Jazzhands

It's even odder when you read the fine print in the commercial -- Laurie Hernandez's dad is diabetic but doesn't even take the drug being advertised. I always liked her and am glad she's cashing in on some sweet endorsement money, but that makes no sense at all.

I read Kitty's "trip with a friend" as just an excuse to crash Shane's honeymoon, probably because my ex-MIL was planning to do the same thing until her husband stopped her. 😉

I think the body in the box is probably Kitty's. Kitty is so obsessed with Shane that I can't imagine her leaving Shane to fly home alone if Rachel either died or left him. I don't know if Rachel kills Kitty and is in a Hawaiian jail or just leaves Shane, but that's the only reason that would make sense to me to have Shane returning from his honeymoon alone without his wife or his honeymoon-crashing mother.

Fixed it for you. 😉

Am I the only one who stayed up until after 4:30 a.m. to watch the men's road race? It was totally worth it.

I'm probably alone in this opinion, but this should be Gina's third year at point. I think Rachel is gorgeous, but her dancing bores me. I'd have her in a prominent position but not at point.

This right here would be my choice for the triangle out of this group. Gina as sole point with Caroline and Ashlee flanking her, and Kelsey to complete the diamond.

Heck, I can do it just from watching the show. Seriously, though, you'd think that anyone who had been in training camp once and intended to return would have the dances they'd been taught down cold.

I always figured they created the "showmanship mentor" position for her at the request or direction of CMT because she'd had that show and also hosted or co-hosted some other reality contest type of show on CMT in addition to being known from the Bachelor franchise and DWTS. I don't know she's ever been any great shakes in the dance community, but I'd bet that she's more well known to the average CMT viewer than anyone else connected with the DCC. It seems to make sense from a cross-selling perspective for the network to try to bring in other viewers to this show if she's a known quantity to their regular viewers. I doubt they're worried about catering to the type of fans who are on this board because we're watching regardless and most of us probably aren't the target market for their advertisers. I know it's the only show I've ever watched on CMT.

I'm so happy for Lily, and I haven't understood either of her cuts. To me, she seemed completely solid as a dancer -- good technique, great kicks, no memory problems. I would have ranked her solidly on the team. There were at least a dozen I would've cut before her based on dance skills. And from everything I've read, she seemed like an excellent, well-liked, no-drama teammate. She's a beautiful girl and seems like a lovely person as well. I hope she's valued and appreciated in Denver and has a fantastic time there.

I think Kat qualifies as a "stunning looker." I'm not a fan of her dancing, and her over-the-top personality isn't my cup of tea, but I think she's one of the most beautiful girls they've ever had on the squad.

I think it's getting at least somewhat better than it used to be, though. At least I hope so. When I danced growing up a long, long time ago, we got weighed once a week beginning at age 8. Through high school, we got weighed before ballet class every day and were warned if we ever went more than 3 pounds over our allowed weight. I'm 5'10" and my set point was 117, so i was warned at 120. One of my friends who went to a top arts school on a dance scholarship died of a heart attack at age 19 due to a combination of anorexia and the cocaine she'd started snorting to keep weight off. She was 5'3" and probably around 100 pounds, and she was constantly called fat and told to drop weight. That kind of focus on weight really screws you up. I remember watching the episode when Colby's weight was discussed and thinking how practically skeletal she looked and then nearly falling out of my chair when I found out that she was my current weight. Every time I look in the mirror, I hear my ballet mistress telling me how thick I look through the middle. My feet are shot, my ankles ache, and my back hurts constantly. And yet ... I still miss it.

Lily's Season 13 "before" photo is my favorite. She looks young and fresh and relaxed. Her hair looks bouncy and her makeup looks good but not overdone. She looks like a beautiful 20-year-old cheerleader in the first picture, and a 40-year-old Real Housewife on a booze cruise in the second. That's not a slam on Lily -- that's a criticism of the DCC makeovers. I generally think that the makeovers make most of the ladies look like they've aged 10-15 years.

Thank you. There was discussion of this a while back and ironically, somebody decided to take issue with it again today as I am re-watching Fosse/Verdon. It’s the Cell Block Tango from Chicago, the second-longest running Broadway musical of all time, which won multiple Tonys and Oscars and was choreographed and directed by the legendary Bob Fosse. I’d hope that, if anything, Kelli and Judy would be impressed.

This sentence just gave me the laugh I needed today — thank you!

I think she’s on this show to build her own brand, not to find a husband.

Thank you for sharing this! I think Cici has gorgeous hair and she seems really sweet. I hope she comes back next year.

I have always thought it was more likely a CMT-driven decision, not a decision by K&J. After she was on The Bachelor and DWTS, Melissa was also involved with two other shows on CMT: Melissa & Tye (a reality show with her husband) and Redneck Island, which she co-hosted for a while. She was only a DCC for less than two seasons, and as far as I can recall wasn’t point, group leader, or on show group, so if K&J were picking a true showmanship mentor for the TCC from past DCC, I don’t think she would’ve even made the short list. But I think to the average viewer of the show, she’s the most famous person on it and that’s why she has a role on MTT.

I wish Tess would back away from the undereye concealer or highlighter or powder — whatever it is, the glare is blinding and you can see it from space. I also wish they’d left Armani’s and Marissa’s hair alone. I thought the hair they came in with was young, fun, spunky and fit their personalities. Now Armani blends in and Marissa looks like a middle-aged realtor. I did like Sidney’s curls, but it seems they’ve gone back to the standard DCC beach waves for her. I think Darian would look better with several inches cut off. She’s got a long, narrow face (as do I), and l think she’d look great with shoulder-length hair. As for the new blondes, I can’t tell most of them apart. It feels to me like they swapped out Lily and Brennan for a couple of new blondes, and Hannah for Claire. For whatever reason, it seems like they never really were sold on either Lily’s or Brennan’s looks. They seem to like to have a powerhouse, sexy redhead with great technique (Emma, Holly P, lately Hannah), and when Claire showed up, they didn’t need Hannah anymore, especially if she was questioning their judgment and actions about the farce of a “bubble.”

I felt so bad for Lily during that conversation. Firing people is awful, and I hate doing it. But you should never be so vague that the person isn’t sure whether you’re giving them performance counseling or firing them. That’s not compassionate, it’s cruel.

Was anyone else watching live? I wasn’t able to pause it or rewind to confirm, but when they showed the board near the end of the episode, I thought it showed Lily and Meredith as the only vets who were not in the top 36, but there was no discussion of Lily during the episode at all.

I’m tall with really long legs, and when I was on drill team in high school and college, I was always instructed to kick flat while the other girls were on releve because it made the kick heights more uniform. I’ve noticed Tess’s flat-footed kicks in the past and wondered if she might’ve been instructed similarly.

I think Chandi looks gorgeous.

Are you saying that Victoria fell off the touchdown deck three times? I didn’t watch the game and have only seen some clips posted on this site, but I didn’t see anyone fall off. God knows I’ve expressed plenty of complaints about DCC management decisions, but I can’t believe that they’d keep the girls dancing up there if it’s that dangerous.

I agree with this. Improving her core strength would significantly improve her dancing overall, especially in her preferred lyrical style. That said, I thought she looked good yesterday. There was one kick I noticed that wasn’t great, but I’ve also heard that those decks are really slippery and they’re not used to dancing on them, so she gets a pass from me on that. I didn’t realize immediately who it was, but I knew it was a veteran. I thought she looked strong, sharp, confident, and fun to watch — far better than the two rookies next to her and the brunette vet who was the next down the line. I thought she was a mess her first season trying out and improved enough to make the team last year but in the bottom half of the group, but I was impressed by the clips from the game that were posted here. She’s a tall, leggy East Texas blonde with big boobs and a big smile, and her dancing has noticeably improved. I can’t see her joining the Rockettes or walking the runways in Milan, but selling tons of sideline calendars and posters in her DCC uniform? Absolutely. She’s basically the DCC Barbie come to life.