Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

In The Media: DWTS

COESpiral

By COESpiral
in Dancing With The Stars

  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

katha

katha

On 6/26/2019 at 5:22 PM, boyznkatz said:

Fedor was an ice dancer as well. He knows the schtick. Even Charlie himself said that he and Meryl showmanced to get that Olympic medal, which is why he didn't publicly discuss his romance with Tanith until after the Olympics. Those Merlie shippers were just as crazy as the Maksyl shippers, and Meryl and Charlie didn't do that much much to discourage them either. I doubt that he, Meryl or Fedor cared about the showmance. 

They are all entertainers. Maks and Peta make their living dancing/showmancing as well. I don't doubt Peta was laughing her ass off at the whole shebang as well.

Yeah...the figure skating world is not for the faint of heart. And the ice dance world is arguably even more brutal. D/W are Olympic champions and knew exactly what to do to sell themselves to the judges. So it's not like they were in any way surprised by the DWTS antics. The ice dance world operates in exactly the same way. Yes, Meryl and Charlie preferred an "aw, we're just wholesome kids next door" approach to PR that's been dominating US figure skating since always, but that doesn't mean that they haven't seen it all and participated in plenty...😉

  • Love 1
Link to comment
  • Replies 3.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Sile
Sile

"I guess I won't be getting back my monogrammed towels" And then you have to think for a second... Tom's response to the Tyra hire pretty much encapsulates everything I love about him and sh

ShaNaeNae
ShaNaeNae

If this show wasn’t already on its last 2 legs, they just shot themselves in the foot. “Let’s get rid of Tom, that’s a great idea!” -said no one EVER. 

Jobo05
Jobo05

Read his tweet. Has ABC lost their damn mind? He’s the heart and soul of the show! Buh bye, DWTS.

Posted Images

legaleagle53

legaleagle53

2 hours ago, katha said:

Yeah...the figure skating world is not for the faint of heart. And the ice dance world is arguably even more brutal. D/W are Olympic champions and knew exactly what to do to sell themselves to the judges. So it's not like they were in any way surprised by the DWTS antics. The ice dance world operates in exactly the same way. Yes, Meryl and Charlie preferred an "aw, we're just wholesome kids next door" approach to PR that's been dominating US figure skating since always, but that doesn't mean that they haven't seen it all and participated in plenty...😉

Very true. As I've always said, who needs soap operas when all they have to do is watch all the backstage drama that happens every day in the world of figure skating (and especially ice dancing)?

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Door County Cherry

Door County Cherry

I agree with what has been posted.  And honestly, I never really felt like Meryl was really pushing the showmance--or at least not in the way Maks was. In fact, usually the story of a partnership on DWTS is centered on the pro celeb and their ups and downs.  With the Maks and Meryl partnership, it was mostly about Maks.  His return.  His frustration.  His insecurities. His aches and pains.  Meryl needing to reassure him/cheer him up.  His feelings for Meryl and hinting at something there.  She'd smile and not contradict him but I think the more specific he got about their "future," the less she was able to hide the awkwardness.  

She was my favorite dancer from that season but I liked her in spite of her partner, not because of him.  I also think she could have won with a number of the celebs and probably with even better performances.  Her partnership with Val was one of the best performances she gave. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment
Jillibean

Jillibean

The fanbase insanity during that Meryl/Charlie season was insane. You had the intense Maks/Meryl shippers, and then also the Meryl/Charlie shippers who had come up with this story that Meryl was this sweet, sad wallflower who just kept waiting for Charlie to realize he was in love with her and not the evil witch Tanith (who in reality is one of Meryl’s best friends) and who believed all of Meryl’s dances were secretly to try to show Charlie how she felt. And who then all voted for Meryl to “punish” Charlie for daring to flaunt his girlfriend by having her actually attend the shows. It was so crazy and a bit terrifying. 

That said, I do remember an article coming out around that time in which Meryl either explicitly stated or implied that she was single, which came as a surprise to everyone in the figure skating world who knew about Fedor. It’s still unclear to me whether it was all part of the DWTS show or whether Meryl and Fedor actually split for awhile right around the Olympics. I like Meryl a lot, but she did nothing to dissuade that showmance. Assuming she wasn’t actually broken up with Fedor, she certainly benched him while she was doing the show. 

