PureDWTS Season 29, Week 3 – Power Rankings
What can I say about Disney night that I haven’t already said in season 28, season 27, season 25, etc.? Not much. It’s the same 2-hour long Disney commercial that it has always been, with dances (usually poorly) shoehorned to fit (overused) songs, and costumes that feel like plagiarized essays – “yeah, you can copy mine from last season, but change a few things so it’s not so obvious.” That much I kind of expected – but I’m also dealing with the added complication this season of still having TOO. DAMN. MANY. COUPLES. It’s enough of a mental load to remember them all at the end of the night, and on top of that, we’re still getting really truncated dances – which is beneficial to some (marginal dancers like Chrishell) while detrimental to others (decent dancers like Skai, who seems to take a few bars to really hit a stride). With 13 couples remaining, next week will basically feel like a regular premiere night, and we’re already in week 4. We’re gonna have to start trimming some fat (and quickly) if we want to get whittled down to a 4-couple finale before Thanksgiving.
Tyrant was still up to her usual “look at meeeeee!” claptrap with her Minnie Mouse ballgown and absurdly long wig, but dare I say she may have dialed things back a just teensy bit this week? At the very least, the judges seemed to get more time to critique, while we seemingly only had to endure one dumb Tyrant question posed to each couple instead of multiple, increasingly painful ones that the celebs struggled to answer eloquently (or diplomatically). Don’t get it twisted – this show is still much harder to endure than necessary, owing to Tyrant’s presence (and Bergeron’s absence); but this week felt fractionally less painful. Think someone pulled rank and told her to pipe down after last week’s sh*tshow?
So “that b***h Carole Baskin” got sent packing this week, and I hope that means I don’t have to hear any more bitching about how upset some of you were that “Derek saved her!” last week. You guys do realize the judges collude on who to save/ditch, right? So even though it appeared that Derek “got the deciding vote”, the three of them had already decided who was staying and who was going, and it was just a matter of what order they revealed their votes in to maximize suspense. And Carole had to have more than one vote to stay, yet nobody seemed as upset with Carrie Ann as they were with Derek. My god, I worry about the intelligence quotient of the voting public these days *facepalm*. Anywho, it was her time to go – and I think that’s why they handed her samba as her style this week to ensure it, as nearly no one nails that dance and even the good ones usually just barely flirt with proper technique. Carole basically tiptoed carefully through her dance – no bounce, not much rhythm, but I will credit her with generally keeping in step with Pasha. And I think Carole may have been saved from complete embarassment when Tyrant hit her with this gem of a question: “So how does Pasha compare with the cats?” That’s like someone asking me how Mama Spence compares to the spreadsheets I use to make budgets at my 9-5. I dunno – I worry about both of them making dollars and sense? Da fuq. Is anyone rehearsing these questions with Tyrant before the show, or is she just improvising them on the fly???
1.) Kaitlyn & Artem – Can Kaitlyn dance? Yes. Am I as sold on her talent right now as Carrie Ann, Bruno, and some of the readers here at Pure? Nah. This was another nice contumba – owing to the song, I’m guessing Artem (like most of the other pros) had to improvise quite a bit this week, and so we sacrificed some rumba content in favor of some more dramatic, contemporary-esque flailing. There were still quite a few standard rumba figures in it, but due to the shortness of the routine and Kaitlyn’s tendency to fall back on her ballet/jazz training, I didn’t see a whole lot of hip action on her part, which is the defining characteristic of the dance. The dance was nice; I didn’t love it, though – and that’s the theme of my feelings about Kaitlyn’s dancing: it’s nice but not my favorite. Sorry, Bachelorette fans/female ringer advocates – the idea of another Bachelorette with dance training winning DWTS based on some pleasant-but-not-extraordinary dances just bores me to tears, and right now, Kaitlyn is just more of the same. However, I’m seeing a lot more people riding on the Kaitlyn bandwagon this week, so I doubt she’s going anywhere. I guess I just hope Artem is able to inject some creativity in their routines, so I feel less blasé about Kaitlyn’s dancing.
2.) Johnny & Britt – Thank god, Johnny finally had a breakthrough this week!!! This rumba was the first dance we’ve seen him do where his skating background seemed to benefit him – he was following through beautifully on the extensions, and everything flowed together pretty seamlessly. If Johnny’s got one big advantage from his skating, I think it’s an understanding of continuity – he knows how to make one step flow into another; however, that becomes a detriment in dances like the tango, where every step is more punctuated than flowy. I will say his hips still need a bit of work – he wasn’t quite settling into them fully, so some of the leg lines looked a little clipped. But it was good to see him truly thrive in a dance, and I loved hearing about his family background – I didn’t realize his parents gave up so much so he could skate. Only drawback to this particular dance? Tyrant’s not-so-subtle plug before his dance for the live-action Mulan on Disney+…gotta make those Disney dollars, I guess.
