PureDWTS Season 25, Week 6 – Power Rankings
I’m not exactly sure who at DWTS this should be directed towards (Mandy? The producers? Val/Maks/the male pros as a whole?), but here goes:
Exactly how high and out-of-touch with reality were you when you decided on the concept for the opening pro dance for movie week???
Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve witnessed such a gauche, tactless move on this show since…well, ever. And this show has had its fair share of snafus over the years. In the past two weeks, Hollywood has basically had roof blown off of it with 20+ years of Harvey Weinstein’s misogynism and sexual misconduct coming to light, and 30+ women have come forward with stories of his unwelcome advances in exchange for “furthering their career”; it has really brought the issue of men basically ruling Hollywood to the forefront, and illustrated just how so many women in the industry live constantly under the boot of the patriarchy and have to really fight for representation. So what does DWTS do? Choreographs an opening dance that paints Val as a bright, new, MALE screenwriter, auditioning for a room full of MALE directors, producers, and studio heads, before being given the job and commanding a bevy of doe-eyed ingenues that swoon over his every move. The dance was 3/4 the male pros showing off how awesome it was to be men in Hollywood, and 1/4 the female pros looking pretty swaying in the background and stroking the mens’ egos – and it was yet another insult to the talent of our female pros, just like most of the hair-flipping, sex kitten routines Mandy Moore subjects them to on the regular. And it basically glorified the very culture that women in Hollywood are trying so hard to fight right now – with spectacularly poor timing. I don’t want to hear justifications from anyone that this “was just how old Hollywood was, and that’s what was being depicted” – as far as I’m concerned, the time for reliving and romanticizing those days is LONG past, and for the love of all things good and pure, WAS IT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO DO THAT PARTICULAR ROUTINE THIS SEASON, OF ALL SEASONS?! So help me god, I hope people drag the hell out of Mandy for this one – there were so many other routes she could have gone, and she went with this festering turd instead. *rings bell like Septa Unella* SHAME… *ring*… SHAME… *ring* …SHAME…
And another item to file under “really bad ideas for DWTS” – who the hell thought it would be smart to bring Shania Twain in as a guest judge??? Aside from her being neither an authority on dance nor particularly relevant to the movie theme, she functioned mainly as a random word and number generator, that spat out incoherent critiques and puzzling scores, and didn’t even sing live when she performed the song she did for a recent movie. I got shades of Idol-era Paula Abdul, trying to make sense of some of what she was saying – it was not a good look. Just brings me back to “Why do we even need guest judges, anyway?” All the extra scores do is just make the margins smaller for next week’s elimination…which may explain why they felt the need to include a guest judge at all this week: anyone want to place bets that the double elim may come next week? And they’re basically trying to distill it down to who is getting the votes…and who isn’t? Then again, the decision to bring her in may be as simple (and dumb) as somebody high-up at DWTS losing a hand in poker and having to agree to have Shania on to pay their debt 😛
So Nick finally hit the road, and not a moment too soon – that samba was pretty cringe-y, and Nick’s “feign disappointment about getting a low score and being in jeopardy” face was getting progressively less believable with each passing week. Dude was practically halfway to the parking lot before Tom finished saying “And the couple leaving us tonight is…Nick and Peta!” I think Peta was also lightweight relieved to be done, as she seemed to be trying to keep a low profile with all of the Chmerlachey drama – and I think she’s just tired and probably very much in need of the 11-month break she’s going to get before she has to be a pro again. A baby and a marriage in the same year are big life-changers, and we saw how much a year-long break benefited Mark…
1.) Lindsey & Mark – So help me god, DWTS, you had better not do anything to d*ck Mark Ballas over, because he is YOUR BEST HOPE OF EVER BREAKING INTO THE OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY EMMY CATEGORY AGAIN RIGHT NOW. With Mandy continuing to churn out formulaic drivel, and Derek giving DWTS the bye-bye finger, the show needs routines like this to give them a fighting chance against the likes of SYTYCD and WOD next year. I feel like this is one instance where words are failing me – this may have been my favorite Argentine tango on DWTS, EVER…its predecessor being the Argentine tango Mark choreographed for Paige a year and a half ago. The concept, the choreography, the costuming…just…FLAWLESS. Still a proper Argentine tango, while still unique enough to stand out. The trick at the end was MONEY. I’ve watched it six times already and I’m still not tired of it. I’m beginning to think this competition may actually be Lindsey’s to lose…
2.) Jordan & Lindsay – I just have to laugh that we’ve reached a point where Len has to resort to bitching about finger styling in order to justify not giving Jordan a perfect score 😛 Honestly, I live for the styling Jordan does with his arms, hands, and fingers – I think I’ve mentioned it before. So once again, Len is just grasping at straws, as he’s prone to doing. Can’t say this was my favorite routine he’s done so far, but was still lovely nonetheless – he’s another rare male contestant that actually seems to understand and nail the rumba hip action, and he was doing it without a whole lot of effort. I think Lindsay did a nice job of combining rumba steps with a more contemporary vocabulary to fit the “drama movie” theme – and yes, I said Lindsay, because a source confirmed to me that she’s been doing her own choreo for the past three seasons. Calm down, ghost (choreographer) hunters 🙂 Nice routine, doubt he’s in any danger whatsoever…not a whole lot to say this week. Hope he gets a good Halloween week dance 🙂
3.) Drew & Emma – The fact that I had so many fans tweeting me after last night’s show to ask if I thought Drew was in danger of elimination just makes me realize how not-the-norm this season has been – because honestly, with someone like Drew whose fanbase aligns nearly perfectly with the main viewing demographic of DWTS, I don’t see him being in imminent danger until we start getting to week 8 or 9, at the earliest; but given that the elims this season haven’t been 100% straightforward, I could see why some may have been a bit rattled. But I go back to Drew being a good demographic fit, as well as he & Emma’s skill at “playing the game” – even though Drew is not the best dancer this season, these two are still doing a great job of standing out each week, and appealing to the audience. Drew’s dances are always clever, funny, and have a good concept – last night was no different. Sure, there were a few issues with him going off-time, but generally, the dance was entertaining, and a fun use of the “action movie” theme – thought he got a bit weird on some of the sections in hold, due to the height difference, but generally, I thought he got rather low-balled, as I would given this one at least a couple of 8’s. But even with that, I disagree with Len – I think Drew ought to be fine for at least next week, if not the week after as well.
4.) Victoria & Val – Let me put this out there: I have absolutely no issues with Victoria. In fact, I think she may actually be my favorite partner Val has ever had – just a genuinely nice, grateful, genuine person that is here to have fun and enjoy the experience. Where I’m beginning to have issues is with Val’s attitude towards Victoria – the one line that really rankled last night was when they were talking to Erin after their dance, and Val said he was “teaching Victoria to stand up for herself”. Errrr…was Victoria’s MMY story not how she was able to stand up to her bullies in school? I don’t think she needed Val’s tutelage to do that, and the fact that he seemed to be trying to take credit for it just pissed me off on her behalf. She’s clearly not some shrinking violet, and she’s dealt with far more adversity in her life that he’s ever had to cope with. There were also a few comments he made in their package that left me going “Really bro?” and I’m left torn between really liking Victoria, and really not liking how she got treated by Val this week. The routine itself was decent, but I don’t think it was anything extraordinary; Val’s fondess for the high kick of season 24 seems to have changed into a proclivity towards dips (LOTS of dips), I’m guessing in an attempt to keep Victoria stationary as much as possible. Didn’t love the routine, didn’t hate it; doubt it’s going to hurt or help them a whole lot for next week, but I think they’ll get a bit of a boost by being in faux jeopardy.
