Cue that theme music!

Posted: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 by Travis Cody in
3

It's live from Hollywood!


This is almost like getting a whole 'nuther premier night.  All of our couples return for a second night of performances before the first elimination.

Here's our leader board from last week's performances:

24 Zendaya and Val
21 Kellie and Derek
21 Aly and Mark
21 Dorothy and Tristan
20 Jacoby and Karina
20 Ingo and Kym
19 Sean and Peta
18 Wynonna and Tony
18 Victor and Lindsay
18 Lisa and Gleb
17 Andy and Sharna
12 DL and Cheryl

Now let's get started!

Ingo and Kym dance Quickstep.  This dance is totally driven by technique.  It's a hard one to put all of the pieces together.  I like the beginning.  Ingo kept a nice glide and didn't hop.  I am pleasantly surprised by how well he is dancing this.  He makes a good frame for Kym.  Plus he added a ton of personality to the performance.  I thought he danced to his height and kept his shoulders back.  I thought he was light on his feet.  He certainly can work on his feet...mostly guarding against being too flat footed.  That will help with his balance.  But I thought his musicality was excellent and the performance was solid.  Judges say 6,7,7 for a total of 20.  Not sure what Carrie Ann was watching there.

Dorothy and Tristan dance Jive.  Unfortunately she's got an injury issue, so they've had to come up with choreography without as much dancing on her bad hip and bad ankle.  And Jive certainly doesn't help either of those things because you've got to keep your energy up and your kicks quick.  She's definitely being careful, and I get that because she doesn't want to take a bad step.  There were a couple of mistakes with the choreography.  I think that's because they weren't able to go full speed during rehearsal.  She made it through though and I hope she'll be able to recover from those injury issues.  I have to be honest and say the dance had problems with timing and footwork, and it didn't have the high energy and bounce I expect from a Jive.  But I love her anyway.  Judges say 5s across for a total of 15.  I can't argue with it, but I want her to stay longer to get a chance to waltz.

Jacoby and Karina dance Jazz.  He got a bit of a pass from me last week because he was coming off knee surgery and wasn't cleared to start rehearsing until about a week before the show premiered.  I'm looking for him to be more polished this week and less wild.  I think this choreography suited him right down to the floor.  He was under control and focused on getting the steps right and dancing within the framework of the piece.  I thought he was right on time, plus he danced upright to his size.  He showed off his charm and personality, which you know I'm resisting because he's a Raven dangit.  The dance had energy and swag and style.  Karina's choreography was fantastic.  I enjoyed the performance.  Judges say 8,7,8 for a total of 23.  Well done.

Victor and Lindsay dance Jive.  We've got a whiner on our hands.  I like how Lindsay defused the drama, made him realize he was being a baby, and got him refocused.  He looks terrific.  He is much more relaxed than he was last week.  His personality is coming through.  There are a few balance and posture issues, but this is a much more involved and interested performance.  He looked like he was having fun.  There was plenty of energy.  I liked the choreography.  Unfortunately he had so much fun and danced with such abandon that he lost some of the crispness need for Jive.  He certainly could have danced cleaner.  The good thing is that he gave himself over to Lindsay's teaching and if he keeps doing that, he's going to improve on the technique.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.

Wynonna and Tony dance Quickstep.  We've got little police scooters.  I love her sassy attitude.  I think she's doing great in this style.  She's got her feet in the right places.  I like her posture.  In hold I thought she was terrific.  She was a little careful and still a bit casual during the side by side work.  But I think some of that has to do with her weight.  If she can develop her stamina a little more, she has quite a bit of potential.  The dance was a little slow and the choreography was a bit on the easy side.  I think Tony's strategy is to give her steps she can do and feel confident about, which allows her to relax and entertain...and she's got that part down.  I think once she lets go and gains some confidence in her stamina, then we could see her really shine.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.

Zendaya and Val dance Jive.  She has such a mature way of carrying herself that its hard to remember that she's only 16.  I am so impressed with this young lady and with the way Val works with her.  She dances like a pro.  She's got the entire package in her dancing...strong technique, musicality, great interpretation of the music, charm, and personality.  She is graceful and stylish.  And she's approachable...she invites the viewer in and shares the experience.  She's got about one or two more weeks before the judges start holding her to a different standard than the rest of the celebrities.  What's to criticize at the moment?  Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26.  Well deserved.

