Dancing All Over The World: Other Versions Of DWTS

[legaleagle53]

I thought it might be fun to look at routines from other versions of DWTS that don't really get as much exposure as the British and Australian versions (which have their own discussion threads) do.  Here, for example, is an Argentine Tango from the Italian version, which just started its new season a few weeks ago: 

 

http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-656ae26d-365b-4289-a3c7-8f4cae3f24d0.html

 

Now, which one is the pro, and which one is the celeb?  :)

Edited March 12, 2016 by legaleagle53

[legaleagle53]

Psst -- want to to see how a same-sex male couple handles an elegant Ballroom dance?  Check out this from the Italian version of DWTS: Waltz Notice how they effortlessly switch leads all the way through the dance.

They made the finals, by the way!  :)

Oh, and this thread isn't just for the Italian version, by the way. It's for all other versions of DWTS around the world (except for the British mothership, Strictly Come Dancing, which has its own full subforum here) that don't really have enough consistent viewership to warrant full forums due to geo-blocking or other issues, so if you see any dances you like on, say, the New Zealand, Australian, French, Swedish, Mexican, or any other versions of DWTS, feel free to post them here!

Edited May 6, 2018 by legaleagle53

[Uke]

Isn't there already a post with for other versions of DWTS?

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, Uke said:

Isn't there already a post with for other versions of DWTS?

If there is, I am unaware of it.

Edit:  Never mind. I found it.  Ironically, it's my own thread that I created some time ago!  Would one of the mods please be so kind as to merge the two for me?  Thanks!

Edited May 8, 2018 by legaleagle53

[boyznkatz]

How did the Italian couple do? Did they win? 

[legaleagle53]

On 6/4/2018 at 8:47 AM, boyznkatz said:

How did the Italian couple do? Did they win? 

They made the finals, but they placed fifth out of the five couples who made the finals.  Still, they're the first same-sex couple to ever make the finals on any version of DWTS, and a lot of people (including yours truly) think they were robbed.  The winner, incidentally was an older gentleman who had to have been in his late 50s or early 60s.

[Mittengirl]

Five couples in the finals?  How many did they start with for Pete’s sake? 

[legaleagle53]

On 6/16/2018 at 12:42 PM, Mittengirl said:

Five couples in the finals?  How many did they start with for Pete’s sake? 

Thirteen couples.  The show is structured a little differently than our DWTS, so there are more chances for couples to make a comeback throughout the season.  It's one of the reasons that each episode runs about three hours long.

[legaleagle53]

Strictly Come Dancing just announced this year's cast and the addition of three new pros, one of whom hails from South Africa and is that show's second POC pro:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/2c041434-fe0e-4566-bf45-b9f9e8ddfde7

Edited August 21, 2018 by legaleagle53

[Emily-D]

I don’t watch any other version of DWTS, but I read somewhere recently that Ashley Roberts (Pussycat Doll) joined the UK version of the show. I hope the UK are as receptive to ringers as the US audience because she must be the biggest to ever do a dance show like this since her fellow PCD!

[legaleagle53]

On 8/25/2018 at 6:08 PM, Emily-D said:

I don’t watch any other version of DWTS, but I read somewhere recently that Ashley Roberts (Pussycat Doll) joined the UK version of the show. I hope the UK are as receptive to ringers as the US audience because she must be the biggest to ever do a dance show like this since her fellow PCD!

You read correctly.  She was announced as part of this years cast on Strictly.  And ringers aren't new to the UK -- nor is the controversy surrounding them!

[comosedice]

On 8/21/2018 at 3:00 PM, legaleagle53 said:

Strictly Come Dancing just announced this year's cast and the addition of three new pros, one of whom hails from South Africa and is that show's second POC pro:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/entries/2c041434-fe0e-4566-bf45-b9f9e8ddfde7

 

Isn’t Jannette a person of color? She’s most definitely not white. Also, Katya is half Korean and she was the recent winner.

On 9/1/2018 at 6:45 PM, legaleagle53 said:

You read correctly.  She was announced as part of this years cast on Strictly.  And ringers aren't new to the UK -- nor is the controversy surrounding them!

I thought it was hilarious that so many people spoke out against almost 70 yr old Debbie McGee because of her dance past. She was damn good to be fair, but ballet isn’t ballroom.

Edited September 6, 2018 by comosedice

[legaleagle53]

11 hours ago, comosedice said:

Isn’t Jannette a person of color? She’s most definitely not white. Also, Katya is half Korean and she was the recent winner.

I thought it was hilarious that so many people spoke out against almost 70 yr old Debbie McGee because of her dance past. She was damn good to be fair, but ballet isn’t ballroom.