5.) Terrell & Cheryl – This may have actually been my favorite routine of the night, next to Lindsey’s – just a very cool, creative concept, and Terrell & Cheryl both having a lot of fun with it while still doing a great dance. Terrell has actually become one of my favorites since MMY week – like Drew & Frankie, I just love it when someone really embraces the experience and goes for it. It took Terrell some time to get there, but he’s here now – and really, he’s not a bad dancer, either. Watching him do jive, he struck me as a bit less-polished version of Rashad, but he’s still got good rhythm and showmanship. Will he make it to the finale? I doubt it, but then again, who knows – this season’s kind of a crap shoot, and it’s entirely possible he could outlast Nikki, Vanessa, and maybe even Frankie. I do think he’s safe next week, though, by virtue of his jeopardy this week.
6.) Vanessa & Maks – #ThatAwkwardMomentWhen you see Vanessa excited to be called safe…and then you see a split second flash of utter panic followed by a smile that’s just a bit too sharp, when she realizes that she’s still stuck with Maks as a partner. And then when you realize she’s also a bit alone in this experience now, with Nick out, you start to realize that Vanessa has got quite a bit on her plate – and it’s taking its toll. She’s been a tad squirrelly from week 1, but it seems to get a bit worse each week – and with all the ado about the too-early skirt drop that Vanessa kept harping on to the judges last night, I was just left thinking “Girl, I hope you get eliminated soon, because I’m not sure I can take much more of the neurotic babbling.” Really and truly, the skirt dropping early was a relatively minor snafu in the grand scheme of the dance – she seemed to recover from it without any major stumbles, and the rest of the dance, while typical Chmerkovskiy-time-wasting fare, she handled with relative ease. Wasn’t my favorite dance of the night, but also wasn’t the worst – but just having to watch the uncomfortable energy between Vanessa & Maks and Vanessa babbling nervously after made it a chore to watch. I think she’s probably safe for another week or so, unless they pull out the double elim – then all bets are off.
7.) Frankie & Witney – The fact that these two are this low really gets my goat, because in the grand scheme of things, Frankie only made a couple small mistakes, but from the way Carrie Ann the drama queen acted, you would have thought he screwed up the entire routine and completely forgot this choreography. And with regards to the choreography, whoever did it did NOT go easy on Frankie – this was a pretty intricate and challenging routine, and he kept up and was on-time for probably 85% of it; I was actually really impressed by what he DID do, moreso than I was disappointed with what he didn’t manage to carry off so easily. This should have had at least straight 8’s, with maybe one or two 9’s thrown in. What worries me is that I still don’t have a very good feel for Frankie’s fanbase – he could be killing it, or he could be in trouble, and while I was heartened last week by how many folks were throwing votes his way after he was in jeopardy, this week the focus seems to have shifted more to Drew, who is low man on the totem pole, but who I think has a stronger fanbase coming in. I’m just hoping y’all didn’t forget about Frankie completely – I threw all my votes his way, because I think he is likely in more danger than Drew, heading into next week.
8.) Nikki & Artem – It sucks that I have these two this low, because I think they’ve done the best they could with everything that’s been thrown at them so far, but there seemed to be multiple factors working against them last night that could potentially spell trouble. First, they danced first, and were told immediately that they were safe – we’ve seen it happen before where this seems to lull some fans into a sense of false security, and they maybe don’t get their votes in early as a result. First isn’t the worst running order position, but it’s also not the strongest – and can get lost in the shuffle. Then there’s the style and theme they were given – “foreign” was probably the least likely film genre to resonate with the audience, and they were given a style that, while decent, was also the same as the eventual “dance of the night” (Lindsey & Mark’s sci-fi Argentine tango). Whose tango do you think is going to get remembered more: Nikki’s or Lindsey’s? Really and truly, this was actually a pretty good Argentine tango – a few minor balance issues, and Nikki maybe focusing a tad intensely from time to time, but really quite nice (and Artem’s suit was clutch); question is, is “nice” going to stand out in the long run? I would be happy to be wrong about this one, because I don’t really think these two have gotten a fair shake this season, but I think they may end up fading into the woodwork come Monday, unfortunately.
So who were your favorites from last night? Who got screwed? Who’s in trouble next week?
I’m actually disagreeing with you quite a bit this week. I think Victoria might be the one gone (or one of the two gone since I think next week might be when they pull out the double elim). I think Nikki is getting the one vote to beat Vanessa so I’m going to call her safe. I think Frankie is beating Victoria by the one vote so he’d be safe too, and same with Drew possibly covering the small spread to pass her. I think depending on how many peoe are.eliminated on Monday and how strong the support is for Frankie and Drew we might see Vanessa or even TO leave I’d it’s a double. Sorry my thoughts are so jumbled lol.
PS: I know you guys prefer the consistent names on here but I realized I the box kept aurocorexting to include my last name without me noticing until the comment was posted so I’ll try to remember to remove it going forward.
I agree Court! I think Mark & Lindsey’s AT was one of the best I have ever seen on this show. Mark’s creative mind is what gives them the upper hand over Jordan & Lindsay. At this point in the competition it’s time to shine every single week. I think her getting screwed over last week and not getting the perfect score she deserved helped her grow and show improvement this week, where Jordan had to try and perfect again.
Jordan and Lindsay were also amazing. When I think of a male celeb doing a real rumba I think of Hinch, who arguably had one of the best male rumbas to date on the show. I think Jordan proved his rumba is right up there with Hinch. I still am having trouble connecting to Jordan like I want to, but there’s no denying his talent on the dance floor.
Everyone else in my opinion is up in the air for a possible elimination. It may come down to fan bases. Frankie had in my opinion his worst dance of the season, so hopefully fans vote. Victoria had a cute, fun dance but on a technical level it doesn’t compare to the top 2. TO had one of his best routines, but not sure about his fan base. Vanessa and Maks just aren’t the same for me anymore, you can kind of feel the awkward uncomfortable feeling toward them. Nikki is honestly growing each week and getting better, she just keeps getting the worst running order or style dance. Her having the AT the same week as Lindsey didn’t help, as Lindsey’s was in a league of her own. Drew was not as bad as the judges made it, but obviously did have a big timing issue in the middle of the dance. If it’s a double elimination than anyone of these couples have a shot at being eliminated.
I agree with your rankings. Lindsey had the dance of the night hands down! I’ve missed the crazy creative side of MArk.
TO also impressed me. I was not expecting him to be that good.
Drew’s dance was not as bad as the judges made it out to be. It was highly entertaining!
I enjoyed last night more than I thought I would. I’m glad Nick is gone, but now I have no idea who’ll leave next.
I 100% agree with you Courtney I feel like for Lindsey this is hers to lose. She’s come out every week and just killed it. Her scores didn’t reflect it until last night but I have a strong feeling that they’ve been underscoring to her to make it look like she’s not running away with it. I think she’s probably the biggest vote getter. It seems everywhere I look whenever people comment about her 85-90% of it is completely positive. Every once in awhile there are the a holes that like to bring up her dance with Derek and I tend to put them in their place.
