LadyMustang65

Not showing any emotion in her dancing. This happened while standing at the judges' table. She didn't want to murder Mark; she looked at Len like she wanted to murder him. And while you seem to know quite a bit about ballroom dancing, I'm not buying that Mark put in a step they hadn't practiced. He's too much of a consummate professional to do that to her.

So I found a chart with all the dances they've done so far. There's been more variety than I thought but still some things seem a bit weird. Five out of the 8 couples dancing last night have done both contemporary and jazz, including Charli, and those were her specialties when she was competing. Shangela and Vinny had done jazz but not contemporary. Gabby strangely enough has not done either. Only Vinny and Daniel have done a paso doble. Charli, Heidi, and Gabby have done both the Tango and the Argentine Tango. The rest have done just the Tango. Vinny, Shangela, and Heidi didn't do a jive, Vinny also didn't do a foxtrot. Wayne hasn't done a rhumba, and Trevor hasn't done a cha cha. Only Shangela has done the Charleston, and aside from the dance marathon, that's the only "old-timey" dance anyone has done. Heidi and Vinny hadn't done a Quickstep. Wayne, Charli, Trevor, Shangela, and Daniel have not done a Viennese Waltz. There has been only one regular waltz done on the show this season, and that was Selma's last dance. Selma also did a Viennese waltz - the only one to dance both styles. Charli has had the top score 6 out of 8 weeks so far. One of the weeks she didn't have the top score was the week Selma had to leave the competition. Her waltz was top score, and I think that was deliberate as a nice way to send her off.

True. And they are sometimes mocked or criticized for it, too. Charli is not being singled out. Maybe I'm being unfair to Charli, but she lost any chance of making me care about her when Len mentioned her missing a step in the group dance, and she looked like she wanted to murder him and Mark had to jump in and pretend he was the one who messed up rather than "perfect Charli." That and her constantly being made the center of attention in her mother's packages and interviews just makes me think she's a spoiled brat used to be fawned over, and everyone around her caters to that. I would still like to see her be a shock elimination next week. Definitely don't want her to win. At this point, as much as I love Wayne Brady, I'm pulling for Shangela to win. Her technique is sloppy sometimes, but she just brings it every time she dances. Lights up a room in a way Charli certainly doesn't.

Accolades do not necessarily equate to world class. Her lines are beautiful, but you expect that from someone with the amount of training she's had. For many, myself included, her dancing is cold and precise with no real feeling, so while I can see that she is technically very strong, she's not particularly enjoyable to watch. Mark consistently pulls my attention away from her. I disagree with Len that she dances beyond her years. You watch the kids that compete on SYTYCD, and they're all really good technically and most are around Charli's age. But a lot of them lack the same thing Charli does - the ability to connect emotionally with the dances they're doing. Which is actually pretty understandable given that they don't have the depth of life experience to bring to the dances. So they do what Charli does - they parody what they think those emotions would feel like and how they would be expressed. Some are better than others are it. Charli is mostly not terribly good at that. It's true that not all contemporary dancers can make the transition to ballroom, but if you watch SYTYCD, we've seen that contemporary dancers pretty consistently handle the ballroom dances better than dancers trained in other styles. In fact, two contemporary dancers with no ballroom training previously went from SYTYCD to becoming pros on DWTS. Allison Hoelker and Koine (Koko). So Charli is not some special fluke. And yes, she's very talented, but definitely not a world class performer. It takes more than just technical excellence to be a world class performer. You need heart as well. Imho anyway. Your mileage may vary.

That would be my guess as well. At least my charitable guess. My uncharitable guess is she's addicted to the attention and praise and will do pretty much anything to feed that addiction. But since she seems to have this insatiable desire to be in the spotlight (her latest is that she thinks she wants a singing career like her sister), she needs to keep growing her audience. Judging from how many people seem to dislike her (or at best just not care one way or the other), I'm not sure how successful this will turn out to be for her. Bold of you to assume that she wouldn't have won even if she fell! <lol>

That's not true. Charli was very successful in dance competitions and won many prestigious events. After one such event, one of the judges said that Charli, out of all the dancers IN THE WORLD, was the one most likely to have a career as a professional dancer. She only stopped competing when she took off on TikTok and was raking in half a million dollars a year from the platform with her dancing. In other words, she turned pro. That's what you call someone who gets paid to do something for a living. And let's face it, getting beaucoup bucks from TikTok is easier and much more lucrative than a traditional career as a dancer. From TikTok, she now has a clothing line with her sister, a perfume, and a reality tv show starring her whole family. All of which has given her an estimated net worth at the ripe old age of 18 of $20 million. Why would she give that up?

