RomanKat

I've also been watching MQB this season. For those who don't, the pro roster this season includes six alums from DWTS, SCD, SYTYCD: Jonathan Platero, Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero, Sofia Ghavami, Allen Genkin, Gennesy Castillo, and Marcquet Hill. This was a "second chance" season, with former non-winners of MQB and various other Spanish celebrity dance competition shows. (No one super famous, but as a fantastical aside, imagine a DWTS season with the likes of Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Trevor Noah, etc.. Make it for charity, and you could add a SYTYCD ringer like Ariana DeBose.) The finals are set for this Sunday at 7 pm on Univision, should anyone new want to check it out. The three finalists are solid, but it's unfortunate that a very strong contender had to withdraw with an injury.

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Mira Quién Baila Season 10 has ended. I was very happy with the winner and runner-up. Both María and Ana are fantastic dancers, but María was a little better. I would have preferred 4th place Miguel over 3rd place Jorge in the Finale. Interestingly, Jorge chose to perform Miguel's week 4 jive for the "I can do it better" Finale round, but the judges decided 2-to-1 that Miguel's was better. Ana & María each won their round, and all participants were good sports about the "I can do it better" challenge. Here's María's 2nd round freestyle: Following are the Season 10 MQB results. Boldface indicates judges' weekly choice for Best of the Night: 1st - María León - Mexico - Singer & Actress - Previously won Mexican version of Masked Singer Wk1 Salsa - Wk1 Samba - Wk2 Mexican - Wk3 Foxtrot - Wk4 Contemporary - Wk5 Mambo - Wk5 Charleston - Wk6 Bachata - Wk6 Freestyle 2nd - Ana Isabelle - Puerto Rico - Singer & Actress - "Rosalía" in Spielberg's West Side Story Wk1 Urban - Wk1 Bachata - Wk2 Disco - Wk3 Tango - Wk4 Boogaloo - Wk5 Jive - Wk5 Foxtrot - Wk6 Cha Cha - Wk6 Contemporary 3rd - Jorge Anzaldo - Mexico - YouTube Star - Trained in musical theater Wk1 Urban - Wk2 Tango - Wk3 Quickstep - Wk4 Freestyle - Wk5 Waltz - Wk5 Contemporary - Wk6 Jive - Wk6 Samba 4th - Miguel Martínez - Mexico - Actor & Singer - Has been in telenovelas since childhood Wk1 Cumbia - Wk2 Waltz - Wk3 Urban - Wk3 Salsa - Wk4 Jive - Wk5 Paso Doble - Wk5 Bhangra ----------------------------------------------- 5th - Ferdinando Valencia - Mexico - Actor - Married to 6th Place Brenda - Wk3 Mambo was pro Karen's only dance 6th - Brenda Kellerman - Costa Rica - Actress & Host - Wk2 Contemporary dedicated to twin son lost in infancy 7th - Michelle González - Mexico - Actress - Wk1 Cha Cha won "best of night", then surprise 2nd elimination 8th - Gabriel Coronel - Venezuela - Actor & Singer - Injured in Wk 1 rehearsals, then reinjured in Wk2 Jive

The Latin American version, Mira Quién Baila, takes place in Miami and airs on Univision. My heritage is South American, so I don't always understand North American Spanish, but I'm enjoying MQB nonetheless. This season has high dance and production levels. Other seasons, I'd forget about it before catching up a bit on YouTube. This season, I've re-watched MQB dances more than DWTS dances, partly because YouTube is more convenient than streamers. There's also a feel-good aspect of celebrities competing for charity that offsets ringer concerns, imho. Presently, I'd rather write on MQB than DWTS. (Hence this post.) The current cast includes pros largely recognizable to DWTS/SYTYCD/WOD/SCD viewers. Here's a bilingual MQB segment and performance featuring the pros: While there may not be general interest in MQB among DWTS fans, there may be interest in recognizable pros. Below is a summary of their Season 10 work. Linked videos are from Univision's official MQB playlist on YouTube. Note that pros and stars are paired weekly, based on dance style. Also, the titular "All-Star" is to indicate celebrity participation, not returning stars. Jonathan Platero (SYTYCD S5 Top 20) Wk 1 Cha Cha - Wk 2 Disco - Wk 3 Foxtrot - Wk 4 Contemporary - Wk 5 Charleston - Wk 6 Cha Cha - Wk 6 Contemporary Oksana Platero (nee Dmytrenko; DWTS S12-16 troupe; SCD S14 pro) Wk 1 Waltz - Wk 2 Tango - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Rhumba - Wk 6 Samba Sofia Ghavami (SYTYCD S16 Top 20; DWTS S30 troupe) Wk 2 Waltz - Wk 4 Freestyle - Wk 5 Paso Doble Genessy Castillo (SYTYCD S15 3rd Place) Wk 1 Urban - Wk 3 Urban - Wk 5 Bhangra Ashley Sanchez (SYTYCD S16 Top 20) Wk 1 Tango - Wk 2 Jive (interrupted, star injured) - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Jive - Wk 6 Jive Allen Genkin (SYTYCD S15 Top 20) Wk 1 Tango - Wk 1 Samba - Wk 3 Viennese Waltz - Wk 4 Disco - Wk 5 Jive - Wk 5 Foxtrot Ricardo Vega (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Karen) Wk 1 Salsa - Wk 2 Salsa - Wk 3 Tango - Wk 4 Boogaloo - Wk 5 Mambo Karen Forcano (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Ricardo) Wk 1 Salsa (cancelled, star injured) - Wk 3 Mambo

