S32.E08: Whitney Houston Night

[dancingdreamer]

Barry is going  home. He was a joy to watch, something  I didn't  expect.

 

Harry is safe...ugh

[Kristi800]

Alyson was way underscored (always IMO) and gave her the extra points since she & Sasha actually danced rather than stand there is (ew) slithered all over Harry. So happy she was announced safe first. She's really blossomed. 

Harry should have gone and Barry should have stayed at least one more week. This is the longest the "aging celebrity" has stayed around, isn't it? I don't fully remember. Where were those hips during the Rhumba? Barry's wife is very cute! 

Agreed about Charity's arms. 

Ariana does nothing for me & want Xochi to win it all if anyone besides Alyson does. 

[Annber03]

Yeah, definitely would've sent Harry home before Barry. Shame to see him go, he was always fun to watch no matter what. 

[jennifer6973]

Why, why why, is Harry still here?

Now I'm down to two people to vote for.

[SouthernChick]

The wrong “arry” went home tonight. It should have been HARRY, not Barry!

[vibeology]

Billy Porter earned his spot at the judges table when he called Harry a tree trunk. Unfortunately, I think it may just galvanize his fanbase to vote harder.

[MerBearHou]

I was so, so high on Jason in the beginning weeks — like thinking he could win the thing — but he’s gone down weekly in my being impressed by him and drawn to him.  I think he will be a boot soon. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by MerBearHou

[nickp1991]

Barry brought so much energy and joy. He pushed him self physically every well and he worked hard in every dance

[Andiethewestie]

Tonight was a real mind f*** Jason is such a generous soul that on his Instagram before the show he was asking everyone to vote for Barry . It almost worked. Jason landed near last on the leaderboard, was kicked on the ball change and Barry had the dance of his life l 

[iMonrey]

Interesting how they were paired for the dance-off. Alyson versus Harry? It seems like the show considered them the bottom two, which is absurd at this point. Alyson had a beautiful contemporary and the judges gave her nothing but praise. No note, no criticisms, just praise. Then . . . gave her 8s. And as Charity put it, 8s are like 6s at this stage. What a bunch of crap.

Barry was only one point behind Alyson before the dance-off, and afterwards too. That's absurd. She is miles better than him now. And I think the only reason the judges gave Barry the win over Jason in the dance-off is because the audience was chanting "Barry Barry Barry." I feel badly for how Jason must have felt. 

I don't know if the extra points awarded to the dance-off winners mattered much if any. Xochitl and Arianna stayed at 1 and 2. Charity went from 3 to tying with 2. Alyson remained at 4, Barry stayed at five but moved up over Jason who got bumped down from tied for 4 to 6. Harry stayed at 7. 

Shocked Barry went home. I'm surprised the votes didn't save him. His Rumba was actually fairly decent, for him.

Rylee: "What Harry struggles with is not only the steps, but performing them." Uh, that about covers it Rylee. Aside from that whole "he can't dance" thing, he's great!

[nickp1991]

Len is probably TURNING in his grave with Harry being in the competition still so close to finals

[funnygirl]

This show can be so damn annoying. 

They actually don't have to keep him around if they don't want to. They can just say he got less votes, there is no way for any of us to really know. There's not much "reality" in reality tv. Production wants to keep him around for the youth, I guess. It's certainly not for entertainment. 

[babyhouseman]

I was compelled to vote for Alyson, my first vote of the season. I hope Harry is not Bobby Bones 2.

[lavenderblue]

1 hour ago, Door County Cherry said:

Barry only being 1 point behind Jason is BS.  I love Barry but it irritates me that they're comparing the dances.  It's pretty clear Jason messed up this week in large part because he (and his pro) are dedicated to incorporating a lot of content into the dance.  So when he screwed up, he didn't really have a breathing moment to recover.  Barry's dance was just him posing.  