If Charli said it, she'd get dragged because she's not a world class performer. She's a highly trained competitive dancer. Wayne is so much more than "running around hosting game shows." He's a singer, he's performed on Broadway, he's acted in many movies and tv shows, he is also a voice actor for animated films, he hosts game shows, and he's a great comedic talent. On Who's Line Is It Anyway, it's all improv. There's a regular bit where he has to not only make up a song about some ridiculous topic on the spot, but he then has to sing it in a specific style or impersonate a certain singer. And he does it week after week, year after year. And he's been doing it for decades. That's what it means to be a world class performer. He can do it all, and he's got the bona fides to prove it. I didn't feel any arrogance coming from him when he said it. It was just a statement of fact. Just my humble opinion anyway.

I am beyond happy that Vinny and Heidi are gone. Vinny tried, but he just was never going to be a dancer, and he'd already knocked off some better people. Heidi has some moves, but I have never been able to warm up to her. I fully expect Trevor and Daniel to be the ones to leave next week, but I would love to be wrong about that. Actually would love to see Charli be a shock boot. I know Charli has the technique, but I cannot connect with her. All of her dances come across to me as cold and calculated rather than expressing any real emotion. She has these stock "faces" that are supposed to portray the emotion without actually having to feel it because she's focused on being technically perfect. As a result, I find I have to work to actually watch her rather than just watching Mark. Even with the Argentine Tango, which I usually adore, I just wasn't moved by it. It didn't make me gasp or smile or go wow or anything. Just yup, she's got the steps down pat. And I honestly would have given the relay to Gabby. I agreed with the first three, but once again Charli was technically better but just didn't bring any feelings with it while I enjoyed watching Gabby dance, even though she's not as good. I really like Wayne Brady, and I don't find him arrogant at all. His comment about being a world class performer was the statement of someone who is confident and knows his worth. It was a statement of fact. The guy has been on Broadway, sings, has great comedic talent and can make up songs on the spot about weird subjects and sing in different styles. He is a world class performer, as in being able to put on a show. Honestly, I'll take that over the humble brag types who always come across as so phony to me. Wayne owns his talent, but he still comes across to me as a very down-to-earth type guy who would be a blast to hang out with. I honestly think Trevor and Daniel will go home next week, but would be very happy to see either or both in the finals as long as they don't knock out Shangela. My goodness she brings the fun! I would be happy with a Wayne win, but I would be ecstatic if Shangela won. But I expect it will be Charli who wins. Yawn! I am so over the judges all pretending to be so amazed at how good she is. A competition judge told Charli that out of all the dancers IN THE WORLD she had the best chance of becoming a professional dancer, and then Derek has her do a ballroom routine with him on one of his tv specials. It is not even the least bit surprising or interesting that she is technically good. She's a darn professional! Ugh. I get the idea of having some "ringers" in the group to ensure an entertaining show, but there are ringers and then there are RINGERS. Charli is solidly in the RINGERS category. If we're going to go that route, why not make a deal with SYTYCD to have their winner come on the next season of DWTS. That would be totally fair to the other contestants, right? So, is it me or is the dance selection funky this season? I haven't had the energy to try to find everyone's dances, but my perception is that every couple on the show has done both contemporary and jazz, but I can only remember one couple doing a paso doble. I only remember maybe a couple of waltzes, but I don't think anyone has done a Viennese Waltz this season. And only a couple of the pairings have done Quikstep and Jive. It seems like almost everyone has done a cha cha and maybe a foxtrot. I don't know but it just seems to me that there was more variety in previous seasons with almost every couple doing Quickstep, Jive, Cha Cha, Rhumba, Foxtrot, Paso or Tango (either style but not both as Charli did), and either Contemporary or Jive, but not both. Or am I just misremembering?

