S23.E04: Week 3

[vibeology]

I don't love this format with the immunity and all that, but I do like the shorter show. There was no reason they couldn't have done this without immunity and still kept the show at an hour. I do like hearing from the judges (Len, I skip everyone else at least half the time) and I do enjoy longer packages and interviews after the fact, but I know they are not needed and could easily be trimmed down.

I thought James was brutally underscored. I didn't love the choreography because it felt like Sharna was trying to fit all the tricks into a minute long dance, but I think he danced it very well. I was worried he'd be stiff and awkward with Latin dances, but he actually had some real hip movement and his arms were fluid. It should never have been a close score between him and Ryan who did look awkward and barely moved his feet.

Laurie was great, once again. I think they were aiming for a grownup moment and I don't know if they got there in terms of the performance but the dancing was great. Clean, precise, sharp and strong all at once.

Terra's was my favourite of the night. She doesn't have the best technique, but that dance was graceful and they really travelled the floor. Sasha's choreography has been amazing for her and she has really stepped up to the plate. One thing she does that bugs me is that she doesn't always finish her lines. A few times I noticed her getting to the end of an arm move and just throwing it away rather than fully extending it. Bruno is normally pretty good at pointing that out so I hope he mentions it so she can work on it and improve.

Witney seems like a very sweet girl, but she is dumb. "Paso Doble, what language is that?" "I dunno, Latin?" If Ryan and VI make it to the switchup, I really want to see Witney and Ryan paired together just to see who is dumber.

[Thadeeeyus]

I loved the abbreviated show!  No Erin and no blabbering from the judges.  It's my dream! 

James was so much better than Ryan in their cha cha.  He moved across the floor very well and is light on his feet.  How could Cheryl give Ryan so little to do?  Is he incapable of doing any choreo?  Without anything else to go on, I blame her for his lack of dancing. 

I actually enjoyed the Vanilla/Perry bro talk.  I feel like Rick had more content in his dance, though it was simple.  The lighting was so annoying in Vanilla's dance that I couldn't tell what they were doing. 

I would have given the edge to Terra over Calvin.   Terra and Sasha did a beautiful waltz.  Calvin has been my favorite but in this dance, I felt with his prominent height, and the lack of anything to disguise the flaws, he didn't look as good.  By the same token, Terra's size makes it hard to see any flaws she might have with her feet or arms.

Maureen was packaged beautifully and did a very nice simple salsa.  She should be proud of herself. 

Laurie and Marilu were probably my least favorite pairs of the night.  Again, the lighting was a distraction and I wasn't wowed by the choreo.  Marilu seemed to have some issues with her line or something towards the end. Something just seemed off. 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, OakGoblinFly said:

The two tangos were the strongest dances of an overall weak night.  I'm glad that Lori was able to channel her "serious" side and thought she did well enough.  I really liked Derek's choreography more than I did Val's.  And holy cow, that opening move by Marilu!  

That's what I came here to say too.  Laurie had the strongest overall performance but I loved the choreo for Derek and Marilu's slinky tango.  

I liked Maureen and Artem's salsa and both of the waltzes.  

I too liked the format except for the immunity.  

[bantering]

I just like watching the dances. I think I've realized that I don't really want to listen to Julianne Hough talking. Just stick her on the dance floor instead. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Laurie:  "I gotta pretend like I'm smelling a good quesadilla."

She is seriously the cutest person alive. 

Okay, is Witney that stupid, or is this an act? Every season, she says something that makes you pause and rewind. Last night it was Vanilla Ice's question, "what language is that?" in regards to the Paso, and she shrugged and said, "I don't know....Latin?" Not that Vanilla is any better for ASKING it.  Oy.  

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Over the years, Carrie Ann has defined a lift however it suits her when she wants to deduct a point. I remember she once said it was whenever both feet left the floor and I was like bitch, please, that's called a leap. And if that definition is to be followed, then a partner cartwheel could be considered a lift since both feet leave the floor. If you go by the definition that it's something a dancer couldn't do on his/her own, I guarantee you that Laurie can do a tour jete without anyone touching her because she has had similar leaps in her floor and beam routines.

Val just admitted that it was a lift: 

Edited September 27, 2016 by legaleagle53

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

Okay, is Witney that stupid, or is this an act? Every season, she says something that makes you pause and rewind. Last night it was Vanilla Ice's question, "what language is that?" in regards to the Paso, and she shrugged and said, "I don't know....Latin?" Not that Vanilla is any better for ASKING it.  Oy.  

