S23.E12: Week 9

[Primetimer]

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

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[Annb67]

1 hour ago, smiley13 said:

Can we please be rid of Terra next?  Her dancing is awkward due to her physical limitations and the judges seemingly refuse to call her out on it.  It is like Amy Purdy all over again.    I just do not understand how the judges minds work.

Thank you! I just don't think she is that good in comparison to who she is dancing with. It is what it is....

[Shades of Red]

11 hours ago, McManda said:

Jana's crying over how she can only dance with Gleb was incredibly dramatic and whiny considering how James has been dancing with Jenna for two weeks. Suck it up, buttercup.

(Also ... not impressed with Gleb. I'd take Alan any day, if I had to pick.)

I also noticed the difference in attitude towards their partners' injuries.  James seems really concerned about Sharna and wants her to do what's best for her health.  On the other hand Jana is concerned with dancing with someone else and doesn't say anything about Gleb taking care of his injuries to make sure he doesn't do permanent damage.

Is it just me or is Gleb's accent getting thicker?  It's possible he's tired and that could be a contributing factor.

[vibeology]

4 minutes ago, Shades of Red said:

Is it just me or is Gleb's accent getting thicker?  It's possible he's tired and that could be a contributing factor.

I would assume being tired or in some pain from his knee would probably make his accent thicker.

[katha]

To be fair to Jana, we don't know the extent of Gleb's injuries and how they compare to Sharna's. It's also possible it was already decided that Gleb would dance (pros often dance through injuries, a lot of the time it's not even mentioned that they're hurting) and they used the whole situation to create "drama" and "story" for the couple.

[RedFiat]

50 minutes ago, Shades of Red said:

I also noticed the difference in attitude towards their partners' injuries.  James seems really concerned about Sharna and wants her to do what's best for her health.  On the other hand Jana is concerned with dancing with someone else and doesn't say anything about Gleb taking care of his injuries to make sure he doesn't do permanent damage.

Is it just me or is Gleb's accent getting thicker?  It's possible he's tired and that could be a contributing factor.

Maybe it's the editing, but this does not endear me to Jana.  She is needy and rather self-centred as opposed to James' reaction. Her personal life is the shits and only Gleb can understand her? Find me the teeny tiny violin. This is now the second week in a row that James is dancing with Jenna, not that in and of itself is bad, but it says a lot about his character, and that he pushes through after almost dying 18 months ago. No crying or hissy fits.(see Gilles Marini All Star Season)   Back in Season 7 when Julianne was off for 2 weeks Cody Linley danced with Edyta.  He had momentum before her injury, but after two weeks with another partner he lost the edge and was eliminated just before the final dancing with Julianne again.  I have no idea how the vote is going, but it looks like James is either being shoved under the bus,  4 points deducted for one mistake..or he has a big comeback next week.    

Edited November 8, 2016 by RedFiat

[luvthepros]

13 hours ago, wings707 said:

The black little person in the audience who has been there every w=k cheering for Terra seems to have had a stroke. She was wearing an eye patch and that side of her face was paralyzed. this is the first I noticed. it may.have been mentioned before.

I noticed last night too.

[MMLEsq]

13 hours ago, Callaphera said:

Seriously. I would have loved to have Mark there rather than Gleb. I just can't warm up to him and he does nothing for me, eye candy wise. I actually feel a little uncomfortable when his packages roll, like I'm just waiting for him to become the sleezeball he comes across to me as. ...

I think Gleb is pretty attractive, but --and I'm not quite sure how to articulate this -- he and Jana just don't act like Gleb is married.   It just feels uncomfortable watching them.  

[iMonrey]

I thought both Marilu and Calvin were overscored last night. In hindsight I can understand the judges letting Marilu off the hook, but Calvin's Waltz wasn't that great, and I blame Lindsay's choreography for that. It just wasn't choreographed to his strengths. Or rather, maybe she thought she was choreographing to his physical strength, but the little sections where he was spinning her around or dragging her across the floor looked clunky. The whole dance lacked an elegance and smoothness. If they had gone right after Jana and Gleb it would have looked much worse. Not that I prefer Jana and Gleb - I'm definitely more a fan of Calvin's - but their Waltz was perfectly elegant and graceful all the way through.

