katha

I thought Shirley wasn't any worse than the various troupe dancers they have on who always insist that everything was lovely, everyone is getting along great and everybody danced super well! No, really! That's also bias, just a different kind of bias. This is where a stronger host would come in handy: Shirley was clearly angry and came in with an agenda. I know they all have much respect for her achievements etc., but don't let yourself get totally overwhelmed like that. Cut her off if she's going on too long, talking about irrelevant things etc. If you're not up to the task of doing that, you'll get overrun by forceful panelists like that. IMO Shirley was all right, bias and all, but she shouldn't have been given so much room. She presented her opinion, that's all, but because the others didn't really dare go against her it became one-sided. That's on them, more than on her. But then, I also think Sadie is somewhat underscored. Or, more accurately, her marks are probably about right while others around her are getting overscored. The foxtrot is the first time she got the benefit of the doubt from the judges IMO. Is that some great drama? Nah, it's a wacky reality show. None of it has to make any sense. I know Shirley and Mark are too close to the situation and too wrapped up in it all, but I wish they would remember that. I also have a hunch that the way the judges have arguably been pretty strict on some of her dances...or at least the perception created that they are hard on her? That might majorly backfire...I have a suspicion that she taps into a voter base that would be all fired up about perceived slights and go to town with that persecution complex. Or none of that is true and I'm totally off-base, LOL.

For me the jury's still out on Artem. Agree that he and Lea may have set off each other's worst tendencies to some degree, though. I thought his choreography was sound, but apparently on the UK version things are kept much more conservative. So some of what he did almost came across as "old-fashioned". Even other pros on DWTS that are perhaps perceived as more "traditionalist" (Karina? Val?) have evolved beyond that. If the drift towards SYTYCD is a good thing is a debate in itself LOL, but it is what it is and if he doesn't want to look out of place he'll have to adapt to some degree. I don't know who would have done better with Lea, though. Val's intensity (for lack of a better word) IMO wasn't a perfect match for Elizabeth and Danica, also two women with dance training and a tendency towards overthinking. Derek can get impatient with partners like that as well. Tony is more easygoing, but unfortunately sometimes his partners don't seem to improve enough. Mark did great with Candace and her various freak out issues, but he was also probably already first choice for Sadie as he has a track record of being patient and "non-intimidating" with younger contestants and/or headcases. All baseless speculation anyway LOL. Alfonso killed it. Clearly the class of the field at this point. And his partnership with Witney is adorable. If that's enough to win, who knows, I sure hope so. Tommy is a good sport, but way in over his head now. Hope he goes next week, though I know the show doesn't always work that way. Bethany, Sadie and Janel seem about even to me, I want them to make the final four together with Alfonso. Janel seems a bit overscored in the last two weeks, but it's not like that's her fault so I try not to let that influence my view on her. And I thought Mark and Emma were remarkably generous in their performances with Sadie, taking care not to overpower her (Mark was sharper, cleaner and more precise in the jive than her, obviously, but IMO it was pretty clear he was holding back). And the foxtrot choreo was just gorgeous.

That's not how I understood Serendi's post? I took it to mean that the pros talked ahead of time, whoever took the male pro Mark wanted didn't say so beforehand (and possibly made it seem like they would take someone else), leaving Mark to scramble for a quick alternative solution. And they're doing foxtrot for the trio, so height might be a more pressing issue than in other dances. Did I get that right? And I don't agree that Mark's been all upbeat before the last two weeks. He's had issues with the scoring throughout the season and has said so throughout the season. He's for the most part really good and patient with Sadie (and her tiresome family) and IMO has been doing outstanding choreography, but the attitude's been there throughout. The edit in the package just made it more obvious this time around. I don't mind, it's not a dealbreaker for me. The show features a lot of manipulated, scripted BS, ditto the "judging". So I don't really perceive it as "unsportsmanlike". The scores stay vaguely plausible for the most part, doesn't make it a "real competition". The tiresome part for me with Mark is...he's done this often enough. He knows it's often random and inconsistent judging. He knows that his choreo tends towards the extreme and is therefore not always a hit with everybody. (That's not a knock, I think Mark is the most interesting choreographer on the show because of this. But the downside is that when he's been off-base and misguided with his ideas, the results are absurd and terrible in a way the misfires of the other pros aren't. They're more outrageously and spectacularly horrible, heh.) Why not just do your thing and don't focus so much on the scoring? OTOH, I don't know what it's like to live and work for 3,4 months in a bubble like that. Depending on personality structure, perhaps it gets more to some people than others. Just like many of the other pros couldn't handle someone like Bristol Palin, because they don't have the patience for that.