  • Love 6
Link to comment
katha

katha

What did actually work IMO, once you shoved aside the showmance, is tied to the fact that Meryl is rather serious and quiet. And since Maks is, when he puts his mind to it, a pro at this celeb/DWTS/how to play the show thing, he adapted. He provided contrast und did the entertainment/diva stuff, since Meryl might have come across as a bit rehearsed/dull on her own. But he could also match her tone. Because when he can be bothered, he's capable of being eloquent and thoughtful. So moments when he just honestly talked about how he works as a dancer/choreographer, how he didn't want this career but it was something his parents wanted, how Val is better at it etc.... That was cool, I thought. He's good on the show when he manages to get beyond the caricature. That's why it worked with Laila Ali, Mel B, Erin, Kristie to some degree.

Also: IMO he did great work with Meryl and didn't implode, as he is wont to do. That tango is still one of the best things anyone has ever done on that show IMO.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
ShaNaeNae

ShaNaeNae

On 8/20/2019 at 12:18 PM, katha said:

Also: IMO he did great work with Meryl and didn't implode, as he is wont to do. That tango is still one of the best things anyone has ever done on that show IMO.

 

Their tango is one of my favorite dances of all time. 

  • Love 5
Link to comment
Fellaway

Fellaway

7 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

All but the Carlton dance made me go WTF?

That was my reaction, as well.  Soooo many dances from the early seasons beat out those other nine, easy peasy.  Whoever chose those ten has a short memory.  Or was too lazy to go back to the early seasons.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

1 hour ago, Fellaway said:

That was my reaction, as well.  Soooo many dances from the early seasons beat out those other nine, easy peasy.  Whoever chose those ten has a short memory.  Or was too lazy to go back to the early seasons.

Or is a teenager who didn't start watching until they exchanged tweets with Jenna, Emma, Sasha or Keo. 🤣

  • LOL 3
  • Love 1
Link to comment
spanana

spanana

On 8/20/2019 at 1:18 PM, katha said:

What did actually work IMO, once you shoved aside the showmance, is tied to the fact that Meryl is rather serious and quiet. And since Maks is, when he puts his mind to it, a pro at this celeb/DWTS/how to play the show thing, he adapted. He provided contrast und did the entertainment/diva stuff, since Meryl might have come across as a bit rehearsed/dull on her own. But he could also match her tone. Because when he can be bothered, he's capable of being eloquent and thoughtful. So moments when he just honestly talked about how he works as a dancer/choreographer, how he didn't want this career but it was something his parents wanted, how Val is better at it etc.... That was cool, I thought. He's good on the show when he manages to get beyond the caricature. That's why it worked with Laila Ali, Mel B, Erin, Kristie to some degree.

Also: IMO he did great work with Meryl and didn't implode, as he is wont to do. That tango is still one of the best things anyone has ever done on that show IMO.

It's all rumors but I have heard since that there was potentially a bit more friction between Maks and Meryl than was shown.  Not saying they didn't get along in the bigger picture but the show left a lot of Maks more diva moments or Meryl frustrated with Maks moments on the cutting room floor because it didn't fit their narrative and if there was ever a season where it was clear what outcome the show wanted, it was that one.  They practically had Maks has never won a mirrorball etched on his forehead so nobody could forget and the whole showmance angle on top of that.

Not sure how true it is and of course they choose a narrative every season, but I think they definitely edited Maks to fit a certain narrative that season which included rounding out some of his edges.

The weird thing about Maks, for me, is I don't mind him now off the show.  I don't know if fatherhood has settled him down but I like him better than his brother and when he does mouth off, it's usually for something worthwhile.  I absolutely HATE him as a pro though.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
katha

katha

Eh, I have no doubt that most of the things on this trainwreck show are edited to death to fit a certain narrative. 😁 Coming in from figure skating/ice dancing, it was also totally ridiculous how they turned Davis/White into these aw shucks Disney figures. Ice dance is political as hell, and Meryl and Charlie have always been able to play that game and be as calculated as necessary. Not that this is a great crime or anything, it's what you have to do to survive and win in that world, but the image they presented/that was curated for them on DWTS was...curious, to say the least. 😉

Like, in the figure skating world it was known that Meryl is dating Fedor Andreev, the son of her then coach Marina Zueva. Since this looked dicey because Marina was also training their main rivals Virtue/Moir, they kept that quiet. And then they conveniently kept it quiet some more on DWTS...😎

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

2 hours ago, katha said:

Like, in the figure skating world it was known that Meryl is dating Fedor Andreev, the son of her then coach Marina Zueva. Since this looked dicey because Marina was also training their main rivals Virtue/Moir, they kept that quiet. And then they conveniently kept it quiet some more on DWTS...😎