Can I comment on the irony of an all-white cast for The Wiz? Kind of defeats the point if you ask me. That aside, James did this acrobatic move where he jumped up in the air and flipped around. He's so damned polished, I accuse him of doing Broadway. I'm surprised there aren't more conspiracy theories.

Quote

Idina "I'm like the worst judge ever--" Me: "You're not Pitbull so only the second worst."

She's not Red Foo either. Ordinarily I take a dim view of guest judges, but Idina was at least the model of class and made a point of personalizing her comments. Her presence felt like a pointless plug but at the same time she was far less offensive than some of the other guest judges they've had.

Edited November 8, 2016 by iMonrey

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Was it just me or was Derek and Marylou's samba mega awkward looking? He appeared to be dragging her all over the place. And Terra just killed it in the team dance as opposed to Marylou whose legs were much longer but looked so tired. 

Laurie. . . please, girl, you had me at that wink. . . 

[vavera4ka]

16 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

 

She's not Red Foo either. Ordinarily I take a dim view of guest judges, but Idina was at least the model of class and made a point of personalizing her comments. Her presence felt like a pointless plug but at the same time she was far less offensive than some of the other guest judges they've had.

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.

Edited November 8, 2016 by vavera4ka

[asuwur]

41 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

I noticed last night too.

 

I'm thinking Bells Palsey actually.....

[tessaforever]

14 hours ago, janerazor said:

Aw, seeing Mark Ballas made me realize that...I've kind of missed that overly creative goofball. And I never, ever thought I'd say that.

I was bummed when James got out of sync, but I really did enjoy the majority of his routine. I think his mess-up took some of the joy away from him, and that showed up on his face and in his body language. 

Jana was lovely, and I think she deserved her score. I just am not into her as a contestant. Gleb feels alternatively flat and full of himself, so he's doing her no favors in my book.

I miss Mark too! What has happened to me? I thought Jana had some gorgeous lines in her waltz - some of the nicest I've seen from celebs. 

6 hours ago, giaNtsandYankees said:

Ha! I was thinking a the same thing! I thought that they might have been reading the message board comments, so they had to play up that they were good friends. AND it seems like they took a page out of Val's book (from the previous week) with Marilu's tears and the "This is the greatest experience, dancing with you."

Oh, yeah, they had a bullet point list: 1) Laugh about "the push" (oh, hahahah! lololol); 2) Admit that they drive each other crazy, but in a good way; 3) Talk about how much they've grown and bonded.

Just ignore the "deer in headlights" look in Marilu's eyes every time she even glances in Derek's direction!

4 hours ago, vibeology said:

Or Sutton Foster or James Monroe Iglehart (who you'd think be an obvious tie in so Disney could promote Aladdin) or anyone who can actually judge dancing. Idina is a bona fide Broadway star but she cannot dance and clearly had nothing of worth to offer. Heck, Mel B is about to start in Chicago. I'd rather have had her back than deal with Idina's uselessness. Plus it would have saved us from her struggling to hit those high notes.

What were those high notes all about? Sure, she has a great range, but her voice is not what it was even a few years ago. Give me the warmer mid-tones over the screeching!

47 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Can I comment on the irony of an all-white cast for The Wiz? Kind of defeats the point if you ask me. 

Eh, given the fact that minorities can are playing the Founding Fathers...I don't mind when casting mixes it up a bit, either direction. Also, Keo was the lion :)

[iMonrey]

Quote

Also, Keo was the lion :)

Oops! I guess I didn't notice. 

The whole bit with Calvin and Lindsay dressing up in full Cats costumes and makeup seemed over the top and pointless to me. Especially since they didn't even wear those get-ups during the dance. We're at that point where it takes a LOT of filler to fill a 2-hour show.

[Vinyasa]

And Terra remains-UGH. She is annoying me at the Ginger Zee level and that says a lot.

Why, why and why are they keeping her around?

[scenicbyway]

So glad Marilu and Derek are gone.  I think they both had had enough weeks ago.  It's a shame they couldn't get along.  Her dancing had become so stiff and I think perhaps because of her age she was having difficulty with her stamina.

