PureDWTS Season 19, Week 7 – Team Dances REVEALED!!! *SPOILERS* & POLL
It’s super early, and I’m tired, so I’m just gonna cut right to the chase – the teams for the team dances are…
ETA #1: Updated with songs for both teams. Methinks this should level the playing field a bit…
ETA #2: Added two polls to see how things stack up…
Team Alfonso (song: “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show):
Alfonso & Witney
Sadie & Mark
Antonio & Cheryl
Tommy & Peta
Team Bethany (song: “Black Widow” by Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora):
Bethany & Derek
Janel & Val
Lea & Artem
Michael & Emma
It sounds like the team dances are freestyles once again, and they both have Halloween music. One team has “Black Widow” by Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora. This is all I know right now.
My thoughts? The teams are far more evenly-matched then they have been in previous seasons, but Team Bethany probably has the edge by virtue of having 2 trained dancers and Derek; on the flipside, I think they also ended up with the weakest dancer currently left – Mike, so he could be a bit of a liability. Funny how one team ended up with 3 male celebrities & 1 female celeb, and the other team ended up with 3 female celebs & 1 male celeb.
Discuss.
Oh well, I was kind of hoping that Derek and Alfonso would be in the same team, so we could maybe see their tap dance. However, I do agree that it’s really hard to predict who is going to win… Bethany, Janel and Lea will do awesome, but Michael? Can he keep up? And then you have Antonio and Tommy who are also not the strongest dancers, so I think it’s gonna be interesting 🙂 but I think that Team Bethany it’s gonna take it…they have Derek, after all 🙂
Oops just posted this on the last thread, but I’m curious as to how Derek and Bethany snagged both Val and Artem assuming Witney and Alfonso had first pick like we think they did. I don’t seem to recall them doing “snake” (a la NCAA brackets and fantasy football drafts lol if you know what I mean) picking in the past, have they?
What? I wake up from my dream of it being Alfonso (with Sadie & Bethany on his team) vs Lea to a nightmare! Tommy & Antonio? Ugh. 🙁
I think it likely that Whitney picked by Pro Dancer. She wanted Cheryl and Mark. Good choices, probably, if you can’t have Derek. Both are far stronger in team chore than Val and Artem. And look at it this way – Derek is HIGHLY unlikely to go lowest common denominator and have all the men barechested, like Val or Artem would do if they were the leaders. 🙂
Perhaps she picked Antonio/Cheryl because Cheryl worked well with Alfonso last week …we need Mark to stay “smart” creative and no go “goofy” creative 🙂
For the first time ever, rooting against Derek in team dance 🙁 Sorry Derek, it IS about the celebs and I love love love Alfonso & Sadie 🙂
It will be interesting to hear any scoops or even see rehearsal footage of Derek, Val and Artem during the creative process.
Thank you Courtney for this spoiler. Hope you get some rest.
Well, I’m leaning toward Team Alfonso only because they have 3 of my favorite couples on them. My only worry with them is Tommy perhaps forgetting choreo due to having two dances.
Unfortunately, I’m so anti-Vajanel at the moment that it’s clouding my like of Bethany”s team.
Even though Iggy Azalea annoys the everloving crap out of me, I have to admit that I like Black Widow.
I can’t believe they already started rehearsals right after the show, so they were practicing at night? there’s so much pressure! next monday is going to be amazing, i can’t wait!! I think it’s pretty safe to say Team Alfonso already lost tho.
Good point, I was judging solely based on celeb dance ability. I guess we’ll see if this strategy works. I’m skeptical but I’m also not a pro for a reason haha. Just hope there is no “dream team” talk again this time like there was for group night last season. That was one of the most obnoxious things I’ve ever seen on this show.
Thanks for the very early scoop!
I think both teams will have great and entertaining dances. I think Whitney, Mark and Cheryl are really close so they’ll work very well together. I think team Beth will take it though, there’s a lot of dance and performance talent on that team and there’s the obvious advantage too. No one does it better, that figuring out how to make all these various parts into some great whole imo.
So happy to know that paso is back.
I think it’s safe to say I’m pretty much over people already saying things like “Team Alfonso has already lost tho.” :::roll::: I’m about to post both songs, let’s see if some of you are still soooo sure about how sh*t’s gonna go down after that…
So I kinda feel like Alfonso has the stronger team but I feel bad for Derek because his streak might be done for.
