S33.E06: Disney Night

[nickp1991]

I definitely thought it was going to be between Dwight and Phaedra but Val did a good job! Not sure why maybe nerves but Phaedra looked completely lost the whole episode

I love they way they show Ilona’s strength in every dance

[Quickbeam]

So glad Phaedra is gone. I thought Val saw her as kind of hopeless and then just danced around her/dragged her around the floor. 

[Stats Queen]

Just started watched but I’m so fed up with the whole “Ilona is redefining what it means to be feminine”. What year are they in? Refining it for them of narrow attitudes- a lot of redefined it years ago

[HerkyJerky]

Why did Julianne change her dress half an hour into the show? Or perhaps the better question is why didn’t she wear that white dress from the beginning?

[Stats Queen]

Phaedra didn’t actually dance this whole competition. I’m so glad her fans couldn’t keep her on anymore (I am a real housewives addict and I think Phaedra is a horrible human being)

[crowceilidh]

Julianne didn't wear the white dress in the beginning because it wouldn't have suited the opening dance.  I really thought she and Alfonso were a lot of fun to watch in that dance.  I HATE Disney with a white hot passion, especially now the megaCorp owns every bloody thing, but I did enjoy that opening number.

So glad Phaedra is gone.  Val knew he was stuck with a stinker.  I was about to start a Free Val movement.  Interesting how the right people are leaving in pretty much the right order this year.  Dwight next.  He is even more awkward than Steven.

I thought that Ilona suited the black crop and black shorts better than anything else we've seen her in.

Also, I get it, she's strong, now stop.

 

 

 

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Now that Gleb's gone we need a new showmance, I guess...

That's what I thought too.  I saw some random spec somewhere but didn't think they'd bring it to the screen but I guess they feel they have to have at least one every season. 

5 hours ago, dizzyd said:

I wasn’t wowed by the paso, it was good, not great.

The choreography wasn't up to par with past pasos.  The most frustrating part about Chandler's dance tonight is it felt so predictable that she'd have her 'redemption' dance and end up with the top score.  I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it because she is one of the best dancers this season but that she'd have immunity next week could be seen from miles away.

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They need to stop making Ilona lift people. It looks really clumsy and it's distracting. We know she's strong, just stick to dancing.

I thought her lifting Jenna looked like her best lift.  I felt less nervous with that lift than I did with Dwight and Stephen's. 

4 hours ago, dizzyd said:

Hmm Kelsey was noticeably absent tonight. Maybe Joey and Jenn can get back together. 

She was there.

2 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

I really thought she and Alfonso were a lot of fun to watch in that dance.  I HATE Disney with a white hot passion, especially now the megaCorp owns every bloody thing, but I did enjoy that opening number.

I loved the opening number too. I love when Alfonso and Julianne get involved and do a little dancing for the opening.  Maybe it's corny but it feels fun.

Phaedra leaving was the right decision.  It feels strange to say that because this may be the only season where I've felt the worst dancers were leaving in order.  I hope next week doesn't bring a surprise boot.

Edited October 23 by Irlandesa

[Stats Queen]

4 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Thanks for the clarification! It's Disney's world and we're just living in it, apparently :p.

I’m tired of Disney’s world in general but more so on DWTS

[Stats Queen]

4 hours ago, nickp1991 said:

I definitely thought it was going to be between Dwight and Phaedra but Val did a good job! Not sure why maybe nerves but Phaedra looked completely lost the whole episode

I love they way they show Ilona’s strength in every dance

Phaedra’s been totally lost all the time. Val just could hide it any more.

[Lindsay Loo Hoo]

None of the dances wowed me last night. Glad Phaedra is gone. Stephen is stiff. Dwight is awkward. Jenn looks unstable in those in between transitions. 
Jenna and joeys samba was too similar to nyle and peta even choreography wise. 

[TVMovieBuff]

So it's ok to say I'm glad Phaedra is gone? She has this weird thing of not moving her legs much. MY Phedre is another character altogether (any Kushiel fans out there?). Val choreographed a nice dance though. 

I will have to watch the team dances again, but on one viewing I was more entertained by the first one. 

