I was recently interviewed for an article (by commenter Sharon!) in a new newspaper put out by THE BALLROOM DANCE CHANNEL on this topic. Apparently it is controversial and the issue is becoming more pressing with the success of DANCING WITH THE STARS and SYTYCD. I gave my opinion here. I go into it in more detail (not necessarily the Olympics specifically, but the issue of whether Ballroom Dancing is more of an art or sport) in my article on Blackpool, which will hopefully be posted soon on EXPLORE DANCE.
SYTYCD Week 1
Sorry I’m late, had to go to a publishing event last night, then get something out early this morning.
My favorites so far are Mark (because he’s so original, although I don’t know how he’s going to be able to keep his unique style throughout; Mia really seems to have geared her Tim Burton-ish choreography this week specifically for him), Katee, Will, and Marquis. Marquis has beautiful lines and gorgeous extensions, but he doesn’t seem to have the greatest balance and I’m always a bit worried he’s throwing himself into a kick too hard and is going to topple over.
Viewing the program for the second time now, I liked Rayven and Jaime’s routine, on first, and think they both did really well with Hip Hop for a ballerina and a West Coast Swing dancer. I agree with Nigel that the choreography was not interesting enough movement-wise to be memorable (though the story was cute, the pulling-down-the-pants thing was funny), but that’s not the dancers’ faults.
On the other hand, I LOVED Tabitha and Napolean’s second piece of the night, danced by Katee and Joshua. It was my favorite of the night. I don’t care whether Katee was doing rib slides or popping at the beginning (Nigel’s criticism); her movement conveyed the sorrow she felt on his leaving for the war. What great movement language — not just the big things like falls to the ground or lifts, but every subtle twitch, every bend of the leg or reach of the arm conveyed such emotion, added a necessary element to the story. That’s what dance is about, to me.
My second favorite of the night was Susie and Marquis’s Waltz. Breathtaking! But Nigel, yes, we noticed the second lift problem! We’re not blind! First lift was gorgeous though. Lovely fish dive! You can tell Marquis has ballet background, which translates very well into Standard Ballroom where you need an elegant carriage, a straight upper body, and good lyrical quality. Susie really surprised me. Her Salsa is fun but not tremendously precise, which is fine since Salsa is a social dance and doesn’t require precision and clarity. But her Waltz was another story entirely. She had wonderful control and beautiful lines. So far a couple of my favorite dancers.
Are Tony and Melanie not the sexiest choreographers?! How hot was that Cha Cha! My third favorite of the night. The dancers — Chelsea and Thayne, really came through, especially Thayne. I couldn’t believe he’s a contemporary dancer; he looked like the quintessential Latin ballroom man. He has the perfect body — small, compact, allowing for great speed. Perfect hip movement. I think he should consider changing dance styles.
I didn’t like the Jive as well; I think the dancers were a little less sophisticated. Both Comfort and Chris (what a great partnership name!) have great personalities but I felt, especially in the case of Comfort, that she doesn’t yet have the versatility necessary to do well in styles other than Hip Hop, though her Hip Hop rocks.
I thought Kourtni and Matt were okay. Matt looked like a cat burglar snooping around in that jazz routine, and he’s got great David Hallberg feet. He’s so tall and thin he seemed a bit wiry. But I think if he works on that, on being more solid and controlled, he could be really good. Couldn’t disagree more with Nigel’s you’ve got a pole up your butt criticism. I thought exactly the opposite!
Mia’s routine was interesting. At first I thought it started out way too clownish and silly but then I realized it’s telling a story, kind of developing a relationship throughout time, starting with the awkwardness of youth growing into a more mature romance. I’ve already talked about Mark. I thought Chelsie was good, but I couldn’t see her lines very well in that dress. Great costuming though — she looked, like Mary said, like a little powder puff, which went with the theme.
I wasn’t in love with the choreography for Twitch and Kherrington (there were places in the music where they could have done a fast fun Charleston, but instead he had them just kind of standing in place wiggling their hips a bit. And the rest of it was kind of all over the place.) But I thought the dancers did well, gave it an understated jazzy twist.
I wasn’t anywhere near in love with Hunter’s Tango as I was his Waltz. Except for that gorgeous ending lift with her legs wrapped around his neck and her body reaching to the ground. Will was astounding; just like Marquis, but his kicks were swifter. Great carriage, perfect ballroom posture. I liked Jessica less well. I thought she smiled too much for a tango and her movement wasn’t quite as sharp as his; she looked a bit unbalanced at points, likely because she’s not used to those blasted stilettos.
