S23: Allison Holker

[COESpiral]

The only other non-ballroom SYTYCD alum that I would even consider accepting on DWTS is Alex Wong.  He's probably the only other dancer (aside from Allison) that I would watch dance anything.  And he's been in the audience a number of times cheering on people (he was there last season to root for Meryl and Charlie as he's worked with them before on their skating programs) so he knows the format.

[tarotx]

Oh God please no. I don't want to see any of the non ballroom guys. Alex has beautiful line and a strong presence but being a male ballroom dancer is an altogether different beast. 

[realdancemom]

I've read that Allison loved doing ballroom on SYTYCD so she started learning after her season.  Since she was on Season 2, that was a long time ago.  If you look at dancers like Witney, Lindsay, and Jenna, they are still young.  Some of them started ballroom in their pre-teens.  I believe Tanisha said that she was 12.  That means that Allison studied ballroom for just as long as the younger pros/troupe members.  She didn't compete in it but she did study it for many years.  I do agree that she should have started in the troupe but the producers probably did factor in her fan base.

[Princess Sparkle]

I am going to dip into something completely shallow here - I am a straight woman, but I am extremely jealous of how toned Allison appears to be.  I do not remember her having killer shoulders and arms like that on SYTYCD, even in the all-star seasons.  

[comosedice]

I feel so sorry for Allison. She has no business being a pro on this show. It's like sending a dentist to do heart surgery. In the troupe is where she should have been placed for a good two or three seasons. She looks very amateurish and Jonathan is being done a disservice.

[WhitneyWhit]

She completely out performed Jonathan tonight. It looked like Alison and a really hyper backup dancer.

[Uke]

I noticed during the past week in pictures and interviews, Allison would stand in front of Jonathan, jump in to answer the questions, and just basically put herself front and center. In 1 interview, she actually pushed him out of her way to talk to the interviewer (gently, but noticeably). I kind of wrote it off to 1st week excitement, but it bugged me.  I understand that the shorter female typically stands in front of the taller male so I went over to Karina's and Cheryl's instagram pages to see what they do. They do things like angle themselves perpendicular to their star, stand behind and look over their shoulder, things like that.

 

 Now I'm thinking she's confused about who is supposed to be featured here. She completely overdanced in that cha cha with Jonathan in dark clothing against a dark background. I think Jonathan is better than what I saw tonight but I'm not sure I'm going to really see what he can do if Allison is bouncing around in front of him like she did tonight. Disappointed.

[Stitsch]

I agree that Allison seems to think the spotlight is on her. Their dance last night was literally all about her; I had to look away after the first twenty seconds. Jonathan would likely do well with another pro, but I don't see these two lasting past week six. Also wouldn't be surprised if they check Allison's ego by putting her in the "bottom two" tonight.

[realdancemom]

I've always been a fan of Allison.  She was my female favorite in her season.  However, I also noticed that Allison made the dance about her last night.  She also overdances which she shouldn't do with a person that is not used to dancing.  She does that as an All Star on SYTYCD too.  In contrast, Twitch always dances down to his partner's level.  He only dances full out when he dances hip-hop with another hip-hop specialist.

[sidwich]

I agree that Allison seems to think the spotlight is on her. Their dance last night was literally all about her; I had to look away after the first twenty seconds. Jonathan would likely do well with another pro, but I don't see these two lasting past week six. Also wouldn't be surprised if they check Allison's ego by putting her in the "bottom two" tonight.

 

I actually don't think that Allison means to make the dance all about her.  I think it's her lack of partner dance experience showing.  As I said in my earlier post, she just doesn't have the experience of dancing with people from many different levels.  If she really were learning to ballroom/latin dance, she'd be forced to dance with people of different levels (expert, advanced, moderate and beginners) and learn both parts (lead and follow).  Let me tell you, it's a really different experience dancing with a champion like Derek than it is dancing with someone with no dance experience like Jonathan.

 

I think she's also having problems because I don't think she's ever really learned how to lead, and no, it's not the same as flipping everything around.  Timing is different because the lead (gentleman) has to account for the transitions of the follow's (lady's) weight.  I think that's why the transitions are messy.  Actually, Allison's transitions are messy even when she's dancing with the other pros.  The timing's off, so her weight's not quite in the right place when the male pros try to lead her and she looks surprised.

