Dancing With the Stars--Week 2

[TemptressToo]

Previous Dancing With the Stars Discussions
Preshow and Week 1 Discussion (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9152)
Week 1 Poll (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9845)
Week 2 Discussion (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9909)
Week 2 Poll (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9927)
Week 3 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10023)
Week 4 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10123)
Week 5 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10219)
Finale (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10312)

Soundtrack (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9893t=10122)
Judges & Contestants (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9928)
In the News (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10054)
Music (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10036)
Sold Out (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9883)
Free Tickets (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9233)





Ok, tonight is the night. Just prepping up this thread for those of us that will watch and pop on during commercial breaks. I'm sure they will announce who "would" have been voted off if they were doing so last week. But for the most part, it will be a clean slate. It will be interesting to see who improves and if the pro's rework their idea of creating routines in light of what the judges looked at last week.

So, I guess I'll see so me of you here later in the day. ;)

[leftfeetnyc]

I work with non-dancers. They all know I do swing, and of the group of 70 workers on my floor, at least half have caught me practicing at some point in the copy room or elevator banks.

Well imagine my surprize when it's only 11am and random co-workers keep coming up to me asking if I watched last weeks show and how much they enjoyed it and are looking forward to tonight.

The love Joey and John.

They all think it's fantastic how this was put together and know the dancing isn't the greatest, but still think it's cool.

Oh how I wish I had a TV now!

[Purr]

Oh how I wish I had a TV now!

Go buy one, some models are very inexpensive. Or, go over to a friend's house this evening who owns a TV. :D

[leftfeetnyc]

Nah, I'll go out dancing tonight instead...why watch when I can do!

There are a few sites that have the performances online, so I've seen those, just not the training inbetween.

[breathedance]

I think it's interesting that I have seen a lot more promotion on TV and on the radio in the last couple of days for this week's show than for last weeks - maybe they were impressed enough with the ratings to put more advertising money into it!

[Medira]

I think it's interesting that I have seen a lot more promotion on TV and on the radio in the last couple of days for this week's show than for last weeks - maybe they were impressed enough with the ratings to put more advertising money into it!It makes sense. I wouldn't think that advertisers would want to fork out a lot of advertising money on something that may become a flop.

[mamboqueen]

I haven't seen a single ad this week, but then again, I don't watch much ABC (Six Feet Under just started - woo hoo!). I'm very excited. I put one beer (I need to behave as I have a lesson early tomorrow) in the fridge getting nice and chilled for tonight!

[chandra]

tonight is west coast wednesday so i wont be able to see it. Im taping though ;)

[Larinda McRaven]

Well now we know it is supposed to be International style!

[randomMysh]

Joey just got told that he needs to take SMALLER steps! In quickstep! Whaaa....??

[Katarzyna]

I liked the first rumba a lot... But I can't judge latin too well ..

[Katarzyna]

Trista's rumba was a lot better than the waltz... She managed to smile... but she was still stiff... Not much emotion...

[randomMysh]

Trista was so stiff in the beginning. I'm glad she warmed up a bit toward the end.

[Katarzyna]

Poor Trista, they will most likely be the first couple out...

[ACtenDance]

The training clips are much better this week

[Larinda McRaven]

So far I am actually very please with how much progress everyone has made since last week. The women are obviously more comfortable and Joey was very cute again.
John made a few minor missteps but Charlotte the ever professional Pro was able to rearrange her feet to accomodate.

[kansas49er]

Knowing absolutely nothing about Ballrooom, I can only say that the first Rumba was the most interesting and exciting dance. THe quickstep just I just wanted to be over, the last rumba, the lady exuded indifference, and the male dance with himself

[randomMysh]

John and Charlotte were awesome again! :banana:

[Katarzyna]

Really liked how peaceful looking Charlotte's and John's quickstep really was... Didn't look out of control but still had energy...

Charlotte is such an amasing Standard dancer. Funny how her real personality shows in this show... I guess John had a really good partner :)

I guess I am not hiding how much I like her dancing. She did a great job with John. :D :D

[kansas49er]

That was really great! ALmost makes me want to take up ballroom! ALmost, anyway.

[Katarzyna]

That was really great! ALmost makes me want to take up ballroom! ALmost, anyway.
You should give it a try :wink:

[Larinda McRaven]

Kelly actually SMILED!

[randomMysh]

That was really great! ALmost makes me want to take up ballroom! ALmost, anyway.
You should give it a try :wink:

ditto!

[Katarzyna]

So much pushing and pulling in Kelly's Rumba. She was literally pulled throught the whole routine.

Well at least she didn't look like someone died this time.. Her body was very stiff though.... and she wasn't on her feet...

[randomMysh]

It looked like they worked more on the fancy moves and not on basic movement. That's too bad, she could be lovely if he'd just teach her how to walk. (and yes, I know, that's what takes forever!)

[kansas49er]

Very sexy, but since I don't know the dance, It appeared to be a few great moves with lots of poses or posturing. I liked it, I just don't know if it was "Dancing Rumba". JOhn and Charlotte still have my vote

[pygmalion]

So much pushing and pulling in Kelly's Rumba. She was literally pulled throught the whole routine.

Well at least she didn't look like someone died this time.. Her body was very stiff though.... and she wasn't on her feet...

But she danced a heck of a lot better than last week. I think she deserves some props for her improvement. 8)

[kansas49er]

Trying something so beautiful would only confirm my worst fears about my dancing :oops:

[randomMysh]

Terminator and Tinkerbell? :shock: :lol:

[Larinda McRaven]

Is the floor bigger this week?

I actually think the order of ranking tonight by the judges is pretty accurate

[Katarzyna]

So much pushing and pulling in Kelly's Rumba. She was literally pulled throught the whole routine.

Well at least she didn't look like someone died this time.. Her body was very stiff though.... and she wasn't on her feet...

But she danced a heck of a lot better than last week. I think she deserves some props for her improvement. 8)True she did improve:)

[Katarzyna]

Evender's quickstep needs SOME work... Poor Edyta... She could't stay with him.. That looked like a lot of struggling..

[kansas49er]

Evander was just too much out of his element, I think. ALthought it was a mighty effort!

[pygmalion]

Oh golly! It was bad. Eeek! :(

[randomMysh]

Nooooooo! They kicked off Louis??? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

[randomMysh]

So they kick them off and then make them dance? Nice.

Edit: and they go and dance a merengue! :lol:

[Shannon]

Holy crap! I can't believe that Louis and Trista got the least number of votes last week. I guess that shows me what the general public thinks.

As for this week, Charlotte and John were once again my favorite.

[mamboqueen]

Man, Kelly needs to thank all her soap opera fans for voting for her. She was PAINFUL to watch. Her legs and feet just looked terrible compared to the other two. Ick.

John/Charlotte and Rachel/Whatshisname were the best two, in my opinion. I liked that Charlotte and John kept it fairly simple.

Favorite dresses - Rachel and Charlotte. Trista's was an 80's prom dress nightmare. Blech.

Just my humble opinion!

[LXC]

Loved John and Charlotte!!!!! After watching the first quickstep, I was ready to give up watching any more of standard on this show but they looked amazing for 6 weeks of training. Congrats to both the student and the teacher!

I liked Rachel's rumba too. So my two favoriate couples hasn't changed.

Trista is not the worst dancer and voted out for other reasons. I feel bad for her (even though I'm not a fan of hers)

[TemptressToo]

They kicked off LOUIS? Can't believe it.

Kelly and Alec did indeed dance much better this week. And he's such a hottie with his hair down. ;)

I missed the first two dances...so I can't really comment too much.

I did really like Charlotte and John and gave them my vote. :)

[standardgirl]

I really don't think Kelly did THAT bad....compared to Joey, and Evander (well Evander did recieve a lower score than Kelly).
Kelly and Alec were really fun to watch tonight, and she was really showing the emotion and the sexiness of rumba. I think she has focused on the comments from the judges last week.

Glad that she was not voted out! at least.....

John and Charlotte are still the best!
Joey does need some work on his posture, he was bending forward the entire time.
Evander...hum....I don't think he will be able to dance at all in any event.
Rachel and Jonathan looked nice, she was playful and sexy.
Trista and Louis didn't look that great tonight.....although much better than last week.

Okay, now, it's time to read the rest of this thread.

[DanceMentor]

I also loved John and Charlotte. I thought John's technique was very clean, and his expression was awesome. Surely, they are the ones to beat.

[standardgirl]

Really liked how peaceful looking Charlotte's and John's quickstep really was... Didn't look out of control but still had energy...

Charlotte is such an amasing Standard dancer. Funny how her real personality shows in this show... I guess John had a really good partner :)

I guess I am not hiding how much I like her dancing. She did a great job with John. :D :D

Urh......it makes me love her and of course her dancing more and more. Okay, I am definetly taking coaching when she comes next time. This is with the hope that she will stay in NY after the show....since I don't think she would still travel to the studio that often if she ends up moving to Cali......regret that I didn't take coaching the last time she was there.....but we chatted, and she was soooo nice!

[mamboqueen]

And you know, John has the best disposition of the bunch, too. I really enjoy his humor and self-deprecating manner. I find it very endearing. I don't think Trista should have been the one to be voted off (not yet anyway) and it's gotta just KILL Louis, but her 15 minutes are SO over!

[Katarzyna]

I think Luis was vote off for his comments in the 1st week. He's not very likeable, and general population will be more affected by the personality rather than by the actual dancing.

John and Charlotte are doing great... They are very likeable..

Rachel is doing well too... She's attaractive so she will have votes of a lot of man behind her...

[Larinda McRaven]

I am a little surprised that the women were given two slow dances, waltz and rumba... while the men were given two fast dances, quickstep and chacha. It seems a little odd, and I wonder why they did not alternate the dances a little better.