I think Terra has been great, but reading the article this morning that she's having complications from dancing so soon after a cesarean is scary.  She should've waited until the spring.  I can't believe a doctor would've cleared her to dance.  Yet we had Sharna saying that she was cleared to dance but the week before the doctor was saying 4-6 weeks.

James is still my favorite, it was too bad when he lost it for a little bit but the paso was awesome.

I thought Laurie's tango was fine, but the idea of a 16 year old portraying that role was really inappropriate.  I thought the tango seemed frantic overall, and not her best dance.

[tessaforever]

14 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I thought Laurie's tango was fine, but the idea of a 16 year old portraying that role was really inappropriate.  I thought the tango seemed frantic overall, and not her best dance.

I agree - when did it become important for a 16-year-old to prove that she's sexy? Did I miss something somewhere? In the past, the show has done a great job of handling younger contestants (Zendaya, Willow, Hayes, even Bindi) so this has been really weird and off-putting. 

[seacliffsal]

I am glad that Marilu is gone.  It was really suspicious to me that during Marilu and Derrick's dance that the camera kept panning to Marilu's face rather than focusing on her feet or a long view.  When they did show them dancing in a long view, her steps were tentative and out of sync with Derrick.  Those 9s?  Probably to make her feel better, but not representative of that dance.

[katha]

Yeah, on paper "Cell Block Tango" is a screwy choice for a 16 year old. The way Val played it pretty much saved TPTB's necks IMO, though. Doesn't mean they shouldn't think harder about their choices and rely on their pro to bail them out (but then, I am still furious about how that rumba package with Sadie played. I thought that one was horrifying and a real low point for DWTS as a whole.). It was clearly marked as theatre, as performance, as character to portray. They openly said in the package that it was about getting the correct interpretation for the song and story, something she would learn to express in dance. So that made a clear cut between "being sexy, doing sexy things" on a personal level and "performing sexy" for one dance.  The way she reverted to giggling teen right after also made clear it was a one-time theatre staging. And thank heavens, they stayed away from judgemental nonsense about "modesty" and "being a good girl" or whatever.

[ChaChaSlide]

22 hours ago, wings707 said:

The black little person in the audience who has been there every w=k cheering for Terra seems to have had a stroke. She was wearing an eye patch and that side of her face was paralyzed. this is the first I noticed. it may.have been mentioned before.

 

21 hours ago, punkypower said:

I came to post same thing!!  This is the first I noticed as well. Prayers for her!!

 

8 hours ago, luvthepros said:

I noticed last night too.

 

7 hours ago, asuwur said:

 

I'm thinking Bells Palsey actually.....

As an avid Little Women:LA watcher (I know, I'm deep in the shame corner as we speak), I recall Tonya (the black little woman, she and Terra have been best friends for 15+ years) talking about wanting to get surgery on her eyes to correct muscle weakness, the weakness caused double vision due to misalignment. I'm guessing she finally got the surgery on one eye! 

[Wings]

11 minutes ago, ChaChaSlide said:

 

 

 

As an avid Little Women:LA watcher (I know, I'm deep in the shame corner as we speak), I recall Tonya (the black little woman, she and Terra have been best friends for 15+ years) talking about wanting to get surgery on her eyes to correct muscle weakness, the weakness caused double vision due to misalignment. I'm guessing she finally got the surgery on one eye! 

Then something went wrong. Facial paralysis is not a casual side effect.  Recovery is possible but this is not something that is easily dismissed as a side effect. My hunch is that she will be fine but not necessarily.  It can happen with face lifts, too, when a nerve is cut.  They find their way back to reconnect or they don't. 

[RedFiat]

8 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

I think Gleb is pretty attractive, but --and I'm not quite sure how to articulate this -- he and Jana just don't act like Gleb is married.   It just feels uncomfortable watching them.  

This is probably why Gleb hid his marriage the first season he was on the show.  He's cast as the lover and it just doesn't sit well when you know his marital status. To be fair to Gleb this is a show, just like watching a drama on tv, everything is scripted, and yet the "reality" aspect of the show makes it difficult for anyone to suspend belief.

