So this week, each contestant does two dances — one Standard, one Latin — and in the Latin routine each must do a 15-second solo. Hmmm.
Cody & Edyta: Cody’s still dancing with Edyta. I hope Julianne is okay. They bring his (TV?) friends on to say how hot Edyta is, how cool their routine, etc. Yawn.
Excellent Foxtrot though! He was a real gent. Very elegant, very sophisticated. I didn’t see any mess-ups on the footwork, no odd lines, and very flowing with broad sweeping movements, like Foxtrot should be. He looks a slight bit more nervous with Edyta than with Julianne, but he still came through for her and was a good partner on the supported tricks. I agree with Bruno – his “most grown-up performance yet.”
Mambo: Ahhhhhh — I LOVE this one! I love him, I love him, I love him. Okay, he is definitely not the polished, sexy Latin dancer — but that’s why I love him so much. He’s just so fun. He tries so damn hard, he’s so energetic, he’s so works those hips and those shoulders and that pelvis all so well. Awesome splits jumps — that boy is flexible — and he did a very good, difficult ronde over her head. He’s definitely a little more nervous dancing with Edyta. At one point you could tell she said something to him, perhaps told him to hold a beat, slow it down a bit. But I just don’t care; I love him too much. I want him to win: Cody! Cody! Cody!
Ahhhahahah: Hostess Samantha: “Did you ever imagine you’d be dancing with an almost totally naked woman on TV?” Cody: “Well, I may have imagined it, but I never expected it.”
Brooke & Dereck: Hmm, I found their Tango a bit off. I saw a few odd lines from her, knees not straight, especially on that lunge, and at times it looked like her weight wasn’t evenly centered, like she had one hip jutted out, which is not Standard, not Tango. It might have been the asymmetrical waistline of her dress though. It really looked like she had one hip up. I agree with Len — geez, the only one with the guts to be the least bit critical.
Her Mambo was much better than her Tango. She did her solo up front — good idea, get it over with at the top. She didn’t do all that much — mainly swivels, but they were very good, and very spicy and exciting. Cute choreographic theme with her pulling him toward her, practically beating him emotionally into submission. Some very deep dangerous-looking dips.
Maurice & Cheryl: Very fun Quickstep. Elegant but sprightly, exactly how it should be. He has a soft, laid back, jazzy look that is all his own. He still looks a bit nervous whenever they go into closed position though. But he shouldn’t be. He has all the footwork down and can move at the right speed. It is very hard to dance with a partner like that, to move so fast, running around the floor perfectly in sync with another, to whom you’re attached at the hip. Just shows you how partner dancing — especially Standard with that close handhold, that martini-glass shape the two of you have to make with your bodies — is so hard and nerve-wracking. As it turned out, he had no reason to be nervous though. “Putting on the Ritz” is my favorite song for Quickstep, by the way.
The Paso Doble is his dance. He has the perfect character – -strong, imposing, powerful, as Bruno said — for that dance. Excellent solo with some very difficult moves. Marvelous continuous turns, perfect spotting, wonderful cape work. I’ve never tried it, but I don’t think that’s easy! And excellent rhythm as always from him. Only thing for him to work on vis-a-vis this dance, is his hips. They should be just a bit more forward.
Lance & Lacey: Well, he’s still got the pigeon toes and they’re driving me crazy. I’m sorry, I know it’s my thing that I always harp on, but it completely destroys the line and marks one an unprofessional. Those side-steps were painful to watch with the toes going directly inward. But it was only when he was dancing solo that it was bothersome; when he danced with her he had a more elegant, smooth look, and was a good, supportive partner. Very good rise and fall action. Cute choreography too: I like the little swively, slow jive kick things in the middle.
I didn’t like the Samba at all. There was no hip / pelvic action whatsoever. He was completely straight-postured. It looked like a jazz / theater routine, not an Afro-Latin dance. I do appreciate how hard that routine must have been for him to memorize — there was a lot there in terms of intricate footwork and difficult tricks. Yes, yes, yes — thank you Len, for backing me up on those pigeon toes!!! Lacey just has to work with him on form more. Give him a little less intricacy in terms of footwork and work with him on his body movement.
Warren & Kym: Oooh, I loved the Tango — very rhythmic! I loved the upbeat music for a change. He is so musical, he put his foot down perfectly on those beats. And there were some very difficult Argentine hooks, with his foot pushing hers down, just at the right moment and with just the right amount of force. Unlike Maurice, he doesn’t seem nervous at all in the close-handhold. He’s just as good a partner as he is on his own.
What a fun Jive. Technically the movement wasn’t right: he was jumping into the air rather than drawing the movement toward the ground, to make it weighted and to allow his hips to work. But how fun anyway. Why does it have to be a perfectly proper Jive? Though he obviously looks nothing like the man, the solo was kind of like a Fred Astaire-ish tap dancing routine: light as a feather (even given his size) and joyful as can be.
So, overall my favorite is Cody. I also like Warren and Maurice, but it’s time for someone other than a sports star to get this title!
By the way, in the world of pro competitive dancing, Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko take tops in the Kremlin cup! Have got to go to that someday…Â
