Dancing With The Stars – week 6, season 9 by Phillip Stephens

Commentary by  Phillip Stephens | 713-248-2299

Some of the outfits were superb, such as Karina, Ana, Derek, Melisa, Mark B and Mark D. Others were quite odd, such as Kelly and Lacey

Mya & Dmitry Chaplin – Jitterbug
Lots of good energy. She connected with the dance and the audience, but I’m not sure she connected with Dmitry. A great performance, with good timing and technique, but a bit tame, especially in week 6. 27?
A “mixed bag” from the judges. I agree with all 3 of them.
8+7+9 = 24. A bit of a surprise on the low side. The judges must expect a lot more from her than she’s producing.

Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas – Waltz
Why does Mark have to look like a homeless person during practice? Nice to see Shirley Ballas teaching a bit. Melissa is NOT a waltz dancer. She looked heavy and her feet were clumsy looking. She did her best to perform the actions. Mark is a Latin dancer, and he was a handicap for her in Waltz as he doesn’t understand the dance well enough to really train Melissa. 21?
Why was Len all of a sudden being the “nice guy”? 7+7+6 = 20

Mark Ducoscos & Lacey Schwimmer – Jitterbug
What a nice performance! He came alive in this one, putting lots of fun into every part of the routine. His tricks were clean and “spot on” with a smile as big as Texas. He should definitely get 28+ points
It really bothers me that the judges make such a big issue of a little stumble instead of recognizing how well the person has recovered
9+9+8 = 26, which I think was too low for that very high-quality performance.

Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff – Waltz
Nice lines until the got together and thin his back arm didn’t know where to be. His legs and feet don’t really have any finesse, though he did have a rather “clunky” control of the timing. His posture was not all that good. He did a reasonably competent performance.
Len’s comments were so off base it was UNBELIEVABLE.
Bruno’s comments about musicality and posture were also off base.
Carrie Ann was just as bonkers as Bruno and Len. That was nowhere NEAR the performance of Mark Ducoscos. For that to be called Aaron’s best dance so far was just revolting. 8+9+8 = 25
I agree with Michael Schedler that they should not have received higher than 21 for that sorry performance.

Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova – Waltz
Closed hold posture was not so good, but he moved fairly well. Arms a bit lost , but he used them pretty strongly. He had a nice smile throughout and he put a lot of energy into the dance. This was his best from an emotional content perspective – he really did perform this number. 24 or so for this one.
Bruno was a bit harsh. Carrie Ann got on about a lift? Len recognized his many improvements. 6+8+6 = 20, which was highway robbery on Bruno & Carrie Ann’s part. As Michael Schedler noted, this was FAR better than the crap we had to watch Aaron perform.

Kelly Osborne & Louis van Amstell – Jitterbug
She was pretty darned brave to jump off that trapeze! This looked a bit more like Jive than Jitterbug, but then, the music sounded more like Jive than J’bug. Kelly looked in control of most moves, and her timing was very strong. A good solid performance that should get at least 24 points.
She goes “happy-worried”. As Len noted, it was a bit flat. Bruno – cute & nice, but you’ve got to come out and sell the dance. 7+6+7 = 20, which is a bit low, but this is week 6.

Note: The practice outfits for most of these people are just dreadful! They seem to not realize – or perhaps they don’t care? – that they are going to be shown on national TV.

Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower – Jitterbug
He certainly didn’t seem all that coordinated in the practice moves. He really lit up with this one and did some pretty cool moves. The bit on the judges’ table was quite nice, and the back flip off of it was superb. 24 points?
Len was right that energy got lost now and then, sentiments with which Bruno agreed. Carrie Ann was fairly harsh. As Michael Schedler noted, Chelsie lets him stand without dancing far too much. 7+7+7 = 21

Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough – Waltz
I’m glad they bleep out the bad words, but I wish they just didn’t use them. This looked a bit stiff for both Derek and Joanna, with a few good lines. The timing was good, and Joanna maintained good posture and a nice frame. Some really nice bits, though the footwork and leg actions, rise and fall and all the Waltz parts were a bit lacking.
Bruno went bonkers. Carrie Ann noted that the top worked well, but that the performance was hesitant. Len noted that the footwork was not very brilliant. 8+9+9 = 26, which is way too much for that sad performance.
Note: Derek is another Latin-trained dancer, so he can still shine in things like Argentine Tango, but he is just weak in Waltz or Foxtrot.

Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson – Jitterbug
Lots of high energy, good timing, nice arm lines, good animation. Hit all the breaks, lots of “fun” in that one. Should get right up there at 29 or 30 points. It’s a shame the judges hone in so much on the few mistakes he made. Talking about a 50 year old man being a steam engine trying to keep up with a bullet train was a bit of an insult. 8+8+8 = 24, which was way low for the quality of that performance. How can they RAVE so about Aaron Carter and then be so unappreciative of Donny’s dancing?

Mambo Group Dance
As I hoped, Michael and Anna were first to leave. Louie and Chelsie should be next, and they were. Kelly and Louis should be 3rd to leave, but that was Melissa and Mark. Kelly and Louis were next, then it should be Aaron & Karina, but it was Mark & Lacey. Donny & Kym kept the best time, so why did they get dumped? At least Aaron didn’t win this. Mya & Dmitry got 2nd and Derek & Joanna won.

Hard to believe they couldn’t give Joanna a lasting hairdo–

after all this is HOLLYWOOD!

Week 6 Results
Can’t wait to see the outfits the stars design for their pro partner.

Melissa & Mark were eliminated by lowest combined scores. She looked very nice with the soft hairdo and the yellow fringe. Mark just looked a bit weird in the color combination. As Michael Schedler noted, Melissa certainly out-danced Louie V and Michael I in every dance they did.

Michael & Anna’s Samba was nice, but Michael doesn’t really have the Samba moves down very well. It was energetic and he was highly animated, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. Judges liked it more than I did.

Louie seemed off most of the way through that routine. He tried, but just didn’t have what it takes. Judges noted his mistakes and that there was a lack of “winner takes all” attitude from both of the dance off couples.

Louie & Chelsie got eliminated by the judges in the dance off, but went out with great attitude.

Happy Dancing
and remember

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