I think Sadie was more uncomfortable with the implications of the rumba than with any specific moves (I agree that part seemed scripted and ott and there to show us some more of her micro-managing family). It was one week of "ohhh, you're doing a sexy dance! how do you feel about it???" questions, and I know they're pretty hardcore Christians, but I've seen quite a bit of comments on her social media how sinful it is that she's touching a man (gasp! the horror!) and how wickedly she's behaving. So apparently there are people out there who perceive the Robertsons as way too permissive and liberal? And I'm sure that commentary was ramped up during rumba week. Hence her tears of relief once it was over and she had done pretty well. There's an interesting interview with Sadie and Mark where they talk about Mark showing Sadie why the lift wouldn't be safe with him for example holding her thighs. So I guess she was okay with it once Mark explained why it had to be done that way.

Well, it was high time for Michael to go. But that immunity stuff is iffy and IMO they shouldn't do it. So perhaps someone who can't dance outstays better people. Big deal, that's how you structured your show, now deal with the consequences. Not that I'm necessarily saying that's what happened tonight,but I'm just not a fan of that set-up. Janel and Val were lovely, but I wouldn't have given them a perfect score. At least not compared to three other dances I found better...Bethany, Sadie and Alfonso were superior IMO. Lea just can't get over her tentativeness and perhaps Artem isn't giving her ideal choreography? Tommy is sweet, but you kinda see that he's at his limits now. Dance of the night was for me the Adam and Eve thing. I knew with Mark it would either be amazing or a disaster, relieved that it turned out to be the former. I love his work with Sadie this season. He could cut down on the complaining, but I don't particularly mind it.He was way worse in the Chelsea season and delivered some of my favourite work on the show ever there, so perhaps I've just grown immune to it LOL.

IMO they shouldn't do the immunity thing. Yeah, everyone knows that it's not a real competition and they manipulate left, right and center anyway, but you don't have to be that blatant about it. What's wrong with getting everybody into the dance-off? Meh. Batman and Robin sounds cute. (-: Romeo and Juliet is kind of super obvious for Janel and Val, I don't find that an interesting idea for them. And I'm kinda terrified what Mark will come up with for that Adam and Eve thing...It could be really great and unique, or he goes off the deep end and it'll be a trainwreck. (-;

I think Derek is a very talented dancer and choreographer. But IMO at some point he became the "face" of the show. Which is absolutely tied to his talent, so good for him. The consequences of that are that (at least in some people's opinion) he gets to skate when it comes to breaking rules, which celebrities he's given, hiding his partner's weaknesses, dancing around partners etc. When another pro tries to do the same things Derek gets away with, they get murdered by the judges for it. I do think some of the conspiracy theories that try to minimize how good Derek is (and he's very, very good) are silly, but it's understandable backlash since IMO the show pushes for him way too hard. As some other posters said, the judges basically not really talking about the celeb he's dancing with anymore, but only about how super awesome Derek is can get very grating. And it should be about the celeb. But the truth is, Bethany is no celeb, Derek is much more famous than she is. So it makes sense that their focus is solely on him from a PR point of view. If that's good for the show itself...don't know. At least it creates a massive power imbalance.

