S21.E08: Famous Dances

[WhitneyWhit]

They should have just let everyone do jazz tonight, because none of the dances were even close to resembling what they were supposed to be. 

 

I'm still shaking my head and the ridiculousness that was Bindi receiving straight 10's for that. And she's still annoying as hell.

[smiley13]

I am sad to see Paula go.  I would have been okay with Andy, Hayes or Nick leaving. Or in a better world, Bindi or Tamar.

 

I think Alexa, Carlos and Alek were all great tonight, even if the judges did not agree.

[luvthepros]

Did Carrie Ann just call what Andy and Allison did a 'tap routine.'

I'd have to watch CAI's comments again but I think she was referring to the original dance from the movie as a tap routine and Allison and Andy transformed the tap routine to what it was tonight. Carrie Ann did not say Allison's choreography was tap.

Edited October 20, 2015 by luvthepros

[Saylii]

They haven't been saying "Not necessarily the bottom two" this season at all, so I have to assume that they are going with the correct placement. 

 

Coupled with the perception of Carlos' alpha male aggression towards females/his wife, I thought not going to comfort her was the grossest part of all that.  Freaking Sharna ran across the stage to comfort her, Nick made a move in that direction, and all Carlos does is look over his shoulder.  Val was standing in front of Alexa during Paula's interview and you could tell other than Sharna, no other blur moved in that direction.  When everybody was in the group shot, Derek was hugging Alexa and Carlos was mugging with Paula.  I'm over the married schtick.  I'm over Carlos.  I hope the Magic Mike thing isn't a sign that they are pimping him for a finale spot.

 

The rest of the night was meh.  Hardcore theme nights where they have to recreate dances are never a huge enjoyment for me.  I saw on Sharna's instagram that they specifically had to incorporate all the original moves from Saturday Night Fever as that was contingent on getting the song cleared.  I assume that's why some of the ballroom-not ballroom dances looked as horrible as they did.

[luvthepros]

How could Alexa get 7s for that, when that Instagram kid got all 8s? I'm not a dancer, but... what?

Alexa is a damn good dancer and I have thought that since week one. Many of Alexa's dances have been underscored and this one is no different.

[stonehaven]

Enjoyed several of the dances tonight..Love Alek but this week was not his week.I hope he sticks around though....and Hayes is barely memorable..

I cannot stand Tamar but that was a great dance...wanted to love Bindi but it really didn't seem natural..although I burst out laughing at her shock that Derek caught her...For my money, Andy's dance was the best of the night...with Nick's dance second...

Still, the perfect scores all over the place were not really called for..and Olivia Newtown John added nothing to the proceedings...

[luvthepros]

I was a little scared that Derek was going to drop her, though. I don't think I've ever seen him shake like that, and I don't think it's because Bindi is heavy.

Derek's muscles were twitching like mad. He had a really rough time with that lift. Bindi is slimming down and she is looking really great. This is the best she has looked since the start of the season. Having said that, I do think Bindi is still not waif thin and that is what Derek needed her to be for him to pull off that lift seamlessly.

[truthaboutluv]

I hated the opening number. I liked the tribute to the various iconic dance moments but who the hell thought it was a good idea to do those moments over a very bad rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody by the band, instead of a mash-up of songs? Some of the dances simply did not lend themselves well to I Wanna Dance With Somebody and the whole thing just looked kind of sloppy and stupid. I swear I feel like a broken record but can they PLEASE fire Mandy Moore?

 

Hayes/Emma (Jazz) – Meh. It was okay I guess. I am just not here for seeing knock-offs of dances I have already seen multiple times for many years. I do think it picked up towards the end and I have to applaud Hayes for really committing to the show and the cheesiness. He’s definitely no Cody Simpson (remember him) with the “I’m too cool” crap. He takes everything Emma tells him and really just gives his all and tries hard. I thought the scores were fair.

 

Andy/Alison (Jazz) – This was good. I don’t know if it was a perfect score but I’m used to really high scores on this show for Jazz and Contemporary numbers. It was nice to see Alison in her element and I thought she did a really good job of turning the routine from a tap number into a jazz number. It had a lot of similar elements but still felt fresh. And Andy did really well to keep up.

 

Alexa/Mark (Cha Cha) – It was a little jerky and I actually have to agree with Carrie Ann here (that will change later in the night). That Britney era (pre the emotional meltdowns) was Britney at the height of her confidence and she just oozed sensuality and Alexa did not have any of that. She came off as a woman trying to be sexy rather than just being sexy and I swear at times she almost seemed like even she couldn’t keep a straight face doing the moves. And she was so hoppy in her steps. Also I don't know what the hell was going on with Mark's look and as usual when he has some really crazy shit on, it kept pulling my focus. That said, I think she was underscored. I think she could have at least gotten all 8's. Still, it doesn’t look good for her partnership with Mark that she takes this big of a step back once she gets back with him and that in jeopardy scare is not going to help her confidence. Or it might light a fire under her...

