For the celebrities to produce two dances in a week is always a new challenge that either works great or falls a little flat. This is the third week where the couples each had to do two dances, but instead of team or marathon format they were on their own for the full 90 seconds.
This week they also brought back one of the better challenges from last season. For the week’s second dance couples were given a time period to create the dance within. Last year, that results in the outstanding future paso doble. Could this year produce something as good? Let’s take a look at the dances, which were split into the Ballroom and Latin rounds, with the Latin rounds having the era added to them.
- Chad & Cheryl (Tango): Cheryl did great choreography here and while Chad had the attitude down, he didn’t quite perform the dance well. It lacked a sharpness to the movies. (60s Jive): This lacked something too. Given his pimp-style outfit, straight out of a blackplotation film, I expected something cooler than I got here. He at least looked like he was having fun, even while his footwork at times was off.
- Nicey & Louis (Viennese Waltz): It was a beautiful and, at the same time, cute dance done to the classic “I Got You Babe”. At times her feet seemed to be going to fast though, but overall I thought she did a good job. (90s Paso Doble): I liked this and thought the technique side of it was in good shape. She didn’t nail the drama though. To me her face always looked more blank that anything else.
- Erin & Maks (Argentine Tango): Wow did Erin use her body well in this dance. The leg movements while they were still on the stage were excellent and I wish they’d worked more of those in to the routine. She also struck some amazing lines, extending her frame to the fullest. I think this is my favorite dance of hers yet. (80s Rumba) This dance, however, fell flat. It seemed to jerk from one movement to another and had no fluidity to it at all. This was one of the night’s major disappointments.
- Evan & Anna (Waltz): Here’s another disappointment. Evan never looked like he connected emotionally with Anna during the number. Plus there were some clearly awkward moments, such as when they were going into the death spiral. I’m not sure how this earned a 27. (Futuristic Cha Cha) This was cute and fit the futuristic angle well, which really worked to an advantage since Latin is not his strong suit.
- Nicole & Derek (Foxtrot): This was tremendously fun and lively. The work they did when they were out of hold was stunning. (50s Paso Doble): What a great way to cap off the evening with a perfect score and an amazing dance. Derek incorporated 50s moves without taking away from the drama of the paso. Absolutely amazing and definitely the performance of the night.
The bottom two is hard to predict after last week’s bizarre turn that saw Erin in the bottom two. Given the clunky 80s number, it’s possible she could be there again. Sadly, I think one clear contender is Nicey since her dancing isn’t on par with the other couples. Chad also had more clunkiness than Erin. So my official bottom two picks for the week are Nicey and Chad with *sigh* Nicey going home.
Results update: I actually got it right. I’m sad Nicey is gone. She was a bright ray of sunshine on the show every week. I think the entire thing is Nicole’s right now. Evan’s too inconsistent. Erin is too nervous. Chad just doesn’t have enough skill. Nicole will have a pretty glitter ball in two weeks.
The college dance off was a pleasant addition to the results show. I’m looking forward to that playing out over the next couple weeks. The Gypsy Kings aren’t my thing but I did enjoy the paso from Toy Story 3 (although I wonder why there is a paso in Toy Story 3). And I have to say, as usual, that I hate Dance Center and would love to see that retired.