[kansas49er]

I did not like Trista and Louis dance, but Evanders was painful. I think his "star" was brighter, so he stayed. (Although I did not see the first show)

[Katarzyna]

Really liked how peaceful looking Charlotte's and John's quickstep really was... Didn't look out of control but still had energy...

Charlotte is such an amasing Standard dancer. Funny how her real personality shows in this show... I guess John had a really good partner :)

I guess I am not hiding how much I like her dancing. She did a great job with John. :D :D

Urh......it makes me love her and of course her dancing more and more. Okay, I am definetly taking coaching when she comes next time. This is with the hope that she will stay in NY after the show....since I don't think she would still travel to the studio that often if she ends up moving to Cali......regret that I didn't take coaching the last time she was there.....but we chatted, and she was soooo nice!
She's the sweatest person and a great teacher. Too bad she's not around much... She has such a positive energy... :)

[standardgirl]

Pretty much everyone looked a lot better tonight than last week.
I must say, I was amazed by how much better they danced!

Rachel was dancing a lot more compared to last week. I think she was really really nervous last week.

[Ashley]

I liked John and Joey. Joey had flashier moves than John, but John maintained good posture and good basic footwork.

As for the women, I liked Rachel--I thought her hip action was all right in some places, which I didn't see as much of in the other women.

[Katarzyna]

I liked John and Joey. Joey had flashier moves than John, but John maintained good posture and good basic footwork.

As for the women, I liked Rachel--I thought her hip action was all right in some places, which I didn't see as much of in the other women.

Joey made his partner work a lot to keep up and maintain connection... But she did a good job and they managed to survive it:)

[Big10]

Man, Kelly needs to thank all her soap opera fans for voting for her.
No, I think Kelly just got a lot of "sympathy votes" last week. I voted for her even though I'd never heard of her before, because I thought she got a raw deal from the judges in Week 1. I still think she deserved a higher score this week, but I won't be giving her my sympathy vote this time.

Evander was just awful, and I was somewhat disappointed in Joey's performance, too. Joey's posture and footwork seemed weak.

Trista did fine and also deserved a better score, but obviously she wasn't very "popular."

Am I the only one who thought John O'Hurley was going to pass out toward the end of his post-dance interview? :shock: He couldn't even fake a smile at that point. :lol:

My favorite celebs this week were Rachel Hunter and John O'Hurley.

[standardgirl]

Really liked how peaceful looking Charlotte's and John's quickstep really was... Didn't look out of control but still had energy...

Charlotte is such an amasing Standard dancer. Funny how her real personality shows in this show... I guess John had a really good partner :)

I guess I am not hiding how much I like her dancing. She did a great job with John. :D :D

Urh......it makes me love her and of course her dancing more and more. Okay, I am definetly taking coaching when she comes next time. This is with the hope that she will stay in NY after the show....since I don't think she would still travel to the studio that often if she ends up moving to Cali......regret that I didn't take coaching the last time she was there.....but we chatted, and she was soooo nice!
She's the sweatest person and a great teacher. Too bad she's not around much... She has such a positive energy... :)

I know.....and the thing that makes me feel so bad is that I did NOT know who she was when she visited the studio a few months ago......(and appearantly, I just found out, my teachers used to come to NY at least once a month to take lessons from her......)

It was funny, because I was trying on my new ballgown that day......and we ended up having this conversation that "I was all dress up because of her!"

[randomMysh]

I voted for John and Charlotte. Had I known they'd kick of Louis I'd have voted for them last week. Why oh why did they have to pair him with my least favorite of the female contestants?

I was especially miffed when she was all uncomfortable in the practice shots and had to have her husband there. C'mon, it's dancing! You knew what you were getting into, get over it and dance! Psssst...nobody's actually trying to get in your pants--wrong show!

[Katarzyna]

I voted for John and Charlotte. Had I known they'd kick of Louis I'd have voted for them last week. Why oh why did they have to pair him with my least favorite of the female contestants?

He would have been great with Rachel

[Ithink]

John and Charlotte were AWESOME! He made some booboos but Charlotte covered them up so well. She's amazing and to do what she's done with him in 6 weeks - it shows that she's definitely the best teacher of all the pros... Their routines also have been the best and most level appropriate, both chacha and q-step.

Of the women, Rachel was by far the best. She looked awkward in places but she definitely looked pretty good overall. And I liked their lines and their choreography the best.

I'm glad Kelly didn't get voted off. I love her attitude and I think what she lacks in talent (she did look pretty awkward doing the rumba although much better than last week) she can make up by her positive outlook on competing and getting better. Plus, I love her on General Hospital:)

Evander: he is next. He is hopeless and he was worse this week than last, if that's even possible! I have to say Edyta looked pretty bad doing standard as well. She doesn't seem to be in her element there...

Joey: lots of potential but his posture need major work! But he and Ashly are fun to watch.

[ghanima]

Should have been Evander to go.

I liked Trista, her posture was nice and I found her dancing enjoyable to watch (fairly clean at least).

[Katarzyna]

Evander: he is next. He is hopeless and he was worse this week than last, if that's even possible! I have to say Edyta looked pretty bad doing standard as well. She doesn't seem to be in her element there...
.

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

[standardgirl]

Evander: he is next. He is hopeless and he was worse this week than last, if that's even possible! I have to say Edyta looked pretty bad doing standard as well. She doesn't seem to be in her element there...
.

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

He dropped his frame, and her left elbow got dropped, too. It looked especially bad consider she is a pro.
I think the judges are giving him an easier time than Kelly just because we all presume that it's much harder for Evander to dance in the first place.

[Katarzyna]

Evander: he is next. He is hopeless and he was worse this week than last, if that's even possible! I have to say Edyta looked pretty bad doing standard as well. She doesn't seem to be in her element there...
.

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

He dropped his frame, and her left elbow got dropped, too. It looked especially bad consider she is a pro.
I think the judges are giving him an easier time than Kelly just because we all presume that it's much harder for Evander to dance in the first place.
Well dropping of the frame was definitely his problem, she could have done a better job covering it up:)

So whare are the dances for next week?

[standardgirl]

Evander: he is next. He is hopeless and he was worse this week than last, if that's even possible! I have to say Edyta looked pretty bad doing standard as well. She doesn't seem to be in her element there...
.

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

He dropped his frame, and her left elbow got dropped, too. It looked especially bad consider she is a pro.
I think the judges are giving him an easier time than Kelly just because we all presume that it's much harder for Evander to dance in the first place.
Well dropping of the fram was definitely his problem, she could have done a better job covering it up:)

So whare are the dances for next week?

Jive for the ladies, dunno what the men are doing

[emanuela]

Is today the 8th?

[standardgirl]

Is today the 8th?

yes, why?

[emanuela]

Tonight I saw the show for the first time. Do they learn all that just in one week??? Not that they impressed me that much ... although I really liked John and Charlotte.

[emanuela]

Is today the 8th?

yes, why?
Because when you post a message it results as posted thurs the 9th at very late (or early hours depending from the point of views) ... I was wondering if the time difference between the North East and Central America all of a sudden changed :shock:

[Katarzyna]

The celebs that get kicked off should be at least offered a package of lessons as an encouragement to continue:)

[spatten]

Just a few thoughts....

Overall - I was really impressed with the dancing. What they have accomplished is impressive for 6 weeks.

Of the three celeb ladies danciing - I thought Trista had the best basics and I liked their choreography the best. Rachel had nice lines, and demonstrated what looks like ballet background to me.

John and Charlotte looked really good - I was impressed. I thought both Joey and Evander struggled in the quickstep. I would have placed Joey in 5th, with Evander behind.

I'm a little bit suprised how large a difference there is in the judges reactions. I don't believe there is as much difference in the performances as they seem to suggest in their crituques. Makes me glad we have the judgind system we do have!

Looking forward to next week - not quite sure why Trista went out and Evander stayed in.

[standardgirl]

Is today the 8th?

yes, why?
Because when you post a message it results as posted thurs the 9th

Oh, I think when you go to the "Profile" page, you can set up your time zone. The time shown on each post is based on your time zone.

[flyingwolf]

Rumba, one of my favorite dances, was brutally murdered
by KELLY MONACO... :x :evil: :evil: :x

[Big10]

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

He dropped his frame, and her left elbow got dropped, too. It looked especially bad consider she is a pro.
Even though she is a professional, I would think it would be tough for any woman to maintain her frame when a tall, strong, 250-pound guy is rapidly bouncing around in front of her without maintaining his own frame. I'm not a ballroom dancer, though, so maybe somebody can explain for me how the woman is supposed to compensate in that situation.

(Or maybe I'm giving Edyta a break because I didn't realize until this week how hot she is.... :oops: )

[Ashley]

I also want to say that I thought the rumba songs chosen for this episode were awful. Quickstep was a bit better, since they had to use more "classic" music, but as for the rumba, yuck! Some more Latin music would have worked a lot better.

[standardgirl]

http://forums.go.com/abc/primetime/dancingwiththestars/thread?threadID=416681

I don't seem to agree with the stuff.....
I do notice that Charlotte and John were really "close" in the show both during and after the dance, but I don't see anytime wrong.
Some of the comments were so bad......
Does anyone see anything wrong? or is it just the general non-dancing public that has a problem with this?