 

As I said, it's like learning a different language.  It's like Allison's been speaking Spanish all her life.  There are elements of it that are like French, and yeah, she's spent time speaking French with Derek, but now she's having to teach French to Jonathan and have full on conversations with him in front of millions of people.  And she's competing with people who have been speaking French all of their lives.  She's having a tendency to fall back on some of her Spanish roots and it's not working that well.

 

I'm positive Allison can't think in French (ballroom).  She's still thinking of things in Spanish (contemporary/jazz) terms, and it's a problem.  In my experience, former ballet/jazz dancers who try to do ballroom/latin can have a tendency to be rather snobby about it and think that they can pick it up like that *snaps fingers*.  They do have a HUGE leg up on people who have never danced before, but it's not quite that simple, and for some it can be quite a shock.  I don't know Allison, but I would not be surprised if Allison's having a little bit of that now.

[RemoteControl88]

I don't watch SYTYCD so I didn't know Allison from that.  I remember her guest dance performances on the show but she was never interviewed.  My thoughts on her are based on what I've seen of her on the show and last night...

 

It was like a Lolo moment when she made her comments to the judges after the dance  It was so weird. Up until that point she was presented as this goofy, bubbly, hyper person who is the female version of Jonathan.  She came across super defensive and I was like whoaaaaaaa she has some bite!  I understand her frustration HOWEVER were talking about a cha cha. Run that routine by Derek or the troupe....why on earth are you in rehearsal making stuff up with your celeb?  On top of that I barely noticed Jonathan AGAIN. 2 weeks in a row she's out danced him.

 

Anyway I think they'll be fine but I don't think she's endeared herself to some dwts watchers.

 

And maybe it's just me but her outburst reminded me of Derek in the early days...when he had that outburst when the judges critiqued his dance with Shannon Elizabeth.  He learned REAL quick how dwts works.

[sidwich]

She came across super defensive and I was like whoaaaaaaa she has some bite!  I understand her frustration HOWEVER were talking about a cha cha. Run that routine by Derek or the troupe....why on earth are you in rehearsal making stuff up with your celeb?  

 

To be fair to Allison, I think A LOT of the pros choreograph with their celebs based on how they're progressing during the week.  And that makes sense, especially this early on, when the pros are still getting used to what the celebs are good at and what they're not so good at.  We've certainly seen pros trying to teach things during B-roll that doesn't end up in the final routine whether it's Sharna trying to get Charlie to do the crazy double pirouette in the first 8 of "Mary Poppins" or simple things like Val trying to get Elisabetta to do a Quickstep basic.

 

As far as running routines by Derek, for some reason I think I remember hearing that the producers put the nix on pros getting choreographic help fairly early on in the series after complaints about the "help" that Cheryl was getting on some of her routines.  *hidesfromtheCherylsuperfans*

[Glaadrial]

I'm positive Allison can't think in French (ballroom).  She's still thinking of things in Spanish (contemporary/jazz) terms, and it's a problem.  In my experience, former ballet/jazz dancers who try to do ballroom/latin can have a tendency to be rather snobby about it and think that they can pick it up like that *snaps fingers*.  They do have a HUGE leg up on people who have never danced before, but it's not quite that simple, and for some it can be quite a shock.  I don't know Allison, but I would not be surprised if Allison's having a little bit of that now.

This is an interesting observation. I would add that seeing her try to Ballroom is a LOT more comfortable to watch than when many (most/all) of the Ballroom pros try to do Contemporary/Jazz. Mark's Jazz this week (week 2) looked like a pretty good Freestyle to me; as a Jazz piece, I was underwhelmed. 

 

Based on her chat with Erin, I'm getting the vibe that Allison's approach to the show is probably different than the way that more traditional Ballroom pros approach their assigned dances. It seems kind of obvious to me, that this is why she was hired in the first place. For good or for ill, Derek is the breakout star choreographer on the show and he's never been afraid to play fast and loose with the content he requires of his partners. It remains to be seen if Allison will resonate with the audience by attempting to bring a different approach to the Ballroom dances she's assigned.

