Dancing With The Stars Review by Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing Fellow and Examiner and Championship Adjudicator Phillip Stephens
This week, which is a Double Score Showdown where each couple receives 1 score for performance and 1 score for technique, the couples dance either a Rumba or a Tango. In each dance, the judges have required the performance of 3 compulsory steps. In Tango, these actions are the Viennese Cross Turn, Continuous Outside Swivel and a Contra Check. Compulsory actions in Rumba are the Spiral into Rope Spin, the Opening Out to Right and Left and the Sliding Door.
For this show, all the guys were fully covered and only Damian Whitewood felt the need to have his shirt open to the navel. Edyta was, well, Edyta. Not sure what she’s trying to “prove” with all that less than ladylike semi nudity. To me, she looks very elegant and sexy when clothed properly and I fail to see the reason she desires to strut around nearly naked.
Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Tango
Erin already has a back injury? Do these people not know how to warm up? What a non-Tango song. This performance was a struggle. Erin expressed fear of the footwork and then Maks made the choreography a bit challenging for someone who was worried about that aspect of the dance. I thought she looked overly cautious, which could be a result of the back injury coupled with worry about footwork. As Michael Schedler noted: it’s a good thing she had on a long skirt to hide part of the wildness of her feet and legs. I was very disappointed in this performance and would only give it about 18 or 19 points.
Len thought there was a lot of content and thought it was a good job???
Bruno thought it was going to be a lap dance? Noted that she went wrong and then couldn’t recover.
Carrie Ann thought the performance suffered because of preoccupation with technique.
Technical: 6+6+6 = 18;
Performance: 7+7+7 = 21. I’m not sure I’d award that high for performance, but guess I won’t protest too much
Evan Lysocek & Ana Treybunskaya – Tango
How did Evan get 2 broken toes??? Was this from attempting more in dance than he’s ready to accomplish? None of his last 2 dances featured anything that, to me, could cause even 1 broken toe. The entrance for this Tango was a bit busy for my taste. Evan’s rear end stuck out part of the time, and his actions were not so fluid in this dance. The weaknesses in his footwork were more apparent tonight. Of course, this was a dreadful song to which to dance Tango. 21?
Bruno – Strong and powerful. Evan’s work on his feet paid off?
Carrie Ann – Liked the blend of artistry and technique and thought the time spent on the footwork paid off?
Len liked that he went fwd on heel in the Viennese Cross Turn, which is missed by most people (But not many that I teach!).
Technical: 9+8+9 = 26 (too high).
Performance: 9+8+9 = 26 (too high)
Damian & Kym’s Rumba: OK – who thought that dancing in underwear with an unbuttoned shirt was attractive? This is not a dancing commercial for Haynes or Victoria’s Secret. Although I think Kym is a fantastic dancer, I was very put off with the attire for that performance.
Niecy Nash & Louis van Amstel – Rumba
Lots of heel leads & lots of passion. Her head was often too far forward. Niecy used her hips and body, but not fluidly. I cringed when watching her non-pointed toes and lack of tone in ankles. She’d be lucky to get 17 points from me.
Len – Liked Opening Outs, didn’t like lack of hip action. No highlights.
Bruno – Looked like she was in a trance – needs more colors;
Carrie Ann – Appreciated the tribute to her brother, but the emotional part was internalized too much. (And I agree, but how would you dance a love story with one man and convey that it was a tribute to a deceased brother?)
Technical: 6+6+6 = 18;
Performance: 6+6+6 = 18
Aiden Turner & Edyta Slawinska – Tango
If I had a teacher display such a lack of professionalism as Edyta displayed by showing up in skimpy little shorts during rehearsal, I’d probably refuse to pay. What’s with Aiden in no shirt on the boat? He’s so very rigid when dancing, but he did get the timing fairly strong and made some good lines. His free arms didn’t always know what to do and he didn’t put his hips into the poses to make them truly solid and his final pose arm was not so nice. Edyta did the dance and he did some prance. 15-16?
Carrie Ann – Looked more comfortable on the floor, but the technique was lacking;
Len – Acted out the dance, but it had no flow or musicality;
Bruno – Lacked fluidity.
Technical: 5+5+5 = 15;
Performance: 6+6+6 = 18 (a bit too high)
Nicole Sherzinger & Derek Hough – Rumba
She certainly looked exotic in a rather Greek-Goddess-in-a-sheet sort of way. Though she looked unsteady at times and looked worried about the dance, Nicole still displayed lovely arms and feet and presented beautiful spins. Very expressive and good control of most movements. She’s good fast and she’s good slow and this deserves high marks in both sections. 27-29?