[emanuela]

Is today the 8th?

yes, why?
Because when you post a message it results as posted thurs the 9th

Oh, I think when you go to the "Profile" page, you can set up your time zone. The time shown on each post is based on your time zone. :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Katarzyna]

Edyta couldn't keep her frame... A good Standard pro would have maintained it... Evander is so much fun to watch:)

He dropped his frame, and her left elbow got dropped, too. It looked especially bad consider she is a pro.
Even though she is a professional, I would think it would be tough for any woman to maintain her frame when a tall, strong, 250-pound guy is rapidly bouncing around in front of her without maintaining his own frame. I'm not a ballroom dancer, though, so maybe somebody can explain for me how the woman is supposed to compensate in that situation.

(Or maybe I'm giving Edyta a break because I didn't realize until this week how hot she is.... :oops: )

It is definitely DIFFICULT for a woman to maintain the frame even when the man is dropping it (I can't do it)... But a STRONG standard pro can manage to do that....

[kansas49er]

http://forums.go.com/abc/primetime/dancingwiththestars/thread?threadID=416681

I don't seem to agree with the stuff.....
I do notice that Charlotte and John were really "close" in the show both during and after the dance, but I don't see anytime wrong.
Does anyone see anything wrong? or is it just the general non-dancing public that has a problem with this?

I saw nothing wrong. It is dance, afterall. It is fantasia. It is not real.

[pygmalion]

I also loved John and Charlotte. I thought John's technique was very clean, and his expression was awesome. Surely, they are the ones to beat.

Amen to this. John blew me away. He can actually dance pretty darn good for a six-weeker. AND he hit (or better yet, allowed Charlotte to hit ) all the poses. Woohoo! :D

P.S. He dances pretty darn good for a heck-of-a-lot-more-than-six-weeker. :lol: :lol: When I saw his footwork, I rescinded all the props I had reserved for Joey. John is really learning to dance! :D :D :D

[Katarzyna]

http://forums.go.com/abc/primetime/dancingwiththestars/thread?threadID=416681

I don't seem to agree with the stuff.....
I do notice that Charlotte and John were really "close" in the show both during and after the dance, but I don't see anytime wrong.
Does anyone see anything wrong? or is it just the general non-dancing public that has a problem with this?

I saw nothing wrong. It is dance, afterall. It is fantasia. It is not real.
But this is what CHarlotte is, she is very soft and sensual... And there is nothing wrong with that :!:

[ChaChaMama]

I'm REALLY enjoying this program! (Is it sad that I was counting down the hours all day?)

I have only one criticism:
-It's probably just me, but was anyone else confused about the way they included the audience votes?
NO reporting of the # of phone calls.
NO explanation of how points are determined for the thousands of phone calls and then turned in to number resembling 3-30 (potential judges scores).
I think the mystery surrounding the tabulation process is silly. (Also, I'm nosy and wanted to get a rough idea of how many people in the U.S. cared passionately enough to vote.)

My opinions on the dances:
-John O'Hurley was excellent. In my opinion, he and Charlotte would win a silver syllabus standard pro-am event with that routine (well, other than the invigiliation problem). She seems like such a class act, and so able to work respectfully with a student no matter what the student's level. Loved the segment of their training.

-Joey was good, but he seemed pitched forward, which made it seem like his butt was sticking out, and his shoulders bopped up and down at the bouncier parts of the routine. But he was cute and enthusiastic.

-Evander Holyfield was the weakest of the three men, but I disagree with those of you who say that he was weaker this week than last week. Given how much harder of a dance quickstep would be for a rank beginner than cha-cha, I actually thought he did better this week. I mean, there are plenty of people who have never taken a dance lesson but can do a basic cha-cha; few can do a basic quickstep. Yeah, his frame was weak, but he did actually move his feet!

-Rachel Hunter is a flexible woman! Yow! I took a lot of ballet growing up, and I can't touch my knee to my nose like she did. Impressive! I'm confused, though; I saw a lot of stepping onto a bent leg...and I'm not talking a slightly less than straight leg, I'm talking a bent leg. If I had had to guess without the preamble, I might have thought this was a bolero routine.

-Trista had less hip action than Rachel, but still some. I thought she was decent. I do think she got hosed when they played that clip where she acted like she just couldn't bear to do the passion part, as a newlywed.

-Kelly really successfully conjured up the mood of rumba, I thought. (I guess this is where that soap opera experience comes in handy!) I found myself able to believe that she wanted to go get naked with Alec as soon as the show was over...not that she would have had to remove much more clothing in order to do so. Wow was that costume hot! Hard to decide whether that will cost her votes with middle America or gain her votes from the Testosterone Possessing portion of the population.

:) ChaChaMama

[kansas49er]

http://forums.go.com/abc/primetime/dancingwiththestars/thread?threadID=416681

I don't seem to agree with the stuff.....
I do notice that Charlotte and John were really "close" in the show both during and after the dance, but I don't see anytime wrong.
Does anyone see anything wrong? or is it just the general non-dancing public that has a problem with this?

I saw nothing wrong. It is dance, afterall. It is fantasia. It is not real.
But this is what CHarlotte is, she is very soft and sensual... And there is nothing wrong with that :!:

I hope you didn't think I meant anything negative about their dance. I was trying to be the exact opposite. Their dance was incredible, and dance is MEANT to be sensuous. It was wondeful. I only meant dance is dance. It is fantasia. It is over when the dance is. Or usally is, anyway.

[Katarzyna]

I hope you didn't think I meant anything negative about their dance. I was trying to be the exact opposite. Their dance was incredible, and dance is MEANT to be sensuous. It was wondeful. I only meant dance is dance. It is fantasia. It is over when the dance is. Or usally is, anyway.

Oh, I didn't mean anything negative. :) I guess I was responding to your comment, as well as to the comments that were included in the other forum.. What I wanted to point out is that Charlotte wasn't "All over John" as people mentioned. This is her prsonality, she acts like this with everyone. She is very approcheable... I know so many guys who had a crush on her after a lesson :wink:

[flyingwolf]

What do you people seriously think of Kelly's Rumba? To me it was nothing like rumba and the only that was missing was a pole..

[Breathe]

What do you people seriously think of Kelly's Rumba? To me it was nothing like rumba and the only that was missing was a pole..

Wait....I thought that was Alec? muahaha....that man should be a sex icon.

"Dance is the vertical expression of horizontal desire."

[flyingwolf]

What do you people seriously think of Kelly's Rumba? To me it was nothing like rumba and the only that was missing was a pole..

Wait....I thought that was Alec? muahaha....that man should be a sex icon.

"Dance is the vertical expression of horizontal desire."
So he is not gay? then it might be hard for him to become one of the greatest, :lol: :lol:

[Another Elizabeth]

How Scoring Works (http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancing/scoring.html)

So the judges' marks get translated into ordinals, just like in "real" ballroom competitions.

I also loved Jonathan & Charlotte.

[SambaRumbaGirl]

I was really stunned by Louis and Trista being voted off. They aren't the best in the field but they aren't the worst either. Evander or Kelly definitely should have been cast off. Unfortunately they have too many fans who post comments on the ABC boards that show ABC who is keeping the audience interested in the show.

I'm sorry, but Kelly's rumba was pretty bad. She looked off balance the entire time she danced and had absolutely no technique. Yeah, so she may have been more sensual than Trista, but I didn't even see her do one rumba move with any semblance of technique. She should really go.

[flyingwolf]

I was really stunned by Louis and Trista being voted off. They aren't the best in the field but they aren't the worst either. Evander or Kelly definitely should have been cast off. Unfortunately they have too many fans who post comments on the ABC boards that show ABC who is keeping the audience interested in the show.

I'm sorry, but Kelly's rumba was pretty bad. She looked off balance the entire time she danced and had absolutely no technique. Yeah, so she may have been more sensual than Trista, but I didn't even see her do one rumba move with any semblance of technique. She should really go.
If you say those on ABC's board, those crazy Kelly fans will stone you to death...

[Breathe]

What do you people seriously think of Kelly's Rumba? To me it was nothing like rumba and the only that was missing was a pole..

Wait....I thought that was Alec? muahaha....that man should be a sex icon.

"Dance is the vertical expression of horizontal desire."
So he is not gay? then it might be hard for him to become one of the greatest, :lol: :lol:

I didn't say anything about his sexuality, just that I want a lifesize poster of that man on my ceiling. Eye candyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....oh, and the sliding splits into a fully extended bent knee probably helped a little :)

[Breathe]

I was really stunned by Louis and Trista being voted off. They aren't the best in the field but they aren't the worst either. Evander or Kelly definitely should have been cast off. Unfortunately they have too many fans who post comments on the ABC boards that show ABC who is keeping the audience interested in the show.

I'm sorry, but Kelly's rumba was pretty bad. She looked off balance the entire time she danced and had absolutely no technique. Yeah, so she may have been more sensual than Trista, but I didn't even see her do one rumba move with any semblance of technique. She should really go.

Wait, you could see Kelly's rumba? I have to guess that the camera men were distracted by the outfit because the camera work on that was horrific. Anyway, I'm not sure about Trista being any good at all. When she was cut, I was stunned as well, but after going back and watching her a few more times I see why she got raped by the judges. Her technique was bad, and her connection with Louis just doesn't exist. Either that, or he was being too connected, because he kept looking at her and she never looked back. True, if this was a ballroom comp Kelly would be gone. But it's a publicity stunt. Meh.

[Big10]

.....oh, and the sliding splits into a fully extended bent knee probably helped a little :)
That was definitely the most impressive move of the night! :shock:

Those professional ballroom guys are much more flexible than I had imagined. It hurts me, just thinking about it..... :lol:

[Breathe]

.....oh, and the sliding splits into a fully extended bent knee probably helped a little :)
That was definitely the most impressive move of the night! :shock:

Those professional ballroom guys are much more flexible than I had imagined. It hurts me, just thinking about it..... :lol:

Does that mean you're joining me in the call to make Alec a sex icon? lol

You should watch some of Louis' videos. That man is scary.

