It's Monday and you know what time it is...
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 by Travis Cody inHang on a minute.
While making my rounds, I cruised by Everything and Nothing. Akelamalu has one of those music jukeboxes in her sidebar with some great music on it. I couldn't get this one out of my head...the great Mr Johnny Nash.
Nice!
And now let's cue that theme music because it's live from Hollywood!
You have no idea how much that theme music makes me smile!
We have a big night of competition. Each couple will dance their own routine in a style they have not yet danced, and then join the group in a rousing country group dance with lifts and spins and all kinds of wackiness.
But first...
Jason and Edyta dance Cha Cha Cha. He danced that like your average guy at a club. It was cheeky and fun, but we didn't think it was up to standard for the ballroom. They had all the Cha Cha Cha content and performed well. But his musicality wasn't great, although he is still an effective partner in hold with Edyta. It's just that out of hold he was awkward. She gave him difficult choreography and his footwork wasn't as good as in the past. Although, we did enjoy the performance. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. I think there was some credit for his partnering skills.
Shannon and Derek dance Rumba. When she can slow down and make use of her length and those amazing LEGS LEGS LEGS LEGS, she does very well. Derek was able to cover quite a bit of her awkwardness. We thought they performed the character of the dance very well. She was better than last week, but she still had trouble with the missing hip action again. And there were a few problems with extentions and footwork. We enjoyed the dance, but it wasn't really good enough for this stage of the competition. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. No, I'm sorry but we didn't think that was equal with Jason's Cha Cha Cha.
Marlee and Fabian dance Mambo. Fabian is a former World Mambo Champion. A few inspirational words from Henry Winkler, and away we go! There's always a lot of pressure on the celebrity when they dance the pro's best dance. Fabian really slowed this down for her, but she struggled quite a bit with footwork, musicality, and timing. That was a tough dance for her and unfortunately she didn't quite get it. Rats. She's had two tough weeks with dance styles that are tied so intensely to the music. She's been so inspiring, but you can really see in her body language that she just wants to dance well despite being deaf. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. That's generous. They could have gone lower.
Cristian and Cheryl dance Foxtrot. Pam says the HAWTness meter went off the charts with Cristian rehearsing in the swimming pool. Too bad he looked like a wax figure when he danced. OW!! Sorry...I just got thwacked for that comment. But he was incredibly stiff and looked very awkward. Pam does agree with me on that. Len thinks it was Cristian's best dance. Well, we don't know what the judges liked about it because we didn't think it was very good. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27. We're not seeing that. We might need to watch that one again.
Marissa and Tony dance Viennese Waltz. How does one portray class, elegance, and romance when dancing a Waltz to Delilah? Sheesh! This has got to be the all time worst music selection. But I must say that Marissa was elegant, classy, and beautiful during the dance. She was smooth and kept her character all the way through. That was really wonderful. There was a bit of a stumble at the end with the final move. That was probably a mistake to put that in the choreography. Without that stumble, that dance could get 10s. It was still her best dance by far. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26. Come on Len! That should have been 9's across.
Kristi and Mark dance Jive. Damn that was good! Hokey smokes! The choreography was super difficult. It had a story and character. It was energetic and fast and fun. It was a perfect Jive. Just tremendous. It had everything you could want in a dance. The kicks and flips were crisp. And they performed it beautifully. There's nothing to pick apart about that dance. And we have run out of adjectives. Judges say 10's across for the season's first perfect 30. Yup!
Mario and Karina dance Rumba. That was really good. Very sultry and sexy, just like a Rumba should be. Last week was his best dance, but this one surpassed that. Len called it too raunchy, but it was the way Mark described it last week...a vertical expression of a horizontal desire. We thought the dance stayed on the sensual side of the line and did not cross over into raunch. There was a lift, which will knock the score down. Judges say 9,9,10 for a total of 28. Bruno decided to ignore the lift.
Now the country group dance gets no scores from the judges. It's fun for the dancers and fun for the fans. This dance is choreographed by Christian Perry. That was crazy wild! We didn't think it was as good as group dances from the past, but it was still lots of fun.
Here's the leader board after tonight's dances:
30 Kristi & Mark
29 Mario & Karina
27 Cristian & Cheryl
26 Marissa & Tony
24 Jason & Edyta
24 Shannon & Derek
21 Marlee & Fabian
My votes went to Kristi this week. I also threw a few to Marlee because I'd like her to be able to have one more chance at a style she can perform well. Pam went for Jason, with a few votes to Marlee.
We'll see more ballroom kids on the results show, plus Ashley Simpson and a performance from Riverdance.
Later babies!
I missed a couple due to 'things' so thanks as always for your wonderful recap.
Encore for me would be Mario And Karina--YUM.
My voting finger is still in retirement but we'll see when next week rolls around.
I snatched the meme ;-)