S25.E10: Week 9: Semi-Finals

[vdw84]

Ok, I finally figured out what it was about jordan's jive I didnt really like.  I for one thought Paige and Marks Jive was still better even though this one was executed better. Jordan and Lindsay had the energy and execution down packed and it was way more intense than Paige and Mark which I thought would be impossible because theirs was pretty intense but it lacked that flirtness and sexiness paige and mark added to it. It felt more like the derek and nicole jive tbh. Im find with his scores but it didnt have the heat paige and mark had.

[Andie1]

Just now, vdw84 said:

Ok, I finally figured out what it was about jordan's jive I didnt really like.  I for one thought Paige and Marks Jive was still better even though this one was executed better. Jordan and Lindsay had the energy and execution down packed and it was way more intense than Paige and Mark which I thought would be impossible because theirs was pretty intense but it lacked that flirtness and sexiness paige and mark added to it. It felt more like the derek and nicole jive tbh. Im find with his scores but it didnt have the heat paige and mark had.

Then you missed the first part.  I thought Jordan  was almost not ready for prime time smoldering sexy when he was rollin with Lindsay...  That is why I want them to do the AT again to music and a theme that suits the genre, not a lyrical dance about your brother. That just takes all the sex out of it.

[Bridget]

16 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I'm not devastated by the elimination.  Boy, she handled it like a real pro didn't she? <cough>

Don't forget she was paralyzed 1.5 years ago and never thought she'd be dancing at this time in her life.

REALLY ABC?!?!? Really?!?!?!

[vdw84]

I feel like Val checked out this season. It was something off with him, where as last season I felt like he was very emotionally invested in his partnership and really wanted to make the journey special for normani and I believe he did even though she came in third, I think she left satisfied and what she accomplished because Val actually was invested in her and her journey. This season even though he had partner with disabilities, I found that his dedication to her was off and I dont believe Victoria fully got to experience an incredible journey because Val seemed very dismissive at her at times and just felt like he was always irritated with her. I hate how how he made to dances in a row their jive and contemporary about others instead of his partnership with victoria. He just seemed very self serving this season and disconnected from his partner and I think having Jenna around may have been distraction too. It seems like it was times I felt like was promoting jenna and him more on sm than victoria and him.

[bealled]

1 minute ago, Andie1 said:

Then you missed the first part.  I thought Jordan  was almost not ready for prime time smoldering sexy when he was rollin with Lindsay...  That is why I want them to do the AT again to music and a theme that suits the genre, not a lyrical dance about your brother. That just takes all the sex out of it.

I know what part you are referring to, but personally for me Jordan's sexiness fell flat and actually looked a bit awkward. Still a great dance, but I don't think Jordan really exudes sexiness (even though he is good looking) and he and Lindsay don't have any sexual chemistry in my opinion (still a great pair though). I don't think any pairs this season have a sexual chemistry and even TO's sexy rumba came off awkward to me.

Also forgot to mention, did anyone else think Lindsay looked identical to Elsa last night when her hair was back.

[Emily-D]

Can’t say I was upset about Victoria’s elimination, the semis was probably her ceiling in terms of dance ability. What should really have happened if we’re going on dance ability is that Drew should have gone a week or two ago and any one of the previous three eliminated contestants who were all just as if not more capable dancers than Victoria should be in the final instead. But that’s life, I’m not that bothered about it as I didn’t care for any of those three enough to be truly angry/upset with their eliminations. We all know before the season started that Drew was here for a long time and in all probability finals bound with his “mature” fanbase. I still think Lindsey is going to win. Every time the four person final consists of one celeb of a certain gender, that celeb normally wins. I don’t see that changing next week.

[vdw84]

Just now, Andie1 said:

Then you missed the first part.  I thought Jordan  was almost not ready for prime time smoldering sexy when he was rollin with Lindsay...  That is why I want them to do the AT again to music and a theme that suits the genre, not a lyrical dance about your brother. That just takes all the sex out of it.

I saw the first part and I was like what in the disney hell is he doing, lol. Jordan is a cute kid and attractive young man but he isnt sexy to me. I know he is 23 but he has very boyish demeanor to me and that is ok but I felt like franke who I dont find attractive at all was able to convey sexiness more this season than Jordan. It just goes to show you that u may look the part but u dont know how to be the part. Sexiness is about a feeling not so much a look that is where I felt nikki bella fell flat at. She was extremely beautiful and sexy woman on paper but she didnt have much sex appeal to me.

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, tessaforever said:

I hope those have gone the way of switch-up week as well!!

TPTB seem to have switched from pimping celeb/pro showmances to pimping promances. That must be the trend since they have four of them to work with right now.