3.) Nev & Jenna – Praise jeebus, I’m just glad I don’t have to listen to yet another Riker stan whine about how his Pirates of the Caribbean dance was “sooooo much better than [insert subsequent celebrity here]’s dance!” to the same song, as I seem to have done for the past several seasons when they’ve reused “He’s a Pirate”. Glad they managed to pull something else out of the Pirates soundtrack to work with, and I think this may have been the one song this week that actually fit the dance style it was given well, and didn’t have any weird musical accents or tempo changes to throw everything off. In terms of mastering his assigned dance, I think Nev came out on top this week – it was easily identifiable as an Argentine tango, he seemed to understand the timing and technique, and he seemed to nail both the character of the dance and the character of Jack Sparrow. I’ll also commend Jenna for some clever choreography, as there were some fun little flourishes in addition to standard Argentine tango fare. Really, I enjoyed the whole thing – no complaints, except for the fact that Nev doesn’t seem to be standing out in the same way as Kaitlyn, Johnny, or Justina right now. I think he’s won some fans over, but compared to Johnny’s flamboyance, Kaitlyn’s injury, and Justina’s bubbly energy, I think Nev may be just a bit too chill to really be super memorable right now. I think he’s easily one of the best dancers, but he’s going to need a great, standout dance to make people remember him week after week.
4.) Jeannie & Brandon – So Jeannie must have heard me last week, skeptical as to whether she could handle a ballroom dance during which she couldn’t really “ham it up” as she had done during her salsa and cha-cha in weeks 1 & 2. Really, I was pleasantly surprised at how well they pulled this Viennese waltz off – it was very cute, she sold it well, and there were only minimal technique issues (mainly, more struggles with turns and a few shuffle-y feet). I think once she and Brandon realized they were the “cheesy” couple this season, and that was the edge they had over everyone else, they embraced it, and the result was growth. I’m thinking they might follow a similar path to Drew & Emma in season 25 – they weren’t the best technicians, but they realized that being goofy and entertaining was their secret weapon and it got them all the way to the finals. This couple is growing on me, for sure.
5.) Vernon & Peta – After struggling for the first two weeks of the season, I feel like Vernon turned a corner this week – sure, he’s still got a lot of work to do on cleaning up his dances, but for the first time, I felt like he really had fun. The utter joy of him hopping around dressed as a candlestick with a huge grin on his face was infectious 🙂 There were a few slight timing issues, and I had to chuckle a bit at Vernon doing turns at the beginning of the dance – he seemed to move like a Roomba that kept bumping into invisible obstacles. But I was smiling throughout the whole dance, and he does seem to be working on his frame and footwork. I get the impression that Vernon really, really wants to be good, and is willing to really work hard for it. So for that alone, I’m glad he’s still here, and I’m glad he’s trending upward.
6.) Justina & Sasha – For the record, I do not think “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is suitable for a Charleston – sure, you can manipulate it a bit to make it sort-of workable, but there is literally just so much going on in that song, that the clipped movements of the Charleston look low-energy next to the chaotic building tempo of the song. So for Justina & Sasha to have to do a Charleston to it – they were doomed to look low-energy, regardless of how much they were actually doing. I still applaud Justina for diving headlong into it, just like she has every other dance – I still feel like she was giving it 110%; it’s just that she wasn’t given quite as much as she has been in previous weeks – the choreo was a little bit weak, as Sasha seems to struggle with Charleston choreo in particular (Ally’s messy Charleston last season comes to mind, as does Mary Lou’s uneven Charleston trio with Nastia a few seasons back). I like to think Justina ought to be fine in the long run, and this is just a blip on the radar; but I worry that as Kaitlyn, Johnny, and Nev gain momentum, Justina will become an afterthought for some fans. Not me, though – she’s gotten my votes every week, and will continue to do so. Had to laugh when Tyrant was interjecting her opinion on what Charleston should look like (“It’s like the Kid ‘N’ Play dance, right? Hehehehehe”) while Derek was trying to explain, and Derek gave her the most brittle, irritated, “I will murder you while you sleep” smile and just nodded and said “Yep, EXACTLY LIKE THAT!!!”
7.) AJ & Cheryl – I’m gonna chalk it up to having so many damn couples still left this season, but AJ is getting a bit lost in the shuffle for me at this point. I enjoyed his dance last week, but this week, there was just something missing. Could have been the fact that the song wasn’t ideal for a quickstep (should’ve just stuck with “Friend Like Me”), could have been those damn flowy pants they had him wearing, which hid most of his leg and foot action…who knows. I don’t think AJ’s doing anything wrong, per se, but I don’t know that he’s making as big a splash as he’s capable of right now – he was always the “rebel” of the Backstreet Boys, with the crazy hair colors, tattoos, piercings, etc., but I feel like he’s been relatively tame so far on DWTS. I think he needs a tango or paso where he can really let loose before he becomes a contender, but hey – he’s already a better dancer than Nick, and he’s got a pro that is usually a ticket to at least the back half of the season.