I loved the disco at the end. I thought Courtney particularly did well, and I realized I’ve seen her before — in “Gotta Dance” — the movie; she was a New Jersey Nets. That was a very hard routine, very fast-paced with lots of lifts and I thought the judges were really unfair with their comments.
What did you all think?
HuffPost
I posted about the new SYTYCD season on HuffPost. There’s a somewhat lively discussion going on there if anyone wants to join in! (you have to create an account, but I don’t think it’s too much of a hassle).
Also, I’ve just submitted my first ballet post (on NYCB’s “Here and Now” program) and will definitely let everyone know when it’s up.
Update: it’s up! It’s similar to my earlier post here on that program, but I’d really really love it if ballet people could comment there so that it looks like there are ballet fans in the world 🙂
Wow, They Got it Right
I’m shocked. I really didn’t think he would win. I’m thrilled though. He was by far the best; the only one who seemed to have significant dance training and technique. I thought Miguel simply made sex poses and can’t understand how he even made it to the finals, Michelle was fine but nowhere near as advanced as Cody, and Nick was cute but I didn’t see any Gene Kelly in him like one of the judges said. Gene Kelly was fun in a masculine way but he had form; Nick was just kind of jumping about. I didn’t care for the group dance at all. Again, I couldn’t really see the dancers since the camera was panning around so much and they were hidden by props like those huge clotheslines. What’s the point of having them dance? The ending solos were what the show should have been about all along: we finally got to see who the dancers really were. We finally got to see them actually dance.
Hopefully, in the future, more dancers of Cody’s caliber will audition so they can have an overall better show.
As far as SYTYCD, eh. Boring. So far at least. I don’t recognize any of the ballroom dancers. Does anyone else? No one stood out to me in contemporary either. I actually liked best the poppers and tappers who were all eliminated before the top 20 were chosen. The one popper, Robert I think, was like a rubber band. I can see how those types of dancers might have problems with the other kinds of choreography but then why allow them to try out in those categories? I wish the show was more a celebration of the diversity of dance rather than a competition to see who can prevail at the most different styles. I guess no one can think outside of the competition format for a dance show. Anyway, the one who most caught my eye of the top 20 is Mark. He’s seems to be the only true original. We’ll see…
New british dance tv show
Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.
According to this british dance newspaper there’s a new show soon to premier here where overweight contestants compete for who can become the most fit through ballroom dancing. It’s called “diet on the dance floor.”
Semi Live Blogging DWTS Finale
Grrrr. So mad. Cristian should not have been the first to go; it should have been Jason. Injury or not, Cristian was all-around better, had greater improvement throughout the season, and had a more fun dance persona. Football players have so many fans… As much as I like Jason personality-wise, I feel like there’s no real competition now; Kristi has it hands down.
Am I weird for not having heard of Usher before?
Steve Guttenberg is such a little cutie.
I’m glad Priscilla and Louis did their Tango — that was my favorite dance of theirs.
Shannon was pretty good, but of course she did Standard. Wow, I can’t believe how out of breath she was!
And now that I’m watching Mario and Karina I’m reminded of what some TV commentator whose name I can’t now remember said, “this isn’t a pure dance competition or it would be on PBS; this is in large part a popularity contest.” If it was a pure competition, of course, he’d be in the finals. I still can’t believe he was kicked off so early.
The Rocky music is cracking me up.
Very very very cool of Jason to say, “I hope dancing makes me a better football player.”
Carrie Ann’s right — that was his best performance of the season.
Oh but then he kind of ruins it by saying, “well, I’m still a tough football player,” to all the “oh you’re so elegant” remarks.
Len says to Jason, “Kristi may be the judges’ winner, but you’re the People’s winner.” What does that mean? Who’s it going to be???
I’m honestly really nervous… and I don’t even care who wins.
So, it is Kristi! She breaks the curse!
I did say at the beginning of the season I thought she was the best contestant EVER on the show, so it’s right that she won. Still doesn’t mean I’m in love with Mark Ballas though… maybe he’ll grow on me in coming seasons…
Aw, it’s not on again until September??
Dancing With the Stars Finale and Dance Times Square Showcase
I don’t have a lot of time to write since I have a bizillion and a half things to do before Blackpool (which I leave for in two days!), so I’ll be brief. I thought DWTS’s season finale was the best ever. The remaining three are all really good, far better than prior contestants, and they have their own cute strengths.
