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of ABC
DWTS -
Week 3, Season 5
Performances
First, a
correction:
I was reminded
by Len Diana
that, of the
male dancers,
Johnathan
Roberts
was, some years
ago, notable for
his
Ballroom/Smooth
dancing.
Sabrina Bryan
did a fairly
nice Jive,
though, as
Michael
remarked, her
feet didn't seem
to be on a
"first name"
basis in that
they seldom got
close to one
another (and I
don't recall
that they
actually closed
at all). And
those shoes!
Could an uglier,
clunkier-looking
pair of shoes be
found to put on
the feet of
someone who is
going to be
scrutinized from
head to toe by
cameras? She
displayed some
good lines, a
lot of energy,
good Jive
"bounce" and was
"in sync" with
Mark
Ballas's
moves most of
the time. I did
not care for the
"fish-out-of-water-flopping-on-the-floor"
business he (his
dad?) put in
there. Their
entrance? How
many of you
remember the
Lucille Ball
Show?
Mark's dad,
Corky, borrowed
that move from
an episode of
the
Lucille Ball
show a
LOOONG
time ago, used
it in his
own
competition
days, and is
still putting it
into
choreography for
his son? Can't
we come up with
something
just a
BIT
more
original???? I
felt that this
routine was
danced well, but
don't know that
I'd have given
it 27 points.
Cameron Mathison
and
Edyta Slawinska
had a handicap
(in my opinion)
in having to
dance a Tango to
that tired old
song by Sonny
and Cher. But
they did rise to
the occasion, so
I'll give them
an E for
Effort. Cameron
was jerky and
presented bad
frame and bad
footwork. He
does stand up
fairly well, but
his dance
posture needs
work. As do his
feet, legs, arms
and, well, the
rest of him!
He's not very
good, though he
did present a
few nice lines.
And, for all
that he has a
marvelous
physique, he
sure gets out of
breath easily
for a man his
age. Bruno
seems to be
"overly" taken
with him, if ya
know what I
mean, and needs
to get over THAT
and start
looking at the
dancing
presented
because his
effusive praise
was for the
wrong aspects of
the
performance. I
awarded a score
of 23, and was
gratified to see
that the judges
didn't go
higher.
If
Mark Cuban
doesn't want
people to feel
sorry for him,
why does he keep
bringing up that
hip surgery????
Kym
Johnson
is doing a good
job with him,
but she couldn't
get him to
"lighten up" for
Jive. He was
off time and
heavy-looking
and had pretty
bad feet except
in some of the
"slow" spots. I
felt this Jive
was lacking in
"Jive substance"
- such as
bounce, speed
and energy - and
that it was far
too basic in
nature for this
arena. While
I'd have given a
score of 21, I
was quite
satisfied with
the judges'
marks of 20
points for this
one. Mr. Cuban
needs to shape
up or ship out.
Jennie Garth
would impress me
a bit more if
she'd stop all
that whining.
(Don't they have
medicine for
that?) All that
carrying on
about how she "messed
up the whole
dance last week".
Now, I have to
say that she
danced her Tango
rather well and
looked strong
during the
performance.
Her lines were
good and she
moved nicely,
kept her legs
reasonably well
controlled and I
think she has a
good sense of
rhythm. You
could see in
Derek a very
Latin "Paso-Doble"
look. His
bowed-back
posture was not
appealing, his
Left arm was
never in Tango
position and
what we call the
dancer's "base"
was far too wide
for Tango. I
can't see this
couple lasting
much longer and
feel that the
score of 26 was
a bit too high.
Mel
B
and Maks
C did
the best Jive of
the evening and,
except for
Jane
Seymour's
obviously
emotion-filled
Tango, may have
done the best
performance of
the evening. I
was very
impressed by
this overall
high-energy
routine with
good bounce,
good footwork,
good leg
actions, good
body lines and
great use of
arms, hands,
heads and facial
expressions. I
felt that this
was very much
danced to the
music with
abandon and
would have given
this one a 28 (even
though I didn't
care for Maks'
shirtless outfit).
As Michael
remarked, this
was certainly
better
than Sabrina
Bryan's
Jive.
Wayne Newton
and
Cheryl Burke
appeared in
costume and
paraded around
the floor. I
can't say much
more. For this
arena, that was
one very poor
performance.
