it. I don’t think Derek will even try to push her beyond anything she feels comfortable with if he can’t figure somthg out. I wonder how much they have discussed and what they’ve decided to do. Derek obviously knows what the dances require and I think he can produce a good rumba, jazz and samba? maybe even waltz. And I also think a freestyle might be the easiest thing they would have to face if she got that far. People like the razzle dazzle,yes, but Amy’s impactful Contemp & waltz looked to me, at least, that they got HUGE reaction. I think they could do great things with a freestyle. If she got to that point people would be so invested and just her being there would have a huge effect on people. If she were up against Meryl for example who did a perfect routine and Derek pulled all her best elements and she got 9’s–how would people vote-would the judges scores influence people at home if the judges were saying she’s not perfect? Of course the trick for her and Derek is to find a way to get her that far.
@Susan & John – I’m kinda saving my thoughts on team dance selection for my upcoming post, because there are literally dozens of different ways things could go, depending on the terms they’ve decided on and the outcome of Monday’s show. But I will say this: I don’t see either of the Chmerkovskiy boys being able to swallow their pride and pick Amy & Derek for their team – and it’s to their own detriment. Tony is another story – I think he’s more of an opportunist. The thing is, I don’t think Derek is in any danger, regardless of how things shake out – he’s gotten handed some pretty sh*tty team dance circumstances before (while his competition gets a cushy situation handed to them on a silver platter – the season 16 team dances come to mind) and Derek has STILL managed to come out on top. He’s clearly figured out the model for success in these team dances – and sorry John, but I don’t think there’s any threat to Derek’s winning streak except maybe some excessive monkeying from TPTB. Maks & Val have both blown it on the team dances in previous seasons – I highly doubt they’re going to be able to suddenly pull it all together this season and oust an undefeated champion. But to answer your question, Susan – let’s just say Maks & Val seem to stick to their “family above all else” mantra pretty tightly.
@Aviva – I think you’re getting ahead of yourself a bit. I don’t see why they would use the song from My Fair Lady for a quickstep on the show – there are literally hundreds of songs to choose from, and you’re zeroing in on ONE. As for your first question – I think there has only been 1 or 2 seasons where each finalist didn’t get to do every single (regular) dance…I know in season 12, Hines never did the waltz, and Chelsea & Kirstie never did the tango. But besides that, I think every finalist has at the very least done cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, jive, waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, & Viennese waltz. And I honestly can’t guess at the number of dances done every week from now until the finale, because it never stays the same from year to year – but I would back on the couples dancing AT LEAST two dances apiece starting in week 7.
John, are you sure you don’t mean Meryl would pick Val? I don’t see why Charlie would feel any sort of obligation towards Val.
Sorry, Court – one more question. Why do you put salsa, swing and AT in the category of “other dances” but V. Waltz goes with regular dances? I just don’t really understand the terminology difference between them all.
Salsa, swing, and Argentine tango are not standard dances you would see in a ballroom competition – the ten you always see are cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, jive, waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, & Viennese waltz. And for the most part, it’s been the same way on DWTS – they’ve always had the standard ten, and have tossed in these “other” dances here and there.
Hmmm…didn’t realize how many potentially difficult dances Amy has left. I think this upcoming week with Jive will be a big test for her and also to see how the judges might score her going forward. It does make me question my answer to the poll about Amy making it to the finals though. If the judges continue to score her as they are I still think she’ll make it. If she starts getting 7s and 8s then I’m not so sure…
I also agree that Candace will do better with the ballroom dances. I would LOVE for her to get jazz but don’t think I’ll be that lucky.
I can’t even begin to wrap my head around all the potential team choices for the team dance but I’m going to assume Maks and Val are on the same team and Derek will be on the opposing team.
Re the team dances, I would be VERY interested to see how different scores would affect the captains. IE: Charlie gets a low score and James gets a high score, or Charlie and Meryl both score low and Danica scores high. How would that affect the captains and the ability for the C bros to be on the same team. I would also be curious as to how the pros on each team have stacked up in the past; I might take a look at it just for kicks.