She is worse in my opinion, because she's been doing this stuff her whole life. So you'd think she'd have some perspective and background about it. When would Vanilla Ice have ever had the chance to even use the words Paso Doble much less know anything about it? And to answer your question, yes she is that dumb. Last season, Von pretty much said it very casually in one of their packages, about her and Lindsay, who I adore, not being too bright. I remember Chelsie Hightower back in the day had some questionable moments as well. And much as I like Derek, following him on social media can be cringe worthy at times with his not so great grasp on basic grammar. Seriously, dude has got to learn the difference between you're and your. I guess they were too busy becoming amazing dancers to worry about academia. 

Edited September 27, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[iMonrey]

I prefer the abbreviated format without the judge's comments as well. No gibberish from Carrie Ann, no vamping from Bruno. Just scores, no messing about.

Once again I noticed Cheryl gives her partner nothing to do but stand there and pose while she does all the dancing. But at the end of the routine Ryan did take a few steps and . . . oh, dear. Perhaps Cheryl knows what she's doing after all because the few steps he took looked stiff and awkward. For some reason I expect a swimmer to be more graceful. 

I thought the difference between Rick Perry's awful stomping and walking and Vanilla Ice's actual movement was like night and day so the fact that they got the same score floored me.

Unfortunately, I thought the Viennese Waltz was one dance where the height difference between Terra and Sasha was a disadvantage. The steps were too small and the whole thing felt small overall. I know that's not something she can help but I expect grander, more sweeping movement in that dance, so I agreed Calvin did better by default. He covered the floor better.

Favorite moment: Val tells Laurie to put her hand to his face and then she giggles like a 12-year old who was dared by her friends to touch a boy. Good God she's adorable. Lease favorite moment: those big, brown eyes of hers welling up while Val was essentially chastising her. Don't be mean to Laurie you ogre. 

There was also something . . . off . . . about the way Artem was interacting with Maureen in the rehearsal footage. Not quite condescending but his attitude suggested he's really tired of her. Maybe he's not the sweetheart I thought he was after all.

Quote

With her brunette wig, Amber looks like someone famous and I can't put my finger on

I thought young Jennifer Lawrence. I also think James Hinchcliffe looks like young Bob Saget.

Edited September 27, 2016 by iMonrey

[bantering]

48 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

 

Once again I noticed Cheryl gives her partner nothing to do but stand there and pose while she does all the dancing. But at the end of the routine Ryan did take a few steps and . . . oh, dear. Perhaps Cheryl knows what she's doing after all because the few steps he took looked stiff and awkward. For some reason I expect a swimmer to be more graceful. 

 

Compared to Rick Perry, I feel Ryan is doing steps/footwork (sometimes it looks like Rick Perry is just doing hopscotch or something). Ryan is a bit taller than I expected. I wonder if that affects his movement (he looks so tall next to Cheryl in particular). Then again, the football player (I can't recall his name) is tall, but he looks fluid. 

I think Ryan's face looks determined. He does seem very competitive. The stoner look seems to go away when he's concentrating. I wonder if that's the problem -- he looks like he wants to get it right so badly and not lose, and maybe that affects how fluid he can be. 

On another note, Laurie Hernandez clearly has the most personality out of all of the contestants. I had this impression that Marilu Henner was supposed to be some kind of vivacious bombshell (maybe that Who's the Boss episode tricked me) that I'm a little surprised at how somewhat "reserved" (I don't think that's the right word though) she seems to be. To be fair, she is older now, so maybe that affects how she comports herself. But I could have sworn she wrote a book about the lovers she had, so maybe that coloured my impression of how I thought she might come off on this show.

Rick Perry's politics annoys me so I don't care if he's the grandpa of the show or that he's struck up the respect of Vanilla Ice by doing that hand-thingy well. 

Edited September 27, 2016 by bantering

[escape]

3 hours ago, Thadeeeyus said:

James was so much better than Ryan in their cha cha.  He moved across the floor very well and is light on his feet.  How could Cheryl give Ryan so little to do?  Is he incapable of doing any choreo?  Without anything else to go on, I blame her for his lack of dancing. 

Cheryl is one of the more respected pros and I think in this case she knew that Ryan wouldn't have a chance against James.  No amount of choreography can hide the fact that he has no rhythm and is a lousy dancer.

Edited September 27, 2016 by escape

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Dancing With the Stars Saves Time By Having Couples Face Off In Duels

But the other time-saving measure has the judges giving scores without critiques, which are fairly meaningless.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Cheryl is one of the more respected pros

I'm not sure why, though. She has won twice, but in the very early seasons when expectations (and skills) were low. During her last few seasons (before she left for a break) I noticed more and more she tended to under-choreograph her partners and over-choreograph herself. It's her main gimmick. She hides her partner's lack of skill by simply posing them into various positions while she does all the dancing. I think the reason it's gotten more noticeable is because expectations for the celebrities have really gone up over the last several years with really skilled, talented dancers like Charlie White and Evan Lysasek. Cheryl can't really get away with just twirling around her partners like a stripper with a pole anymore. 