Even the judges
had to really
work to find
anything good to
say and what
they did find
had to do with
Wayne getting
into the
"character" of
the dance. (Personally,
I think
that
had more to do
with the
wardrobe folk
than anything
else) I
nearly choked
when Cheryl said
that Wayne is a
great dancer! A
score of 18 was
about 6 points
too high for
this clunky and
extremely basic
presentation.
Floyd Mayweather
and
Karina Smirnoff
need to pay
close attention
to what the
judges said:
Develop some of
the potential.
I was glad to
hear Len "scold"
Floyd about
wearing tennis
shoes when
practicing.
After watching
him jump, hop,
skip, twirl and
gyrate in the
practice room, I
was surprised -
and disappointed
- to see that
all of this was
lacking in the
actual Jive
performance.
His posture is
still bad, his
leg actions are
awful, his
feet are
"chunky"
looking, his arm
lines are never
finished, and so
on. For me,
there is little
hope that he
will actually
get with the
program and
improve enough
to stay in
this
game. His score
of 21 was fair
enough from
these sometimes
generous judges.
Jane
Seymour
and Tony
Dovolani
danced a
beautiful
Tango. I was
highly impressed
with this
routine - not so
much for its
content or
technical
difficulty, but
for the passion
that was so
evident in every
move Jane made.
The routine
itself was -
understandably -
fairly simple in
construction.
Jane presented
nice form, nice
lines, good
posture, quite
nice leg actions
and good
footwork. If
this routine had
lacked the
emotional
content she put
into it, I
probably would
not have been
impressed with
it very much.
Considering the
strain she was
under while
learning it, I'd
have given her
bonus points if
she'd only been
"adequate";
since she had
such a short
time to learn
the dance, had
so much to deal
with for her
mother's funeral
and knowing what
an emotional
turmoil she must
have been going
through, I think
she danced
beautifully and
deserved all 27
points received.
Helio
Castroneves
and
Julianne Hough
were quite
disappointing in
their Jive.
Helio has good
timing and good
control of body
movements, but
his feet and
legs were very
weak-looking in
the Jive. The
bounce was
missing in lots
of places,
making him look
a bit heavy
after that light
and lively Mambo
from last week.
The judges are
correct in
chastising him
for attempting
to rely on his
personality -
each dance has a
specific
character and
underlying
technique and
both must be
displayed
properly to
carry the day.
While I'd like
to see Helio win
this event, he
better get a
tune-up from the
dance
mechanics before
next week if he
wants to do
better than a
score of 24.
Marie Osmond
was another
disappointment
for me; Johnathan
Roberts
usually gets his
celeb to display
far better
frame, hold,
arms and head
position than
was evident in
that Tango. (I
must say again
that I always
appreciate how
tastefully
Johnathan
dresses for
all
occasions when
he is on public
display)
Marie did
present good
character to go
with the music.
Her legs and
feet were not
very good from a
"Tango" aspect,
though she
did create a few
good lines and
displayed some
good footwork.
For me, the
standard of this
routine was far
below last
week's Mambo. I
would only have
given it a 24
and think the
judges giving
her a 26 was out
of line as this
was nowhere near
being on par
with the Tango
presented by
Jane Seymour.
That's a wrap
for this very
long e-news
piece. We'll
find out tonight
if the populace
has come to its
senses
enough to boot
Wayne Newton off
the show.
On a
final note:
Some of you have
asked if I know
who chooses the
sometimes
horrendous music
used on the
show. Well, I
don't. There
are so many
great songs
available for
this type of
dance that it
amazes me how
this show seems
to chose a
majority of bad
songs that do
not suit the
dances being
performed. All
I can think of
is that perhaps
some of the
music is chosen
by
sponsors/underwriters
of the show
because the
professionals
must surely be
complaining
about the music
choices as much
as the rest of
us.
Well,
OK,
one more
final note:
Be sure and
enjoy the
fabulous
Viennese Waltz
presented on
tonight's
Results Show by
Eddie
Stutts
and
Valentina
Kostenko,
who hang their
hat at
The Dance Place!
Happy Dancing
and remember
www.the-dance-place.com
is also
www.theplace2dance.com
