DWTS7 Week 8 Performance (spoilers)

[wooh]

I'm finding myself not even paying attention. Will say, there are some UGLY costumes tonight. And bizarre scoring. And well, lots of meh-ness to me.

[danceronice]

Lacey needs to learn--thick waist relative to the hips = no side cutouts. And that feather skirt! Cheryl's paso dress was not so great actually, and Kym's jive outfit...Randal, seriously, what are you thinking?

Also, I gave all my votes to Cody. They are trying to throw him under the bus (especially with that lift crap--what lift? Derek blatanly picks Brooke up and swings her around and that's not? Carrie Ann must go.) And Derek can't mambo. Though it might help if the band played a mambo, just a thought.

[hustleNflow]

Wow...yet another week of blatant bias from the judges (especially Carrie-Ann) and shameless rigging of the scores...not that we expected anything less from a panel with only one person who has ever danced ballroom, plus a woman who used to dance backup for Madonna (topless, and on a pole!) and a guy who has done some Broadway. Ugh.

Cody & Edyta - has the poor kid done something to rub the judges the wrong way? I felt like they were out for blood with him tonight. I thought his foxtrot was much better than Maurice's quickstep, but yet they were scored the same. He was pleasantly restrained and gentlemanly, and seemed to have the best fluidity of the standard dances tonight. And I seriously felt like putting my foot through the TV when Carrie-Ann started complaining about the "lift"...if you can even call it that. She'd crap her pants if she saw what some couples can get away with in real ballroom without it being called a "lift". And if she's gonna call people out on it, she at least needs to be consistent...I can't tell you how many times Derek has flung Brooke around without getting reamed. Anyway, Cody's mambo was, at best, energetic...but very "spasmodic" (as Bruno commented) and seemingly disjointed - just a bunch of steps hastily thrown together to somewhat resemble a mambo. I did enjoy his solo, though - I thought it was very fitting for his personality and energy level. For the first time since week 3, I actually voted tonight...and I gave all my votes to these two, in hopes that they'll stick around for another week so Cody can dance with Julianne once more :D

Brooke & Derek - after witnessing the nonsense that the judges fed them about how "great!" they were this week, I'm pretty sure they could have gone out there and danced a tango and a mambo bad enough to make one's eyes bleed and the judges would have told them they were the best, anyway. The tango - I liked the beginning and the end. And what was done in the middle was crisp and clean. But I still see Brooke having issues with her shoulders...at one point, her tango frame looked like a rubbery noodle. And her face just looked...dead. Lifeless. Not intense or fiery...just absent. It was decent...but it certainly didn't deserve two tens! And once again, I wanted to slap Carrie-Ann when she tried to deny saying last week that Brooke "was getting as good as some of their pros" - oh woman please, I have it on DVR if you don't believe Len. Their mambo wasn't much better - stiff and sloppy, with too much of a flexed knee from Brooke. My guess is that Derek really emphasized the characteristic "bent knee" of the mambo to her in practice, and failed to also mention that the knee also straightens at some point...hence, the perpetual "lowrider" stance. And the orange costumes...did they just have a bunch of orange fabric leftover from the group cha-cha costumes last week?

Maurice & Cheryl - I'm beginning to think that Cody & Edyta's unnecessarily low scores were a joint attempt by the producers to create a cliffhanger in tomorrow's eliminations: who will go - Cody or Maurice? Despite getting decent scores and comments from the judges, I thought Maurice's quickstep was the weakest performance of the evening. There weren't enough basics, there were too many runs (and sloppy ones, at that), and my big revelation about Maurice & Cheryl's dancing - it felt very "mommy & me". As if Cheryl were leading him around the floor with eye contact and encouraging expressions, as well as a strong back-lead. Their paso was okay, I guess - it didn't have anything in it that really set it apart from all the other pasos we've seen this season, including the quickly-getting-old cape solo. And Cheryl's dress - did anyone else feel like the bodice & skirt didn't really go together? As if wardrobe was like "Oh crap, we have this purple bodice and no purple lace for the skirt! Maybe if we use blue, no one will notice!"

Lance & Lacey - I think I've figured out why I think Lance & Lacey's technique stinks: they get "stuck" in the end of each move. As if they're mired to the floor - which gives each dance a stuttery feel and a lack of fluidity. I noticed it the most in their foxtrot - they never seemed to get a lot of motion in it, and it was because they essentially got wedged into the end of each step, making it impossible to get a lot of freedom to move to the next one. I give props to Lance for trying to roll through his feet in the foxtrot - unfortunately, he rolled through, but kept his flexed heel down too long, resulting in it dragging. I was sorely disappointed with their samba - Lance's solo felt very awkward and forced, and even (dare I say it?) a bit effeminate...as if Lacey had choreographed it more for herself than for Lance. And again, like in the foxtrot - they tended to get "stuck" in certain movements, which never allowed them to get that smooth, fluid motion around the floor.