8.) Jesse & Sharna – Another couple that got screwed by a song that was not ideal for the dance they were meant to do. I’ll give the show props for at least exploring some different Disney movies (Newsies is what I would call a deeper Disney cut, as the music isn’t quite as earworm-y as most of the animated films), but this song had some tempo changes that made it hard to do a proper jive from start to finish. Had it been me deciding the music, I probably would have given them “Seize the Day” instead, and let Sharna pick between doing Charleston or a big, Broadway-esque jazz number. Didn’t Tyrant mention in the preseason that they would be including “other” dances pretty often, anyway? Poor Jesse seemed to get visually frustrated during this one – seemed like he went off-time more than once, and his feet were flexed and kinda floppy on flicks and kicks; again, I’ll chalk a lot of this up to the song not being the best. But when he was on-beat, he was ON – I could see him light up and really start performing. Hopefully they don’t have another bad song week again, but of course, they likely will,with the pros having no control over the music these days. Did anyone else notice that Sharna’s left ankle was wrapped? Hmmm…
9.) Nelly & Daniella – So for the second season in a row, Daniella is tasked with handling the “new movie promo dance” – granted, last season, they just turned it into a pro dance instead of making one of the couples do it, but as I’ve said in multiple previous seasons, getting the song from the new movie during Disney week is a bit of an albatross. Sure, you don’t have a blueprint for how a dance has to look, since nobody has seen the movie yet, but the audience is also not familiar with the song, and so you can’t really rely on the music to make them care. Nevertheless, I think Daniella delivered some cool, smooth slow fox for Nelly to do, and the overall effect was generally quite nice. Yes, he’s still got postural issues and needs to work on his foot placement, but as I’ve said before, Nelly’s at his best when he can simply groove by himself, and Daniella gave him some opportunities to do that. She, like her spouse, is a smart choreographer that likely learned quite a bit from working with Derek prior to joining DWTS 😉 I’m heartened by seeing Nelly open up a bit more each week, so I think he may have some staying power.
10.) Skai & Alan – Y’all, two weeks in a row now, Skai has given some lackluster performances – and two weeks in a row, she has been one of the last called safe. I don’t think that’s a simple coincidence, and I think she may not be getting the votes many of us thought she would. I thought her jive this week started well – cute costuming, and I love that they finally did The Princess and the Frog. But it was as if Skai’s fumble during her samba actually happened only moments before (and not the week before) and she was still jarred from it – because the whole performance felt a bit timid and disconnected, with the same deer-in-the-headlights expression she had in the back half of her samba last week. I wanted to love it, but I felt very similar to Derek about the whole thing – it just seemed so STIFF. I hope Skai isn’t suffering from DeMarcus Syndrome – like he never really regained his footing after his finger injury during his season, I’m worried the samba snafu may be coloring Skai’s performance for the rest of the season. I’m hoping Alan can help her shake it off, because she does have some natural talent to carry her.
11.) Monica & Val – I stand by what I said about Monica in weeks 1 & 2: she’s got the technique, but man – she’s quiet and reserved. Really and truly, if she could just match Justina or Jeannie’s energy level, I think she’d be up there with Kaitlyn, Nev, and Johnny as contenders. But alas, Monica is still one that I find myself forgetting at the end of the night, owing to her reserved demeanor. It was a another nice dance, and she had some nice extensions and moved well; did notice a few wonky posture issues, though. I doubt she’s long for this competition, unfortunately – unless she really comes out of her shell in “Most Memorable Year” week. I’ve got no beef with her, but I also just don’t remember her in the grand scheme of things.
12.) Chrishell & Gleb – Dear LORT, the judges may have set a new world record for “most smoke blown up a contestant’s ass in under five minutes”. Was anyone else as floored as I was that they were gushing over this barely-a-waltz? Once again, Gleb did the absolute bare minimum, and utilized some of the usual time-wasters (walking down some stairs, walking away, bad acting) to keep Chrishell from actually dancing as much as possible. He also conveniently seemed to keep Chrishell relatively stationary while he danced around her, and the camera men seemed like they were in on the gig as well. We also conveniently didn’t see Chrishell’s feet, owing to that ballgown and some more clever camera work – my guess is that they would have been pretty sloppy. But hey – hard to see a contestant’s weaknesses when they’re barely moving, so I guess there’s that. Then we had Gleb chewing the scenery at the end, when Chrishellrella had to run away at the stroke of midnight to avoid turning into a real estate agent or something – it was painfully awkward, and I was having some secondhand embarrassment for them. So why all the gushing over Chrishell, then? I think the judges were told to wrap things up quickly (to leave more time for the elimination), and that they needed to ensure Chrishell’s safety – Carole had to go, and I’m not convinced Chrishell’s raking in the votes. We also have yet to hear her talk about the much-hyped divorce she just went through – I’m guessing that’s going to be fodder for “Most Memorable Year” week, and they aren’t going to let that go to waste by sending her home too early. I mean – did anyone watch Selling Sunset this season because they love real estate and catty behavior? Nope – everyone I know that has watched it, has done so in order to hear about her divorce. Once she spills that tea on DWTS, I think it’s curtains for these two.
