S23.E08: Week 5

[majormama]

1 hour ago, vavera4ka said:

but what bothered me more was her make up. Seriously, Julianne, darling, FIRE YOUR F%$#ING STYLIST YESTERDAY! Every week she looks either weird or a mess, and she is a beautiful woman. You'd think it would be hard to mess her look up. That's talent right there lol

Yeah, I really, really hate to be catty, and Julianne is a lovely woman, but her makeup last night was terrible. It was like they took every rule and did the exact opposite--her eyes were made small and de-emphasized, her lips were huge, and her cheeks looked reverse-contoured puffy instead of chiseled. 

[bantering]

12 hours ago, DancingD said:

 

Val made the puppy cry. Bad, bad Val. Maybe a little manipulation there.

 

Yeah, I was like "Is that real or staged?" How did Val manage to end up making an Olympic gymnastics gold medallist with a consistently happy emoji face cry?

 

However, I did think Laurie herself was genuine about the pressure on her shoulders. I imagine she must carry a lot, despite how secure she often seems.

[DancingD]

Did anyone else think Julianne was dancing with Derek in the opening number? Of course later I saw Lindsey's short 'do and realized it was her. Loved it, watched it twice.

[katha]

25 minutes ago, bantering said:

Yeah, I was like "Is that real or staged?" How did Val manage to end up making an Olympic gymnastics gold medallist with a consistently happy emoji face cry?

 

However, I did think Laurie herself was genuine about the pressure on her shoulders. I imagine she must carry a lot, despite how secure she often seems.

It might have been a small moment in rehearsal TPTB decided to turn into "narrative"? However, I'm sure Laurie isn't constantly preppy during gymnastics rehearsals, and even though DWTS isn't a big deal compared to that, it is a few hours of practice every day. I'm sure frustrations happen with every team. Val also made the paso very busy (perhaps too much so?), which was in contrast to the jazz where he went rather easy on her because of her schedule, so that might have contributed. She was a bit insecure still in performance, so it seemed quite believable that she might have been somewhat overwhelmed. Val has also repeatedly admitted that he gets too intense and competitive at times and sucks the fun out of it for his partners. Then once he notices what he's done, he's sorry. Anyway, even with the drama the show tried to stage in the package, it didn't seem a big deal IMO: Val pushed a bit too hard, Laurie got upset, Val pulled back and adjusted his approach. A rather typical teaching situation, I'd say.

[vavera4ka]

29 minutes ago, katha said:

. Anyway, even with the drama the show tried to stage in the package, it didn't seem a big deal IMO: Val pushed a bit too hard, Laurie got upset, Val pulled back and adjusted his approach. A rather typical teaching situation, I'd say.

That's how I saw it. First when they did a "later on DwtS" and I saw both Val and Maks making their partners cry, I thought "must be time for big bad C-brothers narrative". But where Maks went overboard, what happened to Val and Laurie was a normal working process moment.

He is intense, she is super talented with seemingly unlimited possibilities. Seemingly. It's easy for Val to get carried away and forget how overloaded she is with the schedule and that it's still a foreign thing to her. She probably  needed to speak up sooner, but it's the way she is and it takes time to change. Val handled it very well, no drama here.

Edited October 11, 2016 by vavera4ka

[Vinyasa]

Where has Len been? Is he coming back? I'm just so tired of Julieanne.

Maureen's dance was beautiful. No backup dancers,  flowers, umbrellas or park benches. Just two people dancing on a normal dance floor!

[LadyMustang65]

11 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Me, three. I pointed (heh-heh) it out to Mr. Author, who could care less since he only has eyes for Cheryl.

And I didn't notice a thing because I kept staring at that thing on her head.  Ugliest bun I've ever seen!  < lol >

[tessaforever]

I generally like "year of my life" episodes as I feel like the contestants usually have an emotional connection to the dance, moreso than other weeks. Does this mean we get to skip partner switch-up week?? If so, yay! 

I can see that Laurie has charisma and talent in spades, but I'm not loving her partnership with Val. And I'm a Val fan! I'm just remembering his partnership with Zendaya, and how much more fresh and fun that felt. All of Zendaya's dances were completely age-appropriate but still lively and entertaining. With Laurie I feel like he's skirting the edge of appropriateness and I don't feel the connection between them even though they seem to get along fine in rehearsals. I don't think it helped that they hardly even danced together in last week's dance. 

A big YES! to that amazing opening number. I would watch that any day of the week (and twice on Sundays) over the usual bump & grind. Not that every week needs to be Viennese waltz with an orchestra, I just want more ballroom. Maybe they'll get such a great response to the Titanic dance it will put them in that direction. 

[spanana]

I don't think the Val/Laurie moment was a big deal at all and both came off well.  I do think there was a moment, maybe tango week, where Laurie's eyes looked a bit red during part of the rehearsal package where Val was being tough with her and I remember there being some speculation that she might have had an un-aired crying moment.  Not that it's a big deal.  She's young and she's human.  Laurie is confident at gymnastics but even all this Hollywood stuff is new to her.  I also don't think she's used to having to share her feelings.  The one thing I wish Val would do is let her answer her own questions.  Even last night Tom asked Laurie about the package, she got a few words out and then Val immediately jumped right in to talk for her.  Let her find her own voice.