Edited November 9, 2016 by RedFiat

[luvthepros]

9 hours ago, asuwur said:

 

I'm thinking Bells Palsey actually.....

Yes, most certainly could be Bell's Palsy.

[tessaforever]

1 hour ago, RedFiat said:

This is probably why Gleb hid his marriage the first season he was on the show.  He's cast as the lover and it just doesn't sit well when you know his marital status. To be fair to Gleb this is a show, just like watching a drama on tv, everything is scripted, and yet the "reality" aspect of the show makes it difficult for anyone to suspend belief.

And yet I don't get as show-mancy of a vibe from Jana & Gleb as I have from other couples, namely Maks & Meryl and Val & Janel. I mean those were total fabrications but they were SO out there - Maks telling us he "didn't know where this was going but knew it would be lifelong" and Janel pouting over Val during switch-up week and cuddling up to Val during practice breaks. Jana and Gleb have used the sexy, but they've done a lot more than that too. I don't think they're trying to hint that there's more between them. YMMV naturally. 

[RedFiat]

6 minutes ago, tessaforever said:

And yet I don't get as show-mancy of a vibe from Jana & Gleb as I have from other couples, namely Maks & Meryl and Val & Janel. I mean those were total fabrications but they were SO out there - Maks telling us he "didn't know where this was going but knew it would be lifelong" and Janel pouting over Val during switch-up week and cuddling up to Val during practice breaks. Jana and Gleb have used the sexy, but they've done a lot more than that too. I don't think they're trying to hint that there's more between them. YMMV naturally. 

Yeah YMMV but I think the whole "I can't dance with anyone but Gleb"  "My personal life is a mess and Gleb is the only one who understands me," and The whole skivvy choreography for the Argentine Tango  kinda made me throw up in my mouth a bit.

[crowceilidh]

My memory of Janel-Val is that she seemed to believe it wasn't a showmance.

I wish they'd stop putting James in bright green.  Enough.

Marilu's "thank yous" seemed insincere and yet her face showed utter sincerity.  I guess I'm projecting.

[gimmeegimmeegim]

Never get rid of T. She's the greatest dancer that ever danced. No limitations at all. Sweetest partner evah in S! Go T!

[ocelot]

I'm surprised by the praise for the Jana Laurie contemporary. I didn't spot like any dancing? Much movement at all? The choreography was horrible, I'm sure that both could have been capable of more, but in the hands of Gleb and Val that's what they were gonna get I guess. The performance Sia did for that song on Ellen is such a stark difference in quality of dancing, maybe because I'd seen that one before this one just felt so extremely static to me. 

like whether you like it or not you have to agree that there is like 500 percent more actual movement here

that's something I don't get about dwts contemporary they really seem to think that you don't move in contemporary I don't get it

[katha]

I thought the Laurie/Jana dance was good for "DWTS contemporary", which is basically nothing like actual contemporary as far as I understand? It was a lot of heavy-handed visual metaphors, a bit of movement, some lifts, some actual dancing and lots of angsty face. So in that DWTS specific "genre", I thought it worked. Jana and Laurie executed what they were given very well and I think the judges mark it as performance, not so much as a dance style, because they themselves have no idea what to look for anyway.

[ocelot]

2 hours ago, katha said:

I thought the Laurie/Jana dance was good for "DWTS contemporary", which is basically nothing like actual contemporary as far as I understand? It was a lot of heavy-handed visual metaphors, a bit of movement, some lifts, some actual dancing and lots of angsty face. So in that DWTS specific "genre", I thought it worked. Jana and Laurie executed what they were given very well and I think the judges mark it as performance, not so much as a dance style, because they themselves have no idea what to look for anyway.

Watching it over a bunch of times, I've come to appreciate it a bit for what it is. I won't discredit them for their work. It's not contemporary though lol

[ShaNaeNae]

13 hours ago, wings707 said:

Then something went wrong. Facial paralysis is not a casual side effect.  Recovery is possible but this is not something that is easily dismissed as a side effect. My hunch is that she will be fine but not necessarily.  It can happen with face lifts, too, when a nerve is cut.  They find their way back to reconnect or they don't. 

