S24.E01: Week 1

[trimthatfat]

14 minutes ago, ChaChaSlide said:

Am I the only one who likes Heather and Maks?

I love them together. I think this was a great pairing.

I kind of wish that Keo got her or Nancy though just because he's never gotten partners that had the potential to take him to the finals.

[truthaboutluv]

6 minutes ago, trimthatfat said:

I kind of wish that Keo got her or Nancy though just because he's never gotten partners that had the potential to take him to the finals.

He did with Jodie Sweetin and his choreography was weak and mostly unimpressive, which is partly why he was booted back to the troupe the following season.

[Barbara Manatee]

2 hours ago, smiley13 said:

They choreograph what appears to be "groping" or touching in their dances all the time.  How often are their hands on their partners backsides?

Choreography is consensual.

[Dots And Stripes]

1 hour ago, Harmonyy said:

Yasss y'all can thank Normani for that demo rating increase between this and last seasons premiere. The show got 12.1 million audience viewership and 2.1 demo rating in the 18-49 ages up from last season which only got 1.5. They better do her right because so many "young" people are watching the show just for her and DWTS wants that audience. 

Last season opened with a 2.1 in the demo too:  http://tvline.com/2016/09/13/dwts-ratings-season-23-premiere-ryan-lochte/amp/

[k2p2]

9 hours ago, TroopinFairy said:

Maybe this will explain a few things. I watched it online last night and I feel like it was unintentional but, these are my feelings on the subject. 

http://people.com/tv/bonner-bolton-explains-groping-sharna-burgess-dancing-with-the-stars-premiere/

Watching his eyes in that clip convinces me that it was intentional.

[Wings]

First let me say I don't care either way.   Clearly, they are having an affair so he acted familiar and was not going to touch her but intentially placed his hand there to be titilating.  He did not think it would be seen.  

I don't particularly like him having nothing to do with this incident.  He is a cocky one. 

[enthus-pro]

Thoughts on contestants for week 1 (in alphabetical order):

 

Heather & Maks - though it may be challenging for her, thought she put forth nice effort in showing the tender moments (the touch of Mak's chin, quiet shared moments together). Also, despite subtle hip hop tendencies trying to surface, thought she did a nice job showing the free-flowing rotation in her body. An overall optimism/cleverness to her, a quick mind that can see more possibilities in any situation (can also be precise with her exchanges), but strong-willed, serious minded (agreeable qualities for Maks). Yet despite that, it was still a bit difficult to know her (Carrie Ann). Nonetheless, an enjoyable routine and still think she can draw up a range of emotions/feelings, as she is someone who feels things deeply.

 

Rashad & Emma - liked the beginning solo, thought he exuded dynamic energy on the studio floor and that his cha cha popped in the season premiere. He looked comfortable celebrating his own groove/style (Julianne), fun cuban breaks, refreshing New Yorkers (maybe better free hand placement) - it was nice to see Emma's choreography shine through with ease and freedom. Thought he was getting a hair ahead of music (Len), but think overall they work well together behind closed doors, and that his drive/confidence should be a welcoming asset for Emma. Still not sure how his ballroom will fare, but thought he made a nice first impression and look forward to his upcoming dances.

 

Simone & Sasha - liked how she pushed away in hold, looked to her left and maintained that nice frame throughout the routine. Though small in stature, the routine didn't come off feeling congested, but rather free and open. Liked how she didn't come off feeling tense, but rather, there was an air of assurance in her movement, such that a feeling of something going amiss never came into fruition in the back of one's mind; she had everything under control. It was also nice to see how the routine did not come off angular, with her gymnastic reflexes/curves (if there was, thought it was tastefully tempered down and blended with the music and routine). Nice body contact, thought they used each other well.

 

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

[Dots And Stripes]

26 minutes ago, wings707 said:

First let me say I don't care either way.   Clearly, they are having an affair so he acted familiar and was not going to touch her but intentially placed his hand there to be titilating.  He did not think it would be seen.  

I don't particularly like him having nothing to do with this incident.  He is a cocky one. 

I wouldn't bet on them having an affair right now. The actor Sharna has been flirting with on twitter/probably dating was there in the audience. I think using the "chemistry" and "steamy" talk as a defense serves two purposes here. For one, it continues the storyline TPTB already cooked up. Two, it makes it seem like maybe Sharna would have been receptive to this behavior at a different time or a different venue. I don't think she was as upset as some on social media, but I do think she would have removed his hand camera or not. 

[Uke]

5 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

I almost forgot, but I am *so* happy they brought back Kym and not Allison.  :)

Allison & Mr. T?   Ohhhhhh LOL!

[sinkwriter]

Quote

 I also can't believe they went from someone as great as James Hinchcliffe to someone who isn't like Bonner Bolton.

Now I miss James all over again. Sharna's new partner is definitely a gigantic step down.