Courtney, can you clarify this for me: I thought it was the 2 celebrities (not the pros) who are the captains of each team that choose which couples for the team dance? Also, the pro partner of the celebrity captain is the one who choreographs the group parts of the group number? Are these true? I think I remember seeing Val as the one who came up the choreography for his group dance with Elizabeth.
If so, say Charlie and Meryl are the 2 captains, and Meryl gets first choice. She could end up choosing Derek first (she said before the show started that she wanted to partner with Derek actually), or even getting both Derek/Amy and Val/Danica on her team. Meryl knows how good a choreographer Derek is, having worked with him for the olympics. I have the feeling that Charlie might choose James/Peta as his first choice – James and Charlie seem like pretty good friends (photos together), and James is definitely a strong contender. We’ll see though!
Also, wow. If Charlie and Meryl end up being captain, then either they are traveling back and forth for rehearsals or the whole cast is traveling to whether they are doing their SOI shows.
Do they usually reveal the teams at the end of the show on Monday or the next week?
@Regina – Again, I would rather save really in-depth discussion about the possibilities for the team dances for my post – but to answer your questions quickly: the two celebrities ARE the team captains, but more often than not they defer to their pro partners on who to pick for the team dances. And no, the pro partner of the celebrity captain is not necessarily the one who choreographs the group parts of the routine – sometimes it’s a group effort from all of the pros, sometimes one pro kinda takes the lead, sometimes everyone just fights. Each couple has a solo part in the team dance, though, that their own pro choreographs for them. And just knowing what I do about cliques within DWTS and who gets along vs. who doesn’t – I daresay the day that Maks (and to a lesser degree, Val) picks Derek for his team will be a FRIGID day in hell.
As for Meryl & Charlie traveling, the teams really only rehearse together twice (usually Monday night right after the show, and then Friday during the day) and then they work on their solo portions on their own. I doubt it’s going to be that big of a problem for Meryl & Charlie to rehearse.
And they don’t reveal the teams on the air until the following week, but they usually do spoil them on Twitter/Instagram on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I think Meryl probably will do either contemporary or jazz in the later weeks, but probably not both (I think she’ll do contemporary). Charlie was fortunate to get both contemporary and jazz, but he got both those styles early. Contemporary and jazz are those types of dances where the celebrity can pull out all their tricks (lifts, spins, jumps, flexibility), impress the audience and get high scores. It might be a curse to have had these styles early on as opposed to later for Charlie, although I don’t see him struggling with any of the other styles IF he nails the latin hip movement.
You rock Court. I LOVE THIS POST!!!! Good job! I pray they aren’t ditching the Paso Doble this season. It’s one of my favorites!
Came here to say that I just don’t like contemporary and jazz…
I can accept any other ballroom dance, but contemporary is so sytycd for me (without the sytycd technique) and jazz is kinda so-so freestyle…
=p
Court on 14, it would be a strategy move. If Charlie had first pick he goes with the strongest dancer Danica. Since we agree that Meryl/ Maks will not pick Derek, Charlie can get him next and Maks have the choice of going with Peta or Tony. The brothers like to be strategic as witnessed my Val’s picking on Foxing Awesome dance. I hope you are right and streak continues. Can not wait for your post.
This is a great post. With the social dances (Swing, Salsa) and the non-ballroom dances (Contemp., Jazz) it’s harder than ever to keep track of who has danced actual competitive dances.
I hope we see Viennese Waltz this season as well. I love it’s sublime romanticism. I wish they would use actual classical waltz music for the VW but that will never happen.
I’m hoping the “immunity” dance-offs won’t make a re-appearance this season-looks like there really are no weeks where it can fit in? (W7 team dances, W8 trios?, W9 semis and W10 finals)
Now that I have more time to look at the graph I’ve noticed a few things.