And on the other side of it, I'm pretty sure almost all of Val's partners have cried.  He's driven just about everyone to tears at some point- Elizabeth, Danica, Kelly, Rumer, Janel, Tamar, Ginger.  Val can be intense.  The only people I don't remember crying were Sherri S. and Zendaya and the former was probably because she got kicked off so early and I think the latter just channeled her energy in a different way.

Yes, shout out to the opening number despite hating the Titanic song.  I really wish Calvin would see something besides an 8 paddle and that's about all I've got.  Oh, and Maks was being an ass.  I really feel like he's phoning it in this season.  He's an example of someone that has no idea how to alter his teaching methods to different students.

Edited October 11, 2016 by spanana

[vibeology]

4 hours ago, majormama said:

My gosh, Maks is such an ass. Which we all know, of course, but seriously. He stops Amber mid dance to berate her on how bad she is. She wants to go start to finish because that's what she'll need to do live. He continues to berate her until she's upset, then asks her what her concern is, then interrupts her when she answers. Answer me, how dare you answer! THEN tells her she needs to do the dance start to finish because that's what she'll have to do live!  Mansplaining much? And why isn't she practicing in heels? And with all that, I don't even remember what her MMY even was.

That whole sequence pissed me right off. Amber is clearly asking Maks why they stopped because she wants to go from the start to the finish even if she screws up so that she can know what to do. He yells at her that she's wrong, wrong, wrong. Cuts her off and then tells her she can't stop if she makes a mistake. Fuck you Maks! Carrie Ann or Julianne said that Amber looks fierce dancing on her own or with the girls but uncomfortable when she's with Maks. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because Maks was a huge asshole to her just the day before. They clearly have personal issues and it's a shame it's bleeding into the dancing but that's on Maks for not figuring out a way to teach Amber that will help her shine.

46 minutes ago, tessaforever said:

A big YES! to that amazing opening number. I would watch that any day of the week (and twice on Sundays) over the usual bump & grind. Not that every week needs to be Viennese waltz with an orchestra, I just want more ballroom. Maybe they'll get such a great response to the Titanic dance it will put them in that direction. 

I know! I just love watching ballroom dancing. That's why I watch this show. What I wouldn't give for a cool sleek tango opening number or a big fun jive or a sexy salsa party. I mean, I'm not opposed to the bump and grind numbers sometimes, but when its the only thing that ever happens, they get boring. I've seen the ladies in every revealing costume this show owns and they look amazing in all of them but I'm over it show.

James! He's been my favourite for a while now and I'm thrilled he had a big night. I think he's got lovely movement and he always seems to get into the character of the dance. For someone who normally is wearing a helmet, he's got great facial expressions and knows how to connect with Sharna and the camera. I'm thrilled at how well he's doing and I really don't want to lose him.

Ryan said something in his package last night that nearly made me turn off the TV. When he was all "the things that have happened these past two months..." I flipped out. Nothing happened to him. He made choices and had to deal with the consequences of his choices. that passive voice shows me that he still doesn't understand or feel bad about what he did. He's really one of (if not the) worst dancer left so I'm really hoping he goes.

[Fliz]

When Ryan was talking about how much his fiancée's ring cost, Erin made some remark about endorsements, but I didn't catch the exact words - did anyone else? (I'm guessing there are fewer endorsement dollars these days, and I was wondering if Erin was throwing shade or just having a foot-in-mouth moment.)

[tessaforever]

1 hour ago, Fliz said:

When Ryan was talking about how much his fiancée's ring cost, Erin made some remark about endorsements, but I didn't catch the exact words - did anyone else? (I'm guessing there are fewer endorsement dollars these days, and I was wondering if Erin was throwing shade or just having a foot-in-mouth moment.)

Oh good catch, I'm glad you mentioned that! When Erin said "Need to get some endorsements!" I added "To replace the ones you lost!" I think it was a foot-in-the-mouth moment. She does that from time to time. 

[MortysCleaningLady]

58 minutes ago, Fliz said:

When Ryan was talking about how much his fiancée's ring cost, Erin made some remark about endorsements, but I didn't catch the exact words - did anyone else? (I'm guessing there are fewer endorsement dollars these days, and I was wondering if Erin was throwing shade or just having a foot-in-mouth moment.)

Poor Erin,  she is always foot in mouth (or eye roll in head) around engagements.

[truthaboutluv]

I think some conversation has been happening with Mandy and those numbers. Certainly I have been complaining about her awful choreography for many seasons now, as well as many on this board. But I don't remember seeing so many comments on social media about it, like I did after that all female number that Cheryl didn't take part in. There was A LOT of reaction about the lack of proper ballroom or even just great dancing and the constant, "let's sex up the women" dances. Then there was that whole tweet drama thing with Derek and what do you know, this week we get a beautiful and elegant standard ballroom opening number. All I can say is if that is indeed what's happening - well thank goodness. About damn time. 

