Tag: Maksim Chmerkovskiy

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MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY NOMINATED FOR ASTAIRE AWARD!

 

Maks Chmerkovskiy has been nominated for a Fred Astaire award for his dancing in Burn the Floor. Other nominees of note are Holley Farmer for Tharp’s Come Fly Away in the female dancer category and Tharp herself and Bill T. Jones in the choreographer category for Come Fly and Fela! respectively. Also nominated are the female ensemble of Fela! and the male ensemble of Memphis, as well as that show’s choreographer Sergio Trujillo, and Frederick Wiseman is nominated in the film category for his documentary on the Paris Opera Ballet, La Danse. Awards ceremony takes place June 7th at the theater in John Jay College. See the rest of the noms here.

Above photo of Chmerkovskiy from NY Daily News.

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DANCING WITH THE STARS SEASON 10 CAST ANNOUNCED

 

The contestants are:

Pamela Anderson/Damian Whitewood
Chad Ochocinco/Cheryl Burke
Aiden Turner/Edyta Sliwinska
Erin Andrews/Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Shannen Doherty/Mark Ballas
Buzz Aldrin/Ashly Costa
Niecy Nash/Louis Van Amstel
Nicole Scherzinger/Derek Hough
Evan Lysacek/Anna Trebunskaya
Kate Gosselin/Tony Dovolani
Jake Pavelka/Chelsie Hightower

My thoughts:

Buzz Aldrin — wow! Evan Lysacek – wow!

I wonder when Julianne Hough is returning?

Above photo taken from EW.com.

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PASHA & ANYA TAKE BROADWAY!

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I remember several years ago — maybe five now — sitting in another, much smaller theater on Broadway watching a Dance Times Square teacher / student showcase and nearly falling out of my chair during the all-pro part when my teacher, Pasha (Kovalev), and his partner, Anya (Garnis), danced a West Coast Swing-turned Jive to Tina Turner’s Proud Mary. They also danced a Samba and, if I remember correctly a Rumba and though I’d started lessons with him, it was the first time I saw him dance with her. It was one of those performances where you feel kind of sick afterward because you don’t have a DVD or any kind of recording and you fear you’ll never see dance like that again. I also remember thinking how they should really be on Broadway. I mean, real Broadway, like in a regular theater.

So this is, to make a massive understatement, Surreal!

Several of my friends from Dance Times Square and I went to the Longacre Theater tonight to see our friends made their Broadway debuts in Jason Gilkison’s Burn the Floor. Of course we had to go to the (insanely packed) stage door afterward.

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Pasha’s about to give me a hug here 🙂 I guess I repaid him by flashing my camera right in his face. Oh the endlessly annoying paparazzi…

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How gorgeous is Anya?! Posing with my friend Steve and his wife, Ina.

They took over the roles of Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff and of course they were radiant. I think they worked better with the show size-wise because of that small stage (which Maks was too large for — I love him, but he made it look all the more crowded up there).

If you didn’t read it, see my earlier review of the show here.

I think the dancers got used to the small floor; everything went much more smoothly. My favorite parts remain the extended Swing / Jive section that ends the first half and the two Rumbas in the second half (Peta Murgatroyd’s classic, dance-hall Rumba, and the more contemporary, sensual, half-dressed Rumba by the leads — although I noticed Pasha and Anya wore more clothes in that number than Maks & Karina did 🙂 ). But … I also like the Tango- turned dual Paso Dobles in the second half. Okay, I like the whole second half (mainly devoted to Latin).

In my earlier review, I don’t think I mentioned Sasha Farber as one of the dancers who most stood out to me. He’s a character dancer, kind of like Craig Salstein, and he has a rather fun part early on during a Jive where he’s trying hard to get the girl and gets carted off, kicking madly, by two men. He’s lively, actorly, and can really move quite fast. And Murgatroyd, which I wrote about in the earlier review, captivated me again, with her long limbs and gorgeous balletic lines. I mean, I really liked everyone; it’s hard even to single people out.

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Here is Peta Murgatroyd exiting the stage door, on a bike! Actually, almost all of the dancers were on them. Apparently the show’s producers or someone from the company had given them the bikes so they could get around town more easily. Peta was popular with autograph-seekers too.

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Ooh, wonderful night. I miss them…

Oh and this seems to be making headlines.