I feel like along with Lindsey Jordan is for sure safe. He had a great dance that I enjoyed and I am not much for Rumba’s ever. There has only been a small handful of Rumab’s that have made me go woah.. and out of that handful only a small amount have been male contestants (James and Rashad being two of them) and Jordan just joined the ranks.
After those two that’s when I start going I don’t know how this will all play out. I keep going back and forth. I feel pretty confident that Drew and Frankie are safe. I agree with you Courtney that Drew’s appeal to the demo and his crossover is so strong that I think he’s overcoming the voting deficit. I would compare him to David in that aspect, not the best dancer but has improved and is just having fun and already has a built in fanbase that the demo aligns with. Frankie I feel like he’s killing it with votes and is appealing for the same reason as Drew with embracing the experience and then he’s reminding me of James in terms of having some natural ability. Also I feel pretty confident in the fact that TPTB are going to want to cash in on that and have him as the tour celeb.
That leaves Nikki, Victoria, Vanessa, and TO. Despite the fact that Vanessa does not seem to be a favorite with the demo I think she lasts until the trios the week after Halloween. After that I think she’s gone but I think the score she got will sail her into next week fine. So with that it leaves Nikki, Victoria, and TO. Part of me thinks that Nikki might fall victim to being first and being forgotten especially since she got a good score and was declared safe right off the bat. TO he has a nice score cushion but are as many people liking him more now after his MMY week like some of us here or is he not drawing in the votes. Then Victoria she got a pretty crud score and her appeal with the demo doesn’t seem to be great. If we are looking at just a single elimination I’m thinking it’s Victoria. If it’s a double I’m not sure who joins her. Part of me wants to say Nikki but I don’t know. This is the point where eliminations are going to be even harder to figure out than they already have been.
And a random aside there was some funny business with the DWTS youtube page. They usually upload all the dances about an hour to two hours after the show is over. They uploaded them at around midnight.. even had Shania’s performance but they didn’t upload Lindsey’s dance. Everyone else’s was accounted for. Several of us tweeted them inquiring about it and then this morning all of last night’s dances were deleted off of the youtube page. I don’t know what the deal was at all but it seems odd.
I’m not going to waste the time to describe my feelings about the opener! My favorite number of Movie night was Lindsey and Mark’s. Unlike many, I actually like theme dances overall and especially love it when they are brilliantly realized like Mad Mark’s creation! Or Cheryl’s Jive caper!
I love Jordan and Lindsay but I’m feeling like they’ll need to do something to up their game even more next week since expectations are running so high for them. (Same goes for Lindsey/Mark and for other reasons, Frankie/Witney.) I’m expecting the dreaded double elimination to come next week and I’m thinking it definitely factored into the critique and comments for Drew/Emma and Frankie/Witney. Did TPTB show their hand too clearly? Very suspicious to me to that we haven’t heard yet if there will be a double. Not until they see how their plans shook out in votes! Also, no info on how the teams will be formed or scored? No news on whether we’re aiming for a 3 or 4 couple finale? It’s stuff like that that’s ruining a once really fun “reality” contest. I have no issues what so ever about contestants having dance experience as long as they’re open about it. And no problems with “ghost” choreographers or assistant’s. I don’t even care about not knowing who asks for help and when! This is a contest folks. Bravo to pros who are using all that’s available to make their performances better! I prefer that to manipulative pleas and social media posts for votes. I’m okay with “we want your votes.” Or, “we’re working hard and want to stay in the game.” I’ll leave it to you to remember some of the other types of ploys though……
I’ll be chewing my fingers to the bones until Princess Heidi’s numerical analysis this week and who she thinks is likely leaving next week.
Great analysis, as usual. Your posts have become the next most awaited thing after the show for me 🙂
This season is, and now more than ever, Lindsey’s to lose. And Mark has matured and transformed into a Coach from a Professional partner. Has anybody else notice how quiet and composed he has been all this season? Val can learn a thing or two, or maybe everything from him. LOVED the dance, the concept and you can tell how great these two are, considering there was a fair share of people even here at pure, confident that this dance was going to earn them their long due perfect score. Lindsey and MARK for the win!
I actually found this to be Jordan’s best dance, because maybe the concept was an added bonus for me. Loved how creatively Lindsay placed a major section of the dance in the moonlight coming from the window #Derek-esque detailing! I root for her more than Jordan; it’s a sad prospect that both my favorites and the most deserving choreographers are head to head in one season!
Cent percent agreement to TO’s jive being amongst the best dances of the night. I’ve never seen such a creatively elegant Jive wrapped in a terrific concept. Cheryl has my respect on taking a guy with iffy skill-set and offy attitude to this long a journey, and hopefully farther. He reminded me of Calvin too.
The rest of the dances were okayish. Vanessa is running a talk show of her own and makes me feel bad that someone who was excited to do the show has to face this ruined experience. Victoria is not sharp and half the dance didn’t have the dance. Drew needs to just finesse the edges and perform more rounded than cubic. Felt bad and now feeling scared for Frankie; as much as I would die to see a Chmerkovskiy (preferably the younger one) leave next, I don’t see it happening. I have also felt that Nikki is one of the highest votes-getter for some unknown reason, and her scores have literally gone from all 6s to all 7s to all 8s to all 9s in previous four dances with the latest one with all 9s again. Maybe a buildup to call it a surprising elim but really think Frankie is in more danger.
I think Mark’s Argentine tango is right up there with anything Derek could have come up with
The lyrics said, “I am flesh.. bones..” and that bone crushing effect while Lindsey does a waving step with crossed hands! I am not going to get over Lindsey’s AT for a long time!
Sorry for commenting again and again, just had to share this 😛
Agree.Did anyone notice that the leap that Lindsey did at the end is the same one that she did with Derek in her music video.I definitely think the final two will be her and Jordan,
Courtney, thanks for the comment about Lindsay’s choreography – I’ve always believed that it was hers.
It seems she really used her time back in the troupe (after the boxer) to study on what it takes to make a dance doable, yet at the same time give it the flair to please the audience and with the content to please the judges. That rumba last night was loaded with content (and yet Len being Len acted like the one hand movement ruined it all).
It’s just too bad that two excellent and likeable contestants (Lindsey and Jordan)and two excellent and skilled at choreography pros (Mark and Lindsay) are going against each other in the same season. I would love co-winners!
Last night Tyrell was impressive, but I thought he was impressive during Disney week. He’s a big handsome guy completing everything that is asked of him, while he doesn’t have the polish or probably the work ethic to get to Rashad’s level, he does have that swagger. Love the music but I didn’t like the choreography that much for it. I thought the doors, while cute and giving a breath stopped the Jive completely. It’s a choice that is great when executed flawlessly, but I don’t think looks particularly good on beginners. Stopping and starting is not as easy as the pros make it seem.
Lindsey and Mark were great, the choreography outstanding. This is how lifts are performed in Argentine Tango, Frankie. Innovative, breathtaking and measured highlights all the way through. Great Quirk factor. One nitpick, why have troupe members? If this is a Frankenstein-esque routine then the troupe members added zero. My only other note is maybe they should have saved the spooky. Next week this would have been the showstopper for Halloween, now they have to have another stylized routine to top it.