13.) Anne & Keo – It really sucks, because I actually thought Anne started out her quickstep fairly strong, and was making it a really fun, lively performance. Then it got a skosh sloppy in the middle, and I feel like everyone forgot how fun it was and just chalked it up as being a bad dance. Like Vernon, I think Anne is really trying to do well, and choreographed dancing is just not something that comes easily to her (I get the feeling she’s a great groover and improv dancer, though – especially with a few drinks in her 😉 ) I think Derek gave them some good (and kind!) advice on how to improve, but unfortunately, with the low-low hanging fruit of Charles and Carole now gone, it’s going to be not-terrible-but-not-great dancers that go next – and I think that tier includes Anne & Chrishell, and possibly Monica. I guess at the end of the day, I’m just glad that Keo got a partner that loves him so much, and wants to sing his praises whenever she can 🙂
Alright – thoughts on Disney night?
I loved Disney week when they first introduced it but I feel like so many songs are getting repeated, that it’s lost its “magic” when they first did it years ago. I personally would love to see them switch out Disney night for another “theme” like latin night or something again.
I wasn’t sure if Kaitlyn was doing a Rumba or a contemporary. I had to go back and look at their introduction package to really know. I don’t know why they didn’t just have her dance a contemporary dance to begin with.
I agree with all of your rankings. After the show, the three dances I went on youtube to re-watch were Johnny’s, Kaitlyn’s and Nev’s. Johnny blew me away. I love his partnership with Brit.
@Jessica – I wouldn’t mind a “One-Hit Wonder” night 😉
If Chrishell has gone earlier in the night I doubt she would have seen an 8, but I was surprised at the tongue bath she got. I agree that it was just a lot of twirling around and standing in place. Too bad, because Chrishell has potential, although I do find her personality bland. But maybe with a different partner it wouldn’t be, because Gleb’s pretty boring. I do think that there is something lacking in the partnerships this season, but I’m wondering if it’s because of the COVID protocols, the rehearsals having to be modified, time spent together is restricted, and there not being any real interactions with the other couples like we’re use to seeing. Something is off. Agree about Tyrant-I’m guessing she must read the comments online because her style seemed scaled way back, although she does admit she doesn’t care what people are saying. Still, kind of funny after week 2 that everything people were complaining about was different this week. I still think she’s a bad choice as a host. And not only did she mention new dance styles, but I’m still waiting for this “next level, new, creative evolution” that apparently Tom and Erin weren’t hip enough to be apart of. Just today I was reading an interview with that Andrew guy whose a producer who mentioned that they brought Tyrant on for that reason. COVID issues aside the show is still the same.
I pretty much agree with your rankings and thoughts. I don’t know why I can see Kaitlyn winning this season, just so Tyrant can do the whole “you’ve wanted this for years and Artem came back and won!” It’s still early but I’m not as convinced that AJ or Skai will pull it off like I originally thought. Skai looked scared this week and not like she was having a good time. Not sure if it was jitters over last week or what. It probably didn’t help that it kept being brought up, but watching her face during the dance it was like frozen in place. And her awkward “thank you” to the judges after her scores seemed weird. Thankfully Alan is a good partner, so hopefully he can work with her. I’m also wondering if she might not be doing well with the voters.
I feel like Anne is going to be next, which is too bad because that is someone whose really surprise me, and I’m enjoying her partnership with Keo. Any other season I feel like she might make it further. If not her than I agree it will probably be Chrishell or Monica. I don’t see anyone else being in any real danger yet. I’m glad Jeannie had a stand out week (I loved the reactions of her and Brandon when they got their scores). I hope this improves her standing with the voters. I had predicted her to go middle of the pack but I’d love for her to go further.
I knew Kaitlyn and Chrishell would be your least favourites. 😀 I remember you not loving Hannah and Melissa, and really not caring for Lindsey, so I suspect Kaitlyn’s going to have the biggest task winning you over. I’m not all that mad about you being anti-Chrishell, because she’s mediocrity personified.
Great power rankings Court! How likely do you think it is that we could get a Kaitlyn Vs Chrishell B2? I don’t see Kaitlyn getting as much hype as Justina, AJ, Jesse, Nev, Johnny etc and can see her being shock booted by Week 5 if she’s on a Samba? We must remember her season of Bachelorette was ages ago…. will anyone really care for her? I can’t see it.