Maureen/Artem - I liked it but to be honest, it didn't really feel like a Foxtrot. But still a nice performance. Maureen's frame and turns still need work.

Calvin/Lindsay - Calvin is still one of my favorites but this wasn't one of my favorite of his performances. It had some moments and he definitely sold it, but I agree with Julianne about Lindsay pushing him a little more. I also didn't like how lift-heavy it got towards the end. I'm sure it's fun for Lindsay just being thrown around so easily because dude picks her up like she's little more than a feather. But just because he can do it doesn't mean she should go crazy with it. 

Jana/Gleb - It was interesting hearing about Jana's story and it certainly helped explain a lot. The dance was pretty and it had some gorgeous moments - the trust fall was pretty cool. But I can definitely see what some are saying about the repetitiveness of most contemporary on the show. 

Ryan/Cheryl - It was nice to be reminded that under all the buffoonery and controversy, Ryan is legitimately an accomplished athlete. The dance was okay but it lacked a bit of fluidity. It felt a bit paint by numbers in the transitions from move to move. 

Laurie/Val - This was hectic and not that great. Laurie's frame was off for much of the dance and it just felt very manic and rushed. I have already expressed the unpopular opinion that I'm not that wowed by Laurie's dancing. She's definitely good but none of her performances so far have truly impressed me and this was no different. I also agreed with Julianne I think, that the skirt may have been too heavy and added to the awkwardness of her movements. 

Marilu/Derek - Marilu's comment about being afraid of disappointing Derek is something I have felt for awhile could be an issue the more successful he is on the show. While many celebrities would love to have him, there's the possibility of them putting too much pressure on themselves and overthinking the whole thing because they start thinking "I'm dancing with the six-time champion and if I fail then it can't possibly be him, so it must be me". Glad she got over that, for this week at least, because that was a beautiful dance. Marilu created some gorgeous lines and shapes in that dance. Definitely her best dance and I think her scores were fair. Hated her costume though - what in the hell was that monstrosity? By the way, anyone notice that when Carrie Ann and Julianne went in for a group hug with Marilu, you know, the celebrity, Bruno took the opportunity to run and accost Derek? 

Amber/Maks - Now we all know I am definitely not the biggest Maks fan by any means but I have to say, after reading all the comments about his behavior, I watched the package and kind of don't think he did anything so awful *shrug* Seems like Amber's frustration was more at herself more than anything and they were both a little over anxious because it was already Sunday and issues with the dance were still happening. But I really didn't feel like Maks was mean - go figure. As for the dancing, I never thought at the start of the season that this would be Amber's issue, considering her personality, i.e. she's tentative. It's clear Amber is not confident while dancing. She's getting better but she is still very tentative and unsure of herself. 

James/Sharna - I love James and he did amazing with what he was given. But I have to say, I'm officially over the techno/EDM tangos. If I never see another flashing neon lights show during a tango again, it will be too soon. Enough... This why I was so disappointed that Marilu messed up her tango because that seemed to be more in the dark, slinky and sultry vein instead of this speed, speed, blinding lights vein that seems to be the go-to for Tangos now. 

Terra/Sasha - I like Sasha but if I'm being honest, I have zero interest in this partnership so honestly, I can't even say a thing about their dance. It was okay I guess. Terra's story was very sad though. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[ChicksDigScars]

16 hours ago, sinycalone said:

I think Laurie's dance was flawed...and certainly not her best.  Scores were justified.

I think the MUSIC was terrible. So not a Paso song choice.  Putting on my tin foil hat to say that I think the show screwed her over with it, to try and sell the fact that she's not a shoo-in, and, yes, boost James by tongue bathing him this week. "You're unbeatable?" Come on, now. 

And the criticism that Laurie and Val have to connect more as a couple? Okay, I'd agree if she wasn't 16. What exactly are you asking for, Julianne? There's only so much Val can do without crossing a line, there.  He's 30, she's 16.  He's limited in his choreography because of her age.  

Edited October 11, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[Vinyasa]

Quote

Poor Erin,  she is always foot in mouth (or eye roll in head) around engagements.

She also made some eye roll comment last year when her boyfriend was arrested for cocaine.

[spanana]

48 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I think the MUSIC was terrible. So not a Paso song choice.  Putting on my tin foil hat to say that I think the show screwed her over with it, to try and sell the fact that she's not a shoo-in, and, yes, boost James by tongue bathing him this week. "You're unbeatable?" Come on, now. 

And the criticism that Laurie and Val have to connect more as a couple? Okay, I'd agree if she wasn't 16. What exactly are you asking for, Julianne? There's only so much Val can do without crossing a line, there.  He's 30, she's 16.  He's limited in his choreography because of her age.  

