S23.E12: Week 9

[RedFiat]

1 hour ago, katha said:

Riker was good to start with and never improved on his weaknesses.

Riker had training in ballroom and competed as a novice with his sister.  He was young, but that's all relative given the fact that he's not old now. That foundational training never goes away, and really helped Allison because she didn't need to showcase a non-dancer. 

[Tara Ariano]

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

Dancing With The Stars Had It Coming For Showstoppers Week

And they only have themselves to blame when 16-year-old Laurie Hernandez can't quite pull off the sexy 'Cell-Block Tango.'

[iMonrey]

Quote

You could tell the huge difference in talent when Calvin and James were dancing side by side. James moves very smoothly while Calvin is mechanical.

One's also about three feet taller than the other. I loved the visual in the roll-in package where Calvin was just standing there holding the football up in the air while James was jumping up and trying to reach it. 

[tessaforever]

On 11/9/2016 at 2:18 PM, realdancemom said:

I don't really like DWTS contemporary.  I thought that Jana and Laurie did a good job with what they were given.  I actually preferred Jana over Laurie in this.  I know that others think that Jana's face is too much but her angsty face fit this piece more than Laurie's facial expression.  When they looked out over the cage, I thought Laurie was smiling.  Laurie was also a little stiffer and didn't let go as much.

 

Re-watching the Jana & Laurie's dance, I agree that Jana captured the feel of the dance better. Also that move she did, when the couples were side-by-side but each taking their own "moment" - the way she bent and then straightened in Gleb's arms - I have never seen a female celeb do that move, let alone with that much fearlessness. 

I think that Jana has become a really great dancer - in her Waitress Waltz, she had an arm extension that she repeated twice, and both times it was technically perfect but it was artistically different each time, and that is really hard to do. 

[Padma]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 10:04 AM, vavera4ka said:

I also appreciated some of her comments and advices on a personal level. Especially what she told Laurie. More 16 y.o. need to hear that sexy and slutty is not the same. I loved how she said that Laurie doesn't need to push and force it. just be a confident powerful self. Good message that hopefully through Laurie landed on few more ears.

Also kudos to Val on the tone and choreography. You can't make Cell Block Tango all vanilla, it has to be sexy. But not for one second I felt awkward for Laurie. It was exactly that powerful badass sexy, not an ounce of cheap trashy flashy stuff that it could have easily included.

Val navigates that really well. Even last week when he was so huggy and kissy with her, it really did feel oddly parental and not at all embarrassing to watch.  His choreography choices in the AT were very smart.

I like Marilu but It was her time.  Good as Jana is, I'd rather see her go before Terra. In the beginning, I felt kind of uncomfortable and didn't see how see and Sasha could succeed on this show.  Not that she should win over the other three, but she's an impressive dancer, adorable and able to get into character with everything. It's always enjoyable to watch their dances--kudos to her, Sasha and the show.

Does anyone know how long the set changes on DWTS take? Not so much this week, but some weeks...wow, the sets are just amazing. As is the editing and camera work generally. I've always wondered how long it takes to change sets--I can't even imagine.

I was glad to see Marilu thank everyone. Maybe it seemed OTT but obviously so well deserved. This is an extremely well produced show. .

[smiley13]

After finally getting to watch the entire show, I am baffled at the inflated scores for Terra.  She still looks awkward and Sasha has to hunch over so much.  It seems like each season, they pick one person to do this.   And they raved about that stupid dress portion of her dance with Marilu.  That was not dancing at all and was "messing about" as Len would say.  

For me, the best dances of the night belonged to Calvin.  

[KLovestoShop]

I don't see a problem with Caucasians doing The Wiz.  If that were the case, why aren't people concerned with the life story of Hamilton being done by a mostly minority cast?   I mean, you have Aaron Burr and King George being played by African Americans and Alexander Hamilton originated by a Puerto Rican.  Broadway is quickly becoming colorblind, which is a great thing.  

[ocelot]

Hamilton isn't 'colorblind' it casts people of color on purpose. King George is always played by a white person, the rest of the main cast is never white (there are a few in the ensemble).

Not saying anything else because we're not supposed to get in political arguments here but your facts are wrong.

Edited November 14, 2016 by ocelot