All but one couple has done ChaCha. Same with Jive. I don’t think that’s ever happened before at this stage of the competition. That’s what happens when you try to shoehorn in dances
Based on what’s still to come, the dances I’m most excited about seeing in the future:
A Meryl and Maks Viennese Waltz. One of my favorite dances ever was Maks and Mel B’s VW to Somebody To Love. I’ve been waiting 14 seasons now for another one like that, but I honestly don’t know if Maks has it in him anymore to do something like that again.
A James and Peta Argentine Tango.
A Drew and Cheryl Jazz.
A Charlie and Sharna Argentine Tango.
I gotta admite, they left some good dances for them.I think from here on out, Meryl and Maks will definately have to prove that despite as great as she is that they aren’t going to just coast along and Maks needs to definately choreograph an awesome contemporary dance for her becuase she is the one that I think people would think is going to excel at that dance. Charlie has a cool group of dances left. He should do great on all of them. Same for James but I hope we don’t get to see a rumba from him. So Amy has a bit of a challenge ahead of her but I have no doubt she will do well. She consistantly has shown she really is a real life wonder woman so I think we might get some great dances out of her. Danica could be very hit or miss. One week I am wowed by her the next I’m not. All depends on what Val gives her. Candance has a great group of dances that she can do well with left but I still think the judges will underscore her no matter how well she does. Nene and Drew have both proven they have got the goods but their issues are completely different from one another. With Drew its consitancy despite great choreography and with Nene it is whatever mood Tony seems to be in. He always is very unpredictable with his choreography (last week was a perfect example. He nailed that and Candace’s dance the week prior but his choreography for her jive, and rumba were lackluster in my opinion….but then again he is this way every season).
I really wanna see Charlie do an Argentine Tango, a quickstep a waltz and a Paso. I think he’d excel at all of those styles. And I’m especially dying for a Charlie-Sharna Paso. Sharna would probably want to do the entrance lift that’s often done in the Paso.
Vin, agreed, with much of what you said.
However, I’m not too concerned about Maks choreographing a contemporary dance, because frankly he can get an outside choreographer like Mandy Moore (who has been choreographing all the opening numbers so far anyway) to “advise”/choreograph the dance for him since he’s more traditional ballroom than contemporary. Meryl is graceful, flexible, and familiar with lifts so she should be fine.
Agreed on Danica. I think she and Val must have a strategy because suddenly they are magically doing very well on technique and dances even though Danica has had years of ballroom experience before.
Amy definitely has some challenging weeks ahead of her if she makes it that far. On the Facebook DWTS page, it seems that there has been great debate about Carrie Ann accommodating for Amy’s impairment, and I’m curious to see how the judging plays out for the next few dances where Amy simply can’t do most of the steps (foxtrot, rumba, samba, etc.).
Drew and Nene are pretty good for having no experience at all, but on such a competitive season, it’s not going to cut it I’m guessing. Even at their best they aren’t going to be higher than the low-middle of the pack. Especially with Nene’s “misbehavior” episode, I could see her going home very soon.
Not that this has anything to do with anything regarding this post, but I really want to see more cheescake awards!!!
Now in terms of this post, I really hope Candace and Mark get jazz soon, I also think they’d kill it, seeing what they did with the contemporary and mark’s amazing content based choreography.
Not going to lie, besides the team dances, the trio dance has become one of my favourite things to look forward to see.
My guess is that:
Charlie & Sharna will pick Karina (this would be my favorite to see)
Meryl & Maks will pick Val (if eliminated prior to week 8) or Henry.
and
Amy & Derek would pick Mark (or vice versa for Candace & Mark if either were eliminated prior too)
The SMART choreographer (meaning Sharna) may just pick Derek and Amy first to get DEREK. He’s NEVER lost this and he’s been in every single one of them. And he’s been the lead choreographer on all of them. When he had Maks and Hope on his team, even Maks deferred to him for the choreo. It will be interesting to see how it goes down. I dare say that a female choreographer will be responsible for picking Derek. Val and Maks’ way of picking is why they only ever win if they are on DEREK’s team and it also goes a ways to explain why they’ve never won the MBT.