Really wish Stephen was with Dani. 

 

[twilightzone]

Disney night - my least favorite theme.  My favorite dance was Danny and Witney - who did something different.

It was Phaedra's time.  At least Dwight has more stage presence than her.  I also get why he chose her over Jenn - it was because of Val.

Chandler is a professional dancer - and should be judged accordingly.  

[Desperado]

6 minutes ago, twilightzone said:

Disney night - my least favorite theme. 

Yes! I don’t have children around me and gave up on Marvel a while ago so outside of Deadpool, I have no idea what they’re dancing too and find most costumes unappealing.

[tv echo]

I'm losing interest in this season. It's pretty obvious who's going to win. But even so, I just can't deal with the judges' scoring anymore.

Edited October 23 by tv echo

[Fliz]

If Jenn and Sasha are supposed to be the new showmance, I don't think they got the memo. It seemed to me like he was a bit uncomfortable with her comments and she delivered them awkwardly, like it was (no shocker) scripted.

[iMonrey]

This had to be one of the worst Disney nights in the show's history. I get that they don't want to use the same songs every season, but the music from more recent Disney properties is just horrible. There is nothing specifically "Disney" about it. It's all just generic pop. And when they're doing numbers to the "Zombies" TV shows and Deadpool, they're really stretching the concept as thin as possible. 

Out of the eight solo dances, only Stephen, Joey, and Chandler did any significant dancing. The rest of them just did a lot of posing, acrobatics and gyrating. And the judges said nothing. Even praised them. The scoring was absurd. We need someone like Len to pour cold water on some of these numbers and call them out for not doing proper dances and having so little actual content.

It's so obvious Chandler is the favorite to win, as far as the judges go, and she's certainly the most polished and experience dancer. But I like all six remaining celebs better than her. I just feel nothing for her whatsoever. And I'm sick of the Disney kids, every damn one of them has the exact same backstory: how they told their parents they wanted to act, and their parents "gave up everything for them" and moved them to Hollywood and drove them to auditions. These are either some of the most over-indulgent parents in the world, or else people who want to turn their kid into a meal ticket. It's sick.

[twilightzone]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It's so obvious Chandler is the favorite to win, as far as the judges go, and she's certainly the most polished and experience dancer. But I like all six remaining celebs better than her. I just feel nothing for her whatsoever.

Chandler is a professional dancer, who's had years of training including with Debbie Allen.  A Ringer.  Brandon doesn't have to do that much as a pro.  When compared to Witney and Jenna - who started with partners who had no dance experience - and elevated them - which is what DWTS should be about.

Edited October 23 by twilightzone

[DEL901]

I have never heard of that Zombies show Chandler is from, but I did read that she also sang the song she danced to.

[babyhouseman]

47 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I have never heard of that Zombies show Chandler is from, but I did read that she also sang the song she danced to.

The male costar was on Dancing with the Stars. Milo Manheim. He was partnered with Witney and was good. He was likeable and a good dancer. His mother is actress Camryn Manheim. He was runner up to Bobby Bones. Don't get me started. 

When I saw the donkeys, I thought it was going to be Shrek. Not Disney.

It's been mentioned before, but I think the newer pros don't choreograph as well as the old pros. I think during the show how Chandler and Stephen would be if they had Mark and Cheryl. 

[bravofan27]

Sasha seems to tolerate Jenn, as did all her contestants when she was the Bachelorette. LOL. She just comes off as so young and naive, which ABC loves, but she lacks any type of personality, edge or game. It's like, "I'm just going to smile and say really cute things!" She dedicated her dance to Taylor Swift! WTF? Clueless. I don't think people under 8 can vote either. 

That said, I loved their dance. I thought the song was so nice. As far as a romance with Sasha-- Jenn can dream.

 

[Andiethewestie]

9 hours ago, twilightzone said:

Chandler is a professional dancer, who's had years of training including with Debbie Allen.  A Ringer.

It was so refreshing to see on Social that Debbie Allen sent her a video rooting for her to Win. So supportive. A lovely Ballet Dancer with training in other styles but not ballroom.
 