As I said, I don't mind the "concept eats all" approach he takes sometimes. He IMO has other great qualities when it comes to teaching and choreographing for celebs that make up for going overboard on that front from time to time. And all the other pros have pronounced foibles as well. What I do mind is that at this point he shouldn't be surprised when the judges aren't always taking to it. I thought Sadie did all right, but she was tentative. You can kind of see that she acts scared first but then is supposed to get sharper and more aggressive. She couldn't make that transition clear enough in her movements. It didn't detract from the impression of the dance since scared/passive worked for the character she was portraying, but for a paso doble it was too meek. Now, he could have scaled it back , but for me the routine worked because of the theatrics and how manic it was. Scaling back would have probably lost that and who knows, perhaps Sadie's meekness would have stood out even more. The only alternative is start from scratch with a new routine, but there's only so much time in the week. I'm glad he stuck to it and I found it super entertaining, but once he's made that decision IMO he should be able to shrug off lower scores. Perhaps he can do that in private and plays it up to drum up support from the audience, who knows.

I loved the paso he did with Sadie! Yes, she wasn't attacking it enough, and uh...no, it wasn't a traditional paso, but I thought it was so cool! Just wish he would be more relaxed about scores in cases like these. He knows he's taking a massive risk, he's been burned for doing "out there" choreography before. IMO it was absolutely worth it because concept and realization were totally badass, but I think some pearl-clutching from the judges was expected. Or at least he should have expected it. (-; He's so patient and such a good sport even with "difficult" celebs, that I tend to forget what an a extremist he can be as a choreographer. Mostly in a good way, sometimes it ends with gorilla suits. (-; Not complaining though, my favourite season of his was actually the one with Chelsea, even though his attitude could have been better. But the choreo he pulled off that season was just so striking and different. Interested to see what he'll do next week, if he'll pull back or just forge ahead on that path. I was actually surprised that he went there this week with Len back, but I guess going all out on Halloween was just too tempting...

This is a dancing contest, coupled with a popularity contest, coupled with reality tv shenanigans. I'm sure at least all the more seasoned pros know what the deal is, and that the best celeb dancer doesn't necessarily always win. Most of the time the celeb that wins is at least "pretty good", because the audience wants to be entertained by good dancing as well. But they don't know or care all that much about technical details. And since the celebs don't start from the same place (some come in as total beginners, some are ringers, most are somewhere inbetween) it's also not always "unfair" IMO when someone who improves a lot and becomes merely "decent" wins over someone who started "excellent" and stayed "excellent". And yeah, all the pros are pandering. I think this season Alfonso is clearly the one with most ability. Then perhaps Lea and Janel. Sadie has some talent IMO, but I think you can see that she hasn’t had any dance training. Mark had to start teaching her from scratch, while Lea and Janel have some dance background. So the audience and perhaps also the judges mark her in that context. And it's not like she's gotten outrageous scores, she gets mostly 8s, sometimes 9s so far, which seems more or less reasonable for what she's shown and in comparison with the others. And IMO so far she's improving, so it makes sense if her scores stay at that relatively high level or also improve. I think what may help her more than just the "bible belt vote" is that she herself seems nice enough (the helicopter parents are rather off-putting to me), her dancing is pretty entertaining and Mark so far seems to know how to choreograph for her. (I've really enjoyed Mark's work in these last two seasons, he'd become a bit tiresome before that IMO, but he's been doing great teaching and choreographing for two celebrities with limitations. Candace and Sadie also have different limitations and weaknesses, and he's adapted well to both.) That said, I think Alfonso has been a delight and I hope his injuries don't hamper him too much and he can keep on dancing. He’s my fave this season.

I thought Sadie's dance was sweet. Mark did a really good job, he's doing very well with her in general. Which can't be that easy, what with her micro-managing family and all. Their marks seemed about right, I thought. The choreography was nice, but some of the elements of a rumba were missing since Sadie wasn't comfortable doing them. 8s and 9s seemed appropriate, that the guest judge will do what guest judges do, oh well...(-; It's understandable that celebrities are intimidated by the dance IMO, even though there might be more body contact in other dances. Even in Sadie's rumba, there was still an element of intimacy, of portraying a romantic relationship. If you're not used to that, I can see how that might be scary, particularly if you're 17 and rather sheltered.

I think the Derek/Maks thing at this point isn't driven by the pros themselves, if it ever was. And since both of them are very popular, talk about them then tends to dominate all discussions. I understand that people get tired of it. On the other hand, they have both always generated interest for the show and the show has played up the contrast between them to create a narrative and hook viewers. So it's not unexpected that it's played out that way. Maks is out of the picture now, so that should calm things down. And even should he come back for a bit of judging, I don't think he's the "Julianne type" with an agenda to settle grudges or anything. He's always struck me as friendly and constructive in the judging stints he's done so far.

