Trav's Thoughts

We shall have frivolity while keeping the victims of the bombings in Boston in our thoughts.

It's live from Hollywood!

We've got a new theme this week.  Our 9 remaining couples will dance part of their routines side by side with a professional pair.  The pro pair starts the dance, then the celebrities join with their partner to dance side by side, and then the celebrity pair finishes the routine.  Should be interesting.

Awesome pro group routine to kick off the show.  And then our celebrities get in the act too.  Lacey Schwimmer choreographed that routine.

Ingo and Kym dance Cha Cha Cha with Emma Slater from our Troupe and Tony Dovolani.  This is a tough week to struggle, and Ingo struggled in rehearsal.  You could see it was in his head while they were dancing side by side, but once Emma and Tony moved off, Ingo relaxed and actually did some credible work.  He certainly attacked the choreography, but he also clearly isn't comfortable with Latin hip movement.  Some of the dance was awkward and some of it was really good.  I think this was a good routine that flowed well from the pros to the side by side to the celebrity pair.  Ingo's lack of finesse is troublesome.  I also thought his timing was off in spots.  Judges say 7s across for a total of 21.  I don't think Ingo ever really felt the style, and he should be happy with those scores.

Jacoby and Karina dance Jive with Anna Trebunskaya and Maks Chmerkovskiy.  I think this is a terrific pairing of pros and dance style with the celebrity couple.  Yup.  Maks was the perfect pro to show Jacoby that Jive dancing is manly.  I liked just about everything about this routine.  But the one thing I always need in a Jive is quick precise flicks and kicks.  Most of this dance was excellent.  The problem was the turned in feet.  I know Jacoby is naturally pigeon toed.  It just ruins the entire look of Jive kicks for me.  Plus he danced flat footed in places.  I can say that the energy was outstanding.  I thought the side by side work with Anna and Maks was...wait.  What did he just say?  Oh no he did not.  He brought up the kick off return.  We hatess that kick off return, preciouss.  We hatess it.  Bah.  Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26.  He'll never get higher than 8 from Len with those turned in feet.  And he won't get any votesess from my houses if he keeps bringing up that kick off return.  No, preciouss, he won't.

Victor and Lindsay dance Viennese Waltz with Emma and Tristan MacManus.  I need to see elegance here.  So far I don't think Victor hasn't shown that he's capable of controlling the bull in the China shop to show that elegant side.  I like the way they transitioned from Emma and Tristan into the side by side.  I didn't really see any elegance in the celebrity section.  Victor looked off balance through most of it.  I think he did at least manage to remember his choreography, which is a step in the right direction.  He also seemed to enjoy the dance, which was nice to see.  It was a decent performance and I did enjoy it.  Judges say 7s across for a total of 21.  I'm glad the judges didn't over react and add extra points just because it was better than last week. 

Aly and Mark dance Samba with Witney Carson from our Troupe and Tony.  Forgive me for going on about one of the pros, but Witney is so hot.  Aly did pretty well in the side by side.  She really took on the details and accents Witney showed her in rehearsal and made them her own.  It's a good thing that side by side was only a short time though because I had to fight against Witney pulling my focus.  I liked the bounce Aly put into her movement.  I also liked her expression.  It really looked like she was enjoying what she was doing.  She did have a few timing issues, which surprised me because rhythmically and musically she's usually right on.  I think maybe that got into her head a little bit and brought down some of the energy.  Or maybe not.  I enjoyed the entire performance.  Judges say 8,8,9 for a total of 25.  I forgot she was from Boston, so maybe she lost some focus.

Sean and Peta dance Quickstep with Chelsie Hightower and Tristan.  This could be disastrous when you consider how awkward Sean can be.  Well, color me surprised.  He actually did very well.  There were a couple of timing problems that caused a stumble or two, but other than that I thought the dance was clean and crisp.  He managed to be light on his feet.  He glided across the floor without too much bounce.  He showed off a bit of elegance.  He was actually confident with his movement.  I think he definitely took advantage of the chance to learn from Tristan.  That dance made me smile.  Well done.  Judges say 8s across for a total of 24.  Peta continues to challenge him, and this week Sean really stepped up to it and deserved that good score.

Kellie and Derek dance Foxtrot with Anna and Henry Byalikov from our Troupe.  Kellie struggled a bit in rehearsal, but it looks like Anna helped her with some of the detail.  I think I'd like to see Henry among our pros one of these seasons.  Kellie looks fantastic.  I love her lines and her personality.  The choreography told a complete story, from the pro section through the side by side, and then finishing strong with the celebrity section.  I thought it had a real old Hollywood feel to it.  Classy, sophisticated, and elegant.  I thought the piece had a wonderful, smooth flow.  And I loved that there was humor in the performance and quirkiness in the steps.  That fits Kellie right down to the ground.  Loved that piece.  Judges say 9s across for a total of 27.  Oh yeah.

DL and Cheryl dance Tango with Chelsie and Sasha Farber from our Troupe.  I actually think DL can do this dance.  Last week I thought he merely walked through the choreography and sort of made it look like dancing.  This week I can see some musicality and some actual connection to the style.  He actually looks sort of like he's dancing Tango movement and steps.  I thought that was a reasonable performance.  I thought he improved over last week.  I don't care that it was mild.  I did miss the stalking quality typically found in Tango, but I think the way he held back allowed him to focus and control his movement.  Yes, he did have a little bit of bounce, particularly in that last long pull across the floor.  But I still thought this was credible.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.  I know it wasn't a great Tango, but it wasn't the worst I've ever seen either.

Zendaya and Val dance Argentine Tango with Anna and Maks.  I could accuse someone of stacking the deck with this pairing of style with pros, except for two things...she's 16 and Val has never done this style.  Now she is an actor, so that ability helped her figure out how to express passion and not just do steps.  I liked the way she attacked the choreography.  Her lines were outstanding.  She looked fantastic.  I thought her technique was tremendous.  I loved the story they told in the piece.  I thought she matched Anna very well.  She learned the detail, understood it, and applied it.  Anna added some polish.  That was really an impressive performance.  Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29.  Yeah, I thought there would be 10s on that. 

Andy and Sharna dance Paso Doble with Emma and Sasha.  Sasha had a great line about making Paso shapes with your arms...hold your arms so you wouldn't drop watermelons.  Andy came down the zip line, which was a strong entrance.  But that was the high point.  This style just didn't suit him.  It needed strength and power and presence, but he didn't bring any aggression to the movement at all.  I appreciate that he didn't play it for comedy.  I did like the story and I thought Sharna's choreography was excellent.  This was just the wrong style for Andy.  It was a good try, but it was also a miss.  Judges say 6s across for a total of 18.  Sharna looked so disappointed.  I hope she understands that she's doing a great job teaching and making dances for Andy.

Here's our leader board:

29 Zendaya and Val
27 Kellie and Derek
26 Jacoby and Karina
25 Aly and Mark
24 Sean and Peta
21 Victor and Lindsay
21 Ingo and Kym
18 DL and Cheryl
18 Andy and Sharna

Man.  I don't know how to choose between Aly, Zendaya, and Kellie.  For me, the three of them were head and shoulders above the pack this week.  We split votes again between the three of them.

It was a tough night to dance with such a terrible situation still playing out in Boston. 

You know the drill.  Tune in tonight for results and check back here tomorrow for my encores and results recap.

Peace gang.