It's such a contrast from Riker Lynch. Remember him? The cute Blonde who is a Hough cousin and got to top 2? Now he was a Ringer. He competed in Latin Ballroom and actually against troupe member Brittany Cherry.  He blew off his  significant  Ballroom experience by saying he didn't do that for very long and he lost interest to do singing. Buddy you had competition level Ballroom and Latin training and you were good enough so that your teacher put you in Dancesport competitions. Oh and Brittany? She was the third in Rikers Trio dance. 
 

What's the difference? Riker got to top two basically lying about the extent of his Ballroom dance background. Chandler put  her dance training on social media- no Ballroom but there it is. 

What were the odds of Riker getting an early boot due to being a ringer? Zip. He's a white guy. Vs Chandler getting underscored for some pretty great dancing?  She got immunity for the dance off but that doesn't guarantee that people will vote. She's got one of the lowest views of her dances on social. Only Phaedra was lower.

Now full disclosure I didn't vote for Riker because I thought his background was disqualifying. Anyone who had Ballroom training not even this significant felt like an unfair advantage particularly when he didn't come clean until he was asked about it. Even then he downplayed it
 

This show has a history of bias against black women, I guess because the demo doesn't look like them. They would rather stiff 50 year old Donny Osmond was better than Mya,  Simone Biles the GOAT gets the boot and Tom asked her why she doesn't smile while Stephen this season gets a pass. The worst was Charity last season when Carrie Ann Inaba told her there was something "missing" from an Argentine Tango that was pretty darn flawless. Charity got so much on line hate and threats her family had to make a statement. So I get a little protective of someone like Chandler. She's a beautiful young lady fully disclosing her training and stopping about ten years ago to focus on acting. Makes total sense that she wanted flex the dancing muscles as you never know when it comes in handy.

As for last night:

I was not impressed with the opening number. I should stay off social because too many sneak peeks spoiled it for me. 

Stephen lack of musicality is really catching up with him. Anyone working with him should get him to really listen to his music as much as possible. He's still ahead of the beat

Jenn lack of finishing the movement. She's still not closing the feet and not extending the body to highlight her lines 

Joey his feet are no bueno, still clunky not pushing the toe lead He lacked the samba bounce, but he's an effective performer he was a fun Tarzan

Chandler -I get the Zombies but there are better Disney Pasos. I thought she earned at least one 10, due to the content rich choreography but the show underscoring her also undervalues dance. Nice choreo from Brandon. .

Ilona -all the gimmicks including a creepy donkey mask can't address Ilona's fear. I think it's either lack of preparation or a lack of confidence that makes her paralyzed or in her head. The movement is mechanical instead of fluid.

Danny- I actually didn't mind the choreo but it wasn't Jazz and Wit is choreographing to get a viral moment instead of giving Danny dance. I get that lifts are his super power but the side by side dancing wasn't very good at all.

Phaedra didn't move much last week and she moved even less last night. She looked fabulous though.

Dwight he's trying but ballroom dances are so tough even with open frame he's just so large. We didn't really see much improvement. 

The team dances weren't good but Team Goofs had some good highlights. Team Roar I saw Stephen jumping over Dwight in rehearsal. That could have been a significant thing but that helicopter of Stephen at the end was just...goofy.

i was fine with Phaedra saying good bye. Val checked out weeks ago.

 

The judges have got to start to bring back the high and low paddles. Not everyone is an 8 or close to it. This closeness in scoring basically just leaves the entire competition to the voters.

 

ETA: re Group Dances - the dances suffered from a lack of cohesion. One of the strategies Derek always used was formation dancing that can be efffective visually while not being too difficult to learn. I think some sort of formation dancing in unison would have helped the teams and hide some weaknesses at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24 by Andiethewestie

[FilmTVGeek80]

4 hours ago, Andiethewestie said:

What were the odds of Riker getting an early boot due to being a ringer? Zip. He's a white guy. Vs Chandler getting underscored for some pretty great dancing?  She got immunity for the dance off but that doesn't guarantee that people will vote. She's got one of the lowest views of her dances on social. Only Phaedra was lower.