Cristian has definitely improved the most, of these three and of any contestant ever, I think. He’s 1000% improved from the way he was dancing at the beginning of the season and that is what this show is about — a normal person / non-dancer learning to dance well. At the beginning of the show I remember his limbs looking like spaghetti, totally out of control, no shaping or definition to his upper body, and he was dancing Latin too far up on his toes, had no grounding, and it just didn’t look right. Now all that is nearly gone. His hips are now near perfect, he’s much more weighted, his arms are not flailing out of control, and he has much better definition throughout his body. He’s still not a pro male dancer, but he’s just about the closest thing to a pro without being one, especially for someone who started out so poorly. I’m just so proud of him 😀 I feel like HE won the opening number, not Kristi. And I don’t care if his freestyle lifts were not as fancy as Jason’s; not only did he do extremely well with them, but they were lovely and complemented the choreography and music. Why does he need to raise her above his head just for the sake of showing he can? An overhead lift wouldn’t have added anything to their routine; it would have been out of place in fact since the music was kind of fluid and fast. I just can’t stop smiling whenever Cristian is on the floor.
And, regarding his injury: I know, people say it’s wrong that he’s still dancing, but, honestly, right or wrong, I know many professionals who dance with an injury so they can finish out the season, then have their surgery. And many pro ballroom dancers will dance with an injury if they’ve made a commitment to their student, to do a competition or a student showcase. I’m not saying it’s right, but I feel like in a way his problem is pretty typical and shows what a lot of dancers go through and the risks they take.
I love Jason, but as much as I love his personality both on the dance floor and in the practice segments, he doesn’t do equally well at Standard and Latin the way Cristian does. That’s another huge plus for Cristian — it’s very hard to do well at both. I really liked his freestyle though. Edyta choreographed something perfect for him. Like Carrie Ann said, who knew Jason could be funky like that! It was like a downplayed hip hop and it looked perfect on him.
And, hehehe, he is a ballerino! Those breathtaking overhead lifts were something right out of Petipa! I love it! Soon he’ll be as obsessed with ballet as he is with ballroom! But I think, not being a man and never lifting someone over my head like that, the lifts he did were actually harder than ballet lifts where the danseur carries the ballerina across the floor, because Edyta had him turning in place repeatedly at the same time. That’s damn hard because not only are you lifting, you’re making yourself sickly dizzy by spinning. I know as the girl getting myself into a lift, maintaining a position in the air and then getting spun around like that, you just want to throw up when you land; they’re incredibly hard. So, major kudos to him.
I love Kristi and she was once my idol. I don’t know, I feel like I’m not as impressed with her as I was at the beginning of the show. She’s nearly flawless, but she is not without flaws, and now for some reason I just want to compare her to someone like Karina Smirnoff, and she comes up lacking. It’s well-known by now that she knows how to dance and I think I’m probably just being too hard on her because I want perfection. Her legs don’t come together perfectly in Cha Cha, her lines in her upside-down split lifts were not as perfect as Juliana’s, and she doesn’t have the polish and the perfect technique the pro dancers do and that seems to be all I can focus on. Maybe it’s that Mark is such a show-off and he’s outdancing her. When I heard him talking about trying to do a back flip during practice sessions, I thought, WHY, WHY do you have to go and do something like that! But when I saw it, it wasn’t so bad since he lifted her so many times and made her look great and she had a lot of tricks herself. So, it was even, not like it was all about him. She is the best; it’s just that I relate more to the other two because they’re normal people like me who learned throughout the show to dance ballroom wonderfully…
On a very related note, the Dance Times Square showcase last night was so much fun, I can’t even begin to describe. It’s like seeing a DWTS show live, except with far more student performers of all ages, of all shapes and sizes, of all levels of dance ability, all doing their best. And those are combined with all pro showcases of course. They’re the best studio for putting on these kinds of things for their students.
It was really packed this time. In addition to all the regulars, and the students’ friends and family, there were many many more — either who came to see Pasha & Anya or who were from media outlets. I know there were people from Entertainment Tonight there and Tony mentioned a couple of other news shows too that I can’t remember. There were also talent agents there.
And Sabra and Cameron from So You Think You Can Dance were there! They sat right behind me and Sabra laughed hysterically at Tony and Melanie’s opening jokes and then SCREAMED with applause throughout. She cracked me up. If you’re ever performing you WANT her in the audience!
I sat in the press section toward the front, next to one of the ET crew and he was remarking throughout how amazing he thought this was. And his remarks were genuine. I truly don’t think he’d ever seen anything like it before. You’re sitting down there, the press people are all serious and make you a bundle of nerves even if you are just writing about the event yourself and not performing in it, and then the people up in the balcony (the regulars and friends and family) are up there screaming, wildly cheering on the dancers, calling out their names, making the dancers even laugh at times. And the press people are aghast. “I can’t believe this! This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!” ET guy said.
