Dancing - Week 4
Posted: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 by Travis Cody inEverybody dance now!! I could never have imagined that I would enjoy Monday's so much!!
So tonight's dances are Paso Doble...
...and Waltz. This is last year's champ, Emmitt Smith with Cheryl Burke.
Laila and Maks dance Paso Doble. She danced the steps very well, but I didn't feel the passion. Hmmmm. Something was missing from that. Technically, the dance was very good. But emotionally it was flat. It didn't have enough passion. Dangit! She's hawt and sexy, but she didn't bring any of that to the dance. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.
Apolo and Julianne dance Waltz. Too fast. Not smooth. The crowd makes a fuss, but it wasn't a good Waltz. It was rushed and not romantic. The judges are gushing but that dance did nothing for me. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26. That's way too high. When they watch that dance back, they'll see how flawed it was. You can't just reward the effort and the progress.
Leeza and Tony dance Paso Doble. Here comes an unfortunate music choice - Bon Jovi is not Paso music. And this is not Leeza's dance. She has no emotion and no fire. That was really bad. She looked very uncomfortable in that outfit. Judges say 6,5,5 for a total of 16. That's a tough score, and probably accurate.
Ian and Cheryl dance Waltz. Now that's how Waltz should be danced. Outstanding! Smooth, elegant, romantic. The judges are picking on this dance. Judges say 7,9,8 for a total of 24. That's messed up. It's a good score, but this Waltz was better than Apolo and Julianne's.
Ruh-roh! Pam is annoyed that the judges picked on one of her favorites!
John and Edyta dance Paso Doble. More unfortunate music - Paso to Queen? He got the steps, but he wasn't able to overcome the music and the athletic nature of the dance. It wasn't good. Judges say 6,5,5 for a total of 16. And that's right.
Clyde and Elena dance Waltz. She choreographed a very basic Waltz with simple steps. He did glide through the steps but won't get any bonus for technique. Basically they sketched a box around the floor, and a completely unromantic box at that. Judges say 6,4,5 for a total of 15. That might be generous. It's tough to dance Waltz any worse.
Billy Ray and Karina dance Paso Doble. Oh man - the music! Yeesh! There was the train wreck. I don't know what the crowd is screaming about. It was horrible. The judges are praising effort instead of critiquing the dance. Now that irritates me because they've been so hard on the better dancers. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. That's just wrong.
Editorial comment: The double standard is rearing it's head. The better celebrities are being harshly graded for not being perfect. The celebrities who are struggling are being graded on effort and not dancing. And the judges are not even applying that double standard evenly! Billy Ray just clunked through his Paso with the same lack of grace that John had, yet John gets a 16 and Billy Ray gets 21?
Heather and Jonathan dance Waltz. That's the first time I was really aware of her disability. It was almost like she was falling into each hold and he was catching her before she lost her balance. It was good, but not great. Judges say 7,8,8 for a total of 23. I don't know, maybe. Jonathan's choreography and strong partnership is hiding a lot.
Joey and Kym dance Paso Doble. Whoa! Oh man! That was so good!! He had the passion, the fire, the character. That may have been as good as Mario's Paso from last season. Judges say 10,9,9 for a total of 28. Yup. That was worth at least one 10.
Indulge me. I'm disappointed in some of the scoring tonight. If you're going to judge the dancing, then do that for everyone. If you're going to judge progress, then do the same for everyone. But don't confuse things by judging some dancing and some progress.
I suspect Leeza and Tony will go home.
I watched part of it tonight with my husband. Ick. You're so right! THe scoring I saw was exactly that - And what is it with that awful music??? I think that may be one of the reasons I don't like to watch it! They don't have to use the "Blue Danube," or "Stardust," but come on! I find the vocals to be especially distracting, especially the broad with the non-stop vibrato.
Good calls...