This show has a history of bias against black women, I guess because the demo doesn't look like them. They would rather stiff 50 year old Donny Osmond was better than Mya,  Simone Biles the GOAT gets the boot and Tom asked her why she doesn't smile while Stephen this season gets a pass. The worst was Charity last season when Carrie Ann Inaba told her there was something "missing" from an Argentine Tango that was pretty darn flawless. Charity got so much on line hate and threats her family had to make a statement. So I get a little protective of someone like Chandler. She's a beautiful young lady fully disclosing her training and stopping about ten years ago to focus on acting. Makes total sense that she wanted flex the dancing muscles as you never know when it comes in handy.

Every season, this comes up, and every time, I think it's such an overblown criticism of the show, and I say this as a black woman. Riker didn't get an early boot for being a ringer, probably because, unless you were online, you didn't know he was a ringer. And, I'm not sure it would have mattered anyway since most ringers on this show aren't usually penalized (hello Charli, professional dancer), and we've had ringers of different races and genders. How is Chandler being penalized for being a ringer, other than some people online talking about it? The one time she received any criticism had nothing to do with her being a ringer. How is she being penalized score-wise? By being consistently near the top and even getting immunity this week (which still somehow isn't good enough?)

The show isn't biased against black women. I, for one, liked Donny better than Mya and was fine with that win. Simone Biles is the GOAT in gymnastics, NOT ballroom. I think Simone suffered a lot, having come on the season after Laurie Hernandez. The two were such polar opposites where Laurie had personality and charisma to spare, and Biles just didn't - at least not on this show. And why compare Simone and Stephen? Stephen may be getting okay scores, but it's not like he's not been criticized. Like Laurie Hernandez, Stephen has personality to spare. He's been praised for that but dinged for his dancing. It was the exact opposite of Simone. 

How was Charity treated unfairly last year, and how was it based on race? If she received threats online, that's terrible, but it has nothing to do with how the show and judges treated her. She got the same kind of comments previous white Bachelorette contestants got because she came from the same cookie-cutter cheerleader background they did - some nice moves, a smile on her face, but nothing going on behind her eyes. Just like Simone, I found Charity very blah in the personality department, and her dances never moved me. 

[marykat71702]

The opening number was awesome!

Stephen and Rylee-He is such a joy to watch, I hope he gets the timing thing worked out. I kind of wonder why he wore his glasses this week. I do hope there aren't any more bicep kisses...

Jenn and Sasha-Poor Sasha, he looked so uncomfortable, and thank you Alfonso for saying something about it-we don't need a replacement showmance. The dance was boring to me, and I hated how the song sounded

Joey and Jenna-Impressive, but where were the Samba rolls? 🤣 

Chandler and Brandon-I'm not feeling it, but my oldest loved it. 

Phaedra and Val-Not good. She looked clueless and lost. Scores were too high, imo.

Danny and Witney-Bold move, they better not mess this up, lol. Dang, Witney absolutely launched herself at him! That was a very fun and entertaining dance, I was slightly disappointed that there was no head-bob, but nice 4th wall break. And noogies😂

Dwight and Daniella-Better than last week. As much as I like him and as personable as he is, I don't think he's going to make it much farther.

Ilona and Alan-Very entertaining, but once again relied too much on lifts. Alan's costume is terrifying.

I feel like the judges are boxing themselves in with the scores a bit. Some uneven scoring going on tonight.

Team Roar-Phaedra was very obviously the weakest link. Did Dwight pick her so that they would get Val? The dance was kind of rough, but they all had a blast. Dwight and Stephen at the end, omg.

Team Goofs-Ooh, that's some trash-talking going on right there. This was technically better, and ok, Ilona and Jenna at the end, but team Roar was infinitely more entertaining to me. I'm honestly surprised that it didn't get at least one 10. 

Bye Phaedra

 

[Andiethewestie]

1 hour ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

How was Charity treated unfairly last year, and how was it based on race? If she received threats online, that's terrible, but it has nothing to do with how the show and judges treated her

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/charity-lawson-dancing-with-the-stars-bullying-racis-1236089326/
 

She had an awful experience.