Andy and Sharna dance Jazz.  I found him charming last week.  This is a demented Alice in Wonderland from the Gaga.  I have to tell you...he is dancing and he's doing it pretty well.  It's completely unexpected that he would be this good.  I wouldn't kid you about this.  He's focused and committed to what he's doing.  He is challenged because he's not terribly rhythmic or musical.  But he works hard and gets all the steps.  Then he puts in some of his awkward and odd charm, and it's not the least bit silly.  He's serious and he's doing it.  There is a lot of ugly about his past, but Andy Dick has my complete respect for working on his sobriety and taking this challenge.  Well done Sir.  And well done to Sharna also for some inspired choreography.  Judges say 7,6,7 for a total of 20.

Sean and Peta dance Jive.  This isn't bad.  I think something he needs to work on is making the transition from movement to movement a bit more smooth.  I think his kicks could have been a little sharper.  But this performance had energy and excitement.  The choreography had a lot of Lindy Hop in it.  Of course I like that, but I also would have liked to see more Jive elements.  Also, I think that he needs to work a bit more on his musicality because he tends to lose timing when he moves away from Peta.  Having said all that, I think he has potential because he's learning from zero dance experience.  Judges say 7,6,7 for a total of 20.

Aly and Mark dance Quickstep.  I love it.  I thought she might do well in this style because it's precise and she lives precision as a gymnast.  She looks so relaxed.  Her posture was terrific and her footwork was outstanding.  Plus she really got into the character and performance of the piece.  This week not only did she control the sharpness in her movement, but she also brought some finesse and style to it.  Like many of the other Olympic athletes, she has taken on board criticism and advice.  She's still got some work to do in her upper body to keep her head and back aligned so she doesn't throw off her balance or timing.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable performance.  Judges say 8s across for a total of 24.

Lisa and Gleb dance Jive.  I actually enjoyed Gleb last week.  He has such sophisticated lines.  Pam says he's got great leggsses.  Yeah, she gets to say that.  This is more classic Jive choreography.  It took Lisa a little bit of time, but she finally got her kicks going.  I'd like to see her tighten her legs a bit more so that her kicks are cleaner.  As the dance went on, she settled into the flow of the dance.  She has a style to her, but all of her dance movement kind of bleeds from one thing to the next without definition or line.  She has a generally refined style in her manner that she needs to try and translate to dancing.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.

DL and Cheryl dance Quickstep.  Lots of drama.  He's way too much in his own head.  But then they went away and came back, and I can see that he wants to do well and he wants to try.  This is much better than the Cha Cha Cha from last week.  He's a little too bent at the waist and he needs to get his elbows up and his shoulders back.  But he's making it through the steps and it looks like a more cohesive dance.  That's a great way to look that Cha Cha Cha in the face and tell it that it's not going to be the defining moment.  Cheryl gave him some work that he could do, and he did it.  There was certainly a lot of room to improve over last week, and he took the challenge.  I'm happy for him.  If he goes home after these first two performances, at least he can be proud of this Quickstep performance.  Judges say 5,5,6 for a total of 16.

Kellie and Derek dance Jazz.  I thought she did great last week.  Oh...now I get to enjoy some leggsses.  She has incredible quality of movement and she gets what Derek wants from her.  This is the type of choreography that is all about movement and shapes.  There is no story...just movement to beat and rhythm.  I really liked the creative leaps Derek took in this piece.  It was lyrical and artistic and modern.  She and Derek worked so well to interpret the sharp corners in the music.  I'm so glad the judges got what this piece was about.  Derek completely trusted her with this kind of vision, and she came through.  Very cool.  Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26.  Yup.  That was really good gang.

Here is our updated leader board, combining last week's scores with this week's:

50 Zendaya and Val
47 Kellie and Derek
45 Aly and Mark
43 Jacoby and Karina
40 Ingo and Kym
39 Sean and Peta
37 Andy and Sharna 
36 Dorothy and Tristan
36 Wynonna and Tony
36 Victor and Lindsay
36 Lisa and Gleb
28 DL and Cheryl

Our votes went to Dorothy, Kellie, and Wynonna this week.  We still think the ladies are leading the pack so far, but we also thought that a couple of the fellas stepped up.

Let me remind you of the drill.  Tune in tonight for results and check back here tomorrow for my encores and results recap.

Later gang!

3 comments:

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  1. Cherie says:

    I'm predisposed to dislike all things Ravens too, but Jacoby is winning me over. He's so funny, and I'm liking his dancing. And, Zendaya can flat out dance. And, Andy impressed me. I thought his dance should have scored higher, but Jazz is not my specialty. Also, they see things live that don't seem to come across on camera. I'm usually saying that because the judges scored someone higher than I thought they deserved, but ... I don't know. He'll be the underdog I'm rooting for I guess. lol

  1. Kellie Pickler is doing well...does not surprise me...