I never believed Meryl and Fedor were broken up during DWTS. That made the showmance angle all the more ridiculous.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
spanana

spanana

3 hours ago, katha said:

Eh, I have no doubt that most of the things on this trainwreck show are edited to death to fit a certain narrative. 😁 Coming in from figure skating/ice dancing, it was also totally ridiculous how they turned Davis/White into these aw shucks Disney figures. Ice dance is political as hell, and Meryl and Charlie have always been able to play that game and be as calculated as necessary. Not that this is a great crime or anything, it's what you have to do to survive and win in that world, but the image they presented/that was curated for them on DWTS was...curious, to say the least. 😉

Like, in the figure skating world it was known that Meryl is dating Fedor Andreev, the son of her then coach Marina Zueva. Since this looked dicey because Marina was also training their main rivals Virtue/Moir, they kept that quiet. And then they conveniently kept it quiet some more on DWTS...😎

What I always found interesting about them on DWTS, is how Meryl seemed willing to play the game and Charlie didn't.  Just in terms of playing into the edits the show wanted them to have.  Of course the show can edit you a certain way, but they can't really showmance you successfully unless you play into it and they continued to play into it for quite awhile after the show until the Maksyl fans became so unhinged and the mirrorball was far enough in the past.  

  • Love 3
Link to comment
boyznkatz

boyznkatz

On 9/21/2019 at 4:15 AM, katha said:

Eh, I have no doubt that most of the things on this trainwreck show are edited to death to fit a certain narrative. 😁 Coming in from figure skating/ice dancing, it was also totally ridiculous how they turned Davis/White into these aw shucks Disney figures. Ice dance is political as hell, and Meryl and Charlie have always been able to play that game and be as calculated as necessary. Not that this is a great crime or anything, it's what you have to do to survive and win in that world, but the image they presented/that was curated for them on DWTS was...curious, to say the least. 😉

Like, in the figure skating world it was known that Meryl is dating Fedor Andreev, the son of her then coach Marina Zueva. Since this looked dicey because Marina was also training their main rivals Virtue/Moir, they kept that quiet. And then they conveniently kept it quiet some more on DWTS...😎

Oh, definitely. Davis and White were always portrayed as more wholesome than apple pie, while Virtue/Moir were supposed to hate them.  I've heard that on V/M's Canadian reality show, they were the angels and Meryl was the bad guy. LOL.

They have said many times that they are all friends. The media portrays an image, and people fall for it, hook, line and sinker.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
katha

katha

12 hours ago, treeofdreams said:

"Sharna Burgess Reveals This Season's Pros Had to Hand Over Creative Control"

https://www.etonline.com/dwts-sharna-burgess-reveals-this-seasons-pros-had-to-hand-over-creative-control-133805

It's basically the same thing Cheryl said, and I don't like it. I mean, some form of this nonsense was always present. In certain weeks the pros were stuck with unsuitable songs and ridiculous "concepts" that didn't work for the assigned dances, but it didn't seem like it was all the time.

But as I already said, the (unintended?) consequence of this is that good teaching and choreography become even more important. So if you've got a pro that can somehow make the most of the situation and create good choreo and teach you well even when given absurd parameters, you're set. If your pro is weak in those areas, you become even more vulnerable. Not to be mean about it...but perhaps that's why Jenna and Gleb seem to be struggling even more than usual?

  • LOL 1
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

3 hours ago, katha said:

It's basically the same thing Cheryl said, and I don't like it. I mean, some form of this nonsense was always present. In certain weeks the pros were stuck with unsuitable songs and ridiculous "concepts" that didn't work for the assigned dances, but it didn't seem like it was all the time.

But as I already said, the (unintended?) consequence of this is that good teaching and choreography become even more important. So if you've got a pro that can somehow make the most of the situation and create good choreo and teach you well even when given absurd parameters, you're set. If your pro is weak in those areas, you become even more vulnerable. Not to be mean about it...but perhaps that's why Jenna and Gleb seem to be struggling even more than usual?

I find this hilarious because Sharna's fans (and also the Val and Jenna fans) were trashing Cheryl when her blog came out, but when Sharna says it...crickets.

  • LOL 2
  • Love 1
Link to comment
luvthepros

luvthepros

Karina has been performing with her ex pro partner (and lover), Slavik in show dances. Slavik has experienced injury and problems with his hip and isn't as good as he was in his prime. Karina, OTOH, is still in top form. She is a vision on the dance floor.........

