Dancing With The Stars – week 8, season 9 by Phillip Stephens

Commentary by  Phillip Stephens | 713-248-2299

Dancing With The Stars – week 8, season 9

Kym Johnson looked fabulous! All the pros (except Karina, who did not look all that great in the pants that made her tiny hiny look "bubble big") were dressed nicely for their first routine, and the celebs also looked quite well turned out

Mya & Dmitry Chaplin
Quickstep
Looking fine in those classy outifts, this routine was performed a song that lent itself to a true Quickstep. They didn’t stay in good closed position, and there were a couple of spots where they were not in the same elevator where rise and fall is concerned, but there was a lot of good choreography in the routine and it was presented with lots of energy. There was a bit of repetition, but that’s hard to avoid in this dance. 27?
Len – Fooled the audience with a round-about way to compliment them
Bruno – Loved it and said so very effusively
Carrie Ann – Made it look as if it just flowed out of the body with ease and grace
9+10+10 = 29.
70s Samba
Their look was great – especially Dmitry’s hair and the mustache - and the routine seemed to fit the music and the era quite nicely, incorporating the speed and agility of today with the moves of the 70s. A very nice job that should warrant 27 or more points.
Carrie Ann – Could see how much Mya wanted to win.
Len – hypnotic hips – great standard of dance with no gimmicks
Bruno – Well, he does love to carry on with that effusiveness, doesn’t he?
10+10+10 = 30 – first perfect score of the season.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff
Foxtrot
A bit clunky. Far too much gap in closed position. Aaron’s posture was weak in several spots, and his legs looked “coltishly untidy” at times. Neither outfit was very good for the wearer. 24?
Bruno – recognized the effort but noted lack of ease.
Carrie Ann – noted the lift, noted the stiffness
Len – Noted his many facets
Michael Schedler wonders why the judges seem to shy from telling Aaron that he didn’t do well.
7+8+8 = 23, which was possibly a bit lower than deserved.
90s Samba
The black-n-yellow outfits made them look like bumblebees. He was doing pretty good at the start, then got overly exuberant and started flailing about a bit. The routine was really quite nice and had a lot of good 90s action going in it. 26-27?
Len – Sold the routine
Bruno – did a good job of marrying the bounce and the disco
Carrie Ann – great job.
9+9+9 = 27

Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough
Quickstep
Derek looked like a ship’s waiter. The routine looked a bit frantic, especially the entrance. Again, there was a large gap when they should have been in a nice contact position. There were a few bobbles. The best I can say is that it was challenging choreography and the routine contained very high energy from beginning to end. 24?
Carrie Ann – feet not toned
Len – noted lack of body contact and lack of standard for a 1/4 final
Bruno – noted the “issues” with technique, especially lower halves of body.
8+7+8 = 23, which was about right.
Futuristic Paso Doble
Very interesting costumes that worked well with the lighting and the “smoky” look. The moves were very unique, yet retained the Paso Doble character. They hit breaks very cleanly. Should get a perfect score, and it will be absolutely deserved.
Bruno – Recognized Derek’s genius in choreography.
Carrie Ann – noted that how well it was performed
Len – Genius – noted that they kept the content and character of the dance
9+10+10 = 29. Carrie Ann was just too picky about the one notable bad leg line

Kelly Osborne & Louis van Amstell
Foxtrot
They were beautifully tailored. She had loose legs at times, but her feet were generally pointed and she had a very nice top line in closed position. She was very good at the openwork in this routine and did a great job of selling the performance with a few dynomite tricks and a “spot on” ending. This was definitely the best she’s done since the Viennese Waltz. 25?
Len – liked everything but the footwork
Bruno – looked weightless and kept her focus
Carrie Ann – has a secret weapon, especially when she is truly focused.
8 +8+9 = 25, just as I predicted
60s Jive
The music called for a prop, but it almost didn’t work and it went on a bit too long. Kelly had me expecting mistakes because she looked just a little off balance in spots, but ended up pulling it all off admirably. I’d have preferred a bit more bounce, but she did a nice job. 25-26?
Judges were a bit overly effusive, but Carrie Ann did note the overlong use of doll in the beginning and the hesitance in the turns.
8+9+9 = 26

Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson
Viennese Waltz
A nice clean entrance with some very nice lines and turns. Donny’s posture was stronger in this than normal. There were a lot of turning actions, and I would have preferred there were a few more quality Viennese Waltz patterns, but it was quite lovely, despite a rather ho-hum song. 24-26
Bruno – effusive as usual
Carrie Ann – found it mesmerizing. They didn’t over perform it.
Len – too “arty-farty” for him
9+8+9 = 26
80s Paso Doble
I guess this was a take-off on the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it didn’t really look 80s to me. It was a nice routine that was choreographed nicely to the music. It was different, I’ll give it that. I would not go above 21 for that one
Len – crazy, bizarre and just plain odd, but he liked it
Bruno – Reference to a drag queen
Carrie Ann – Loved the song and the era, but it just went a bit over the edge
8+8+8 = 24


Week 8 Results
Derek & Joanna danced their futuristic Paso again, and it was even better than the Monday night performance.

Enjoyed the first singer and the Foxtrot performed by Johnathan, Maks, Cheryl and Anna

Samantha looked exceptionally nice this evening

Jerry Rice looked like he had dirt on his face

Jerry, Kenny and “Lenny” sure gave a good “roast” of all the celebs.

Sabrina & Mark did quite a fantastic Paso Doble to “Eye of the Tiger”. I don’t know how much time she had to practice, but she was very strong and very much in command of the floor. She made some beautiful lines. I only saw one bobble, and I didn’t care for the poorly executed rollover-flip-trick at the end.

Michael Whatsit’s second song was fantastic and I loved the clean and elegant Quickstep performed to it

Susan Boyle (“I Dreamed the Dream”) certainly looks better after her makeover, but it would be nice if she’d lose a poind or two. Her voice is incredible. Not so sure I liked some of the lifts Tony and Chelsie danced at the beginning of their routine, but most of it was nice until it got a bit frantic in the middle.

Dragging the elimination bit out past a commercial is just cruel on the producer’s part.

Aaron & Karina were “excused” from further performances through elimination. Aaron was an extremely gracious loser, which seemed to support his claim of how much he had learned and grown through participating in the show.

Happy Dancing
and remember

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