And the worst is the show did nothing. They have a social media manager who can remove objectionable on line comments, but Charity had to put up with it.
 
When asked about  having a mental health expert on set to help contestants with stress or abuse the response from producer Conrad Green 

https://x.com/KristynBurtt/status/1834304308390887744/photo/1

Given what past contestants like Zendaya said about the show it's a good idea and should be implemented.

 

[Andiethewestie]

Just some quick stats from Facebook after Tuesday's dances

Ilona has by far the highest number of likes at 13 k 

Joey at 7k 

Stephen  at 6.8 k

Danny at 6. 2k

Jenn at 3.4 k

Chandler at 2.4 k

Dwight at 1.4 k 

This has been a pretty accurate reflection of the state of the competition. So far the elimination has been the lowest number of likes. Ilona, and then Joey Danny and Stephen in top 4     Even with a good score Chandler likely will go home within the next couple of episodes.    Those that don't like her or think she shouldn't be on in the first place won't have long to endure her bullshit . 

If it ever got to the point where her scores become significantly better than a point separating her from Ilona Joey Danny or Stephen then cue the ion line hate, especially if any of them get eliminated before her. But the scoring has been so close she doesn't have a chance.

 

Edited October 24 by Andiethewestie

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, Andiethewestie said:

A lovely Ballet Dancer with training in other styles but not ballroom.

That's like saying "she has baked every kind of cake except a red velvet cake, so she is on an even playing field with the people who have never baked a thing in their lives." Chandler is already a pro dancer. The others have zero dancing experience. I just don't see how that's fair. It would be like Dwight playing basketball against a bunch of Munchkins.

The opening number was OK but the camera work was crap. Way too many cutaways and closeups. They should have just had a static shot of the whole dance floor so the TV audience could see the same thing the studio audience saw. 

[realdancemom]

Chandler did attend Debbie Allen's dance academy. I believe that she stopped going regularly at around 9-11 years old. She is now concentrating on acting. Lots of female celebrities take dance. This season, both Brooks and Anna said that they took ballet when they were younger. That's why both did have nice lines and Brooks is flexible. Anna was just a pill to watch with no performance skills. Brooks didn't flow well between moves. Jenn said she took one semester of ballroom in college. Since I watch for the dancing, I really don't care if "ringers" are there as long as they didn't take ballroom seriously. So I don't consider Jenn's one college course as disqualifying.

It's about popularity anyway. I agree with the stats above that the top four will probably be Ilona, Joey, Danny, and Stephen. Danny has had two good weeks and his confidence has improved. We'll see what happens when he goes back to ballroom since contemporary and jazz is pretty much a freestyle on this show. So the top four can change.

Phaedra was the right one to go. She was the weakest one in her group of weaker dancers. I definitely saw her looking back when she was in front of the line. Dwight should be next. He looked promising on the first show like an Iman 2.0. It hasn't worked out that way. I don't know how big his fanbase is. He is one of the stars that I knew before the season started. I also knew Tori, Reg, and Eric but they're gone.

 

[Andiethewestie]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Chandler is already a pro dancer

Actually she's not a pro just a very talented dancer.

But speaking of talented pro dancers 
Remember Alison Holker the highly sought after and highly trained contemporary and hip hop dancer? Alison is the dancer's dancer in Contemporary.

She was hired as a pro on DWTS Season 19 without a lot of ballroom training, but certainly more than zero, which is how much Chandler has.
 

Some of Allison's dances were so frantic and slim on technique her first season people were feeling sorry for her celeb partner Johnathan Bennett. The second season she got Riker The Ringer  who definitely was the reason the team got to top 2 since he could help her with Ballroom technique being a competitive ballroom dancer. She didn't last long as a pro. After she got two more non ballroom trained celebs she finished her short career on DWTS

Here was her Samba with Johnathan and I thought it two dancers with no training in Latin. Which goes to show you can have a lot of talent but your training doesn't necessarily  translate from Contemporary or Jazz or Hip Hop to Ballroom 

 

Edited October 24 by Andiethewestie

[Ilovepie]

This was the most un-Disney Disney night on DWTS. Very strange song choices. The best was the Encanto song for Ilona, but it was ruined by Alan's stupid costume. Couldn't they have just painted his face to look like a donkey and put some ears and a tail on him instead of a whole nightmare head?