[bantering]

12 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

 Cheryl can't really get away with just twirling around her partners like a stripper with a pole anymore. 

I feel sooooooo  ashamed to say this (well, out loud anyway) but I did think Ryan Lochte was a very attractive pole last night. The shaaaaaaame....

Edited September 27, 2016 by bantering

[Vinyasa]

I'm not sure what to make of these "dance offs".

It was easy to predict who would win so I hope they are done with it. I thought Maureen look great and Amber does look completely different in a wig. She might be the one going home.

[crowceilidh]

Quote

I thought the difference between Rick Perry's awful stomping and walking and Vanilla Ice's actual movement was like night and day so the fact that they got the same score floored me.

Me too.  VI was dancing; RP was stomping.  I think Emma has hit another homer though.  I think she has guided him into being so enthusiastic that he's kinda  stompy AND endearing (I know I don't agree with his politics, but I'm not gonna look into it).  This made me wonder how the judges were actually scoring them.  Against each other?  Against themselves?  Sigh.  No doubt we'll find out for about an hour and a half of excessive chatter tonight.

[majormama]

From the story:

Quote

With her brunette wig, Amber looks like someone famous and I can't put my finger on it. Tiffani Thiessen, maybe?

I thought she looked like Miley Cyrus, and the twerking selfie only increased that impression.

Toward the end, I thought Maureen and Artem were out of sync. Both last night and on rewatch now, it looked to me more like Artem was ahead than that Maureen was behind. Also, the under-the-legs pass at the very end was very awkward.

[KLovestoShop]

Why in the heck does there need to be 2 freaking hours of a results show?  Not necessary

[bantering]

17 minutes ago, KLovestoShop said:

Why in the heck does there need to be 2 freaking hours of a results show?  Not necessary

Yeah, 2 hours of results sounds worse to me than 2 hours of competition.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, KLovestoShop said:

Why in the heck does there need to be 2 freaking hours of a results show?  Not necessary

That reminded me, are there going to be results shows all season?

Edited September 27, 2016 by peachmangosteen

[RedFiat]

Can anyone tell me why this show has to do Argentine movement all the time? It was supposed to be Ballroom Tango last night. I miss it.  When teams insist on engauchos, lifts, and close embrace instead of  strong footwork and appropriate close dance position they lost me.  

[Uke]

While this was an interesting experiment in muzzling the judges, I don't think it would work beyond one night. I think the dancing would quickly go off the rails with tricks and stunts etc.  I do think the judges comments keep some of the pros more or less in line, sorta, kinda.  The pros know they're not going to get dinged too badly because TPTB have their agenda to keep certain stars on the show as long as possible. Ex. if it's an 8s dance, they're not going to get a 4 for lifts, stunts, not really doing the dance assigned, etc.  Like Val on twitter admitting to the lift as being "worth it".   The pros know the game probably better than the judges do.  It's only by the judges calling out the pros publicly that the audience knows that despite the "wow factor", the couple did something wrong.

[simplyme]

2 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Why in the heck does there need to be 2 freaking hours of a results show?  Not necessary

Two hours AND it has Florida Georgia Line!

I'm so not watching anything but the last 5 minutes.

[BW Manilowe]

17 hours ago, SpikeGal said:

AMEN!!

Geez...I didn't even know Erin was gone! LOL!

Wait till tomorrow, my friend. They will MORE than make up for it. I plan to skip the first hour entirely. (learned my lesson the first time!)

Erin's off supporting her boyfriend, NHL Player Jarret Stoll, & his family following the death, over the weekend, of Jarret's nephew. She'll be back next week; Kym Johnson (Johnson Herjavec?) is subbing for her tonight.

[gingerandcloves]

1 hour ago, simplyme said:

Two hours AND it has Florida Georgia Line!

I'm so not watching anything but the last 5 minutes.

I hate that H.O.L.Y. song with the fire of a thousand suns.

[mtlchick]

Quote

That reminded me, are there going to be results shows all season?

Next week it is one hour (Vice President debate at 9 PM Eastern) then after that no: comedies come back. 

[calipiano81]

With the wig, I actually thought Amber looked like Cheryl.

[Glaadrial]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Perhaps Cheryl knows what she's doing after all because the few steps he took looked stiff and awkward. For some reason I expect a swimmer to be more graceful. 

(cough) Natalie Coughlin. Unlike gymnasts and figure skaters, I think that the muscles that swimmers develop are very different than those that would make them appear graceful on the dance floor. The bumpers during the Olympics, where various swimmers were trying to samba with the gals in showgirl outfits, showed that they are game but not necessarily adept outside the water.