[FrogLenzen]

1) Allison is a goddess and I can't wait to see what she does next.

 

2) She needs to calm down and not get so defensive about critiques. 

 

3) DWTS has put themselves in this awkward position by adding jazz/contemporary to their dance styles. It's rare to have a pro that is legitimately qualified in both. It makes sense [to me] that when you include those styles on the show, it opens the door for a pro dancer with a forte in that style. The fact that you have a non-cha-cha by a jazz dancer and then a non-jazz by a latin dancer is what this show done to itself, and I expect judge comments between the two to be similar. (I don't think they were... but oh well)

 

4) I think Allison is absolutely right in that she was hired for this exact reason. She is here because she's an Emmy nominated choreographer, and I think the show wants her to do her thing. There is a reason why she was given a more able-bodied star than Emma, Sharna, and Peta.

 

5) If Allison thinks the judges should give her nicer comments, she's crazy. They're doing what they've always done to other pros like Derek, Mark, and Lacey. TPTB know exactly what they're doing, and I bet everything so far is exactly as planned. If Allison is taking things too personally now, I think she needs to be insightful as to what her narrative over the season is planned to be. Eventually she'll probably have a non-ballroom piece that Len hates but the other judges love, and later she'll probably have a non-ballroom piece that suddenly all the judges love.

 

Allison's correct about why she's here, but her expectations are misplaced.

[tarotx]

Allison is a co Emmy nominated Choreographer and she may want to get some help as the season goes along. She can get that help by having a ballroom Choreograph assistant. I know she's been working hard for this but I think she needs advice from a Female pro tbh-someone who can help her learn to choreograph for a male star instead of just herself. All she is doing right now is making herself look not so good. Though even her dancing with Maddie was like she was dancing Dirty Diana again. Sometimes all out is not the right choice. She needs to think of the whole picture and not just herself. Imo. 

[sunnyheart]

Just watched the clip of Allison dancing with Maddy for Chandelier - never did I think I would see the day when a 12-year-old girl had more charisma than Allison Holker. I liked the staging of the dance, but Maddy stole the show. And when did Allison start looking like a truck driver in a leotard?

 

Reading the comments about Allison on DWTS reinforces my opinion that the viewing audience will not care for her. Something about her does not translate well to regular viewers. She was a shock elimination on SYTYCD and I think she and her unfortunate partner will eliminated early on DWTS.   

[BoogieBurns]

Something about her does not translate well to regular viewers.

 

She needs to find a fun way to sneak-in that she is married to Twitch. He's the most likable person on the earth. Or that she is a mom. 

[crossover]

She was a shock elimination on SYTYCD and I think she and her unfortunate partner will eliminated early on DWTS.   

I see him as being around 7th or 8th (Fons, Lea, Janel, Bethany, Sadie, Antonio).  Do you see him leaving earlier than that?

[Turkish]

 

Just watched the clip of Allison dancing with Maddy for Chandelier - never did I think I would see the day when a 12-year-old girl had more charisma than Allison Holker. I liked the staging of the dance, but Maddy stole the show. And when did Allison start looking like a truck driver in a leotard?

To be fair to Allison, Maddie has performed that Chandelier routine about 100 times at this point. I do stop to watch it every time though. It's near impossible to upstage a little kid. Especially Maddie Zeigler.

[ramble]

I am going to dip into something completely shallow here - I am a straight woman, but I am extremely jealous of how toned Allison appears to be. I do not remember her having killer shoulders and arms like that on SYTYCD, even in the all-star seasons.

It's her legs that are catching my attention. All the lady pros have amazing legs but Allison's seem muscular in a different way. I can't quite figure out how to describe it. It's almost as though I can see the individual muscles in her legs. She looks incredibly lean.

[sunnyheart]

She needs to find a fun way to sneak-in that she is married to Twitch. He's the most likable person on the earth. Or that she is a mom. 

I agree! Twitch is a doll!

 

I see him as being around 7th or 8th (Fons, Lea, Janel, Bethany, Sadie, Antonio).  Do you see him leaving earlier than that?