[bealled]

1 minute ago, Emily-D said:

Can’t say I was upset about Victoria’s elimination, the semis was probably her ceiling in terms of dance ability. What should really have happened if we’re going on dance ability is that Drew should have gone a week or two ago and any one of the previous three eliminated contestants who were all just as if not more capable dancers than Victoria should be in the final instead. But that’s life, I’m not that bothered about it as I didn’t care for any of those three enough to be truly angry/upset with their eliminations. We all know before the season started that Drew was here for a long time and in all probability finals bound with his “mature” fanbase. I still think Lindsey is going to win. Every time the four person final consists of one celeb of a certain gender, that celeb normally wins. I don’t see that changing next week.

You are actually right that Victoria and Drew outlasted Nikki, Vanessa and TO who were all better (TO is questionable but he at least showed growth each week). Not sure why people are annoyed Drew made it into the final over Victoria, since he had already outlasted better contestants too. I also think Emma is a pretty popular pro dancer.

I would honestly be surprised if Lindsey won, but I guess it's possible. She is the only female left, but honestly it seems like more fans in general vote for the men than women lately (the women dropped like flies last season and this season). Also Normani was the only female in the final last season and actually the best dancer of the three and got third. Lindsey has not been the front runner at all this season, and she doesn't have Derek as a partner. Seriously think about all the women who have won with Derek as their partner (isn't it like 5 or 6? I don't think some of those contestants would have won with a different partner). I do think Mark could come up with a really good freestyle, but I also think Jordan will/should have a really good one too. I honestly think Jordan has this in the bag unless he just does awful next week. Also some will want Lindsay to get her first win and could use that as a voting factor too. I think that partially played into Rashad's win last season (and the fact Val just won the prior season, so people wanted a new pro to win). I guess this season none of the pros have won in a while (except Emma, and I don't see her/Drew winning) so that would play less of a factor. It has been a long time since Mark won one though.

[boyznkatz]

Lindsey could win, but Mark needs to make the freestyle about her instead of showcasing himself. Lindsay Arnold is a pro at showcasing her partner and she has one who is capable of bringing the house down. Drew will probably finish third because of his crossover fans voting for him. I don't see Frankie placing higher than fourth. He has been in jeopardy a lot and didn't get the scores to protect him last week. I think TPTB wanted him in the finals, and they got him there, but I don't think they care if he wins. I still think he's the one going on the tour.

[bealled]

Can more than one contestant go on tour? I could see Jordan agreeing to do the tour and Frankie. Although I don't know how busy Jordan's schedule is. I don't think Frankie is too busy and he seems to loving the show so would probably enjoy doing the tour (but I think Jordan would too).

[Bridget]

14 hours ago, Andie1 said:

 

The ones this season on the show with no dance background also don't have Rashad's athleticism or work ethic.

This for days!

[vdw84]

You know Drew is the weakest dancer byfar going into the finals but what I like about is his confidence of thinking he can be contender for the  mirrorball. I have yet to hear him pout and whine about not being good or his fellow competition like others have like frankie and even pros maks and val have been whining about Jordan and Lindsay as if they havent had ringers that were getting all the praise. Drew has the never give up attitude and I think people r connecting to that more than his dancing. He wants to do well and he is not allow the competition get in the way of it.

[Emily-D]

I’m talking four person finales bealled not three person finales. All three seasons when the finale has consisted of three of one gender and one of the other, that one person won. Amber, Alfonso and Bindi. Lindsey would make it four in a row.

[crowceilidh]

Beat me to Brasseur and Eisler.  

I really liked switch-up week.  I always found it more revelatory about the contestants than any of the other memes.  I do not like iconic(HA!) dance or Disney or former contestant trios.  I also tend to dislike the group dances because the judging is always so manipulative and effed up.

I wish we could do the classical week again - that was so intensely beautiful in places.

[spanana]

6 minutes ago, Emily-D said:

I’m talking four person finales bealled not three person finales. All three seasons when the finale has consisted of three of one gender and one of the other, that one person won. Amber, Alfonso and Bindi. Lindsey would make it four in a row.

I don't believe this is true.  S16 was a four person finale- Kellie Pickler, Zendaya, Aly Raisman, Jacoby--and Kellie won.  Jacoby landed in 3rd (I think).  Our Top 2 were women.

Unless Lindsey has a showstopper finale, I'd be surprised if she won.  I'm thinking Jordan is going to win at this point, since I have full confidence in Lindsay in the freestyle round.  I'm not sure if I think Lindsey will be 2nd or 3rd though.  Originally I thought maybe 3rd, but Frankie is a bit behind in the scores after last night.  I also think a Frankie freestyle could go either way--amazing or a big miscalculation by Witney.