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The Walter Kerr Theater across the street from the Longacre is advertising the show as well. See the arrow in the sign on the right side of the street. It’s pointing across the street. It’s the first time a Broadway theater has ever advertised for another show!

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BURN THE FLOOR STARRING MAKS & KARINA

 

 

So this is your last week to see Dancing With the Stars stars Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff perform in Jason Gilkison’s Broadway ballroom extravaganza, Burn the Floor.

The show’s really good. It gets off to a bit of a slow start (and I saw it when it was still in previews so maybe now they’ve even worked out those few early kinks), but mid-way through the first act I knew I wasn’t going to want it to end. There’s no through story-line (thankfully — I haven’t yet seen a ballroom show with one that really works); rather it’s a set of Latin and Standard dance routines, some performed with ensemble, some in duos and trios. There’s more Latin than Standard, owing to the small size of the floor.

I never thought until I saw this production how hard it can be to put a dance show on a stage meant for plays. It’s so hard for the poor dancers to really get around and move freely, and that’s my one real problem with the show. They’ve got a band with two huge sets of drums that takes up the entire back half of the stage, which they don’t even really need because much of the music is recorded; the only live players are a couple of drummers and a violinist (along with some singers, who of course don’t stand in one place). In my opinion, if the theater has no orchestra pit, then they should have erected a stage above the floor for the band, like in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out.

Anyway, that aside, they still manage to get a couple Viennese Waltzes and Foxtrots and Quicksteps in there. I do think the Cha Chas and Rumbas and Jives work best though. My favorite part of the first act is the extended Swing section, titled “Things That Swing.” Extremely fast-footed, with lightning fast flicks of the feet and difficult-looking, detailed footwork, the dancers really excel in Jive. I remember from the video too, years old now and with an entirely different set of dancers and choreography – thinking how I liked the Jive the best. Maybe Jive and Swing are simply most entertaining, the Big Band music of the thirties and the fifties so upbeat and recognizable and sentimental, maybe with their flair and tempo their power is the most translatable to the stage and screen, or maybe Gilkison (who’s an former ballroom champ and has choreographed for SYTYCD) just excels at choreographing those dances. But for whatever reason, they always stand out to me as the most entertaining in his shows.

Maks and Karina dance throughout, but they have a gorgeous Rumba duet in the second act that is really one of the high points of the show. They’re both barefoot and he’s shirtless and she’s dressed in a bra and underwear with open shirt and it’s really passionate and sensual. But also, Karina is one of the greatest Latin dancers in the world right now (she and her former partner Slavik Kryklyvyy were U.S. national champs and ranked second in the world the last time they competed together) and because the dance is so slow and she’s wearing so little you can really see the subtle movements she makes in her hips and pelvis and torso. A simple, basic hip twist she did was breathtaking. It’s really worth going just to see her.

And to see Maks as well!  The man is a total hoot, actually. He and his former partner, Elena Grinenko (who’s also been on DWTS) were ranked very high the last time they competed together as well, but more than just a technically good dancer, he’s just a lot of fun to watch – kind of in the same way someone like Vaidotas Skimelis is, or in the ballet world, Marcelo Gomes. He’s a huge man and he just eats up the stage (especially this one) with his body alone, but he’s got so much personality and character and charm. Even just watching him interact with Karina and watching him concentrate — you can see it on his face, in his eyes! You can see how much he’s trying to be a good partner and make her look good and it’s just so incredibly endearing!! I honestly fell in love with his dancer persona like never before watching this show.

Seeing him also reminded of my friend, Sharon. He was one of her favorites on DWTS. I think I will always think of her whenever I see one of these dancers.

The other real standout in the show was Peta Murgatroyd. Well, there were several dancers I really liked — Kevin Clifton, Gordana Grandosek, Giselle Peacock — but Murgatroyd stood out because I could tell right away she had a great deal of ballet training and that, along with her height and long limbs and flexibility just gave her really gorgeous lines. She kept doing these mouthwatering arabesques.

 

 

The whole time I couldn’t help comparing the show to those put on by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin (who are my friends). Theirs are much smaller in scope, showing for only one night and mainly highlighting their studio’s (Dance Times Square) students, along with the pro dances who currently teach or have taught at the studio. Lately, they’ve been branching out and getting some of the stars from So You Think You Can Dance (which of course they choreograph for) to perform. But to me the most intense numbers that just make me nearly fall out of my seat are by Pasha & Anya (Kovalev and Garnis, also my friends), and top U.S. Latin pair Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova. I kept wondering what Burn the Floor would look like with one of those couples.