I just don't see them in the semi-finals and I wouldn't be surprised if they leave much earlier than that.  It's the oddest thing about Allison - I was a devoted viewer of SYTYCD during her season and while I remember how amazing she was dancing, I can't remember one thing about her off the floor. She had zero personality and there was nothing memorable about her interviews or backstage footage, etc. She was just there until she started dancing and then by God, you noticed her. I think she's a dancer's dancer, but not necessarily a people's dancer, if I'm making myself clear.  I don't see Allison ever becoming a fan favorite pro - she doesn't have the required backstage pizzazz.  Combine that with her inexperience choreographing ballroom dances and her somewhat defensive attitude to judges' remarks and she and Jonathan will be gone before you know it.

 

I know it doesn't sound like it, but I do like Allison. However, I don't think she is a good fit for DWTS.

[smiley13]

I am not familiar at all with Allison and have never heard of her husband.  She seemed okay in Week One, but between her creepy awful dance with the little girl and her nasty attitude to the judges, she went way downhill in Week Two.  

[Rancide]

1) Allison is one of my two or three favorite SYTYCD dancers of all time, 2) I do not want her on this show and do not think she is doing a good job, 3) she needs to eat a sandwich or twelve. 

Edited September 27, 2014 by Rancide

[RemoteControl88]

1) Allison is one of my two or three favorite SYTYCD dancers of all time, 2) I do not want her on this show and do not think she is doing a good job, 3) she needs to eat a sandwich or twelve. 

I looked at some youtube dances of Allison when she was on SYTYCD to get familiar with her once I knew she was coming to DWTS. She looks like a different person. *shrugs shoulders.* All I can say is that when she began dancing with Maddie it took a awhile to realize that it was even her. She looks much thinner.

 

She has a tough road ahead of her now with the judges and now the audience. I'm not so sure they are going to make it as far as they could have prior to her outburst.

[chocolatine]

I looked at some youtube dances of Allison when she was on SYTYCD to get familiar with her once I knew she was coming to DWTS. She looks like a different person. *shrugs shoulders.*

 

 

She has definitely changed a lot since then. This not to body shame her at all, but I prefer the softer look she had back then. Of course, maybe having all this muscle prevents her from being injured, in which case, more power to her. I also prefer the way she danced back then - a great natural dancer who wasn't trying too hard. But that was before she started working with/learning from Derek.

[Turkish]

She has definitely changed a lot since then. This not to body shame her at all, but I prefer the softer look she had back then. Of course, maybe having all this muscle prevents her from being injured, in which case, more power to her. I also prefer the way she danced back then - a great natural dancer who wasn't trying too hard. But that was before she started working with/learning from Derek.

I think we have to keep in mind that her first appearance on SYTYCD was about 8 years ago. She was 18 years old at the time. Of course, she would be a totally different dancer now. She's been through quite a lot since then. She had a kid. She recently got married. She has also trained in other styles and with more seasoned choreographers, most notably with Dmitri, Louis and Derek as far as Ballroom is concerned. I remember thinking when she first came back to SYTYCD as All-Star back in S7 that she had matured quite a lot as a dancer since S2 but I don't know that I have noticed that much of a difference in her appearance. Then again I have been watching her every year since then and while she is more toned than she was when she was 18, I don't think it's that significant of a change that people should be worried about her. 

Edited October 1, 2014 by Turkish

[CurbUrEnthusiasm]

Allison is a fantastic, gifted contemporary dancer but I have to admit I don't think she's a particularly good fit for this show. At the very least, she should have started dancing in the troupe before becoming a full-time pro. I'm certainly no expert on ballroom dancing AT ALL but she looked frantic and awkward in that samba - terrible choreography. Usually when the "star" is dancing badly, I can spend most of the routine staring at the pro in awe and splendor of their talent/ability...but that wasn't the case tonight.

 

And while I think she's mostly sweet and probably very nice in real life, she's sort of reminding me why I couldn't warm up to her during her initial season on SYTYCD - something just a teensy tiny bit off-putting about her personality.

 

With that said, a part of me still wants her and Jonathan to stick around so she can perform a contemporary piece. Or heck even some hip hop so perhaps her adorable hubby Twitch can make an appearance.