Jordan and Lindsey also great, and Jordan is the best male rumba dancer ever on this show. Len never gives any male dancer a 10, he only reserves that for the ladies, and it was a bit sour of him to do a hand motion. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Len knows how to play to an audience and burst the bubble for those who were brought into a very personal world. What makes this routine uber outstanding is he just danced. There was little in the way of costumes, in fact the once again plain costume now being so dark was almost difficult for the audience to get a good visual, I get that he’s in mourning, but maybe the lighting needed to be better. Despite that his pure dancing wins me over. Next week Jordan finally gets to play dress up, something he hasn’t done since week 3.
Drew and Emma were a hot mess. I thought even the troupe members looked off in the early stages. Drew just couldn’t rein it in, nor do I expect him to being a beginner, but he missed a full line and some significant paso. That was just way too much choreography for him to handle on his own.
Victoria and Val- I think Victoria is a sweetheart, I know Val isn’t a fave, I was completely pissed at him last season, but I loved that hockey rink idea, and Victoria did do Paso Doble. I enjoyed it more than Drew and Emma.
Vanessa and Maks- I am over this couple. Here’s Maks just ignoring any rules for Quickstep, we know he hates the dance, but after years of fighting about proper dance he’s now ready to toss in the towel. Let’s just throw in some broadway, get as far as possible out of hold and then don’t forget to yet again run up the stairs for a final pose. Honestly she danced flat footed and very sloppy hold position.
Frankie and Witney- I am not a fan of this terrrible choreography, terrible music and batcrazy costumes. He was stiff throughout and missed passes in hold. A hodgepodge of noise, consistently stiff, just put a different wig on him. O Witney, training the actor to act. That was rich. It just looked off the whole way through, like Jimmy from HR Puffinstuff on crack.
Nikki and Artem, As a style I liked it, I thought she was still a tad tentative but boy they looked good together dancing. As Argentine Tangos go this one was beautiful but a bit safe, I wish she had the confidence to dance it full out.
Probably the most I’ve disagreed with you, Courtney, on who is in danger (although it’s hard to get a good feel this season.) My gut feeling is Victoria is on the chopping block next week. If it’s a double, I guess it will depend on how big of a gap Drew and Frankie have to overcome. I’m still not convinced Vanessa is getting the votes, and I really think Nikki is beating her.
My rankings by how much I enjoyed the dances:
1.Lindsey/Mark- Hands down best dance of the season. Even without the awesome concept and detailing, Lindsey’s technique was impeccable. Technically that was a hard dance, and together with all of Mark’s nuances it was killer. I was also impressed how well Lindsey owned the character. As so many people have pointed out, DWTS needs to thank its lucky stars Mark came back.
2.Jordan/Lindsay- Pretty close to my favorite rumba ever done by a male celeb (Corbin is still the winner here.) There were moments I actually swore out loud when he hit certain lines. There was also an emotional depth to this performance that, IMO, went beyond even his contemporary. I’m also glad they are showing his struggles on the show.
3.Nikki/Artem- I know Artem can do lifts, so I was happily surprised he didn’t go lift heavy and actually had Nikki do a lot of leg and foot work. I thought it was the best she’s looked. I still think she looks unsure and tentative at times, but she’s growing a lot. Her best dance.
4.TO/Cheryl- I honestly loved this. It was fun, TO looked good, and his transformation is insane. He looks in the competition in a way he wasn’t before. Maybe the 10 was too high, but I didn’t think this was that overscored.
5.Vanessa/Maks- Huge improvement from the last two weeks. I thought she handled the malfunction and the dance well. Strangely (or maybe not) she seems much more into the dance when she’s dancing with the girls and not Maks. I’m very curious to see if her score and that dance is enough to keep her around.
6.Drew/Emma- What the hell was that judging? Sure, it wasn’t his best dance, but Len’s comments were completely over the top and inappropriate. I was pissed on their behalf. He fell out of time a few times, but I loved the martial arts elements and how committed he was. I truly hate theme weeks because all too often celebs try to embrace the theme and then get trashed for doing so.
7.Victoria/Val- Victoria danced well and I thought her footwork and spins looked the best they had. This is so low because I forgot about it. Her dances have been bland at best, unfortunately. I also don’t think it helped that she was wearing such a bulky looking outfit.
8.Frankie/Witney- His worst dance IMO. He made more than a few mistakes and Witney’s choreo kind of bored me. I think he’s built up enough of a fanbase and goodwill that he’ll be ok, but this was a big step down for me in every way.
I’m having trouble believing it was actually Mandy doing the opening…is someone even seen her at the studio or rehearsals, backstage? One other sytycd choreographer posted a picture of them that they’re or were working on a secret project and through that time, i don’t think i saw her anywhere near dwts and she’s always somewhere there and not even pics bts or stuff like that…I haven’t seen her all season, maybe once or two after she finished sytycd but since then nothing and they keep saying her name…another thing, I saw Kristyn Burtt’s video of the dances that were submitted for the emmys this year and for the Titanic opening during mmy week in season 23 Mandy wasn’t the one listed, were Jenna and Artem, so it had me thinking how many other opening she hasn’t done or got a LOT of help from pros but still she’s getting all the credits and stuff and nominations again, after a couple of years without any…idk it is just weird to me…I like Mandy, but for me she should stick to choreograph contemporary and jazz on sytycd and not coming back to dwts and taking more credit, i don’t like her choreo here on dwts with a few exceptions but after that video, it had me wonder how many others she hasn’t really choreographed but is taking the credit for?
Jordan and Lindsay and Lindsey and Mark are my faves since day 1 and i just love how close they’re and no eggos, work hard and with struggles and all that they always show the best of them in every moment and are giving us amazing routines week after week, some of my all time favorites may i add…and now mark and bc are going on tour with lindsey and jordan and lindsay just went to disneyland with both of their families and even jordan’s dad and lindsay’s husband went fishing, i’m just in love with their partnerships and friendships and the dances they create…i’m rooting for them all the way, no matter what…
I hope we all powervoted for Drew & Frankie, as well as Nikki, as that would result in Val having an early elimination! Just imagine that, Val’s misogynistic, retarted, machiavellian, selfish, woman-hating, avaricious self leaving so early. It would crush him. Being beaten by Mark & Artem. His ugly, sweaty face would be in tears! It would send a striking hinnt, both to him and the PTB that we don’t like him, and that no matter how much you pimp him, he’ll never be successful. He’ll always be a flop, unlike Derek. Imagine how well Derek would do with Victoria. He wouldn’t always highlight her issues, like Val does and he’d give her innovative, impeccable choreography. Victoria would easily be the front-runner and probably get Derek his seventh win, but with Val, she’s wasted, as much as she’s a nice girl. I wish Val had a ‘lamentable accident’ resulting in him not being able to perform for the rest of the season. Victoria doesn’t deserve to be held back, but if they get eliminated, I’ll be one happy bunny as Val’s a vitriolic, chauvinistic, patronising douchebag. Like Victoria needs Val to tell her to stand up for herself. He’s so egotistical, I loathe him and his ‘BASIC BITCH’ choreography. I hope they leave. Vanessa’s squeaky fake self and Maks The Douche can leave 7th.
