S29.E06: Top 11

[OnceSane]

Quote

Eleven celebrity and pro-dancer couples compete.

Airs October 19, 2020.

[alexa]

Nelly did well again tonight, and a totally different dance....way to go!

[MerBearHou]

Tyra was Miss Malaprop yet again — so many verbal glitches including introducing Darrell Hough.  She is so bad.

[McManda]

Skai is not great. And she's not improving. She's always a deer in the headlights. I said it. 

I'm impressed with Nelly's improvement. 

I was also bored with Kaitlyn's samba but I'll watch Artem dance all day. 

Justina dances with so much joy. I enjoy watching her.

Overall I'm eh about this episode ... and kind of eh about this whole crop of celebs. 

[Callaphera]

Dancing with the Stars: singlehandedly keeping the confetti companies in business during this time of 'Rona. 

[Legalbeagle421]

She's not horrible but I truly wonder every week who is voting for Monica. Chrishell did much much better. She has such a great attitude. I'm sad to see Vernon go because he seems so sweet, but he was among the weaker for sure. I thought Nev's dance was so much fun, I loved it. I continue to love Nelly and think he's doing great! This is a great group this year.

I enjoy Kaitlyn's dances, but as a Bachelorette fan, I don't want another Bachelorette to win, as it will start a precedent that I am not interested in seeing repeated. I agreed with Carrie Ann that her dance was kind of blah. 

[Annber03]

Aw, wow, shame to lose Vernon. It was going to get harder as the season went on 'cause the couples left have all had their great moments, but still, that sucks. 

Jeannie's story about her family. Wow. That was powerful. Her dance was so good tonight. Nelly, AJ, Justina, and Chrishell were particularly strong as well (and man, poor Chrishell, losing both her parents in such a short time span like that :(). 

[ams1001]

That is quite the outfit Johnny's wearing tonight...

Tyra [first outfit] looks like she forgot to dry her hair. I need a macro that just inserts "what on earth did they put her in now?" into my post.

Someone please explain how Alan's zebra pajamas and Skai's pastel sparkles go together...?

Hey, did you know Derek is dancing with his girlfriend tonight?

I didn't realize how much I missed just seeing the pros dance once in a while.

 

[OnTime]

WHY are the judges giving Monica 9's ???   

She was worse than Jeannie's dance and nowhere close to Justina's dance.

Edited October 20, 2020 by OnTime

[truthaboutluv]

This is turning out to be a pretty tough season. There are no outright awful dancers left. The celebrities who may have started out weaker, like Monica and Chrishell are steadily getting better and then you have someone like Nelly who I suspect is getting a ton of viewer votes.

I have to say, I'm always surprised when Jeannie and Chrishell are announced safe. Jeannie because I always forget she's even in the competition until she dances and Chrishell because I just find everything Gleb does to be so basic. 

I understood what Derek and Carrie Ann were saying about Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn is a strong technical dancer but she's still not confident enough in her abilities to truly just go balls to the wall in her performances. There are always little moments here and there where you can tell she's being tentative.

She needs to channel Justina's fire. Justina may not have the technical ability Kaitlyn has but man does she give it her all and sell the hell out of everything Sasha gives her. So if you combined the two of them, it'd be the perfect competitor. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[edie3]

My favorites are Justina and Nev.

[shoregirl]

I like Johnny but his dance was not as good as Vernon and I agree with Carrie-Ann (go figure just looked at the scores and Johnny was higher but I still think Vernon was better. Skai really should have gone home but I bet she is getting a lot of votes .

Justina and Jeannie are still my favorites.

Most weeks I watch Kaitlyn and think her dances are just ok and then the judges praise her so what do I know.

I agree they are propping up Monica ( and Chrishell).

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by shoregirl

[CraftyHazel]

Nice to see AJ finally in the game.

i finally figured out what I dislike most about Skai.  The minute she knows the camera is on her, her eyes become unfocused and she plasters on a big, phony smile.  She’s like a cheerleader, but not a real cheerleader...a cheerleader in a Lifetime movie.  She never seems to be looking at anyone or anything, and for me, it’s extremely distracting.

