S19.E06: Week 4: Most Memorable Year

[howmanywords]

Yes but it was the nostalgia factor that prompted all those places to promote it like that in the first place.  There wasn't any mention of other dances this week or any other week all over talk shows because it wasnt simply a matter of it being a good dance. I can't remember the last time any dance caused that.  I predicted weeks ago once Alfonso busted out "The Carlton" people were gonna lose their shit because I remember how the Fresh Prince reunion on the Graham Norton show was huge and went viral. The whole Carlton thing was bigger than I think many realized.

[realdancemom]

While I agree with your sentiment about only wanting trained ballroom dancers as pros, please no to looking at the female half of the troupe.  Lindsay had a shot at pro and didn't do a very good job.  Mind you I don't think Victor Ortiz would have been an easy student for anyone, but she herself wasn't very good and she wasn't near as strict with him as she needed to be.  Though that was a few years ago already so it's possible Lindsay's learned a lot during her time in the troupe and would do a better job the second time around.  However I don't think Lindsay has the it factor that Witney does. As for Jenna, I think she will undoubtably be a pro next season, but she has a bad habit of overdancing and she's yet to meet a camera she doesn't like.  Since we need some new female pros (with Cheryl leaving and Allison indoubtably not being asked back), I vote for new blood.   Though I'm open to giving Tanisha a shot.

I'm willing to give Lindsay another shot just like Witney had another chance.  Both Cody and Victor were not good students.  I watched After Buzz where Victor was a guest.  The AB hosts had a difficult time containing him since he was all over the place.  I don't think Lindsay has the star quality of Witney but she does have a lot of teaching experience.  Her mom owns the Vibe and she taught over there.

 

Jenna does love the camera but that was also a common complaint for Witney.  Witney has toned it down or maybe Alfonso has the performance quality to match her so that it's not so noticeable.

 

We don't have to look at the troupe.  I do think the producers are trying to get a younger audience.  So they are doing less ballroom.  Derek and Mark started it by doing more fusion ballroom styles.  Witney's choreography is that way too.  I think that's what they wanted from Allison.  But they made a mistake because Allison doesn't have enough ballroom experience especially when it comes to teaching.  So I mentioned Lindsay and Jenna because they are cross-trained like Witney so that they can do ballroom, jazz, and contemporary.

[Uke]

 

 

I'm getting the impression TPTB are in Alfonso's corner at this point. He was assigned Flamenco as his dance this week. If anything is in his wheelhouse, Flamenco must be the closest. It's all about the syncopation of the feet and Alfonso is a tapper. How perfect is that? I can not wait for this dance. Glad Alfonso was teamed with Cheryl for this week. He can't miss.

 

 

As a tapper, Alfonso would definitely have the syncopation of the feet. My question is, does Cheryl know enough to teach and choreograph flamenco?  Maybe it's a coincidence but Corky was in LA this week for AfterBuzz.  Corky's mother was Maria Louisa Marulanda, a world famous flamenco dancer.  I would think Corky would have learned quite a lot from her. I don't know if Corky is still in LA but, if he is, I'd guess  Cheryl would consult with him.

 

ETA:

Maria passed away less than a year ago.  A little more info from her obit, just because I find her interesting and some of you might too:

 

Maria Louisa Marulanda Ballas, dancer, singer, starlet and humanitarian passed away peacefully at the age of 88 on the 12th of December 2013.

Maria was a 5th generation Texan. Born and raised in Laredo, Texas her ancestors were among the founding families in the year 1755. Her parents Alejandro and Leonor Marulanda, and her sister Leonor de Jesus Marulanda preceded her in death.

At the age of 5, Maria donned her first pair of castanets. She studied flamenco from the world-renowned Carmen Amaya and became a premier flamenco artist excelling in dance, song and the art of castanet playing. At the age of 13, she began teaching dance in Laredo, Falfurrias, and Piedras Negras.

Maria and her troupe danced for dignitaries, celebrities and charities. They performed for church benefits and for those in need. She was cast in the film "Rio Grande" (46' Republic), starring Sunset Carson. In 1996 the Mayor of Laredo presented her with a Proclamation "In thanks for bringing the arts to Texas."

At the age of 27, she married the love of her life, the late George Charles Ballas. George was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force (WWII/Korean War), they fell in love dancing. George was an entrepreneur best known for building Dance City U.S.A., in Houston, followed by his invention of the Weed Eater.

Maria always put God first and would emphatically state, "I am a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, in that order!" Though a humanitarian through and through, chairing many civic and social events, her priority was her family. She raised her children in Catholic schools and passed her strong Christian faith to her grandchildren who lovingly called her Bebe.

Maria's radiant smile and "bigger than life" personality would fill a room with warmth, love, joy, passion and entertainment! She loved giving parties for family and friends and being available to those in need.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Uke

[jhlipton]

I'll give Sadie a lot of credit for acknowledging the elephant in the room. As many have posted, she's very young and sheltered to have a great tragedy in her past, but you know her grandpa's comments were highly controversial and have earned Sadie herself a lot of vitriol just because she's a Duck. Good for her for facing it head-on.

The idea of her defending Grandpa makes my skin crawl. There's lots of kids who know better and can say they love their parents or grandparents, just not what they say, but this felt like she defends racism and homophobia. Ugh.

 

I had the same reaction. “No matter what he said, no matter how disgusting, he’s till family.” Ugh, no. I like her dancing, but the constant packaging of the Fake Hillbillies puts me off.

 

Did anybody have a problem doing the raise your paddle? Did it also seem that no matter what you scored it was going to be close to the judges?

 

I was amused and annoyed that “America’s” score (from less than half of America) was always within a point or two of the judges. Yeah, right. I smell aspartame (artificial sweetener) being liberally applied.

 

Another point about Bethany is that if she has a successful online presence, she will have been exposed to massive bullying and hate by trolls and women-haters. I don't think I've ever heard of any woman who hasn't been excessively and cruelly tormented online in those circumstances.

 

Middle school and high school bullying is pretty weak, deplorable as it is, to internet bullying. Death and rape threats are common. It’s sad just how ugly people can get when they’re anonymous.