Something that just occurred to me, if they all of a sudden pull out immunity this coming week then we know someone is in trouble and they are trying to save them. Especially if they do it and Victoria gets it. I could easily see them pulling that out of nowhere since they’ve done it in the past and it’s usually done that way to save someone. Because the more and more that I think about it and rewatch dances I feel even more confident that Victoria is the one going home.
Thank you mentioning the opening number. I thought I was the only one wondering WTH they were doing. Who has a dance with a bunch of women lined up waiting to be chosen by the producer then dragged off to a premiere after giving him a kiss after the two weeks Hollywood has had.
I love reading your power rankings. I seem to be with the majority in that it is Lindsey or Jordan’s to lose. I do enjoy: Frankie, Nikki, Drew, and TO. Vanessa is too over the top for me. Victoria is nice with an incredible story, but somewhat forgettable when it comes to dancing. I am just so happy that Mark is back. He has made this season for me. Love, love, love him!
I honestly think that the bottom three next week are going to be Victoria and drew and Nikki. saying that after watching all the dances again I’m inclined to think Victoria should go home.
I was really worried about Drew and Frankie while I was watching yesterday, but I’m suspicious that the producers may be trying to make next week the “shocker” of the season. If Vanessa or TO or Nikki are really behind in votes, they could pull out the OMG faces and pretend like they had no idea it was even possible. I think that Len’s comment about Drew should really help him. And even if it’s one of the lower scored people going home, I have to really wonder about Victoria’s fanbase. I don’t know how big she is on ESPN, but even if she’s huge there, how many of her fans are going to watch ballroom dancing? And her sympathy vote may be wearing thin after so many weeks, especially since it wasn’t brought up in the dance this week. She’s seems like a wonderful person, but I don’t need to keep watching her and I haven’t seen much growth. I don’t know, it may be wishful thinking, but I’m rooting for another C-bro elimination, just not sure which.
@Chase- #12
My ranking matches yours exactly. Sadly because I literally cried for Frankie and would never have wanted him to be my least favorite.
I still hope it will be Lindsay, Jordan and Frankie in the finale with Nikki or Drew as the 4th. I can always wish, right?
I don’t think Victoria was anywhere near the bottom. That jeopardy stunt was to boost votes.
Still hoping for Vanessa or Victoria to go next.
Thoughts on Movie Night: Wasn’t crazy about the opening number I prefer when they incorporate the couples into the opener like they did for the guilty pleasures opener. I feel like they aren’t using all their pros to their full potential, a lot of it was just focused on Val and some of Sharna. I get that they were trying to do something different but my favorite numbers are when they use all the pros and overall the movie opener from last season was better overall. There haven’t been any openers that have really wowed me yet.
I didn’t think Shania Twain added anything and just made the juding table more of a mess than it needed to be. When she went first she couldn’t really put her words together and it took her a few couples for her to catch on somewhat. Most of what she said was incoherent. They are probably getting guest judges to fill the time now that they are dwindling down on the couples. Since they have team dances next week they might not need a guest judge since that will take up some of the time. I don’t think Shania brought any viewers in and it made the point totals all the more confusing and close. If they are going to add a fourth judge at least just make it someone like Julianne, an eliminated pro, a previous contestant that either won or got far (Alfonso, Zendaya, Nick) so they are a little more informed.
Thoughts on Nick: I think most of us, Nick, and Peta are all relieved. I think he’s glad he doesn’t do another dance and be on a team dance. I guess their married couples plan didn’t go as well when half of the married couple can’t really dance. Nick seems like a nice guy and means well and kind of took it lightly last night when he said “I came not a good dance, and leaving not a good dancer” LOL . But now that Nick is gone, the only two I’m sure will make it to the end are Lindsey and Jordan as they are the only ones that do consistenly well. Frankie, Vanessa, Drew, Nikki, TO are all sort of yo-yo celebs either do really well or not so well. Victoria is sort of pretty good every week neither fantastic or really bad. So now that Nick is gone it’s going to be super hard to predict who is out next.
Favorites:
1) Lindsey&Mark-Wow! No wonder they left this for last, it had the sci-fi theme but didn’t sacrafice any argentine tango for the theme. I wasn’t sure if Lindsey would be able to pull off more serious dances, but she did it so well! I had a feeling she would top Jordan this week. It’s like a tug-of-war between Lindsey and Jordan, the top scores go back and forth between the two. Just imagine a dance off between these two! I prefer Lindsey’s dances a little more because they are little more unique and each dance of hers is so different than the last.
2)Jordan&Lindsay-Jordan just excels at any dance style. This felt a little forced to me but he still did a great job. He is very smooth on the dance floor and he goes out there and delivers every week and doesn’t falter.
3)TO&Cheryl- This is the first I’ve put TO this far up on my list, but he played the part well and was smooth. Maybe because the song and the style were just exciting and so it was just easier for it to be a crowdpleaser, but he did a good job, not sure if 10 worth but good. Wasn’t so sure about all that time going through the doors, it kind of took up a lot of time and I felt it didn’t really need it but I guess it was for the spy theme.
Likes:
4)Vanessa&Maks-I was expecting a little more of this number given that the theme and song went well, it was danced well but I think they could’ve done more. A little irked they didn’t call out the break of hold at all when they did it to Lindsey back in week 2 and a few other couples, but not for other couples. If you are going to have a rule and deduct for it, at least it make it apply to everyone. Plus the break of hold was for awhile and I’m surprised Len didn’t call it out. Vanessa seems like she overwhelmed and maybe even she will want out in a week or 2. She seemed so flustered at the judging table about the skirt.
5)Nikki&Artem-Aside from the lost of balance, I thought it was a decent dance but it wasn’t outstanding and it was in the beginning of the show. I’m not so sure how far she’ll make it, but I think she does well with all the hurdles that the producers throw at them.
Meh
6)Frankie&Witney-I did not think this was nearly as bad as some of the judges made it seem. I think he may have lost timing just because he kept trying to catch up because he was tired/out of breath. I don’t blame him, it seemed like a very exhausting routine so he may have been just been overwhelmed. I think he was happy to just have completed/get through the routine.
7)Victoria&Val-The song, theme, and style didn’t really go together for me and it made it seemed like a very stop go dance. I also think the costumes were kind of bulky and it was harder to see the top line, but I guess it goes with the theme of the dane. I assume she is safe for next week and possibly the week after.
8)Drew&Emma-The judges were pretty harsh on this and Carrie Anne was especially harsh in his critique and then mentioning it again when giving Victoria critique later in the night. There were some timing issues especially when he was in the line with the troupe dancers, and it might’ve been better to keep troupe dancers out of this if he couldn’t stay in sync with them. I think 2 8’s should’ve been thrown in there, but I guess Shania’s score balances it out a little.
Gee, Casanova, how would Frankie know how lifts in the AT should be? Perhaps you meant to address that comment to the choreographer/teacher, eh? Interesting how you’re so willing to cut Drew slack yet expect Frankie to be all knowing on the ins and outs of the AT. Why is that?
She’s there every week, Nine – she’s credited as a producer or creative director I believe and Tom credits her with choreo nearly every week. If she assisted Jenna and Artem (like she does many of the competing couples) it’s more likely they did the bulk of the work, hence the credit.