And I have very little doubt in my mind - Bonner's hand move was intentional. As k2p2 said: "Watching his eyes in that clip convinces me that it was intentional." I agree. Also, the way his hand changed from against her stomach to riding down her body and curling in? That's not a normal move of someone "distracted" by the dancing going on, as he claimed. Especially because he glanced right at her and then looked up and away. I think he knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to see what he could get away with, whether the camera was on him or not.  

Sharna's being professional, but she shouldn't have to put up with crap like that.

[Uke]

3 hours ago, ChaChaSlide said:

I saw someone else post that they may be trying to groom her to be a show pro, which I could see.It would be really cool to see a former contestant join the pros, and it would get her back into dance and TV.

I strongly hope not. Allison, with her limited youth ballroom experience, trying to learn the various  dances on youtube, was clearly struggling to choreograph and even perform most ballroom and latin dances.  How much better would Jonathan and Andy have done or enjoyed their seasons if not for furiously trying to keep up with her frantic choreography.  Heather wouldn't have any of the depth of knowledge needed to even perform these dances on her own, much less teach someone who knows nothing about dance (which is more typical of male stars than of the female stars).

[Sstt]

5 hours ago, Harmonyy said:

Yasss y'all can thank Normani for that demo rating increase between this and last seasons premiere. The show got 12.1 million audience viewership and 2.1 demo rating in the 18-49 ages up from last season which only got 1.5. They better do her right because so many "young" people are watching the show just for her and DWTS wants that audience. 

Idk what u trying to start but no fifth harmony stans call them self "harmony"

[trimthatfat]

10 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

He did with Jodie Sweetin and his choreography was weak and mostly unimpressive, which is partly why he was booted back to the troupe the following season.

I didn't find Jodie that impressive as a dancer. Either way, I like Keo and want him to do well. It'd be nice to see a black professional dancer go the distance on this show. That's my opinion.

[Kid]

Derek has had the most ringers of anyone, Jennifer Grey for example, and there was not this much controversey.  Meryl was a ringer, Kristie was a ringer. Maks and Meryl were a joy to watch.  I love Heather Morris and I can't wait to see what this team does.   Meryl was much more expressive than Heather - her face, especially.  So I do not think this pairing will be as good as Maks and Meryl was but I am still pulling for them, 

[boyznkatz]

12 hours ago, wings707 said:

First let me say I don't care either way.   Clearly, they are having an affair so he acted familiar and was not going to touch her but intentially placed his hand there to be titilating.  He did not think it would be seen.  

I don't particularly like him having nothing to do with this incident.  He is a cocky one. 

If they are dating, then they should admit it. At least he won't look as much like a perv and she won't look like an ass for defending him. Sure it is inappropriate on camera even if they are dating, but at least stuff like that is acceptable if that is the case. From the way she defended him, yeah, I think they are getting it on.

3 hours ago, trimthatfat said:

I didn't find Jodie that impressive as a dancer. Either way, I like Keo and want him to do well. It'd be nice to see a black professional dancer go the distance on this show. That's my opinion.

I like Keo and would like to see him with someone like Simone or Nancy. Jodie was pretty good and he got her as far as she was going to get. Most of the time he gets duds like Tony does. I am just so sick of Val and Derek NEVER getting anyone who sucks.

[limecoke]

I skipped last season so felt like I was starting fresh with high expectations.  Gotta say I was a little disappointed. Julianne again?  Really? 

 Normani - The dance was nice but I haven't a clue who she is,

Nancy - Nice to see her again.  Lovely lady, lovely dance and not full of herself.  Refreshing.

Chris - Can't dance and really not funny.  

Bonner - I love PBR but can we dispense with the innuendo and groping?  It was all quite unseemly.

Charro -  I remember her from long ago and she was tiresome then but this is going to be excruciating.  What was mildly amusing in the 70's is unbearable now.  Poor Keo...when is he going to get a break on this show?

Nick - I loathe this guy but, surprisingly enjoyed the dance.  He can stay awhile.

Heather -  Another professional dancer competes.  Meh.

David - Nice to see a baseball pro in the mix.  I enjoyed it and I liked him.

Erika - Forgettable and trying way too hard with the middle-aged woman sex angle.  Uncomfortable.

Rashad - Great first dance and he'll only get better.

Mr. T - Another blast from the past.  Nice man, not a good dancer.  Will get a couple of weeks from nostalgia..

Simone - I suffer a bit from Simone fatigue but the dance was good and enjoyable to watch.

One final thought.  Is this a family show or not?  Carrie Ann needs to stifle her childish giddiness over the hot-looking men and just do her job. That would be critiquing the dance.  For that matter, Bruno can tone it down too.  At least Bruno doesn't giggle like a child but the raunchiness from those judges is worse than any of the dances.

[Mindthinkr]

I've been thinking about the Sharna/Bonner hand placement incident. He should have been near Erika. She would have just called it a "pat the puss" !! 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Charo's cute schtick is about 40 years too old.  While Mr. T, who is just as old, is a oddly heroic and inspiring figure.