@Lex, Val was on the same team as Derek last year and I’m pretty sure he let Derek take the reigns then – I mean why wouldn’t you? lol – so I’m guessing he’ll probably let that happen again this year, which probably means not much of an interesting (as in drama) package.
I was hoping that Tommy/Peta would be in a group dance with Val/Janel because I know Val wants to dance with Tommy and thought it would be cool to get to see, but maybe next time. (There are usually 2 team dances, right?)
This is the most interesting team make up in a long time. Looking forward to see what Derek can do with Lea and Janel. Witney has Mark and Cheryl in her corner, making this one of the more evenly-split groups I’ve ever seen.
@Vin, I wouldn’t underestimate the power of Derek.. he was on a team with Andy Dick and Sean Lowe on Kellie’s season and still won with them, so having two trained dancers on his team this time is going to be easier this time around.
Why the eye roll Courtney? I’m just rotting for my favorite dancer and therefore his team as well which kind of has an advantage over the other one, they got both Val and Artem, plus Derek is not known for losing these competitions. Why the attitude?
I think it’s too early to speculate which team is going to win. You never know what could happen
I don’t think any team will beat “Team Tango ” in season 14
Katherine and Mark
Maria and Derek
Roshon and Chelsie
Jaleel and Kym
Now THAT was a Team
I am currently obssessed with “Black Widow” so the fact that Bethany’s Team got that song just pretty much made my morning. 😛 On the other hand, “Time Warp” is such a fun song!
I thinj both teams are evenly matched as well. Bethany has two amazing trained dancers but she also has Michael, who is the weakest dancer left. And then Alfonso has Sadie and MARK (who is an amazing choreographer) and that’s a big plus for him.
What’s gonna be really good for Michael though is that he is going to have 3 male pros with him so I imagine Derek, Val and Artem are all gonna take Michael aside and help him out A LOT. It’ll be good for him to get some help from 3 guys as opposed to just Emma. Michael also probably got some confidence from his Argentine Tango so I’m guessing he is fired up and ready to go.
This team dances are gonna be VERY interesting so needless to say I’m so excited! Thanks for the spoilers 🙂
@Meg – Because you’re betting the farm when you don’t really have any idea how things are going. It’s not “safe” to say anything yet. Yet a bunch of people seem to be soooo damn sure that they know how things are gonna go down. But let me just throw this out there: our source says that this is the closest match-up there’s ever been between the two teams in a team dance. If there’s any season that Derek’s streak is gonna be broken – I’d put money on it that it’s this one.
I love Alfonso’s team song! The Rocky horror is one of my favourite and I think we can expect great things in terms of choreography. It’s probably gonna be really fun. I have no idea about black widow though for an halloween theme but Derek will probably come with something great.
Honestly, I think it’s very interesting to see how the teams are composed. I would say, since Michael is the weakest dancer and he’s dancing opposite 3 pro dancers, he’s probably gonna be a problem or need a lot of attention during rehearsal. About Sadie dancing opposite Witney, Cheryl and Peta, I think she can hold her own.
I agree with previous comments that for once, the teams are very well matched and I honestly can say who will win. Because as good as Derek is, if Michael can stay synchronised with the others, it’s gonna be a problem…
@Courtney – I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to speculate here and everything has to be taken so seriously. That’s simply my opinion, I really enjoy gossiping over what’s gonna happen even though I’m talking out of my ass and have no idea what will actually happen, just like no one here does. If it turns out Derek’s streak is gonna be broken, well that would suck, but I won’t lose sleep over it.
OMG! Rocky Horror Picture show’s “Time Warp”… Now I can’t wait until Monday night!
I loooooove Team Bethany’s song 🙂 I think Derek will be able to work with Black Widow 🙂 Monday can’t come soon enough 🙂
Thank you for the very early spoilers, Courtney!
Wow! I didn’t expect the teams would turn out the way they did. I am ready to be surprised and enjoy another night of dancing just as much as I did last night. It kind of diminished the unpleasant feeling last week’s show gave me.
Seems obvious that Michael is the weakest in his team. In the other team, I think it’s Antonio, in terms of charisma and smoothness. Tommy is smoother on the floor than him, although Tommy does miss some steps when out of hold. I am really excited what both teams are preparing for Monday’s show.