I cannot fathom Joey's score! Other than Chandler, he had the most content and the best technique! Are the judges ever going to give anything except 8's this season? 

Phaedra was waaaaayyy overscored. Good riddance.

I love both Olympians, but both are very mediocre. Ilona has improved some, but Stephen seems stuck and I wish he had a different partner. Rylee is not as good as her sister Lindsay.

I have no idea what Danny was doing. That was not dancing. It looked like a boxing class.

My family loves The Goofy Movie so that song is popular in my house. My kids were wishing they would change the Rock and Roll Aerosmith coaster at WDW to Powerline 😋

I think my favorite part of this show was the pro dance at the beginning with Alfonso and Julianne. I love when they join the pros!

[Andiethewestie]

The judges are disappointing this season because none of it makes any sense. They have left everything to the voters. Having 8 or 9 means nothing it's all about the vote. Learning to dance Ballroom and Latin has no home anymore on this show. So we know automatically that big fanbases stay small ones are toast. There is no real assessment of the dances, and by the judges not scoring appropriately there's definitely no opportunity for a good dancer with a small base to get in the finals

Edited October 25 by Andiethewestie

[Quickbeam]

I love the Olympians but please someone tell Ilona she doesn’t have to lift men and that Stephen doesn’t need to flex or do Thomas flairs. I really wish Stephen had a more experienced partner who could help him tame his energy. I think Alan is a terrific partner for Ilona and they can stop with the lifts any time now. 

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I love the Olympians but please someone tell Ilona she doesn’t have to lift men and that Stephen doesn’t need to flex or do Thomas flairs. I really wish Stephen had a more experienced partner who could help him tame his energy. I think Alan is a terrific partner for Ilona and they can stop with the lifts any time now. 

To be fair, biceps flexing is part of the Hercules character.

But it's time for the flairs to go. Some of the women's floor moves can be incorporated into certain dances without it screaming "Hey, I'm a gymnast!", but when your thing is pommel horse, there's not much you can do with that.

The first time Ilona lifted Alan was kinda funny, and it does also fit with her Disney character, but it tends to look awkward and I hope they stop now.

 

[bravofan27]

9 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

 

The first time Ilona lifted Alan was kinda funny, and it does also fit with her Disney character, but it tends to look awkward and I hope they stop now.

 

"Lifted?" She flipped that guy using her biceps and quads and then landed him squarely on his feet with force. It was like, DAMN! It was like powerlifting move. 

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

"Lifted?" She flipped that guy using her biceps and quads and then landed him squarely on his feet with force. It was like, DAMN! It was like powerlifting move. 

True. 😆

[Meowwww]

Ugh.  Pardon my vent.  Joey did great, heads above the others.  He scored 8s, same as the lesser dancers, the judges picked him apart for his arms etc.  The scoring is bogus.  
Chandler again brought no emotional connection. It was a dance, that was it, to me.   But THREW DOWN and was PASSIONATE (and Joey wasn’t?) and got the scores.  Why are they pumping her up and not Joey?  They have equal talent.  What a crock. 

[jackjill89]

The crock is that Phaedra, who hardly moved on the dance floor received all 8s and praise. It drives me insane when they nitpick the talented dancers and boost middling (at best) dancers. There needs to be more differences in the scores. 

[Andiethewestie]

I'll go along with Sharna Burgess assessment that Joey had a lot of technical issues and Chandler was underscored.
 

 

Edited October 26 by Andiethewestie

[RomanKat]

On 10/24/2024 at 12:26 PM, Andiethewestie said:

Remember Alison Holker the highly sought after and highly trained contemporary and hip hop dancer? Alison is the dancer's dancer in Contemporary.

She was hired as a pro on DWTS Season 19 without a lot of ballroom training, but certainly more than zero, which is how much Chandler has.

