DWTS Week 9 "The end is near......." (Read 278 times)

[DancingDays]

Well, we are nearing the end of our dancing journey. This is the last week before finals and everyone will be dancing for their lives. Or at least a giant mirrorball trophy. Oh, and everyone’s doing 3 dances. This should be interesting…..

Live from Hollywood, it’s Dancing with the Stars!!!!!

Hope and Maks (PASO DOBLE) – Ooh. Hope’s in chains. And she’s fake making out with Maks. Fake? Honey, that’s a waste. Grab that hot Russian (ok Ukrainian) and shove your tongue down his throat. Ooops. Did I just get distracted? My bad. Ok. There’s some dancing going on. Supposedly this was a Paso Doble. All I got from it was angry and aggressive movement. She wasn’t controlled, she looked sloppy, and it just wasn’t very good. Let’s hope her other two dances will be better. This stunk. My Score: 7 Judges Score: 7, 7, 7 21/33

Dance at 2:13.


JR and Karina (PASO DOBLE) – After twisting his ankle in practice this week, JR still managed to do quite well. But that’s no surprise. He was slightly tentative in some of the movement, but he still looked good. I’m not sure if the grimace on his face is for the character, or if it’s from pain. Kind of hard to tell. But then he jumped up at the end and was slightly limping, so I’m guessing it was pain. Instead of just enjoying the dancing, I was more worried about the pain he was in. Poor guy. I wish I could score him higher, but to be fair….My Score: 8 Judges Score: 8, 7, 8 23/30

Dance at 2:30.


Rob and Cheryl (SAMBA) – What the…..? I’ve never seen a float on the DWTS floor. The good news is the song is actually a Samba. The bad news is it’s a terrible song. It’s a cute routine though, and Rob looked strangely confident. And he danced really well. I want to hate this guy, but I just can’t. He’s grown so much from week 1. I’m so proud of him. Well done Rob!!! My Score: 9 Judges Score: 10, 9, 9 28/30

Dance at 1:59

Ricki and Derek (SAMBA) – Ok. Who else thinks Ricki looks like a giant rubber ducky? Hopefully it’s not just me. She’s surprisingly stiff for this samba. It’s like she’s scared or something. The choreography didn’t look that difficult, but she seemed to be struggling with it. I didn’t care for it. No hip action to be seen and too easy choreography. The judges, on the other hand, seemed to love it. No telling what they’re looking at. My Score: 8 Judges Score: 10, 10, 10 30/30

Dance at 2:07

ARGENTINE TANGO with the Troupe and some guest stars:


I should add that I have no idea who those guest stars are. I would rather have seen the Arg. Tango coaches/choreographers from SYTYCD. They dance like this:

They are so amazing.

Hope and Maks (ARGENTINE TANGO) – OK, this hurts me to watch. I am seriously cringing the entire time. Good Lord, woman! POINT YOUR TOES!!!!! So many awkward lines. I can’t take it!!!! Yes, she did the lifts. Yes, she did all the steps. But it was just so baaaaaaaaaadddddd!!!!! Other people may not see it that way, but it was barely watchable for me. Like nails on a chalkboard. *shiver* [/b]My Score: 6 Judges Score: 8, 8, 8 [/b] 24/30

“Dance” at 3:36. Prepare yourself.

JR and Karina (ARGENTINE TANGO) – Knowing he’s hurt makes this all the more impressive. Nothing cringe-worthy here. Except him being mad at the end. He obviously missed the ending a little (whether it’s from the ankle or just a missed connection, I’m not sure), but it was still really hot. I love it when it (at least) looks like the guy is leading and it certainly looked like JR was leading. I liked it, even if they did rip off Anna and Evan from a few seasons ago (same song). My Score: 10 Judges Score: 9, 9, 9 27/30

Dance at 2:59.

Rob and Cheryl (ARGENTINE TANGO) – Knowing Cheryl’s history with Arg. Tango (hello? Gilles, anyone?) I’m really looking forward to seeing how Rob does. I’m sitting here nodding my head. That was really good. I mean, REALLY good!!!!! I am shocked at him. Just shocked. I never would have guessed in week 1 that he’d be this good tonight. Hell, I didn’t even think he’d still be in the competition! Nor, can I believe that I’m about to give him another 10! My Score: 10 Judges Score: 9, 9, 9 27/30

Dance at 3:21.

Ricki and Derek (ARGENTINE TANGO) – Again with the stiffness. I know she’s concentrating on keeping her shoulders down, but this is ridiculous. The lean was pretty awesome though. But why can’t these women point their dang toes?!?!?! Your feet are not made to flop at the end of your legs, ladies. Point those toes!!!!! I don’t think this dance was all that impressive. Women partners have a 10th the amount of work to do as the men. All she has to do is do her part well. Since she’s not leading, she doesn’t need to worry about remembering what’s coming next, all she has to do is hold on, follow, and do the right footwork. ARGH!!!!! Ok, rant over. Sorry. My Score: 8 Judges Score: 9, 10, 10 29/30

Dance at 3:08.

CHA CHA RELAY – The way this will work is each couple can only get one of 4 scores (10, 8, 6, 4) and they’ll each dance to a portion of the same song. Ricki and Derek start: She’s soooo stiff again!!! Ahhh!!! Then Hope and Maks: She looks relaxed and happy. She has the right feeling for Cha Cha. Jr and Karina: This guy is a beast. Even though he’s hurt, he might be the best one out there. Rob and Cheryl: Well, he’s pretty awesome too. JR has some competition!! WOW!!!
My Score: (10)Rob, (8)JR, (6)Hope, (4)Ricki
Judges Score: (10)Rob (8)Ricki (6)JR (4)Hope

Dance at 1:52


My Leaderboard – Total Scores
Rob……. 29
JR………..26
Ricki………20
Hope…..19

Judges Leaderboard
Ricki…….67
Rob……. 65
JR………..56
Hope…..49

I think it’s pretty clear that the end of the road is in sight for Hope. I’m happy with a Rob, JR, and Ricki final. That seems right.

One more week to go!

[rockfordfosgate]

Hope First Dance--The aggression was there, the choreography (and of course Maks) got me a bit hot and bothered, but something about Hope just doesn't work for me. It's like her anger/aggression is too standoffish and not connected to real emotion.
Hope Second Dance--I agree with Carrie Ann (don't slap me!) with what she was trying to say about the ins and outs of the lifts. Some of them were just awkward and created awkward lines, like the one at the very beginning of the dance. That dismount was not sexy and didn't fit the dance at all. But Carrie Ann was looking for a fight or something with Maks, I just wanted to slap her.

JR First Dance--It was a solid Paso, but I'm not sure if he had the character of the dance fully or if it was the injury that kept him on the serious side.
JR Second Dance--DD, so glad you mentioned who had that song before. I knew someone had it and it was a good tango, but I couldn't remember who had done it. This was very sultry and I thought he did rather well. The lifts weren't lifts for the sake of lifts (like what it felt like with Hope and Maks); they fit right into the music and the story they were telling. I think the ending was supposed to be a lift or something and they missed it or he couldn't because of his ankle.

Rob First Dance-- The float? What on earth? At least they got off it quickly. To echo something Carrie Ann said a few weeks ago, he's a better dancer than Kim (but really that's not hard to do), but I do believe he can shake his booty better than Kim too! He really has come a long way since the beginning and it's wonderful to see the transformation. I still don't like the Kardashian family though.
Rob Second Dance--I didn't like that Cheryl called it "my dance". Why didn't Carrie Ann get up in arms over that?! LOL! Kidding aside, the package did remind me how young Rob is and how he really hasn't 'lived life' like he said. Being on DWTS probably is the best thing to happen for him career-wise and self-esteem wise. The dance was good and solid. The only off part for me was them being on the stage at the beginning, once they were off the steps, I enjoyed it.

Ricki First Dance--The yellow and the cut of the skirt wasn't flattering at all. It made her look bigger than she is now. I think they plucked Big Bird clean to get that many feathers. The dance, it was good, but looking at it again...the hips were too slow. It seemed like it was choreographed specifically to make those parts that highlight hip movement be at the slower parts of the song. It was like she was trying to do a prim and proper Samba.
Ricki Second Dance--It was a decent dance, but I have to say, I was more impressed with Rob's tango than hers. It seemed like Ricki's movement was too cautious, too controlled and was a little lackluster.

Cha-Cha--quick impressions...just take a look at Ricki's shoulders and Hope's shoulders while they were in hold. Ricki was so stiff and Hope was so floppy. What happened to JR's hips? There was little movement. Rob was pretty solid. He did a good job at pointing his hands.

Is there a way to keep Maks and get rid of Hope?

[DancingDays]

I can't take credit for pointing out the stealing of the song. That was MrsM all the way! She and I were chatting about it last night on twitter. I meant to give credit in my original post, but forgot to add it. So thanks MrsM!!!

I think JR's hip movement (and performance) was hampered by his ankle injury. Believe it or not, hip movement originates with foot action (pressure into the floor). It goes from toe, to ankle, to knee, to hip for every step. If he can't press his foot down (or push off) then his hip action will suffer. Knowing how he's performed in the past, I was willing to give him a pass this week. Clearly he wasn't at 100%, but I trust that he'll heal and be fine by the finals. There's no way he's not going to win this thing.

[rockfordfosgate]

I figured the hips weren't there because of the ankle after I typed that. I actually stood up and tried to wiggle my hips and realized how much pressure you have to put on your feet/ankles in order to really move the hips. Poor JR.

[MrsM]

Hope's feet drive me nuts. She couldn't point her toes to save her life. I am not trained in ballroom but it is hard for me to watch her too. So instead I just stare at Maks Ricki was just so so for me last night. Something about her dancing just doesn't do it for me. Poor J.R. I hope this doesn't hurt his chances. I really want to not like Rob because I think he is a d-bag but dancing wise he really has come the furthest.

[DancingDays]

Nov 15, 2011 11:30:36 GMT -5 rockfordfosgate said:

Is there a way to keep Maks and get rid of Hope?

If there was, we need to bring back Tristan ASAP! There was just something missing this week and I realized now that it was that lovely Irish brogue.

[MrsM]

I will second and "turd" that. Lol. I miss him. Can't wait to see him again!!!

[DancingDays]

UPDATE: There's no more hope for Hope. She's done and she's taking Maks with her. <-- about Maks, not so much about her.

Finals next week!!!

[MrsM]

They made me a touch nervous putting JR in the bottom with her.

[DancingDays]

Nah. It's just for show. There is NO WAY the war hero isn't going to win this one.

Surprisingly, I think his competition is going to be more from Rob than from Ricki. I can't wait to see how next week goes.

[MrsM]

It should be interesting. I really hope JR wins. It usually goes that the one I want to win never wins. Lol.

[DancingDays]

Me too!!! I think the last time I thought the winner should win was Hines Ward. He was personable and a talented dancer. So far I've really liked this season because there wasn't a real "dancer" in the cast. They're all just regular people. Some have more natural talent than others, but none of them are "dancers" (like that Pussycat Doll was a few seasons ago). I'm happy to see how they've grown and what they've learned. Rob is the best example. If they had a prize for Most Improved, I'd give it to him in a heartbeat. But the giant mirrorball should go to JR.