I suspect Mark, with his history of "shocking eliminations" on DWTS, returned in part because the judges now decide eliminations. WRT mirrorball trophies at this point in his career, he'd probably prefer Emmy nominations and trophies. The game plan to eliminate Vinny this week appeared to be: Concede that Heidi and Trevor will finish bottom 3 after having twice been bottom 2. Down-score Vinny as much as possible. Up-score the remaining celebrities. I didn't think any of the performances deserved 10's this week, except maybe Charli based solely on technical merit. Daniel got some extra help between jazz (an invitation to upscore along with contemporary) and the sob story. As for the silent part of the routine, it was also done on SCD by last year's winner, a deaf actress. Video link: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice dance Couple's Choice - BBC Strictly 2021 While there's always been an anti-ringer bias on this forum, I feel like there was a bit more balance between anti- and pro-ringer opinions during past seasons. Maybe that's a segment of forum participation that we lost in the move to Disney+. <shrug> This made me go back to re-watch her reaction. I saw some teenage awkwardness with an attempt at humor, but I didn't see murderous intent, lol. Is it possible that you were thrown by the "possessed" cosmetic contact lenses she was wearing that night? As others have noted, social media stars have not done particularly well with voters in the past. At this point, she is likely making the finals. Even if she lands in the bottom 3, the judges likely advance her over anyone else. Assuming the same double elimination process of the past 3 seasons, the only way she's eliminated is if she's at the very bottom. I'm OK with that, and with Mark getting more tries at Emmy-worthy choreography. Charli's technique is worth watching, even if expected from a trained dancer and even if the performance skill falls short. However, I don't expect her to win. Even at the start of the season, Wayne Brady seemed the most likely DWTS fan favorite, while Gabby had the most proven DWTS fanbase. I'm hoping Shangela makes the final. She's been consistently entertaining, and is the most unique remaining star wrt DWTS history. So true. :-) Both Wayne and Trevor have been affected by injuries, as well. And while Trevor is only 44, that's still relatively "old" for DWTS. Over 40's tend to hit a wall as the show moves to two performances a week, so both have acquitted themselves well. On that note, I'd like to give Heidi some appreciation. She had the same insecurities and difficulty connecting to the audience that other over-40 females have had on the show. But she did well for a 50-year-old woman on DWTS, and should feel proud of her effort.

Late reply, but I suspect the simplest explanation for no group costumes would be budget cuts. It was rumored that moving to Disney+ would entail a smaller production budget, including reduced pros' salaries. Not sure whether that was ever confirmed, however. This is how Alexis became the first SYTYCD ballroom winner. The current system of voting during the live show--to determine that night's elimination--was implemented by the previous showrunner. The past 2(?) seasons, West Coast viewers were upset that the voting window would close before the show even aired on their local ABC stations. They either had to vote blind, or not vote at all. At least now, West Coast viewers can live stream Disney+ during the voting window, which is probably why Conrad Green opted not to revert to the older system. Agreed that voting feels rushed now, but that's due to the lack of commercials, imho. It's based on percentage. The percentage of judges score is added to the percentage of viewer votes. e.g. If dancer A receives 20% of the judges' scoring points and 30% of the viewer votes, then their tally is 50. If dancer B receives 10% of the judges' points and 15% of the viewer vote, then their tally is 25. The higher tally is the better result. Brandon has an "old soul" personality, imho. I've enjoyed his partnerships with stars like Mary Wilson and Kenya Moore, because their energies match better. Jordin still has a youthful energy, and a winning personality as evidenced by her AI title. Although Brandon is a little younger, this was a mismatch imho. Don't know why they dropped Keo, but he might have matched Jordin's personality better. Of the current tall pros, only Alan (or maybe a reformed Gleb?) brings younger energy, although Ezra from the troupe might become an option for youthful tall stars.

