Trav's Thoughts

Yup. It's that time again. You didn't think I'd miss it just 'cause my apartment is in boxes????

Cue the theme music!

Tonight is a group dance, which always has the potential for disaster but generally goes off without a hitch. The group dance has been Waltz in past seasons, but this time it's Swing.

Here's how the pros do it...


The celebs also must master a Latin dance.


Joey and Kym dance Samba. He's great with the up tempo stuff, which is expected because of his history with N'Sync. That was a really good Samba. Kym's choreography was much better this week. The performance had energy and he nailed the steps. The judges say he messed up some footwork at the end but I didn't see it. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Heather and Jonathan dance Paso Doble. That looked really awkward. I didn't like it at all. Once again, Jonathan did his best with excellent choreography but now that I'm over her ability to dance on an artificial leg, I'm expecting her to dance as well as the rest and I just don't see that happening. Judges say 7,8,8 for a total of 23.

John and Edyta dance Mambo. This is another dance that he's physically not really able to do that well. He's getting most of the steps in, but no hips at all. And there was a section of that Mambo where Edyta danced around him. It was enjoyable, but it wasn't up to quality. Judges say 7,6,6 for a total of 19.

Laila and Maks dance Cha Cha Cha. Oh DAYUM this woman is HAWT. She's great at the "fun" Latin dances. OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP. Judges say 9,9,10 for a total of 28. Carrie Ann and Len picked on little stuff, but I agree with Bruno that it was perfect. Although I admit I was distracted by the drool worthy gold dress. I need a cold shower.

Billy Ray and Karina dance Jive, which I don't actually understand since the celebs are supposed to be dancing Latin. But I haven't understood Billy Ray all season. That was just silly and I wish the judges would stop talking about his effort and how much he tries. They should be focused on his dancing, which is awful. Judges say 7's across. That's just ridiculous. He got a pass on the Latin dance and didn't do a proper Jive.

Apolo and Julianne dance Rumba. OK, that was really good but I didn't like it. I didn't care for the chair at all. I don't like the props - they don't need them. There was a lot of posing in that choreography and not enough dancing. Judges say 9,9,10 for a total of 28.

Ian and Cheryl dance Paso Doble. He had much better control of that dance and he had the character. The steps were very good. I get what the judges said about the enjoyment - Ian seems so focused on doing the dance well that he misses the performance element. Right now, he's not doing as well as Laila, Apolo, and Joey, but he's not doing as poorly as Heather, John, and Billy Ray. He's right in the middle and needs something to spark the performance element because he could be as good as the best. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.

Now the group Swing and the judges won't be scoring it.

Well, that was kinda nuts! Don't ask me to tell you what happened during that dance. It was all over the place and a lot of fun! In the past it's been much easier to see the couples and compare them when they danced a group Waltz. This was a free-for-all and I have no idea who did well and who didn't.

Who's going home? Tough call. I thought Billy Ray was the worst tonight, followed by John and then Heather. But Billy Ray has fans that will vote for him no matter what he does. Until the judges actually mark him harshly for his poor dancing, he stays.

So that leaves Heather and John as the bottom two. I could see Heather going home.

Joss Stone performs on tomorrow's results show. Also appearing is the cast of Dreamgirls.