And that’s where the confusion comes in – when she’s working as a producer, she’s working on staging and blocking and stuff like that, but that’s not the same as choreography. And honestly, not doing one opening doesn’t automatically translate to not doing any of them.
Not really, Sophie – if you split your votes you actually could make it easier for Val to stick.
I’m not even close to a Val fan, but I would not wish injury on anyone – bad karma. And I don’t think Derek could get Victoria a win. She’s just not that great of a dancer. Now Vanessa? Derek could probably get Vanessa a trophy…but not against Lindsey, I don’t think.
This is what I’ve been waiting for from Mark and it’s still week 6, so we may get more of this hopefully. It was amazing to watch. Lindsey REALLY delivered here, as did whoever was responsible for her makeup and wardrobe, everything came together beautifully. It is the dance of the season, so I’m very glad they got their 10s and are well on their way to the finale…unless the show Fs them up somehow. I keep reading everybody else’s comments and want to add stuff but it’s already been said. It was perfect.
I just noticed how much Lindsey looks like Kaitlin Olson. I thought of it last night when her costume was revealed, not watching the show it’s all I could think about.
I’m ready to see Drew go. I can’t stand how tall he is and it makes him seem like a bad dancer when he clearly is not. It makes all of his dances look uncomfortable. For all the points you can give the costume people for Lindsey’s look, you have to take away about double that ammount for Frankie’s awful wig. I’m sure something better could’ve been done there.
Shania Twain was an awful judge. And to plan this visit to the show as part of your comeback and then lip-sync your performance? Why? What exactly was the problem here? And even her voice on the track sounded autotuned. So weird. And don’t even get me started on that 7 for Victoria after a 9 for Drew situation.
A tango with sneakers is something I don’t really understand or have any desire to watch again. The whole thing was ruined for me because of it. Of course this was right after Val in a speedo, so who cares about anything else during that dance anyway.
I liked seeing Terrell and Cheryl’s jive. It was so different from any recent Jive. It was sexy and serious, which I think looked amazing. Jive’s almost always come with the same kind of music and the same type of routine. Frankie and Witney’s dance/setting would’ve been an obvious jive, because it’s trolls, it’s fun, it has colors. This was a welcome change.
I decided to post my comment from my computer to avoid mistakes from my phone and it still happened. Meant to say Paso for Victoria and Val. And “NOW watching the show” for the Kaitlin Olson comment.
I miss the days where Val got eliminated early
Like when he was partnered with one of Clooney’s castoffs and Sherri Shepherd my dream double elimination would be both C bros
Maybe it was because the deck was at the end, but the night seemed interminably long to me. The extemporaneous 4th judge/lip singing, and dastardly safe/jeopardy sprinklings didn’t help any. Similar to fusion dances, this theme really showcased the more gifted choreographers and dancers as they were able to marry dance style and genre throughout the entire dance instead merely separating each element into its own section. Here’s my thoughts on the dances in order of appearance:
Nikki – Ambitious but numerous balance issues and wobbly transitions ruined the flow for me. Still, it’s nice to see her more tapping into her inner dancer these last few weeks. I agree some blendiness, forgettable running order and being called safe early might screw them next week.
Drew – Entertaining number with nice incorp of the genre but not so much on the Paso. Emma seemed so different as a brunette.
Nick – Pass.
Victoria – I liked concept and the latter faceoff part with the troupe. The Paso part was very slow n’ basic and she didn’t hit those lines hard enough for my taste.
Terrell – Interesting staging. For his size and build, he is remarkably light on his feet. Hidden highlight: Tom clapping along in the background.
Frankie – Well now I know what LSD feels like. It was fun and he kept up well enough in a busy routine. I felt this one least represented its genre but whoever (save maybe Mark) got animation was sorta screwed short of enlisting the likes of Tim Burton.
Vanessa – Her best dance and most content to date. She does need to improve her frame and correct those detracting balance issues and pigeon toedness at odd places.
Jordan – It’s a shame pain limited his hip content because what there was was Derekesque (understandably a bit smaller and more subtle). It certainly was not short of emotion. Is Len trying to say he thinks Jordan’s dancing is a little too…feminine for Len’s taste?
Lindsey – Welcome back, Mad Mark! 🙂 The mad scientist role/theme is very befitting of him – clever adaption of an non-AT song and superb execution from Lindsey: She met high expectations in building upon the AT crash course from Derek.
Just some thoughts about Mandy Moore and her work for DWTS and others. She undoubtably has an assistant, probably several people who work under her direction. So she comes up with concepts but not necessarily every step, especially, I imagine on DWTS where the dancers are also pro choreographers and steeped in Ballroom/Latin in ways she’s not. As for particular openings, like Movie Night, she could have crafted this at any time, not necessarily just this week since it was announced some time ago and pointedly DIDN’T reflect recent news in the movie biz.
She could have changed it, Colleen – everyone else on the show choreographs dances with less than a week to do it. And this dance was terribly sexist regardless of what was happening in Hollywood. I doubt I would like it better if all that crap hadn’t come out in Hollywood.
#PH well sure I’ll direct my comment at Witney, and whomever else she has with her in rehearsal, however she knows how to lift, she has a partner that gets by on mushrooms and wigs and lack of dynamics. By week 6 we’re getting a David Ross rerun. How much Donny Osmond white guy stiffness does this show have to take?
After the cheesy, fun mad scientist intro to Mark&Lindsey’s dance I certainly wasn’t expecting THAT! It was so intricate, sexy, unexpected and dark. And just beautifully danced by Lindsey while breaking character or loosing a step once. Brava and bravo!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
What I really liked about Lindsay&Jordan’s Rumba is that it was what a professional Rumba is like, it’s a sensual conversation in dance. Too many times we see male celebs simply be there to pose (when really, the woman pro is doing all the hard work) and grab an occasional flung leg of their partner.
Jordan was fully present and participating in the Rumba conversation. And the way Lindsay choreographed it actually made Jordan the focus.
I loved Emma’s wig and costume.
Without breaking character or steps that is.
#PH I didn’t cut Drew slack, he couldn’t handle the choreo. He was a hot mess, how he thought he could was interesting, since he probably did it in a run through so they left it. Big mistake.
Similarly Frankie couldn’t handle the choreo. The step sequences in hold were the worst, he gets help and he still can’t deliver. Everyone was drooling over a barely passable AT last week, when both AT’s this week were miles better in execution.
I’m not voting for either guy, they both get enough passes as it is.
“What I really liked about Lindsay&Jordan’s Rumba is that it was what a professional Rumba is like, it’s a sensual conversation in dance. Too many times we see male celebs simply be there to pose (when really, the woman pro is doing all the hard work) and grab an occasional flung leg of their partner.
Jordan was fully present and participating in the Rumba conversation. And the way Lindsay choreographed it actually made Jordan the focus”
#Susan2 thank you for this, it sums up the routine very well, and Kudos to Lindsay’s choreography, it is very difficult to make this a male focused dance but she managed to do that.
That opening was so icky! I couldn’t help but laugh though, at the first shot of Val at his typewriter, thinking about his upcoming book and the fun we’ve been having with it. But it was otherwise so awful I didn’t watch.