Eh - I'm just as turned off by Mr. T's "schtick" as I am by Charo's. I get that Mr. T has done great things mentoring kids etc., but I've always found his cartoonish persona rather absurd TBH. And at least Charo can dance - all he did was stomp around. I'm interested to see if Charo can do ballroom with any grace so I'd prefer for Mr. T to go first.

[RedFiat]

On 3/21/2017 at 0:48 PM, boyznkatz said:

I'm not a big fan of Sharna, but I'm sure she doesn't want to lose her job. I sure hope she doesn't have to tolerate the pussy grabber to keep her employment. Ugh, I hope the audience does the right thing and votes the creep off fast!

Well now Sharna calls people stupid for thinking that it was intentional, when what was all the ridiculous sex talk "Sharna has to keep drilling me" bullshit. Boy if it wasn't intentional it made the headlines and kept a lousy dancer,  Boner and her in the news.  I'm not a prude but I don't like this  sex crap shoved in my face and being told I'm stupid.  Screw you Sharna.  I was a big fan last season now, not so much.    

[RedFiat]

19 hours ago, trimthatfat said:

I love them together. I think this was a great pairing.

I kind of wish that Keo got her or Nancy though just because he's never gotten partners that had the potential to take him to the finals.

I am so glad Nancy has Artem, not to disrespect Keo, but Artem's a far better pro dancer.  Artem and Nancy aren't flashy or having sex talk every five minutes, but they do have a lot of potential.  I'm watching Nancy, Rashid, and David as potential finalists. Just because I want to see them go there. Heather is a beautiful dancer and dances great with Maks, but she's a pro.   

[Toonces464]

9 hours ago, Kid said:

Meryl was a ringer, Kristie was a ringer. 

Kirstie Alley was a ringer??

[peachmangosteen]

6 minutes ago, Toonces464 said:

Kirstie Alley was a ringer??

Kristi Yamaguchi.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

On 3/21/2017 at 10:07 AM, LadyMustang65 said:

 I'm a bit worried about this pairing.  I generally like Sasha's choreography, and he did some really wonderful dances with Terra.  But he was always throwing in backflips and such when he was in the troupe, and my worry is that, unlike Val, he will attempt to use Simone's gymnastics ability a lot.  Val rarely went there with Laurie, and I think Sasha needs to do the same with Simone. 

On 3/21/2017 at 10:07 AM, LadyMustang65 said:

 

I so agree about Sasha's overuse of gymnastics since his early days and love how Val steered clear of it with Laurie! ( unlike Mark and Derek with their Olympians. 

Hopefully he will concentrate on Simone's ballroom skills.

Edited March 22, 2017 by Packerbrewerbadger
I don't know how to partial quote!

[Uke]

57 minutes ago, Packerbrewerbadger said:

I so agree about Sasha's overuse of gymnastics since his early days and love how Val steered clear of it with Laurie! ( unlike Mark and Derek with their Olympians. 

Hopefully he will concentrate on Simone's ballroom skills.

I'm pretty sure Val doesn't have gymnastics in his bag of tricks so he really couldn't go there.  I hope Sasha keeps it to a minimum. We already know she can do the flips & tricks. We need to see if she can do the dances.

[Kid]

2 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

Kirstie Alley was a ringer??

No Kristie Yamaguchi

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, Kid said:

No Kristie Yamaguchi

Sorry, read it wrong.

[Jax7917]

On 3/21/2017 at 9:07 AM, Lady Calypso said:

So, I've kind of been peering at this show for a few years now, but mostly just the dance portions. Tonight's the first time where, during commercials for my other shows, I decided to tune in. I caught most of the dances and the scores portion, but I figure maybe this is the year I start watching more actively. Unlike other seasons that I've caught, this is one where the winner isn't clear right off the bat. 

Yeah, I wasn't getting what the fuss was with Sharna and Bonner. He seems like a creep, even during the dance. For me, he has no charm for me to get into him and Sharna's edited showmance. His voice was just so dull and honestly, he didn't seem like he was a good dancer at all. For most of his dance, he had his right hand in some awkward position by his stomach, as if he broke it, and Sharna seemed like she was leading him to his next steps. Plus, not impressed with half of the dance being hip thrusts. Nope, not getting any appeal at all from this guy, and I don't know anything about Sharna, but she didn't seem into it either. I highly doubt they're close off screen. 

I've seen Charo in more recent stuff, most specifically as doing some acting on a show that I watch, but that's the extent that I know of her. I guess I'm too young to know her as a legend. I'll look up a little bit about her, but she seems too hyperactive for me. I do enjoy that she has a lot of energy and she gave a lot in her dance, and I think she has potential for a few more weeks. But overall, I don't think she's all that great and don't want her making it too far, for my own sanity. That, and I don't know how she'll do on other types of dances where she can't use her hyperactivity to perform. 