Edited October 7, 2014 by CurbUrEnthusiasm

[BoogieBurns]

Who are you and what have you done with SYTYCD Allison Holker? She used to be so smiley! I do not like the sour faced Allison at all.

[SnarkyTart]

She completely out performed Jonathan tonight. It looked like Alison and a really hyper backup dancer.

Agree 100%.  Most of the time I thought it just looked like she was using Jonathan as a stripper pole.  There were large segments of time where he just stood there.   Alison is so over her head, and I feel sorry for her partner.  She can't teach him technique, she's a terrible choreographer, and she's clearly not having a good time. 

[smiley13]

Allison has not presented herself well on this show at all.  I would be very surprised to see her back in another season.  Her choreography has not been good and her attitude has been worse.

[Uke]

The first thought that jumped into my head when the scores were shown was: TPTB have decided sorry Allison, this just isn't working out.

[chocolatine]

Who are you and what have you done with SYTYCD Allison Holker? She used to be so smiley! I do not like the sour faced Allison at all.

 

 

I only remember her being smiley on her own season, which was seven or eight years ago. As an all-star on later seasons they used her only in the angsty contempo pieces, so no smiles there. 

[Stella MD]

She needs to find a fun way to sneak-in that she is married to Twitch. He's the most likable person on the earth.

Thanks - I love Twitch and that actually does make her seems more human. Hope she's less of a bitter, joyless pill at home!

[comosedice]

I am no longer able to watch Allison on DWTS. It is just plain awkward to watch her struggle. She looks like the amateur ballroom dancer she is and I am more curious than ever to know whose decision it was to hire her. They did her and her partner a huge disservice. From now on I will just come here to see what you guys think of her performance. I am looking away from car wreck.

[Andiethewestie]

The only way that Allison can be given a reprieve is if they give her Contemporary this week to teach and perform. That's the style that she owns and she can then really demonstrate that she's a pro at teaching and performing..If the show wants to give her a comeback of sorts, they should allow this.   She's been ripped a new one by critics and judges, and rightly so, but she's there to do her job, the producers knew her strengths,  and I think she's doing what she was hired to do, cause a bit of a stink being the contemporary upstart. But this is backfiring for her partner and it feels unfair to them as a team..    Possibly the show thought it was fine to deviate from Ballroom and Latin since maybe they want to hire from the bigger stable of contemporary style dancers out there moving forward to get the "young" more invested in this show. Afterall Derek was successful at doing Ballroom light with a heavy injection of contemporary over the years, but only after he established himself through teaching proper technique with his first win. The fans simply aren't buying it with a newbie no matter how beautiful a contemporary dancer she is. She needs the ballroom cred that only comes with titles under your belt, all of the pros this season are ballroom/latin trained champions, not cross-trained from a preferred style.  

Edited October 9, 2014 by Andiethewestie

[sidwich]

 

The fans simply aren't buying it with a newbie no matter how beautiful a contemporary dancer she is. She needs the ballroom cred that only comes with titles under your belt, all of the pros this season are ballroom/latin trained champions, not cross-trained from a preferred style.

 

It's not that Allison needs ballroom cred from titles.  The show's been moving away from titled ballroom/latin champions for a while now.  The last several new pros on the show are much more "show dancers" than competition dancers.  Peta, Sharna, Tristan and Keo are all "Burn the Floor" alums with much more show dancing experience than titles to speak of, and Kym had almost no competition cred either.  They've all been excellent additions to the show (well, the jury's out on Keo still, but that's not his fault).  

 

Frankly, the level of dancing on the show doesn't require somebody on a Louis van Amstel credibility to coach, and if anything it's a hindrance, Those pros can get caught up much more on trying to teach good technique and that's kind of lost on the home audience.  Not to mention Carrie Ann and Bruno. 

 

But it does need someone who can teach basic level Ballroom and Latin and choreograph to it in an entertaining way.  And keep this in mind:  Kym's Latin was painfully weak, not very far above beginner level.  Cheryl's Ballroom isn't much better.  But they could get through those dances and make their partners look good and competent (and themselves, too).  Allison's not even that level.