Heh. Maks had Mandy choreograph his and Erin’s contemporary and it was NOT GOOD. At all. Erin might have danced it better than him.
Erin had better contemporary technique than Maks so I believe it.
I worried Carrie Ann’s comment may hurt Amy and bring unnecessary criticism toward her.
Kristyn on afterbuzz had an interesting blog post where she said maybe Meryl is just so good so that is why she wants more from Maks. No. We saw what she can do with Val. Imagine if she had Derek? No, Maks can step it up.
Also would,love if Derek got more credit for his teaching Amy which I hope in the team dances others can see. The challenge they face. Hilarious people say look what Val did with Kelly mor Danica. What about Derek with Kellie or Brooke? Not like they were dancers either.
Ah, thanks Court! This is excellent. I’ll just throw out some random stray thoughts.
I’m with you in preferring the Viennese Waltz. So I really have my fingers crossed that couples are allowed to choose between Waltz and VWaltz.
I can’t wait to see Charlie and Sharna do the Viennese Waltz and the Argentine Tango. Charlie should be able to knock both of those out of the park. On the other hand, Paso and Samba worry me a bit.
I think James will handle Paso very well and have no problem with Argentine Tango either. Not sure he’ll do all that well with Samba technique, but Peta will sex it up to throw as much smoke as possible into everyone’s eyes. He’ll be shirtless and she’ll be well-nigh naked.
I hope Latin night is the last theme and that they allow the Trio Dance to be the “wrinkle” for Week 8. We’ve got a solid crop of dancers this season. So we don’t need to keep screwing around with the gimmicks. Enough’s enough.
If regular Mandy Moore Contemporaries on SYTYCD are more like a fine french champagne, then the Contemp. she did for Maks and Erin was more like a Mogen David Concord wine. Derivative, uninspired and foul tasting.
This might have more to do with the two people she was choreographing for. Maks is a ballroom dancer who has no interest in exploring any other dance form (I don’t count his experience with Argentine Tango). Erin didn’t have a subtle, lyrical bone in her body, hence a by the numbers, poorly performed Contemporary Freestyle.
If Maks ever gets assigned Contemporary with Meryl, I’d advise him to dance less and lift more with regards to his partner. Meryl can create the drama and emotion of the dance all by herself.
I’m trying to imagine Maks choreographing a Jazz and my stomach feels nauseous just thinking about it. If they get Contemporary at least Maks can wipe his brow in relief thinking “at least it’s not Jazz, thank God!”.
Val has had ringers most seasons he’s been on – how hard is that to choreograph. Derek on the other hand has gotten great dances out of non-dancers. When Val manages that, then we’ll talk.
People who will criticize Amy are looking for ANY excuse, as we saw well before CAI made her lift comment.
And the discussion of these two topics reminds me once again how very stupid some fans are. 🙂 (Not you Melissa…)
What I really respected about the switch-up is how Mark talked about how difficult it was to try and choreograph a way to make Amy shine which he then asked Derek for help.
I don’t understand why people are criticizing Derek all the time, I doubt any of the pros could do what Derek is doing for Amy. Like he said in this weeks package, he has to make up steps because she is very limited in what she can do.
I’m not saying this because I’m a Derek fan but I am a Derek fan because of how brilliant he is, regardless if people try and deny it or not.
I think that Derek is fabulous, and am sure that he and Amy will do their best to create the impression of the dances, as they did with the Waltz, but I fear that soon the judges will either explicitly criticise (Len?) or damn with faint praise ( a la Carrie Ann). I’d like Amy judged fairly but realistically – so would prefer Len to slam Derek for choreography out of hold as he usually would, but not to criticise her lack of heel leads.