 

Bindi/Derek (Rumba) – Okay, I’m confused. I know the Pros had to stay true to the iconic dances but I thought they still had to find a way to incorporate whatever style they were assigned and I didn’t see that with this dance. I didn’t see much or any rumba (I guess the first few steps at the start). It was pretty much just a recreation of the Dirty Dancing dance and don’t get me wrong, it was good and really fun but I’m just kind of left feeling like nothing new was really brought to it. And granted, Time Of My Life doesn't exactly lend itself to rumba style but still, this just didn't wow me and I definitely didn't think it was a perfect score dance but whatever. I was already meh on this whole theme anyway.

 

Paula/Louis – Honestly I have no idea what they did and was barely paying attention as I was too distracted by those boy shorts on Louis and the other guys. Plus it hardly matters since she was blessedly and finally eliminated anyway.

 

Carlos/Witney (Rumba) – I liked it. This could have been really awkward and I respected his feelings of discomfort about what the dance represented but I thought he handled it well and I thought Witney did a good job with the choreography. There were some recognizable rumba steps mixed in well with the choreography from the movie.

 

Nick/Sharna (Samba) – That was amazing. Carrie Ann is full of crap with that “you came out of character” nonsense. Julianne and Bruno nailed it in saying that Sharna did a great job seamlessly weaving in actual Samba steps into the dance that Nick nailed, while keeping the Travolta character and nailing the Saturday Night Fever moves. I mean that squat move could not have been easy on the thighs but he was flawless. This might be my favorite performance of theirs.

 

Alek/Lindsay (Jive) – I’m starting to feel like Alek may have peaked. This wasn’t awful but it was just kind of average and I didn’t feel like there was much flicks and kicks. It also lacked some of the energy needed to really sell the jive.

 

Tamar/Val (Jazz) – Full disclosure, I’m not a huge Janet Jackson fan. I understand and respect her place in pop culture but I have never been a huge fan and I’m particularly not as in love as others, with Rhythm Nation. I actually would have preferred seeing the choreography from If. So saying all that, I thought Tamar did a good job and that was a lot of intricate choreography that she kept up with pretty well. Don’t know if I thought it was a perfect score but frankly, I thought only Nick and Sharna were 40 worthy and thanks to Carrie Ann, they didn’t even get a perfect score.

 

So Paula went home and I'd like to say I care but that would be a lie. Alexa ends up in jeopardy and her scores were very low while dancing very early in the night. Yeah she may be in trouble next week. 

Edited October 20, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[wanderingstar]

Still, the perfect scores all over the place were not really called for..and Olivia Newtown John added nothing to the proceedings...

Agreed on both counts.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[RemoteControl88]

-Alexa & Mark - What were Alexa's scores really about? Because it wasn't her dancing. Should have been at least all 8's. Is this TPTB creating a story/arc? Or is she not pulling in the votes? I call BS on the scores, the package and being in jeopardy. 

-Hayes & Emma - Hayes has stalled a bit in his dancing. Good but not great...still not finishing his moves.

-Bindi - It was not her best dance so I was confused by the perfect score. She seemed shaky in a few spots...but I think she got the 40 more because it was time for her to get that score...vs. it being a 40 worthy performance TBH.

-Alek & Lindsey - also seemed like he has stalled in his dancing. Good but not great.

-Andy & Allison - Andy is not the best dancer but that was his best dance. Actual ballroom is a different story but he really nailed this performance. His best so far.

-Nick & Sharna & Tamar & Val - straight killed it. Sharp and they didn't miss a beat. I loved both for different reasons. I was really into watching both those routines.

-Carlos & Witney - He did good...but was paying WAY too much attention to Artem...I need to go back and actually watch the routine.

 

Glad to be rid of dead weight. Bye Paula. It was time.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

My positivity from last week's show has left the building!

1). Fire Mandy Moore! A ballroom dance can be extremely sexy without always raunching it up!

2). Not a fan of tonight's gimmick. I watch this for original ballroom and Latin dances, not a retread of some " famous" dance done worse than the original.

3). No lifts in the Rumba ( tho what rumba Derek?) How could lift patrol ( and total hypocrite ) Carrie Ann not deduct for 2 blatant lifts! And "make it your own?" Looked exactly like the original to me ....

4) as did the other dances I was familiar with- please correct me if I'm wrong-

5) I was really hoping for some Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, you know real ballroom !