So, I caught the hype about Laurie last season, but I actually remember Simone way better when I watched the Olympics last year. I think she'll go far, but I'm not really sure if she's a shoe-in to win. She's better than some of the others this season, but she's definitely on a more even playing field compared to Laurie last year (from what I recall), so at least she'll be judged more fairly, I'd hope. 

Heather's one that I know from Glee and as Beyonce's backup dancer. They did seem to tone down her first dance for the sole reason that they didn't want her to start off too strong. I still enjoyed her dance, although I'm not sure why Julianne was so focused on bringing up the point that Heather's not versed in ballroom. I think we'll see a lot more of Heather, but it's sad that I can't see her in the finale. This show is usually blatant enough where you can predict either the winner or one or two of the finalists. Heather, for me, isn't there yet. I don't know if she has the fanbase, but this season seems tough in terms of figuring out who will make it to the finale. 

I'm glad I don't watch The Bachelor, because I can stay ignorant of this Nick guy and whatever he's done on that show. Also, not great editing from Peta saying that she was surprised at how serious Nick was about getting the steps right, followed by him not acting seriously in any way possible. That being said, he wasn't all that bad. He had a funny line about wanting to aim higher than being the best Bachelor on the show, and he has potential in his dancing. It's just that his dancing this week was just stilted and awkward. He wasn't hitting all of the moves that he was supposed to. But I think he's got three or four weeks in him, probably a couple more with his fanbase (I assume he has a fanbase?). I think he's one of the better male dancers this season. 

I don't know sports at all, so I haven't watched most of those celebrities on this show. That being said, I caught both David and Rashad's dances and thought both were actually good. Rashad has a lot of potential in him, although I do think this first dance of his was weak in general. The lighting for his dance was distracting and I'm not particularly fond of the Bruno Mars song that was chosen, and the beginning of the dance was a tad off, but otherwise, I think he will probably get close to the finale, if not make it. 

As for David, he was much better than I thought. I'd really love to see him make it far. He actually had a lot of great moves in him. 

I'm a young adult, but groups such as Fifth Harmony are not my type. I know of the group, but knew nothing of Normani. She's a fine dancer, but not amazing enough for me to be wow'ed by her. 

I actually had to look up Nancy Kerrigan because she looked so familiar to me. I don't really know her from anything, but she seems like a sweetheart and she had my favourite dance of the night. 

As for Chris...I only caught his after interview portion and not his dance, not until I looked it up online to watch, but damn, he's weird. I didn't like his dance at all and I also don't know Witney well, but she seems like a sweet girl who probably deserved a better partner. She made the right choice in including extra dancers to try to distract from Chris' inability to dance. I mean, he tried, but I don't really want him making it another week, especially since everyone else has more potential.

Hey! It's Mr. T! I was very impressed with him. Ok, he wasn't great in any means, or even good, but he had the heart for it, and you could tell that being there meant a lot to him. I still don't want him to make it too far, since he isn't a very good dancer and he's very stiff, but I'd like to see him make it a little farther since he makes me happy.  

Erika? Please let her be out sooner rather than later. I may be annoyed by Charo, but Erika might be worse. I'm glad she owned her raunchiness, but she's going to get on my nerves. Plus, I'm hoping that all of her dances won't be like this first one. I don't really want her appeal to just be "sex", like she's trying to make it. 

My favourites are definitely Nancy, David, and Heather. I don't think they're all making it to the finale, since others seem to love Normani, Simone, and Rashad more (and two of them probably have the bigger fanbases), but I'll enjoy my three favourites for as long as I can.

My hope is that it goes Chris, Charo, Mr. T, Erika in that order. I only have Erika last because she's probably the best dancer of the four. 

I knew one of the judges would say that ballroom is much different than the type of training she is used to because in the package she's talking about being Beyoncés back up dancer and this show is " supposed" to be about beginner dancers , not professional ones . That's the problem with this show . They have people who have never danced in their lives but then they'll have semi professional dancers with all this background dance experience and these rookies are supposed to have a chance at winning ? Come on 

[laredhead]

I wish there could be a triple elimination next week and it would include Chris, Charo and Mr. T.  That would save us from having to watch what are sure to be painfully bad dances from all of them over the next 3 weeks.  I read that Charo has listed her birth year as 1951, but some sources list is as 1941, which I think is closer to the truth.  If she isn't eliminated next week, I'll be using the mute button a lot when she appears. 

[ocelot]

8 hours ago, Uke said:

I'm pretty sure Val doesn't have gymnastics in his bag of tricks so he really couldn't go there.  I hope Sasha keeps it to a minimum. We already know she can do the flips & tricks. We need to see if she can do the dances.

And Derek and Mark do? I'm confused by this statement. None of the three can do any gymnastics. It's not like it's difficult to choreograph an aerial or a leap?