I'm not so sure that holds up since they are always careful to say when it gets down to three couples left that all those couples are not necessarily at the bottom. So I think calling Charli safe last was just an attempt to build suspense, which of course didn't work because until Charli is actually called in the bottom two, you won't convince anyone that she's really 3rd in the popular vote. I think they're keeping Heidi around because they always love their "faux" competitions. Remember Carlos and Alexa Pena Vega? And Nick and Vanessa Lachey? It's their second favorite tactic after showmances to try to drum up some drama.

I just found out a group called District 78 did a cover of the song, and that's the version DWTS used tonight. Listening to their version, I liked it much better. Still love Ed's original - I have it on my ipod and will play it multiple times before moving on - but this version was better for the Halloween theme. It's just that their band isn't that great at times.

Once more, I am begging people to stop voting for Vinny! It was so obvious in the group dance how far behind the others he is in skill and growth. And so Jordin, who has been improving and doing really well, gets sent home while we are stuck with Vinny yet again. If he ends up in the finals, it will be a joke. Jordin - I hated this song choice, and the dance was a bit awkward in a couple of places, but she's been improving and is doing quite well. She should not have gone home tonight. Charli - Mark's choreography was at its best in this dance. It was awesome! But I couldn't help wishing he were dancing it with someone else who could really bring it to life. Charli is technically great, but I just don't "feel" anything when she dances. And that's a dance that should have made people feel. <sigh> Daniel - I thought he did really well for having missed a day of training. I think paso is one of those dances that's really hard for the male celebrities. A lot of them don't do it well. Daniel acquitted himself nicely here. Shangela - This was phenomenal! I did not think Gleb had that kind of choreography in him. He's like a whole different pro paired with Shangela. I really want her to make it to the finals. She's just so much fun to watch. Definitely deserved that perfect score. Vinny - Nope. Just nope. I get that he's trying, but he just doesn't have it in him. He should have gone a couple of weeks ago, and there's no excuse for him to still be there. Heidi - This was great choreography by Artem, and she danced it well. But she has the same problem her daughter does - she doesn't make me feel anything. Gabby - I thought this was good, but I wouldn't have given it any 10s. She did seem to suffer just a bit from having had to change partners. Or maybe I'm just grumpy because I love that song, and I hated what they did to it. Wayne - Great comeback after last week. This was really good, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Trevor - Oh my God!! That was such a wonderful, emotional dance. Great choreography by Emma, and Trevor handled it so well. It was like watching a totally different dancer out there. It could have been better technically, but the heart with which he danced more than made up for any deficiencies. That dance made me feel. Team Wicked - This was a fun dance, but it showed so clearly how far behind the others Vinny is as a dancer. They all seemed to go for lifts in their solos with greater and lesser degrees of success. Team Scream - Really enjoyed this dance, and I liked the variety in the solos - more dancing with few big lifts. I also liked the choreography going on around the solo dancers. Both dances were fun, but I agreed with the judges that this was the better one. As soon as I realized Heidi was in the bottom two again, I told my husband I expected they would save her so they could keep going with the ridiculous mother-daughter "rivalry" crap. Jordin earned another week.

I have a vague recollection of one season where production had to change the music for a contestant because she absolutely hated the song and refused to dance to it. Wish I could remember more of the details so I could be sure I didn't imagine it. I could be wrong, but I have always thought that James perhaps asked to be let go because his wife had just suffered a miscarriage. It was a really hard time for the family, and I think he wanted to be with his wife, and the show would have taken too much of his time. I was sad to see him go; I was really enjoying him. But I remember thinking he looked relieved to be going home. Pure speculation on my part, so I freely admit I could be wrong. I do believe they saved Heidi last week because they want to keep the faux mother-daughter competition going as long as they can.