 

 

and I think she's doing what she was hired to do, cause a bit of a stink being the contemporary upstart.

 

I think the producers were much more interested in the audience Allison could bring in as a SYTYCD favorite.  Not sure they counted on how much she would alienate their core audience with her lack of experience and performance skill in ballroom/latin.  

[Andiethewestie]

Cheryl has a Latin US Rising Star title, Kym is one of the few whose specialty is Ballroom and has competed in Ballroom. Most of the others competed in Latin. Many of the latin dancers on this show aren't good Ballroom dancers, but they all still competed in their specialty in the amateur ranks to get a title or be a finalist. Sharna and Peta have competed in the amateur ranks, Peta even placed 3rd at Blackpool under 21's,  Keo is the SA champ,  Tristan has titles from Europe, all in either Ballroom or Latin dancing. Derek, Julianne and Mark have Blackpool under 21 titles. 

 

Sure, they all started their professional careers earlier and so don't have the more prestigious advanced amateur titles Karina or Val can boast about, but they are all disciplined ballroom dancers, to the point of doing what it takes to compete to gain an amateur title in Ballroom or Latin dancing.  The hours they would have put in to compete, let alone get a title in the style would make them best candidates for taking a beginner to teach them because most all competitive ballroom dancers must teach ballroom/latin  on a regular basis in order to be able to have the funds to compete. They can do little else when they are in competition mode. Not only are they perfecting their craft, they become proficient at both the ladies and the gentleman's parts so they can effectively back lead a beginner through a routine that normally would take years of training to pull off correctly. Show dancing is somewhat different in that the technique of ballroom/latin is not the focus but rather the result of putting in the hours when they previously competed. 

 

As good as Allison is, It is obvious that she is aping the style, a stint on Ballroom with a Twist won't make her as good as Sharna in the style because the work hasn't been put in. That is just as true as sometimes a ballroom pro can look a little too stilted when they try on contemporary. Allison was never training and  teaching ballroom dancing as regularly as a competitive ballroom dancer, and it shows.  Allison is not the first SYTYCD alumni to struggle on this show. So to bring Allison in was to draw some controversay over being a contemporary girl instead of a ballroom girl because this is the stuff purists and non purists like to argue about IMHO. Len gave her notes about the Cha Cha that she said she would 'work shop' well of course that didn't happen, nor did I think it would, the next Latin dance was an even bigger disaster and Len wasn't even there to criticize it. Which is interesting, normally if Len is away the panel isn't so picky on technique,but it surprised me how even Derek was called out on lack of content, where in a past season he'd get away with it, especially when the grumpy old guy was out of town. So Allison will be at the receiving end of a lot of criticism unless the producers want to turn it around and give her a style contemporary or jazz this week that she will triumph in. Otherwise, Allison is the designated whipping boy this season. It's up to the producers, for me, they knew exactly what they were doing when they hired her. 

Edited October 9, 2014 by Andiethewestie

[sidwich]

 

Len gave her notes about the Cha Cha that she said she would 'work shop' well of course that didn't happen, nor did I think it would, the next Latin dance was an even bigger disaster and Len wasn't even there to criticize it.

 

That's probably unfair to Allison.  We don't know that she didn't work on her Latin.  Samba is a much, much more difficult dance than Cha-Cha.  Cha-Cha's really a beginner level dance and is usually the first Latin dance taught to beginners.

 

Samba is a much more advanced level dance, arguably the most difficult Latin dance.  In addition to other Latin technique issues, it has the "bounce" AND it travels (it's the only traveling Latin dance) so the dancer has the negotiate the motion and the pushing of weight from foot to foot as they move around the floor.  Even if Allison worked on the notes that Len had given her, she'd have much more to worry about with the Samba, both with her own dancing and choreographing/teaching it for Jonathan.

 

So Allison will be at the receiving end of a lot of criticism unless the producers want to turn it around and give her a style contemporary or jazz this week that she will triumph in. Otherwise, Allison is the designated whipping boy this season. It's up to the producers, for me, they knew exactly what they were doing when they hired her.