When a couple of senior amateurs danced a cute little Mambo (this is rare; it’s almost always one pro dancing with one amateur), and they were cute, but obviously didn’t do any spectuacular tricks or quick-footed dancing, the audience all started clapping along with the music and cheering for them. The audience made their own fun time, in other words, by really getting into it.
And Elaine. Whenever she was onstage, Elaine stole the show. I know her and can tell she was nervous at the beginning of her first routine. She stumbled a bit and nearly tripped Jacob, her partner, and someone shouted from the balcony, “Dont hurt him, Elaine!” She laughed and it really calmed her nerves. Completely cracked ET guy up. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said for the umpteenth time. Elaine’s so cute and she’s a really good dancer for not learning until well into adulthood and then having the limitations of age. Jacob did several lifts with her — ET guy went nuts — and in one routine she did a series of chaine turns (two-footed traveling turns done in a line) practically all the way across the floor. “Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!” ET guy shouted.
(Elaine is on the right, Claire on the left — I’ll talk about her in a minute. This is on our Dance Times Square outing to see the SYTYCD tour).
I don’t have time to go into all of the routines, but my favorites were Susan Washburn (a longtime student there) and Michael Choi’s hilarious “Sex Bomb” (all the routines by the way were medleys — the music consisted of one song but with different musical artists’ interpretations — one slower and more dramatic, one sped up, one hip-hop-y, etc. So, there would be several dance styles within one song — Cha Cha, disco-y Hustle, a slower Rumba or Bolero, etc. — It was really a clever idea for a showcase — Melanie’s of course. At the beginning, Melanie addressed the crowd, explained the theme of the evening, then said, “I know, this is a rather ingenious idea right? I mean, it’s usually me who comes up with the themes of the showcases, but this time I have to say it was … oh, hehe, it was me again,” she said with a faux blush. The crowd was hysterical). Anyway, of the student showcases, I also loved everything David Johnson was in — he’s an older man, and his schtick was to be so taken with his young female pro that he kind of followed her around aimlessly, trying hard to imitate her and be the perfect partner. It was cute and he acted it all so well, the audience was just screaming in applause. I liked a sultry sexy tango cha cha, etc. by Krysta Gonzales, who you can tell has dance background, and Nazarie Salcedo’s infectious smile makes everything she does a delight to watch. I liked so many though, I just don’t have time to go into them!
Claire Gaines (in the picture above) also performed with her teacher, Jacob Jason. She was also in “Gotta Dance” (she is the one with the mike in the second picture here) and she brought her team of NetSationals with her! They did a little swing / hip hop and the crowd ROARED!
Of course Pasha & Anya performed! They did three routines, which made me very happy — I thought they’d only do one at the very end, but they danced throughout. Their first was a gorgeous medley danced to “Indissoluble.” I don’t even know how to describe it. It was by turns sexy, romantic, bone-chillingly intense, passionate, heated. The dance style was based on Rumba and had some Samba (my favorite part was a series of Samba rolls, but with their faces cheek to cheek, so it looked far more sultry and passionate than normal Samba rolls) and even some Tango, but it really was not ballroom. It was more contemporary. It was just beautiful Dance. It was like something I’ve never seen from them and I was really proud of them for pushing themselves and trying something new, outside regular ballroom. It really could have been in a big dance gala, like when you see those tango companies perform in the 21st Century Stars of Ballet galas or something. It made me think ballroom can and will take new directions and become a real performance art.
They also did a gorgeous Paso that took my breath away. Pasha and his cape 😀 And they ended with a beautiful Rumba in which Anya wore her black Blackpool dress from the year they placed second in Rising Star. My favorite dress of hers, EVER… (middle and right pictures here)
Maybe it was just the lights, but she seems to be wearing her hair lighter now, which I like. Now, it’s a light brown. I think dirty blonde is her natural color (and my favorite for her); she’d dyed it for SYTYCD. She also seems to have got a light, wavy perm. Pasha looks the same 🙂
It’s always beyond wonderful to see them again, but I always get so sad, and I left the theater feeling like I was going to cry. I don’t know why.
Oh one more thing, Karen and Matt Hauer, another pro couple who compete in the American Rhythm section at national competitions, performed a few numbers. Karen completely blew me away. She has grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years since I first saw her dance. Her movement is so fierce, so fluid, so amazing. Her upper body isolations, which you can really see in the slower dances, the way she rounds her shoulders, contracts her rib cage, you can trace the muscular ripple from her shoulders all the way down to her hips centimeter by centimeter. And she’s dancing with such passion, such intensity. She honestly reminded me of Karina Smirnoff. I was just enthralled.
Here are a couple of pictures I took of them at earlier competitions:
Okay, I have talked too long. I’m never going to be ready for Blackpool!