For the first time, I might root against Derek’s team simply because Fonzi, Sadie, and Chong. It also be nice to see three great friends not in the C family work together (Witney, Mark, and Cheryl). Two things come across my mind when I saw the teams: 1) Since S15, one person from the the winning team went on to win the show 2) It be very funny to see a bottom of Bethany, Janel, and Lea. So could we be in for a surprise elimination? But if things are the other way around I think Antonio will be next.
Madeline, what in the hell are you talking about?
@Madeline Do you mean ‘Carlton’? Who is Fonzi?
Fonzi = Witney’s nickname for Alfonso. Carlton = character Alfonso played, NOT synonymous with Alfonso himself.
Hmmm….I don’t think having Time Warp is actually a good thing. The overwhelming urge would be to go too far in the Rocky Horror thing and just mimic. I also wonder about the rights to the movie scenes along with the music. I think having the more recognizable song hasn’t worked out so well in the past. Although, Alfonso’s team has better choreographers than those teams in the past, I think.
I wouldn’t feel bad for Derek, regardless. No one on the show can match it – and it ain’t over just yet.
Remember “Call Me Maybe”.
Actually, if you read Derek’s book, it’s very clear at the end that he and Val are perfectly fine with each other, and supportive of each other.
It’s Val’s fans who take issue. And it’s Val’s fans who I take issue with.
Nah, Nathan, the very first Team dance with Team Paso (Derek and Brooke as leaders) was my very favorite and I don’t think anything has topped it to this day.
Heh – the Fonzi part of her post was the only part I understood, but thanks. 😀
I was responding to Misty, who ran the risk of complicating things further by bringing Carlton into the fold.
@Madeline #25
Unless a major curve ball is coming up, I’m as certain as can be, without actually knowing the future, of course, that Alfonso and Sadie are going to be in the top two at the end of the season. I think it’s obvious that is just how things have been playing out since the beginning. Keeping that in mind, it appears that either Team Alfonso will win (therefore keeping the winner of the MBT on the winning dance team) or the streak will be broken and the winner of the MBT won’t be on the winning dance team. Just my two cents though. 🙂
Teams look pretty well matched. I seriously thought it would end up guys vs. girls though. It should be interesting. Hoping That team Black Widow can take it. I hope having Michael on that team doesn’t screw them up. I love watching the team dances.
Didn’t Derek say their were going to do the Paso? If so, was that for the group dance or individual dance?
^Guys vs. girls would just be cruel for Alfonso. He’s currently injured and can only look out for himself and Witney at this point. No way could he even attempt to cover up for Antonio, Tommy AND Michael together. I’m just glad that he has a bit of a chance with Sadie on his team and with Mark, Cheryl and Peta to help out with choreography, I’m hoping we get an original dance and not just a mimic dance from the movie. Stranger things have happened.
THE TEAM DANCES ARE FREESTYLES. As I stated pretty clearly above…
…I swear, I am gonna end up tearing my hair out by noon, at this rate.
I am excited about what team alfonso get upto. I think Mark is very quirky and there are no other alpha males. Witney is fresh and young. And Cheryl and Peta are just amazing as well. Peta s freestyle last year was out if the box. Love both teams but excited to see what team alfonso will bring
Ooohhhh, the Time Warp. I see alfonso and witney doing the tap section. That would be cool.
I’m always for whatever team Derek is on but not this time. I adore Alfonso, like Sadie and cannot stand Vajanel. That said, I think team Bethany will win, afterall they have Derek and he’ll come up with some creative choreo to make Michael not look too bad.
These dances should be a lot of fun. I agree that Michael having Derek, Val and Artem with him during rehearsals will be very helpful.
Aggghh…I can’t choose a team 🙂 Although team Alfonso has Tommy but he’s more entertaining to watch than Michael. It’s hard to choose who will win, maybe they’ll tie.
Took the poll…I can not pick between the teams. I think they will both be amazing and fun.
Would’ve loved for Beth & Derek to be on the same team as Alfonso & Witney and Sadie & Mark. Hard to pick who to root for when my faves are split. With their synergy it would’ve been a blow out. But instead, the teams look very evenly matched, which will make it more interesting to watch for sure. I’m expecting great choreo. Mark & Witney will definitely bring freshness and creativity, plus Cheryl’s team dance record is pretty good as well. Derek works well with Val (and anyone really) so I have faith in his mad scientist ways. Since I love both teams, I’m kinda hoping it ends in a tie.