Rooting for Skai, Johnny and AJ. 🙂
@Sophie – Ok, I’ll bite – you’re not the first person that’s pointed out that I’m tougher on female ringers than I am on male ones. And here’s why…
…most women have had at least some dance training in their lives, while it’s still relatively taboo for men in our society. Nearly every woman I know has at the very least taken a ballet/tap/jazz class as a kid, or danced more seriously as a teen and/or adult. Perhaps it’s a remnant of times past, when women were expected to carry themselves “gracefully” in every sense of the word, but it’s almost the default for women my age and older: you at the very least take a dance class at some point in your life. Thus, the fact that it’s so widespread means I’m automatically less impressed by women with dance experience – particularly the Bachelorette girls we’ve had on the show, who seem to all fit in a very narrow mold: white, conventionally attractive, and have had performance dance training at some point (usually in the form of cheerleading or pageantry). We’ve seen it again and again, and it bores me. It all starts to look the same, anyway – I know fans try to label their faves’ dancing as somehow “special” and “extraordinary” – but with those three in particular, they’re interchangeable to me. Very pretty dancing, but not exactly hard-hitting, and with a tendency to look cheerleader-ish. Now men with dance experience, on the other hand – that’s quite a bit rarer in my generation, and even moreso in older generations. These men have likely been deterred in their passion for dance, and have probably had to endure quite a bit more harassment than the women. And yet, they still persevered, in a discipline that too often labels men that dance as somehow less masculine. That’s why I love the Alfonso’s and Jordan’s of DWTS, and love the Hinch’s, Shad’s, and Van Der Beek’s even more – they all threw themselves headlong into the experience, without regard for what society thinks of men that dance. And that’s interesting for me to watch.
Is it the girls’ fault I find them boring? No. But is it something I can really help? Also no – I like what I like, and I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that Kaitlyn/Hannah/Melissa are the next Margot Fonteyn when their dancing looks pretty cookie-cutter to me. I’d much rather have a Justina or an Amber Riley, who may not have flawless technique, but are unique and impart their own flavor to these dances.
Skai doxxes kids on Twitter, which could be a factor in her not getting the votes
@MeMeMe – I doubt the average viewer knows this.
Jenna’s AT choreo was basically a straight rip off of Frankie and Witney’s POTC AT in s25. Also Nev is fine but he’s being a tad deceptive about his dance experience. He mentioned that he was in a dance troupe or something like that but he really has 5 years of extensive dance training at a prestigious fine arts school… that he got kicked out of for physically assaulting a woman who he thought was a man. Most of the people on facebook think he’s a non dancer.
@Jessica, I like the idea of doing a different theme night other than the free advertising for Disney. I liked Disney night in the beginning, but ever season is too much (especially since it’s mostly the same songs). I don’t really understand why they don’t broaden the song lists. There’s songs from The Lion King, Cinderella and Snow White they haven’t used yet, if they wanted to stick with the more well known movies.
I’m probably in the minority that I don’t miss most memorable year week-again, one I liked in the beginning, but it got to be the same thing every season. Plus, I felt sorry for some of the younger contestants who would talk about something like graduating high school after someone just poured their heart out about some big, tragic death in the family and how it changed them forever. I would love the return of Latin night. I like @Court’s suggestion of a one hit wonders. I heard they are doing 80’s night this season, which I thought was something new, but I see they’ve done it in S13 (and maybe other seasons). 90s night? #1s? There are probably a lot of ideas they could go with that haven’t been used before, or used much that it would still feel fresh.
Thoughts on the show/production:
Bruno still turns around in his seat to look for attention from the audience.
There was a black shim behind Tyra’s entrance that did not hit the floor by maybe 2-3 inches. It gave me flashbacks to my junior year high school stagecraft teacher yelling at me for not painting the fields of corn in our “Oklahoma” backdrop to her very exact standards, thus sabotaging all of her life’s dreams lol
I can never remember if I’ve actually seen Newsies, or just feel like I have seen it many times because so many people in that stagecraft class played the soundtrack when I wasn’t painting the corn right.
Seeing the Electric Light Parade on an evening when Disney let go virtually everybody that has ever worked at one of its theme parks felt a little grim.
It boggles my mind that Tyra calls herself a “Professional Businesswoman” and is teaching college classes at Stanford when she can’t even do a basic interview or talk to people without sounding like a Mean Girl.
I mistakenly thought Derek’s tuxedo cummerbund was on sideways (he was acting super silly and sassy!) Thx @PrincessHeidi for pointing out it’s supposed to look like Prince Eric’s sash. Bruno’s Bippity Boppity blue sparkly jacket was perfect and I loved CAI’s bobbed wig this week.