While you're technically correct, Hispanic and Asian are not what come to most people's minds first when they hear "POC."  To them, that term only refers to people of African descent.

[ceebee]

On 06/09/2018 at 3:30 PM, comosedice said:

Isn’t Jannette a person of color? She’s most definitely not white. Also, Katya is half Korean and she was the recent winner.

I thought it was hilarious that so many people spoke out against almost 70 yr old Debbie McGee because of her dance past. She was damn good to be fair, but ballet isn’t ballroom.

You’re right, Debbie was great, but she might not appreciate you adding a whole decade to her age ;-)

[legaleagle53]

Bumping this thread up to remind everyone what a great Ballroom pro number looks like, courtesy of the Irish version of DWTS:

[vavera4ka]

Thank you for that @legaleagle53

gosh, I love waltz. 3/4 rhythm turns my brain into a puddle. Lol

Strauss was a king.  My absolute fav waltz music though is Snowstorm by Sviridow. 

[legaleagle53]

20 hours ago, vavera4ka said:

Thank you for that @legaleagle53

gosh, I love waltz. 3/4 rhythm turns my brain into a puddle. Lol

Strauss was a king.  My absolute fav waltz music though is Snowstorm by Sviridow. 

And Viennese Waltz is as beautiful, romantic, and even sexy as any overwrought Rumba, Salsa, or Contemporary routine, if it's done right.  And using classical music adds to the glamour factor, in my opinion.  There's a reason that I've always preferred the use of strict-tempo, traditional music on all the different versions of DWTS that I watch!

Edited March 3, 2019 by legaleagle53

[legaleagle53]

More goodies from the Irish DWTS.  It's Week 9 of the competition there.

Claire H puts up all the dances from DWTS Ireland, so if you scroll down through her Twitter feed, you should get them all going all the way back to Week 1!

[legaleagle53]

So the new season of the Italian version of DWTS just started last night, and one of the first things I learned this year is that a 0 paddle exists:

Unfortunately, I can't argue with the scores, especially the 0s -- this was just PAINFUL to watch!

Edited March 31, 2019 by legaleagle53

[legaleagle53]

And here's another one.  Have you ever heard of the Singing Nun or the Flying Nun?  Meet Suor Cristina, the Dancing Nun doing a Charleston!

[legaleagle53]

By the way, all of last night's dances are up on the same YouTube channel. It's RAI's official channel, and for those who speak Italian and are interested in hearing the judges' comments, those are included, as well as the scores.  One thing about these Italian judges -- they're HARDCORE!

[legaleagle53]

One of the former judges on the Dutch version DM'ed me via Facebook the other day (we've been online buddies for years) and told me that another reboot of the Dutch DWTS is planned for this September, and he's looking to be a judge on the panel again.  The original Dutch DWTS was the best of the lot, but the 2012 reboot was a total disaster that everyone hated. I really, REALLY hope that 2019's reboot will be a return to the classic Dutch DWTS that was (and still is) my favorite version of the show!

[legaleagle53]

I just got word today from Julie Fryer, one of the pros on the Dutch version of DWTS, that the Netherlands is getting another reboot of that version (still one of the best versions of DWTS ever), and it's due to start airing in the Netherlands on September 7, 2019.  Louis Van Amstel is going to be one of the judges.

I've never heard Louis speak in his native Dutch before. I hope I won't have too hard a time keeping up with him!

[RomanKat]

The Latin American version, Mira Quién Baila, takes place in Miami and airs on Univision. My heritage is South American, so I don't always understand North American Spanish, but I'm enjoying MQB nonetheless. This season has high dance and production levels. Other seasons, I'd forget about it before catching up a bit on YouTube. This season, I've re-watched MQB dances more than DWTS dances, partly because YouTube is more convenient than streamers.

There's also a feel-good aspect of celebrities competing for charity that offsets ringer concerns, imho. Presently, I'd rather write on MQB than DWTS. (Hence this post.) The current cast includes pros largely recognizable to DWTS/SYTYCD/WOD/SCD viewers. Here's a bilingual MQB segment and performance featuring the pros:

While there may not be general interest in MQB among DWTS fans, there may be interest in recognizable pros. Below is a summary of their Season 10 work. Linked videos are from Univision's official MQB playlist on YouTube. Note that pros and stars are paired weekly, based on dance style. Also, the titular "All-Star" is to indicate celebrity participation, not returning stars.

