PureDWTS Season 30, Week 6 – Power Rankings

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest author for the Pure Dancing with the Stars Power Rankings.  As Court shared, she’s taking a “hopefully temporary” break from the power rankings and reader Tei offered to step in while she’s enjoying a well deserved break.  Sorry this was a little later than usual, but it’s a nice preview of the next episode.

Hi all, and thanks for reading and commenting. Also thanks to the mods for having me back!

General thoughts on horror night: I have to start by saying that I am not a fan of the big theme nights. I’m especially not a fan of the over-the-top makeup and costumes that make the celebrities unrecognizable. I believe this takes away from their ability to connect with viewers through the dance. It makes us forget that we are watching a person work very hard to learn a new skill and focuses the attention only on the performance aspect of the show. As we all know, the dance is not everything in DWTS. That being said, I was glad that the crazy costumes/makeup were limited to a small number of dances.

Since the show changed to the one night format, the new format for voting really changes everything. Although we are ranking based on last week’s performances, whatever they do on Monday night is going to change this significantly. Especially this season, where we have so many good dancers that are basically even on ability, who manages to stay out of the bottom two is going to depend more and more on who manages to create the more memorable dance on Monday (and how their personalities come through). Therefore, after the first 3-4 on this list, I believe the rest are all somewhat in danger and depend mostly on what they manage to do on Monday.

Jimmie and Emma: In a night where costumes and makeup where exaggerated, this couple stood out in part because their dance was the opposite. The simplicity made them memorable among the big costumes. Also, Jimmie performed this contemporary excellently and the story was clear as water. I don’t think you need to have seen the film to get a good idea of what it is about just from this dance. Emma definitely did a good job with the choreography. Jimmie did great and, as always, gave 100% to the performance. Love his commitment. This week I believe they took the top spot since they had a great score and definitely a memorable performance.

Jojo and Jenna: I still believe this couple can take it all the way. However, I believe this was not their most effective performance. I partially blame the huge makeup production. I believe one of Jojo’s greatest attributes in this competition is us getting to know her (without the over the top craziness that is her influencer persona). I believe the more we get of the stripped down Jojo personality is better. At this point we can count on her dancing being great and this jazz was not the exception (she is highly trained in this style). The dance itself was performed very good. Maybe some sync issues, nothing huge. But DWTS is not all about the dance. Personality and each celebrity’s journey matters as much (if not more). This dance was a 10 in how it was performed. However, I missed seeing Jojo being herself and the growth we have seen every week. This is not her fault whatsoever, the theme of the night lend itself to the big costumes. Maybe I would have switched the characters and have Jenna play It in order for us to see Jojo during the performance. I really hope we are done with this big costumes theme nights and we can continue to see this girl evolving in the competition.

Iman and Daniella: Without doubt the dance of the night! I will take a moment to praise Daniella as a pro! She is doing everything to highlight Iman’s strengths and create memorable dances. Why did this show took so long to make this girl a pro? Ok now, Iman. Again, doing everything Daniella is asking of him with commitment and full-out. Even the acting was right on point. This couple are the most consistently memorable. Iman actually did good with the contemporary not shying away of a big arm reach or very low squats. The synchronization at the begging of the dance right on point. The lifts were impeccable and perfectly matched the theme and music. As I mentioned in the beginning, I believe this season the rankings are going to depend greatly in who makes an impact each Monday night. There is too much talent and that does not guarantee anyone a safe spot. This week I think Iman definitely earned to be this high on the list. I’m hoping they can keep this up but, the ballroom and latin dances left for him to perform might be tougher for him to master (although I’ve learned not to underestimate Daniella as a teacher/choreographer). Regardless, this couple is definitely safe for now.

The Miz and Witney: The Miz did a great job with this Paso. During most of the dance his frame and posture were there. They took advantage of the characters to make the Paso work. Even if it was a bit staccato at times, it matched the whole theme. Again, the Miz number one compliment is the commitment he puts into each and every dance and his personality. I personally don’t think this was their most memorable dance. It was also not their worst or the worst of the night. Still, I believe they are definitely getting the votes and as long as they manage continue highlighting the Miz’s personality and hard work in the performances, they should be safe for at least a couple of weeks.

Amanda and Alan: Just as with Jojo, this dance was a victim of the over the top makeup/costumes. Don’t get me wrong, the makeup department are incredible. However, I believe that when you loose the personal connection with the celebrity to the costuming, it does not benefit them. In this show the audience needs to relate with the celebrity and its harder to do that when you can’t recognize the celebrity. I thought this case was worse than Jojo’s because jazz is a dance you can fit to any theme. Argentine tango has its own flavor and I thought the Billy makeup distracted more than it helped. This is unfortunate because when not distracted by the makeup , the dance was terrific. There were tons of AT content and Amanda did not miss a beat. Her legs were moving fast but controlled. At times her shoulders seemed “weird” but again, I don’t know if it had to do with the makeup. I believe that if this dance was performed any other night, with a more “normal” costume, and we could see the facial expressions, it could have been a much more effective performance.

Cody and Cheryl: I have to be honest, I was surprised not to see Cody in the bottom two. I have definitely underestimated the amount of votes he is getting. This dance was good and probably his best dance. You could see the hard work he put in to get the technique right. I still see something weird with is posture. However, this week I noticed it much less than the previous weeks. The thing with Cody is that at the end of the night I have nothing great nor terrible to say about him. Because of that, although he has not been in the bottom two, I can’t move him much higher in the rankings.

Olivia and Val: again, I only have this couple this low since we have seen they might not be getting tons of votes. However, with the last 4 couples I believe everything is going to depend on how memorable their performance is on Monday. I believe Olivia is one that has a higher probability (and has been the most consistent to) perform memorable routines. Are we sure this girl does not have dance training?  She just keeps improving every week. This dance was strong and fast. It could have easily turned into Val throwing her around the ballroom. However, Olivia maintained the control and strength all through the routine and prevented that to happen. I also noticed all the effort put into the posture. The posture of the Paso can be very though for women. For me (I’m 5’2’’) one of the more surprisingly tough things about Paso is to portray the strength that the posture and style requires while keeping the movements in control. Olivia is quite a small lady and I’m sure that was a challenge. She did great with that. After Jojo, I believe Olivia is doing the best job of the ladies remaining. I was glad to see her leave the bottom two. Hopefully after the scare, more people are voting for her. She represents much of what this show is about, seeing someone work hand to learn a new skill.

Melora and Artem: Calling this couple safe last seemed like a warning to the fans. This is the toughest couple for me to write about. Melora performs everything very good. However, it usually ends up not being super memorable at the end of the night when compared to the other numbers. This jive was extremely safe for Melora. I believe she has proven to be a much more capable dancer than what Artem choreographed for her. The result: it was forgettable. Especially after Jimmie and Olivia and followed by Iman. Very limited in kicks and flicks and just too slow. With so many contestants that are clearly working very hard to do challenging performances, playing it safe wont work. Specially with such a talented celebrity.

Suni and Sasha: I love Suni and she is dancing beautifully. Why are many people not surprised to see her in the bottom? Her personality is not coming through and time is running out for her to have a breakthrough. The thing is that I believe she has a great personality, it just doesn’t come through. (It is common for the young gymnasts on the show to be very shy). This tango was very good. I actually though it was one of her best dances (once it got started). Her frame was very good. Unfortunately if she is in the bottom two again, I don’t see the judges saving her over any other celebrity remaining (maybe Iman, but I highly doubt he will be in the bottom two). Because of that they need a breakthrough performance on Monday to avoid having to face the judges save. Hopefully they manage to do it.

What do you all think?