Not highlighting this quote to pick on Barry, since he's gone now, but more for the broader point -- I personally have three ranking systems for DWTS. The top tier celebs will always be those who can get handed the most content and then nail it. Those celebrities are obviously rare. My next tier are those who can be trusted with content; they may mess up at times, but they're putting in considerable effort and being challenged. Dani's definitely put Jason into this category, and I appreciate it while also being frustrated that he's given the judges excuses to lowball him (and I did feel like he was a bit off tonight, for whatever reason). But I will always think the celeb who's doing substantially harder work mostly well should be scored quite differently from those who do very little, and that is what's continuing to be awful about the Harry situation. He is not one judge's point off of a Jason or even an Alyson (who's clearly been working her butt off week in and week out, even if I don't love Sasha's choreo), and receiving the gentle feedback he does sort of reinforces this idea that he's remotely on the same level as the other dancers left in this competition. 

This does happen every season. It's not a novelty for somebody bad to be left at this stage. But the coddling compared with how the judges reacted toward Vinny or Grocery Store Joe or, God forbid, Bobby Bones is just wild and it feels very much like they're conceding to the Harry/Rylee fanbase, which is big enough at this point to have its own Reddit community. I'm expecting Jason or Charity as next week's shocking boot at this point.

[Spicysweet]

13 minutes ago, nickp1991 said:

Len is probably TURNING in his grave with Harry being in the competition still so close to finals

I miss Len so much. He always told the truth even if/when the audience didn't like it. 

[Door County Cherry]

1 minute ago, funnygirl said:

They actually don't have to keep him around if they don't want to. They can just say he got less votes, there is no way for any of us to really know. There's not much "reality" in reality tv. Production wants to keep him around for the youth, I guess. It's certainly not for entertainment.

I am not positive but I'm pretty sure this show is considered a game show because they invite audience voting.  Game shows have an extra layer of protection to them compared to other reality shows where you can manipulate outcomes more. 

They can set how much the judges vote weighs in the total score compared to the audience vote and they can set limits on how an audience can vote but they can't manipulate the audience vote that results from that.  

If they wanted the judges to be the only determinant, they'd just make it a judges-only decision.  But that's not what they want.  In summary,  Harry's getting the votes. 

[Spicysweet]

1 hour ago, SnarkAttack said:

Can someone please push the bangs out of Carrie Ann's way and rip off the heavy eyelashes?  Jeez.

Maybe that's why her scores were off. She couldn't see the dances 😂

I don't have a problem with someone singing along while dancing. After all, Jason is a singer, and that might help with his energy and connection to the music. And I noticed that Val and Artem were singing, tonight, too, even after BP said it was distracting. 

[Quickbeam]

I feel like Harry is at the Bristol level of WTF. I’m team Jason who seems so much more facile with dance and movement than many of the others. 

[Back Atcha]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

  But they forget, she has 2 big fan bases… Buffy and HIMYM fans.  

She even has fans via Penn and Teller!

In the "good old days," (the earliest days), didn't dancers get TENS if they deserved them--no matter how early it was in the season.  For some reason they "cannot" give a 10 until a few weeks in.   Balderdash!

[Andiethewestie]

I'm team Jason for many reasons; His joy when he dances, the natural movement, the earnestness in which he learns, the respect he has for dancers and dancing, and also his genuine concern for his fellow competitors. 

As mentioned by another poster he may have been off tonight. And truthfully he's got Samba which is tough for anyone, especially beginners. It's not surprising that this dance hasn't been featured much this season of non ringers. I'm sure he had a lot on his mind

I think what bothered him is head to head competition against Barry.  He dispensed with the usual "vote for me " posts on social, pushing fans to vote for Williams before the broadcast, while at the same time has become really invested in the process and learning and no doubt would be upset at leaving.

It reminded me of an interview I read when he decided to go on the show:

" I’ve seen the show. People get eliminated. That’s how it goes. I thought, “That’s me, I can be that guy.” I had no idea that I would connect to dance, to my body, and even to fans. I’m definitely already deeper into this than I imagined I would be. I canceled all my plans for the rest of the year, because I realized, “Uh oh. I’m really on this show.” I’m very surprised." 

So for me, the gracious manner in which he wanted the best for his new friend Barry at the very real probability of going home himself just speaks volumes. Sure  it's just a silly dance show but there's also no question he wants to get a stalled career moving with an album of very danceable music, what better way to do that then with this kind of collaboration.  And yet he was willing to be "that guy" kicked in the ball change and lived to dance another day.