Jonathan Platero (SYTYCD S5 Top 20)
Wk 1 Cha Cha - Wk 2 Disco - Wk 3 Foxtrot - Wk 4 Contemporary - Wk 5 Charleston - Wk 6 Cha Cha - Wk 6 Contemporary

Oksana Platero (nee Dmytrenko; DWTS S12-16 troupe; SCD S14 pro)
Wk 1 Waltz - Wk 2 Tango - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Rhumba - Wk 6 Samba

Sofia Ghavami (SYTYCD S16 Top 20; DWTS S30 troupe)
Wk 2 Waltz - Wk 4 Freestyle - Wk 5 Paso Doble

Genessy Castillo (SYTYCD S15 3rd Place)
Wk 1 Urban - Wk 3 Urban - Wk 5 Bhangra

Ashley Sanchez (SYTYCD S16 Top 20)
Wk 1 Tango - Wk 2 Jive (interrupted, star injured) - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Jive - Wk 6 Jive

Allen Genkin (SYTYCD S15 Top 20)
Wk 1 Tango - Wk 1 Samba - Wk 3 Viennese Waltz - Wk 4 Disco - Wk 5 Jive - Wk 5 Foxtrot

Ricardo Vega (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Karen)
Wk 1 Salsa - Wk 2 Salsa - Wk 3 Tango - Wk 4 Boogaloo - Wk 5 Mambo

Karen Forcano (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Ricardo)
Wk 1 Salsa (cancelled, star injured) - Wk 3 Mambo

Edited November 22, 2022 by RomanKat

[White Dog]

Strictly Come Dancing hit a milestone when Craig Revel Hall dusted off his 10 paddle for Fleur East (she won xfactor a few years back and had a hit Sax)  so she got a 40. Fleur did a Beyoncé inspired contestant’s choice dance and I thought it was great, Fleur really is inspired by Bey the costume the moves all on point. Mark’s mum Shirley is one of judges. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by White Dog

[RomanKat]

Mira Quién Baila Season 10 has ended. I was very happy with the winner and runner-up. Both María and Ana are fantastic dancers, but María was a little better. I would have preferred 4th place Miguel over 3rd place Jorge in the Finale. Interestingly, Jorge chose to perform Miguel's week 4 jive for the "I can do it better" Finale round, but the judges decided 2-to-1 that Miguel's was better. Ana & María each won their round, and all participants were good sports about the "I can do it better" challenge.

Here's María's 2nd round freestyle:

Following are the Season 10 MQB results. Boldface indicates judges' weekly choice for Best of the Night: 

1st - María León - Mexico - Singer & Actress - Previously won Mexican version of Masked Singer
Wk1 Salsa - Wk1 Samba - Wk2 Mexican - Wk3 Foxtrot - Wk4 Contemporary - Wk5 Mambo - Wk5 Charleston -
Wk6 Bachata - Wk6 Freestyle

2nd - Ana Isabelle - Puerto Rico - Singer & Actress - "Rosalía" in Spielberg's West Side Story
Wk1 Urban - Wk1 Bachata - Wk2 Disco - Wk3 Tango - Wk4 Boogaloo - Wk5 Jive - Wk5 Foxtrot -
Wk6 Cha Cha - Wk6 Contemporary

3rd - Jorge Anzaldo - Mexico - YouTube Star - Trained in musical theater
Wk1 Urban - Wk2 Tango - Wk3 Quickstep - Wk4 Freestyle - Wk5 Waltz - Wk5 Contemporary -
Wk6 Jive - Wk6 Samba

4th - Miguel Martínez - Mexico - Actor & Singer - Has been in telenovelas since childhood
Wk1 Cumbia - Wk2 Waltz - Wk3 Urban - Wk3 Salsa - Wk4 Jive - Wk5 Paso Doble - Wk5 Bhangra

-----------------------------------------------

5th - Ferdinando Valencia - Mexico - Actor - Married to 6th Place Brenda - Wk3 Mambo was pro Karen's only dance

6th - Brenda Kellerman - Costa Rica - Actress & Host - Wk2 Contemporary dedicated to twin son lost in infancy

7th - Michelle González - Mexico - Actress - Wk1 Cha Cha won "best of night", then surprise 2nd elimination

8th - Gabriel Coronel - Venezuela - Actor & Singer - Injured in Wk 1 rehearsals, then reinjured in Wk2 Jive

Edited November 27, 2022 by RomanKat

[A.Ham]

18 hours ago, RomanKat said:

Mira Quién Baila Season 10 has ended. I was very happy with the winner and runner-up. Both María and Ana are fantastic dancers, but María was a little better. I would have preferred 4th place Miguel over 3rd place Jorge in the Finale. Interestingly, Jorge chose to perform Miguel's week 4 jive for the "I can do it better" Finale round, but the judges decided 2-to-1 that Miguel's was better. Ana & María each won their round, and all participants were good sports about the "I can do it better" challenge.

