DD's Dancing With the Stars Week 2 (with video!!) (Read 816 times)

[DancingDays]

Week 2 Here we are week two (well, technically three, but since we've only had one elimination, I consider the first week as split into two days, so this means week two) and it's STORY WEEK. Let's see if everyone was able to tell their "personal tale." I've decided to add my own score to everyone's routine this week, as if I were one of the judges. I'll then rank them and see how my score/rankings compare to the judges.


The Dance Troupe ¡V New this year, these 6 sexy beasts are demonstrating what each dance should look like. I'm not sure where they found these guys and gals, but they ARE good. I think they are from the Amateur circuit, because I've never heard of them. But they all danced their 3 latin dances very well.



Couples listed as Star/Pro

Wendy/Tony ¡V Wendy decided to dance a foxtrot to represent her hard times at the beginning of her radio career. Unfortunately, the song was NOT a foxtrot. Not anywhere near a foxtrot. If I were to dance to the song ("Last Night a DJ Saved My Life", never heard it before) I would have danced a samba or maybe a hustle, but clearly those are too fast for her, so they went with the much slower (and easier) foxtrot. Sadly, they ended up just walking around the floor. Seriously could NOT see any type of story here. Unless her hardship was very boring, then they definitely showed that!! I have serious doubts as to Wendy's talent, and that just makes me mad for Tony. Give the guy someone that can dance and isn't a raging diva!!! Geez!!! My score: 4. Judges combined score: 15 (Carrie Ann:5, Len:5, Bruno,5)



Chelsea/Mark ¡V There are serious sparks between these two. But the song she chose to dance to was actually written for her by her boyfriend (it wasn't clear if he's a current or ex). I doubt you'll find this song anywhere ("Chelsea") as it's another one I've never heard before. Since it was an upbeat song, they danced a cha cha, and that's exactly what they should have danced, so that made me happy. The choreography was a bit too modern/jazz than ballroom (which Mark seems to be doing a lot this season, argh) but it was probably about half and half. It was sparkly and flirty, but the ballroom parts were very messy. Chelsea is quite stiff and locks her legs too much. She needs to use her hips more and loosen up. I don't think it's nerves that are making her this way, I think it's just still so early, so I'll give her a break. Still didn't really see a story though, as they are supposed to demonstrate this week. My score: 7 (because of the sloppy footwork and zero technique). Judges score: 23 (7, 8, 8)



Chris/Cheryl Their song was the Beatles "Let it Be" which reflected his mother's car accident and the aftermath of it. Very sad story and big guys crying always gets to me. They danced a rumba, which is perfect for that song. Unfortunately, this was another shining example of Cheryl's inability to teach men how to do anything other than just stand there. There was a lot of thrashing about, a good but of "hairography" (Gleeks know what I'm talking about), but Chris didn't really do much of anything. Lunge left. Lunge right. Lunge left again while Cheryl folds herself around him. BORING!!! Make the guy move! My score: 6 (even though he did what she wanted, shame on her for crappy choreography). Judges score: 21 (7,7,7)



Kendra/Louis Kendra chose the song "You and Me" (a rumba) to represent her relationship with her husband, NFL player Hank....somebody, and how it's them against the world. I forget his last name. Anyway, Louis danced the part of her husband, and if I didn't know Louis wasn't into the ladies, I would have thought there was something going on between the two of them. Well done!! The hardest part of the dance to sell is the emotional side of it. I thought Kendra did a great job! Her leg and footwork were fantastic for 90% of the routine. And that's a HUGE improvement for her. Congrats to them!! Bruno gave what might be my favorite comment ever, "Kendra dahling, there's nothing wrong with a good strippah." LOL. My score: 8. Judges score: 23 (8,7,8)



Romeo/Chelsie To represent the loss of two of his cousins when they were kids, Romeo chose the song "I'll Be There" which is a rumba and that's what they danced. He finally put on the latin shoes (that have a 1" heel) and bitched about them the whole time. Whiny baby. And after all that whining, he ended up dancing in flat shoes. *rolling eyes* Whatever. Their rumba was a bit like Chris and Cheryl's, but Romeo moved around a lot more than Chris did, so I give him props. He loses points for his whining though. My score: 7. Judges score: 20 (7,6,7)



Hines/Kym Hines's song was "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind, and Fire to honor his mother who raised him without his father. They danced a samba, which was a nice change of pace and it was a very well done samba!! Hines's hips are fantastic. That man can sure shake his ass! His feet, however, were all wrong. But that's one of the hardest parts to master, so I'll give him till week 8 or so to get those down. All in all, I thought it was a nice balance of him dancing and Kym gyrating. He was definitely the star of this routine (as it should be) and I give kudos to Kym for choreographing a near perfect routine. My score: 9. Judges score: 25 (9,8,8)




Petra/Dimitri Petra chose the song by Josh Groban "You Raise Me Up" to reflect on her near death experience in the tsunami of 2005 in Thailand. They danced a foxtrot, which requires a LOT of fluid movement, which Petra is severely lacking. My first problem with this dance is IT'S NOT A FOXTROT!!!!! *angry face* I think Dimitri was trying for a waltz (which has similar movement, but different timing) so he went with this. Unfortunately, this song doesn't really go with any specific dance. The beat is WAY too slow to do any of the dances that are normally done on the show, so Dimitri was done before he started. This song is more geared towards ice skating than ballroom. Added to the overall wrongness of the dance itself, was Petra¡¦s horrid movement. My goodness, I don't think I've ever seen a woman that was stiffer than that. Yikes. She's lucky Wendy is worse than she is, otherwise she'd be going home tomorrow. My score: 5. Judges score: 25 (8,9,8) <--Whoa!!! What the??? I think we were watching different routines. Oy vey.



Sugar Ray/Anna Ahh. Our first paso doble. Sugar chose "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown. Not exactly what I think of when I think paso doble. But somehow, they managed to make it work. Anna pulled a Cheryl and did most of the dancing, so points off there. Sugar Ray had the right attitude, which was good, but he mostly just stomped around the stage all angry and pissed off. Paso is supposed to be the man's dance as it's the only dance where the focus is on the man. In that regard, Sugar Ray did a pretty good job, but he couldn't steal focus from Anna. Of course she was doing all the dancing, so... My score: 7. Judges score: 20 (7,6,7)



Kirstie/Maks Kirsite chose "Over the Rainbow" (the Hawaiian version) to represent the beginning of her acting career. At the same time that she got her first real acting job (Star Trek 2 <--Awesome, btw) her parents were in a car accident that killed her mother and almost killed her father. This song, she felt, represented the hopefulness that she had at the roughest time in her life. Maks made it a rumba, but said it wasn't a sexy rumba, and it was meant to show her vulnerable side. Then they danced. Right at the start of the dance, Kirstie was leaning on Maks and then HE FELL OVER!!!! It was sooooooo bad. He got up limping but continued on, the professional that he is, and the rest of it was really good. Kirstie moved really well, but I couldn't tell who I felt worse for. Kirstie or Maks. I know they were both embarrassed and dying out there, but they finished like troopers. Maks definitely pulled something (I'm thinking a groin muscle). He said it was just that his thigh gave out, so I hope he's ok. My score: 8. Judges score: 21 (7,7,7)



Ralph/Karina Ralph chose "Stay Gold"¨ the theme from "The Outsiders" and also his wedding song. It turns out, his 24th anniversary is this week, so this rumba is dedicated to his wife. (PS. They showed a wedding picture and he looked 12!!! This guy just doesn't age! My husband suggested that he's a vampire. LOL) Ok. Back to the dancing. The rumba was very nice. Not crazy sexy, but nice. Of course, I don't think Ralph can do "sexy." He kinda stops at adorable. But he did move well and actually looked to be leading Karina, so I liked it. So far, he's the only guy that is actually LEADING!!! Or at least he's faking it reallllllly well. My score: 9. Judges score: 21 (7,7,7) <--What dance were they watching?!?



My Ranking vs Judges Ranking
Hines / Hines
Ralph / Petra
Kirstie / Chelsea
Kendra / Kendra
Chelsea / Kirstie
Romeo / Ralph
Sugar Ray / Chris
Chris / Sugar Ray
Petra / Romeo
Wendy / Wendy

My vote for who goes home: Wendy

[MrsM]

Thanks for the recap. I will have to find some of the dances on youtube to watch, Sounds like it was kinda all over the place tonight.

[rockfordfosgate]

I had to go back and rewatch Kendra's because her stumble through the smoke at the beginning made me not get into that dance. The second time I saw it, it still seemed a bit stiffer than I thought it should be, but overall it was good. I LOVED Hines/Kim. Their's was the best. I loved the irony of Kristie/Maks dance, about overcoming tragedy only to start out with a fall. I thought it was perfect for the overall "storytelling" to have happened and for both of them to keep going. I love their chemistry together and I do feel bad for Maks because I've seen on previous seasons how hard he takes it when something he does isn't right (the choreography argument with Carrie Ann, etc).

[DancingDays]

Apr 5, 2011 0:45:45 GMT -5 MrsM said:

Thanks for the recap. I will have to find some of the dances on youtube to watch, Sounds like it was kinda all over the place tonight.

I went back and added video, so now you can watch them all.

[MrsM]

I watched some of it online. I enjoyed Hines and Kim, Kendra and Louis and Kirstie and Maks even with the fall. Their chemistry is amazing. Ralph was just kind of so so for me this week. He danced ok but it just lacked something to get me interested. I didn't even watch his whole dance. I didn't even bother to watch Wendy again this week. My mom said she reminds her of a man. I didn't watch Petra either. I watched some of Chris and some of Romeo but neither really held my attention. (Some of this may be due to the fact that I was watching at 2 in the morning still not having been to bed yet)

[MrsM]

I just watched the dance troupe. They are awesome!!

[DancingDays]

Just in case anyone is interested, Wendy was the one eliminated tonight.

[ghoulgirl]

I knew she wasn't going to last very long. I wish that Tony would get a good partner and take home a trophy. I really like him A LOT. He is one of my favorite pros.

Oh, thanks for the commentary. I still have mine saved in my PVR. Gonna watch it one night this week when hubby goes to sleep early. LOL

[MrsM]

Another reason why I don't like Karina. I have nothing against the magazine, but there is a time and a place for these things. Little girls look up to her... Grrrr.....
www.people.com/people/article/0,,20480342,00.html

[ghoulgirl]

LOL I saw that earlier this evening and was going to post it too but I got distracted. LOL
I was kind of annoyed by that too. I don't mean to be mean, but does anyone else think she kind of looks like big bird when you look straight at her?

[MrsM]

LOL!!!!!!!!!! I just spit coffee on my computer!!

[DancingDays]

I'm with you guys. I don't think Karina is all that pretty and she does have rather bird-like features. It would seem that she is desperate for fame and, to me, that's sad. When she and Maks were engaged (last year? couple of years ago?), I read a number of articles about how she was a party girl and liked the spotlight, and how he really didn't care about all that stuff. Apparently, they have known each other since they were kids and it seemed like a really great story when they finally got together(Philip/Chloe anyone??). I even read that Maks was DEVASTATED when they broke up. If that's even partially true, it makes me want to smack her and hug him. I mean, really? She gave up Maks for Playboy??? She is really dumb, for real.

[ghoulgirl]

have you seen her new man? I think he is a pro footballer or baseball player, something like that. He is cute too.
I didn't like when she was with Mario Lopez neither. I have always liked him since his AC Slater days and was just grossed out that he was with her.

[DancingDays]

You notice she just moves between really high profile men? Attention whore much?

[ghoulgirl]

Is she in anyway related to the Smirnoff Vodka people?