As to team dances – Derek could be a mixed blessing. Guy is a genius, no doubt, but Amy may limit the synchronised choreography he is known for. Am very nervous for next few weeks. Have they left enough Latin dances for everyone once they go up to two dances each?
It is sad how people criticize Derek for choreographing routines where he just carries amy. What! They covered the floor and she moved on her own for her cha cha, swing, etc. But these false tropes thrown out. Reminds me of Shawn and Derek are rule breakers, etc.
#16 Courtney – I thought swing was part of the regular American Rhythm dances? Kinda taking the place of jive from the Latin syllabus?
@Susan #37, more like Manischewitz…..
In terms of the team dance, Derek, and Amy, we all have to remember that, as the weeks go on, Derek becomes more familiar with Amy, her various pairs of legs, and her limitations. When we hit the team dances, Derek will already have enough of an idea of what to do with her that he can change his choreography (ie the way he choreographs) to work around her. Unlike certain other choreographers, he is willing to change his ways and his choreographical staples. And hey, maybe the side-by-side stuff will me something along the lines of lifts.
@Jessica …HI….I totally agree with you. I am an admirer of Derek’s unique talent, but I lean more on the celebrate because that’s really what the show started out to be ALL ABOUT THE STAR. (Dancing With The Stars). That being said, I haven’t always liked Derek’s partners, but since I started watching this show in season 7 I have liked Derek’s partners 5 times out of 11 seasons. I just can’t see voting for someone who can’t dance just because I adore their pro dancer partner. Not saying that I don’t enjoy watching Mr. Hough, in fact, I would miss seeing him if he wasn’t on. He is a genius!
However, I enjoy all the pro dancers, because they each have their own style and that keeps it interesting.
TO: Princess Heidi & Courtney….
Thanks to whoever made this post. I sure do like this DWTS cite because of these kind of helpfulness. I love how it is monitored to keep everything more on a friendly level.
I have a desktop P.C. and with health problem (spinal) I can’t spend long sessions sitting at it, but when I do I always enjoy coming here. Many know more about the dance style than me, and I learn from others. However, I do know when a dance looks good and when a couple dances as though they were one.
I started keep a records of the cast list, scores, dances in Season 16. There always seems to be a dance or two that everyone does get a chance to do each season. Last season there were like 4 dances the final 4 didn’t dance. I’ve tried to figure out the producers method of choice, and what I am seeing is that they seem to assign certain dances to fir the celebrate’s individual ability of performance as each week passes. Last season seemed at lot like the dances were assigned for the individual’s abilities. JMO, but I think this is the same this season.
Great post–thank you!!! 🙂
Aviva: I had the EXACT same thought last night about Meryl and Charlie being exempt from the Quickstep. That is the program that Derek choreographed for them as well so I find it interesting that neither of them has danced it yet.
Meryl and Charlie won’t be able to rehearse on Friday next week due to SOI but Evan was able to pull it off so they can too!
I would love to see Meryl do a Contemporary dance as she does lifts so well.
I know I’m thinking ahead here but if Meryl/Charlie make the Finals and it’s a Supersize freestyle, I want one of them to dance with the US Figure Skating team from Sochi and the other to dance with previous DWTS skaters: Evan, Kristi, Dorothy. Probably not likely to happen but a girl can dream 🙂 I’d also love it if they could somehow figure out a way to get these 2 to dance together. Maybe they could dance their Quickstep together just for fun.
If Candace makes the finals, I’d like her to use the Full House cast.
I also miss the Swing marathon and would like to see that this season. Those are always fun.
Please believe me when I say I’m not making this comment to “start anything”, but I’m just rather mystified that there’s such apparent interest in seeing Meryl and Charlie dance together on DWTS. They’ve been performing together on ice for 17 years. If you’re a fan of Davis/White, you’ve seen them together for a decade and more. I doubt watching them dance together on DWTS would be that much different than watching them skate together. This is a rare and fleeting opportunity to see them do something out of the ordinary — perform with a different partner.