Karina and Slavik - Cha Cha 2017

Karina and Slavik - Cha Cha 2007

You will see the difference in Slavik's performance between the two performances and the 10 years that past from 2007, He was in top form in the "Hey Daddy" Cha Cha. I could watch this man all day!

  • Love 3
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

5 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Karina has been performing with her ex pro partner (and lover), Slavik in show dances. Slavik has experienced injury and problems with his hip and isn't as good as he was in his prime. Karina, OTOH, is still in top form. She is a vision on the dance floor.........

Karina and Slavik - Cha Cha 2017

Karina and Slavik - Cha Cha 2007

You will see the difference in Slavik's performance between the two performances and the 10 years that past from 2007, He was in top form in the "Hey Daddy" Cha Cha. I could watch this man all day!

I believe they retired from competing a few months back, I could swear Karina posting something about it on IG.

Link to comment
luvthepros

luvthepros

(edited)
18 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

I believe they retired from competing a few months back, I could swear Karina posting something about it on IG.

I didn't say Slavik and Karina are competing and I was aware they have retired from competing. From what I understand, the two of them are performing show dances. It was just so great to see them dancing together again. They have always been my favorite Latin Ballroom couple.

Edited by luvthepros
Link to comment
Morrigan

Morrigan

(edited)

I just saw Karina in "Ballroom with a Twist" in September, performing with Tony Dovolani -- also there were Tristan MacManus, Anna Trebunskaya, Chelsie Hightower and Damian Whitewood.  (a casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast)  She was great, as ever!

Tony said he retired from DWTS because he needed to spend more time with his kids (his son is autistic.)  Tristan then joked, "They didn't want him any more."  Ouch!  But I think Tristan was probably right - though he's one to talk, ahem.

But in any case, the Australian DWTS is coming back, in February I think, and Tristan will be a judge again for its second season (of the relaunched version).  I assume Sharna will too, but she wasn't in the promo ads I saw for it.  But then neither was the third judge from last time, Craig Revel Horwood.

Edited by Morrigan
grammar
  • Love 3
Link to comment
DEL901

DEL901

14 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I wasn't sure when I would see Louis van Amstel's name again, but I certainly didn't expect it to be in a story about his son being lectured by a substitute teacher about the sinfulness of his gay fathers.

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Damn, poor kid. What a shitty excuse for a teacher. 

Good on some of the kids speaking up and taking action, though. And a sweet sentiment from the son. 

And I felt so bad for the little boy, so excited about being adopted and then terrified to make waves in case they changed their minds about adopting him.  

  • Love 8
Link to comment
realdancemom

realdancemom

On 12/1/2019 at 8:16 AM, pally said:

Bravo to the 3 girls who went to the principal to let him know what was going on.  And good job to him for reacting promptly and appropriately.

Yes, the three girls were 10/11 years old.  They tried to get the teacher to stop.  When she didn't, they were brave enough to walk out of class and talk to the principal.  Kudos to the principal for kicking her out right away and to the community for "heart" attacking Louis' and his husband's door.  I feel bad for their son.

  • Love 10
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

19 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

That's been the plan for over a year now. DWTS is only going to be a once-a-year thing, the same as all other versions have always been. So we won't see it again until September 2020.

Which means even more people will lose interest. Let's see if it even comes back in the fall.

Link to comment
truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

Artem and Nikki are engaged.

These two are a perfect example of why I just laugh and cringe at obviously forced and fake showmances (let's never forget Alan/Alexis or hell Maks/Meryl). Because there was obviously nothing romantic going on between the two when Nikki did the show, because she was still engaged to John Cena.

But I remembered watching one of their rehearsal packages and just getting this feeling that if she wasn't with someone, I could see them being together. They weren't being flirty or anything. It was just this ease they had about them. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
Toonces464

Toonces464

3 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Artem and Nikki are engaged.

These two are a perfect example of why I just laugh and cringe at obviously forced and fake showmances (let's never forget Alan/Alexis or hell Maks/Meryl). Because there was obviously nothing romantic going on between the two when Nikki did the show, because she was still engaged to John Cena.

But I remembered watching one of their rehearsal packages and just getting this feeling that if she wasn't with someone, I could see them being together. They weren't being flirty or anything. It was just this ease they had about them. 

I'll be shocked if they actually go through with a wedding. She seems to be a real publicity hound.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...