Trav's Thoughts

It's live from Hollywood!

It was quite sad to see Dorothy Hamill withdraw from the competition last week due to injury.  But it did mean that there was no elimination from lowest votes and scores. 

Our 11 couples return this week for prom night, DWTS style.  Twist - fans can tweet their votes for Prom Queen and King.  The winners get 2 extra points added. 

We get a little prom group dance to lead off the show, featuring each pair in a little solo.  That was fun!  Louis van Amstel choreographed the piece.  

Aly and Mark dance Viennese Waltz.  If you've been visiting here awhile, you know that this is one of my favorite ballroom styles.  I didn't care for the intro.  It was too sharp and staccato for my taste.  In fact, I'm not really pleased with this entire performance.  It felt very rushed to me.  I didn't care for their shapes or lines.  I thought Aly didn't finish off movements with her arms.  I didn't like her dress either.  It made her look stocky and a little clumsy.  I know she is neither of those things.  I just didn't care for the quality of her movement in this piece.  I think this is a dance I'll need to watch back because clearly the judges saw a much better dance than I did.  Maybe I'll see something more in it.  Judges say 7,8,8 for a total of 23. 

Andy and Sharna dance Cha Cha Cha.  I don't like the drama in rehearsal.  This is an unfortunate style for Andy.  He can't overcome his awkwardness or his lack of rhythm this time.  He had no hip action at all.  He messed up some steps.  He lost his balance.  There was no musicality at all.  It ended up looking much too comical...sort of like the goofy guy in your class who couldn't dance a lick but hammed it up with the head cheerleader anyway.  The best I can say about this performance is that he has such incongruously innocent charm as he tries to do these dances.  Unfortunately I thought this was a poor performance.  This early in the competition, poor performances can sometimes get a little credit for the effort.  I think Andy will get some of that from the judges simply because he comes across as so genuinely concerned about doing the best he can, knowing that he wasn't going to dance this style very well at all.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.  That might be just a little too much credit.

Ingo and Kym dance Paso Doble.  Lots of aches and pains for Ingo this week.  I know the feeling well.  I think he has the character and flavor of Paso.  I like the stomping quality and the aggression.  But what I don't see is a smooth connection from one movement to the next.  I think he had good extension and led well with his chest.  I didn't care for the shapes though.  I think he needs to work on finesse and understand the subtle accents and pauses that turn each dance into a performance rather than just 90 seconds of movement to music.  That's particularly important in the more technical styles like Paso.  You can dance them correctly but still miss the interpretation of the music, which is the thing that turns dancing into art.  Judges say 7s across for a total of 21.

Lisa and Gleb dance Viennese Waltz.  I think this is her week to shine, if she's going to at all.  I think she can handle the technical steps and the posture.  She looks very elegant and sophisticated.  I love the classic choreography because it plays on her natural sense of style.  I think that was simply choreographed, simply performed, and simply lovely.  The whole was wonderful, although the parts can still use some work.  She still has trouble with her posture and she made some mistakes in the passes and the footwork that she doesn't know how to cover.  When she makes a mistake, you can see it in her body language.  But she's not a natural performer, so mistakes are something she needs to learn how to dance through.  I thought this was a credible dance.  Judges say 7s across for a total of 21.

Kellie and Derek dance Jive.  She says Derek has mad wasp face when something doesn't go well.  She makes me smile.  This dance was so fast.  It had high energy.  I thought the movement was clean and crisp.  I liked her kicks and flicks.  So much control and precision.  I liked the connections between each movement.  The choreography was so difficult.  There was a lot spinning and fast transitions.  There was a swoop between Derek's legs then a high hop followed by a double split that was nearly flawless except for a slightly bent leg.  She's just a fun person and this performance really showed that off.  Outstanding performance.  Judges say 8,9,8 for a total of 25. 