The dances I am most looking forward to from each couple:
James & Peta: Argentine Tango (This could be HOT! The lifts would be amazing, I bet)
Charlie & Sharna: Foxtrot (Elegant, smooth, breezy… I think it would be LOVELY)
Candace & Mark: Jazz (No real rules for this one so could be as good as her Contemporary)
Meryl & Maks: Paso (Seems like the total opposite of Meryl so that would be fun to see)
Danica & Val: Argentine Tango (Think it would be pretty awesome. Val has learned to choreograph some great AT’s)
Amy & Derek: Argentime Tango (I know it sounds weird and I know it could be REALLY tough for her but I just have a feeling this could be amazing… just a feeling)
NeNe & Tony: Samba (Let her crazy and wild side out. Think it could be good)
Drew & Cheryl: Tango (So I am looking forward to Monday when I see his Tango. I think it could be his comeback dance!)
If by some bizarre twist of fate, DWTS is still on the air after say 35 seasons, then we’ll still be hearing talk of ringers vs. non-dancers. It’s part of the fabric of the show.
I don’t begrudge Charlie or Meryl their chance to dance of DWTS. The cost of being championship level ice skaters is astronomical. It’s not only the monetary cost but also the emotional, physical and mental toll it takes to practice day in day out for only about six or seven minutes of actual competition. These athletes are doing it for love.
If, when they retire from active competition. they are able to cash in on whatever medals or championships they’ve earned, then I say more power to them.
You also have to remember that the buck for who gets cast on DWTS stops not with the celebrities themselves, but with the casting directors and executive producers who signed them in the first place.
Besides, we all know that just because you might be the ringiest ringer that ever ringed, you still have to make us like you enough to vote to keep you in the competition. There’s a list of ringers that never even made it to the finals, based on just this particular shortcoming.
I respect James even more for acknowledging that dancing with Charlie and Meryl as fellow competitors inspires him to work harder to try to reach their levels.
As someone who kind of wrote him off at the beginning of the show as a boy bander, “who’s that?”, I’m delightfully surprised at how engaging and fantastic he is dancing.
I also am back to liking Peta as a pro. I honestly haven’t had these good vibrations about her since her 2nd. season with Donald.
I agree. I remember Meryl;s mother saying that they could have gotten a second house for the amount of money they spent on Meryl’s training
but they supported her because she loved what she was doing and they did not care if she stank doing it.
I am not even discounting the years and years of practice they have done so if they are now getting paid for what they do, they have earned it.
Ria, Susan2, I totally agree. There are always going to be ringers of varying prior dance experience, and frankly, without some ringers the show would not be appealing also. We want to see celebrities who have never danced before get better, but we also want to see some good dancing as an audience, at least for me.
There is such a small window to capitalize on Olympic success, and Meryl and Charlie are taking full advantage of that with Stars on Ice and DWTS. I don’t object to that one bit.
I agree Cidra. I’ve loved seeing them on the ice for years but I have no desire to see them on the floor. I’m enjoying them more with their new pro partners since this is fun to watch as it is outside of the “same old, same old”. And I don’t want this to turn into the Davis and White show.
Heather #46, I have a hunch that the producers will find a way to have M/C dance together one way or another.
Cidra #47, I think it’s the whole reconciliation thing. It’s just kinda sweet. You know, they’re back together even though they’re doing something different from normal. I love it!
I was a huge Evan Lysacek fan the season he was on and it’s interesting to see Charlie kind of pwn him on the Latin dances. Evan had almost zero hip action but Charlie has surprised me despite being an ice skater.
Hey Mods, can you explain to us how an instant dance challenge works? I just noticed that you guys said it is a possibility in the coming weeks.
@Aviva, I appreciate your trying to explain the attraction of Meryl/Charlie dancing together on DWTS. Still don’t get it. Maybe it’s an age thing or my romantic sensibilities are different than a lot of others. It’s not like M/C no longer perform together. They’re skating together several nights a week with Stars on Ice. :shrug: Oh well, to each their own.