Asking for them to connect more doesn't equate to them having to have sexual tension.  There is all sorts of appropriate chemistry that could be displayed on the dance floor.  Val and Laurie have plenty of appropriate chemistry off the dance floor.  They just need to find a way to bring that connection on to the dance floor and it will be fine.  Connection doesn't have to equal sex IMO.  The only dance where that gets dicey is rumba and I expect they will likely keep Laurie away from that one.

Also her song was chosen because that song was used as basically the official gymnastics song for the Rio games, so it was directly related to her Olympics experience.

Edited October 11, 2016 by spanana

[iMonrey]

I didn't like the way Val handled Laurie when she was upset. "Her problem is she bottles up her emotions." Uh, no - her problem is you're an asshole. That was some passive-aggressive shit right there, flipping the blame on her. He knows he's got a winner on his hands and he's driving her like a pro, forgetting for all her talent she's just a 16-year old kid.

Has anyone else noticed, after 23 seasons - there seems to be a recurring pattern among stars where they get their first big break in show biz at the same time their parents or grandparents die? Happened to Marilu, happened to Terra, and lots of other past celebs like Kirstie Alley. And now I'm thinking of Once Upon A Time where the Evil Queen had to kill her father in order to get her curse to work. Makes me wonder if these stars are making some sort of deal with the devil, sacrificing their loved ones in exchange for fame. {/tinfoil hat} {/crazy}

[Callaphera]

6 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Has anyone else noticed, after 23 seasons - there seems to be a recurring pattern among stars where they get their first big break in show biz at the same time their parents or grandparents die? Happened to Marilu, happened to Terra, and lots of other past celebs like Kirstie Alley. And now I'm thinking of Once Upon A Time where the Evil Queen had to kill her father in order to get her curse to work. Makes me wonder if these stars are making some sort of deal with the devil, sacrificing their loved ones in exchange for fame. {/tinfoil hat} {/crazy}

What I find more interesting is that when the parent/grandparent dies, they always have an opportunity to gasp out some profound piece of advice before shuffling off their mortal coil. It's always some form of "believe in yourself/be yourself/fuck the haters" type, too. I mentioned it to Mr. Callaphera last night and he asked me what the last thing my dad said to me before he died. I think it was "Don't forget your mittens, it's cold outside." Damn it, Dad, where was the inspiration in that? Also, it was September and I was 22. Not so much needing the mittens at that point of the year.

Clearly, if I was famous, it would have been some variation of "You can be whatever you want, so long as you believe... and have mittens."

Edited October 11, 2016 by Callaphera

[crowceilidh]

Amber's whine about wearing high heels on a Sunday took me back to a week of dance I experienced, where 3 hours before the performance, my dance master said something slightly offhand about an aspect of my footing that I wasn't getting.  I'm an amateur and I was exhausted and nervous and in such pain from the nonstop dancing in horrid dance shoes -- I cried for 2 hours.  I just couldn't stop; I had to go hide -- it was ridiculous -- all out of proportion to the comment and a real reaction to hours and hours of rehearsal and not the amount of emotional encouragement that an amateur can need.  At no point did I feel the professional was to blame... I just put it down to different worlds colliding.

That said, Maks wasn't exactly responsive in a pleasant way.  But Maks is an ass.

Julianne is hideous.  That is all.

Interestingly, there was a big conversation on Sharna's twitter feed (I don't know who started it) about which pro she looks sexiest dancing with.  When I dipped into it, the clear winner was Val (then Artem).  And lo and behold!

I also thought Derek was dancing with Julianne, except that the last time I saw Julianne dance she was a lot more clunky and unimpressive than the woman in Derek's arms last night.

I think they should keep Jenna away from Artem - he is too intense for her camera-hogging ways (that's why she suits Alan - they never saw a camera they didn't want to lick).  It's a misfire for me.

I really really liked Marilu's dress and her dancing was what I expected in week 1, elegant and graceful.

[WhosThatGirl]

I like James a lot. Before the season, I knew Laurie and Val would be a lock and good, but James is quite surprisingly good and I really enjoy him. I like Calvin as well, but that may because I like Lindsay a lot and always have.

[MsJamieDornan]

8 hours ago, vavera4ka said:

Seriously, Julianne, darling, FIRE YOUR F%$#ING STYLIST YESTERDAY! Every week she looks either weird or a mess, and she is a beautiful woman. You'd think it would be hard to mess her look up. That's talent right there lol

She is so beautiful and obviously she has pissed of whoever is her stylist and hairdresser.

[rr2911]

. A big "Boo" to the judges for underscoring Laurie. Laurie's and Val's dance was the best of the night imo!

. Marilu and Maureen were both o.k.

. Terra's scores are still too high. They're still judging her height not her dancing.

. James is good not "Laurie good" but good. However, I think showing the backstory of his accident was a smart move. Now, people are going to judge him based on his recovery from that accident.

. The show needs Len Goodman back ASAP!

. Did I mention the show needs Len Goodman back ASAP?

 

Amber going home?

Edited October 12, 2016 by rr2911
grammer error

[Vinyasa]

I still don't understand they think  Terra is so great. What am I missing?