Bruno – Overly effusive as usual. Thought she was hesitant;
Carrie Ann – Noticed nervousness, but she liked the traditional lines;
Len – Got the balance correct between performance and technique. Thought arms were over exaggerated. (This surprised me, as I thought the performance and technique were quite nice)
Technical: 9+8+8 = 25 (a bit low);
Performance: 8+8+9 = 25 (a bit low)
Jake Pavelka & Chelsie Hightower – Tango
Another rather plodding performance. Jake had some nice highlights in there, but his movement is all pretty much the same without the proper staccato action desired in Tango. His left arm dropped when it shouldn’t now and again. The trip up the stairs and down was nice. Too bad he slipped, but he did recover. As Michael Schedler noted, he did TRY to perform, he just didn’t always succeed. 15?
Len – Lots of aggression and attack and had plenty of enthusiasm. The bauble incidents caused a lack of finesse:
Bruno – Went wrong many times. Footwork was questionable;
Carrie Ann – Hold is not connected emotionally & physically.
Technical: 6+7+6 = 19 (too high):
Performance: 7+6+6 = 19 (Too high)
Kate Gosselin & Tony Dovolani – Tango
I sure wish they’d stop showing that horrible clip of her “Bride of Frankenstein” Paso Doble. She just looks like such a whiney-butt all the time. She’s always either crying or on the verge of crying. If she doesn’t get voted off this week, I may commit some crime involving self-flagellation! She missed timing a lot, but at least she did point her toes better. Her legs just look like she’s Pinocchio’s sister with a bad puppeteer pulling the strings. The ending trick and pose was nice, and was, truly, the best part of the routine. 18?
Bruno – Thought there was a mini-break-through. The technique was bad, but she is starting to move;
Carrie Ann- Proud of her?
Len – Easier with a talented dancer than a less-talented one, so Tony deserves accolades for what he’s done with Kate.
Technical: 4 +5+5 = 14 (ouch!);
Performance: 6+6+6 = 18
Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke – Rumba
Did they get engaged??? Oh, no, that was a ring of appreciation he gave her. Cheryl’s dress was lovely. This was a frantic sounding Rumba and it looked rather frantic at times while they danced it. Chad’s body movements were more fluid and he moved his hips nicely at times, but his posture remains weak. I’d give it a 21, but he will probably get a higher score.
Carrie Ann – Turned on the heat. His posture was improved???
Len – Saw improvement in posture??
Bruno – Thought he was fluid and sustained the lines???
Technical: 7+6+8 = 21 (about right);
Performance: 8+7+8 = 23
Pamela Anderson & Damian Whitewood – Rumba
Liked her outfit and her hair was fairly nice, but the thick aqua-colored eye makeup was disturbing. Her overall performance was nice, but she had weak timing and they danced completely on the wrong beat for a whole section. Her full splits were nice. An expressive performance. 19-21?
Len – Quiet, understated, sophisticated;
Bruno – Off base with his comments;
Carrie Ann – Well done, but something strange happened with arms. (Not one judge commented on dancing on the wrong beat????)
Technical: 7+8+8= 23 (a bit too high);
Performance: 8+7+9 = 24 (a bit too high)
DWTS Results – 4/13/2010
First couples saved were Chad & Cheryl and Jake & Chelsie??? Glad they shocked me right at the beginning so I can just growl under my breath for the rest of the show.
There were loads of errors from all couples. To say that Kate Gosselin had improved was like saying the floodwater receded and the mold started growing.
Interesting that they wanted to see Pamela Anderson and Damian Whitewood dance their Rumba again. That song was so slow that many professionals would have trouble dancing to it, so it’s no wonder that Pamela was off time Monday night and off time again Tuesday.
The Rumba by Damian & Chelsie was lovely even though the music they danced to by Shade was so boringly unchanging that it nearly put me to sleep
What sort of “look” was Brook Burke going for? Sultriness a la Sofia Loren??? And is she beginning to copy Pamela Anderson’s hairstyles?
The “youngsters” dancing the formation put together by Mark Ballas were interesting to watch. A lot of good talent in that group and we will probably be seeing more of (at least some of) them in the competitive arena as time goes by.
Some of the show’s comedic vignettes, such as “ChaChaBlanca”, are quite clever.
The violin duet was accompanied by quite an interestingly acrobatic – and impressive! - Hip Hop / Rapper Ballet.
After seeing Shade’s 2nd number, I can only conclude that gymnastics & acrobatics must be part of the new music “show”. Those guys were good, that’s for sure.
Glad I am that Erin gets another chance. Now, I’m hoping that Kate or Aiden get sent home.
Kate is SAFE??? What’s up with that? Who is voting for her? Everyone I talk to hates her!
Well, at least we got rid of Aiden!
And that’s a wrap for my week 4 DWTS review.