 

 

 

[Stats Queen]

Jason is a class act and a joy to watch during his dances (except for him singing along …) 

[Andiethewestie]

I had a chance to watch Jason's samba and while it had a few awkward moments, it was full of content. I wold have given it an 9 in relation to giving the Tree Trunk a 7

[Bliss]

Can't say that I'm a Billy Porter fan; however, I loved the opening number... sound problems and all. I liked Julianne's 'look' tonight. Wanted to say that in comparison to her prior appearance as Madonna.

I'm team Jason, for all the reasons listed already. If he leaves before Harry, I'll have to do something drastic... and no, I won't shoot my tv.

When Barry took his shirt off, I was wishing he'd worn one of those ab-shirts (or whatever they're called - made to look like a 6 pack). He was a joy to watch.

[thesupremediva1]

I really want to say one thing: Bobby Bones is Fred Astaire compared to Harry. In work ethic, in dance - in every way.

Let’s not insult Sharna with that comparison either. She was a majorly seasoned pro who should have won a few times over before she pulled off a surprise win with Bobby. I feel like the folklore of that win has grown outsized over time. Bobby wasn’t the worst that season and he did move at least.

Harry has no prayer of pulling off the freestyle Bobby did - should he make the finals.

Which, at this point, we should all consider a real possibility. Judges did all they could to oust him tonight and it did not work.

Rooting for a Xochitl or Charity win now. Judges have clearly dumped Jason.

I will miss Barry! Such a sweet showman!

Edited November 15, 2023 by thesupremediva1

[Lindsay Loo Hoo]

If Jason gets the boot while Harry makes finals I will legit set myself on fire. 
 

Ariana’s paso doble didn’t impress me. I don’t know if it was the choreography or what but it just looked weird. 
 
val and his partner tango was fire. I loved everything about it. 
 

charity is just kind of there for me… she doesn’t pull me one way or another. 

[Andiethewestie]

Someone who posts on another forum went to the taping and said Jason was sick. His sinuses were rough and he was coughing uncontrollably and that's why he wasn't in the skybox when he wasn't dancing.  If true that would explain why he seemed off. Regardless on this show if you can dance you go on

Edited November 15, 2023 by Andiethewestie

[boyznkatz]

2 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

I really want to say one thing: Bobby Bones is Fred Astaire compared to Harry. In work ethic, in dance - in every way.

I agree. At least Bones had musicality and rhythm (probably because he was a DJ) and he could move somewhat. Moreover, his voters were actual fans of the show, unlike Harry's Tik Tok stans who don't even watch.

I'll miss Barry, but I'm glad Jason and Charity lived to see another day.

[katenm]

I loved Charity's outfit, thinking perhaps it was an homage to this :

 

[boyznkatz]

10 hours ago, Andiethewestie said:

Tonight was a real mind f*** Jason is such a generous soul that on his Instagram before the show he was asking everyone to vote for Barry . It almost worked. Jason landed near last on the leaderboard, was kicked on the ball change and Barry had the dance of his life l 

Why would he do that though? I think he and Charity were probably the next bottom two, and they could use all the votes they can get. I think both of them are in trouble next week unfortunately. I don't see the tree trunk getting kicked off any time soon.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Harry doesn't bug me as a much as some people. I guess I just assume the show will devolve into a popularity contest every season. If you absolutely don't want someone to win (or make finals even), it's simple, don't cast them in the first place because you never know what is going to happen. Bill Engvall made the finals his season. Ty Murray missed making finals by one week. Grocery Joe had no noticeable dance ability and still finished 6th.

The one thing I would push back on is Rylee & Harry's work ethic. I'm not locked into all the social medias, but nothing I've seen makes me think Harry isn't trying. That Rylee isn't still trying to figure out how best to teach him. He just sucks as a dancer & nothing comes easily for him. His waltz last night was probably close to his ceiling as a dancer..

Of all the dances we've seen, Xochi & Val did not deserve the first perfect score for that dance. You could tell she couldn't go full-out because of her ankle throughout the dance! Makes me wonder if she isn't pulling the votes the producers would like to see from her.

I'm rooting for Alyson at this point. Someone who has improved incredibly since week one & is surprising herself as to what she's capable of.

