PureDWTS Season 21, Week 8 – What’s Left to Dance?

I probably should have done this a couple weeks ago, during the midpoint of the season (when I usually do it), but admittedly, time kinda got away from me 🙂 But I’m actually kinda glad I waited, because I think the remaining dances are going to be of much greater importance at this phase of the competition than they were two weeks ago – because with so many strong dancers still remaining, I think it’s all gonna come down to who gets dances that suit their abilities and who doesn’t. Some have several dances left that they have the potential to ace – others are kinda screwed, with their only remaining dances being ones that their aren’t likely to do well with.

Before I throw up my table, a few points of clarification: I’ve included the core 10 dances (cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, jive, waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz), as well as what I consider to be the “extra” dances (salsa, Argentine tango, jazz, contemporary, and any other weird one-off dances – in this case, Charleston).  You’ll notice I’ve italicized waltz, salsa, & Charleston – the reason being that I don’t think everyone is going to do these dances, and they were only used previously this season in order to fit specific songs/themes. So if [insert celeb here] doesn’t get to do salsa – I highly doubt it’s going to be of much significance, since only two other contestants got to  do it and it was in a theme week. I’m not counting last week’s dance-off dances, since they were not full-length, regular dances. Also of significance: I have not included any of the coming week’s dances in the table, as we don’t know all of them – so please do not go immediately post in the comments “Bindi has Charleston! You forgot to update it!!!” I reserve the right to call you out if you do, as you clearly have not read the post…which is kinda rude.

So now that that’s settled, here’s the table (click to view):

 

Off-the-cuff observations? I find it curious that Bindi & Derek are the only ones that haven’t yet done paso doble or jazz – arguably two styles that Derek is quite good at choreographing. Saving them for a strong finish, maybe? Tamar is the only one who hasn’t done jive – and it seems like a dance with which she has iffy potential. Alek’s the only one that hasn’t done cha-cha – and it makes me a bit ill, because I would have rather had him get it out of the way earlier, when there was more cannon fodder to send home…Latin is not his forte. Funny thing is, everybody HAS done foxtrot – which would have made it a good candidate for the dance-offs…instead of a dance that only 2 contestants had done. 😉

Bindi & Derek – remaining dances: samba, paso doble, Viennese waltz, jazz (possibly also salsa & Charleston)

I don’t see Bindi struggling with any of the dances she has left, but I do think she has the potential to really finish strong (and coast into the finale) if we see a paso doble and a jazz out of her in the next few weeks.  Samba? Not Derek’s favorite to choreograph, but his partners usually end up with a proper samba routine that they can perform competently.  Viennese waltz? Another dance that will likely suit Bindi’s skill set, as well as Derek’s choreographic prowess.

Tamar & Val – remaining dances: jive, Viennese waltz, Argentine tango, contemporary (possibly also waltz & salsa)

The one that sticks out to me is jive – Tamar’s “too cool for school” attitude may have worked for their Charleston, but part of me thinks that the jive might be a bit too wacky & fun for her to really do well at. In the same token, I wonder if she can really dig deep and get vulnerable enough with her partner to carry off contemporary. Argentine tango seems like it would actually suit her quite well – she doesn’t have to stare at Val so much, and she can be the femme fatale 🙂 Viennese waltz? Ehhh…depends on whether she’s still shutting down while in-hold.

Alexa & Mark – remaining dances: samba, quickstep, Viennese waltz, contemporary (possibly also waltz & Charleston)

Oh, the dreaded samba 😛 With the exception of contemporary, which I feel like Mark excels at teaching/choreographing and Alexa can pull off since it’s not so structured, I could see her potentially struggling with what’s left – especially since her footwork snafus seem to happen most often when she’s in hold, doing a ballroom dance. And samba just kinda altogether SUCKS, unless you’re already a favorite of the judges *cough*CARLOS*cough* and they’re willing to cut you some slack.

Carlos & Witney – remaining dances: samba, tango, Viennese waltz, Argentine tango, contemporary (possibly also Charleston)

*shrug* Part of me thinks it doesn’t even really matter how well Carlos actually does with these dances – the judges will probably go easy on him either way. I could see samba being potentially problematic, and perhaps contemporary as well – the wonky hands and feet could be on display in that one. I kinda have to roll my eyes at a potential Carlos Argentine tango – seems like another opportunity for the judges to remind us what a hot, Latin lover he is.

Nick & Sharna – remaining dances: rumba, tango, quickstep (possibly also waltz, salsa, & Charleston)

Part of me wonders if we just haven’t seen Nick do rumba yet because he’s just so intense – I have to wonder if Sharna is still trying to refine some of his movements, and he’s maybe just not ready for such a fine-tuned dance. The intensity of the tango seems like it would suit him well, but I do wonder if he might be a bit heavy on his feet for the quickstep – especially when I think back to how bogged down he looked in his jive.

Alek & Lindsay – remaining dances: cha-cha, samba, Argentine tango (possibly also waltz, salsa, & Charleston)

Yikes. The cha-cha and samba both make me cringe, as they’re the two Latin dances left where you really can’t fake hip action, and they’re campy as hell (and “campy” isn’t really a word I would use to describe Alek). The one dance I could really see him doing well with, Argentine tango, is the one I’m guessing they will go out of their way to make sure he DOESN’T get – unless they’ve decided to make it he & Carlos’ duet dance (doubtful, as I think Alek could outlift Carlos…and we just can’t have that).

So that’s my take on what’s left…what are your thoughts? Who do you think is screwed? Who do you think has it made? Any patterns seem interesting to you? Let’s hear it 🙂