Add one more person to the MQB crossover watcher. The show falls for the same pitfalls that DWTS does (judges blathering on and on, people with 0 rythm advancing waaay too far--this year Ferdinando made it all the way to the semifinals, dear lord). They have a seriously annoying thing they do--they cutaway to the judge's reactions in the middle of the dance. Sooooo annoying. They did this in the semi's. It really frosted my bum because they spent time talking about this complicated trick Maria was going to do, which the pro only did with another pro, and how dangerous it was etc. So Maria started the trick and then the camera... goes to the judges. I mean, at least let us watch the full trick.

Having said that, I really enjoyed Maria and Ana Isabelle. And for once, the best technical dancer (Maria) won. I did prefer Ana Isabelle because I connected with her a bit better, even though she kept being accused of being a perfectionist and cold by the judges, which I did not see. If they were going in that direction, they could have said the same thing about Maria. But I digress.... 

Also agree that I much preferred Miguel's dancing to Jorge's. Those judges done did Miguel wrong with what I felt was sometimes undeserved criticism towards him, and putting him at the bottom when Ferdinando was right there. But according to them, Ferdinando was great at "character acting". The show is called Mira Quién Baila, not Mira Quién actúa.

I really would have put Miguel in the top 3 instead of Jorge, who I just did not connect to. Michelle could have made it farther than she did also. 

Anyways, just my two cents. Thanks for mentioning MQB on here!

[Wee S]

Strictly in the UK just finished it's quarter-final weekend and it was musicals week, and the strongest show by far. Best dance for me was Helen and Gorka's couples choice - to 'Mein Herr' from Cabaret. It was particularly sensational because it was basically Helen's 'f you' dance to her ex husband; who left her earlier this year 4 months after their youngest child was born...oh and he already has another woman pregnant. Im pretty sure at one point in the dance she gives the middle finger! It also has Gorka in a corset, guyliner and on his hands and knees...so thhey know their audience then! I think she might go on to win now so I would def recommend checking out their dance!

2nd fave dance was Molly and Carlos with their Charleston to a song from Chicago. Overall, the dances at this point are amazing, proper technique... I just adore this show.

[A.Ham]

So there are at least 3 celebrity ballroom dancing shows airing at the moment:

DWTS--Tuesdays

Strictly Come Dancing--Saturdays

Mira Quien Baila--Sundays

For me, the absolute best one is Strictly, the OG of celebrity dancing. Love that they still have great professional numbers in Ballroom styles as well as outside of Ballroom, like Jazz and Contemporary, etc. They have excellent Pros and do a great job of putting a show together. They have great routines but they don't make the DWTS mistake of throwing everything and the kitchen sink at a dance. 

Mira Quien Baila is a bit... low-rent. The stage seems smaller, they don't have any ballroom experts on the judging panel (one of the judges is an actress). The costumes are disappointing to me, or at least for my taste--my nitpick about them is that I do not need to see that many bumcheeks when watching people dance. Some of them outfits would make Edyta blush. On the other hand, they do have more authentic music as well as a lot more variety of Latin Rhythms, like Regional Mexican, Quebradita, Merengue and Bachata. They also do hip hop and urban dances, though those are usually rather disappointing. They have some good pros on their roster, so you can see some good dancing from time to time. 

[RomanKat]

On 10/25/2023 at 9:04 PM, A.Ham said:

Mira Quien Baila is a bit... low-rent... On the other hand, they do have more authentic music as well as a lot more variety of Latin Rhythms, like Regional Mexican, Quebradita, Merengue and Bachata. They also do hip hop and urban dances, though those are usually rather disappointing. They have some good pros on their roster, so you can see some good dancing from time to time. 

I've also been watching MQB this season. For those who don't, the pro roster this season includes six alums from DWTS, SCD, SYTYCD: Jonathan Platero, Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero, Sofia Ghavami, Allen Genkin, Gennesy Castillo, and Marcquet Hill.

This was a "second chance" season, with former non-winners of MQB and various other Spanish celebrity dance competition shows. (No one super famous, but as a fantastical aside, imagine a DWTS season with the likes of Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Trevor Noah, etc.. Make it for charity, and you could add a SYTYCD ringer like Ariana DeBose.)

The finals are set for this Sunday at 7 pm on Univision, should anyone new want to check it out. The three finalists are solid, but it's unfortunate that a very strong contender had to withdraw with an injury.