Victor and Lindsay dance Contemporary.  I like that he started the dance with a normal walk across the floor.  It was relaxed and calm, seeming to fit the character of the piece.  I think this dance went pretty well.  It had good flow and emotion.  Lindsay put a piece together that told a story, and Victor executed that story quite well.  I think he managed the lifts very well.  However, I don't think he danced very well in between the lifts and the relaxed walking.  I think he was a little awkward.  But at the end of the day, he connected with Lindsay and pulled off a positive performance.  I can't rave about it like the judges did, but it was enjoyable to watch.  Judges say 8,7,8 for a total of 23.  Guess this is another one I need to watch again to see what I missed.

DL and Cheryl dance Salsa.  Based on the way he handled Cha Cha Cha, I'm not sure he is going to be successful with Salsa.  He's not doing badly to begin.  He's getting the basic footwork and there's a little hip action.  But why did they do all that stuff out of hold?  I think they would have been better served to dance more traditionally in hold because he was doing pretty well with that footwork.  The things that were out of hold looked silly.  I'm surprised at Cheryl.  She had a chance to help DL make more improvement and she didn't take it.  I mean you could call it fun and I hope he had fun.  But why not give him real Salsa flavored choreography and let him try to do it.  He was getting the footwork which was leading to some of the hip action.  I think it's on Cheryl if they go home this week.  Judges say 6,5,5 for a total of 16.

Jacoby and Karina dance Rumba.  You can't attack Rumba.  You have to finesse it and be serious and vulnerable.  I like how he is learning to dance with his size instead of fight it.  I thing that really helps him with balance and expression.  I like the connection between the two of them in this piece.  He is managing his naturally turned in feet pretty well.  I think this performance had a wonderfully smooth romantic quality.  I liked his musicality and phrasing.  He had some great lines and extensions in his arms.  I though thought the performance was artistic and lyrical, elegant and sophisticated.  Cursse uss and crussh uss preciouss...we likess that performance, we doess indeed.  Judges say 8s across for a total of 24. 

Wynonna and Tony dance Samba.  She's trying, but this is just not the style for her.  There was no energy at all.  There was no hip action.  It didn't look or feel anything like a Samba.  I just didn't see any real dancing there.  The packaging was there with the costumes and the music, but there just wasn't anything inside the box once you untied the bow and tore off the wrapping.  I love her personality and attitude, but I didn't even get that from this performance.  I'm really disappointed because I want her to do well.  Judges say 5s for a total of 15.

Sean and Peta dance Cha Cha Cha.  The guys from our Troupe give an assist for a Village People Cha Cha Cha.  And I have to say that Sean didn't do too badly.  He didn't look nearly as awkward and I think he did much better connecting one movement to the next.  He had lots of energy.  He improved over last week.  I thought he put together a full performance in this dance.  There are still some issues with footwork.  I enjoyed Peta's choreography, although I would have liked a little less of the obvious YMCA stuff and a little more Cha Cha Cha content.  Judges say 7s across for a total of 21.

Zendaya and Val dance Viennese Waltz.  I love that she danced this as a tribute to her grandmother, even to choosing a song from the era.  Once again she demonstrates a stunning quality of movement.  I didn't like that last drop spin though.  I know it's a classic Viennese Waltz step, but it always pulls me out of the story because it's so abrupt and sharp coming at the end of a dance I expect to be smooth.  I thought the dance up to that final move was lovely.  Zendaya is naturally elegant and graceful.  She makes what she does look effortless.  Judges say 8s across for a total of 24.

Here's our leader board:

25 Kellie and Derek
24 Zendaya and Val
24 Jacoby and Karina
23 Aly and Mark
23 Victor and Lindsay
21 Lisa and Gleb
21 Ingo and Kym
21 Sean and Peta
18 Andy and Sharna
16 DL and Cheryl
15 Wynonna and Tony

We felt so bad for Wynonna, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to vote for that performance.  So we split votes between Kellie and Zendaya. 

Tune in tonight for results and to see who the tweeters voted Prom Queen and King for 2 extra points on the leader board.  And check back here tomorrow for my encores and results recap.

Cheers gang!