 

I actually am not convinced that Allison is going to be awesome at contemporary or jazz.  She'll be awesome dancing it, no question, but I for one have never seen anything she's choreographed outside of this show, and we have no idea how she teaches it.  People who are naturally gifted at a subject, often aren't great teachers (look at Tony or Edyta for example) and as we've all noted, the teaching/coaching/working with beginners element isn't as ingrained in the culture of contemporary/ballet/jazz dancers as it is with Ballroom/Latin/social dancing.

[sidwich]

 

Otherwise, Allison is the designated whipping boy this season. It's up to the producers, for me, they knew exactly what they were doing when they hired her.

 

I honestly don't give the producers that much credit.  I don't think the producers had any idea what would happen when they hired her.  But they do follow the audience trend.  So for example, if someone is getting big audience/fanbase support, they'll start getting better feedback no matter how poorly they're dancing (see Sara Evans or Bristol Palin).

 

I think if Allison and Jonathan were getting good audience support, they'd be getting more positive feedback.  But judging by the boards, Allison's been alienating the audience and her relationship with Jonathan doesn't look strong.  Jonathan doesn't have a huge fanbase to coast on either.  Honestly, if I were advising Jonathan, I'd tell him to go hire an outside ballroom/latin coach and ask them to coach BOTH of them.  But I don't know if Allison's pride will allow that at this point.

[tarotx]

I do say they should hire an outside Choreographer to "help" her create a ballroom dance. Though they may be out this week since they had one of the lowest America score but that isn't necessarily how things will go in the voting.

 

As for as Contemporary, Here's Allison and Fik Shun from the All star does the Choreography from Sytycd s10 (Summer 2013).

[Andiethewestie]

That's probably unfair to Allison.  We don't know that she didn't work on her Latin.  Samba is a much, much more difficult dance than Cha-Cha.  Cha-Cha's really a beginner level dance and is usually the first Latin dance taught to beginners.

 

Samba is a much more advanced level dance, arguably the most difficult Latin dance.  In addition to other Latin technique issues, it has the "bounce" AND it travels (it's the only traveling Latin dance) so the dancer has the negotiate the motion and the pushing of weight from foot to foot as they move around the floor.  Even if Allison worked on the notes that Len had given her, she'd have much more to worry about with the Samba, both with her own dancing and choreographing/teaching it for Jonathan.

 

I actually am not convinced that Allison is going to be awesome at contemporary or jazz.  She'll be awesome dancing it, no question, but I for one have never seen anything she's choreographed outside of this show, and we have no idea how she teaches it.  People who are naturally gifted at a subject, often aren't great teachers (look at Tony or Edyta for example) and as we've all noted, the teaching/coaching/working with beginners element isn't as ingrained in the culture of contemporary/ballet/jazz dancers as it is with Ballroom/Latin/social dancing.

Yes of course Samba is more technical and difficult. The other travelling Latin dance  is the Paso Doble, but the issue I'm talking about is the lack of content not so much the quality of the dance. Lacey Schwimmer's terrible dance position in the Ballroom dances were basically ignored by the judges, they just slammed the contestant for it as they are slamming Johnathan for bad technique here.. But even if Allison's dancing the Samba is only perfunctory at best, it's not about Allison's quality to her dancing, the judges are on her again about actual dance content. Outside of a few whisks basics and maybe a couple of runs there was little to no content. That was the note for the Cha Cha, and now for the Samba.  

 

I think Allison can be much better at teaching a style she knows intuitively but difficult to say if she'll get that chance. It would be interesting indeed if she couldn't .  But I choose to give her the benefit of the doubt. Some dancers are specialists in what they do, Karina Smirnoff is one of the best decorated Latin dancers out there, but she did horribly at trying hip hop with Apolo.  So while Bollywood is more what Allison is aware of from SYTYCD, we can't say that this is her particular style like we know Contemporary is. 

[vibeology]

Jonathan and Allison – Jazz

 

That's a gift right there. I don't know why since the show seems happy to keep hitting these two with the crap stick, but at the very least, I'll be spared another week of hating Allison's over the top awkward dancing. The girl is incredible at what she does. What she does is not ballroom dancing.

[Uke]

Not so sure Jazz is a gift for Jonathan & Allison. Yes, Allison can absolutely knock one out of the park...but Jonathan?