[katha]

2 hours ago, spanana said:

Asking for them to connect more doesn't equate to them having to have sexual tension.  There is all sorts of appropriate chemistry that could be displayed on the dance floor.  Val and Laurie have plenty of appropriate chemistry off the dance floor.  They just need to find a way to bring that connection on to the dance floor and it will be fine.  Connection doesn't have to equal sex IMO.  The only dance where that gets dicey is rumba and I expect they will likely keep Laurie away from that one.

Also her song was chosen because that song was used as basically the official gymnastics song for the Rio games, so it was directly related to her Olympics experience.

I think they have dance chemistry, at least in the upbeat dances. In the two serious dances it becomes more of an issue, though I thought the tango was well done. The paso was mostly hampered by Laurie's insecurity IMO, she hadn't quite mastered the technique so she couldn't reach out in performance either. It also seems obvious that Val is aware that getting her more secure and convincing in the intense/serious dances will be a challenge and so he pushes. Both packages for tango and paso reflected this, that sort of performance doesn't come as easily for her, add in learning challenging technique with a teacher who will pack in a lot of content because he knows he's got a contender. She'll probably get better at it as the season progresses and Val throughout the seasons has been a responsible teacher who is usually self-aware enough to notice when he's getting too hardcore. I have to say I'm enjoying her more than I thought I would, I thought she'd be annoyingly perky, but she's not. (-;

[MsJamieDornan]

Quote

I still don't understand they think  Terra is so great. What am I missing?

I'm lost. There is nothing impressive about her dancing. In fact, when I watch her, she makes me cringe.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

When Ryan was talking about how much his fiancée's ring cost, Erin made some remark about endorsements, but I didn't catch the exact words - did anyone else?

The way I took that comment is that Erin was saying (to her boyfriend if he's watching) that she and Cheryl both would LOVE

to get on that engagement ring bus.  Hint Hint Hint....

[CED9]

33 minutes ago, Vinyasa said:

I still don't understand they think  Terra is so great. What am I missing?

I think at this point TPTB basically know who the audience is voting for, but have to give the ruse with the scoring that it's closer than it is. From what I've seen the top 4-5 are Laurie, James, Terra, Calvin and kinda flip flopping between Jana and Marilu.

Edited October 11, 2016 by CED9

[BW Manilowe]

7 hours ago, Vinyasa said:

Where has Len been? Is he coming back? I'm just so tired of Julieanne.

Maureen's dance was beautiful. No backup dancers,  flowers, umbrellas or park benches. Just two people dancing on a normal dance floor!

Len's in England doing the "Mothership" show Strictly Come Dancing right now. He's of the age where it's easier for him to stay there during that show instead of commuting back & forth to do both shows (which Bruno does--commutes & does both shows). The "suits" at ABC & the show seem OK with Len doing it, so it doesn't bother me either.

[enthus-pro]

Thoughts on contestants for week 5 (in alphabetical order):

 

Calvin & Lindsay – think it's nice that Lindsay is either having Calvin sit/slide to eye level or have him lift her, as it makes for even better connection. Think it's also nice that he's still dancing outwards and that he's not looking compressed/trapped in his tall, lanky body. Agree with Julianne that he maybe stuck in neutral at the moment, but thought he continued with nice posture in previous weeks and that he performed a nice, smooth jazz routine.

James & Sharna - nice and low in the knees and thought his arms were nicely compressed around Sharna. Thought his movement/performance didn't feel as congested but rather he opened up and exuded a sense of freedom. Think he could be a hair crisper in the head flick and slightly push away in hold, but it was nice to see the slight back hunch ironed out in his posture. An enjoyable performance and hope he can build upon this.

Jana & Gleb – its nice to see Jana being able to extend her arms and legs and being able to let go of any tension, hesitations or worries. Thought she conveyed a sense of hope when standing on Gleb's thighs and reaching out. Thought the routine showed how much she cared for her daughter and hope this will serve as a catalyst to help her move forward in her upcoming routines.

Laurie & Val – it's nice to see how she's smoothing out her gymnastic reflexes and showing a concerted effort to shape. Thought there was power/attack while at the same time a hint of artistry. Still think her head is slightly in an awkward position in promenade and that the botofogo paso variation felt a hair unauthoritative. But its nice to see that she tried to loosen up and to shape her upper level in the routine.

Marilu & Derek – liked the line in her arm extensions and how she stretched out her body in hold near the stage. Nice top line in hold and thought she swung freely when Derek spun her around.  Thought she felt slightly tentative when in Derek's arms at the top and when turning side to side with the slight gapping. Nonetheless, thought there was a slight freedom to her movement and hope she can continue to improve.

 

Best of luck to all the celebs and looking forward to their dances.

[tessaforever]

2 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

She is so beautiful and obviously she has pissed of whoever is her stylist and hairdresser.

Do you think it's because they try so hard to make every look different from the last one? I feel like Carrie Anne almost always does the same thing - hair big & down, gown that shows off her shoulders and arms. And it works! She almost always looks great. Whereas Julianne looks like a different person each time but none of the looks "work". I thought the milkmaid hair last week was her worst yet, then I saw this week's look!