Edited November 14, 2017 by spanana

[Bridget]

5 hours ago, NeverLate said:

He is to me, I just find his dancing incredibly sexy.Anyone can take their shirt off to distract, but watching Derek come up with a freestyle was poetry in motion, god I miss him. He also didnt cop an attitude every time he was judged, to me, that's sexy :(

 

Would you like to be best friends with me? I feel exactly the same way...and I'm not usually into blonde guys!

[bealled]

I feel like Alfonso and Bindi were the clear front runners for their season though, whereas Lindsey isn't. Did Alfonso and Bindi even have much competition (I don't remember anyone coming close on their seasons; I think Nick Carter was second on Bindi's but his dancing was not that impressive). Amber was the only one possibly similar to Lindsey in comparison, but Amber was paired with the most popular pro on the show (Derek) and people still had heavy speculation she would win. Corbin/Jordan are definitely similar, but it seems like people in general like Jordan better than they did Corbin. I remember Corbin having a lot of detractors back then and everyone considered him a huge ringer. I don't think Karina is that popular of a pro either (at least with general viewers) and I think Lindsay is very popular. Honestly I think being paired with Derek gave Amber a huge boost.

Edited November 14, 2017 by bealled

[Bridget]

5 hours ago, dcubed said:

I love his dancing and I LOVE his choreography which is indeed poetry in motion.  He is the most talented pro in terms of dance ability and choreography from the show, imho

 

Best friend invitation extended to you as well! 

[spanana]

25 minutes ago, bealled said:

I feel like Alfonso and Bindi were the clear front runners for their season though, whereas Lindsey isn't. Did Alfonso and Bindi even have much competition (I don't remember anyone coming close on their seasons; I think Nick Carter was second on Bindi's but his dancing was not that impressive).

Alfonso was the clear front runner in his season and was so from the day the cast was announced and I think it was cemented week one when he came out with his killer jive.  The runner up was Sadie Robertson, who while charming, wasn't a fabulous dancer.  Or at least she started off decent and didn't have much of an improvement arc, but she was charming and had Mark's clever choreography behind her.  Third was Janel Parrish, and Janel/Val were one of the most polarizing couples I'd argue this show has ever seen.  Meaning they had tons of fans, but they also were showmancing it up all over the place and being overly dramatic about said showmance.  Showmances are popular, but turn off so many other viewers that it usually balances out and they rarely win.

[doLLish]

49 minutes ago, crowceilidh said:

Beat me to Brasseur and Eisler.  

I really liked switch-up week.  I always found it more revelatory about the contestants than any of the other memes.  I do not like iconic(HA!) dance or Disney or former contestant trios.  I also tend to dislike the group dances because the judging is always so manipulative and effed up.

I wish we could do the classical week again - that was so intensely beautiful in places.

I didn’t like switch up week because I think it’s horrible to be eliminated for a dance with a partner that’s not yours. There may also be some subconscious sabotage going on as well. For me it was cool in theory but not in actuality.

[Bridget]

54 minutes ago, bealled said:

Can more than one contestant go on tour? I could see Jordan agreeing to do the tour and Frankie. Although I don't know how busy Jordan's schedule is. I don't think Frankie is too busy and he seems to loving the show so would probably enjoy doing the tour (but I think Jordan would too).

I agree that Frankie would love to go on the tour, but I still say that if Frankie has any lingering and/or chronic pain issues, especially with his back, going on tour would be one of the most terrible decisions he could make, especially with regard to his long term health.

I say this as someone who has three herniated discs & sciatic nerve pain. Yoga, aqua aerobics, lumbar injections and pain meds have kept me out of the OR during the last ten years, but as someone who loves to both dance and take dance classes, there is no way I could dance night after night without being in excruciating pain or possibly exacerbating existing injuries. If this boosts Frankie's confidence, I'm all for it, but I don't see how long he'd be able to manage to keep dancing if he's in as much pain as he shared at the beginning of the season.

[scenicbyway]

I'm not sure why so many seem to dislike Jenna, is it because she's Val's girlfriend?  She's a pro dancer in her own right and I thought him crediting her for choreographing the dance was appropriate last night.  It's true though that Victoria didn't "dance" enough during the routine though.  I was surprised by how devastated she was about being eliminated.  Did she really think she was going to beat Jordan or Lindsey or even Frankie?

Drew should've been eliminated at least 2 weeks ago.  I'm guessing he has the highest amount of audience votes to still be around?  I expect to see 7's next week for him to ensure he loses.