[kitcloudkicker]

I saw on Sharna's instagram that they specifically had to incorporate all the original moves from Saturday Night Fever as that was contingent on getting the song cleared.  I assume that's why some of the ballroom-not ballroom dances looked as horrible as they did.

 

Derek mentioned this in his blog too, the adherence to the theme was pretty much producer mandated. They definitely went for production/performance first tonight over content. Knowing that I'm glad they made it a more or less a gimme night on the scores. It would be dumb to make Carlos do a solo (more or less, Witney was barely there) to Pony, tell Derek he has to put in the lift, and then take off for not enough rumba content. (Same for the "samba" and "cha cha") 

 

I'm a sucker, but I liked it. I don't think I'd want it every night. But I thought it was fun. 

[Artymouse]

Thank the mirrorball gods that Paula was eliminated. I realized tonight that she reminds me of my ex-MIL, which is just one more of many strikes against her.

I thought Olivia Newfon-John was like a ray of sunshine. Could she please replace Carrie Ann? I realize ONJ didn't give much criticism, but everything she said actually made sense, unlike CAI.

I loved Tamar's dance, was disappointed by Alek's scores, pleasantly surprised by Andy's dance.

But what's with the lighting and camera angles on some of the dances? If we're watching a dance show, seems like we should be able to see the actual dances. Some of Nick's routine looked like it was shot through the special "muck and mud filter."

[McManda]

-Carlos & Witney - He did good...but was paying WAY too much attention to Artem...I need to go back and actually watch the routine.

 

See, I'm going to go back and watch it for Artem. (Carlos who?)

[truthaboutluv]

There were lifts, multiple lifts. How many times have we seen people get deductions for even the most minor of lifts? Or an accidental lift? Yet they throw tens up at a dance that blatantly ignored the dance style and broke the rules?

 

 

I'm going to assume that was because of them having to incorporate parts of the iconic dance and judges being aware of that. As stated in the package, you really cannot do that Dirty Dancing number without the infamous lift, so it would have been ridiculous for Carrie Ann to call a lift there. And let's face it, few of the ballroom dances stuck to the rules of the styles because the Pros had to make sure the iconic dance was incorporated. Sharna, as someone else noted, probably nailed it the best with her and Nick's Samba/Disco routine. 

[smiley13]

This was pretty much a throw away night in terms of making people actually perform the dances that they were assigned.  Why bother saying Golden Boy and his underage partner have a rhumba when they did not do a rhumba??  

 

And they gave Carlos and Alexa the two "sexy" dances.  Making her dance with that snake was totally uncalled for.   Why not give nature girl the snake dance?

 

And Hayes has never seen Grease, really??  It airs all the time.   I did not like Tamar's dance, but it seems they handed her something that was in her wheelhouse.

 

Every season there are weeks that make me shake my head and wonder why I watch, and this was one of them.

[Uke]

Famous dances...well, some were.  Anyway...

 

Hayes:
He didn't have a spare 2 hours to go watch the Grease video? Not cool.  Emma, those pants!   Hayes playing the character didn't really work but the straight dancing was pretty good.  At the start, he called out "Emma" instead of "Sandy" but it sounded like she answered back "Danny (?)" - I was confused.   The "Shake Shack" was unnecessary.   Hayes seemed to get all the moves but it was do this, now that... There was no smooth moving from one move to the next.  The scores were good, especially considering he went first. The singing was horrible. They might as well just use a recording - it would sound better.

 

Andy:
How did Andy get Good Morning? I thought Derek had a lock on anything Gene Kelly.   Andy did very well, though Allison got ahead of him a couple of times but she did pull back.  I'd call this Andy's best so far. Maybe Allison learned something from last week? Not perfect 40-worthy but I'm happy for Andy. I would have given it all 9s.

 

Alexa:
It's a weird dance but she really performed it and kudos for handling that snake.  I think it's unfair that some are getting ballroom/latin dances with rules while others got freestyle "jazz" dances.  Surprised how CAI lit into Alexa. But we knew her scores would drop after the perfect 40 with Derek.  Underscored.  Disturbed by the parking lot segment with Carlos in their package.  When Carlos said "we" topped the leader board and Alexa corrected him that "she" topped the leader board, she then had to placate him. Disturbing.

 

Bindi:
A "rumba" in name only. But in fairness he was apparently told to copy the original choreography. Derek sure was shaking in that lift.  But they pulled it off, so good for them.  Bindi had alot of standing-still moments but, oh well.  Of course wasn't called out for lack of rumba content or the much worried about lift police docking a point.  Talking with Leah, it seemed all about Derek.  Of course it got a perfect 40.   I expected that as soon as I heard the song assignment.  I wonder how Bindi is doing with votes. She got another segment on ET again tonight.

 

Paula:
A lot of walking and hand-ography but she seemed to pull it off and I was watching to see if she was looking at the other dancers to remember the moves...and she wasn't.  She kind of had a fixed smile on her face the time but, oh well.  Good for her.  She sure seems to like lifting the front of  her skirt.  A little underscored. She should have gotten a 7 or two 7s on her scale of progression.

 

Carlos:
He seems to have a problem letting Witney be in charge.  But then he needs compliments from her to make him feel better?  I'm just over this guy.  Another "rumba" in name only.  He seemed distracted when the shirt didn't tear off completely.  Again, not called out for no rumba content. 10s? Overscored. Four 9s would have been plenty.

 

Nick:
I guess he got the message that he was out of line by taking over choreo from Witney last week.  As best I could see, the dancing seemed good but he lacked the Travolta "strut" or attitude. It was really hard to see him from the waist down with the black pants against the dark background, colored lights, etc.  What was Sharna trying to hide?  Why was Nick not in the white suit?  I'm just confused by this.  Way overscored. I'd have given it a mix of 8s and 9s.

 

Alek:
I've got to give him props. He's game for anything, including wearing that Elvis costume out to the mall.  Not his best dance. He looked a little lost at times. The kicks and flicks looked a little wonky.  I don't think I've ever heard a "judge" tell a star to work with another pro - I felt that was a dig at Lindsay. Given the massive overscoring of most tonight (except Alexa and Paula), the 7s seemed low. Compared to the others, he should have gotten all 8s.

 

Tamar:
Their package seemed better. Tamar had laryngitis (really rough if she's doing alot of appearances for the album she just dropped) but wanted to do well and rise to the occasion and cooperate with Val.  Usually when the star and troupe are all dressed alike and in dark clothing, I lose track of the star. But Val (and the camera operators) kept Tamar easily in view the whole time.  She did really, really well with this and it all looked in sync with all the other dancers.  This is the ONLY dance tonight I felt deserved the perfect 40.

 

Lowballing Alexa and then putting her in jeopardy - I'm not sure if TPTB are trying to light a fire under Alexa's fans to get voting or under Alexa to get her head in the game.

Not a fan of Paula, but she had a good run.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Uke

[Brownie]

Paula was arm dancing, Carlos was stripping...I'm not a dancer but were these really dances? 

 

I missed Andy's and Hayes'.  I thought Derek was going to drop Bindi, maybe not a rumba but at least there were actual "dancing".  Alexa was underscored. Alek was okay.  I thought Nick did a good job. Tamar was pretty good.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Brownie

[smiley13]

  I thought Derek was going to drop Bindi, maybe not a rumba but at least there were actual "dancing".  

I was hoping they would blow the lift, but all we got was supposedly perfect spaghetti arms.

[howmanywords]

Poor Alek has been on a downward trajectory and at this point I think he might be screwed. Unless he's pulling in a ton of votes I dont know if he can keep up with the way things are going.

 

Why did they give the 17 year old Dirty Dancing? What a waste. And, I hope to never see Bindi and Derek crawling on the floor again. I think they just ruined that entire scene for me forever.

The ironic thing here is the character of "Baby" actually was I believe 17 or 18. Jennifer Grey was in her 20's at the time, but Baby was portrayed as a teenager

 

Nick, well I give a TON of credit.  Travolta couldnt even dance the way he did going into Saturday Night Fever. He got major training by a choreographer who specialized in disco dancing. So IMO Nick did very well all things considered.

Edited October 20, 2015 by howmanywords

[ocelot]

Yeah I don't really understand why Mandy is so useless on this show. I agree with everyone else, she needs to go.

Compare dwts mandy 'all girls number'

 to sytycd mandy 'all girls number' 

I don't get it. 

[ocelot]

I think Tamar and Alexa are being criminally underrated this season.

[ML89]

<quote>Why was Nick not in the white suite?</quote>

Because that's not what Travolta wears for "You Should Be Dancing," that's for the competition dance to "More Than A Woman." He wears black pants and a shimmery shirt for "Dancing." That competition dance might have been a better choice. It's almost as iconic and Sharna wouldn't have had to work so much at putting herself in and camouflaging how blah Carter is.

Why not give Bindi the dance with the snake, it's not like Alex was putting any sexy into it anyway. Her hubby complaining about doing a raunchy dance - could Derek explain to these people that you can be religious and dance sexy?

[Mittengirl]

Was Janet Jackson's original dance/video as poorly lit as Tamar's was? Is ABC skimping on the electric bill? I would have liked to have actually clearly seen the dance.

[PBGamer89]

The last time I hated a theme this much was maybe America Night in season 12. There was almost zero content in most of the ballroom dances and everything was just free for all Jazz. Len would’ve gotten so much use out of the 6 and 7 paddles. Times like these I miss him. Now that this week is done I’d like to quickly erase it from memory. Now, because my luck is just grand, just watch me lose a favorite (Alexa) next week because of this horrid theme.