1-Allison will have to tone down her own dancing to Jonathan's level.

2-Allison will have to teach Jonathan at a beginner level.

Otherwise all we'll get is Allison once again dancing furiously and Jonathan blending into the background.

[Andiethewestie]

We've never had the opportunity to see Allison teaching in her style so she's finally at a level playing field.  She at least got Antonio to have fun, so that's an accomplishment.  Somehow Johnathan getting Jazz - I worry, I think he can kill it, and probably will, but in doing so, this might be his swan song. Going on a high note and all that Jazz.

Edited October 19, 2014 by Andiethewestie

[txbowler]

In reading the posts on here, I think a lot of people miss the fact that some if not a lot of people vote for the pro.  

 

Case in point.  I think you could take a hot looking girl off the street, who can dance decent, and pair her with Derek Hough. Call her America's dancer pick but she really is a nobody; and Derek's fan base will carry her to a top 4 finish.

 

Yes Jonathon is not the greatest dancer, but Allison has a HUGE fanbase from So You Think You Can Dance.  And there are people out there simply voting for her no matter how bad Jonathan dances.  No they won't win, but they will go further than most here think they should have.

[spanana]

I think Allison has a big fanbase, so I agree in the sense that is largely why Jonathan is still here.  As compared to when Tyne joined the show and nobody knew who she was or Keo not being able to get a second shot with Lolo. The difference to me is at this point is Jonathan/Allison are also competing against other pros with their own fairly large fanbases so I'm not sure how much that helps Allison at this point in the competition.   Allison may have a fanbase, but so do Derek, Mark, Val, Peta, Cheryl and etc.

 

I'm not convinced how successful Allison will be with Jonathan tonight.  I think she's in her wheelhouse and can probably put together a great routine, but I'm still concerned about her totally overdancing Jonathan.  Then again, are his scores so bad that is it too little too late and he's going home anyway?

 

I'm still convinced Michael has a way bigger fanbase that people are giving him credit for and therefore we are stuck with him for at least a few more weeks.  I think it's likelier Jonathan or Antonio will leave.  Speaking of fanbases, I only think Antonio lasted this long because of Cheryl's fanbase.

[Uke]

I think Allison has a big fanbase, so I agree in the sense that is largely why Jonathan is still here.  As compared to when Tyne joined the show and nobody knew who she was or Keo not being able to get a second shot with Lolo. The difference to me is at this point is Jonathan/Allison are also competing against other pros with their own fairly large fanbases so I'm not sure how much that helps Allison at this point in the competition.   Allison may have a fanbase, but so do Derek, Mark, Val, Peta, Cheryl and etc.

 

I'm not convinced how successful Allison will be with Jonathan tonight.  I think she's in her wheelhouse and can probably put together a great routine, but I'm still concerned about her totally overdancing Jonathan.  Then again, are his scores so bad that is it too little too late and he's going home anyway?

 

I'm still convinced Michael has a way bigger fanbase that people are giving him credit for and therefore we are stuck with him for at least a few more weeks.  I think it's likelier Jonathan or Antonio will leave.  Speaking of fanbases, I only think Antonio lasted this long because of Cheryl's fanbase.

 

Agree with all you said but I'd just add,

Are Allison's fans still tuning in and voting as enthusiastically as they likely did in the first couple of weeks?

If they weren't already DWTS fans, it's possible that they've started drifting off or just watching and given up on the voting as they've seen that Jonathan is struggling and the judges scores and comments don't indicate he's got much time left.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Uke

[sunnyheart]

Agree with all you said but I'd just add,

Are Allison's fans still tuning in and voting as enthusiastically as they likely did in the first couple of weeks?

If they weren't already DWTS fans, it's possible that they've started drifting off or just watching and given up on the voting as they've seen that Jonathan is struggling and the judges scores and comments don't indicate he's got much time left.

I'd like to add that some Allison fans have been a bit dismayed with her attitude and spotlight hogging also. I don't remember her being so unlikable on SYTYCD.

[SnarkyTart]

Buh bye, Allison.  Please don't come back next season.

[OnceSane]

My thoughts exactly, SnarkyTart.