Charity & Ariana are kind of interchangeable to me. I guess I'd like to see Ariana go farther (mostly for Pasha). Hearing that Jason was sick makes sense, because that wasn't up to what he's usually able to perform..

 

 

[kristen111]

What was it that Carrie did before this?  I don’t remember.  I did like all her dresses this season tho.  Simple and glittery.  Still can’t stand Julieanns voice tho.  Too high and loud .. and fast.  Is jewelry on the jacket something new like Derek wears?  Bruno and his bare chest is boring.  STFU and sit down already.  Your Schtik is boring too.

[boyznkatz]

1 minute ago, kristen111 said:

What was it that Carrie did before this?  I don’t remember.  

She was one of the Fly Girls in the Wayans Brothers show, In Living Color. I believe Jennifer Lopez was, too. 

[Andiethewestie]

2 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

Why would he do that though? I think he and Charity were probably the next bottom two, and they could use all the votes they can get. I think both of them are in trouble next week unfortunately. I don't see the tree trunk getting kicked off any time soon.

I can only guess but he obviously had a great relationship with Barry and maybe thought the show was doing Barry dirty like many did when the pairings were announced.  Barry has made no attempt to hide how much this opportunity meant to him. If you have to leave it was the best way to go out 

As for Jason he could well be gone next week. I have thoroughly enjoyed his journey and I hope he gets to go to the end - he and Charity were the only ones to tackle the Jive, he was the only one to dance authentic Jazz, and he got to dance to one of his own songs.His scores were close to Harry and no bonus points, so when fans leave he will too.
 

In a perfect world Jason gets the Argentine Tango to Swifts All Too Well and a Jive relay to Shake it off and launches into the semis with an intense Paso and a Viennese Waltz to his own "I won't give up". But that's a perfect world. 

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

I am not positive but I'm pretty sure this show is considered a game show because they invite audience voting.  Game shows have an extra layer of protection to them compared to other reality shows where you can manipulate outcomes more. 

Nope. Just a reality show. If it were civilians competing for cash, then yes, it would fall under game show jurisdiction. But it's celebs competing for a mirror ball. Not the same thing. That said, I don't think they screw around with the votes. They are probably worried someone might raise a stink about it and demand to see them. On the other hand, I think the judges know who's getting the votes and often cater to them or try to counteract them.

Does Billy Porter have dance experience? I know he's been on Broadway but I'm not familiar with his work or if he has ever danced. I sometimes wonder how the celebs feel about these guest judges, some of which have no experience with dance whatsoever.

How many of those decorative brooches does Derek have? He's got a different one every week. Bruno has almost as many see-through sparkly shirts, although I think he's worn some more than once.

What was Derek doing when he was pinching the back of Carrie Ann's neck? Was he just trying to shut her up because he didn't agree with her? That was weird.

I hate when the people standing behind whoever Julianne is interviewing clown around and mug for the camera. Alan and Harry were both doing it this week. 

I did get a kick out of Sasha jumping into Harry's arms and getting carried across the dance floor to the stairway. 

[boyznkatz]

6 minutes ago, Andiethewestie said:

In a perfect world Jason gets the Argentine Tango to Swifts All Too Well and a Jive relay to Shake it off and launches into the semis with an intense Paso and a Viennese Waltz to his own "I won't give up". But that's a perfect world. 

I don't know any Taylor Swift songs except Shake it Off, and yeah, that would be a good jive. Do any of her other songs work for ballroom or Latin dances? There isn't anyone left who hasn't done contemporary or "jazz" so those are out.

I love Whitney Houston, but none of those songs went with the dances except Harry's.

[LeDucDiableBleu]

20 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

She was one of the Fly Girls in the Wayans Brothers show, In Living Color. I believe Jennifer Lopez was, too. 

 

I think she was also a dancer for Madonna. I just saw an article a few days ago where she was quoted that Madonna charged $100 for every minute a dancer was late to rehearsal.

[SnarkAttack]

27 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

She was one of the Fly Girls in the Wayans Brothers show, In Living Color. I believe Jennifer Lopez was, too. 

Homey don't play that!