So I was just a bit ecstatic to find out the the former are to take over the Maks & Karina roles beginning August 18th 🙂 I simply CAN’T WAIT!!!

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PASHA KOVALEV AND ANYA GARNIS BURN THE FLOOR

 

It’s just been announced that Pasha & Anya (from So You Think You Can Dance of course!) will join the Burn the Floor Broadway cast as the star dancers, replacing Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, who depart the show August 16th. Pasha & Anya will begin August 18th.

Woo hoo! So excited for them!

I really think they’re going to make this show. (My review of the Maks / Karina cast is coming very soon — likely later today). I think Pasha and Anya are the quintessential Latin ballroom performers. Karina’s technically probably the best female Latin dancer in the world right now (imo, with the arguable exception of Joanna Leunis, or Yulia Zagoruychenko) and Karina & Maks are worth seeing in the show for that reason alone. But Anya’s a true diva like no other and she and Pasha really know how to melt you into a giant puddle, right there on your seat… I’m not kidding, they are to die for.

I don’t know which cast to recommend now… I recommend them both!

(Full disclosure of course: for newish readers to this blog, I am friends with Pasha; he is my former instructor).

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UPCOMING: BURN THE FLOOR, TAKE DANCE, PASCAL RIOULT IN THE PARK, AND MERCE

 

 

A few things to do this week and next if you’re suffering post-ballet season boredom:

This Thursday evening, TAKE Dance Company, a small modern company I like, founded by former Paul Taylor dancer Takehiro Ueyama, opens at Dance Theater Workshop in Chelsea. I’ve seen some of the works on the program before (and saw parts of Footsteps, which they’re premiering, in rehearsal). I’ve always found his work mesmerizing and I’m excited to see Footsteps in full. They show through August 2. Go here for details and to see a video; also visit Oberon who has been covering the company’s rehearsals.

This Friday night, Rioult, Pascal Rioult’s wonderful little modern dance company, is performing at Central Park’s Summerstage along with Germaul Barnes’s Viewsic Expressions. Two of my favorite dances of Rioult’s, his sexy version of Les Noces and his gorgeous Views of the Fleeting World, are on the program.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday evenings and Sunday afternoon, Merce Cunningham Dance Company are to perform a collection of Cunningham’s work, past and present, in Rockefeller Park as part of the River to River Festival. Those performances will of course be all the more momentous (and heartbreaking) in light of the choreographer’s recent death.

 

Finally, Burn the Floor, the ballroom show by Jason Gilkison (of So You Think You Can Dance fame, and a former Australian ballroom champion) officially opens on Broadway next Tuesday. It’s in previews right now. I saw it last night and loved it (review coming soon). It’s great fun; makes you want to dance home 🙂 I’m tempted to say it’s worth it just to see Peta Murgatroyd — WHOA. She’s a ballerina-turned Latin dancer and she just combines the best of everything… Try to go to a performance prior to August 16th so you can see Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff in the cast as well. Maks is an absolute hoot to watch live!

 

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MANHATTAN DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

Sorry I am so late with this post, now that it’s been two weeks since MDC. Once again, ballet season kind of took over…

 

One of the biggest highlights for me this year was Emmanuel Pierre Antoine dancing with his new partner, Lianna, in the Pro Rhythm championships (pictured above). I like the way the pictures came out in sepia better than color, but if you want to see dress colors, etc. you can see all the color photos here. Emmanuel is a longtime favorite of mine and I always enjoy watching him. He has such character and his routines are always quite original. He and Lianna placed second in all dances, behind the champions for several years now, Joanna Zacharewicz and Jose DeCamps, but I actually thought they outdanced Jose and Joanna in a couple of dances, particularly with their expressive, jump-heavy Mambo and their Bolero, which was really beautiful with some nice spins. Dance Beat felt the same. But, as I’ve said many times before and I’ll say again, it’s definitely not unusual for the judges to give the top award (with wins in all five dances no less) to the same couple year after year, until that couple retires.

Other highlights, as always for me were the Pro Latin and Pro Standard events, which Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko won rather easily in the former,

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and Katusha Demidova and Arunas Bizokas even more easily in the latter.

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Both couples who normally place second in these events didn’t compete: Anna Mikhed and Victor Fung in Standard didn’t attend, and Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova (photo below of their heated Paso) showed but had to withdraw after the first round because of an injury (hers I’m told).

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A shame since I always love watching Eugene and Maria.

Arunas and Katusha danced really really beautifully, as always, and according to Dance Beat, received perfect scores. Such an elegant couple, their dancing so radiant and rich and luxurious and full, you just can’t take your eyes off of them no matter what they’re doing, even when simply getting ready to take off.

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And Riccardo and Yulia are so much fun. His Jive is to die for, as are her Rumba walks.

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I kind of like this picture even though the light is obscuring Riccardo’s face because to me it shows the excitement of a competition, with the couples making full use of the floor, kind of darting across and seemingly coming right at you as such, no matter where you’re sitting. I think they’re doing Samba promenade runs here. Riccardo is a bit of a flirt, I noticed, flashing his cute smile, with raised eyebrows, at women sitting in the front seats. I think it’s an Italian thing, though. Maurizio Vescovo does the same thing (he dances for Hungary and so doesn’t come to these U.S. comps but I’ve seen him at Blackpool) and our fancy new ABT ballerino Roberto Bolle winks at audience members during curtain calls.

Speaking of Samba, interesting but Riccardo and Yulia actually messed up during the finals. He pushed her a little too far out at one point and she tripped. She didn’t fall but she was noticeably taken off balance. She recovered easily though and the judges apparently didn’t take any deductions, or else they did and it didn’t matter.

Second place couple was one of my favorites, a tall, thin pair from Bulgaria, Delyan Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva. Delyan is a really charming dancer and very personable too — he often wins awards for best teacher. And Boriana has such long limbs, she makes these really gorgeous, spidery lines. And, in my mind, she always wins the award for best costume 🙂

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Even though it’s not centered, I like this picture. They’re married, they’re cute 🙂

Other highlights were JT Thomas and Tomas Mielnicki, always snazzy, winning Pro Smooth, with the very popular Mazen Hamza and Lisa Vogel placing right behind them (wow, did they get lots of applause).

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(JT and Tomas above; Mazen and Lisa below)

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And of course the Amateur Latin was as always a blast. Valentin Chmerkovskiy and his new partner Daria Chesnokova took first, and I loved them. I’d liked his old partner Valeriya Kozharinova, but I always thought he was significantly better than she and that it looked like she wasn’t as emotionally involved in the dance as he (as if she was just going through the steps). But Daria is not at all like that — she is more his equal. I think they’re going to go far.

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And placing second were a couple I’ve long liked, Oleksandr Althukhov and Oksana Dmytrenko, who I’ve watched coached at my old studio, Dance Times Square. At first I didn’t recognize their names, since I’ve always heard him called Sasha 🙂 Russian nicknames!

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Other highlights: Event founder (and former U.S. National ten-dance champion) Gary McDonald, dancing with two other guys, did a fun tribute to Michael Jackson complete with moon walks and floor spins. They also played Michael Jackson music in between the heats and during awards ceremonies, which was nice.

 

 

Judges and scorers and just people in attendance included Tony Dovolani, Mayo Alanen and Anna Demidova from Dancing With the Stars, which made me think of my friend Sharon Balik, who passed away several weeks ago and who I still think a lot about. She loved that show, especially loved Dovolani, and she so would have enjoyed this competition. Also partial to Maks Chmerkovskiy and so always very interested in hearing how his little brother placed, she would have loved to know how well he and his new partner are faring. I’m still so sad about her.

 

 

I missed watching Pavlo Barsuk — whose intensity is always mesmerizing to me — now that he has broken up with Anna Trebunskaya, but I saw him in the ballroom watching. I’ll look forward to seeing him and his new partner compete, when they are ready. I also saw Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kruschkova in the ballroom watching. They’re former US National Latin champs, now retired, and I miss watching them. And another favorite Latin couple of mine — Vaidotas Skimelis and Jurga Puplyte — he reminds me of my favorite ballet dancer, Marcelo Gomes — this is the second year they haven’t shown up for this competition. I know they’re based in California and traveling is expensive, but c’mon man, when am I going to get to see them again? I guess I really do have to go to Blackpool next year.

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DANCING WITH THE STARS: IN MEMORY OF MY FRIEND SHARON BALIK

 

 

Yesterday afternoon, I received some shocking news: that a reader and frequent commenter here, Sharon Balik, had passed away that morning suddenly and unexpectedly. She commented here under the name BDC_Sharon and had just left a message over the weekend on my most recent SYTYCD post.

I’m still in shock and can’t stop thinking about her. She found my blog a couple of years ago and we’d become very good friends. She became enamored of ballroom dancing after Dancing With the Stars premiered. She began taking lessons with her husband, Tim, and when DWTS pro dancers Maks Chmerkovskiy, Elena Grinenko, and Tony Dovolani founded the Ballroom Dance Channel website, she began to work for them, researching and writing articles about various aspects ballroom dance, writing recaps of the dance shows on TV, leading discussions about such issues as whether DanceSport should become an Olympic sport, and helping to promote the website’s online ballroom dance lessons. She kindly linked to my blog and my HuffPo reviews, and brought me a load of new readers. She really became a tireless promoter of all things ballroom.

When she began writing for BDC, she’d email to ask me questions about the ballroom competition scene since she knew I had experience with that. And we just became friends. She was one of those people who’s so easy to befriend, who’ll listen to you go on and on and will end up offering you all this really well thought-out, sound advice. Whenever I had a problem with dance or with a heckler here or an angry artist writing me nasty emails about a critical review, she naturally became one of the people I’d send my “Help!” email to 🙂 And of course she always had such funny, clever, thought-provoking, opionionated things to say — both in response to those emails and here on the blog. I am going to miss her so much.

It’s funny how close you can become to someone you’ve never met in person. People who say you only make superficial connections on the internet are so wrong. I am really going to miss you, Sharon.

Read the tribute to her on TVGrapevine, where she posted frequently as well, here.

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BLACKPOOL DISPATCH #3: Final Day of Congress Lectures and Karina Smirnoff is in the House!

Or Garden, I should say…

A brief note from Eleanor regarding today’s final series of Congress lectures:

“Best lecture today by far was by Riccardo and Yulia. They did Paso, which I’m usually not a big fan of, but it was incredible. Also enjoyed Jukka and Sirpa — they actually spoke about stuff that was appropriate to my level of dancing! Just saw Karina Smirnoff eating dinner and was quite starstruck, which is quite unusual for me! Xx Eleanor”

I can imagine Riccardo and Yulia were great — they’re both very personable and they give quite entertaining lectures as well as, obviously, great demos. Jukka Haapalainen and Sirpa Suutari are former world Latin champions from Finland. They give good lectures as well. They are trying to take ballroom to the proscenium stage and have choreographed and performed a Latin version of Bodas de Sangre, based on the Federico Garcia Lorca play, which I desperately want to see someday (to my knowledge it’s only shown in Finland).

And interesting that Karina is there! I didn’t see her the past two years. Now that she and Maks are engaged, she may be there to support his little brother Valentin, assuming he is competing this year.

Anyway, Amateur Rising Star Latin was today; the next few days will consist of the Under 21s, the over 35s, and Rising Star pros. Wednesday is the next big day — the pro Latin. By the way, if you’re so inclined, you can check continuously updated comp results and follow Tweets here.

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MISSING BLACKPOOL

The Blackpool Dance Festival has begun and for the first time in four years I’m missing it. So sad. I felt like I needed to save on expenses this year with the recession and all, and I was disappointed that my favorite, Slavik Kryklyvyy, likely wouldn’t be competing again, and I was aggravated with the predictability of last year’s results and figured I’m going to get frustrated all over again. So, I decided to take a year off.

But, thankfully, two wonderful young ladies from England, Eleanor and Becca, who I met from this blog, are going to do some little write-ups on the goings on later this week. They are fans of Sergey Surkov and Melia, so they’re rather perfect for this blog 🙂 In fact, today, they are modeling in the Chrisanne ballgown show in the pavilion, along with Melia!

(Here’s a picture I took in the past of the runway)

Chrisanne boutique in the pavilion.

I’ll also be keeping up via Dance Beat.

Today and tomorrow are the increasingly popular daytime Congress lectures on things like technique, performance quality dancing, and ballroom dance history by the top pros of today and yesterday, and tonight is the ridiculously exciting but somewhat goofy country team competition. The two most important nights of the week will be Wednesday and Friday, Wednesday being the Pro Latin and Friday the Pro Standard. I’ll be rooting for Sergey and Melia of course, along with the top U.S. couples Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko in Latin, Katusha Demidova and Arunas Bizokas in Standard.

Standard champion Mirko Gozzoli from Italy giving a Congress lecture,

after giving a demo of mouthwatering splended perfection with partner Alessia Betti.

Former champs the charmingly funny Luca Baricchi, with his partner Lorraine, doing the same.

American team’s elegant team comp intro from two years ago.

And last year’s. Still not sure where we were going with that what goes on in the teepee theme…

I’m excited though to be in NY for all of ballet season, for the first time in a long time this year. Between ABT and NYCB I don’t think I’ve missed a day of ballet in the past week.

But, still, it’s always nice to go away. Some of my favorite pics from the past:

(an unusually warm May day in the northern sea-side town)

Riccardo Cocchi rocking it out with his former partner, Joanne.

Karina Smirnoff when she last competed.

Sergey and Melia the first time I saw them dance and the first time they placed in the finals. Kind of funny, it looks a bit like he’s spanking her here 🙂

On the train ride from Manchester to  Blackpool. Sheep! I know, why do Americans always take such pictures? It’s like we don’t have any such animals here…

Curry dinner from Taka Dance’s Japanese restaurant, which they set up in the base of the Winter Garden for the duration of the festival.

Slavik with Elena Khvorova, last time I saw Slavik compete.

Max and Yulia’s advert page in the program the year they made the top six.

The nearby beach. Pretty but cold.

Cheesy, Vegas-y “Eiffel Tower” that houses a lot of casinos and pinball machines, along with pseudo-Vegas-type shows.

Day trip to Liverpool, in between Latin and Standard finals.

The always happening Ruskin Hotel where people like Maks Chmerkovskiy can often be found.

Arunas and Katusha in last year’s finals.

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Dancing With the Stars, Week Two: Samba and Foxtrot

Maks and Denise’s Samba: Okay that was awful. Sorry but it was. She was hopping and running and skipping and doing just about everything but Samba. It is the hardest of the Latin dances — Len’s right, but still. I agree with Bruno that it wasn’t so hot, but don’t know if I’d call if flat as a “waffle”. And I agree with Carrie Ann– how frightened and stiff did she look?! During those Samba rolls, it looked like he was pulling her on top of him, then pushing himself onto her. Like she was the cat being forced to dance with Pepe le Peu. Interesting choreography from Maks — the one-legged hops, the waving his chest toward hers, flirtatiously. Extremely corny having him come to practice dressed as a Carmen Miranda-esque sambista to get her to stop being so serious. And don’t tell adults to feel and not think, Maks! Can’t be done. You learn by feeling as a child, as an adult you have to think; you’ve lived too much of your life by using your brain by then.

Chuck and Julianne’s Foxtrot: That was pretty good. Fairly suave, though he looked a bit of a goof on those side by sides in the middle. A little too much on his toes, I think was what it was. And it was pigeon-toed at that. He just looked a little Pee Wee Herman-ish. But overall, very sophisticated and he looked fairly comfortable in the close hand-hold. Yeah, Carrie Ann just said on the grapevine it looked like he hunched over a bit — maybe that’s what made it Pee Wee-like to me. He’s better at Standard than Latin.

Continue reading “Dancing With the Stars, Week Two: Samba and Foxtrot”

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DANCING WITH THE STARS, SEASON EIGHT, WEEK TWO

Steve-O’s injured, but they’re going to wait until later to let us know what that means.

Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin Quickstep: Well, she’s cute. It looked a lot like he was kind of pulling her around the floor and she was just hopping without really having the steps down pat. But she hasn’t had as much training as the rest, so there’s that to consider. I agree with Len that her frame was part of the problem — she didn’t have a firm center and that’s why it looked like he wasn’t leading, but dragging her. I don’t think she’ll get kicked off first. I think she can improve.

David Allen Grier and Kym Johnson’s Salsa: Uh, it was okay. I mean, it’s so hard to judge amateurs learning to dance in adulthood. He looked uncomfortable — I mean with the dance form, with the rhythm and speed. But he looked like he was having fun, which is part of the battle. Hmmm, he might be first to go tomorrow night, depending on how audiences feel.

Denise Richards and Maks Chmerkovskiy’s Quickstep:

Continue reading “DANCING WITH THE STARS, SEASON EIGHT, WEEK TWO”