Lindsey/Mark deserve all the accolades and I hope his work this season sees an Emmy (not just a nomination)…he can share it with Keone and Mari from WOD. I enjoyed it more rewatching though, as I found it hard to see Lindsey’s leg and footwork with dark outfit on a dark background. But it’s even better watching it again, and again…
If it’s a double elimination, I definitely see Nikki in trouble. I think she still could be in trouble if only one person goes. She and Artem are hopeless at getting fans to vote. She tweeted/IG the phone number around midnight, telling people to call, text or use FB (but didn’t give the online voting links). Phone lines were closed so not sure how many votes she got that way… So if she goes, she and Artem can take part of the blame. The producers have made things tough for them, but she’s not using her fanbase effectively either. And I don’t know that Artem has much of a fan base in US on his own, it feels like most of his fans are in the UK. I did like their dance though – I was worried as Artem had said he wanted to do a fighting, Mr and Mrs Smith themed AT (before they knew they’d be given a genre not specific movie) so was relieved he had to go a different route and show Nikki’s softness. I liked their package but when many other teams got a fun, movie-themed package, I think it also makes them forgettable. Artem is getting a nice edit in the packages though – he’s the sweet, caring Russian compared to the cocky, douchey ones.
I can see Victoria being in trouble too. She’s lovely but her douchey Russian (actually it should be Ukrainian) hasn’t really shown many sides to her. Ironic because he thinks he has such depth (the blurb in his book tells us so!) but because he regards the show is a vehicle for him and his ego, he’ll never pull out something deep from his partners, especially the younger ones. I’m definitely losing interest in her journey and her dancing.
I hope Drew gets votes. He didn’t deserve those 7s at all. Admittedly I didn’t love the dance but it was better than a 7.
Of the others, I loved Jordan and Terrell (especially Terrell). Like Nikki, it’s been nice to see the softer (and in his case, also suave and silly) sides of these tough athletes which is backed up by great teaching and dancing. I thought this dance, along with Mark’s, incorporated a movie theme with a dance style best without going OTT – a spy jive just sounds crazy but it was cool.
I agree with Courts rankings personally, the only change I’d make is that I’d swap Victoria and Frankie’s places around. I think Frankie has garnered more than enough goodwill and viewer support over the course of the season to be comfortably safe next week despite a rough night. I would truly be shocked if he went home and it takes a lot to shock me on this show nowadays.
Am I the only one that isn’t a big fan of Lindsey?
@Casanova – I take it your not a fan of Frankie? I think we get it by now.
i think Tom mentioned that the week after halloween week will be the dance offs which is usually seven couples with one getting immunity. So that leads me to believe there will not be a double elimination next week unless somethings different or its to throw us off?
Casanova, you said, “Drew just couldn’t rein it in, nor do I expect him to being a beginner,” – that is most certainly slack that you are not affording Frankie. In fact, you just spent the last week comparing Frankie to Riker, of all people. Give me a break.
The fact that you think “everyone was drooling” should be a big fat clue that few here agree with you and few think the fact that Frankie doesn’t dance like a pro MATTERS. It doesn’t. This isn’t actually a dance competition and if you haven’t figured this out by now, you should probably turn the channel.
I’m not voting for either guy either, but your constant, thinly veiled contempt for a perfectly nice guy is mystifying. Did he pee in your Cheerios?? Dump you? I’ve not seen him do a single thing that warrants the nasty comments in every single post you make. Is he threatening your favorite?
Same amount as every fucking season, Casanova. Where the hell have you been? There are certainly worse things to be disgusted by on this show.
@ Natalie : I just rewatched and Tom says after Victoria’s dance that it’s trios in 2 weeks. 7 trios, especially if they are bringing in former celebs, sounds a bit much, so if there is no double elimination, maybe it’s meant to be trios in 3 weeks (which I think is semi-finals) and the dance-off/ immunity rubbish in 2 weeks, which makes sense as you say with the 7 couples.
Immunity, dance off and a double elimination to get their desired final 5 – I could totally see them doing that…
Just a little comment about Frankie’s voting base. I’m in the target audience age group. I have never seen one episode of Malcolm in the Middle. I have voted for Frankie for the last three weeks because of his attitude. He truly wants to be there, he’s improving, is humble and getting a lot out of the experience. But why, that’s just MHO.
Sure Lindsay and Jordan are better, but I vote for the journey and I don’t see any growth from then. Good from day one and probable one of them will take the MB.
@Jill L – I’m the target voting area as well. And I am voting for Frankie as well. And for exactly the reasons that you are described. Frankie just makes me smile.
I’m also voting for Frankie (have been since week 1). His attitude is fantastic. Frankie just make me smile too.
Finally got the dances watched on YouTube and the ones I remember and liked Mark and Lindsay(hope I got the spelling right) And Emma and Drew
I happen to be in a three way love fest with Lindsey, Jordan and Frankie. Each for different reasons.
Lindsey because she’s uniquely her own person and is comfortable in her own own skin. That’s something that really appeals to me. She’s someone you want to hang out with. She’s also showing an impressive improvement from week to week. She seems like a sponge eager to absorb whatever Mark throws at her.
Jordan dances with wonderful fluidity, controlled but present emotion and fearlessness. He really seems to want to do his absolute best and I like the way he respects Lindsey. He’s also a cutie.
Frankie is just someone, for me, that I want to succeed and be happy. He seems so open, honest and relatable, and sometimes even vulnerable. I think Witney has picked up on this too and it’s made her really focused this season.
I’ve said before that I think Witney has to have an emotional connection to her partner in order to really make them shine. I saw that with Alfonzo and now with Frankie.
Plus, Frankie actually has natural dance ability. He’s also a tremendous showman on the floor. He’s exciting to watch.
Nobody knows Frankie, he could be a serial killer with a smile for as much as anyone knows on this show. Yeah, PH he’s a threat to all the better dancers because he’s trying sooooo hard. Yeah,See Donny Osmond, a pain in the ass if ever there was one. I laugh when guy like this comes on the show who doesn’t improve, regresses even but he’s sooooo likeable. Belch. I watch for good dancing and some improvement, not somebody who screws up every second week.
Wow Casonova… A serial killer? Are your serious? Sorry but I think I’ve heard enough from you on the topic of Frankie.
I think I’ll just ignore your comments from now on.
Casanova, go take a breather. This is getting a tad ridiculous.
More than ridiculous actually.
I didn’t watch the episode super closely so I am enjoying everybody else’s reviews and rankings.
I had company over and they were mocking Val at the typewriter, guessing what he was typing. Let’s just say none of it was fit for a family show!
The sexist “casting couch” vibe of the intro really bothered us and I don’t think we even associated it with the Weinstein grossness. During Shania’s “Soldier” song it was only male soldiers being romanticized, and Sharna was like the Army wife. I checked the lyrics and they are completely gender neutral! Sharna would’ve been the hottest soldier ever! I am so miffed at this gross sexism and a missed creative opportunity.
PH, THANK YOU for answering the question about Lindsay doing her own choreo! Not that I didn’t think she was capable, but only because these pros can have us fooled pretty well in the past.
Perfect example is Witney. I’m not saying she doesn’t know how to choreograph, but that season with Alfonso, I loved her because her choreo was so amazing, only to find out that the bulk, if not half of it, was Alan Salazar. And if she was actually pushing for him to be co-nominated with her on her Emmy nom, that just comes to show just how involved Alan really was…at least that’s how it looked like. To make it worse, after that whole Alan thing went down, her level of choreo just wasn’t the same, even with someone like Carlos PenaVega who could dance. Anyway I don’t mean to go off on another tangent, but yeah. What I’m trying to say is the whole idea of ghost choreographers stuck with me for a while and I found myself asking more often than not whether different routines were work of a ghost.
This doesn’t by any means mean that I feel the pros are not capable of creating amazing routines! I do think that they are. I honestly did wonder it with Lindsay though for a SMALL, LITTLE moment, but it’s good to know that this all comes from her. Just makes me love her more than I already do.
Sorry, not PH! Courtney! Whoops!
I think I don’t mind ghost choreographers at all, especially if they fool us, because then we get to watch a really good dance. I think if a pro doesn’t at least bounce ideas off another choreographer, they’re not doing everything they can for their celeb. An artist stuck in their own head won’t notice if something they think is avant garde may just be crazy. Good for Witney for acknowledging her weaknesses and even better for sharing the credit when she could have just cut him out. I do love Lindsay though and I think it’s impressive that she comes up with those routines herself. The only type of pro I don’t like are the ones who aren’t doing a good job and are too proud to ask for help (cough Val cough).
Why the fuck are we back on ghost choreographers?? Jaysus. This topic should have died about three weeks ago.
Last week Kristyn interviewed Alan Salazar, and in part of the interview they kind of gave closure on his role as a ghost choreographer. Basically he’s worked with almost all the pros (Lindsay, Witney, Sharna, Val, Mark, and Derek were the ones mentioned) and worked on a total of 31(?) dances – 3 of which were this season – with varying degrees of involvement. Sometimes he’s more of a consultant, and sometimes he’s more involved. Lindsay and Alek were the example he gave for the latter since he worked on the teaching aspect as well with her. He worked on Jordan’s contemporary but doesn’t seem to have that level of involvement anymore (as has been said on here) with anyone really, considering he only worked on 3 dances the whole first half of the season.
The choreographer/collaborator topic is interesting to me not because I don’t think the pros do plenty of work as it is, but sometimes if I like a routine I just want to know who collaborated on it. For anyone who’s been enjoying Lindsay and Witney’s routines I think it’s safe to be impressed with their choreo skills in addition to their other talents as pros if that makes sense. I think both of them may have struggled in the beginning, but it’s been really nice to see them come into their own as choreographers and teachers this year especially.
I think choreography is fascinating, and if it’s in the contract to be credited then they should, but the contest for best choreography is starting to overshadow the mirrorball because now 2 choreographers have won and Mark wants it this time. That’s great and he’s doing great work, but Mark has had help in the past, for instance his freestyle with Sadie Robertson was choreographed at least in part by Misha Gabriel. Everyone takes their inspiration from somewhere, so even if a great routine is not always the pros’ vision, it’s the execution that counts for the mirrorball.
I def agree with your rankings Court, with maybe the last two switched around.
I honestly agree and think Nikki and Frankie are definitely at risk this time. With Vanessa being a possible risk I agreed with your point with Drew drawing in the votes this time around because he has the lowest score at the moment. He’s definitely one who connects with his fans often, as well as connecting with those following DWTS social media. I think Victoria will also be around another week – because of her low scores and there’s many people voting for her because of her story and background.
I’m leaning towards Frankie to be eliminated, but when I watch through YouTube videos, many people rallied behind voting for him when he landed in jeopardy with Sasha. I know Nikki has a big fanbase too – she was one of the popular females added to the cast; as was Sasha, but she got eliminated so Nikki could be in danger.
Vanessa finally rose back up, and her Quickstep was one of my favorites of the night; but I know for sure so many people might not want to vote for her because of the “alleged fight” she had with Maks that many believe are causing a disconnection between them. But I think she’s here for another week simply because Nick went home Monday night. His voters will probably be voting for her now, and those voting purely because of Peta will most likely sway their votes to a different Chmerkovskiy. But to be honest, I thought she would be eliminated Monday night. But once she was called safe, I thought Terrell or Victoria would go home because they’d milk up the drama about the married couple in jeopardy.
And those still arguing about shadow choreographers, this has been long discussed for a long time now. It’s getting annoying on the boards, and I’m sure our admins are getting annoyed with reading all of this and addressing this.
Having an assistant, or getting help with a move is not even close to being a “ghost choreographer” – there are varying degrees. It’s not an all or nothing proposition and that is part of the reason we’re sick and tired of this endless discussion – because fans (including many on this very site) cannot seem to make distinctions. It’s all or nothing – “Oh, Witney had a ghost so she did none of the work.” That’s utter BS. Then some take it farther and try to equate ALL the pros to Witney because they had someone help them with one dance…or worse still, they had other dancers in the room to help teach their celeb their choreography. It’s getting beyond ridiculous. Unless it’s Derek or Mark, there is a decent chance that the pro in question either had a bit of help or none at all, or different levels of help on different dances – you can’t be sure and WHO CARES? For whatever reason, Derek and Mark’s help is often shown on camera – perhaps because they use contracted choreographers – THAT has been explained as the difference for why you see some help and not others. If they are not under contract, they can’t be on camera…and can’t be nominated for an Emmy. Is anyone going to try to tell me that because Derek or Mark occasionally bring someone in to help them that they aren’t the geniuses they’ve always been? Hog wash.
Look at it this way – since day one of Derek and Mark’s tenure on the show, they’ve been doing amazing work – Derek especially consistently. Conversely, since day one on the show Val has been very erratic and more often less than stellar in crafting routines. ALL have the same opportunities for assistance or no assistance. Same goes for Witney versus Lindsay – all have the same opportunities, know the same people, etc. So what is different between those with consistently good to great routines and those who definitely struggle? They are individuals with their own creativity (or lack thereof) and skills (or lack thereof).
Do you all realize that the best choreographers in the world have assistant choreographers that help them, that teach the celebrity or whoever they’re choreographing for the routine and practice it with them?? That includes Nappytabs, Derek, Tessandra Chavez, and probably Travis Wall and countless others. These people don’t have time to do every bit of the work that goes into routines because they’re working multiple projects at once. Does that mean that others should get credit for choreography?? Um, no. They are working under the direction of Nappytabs or whoever. Depending on their level of input, they may get an assistant credit and they may not. In the last few years, Derek has worked with ALL of those choreographers on his various projects and tours and even hired Rudy from SYTYCD to choreograph one of his videos that he did not that long ago. Does that make him LESS of a choreographer…or just a very smart man with a lot of irons in the fire. There is a right answer here, if you’re a thinking person with half a brain.
RANT OVER…for now. Who’s going to continue to beat this horse to death?
Enjoyed reading your rant over my morning coffee, PH. Please allow me to host the post-funeral repast for the horse. 😉
Thanks Christine. Poor horse. 😉
Mark and Lindsey are awesome together, I REALLY hope they win. I like both of their personalities separately and together I think they make a great pair. Other than that I’m not that interested, except I’m so happy for Victoria and how far she has come back from that devastating diagnosis.
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