I’m so sad to lose Vernon.  I didn’t necessarily believe that Johnny should have gone instead, but the way his mouth was pursed, I think he was mightily pissed to be in the bottom two.  Justifiably so, I think.  He was certainly far better than his placement.  Meanwhile, we’re stuck with Chrishell, Skai, and Monica.  

[truthaboutluv]

9 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Tyra was Miss Malaprop yet again — so many verbal glitches including introducing Darrell Hough.  She is so bad.

Ah, that's what Carrie Ann's joke was referring to. I missed that. Oh Tyra... 

Speaking of Derek, that was a great number with Hayley. But man, I just can't help feeling about that couple, the same I do about Val and Jenna and Maks and Peta. There's just something uncomfortable for me about seeing any woman wrap her entire life around a man.

And at least Val eventually put a ring on it. Hayley's still waiting and gotten to the point of where she's boldly making it clear that she's ready and willing any day he proposes and their fans keep posting on their social media about putting a ring on it, people bring it up in interviews, all while Derek just laughs awkwardly. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[OnTime]

11 minutes ago, Legalbeagle421 said:

I enjoy Kaitlyn's dances, but as a Bachelorette fan, I don't want another Bachelorette to win, as it will start a precedent that I am not interested in seeing repeated. I agreed with Carrie Ann that her dance was kind of blah. 

I don't enjoy Kaitlyn and don't really find her likable. 

Completely agree on not wanting another Bachelorette to win, especially another one with prior dance experience!

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, Marmiarmo said:

i finally figured out what I dislike most about Skai.  The minute she knows the camera is on her, her eyes become unfocused and she plasters on a big, phony smile.  She’s like a cheerleader, but not a real cheerleader...a cheerleader in a Lifetime movie.  She never seems to be looking at anyone or anything, and for me, it’s extremely distracting.

Yes, I find it hard to notice much besides the huge, plastered-on smile.

[TiredMe]

I thought that Derek dance was mesmerizing He really is spectacular. I don’t follow his personal life so i have zero comment on the girl. She was really good.

I really like Kaitlin and I love me some Artem. I don’t know if it’s partially his choreography as well but she needs to bring it. I was a bit bored. 

Gleb can’t leave fast enough.

[mtlchick]

Tonight Jenna will find out that Marky Mark and Mark Wahlberg are the same person. 
 

I fist pumped that AJ finally had a breakthrough. 
 

This season is actually harder to pick out who can win. Most of them are middle of the pack and above but I suspect Johnny or Monica are next unless Skai has a major disaster.

[LexieLily]

Kaitlyn's dance was the first one that I noticed that this season is so weird. This is week four/five and at least half of these dancers look like they haven't progressed past week one or two, as far as learning. Like, I feel like they'd all do so much better (well, most of them) with more rehearsal time. Is rehearsal time significantly shortchanged this year or are they just not practicing outside the studio?

[Callaphera]

4 minutes ago, Marmiarmo said:

i finally figured out what I dislike most about Skai.  The minute she knows the camera is on her, her eyes become unfocused and she plasters on a big, phony smile.

Skai's a Disney kid just breaking out of the Disney machine. That dead in the eyes look with the plastered on smile is very much Disney. She doesn't know how to be a person yet, with a personality and emotions, because Disney kids aren't allowed to be people - they are, however, expected to be perfect when "on". You can see bits of the real her breaking through more and more as the weeks go on but mainly only in the packages and when she has a bad dance or the judges point out her mistakes, she kinda defaults back to that robotic façade. It's kinda sad. I hope she realizes that she doesn't have to be perfect and she can be an actual person now. 

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

Tonight Jenna will find out that Marky Mark and Mark Wahlberg are the same person. 

Nev's reaction to that was mine 😛.