[calipiano81]

3 hours ago, Vinyasa said:

I still don't understand they think  Terra is so great. What am I missing?

From a technical point of view, I think she and Sasha are doing a really good job. It would be easy to add..."for a little person," but the content she is given and her execution of the content, I've found them to be successful so far. The best measuring stick for me is that if Terra were a traditional-sized person doing the exact same movements, I would still think she was a good dancer.

However, what I think is most appealing to the judges about Terra is that she really goes for it with her performances. She extends as far as she can, she's not inhibited, and she really commits to the character/emotion of the piece. 

Edited October 12, 2016 by calipiano81

[RedFiat]

On 10/10/2016 at 10:19 PM, PTVjones said:

Also, it's interesting how much different Laurie's edit is, in my opinion of course, than other below 18 contestants in the last, especially Val's old partner Zendaya. I remember being reminded on a weekly basis how young she was and thus couldn't look, dance, or dress a certain kind of way and I feel like we barely hear that stuff about Laurie. Purely an observation, just think it's different than how maybe Sadie, Zendaya, etc. were edited

IMO It has become "normalized" for Laurie to wear costumes that are as sexy as the pros. Laurie wears skimpy body suits  for a living so a sparkly version of that on the show is no big deal to her, or her family.

By contrast Zendayas costumes were very conservative, even child like. We only need to look at the Pasos to see the huge difference, not only in costumes but in overall choreography. These choices are a very conscious effort, I think to appeal to the fans.  Laurie has a fan base of gym fans who expect a glitzy version of her competition outfits, even though in Season 8 there was much handwringing in how Shawn Johnson was presented. and her costumes were a notch more conservative.

 Zendayas fans were much younger, even under 12 and in order for her to be appealing enough for the kids to get their moms to vote, or get school kids to vote at all,  Zendaya had to appeal to them in a very pg way.  This appeared to be her theme of girl power for her age group, self respect, all of those catch phrases that she seemed to believe in as a grounded kid . Sadies fanbase was very conservative, her father was very vocal about her presentation, and she reflected that in her costume choices. 

I thought it was a great way to get kids interested in Ballroom, yet it caused some concern among the fans of dwts who felt that conservatism was at odds with the sexy man woman partnering of dancing. However,  In the cases of Zendaya and Sadie,  those so called restrictions on costume, actually for me pushed Val and Mark to become even more creative in their choreography choices.  They became true partnerships with great chemistry and we as the audience benefited.  It is a little thing perhaps, but Val is treating Laurie like a 20 year old, possibly because he is not constricted by a conservative viewpoint on how she should be presented.   So even though Julianne can be annoying in how she judges, I did not disagree that on the Paso, there seemed to be a disconnect 

Edited October 12, 2016 by RedFiat

[dirtydi]

I just loved Marilu's and Derek's dance.  Not a big Derek fan or of her, but that dance was so beautiful.  And that song, already downloaded it.

Also loved that trust fall with Jana.

Can Amber just go? Between Mak's crappy choreography and her moan jobbing.

[bantering]

10 hours ago, katha said:

It might have been a small moment in rehearsal TPTB decided to turn into "narrative"? However, I'm sure Laurie isn't constantly preppy during gymnastics rehearsals, and even though DWTS isn't a big deal compared to that, it is a few hours of practice every day. I'm sure frustrations happen with every team. Val also made the paso very busy (perhaps too much so?), which was in contrast to the jazz where he went rather easy on her because of her schedule, so that might have contributed. She was a bit insecure still in performance, so it seemed quite believable that she might have been somewhat overwhelmed. Val has also repeatedly admitted that he gets too intense and competitive at times and sucks the fun out of it for his partners. Then once he notices what he's done, he's sorry. Anyway, even with the drama the show tried to stage in the package, it didn't seem a big deal IMO: Val pushed a bit too hard, Laurie got upset, Val pulled back and adjusted his approach. A rather typical teaching situation, I'd say.

Yeah, it didn't seem like a big deal. Which is probably why her package seemed to be the most boring.  I think she has a great personality, but she's still too young to have an interesting life story. Even Locthe's life story seemed more interesting, and everybody thinks of him as a 16 year old trapped in a 32 year old's body.

[kitcloudkicker]

13 minutes ago, bantering said:

Even Locthe's life story seemed more interesting, and everybody thinks of him as a 16 year old trapped in a 32 year old's body.

Well personally, I think of him as a golden retriever trapped in a 32 year old human body ;P 

(Think about it, he loves the water, and shoes, is easily distracted but can be dedicated if you give him a task, pees on the sidewalk, and doesn't know what he did wrong but knows you're making mad faces and loud noises at him and is very very sad about it.)

 

2 hours ago, tessaforever said:

Do you think it's because they try so hard to make every look different from the last one? I feel like Carrie Anne almost always does the same thing - hair big & down, gown that shows off her shoulders and arms. And it works! She almost always looks great. Whereas Julianne looks like a different person each time but none of the looks "work". I thought the milkmaid hair last week was her worst yet, then I saw this week's look!