[Lady Calypso]

I'm glad Barry went out on a really high note. I'm fully ok with him going, especially with Jason and Charity in the bottom three, but it is disappointing to see him go after a really fun dance-off. I thought it was Barry's best work and, not only that, he REDEEMED himself with the cartwheel trick that him and Peta messed up on in the jazz. Any redemption that a celeb can have before their elimination is always satisfying.

I'm sure Barry/Peta were aware they could go, so I'm glad they went all out this week in hopes for higher points.

I'm very, very happy Alyson made it through this week. Her growth has been Iman levels for me and although she's not going to produce any award-nominated dances, it's her journey that has been a joy to watch. I just remember her first two weeks were SO bad, they were Harry-levels of bad. But she's grown and improved and has done so much this season that makes me, honestly, want her to get to finale night. Like, eight weeks ago, no way she would have been able to do that handstand trick on Sasha. Look at her now! And her dance-off vs Harry was well done technically.

Speaking of Harry, the dance he did last night was technically the best he's done yet, but it's once again filled with holding Rylee, moving across the dance floor without tripping, and then doing tricks with her. Now, his hold was a bit better and his footwork wasn't sloppy, so he DID genuinely improve. Unfortunately, because they gave him 6s last week, his improvement needed better scores. I did laugh at the two tree analogies that were given to Harry, though. He really isn't improving much, though, so I think we need to be prepared for Harry to knock out dancers like Alyson, Charity or maybe even Jason to get a spot in the finale. 

Jason was definitely off last night so it sucks to know that he was really sick. I do want to point out that the judges LOVE to make reference to the female celebs being injured/ill during their dances, but Jason's illness wasn't mentioned a peep. Jason's definitely plateaued the last few weeks, which is disappointing. He could be so good and he clearly has the potential but we are in week 8 and he's been very up and down. He was underscored last week but appropriately scored this week. Dani needs to take a risk and go all out with Jason for next week, though. She needs to push him into a new territory to get him to stand out like she did for their Jive. He's very much almost there, but he's been making too many mistakes and he's starting to fall from the front of the pack.

Xochitl is such a joy to watch. She really could win it all, and I wouldn't be mad. Val's also given her some extremely tough choreography, which I love. She's delivered in all of her dances. This week was definitely one where she played it a bit safe, but I assume that's because of her ankle. I'm just glad she's still around and doing very well.

Ariana's great to watch but I have to admit, I'm not fully invested in her. It's great to see Pasha get far and I'm glad he's a lock for the finale. I think the choreography was a BIT weird this time around; fun, but weird. I guess I'm not rooting for her in the way that I was hoping. 

Charity's getting better at embracing the competition but I guess she can't fully shake the Pageant Presence. Plus, I think Artem's very similar to her, so it creates a slightly more low energy type of connection. She was great in the dance-off, though. That's the energy I want to see more of. But at this rate, she's not going to make the finale, I get the feeling she's going to be a semis boot over Harry or even Alyson. She's had beautiful dances, and she had a break-out contemporary, but I think Artem needs to push a more unique routine next to really show why she's a frontrunner, or should be.

 

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

What was Derek doing when he was pinching the back of Carrie Ann's neck? Was he just trying to shut her up because he didn't agree with her? That was weird.

It was a reference to Barry's wife telling Peta to pinch Barry on the back of the neck to get him to move his hips lol

[Andiethewestie]

1 hour ago, boyznkatz said:

I don't know any Taylor Swift songs except Shake it Off, and yeah, that would be a good jive. Do any of her other songs work for ballroom or Latin dances? There isn't anyone left who hasn't done contemporary or "jazz" so those are out.

I love Whitney Houston, but none of those songs went with the dances except Harry's.

There's 

Look What You've Done To Me -a Tango

Love Story -Tango or possibly Foxtrot

Paper Rings -Quickstep 

Blank Space- I could see Tango or even Paso 

All Too Well -is likely better for Rumba but I just like the vibe for an AT intense but romantic at the same time.

There's others than can work for Rumba like Everything Has Changed if my celebrity got Rumba this is the song I'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Andiethewestie

[mbluecpa]

I was really surprised by Barry’s exit given the energy and fun he put into his dance-off performance. I just assumed that the viewer votes would pour in after that and save him.