[katha]

Derek and Mark and Sasha are tumblers themselves. They're not professional gymnasts, of course, but they can do flips and saltos and stuff. One of the most exhilarating things about Mark's freestyle for Shawn was that they both did acrobatics. I'm sure hers were more technically correct or whatever, but he could do it as well. Outside of that, he didn't do all that much tricks with Shawn IMO. But I think it's also true that it doesn't really matter if Val can do tricks himself, if he wanted to, he could have put tricks in for Laurie to show off. The salsa, jazz, freestyle etc. could have been full of acrobatics. He just wasn't very interested IMO, that's a stylistic preference. If Sasha wants to use it more, that's all right as well. As long as it's not too much and doesn't take over (that's sorta what happened with Derek and Shawn IMO, it was exciting, but at a certain point the reliance on it and the rule breaking turned parts of the audience against them).

Edited March 23, 2017 by katha

[Jax7917]

I just want them to not put any more gymnasts on the show. Yes, dancing and gymnastics are two different things, but if you're a gymnast you clearly have the flexibility part down and grace that obviously chris kattan won't have. And you'll never win DWTS if you aren't flexible and able to do flips/splits.

[shantown]

This is my first season watching the show (admittedly here for Heather Morris and David Ross) but it seems to me just from reading the forums there's a split in the audience - those who want a genuine dance training and competition show, and those who just to see their favorite celebrity. I guess it can't be all things for all people, but I'm content to sit back and watch celebrities try to dance for a bit, and then to watch good dancers dance. If the whole cast every season was full of Chris Kattan's it would be like 15 weeks of the bad auditions reel on American Idol. Nobody wants that.

[gohawks]

Maks and Heather, Val and Normani, Sasha and Simone and Artem and Nancy were all lovely and should all be able to pull off a few WOW! performamces. 

Charo is a talented and intelligent lady but I am not sure if her shtick can be endured.

Mr T seems like a sweetheart but he aint no Tommy Chong.

Chris Kattan was so painful to watch. I really need him to go first.

Bonner is creepy and I thought this before he went all tiny cheeto-hands. His eyes are dead, just nothing there.

Nick was cute and funny. I don't watch the bachelor so I have no bias against him.

Rashad is cute, and has flair. He embraced the cheese and he has Emma, so I would enjoy seeing him stick around.

Edited March 26, 2017 by gohawks

[Callaphera]

31 minutes ago, shantown said:

This is my first season watching the show (admittedly here for Heather Morris and David Ross) but it seems to me just from reading the forums there's a split in the audience - those who want a genuine dance training and competition show, and those who just to see their favorite celebrity. I guess it can't be all things for all people, but I'm content to sit back and watch celebrities try to dance for a bit, and then to watch good dancers dance. If the whole cast every season was full of Chris Kattan's it would be like 15 weeks of the bad auditions reel on American Idol. Nobody wants that.

There's a small, third group of us, too: the ones that really don't care who is on the show but is in it for the drama and the sequins and the ridiculousness. I appreciate the dancing. I would have to in order to watch the show but damn if the audience doesn't entertain me just as much as the show does. On that front, this show almost always delivers. 

[truthaboutluv]

49 minutes ago, Callaphera said:

There's a small, third group of us, too: the ones that really don't care who is on the show but is in it for the drama and the sequins and the ridiculousness. I appreciate the dancing. I would have to in order to watch the show but damn if the audience doesn't entertain me just as much as the show does. On that front, this show almost always delivers. 

I'm not in it for drama per se but I don't care about ringers, non-ringers, etc. This show has been on since 2004 and it's always been what it is now - a popularity contest. Some ringers have won, many haven't. People win on personality, good to decent dancing and a strong voting base. It's nothing more and nothing less. The athletes, gymnasts, performers with dance backgrounds will not stop being cast, just like they won't stop casting older, two left feet contestants who have no shot of winning. 

[Uke]

12 hours ago, ocelot said:

And Derek and Mark do? I'm confused by this statement. None of the three can do any gymnastics. It's not like it's difficult to choreograph an aerial or a leap?

Yes, Mark and Derek would have had gymnastics as part of their curriculum at Italia Conte (the performing arts school they attended).  Of course that is not Olympics level but they do have a competency. 

[Uke]

12 hours ago, katha said:

Derek and Mark and Sasha are tumblers themselves. They're not professional gymnasts, of course, but they can do flips and saltos and stuff. One of the most exhilarating things about Mark's freestyle for Shawn was that they both did acrobatics. I'm sure hers were more technically correct or whatever, but he could do it as well. Outside of that, he didn't do all that much tricks with Shawn IMO. But I think it's also true that it doesn't really matter if Val can do tricks himself, if he wanted to, he could have put tricks in for Laurie to show off. The salsa, jazz, freestyle etc. could have been full of acrobatics. He just wasn't very interested IMO, that's a stylistic preference. If Sasha wants to use it more, that's all right as well. As long as it's not too much and doesn't take over (that's sorta what happened with Derek and Shawn IMO, it was exciting, but at a certain point the reliance on it and the rule breaking turned parts of the audience against them).