Despite Val’s somewhat distasteful naming of Team Loca as “legendary”, I actually think the most stacked teams were S14’s Team Tango (7 mirror ball wins on one team!), Team Call Me Maybe, & Team Foxing Awesome. Derek’s got quite a reputation to live up to. I wonder if he’s feeling the pressure.
Courtney, as I said above, I really appreciate how you got this great scoop to us so early this morning and added to the post with polls. And I know you’re all working on a response to the whole BWAT lawsuit thing, and I know you have a job and a life, so I’m saying the following as a comment of appreciation, not a complaint and feeling of entitlement. But a Tuesday morning without your power rankings is like a morning without my coffee, leaves me with a grumpy headache. It’s like peanut butter without the jelly, my dwts experience. I know I’ll survive and again, thanks for the alternative treats today.
I wonder if they did it the way we sometimes pick players when we do 4v4 games of Call of Duty. We have 2 captains, the first person (Alfonso) gets the 1st pick then the 2nd person (Bethany) gets pick 2 & 3, the first person then picks 4 & 5 leaving the 2nd person with 6. I know it’s a weird comparison and hard to understand but it makes sense if they did it here and we find it the fairest way to make teams. It would mean Alfonso picked Sadie 1st then Beth had 2 picks (Lea & Janel), Alfonso then picked Antonio and Tommy leaving Michael with Beth.
I thought at 1st Beth’s team would win but thinking about it now I don’t know. If I was a betting man I’d have to stick with Derek, I think his choreo will cover Michael well and I think Beth Janel and Lea will just be too strong technically for Antonio and Sadie. It’s a team game and I’d rather have Michael than Antonio and Tommy. Although if Antonio steps up and performs to the level of Janel & Lea, then I think Alfonso’s team could take it.
M8, that’s not how it works. It’s just a simple turn-by-turn picking. Usually the top score leader has first pick OR choice of music, and then based on their choice it goes from there.
If that’s true Fig & Alfonso didn’t pick the music then he must have picked Antonio over Janel hahahaha. Hope that’s true, would be a nice little ego come down for the showmancers. If they picked music, I wouldn’t have put it past Bethany to pick Lea first. I’m quite sure Derek likes Lea and Artem (danced for him in his Emmy nommed Macy dance last season). Hope they reveal how the picks went down in a video or package.
Team Al”fonzi”
Alfonso & Witney
Sadie & Mark
Antonio & Cheryl
Tommy & Peta
With this PRO line-up of Witney, Cheryl & Peta it will be interesting to see how much input Mark will have over the content with respect to Sadie. RH is one crazy movie and TIME WARP could be, well, interesting.
Maybe we need a poll for best TEAM DANCE. NO wait, Courtney may tear all of her hair out! Love, love, love Call Me Maybe to this day. If Derek/Brooke Paso was the one with Warren Sapp–yep that’s a throw-down people.
Witney seems to get along with Sadie so it’s good she has support in her as well
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I recall hearing Derek has never lost a team dance.
I told the whole story in the private members area earlier, but I’ll just throw this out for the good of the order: Bethany got first pick – clearly she did not pick Sadie. Discuss.
I wasn’t going to say anything Courtney, just in case you guys wanted to hold onto that for a bit 🙂
Looks like Team Bethany renamed themselves to TeamItseyBitsey according to a cute picture Lea posted on instagram of half the team.
Thanks for the scoop, Courtney. I would have liked Sadie and Bethany on the same team but it looks like the teams are pretty evenly matched. I really like “Black Widow” as a song choice. I could see something dramatic to that. I’m going to stick with Team Bethany for the win!
I would have liked to have seen Sadie on Bethany’s team too. I’m shocked she didn’t pick her.
Do you think they didn’t pick Sadie because they didn’t want to work around the whole “What’s appropriate for her” thing in their dance? That would only be if Derek had something in mind already. So who did Bethany choose first? That would help for discussion purposes. 🙂
@Fig – I appreciate that 😉 Guess I was just tired of hearing all the off-the-wall theories about how the picks went down. Besides – you guys got the EXTENDED story 😉
I think the teams are evenly matched with 5 MBT’s per team.
Why Beth Why?
Just had to get that out.
I wish Bethany had not chosen Val for their team. I refuse to root for anything DWTS related that Val is associated with in any manner. Sorry Derek.
