For the first time Dancing with the Stars judges gave two sets of scores to each dance—one of technique and one for performance. I think it was an eye opener for many of the stars as a lot of the technique scores ended up in the 5s and 6s. The rocky technique was driven even more home because of the pro demonstrations. Jonathan and Anna did an amazing tango that nothing else came close to while Dmitry and Kym did a extremely sensual rumba.
Here’s the rundown of this week’s dances, in performance order as usual:
- Erin & Maks (Tango): I didn’t feel much drama or passion here. The dance itself was okay, but there were some issues I didn’t expect to see in the footwork. I feel like this was a step back for Erin. It was good, but not as good as I expected.
- Evan & Anna (Tango): This was the best tango of the night. It was sharp. Evan’s footwork was much improved. I wish the choreography had been more complex. Anna could’ve delivered something that was far closer to the pro demo.
- Nicey & Louis (Rumba): I love this couple and I think Nicey continued to show growth. She was a little wooden at the start, but she quickly got into the flow of the dance . I completely disagree with Len with his “boring” assessment. I also feel the performances scores were too low.
- Aiden & Edyta (Rumba): Aiden once again shows week-to-week improvement. Unfortunately, overall, this number was mixed. He went from pretty mechanical looking to some very fluid movements. I’m glad he’s working on his nerves. If he can just relax, the dances will surely improve.
- Nicole & Derek (Rumba): Here’s the rumba of the night. It was gorgeous and full of beautiful moves. Derek, as usual, knows how to deliver on the choreography.
- Jake & Chelsie (Tango): Speaking of delivering choreography, Chelsie did an incredible job on this tango. Putting the combination on the stairs in was risky and payed off. It was a great performance too and I felt the judges underscored that aspect of the dance. Jake’s best dance to date for sure.
- Kate & Tony (Tango):
- Chad & Cheryl (Rumba): Chad turned it around for me this week. He did a solid job here and moved his body in some pretty fluid ways. I’m still don’t think he can go all the way, but this was very enjoyable.
- Pam & Damian (Rumba): Go Pam! This was nice, smooth, romantic (without being slutty). I’m glad she got some 8s for this (in both categories no less). Hopefully this keeps her out of the bottom two.
Two more notes on the performance show: 1) The people running the scoreboard really need to rehearse more upfront. In four shows, two of them have had serious scoreboard issues. 2) The opening showing Buzz getting blasted off the stage was just inappropriate. Boo to the mind that came up with that.
It’s hard to say how the results will hash out. I, of course, what Kate off this show. If we can’t get rid of her this week, I think it will be Aiden getting the boot.
Results Show Update: Once again we’re stuck suffering through another week of Kate as she once again managed to avoid elimination. My second choice was right in that Aiden got the axe. I loved both the young ballroom dancers (great job Mark Ballas on that choreography) as well as the Travis Wall choreographed Hip Hop violin dance which was incredible! I could have done with (and did fast forward over) Sade. I just couldn’t get into that.
Next week is movie week, so it’ll be interesting to see how that translates to the ballroom.