(bolding is mine)  I'm thinking about this. Yes, Val could have included gymnastic tricks for Laurie to show off but then what is Val doing while she's doing the tricks. He can't just stand there and watch. He'd have to build in some kind of "companion moves" (?not sure what to call it) for himself so that it wouldn't look like an Olympian floor routine. That would get tricky, assuming he little to no gymnastic training.  That's not a dig at Val, btw. Some dancers are trained in that stuff, some aren't.  

Agree about Derek that he took it a wee bit too far with Shawn. 

[Woodrose]

If it was up to me, Erika and Gleb would be first out. That 'song' was annoying and kinda disgusting. Send her home to play with her money and her expensive toys and get her off my favorite show. I see nothing redeeming about this greedy woman.  I might fast forward through their segment next week, they were that unpleasant.

[Jax7917]

1 hour ago, Woodrose said:

If it was up to me, Erika and Gleb would be first out. That 'song' was annoying and kinda disgusting. Send her home to play with her money and her expensive toys and get her off my favorite show. I see nothing redeeming about this greedy woman.  I might fast forward through their segment next week, they were that unpleasant.

Yes I hope that woman leaves. She looks like such a bitch. One of the judges kept complimenting her and she didn't even smile or say thank you.

[dleighg]

Everyone said Simone looked so great. I thought she looked "stiff" and not graceful. JMHO of course, but I've watched a fair number of ballroom competitions as my daughter did it in college. I thought Nancy and Nick looked pretty comfortable. The football player is cute; not sure he danced all that well. The baseball player-- no. I think Charo or the SNL guy should go first. Why does Mr. T's forehead between his eyes remind me of a Klingon? Those folds!

[ocelot]

5 hours ago, Uke said:

Yes, Mark and Derek would have had gymnastics as part of their curriculum at Italia Conte (the performing arts school they attended).  Of course that is not Olympics level but they do have a competency. 

Ok I just hadn't seen this but there's a lot I haven't seen. Somebody else mentioned they can tumble. Can you guys link me to a dance where they show off any gymnastics 'competency' because I'd be really interested to see it! :)

[calipiano81]

1 hour ago, ocelot said:

Ok I just hadn't seen this but there's a lot I haven't seen. Somebody else mentioned they can tumble. Can you guys link me to a dance where they show off any gymnastics 'competency' because I'd be really interested to see it! :)

Well, here are the videos to Mark's and Derek's freestyles with Shawn:

Edited March 24, 2017 by calipiano81

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, ocelot said:

Ok I just hadn't seen this but there's a lot I haven't seen. Somebody else mentioned they can tumble. Can you guys link me to a dance where they show off any gymnastics 'competency' because I'd be really interested to see it! :)

Pretty much a lot of their dances with Shawn, which as mentioned they got in trouble for getting a little too flippy. 

In addition to the freestyles: Derek/Shawn quickstep:

Jive including a cartwheel down the stairs

 

None of that's going to win an Olympic medal, but its more tumbling than a classically ballroom trained Val would be inclined to do.

To bring it back to this season, Sasha has got them all beat, he's posted videos of full tumbling runs from Simone's gym.

[kitcloudkicker]

13 hours ago, shantown said:

This is my first season watching the show (admittedly here for Heather Morris and David Ross) but it seems to me just from reading the forums there's a split in the audience - those who want a genuine dance training and competition show, and those who just to see their favorite celebrity. I guess it can't be all things for all people, but I'm content to sit back and watch celebrities try to dance for a bit, and then to watch good dancers dance. If the whole cast every season was full of Chris Kattan's it would be like 15 weeks of the bad auditions reel on American Idol. Nobody wants that.

I've been watching since a few seasons ago, and I'm convinced the show has lasted so long because it seems to be such a damn Rorschach test of a show. I'm sort of fascinated by how passionately people will argue that "The show has always been about X, and Y is ruining it," while the other side is all, "The show has CLEARLY always been about Y, and X is ruining it." (It's probs always been about both X and Y guys.)

[SnarkyTart]

20 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

I've been watching since a few seasons ago, and I'm convinced the show has lasted so long because it seems to be such a damn Rorschach test of a show. I'm sort of fascinated by how passionately people will argue that "The show has always been about X, and Y is ruining it," while the other side is all, "The show has CLEARLY always been about Y, and X is ruining it." (It's probs always been about both X and Y guys.)

True.  Another significant piece that's always fun is how often the winner isn't the favorite of the "internets".  Likewise, the internets villain of choice often does well in the alternate universe of the audience demographic that actually votes.   That's not  exclusive to DWTS, but applies to every talent competition show I've watched, from SYTYCD, American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Voice, and etc.  The internet usually doesn't seem to be an accurate predictor of the outcome.

Edited March 24, 2017 by SnarkyTart
fixed wonky formatting - I hope

[ocelot]

Thanks for the videos guys

[doublek61]

Quote

David - Nice to see a baseball pro in the mix.  I enjoyed it and I liked him.