[discovery]

Louis is out?!?!?!?!. ***! I am so bummed. Now I'm wishing I had used all my votes for Trista & Louis instead of some sympathy votes for Kelly & Alec. The funny thing is, this show just lost one of the most talented dancers in the world partnered with a reasonably talented partner, but I am guessing most of America just viewed them as a conceited dancer and a wannabe star whose 15 minutes are up.


I'm a little bit suprised how large a difference there is in the judges reactions. I don't believe there is as much difference in the performances as they seem to suggest in their crituques.

I couldn't agree more. Here are all these routines which are mostly in the same class (save for Evander this time around, IMHO) and yet you have the judges acting as if one routine is the greatest thing since Whole Foods Market and another is worse than a trans-fatty acid.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but their reactions seem very odd to me. It all seems somehow contrived. It's almost as if they are trying to fuel a fire to make people call/watch or somehow otherwise manipulate the outcome of the show.

My thoughts on the routines...

Rachel & Jonathan: Good clean passionate routine.

Ashly & Joey: I feel he shows the most gusto out of all the contestants.

Trista & Louis: Wow they were robbed!! This routine I would put only second to John & Charlotte. I loved that Louis said "Can I say that I felt it." And can I now say that *I* felt it too. She danced very well. Now that they are off I almost feel indifferent to who wins (but I'll still watch with my eyes glued to the TV). I thought the ending line was fantastic.

John & Charlotte: *Amazingly* clean for the amount of time dancing. Almost no, and I mean NO, adult student male dancer looks like that after 6 weeks of training let alone 2 years.

Kelly & Alec: I love this woman's attitude! Talk about fortitude!!!! Definitely an inspiration and I'm so glad that she was not voted off this week. It was a sweet vindication to watch. As for the dancing, it was very much fast-movement then pose, fast-movement then pose... Also I felt they were a little overly sexual. Which didn't bother me in and of itself, but it seemed like they were trying too hard to make up for last week's comments about her lacking passion.

Evander & Edyta: This was a little painful to watch. It looked to me as if Evander almost gave up mid-dance. But, this is what most students would look like dancing on national TV with 6 weeks of training.

My ranking:
1. John & Charlotte
2. Trista & Louis
3. Rachel & Jonathan
4. Joey & Ashly
5. Kelly & Alec
6. Evander & Edyta

I couldn't wait to see the show this week and I am so happy this is on TV. I think all the pro's and celebrities are doing a wonderful job.

[SDsalsaguy]

My rankings for this week:

1. John & Charlotte
2. Rachel & Jonathan
3. Trista & Louis
4. Joey & Ashly
5. Kelly & Alec
6. Evander & Edyta

[Breathe]

My rankings for this week:

1. John & Charlotte
2. Rachel & Jonathan
3. Trista & Louis
4. Joey & Ashly
5. Kelly & Alec
6. Evander & Edyta

Right on. agreed.

[Rugby]

I also agree with your picks. For those who gave Kelly a sympathy vote thats probably what did in Trista and Louis, now we can feel sorry for them. It did not send a message to the judges, and Trista and Louis paid the price. On the other hand I thought Trista was a grade A suck in practice. She thought that the clip with her making a scene to Louis hurt her chances and she is probably right, nobody likes a whiner. Between her attitude and his in the first show they were painting a target on their foreheads. Was she trying to put on some sort of a "Look at me I'm so loyal" show? If she was a regular student Louis would have probably told her to leave and not let the door hit her on the butt on the way out. Kelly cannot use her body and if there was no music would anyone seriously know that was a Rumba? Gyrating around like a hooker on a street corner is not a rumba.

[Breathe]

Kelly cannot use her body and if there was no music would anyone seriously know that was a Rumba? Gyrating around like a hooker on a street corner is not a rumba.

/me walks around in a confused stupor

(a)Kelly cannot use her body - 100% of the people I've talked to disagree. The dancers I know lament that's all she can do :(
(b)But if you gyrate while rumbaing....is it still rumba?

in all seriousness a lot of the gyration I've seen pros do - they just do it better and mix in a lot of rumba. Kinda missed the rumba a bit here...

[mamboqueen]

Nah, I would put Joey and Ashly ahead of Trista and Louis. Of all the girls, her rumba "essence" was lacking the most. She smiled just the way she did last week. Kelly had that on her, but IMO

KELLY'S rumba STANK! Ick! Patooey! Her legs and feet were not together when they should have been. She also had some very obvious bent knees in places.

[Purr]

My rankings for this week:

1. John & Charlotte
2. Rachel & Jonathan
3. Trista & Louis
4. Joey & Ashly
5. Kelly & Alec
6. Evander & Edyta

Right on. agreed.

Also agreed.

[standardgirl]

If we were to ignore the technique part of Rumba (since I think neither Trista or Kelly actually had any of that), I think Kelly did a better job in showing off the story of Rumba that Trista.

Trista was smiling the whole time, but it looks to me that she wasn't interested in Louis. I mean, she doesn't look like she is connected to him, and she doesn't look like she is dancing with him. There was no eye contact or any "chemistry" in her part. She was purely smiling to the audience.

Kelly, on the other hand, was really "into" her rumba. Yes, she had no technique, her legs and feet weren't in place at all, and she constantly lost her balance. But still, I think her Rumba was more fun to watch than Trista's. Like someone else said, Kelly actually looked like she wants to be naked with Alec after the dance.

Oh, that leg split Alec did, was truely an eye-opener, totally unexpected.

What I think:
1. John & Charlotte (wonderful as usual!)
2. Rachel & Jonathan (sexy and playful, nice routine)
3. Kelly & Alec (sexy and fun to watch, poor technique thuogh.....)
4. Trista & Louis (better routine and technique than Kelly, but the chemistry did NOT look right)
5. Joey & Ashly (I just can't stand for his poor posture, and they look a bit out towards the end of the dance)
6. Evander & Edyta (no comment...... :wink: )

[mamboqueen]

Well, I suppose it depends on what you rate higher - technique, or character of the dance. I think technique is more important, however, I do recognize that pulling off the character of rumba can be very difficult (it's the hardest one for me to pull off). I think I was more focused in on the foot/leg work, though.

[standardgirl]

Well, I suppose it depends on what you rate higher - technique, or character of the dance. I think technique is more important, however, I do recognize that pulling off the character of rumba can be very difficult (it's the hardest one for me to pull off). I think I was more focused in on the foot/leg work, though.

Very true....depends on what your priority is.

For me, since I have NO latin charactor at all when I dance latin (part of the reason why I decided to quit competing in latin), I always place higher priority at the character when I watch, especially in the lower levels. Personally, I think foot/leg work is easier than getting the rumba character in this level. But again, this is just how I think, and I totally agree with all the people who think the other way.

[chandra]

DARN. Im just watching my taped version, and half way through it my dad decided he didnt want to watch it anymore i guess, anyhew, the middle part of it is some child abuse trial, and then the end comes on again. ;(

[mamboqueen]

Well, our df friend, Raphael has a blog and will have clips up soon of the competition:

journals.rpungin.fotki.com/dance/entry/wqbkwkdfksd/

[Porfirio Landeros]

My FAVORITE momment of this competion so far is just to see how much John O'Hurley go into that quickstep...

Did you see that he even had snappy head ticks that looked as good (if not better) than some pro's, because they were so genuine!

BIG PROPS to Charlotte!!!!!

[Egoist]

The way the voting went I think is representative of the audience for the show. I think it's either people who know ballroom (i.e. we), a minority, and all those desperate housewives who love General Hospital. That is the only way Kelly was not in the bottom two and then two hot women were (meow!).

As for this weeks performances, I would put John and Joey at the top. I am partial to Joey because he reminds me of myself when I started dancing. I had no problems listening and moving to the music but a hard time keeping a good frame (still do!). John has more of the latter than the former and, like in ballroom comps, judges prefered him. Rachel did a fantastic job; the way she moved makes me think she has done some dancing (ballet as a kid?). Trista did better than last week; she hit the moves but was not very romantic (as an aside I was so disapointed at the whole "I have to ask permission from my husband to do this" attitude; this almost makes me glad that bimbo is gone). Evander sucks but he gets my sympathy. Kelly was just aweful, but she has the power of the DH.

I don't understand the voting. Why were the scores from the judges this week considered for the elimination? What about next week? Will the scores remain cumulative for the duration of the competition?

[Purr]

What dances are the celebrities doing next week?

[Katarzyna]

What dances are the celebrities doing next week?
Someone mentioned Jive for ladies forgot what for the gents..

[flyingwolf]

What dances are the celebrities doing next week?
Someone mentioned Jive for ladies forgot what for the gents..
Foxtrot
--someone

[Katarzyna]

What dances are the celebrities doing next week?
Someone mentioned Jive for ladies forgot what for the gents..
Foxtrot
--someone

I guess they are trying to make it one fast and one slow dance per evening...

[Vince A]

A ballroom dancer I am not . . . but I have had lots of classes and privates on the basics of most of the dances.

Evander should have been tossed immediately after the first dance, and never allowed on stage to dance again.

John and Charlotte will win . . . the footwork is greatly improving . . . they do not look nervous . . . they look like they are having fun . . . they are dancing to the music.

We all make some mistakes as they did, but they (she) covered up very well.

Charlotte has totally seduced me . . .

[wyllo]

Dancing with the Stars was again the highest rated show on Wednesday night and increased its viewership from last week. The show averaged a 4.7 rating among viewers 18-49, a 9.3 percent increase over the 4.3 the premiere earned last week. The number of viewers jumped 10 percent -- from 13.5 million last week to 14.9 million last night. The show is said to be the biggest reality show debut since the original "Survivor" aired five years ago.