WTF was going on tonight? Scores were all over the place! First off, whoever is voting for Vinny, for the love of God, please stop! He's the worst dancer left, and it's obvious. Thankfully, Jessie, who is the second worst dancer left, went home tonight instead of Trevor, but Vinny is going to start knocking off some much better dancers if they keep voting for him like that. It seems like he's really trying, but he's just not getting any better. Let him go home already! Shangela is such a joy to watch, and her dance tonight was really good. I was happy with her scores initially, but after seeing the scores of some of the others, she was underscored. Trevor did a lovely job, I thought. He's still not top tier, but he should be more solidly in the middle of the pack, but the judges (mostly) just don't want to use anything more than a 8 paddle for him. So glad they saved him; he deserved the save. But if they keep underscoring him, they're not going to keep saving him. Charli was good. Of course, she was good. And her pathetic little attempts to make it seem like it was "hard" for her tonight were laughable and insulting to the non-highly-trained professional dancers in the group for whom learning this stuff actually is hard. I love Wayne Brady and think he's been doing a phenomenal job so far. But this was not good. Not surprising given that he was sick, and they only had a few days to learn the routine. Quickstep is hard. But his scores were way too high. All 8s would have sufficed, and much as I also love Michael Buble, his 10 was absurd. Daniel struggled, and his scores were fair. Heidi and Gabby were not great tonight (imho), and they were also among the overscored. I thought Jordin did a lovely job. I find that I'm liking her a lot. Jessie is trying, but if it couldn't be Vinny going home tonight, it was right that it was her. I feel like I'm forgetting someone, but I can't think who. I loved Michael's new song, and the dance number accompanying it was fabulous! Imho, what they should have done this week was have Michael sing every song instead of judge. He's a very personable guy, but he had no business scoring the dances. Would much rather have heard him sing more. So there are 9 dancers left, and they're bringing back the team dances? So are we having 3 teams of 3 each or one team of 4 and one team of 5?

From something Mark said, I got the distinct impression the only reason he agreed to come back was because he was guaranteed to get Charli. Louis was probably not so hard to get.

I don't even know what to say about tonight's show. Jessie is one of the, if not the, worst dancer left, but she wins the dance marathon? They really wanted her to stay, I guess, and God knows she desperately needed the points. Pfftt! It seems like almost everyone was either overscored or underscored (imho, of course) tonight. Carrie Anne and Derek were right about Charli tonight. She was off in that jive. Didn't deserve any 10s. I didn't think Gabby's tango deserved all 10s, but I guess they had to make it seem as if this is somehow actually a competition. I loved Wayne's samba, and I thought he did deserve all 10s. I like Trevor and thought his jive was a lot of fun. Judges seem to forget they have paddles other than 8s when it comes to him, though. They made up for it a bit by keeping him in the marathon longer. I hope that next week he gets something more flowing like a waltz or fox trot. I think that style would suit him better, and maybe then he'd catch a break from the judges. Shangela was on fire, and she and Wayne were hands down (for me anyway) the standouts of the night. Jordin did a lovely job as well. I thought Joseph's dance was one of his weaker ones, but even without that, I think we could have called that the judges would save Heidi tonight so they can keep up the faux mother-daughter "competition" angle for a while longer. Vinny and Daniel didn't have their best nights tonight either. This was just a very strange night over all for me, and I couldn't help but notice that even with all their shenanigans with scoring and eliminations, they couldn't keep Charli out of sole possession of first place. I'd be shocked if there is ever a week she is anything less than tied at the top of the leaderboard. I love Michael Buble, so here's looking forward to next week!

I am expecting she will receive a perfect 40 tonight and win the dance marathon. I don't know if that was the best ever, but it was fantastic, and for me anyway there was way more "spark" between Emmett and Cheryl than between Joseph and can't remember who he's dancing with. <lol> Sorry, I'm drawing a complete blank. Anyway, I think that may be what bothered me about his rhumba last night. I just didn't get any of that "steaminess" you should get in a good rhumba. He was doing the steps and the moves, but I wasn't really feeling it. Now Emmett and Cheryl just sizzled! Thanks for that blast from the past!