Warren & Kym - I feel like our big man redeemed himself quite a bit this week. I loved their tango - not only was Warren sharp and focused in it, but I was happy to see something that wasn't the stereotypical tango look and feel - no red & black, and it had a more sleek, sophisticated "secret agent" vibe. And their jive...*grin* What it lacked in technique, it more than made up for in pure entertainment. I feel like Warren looked as if he was having fun for the first time in weeks. And really, the technique wasn't terrible - he had the right idea, and he was trying to really pick up his legs. I was actually quite impressed with his coordination, once more - I thought for sure the jive would be his Achilles' heel, but no! Once again, props to Kym for working with Warren's strengths and personality - this could have been a disaster, but she shaped it into what turned out to be my favorite performance of the evening.

Did You Notice...?

*Samantha's shark fin-inspired 'do? GHASTLY!!! :(
*Len rockin' a pink & white striped shirt?
*The clear bias not only towards certain couples, but towards the Latin dances as well? (I felt like after every single standard dance, it was something like "Stay tuned! The Latin round is coming!" "Don't go away, Latin dances coming up SOON!!!!" as if the standard dances were so painful to watch :?)

[jennikins]

I am watching with my mom and she is wondering if edyta is pergnant. Her boobs look bigger and it looks like a little belly... anyone know?

[soshedances]

Great recap, HnF!

The judges need to stop slamming Cody. I'll take his energy and enthusiasm any day over Maurice. I thought his foxtrot was very nice and refined and thought his mambo was fun, even if not well-choreographed.

Maurice needs to go. The paso was way too robotic (and I was way too distracted by Cheryl's costume not matching itself, Maurice, or the cape they used). Quickstep was sloppy, his arms where just sort of hanging there and Cheryl half pushed him around the floor. I think his time's up.

Brooke and Derek were definitely the best. Thought she looked uncomfortable through a good portion of their tango, but enjoyed the beginning and the end. Liked her mambo solo but she kept losing her posture. And what was with the wig??

Lance and Lacey...really starting to dislike her choreography. Technique on both of them is not good, and her frame really bugs me. I do like watching Lance and he's really trying. With a different pro, I think he'd be awesome by now. Also yet another couple with bad costumes tonight.

Loved Warren and Kym tonight. Great job with the tango, nice choreography for what I though was a difficult song to work with. Overall effect was great. He "gets" the character of the dances but his still himself. Jive was incredibly entertaining and you could tell the crowd really loves him.

Hate how they put so much emphasis on the Latin dances on this show...what's wrong with standard? And why do they never show just a normal waltz any more?

[RickRS]

Did You Notice...?

*Samantha's shark fin-inspired 'do? GHASTLY!!! :(


Had the unfortunate effect of making her head and face appear lop-sided.


Did You Notice...?

*The clear bias not only towards certain couples, but towards the Latin dances as well? (I felt like after every single standard dance, it was something like "Stay tuned! The Latin round is coming!" "Don't go away, Latin dances coming up SOON!!!!" as if the standard dances were so painful to watch :?


Sort of goes to the promise of "coming up next, almost nekkid dancin' wimen!"

Well, sex sells and Latin has a little more of that.

Hope I got the redneck spelling right. ;)

[Bella]

I missed the Latin portion! Can someone give me the play by play of the latin dances? I caught Derek's and Edyta's...

[wooh]

I was wondering if Edyta and Cody misunderstood the solo requirement. Like if they thought, "dancing without the help of the pro" even meant choreography.:)

[TAK]

Jennikins, I was wondering the same thing about Edyta...she seemed bigger in the chest and belly but nowhere else. It would make sense, since she got married last summer!

HnF, I think you are exactly right. The scoring is so rigged. Cody's foxtrot was definitely BETTER than Brooke's tango. Brooke & Derek's promenade position was just bizarre. I think Brooke couldn't get less than a 9 or Cody more than an 8 no matter what either of them did. It stinks.

[hustleNflow]

Jennikins, I was wondering the same thing about Edyta...she seemed bigger in the chest and belly but nowhere else. It would make sense, since she got married last summer!


I noticed a bit of a "bump" as well...but I figured it was just me being too critical, as I also noticed both Cheryl & Lacey putting on a few pounds at the beginning of the season. But it would make sense if Alec & Edyta were expecting a baby...:D

[SDsalsaguy]

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