[OnTime]

11 minutes ago, Marmiarmo said:

I finally figured out what I dislike most about Skai.  The minute she knows the camera is on her, her eyes become unfocused and she plasters on a big, phony smile.  She’s like a cheerleader, but not a real cheerleader...a cheerleader in a Lifetime movie.  She never seems to be looking at anyone or anything, and for me, it’s extremely distracting.

I wish they wouldn't have teenagers on the show.

I know it is to attract that demographic to watch but this show hasn't been the most "family oriented" show.  This season does seem less raunchy, as Len would say.

[readster]

This is not going to be Tyra's come back in any shape or form. She just can't do it, she is screwing up way, way too much. 

[BuckeyeLou]

I know it is annoying to keep repeating, but what the heck is Tyra wearing?!  Hideous outfits & wigs...gads!  I did enjoy Derek & Hayley, they showed what a Real Dancer looks like.  Justina dances with such joy & I always enjoy watching Jeannie Mai.  AJ & Cheryl have a good partnership, I dont feel the same about Val & Monica.  Jonny Weir, I still find him underwhelming.  Young Skai just seems nervous & "deer in the headlights", so that I cant enjoy her performance.

[Emily-D]

11 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Kaitlyn's dance was the first one that I noticed that this season is so weird. This is week four/five and at least half of these dancers look like they haven't progressed past week one or two, as far as learning. Like, I feel like they'd all do so much better (well, most of them) with more rehearsal time. Is rehearsal time significantly shortchanged this year or are they just not practicing outside the studio?

I think everyone can only rehearse for four hours a day due to Covid. I could be wrong though.

Monica overscored AGAIN! Skai finally scored fairly, but somehow survived the bottom two. I guess the kids are voting for her, shame because I was rooting for her to go. She'll probably bounce back next week unfortunately. I forgot about Nev's dance as the show went on, then again I lost interest in him full stop when he started BSing about his dance exp.

The Samba's were good, AJ's was better performance wise (finally a breakthrough dance for him), whilst Kaitlyn's was better technically. If you merged the two, you'd have a perfect 10 samba. As said above, Artem should have Kaitlyn watch Justina's dances from a performance basis only. If she was to attack a dance full out the same way Justina does, she'd be getting 10s.

Justina I thought narrowly took dance of the night. Was surprised at Johnny in the bottom two although it wasn't his best dance. I'm sure he'll come back strongly next week but I still thought he'd have the votes to survive. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever see the back of Monica and Chrishell!

As we can probably all agree on, we still don't have a definitive winner or even a definitive final four. That is the sign of a good season. Just a shame about Tyra putting a dampener on the whole thing.

[nickp1991]

Wow!! What an amazing performance by Derek Hough but I was especially blown away by Hayley Erbert!! Why is she not a pro 

[Morrigan]

For me, Skai was the worst. She reminded me of a Barbie doll - well, a less mature one - wasn't there a little sister - Skipper? Like she's so stiff and being placed (or that's what Alan's attempting to do.) sorry - sweet little thing but can't dance for shit.

Why didn't Britt put salsa in the salsa? I've taken enough dance lessons to know (or maybe it's just my opinion) that salsa is not a hard dance. She doesn't seem to put the fundamentals in the dances. OR, the execs are guiding her and not letting her choreo a real salsa or whatever because the demo that watches this show isn't really in Johnny's corner? The clothes may be off-putting? You're not on Drag Race, Johnny, but that's where you should be.

Anyway, I thought from watching SYTYCD that contemporary was a dance where you didn't have to point your feet? Is that only true for those ugly bicycle things they do? Oh well, considering how blank, cold, and monotone that Monica and Kaitlyn are, I'm really in Chrishell's corner - and I know Gleb's got his flaws, but I like the quality of his movement and OMG his looks - this set of male pros is otherwise pretty lackluster, in the eye candy dept (for me), except maybe Alan and he's stuck with the plastic doll.