Seriously?!?! MICHAEL on Bethany’s team? If they lose, HE will be the reason! Ugh. I really hoped Sadie and Bethany would be on the same team. I thought the couples with the highest scores overall would pick? I thought Bethany was in like 5th place! How does that work? -_- I think Bethany has a chance of winning because Alfonso’s team has TWO weak link (Tommy and Antonio) while Bethany only has one.
I always enjoy both Team Dances, but my two celebrate choices are on the same team so it will be interesting for sure. Because, it looks like both teams are pretty much evenly matched this season. I think the pros on both teams will use Michael and Tommy’s strengths and avoid their weaknesses as much as possible.
I find it questionable concerning there has been mention of Bethany/Derek team has 2 trained dancers on it. Janel, yes, but I am not seeing Lea the same. She is 53 years old had ballet 35 years ago in her teens, but became an actress and has been ever since. I am wondering how that compares with Janel. And, of course, Bethany hasn’t been trained in dance or Michael for that matter. So, for me, there is one trained dancer.
As for Team Alfonso & Witney, Sadie, Antonio, and Tommy not trained in dancing, even though Tommy has danced in his personal life, he’s 76 yrs. old.
This leaves one trained dancer, Alfonzo.
I think both teams’ pro dancers are all very capable of good choreography. So, I feel that we are going to be well entertained no matter what team wins.
Monday can’t get here soon enough!!! 🙂
I am very happy to see that Derek and Emma will be together in the same team. I was disappointed last season when it didn’t happen.
I must say I was a bit shocked when I saw Derek and Mark/Sadie and Bethany not on the same team. Since they do the Badie show I was wondering why Beth wouldn’t want Sadie. Then again if Witney picked first and chose Mark Bethany wouldn’t have had a choice so it is what it is. Let the chips fall where they may so to speak. Since Derek has won every team dance he has ever been a part of I think Team Bethany has a great chance to win. And as was mentioned above they only have one weak link (Michael) as opposed to two (Tommy and Antonio) so we will see how it all plays out. I am hoping that Michael goes home this week (although with damn NASCAR nation out there it’s unlikely) and if not him then Antonio or Tommy.
Dammit, Bethany… I predicted they’d be on the same team if she was a captain, but I assumed Alfonso would get first pick and would pick Sadie. ::sigh::
Court, do you know what Derek’s reaction was to Bethany’s choice?
Jennifer #66, based on what Court said in #55, I think Bethany picked first???
We always get all tied in knots about who is on which team. I think each of these teams has advantages & disadvantages. It could go either way. Hopefully they will both bring their A game and both performances will be wonderful.
The ‘America’s Choice’ thing’s now open.
I don’t know how this works but I’m pretty sure Derek told Bethany who to choose, it was not just her choice right? it’s not like they don’t discuss these things before. Derek is best friends with Mark, I think they decided together they wouldn’t be in the same team for some reason.
I would like to see Alfonso, Sadie, Lea, and Bethany together (they are my top picks this season), but people would react negatively on an unbalanced team distribution leaving Janel with the guys to bring her down. Not that I dislike Janel but I do. Haha. Still hoping for Derek’s streak to continue but with Mark and Witney together, I really don’t know. It would also be funny to see Michael and Tommy shirtless before they leave while Val and Artem are so covered. LoL.
Since Mark and Witney are close and this is her first time being a team captain, my guess is that she wanted Mark to assist her with the choreo and that there was an agreement between Witney, Mark and Derek that if Sadie/Mark were not the other team captains then Mark would go on Alfonso’s team. That would explain why Bethany did not choose Sadie/Mark.
My second guess would be that that someone, either another pro or TPTP did not want Witney, Mark, Derek on the same team with their top scoring partners. If that were to happen, that would be really lopsided.
Why were the teams chosen “off the air”? Why didn’t we get to see that part of it?
I agree the teams are very close. However, no one seems to talk about Emma being on Team Bethany. I think she will be a great help. She seems so imaginative and I have liked many things she has done with some pretty tough celebs. By tough I mean…lack of dancing ability.
Just listened to Black Widow. Derek’s gonna rock that. If you saw MOVE it very much has his funky vibe. Lots of room for surprises with this one. Think–What Does the Fox Say, and of course that Disco/Mirror Ball opener he did with the Andy Dick crowd. There is a reason he is nominated for Emmys and finally wins one! Looking forward to this.
