Dancing With The Stars – Season 9, Episode 12 – Week 6 Performance Show
Mya & Dmitry – Jitterbug – A very theatrical start yet again, at some point that will make Len cranky. Once they got going it was great. Dimitry did some great choreography, really fun and high energy. They did some close up stuff in unison that was really well done. Tons of variety, and really well performed! Len said she is too good of a dancer to have so much theatrical stuff included, that what she did she did well, he just wanted more of it. Bruno said that stylistically it was spot on and the timing was impeccable. Carrie Ann said she disagreed with Bruno, that she felt it was slightly soft and muted considering that it was a jitterbug.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 7, Bruno – 9 | TOTAL: 24
Melissa & Mark – Waltz – Her footwork was really good in my opinion. She needs to work a bit on her arms because they tend to be a bit tentative, and the placement of her head feels a bit awkward at times. Overall I thought it was beautiful though.. Bruno said it wasn’t good for week 6, he said it didn’t look like she was dancing but instead trying to remember what she was told. Carrie Ann said she thought it felt a bit rigid at times and that she seemed to struggle. Len thought it had musicality, and that she looked elegant throughout the dance, but that there were problems with the technique…but that he thought Bruno and Carrie Ann had been a bit harsh (I agree).
Votes: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 7, Bruno – 6 | TOTAL: 20
Mark & Lacey – Jitterbug – Cheers to Lacey for having him start of dancing a bit by himself and giving him all the big moves. Beyond the tricks, I thought that the dancing was really fun and that Mark was right on for the most part, though it did feel a bit disjointed here and there. Carrie Ann gave them a cheer, she said she loved it, other than a brief stumble at the end (I didn’t catch the stumble myself). Len said sometimes less is more, but not in the jitterbug, absolutely spot on, full of energy, great. Bruno said truly spectacular though he lost the timing a bit just at the end.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 9, Len - 9, Bruno – 8 | TOTAL: 26
Aaron & Karina – Waltz – I wish that they had done more in hold. The out of hold stuff tends to be overdone by Aaron in my opinion, but he is pretty good in hold. Overall though, I wish he would recapture that spark and sense of comfort he had in week 1. Not bad, but it just felt a bit off to me. Len said he danced with maturity, he had lovely posture and his frame was good, a great connection between the two of them—he said it is his best dance and he is proud of him. Bruno said the boy has become a gentleman, his musicality and posture great, but that he lost his footing a couple of times, but it was good. Carrie Ann said it was beautiful, but he lost it a little bit in the beginning, but she loves the new Aaron, it’s dignified.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 9, Bruno – 8 | TOTAL: 25 (Too high in my opinion, I thought it deserved 7s, maybe 8s.)
Michael & Anna – Waltz – I was REALLY pleasantly surprised! His arms were actually quite good, and he didn’t go back to the overly small movement he used to do. I was thinking last week was a fluke, but I think he is finally getting it. There were some rough spots for sure, a couple of spots where he was definitely off, but overall I was really impressed. Bruno said he looked like he enjoyed himself, but it was not premier and that his posture was not good enough, and it was not as good as it should be at this stage. Carrie Ann asked if her feet came off the ground (not sure myself), but she thought it was so charming, but that it had a few bad parts. Len said he thought they got it wrong, that it had a charm about it, it was a gentle Waltz with the best footwork so far out of the Waltzes tonight.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 6, Len - 8, Bruno – 6 | TOTAL: 20
Kelly & Louis – Jitterbug – First off, 3 cheers for Louis wearing a “Race to Erase MS Shirt,” as someone with MS I appreciate anything that gets the word out! Louis came up with some really cute choreography. I thought that overall she did a really great job, though there were parts where you could still sense her fear. When she lets herself go, she is so great. They did a part where he flipped her, and she almost fell out of it, but other than that I thought it was good. Carrie Ann said she brought her sense of fun back, but pointed out the stumble and told her to stop expecting the worst because sometimes that brings the worse…stay in the happy place. Len said it was a bit flat footed throughout and lacked the wildness and freedom. Bruno said it was cute, it was nice, but now she really needs to ignite the performance, come out and sell it.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 6, Bruno – 7 | TOTAL: 20
Louie & Chelsie – Jitterbug – Chelsie did a great job with the choreography. And Louie can definitely do tricks. The dancing in between the tricks was a bit rough around the edges unfortunately. But I give him 100% credit for being fully committed and putting so much energy into it. Len said parts were fantastic, that he loves his enthusiasm and we all love a “tryer” and he comes out and gives it 100%, unfortunately in amongst the great stuff was some bits where he loses his energy. Bruno said he got all wacko which suits this dance, but that he loses the precision and he has to work on being precise and clean. Carrie Ann said she really loved the dance, great energy, but that he dropped her twice and that is not acceptable…really great though, other than the dropping.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 7, Bruno – 7 | TOTAL: 21
Joanna & Derek – Waltz – There were a couple of rough spots, and her left shoulder tends to ride up as they are in hold. Overall though, I thought it was really beautifully choreographed AND danced. I especially liked the twirl they ended with. Bruno said it was like watching a butterfly gently gliding over an alpine meadow. Carrie Ann said there was something really strange because her lines and carriage are really good, but there was a lot of hesitation like she was doubting herself. Len said unfortunately her footwork wasn’t too brilliant., but he loved that they went straight into the dance, good hold, lovely posture, great musicality, the best Waltz all night.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 9, Bruno – 9 | TOTAL: 26
Donny & Kym – Jitterbug – Wow, what a fast paced and high energy routine! I thought it was a great combination of tricks and dancing. It was my favorite Jitterbug of the night, I loved it. Carrie Ann they certainly know how to work a room, though there was a stumble at the beginning and a few out of sync spots (not that I caught). Len said the great thing is that he comes out and performs full on, there was a little stumble, but overall really entertaining. Bruno said if anybody can work a room this is the guy, but that at some times it was like watching a steam train trying to keep up with a bullet train, lost the timing a bit, but always, always a great performer.
Votes: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 8, Bruno – 8 | TOTAL: 24
Competition Mambo
They all started off on the floor and then were eliminated one couple at a time. Points were assigned based on where they were eliminated. Apparently the full competition is 4 minutes!
9. Michael & Anna -2 points- (Not surprising, they were just doing a very basic step in hold.)
8. Louie & Chelsie -3 points- (Not surprising here either, they were doing very basic steps and Chelsie was moving a lot more than Louie.)
7. Melissa & Mark -4 points- (They showed Carrie Ann reacting badly to something they did I think.)
6. Kelly & Louis -5 points- (I thought they were doing pretty good considering they chose to freestyle their performance.)
5. Mark & Lacey -6 points- (I actually thought they were doing a good job.)
4. Donny & Kym -7 points- (I think this is a good thing or Donny may have passed out!)
3. Aaron & Karina -8 points- (They were doing some cool stuff I thought.)
2. Mya & Dmitry -9 points- (They were doing some excellent dancing, they should have been first!)
1. Joanna & Derek -10 points- (Not sure how they won, they were spazzing out a bit here and there. I was expecting them to be out in 3rd or 4th.)
Final Rankings:
1. Joanna & Derek (36)
2. Mya & Dmitry (33) –TIED–
2. Aaron & Karina (33) –TIED–
4. Mark & Lacey (32)
5. Donny & Kym (31)
6. Kelly & Louis (25)
7. Melissa & Mark (24) –TIED–
7. Louie & Chelsie (24) –TIED–
9. Michael & Anna (22)
Maks explained the mechanics of the double elimination on his blog, thankfully! Apparently there will be a Bottom 3. The dancer with the lowest combined score will be eliminated, then the other two couples will perform a new dance and the judges will decide based on those dances who the second eliminated couple will be. I like this, sometimes a dancer that is not up to par stays around a bit too long due to having a huge fan base, and this way maybe we can eliminate one of those stars.
I am thinking that the bottom 3 will be Louie & Chelsie, Michael & Anna and Melissa & Mark, with Louie & Chelsie being eliminated immediately and Michael & Anna losing the dance off against Melissa & Mark.
Taylor Swift is performing tomorrow night, another singer I love! So excited again!!