Well, I called it Week One - Charli would get the first 10. Now that we're at the halfway mark, they are comfortable separating her out from the pack. They probably would have given her all 10s tonight except they knew Selma was leaving and had pre-arranged that honor for her since it was performatory rather than actually counting. I know I'm going to hell for ragging on a teenager but I just couldn't listen to her talk about her anxiety. She deliberately puts herself in positions for people to judge her and then complains that she has anxiety. Well then stop dancing on TikTok and putting your whole family on reality tv. That's all voluntary, and the trolls come with it. You want the money and the fame and to be an "empire," then don't ask people to feel sorry for you. Ugh. Anyway, Mark's choreography was amazing, and his makeup was incredible. Charli danced it well - big shock not - but I just don't feel anything watching her. My eyes are drawn to Mark always. I thought Trevor did a good job. Jazz and contemporary don't seem to play to his strengths, but he acquitted himself well, and I'm glad he'll be around at least one more week. I'm enjoying watching him learn and grow. Shangela was terrific, and boy does she bring out the best in Gleb. Maybe because there's no need to try for a showmance or anything, so Gleb can just relax and not try so hard. But they've been a great pairing, and this was a lovely dance. I don't know why but Joseph just doesn't grab me. I can't really warm up to him. He seemed to handle the dance pretty well, but there's just something off for me, and I honestly don't know what it is. Jessie is okay, but I won't be sad when she leaves. I am really enjoying Jordin, though. Her dance was fun, and I hope she's around a while. Gabby, Heidi, Daniel were all good but not great for me tonight. Vinny is another one I still can't seem to warm up to. Will be fine with him leaving. Wayne did a really lovely job tonight. That was really nice. And Selma's waltz was beautiful. I'm sorry to see her go, but it's good that she was keeping tabs on herself and was able to stop before she really hurt herself. There's no shame in putting your health first (looking at you celebs who get hurt and insist on continuing at the risk of further serious injury). Giving her a perfect score was a nice farewell touch. It certainly sounds like it will be. There's another theme of Prom Night and a dance marathon. There's still a lot of celebs left; it's hard to imagine they could get through them all in just an hour.

It's funny how different people see things. I can't really remember a single thing about that dance. I know Charli danced it well because she always does. She's a highly trained dancer and this is one of the styles she competed in, so it would be surprising if she didn't dance it well. I might actually have remembered something about it if she hadn't. But it didn't connect with me at all, and aside from her blue hair, I seriously can't remember one single thing about it.

I was sorry to see Sam go. I was really enjoying him. I was hoping either Vinny or Joseph would go tonight. I wasn't crazy about either of their dances. Daniella is going lift crazy with Joseph, and while he has the strength to do them, he doesn't have the finesse, so they often end up looking awkward. I'm not really warming up to either of them. Trevor should not have been in the bottom 2. I thought he did a nice job and better than Vinny, for sure. Maybe I'm a bit biased because Trevor is one of my favorite Hallmark leading men. And for someone with no prior dance experience, he's doing really well. Selma was wonderful. Sasha is doing such a good job with her. Charli, for all her precision, leaves me cold. I prefer her mom to her, but I'm not a big fan of her mom either, although I do like Artem. Shangela's greatest achievement may be making Gleb likable, but her dancing is so much fun to watch as well. I thought something was off with Gabby's dance tonight. Some of her movements seemed awkward like maybe her pants were too tight? I am amazed at how well Daniel is doing, but I didn't think this was one of his better dances. Jordin did a lovely job tonight. Glad she's staying around. Wayne is one of my favorites. I want him to be there at the end. Jessie did a nice job, too, but the best thing was Alan's makeup job. That was spectacular! I know they said next week there are shows on Monday and Tuesday, but do we know if Tuesday's show will be a full 2 hours or an abbreviated 1 hour like they sometimes did in the past when there were shows on 2 nights?

Amen! I have always hated Gleb. Found him very smarmy and not particularly inspired as a choreographer. Who knew a drag queen could make me like him!!! But I do. I really do. And I would be ecstatic to see them win this thing.

I may have heard wrong, but I would swear I heard Mark say the first week that he came back to the show because he was promised Charli. So he knew he would be getting the ringeriest ringer to ever ringer on this show, it would be an easy gig to teach her, and he could safely indulge his more creative side because she'd be able to handle it.