I liked the salsa they did. Wasn't that also a J.Lo song? They cold redo that, that one was cool. As far as I'm concerned...M/M seemed to get along well and were probably showmancing it up a bit. They're not the first or the last ones to do it. Both Maks and Meryl have played it coy about their private lives to some degree while at the same time being on a reality show. Yes, it's probably a bit silly and contradictory on their part but also no big crime. They're also not the first nor the last ones to do it. The stalkery way some go on in regards to them on social media does make me uncomfortable, though. And I don't think any of that is "invited" or "deserved" by the (very mild) things Meryl and Maks did on the show.

Here are some more photos from India: http://www.fuzionproductions.com/international-choreographer-maksim-chmerkovskiy-arrives-jhalak-dikhhla-jaa-backstage-pics/ It looks like fun! (-: As for the various dating rumours...eh, that's just how that works, doesn't it? Gossip rags have to write something, various publicists and stars have different agendas, denying has never actually helped with anything. People who dislike those celebrities take it as fodder, people who like them think it's cute or shrug their shoulders. I hope that and Charlie's engagement will discourage some of the people who are really projecting all sorts of things into Meryl, though I doubt it. )-: I fear it will do the opposite and just fuel their rage...sigh. ETA: I don't know if this is the right place for it, but it's kind of interesting looking at it from a "sociology of psychotic fandom" point of view IMO. I've been a D/W fan for years, and all the shippers coming in after the Olympics are sort of strange to me. And the way they make out Meryl as someone who has been secretly pining away for years after Charlie is scary. As is their hatred for Tanith and her supposedly gold-digging ways. Then the M/M shippers who really latched onto that "beauty and the beast" stupidity it seems and now feel betrayed that Maks isn't pining away on twitter or something? And has loads of female acquaintances? And work commitments? Being just a fan of D/W and Maks these days is really hard work, because you have to wade through all the hateful nonsense. Is it a tumblr thing? Idk...I just want pretty pictures, but there's always something creepy going on somewhere these days...

The pros seem competitive, but generally respectful and on friendly terms with each other. In stark contrast to some of the fanbases, heh. Maks has talked about now understanding the difference between "almost winning" the show and winning the show. How he admires that Derek has been able to do it that often. Seems straightforward enough to me. I saw the difference in his approach this time, there wasn't inconsistency in his choreography, there was a clear plan in place how he wanted to present them each week, how to capitalize on Meryl's strengths, how to pace her correctly and take her SOI performances and traveling schedule under consideration, there was no self-sabotage (Meryl's healthier approach to competition helped there), he didn't screw up the freestyle etc. Derek and Maks may also have bonded a bit over the team dance (according to Pure they both took lead on choreography, and since they hate Maks with the fire of a thousand suns over there I'm inclined to believe it if they give him credit for anything...) and over their mutual loathing of Abby Lee Miller LOL. Here's a nice interview he did in Chicago yesterday: http://windycitylive.com/video?id=9539866 I always find it fascinating when he talks about his experiences as an immigrant. It seems so harrowing to me, coming to the USA not speaking the language, no financial security. Didn't he basically start working and supporting his family as a young teenager? And of course when he talks about having friends, relatives in Ukraine still...all of that was probably to some degree also on his mind during this DWTS season. He has worked hard and achieved a lot already and I find that very admirable. Don't know, it just really struck me with this interview...

LOL, yeah, FS is a viper's nest and has always been. Ice dancing in particular. The Sasha/Pasha/Maya/Evgeny saga will never not be hilarious. Zhulin's antics in the romance department in general. Dubova coaching drama. Linichuck coaching drama. Morozov's creepy ways. Whatever nonsense is always going on with the French federation and the poor skaters having to deal with it. Fusar-Poli's death stare, heh. The Elena/Nikita/Ruslan/Viktoria switcheroo going on currently in Russian ice dancing. Russian ice dancing in general. Shpilband/Zueva coaching split drama and whatever role both V/M and D/W played in it. Andreev's shenanigans. B/A leaving Canton because they were being sidelined in favour of V/M. V/M not leaving Zueva even though they probably saw that D/W were taking over and then IMO being all passive-aggressive about it this last season. V/M's hilarious reality show. Meryl and Charlie have seen it all and have probably participated in some of it, there's no way to survive in this sport otherwise. The figure skating world is like the dancing world in that regard, USFS is just really into projecting this IMO rather old-fashioned, 1950ies style image of the sport and that's not being questioned by the general media since interest in the sport is rather tepid anyway. I'm sure Meryl felt right at home on DWTS in this regard. (-; Perhaps there could be a death match between all the crazy shippers? V/M shippers vs. D/W shippers vs.M/M shippers? If they're focused on each other, they might stay away from being hateful and creepily invasive about people they don't know... And count me in among those who hope that the Disson shows aren't the usual tacky mess. It's always some middle of the road generic ballad stuff with uninspired, slapped together "choreography" and terrible camera work.

This whole "beauty and the beast", "good girls changing bad boys" theme that was established by the editing and the media who ran with it was IMO supremely irksome. And in general it's just a dangerous, creepy, unhealthy narrative to push. Also not what I saw taking place in the dance partnership at all. Meryl repeatedly spoke up against it, Maks was visibly irritated that this was being pushed and expanded on other reasons for his changed attitude (like in the TV Guide interview). He credited her with being a calming, stabilizing influence and praised her incredible work ethic. Something much more limited and nuanced IMO. At the end of the day he probably also thought that it was still the lesser of two evils when it came to media portrayal for him, the alternative would have most likely been "Bad boy dancer intimidates tiny ice princess". Something with the potential to be much more toxic for him PR-wise. But it was interesting what was seeping out in some of the packages and interviews that went against the established script. Meryl's injuries. How not standing up for herself seems to be a bit of a problem for her in the context of rehearsal (going against the "super Meryl can handle anything" theme established). She apparently also had some sort of meltdown towards the end of the run, but that didn't suit the narrative, so it wasn't shown. She had food poisoning the day before the finale, not shown. Exhausting travelling and SOI schedule, not shown. She also admitted after her win that she was exhausted the last few weeks in particular and that Maks made adjustments to training accordingly, also never shown. I followed both Charlie and Sharna and M/M beyond the stuff shown on the live show, and it's really quite startling how much editing/cutting is being used on the show to shape perception. I mean, I'm aware of that in theory, but to see it play out "for real" is still something else. For all that I thought C/S were a bit too smooth in their media handling, I thought it was nonsense that they got the "too boring" edit in the packages. TPTB probably just didn't know what to do with them because they didn't fit one of their melodrama angles. And it was equally irritating to see what I thought were quite interesting and complex dynamics between M/M reduced to "beauty and the beast".

Yikes, that sounds bad about the publicist. Hopefully he does wisen up and get different representation. On a more positive note: The tidbits about the acting lessons he took in the TV Guide interview really showed in his work this season IMO. Not only in the performances themselves, but also in the way the dances were constructed. He had moments of that in dances in earlier seasons, but this time it became a leitmotif of sorts. Even in the first cha cha there was already this "figure skater enters the ballroom" theme, complete with paying hommage to Meryl's SD dress, "stealing" her from Charlie and ending with the figure skating curtsy. The swing was Mickey and Minnie and playing on their height difference. The foxtrot was pure romanticism and really emphasizing the lyrics of the song, "giving your all" to/for another person. The swing/jive...sorry, samba music was not really ideal (like quite a bit of the music choices for all couples were iffy this season, even more than usual...), but I thought the "village girl is annoyed with lazy Mowgli, but then joins him at the end of their dance" story was kind of cute anyway. Salsa was all "Girls and boys face off at the disco in 1988" LOL. The Elvis theme for the jive was given, but I loved the costumes there, they seemed period appropriate. "Heartbreak in the barn" VW built and built, the movements and choreography really adding to the sense that these two people had already hurt each other but were falling back/reminiscing at least for the length of the dance. But the way the tango and AT and the rumba and freestyle were interlinked was just stunning IMO. Not only in the costumes (particularly Meryl's), but in the dance moves and themes. He used the "no hold breaks in the tango" rule to create this sense of very fierce togetherness, like two assassins getting together to plan their next hit. Then OTOH in the AT Meryl is this seasoned "dame of questionable reputation" dazzling her latest conquest. She moves and conducts herself as if she's done all this a thousand times before. And he's both attracted to her, but also matter-of-fact and closed off since he knows this is essentially a business transaction. Then they separate at the end and she goes back to her lamp looking for her next mark. Then you had the dysfunction in the rumba. The moves get aggressive, pushing each other away, then back to desperately clinging to each other. And at the end of the dance it's not only the Tennessee Williams reference, but all the choreography has made it clear that this is a cycle they have repeated countless times and will repeat some more in the future. Whereas in the freestyle there's also a certain amount of desperation, but it's about two people supporting each other, lifting each other up. I don't know, I think when you watch all the dances in sequence it's just very striking. Not only the dance acting they did, but how the emotional arc is integrated into the choreography, how movements mean specific things. He can be very proud of himself for his work this season IMO.