Yay ballroom!

*

[Big10]

What I think:
1. John & Charlotte (wonderful as usual!)
2. Rachel & Jonathan (sexy and playful, nice routine)
3. Kelly & Alec (sexy and fun to watch, poor technique thuogh.....)
4. Trista & Louis (better routine and technique than Kelly, but the chemistry did NOT look right)
5. Joey & Ashly (I just can't stand for his poor posture, and they look a bit out towards the end of the dance)
6. Evander & Edyta (no comment...... :wink: )
Wow, I agreed with your entire post, and the only change in the rankings for this past show would be to flip the top two:

1. Rachel & Jonathan
2. John & Charlotte
3. Kelly & Alec
4. Trista & Louis
5. Joey & Ashly
6. Evander & Edyta

Yes, John O'Hurley did well, but his steps looked way offbeat for the first 20 seconds or so of the routine. Once he got into it, though, he was cool (or perhaps Charlotte did a little backleading to control him :wink: ). I thought Rachel did a consistently nice job through her routine. I'm not a ballroom person, though, as I've mentioned before.

I also especially agreed with your comments about Kelly's being fun to watch. The impression I got was that after such a low score the first week, her attitude became, "Screw the judges, I'll just have fun with this," and that's what she did.

[LennJS]

DARN. Im just watching my taped version, and half way through it my dad decided he didnt want to watch it anymore i guess, anyhew, the middle part of it is some child abuse trial, and then the end comes on again. ;(

Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

John and Charlotte make really great partners, they're amazing.
I'm voting for Joey though! I thinking he's doing really well and his posture problems remind of well, uhmm, me :D I've almost got it down though.
Evander... It shows how much the populair vote counts! It's obviously very difficult for him to dance a quick step, but damn... He kinda looked like Shrek out there, especially with all the green.
Louis obviously had an unsympathetic partner.

[wyllo]

He he, I like the Shrek comparison. I know it is a dance competition and all, but is it really so bad to keep someone in the competition for having a great attitude?

And speaking of attitudes, I am beginning to get on the Kelly Monaco bandwagon. That poor girl just can't win! When she got her scores and the woman announcer said 'that's pretty bad' I felt so bad for her.

[TICA]

I'm no ballroom dancer, so my opinion is just based on how they looked...

I thought the first one to go should have been that Kelly girl from the soap opera. Her body seems to be made out of legos. There's no fluid movement to her. She looks like she's gonna break and fall apart.

Evander looked in pain last night, but I think he could do better with other dance types.

My favorites are the John and Charlotte and Rachel and Jonathan.

[Ithink]

Everyone should read this Entertainment Weekly article and the following commentary by TV viewers - it is HILARIOUS! People seem to be really into this show!

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1070329_3_0_,00.html

I think the fan comments are fairly accurate if totally, insanely funny, which is surprising considering it's the general public doing the commenting. And the article is pretty amusing too...

[mamboqueen]

It's probably good that they started the show in the "off season". I'm not sure it would have fared as well if it was up against new episodes of popular shows. But that's wonderful news that it is getting the ratings.

And as much as Kelly's dancing makes me queasy, I'll go with the idea that she's going to give the proverbial finger to the judges. They really don't need to give her the nasty commentary and it really wouldn't do much to help her if they gave her a 5 or 6 rather than a 4 (or was it Evander that got the 4's). Ouch![/quote]

[mamboqueen]

I think the fan comments are fairly accurate if totally, insanely funny

They are pretty funny! I'm chuckling over all the people rooting for Evander.

[new-ish]

I am rooting for Evander. I would really like to see the most macho man in the world (4X) do well as a ballroom dancer. To prove that manly men can't do well by sending him home is more damaging to ballroom than keeping him on.

[LennJS]

I figured Evander would be populair, it's very entertaining to watch him try so hard. He's the Shrek of the dance floor. I really love how much america hates Trista!! :D

[chachachacat]

I just love John O'Hurley! He is is doing so well! I want to dance with this man!!!!

[Another Elizabeth]

[Speaking of Louis]
Someone buy that man a three-pack of Hanes!
:D

[flyingwolf]

Things I don't like about this show comparing with its BBC version:
1. BBC version has 10 couples to compete, therefore the show lasts for 10 weeks, which gives the finalists more time to improve and they truely look amazing at the end
2. The BBC hosts have a lot more respect towards the pro-dancers: at the beginning of each show, both the 'star' and the 'partner' are properly announced by the full name ( this ABC version only announces the 'star'); after each dance, the 'star' and the pro got equal amount of time to speak about how they felt about their performance and to show their appreciation for each other, this ABC version barely gives the pro one second to speak, as if they don't even exist -- the only time I saw a pro speaking was last night Louis defending Trista, which apparently did follow the 'plan' of the producers...

that is just not cool

[flyingwolf]

[Speaking of Louis]
Someone buy that man a three-pack of Hanes!
:D

I don't quite get it.... 3-pack of T-shirt/tank top or shorts/boxers?

[Another Elizabeth]

[Speaking of Louis]
Someone buy that man a three-pack of Hanes!
:D

I don't quite get it.... 3-pack of T-shirt/tank top or shorts/boxers?
T-shirts - they're complaining about his plunging necklines.

[randomMysh]

[Speaking of Louis]
Someone buy that man a three-pack of Hanes!
:D

I don't quite get it.... 3-pack of T-shirt/tank top or shorts/boxers?
T-shirts - they're complaining about his plunging necklines.

LOL! A t-shirt under a down-to-there Latin shirt. I wanna see that! :uplaugh:

[chachachacat]

[Speaking of Louis]
Someone buy that man a three-pack of Hanes!
:D

I don't quite get it.... 3-pack of T-shirt/tank top or shorts/boxers?
T-shirts - they're complaining about his plunging necklines.

LOL! A t-shirt under a down-to-there Latin shirt. I wanna see that! :uplaugh:
I want to see him in my T-shirt! (Let your creative self out to play!)

[dancersdreamland]

Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

Is it true?! This Sunday, June 12 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central) ABC will be showing the episode from June 8...

If so, then I LOVE you, LennJS! I was away at a leadership camp with NO television and forgot to set the VCR before I left. My husband, bless him, set up the VCR to tape for me...only to find out today when I returned that the date/time on our VCR is wrong and it has yet to start recording. :roll: I missed the entire episode and have been trying to catch up from the Forums. :cry:

[pygmalion]

Hi ddl. :D I hope the workshop went well. 8)

[dancersdreamland]

Thanks! It wasn't what I expected... Glad to be home and back on the boards!

[pygmalion]

I'm also glad you're back. :friend: :D

[Another Elizabeth]

OK, I admit it - I'm obsessed with seeing what "normal" people think of this show. I found the following quote about Louis from the first week, which just about made me spit coffee all over my monitor: "And what about Trista's partner's penis ponytail. *** is that? He could put her eye out!"

[pygmalion]

Good point. Our discussions here may seem normal to us, but you've gotta admit they're pretty skewed. :lol: :lol:

[Ithink]

OK, I admit it - I'm obsessed with seeing what "normal" people think of this show. I found the following quote about Louis from the first week, which just about made me spit coffee all over my monitor: "And what about Trista's partner's pencil ponytail. *** is that? He could put her eye out!"

That's not as funny as someone on another "normal" people forum comparing his ponytail to a sex toy starting with a "d"... Now that was creative thinking! I must admit, I'm not a "normal" person but that thing looked atrocious even to me!

BTW, I am obsessed with reading "normal" people forums too:) They are so funny!

[Katarzyna]

BTW, I am obsessed with reading "normal" people forums too:) They are so funny!

Where do you find them?

[dancersdreamland]

Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

Is it true?! This Sunday, June 12 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central) ABC will be showing the episode from June 8...

If so, then I LOVE you, LennJS! I was away at a leadership camp with NO television and forgot to set the VCR before I left. My husband, bless him, set up the VCR to tape for me...only to find out today when I returned that the date/time on our VCR is wrong and it has yet to start recording. :roll: I missed the entire episode and have been trying to catch up from the Forums. :cry:

Just looked at the schedule for my area...and it doesn't look like they're going to repeat. :cry:

[Laura]

HI!

I'm back. I went to LA yesterday to the taping of "Dancing with the Stars" and if you know what I look like and where to look, you can dimly see me in the background on the first row of risers (so behind the people at the tables).

A few comments after browsing through this thread:

Next week three couples will do Jive and two will do Tango. The music was picked by the producers and handed to the pros after last night's show. Jonathan & Kelly and John & Charlotte will be doing Tango, the rest will be doing Jive. It's going to be a fun night, I think Joey & Ashly doing Jive will be cuter than cute.

Kelly Monaco definitely has the sympathy vote thing going. She had a hoarde of fans there just wild for her. I have the strange (and sinking) feeling that she will get to the final just because of this. The more the judges beat her up, the more enranged her soap and Playboy fans will get (she had a pictorial in there at one point), and the more votes she will get.

Evander Holyfeld has such a big heart about this, but I think truly that his weeks are numbered. They might even be numbered at 1. I love his attitude and think it's wonderful that he's doing this, but with Kelly getting they fan vote Evander is going to have to go because he's clearly not the best of the dancers. I love him though, just for doing this.

Despite what the viewing audience may choose to believe, there is nothing untoward going on between John and Charlotte.

Weird fun fact: I am just barely 5'4", and wore 3" heels when I dressed up for the show. That still only makes me about 5'7". It was REALLY WEIRD to be there TOWERING over many MANY people on that show. Such as both the male and female hosts, and two of the judges, for example. And a lot of the tech crew seemed really short too.

The floor is quite small. I'd say about 50 feet long by 30 feet wide.