Although I'm not a huge Elvis fan, I thought tonight's show was quite enjoyable. And I learned something new! I had no idea Elvis had done a version of You Were Always On My Mind. To me that's a Willie Nelson song. But Elvis had the first hit version of it. Completely blew my mind. So glad Theresa was let go tonight. Thank you, Len! Trevor Donovan did a great job with the rumba! Good for him! Shangela is such a great performer, and I can't believe she's making me like Gleb a bit. Who knew? Wayne Brady is one of my favorites. Witney is doing a really nice job with him. Daniel continues to impress. I'm glad Sam will stick around a bit longer. Much as I love Artem, Heidi is preferable to her daughter for me but just kind of meh. No interest in Charli, and I wasn't really impressed by her dancing tonight. And she has no real personality. At least not that's come out yet anyway. Selma did a really nice job tonight. The cartwheel and split made me very nervous. But good for her! Cheryl seemed totally lost in that tango - like she really needed a few more days of rehearsal. But she got through it. Don't care for Vinny or Joseph, but I give Joseph props for having to perform with a new partner. That has to be hard for a non-dancer to adjust to. Gabby doesn't interest me either. Jessie got some votes from me tonight. She's not great, but she seems to be trying. Same with Jordin but even more so. I'd like to see her stick around a while longer. I'm interested in seeing the Bond theme next week. They could have some real fun with that. Tyra continues to suck at her job. Couldn't believe she sent Trevor and Emma off before Len had a chance to weigh in. Get a grip, girl. Remember, you're there as the host, not as the star.

That opinion is not unpopular with me! I absolutely agree. It's one thing for a contestant to have some background in dance, but she is way beyond that. Cross trained, competed for over a decade, danced with Derek Hough in a ballroom routine on one of his specials, dances and choreographs on TikTok. That's not just "some experience" or has "a background." That's she gets paid to dance and so is actually a pro territory.

Am I the only one who doesn't like the character of Lucy? Hopefully the weeks she'll be gone will equal at least the number of episodes we don't see her in, if not more. I don't think we really need a female Buck at the station, and that's how she strikes me.

The daughter may well be the ringeriest ringer that ever ringered on this show. Even more so than JoJo Siwa, and that's saying a lot. Charli trained at a top dance academy in a variety of different styles including jazz and contemporary and competed for more than a decade. After one very prestigious competition where she won highest score for her contemporary piece, which she apparently also choreographed or mostly choreographed, one judge said, and this is a quote: “You have the most potential in the entire world for a professional career in dance.” Mark even mentioned that he came back to the show only because he was going to be paired with her. The whole thing leaves me cold. Her dancing is excellent - quelle surprise! Not - but she didn't really seem to have much personality. JoJo was (for me anyway) quite likeable. Anyway, between her practically being a professional and her legion of TikTok fans, she'll be in the final 3 for sure. And I'm not sure there's any way at all she doesn't walk away with the mirror ball. If her fans vote, she's unbeatable. Shangela was a revelation. Anyone who can make Gleb seem okay is a miracle worker! Love her energy and her performance. I would love to see her in the final. Wayne Brady and Jordin Sparks were both very good, I thought, with a lot of potential to be great. As a Hallmarkie, I love Trevor Donovan. From the intro package, I was expecting a train wreck, but he did surprisingly well, and I really want to see him stay around a while. He's the essence of the original concept of DWTS - stars with no dance background learning to dance. I think this is shaping up to be a great season. Out of 16 couples, there were only a very few that were awful. Vinny and Teresa were the two worst, I thought. And I wasn't terribly impressed with Arnold's son or the one who got booted off last night either. But I thought both of them were still better than Vinny and Teresa. And I honestly have trouble looking at Teresa. Looks like she had some bad work done or something. Overall, it was a really good night. I loved no commercials. Wasn't terribly happy that, for whatever reason, even though we tuned in a few minutes before 8, we didn't see the opening number. It just kept saying the show would start at 8, and it finally kicked off about 8:09 with Tyra walking in. Alfonso was a nice addition. Is it just me or does Len look really old now?