It's hard for them to have active baseball players since both the spring and fall seasons of DWTS overlap with the MLB season.  So this was kind of the perfect storm this year.  David Ross retired from the Cubs and is riding high on popularity since the Cubs, perpetual lovable losers were actually lovable WINNERS last season - so he was able to participate.

And speaking as a lifelong Cubs fan.....I am glad he is!  

From all accounts (and I watched a lot of the post World Series interviews and celebrations) David Ross is just a really nice guy and really mentored a number of the younger guys on the team - which, coupled with being 40 which is unusual for a catcher, gave him the nickname of Gramps.

[Padma]

On ‎3‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 6:36 AM, gohawks said:

Maks and Heather, Val and Normani, Sasha and Simone and Artem and Nancy were all lovely and should all be able to pull off a few WOW! performamces. 

Charo is a talented amd intelligent lady but I am not sure if her shtick can be endured.

Mr T seems like a sweetheart but he aint no Tommy Chong.

Chris Kattan was so painful to watch. I really need him to go first.

Bonner is creepy and I thought this before he went all tiny cheeto-hands. His eyes are dead, just nothing there.

Nick was cute and funny. I don't watch the bachelor so I have no bias against him.

Rashan is cute, and has flair. He embraced the cheese and he has Emma, so I would enjoy seeing him stick around.

You nicely summed it up for me, too. I like all the ones you mentioned first as frontrunners (and Nancy looks unbelievable--unchanged!)  I like Charo and she's very talented but she needs to dial it down by at least 75%.

Chris is painful to watch and obnoxious to listen to. So hope he's first out.

I thought Nick wasn't underscored, but definitely underpraised. You could see the effort he was putting into it and he seems to have natural musicality that some of the other Bachelors didn't. Then again, I watch the show and have always thought he was a nice, cute guy. 

Then there's Bonner. He's a handsome young guy. So? Having Carrie and Bruno embarrassing themselves with innuendo over him was really unappealing. I guess they're hyping him in the hope of a young audience, but I don't see the appeal. At all. And I thought his dancing was worse, not better, than Nick's.

Plus, where I come from, "bull riding = animal abuse".  I'm really surprised the show would try to make it look like a macho, glamorous sport. http://aldf.org/cases-campaigns/features/rodeo-facts-the-case-against-rodeos/

Bonner's probably going to stay a while as they think he's a heartthrob. For me, I wish he'd go next week, even before Chris.

[gohawks]

3 hours ago, Padma said:

You nicely summed it up for me, too. I like all the ones you mentioned first as frontrunners (and Nancy looks unbelievable--unchanged!)  I like Charo and she's very talented but she needs to dial it down by at least 75%.

Chris is painful to watch and obnoxious to listen to. So hope he's first out.

I thought Nick wasn't underscored, but definitely underpraised. You could see the effort he was putting into it and he seems to have natural musicality that some of the other Bachelors didn't. Then again, I watch the show and have always thought he was a nice, cute guy. 

Then there's Bonner. He's a handsome young guy. So? Having Carrie and Bruno embarrassing themselves with innuendo over him was really unappealing. I guess they're hyping him in the hope of a young audience, but I don't see the appeal. At all. And I thought his dancing was worse, not better, than Nick's.

Plus, where I come from, "bull riding = animal abuse".  I'm really surprised the show would try to make it look like a macho, glamorous sport. http://aldf.org/cases-campaigns/features/rodeo-facts-the-case-against-rodeos/

Bonner's probably going to stay a while as they think he's a heartthrob. For me, I wish he'd go next week, even before Chris.

Thank you for reminding me. I despise the rodeo. Organized animal harrassment and abuse.

 

I also agree that Chris is a better dancer than he was given credit for. 

Edited March 26, 2017 by gohawks

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I totally didn't know that this season had started so I didn't watch this episode until the weekend.

Normani has a bangin' body. Damn! And I say that as a straight girl. I thought the choreography in the beginning was a little frantic but once they came down onto the floor and started the actual quickstep, it got better. If she had performed later in the show, I think she would have received slightly higher scores.

I expected Nancy to be kind of stiff and awkward (it's a lot easier to look graceful when you're gliding along than when you have to propel yourself) because despite her Olympic medals, she was not the most graceful skater. I have a ballet background so I always notice the position of arms and hands even in non-dance things like ice skating and gymnastics. Nancy was definitely not the most egregious but based on what I remembered of her as an ice skater, I thought she would be more awkward so I was pleasantly surprised that she was much more graceful and fluid than I expected. I agree with Bruno that she needs to point her feet and just stretch all the way down to her toes. But I love that she is clearly so excited about being on the show. Some seasons there are contestants who clearly don't enjoy the experience and that's no fun for me to watch. Bonus: shirtless Artem at the rink! Whoever was singing absolutely murdered this song. Hee, no penalty for Chris doing a lift? I guess Carrie Ann figured she scored him low enough that she didn't need to take an extra point from him.