Lindsay is great, but she's not Jordan great?  I don't have a clue who would be more famous or have more fans between the two.  I would guess it would come down to pros which I guess Lindsay would have the advantage perhaps?

Jordan is amazing.  I realize his "journey" wasn't as long as others on the show.  But I'm sure it took him many years to get where his is today.  He deserves to win.

[Callaphera]

5 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I'm not sure why so many seem to dislike Jenna, is it because she's Val's girlfriend?  She's a pro dancer in her own right and I thought him crediting her for choreographing the dance was appropriate last night.  

Jenna is a lovely dancer, I actually think she's quite talented.

Unfortunately, I think she moonlights as a fame seeking bloodhound because that girl can sniff a camera from a mile away and smolder right at it. Every. Single. Time. It's like she's staring into your soul. 

[spanana]

3 hours ago, Callaphera said:

Jenna is a lovely dancer, I actually think she's quite talented.

Unfortunately, I think she moonlights as a fame seeking bloodhound because that girl can sniff a camera from a mile away and smolder right at it. Every. Single. Time. It's like she's staring into your soul. 

This.  Jenna is very talented.  Naturally so despite her claims of not being a gifted natural dancer.  But girl can over emote and sniff out a camera like nobody I've ever seen.  She also has a tendency to do it when backing up celebs and draw attention to herself in numbers that aren't supposed to be about her (though she didn't overly do it last night).  Also in her early DWTS days she had a habit of almost deliberately dancing off beat (or on a different part of a beat) in pro numbers so as to draw attention to herself.  They were probably tricks that worked for her to stand out on the competition circuit but are fairly obnoxious on a show where its your job to blend.  I find that despite her talent, she's a very selfish performer. 

I think Jenna in general is much better suited for a show like SYTYCD where she can dance exclusively with other pros and be the star she desperately wants to be.  DWTS asks her to take backseat to the celebs, which isn't really her forte.

Also most recently some fans got mad because she basically talked about her partnership with James Hinchcliffe as if it was her partnership and not just her filling in for Sharna for a few weeks.  She didn't outright say she choreographed the Suicide Squad number but she pretended it was her dance and took Sharna out of the equation entirely.

Edited November 15, 2017 by spanana

[Callaphera]

26 minutes ago, spanana said:

This.  Jenna is very talented.  Naturally so despite her claims of not being a gifted natural dancer.  But girl can over emote and sniff out a camera like nobody I've ever seen.  She also has a tendency to do it when backing up celebs and draw attention to herself in numbers that aren't supposed to be about her (though she didn't overly do it last night).  Also in her early DWTS days she had a habit of almost deliberately dancing off beat (or on a different part of a beat) in pro numbers so as to draw attention to herself.  They were probably tricks that worked for her to stand out on the competition circuit but are fairly obnoxious on a show where its your job to blend.  I find that despite her talent, she's a very selfish performer. 

Jenna doesn't quite do a Sharna - there's no gaping fish mouth with the stare, but she comes close sometimes. 

'Cause let's be honest, no one does a better gaping fish mouth better than Sharna. 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Callaphera

[Toonces464]

2 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

Beat me to Brasseur and Eisler.  

I really liked switch-up week.  I always found it more revelatory about the contestants than any of the other memes.  I do not like iconic(HA!) dance or Disney or former contestant trios.  I also tend to dislike the group dances because the judging is always so manipulative and effed up.

I wish we could do the classical week again - that was so intensely beautiful in places.

I'd be happy to go back to theme-free weeks, or at least cut them down. There doesn't have to be a theme forced on us every week. My favorite season, Season 10, I only remember Story Week (not personal stories, just telling a story with dance which produced one of my most favorite dances ever, Erin and Maks's Blindfold Waltz) and Decade Week.

[doLLish]

1 hour ago, scenicbyway said:

I'm not sure why so many seem to dislike Jenna, is it because she's Val's girlfriend?  

I like Jenna. I actually was a fan of hers for a long time when she was in the troupe and wanted her to become a pro so badly. I want her to get another shot too.

I actually like Val too but I’m very aware of his flaws. Very. I don’t blame Jenna at all for what happened last night.

Edited November 14, 2017 by doLLish

[vdw84]

36 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I'm not sure why so many seem to dislike Jenna, is it because she's Val's girlfriend?  She's a pro dancer in her own right and I thought him crediting her for choreographing the dance was appropriate last night

I dont care for her because she comes off super fake and now that Val is being open and not hiding her, she has been coming extremely fake. I couldnt stomach her on sytycd this season and im have a very hard time dealing with her on dwts even tho she is not competing, she is still there and annoying as ever. I don't know ever since val and jenna got back together, they have become extremely unlikable and fake. Their sm game is cringeworthy.

[kjh]

Upon rewatching the original "iconic" (ugh) dances, Lindsey really does suffer in comparison to Meryl in my eyes. Specifically, Meryl's topline is gorgeous in that dance (as you would expect from an ice dancer) and Lindsey's is less impressive. Lindsey's shoulders are a little too mobile, and her posture is very head-forward, 

[crowceilidh]

Quote

  I think Jenna in general is much better suited for a show like SYTYCD where she can dance exclusively with other pros and the be the star she desperately wants to be.  DWTS asks her to take backseat to the celebs, which isn't really her forte.

I actually find Jenna intolerable on SYTYCD for the same reasons.  Her performance as a mentor this last season was grandstanding of the most epic and manipulative type.  Also, please note, that she brought Val onto SYTYCD as a visiting choreographer (2-3 dances?) and made sure the same fuss was made over him as he just made over her.  So they are both fame whores.  But at least Val doesn't suck the camera off the cameraman's face when he dances.

Given that they often do no elimination nights, they could easily (and more fairly) do that for the switch-up.  I wish they would, because as I said previously, I really liked the amazing amount of information about everyone, pros and celebs, that gets exposed in that week.

I did like not having to have some stupid theme every week too,  But classical or acoustic night or whatever they called it was glamorous and classy and shiney in a whole different way.  I wish they'd do it again.

[luvthepros]

19 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

Oh ok.  Thanks.  I never had any interest in looking her up.  That video is weird - she's really talented, but it's just not my thing.  Plus, so much for no dance experience!

Lindsey does have dance experience. From what I have learned of her, she is self taught for her dancing while playing violin and she did have 3 hours of training from Derek for her video Argentine Tango. Lindsey never had dance lessons. From what I can see, Lindsey is a natural with wonderful musicality. She also has a great work ethic which is half the battle on this show. I'm a Lindsey fan but.....I want Jordan to win at this point. He is a super ringer but he just brought it home with that Jive.

[doLLish]

2 hours ago, kjh said:

Upon rewatching the original "iconic" (ugh) dances, Lindsey really does suffer in comparison to Meryl in my eyes. Specifically, Meryl's topline is gorgeous in that dance (as you would expect from an ice dancer) and Lindsey's is less impressive. Lindsey's shoulders are a little too mobile, and her posture is very head-forward, 

People seem to be really upset that she didn’t get a perfect score but I don’t think that particular dance is the hill to die on. It was really good but there were obvious issues.

[spanana]

2 hours ago, kjh said:

Upon rewatching the original "iconic" (ugh) dances, Lindsey really does suffer in comparison to Meryl in my eyes. Specifically, Meryl's topline is gorgeous in that dance (as you would expect from an ice dancer) and Lindsey's is less impressive. Lindsey's shoulders are a little too mobile, and her posture is very head-forward, 

It didn't help Lindsey's cause that they showed some footage of Meryl right before she danced.  I know they did that for all, but it just reminded everyone how good Meryl was, even if Maksyl was super annoying.  So then seeing Lindsey right after you could see she wasn't quite as sharp and controlled.

Quote

Jenna doesn't quite do a Sharna - there's no gaping fish mouth with the stare, but she comes close sometimes. 

I agree that Sharna does the fish mouth a lot but I think I find Sharna more tolerable because Sharna generally knows how to tone it down when dancing with celebs or knowing when she's not meant to be the center of attention.  Jenna tends to be in "me, me, me" mode all the time, which I excused her for in her first few seasons when she was learning the show, but 6-7 seasons in she should have gotten over it.

I don't think any of the Val nonsense is her fault though.  Val is the ass there who went after a naive 19 year old and treated her like garbage for years, per her own admission, before granting her a full relationship years later.

Edited November 15, 2017 by spanana

[luvthepros]

On 11/14/2017 at 1:44 AM, MsJamieDornan said:

What the heck was she thinking??? No one ever tried that with big , muscled football players as partners !  Crazy girl.

Emma should have been protected with a helmet during rehearsals. I could swear I heard a "thud" on the floor the first time the lift was shown in rehearsal. I played it back twice. To see Emma's reaction, I imagine she did not hit her head on the floor. Emma.....next time wear a helmet in rehearsals you crazy woman!

Edited November 15, 2017 by luvthepros

[luvthepros]

19 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

Did you see the video?  That AT didn't happen without some lessons!

Lindsey has great musicality, she's young with healthy knees and a really flexible back. Throw in three hours of intense training with Derek Hough for her video and the end result is what we are seeing on the show. Lindsay is a natural and that helps too.

[Andie1]

6 hours ago, vdw84 said:

I saw the first part and I was like what in the disney hell is he doing, lol. Jordan is a cute kid and attractive young man but he isnt sexy to me. I know he is 23 but he has very boyish demeanor to me and that is ok but I felt like franke who I dont find attractive at all was able to convey sexiness more this season than Jordan. It just goes to show you that u may look the part but u dont know how to be the part. Sexiness is about a feeling not so much a look that is where I felt nikki bella fell flat at. She was extremely beautiful and sexy woman on paper but she didnt have much sex appeal to me.

Well he is a sexy young man to me.  And he has a lot of admirers  so I would be very happy to see him do an AT with cool music.  I still want to see something to Po Balare... and I think Jordan and Lindsay would be great.

[Coriandria]

To the dance training debate.  I kind of think of it like cleaning my house.   I clean my house on a regular basis.  I don't clean my house as often as my sister by miles.  I think I'm decently competent at cleaning a house.  But am I trained? no not really.  I don't know the ins and outs between ammonia, bleach, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide for example.  I imagine maids on the other hand are pretty well trained and versed in cleaning practices.  If I hired one to clean my house, I might ask them a few pointers get some insight on their training.  But that doesn't suddenly mean I'm trained at the level of a professional maid.  Lindsey likes to dance.  She dances on her own a lot.  Do to her success as a musician she has had the luxury of hiring dancers that she has worked with for some videos.  Does that suddenly make her a professional dancer? um...  Not really.    I think the idea of "ringer" and "professionally trained" is getting a bit muddy and everyone has their own personal criteria on what makes someone a ringer.  For me personally Lindsey was never a ringer.  Just a talented woman with a strong work ethic.

 

As for Victoria's elimination.  I'm not that surprised but I'm a bit baffled why people are criticizing her for crying.  She lost a competition; she's disappointed; she cried.  Some people do that.  They cry when they have emotions.  Doesn't seem like something to get annoyed by.

[luvthepros]

On 11/14/2017 at 3:09 AM, MsJamieDornan said:

Crappy?  Not according to his fans.

I'm a fan of the Property Brothers but Drew has not had one vote from me this season. I vote for the better dancers, usually the ringers.

Edited November 15, 2017 by luvthepros

[Andie1]

1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

Lindsey does have dance experience. From what I have learned of her, she is self taught for her dancing while playing violin and she did have 3 hours of training from Derek for her video Argentine Tango. Lindsey never had dance lessons. From what I can see, Lindsey is a natural with wonderful musicality. She also has a great work ethic which is half the battle on this show. I'm a Lindsey fan but.....I want Jordan to win at this point. He is a super ringer but he just brought it home with that Jive.

 

1 minute ago, Coriandria said:

To the dance training debate.  I kind of think of it like cleaning my house.   I clean my house on a regular basis.  I don't clean my house as often as my sister by miles.  I think I'm decently competent at cleaning a house.  But am I trained? no not really.  I don't know the ins and outs between ammonia, bleach, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide for example.  I imagine maids on the other hand are pretty well trained and versed in cleaning practices.  If I hired one to clean my house, I might ask them a few pointers get some insight on their training.  But that doesn't suddenly mean I'm trained at the level of a professional maid.  Lindsey likes to dance.  She dances on her own a lot.  Do to her success as a musician she has had the luxury of hiring dancers that she has worked with for some videos.  Does that suddenly make her a professional dancer? um...  Not really.    I think the idea of "ringer" and "professionally trained" is getting a bit muddy and everyone has their own personal criteria on what makes someone a ringer.  For me personally Lindsey was never a ringer.  Just a talented woman with a strong work ethic.

 

As for Victoria's elimination.  I'm not that surprised but I'm a bit baffled why people are criticizing her for crying.  She lost a competition; she's disappointed; she cried.  Some people do that.  They cry when they have emotions.  Doesn't seem like something to get annoyed by.

I do not think Lindsey is a ringer. She does not dance well enough to be a ringer in the Meryl Davis sense.  But she did get some training prior to the show, and surprise surprise it is a dance she got a 30 on.  Not a biggie, but Mark needs to stop flogging the no training thing. She had it and it worked really well for this show.

[luvthepros]

14 hours ago, calipiano81 said:

Frankie/Witney:

.......I agree that shoulders and shaping could have been better).

The best celebrity to achieve the shaping, IMHO, was Evan Lysaceck. Loved his Paso with Anna.

[Bridget]

4 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

I'd be happy to go back to theme-free weeks, or at least cut them down. There doesn't have to be a theme forced on us every week. My favorite season, Season 10, I only remember Story Week (not personal stories, just telling a story with dance which produced one of my most favorite dances ever, Erin and Maks's Blindfold Waltz) and Decade Week.

Going forward, the theme of each night should be "the couples will be dancing _____________ style of ballroom traditional/non-traditional dance."

Unpopular opinion alert: as far as I know, I am the only one who does not like Disney Night. I know ABC is owned by Disney and is probably contractually required to partake in Disney night to sell more merchandise or theme park tickets, but I think that Disney Night brings the show down to a "juvenile sort of level" in that everyone is claiming to go cuckoo for Disney and that bad acting alone makes me want to hurl. 

"I LOVE Disney." "It's a part of my childhood." "My life was never bad as long as I was waiting in line go to onto Space Mountain." "Walking through those gates made me feel like I was home."

I simply don't buy it.

I can see how effective Disney Night would be on DWTS Juniors, but not for adults.

[MsJamieDornan]

54 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

I'm a fan of Property Brothers but Drew has not had one vote from me this season. I vote for the better dancers, usually the ringers.

Drew's show was described as crappy. I was saying his fans don't think so. Nothing to do with his dancing.  We wont discuss that...lol

Edited November 15, 2017 by MsJamieDornan

[Andie1]

13 minutes ago, Bridget said:

Going forward, the theme of each night should be "the couples will be dancing _____________ style of ballroom traditional/non-traditional dance."

Unpopular opinion alert: as far as I know, I am the only one who does not like Disney Night. I know ABC is owned by Disney and is probably contractually required to partake in Disney night to sell more merchandise or theme park tickets, but I think that Disney Night brings the show down to a "juvenile sort of level" in that everyone is claiming to go cuckoo for Disney and that bad acting alone makes me want to hurl. 

"I LOVE Disney." "It's a part of my childhood." "My life was never bad as long as I was waiting in line go to onto Space Mountain." "Walking through those gates made me feel like I was home."

I simply don't buy it.

I can see how effective Disney Night would be on DWTS Juniors, but not for adults.

Yeah you are probably right, but I did love that Moana Foxtrot,  I am like Len it does my heart good to see good dancing to good music. 

[spunky]

On 11/13/2017 at 10:07 PM, doLLish said:

Semifinals already? Feels like this season flew by. 

Drew and Emma: I thought this was cute. But I didn’t realize it was supposed to be a tango until the judges said so. Yikes.

Victoria and Val: I am so tired of this narrative and Val is all too eager to abuse it. This was a legit trio. Jenna was way too involved in the dance and it only served to take your eyes off of Victoria. Because Val finally told the world he’s been doing whatever with Jenna for the past however many years, now we have to suffer through her being featured heavily in all of his routines? Keep it. Seriously. I’m tired. 

The use of the troupe in routines has seriously gotten out of hand. When they’re in the background it’s okay but literally taking part in the main dance? It’s not okay.

Jordan and Lindsay: I’ve mentioned before that Argentine Tango is my favorite dance. It was nice to see a different type of spin on the usual sultry, sexy version but I don’t know if it really fit. I enjoyed it though and thought the story behind it was beautiful. Also, I’m really into deep emerald green this season so I LOVED their costumes.

Lindsey and Mark: I expected triple 10s from the pre dance package. Like I say every week, I don’t like contemporary on this show anymore but this was beautifully danced and beautifully themed. Amazing job. Lindsey is a gorgeous dancer. Her musicality really shines.

Frankie and Whitney: I’m kind of over Frankie. He lacks consistency like no contestant I’ve ever seen. Almost making his good dances look like flukes. Or are the bad ones flukes? Who knows at this point. This wasn’t good to me at all. No real hip action or...actual dance movement. I thought the theme was really cute though and I liked Witney’s costume.

Sharna was once my fave but seeing the pro tour routine I realized I haven’t really missed her. I like her better in the troupe lol

 

“Iconic” Dances

 

Drew and Emma: How did Drew get stuck with a Corbin Bleu routine of all past people? Yikes. But he attacked it and gave it everything. “Crusty at the bottom and tasty at the top” had me screaming. Len is hilarious. Sidebar: I don’t know if that lift/trick was worth the risks though. I love Emma for putting all of herself out there for her partner but my heart stopped for the length of that bit. Seriously terrifying.

Victoria and Val: This routine is all about the facials. She isn’t the strongest dancer so she can sell it with her face. She definitely tried to do that and apparently it worked for the judges. I feel like I’m bashing her at this point and that’s really not what I’m trying to do. Val isn’t doing the greatest job of hiding her flaws anymore. Len was looking at Carrie Ann like she was crazy and she is. This made you forget about Amber and Derek’s version? LMAO okay girl. 10s? She must be going home.

Jordan and Lindsay: Fast jives are usually a recipe for disaster. People usually put so much into an already very technical dance that it ends up being a mess. I remember when Paige did it, i was so scared for her but she nailed it. This was...WOW. I don’t know how to describe these two anymore. I will never forget this partnership. Ever.

Lindsey and Mark:  I skipped this season but I have heard a lot about Meryl and Maks’ partnership. From what I saw the dance looked pretty good, but like Mark said it became iconic because of the chemistry. This version was really good, but for me it was missing that electric chemistry and Lindsay didn’t seem as comfortable with this one. I agree with Carrie Ann. Ugh. Still great though!

Go away Maks. Goooo awaaaaaay. Stop with the lectures already.

Frankie and Witney: So much room for error here but they did a good job. Nothing egregious. I liked it.

I knew Victoria was going home when they gave her those 10s for that jive. It was so obvious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody actually cry like that when being eliminated. My heart crumbled. Val did her a disservice last week like he does to all his partners towards the end. His decision making really is not the best...

I never expected Drew to last this long and I’m really not sure how I feel about it.

I dislike the 4 teams in the finals thing so much. It needs to go back to being 3.

Looking forward to the finals!

I rolled my eyes at Val and Victoria's dance with Jenna. Val we get it, you're in love with the girl you kept a secret for how many years. The dance had nothing to do with Victoria and everything to do with him cramming his girlfriend down our throats, which was a huge disservice to Victoria. I usually like Val, but he really messed up what could have been a beautiful moment for his partner.

[Bridget]

14 minutes ago, Andie1 said:

Yeah you are probably right, but I did love that Moana Foxtrot,  I am like Len it does my heart good to see good dancing to good music. 

I cannot disagree with everyone's favorite Cantankerous Cranky Pants McGee - good point re: the Moana foxtrot.

[Bridget]

2 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

 

Given that they often do no elimination nights, they could easily (and more fairly) do that for the switch-up.  I wish they would, because as I said previously, I really liked the amazing amount of information about everyone, pros and celebs, that gets exposed in that week.

 

So true! I forgot how "revealing" the video packages were.  I remember seeing some potentially flawed partnerships smoothed over/reignited after the switch-up week. The whole "don't realize what you have until it's gone" thing was always highlighted for both the pro & the celeb. The timing worked well because after the honeymoon period wore off, partners were getting frustrated/cranky and then the switch up would occur (please correct me if I'm wrong about the timing). The "new for the week" pro partners almost always brought out something new in each celeb, whether it was working on posture, confidence, a new way to approach learning a step or routine. It almost always made the celeb much better dancers after that week. 

[calipiano81]

If everyone knows that Lindsey is no Meryl Davis, then why critique her as if she is?

For her level of dancing, I thought Lindsey did a really fine job and Mark, once again, gave her a lot of content. I thought her upper body and frame were improved from her previous dances. I liked that it never felt like Mark was dragging her across the floor; she kept in step with him quite nicely. The lunge positions and a few hand gestures she did I thought were lovely. And I thought she and Mark had a little bit of subtle heat of their own.

Edited November 15, 2017 by calipiano81

[spanana]

1 hour ago, Coriandria said:

As for Victoria's elimination.  I'm not that surprised but I'm a bit baffled why people are criticizing her for crying.  She lost a competition; she's disappointed; she cried.  Some people do that.  They cry when they have emotions.  Doesn't seem like something to get annoyed by.

Has Victoria gotten a lot of criticism for crying?  The only thing it reminded me is how young she is and how she's not an experienced stage performer able to mask her feelings, which is just a general observation and not a judgment.  I'm sure lots of celebs cry on elimination, but I think most with performance experience usually cover it until they get backstage.  Which again, not criticism for any way of dealing with things as people are different.  

The only thing I wondered is if anybody had prepared Victoria for the prospect of elimination because she seemed totally caught off guard, yet there were only five couples remaining and she knew her scores weren't great the week before.  I would have expected that she would have thought an elimination was at least a 50/50 chance.  I sincerely hope Val at least prepared her that it was a possibility.

[crossover]

9 hours ago, vdw84 said:

Ok, I finally figured out what it was about jordan's jive I didnt really like.  I for one thought Paige and Marks Jive was still better even though this one was executed better. Jordan and Lindsay had the energy and execution down packed and it was way more intense than Paige and Mark which I thought would be impossible because theirs was pretty intense but it lacked that flirtness and sexiness paige and mark added to it. It felt more like the derek and nicole jive tbh. Im find with his scores but it didnt have the heat paige and mark had.

Well I was fine with it because I didn't see/feel the heat from Paige/Mark's jive either.