Some of Allison's dances were so frantic and slim on technique her first season people were feeling sorry for her celeb partner [...] She didn't last long as a pro. After she got two more non ballroom trained celebs she finished her short career on DWTS [...]

Which goes to show you can have a lot of talent but your training doesn't necessarily  translate from Contemporary or Jazz or Hip Hop to Ballroom 

It's true that Allison struggled as a teaching ballroom pro. She did well, however, as a student / contestant learning club Salsa, West Coast swing and Argentine tango on SYTYCD from qualified instructors.

She also did well collaborating with DWTS champion instructor Derek on an Emmy nominated Argentine Tango fusion dance that so impressed the DWTS producers, they believed she could succeed as a DWTS pro...

So while Allison failed as a pro, she might have been brilliant as a celebrity contestant under the tutelage of Derek, Mark, or Val (to name the winningest male pros).

Quote

On 10/24/2024 at 7:14 PM, Andiethewestie said:

The judges are disappointing this season[...] Learning to dance Ballroom and Latin has no home anymore on this show. [...] There is no real assessment of the dances, and by the judges not scoring appropriately there's definitely no opportunity for a good dancer with a small base to get in the finals

I've been wondering about the lower emphasis on dance technique. There was so much bad press over the summer between SCD and DWTS regarding celebrity contestants who felt they'd been pushed too hard, to the point of abuse. Perhaps the DWTS producers decided to emphasize fun over stressful workload this season? Realistically, there's only so much technique and choreography newbies can learn each week before they--or their pros--reach a breaking point.

In the old days, DWTS producers loved that drama. It got media attention, and fed the pro fanbases. But it grew tiresome, imho. FWIW, I feel like the celebrities as a whole seem to be having fun this season. And I'm enjoying that. As for the judges, I think they're starting to ask for more now, but perhaps trying to balance technical demand with positive celebrity experience?

Edited October 26 by RomanKat

[RomanKat]

On 10/24/2024 at 3:54 PM, Ilovepie said:

...Stephen seems stuck and I wish he had a different partner. Rylee is not as good as her sister Lindsay.

It's worth remembering that Lindsay wasn't good right away. She debuted as a pro her first season, but struggled in the role. She then spent 4 seasons (2 years) in the troupe before returning to the pro lineup.

ETA: I don't think Rylee is seasoned enough yet to get the most out of Stephen, but the producers wanted to pair him with someone young. When you neglect to develop new pros such that there's a 10 year gap between the youngest and next youngest female pros, you end up with sub-optimal pairings.

Edited October 27 by RomanKat

[Andiethewestie]

5 hours ago, RomanKat said:

the old days, DWTS producers loved that drama. It got media attention, and fed the pro fanbases. But it grew tiresome, imho. FWIW, I feel like the celebrities as a whole seem to be having fun this season. And I'm enjoying that. As for the judges, I think they're starting to ask for more now, but perhaps trying to balance technical demand with positive celebrity experience

Just as a counterpoint a lot of the on-line fans are very competitive and it feels far more competitive than last season. Last season seemed to be more of a love fest amongst the celebs.

This season with so many athletes on the show, it's more of a "to the victor the spoils" vibe. I think it's evidenced by Ilona's little melt down when she didn't do well. Understandable when you feel pressure to perform.

On line on some other platforms there's Lots of pointed remarks about Danny. He's got the first viral leg lift move with over 9 million views on TikTok. This isn't a new element it's been used by various contemporary dancers and a variation was on the show with Iman and Dani's contemporary, back in season 30 but somehow the Gen Z fans are brand new to the show and try out the move in droves. Anyway all this attention has angered the Joey fans saying Danny is not doing enough dancing just lifting, whilst Joey is dancing. Personally I think both guys have work to do but when production puts one handsome male against another there seems to be somewhat of a sausage fight. Danny is definitely increasing his visibility and for sure the NFL has woke up to his appearance on DWTS since Good Morning America did a segment on his dance going viral.
 