Also noticed Skai is always Last in Safe. She’s not that bad, and if it’s supposed to be a message to her fanbase I don’t think they even watch the show or vote. They just talk mad crap about the show on Twitter.
My rankings:
Johnny & Brit: They focused on the female/male balance Mulan wrestled with inside herself, and had to learn to reconcile on her own terms. Johnny knows that experience and danced right into it. Was theirs the only song on Disney Night that was sung by the original singer? The rest sounded like covers of covers.
Jeannie & Brandon: Lovely, bittersweet story they told through dance. So glad nobody tripped on a balloon!
Justina & Sasha: Such a joy to watch these guys, even when they aren’t on the dance floor. My mister was confused by the floor swimming segment. Then we both realized we each hadn’t seen this film in maybe 35 years, and figure a lot of other people are in that boat, so maybe the more arcane bits getting turned into half of the dance isn’t such a great idea. Was nice to not have cluttery live action animation dancing in front of them like DWTS does over all the other Mary Poppins numbers.
Nev & Jenna: Still prefer Riker or Frankie’s “Pirates” but this one is also great. I think Nev was doing flirty Jack Sparrow face ticks and side glances and it gave me the giggles. Jenna looks good with him – she needs someone she can’t outdance, and it’s Nev. No matter how well Nev dances I dunno how far he’ll go. Nobody in my real life knows who he is or has MTV.
Nelly & Dani:
It was surprisingly jarring to watch people watching a movie in a large movie theater, even if it was only 2 people from in each other’s bubble! They got the obligatory unreleased b-rate Disney movie song except it’s a recognizable classic this time. I thought they got Jazz and critiqued it in my mind as a perfectly lovely Jazz dance. Then I saw it was foxtrot and was like why the eff aren’t people doing the dances they got given, which leads me to…
Kaitlyn & Artem: I truly thought this was a Contemporary until Derek called out the shoes. I bet they’re getting a fair amount of Bella fan votes mixed with the Bachelor Nation votes. But they still need to do the dance they’re assigned and have the correct costume and presentation for it. I’m glad Derek had the cajones or respect for all things dance to call that out vs the other 2 judges.
Skai & Alan: Maybe she doesn’t know where her center of gravity is yet? I think it’s hard thing to discover for young, short or tall people. May she find hers before she is last to be called safe again.
AJ & Cheryl: working the Sensitive Dad side, and working it hard. I wonder if we see AJ’s kids more often than we have seen other contestants’ families on display. Dawson’s Creek Dude might have him beat. He looked like Yule Brenner in his clean shaven Aladdin costume.
Vernon & Peta:
Love that he rolled with being Lumiere. Was Peta the Feather Duster/French Maid? The rehearsal studio footage seemed odd to me, like are they really spending so little time together that he has no clue she has a little kid/Shai? Or was that just weird editing? Because there is also lots of that.
Jesse & Sharna: Newsies was a bold choice (if it was even their choice to make?) They are fun to watch together even though I’m not super into Jesse.
Anne & Keo: You gotta want it, and Anne wants it! I enjoy seeing these 2 dance so much even if her footwork never seems right. What CAI said about their relationship was wack. Just because she is alone and mean and nobody loves her does not mean she can say that kind of stuff about other couples.
Monica & Val: “Texas misses you too” – wtf kinda backhanded whatever was that from Tyra? So much of Val’s “Mucking about.” The mildly hesitant yet platonic forehead kiss at the end creeped me out.
Crishell & Gleb: The missed kiss also creeped me out. Folks on the Interwebz (not here) ship these guys and I’m like gross and what about Elena (I guess she’s probably used to that tho if she’s been Mrs Gleb for so many years). I swore partway through Gleb’s dance that this was a repeat of a dance he did on… I think it was Fairy Tale night for Russia DWTS? Where he had maybe the same exact coat and was dancing with a rifle or musket prop. I can’t find it on YT anymore (maybe the gun got it blocked?) but I know it’s super reminiscent of that one really good dance he did, and will likely crib from for the rest of his career, if not copy outright. Interesting, but I guess not at all surprising, that you guys noticed it too!
Carole & Pasha: So glad they rum tug tugged their way outta there.
Thanks everybody for all the good info and fun insights!
Yes, Sharna apparently has had an ankle injury since week 1 but it is not being advertised and dramatized as with another couple. And they have gotten two of the highest impact dances in the first three weeks: quickstep and jive. Sharna also apparently told producers it was not jive music/not a jive beat and better suited to jazz but production insisted on a proper jive. Difficult with one less day to practice, limited rehearsal time and a contestant with no dance experience. Also anyone else noticing how DWTS SM seems to be promoting a few couples more than others? Are they usually this blatant about it, I can’t remember?