Nelly's embrace of country music was really fortunate for the aforesaid DWTS demo, but good for him in being so open-minded and big-hearted about it all. And whatsername is a GREAT partner. Wonder how she'd have done with Johnny? Or Cheryl? Or... anybody else?

Sad for Vernon and his real tears but he wasn't very good. Jeannie, Justina - touching, sweet - but also good dancers. Wish one of them would win. I like AJ and Nev too, though neither partnership has really popped - I was surprised at Cheryl's flat affect in her "don't say sorry" segment - hey, give the guy a break, he's an HSP! (highly sensitive person). Please not Kaitlyn for the win - cold as ice, worse than Monica and that's sayin' something - And a trained pro, at that. And I don't like entitled Val, so there's that.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Morrigan

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Morrigan said:

I like AJ and Nev too, though neither partnership has really popped - I was surprised at Cheryl's flat affect in her "don't say sorry" segment - hey, give the guy a break, he's an HSP! (highly sensitive person). 

When Kaitlyn was dancing to Bieber's "Sorry", my mom was like, "AJ and Cheryl should've danced to that song." :p. 

[OnTime]

I liked the show much more this week than last week.  I'd like it next week even more if Tyra was gone.

Gosh, she is wrong for this show.  It is making my head hurt.

[Fostersmom]

44 minutes ago, Marmiarmo said:

i finally figured out what I dislike most about Skai.  The minute she knows the camera is on her, her eyes become unfocused and she plasters on a big, phony smile.  She’s like a cheerleader, but not a real cheerleader...a cheerleader in a Lifetime movie.  She never seems to be looking at anyone or anything, and for me, it’s extremely distracting.

It was more apparent than ever tonight. The second they started dancing, she turned into plastic girl. It was more obvious tonight with the wig, it turned her into a creepy doll. It's like she's never really connected to anyone when she dances, just a vacant gaze. That's what happens when you spend your entire life in front of a camera. Didn't she say she's been on screen since she was like 9 months old? 

[OnTime]

7 minutes ago, nickp1991 said:

Wow!! What an amazing performance by Derek Hough but I was especially blown away by Hayley Erbert!! Why is she not a pro 

Because Derek is a judge???

[Arkay]

Agree with the comments so far about Skai. I understand she's an adult now but I feel very much as though I'm watching a 12-year old perform, and it feels creepy to watch some of the moves. Like a Toddlers and Tiaras vibe, but not really because she isn't a little child. I've never heard of her but I see she's breaking out of Disney. I get more of a pageant vibe though. Britney and Justin Timberlake and other Disney kids had more of a personality and audience connection than Skai does. Maybe she'd do better with a live audience there, but during her dance she kept looking away like she was reading cue cards somewhere. 

Justina is impressive, she does everything with passion and doesn't let her size limit her. She isn't even gigantic, just curvy, especially compared to the twig-sized other women. 

Derek. Wow. So so skilled. I don't follow any stars online or anything, so I didn't know he had a girlfriend, but they were dazzling. I wasn't a fan of the special effects, though. It would be enough for them to just be in the spotlight.

I think Nev is fun. 

I would have picked Vernon over Johnny. 

[magpye29]

15 minutes ago, Morrigan said:

She reminded me of a Barbie doll - well, a less mature one - wasn't there a little sister - Skipper?

More like a Polly Pocket!

[nickp1991]

ABC should bring on Jordan Fisher and Paige VanZant as the host of DWTS next season

[boyznkatz]

Sheesh, in whose universe are Monica and Chrishell better than Johnny? They must be in talks with ABC, because I don’t get the show’s fascination with them at all.

Edited October 20, 2020 by boyznkatz

[Iguana]

What the hell is Tyra wearing?????  It looks like she wrapped wet toilet paper around randomly around her chest then rolled in cheap glitter. And then paired it with the most unflattering and ugly pants she could find. Isn’t she supposed to be a fashion plate?

[boyznkatz]

I’m tired of the judges and their useless comments. Please bring back Len!

[nickp1991]

Nelly Nev Chrishell and AJ were all amazing tonight

[Sile]

As some who has only watched sporadically this season and, as much as it pains me to say it, I thought Tyra was doing a lot better tonight.  Although I had to laugh at her statement that next week "I'll be in costume!".  As opposed to every other week?

Remember those guys that had a fit when someone would try to put them in something with a sequin on it or an unmanly color?  Ladies and gentlemen, Johnny Weir!  That boy is up for anything.  

I could swear that I'd heard before that you're supposed to have a flexed foot with Contemporary because I always think it looks so awkward!

[Koalagirl]

Someone brought up last week how bad the costumes are this season which made me start noticing how bad they looked this week too. Everything looks tacky, cheap and cheesy. I could swear the orange costume Kaitlyn had on was worn a couple of years ago by another contestant. The ball gown they put Justina in was a horror show.   Even the costume Peta was wearing looked like it had been designed for someone else. 

[Callaphera]

38 minutes ago, Koalagirl said:

I could swear the orange costume Kaitlyn had on was worn a couple of years ago by another contestant. The ball gown they put Justina in was a horror show.   Even the costume Peta was wearing looked like it had been designed for someone else. 

This show has almost always recycled costumes. There was a blue dress that Witney wore when she was partnered with Alfonso Ribeiro that was worn on two other seasons after that (I'm pretty sure Cheryl was one of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blue Dress). And I know there have been a couple more over the years. The mens stuff is harder to track because they can add more spangles to a basic shirt and make it look completely different as opposed to some of those dresses. They might just not be able to tailor them as well as they do during a normal non-COVID season. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Callaphera

[boyznkatz]

If Monica got all 9s, then AJ deserved all 10s.

I don’t like Derek as a judge. He’s annoying. But the man can dance. His paso was amazing. It was nice to see a real paso doble with real music!

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, OnTime said:

Because Derek is a judge???

Derek's being a judge only happened because Len could not be available due to the pandemic. Hayley was already booted well before that. She was let go from the show last season. 

All I'll say about the Hayley for Pro stuff (seeing a lot of it on the show's IG page) is anyone remember Alison Holker? Hayley is a trained Jazz/Contemporary dancer who yes, when given choreography (as I'm sure the dance was all Derek) and paired with a Pro dancer, can kill it on a dance floor. 

Does not mean she knows how to train and choreograph for an untrained celebrity. And to my knowledge, she never choreographed or even co-choreographed anything while in troupe. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[boyznkatz]

I remember a rapper doing a duet with a country singer, but I didn’t realize that was Nelly and Tim McGraw!

I’m starting to like Nelly more and more each week. He’s one of the more interesting folks and he’s really starting to bring it on the dance floor.

[Miss Slay]

I loved Derek's dance tonight. It was fantastic.

[MsJamieDornan]

I want Vernon back. And Tyra gone.

 

[LexieLily]

26 minutes ago, MsJamieDornan said:

And Tyra gone.

I think one of my favorite parts of tonight's show was Tyra's post-dance chit-chat with Nev where she tried to get him to talk about how his family was visiting this week and Nev was like "uh, they visited last week, they left yesterday/today."

[MsJamieDornan]

4 hours ago, Legalbeagle421 said:

She's not horrible but I truly wonder every week who is voting for Monica

All the guys in prison with cheerleader Jerry Harris ????

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Opening:

Johnny's salsa:

Nev's jazz:

Monica's rumba:

Skai's cha cha:

Vernon's cha cha:

Nelly's Viennese waltz:

Jeannie's rumba:

AJ's samba:

Chrishell's contemporary:

Kaitlyn's samba:

Justina's Viennese waltz:

Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert’s paso doble:

Elimination:

 

[McManda]

Derek and Hayley's dance gave me vibes of the Macy's Stars of Dance that Derek did back when that was a thing. (Plus an extra Artem!)