So after the taping my friend who took me and I went back to our hotel and ordered room service so we could watch the show as it aired. I think the producers are doing a good job of capturing the mood and vibe in the studio when they put it on the air. This week's show was much less cheesy that last week's, and I'm glad to see that the ratings are still going strong!

This show really captures the essence of the fun and joy of dancing competitively, and does give an inkling of the work it takes, too.

Soooooo...any questions?

[Another Elizabeth]

OK, I admit it - I'm obsessed with seeing what "normal" people think of this show. I found the following quote about Louis from the first week, which just about made me spit coffee all over my monitor: "And what about Trista's partner's pencil ponytail. *** is that? He could put her eye out!"
Hey, I just learned that this forum censors "naughty" words - the original quote didn't say "pencil". ;)

[cornutt]

I'm sorry, but Kelly's rumba was pretty bad. She looked off balance the entire time she danced and had absolutely no technique. Yeah, so she may have been more sensual than Trista, but I didn't even see her do one rumba move with any semblance of technique. She should really go.

The thing that really stuck out at me about that routine was the choreography and the way it was executed. There was way too much standing around. My instructor would chew me out, and rightly so, if I danced a routine like that. It reminded me of some figure skating "routines" I've seen that consist largely of the skater going around in circles for 30 seconds to get ready for a jump; then you get a jump, and 30 seconds more of skating around in circles, ad naseum.

I think Trista's routine may have just been over her head. To be honest, I wasn't paying that much attention to her; I got too wrapped up in watching Louis. Man, can that guy dance Latin! If I could move a tenth as well...

I give Evander props for improving. (And it was a great idea by Edyta to take him to a boxing ring and get his feet moving. Last week, when he was introduced, I told my wife "Boxers have to be light on their feet. Watch him move." And then someone glued his shoes to the floor...) But, and I'll admit right up front that I don't dance quickstep, but I thought Evander's top line was terrible. Others have noted the frame problems, but what stuck out to me was how much his torso and shoulders bobbed up and down. His movement had no "glide" at all.

To me, John and Charlotte have by far the best partnership. They are the only couple that really looks comfortable with each other.

[Another Elizabeth]

BTW, I am obsessed with reading "normal" people forums too:) They are so funny!

Where do you find them?
Here's one (http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/DCForumID17/1308.shtml)

My favorite line:
The funniest thing, production-wise, was a quick cut of the soap opera diva (who wore a very minimal costume to distract form her lack of dancing ability) pulling up her minimal skirt after a sound man had inserted the microphone box so she could talk post-dance to the AFHV guy. They must have stuck the box directly up her ass because there was no. place. to put it. AFHV guy quipped that sound men from 3 continents had volunteered to insert her sound box, LOL!

[ChaChaMama]

Here's another normal person forum, Television Without Pity. (It's a little snarky, and it is the one that had the d*ldo ponytail comment.) I think I'm linking you in to page 19 (out of 33 so far!) of comments about the show:

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3127321&st=270


ChaChaMama

[Laura]

I *adore* Television Without Pity!

Fun fact #2: I sat next to Louis van Amstel's mom at the taping :)

[flyingwolf]

I *adore* Television Without Pity!

Fun fact #2: I sat next to Louis van Amstel's mom at the taping :)

You went to the taping then went to a hotel to watch it on air? so it was not 'live'? what a scam....

[Laura]

It's produced in Hollywood, however on the west coast it's shown on tape delay. "Dancing with the Stars" airs at 9pm on the east coast, which is 6pm on the west coast. So, they do the show and broadcast it live to the east coast, but tape it for replay at 9pm on the west coast. That is how I was able to see it live and then go watch it later in the hotel room.

[discovery]

Fun fact #2: I sat next to Louis van Amstel's mom at the taping :)

Did you get a chance to talk with her at all? How did she react to Trista & Louis being the first off the show?

[Another Elizabeth]

OK, I have a new favorite quote, from the Television Without Pity board.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a dromedary.

I've started blogging (http://www.contracheck.com/blog/archives/000513.html) these.

[SDsalsaguy]

OK, I have a new favorite quote, from the Television Without Pity board.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a dromedary.

:uplaugh: :uplaugh: :uplaugh:

[Laura]

Fun fact #2: I sat next to Louis van Amstel's mom at the taping :)

Did you get a chance to talk with her at all? How did she react to Trista & Louis being the first off the show?

Well, it was a little difficult to tell because she was there with a friend and they spoke Dutch to each other most of the time. But I did hear her exclaim in English during Kelly Monaco's dance "That is not Latin dancing!"

Louis' hair was a work of art last night though. I said to my friend that if a guy can't grow a ponytail as lush as Louis', they just should cut the darn thing off. Now if only my husband would follow this advice....

[bjp22tango]

OK, I have a new favorite quote, from the Television Without Pity board.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a dromedary.

I've started blogging (http://www.contracheck.com/blog/archives/000513.html) these.

"...Nancy Reagan dancing with Fabio"


:lol: :lol: :lol:

[robin]

It's produced in Hollywood, however on the west coast it's shown on tape delay. "Dancing with the Stars" airs at 9pm on the east coast, which is 6pm on the west coast. So, they do the show and broadcast it live to the east coast, but tape it for replay at 9pm on the west coast. That is how I was able to see it live and then go watch it later in the hotel room.

How do they do the voting by the public if it's not live? In the UK they had the show on first and then an hour later or so they had another short (half an hour or so) to give the audience time to vote... but I guess if they don't show it til 9pm pacific time it would be past midnight in the east!!

I would imagine that in two weeks time at the latest they will have each couple do 2 dances... with only 4 couples the show gets a bit short otherwise (well, that's what they did over here). I wonder why they went with fewer contestants in the US, maybe they weren't quite sure if the concept was going to work with a US audience, but it looks like it's a success!

[mamboqueen]

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a dromedary.

LMAO! :P


Robin - it is live, but since they show it at 9:00 eastern standard time (which is 6:00 on the west coast), it's shown as a tape on the west coast because people are not home watching tv at 6:00 p.m. Also, they are taking the scoring from the previoius week (the judge's scores and the viewer's scores) and adding in the current week's judges scores, to decide who goes on the current day. Kind of confusing. I'm not quite sure how they'll do it next week, though. Anyone?

[Joe]

Charlotte has totally seduced me . . .
Join the club. ;)

[Joe]

I think what most of you fail to note regarding Trista+Louis being booted off if that most TV watchers are tired of Trista and consider her a fame-whore, as opposed to people like Kelly and Joey who have legions of fans from their "other" public lives. It's not that the audience didn't like Louis, it's that they don't like Trista.

[Joe]

OK, I have a new favorite quote, from the Television Without Pity board.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a dromedary.

I've started blogging (http://www.contracheck.com/blog/archives/000513.html) these.

"...Nancy Reagan dancing with Fabio"
"Oh how I love this worthless cheesefest." :)

[pygmalion]

I think what most of you fail to note regarding Trista+Louis being booted off if that most TV watchers are tired of Trista and consider her a fame-whore, as opposed to people like Kelly and Joey who have legions of fans from their "other" public lives. It's not that the audience didn't like Louis, it's that they don't like Trista.

Good point. Or maybe both came into play. *shrug* I'm guessing that having loyal fans from a previous life isn't hurting Joey any, at least when it comes to voting by the general public. :?

[LennJS]

[quote=LennJS]Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

Is it true?! This Sunday, June 12 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central) ABC will be showing the episode from June 8...

If so, then I LOVE you, LennJS! I was away at a leadership camp with NO television and forgot to set the VCR before I left. My husband, bless him, set up the VCR to tape for me...only to find out today when I returned that the date/time on our VCR is wrong and it has yet to start recording. :roll: I missed the entire episode and have been trying to catch up from the Forums. :cry:

Just looked at the schedule for my area...and it doesn't look like they're going to repeat.


Ah too bad. The first episode was repeated last sunday. It checked the schedule, it doesn't look like the second episode is going to be repeated. I hope I didn't get you too enthousiastic... :oops:

[Another Elizabeth]

[quote=LennJS]Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

Is it true?! This Sunday, June 12 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central) ABC will be showing the episode from June 8...

If so, then I LOVE you, LennJS! I was away at a leadership camp with NO television and forgot to set the VCR before I left. My husband, bless him, set up the VCR to tape for me...only to find out today when I returned that the date/time on our VCR is wrong and it has yet to start recording. :roll: I missed the entire episode and have been trying to catch up from the Forums. :cry:

Just looked at the schedule for my area...and it doesn't look like they're going to repeat.


Ah too bad. The first episode was repeated last sunday. It checked the schedule, it doesn't look like the second episode is going to be repeated. I hope I didn't get you too enthousiastic... :oops:
The ABC website suggests they're going to re-air Episode 2 at 8PM, then have Episode 3 at 9PM on Wednesday.

[Angelo]

Jonathan & Kelly and John & Charlotte will be doing Tango, the rest will be doing Jive.............

Soooooo...any questions?

Do you mean that Jonathan and Rachel will be doing Tango or Alec and Kelly will be doing Tango?

[Laura]

Ooops, I meant Jonathan & Rachel. Sorry!!

[LennJS]

[quote=LennJS]Fortunately it's repeated on sunday 7pm ET.

Is it true?! This Sunday, June 12 at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central) ABC will be showing the episode from June 8...

If so, then I LOVE you, LennJS! I was away at a leadership camp with NO television and forgot to set the VCR before I left. My husband, bless him, set up the VCR to tape for me...only to find out today when I returned that the date/time on our VCR is wrong and it has yet to start recording. :roll: I missed the entire episode and have been trying to catch up from the Forums. :cry:

Just looked at the schedule for my area...and it doesn't look like they're going to repeat.


Ah too bad. The first episode was repeated last sunday. It checked the schedule, it doesn't look like the second episode is going to be repeated. I hope I didn't get you too enthousiastic... :oops:
The ABC website suggests they're going to re-air Episode 2 at 8PM, then have Episode 3 at 9PM on Wednesday.

Yes you're right! Sunday would be so much more convenient though...

So dancersdreamland, if you're reading this, Eposide 2 7/8C pm on wednesday, don't miss it!

[Angelo]

No harm done. I was just curious and was having a slow hour at work so I thought I would ask for clarification. Thanks!

[pygmalion]

The ABC website suggests they're going to re-air Episode 2 at 8PM, then have Episode 3 at 9PM on Wednesday.

I certainly hope so. Back to back will be a nice way to watch the two episodes. 8)

[Porfirio Landeros]

Laura, where can I look for you? I want to grab a screen capture of you :)

Here's me in the meantime, from the first episode:

http://www.porfland.com/hosting/20050610_DTWS-Porf.jpg

Now I can say I have a photo of me with Kelly Monaco ;)

[BrookeErin]

I'm daring to speak up in here.... slight trepidation as I am NOT a ballroom dancer, mainly a latin "street" dancer and because of how many posts this show is receiving! However, I am really enjoying it!

John and Charlotta are by far the best and most fun to watch. Dancing is dancing, but I get a bit uncomfortable watching how touchy she is with him. I'm not a big fan of outright PDA and he's married. I was wondering if some of his facials after the dance were his discomfort with her attention rather than just being exhausted. Is it necessary to do in the 3 minutes when you know the camera is on closeup? If she, he, and his wife are all comfortable with it... I'm not judging... it just doesn't seem necessary.

Evander and Edyta.... I really enjoyed watching Evander cha cha but was very disappointed this week. I don't want him to leave, but this wasn't a great showing.

Joey and Ashly... I like watching her a lot more than him. I'm glad to know now that the producers choose the music because I thought the Grease interpretation was very contrived.

Kelly and Alec.... I would never wear that, but she certainly has the body to pull it off. I thought she was trying a bit too hard to prove she has chutzpa... there was sexual energy in their dance. They would be my next vote off.

Rachel and Jonathan.... I didn't really like her the first week and I think that prejudiced me this week. I wasn't that impressed with their difficult moves, but I've never tried some of them. (I think I did the clothesline dip a couple of weeks ago or something similar...). They just aren't terribly fun to watch.

Trista and Louis... I think the "not comfortable with this" thing was staged. They had to get Ryan in on the action too. She certainly did not seem to throw herself into the dancing like some of the other celebs. I'm ok with the results.

I'm hoping to watch this week's show again with my mom and I'm looking forward to watching the next one.

[Another Elizabeth]

Ooops, I meant Jonathan & Rachel. Sorry!!
Hey, you said over on Television Without Pity that John & Charlotte were doing tango and everyone else was doing jive. Which is it?

[Laura]

Porfirio, I wasn't as well-lit as you so it might be pointless.

BrookeErin, from what I can gather Charlotte, John, and his wife are all very friendly and in fact all went out to dinner together after the show along with Charlotte's boyfriend. I don't see her attentions as being anything unusual from a coach who is friends with her student, who is bubbly and demonstrative anyway, and who is completely delighted with how well her student is doing.

[BrookeErin]

well, I meant to say that it's none of my business.... just suggesting that I wasn't totally comfortable watching it either

[Another Elizabeth]

Ooops, I meant Jonathan & Rachel. Sorry!!
Hey, you said over on Television Without Pity that John & Charlotte were doing tango and everyone else was doing jive. Which is it?
Oops, never mind - I misread. (So did a few others, though).

[Laura]

I don't post to Television Without Pity. I love that board, but there's too much there for me to read and keep up with!

[pygmalion]

What's the link to television without pity again? I never did get back over there after, even after the first episode. I probably have a lot of catch-up reading to do.

[Another Elizabeth]

I don't post to Television Without Pity. I love that board, but there's too much there for me to read and keep up with!
Really? There's someone over there talking about having driven down from the Bay Area and sat next to Louis Von Amstel's mother. I just assumed it had to be you. Maybe it's your partner?

[Laura]

well, I meant to say that it's none of my business.... just suggesting that I wasn't totally comfortable watching it either

It's an interesting point, though -- I'm sure the producers are looking for some kind of chemistry and interaction between the dancers. I think that's part of why Trista couldn't pull the votes -- she just didn't seem connected to Louis in any manner or form. But then there's the question of how the viewing audience who doesn't know what's what personally reacts. I'm sure you're not the only person out there who feels that way, just as I'm sure that the guy who was practically chasing Charlotte to the elevator going on about how cute she and John looked together isn't the only person who thinks that. I wonder if more people feel like you and the whole thing will sort of backfire in the end, or what? Anyway, good point you made!

[Laura]

I don't post to Television Without Pity. I love that board, but there's too much there for me to read and keep up with!
Really? There's someone over there talking about having driven down from the Bay Area and sat next to Louis Von Amstel's mother. I just assumed it had to be you. Maybe it's your partner?

It's the person who I drove down with from the Bay Area :) I didn't know she was actually posting there at TWoP. (And I'm the one who physically sat next to Ms. van Eis, but we both talked to her. :) )

[Another Elizabeth]

I don't post to Television Without Pity. I love that board, but there's too much there for me to read and keep up with!
Really? There's someone over there talking about having driven down from the Bay Area and sat next to Louis Von Amstel's mother. I just assumed it had to be you. Maybe it's your partner?

It's the person who I drove down with from the Bay Area :) I didn't know she was actually posting there at TWoP. (And I'm the one who physically sat next to Ms. van Eis, but we both talked to her. :) )
Here's her post (http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3127321&st=480&p=3089097&#entry3089097).

[Laura]

Ooops, I meant Jonathan & Rachel. Sorry!!
Hey, you said over on Television Without Pity that John & Charlotte were doing tango and everyone else was doing jive. Which is it?
Oops, never mind - I misread. (So did a few others, though).

I thought two couples were doing tango and the rest doing jive. Perhaps my road trip buddy heard differently or remembered differently. Anyway, it's definitely going to be Tango and Jive but not Foxtrot next week. And now that I've gone and looked at zigeltto's post and the replies to it on TWoP, I'm thinking that I'm just confused about Britney Spears and that's where all this is coming from. I know Jonathan was issued Britney Spears' "Toxic" to use with Rachel, and I thought he said it was a Tango but I guess that piece of music is really a Jive? I have no idea, I never listen to Spears if I can help it.

So anyway, if you can tango to "Toxic" then yes, two couples will be doing Tango. If not, then only one.

Sorry for the confusion. I guess if I knew my pop-tart music better.... :) ;)

[DancingMommy]

Got back from our lesson tonight... Had a chat with our coach about DWTS.

He called Louis' waltz a trainwreck and incredibly painful to watch, lol. He was so funny the way he said it and his facial expressions, I nearly fell over laughing.

He is following the show with GREAT interest.

One thing we all decided during our lesson tonight was this.... If anyone had 6 weeks x4 hours per day x7 days, they should be a much better dancer than what we've seen thus far (with the exception of John, Joey & Rachel). That's how many consecutive hours? Well, unless they have NO way of "catching" the rhythm of the music.....

[Infosaturated]

Got back from our lesson tonight... Had a chat with our coach about DWTS.

He called Louis' waltz a trainwreck and incredibly painful to watch, lol. He was so funny the way he said it and his facial expressions, I nearly fell over laughing.

He is following the show with GREAT interest.

One thing we all decided during our lesson tonight was this.... If anyone had 6 weeks x4 hours per day x7 days, they should be a much better dancer than what we've seen thus far (with the exception of John, Joey & Rachel). That's how many consecutive hours? Well, unless they have NO way of "catching" the rhythm of the music.....

That seems a little unfair seeing as John, Joey, Rachel and Trista all had dance training before they started.

Given the wide disparity in training between pros and between amateurs (for example Johnathan is a pro-am champ) my criteria for judging isn't based purely on technical skill.

I am judging them with their background training in mind. John- broadway and his age, he has to have had some prior lead experience, Rachel-classical ballet, Joey - hiphop.

I would love to get your (anyone here) more knowledgable opinions on the performances of the dancers taking into account their prior training even if you are voting purely on who is best technically.

I can easily identify the influence of Rachel's classical ballet training when she dances. Her leg extensions and spins are lovely to behold, but I don't see any really change in her from week one to week two. Maybe next week she will kick it up a notch and try something more challenging, cut back on the ballet moves. If so she might pique my interest enough to want to see her another week. If she doesn't, I am getting bored with the leg extensions.

Joey's hip-hop was easily identifiable in the cha cha, not so much in the quickstep although hip-hop still gave him an edge in learning choreography. Nevertheless I felt he strengthened his leading ability from last week. I want to see if he adds something new next week. (Improved leading/latin styling/better control or posture)

John, very impressive. He has been on broadway, and given his age and profession I have no doubt that he has some experience leading and learning choreography. Nevertheless he is great so far and I think really stretching and improving. But, the real reason I want John and Charlotte to stay is that they are doing identifiable steps, dancing more traditionally, controlled. I prefer that to the wide-open styling of the other couples. Even if that is all they do I want them back so I can see what I consider (as a non-dancer) "real" ballroom.

Evander, poor man, definitely not a dancer. But, he is interesting :lol:. Hats off to Edyta because she has done a great job with him considering the challenge. He did do more dancing this week. I suspect this is as good as he can get, but I hope he surprises me next week. Obviously he will always be the worst dancer on the show, but he could also be the one that ends up showing most improvement and that would be really fun to watch (for me).

Kelly, my vote isn't "fan-based", or "pity-based". I do feel she was unfairly bashed by the judges. She was certain far better than Evander if we are talking purely technical merit. If backgrounds are being taken into account, well, she is the only female with no formal dance training. Given that I think she did impressively well against the other women. If she could compete with them even a little bit when they have so much more dance training than she does she could really surprise us with how much she can learn. This week she showed an entirely different side of herself (no pun intended). I am very curious to see what she and Alec will come up with next week.

Given the completely uneven backgrounds of the dancers pro and celeb, this really isn't and never was a technical dancing competition. Therefore, I won't vote on that basis. I am voting on the basis of who I think will learn the most over the next four weeks and who will be most interesting to watch.

[Lightspan]

Does anyone know whether they'll be dancing the International or American style tango?

[Stiletto One]

Does anyone know whether they'll be dancing the International or American style tango?Let's start a pool! I bet one eBuck that it'll be American.

[discovery]

One thing we all decided during our lesson tonight was this.... If anyone had 6 weeks x4 hours per day x7 days, they should be a much better dancer than what we've seen thus far (with the exception of John, Joey & Rachel).


I'm not sure if I agree with you. People reach a saturation point where it takes some time to process the information they are being presented before they are ready for the next level of information. 168 hours is a lot of information to absorb in such a short time.

I think all the celebrities look pretty good considering the circumstances. I think we are seeing exactly what someone *does* look like after this kind of training not what they *should* look like. The variances in the performances can probably be accounted for by the stars' initial aptitudes for ballroom dancing. People vary GREATLY in how fast they can learn.

Also we have no idea where these people started from in terms of their ability.

[Big10]

One thing we all decided during our lesson tonight was this.... If anyone had 6 weeks x4 hours per day x7 days, they should be a much better dancer than what we've seen thus far (with the exception of John, Joey & Rachel).
I don't quite understand your point about the "exceptions." We have a sample of six people where three turned out pretty good and three were not so good. :? Seems about right to me. (Although personally, I think that Trista and Kelly have also been better than many people give them credit for.)

I completely agree with discovery. I don't think it's fair to look just at a certain number of hours of studying and assume every student "should" reach the same level of accomplishment at the end. When you consider that dancing involves both physical and mental abilities (and again we don't know their starting points), it's even more unpredictable. Can even 50% of basketball players really look like Michael Jordan if they simply practice the identical number of hours that he did?

By the way, if the celebrities were indeed taking lessons for 4 hours a day every single day of the week, then the mental and physical toll would be extremely exhausting! I can't imagine that has been their regimen. Is that on a website somewhere or did they explain it on the show?

[Infosaturated]

Latest news on next weeks dances.

Rachel - Tango (better for Rachel than a Jive imo)
Kelly - Jive (harder for Kelly than a Tango would have been)

John - Tango (better for John than a Jive)
Joey - Jive (better for Joey than a Tango)
Evander - Jive (I think Tango would have been easier)

Did the other programs this is based on do this? Assign the dances individually rather than one for males one for females?

It seems to me that John, Joey, and Rachel, the best dancers, are being given the dances that will play up their strengths best.

Evander and Kelly, genuine beginners, are being given the dances that will highlight their weaknesses the most.

I can't "hear" the different kinds of beat in the music being used. Some of you have mentioned that X music didn't have the right beat for a number.

Recalling the music assigned to each pair, are some pairs getting better music than others from the perspective of beat to follow?

[Laura]

Some people have complained they don't like the music being used, but I think it's cool that they're using popular music that the general audience would like or at least recognize.

[ChaChaMama]

Pygmalion--
Here's the Television Without Pity link again:
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3127321&st=270

This should link you in to page 19 (out of 36, last time I checked), which means you will be picking up the conversation starting a few hours before this week's episode.

My favorite comment was last week, when someone suggested that if Holyfield won, they could have a join dance/box off with the winner from "The Contender" (a boxing based reality show). I laughed for about 5 minutes after reading that.

Dancing Mommy--I'm going to have to disagree that it is surprising that the Dancing with the Stars people aren't further along after six weeks of intensive training. I just re-watched my studio's last showcase video, and there are people who have been dancing for years who, while they dance better than Evander, aren't anywhere near John's level. Admittedly, they've been taking one or two hours of lessons per week, but they've probably had a comparable total number of hours of lessons, or even more, than the celebrities.

I do think that intense preparation allows you to learn faster, but I agree with the previous poster who suggested that there is a saturation point. Anyone than me ever taken one of those "Learn a foreign language in 6/8/10 weeks" kind of classes? I did a summer German program in between my junior and senior years of college, and while I came out in good enough shape after 10 weeks to jump into second year college German that fall, it wasn't like I sounded like a native speaker, or even really understood the use of the subjunctive in German. I could speak a passable tourist German.

Similarly, I think these celebrity dancers are also passable "tourists" in our land.

:) ChaChaMama

[pygmalion]

Pygmalion--
Here's the Television Without Pity link again:
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3127321&st=270

This should link you in to page 19 (out of 36, last time I checked), which means you will be picking up the conversation starting a few hours before this week's episode.

My favorite comment was last week, when someone suggested that if Holyfield won, they could have a join dance/box off with the winner from "The Contender" (a boxing based reality show). I laughed for about 5 minutes after reading that.



Thanks. I just headed over theree and read through about three pages. I have a feeling I know what I'm going to be doing the rest of this afternoon. :lol:

The discussion is really interesting. Hilarious, in spots. But there's also some pretty insightful stuff being said. And the layman's perspective on ballroom is pretty enlightening. And the tone is not nearly as snarky as I expected. Pretty cool.

[Porfirio Landeros]

That seems a little unfair seeing as John, Joey, Rachel and Trista all had dance training before they started.
I wouldn't give dance training in other styles too much credit. My former dance partner had extensive ballet training, and is now a dancer on broadway, yet, I achieved greater success with my current partner early on because there were not as many things to "un-learn." It's true that there are somethings that carry over nicely, like how to make lines/poses and good posture, but hip hop training would not help in this case, and ballet dancers have a heck of a time with standard because they want to toe-dance it.

Also, some people are just more naturally talented in certain things than others. John O'Hurley is CLEARLY more of a natural than Kelly when it comes to physical coordination, yet, for all we know, Kelly is much better at XBOX than John, so you see, the universe always evens itself out somehow.

[Stiletto One]

Also, some people are just more naturally talented in certain things than others. John O'Hurley is CLEARLY more of a natural than Kelly when it comes to physical coordination, yet, for all we know, Kelly is much better at XBOX than John, so you see, the universe always evens itself out somehow.LOL

I think John's a bit stiff in movement, but he's got the showmanship down pat. Probably comes with the Broadway experience, you get used to projecting yourself out so that the people in the back and still see body language despite the distance. Kelly's got movement down, she just needs to get balance and control. :p

[chachachacat]

Does anyone know whether they'll be dancing the International or American style tango?welcome, lightspan! I adore your avatar!!

[Infosaturated]

That seems a little unfair seeing as John, Joey, Rachel and Trista all had dance training before they started.
I wouldn't give dance training in other styles too much credit. My former dance partner had extensive ballet training, and is now a dancer on broadway, yet, I achieved greater success with my current partner early on because there were not as many things to "un-learn." It's true that there are somethings that carry over nicely, like how to make lines/poses and good posture, but hip hop training would not help in this case, and ballet dancers have a heck of a time with standard because they want to toe-dance it.

Also, some people are just more naturally talented in certain things than others. John O'Hurley is CLEARLY more of a natural than Kelly when it comes to physical coordination, yet, for all we know, Kelly is much better at XBOX than John, so you see, the universe always evens itself out somehow.

I have to disagree. While it is true if someone has two left feet prior training in one dance form might not help them in another, but under most circumstances for the average person it will. Any form of dance trains you to listen and move to a beat, usually how to control your arms and legs at the same time, posture, memorizing choreography and holding your balance. If public performance is included you also learn to never freeze, no matter what, keep dancing, singing, acting, whatever else never stop dead. Any form of dance training also teachs you to control your expression while concentrating on steps. In general, in any dance form, one of the differences between beginners and pros is facial expression. Not always, but often, beginners look painfully serious when performing.

From the first moment I saw Rachel I knew she had a ballet background. Looking it up confirmed it. Nobody learns to do the splits like that in 5 weeks, nor the fabulous leg extensions she holds, nor the spins she did in the waltz number. Figure-skaters take ballet for a reason. There is a skills transfer that helps them be more graceful. Not all figure-skaters do, but you can usually see it if they don't. Less grace between moves, a more athletic than dance look to their number. More like a series of jumps between skating than a flow. Ballet teachs control for holding movements for a long time. Sometimes coordination with a partner if partner dancing is part of the training, which it usually is if you take it long enough, and Rachel did. Commentators are alluding to her "poses" as being connected to her modelling career but I think it is far more due to her classical ballet training. She most certainly didn't learn to balance on one leg and touch her nose with her knee with an extended leg in the past five weeks.

Hip-hop doesn't do much for grace, but for coordination between arm and leg movements, quick foot-work, balance, and memorizing choreography it does. It does nothing for partner-work only dancing side by side. It does nothing for slow controlled movement. Joey's background helped him more with the cha cha than it did with the quickstep, but it helped him there too.

Many public voters, including myself, thought Joey was better than Rachel and John technically, because to the untrained eye he performed far more complex footwork and danced faster. I was surprised to come here and see Joey not rated as second. By a large majority Joey and John are tied for first place, and Rachel third place. I discovered why here. Classical teaches more precision and control, nothing ever flops around no matter what the speed of movement. It teaches how to have elegant postu