@Tina, I may not be remembering completely accurately, but originally, each couple were told that they would be dancing one of three dance styles, which they “sort of” introduced during the week, while preparing their other dance. The night of the show, they would dance their first dance, and after receiving their scores, chose the dance style, followed by the song they were given, and they went back to a practice spot to put what they learned into the song/style. So, they had to dance a dance they were given less than an hour before.
I think once (and I could be wrong) each pair were given NO information at all about what they could be dancing as an instant dance. I’m hoping if they do the instant dance again, that they make sure each pair knows which styles they could be dancing, especially if Amy and Derek are still in the competition, much of their time could be eaten up trying to figure out the best feet to use…
Lori, if I remember correctly, last year when they did the fusion dances, they got the dances before hand. In the All-Star season, they were told what dances they could do, and they also told them the dances beforehand in Season 16, I’m pretty sure. I have the finals (though not the finale) from Season 16, which I’ll look at as soon as my brother lets me watch TV for a second.
I think they’ve done it a bit differently every time they’ve used the insta-dance. I do remember in Season 16, they gave the finalists the dance style (but not their song) at the end of Night 1 of the 2-night finale. Then they had rehearsal footage of all 3 couples going into the studio late that night for “their last rehearsal”. They were all putting together pieces of choreography to use the next night, but they had no music to go with it. Derek told Kellie something like “these are the steps but we might not be doing them in this order depending on the music we get.”
@lurkerb5 – East coast swing IS part of the American rhythm syllabus, but DWTS has always followed the international syllabus, and just thrown a few extra rhythm dances (mambo, bolero) in here and there. And the type of swing we saw from Amy & Derek and Meryl & Maks was not east coast – it was really more of an open-ended swing, where they could incorporate aspects of several dances in the swing family (lindy hop, jive, jitterbug, etc.) For the purposes of DWTS, swing is an EXTRA dance, not a syllabus dance.
I think some of you are confusing the 24-hour dance challenge/the instant dance/the dance fusion – to answer Tina’s question, the 24-hour dance challenge usually happens during finale week, and the finalists still remaining on Monday night pick a song & dance out of a hat and have overnight to create a dance to it that will be performed the following night. It’s similar to the instant dance, but they have longer to rehearse with their specific song. In the instant dance, the couples usually know ahead of time what dance they’ll have, or have prepared 2-3 routines for whichever style they end up pulling. They pick their song towards the beginning of the show (usually after they’ve performed their regular dance) and then have about an hour to rehearse it backstage before having to perform. Not sure why you brought up the fusion dance, Aviva – that’s not really even remotely related to what we’re talking about. The fusion dance was only done in season 15 and the couples knew ahead of time what dances they had to fuse and what song they had to do it to – just like any regular dance.
I keep waiting for the Pasos – my favourite dance. I don’t want it to be only a team dance or to some stupid pop song.
Court, Thanks for the clarification. You’re right, I was making a fusion (LOL) out of the 24-hour challenge and the insta-dance. Geez, wouldn’t it be great if TPTB would just stop muckin’ about with all these gimmicks? Maybe I’d have a chance at actually remembering what was what.
SarahP, I’d like to see some Pasos too, but I fear we’re doomed to get them to stupid pop songs.
[…] divided up. Since so many of you were chomping at the bit to start discussing it in detail after my “What Left to Dance?” post – here’s a place to do just […]
@Courtney – Thank you! I was thinking that they alternate between American Smooth and Int’l Standard (Foxtrot vs. Tango, for example) and applied that thought to Rhythm/Latin, and that’s just not right… ;-D
Court #60 – last year’s 24 hour dance was a fusion challenge…
[…] somebody requested that I do an update to my first “What’s Left to Dance?” post, just to see what remaining dances the celebs have to do this season…or rather, which […]