I agree almost completely with your ranking. I’m a #teambrijo fan but I thought for a moment that you ranked them a bit too high. Though I’m really not sure who I would have put higher. I’ve re-watched their dance an embarrassing amount of times. His poor hips give me fits but what a beautifully emotive and elegant dance. Like @Jessica I am loving the partnership between him and Britt. He’s taking awhile to truly flower but she is so supportive of him that I find myself loving everything they do.
Maybe it is because I am so used to bigger performances on Disney week, but this felt like a let down. The only three dances I truly enjoyed were Kaitlyn, Nev, and Jeannie.
Overall, I am someone who is definitely on the Kaitlyn/Artem bandwagon. I’ve never actually seen the Bachelor and usually don’t love the contestants from that show, but she is really connecting with me and I enjoy their dances and their relationship. I also think Kaitlyn’s enthusiasm for the show, and Artem’s happiness to be back, is reading clearly.
I actually didn’t get the love people had for Johnny’s dance. It was better than previous weeks, and Britt’s choreo is spot on every week, but I feel nothing when he dances.
Chrishell (who is really being let down by Gleb), Anne, Monica, and Vernon feel like the next four to go for me, with Skai also a possibility. It could go really strange, however, if someone has a bad week considering everyone left is a decent dancer.
Great power rankings this week. Im pretty much totally in agreement. Except I do like Kaitlyn she’s one of my more favorite Bachelorettes and I love seeing Artem have someone who really wants to work.
Also I get extra excited about the power rankings this year because I’m missing your commentary on Twitter during the show. 100% respect you leaving Twitter though just wanted to let you know your commentary is missed. So glad I can still find it here.
Since you aren’t on Twitter I don’t know if you saw all the chatter about people accusing Jenna of ripping off Witney’s choreo from Frankie’s Pirates dance. I watched them back to back and then watched them again in the reverse order to see if it changed anything. I didn’t see it I mean they were similar in that they were the same music and had Argentine tagno as the style but I didn’t see a straight rip off.clearly some of the moves will be the same in the same style so that’s a given but I didn’t see the same dance. I know Jenna isn’t a fave she’s not mine either but I just don’t see it. Just wondered if you had any thought on that topic? Am I missing something?
Just like to add my thanks for your power rankings Court, always a fun and informative read, I know you’ve probably heard this many times, but you really are a great writer.
As for the Kaitlyn debate, whilst I am not normally a fan of Bachelor candidates that do DWTS, I find it difficult to dislike Kaitlyn due to her obvious enthusiasm and excitement for being on the show alongside with a partner who is well overdue a bit of good fortune after getting the shaft last year. Her gratitude for the opportunity given to her feels real and that translates on screen. Whether she can win or even make it to the finals however, I’m not so sure especially with Hannah coming just a season ago.
Agree on their being lots of filler right now. I don’t understand why they aren’t doing double eliminations early in the competition and seemingly saving them for later on. I’d much rather see the low hanging fruit go now and then we get to say the better dancers get longer time on the floor.
So apparently yet again AJ on his and Cheryl’s podcast this week talked about Jesse’s dancing and said he was over scored. Not a good look, dude. Focus on your own dancing and not the dancing and scores of others, especially those that have no dance experience.
None of that has actually gone away, Court, sad to say. Boys are STILL being ridiculed for dance and I even know some young parents who REFUSE to allow their boy to take dance classes even though he shows a lot of natural talent. His grandparents (shockingly) were the ones who suggested classes (they’re Derek fans) because they think he has talent. But, I live in TN and the younger parents are still rednecks in this part of the country. Sadly.
My advice – to EVERYONE – is to stay off Facebook, Zoe. Talk about a hot bed of misinformation and hate.
Karen, they never talk about the pros injuries (that I can recall) unless there’s a trip to the hospital, serious, may never dance again type injury. Pros get injured all the time. Derek tore leg muscle at the beginning of taping their Xmas special – did they stop, postpone, anything? Nope. They carry on and muscle through it.
Chayse, Kaitlyn is one of the more popular/controversial Bachelorettes they’ve had. I’ve always liked her, for much the same reason I like Hannah. They own their shit, warts and all. Kaitlyn got badly slut shamed in her season because she had the nerve to have (and like) sex. That just pissed me off. The guys can sleep with ALL the women and no one says a word. Kaitlyn sleeps with…one? Two? I can’t remember…and is ridiculed for life.
Kaitlyn is a little more worldly than Hannah is, and a better dancer….but if I ever vote, it’s gotta be Nev. 🙂
Court, refresh my memory…is it always Cheryl’s partners who are catty bitches?? I’m thinking yes. Her and Sharna. Do they get saddled with poor sports or is it a reflection of their discussions in the studio?? I dunno, but I can’t look at him now with out thinking Bobby Bones. Really not a good look, AJ.