I think Julianne's look is a result of going to red carpet events all the time ever since she was 18, and dressing up for ballroom stuff from even earlier. She knows what would conservatively "work" but that's boring, and her and her team would rather play around. Sometimes it hits and sometimes it misses, but I dunno, it doesn't bother me. If you've got the resources why not play? None of it really matters anyway.

Edited October 12, 2016 by kitcloudkicker

[bantering]

Julianne Hough is traditionally pretty in that all-American way and has a very good body, but I think her face may not actually be interesting enough to pull off the looks that she does. That's probably why her looks fail. A lot of these looks fail even on other celebrities.    You usually have to be an actual model  or Tilda Swinton to pull them off. 

[crossover]

7 hours ago, spanana said:

Asking for them to connect more doesn't equate to them having to have sexual tension.  There is all sorts of appropriate chemistry that could be displayed on the dance floor.  Val and Laurie have plenty of appropriate chemistry off the dance floor.  They just need to find a way to bring that connection on to the dance floor and it will be fine.  Connection doesn't have to equal sex IMO.  The only dance where that gets dicey is rumba and I expect they will likely keep Laurie away from that one.

I agree.  I didn't like the Val and Laurie pairing from the beginning.  I knew it would be a while before I could see/feel their connection.  They did fine with the fun routines.  She has an infectious smile.  I think they'll get back to those.

[Vinyasa]

Quote

Can Amber just go? Between Mak's crappy choreography and her moan jobbing.

It is time for Amber to leave.

I just want Maureen to stay longer than Amber.

[Thadeeeyus]

11 hours ago, movement said:

I agree.  I didn't like the Val and Laurie pairing from the beginning.  I knew it would be a while before I could see/feel their connection.  They did fine with the fun routines.  She has an infectious smile.  I think they'll get back to those.

I think Laurie and Mark would have been an awesome pair.  

[PTVjones]

25 minutes ago, Thadeeeyus said:

I think Laurie and Mark would have been an awesome pair.  

While I think Mark and Laurie would have been a great pair, his imagination and her talent could have went to interesting places. However I will say I was getting a little tired of Mark always getting younger partners, I feel like Mark's last partner that was around his age was Christina Milian, who I think would have went further if her personality was a little bit more ... dynamic.  This also goes to say I'm just as tired of seeing Artem always getting the older contestants.

I'm actually just remembering Mark's former partner Paige but I think she could have been great with Artem as well. Basically I always thought Artem was pretty great but he's never been given a partner where he didn't have to hold himself back. 

[katha]

I think Mark and Derek were given teenage partners more recently (and Mark's not on anyway, so this is an academic discussion) and the show probably thought it was Val's turn again (no one apart from these three was going to get a contender like Laurie, let's get real here...). He's doing well with her so far IMO. Not everything works, but that's normal. It's also a slightly interesting and unusual set-up in that they gave this "human emoji" contestant to someone like Val, with his intensity. The thinking behind that might have also been that it will be a bigger challenge for both of them, since they'll deal with someone unlike themselves and will have to adapt to each other.

[iMonrey]

Quote

(Think about it, he loves the water, and shoes, is easily distracted but can be dedicated if you give him a task, pees on the sidewalk, and doesn't know what he did wrong but knows you're making mad faces and loud noises at him and is very very sad about it.)

Bwah! So far, Ryan has come across as a sweet kid. I know he's actually 32 but he still seems like a kid to me. Maybe a little dim, but sweet. Could be a generous edit, but I've yet to see any kind of temper from him. Seems sincere in his enjoyment of the show.

[Tara Ariano]

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

Dancing With The Stars Commemorates A Car Crash

James Hinchcliffe recalls the time he crashed his car and flatlined, while the other celebrities evoke their own noteworthy years.

[spanana]

14 hours ago, RedFiat said:

IMO It has become "normalized" for Laurie to wear costumes that are as sexy as the pros. Laurie wears skimpy body suits  for a living so a sparkly version of that on the show is no big deal to her, or her family.

I thought it was a great way to get kids interested in Ballroom, yet it caused some concern among the fans of dwts who felt that conservatism was at odds with the sexy man woman partnering of dancing. However,  In the cases of Zendaya and Sadie,  those so called restrictions on costume, actually for me pushed Val and Mark to become even more creative in their choreography choices.  They became true partnerships with great chemistry and we as the audience benefited.  It is a little thing perhaps, but Val is treating Laurie like a 20 year old, possibly because he is not constricted by a conservative viewpoint on how she should be presented.   So even though Julianne can be annoying in how she judges, I did not disagree that on the Paso, there seemed to be a disconnect 

 