 

A few thoughts on tonight's dances:

 

Andy/Allison: Ok, easily his best dance, no questions asked, but honestly a few times of the side by side it felt a hair off from Allison who basically goes balls to the wall in Jazz/Contemporary. Maybe this 40 was for the set, maybe it was “crap we need to keep Allison around for whatever reason”, or maybe the judges honestly have lost it. Then again these are the same judges that thought Noah Galloway was in the same league as Rumer, Nastia, or Riker. Also, why are you making a pregnant woman go up and down stairs and jump on a sofa?

 

Alexa/Mark: OK, let me just clarify that in the ballroom dances tonight, I think any lack of content is not by the pro’s choice, I honestly think, based on Derek’s blog, that TPTB were heavy on including as much original choreography as possible. She had Cha Cha steps in there performed them well, but I do agree that she could’ve been more grounded. But not in the way of the score she got. IF we lose Alexa next week, it’s honestly by the judges’ fault for that score.

 

Bindi/Derek: OK, this was a tricky one for me. I love Bindi and she’s my horse this season for a win, but aside from the beginning 30 seconds of Rumba, the rest was easily more along the lines of Salsa/Mambo. Based on that along, I had issue with the perfect score. If we threw out the style it was perfection, but I don’t know why TPTB decided this was an appropriate Rumba. They pulled off the lift though and nice to see Jennifer Grey.

 

Carlos/Witney: This was the most non-Rumba, Rumba I have ever seen. It was mostly stripping and grinding with a little bit of partnering. This was easily a result of Carlos’ already having Jazz in Week 3 and they couldn’t give it to him again. Len would have easily given this a 5 or 6, as would I have.

 

Overall, we can just put this theme in the vault of horrible ideas next to America Night in season 12, 80's night in season 13, "Hollywood" night in season 17, and last season's spring break special.

[tarotx]

I felt sorry for Alexa to have to be compared to Britney. It's just so unfair. Britney was so on in that VMA performance. I thought they would give them some lead way here. Alexa isn't Britney.  It's hard for Britney to be able to project that confidence now. She can barely live up to her own 19 year old self let a lone someone with a personality like Alexa. I felt sorry Alexa. I gave her my votes. I really enjoyed the performance.

[AdorkableSars]

 

 

I call BS on tens for that!  His arms and head were shaking like he could barely hold her up.  And that was supposed to be a rhumba?? 

They just really are pushing this girl

 

He was shaking like crazy...but of course no judge called him out on it. I like Bindi a lot. She is one of my favorites this season, but I found that dance quite underwhelming. Annoyingly so.

 

 

Alexa should have at least gotten 8s for handling that damn snake!

 

Haha, I tweeted that she deserved 10s for having to handle that snake. 

 

 

I thought Carlos acted like such a douche nozzle when he said he and Alexa were on top, she said, "No, I'm on top!" and he walked away leaving her standing there calling after him.  I felt so bad for her.  Clearly he is the alpha in that marriage, and he does not seem to like it if she's doing better than he is.

 

I am very over Carlos. He seems like a jerk, and I don't know why the show is trying to make him happen. Stop trying to make Carlos happen. Thought he was overscored tonight. Of him and Alexa, I far prefer Alexa (who I thought was underscored tonight).

 

 

The hell is going on here? At this rate I can go fall on my ass on the dance floor and get a 10.

 

HAHAHA! So on point. The judges were whack tonight.

 

Bindi and Carlos were overscored.Alexa and Alek were underscored. If either of them go home next week, I'll be pissed. At least Paula is finally gone. She was amusing, but couldn't watch her "dancing" anymore.

 

I thought Alek was great tonight. Seemed to have a blast, and I still think he's improving from week to week. Lindsay choreographs great routines with lots of content, and I think Alek does great. I'm sad that the judges are so indifferent to him.

 

Andy KILLED it tonight. Love him!!!

[Archery]

Question: how was Bindi and Derek's number not a rhumba? IIRC, in the movie, Baby learns the rhumba in order to stand in for Penny, and chickens out on the lift. Then at the end , they start to do the same dance and it turns into the group dance with the flying lift. Wouldn't that still make it a rhumba rhythm dance?

The Dirty Dancing number looked pretty much the same as the original and bored me. The Singing In The Rain one blew me away.

I felt bad for Tamar last week and Alexa this week. They were underscored. What a blow to their confidence. I did think CAI' s advice to Alek to learn from Artem was spot one and sensible; he needs a strong male dancer to model himself after to hit those masculine notes.

Tom might have had an easier time catching Erin than Leah.

[Ripley68]

I guess I'm the only person who think Tamara didn't nail Rythym Nation? She was no where sharp enough in her movements, and at times you could see her side eyeing to make sure she was doing the right moves.

 

Alexa got screwed with the dance she was given.  That is in no way an iconic dance (I don't think of Britney having any iconic dance).  I don't think any of the 10 dances deserved them - but think Nick should have got the closest to perfect, Sharna did a great job with choreography, and just completing those Russian things deserves 2 extras points!

[Uke]

West Coast All-Access just started and they've got Bindi's brother co-hosting with Dominic? STOP!!! Enough already. How about bringing on Andy's wife to co-host? Or Alek's grandma?  Grrrrrr!  Sorry folks! Just wigging out here.

[sinkwriter]

If there was ever a perfect dance for Tamar, it was that one. All about the sharp technique (which she has in spades) and because of the militaristic style of it, the dance doesn't require major facial expression so she can focus on the dance and if she's blank faced it fits the routine. She did a fantastic job, and it brought me right back to junior high / high school. As soon as I saw her costume, I said, "Oh, she's going to kill this one." And she did.

And I loved how her usual poker face demeanor cracked when Val picked her up and swung her around after they finished the dance. It was great to see her smile.

[EyewatchTV211]

Yeah I don't really understand why Mandy is so useless on this show. I agree with everyone else, she needs to go.

Compare dwts mandy 'all girls number' to sytycd mandy 'all girls number' I don't get it. 

Because she doesn't actually know ballroom, like Allison doesn't. She seems to think ballroom=sex/striptease

[PBGamer89]

Question: how was Bindi and Derek's number not a rhumba? IIRC, in the movie, Baby learns the rhumba in order to stand in for Penny, and chickens out on the lift. Then at the end , they start to do the same dance and it turns into the group dance with the flying lift. Wouldn't that still make it a rhumba rhythm dance?

 

I think it's that Rumba requires a slowly tempo and specific movements to be considered an actual Rumba. There was plenty of it in the beginning part with the slower tempo, but once the tempo picked up it was purely Mambo/Salsa as it did in the movie.

 

Derek actually said in his blog he didn't have much control on this dance, being told by the producers to keep it super close to the original, but I still think it should've been labeled as Salsa.

[Quickbeam]

I am not Derek's biggest fan but he impressed. I like that he came out and said his skill set is not big lifts. I didn't mind seeing the effort. Kind of makes me appreciate Swayze that much more, too.

[PBGamer89]

A fun fact here: the lowest placement anyone who got a perfect score was 8th place, Sabrina Bryan in All Stars and 7th place, also Sabrina Bryan in season 5.

 

Anyone else placed 6th or higher who recieved at least 1 perfect score, in regards to Alexa and Andy, who many think to be on the chopping block soon.

 

If either go home next week, they'll be like Sabrina, 8th place with a previous perfect score.

[smiley13]

As the great "lift" was being sort of executed, I could not help but think of that TV commercial where the husband and wife go crashing down.

[kayma]

Bindi/Derek: OK, this was a tricky one for me. I love Bindi and she’s my horse this season for a win, but aside from the beginning 30 seconds of Rumba, the rest was easily more along the lines of Salsa/Mambo. Based on that along, I had issue with the perfect score. If we threw out the style it was perfection, but I don’t know why TPTB decided this was an appropriate Rumba. They pulled off the lift though and nice to see Jennifer Grey.

I wouldn't say they pulled off the lift. Yes, he didn't drop her, but it didn't look graceful or steady. That lift's been done much better before on this show imo. I did think the recreated steps were enjoyable.

The inclusion of lifts and limited rumba don't matter to me since it was the theme night. But, tbtp are really turning me against Bindi. I want to like her. I like that she's positive and happy and embracing this, but I just can't handle feeling like they're manipulating me with the scores and comments and packages and dance assignments, especially compared to the other women. I just want them to let Bindi be Bindi.

[TeeMo]

West Coast All-Access just started and they've got Bindi's brother co-hosting with Dominic? STOP!!! Enough already. How about bringing on Andy's wife to co-host? Or Alek's grandma?  Grrrrrr!  Sorry folks! Just wigging out here.

Her boyfriend was also on All Access tonight. Why? Enough. 

[howmanywords]

Was Janet Jackson's original dance/video as poorly lit as Tamar's was? Is ABC skimping on the electric bill? I would have liked to have actually clearly seen the dance.

The entire video was black and white and if I recall correctly there was a lot of smoke blowing around.

[RemoteControl88]

I wouldn't say they pulled off the lift. Yes, he didn't drop her, but it didn't look graceful or steady. That lift's been done much better before on this show imo. I did think the recreated steps were enjoyable.

The inclusion of lifts and limited rumba don't matter to me since it was the theme night. But, tbtp are really turning me against Bindi. I want to like her. I like that she's positive and happy and embracing this, but I just can't handle feeling like they're manipulating me with the scores and comments and packages and dance assignments, especially compared to the other women. I just want them to let Bindi be Bindi.

 

I agree. America already likes Bindi.  TBTB don't need to "try to make us like her." It feels like they are REALLY pushing her on us.  That may end up back firing on her too.

Edited October 20, 2015 by RemoteControl88

[Wings]

Daisy, the snake did very well.  She is a show bizz snake and been in the spot light her entire life.  She is in her comfort zone.  We saw how relaxed she was all cuddled with with Alexa during the judging and interview.  She is a pro.  I have seen her before.  

 

Please hire Lea for next season.  Can I hope her  being the replacement is a hint that she may be under consideration?  She looks better with some bangs and her make up was terrible, not her fault.  

 

Olivia should back off the fillers; she looked like she had been on a binge.  Good hair though.  

 

Good appropriate dance for Bindi, Jennifer Gray played a much younger girl in the movie.  Bindi is a normal body weight but dancers are not, so I understand why Derrick had a difficult time with that lift.  

[sinkwriter]

My favorites tonight were Andy, Bindi, Tamar and Nick. 

 

I thought Andy did a great job. He's showing terrific improvement, these last two weeks. Perhaps the switch-up helped him get in the groove. Also, I think that Allison having to stick to choreography that's close to the original film meant she didn't go over the top and into hyper-drive the way she often does, so the overall dance was much more controlled and Andy was able to not only keep up but do well with each step. I thought they looked great, and I cheered hard for Andy.

 

I don't know if there was enough rumba content for Bindi and Derek's dance, but I don't really care this week because I have great fondness for Dirty Dancing as a film and it was major nostalgia for me to watch that dance. It was fun, it was lively, it was sweet, and whether or not Derek's arms shook, they still did a terrific job in my eyes. (Plus, I like seeing him get rattled a little. It's not something we see everyday.) 

 

Side note: who cares if they did lifts this week? I assumed (for all of them tonight) that the judges were giving some leeway on details like that because they're supposed to stay true to the iconic moves of the dances. Two of those lifts were very specific and iconic to the Dirty Dancing dance. Without them, it's doesn't capture the essence of the routine. Derek had to do lifts.

 

I think Carrie Anne is crazy - I really enjoyed watching Nick dance tonight. Maybe it's just because that's such an iconic dance film so I was feeling the nostalgia, but... I was really impressed with a lot of what he had to do. I thought for SURE he wasn't going to do the Russian moves, but he did! And he did it well! My jaw dropped at that. And overall it was just fun. He looked like he was having fun, the costumes were trippy, the moves from 70's stuff transitioning to the salsa was smooth. Maybe he could have added a little more swagger, but overall I thought it was a very fun dance to watch.

[smiley13]

I agree. America already likes Bindi.  TBTB don't need to "try to make us like her." It feels like they are REALLY pushing her on us.  That may end up back firing on her too.

Not all of America likes her.  She has really been given the media push and I do think it is working against her.  People do not like to feel manipulated.

[WhosThatGirl]

not surprised Paula left, it was her time. I feel like Bindi/Derek got a perfect score for the dirty dancing dance. Not what it was. That was not a rumba to me. I like bindi but I do feel like there's powers that be forcing the hand with her.

[ocelot]

Because she doesn't actually know ballroom, like Allison doesn't. She seems to think ballroom=sex/striptease

I know but even her group numbers that aren't trying to be ballroom are awful.

Question: how was Bindi and Derek's number not a rhumba? IIRC, in the movie, Baby learns the rhumba in order to stand in for Penny, and chickens out on the lift. Then at the end , they start to do the same dance and it turns into the group dance with the flying lift. Wouldn't that still make it a rhumba rhythm dance?

I might be wrong, but I thought in the movie it was a mambo?

[FilmTVGeek80]

 

Certainly she was told that the bottom 2 are not necessarily the bottom two.  We have heard that line enough.  It is easier to tell if you are going when you see who you is standing next to you.  Bye Paula!

This season they've never indicated whether the bottom two is the real one or not. In past seasons Tom has always stressed that the last two couples in jeopardy weren't necessarily the bottom two, but this year it's different so I get why Alexa was worried (not to the point of having an emotional breakdown, but still...)