See, the thing I loved about Meryl this season on DWTS is that I sort of think the opposite happened? Or perhaps both things happened at once and everyone focuses on what they find most amusing? I was always super bored by most D/W interviews because they often came across as so generic and careful to never say much of substance about anything. I understand why they did that and the ice dancing world is certainly one shark tank and it's not worth to jeopardize your career for saying something off the cuff. But it often wasn't very interesting IMO. What I found funny on DWTS is that at a certain point in the first few weeks Maks seemed to notice that she would just go on endlessly with her fluffy "We're just excited/grateful/humbled to be here; we're just here to have fun; we're not competing against each other...etc." and never say anything about anything and started yanking her off-script. It was mostly just humorous teasing and goofing off, but it made the interviews more interesting than Charlie and Sharna (which IMO was one of their problems, they were "too media savvy" for this kind of show). Seeing Meryl react to the curveballs he was throwing her way and be so good in dealing with that, showing her sense of humour and spontaneity was one of the things I loved this season about her. I was afraid it was going to be over-rehearsed boring soundbites that would make her come across as cold and send her home early, no matter how good her dancing.

Interesting article in the Detroit Free Press about Meryl's time on the show: http://www.freep.com/article/20140522/COL38/305220141/meryl-davis-dancing-with-the-stars-dwts Congratulations to Meryl for winning that tacky plastic ball! (-: I thought she was absolutely stunning this season on DWTS, the way she IMO showed herself in new ways in almost every dance and seemed to embrace going in all kinds of directions performance-wise. It was lovely to watch and I appreciate that I'll have these dances to watch in addition to the fantastic work D/W have been doing throughout the years. I admit I wanted them to go to Worlds and was not on board with this whole "we'll do the cheesy reality dance show instead" business (even though I understood why they did it). I'm a total convert now LOL. Fantastic decision! (-;

I'm happy for Maks and I enjoyed watching his work with Meryl this season, it was great to see how inspired he was. For all his ridiculousness, I think Bruno was on point when he said that Maks' choreo this season seemed like a "concept album". Everything fit together, dances referenced, remixed and built on each other. Appreciated how he pulled off these little storylines in all of the dances, IMO without getting heavy-handed about it. Particularly loved that outfits and narrative for AT and Freestyle mirrored and contrasted the tango and the rumba. So beautifully done. The way he incorporated new elements into his choreography without abandoning his style and priorities when it comes to dance was very impressive. And look! Everybody said he couldn't do contemporary. Everybody said he would screw up the Freestyle. Nothing of the sort happened. Awesome. Well deserved win.

Speaking as a fan of D/W since their Eleanor Rigby FD in 2007/2008, I've loved M/M and it's been stunning to watch Meryl this season on DWTS. I don't compare it at all to her skating partnership with Charlie. Of course it's gonna be different because her partner is different. And it also doesn't devalue D/W or lessen my love for them to say that I've found what M/M did very special. That the more...volatile parts of fanbases fall into extremes and useless comparisons like that isn't really surprising, though. And since they are very different performers with very different dance personas who bring different qualities to the table, I don't think it's in any way derogatory to Charlie to say that Maks has brought out some things in Meryl that I haven't seen before. That's why they did the show, didn't they? To explore new fun ways of performing? I understand that other people only saw contrived melodrama in M/M's dances, I was genuinely moved because I saw two people who really love dancing together and know how to express that in performance. It's all so subjective.