A broken neck is no joke (even after it's healed) so I give Chris Kattan credit for doing this. My sister broke her neck in college and after it healed, she was told by her doctor to avoid roller coasters and other things for the rest of her life. I am glad he used that song in his first dance because there's a good chance he won't be around for too long. He is not a great dancer and I don't think he will skate by on his personality for the rest of the season (especially since he came off very standoffish/angry during his interview with Erin). He got really low scores which is unusual. I don't remember the last time the judges gave out a 4 in the first week. Those are Master P level scores and honestly, Chris was better than Master P, Tucker Carlson, and a lot of other celebrities who have been on the show over the years.

Man, another contestant with a broken neck? Props to Bonner for not letting that stop him! He is not a great dancer though. His feet are sloppy and his body carriage is awkward.  He also looks like he's thinking way too hard while he's dancing. But what he has going for him is that he seems to take direction well. A lot of non dancers have arms and hands flailing everywhere but he seems to be placing his movements carefully so I think if Sharna gets really specific with him, he could improve.

Charo's salsa wasn't terrible but she definitely got the producers' help in making her look better. There were way too many shots of her from the waist up and at least two shots that had that huge palm tree blocking any view of her actually dancing. This dance looked like it was right in her comfort zone so it will be interesting to see how she deals with a waltz or a quickstep.

Nick's cha cha was average. It wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. His feet were sloppy and he was a bit stiff and awkward, but he had a few moments where he really got into it and looked better. He looked a lot more competent at the beginning since he was dressed all in black with a black background so we couldn't really see what he was actually doing.

First I have no issue with Heather being on DWTS because the dance styles she normally does are totally different from ballroom. Unless you have cross trained hardcore in all styles, then specializing in one dance style doesn't really translate to another. For that reason, I don't care if she's on the show any more than I care about Alfonso, Zendaya, Normani, or other celebs with dance backgrounds being on this show. There's a reason why professional ballet dancers look funny doing hip hop or why contemporary dancers aren't great at tap dancing. They're different things. It's like saying that if you play the piano, you will automatically be great at playing the violin or that football players are all good at basketball.

I love the Cubs, but "Go Cubs Go" is a ridiculous song. I appreciate the whole story behind it, but the song itself, ugh. I didn't like the choreography. There was too much screwing around at the beginning and even once Lindsay showed up, there was too much "LOOK AT ME!" stuff from her. And then there was more faffing about at the end too. Out of a 60 second routine, there was 10 seconds of baseball, five seconds walking over to the judges, 10 more seconds of half assed dancing, less than 30 seconds of actual quickstep, and then 10 more seconds of screwing around. He wasn't terrible or anything, but he wasn't great.

Erika's personality is so annoying. I have never watched RHOBH so all I know of her is what I saw in the intro package and good lord does she seem obnoxious. The things she says makes her sound like a 45 year old woman trying to sound like a 20 year old college student. Good luck dealing with that for the next few weeks, Gleb. She is reasonably coordinated but at the risk of sounding like a reality show cliche, I don't think she's here for the right reasons. It seems like she's more interested in plugging her own song, looking sexy, and generally famewhoring (as opposed to wanting to learn how to ballroom dance).

Rashad's cha cha was fun. He is the best dancer of all the male contestants this season, and he seems to have a charming and easy going personality. Those two things combined mean he should make it to the finale.

Mr. T seems eager to learn but he isn't a great dancer. Still, I wish that Kym hadn't resorted to giving him a routine that was basically him standing in place while she danced around him and then walking forward while she danced.

Simone did well, but I didn't like a lot of the choreography which was a little too frantic for me. She is a frontrunner for me, but I think she may get held back by Sasha's choreography.

So far Normani, Nancy, Heather, Rashad, and Simone are my top picks.

Quote

Charo, not only are you annoying, but cut the shtick!  For someone who's been in this country for 50+ years, your accent is overkill and downright stupid!  For that alone and your irritating ways, I hope you're the first to go. 

Some immigrants never lose their accents, no matter how long they live somewhere besides where they grew up. I didn't think she did great in her dance but I don't think her accent should be the reason she gets eliminated from a dance show.

Quote

I guess I'm going to take the unpopular side and say that I like Erika though I wish she had been presented in a different light.  On Real Housewives she is actually one of the more likable women.  As Erika Gerardi she doesn't get involved in the rumor mill and a lot of the b.s. that goes on.  She is married to a very wealthy attorney  who is years older than her though she herself came from humble beginnings.  Her general demeanor is rather subdued and guarded.   Erika Jayne is her alter-ego and she has a huge gay following at her performances.  Unfortunately I can see that it doesn't appeal to the DWTS demographic.  I hope she gets to chance to show the Erika Gerardi side. 

She had a chance to show her Erika Gerardi side this week and she chose not to, so even if the non-famewhore version of Erika comes out next week, it may be too little too late for non-RHOBH viewers because she came off as an arrogant bitch this week. She seemed like the kind of 45 year old mom who was on the "tell my mom to stop trying to act so sexy" episode of Jerry Springer.

Edited March 26, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo