S21.E13: Finals Night

[Thadeeeyus]

Shout out to Peta and Artem dancing ballroom to a guest performer like the good old days!!

 

This was beautiful!

[DancingD]

Artem and Peta were wonderful, I miss the pro dances too.

 

Partner dancing is hard ya'll. Add steps, technique, hold and posture to leading/following, you've got a brain workout right there. I'm not so impressed by solo work, like hip hop, though it does take a bit of talent.

 

Jaw droppers to me last night were Nick's jive (he did poop out though), Carlos' foxtrot because he finally "got it", Alek's freestyle for the choreo, and Bindi's freestyle. She just danced so beautifully, she's learned so much. 

 

I adore all the pros, maybe not equally. And maybe not Louis, that dance he gave Tamar was just selfish. But I empathize with them since I used to teach, and can't imagine all the extra pressure they have. So proud of these babies. That's what I watch the show for, to watch their "journey" every season. The celeb journey is incidental to me, but it's nice to get to know some of them. Not all. 

[Primetimer]

Will it be Nick, Bindi, Alek, or Carlos going home in the penultimate episode?

Read the story

[Bella]

I'm hiding posts that aren't strictly about the show and your opinions of the show. Discussing other posters and their various "camps" isn't going to fly here.

 

Thanks.

[ocelot]

Every time someone does a contemporary style dance, Travis Wall's name gets tossed around as though every choreographer has ripped him off. Is it possible that there aren't too many ways to choreograph a contemporary? It's not a very complex dance style, and there's only so many bells and whistles that you can add to make it "unique". Bindi did fine with what Derek choreographed for her, but I would have liked to see something more upbeat and fun.

Mark and Derek have ripped Travis off, among other choreographers.

There are many ways to choreograph a contemporary, non trained and non skilled people won't be able to choreograph a good one. That's why they have to copy. 

It is a very complex dance style. It is actually many many times more complex than any ballroom dance because it doesn't come with preset choreography.

[Andie1]

 

Every time someone does a contemporary style dance, Travis Wall's name gets tossed around as though every choreographer has ripped him off. Is it possible that there aren't too many ways to choreograph a contemporary?

 

Except that there are distinctive movements that Travis has incorporated into one dance Wicked Games he did last year, and Derek has just directly copied the moves, he hasn't made any attempts to change the entry or exits, or even the mood of the piece. It's one thing to be "inspired" it's another to just rip choreo. 

Contemporary is a style that lends itself to all kinds of interpretation. The fact that Derek chose Travis' interpretation instead of his own is just lazy.   

 

Edited November 24, 2015 by Andie1

[kitcloudkicker]

Two people doing the same lift in different dances does not equal stealing choreography. Neither does Witney using the same "holding lights while doing synchronized arm movements" that NappyTabs did for the Move tour. Both of those moments happened in the context of larger creative decisions, that may be inspired by, but I didn't see as ripped off at all. 

 

I work in a creative field, not choreography, but it's always odd to me to see little things nitpicked apart like that. Creativity is the process of combining and recombining ideas. There's a really great book called "Where Good Ideas Come From"

 

 

"But ideas are works of bricolage. They are, almost inevitably, networks of other ideas. We take the ideas we've inherited or stumbled across, and we jigger them together into some new shape.

...

Good ideas may not want to be free, but they do want to connect, fuse, recombine. They want to reinvent themselves by crossing conceptual borders. They want to complete each other as much as they want to compete”

 

Creativity IS recombination, connection, collective inspiration, borrowing, stealing, remixing, and reinventing. It takes a lot more than 1 move, or 1 prop, to "rip someone off."

 

On the dances. Count me in on being disappointed in Nick's freestyle. Talking about growth arcs, we knew coming in he could deliver a Backstreet Boys concert. So while he delivered a good Backstreet Boys concert, it just felt like something we could have seen week 1. He did pick it up in the jive - impressive in the beginning, kinda pooped out in the end. 

 

Bindi's shown the most growth for me all season. She picked up technically for BOTH the quickstep and the contemporary/freestyle. The freestyle was definitely a bit cheesy, but danced really well, so not my favorite of Bindi's dances (that might be the Grace Kelly foxtrot, actually) but probably my favorite of the freestyles. I liked the staging at the beginning with the silhouettes on the white drapes, I could have done without the sand/footprints projection mapping. There was a closeup shot of Bindi towards the end where she looked a good five years older than when she started the competition - in a good/stunning way. As much game as I talk about not caring who wins, I'll find myself bummed if she doesn't take this. (And surprised, I still think she has this in a landslide. There was a GMA poll this morning that asked who their audience wanted to win, and it came back with Bindi at 70%. That's not scientific at all, but I imagine there's a decent overlap between their audience and the DWTS audience.) 

 

Carlos' dances I found the snooziest, I kept drifting off and forgetting to pay attention to him. Happy he went out in fourth. I find myself rather neutral on Alek, I don't really get into his dances, but don't mind him still being there. It's been fun to watch Lindsey have a good pro season, so for that I'm happy for them.  

