PureDWTS Season 18, Week 8 – What We Know About the “Duo Dance” So Far

 

Admittedly, this came out of left field for me – I was almost certain they were going to be doing the trio dances this coming week.  So imagine my surprise when, last night, Tom announced this elusive “duo dance” that will pair up two couples, have them dance on the floor at the same time (with their partners), and then just the celebs dance with each other (without their partners).  And in true DWTS style – it seemed like most of the pros had no idea what it all was about, and they probably still don’t.  Thanks, Conrad. 🙂 Gotta love these little parting gifts he’s leaving…

So what do we here at Pure know so far? Well we know for sure that these are the duos, per Deep Throat:

Amy & Derek with James & Peta

Charlie & Sharna with Candace & Mark

Meryl & Maks with Danica & Val

ETA #1: Small update; confirmed with Deep Throat that the pairings were, indeed, random – LITERALLY drawn out of a hat immediately after the show, and the couples were told to “draw again if they pull their own name”.  Pretty low-tech 😛 We may get to see footage of the picking on Monday. And this duo dance idea was a last-minute decision out of left-field – even the pros didn’t know about it when it was announced.  I guess there was a flurry of questions after taping wrapped and many of them were confused about whether they were going to be dancing WITH each other, or against each other (more like the face-off dances).  Gotta love TPTB, always keeping the pros on their toes…

ETA #2: For those of you asking if Amy is going to be dancing on Monday or not – we have some info! You can read about it here.

ETA #3: So here are the dances each of the duos are doing…

Amy & James – jive

Charlie & Candace – contemporary

Meryl & Danica – samba

Overall, I think the dances they gave each duo make sense – each duo got a dance that both celebs really did well with.  And I’m told that Meryl got to draw her duo partner first (out of a mirrorball, of course, and the partners were written on little mini half-mirrorballs) and she picked Danica & Val on the first try…so it really was the universe that wanted them together 😛 Charlie picked second, and Amy third. 

ALLEGEDLY, these pairings were picked randomly out of a hat…although I find it a bit convenient that the Brothers Chmerkovskiy coincidentally ended up together again. Then again, with only 6 couples left, there was a 20% chance of it happening.  But I digress…

We don’t yet know for sure what dances they’re doing, but here’s some clues:

*James & Derek were overheard talking about doing lifts in contemporary & salsa…so it could be one of those two dances.

*The producers assured Meryl & Danica that they would NOT have to dance in-hold for the portion of the routine that they dance together – so my best guess is that they have a dance that doesn’t specifically stipulate dancing in-hold (i.e. jazz, contemporary).

*Deep Throat thinks that each duo’s dance is a dance that either BOTH of them have done before, or NEITHER or them have done before. 

So based on the assumptions made above (and keep in mind, everyone seems a little wishy-washy on the concrete details of this dance), here’s some possibilities for each duo’s dance style:

Amy/James – salsa, contemporary, jive, or paso doble

Charlie/Candace – cha-cha, rumba, jive, contemporary, salsa, waltz, Viennese waltz, or paso doble

Meryl/Danica – jazz, contemporary, salsa (maybe)

Court’s thoughts: Now that I look at this list, I’m almost sure that all three of these duo dances are going to be “extra” dances (i.e. salsa, contemporary, jazz, etc.) in order to minimize the amount of dancing the celebs have to do in-hold, as most of them are used to following instead of leading.  It’s going to be hard enough dancing with someone you’re not used to dancing with – why make it any harder by sticking them with a dance like quickstep where they have to remain in-hold the whole time??? I think Meryl & Danica have an edge right off the bat, since they don’t have to do ANYTHING in hold – so basically, all they have to focus on is synchronization, which should be a walk in the park for Meryl and is likely not gonna be a huge struggle for Danica.  Amy & James will probably do fairly well as well – James may have to be a bit careful, as he’s used to throwing Peta around like it’s no big deal and Amy is a bit more delicate; but I assume Derek will probably have some creative stuff up his sleeve to help them successfully partner and hide any of Amy’s weaknesses.  The Candace-Charlie pairing worries me a bit, to be honest – Candace JUST got over her nerves when performing, and now they’re throwing a new partner at her.  She’s also probably the weakest dancer left, technically-speaking, and the judges seem to have a fondness for raking both of them across the coals…YIKES 😯 I have a hunch we may see some burlesque-type jazz from Meryl & Danica – I’m visualizing corsets, fishnets, top hats, and maybe some props.  Very Fosse.

So what are your thoughts on these dance duos so far? We’ll continue to update this post as we find out more! 🙂