I thought Alyson was underscored, particularly given the judges often score contemporary on the high side…and that tears from CA usually mean a 9 or 10 from her. Alas, we’re in the part of the season where everything’s a 7-10 so the scores will be bunched regardless. I assume we’ll get two dances from each couple next week, which might widen the score range a little.

It’s no easy feat to cover Whitney Houston, so I’m glad to see Trenyce get acknowledged for it. She was great. 

[KLovestoShop]

I hate having influencers on this show.  First of all, influencers are pathetic individuals whose only talent is posting stuff on TikToc or Instagram——doesn’t take any talent to do that.  But what’s really pathetic are all the lemmings who lend credence to the influencers. Harry has tons of followers and those are the ones who keep him on the show.

Billy Porter is a singer and dancer.  He won a Tony as best lead actor in a musical, Kinky Boots, which was very well deserved. I’m not a fan of his, not because he’s gay, but because of his views on race.  He’s said that all the problems in the world are because of whiteness and white supremacy and whites choke holding power and sucking the life out of humanity.  These comments were made during a  Vanity Fair interview  

 

[Bliss]

Just rewatched some of my fave moments of the show and had to make this comment about Jason and Dani's dance: I loved them coming down the stairs backwards! I don't remember seeing that before and I hoped they wouldn't trip! I also loved that slinky slide/move/twist at the end when she slid down his right leg and came out between his legs to be lifted up by him. It wasn't one of Gleb's I'm-too-sexy moves; it was tastefully done and I thought Jason handled the task well. Now knowing he was suffering with sinus/flu, I'm more impressed than ever with him.

He reminds me just a bit of James Hinchcliffe from years ago. He was my all-time fave, dancing with Sharna and giving me 100% entertainment with his talents. His facial expressions! He was robbed of the win (plus they didn't let Canadians vote that season), IMO.

For anyone else who's a James' fan:

 

[realdancemom]

Billy Porter's comments were spot on. I agreed with his comments.

He said that he appreciated the content in Jason's samba. I think this was supposed to be another break through dance like his jive. Unfortunately, there were a few mistakes mostly at the beginning. I'm just glad that he wasn't the one to leave today. He and Dani looked surprised that Barry left and I think they thought that they could get booted. I think singing the lyrics works better for the jive or Broadway not samba.

Glad Barry left on a high note. My eyes were drawn to him during the dance off even though I knew Jason would be technically better. His progress was up and down since his quickstep last week was more like a slow step.

Charity does better during dance offs and team dances. Last week, she didn't do well in her jazz especially next to the female pros and I can tell they were holding back. I expect more from a cheerleader when it comes to strong arms and performance. Then she was great during the team dance. She was ok with her VW this week and did look joyful. She brought it in her cha cha. I think her fringe pants help her stand out more but she did bring it.

Love Val's tangos and Xochi can handle it. I hope they make the finals.

I'm really glad that Pasha has Ariana this season mostly because he gets a chance to show his choreography and dancing. His dancing is sexy. I agree with CAI that Ariana did look uncomfortable in parts but I'm glad That Pasha is teaching proper technique and is giving proper content.

I'm going to be in the minority when it comes to Alyson's contemporary. She is the most improved. The handstand was great and her emotion was great. The choreography was simple and actually not that good. That's on Sasha since he's not a contemporary choreographer but it's not like he can give tough choreography either. There was a long pause before the back step to handstand. Contemporary is suppose to flow. For these reasons, I think she was scored correctly.

Glad Porter said that Harry is like a tree trunk and needs more content. The show has always been a popularity and dance contest. He might make the finals. I'm just going to enjoy the dancing from my favorites as long as I can.

 

[boyznkatz]

I didn't like Alyson's dance either. It looked like a third grader's recital dance. She was better last week.

I was really hoping Harry would deliver a decent dance this week, because I actually like him. I have a 6'5" gentle giant son who looks like a tree, so I had to LOL when Billy Porter called Harry one. His dance was stiff and awful though. When an almost 70-year-old man dances way better, then Houston we have a problem. 

[babyhouseman]

8 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Bill Engvall made the finals his season.