 

14 hours ago, ChaChaSlide said:

 

 

 

As an avid Little Women:LA watcher (I know, I'm deep in the shame corner as we speak), I recall Tonya (the black little woman, she and Terra have been best friends for 15+ years) talking about wanting to get surgery on her eyes to correct muscle weakness, the weakness caused double vision due to misalignment. I'm guessing she finally got the surgery on one eye! 

 

12 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Yes, most certainly could be Bell's Palsy.

She stated on Twitter she has Bell's Palsy.  Tonya Banks.

[treeofdreams]

Who was that singing Memories?  What an exquisite voice - I couldn't even focus on the dancing, I was so mesmerized by her singing.

[luvthepros]

Thanks ShaNaeNae for clarifying it is Bell's Palsy. I don't know why, but I couldn't quote your post.

[luvthepros]

19 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

Who was that singing Memories?  What an exquisite voice - I couldn't even focus on the dancing, I was so mesmerized by her singing.

British pop star Leona Lewis

[treeofdreams]

Thanks!

[iMonrey]

Not that I was sorry to see her go but it always bugs me when the eliminated couple gets the bum's rush at the end of the show. They had two freaking hours and tons of filler in this episode, why can't they time these things better so Marilu can at least say a proper goodbye and answer a few question? Maybe they figure that's what GMA is for but I'll be damned if I'm going to watch (or even record) three hours of that show just to catch one interview.

[realdancemom]

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.

I did think that the Laurie was outstanding in the AT with Val.  It really did showcase her strength and flexibility.  Her legs were phenomenal.  I'm not sure if they made a mistake or not.  It was right before, Val dropped the hat on the floor.

With James, it was obvious that he made a mistake in the Wiz dance.  I did like his paso with Calvin.

Marilu was the right person to go especially if it was based on last week.  I'm glad she did better this week so she left on a high note.

I was surprised that Idina was so off during her peformance.  She seemed nice enough but she should be judging a singing competition not a dance one.  It was nice to see Mark back.  I think Broadway is great for him since he can sing and dance.

[Hiacios]

Laurie & Val are clearly the Judges favorite couple as they been really pushing for them to win the whole thing since week 1. I just hope that america doesn't fall for it vote against her like they voted against Hillary yesterday. :) 

[RedheadZombie]

Obviously Tom has never seen The Wiz.  It's not follow the yellow brick road, but Ease on Down the Road!

I know everyone hates Allison here, but I was happy to see her shine in contemporary.

I hope when Derek is 64 years old, he has the chance to drag his broken down ass on stage, have his age disparaged, and hear how difficult and frustrating it is to work with him.  One of the seasons I've like him the least.

[RedheadZombie]

6 hours ago, ShaNaeNae said:

 

 

She stated on Twitter she has Bell's Palsy.  Tonya Banks.

I'm a nurse and that was my first guess.  Looks like she has a more serious case.  My cousin did not have nearly as much of a facial droop, yet had residual inability to completely close her eye, and her face remained slightly asymmetrical.  I feel for Tonya.  Rumor has it that Katie Holmes's asymmetrical smirk is residual paralysis from Bell's Palsy.

[Uke]

57 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Obviously Tom has never seen The Wiz.  It's not follow the yellow brick road, but Ease on Down the Road!

I know everyone hates Allison here, but I was happy to see her shine in contemporary.

I hope when Derek is 64 years old, he has the chance to drag his broken down ass on stage, have his age disparaged, and hear how difficult and frustrating it is to work with him.  One of the seasons I've like him the least.

I would not agree that everyone hates Allison.  IMO she seems nice and she's very talented in contemporary.  Ballroom/Latin is just not her strength and she doesn't seem able to teach it to non-dancers.

As for Derek, this is the first season in a long time that he hasn't been noticeably pimped by tptb, slathered with praise, overscored, etc.  I think it was a shock for him - it's not the treatment he's become used to.  He's made many comments over the seasons (including in his latest blog) that he may not return next season, he's ready to move on, etc. So naturally tptb are looking for a new golden boy to be "the face" of DWTS.     Will that be Val? Gleb? Someone else? Who knows.