Mark’s choreo has been give props by the judges this year, so we may actually have a horse race on this TEAM DANCE.
Uhhhh Trish, Judy, Jennifer, Danceforme, etc, STICK TO ONE USER NAME!!! NOT COOL!!!!
This is going to be so hard. Why couldn’t Sadie, Alfonso, Bethany and Tommy be on the same team??? I’m excited to see what happens. 🙂
Sorry Trish – sources say you’re incorrect.
Also, remember last season the pros were NOT IN THE ROOM when the picks were made. Just sayin’.
Jennifer, Michelle you really need to read all the comments before commenting yourselves. Our source said Bethany had first pick. Clearly she didn’t pick Sadie. Now read ALL the damn comments. I can see why Courtney was getting ready to pull out her hair. Of course, you’re so busy talking I expect you won’t even see this comment. Oh, HOLD THE PHONE. Just realized that Jennifer and Michelle are the same fucking person using two different names. Damn, I hate sock puppeting – it’s so childish, trying to make your opinion sound stronger by posting it twice under different names. How insecure ARE YOU?? Well, now you have no opinion at all because I”m deleting your comments and going back to make sure Trish isn’t also the same person.
ETA: and Trish is the same person as Jennifer and Michelle. Psychos.
So, uh, Michelle/Jennifer/Trish/Madeline/JC/Dancer99/Janet/Judy/Danceforme/etc., care to explain why you all seem to have the same email and IP address? Pure coincidence, I’m sure. 😀
No, KKat, sorry – you can’t say that Lea isn’t a trained dancer and then turn around in the same post and claim that Alfonso is. Alfonso was trained when he was 12 years old. He’s now in his 40’s. He’s less of a ringer than Lea is.
Courtney and Heidi, do you know why or why do you think Bethany did not choose Sadie first?
Bethany picked first? Was it a ladys first moment or Alfonso decided to pick music? Anyways I’m shocked she didn’t picked Sadie first, naturally she would be Alfonso’s first choice.
This team dances will be interesting for sure I think both teams seem very well balanced, Alfonso, Sadie, Antonio and Tommy are a good mix, we’ll see a little bit of everything in that performance and Sadie will probably keep up with the female pros very well. As for Bethany’s team, I don`t know if i want to see Leah and Janel in the same team, maybe more because I don’t want to see Val an Artem toghether (fingers crossed they keep their shirts on) and poor Michael, he’ll have to keep up with the guys on his team or just blend in to the background. I’ll be rooting for Alfonso’s team but definitely looking forward to see what both teams come up with.
@Cali – Honestly, I think it was probably just a snap decision made under duress. As Buttercup said, Bethany didn’t even really know what the team dance was, so I get the feeling that they just kinda pulled her back into a room and said “You get first pick. GO!” and without really thinking, just picked the first person that came to mind – which just wasn’t Sadie. Keep in mind that the pros were NOT in the room when the captains picked (same as last season) and Bethany doesn’t strike me as a big strategist (not saying she’s dumb – I just don’t think she’s the type to be particularly cunning). I don’t think there was any “conspiracy” between Mark & Derek to “help” Witney, I don’t think anybody was trying to stick it to anyone else…I just think Bethany had a brain fart. That’s it.
And while I’m here and NOT tearing my hair out – absolutely no truth to the murmurings I’ve heard on Twitter of Derek & Val having any sort of beef while working on the team dance. From what I’ve heard, they’re getting along swimmingly, and Emma is also contributing, while Artem is kinda the quiet one. Nobody’s trying to “take the reigns”, so to speak, or elbow anyone else out.
Personally, I think that Beth has the stronger team in terms of dance ability, but Alfonso has the better team in terms of personality. Their songs reflect this – Alfonso has the goofy song, while Beth’s should lend more to a technical work. Alfonso’s song will allow his team to not be as technical, which should lend well for Tommy and Antonio. In that case, I think Antonio is a weaker link than Tommy.
In terms of the picking, I wonder if they did it like last year, where the pros weren’t even in the room! That might have changed who picked whom. Court, if you ever feel like telling us why what happened happened, I wouldn’t object, but I think it’s just as much fun to speculate.