I'm not going to compare the partnerships because I don't know that that is entirely fair, but what I find weirdly fascinating about Laurie is that while her outer image is less restricted by Disney fanbases and conservatism than some previous minors on the show, I actually find her off-stage personality is extremely child-like.  Not in a bad way, but I don't entirely agree that Val treats Laurie like she's 20.  I think Val treats Laurie like she's 20 on the dance floor and in terms of how he is creating for her there, but off the dance floor he's feeding her vitamins and trying to educate her about any number of things not related to dance.  I saw some video where Laurie dissolved into a fit of giggles because somebody used the word sexy (not directed at her, but just in describing something unrelated to her).  She IMO is a very young 16 outside of her career.  Though I remember thinking the same of Aly Raisman back in S16 (she was 18 at the time).  I think it's largely because while these young women are world class athletes and are so mature in terms of their careers, they also spend the majority of their days holed up inside a gym focused on their training, so I'm not sure they always get the socialization aspect, until these rare breaks from training post Olympics.  You have to lead a very one track existence to make it to that elite level, so I think Laurie is just starting to experience anything outside of gymnastics.

I do agree though I think since people are so used to seeing Laurie in leotards, the idea of skimpy DWTS costumes doesn't really phase people, as opposed to all the handwringing that people want to do over Disney stars.  But personality wise I think Laurie comes off younger than some of the other minors we've had on the show.

But I'll also add that sometimes it's just about whatever storyline the show chooses for that star.  For instance, Terra had a baby right before DWTS--beginning of August I believe, but super close to her starting to train for this show.  We have barely heard about it and the show acts like it's not a big deal.  With Ginger last season, we heard every freaking week about how she was the first working mom in the history of the universe and how amazing she was for balancing new motherhood, the show, work and etc.  Because that was Ginger's storyline whereas Terra doesn't need that to be her storyline.

Edited October 12, 2016 by spanana

[Emily-D]

I give credit to the younger female contestants. I think they challenge but at the same time inspire the male pros, mainly because these kids that get cast happen to have uber positive personalities. Take Zendaya, Bindi Irwin and Sadie Robertson as recent examples. Willow Shields was the same but unfortunately didn't have the fanbase the others did. I think Mark, Derek and Val have done some of their best work with those mentioned above in particular. It's a big reason why I'd love to see Artem with a teenage (Disney?) star with a solid fanbase to avoid an early cut like Zendaya had. I think a partner like that would inspire him the same way it inspired the others, see him truly establish himself on the show and would be great to watch for us as viewers. I love Mark but it gets boring seeing him given the young stars most seasons. I know he's brilliant with them, but as a viewer I'd like to see something different.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Emily-D

[Wings]

On 10/11/2016 at 11:21 AM, vibeology said:

Ryan said something in his package last night that nearly made me turn off the TV. When he was all "the things that have happened these past two months..." I flipped out. Nothing happened to him. He made choices and had to deal with the consequences of his choices. that passive voice shows me that he still doesn't understand or feel bad about what he did. He's really one of (if not the) worst dancer left so I'm really hoping he goes.

I could not agree more.  100 likes!  

[realdancemom]

18 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

Well personally, I think of him as a golden retriever trapped in a 32 year old human body ;P 

(Think about it, he loves the water, and shoes, is easily distracted but can be dedicated if you give him a task, pees on the sidewalk, and doesn't know what he did wrong but knows you're making mad faces and loud noises at him and is very very sad about it.)

 

So true!!  I think he's a really hard worker.  In his package, somebody said that he had to work so hard that he didn't have any friends.  He does seem socially awkward.  For example, it seems weird that he would say that the engagement ring cost a lot of money.  People don't normally say things like that.  He and Amber are the two worst dancers but I would rather see her go first and then him.  It seems like Amber is always going to dance tentatively while I can see improvement with Ryan.

Terra is the opposite of Amber.  She gives a 100% to her dances.  It really showed last week in her Samba dance.  She will never have long lines because of her body type but I can see why she would score higher than Amber. 

The one that I really enjoy watching is Calvin.  He is really enjoying himself on the dance floor.  I was impressed last week with his Charleston because his kicks were pretty high and he kept up with the music.  That has got to be difficult with his long limbs.  I hope he is in the finals with Laurie and James.

[Uke]

2 hours ago, Emily-D said:

 It's a big reason why I'd love to see Artem with a teenage (Disney?) star with a solid fanbase to avoid an early cut like Zendaya had. 

Zendaya placed 2nd after Kellie Pickler (S16).  But I agree with your point.  We haven't yet seen which type of partner is Artem's niche.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Uke

[Emily-D]

1 hour ago, Uke said:

Zendaya placed 2nd after Kellie Pickler (S16).  But I agree with your point.  We haven't yet seen which type of partner is Artem's niche.

That's what I meant. Zendaya had a solid fanbase which meant that she avoided an early cut (although she was always at the top of the leaderboard anyway). Sorry, I worded it in a way that sounded wrong haha. I think the producers are clearly pushing him as the new Tristan/Tony seeing as he usually gets (and does well with) older women. But I think if they gave him a teenager with a fanbase, he'd get them to the finale. He's won the show in England so he obviously knows how to win, he just needs the right partner.