Similarly, the performances by Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova, were also very stiff.  In all these cases, however, it could just be the athletes themselves and not the training in their respective sports that is the hindrance. For all that the partnership was a train wreck, Maks did manage to get some grace out of Hope Solo, but a bunch less from with Misty May Treanor (but that was an abbreviated partnership due to injury, so who knows where that would have lead).

While I agree that it was no contest in the dance-off for Ryan, I was impressed that Cheryl did manage to get him to sell the routine--ironically, with his personality and not with actual content. As for the other couples, the only thing of note that I recall was that I really liked Maureen's Salsa way better than Amber's, if not for some awkwardness towards the end, I'd have picked her as the clear winner. In the end though, I thought their performances left it in the "too close to call" category for me. Choreographically, I preferred what Artem put together much more than what Maks came up with for Amber. It left me wondering if Amber's range of motion is an issue. I had high hopes for Maks sticking around longer after the initial forward pass that they did on the first night before Amber blanked out on the routine; however, it looks like there may be more to it than a simple blackout moment dealing with opening night jitters.

[Uke]

18 minutes ago, Glaadrial said:

It left me wondering if Amber's range of motion is an issue. I had high hopes for Maks sticking around longer after the initial forward pass that they did on the first night before Amber blanked out on the routine; however, it looks like there may be more to it than a simple blackout moment dealing with opening night jitters.

Kym had made a comment on All-Access on week 1 about Amber's booty about how she (Amber) might have trouble moving "that" around.  (sorry, I don't remember Kym's exact wording, except she called her booty "that".) At the time I thought that was uncharacteristically rude of Kym.   But maybe Kym was referring to the way Amber's muscles have had to develop to support that booty.  Maybe that muscle development (thighs, hips, lower back etc.) is problematic in moving gracefully.  Yes, Amber can twerk, but I think that is a very limited movement from contracting 1 or some of the gluteus muscles.   Kim K. seemed to have the same problem - she could do the up + down booty movement (a less crude action than what we today call a twerk) but not much else. I think it was Bruno who said that Kim had everything but didn't know how to use it.  Interesting how both Kim and Amber seem to suffer from the same shyness when it comes to dancing in front of an audience.

[sinkwriter]

How did Vanilla Ice get the same score as Rick Perry? While Rick did fine (probably his best routine so far), I thought Rob had more stage presence in his performance and more fluidity in his movements. It wasn't hugely exciting, but I would have given him at least one more point than Rick. Glad Len gave Ice the edge in the end.

I like Amber, so I keep hoping she'll be better each week. I'm no expert but I'm not sure there was much salsa going on in that routine. And I don't think she needed the wig. Do people find the shaved head distracting?

I thought Maureen did better overall, so I'm glad the points showed that. And I love Kim's Dirty Dancing analogy of Amber and Maureen's performances (at the Sheldrake versus at the party where Baby carried the watermelon - ha! perfect descriptions!).

I liked Babyface's performance. In general you can definitely tell he's too controlled and needs to let loose a little, let some personality show through, but he's got a great smile and when he does loosen up even just the tiniest bit, his movements get much better. No matter what, he seems like he's having fun, so it's fun to watch him.

I wish I had more to say about Jana's performance. It was fun, it was bright and colorful, and they seemed to be having fun. But nothing really grabbed me emotionally about it one way or another. 

I like watching James and Sharna dance. They were fun. That is all. *GRIN* Nice job, Ryan and Cheryl! Ryan was a little tentative, but otherwise, I thought they looked good together. I can see why James got the higher points, but I do think Ryan wasn't that far behind him, performance-wise.

Terra did a lovely job, very graceful, and I think Sasha is doing great coming up with choreography that works with their height difference. That said, I thought Calvin was a standout, really beautiful dance with Lindsay. I've been really impressed with the work Lindsay's done with her partners so far on the show. I think she's doing a terrific job.

Laurie's awesome. Not just as a dancer, but as a person. I just think she's a sweetheart and very fun, and I like her partnership with Val. 

Did Marilu hurt her back during the routine? I'm with Kim's review - she started out beautifully, everything looked fantastic to me, very dramatic, and then she did a twist or slight bend back and kind of grimaced, and the rest of the routine she seemed more tentative. Made me wonder if she twisted a muscle. That's a bummer, because she was doing great. 

I had to watch these belatedly - it's been a really busy week! - so don't tell me what happens!  

Edited September 28, 2016 by sinkwriter

[SnarkyTart]

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 6:25 AM, vibeology said:

Witney seems like a very sweet girl, but she is dumb. "Paso Doble, what language is that?" "I dunno, Latin?" If Ryan and VI make it to the switchup, I really want to see Witney and Ryan paired together just to see who is dumber.

I laughed out loud and scared my dog.  What a hilarious idea!