Sorry that my comment seems so repetitive – when I submitted it and when it went through didn’t match up! Weird wifi and computer… Mods, you can delete it if you want…
I can’t remember if I mentioned this earlier – think I did – but Derek and Val apparently get along very well. If you read Derek’s book (and clearly, Val’s fans would be devastated by this), it seems pretty clear that Derek and Val are friends – perhaps better friends that Derek and Maks. He talks about Val coming to his movie premiere and how Val reassured HIM when Derek was all nervous. Very few people related to DWTS get a mention in Derek’s book – that Val is one of the ones who gets (albeit very brief) one is telling.
I don’t think there is any problem between the two men. I’m not a big fan of Val and his behavior, and I think his fans are nuts – but that actually has nothing to do with Derek and I think any *issues* are fan projections.
Court, #87, thanks for explaining some of what went on with the team picks! Much appreciate! 🙂
Not sure of anything but the fact that I always enjoy the team dances on both sides. There was an interview with Derek and Bethany where D was asked who he would like to dance with on switch up. Derek actually said Lea or Janel. I was just thinking maybe Beth remembered that conversation and thought they would be his choice. No idea though just a guess. I was surprised he even answered the question.
I’m kind of surprised that knowing how it went down last year without the pros being around that D didn’t give B some advice in advance so she wasn’t blind sided. He’s tired but doesn’t seem to be that un-alert to me. B having just worked with Mark and knowing how close he is to D, it seems very bizarre that she would not pick Sadie, so that makes me think TPTB wanted to even the playing field and made that stipulation. This show seems like professional wrestling at times to me – manipulation to the max. The way they handle the voting last year and this year for the switch, I’m not voting for anything and trust nothing.
I know Time Warp and w/Sadie I’m guessing they will go quirky/really goofy / bizzare and not naughty. Mark & Witney and partners are really strong and coming up with creativity. Like Sadie & Alfonso, Tommy is a performer but Antonio is not. Tommy is getting really tired and won’t be able to remember 2 dances so they will have Peta lead him around and they will have him mugging or as comic relief. Antonio is the weak link, plus Alfonso is hurt and has to do 2 dances so he probably won’t be going too wild.
Derek will get really creative. The song has a steady beat which you choreograph in half time or double time . I think if Emma (who really made Michael look good in the Tango) can manage Michael it could be really entertaining. He could be the stealthily creeping around as the black widow spider, dressed like a ninja. No one can be worse than Andy Dick. Michael at least has rhythm.
My prediction. I think both will be highly entertaining. I’m guessing Bethany’s team will be marginally better & cleaner and should normally get 1 or 2 points more, but I believe they will despite that make it a “tie” for the first time regardless of this. Both teams will be fine with it. Derek will see a tie and not a loss.
Maybe Bethany likes Janel. Or wanted to be switched to Val in the partner switch – just because Mark and Derek are buds doesn’t mean Bethany and Sadie are best of friends. They’ve been doing those videos, but that might be producers putting them together. Or maybe she was jealous of how well Derek and Sadie danced together and was jealous. Or maybe she likes dancers who take their shirts off. Or maybe she realizes TPTB are pimping the heck out of Janel and Val so went with the best chance for a high score.
Unless we get her to blog her thoughts, we’ll never know.
I love team dance week. It’s so much fun to see how the celebs dance together. I think both teams are pretty strong & should give some good choreography.
I mean..can anything really ever be as bad as Team Gangnam Style or as scary as seeing Mark, Chuck & Tony in the single ladies leotard?
I suppose it was all pre-arranged . They knew this week was coming so they must’ve already discussed who was gonna pick who. I can’t see this being such a spontaneous thing and making them choose their team right on the spot,it’s not realistic… they already knew who their teammates were going to be.
Gonna hold my hand up as an exception to the ‘Val fans are nuts’ thing here. Val is my favourite pro but Derek is second, and I also read his book and noticed how he commended Val like that. I like their friendship and I’m not devastated like, I agree, some fans would be. Although I’m rooting for Alfonso mainly this season so no showmance for me!
It seem like everybody think that Derek team will win it would be funny if Alfonso team finally snapped his winning streak.
Awww….I was enjoying the Markney shippers who think that Witney and Mark are teamed up well…because you know what shippers think LOL 😉
I will go with Team Alfonso. Sadie and him are my favorite, Tommy has charisma, I’m really looking for the Mark/Witney/Peta/Cheryl choregrapher quatuor and Rocky Horror Picture Show>>>>>>>>>> Iggy Azalea.