Heh. I think it's very telling that oftentimes DWTS discussions this season (not only here) turn into Derek: pro and contra and Maks: pro and contra. They both just command attention in a way not even the celebrities seem to manage. Since both have been with the show for what feels like 300 years lol, perhaps that's not surprising. I think it's a testament to both their appeal as DWTS performers, but I'm sure at some point it becomes a double-edged sword for the show to have pros dominating the perception of the show like that. For what it's worth, I think MBT or no MBT, Maks is done with the show. He's talked about how satisfied he is professionally with this season, I believe him because it shows in his work, and he's talked about getting "old" in dancer years. Derek is constantly talking about leaving as well. I'm sure long-term he's planning world domination beyond DWTS. (-; Also agree about really enjoying both their work this season. IMO together with Mark they're the three pros doing the most convincing work this season, which also plays into this whole "people endlessly talking about Derek and Maks" problem. They're just really good at their job. (-: I do side-eye the furniture over-use and what seems to be Derek too tightly controlling Amy's movements a bit, but I'm sure working with the different prosthetics is a challenge and we don't know what she can do since we're not in rehearsals. He's breaking rules, yeah, though I'm not sure there's always a way around that with Amy (in contrast to some other partners he's had in the past...) but it's not actually his fault that the judges don't penalize that. Unless he has some mind-control thing going on, of course. (-; Tbh the ALM episode kind of clinched what makes them such standouts among the pros. You had Maks ignoring her flirt attempts and dismissing her in the skybox and Derek slow-clapping that with a shit-eating grin. It was glorious. Also Derek's totally disdainful face when she started going into her whatever spiel about how her students shouldn't be eating and doing homework. I didn't even mind that he and Amy got a 40 for that IMO somewhat unexciting chair dance, I was so satisfied with him that week.

Honestly, one of the reasons I'm enjoying Meryl doing so well on DWTS is because of the constant vitriol spewed against her in particular for years. It's always been "she looks strange!", "she's not fit to lick Tessa Virtue's feet!", "she moves awkwardly!", "all her positions are super ugly!", "she can't dance!", "she's the diva bitch from hell!" and/or "she has no personality whatsoever! she's all contrived PR!". And to see the seething in some corners that she's being perceived as attractive and talented and likable by a wider audience now? Priceless. I know it's petty of me.

I think Maks has been absolutely murdering it this season, choreography-wise. IMO his best work since Mel B. He's incorporated some new elements to account for the way DWTS has changed throughout the years without losing his identity as a choreographer. All the dances had always good to excellent technical content and emotional resonance with many in the audience (going by the social media response to them). That's what's important, not "giving her content like a pro". It's a popularity contest, it's about finding the balance between appealing to the judges and to the audience. The judges have repeatedly commented on the difficulty and originality of his choreography this season, and he got her to the final so the audience is obviously on board with them. And again, I don't want to dump on Sharna because she's done a very good job and having a male ringer is harder, but is "give them content like a pro" really the way to go? It didn't help Charlie that he was sometimes given content that seemed beyond his capabilities. And judging by the way first day rehearsals looked for the tango, I'm not sure Meryl is capable of more than she's doing now (and she's doing plenty content). Or pushing beyond that likely comes with a price tag (see getting injured in the week with Val). Just because it looks easy breezy on Monday, doesn't mean she isn't struggling throughout the week. I think it's smart of Maks to go the "make sure it looks awesome on Monday" route because the audience doesn't mind that you presumably only gave her 90% of what she can handle instead of 150% to satisfy some dancing experts (not all, plenty of them have been praising Maks' work this season) and risk getting chewed out by the judges for looking messy. He's been making one smart decision after another this season, and I'm honestly surprised, I like Maks, but he can be erratic throughout a season. Not this season. Good for him.