We'll likely find out in next week's press release, or possibly during Monday night's show. Previously there have been 3-4 pairs in the finals. This season matched their largest ever field of 16 pairs, however, so they could justify 5 pairs.

I imagine a commercial-friendly name was also part of it. The Kiki connection was something I surmised from following Koine's Instagram post-SYTYCD, where the two had some fun with their nicknames. At the time, she couldn't know where ballroom would take her. She and Kiki were just looking for opportunities to work together while she also pursued a solo career. She's been successful booking shows, tours, and convention circuit as both a solo and duo artist, so the "Koko" moniker has served her well. ETA: It occurred to me to check Youtube video of her most recent SYTYCD appearance after posting the above. She was credited onscreen as "Koine" while an all-star this past summer. Don't know if that's connected to her SYTYCD contract, or her solo versus duo/ballroom work, or DWTS producers preferring "Koko" for reasons you've suggested, or something else entirely. e.g. She worked on the last DWTS tour with Kiki, so maybe the producers got to know her as Koko. It appears that both names are still in play, however. Apologies for the confusion.

LOL. She started dating Kiki Nyemchek after SYTYCD. That was a big reason for her taking up ballroom. Their matching "Kiki + Koko" nicknames was also part of the professional name change.

I wrote the following comments during last season's DWTS tour in a now deleted post: Interestingly, Koine Iwasaka of SYTYCD was part of the most recent DWTS tour cast. Apparently, they've decided that casting non-ballroom dancers is warranted for the sake of diversity. At least Koine has a more deliberate route than Tyne, Allison, or Britt. She started ballroom training much younger at age 20. She's had 4+ years of training and teaching prior to joining the DWTS family. And at 25, she has time to further develop ballroom skills. (Comparable to Hayley's background, save for Hayley committing to ballroom after joining DWTS.) I'll admit to curiosity about Koine's ballroom transition, whether or not she stays with DWTS. Koko has potential as a ballroom pro, but it would make sense imho to start her as troupe. She's young enough for 2-3 troupe seasons before partnering celebs, so I'm guessing TPTB are rushing preparations for Cheryl's eventual exit. At least with Vinnie, Koko has a non-contending celebrity who just wants to have fun.

It was a Hustle marathon. Imho, it was a tactical error for Daniel to start off with mostly freestyle disco moves instead of basic Hustle steps. With basic Hustle, he would have had more visual cues from facing his partner and he would have physical cues from the push / pull action inherent in Hustle partnering.

The sense of rhythm doesn't require hearing every note nor feeling every vibration. It's akin to having an internal metronome. As long as you start off in the right rhythm--and don't get thrown by nerves, adrenaline, stumbles, sudden music changes, etc.--then you should be OK. This was true for Marlee Matlin who had strong sense of rhythm, and less true for Nyle who had less internal rhythm, imho. Daniel appears to have a great sense of rhythm. He (and Marlee and Nyle) can also see and feel what their partner is doing to further find and keep the rhythm. OTOH, there have been hearing celebrities without a natural sense of rhythm who struggled to keep time even when their music had strong rhythmic beats. Aly Raisman and several Bachelors come to mind. I thought Daniel was over-scored 1-2 points relative to the field, given that his jive content was relatively light and his technique relatively sloppy, imho. Some of that may have been earlier contestants like Shangela and Jordin getting lost in the scoring mix, however.

For dancers of Charli's generation, the Dance TV shows they grew up watching might be an ultimate prize. Those seeking a commercial (i.e. pop culture) dance career can benefit from TV credentials. The newest troupe member, D'Angelo Castro, has had enough success in contemporary and ballroom competition that he could have pursued a professional career in Latin competition or company/concert contemporary. Given his many appearances on Dance TV shows from a young age, the more commercial DWTS route seems inevitable.

Don't know about the region error, but IPhone users reported problems with the livestream. Hopefully it's something that's being resolved.

We've had the bundle before. It's three separate apps for Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. I don't think you can access Disney+ through Hulu. AFAIK, you would still need to download the Disney+ channel to your player. Or you could try a lower cost streaming device, provided your TV has an HDMI port. (A basic Roku Express is currently available for $25, per Google search.) We have an older "dumb" TV with Roku device added, and a newer "smart" Roku TV. Both work well with high-speed internet.