Nowadays the show limits practice time to 4 hours a day. In past seasons celebs were practicing a lot longer and for sure the celebs who were able to pick up ballroom and Latin really benefited from the extra time and imho we had overall better quality dancing. I get the need to limit practice but the celebs could be pushed a bit more.

I get the feeling that now since the show has phased out things I used to enjoy like the confessionals and longer video packages in favour of gathering likes on TikTok, they may phase out scoring all together which would be a disservice to dancing. It would be like a bunch of Swifties watching the Chiefs. You're there for the popular singer but you know nothing about the game. It's far more enjoyable when you understand the rules and regulations.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26 by Andiethewestie

[babyhouseman]

5 hours ago, Andiethewestie said:

In past seasons celebs were practicing a lot longer

I remember Len keeping up with how much they practiced. 

[realdancemom]

The judging is really weird this season. The last two shows, most of the people received a 32. The differences between the top couple score and bottom is very minimal. That means it really is up to the votes. So far, eliminations are about what I expected but it will be painful moving forward. 

I do understand that there has to be some curve. A pro can't throw as much to somebody like Phaedra vs somebody like Chandler. Phaedra was clean during her routine. She played the character correctly and looked fabulous as Cruella.  They could be judged based on quality of movement. For example, Phaedra could have given more oomph to her movements especially when sticking her booty out. Jenn could finish her hip movement more instead of cutting them short. I think that is also the reason why Joey received an 8. His character playing was fine. There was no samba bounce though. Samba is one of the hardest dances, and I'm sure he'll bounce right back. :) I do think he was scored about right and Phaedra too high, though. She should have received 7s.

Edit - I thought Chandler should have received at least one 10. She was fierce and the cape work was amazing. Her posture and shaping looked great. 

 

Edited October 26 by realdancemom

[Andiethewestie]

4 hours ago, realdancemom said:

The judging is really weird this season. The last two shows, most of the people received a 32. The differences between the top couple score and bottom is very minimal. That means it really is up to the votes. So far, eliminations are about what I expected but it will be painful moving forward. 

I do understand that there has to be some curve. A pro can't throw as much to somebody like Phaedra vs somebody like Chandler. Phaedra was clean during her routine. She played the character correctly and looked fabulous as Cruella.  They could be judged based on quality of movement. For example, Phaedra could have given more oomph to her movements especially when sticking her booty out. Jenn could finish her hip movement more instead of cutting them short. I think that is also the reason why Joey received an 8. His character playing was fine. There was no samba bounce though. Samba is one of the hardest dances, and I'm sure he'll bounce right back. :) I do think he was scored about right and Phaedra too high, though. She should have received 7s.

Edit - I thought Chandler should have received at least one 10. She was fierce and the cape work was amazing. Her posture and shaping looked great. 

 

Agree with all of this. I'm worried for Chandler moving forward. There was a few second sneak peak of their next dance, and it looked very nice, but without real judging she's highly vulnerable. I'm not sure if Dwight is going next since they have Contemporary for the Halloween show which has gone very well previously for Dani's partners.

[coffeebean]

On 10/22/2024 at 8:09 PM, ams1001 said:

Stephen's dance was fun. I don't know about technical stuff but I feel like the Charleston fits his energy well.

I did not recognize their dance as Charleston. Seems Stephen's pro is clueless. I'm surprised the judges did not call them on the lack of Charleston.

This is a Charleston.....

 

[MissPriss]

As much as I like Stephen, I didn’t recognize his dance as Charleston. I had to ask my granddaughter who was listening better than me. (Of course she doesn’t even know what the Charleston is.)

[coffeebean]

On 10/22/2024 at 9:02 PM, Desperado said:

Witney is Wolverine? 🤣🤣

Loved the choreography, only had eyes for my girl. Great job.

Danny who? 😂

Witney looks so different since she has returned. She is very beautiful.

[Quickbeam]

2 hours ago, coffeebean said:

Witney looks so different since she has returned. She is very beautiful.

I think these women are so disciplined with their weight, it shows in the face. When you are younger, there is that softness from subcutaneous fat. But that doesn’t last. After having babies the regime must be grueling to maintain a dancer’s body.