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S29: Keo Motsepe

radishcake

By radishcake
in Dancing With The Stars

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vibeology

vibeology

And I don't even know if its teaching. Like if I called Keo up and took lessons from him, I bet he's probably a better teacher than I'd suspect from his performances on the show. My issues with Jodie's dances haven't been that she doesn't seem to know how to do the dances (with the obvious exception that she had some difficulty doing the dance last week), its that Keo doesn't give her those moments to connect with the camera and be the star of their dances. He doesn't choreograph with an awareness of the audience in the ballroom or at home. Jodie's back was to the camera so much in the Cha Cha last week that even if it had gone perfectly, I still wouldn't have known. Keo needs to step back after this season and get some lessons in how to stage a number. Val gave Jodie moments where it was just her and the camera. He gave her moments where he was in the background and she was commanding the floor. I kind of hate the Mandy Moore opening numbers, but Keo should sit down with her and talk about how to better stage a performance because I think that's the crux of his issue.

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Saylii

Saylii

Keo is a big overdancer. If he choreographs one twirl for his star, he's dancing two twirls with an arm extension. That kind of dancing works when it's the girl who is the pro because the women are generally supposed to be more lyrical in most of the dances anyways. Keo's dancing actually reminds me of Mark and his spats days.

Keo also doesn't train his partners for the stage. Both with Chaka and Charlotte he used techniques in practice that he couldn't use on stage (visual markers on his wrists for left and right). Then he didn't help Jodie overcome not hearing the music (the others make that part of their training).

Lastly, Keo hasn't had a partner with good chemistry yet. Tristan may have been stuck with Nancy Grace, but damn if they didn't have chemistry to the point there was showmance speculation. Artem brought the fun with Miss Patti. Keo hasn't had that yet, so the fans haven't connected with him as much.

McManda

McManda

(edited)

Tristan may have been stuck with Nancy Grace, but damn if they didn't have chemistry to the point there was showmance speculation.

 

Was there really? Wow. But taking showmanship, there is one dance I wonder about that Tristan choreographed for Nancy Grace; their Devil Went Down to Georgie jive. Nancy Grace was ... not good, but the dance was so dynamic and was staged in such a way that even to this day I want to see Tristan dance it with someon capable.

 

Same with Artem and Patty's salsa. In Da Club should have made for an awful salsa, but they made it work and made it enjoyable.

 

That's what Keo is missing with his partners. Nothing he does is all that memorable to me after it's over. Plus, I think he would have actually been better off with some middle of the road contestant; maybe a Ginger or a Marla; someone that was comfortable with dancing and learning but was never really going to win. I think he thinks he's got a chance with Jodie (and honestly, if she were with anyone but Keo I might agree) so he keeps pushing her past what she can do well and that's where it all falls apart. He just seems like he's so excited to not be out in week 2 that he doesn't know what to do with that.

Edited by McManda
spanana

spanana

(edited)

I kind of feel for Keo even though I don't particularly like him as a pro.  The show has gotten themselves into a predicament with him though.  He's an example of somebody that should have been put in the troupe for several seasons before being given a chance at a pro spot.  As much as I can't stand the troupe being in the background making all these numbers essentially big group dances, it is a useful way to season pros on the come up.  See all it did for Lindsay after her first season with Victor.

 

But the issue is Keo is the ONLY bit of diversity amongst the pro cast and the show has been getting a lot of flack from fans over the course of the last several seasons for the lack of diversity amongst the pros. There is some diversity amongst the celebs, but the pro roster actually seems to get less diverse as we go.  So if the show ditches their only POC pro and adds yet more white people from Utah, there is going to be major backlash.   

 

Now of course the show could actually get out there and look for and cast some other POC pros, so the weight isn't being carried entirely on Keo's shoulders.  Supposedly the show did a bunch of pro interviews prior to this season and I assume that is where our new troupe members came from, but of course the show just hired a bunch of additional white guys.  It doesn't even make sense to me because even if you want to argue there are a lack of qualified POC ballroom pros out there, half the people they are hiring don't even have ballroom backgrounds in the first place, so clearly ballroom qualifications are only secondary to what TPTB are looking for.

 

Anyway, point being that the show is going to be very careful.  I can see them offering him a troupe spot to keep him around as opposed to outright getting rid of him.  

Edited by spanana
boyznkatz

boyznkatz

(edited)

Surely they can find other black dancers besides Keo if they want more diversity. I live in a predominantly African American city and all kinds of dancing are very popular here. There are plenty of black ballet companies and ballroom is very popular as well. There are plenty of American dancers out there if they would go out there and look. That said, I'm not sure Keo deserves all the blame for Jodie. Honestly she isn't that great. She's better than Doug and Kim for sure, but she's not on the level of Paige, Nyle or Wanya. I really didn't think she was that much better with Val. Her dancing still comes off as frantic to me.

Edited by boyznkatz
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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

(edited)
3 hours ago, Kira53 said:

You must have meant confirmation that Keo has a partner this year.

I'd say that @kitcloudkicker knew what he/she meant. Keo doesn't have a CELEBRITY partner this year. He only has a PRO that he's going to be doing demo dances with to teach the viewers what to look for (and even how to do some of the basics ourselves).

Edited by legaleagle53
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kitcloudkicker

kitcloudkicker

10 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

I'd say that @kitcloudkicker knew what he/she meant. Keo doesn't have a CELEBRITY partner this year. He only has a PRO that he's going to be doing demo dances with to teach the viewers what to look for (and even how to do some of the basics ourselves).

Unless @Kira53 means getting Daniella as a partner is better than getting a so-called celebrity?

I do like Daniella, she’s a pretty captivating dancer, it’ll be fun to see what they can do. Maybe it’ll be more fun for them to be able to dance full out every week with someone at the top of their game.

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kitcloudkicker

kitcloudkicker

4 minutes ago, Kira53 said:

I don't know who she is but I never that many celebs at the start of the season.

Ah, got it. She’s not a celeb, she’s a new pro dancer. Both her and Keo will be doing dances all season demonstrating proper technique, they won’t be competing to win. That’s why I said Keo doesn’t have a “celeb” partner. Some are viewing it as a demotion, as he’s effectively no longer in the competition.

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Kira53

Kira53

2 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

Ah, got it. She’s not a celeb, she’s a new pro dancer. Both her and Keo will be doing dances all season demonstrating proper technique, they won’t be competing to win. That’s why I said Keo doesn’t have a “celeb” partner. Some are viewing it as a demotion, as he’s effectively no longer in the competition.

Thanks for the explanation.  At the end of the show I was wondering how I missed Keo dance.

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