Good Day
to All!
By now, most of
you would know
that my
prediction was
wrong about
Marie Osmond
receiving the
boot from DWTS.
They actually
went with a
somewhat better
choice and got
rid of Mark
Cuban. Though I
do have to admit
that the show
seemed to be
teaching him a
bit of
humility. At
least he quit
bragging about
his billions, ya
know?
It was nice to
get a bit of
background on
the
choreography,
but please don't
swallow every
word of what you
heard. If those
folk are NOT
getting at least
SOME assistance
with
choreography,
I'll eat my new
box of
chocolates!
(What? You
thought I'd take
a chance on
losing and have
to eat something
I don't
LIKE???) I know
from first hand
experience and
by being told by
the source that
at least 3 of
those people are
getting help in
the choreography
department. It
really doesn't
matter who puts
it together; it
is a
monumentally
daunting task.
Putting together
routines week
after week to
music that is
seldom remotely
related to the
dance being done
is challenge
enough. Doing
so in 4 or 5
days in another
strong
challenge.
Getting it
taught to the
celeb who has a
busy schedule,
getting the bugs
worked out,
staging
everything and
putting enough
polish on it
that it can be
performed at
that caliber in
less than a
week? I am
blown away by
what these folk
achieve over and
over again.
Even the worst
dancers - the
ones who
actually TRY -
must be
applauded for
what they
accomplish in
preparing for
these shows.
The
critiques:
Marie
Osmond
and
Jonathan Roberts
did a ho-hum
Samba. Her
dress was about
as unflattering
as you can get
for a woman
whose hips have
carried 8 babies
and certainly
don't need big
old ruffles
sticking out
from them to
highlight the
fact that the
"girlish slim"
is gone! And
those legs
should have been
completely
covered to a
point well below
her knees. She
was so very
stiff in that
Samba that it
was painful to
watch. She was
off time
occasionally,
there was no
fluidity in her
movements and
the routine was
lacking in
nuances that
make a
performance
"shine". Her
score of 21 was
OK but possibly
a point or 2
above what she
deserved.
Jane
Seymour
and Toni
Dovolani
presented a
well-balanced
Rumba routine
that was quite
suitable for
Jane's age and
talent. She did
a very nice job
performing the
various elements
choreographed
into the
routine. Her
styling was -as
it has been all
along - quite
nice; her leg
and foot actions
were very good
for someone who
just learned
this difficult
dance; her
timing was also
quite strong. I
was surprised
that the judges'
score of 26
points did not
match the
effusive praise
they gave Jane.
I maintain that
her dancing is
not being
recognized for
the quality it
displays and
that, instead,
the judges are
only seeing
"razzle-dazzle"
in the youngens
and are not
taking
gender-age-ability
into account in
their markings.
Mark
Cuban
and Kym
Johnson
did a nice job
of entertaining
us with the
"nerd" dancing
with the
"genie", but
there was not
much there to
judge from a
dancing
standpoint. I
don't know what
the rules say in
this area
because all the
routines must be
entertaining,
and they can do
that in a
variety of ways
- not all of
which embrace
solidly
technical
dancing. I
think this was,
in some ways,
Mark's best
performance. As
it turned out,
he got to finish
with a bang
because it was
his last
performance on
this show. I
will not miss
him, but am glad
that he seems to
have gained a
different
perspective on
humility from
participating in
the show.
Sabrina
Bryan
and Mark
Ballas
presented much
what I expected
we'd see if they
got a slow
dance: so many
syncopations
that you could
hardly tell if
she did or
didn't have
control of the
timing. Putting
her skill level
next to Jane
Seymour and
asking them to
do some of the
same moves would
really point out
the superior
quality in every
move Jane
makes. Sabrina
is fast on her
feet, but the
only time she
maintained a
slow in that
dance seemed to
be when Mark was
holding her in a
pose. I must
agree with
Michael Schedler
on this one: The
show is owned by
the Disney
people and
Sabrina is a
Disney girl and
even the judges'
voting and
praise seems to
be affected by
those facts.
Sabrina did not
deserve 28
points for that
Rumba.
Jennie
Garth
and
Derek Hough
presented a
high-energy
Samba
that contained
good body
rhythms, good
arm lines,
challenging
choreography and
intricate
timings. Her
timing was very
sound and I was
impressed with
the control she
displayed when
changing from
one
rhythm/timing to
another. While
not quite at the
level of Mel B's
Samba, I think
Jennie far
outdanced
Sabrina and
deserved higher
scores than she
got.
Helio
Castroneves
and
Juliane Hough
danced much
better this week
than in his last
2 performances,
but was still
just a bit stiff
and awkward.
However: Rumba
is an extremely
difficult dance
to do because of
the slow timing
and the control
needed to do the
sensual body
rhythms involved
in a "way above
basics"
routine. So I'd
have to say that
he created some
nice lines and
that he and
Julianne
displayed some
very good
moves. I didn't
agree with the
judges'
criticisms: of
COURSE it looked
"taught"! This
was a tough
dance for a man
to master in
only 4 days and
I felt, overall,
that there was a
good balance
between content,
partner
interaction,
timing, lines
and
performance. In
my opinion,
Helio deserved
at least 25
points for that
dance and I feel
that the judges
picked on the
wrong things for
their
"critique".
Mel
Brown
and Maks
Chmerkovskiy
definitely
deserved the 29
points awarded.
Mel outdanced
every celeb on
the show in this
hot routine with
great control,
strong lines,
good "hits" on
the breaks and a
way cool
recovery from
her splits.
This was
unquestionably
the best Samba
and Mel had the
best "Samba"
legs in that she
had the
pulsation going
on in the knees,
the fast actions
of feet and
ankles, and
topped it all
off with nice
hip actions.
Len didn't
really score her
as high as his
comments would
suggest, which
seems often the
case with him
this season.
Cameron
Mathison
and
Edita Slawinska
did not, in my
opinion, deserve
all that
slobbering
praise the
judges laid on
them. He is an
actor, so is
used to
displaying
emotion visually
with his face.
So I'd say that
we could
discount a bit
of that praise
and look more at
the content and
performance
level of the
dance. He was
stiff, created
sloppy lines,
his timing was
unreadable and
his footwork was
purdy danged
bad. And his
skill-level
looked rather
juvenile.
What's left?
Oh, yes, he
danced with a
pretty and
half-naked girl
who took some of
the attention
away from his
weaknesses. He
can go next
week, if you
want to know
what I think!
OK, this one is
not "prettied
up" because I'm
in a terrible
hurry. Hope you
enjoy it.
Happy
Dancing
and
remember
www.the-dance-place.com
is also
www.theplace2dance.com
