This week again all of the stars performed 2 dances. One solo dance and one trio dance. The trio dance includes either a voted off
pro or a member of the troupe. Both
dances will have full scores, so total possible points for the evening is 60.
Solo Dances:
- Amber & Derek kicked off the night with a Quick Step. This is bouncy with front/back and sideways movements that are extremely hard on the knees. Amber’s knees have bothered her all season and she cannot practice the way that she would like to. Derek commented that on Sunday she could hardly walk and he was proud of what she can do by sheer guts. Judges comments included ‘dazzling as always’, ‘terrific choreography’ and that she ‘set the standard high’. They also commented that she needed to be leaning back more on the quickstep (difficult with knees) which would have made a more elegant line. They scored 24.
- Leah & Tony started their night with a Tango. Leah has found a comfort zone in her dancing and it is showing in her performances. Tony is choreographing more difficult dances for her and she is doing very well. Very positive comments from the judges all around with additional critique of needing to carry the performance and emotion through her arms and legs; she doesn’t always do that. Her score was 27.
- Corbin & Karina with the Slow Waltz. While the slow Waltz and the Viennese Waltz both have the same basic look and feel, the Viennese is noticeably faster than the Slow Waltz. A few weeks ago Corbin & Karina did the Viennese Waltz and received terrible scores from Len so they went with very traditional flowing slow Waltz tonight. It was very pretty, but he was slightly off center on the spins (pivoting on one foot). They scored 28, with a 10 from Bruno.
- Jack & Cheryl followed with a Viennese Waltz. Jack is very strong with ballroom dancing and the judges were going to expect a lot from them. It was also Jack’s birthday this past week, and Cheryl got him a replica of the mirror ball trophy for a present that stands about 8-10 inches high. The dance was amazing, with quick turns. Len was extremely happy with the turns to pivots to reverse turns, but Bruno thought Jack’s hands need work. Their score was 29, with a 9 from Bruno and 10’s from Carrie Ann and Len.
- Bill & Emma drew the Charleston this week. Bill does much better learning and acting the dance if he’s in character, and they portrayed a couple whose husband helped out doing the laundry and ended up putting a red sock in the whites. It was very funny, and definitely worth high scores in entertainment, but he doesn’t have a lot of rhythm and his timing is more off than on. All 3 judges want to see more improvement since he doesn’t seem to be getting any better and it’s week 9. His score was 21.
- Elizabeth & Val with their Viennese Waltz. They didn’t do a traditional Viennese, but it wasn’t as unconventional as the one Corbin & Karina did two weeks ago. It wasn’t as flowing as Len would have liked. Their characters were the bride and groom on the top of the wedding cake, started out snuggly and smiling, someone does something the other doesn’t like, have to make up, don’t want to make up, oops, back on the cake snuggly and smiling before someone sees. I’ve seen performances I’ve liked better, this was a little jerky. Carrie Ann & Bruno liked the tormented quality, and Len would have liked to see more dance in hold. They scored 26.
Trio Dances:
- Amber & Derek chose Mark as their third for a Salsa. All 3 dancers have to interact together for the dance. Going first is difficult when there’s something different happening, but Amber handled it great. Len said it was like a ray of sunshine to watch, but she needed her hips more which Bruno agreed to. They scored 27 for a combined total of 51.
- Leah & Tony chose troupe dancer Henry for their Jive. They did a parody of the three judges and their version of what would happen when they got fed up with getting booed by the crowd. I thought her kicks and flicks could have been sharper. What I didn’t notice is that she had a wardrobe malfunction!! There is always one a year that affects someone’s dance, and her boot strings came undone and were loose on one foot. All 3 judges were laughing and applauding and said it was fantastic entertainment. They scored 27 for a combined total of 54.
- Corbin & Karina chose troupe dancer Witney for their Jazz dance. They did it in Fosse style (producer/director/choreographer of All That Jazz). It was an excellent dance and garnered a standing ovation from the audience as well as 2/3 of the judges. Carrie Ann said it was the best routine she has seen on all seasons of DWTS. Bruno said that they definitely lived up to the Bob Fosse standard. Len, the sitting judge, said that he had been hoping for fireworks but they exploded! They got the first perfect 30 of the night, and had a combined total of 58.
- Jack & Cheryl chose Sharna (partnered Keyshawn Johnson at the beginning of the season) for their Samba. Jack doesn’t do well with Latin dances; his hips don’t swivel as much as is needed so they worked on that during the week. One comment from the judges was that he was overwhelmed with trying to dance with both girls. He wasn’t as comfortable with it as Corbin was and having to follow Corbin’s dance kind of highlighted that. The routine was cute though and they earned a 25 for a combined score of 54.
- Bill & Emma chose just voted off pro Peta to dance the Salsa with them. They performed as Willie Wonka and his ‘Candy Girls’. Bill’s lack of rhythm is more pronounced with a Latin dance and Len said that maybe he should have loosened up with a quick martini before the show because ‘candy is dandy but liquor is quicker’. They were hoping for a good score to help boost him up, but they didn’t get i. The judges matched his Solo Dance score of 21 for a combined total of 42.
- Elizabeth & Val chose Gleb, who was a pro last season, to Salsa with them. Their salsa was very energetic, with Elizabeth flying from partner to partner like a Frisbee according to Len. It takes a strong female to trio dance, and Elizabeth was excellent at it. Bruno especially praised the interplay and passes that they did. They earned the only other perfect 30, for a combined score of 56.
They didn’t do any fancy quick saves this week as they did
the last couple times, so all 6 couples had to stand in the spotlight and wait
for the announcements. The bottom 2
couples were Bill & Emma and Elizabeth & Val.
We say good-bye this week to Elizabeth and Val. Their perfect score in the trio dance did not
save them, and Bill and Emma were floored that they were not the ones sent
home. They were prepared for it, and
honestly it should have been them if you only go by performance.
Next Week – Semi Finals.
Only two weeks to go! Spoiler
alert for Finals – Kellie Pickler (last season’s winner and reigning champion)
will be performing!!
Denise~
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