@PH – I’m not sure if it’s a correlation or causation, Cheryl & Sharna getting the divo (male diva) partners – I think both ladies do tire of the politics behind the show and have spoken up about it in the past, and perhaps that colors their interactions with their partners; or, maybe TPTB see them as do-no-harm-but-take-no-shit seasoned pros that can handle potential attitude problems from entitled male celebs. If you compare the kinds of partners that Cheryl & Sharna get to the types of partners that, say, Emma gets (good sports that tend to go with the flow well – like her), it does seem to point to a possible correlation…who knows.
Kind of irritated to hear that AJ is being bitchy about other contestants – makes me wonder if the sequestration due to COVID is killing the sense of esprit de corps we tend to see among the contestants on other seasons. I mean, I miss the unexpected friendships that develop between contestants on seasons – people that wouldn’t normally cross paths end up becoming besties. Bethany and Sadie. Hinch & Calvin. All the guys from Team Boy Band in season 24. To this day, I see pix of Terra Jole at IndyCar races, cheering for Hinch. Something about season 23 in particular – that cast seemed close. So to have AJ (a guy in a boy band since the early 90s who has had many years of dance training) taking cheap shots at Jesse (an actor that has really never had to dance or receive any dance instruction), is just TACKY. I was really hoping AJ would be a palate cleanser after Nick Carter, who just rubbed me the wrong way on his season. Sharna’s not as petty as I am, but if I were her, I’d probably say something like “I managed to get your obnoxious band mate, who is not as good a dancer as you, all the way to second place on his season. You really want to be throwing stones in my partner’s direction, my guy? Might just screw around and get him to the finals, who knows!”
@M8 & @Taryn – Thanks so much for the kind words 🙂 Part of the reason I left Twitter was so I could actually focus on writing my first novel…so fingers crossed the sacrifice bears fruit!
I feel like I need to clarify my comments on Kaitlyn/her dancing. I love Kaitlyn as a person – she went tete-a-tete with Mike Fleiss (sleazy creator of The Bachelor) and ended up winning in the long run, and like Heidi said – she owns her shit. I would probably get along with her like a house on fire. But her dancing isn’t really anything special to me, for the reasons I already mentioned. Might she change my mind as the season wears on, if she can grow as a dancer? Absolutely. But for now, I’m just seeing the same cheerleader-tinged movement I saw from Hannah, Melissa, and even Trista. I will say Kaitlyn is already a better showman than Hannah and Trista, and is maybe just slightly behind Melissa in technique (but Rycroft literally dropped DCC training camp to come do her original season of DWTS, so sis was in peak dance form on season 8 – and by the time all-stars rolled around, I think she was serving as a DCC mentor, so she at the very least had dance still very much on the brain). I also mentioned in week 1 that I loved how excited she was to do the show, and specifically to have Artem as a partner 😉 Her dancing is just not at a point right now that is making me stand up and shout.
@Taryn (and really, @Zoe too) – As for Jenna/Nev “ripping off” Frankie & Witney’s Argentine tango, here’s something to keep in mind: the pros have zero control over the music, the theme, the costumes, and the sets this season. Right off the bat, that already sets up an environment that’s going to be ripe for accusations of copycatting, to no real fault of the pros themselves. The only thing Jenna likely had even SOME control over (and I say some, because someone mentioned last week that Sharna was told by production to change some of her choreo, so clearly the pros don’t have full control) was the choreo – and as I’ve said in the past, at some point, there’s not a whole lot the pros can do to make a dance truly unique and different. They’ve still gotta use commonly recognized figures, so already there’s going to be parts that look the same – that’s what makes an Argentine tango an Argentine tango: the tempo of the music, and the steps used. I went back and rewatched Frankie & Witney’s iteration, and sure, there were steps they had in common, but there are plenty of other Argentine tangos I’ve seen on this show that have had similar steps as well. I’ll also credit Nev & Jenna for paying more homage to the “drunk Jack Sparrow” character than Frankie & Witney did, which I thought was a cute twist, and generally being more daring with lifts and tricks. Were the dances similar? Sure. Was there much that could have been done to avoid it? Doubtful. There truly is nothing new under the sun, anymore…
@PH – A hotbed of misinformation and hate, and nefarious use of user data. I deleted it along with Twitter, NextDoor (hotbed of racist Boomers), and LinkedIn (a bunch of crusty, dusty old white dudes pretending they’re Don Draper) during the lockdown.
Great rankings, Court!
My favourite dances from last week were Jeannie and Nev. However, my votes went to Kaitlyn, Jeannie and Johnny.
Rumba is my favourite dance to watch so I was a bit disappointed with Kaitlyn’s contumba. However, I blame production and song choice and shes still a fave of mine. Johnny’s was nice too but I really missed the hip action.
Jeannie and Brandon are just a joy to watch. I would to see her make it far. I like Nev too but Jenna just makes it hard for me to root for her partners.
Looking forward to tonight!