 

I have very little positive things to say about this week. I know Sharna and others indicated they had to incorporate iconic moves from the dance, and I think they also said that at the top of the show, but that didn't mean they had to straight up copy the dances, did it? The only one I was super duper familiar with (because it's one of my favorite movies) was the Dirty Dancing dance. The only one other than that I knew very well was Rhythm Nation. The DD one was a straight up rip-off, which was why Bruno saying that dance wasn't a copy was one of the stupidest things I've heard him say. Rhythm Nation felt like a copy too, but I think that had at least some new moves thrown in. I have no idea of the others were carbon copies.

 

I think it's been awhile that I've been as incensed at a number getting perfect scores as I was with Bindi's dance getting a 40. So glad others were also ticked off about it. I like Bindi. I love her bubbly personality. I don't want her to ultimately win because I'm over Derek winning, but I like her. Still that was horseshit! I love, love that dance, but I didn't need to see an exact (though not as enjoyable and wonderfully danced) replica. At one point Bindi was doing this side to side head move with her arms out that Jennifer did in the movie, and Bindi looked like she was trying to swat at flies. And that was not a rhumba. I know they had to include certain moves, but still Derek, emmy-winning choreographer should have been able to do incorporate at least some rhumba moves, like Sharna was able to include some samba in hers. Also that lift was wobbly as hell. That was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I enjoyed the heck out of Nick's dance. I thought he had hella swagger and performed it beautifully.

 

Not Alek's best dance, but I haven't laughed so hard at him walking around in that Elvis get-up. Happy others from last week thought they got hosed in scores for his rhumba.

 

Carlos' personality is starting to grate, and while it wasn't much of a rhumba, it was sexy. Carlos was definitely thrown by his shirt not tearing away fully, but it didn't trip him up.

 

Didn't think Andy/Allison deserved a perfect score. I caught a few screw-ups.

 

Alexa gets huge props for handling that snake, even while being judged. Though given how intense she is about the competition, she was probably more afraid of the judges' comments than that snake. Though I wonder if that snake was tranquilized. It was amazingly docile and still.

 

Thank God Paula's gone. I couldn't take being blinded by he flashing everyone yet again!

 

I was disappointed by ONJ's judging. She was pretty useless. And please seek medical attention if you did Tom's "amazing" drinking game.

[Wings]

Yeah I don't really understand why Mandy is so useless on this show. I agree with everyone else, she needs to go.

Compare dwts mandy 'all girls number'

 to sytycd mandy 'all girls number' 

I don't get it. 

 

 

Who is Mandy, I have never heard her mentioned before now?

[ocelot]

I wouldn't say they pulled off the lift. Yes, he didn't drop her, but it didn't look graceful or steady. That lift's been done much better before on this show imo. I did think the recreated steps were enjoyable.

I think Rumer and Val's lift in their ballet-inspired 'contemporary' tango/waltz was similar to what Bindi and Derek attempted, and better done.

[ocelot]

Who is Mandy, I have never heard her mentioned before now?

Mandy Moore is a coordinator on DWTS the last few years, she does some of the opening number and troupe/pro groups. She's been one of the main choreographers on SYTYCD for like 10 years. She's a contemporary/jazz choreographer, not trained in ballroom so she doesn't do a good job on this show.

[sinkwriter]

Carlos really brought the abs tonight. Wow.

 

Alexa... sadly, I think the judges were right. I wanted to like her performance, especially because she was so strong last week, but this week she did seem very tentative. She didn't tap into sexiness or sultriness. She had flashes of it, moments, but overall the dance felt lacking to me. Like she never really got into the sexy groove of it. Frankly, I think it wasn't the right dance for her. She's too smiley and wholesome (not that that's a bad thing, but it doesn't help her get into the right mindset for this dance).

 

Alek... I really wanted to like, and I did like certain parts, especially - as Carrie Anne pointed out - when he loosened up and his facial expression and dancing got more into character. There were certain moves that he did really well, but he didn't keep the momentum going throughout. Overall it felt tentative. He needs to go all out and just commit full on. The judges were right - he's in that middle cusp area, and unless he breaks free of it by diving in completely, he's not going to make it to the end. I do have to give him major props for going outdoors in that Elvis outfit, though. That took guts. I just wish he'd been able to sustain that and channel it into the entire dance tonight.

 

Paula... well... no real dancing to speak of, so the right person went home tonight. I will say, however, that Louis did a great job with the choreography -- when the dance first started, with all the iconic snaps and posturing of the guys before they separate and reveal "Madonna," I got a little chill. They all looked so good. I think Louis knew they were probably going home tonight, and he sold his part to the best of his abilities. I think it's pretty funny that when Leah asked if they did Madonna justice, he immediately said, "Yes, I did." LOL. I think she was aiming for you to talk about your partner, Louis! But yeah, he did a great job. And Paula did what she could, even though (smartly) Louis gave her little to no real dancing. She did look great. Her costume was impeccable.

Edited October 20, 2015 by sinkwriter