[rr2911]

. I wish DWTS would stop having guest judges on the show period! It makes the show look cheesy and taken seriously.

. Laurie again was the best of the night. She showed why she should win the trophy.

. It was way past the time for Marilu to go!

. Too bad James messed up. For a second I couldn't tell who were the pros. James was keeping up with them when......

. Calvin still suffering from "The Michael Irvin Syndrome".

. 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.

. The only deserving 10's were Laurie and Val. The others were over scored.

. Terra should be going home next. She can't perform certain dances or routines.

. Please eliminate the 4th judge, especially Julianne Hough.

. Last but not least,........COME BACK LEN GOODMAN!! 

[kazza]

On 11/8/2016 at 0:39 PM, MMLEsq said:

I think Gleb is pretty attractive, but --and I'm not quite sure how to articulate this -- he and Jana just don't act like Gleb is married.   It just feels uncomfortable watching them.  

I noticed this too. All partners are touchy with one another, but there's an intimacy in their closeness that's subtly different than the affection between other partners -- even those who were supposedly a showmance.

[RedFiat]

12 hours ago, Uke said:

I would not agree that everyone hates Allison.  IMO she seems nice and she's very talented in contemporary.  Ballroom/Latin is just not her strength and she doesn't seem able to teach it to non-dancers.

This. She is a revelation in contemporary dancing.  I sort of wish she could be cast only as the contemporary/ hip hop expert on the show, not a ballroom teacher. 

[boyznkatz]

16 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

Obviously Tom has never seen The Wiz.  It's not follow the yellow brick road, but Ease on Down the Road!

I know everyone hates Allison here, but I was happy to see her shine in contemporary.

I hope when Derek is 64 years old, he has the chance to drag his broken down ass on stage, have his age disparaged, and hear how difficult and frustrating it is to work with him.  One of the seasons I've like him the least.

I like Allison, and I was pissed when she and Babyface were eliminated. He had a lot of potential. She does seem to care about her partners. Who cares if she can't dance ballroom? They don't do much ballroom anyway :-(

[vavera4ka]

11 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Who cares if she can't dance ballroom? They don't do much ballroom anyway :-(

Uhm... no. they do.

it's mostly ballroom, with jazz, "contemporary", and few para-ballroom dances (like charlston or jitterbug) mixed in here and there. Way over half of what each couple (that has lasted long enough) has danced is ballroom.

[boyznkatz]

Last week, all they had were two waltzes and one AT. The rest was contemporary and jazz. Allison would have actually done quite well. Half the time the music is so bad you can barely recognize the dance style.

That was one boring episode.

Edited November 10, 2016 by boyznkatz

[vavera4ka]

33 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Last week, all they had were two waltzes and one AT. The rest was contemporary and jazz. Allison would have actually done quite well. Half the time the music is so bad you can barely recognize the dance style.

That was one boring episode.

You are taking horizontal view, not vertical. Take any of the couples that have made it this far. How many ballroom did they have and how many non ballroom dances. True, there's almost always a non-ballroom dance in a given week, but it varies from couple to couple. It's not like Allison is free to pick and choose to do contemporary and jazz every week. To get to last week, she would have had to choreograph mostly ballroom routines, of which she has very little idea.

[boyznkatz]

18 minutes ago, vavera4ka said:

You are taking horizontal view, not vertical. Take any of the couples that have made it this far. How many ballroom did they have and how many non ballroom dances. True, there's almost always a non-ballroom dance in a given week, but it varies from couple to couple. It's not like Allison is free to pick and choose to do contemporary and jazz every week. To get to last week, she would have had to choreograph mostly ballroom routines, of which she has very little idea.

I think she has worked hard to improve at ballroom, though. She is a lot better than she used to be. 

[katha]

I don't think the problem with Allison is even so much the choreography, though IMO she has issues there as well. And if she's stuck, she can always seek outside help there. I think her problem is that she can't teach and IMO this is very, very obvious in comparison to most of the other pros. Riker was good to start with and never improved on his weaknesses. Andy and Jonathan and Babyface would have benefited from ballroom teachers.