I love Derek but the only rootable thing in Team Bethany is… well Derek and Bethany. And Emma. I’m sure they will do great though.
Also maybe Derek will make Val and Arthem keep their tops on…
Just kidding! They will probably be dressed as sexy vampires who are allergic to silver, garlic AND cotton t-shirts.
No love for Derek? 🙁 where are all the Derek lovers, everyone seems to be team Alfonso :(((
Everybody doesn’t have to love derek..
Bethany had just danced with Mark the week before (and Derek with Sadie). I don’t think choosing Janel (over Sadie) was strategic as much as it was her wanting to work with others in the cast. The cast becomes quite close. Although the audience sees “Badie” everywhere, they have other friends on the show. Last season Charlie didn’t pick strategically…the team with more pro guys tends to win (someone with more knowledge correct me on this if I’m wrong).
And Team Alfonso will be choreographed by Mark & Peta. It’s pretty common knowledge that Cheryl doesn’t do her own choreography and Witney has never done a group dance before so her input won’t be great… Not sure why the above commenters were ignoring Peta in the discussion. She’s the only female pro that has won in the past 5 seasons.
@Meg – Seriously??? “No love for Derek”?! Look at the results of the damn poll. Do you need everyone to write a damn 30-page dissertation on how great Derek is so you can feel better???
And what good does it do you to assume the teams were “prearranged”, Meg? Not only is it a stupid notion, it’s impossible – until the scores were finalized on Monday night, Bethany & Sadie were neck-and-neck and it wasn’t clear who was going to come out on top for the 2nd captain spot. And yeah, it pretty much was spontaneous, no matter how much you want to believe the contrary – literally, Bethany getting pulled out of the press line, shoved in a room with Alfonso with a camera on her, and told to pick…NOW.
Not sure why some of you are so dead set on this being some sort of vast, pre-planned conspiracy, when all that really happened was Bethany probably making a snap decision without whole lot of thought. Does it make some of you feel better thinking that it was somehow manipulated? Cause that’s really kind of messed up, if so.
Just dropped some more team dance intel in the private members area 😎
Bethany seemed really tired (which is understandable ) by the time she got to her interview with George from ABC 7 so I’m sure she just picked who ever came to mind first. Also Bethany and Janel seem to be close as well so I wouldn’t be surprised if she picked her 1st.
Not a big fan of the Halloween theme but looking forward to seeing what happens
Saw the video of both teams first rehearsals. Bethany’ s looks like it will be technical. While team Alfonso sounds colorful with lots of character dances involved. I think both teams will be amazing to watch. Monday will be fun.
Just saw on YouTube how the 2 teams was formed. I agree with Courtney. Bethany didn’t choose strategically. I think she wanted to pick Sadie but Janel looked as if she was about to cry, that’s why I think Bethany chose her. I feel bad for Sadie but glad that she seemed very excited to be Alfonso’s first choice. After all she always consider Alfonso as her dad away from home. I agree with Heidi re: Val and Derek. I also saw a papz video where Val was walking with Derek to Make Your Move premier. As much as I dislike Val because of his attitude at times, his and Maks’ fans were the ones who irritates me the most. And for them to complain about this site being rude maybe they should go and reevaluate their comments at FB or ABC dwts forum.
I want Alfonso group to win but the judges will probably give Derek’s group a higher score because their dance will probably be serious…while Alfonso will actually be fun and entertaining.
I’m glad that Bethany picked Janel, because I believe Alfonso would pick Sadie if he had the first pick before Bethany anyway.
These are actually pretty well balanced teams. Love the song Team Bethany has and think that they can choreograph a really good dance. I love Alfonso’s song even more though and am rooting for them since my favorite celebs minus Bethany are on that team. I think Beth’s team will win though.
Itwould be great if Derek could maintain his record but even if he didn’t I was pretty stoked about what he would do because I think their team has a great (and better) song. But then I heard on a YouTube sneak peek of their practice that Micheal would only have ONE practice session for the team dance??!! Certainly hope I heard it wrong cause that could be a big problem for the Bethanys team. Derek can work miracles but there HAVE to be enough rehearsals to at least get everyone in sync.
“Common Knowledge” that Cheryl doesn’t do her own choreo?? Common to WHO, exactly. This is the first I’ve heard of it and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable.