Trav's Thoughts

Gimme that theme music - it's time for Dancing!! Wooooooooooooooooooo!!

Tonight our hoofers try super sexy Samba...


...and ultra sultry Rumba.


There are only 2 ladies left to 6 fellas.

Whoa!! Julianne Hough is sporting the Rooster Head!! It looks way better on her than on the evil one from that other show.

Ian and Cheryl dance Samba. He's much more in control of his balance this week. And Pam approves of the hip swivels. It looked like there were a couple of spots where he wasn't sure of the choreography. It wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, but overall it was a solid performance. The potential is there for a WOW on these Latin dances, but it's not quite there yet. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. That's a pretty good score for a dance that they thought was merely "competent".

Clyde and Elena dance Rumba. This has the potential to be awful. He's determined to just walk through the steps. He's not dancing badly, he's just not dancing a proper Rumba. No hips, no passion, no romance whatsoever. The judges are understandably harsh. But Len the curmudgeon is the nice guy on the panel!! Judges say 4,5,5 for a total of 13. And that's correct - when dancing the Rumba, charming and polite won't cut it.

Heather and Jonathan dance Samba. Jonathan really does a fine job choreographing these dances for her. But in this case she was really exposed. She did well, but she was awkward. She threw herself into it, but this wasn't her dance. And her disability was evident as the leg wouldn't hold her on the final pose and she fell. If the judges are fair, they'll mark the dance down because that's like missing a step. Judges say 7's across. They did mark her down for the fall.

Joey and Kym dance Rumba. That was nice. I'm not sure I liked the choreography, but the performance was outstanding. Pam is frowning at me while I'm trying to be objective. I think the judges were saying that it wasn't subtle, which is important in Rumba. If that's what they meant, then I agree. But I think that was more about choreography. Judges say 8,8,9 for a total of 25. I'm glad Bruno threw the 9 because this dance was better than Ian and Cheryl. And now Pam is glaring at the judges instead of me. Whew!

John and Edyta dance Samba. He was a little off beat. But he enjoyed what he was doing and he was really trying to do the steps. And when he couldn't do the steps, he played it for fun. He was a little lighter on his feet this week, more bounce than stomp. It still wasn't very good, but it was entertaining. Bruno said it was one of the best worst Samba's. Judges say 6's across for a total of 18. He gets the reward over Clyde for the fact that he tried.

Laila and Maks dance Rumba. Slowing her down this week was just the answer to get the fire back. She's hawt Laila again!! OH OH OH OH OH OH OH!!! She had the f**k me look at the end. Sexy, passionate, romantic, HAWT!!! Judges say 9,10,9 for a total of 28. Yup! I'm getting glared at again. How come she can get all hot and bothered over Joey and Ian, but I can't....oh nevermind.

Apolo and Julianne with the Rooster Head dance Samba. Now there's the abandon that Ian needs when he dances. That was really good. Apolo is a natural. Everything was locked in on that dance. There were a few things to pick on, like slippery shoes. But other than that it had it all. That was comparable to Laila's Rumba and possibly better. Judges say 10's across for a perfect 30. And they deserved it.

Billy Ray and Karina dance Rumba. Oh why couldn't we end with Apolo and Julianne? **sigh** Karina is dancing around him. I didn't think anything could be worse than Clyde's. This is the woman's dance, but the man has to do something. He just stood there while she danced. That has to be marked way down and they can't just grade his effort this time. He didn't dance. Judges say 6,6,5 for a total of 17. I don't agree with that score at all. It might have been a point better than Clyde, but not 4 points better.

Clyde, John, and Billy Ray are in trouble. Based on fanbase, it's likely to be John that is out. None of them really danced all that well, but John did capture the essence of the party dance while the other two really murdered the romance in the dance of love.

The top couples danced so well. Apolo and Julianne were tops just by a hair over Laila and Maks, with Joey and Kym right behind them. Ian and Cheryl have the potential to get in the mix, but Ian needs to let loose. Jonathan may be able to carry Heather through, but I don't think she'll be able to step up to the level of the other pairs.

Results tomorrow night!