[sinkwriter]

When he ended up in the bottom two again, a part of me worried that Nick was going home. Even Sharna seemed to expect it, the way she was nodding and seemed to be waiting for them to say their names as going home. Given Nick's struggles last week, I think they expected it. So I was quite relieved when it went another way.

 

I still think Alek should have been the one going home in fourth place, but if there had to be another choice, I guess I would go with Carlos.

[Bella]

Last warning to discuss the show and its participants, and not move into other topics. This includes hybrid posts that are mostly off-topic.

[blackwing]

Bindi is a good dancer, but I hate that it seems to never really be about her, it's always about her deceased father.  I hate that the show has pimped her out week after week.  I don't think it's the same as Nick being a Backstreet Boy.  Bindi growing up without her father after a tragic accident and Nick and the nostalgia of Backstreet Boys just doesn't have the same emotional level.

 

I enjoyed Nick's freestyle dance.  Yes, he has the training and background, but I thought he was in his element and it was a lot of fun.

 

I am fully resigned to the fact that Nick will finish in third place.  Bindi will win.  Alek gets a very undeserved second.  His freestyle "dance" was a joke.  The whole thing mostly consisted of him running up and down a ramp, lifting and spinning his partner, and marching in place.

[Matryoshka]

Other than the actual dances I tend to watch much of the show on mute, but thought I heard Tom say there would be a cast announcement about the tour. Did I miss that or was it just a teaser for something they'll announce tonight?

[Pattycake2]

Alek should be third, imo.  Heck, he should have been sixth.  No hip movement in the rumba, plus a lift Carrie Ann.   And his freestyle was more lifting, posing, and now climbing up things along with the usual flag waving. I enjoyed Nick's jive and his free style.  Manipulation?  Announcing the sex of your baby is a classic move.  I thought both Bindi's numbers were terrific.   I wonder if she can sing because she could kill it on Broadway with her dancing skill and theatricality.

[truthaboutluv]

but thought I heard Tom say there would be a cast announcement about the tour. Did I miss that or was it just a teaser for something they'll announce tonight?

 

 

Yeah he did and I never heard about it during the show either so my guess it will be tonight. I'm guessing he'll mention Alek being on the tour, even though that's hardly a secret to viewers who pay attention to stuff online. 

 

Bindi growing up without her father after a tragic accident and Nick and the nostalgia of Backstreet Boys just doesn't have the same emotional level.

 

 

Not necessarily...different things resonate to different people based on their own experiences. For example a viewer who has never had the kind of tragedy Bindi had may feel for her but it still wouldn't necessarily make them truly connect to her. And while the Backstreet Boys nostalgia may not seem on the same level, perhaps for that person, they were a fan when they were younger and it all brings them back to a special place and time in their life. Look at the reaction to Alfonso and the "Carlton". It was a goofy dance from a beloved show and so many just fell in love with him and that performance. 

Edited November 24, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[MakeMeLaugh]

I am okay with any of the three finalists winning, although I admit I hope it will be Nick. I'm not a voter and I know less than nothing about dance.

Based on last night's dances:

I think Alek would have to win if the show's goal is rewarding who advanced the most. His last dance showed to me a guy who I imagine never danced in his life before this show has learned how to dance. So he can't wiggle his hips--meh. Bonus points that he is a nonperformer and a perfectly ordinary guy who happened to be on that train in France a few months ago, so many of us can identify with him.

I think Bindi would have to win if the goal is youthful enthusiasm with a very cool accent plus learning how to dance. I think she also was a nondancer for the most part, but she has been performing her whole life. She has an unbelievable personality like her father's (does anyone know if her father is still alive? /sarcasm) and people like her do make me wish I was a nicer person, so bonus points for that.

Nick? To me he is the most fun and interesting to watch, and my uninformed eyes see him as the best on the floor, so if that's the show's goal.... I am way too old to know anything about the BSB and usually I hold a career that involved at least some dance againt a contestant, but this guy is even nicer than Bindi. He immediately turns any praise away from him and reflected it back to his partner, the show, the other dancers, the other contestants, the judges, etc. I think unlike Bindi who was born nice, he grew into it, so obvious as you watch the unsettling package he had to see right before dancing last week--he is a Star and it is most interesting to see how he evolved inthe past twenty-plus years. I watched his face when he was waiting to hear if he or Carlos would be going home last night and he was just listening, obviously not expecting either to stay or go, and you could see that he was okay with either outcome. I loved that.

Edited November 24, 2015 by MakeMeLaugh

[ari333]

Julianne is a lovely woman and dancer, but why was she all hunched over in that chair? And why did wardrobe put her in a doll dress or was that something from Baby Gap?

 

I enjoy Nick and thought I'd be all cray for the Larger Than Life. If felt kind of meh for me and I was super psyched. Sharna is gorgeous but I hated that costume, gray leotard thing.  Per the rehearsal package, I see that Sharna's pubic bone has taken over for Peta's as the pubic bone shouter outer. IS Nick pigeon toed? [/shallow] He seemed awkward and ungraceful at times.

 

Alek seems cute and sweet and earnest...and stompy. I'm tired of hearing why he cant get his sexy dance on with Lindsay.

 

Alek, imo, is not a better dancer than Carlos, but Carlos came off as douchey and or got a douche edit. And hey did you know he is married? Witney is too beautiful for words to be a regular human. Wow.

 

Low move of Derek to spring that photo on Bindi. I complain a lot about kids these days being negative, rude, insensitive, lazy, and disrespectful. It seems that she is none of those things, imo. However, if she took it down a notch she'd be endearing rather than.... too much. There is a fine line. amahright? Plus, I don't like to cry during this show. It is a downer.

 

I like that Meghan Trainor chick. Do not know the big dude in the sparkly turquoise  poncho. Did not love him.  Dont' love Grande either. Shocker that Grande showed up wearing PANTS. She normally  mumble-slurs her way through a song while wearing a shirt passing as a dress that barely, and I do mean barely, covers her lady bits.

Edited November 24, 2015 by ari333

[Alapaki]

Looking at the Judges' Scores alone, Carlos was simply outvoted, viewer-wise, by Bindi's, Nick's and Alek's voters.  Here were the standings after each round last week:

 

First Dance:
1.  Alek     27.52
2. Carlos  25.69
3. Bindi     24.77
4. Nick      22.02

Dance-Off:
1. Carlos  26.96
2. Alek     26.09
    Bindi    26.09
4. Nick     20.87

Trio:
1. Carlos  26.67
    Bindi     26.67
3. Alek      25.33
4. Nick      24.00

 

Here were the cumulative Judges' vote standings after last night's two dances:

 

After Finale Dances:

1. Carlos  25.64

    Bindi    25.64

3. Alek     24.36

    Nick     24.36

 

Carlos' standing, relative to Bindi, remained constant.  They stayed tied.  His standings relative to Alek remained viritually unchanged (1.34 after last week vs. 1.28 after last night).  Last night's scores did cut Carlos' lead over Nick in half (2.67 after last week vs. 1.28 after last night).  But, of course, it did the same to Bindi's lead.

 

Last night's scores also wiped out Alek's 1.33 lead over Nick from last week.

 

Sooo, for those inclined to think in these terms, the effect of the Judges' scores over the course of last week's 3 rounds and thru last night was to prop up Nick, mainly, I would suggest, at Alek's expense.

 

Whether that was the intent or not depends on whether the tin-foil hat is on. 

 

As far as Carlos, Alek and Bindi, it seems the Judges pretty much allowed the viewers to decide.  

 

Of course, the Judges have the ultimate final word with their scoring of tonight's dances.

[sinkwriter]

 

Not necessarily...different things resonate to different people based on their own experiences. For example a viewer who has never had the kind of tragedy Bindi had may feel for her but it still wouldn't necessarily make them truly connect to her. And while the Backstreet Boys nostalgia may not seem on the same level, perhaps for that person, they were a fan when they were younger and it all brings them back to a special place and time in their life.

Exactly. Or, they might find Nick inspiring because they too had a dysfunctional childhood and/or troubles with drinking or drug abuse or depression. You just never know what will strike to the core of a person.

 

I watched his face when he was waiting to hear if he or Carlos would be going home last night and he was just listening, obviously not expecting either to stay or go, and you could see that he was okay with either outcome. I loved that.

 

Well said.   :)

Question: how many freaking times has Carlos dropped poor Witney? I feel like every week we've seen him drop her, usually after promising that he's got her. This week she smacked her head on the ground. At least this time he seemed to apologize, whereas a different week he just kind of looked at her like, oh, oops. 

[Alapaki]

Julianne is a lovely woman and dancer, but why was she all hunched over in that chair? And why did wardrobe put her in a doll dress or was that something from Baby Gap?

 

 

I think your first question may be answered by your second.

[Alapaki]

I think Alek would have to win if the show's goal is rewarding who advanced the most. His last dance showed to me a guy who I imagine never danced in his life before this show has learned how to dance. So he can't wiggle his hips--meh. Bonus points that he is a nonperformer and a perfectly ordinary guy who happened to be on that train in France a few months ago, so many of us can identify with him.

 

 

I'm a little bit torn on the bold parts.  Not that I think there's any "right" or "wrong" way to Judge this show since there are no objective criteria set out ahead of time.

 

But the Judges themselves established "hip action" as one of, if not the, defining thing about the Rumba.  Alek failed to deliver on that count.  In fact, I think they gave him much credit for "hip action" than I saw him deserving.  

 

And maybe this is a function of their grade inflation and the fact that the scoring range is basically limited to between 7 and 10.  But if Alek's rumba gets 9s across the board, that doesn't leave much room to reward "performer"-stars who give flawless performances.  (not that Carlos' or Nick's dances were necessarily flawless, but as a general matter).

[radishcake]

OK guys lets throw all this over to General Gabbery. Speculation about tonight's finale should go there and not in this thread.