I have to say I liked his sense of humor so I gave him more leeway. Bobby Bones was blah to me for being a DJ. And Harry has the personality of a tree trunk.

I like Sasha and Alyson, but I don't think they're going to be in the finals. I want Sasha or Pasha to win because they've never won before especially since Sasha has been there so long. He's getting like Tony or Maks before they won. If Harry wins the Len Goodman award, it should clunk him on the head. 

[TVbitch]

Ah Barry, what a class act. I wish they hadn't made him wait 17 years to get on the show. I spotted Peter and Cindy Brady in the audience cheering him on. 

Sasha's choreo was a bit "up with people" for me..

[HerkyJerky]

After Xochi’s dance, they panned the audience and showed her friends hooting and hollering for her. There was a tall, skinny black girl at the end and she looked SO familiar! Does anybody know who that was? I know I’ve seen her recently. It’s driving me crazy! Lol.

[Kristi800]

Quote

If they wanted the judges to be the only determinant, they'd just make it a judges-only decision.  But that's not what they want.  In summary,  Harry's getting the votes. 

I liked it when they had the final three and the judges would vote for whom they wanted to either save or go home (I forget which). 

Quote

I didn't like Alyson's dance either. It looked like a third grader's recital dance. She was better last week.

The costume department seems hate her because they put her in the worst outfits that do nothing for her and don't highlight anything about her features or help her look like an adult. They don't have do skimpy but they do nothing to help her either.

[Andiethewestie]

21 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I think singing the lyrics works better for the jive or Broadway

Here's the thing. As a singer Jason may not relate as well to Dani teaching by saying Volta, Volta, botofogo to him  

As a singer he will memorize the steps to the lyrics. It will also help him with timing because for a rhythmic but non Samba song Higher Ground- you have to search for the Samba in the song . Cutting off that source of memorization for timing and step sequencing as well as his inclination as a singer to sing makes it extremely difficult habit for Jason to break. He actually sang On The Road Again Quickstep - it would be tough I think not to sing along to your own voice.
 

Moreover, Val mouthed the words in their dance. Is it okay for Tango and not Samba? Or is just a way to take a point or two away from Jason? I think the latter.  In Season 6 Mark Ballas was criticized not by Len but by others who have never seen a professional ballroom dancer use extreme facial expression in the Foxtrot and Tango. Because it "bothered" the great unwashed so much Mark toned down his expression but to say facial expression and mouthing of lyrics in ballroom isn't done just isn't true IMHO

Edited November 16, 2023 by Andiethewestie

[realdancemom]

1 hour ago, Andiethewestie said:

Here's the thing. As a singer Jason may not relate as well to Dani teaching by saying Volta, Volta, botofogo to him  

As a singer he will memorize the steps to the lyrics. It will also help him with timing because for a rhythmic but non Samba song Higher Ground- you have to search for the Samba in the song . Cutting off that source of memorization for timing and step sequencing as well as his inclination as a singer to sing makes it extremely difficult habit for Jason to break. He actually sang On The Road Again Quickstep - it would be tough I think not to sing along to your own voice.
 

Moreover, Val mouthed the words in their dance. Is it okay for Tango and not Samba? Or is just a way to take a point or two away from Jason? I think the latter.  In Season 6 Mark Ballas was criticized not by Len but by others who have never seen a professional ballroom dancer use extreme facial expression in the Foxtrot and Tango. Because it "bothered" the great unwashed so much Mark toned down his expression but to say facial expression and mouthing of lyrics in ballroom isn't done just isn't true IMHO

I was going to add that the song was not a samba song. I wish Jason had a proper one since samba is hard enough as is.  I wouldn't have taken off a point for mouthing the lyrics. But he's also in my top two so his mouthing of lyrics or facial expressions don't bug me. I have noticed that it previously distracted me with other contestants. I think the points were deducted for mistakes but who knows with these judges. I do think Jason was underscored again. He shouldn't have been only above Harry in points. It was scary to see him in the bottom three.

I think Billy Porter was just making a point that it's distracting to him and others have also commented on it in previous weeks. There's also a difference between singing most or all the song and just a few words here and there. Not sure what Val did for the tango but he's not the one being judged.

Edited November 16, 2023 by realdancemom