Cue that theme music!

Posted: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 by Travis Cody in
7

It's encores and results!


Giving the celebrities creative control over their routines could have been disastrous.  But based on what I saw on Monday night, each celebrity in this group understands how to emphasize the things he or she does best.  Each has a feel for what makes him or her look good.  And that made for some great performances.

Here's what we liked.

Shawn and Derek broke too many rules with their Quickstep to challenge for dance of the night.  But their performance was so good, it definitely deserves to be our encores.  Click here if the video doesn't play.


The Samba from Melissa and Tony felt a little uneven and disjointed to me at first viewing, but then I watched it back and realized I was wrong.  The trick at the top was slow to develop, but every other transition was seamless in what may have been the most difficult routine of the season so far.  Click here if the video doesn't play.


The Foxtrot from Apolo and Karina had the feel of a Tango.  The staging was sultry and stalking like a Tango, but it also nailed the classy sophistication of a stellar Foxtrot.  Click here if the video doesn't play.


The only thing wrong with the Paso Doble from Sabrina and Louis was that it didn't have enough creative staging and innovative choreography.  Otherwise it was an outstanding dance.  Click here if the video doesn't play.


I wasn't a fan of Kelly Monaco in Season 1, so this surprises me.  Her Paso Doble with Val is the choice for dance of the night.  It was strong, dramatic, well staged, and incredibly well danced.  The only issue I had with it was her balance trouble coming out of twirls.  Click here if the video doesn't play.


Those are the performances I thought rose above the fray.  Honestly though, just about every performance had a moment of excellence.  So I'll give you the links to the rest in a recap of our leader board.

27.0 Melissa and Tony
27.0 Kelly and Val
26.5 Shawn and Derek
25.5 Helio and Chelsie
25.5 Apolo and Karina
25.5 Sabrina and Louis
25.5 Gilles and Peta
25.0 Emmitt and Cheryl
24.0 Kirstie and Maks
24.0 Drew and Anna
22.5 Bristol and Mark

So it's the dreaded double elimination.  This could give me a grumpy.


We're not voting yet so I guess we pays our monies and we takes our chances.  However we do reserve the right to throw the stink eye if we don't like the results.

Wait...OK, that's better.  I had a brownie, which is almost as good as CAKE.  So now I shouldn't get a grumpy or use the stink eye.

What?  It could work.  And we have an emergency stash of brownies just in case.

They may have broken the rules, but they also danced an unforgettable routine.  So unforgettable that it's the encore selection from the judges.  HA!  It's the Quickstep from Shawn and Derek.

First results...Melissa and Tony are safe.  Gilles and Peta are safe.  Emmitt and Cheryl are safe.

Season 11 finalist Kyle Massey returns to the ballroom, dancing with Lacey Schwimmer and our Dance Troupe to music by Frankie Moreno.  I've never heard of this guy, but he's good.  That was a lot of fun.  Choreography by Lacey.  Yeah, she's awesome.

More results...Shawn and Derek are safe.  Apolo and Karina are safe.  Kelly and Val are safe.  Kirstie and Maks are safe.

But Drew and Anna are eliminated.  This makes sense because I think his style just isn't smooth enough when stacked up against the rest of the field.  So no stink eye or grumpy for this one.


Why yes, I will have another brownie.  Gotta prevent the stink eye grumpy for the final elmination.  Or is it the grumpy stink eye?  Time will tell.

Remember the twist for next week?  Our couples select the dance styles for each other.  Lowest cumulative score picks for highest, and so on in that fashion.
  • Bristol and Mark pick for Gilles and Peta...they select Bollywood.
  • Kirstie and Maks pick for Sabrina and Louis...they select Disco.
  • Helio and Chelsie pick for Shawn and Derek...they select Mambo.
  • Kelly and Val pick for Emmitt and Cheryl...they select Bolero.
  • Melissa and Tony pick for Apolo and Karina...they select Hip Hop.
  • Apolo and Karina pick for Melissa and Tony...they select Jitterbug.
  • Emmitt and Cheryl pick for Kelly and Val...they select Contemporary.
  • Shawn and Derek pick for Helio and Chelsie...they select Broadway.
  • Sabrina and Louis pick for Kirstie and Maks...they select Charleston.
  • Bristol and Mark dance Rock and Roll because that's what is left.
Oh...and Paula Abdul joins the panel as a guest judge next week.  Sweet!

AT&T Spotlight Performance features a young man named Joshua Johnson, who tap dances in the NYC subway to help pay his college tuition at Penn State.  Pay that young man for a semester or two at school!  That was fantastic.  Choreography by JT Horenstein.


Next we have a performance from a duo called Karmin.  I have no idea who this is.  I don't like it.  I also don't like the way it went from them live in the ballroom to what looked like a recorded performance.  I did enjoy watching our dancers.

Final results...Bristol and Mark are safe.  Sabrina and Louis are safe.

So that means Helio and Chelsie are eliminated.  That's too bad, because he's really fun to watch.  But I think he's a one trick pony, with the Quickstep being his strength.


No grumpy and no stink eye, although I will miss the chance to see a Broadway routine in the ballroom next week.

Oh, I can has another brownie?  Just one more?

Next week should be fun.  Check it out!

Later gang!

7 comments:

  1. Barb says:

    I had a brownie for MotherDear's birthday. Oh, yes! And it was spooktacular! And just 55 WW pointsplus. Totally Heaven!

  1. Still Dieting - No Brownie so I get to be grumpy. Any week that leaves Bristol Palin in the line up is just plain wrong!!! Grump Grump Grump -

  1. Jean(ie) says:

    did someone say brownie??????

  1. Cherie says:

    Those were the two that I would have been the least unhappy about. I actually liked Bristol's performance. Costuming and storyline was entertaining. I don't like the rehearsal drama either, but at least it didn't look manufactured. And, it also was on the first day. The producer/director/editor of the show chose the clips. They couldn't have done so well if they didn't get their act together pretty quickly.

  1. Akelamalu says:

    Strictly Come Dancing started here last week - I'm excited!

  1. Like I said in my email...I have not watched a minute so far..way too busy right now...so the updates are approeciated