Tonight
I’m gonna be a little late in posting on “Dancing With the Stars” tonight since I will have to tape it and wait to watch until after I return from seeing …
perform (along with my fellow amateur friends!) at Dance Times Square‘s biannual professional / student showcase. Always makes me sad I’m not up there with them, but it’s something I look forward to watching every six months anyway. At least it’s a lot less stressful in the audience…
Also, tonight is opening night for my favorite dancers on earth. I can’t be there, obviously, but will be later this week for a crazy Corsaire starring
Too much going on! Too much!
Yes — My Favorite Three Are in the Finals For Once!
I’m very happy; my favorite three are in the finals, I think for the first time ever. I’m usually disappointed at this point in the show, but not this season! (I know, Katrina, you’re not going to be happy!) I really liked Marissa. Her personality and excitement were contagious and she brought so much fun and spirit to the show. But I do think she was the least technically good at this point and, of all remaining contestants, had improved the least. She seemed like she was halfway expecting it and was completely okay with it, though disappointed of course. I believe her when she promised to show up in the audience next week.
Wow, Brendan and Brittany completely blew me away. That was honestly one of the best Pasos I’ve ever seen. That was technical perfection and just astounding artistry, especially in people so young, as the judges mentioned. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the ballroom world.
Also, I loved that little African part in the beginning of Omarian’s Michael Jackson tribute!
Sweet newly ballroom-obsessed Jason, never-give-up cutie Cristian, and dazzlingly spectacular Kristi — I’m so excited for next week!
Dancing With the Stars Semi-Finale … Already?
I can’t believe it’s already the next to last week.
Jason’s Foxtrot was lovely. He was perfectly dashing and his lines are really much nicer than before. Although this routine wasn’t the most thrilling I’ve seen, there was some nice choreography from Edyta — her dip with the kicks and the arabesque with the leg landing on his shoulder into the lunge was pretty. And he put some good character to it. Good performance but underwhelming choreo.
Ooh, I missed last week but got a glimpse of Marissa’s fish — very pretty! Why did they take the lifts out again this week? They were just a one-week thing? Hehe “I can make passionate love to Len before you” — poor Tony; she’s embarassing the hell out of him 🙂 Eh, now that I just saw the routine, I have to repeat, why did they take the lifts out — I found her Quickstep cutely acted on her part, but very bland choreography-wise. The big controversy among the judges was her missed footwork on the runs. But to me that wasn’t that big of a deal; it was the bland boring choreo that made it blah. Len may be right that the footwork was fast and difficult and complicated, but I think a straight ballroom dance with few flourishes only appeals to people like Len himself.
Aw, Cristian is so cute; he’s just so excited when he does everything right, with no mishaps. I thought the Viennese Waltz was lovely, but I’m having the same bland blah ballroom experience with all these routines tonight. What’s up?
I LOVED Kristi and Mark’s tango. I loved the different elements — the fast furious almost flamenco-y taps into the soft slow dips and toe-swirling rondes and just the sensuality of it all. Tango’s usually not very sensual — it’s usually so “I love you, I hate you, I love you again, no I hate you again,” etc. And there was some of that. But when she arched back toward the end and he lowered his head toward her waist and kind of took her scent in, then extended his arm out to hers and traced her line, it was just so beautiful. Something new from him! There was a real stylistic and even a kind of narrative development to their dance; it went somewhere. Best dance so far of the night, IMO!
I think Len might have fixed Marissa’s hips, if the practice session is any indication. We’ll soon see…
I liked Jason’s Paso much better than his Foxtrot. It was very passionate and fiery, and the footwork was excellent. His jumps at the beginning were a little too bent-kneed and awkward-looking but that was my only problem. He really got into it and had fun and it showed.
Len did fix Marissa’s hips! They weren’t perfect, but they were much better, especially in the cucharachas! I totally disagree with Carrie Ann — this was one of the most interesting dances of the night, I thought. Tony peppered her Rhumba with that lovely supported lunge, her one leg wrapping around his back. And she had perfect form in her passe (right leg lifted, crossing the left at the knee, as she leaned into him). I like what Tony did with her arms — having her brush the back of her hair and trace her shoulder before returning her hand to his, after the hip twist. Her arms had been somewhat awkward before so I thought this was a big improvement, along with the hips.
Hahahah, Cristian is so CUTE! That’s probably not what a man wants to hear about his dancing, particularly his Samba — and his Samba was nothing near a professional man’s — but who cares! It was so full of energy and attitude and just … cuteness! His voltas (where the one foot crosses in front of the other as the dancer travels sideways) were adorable! He just really shook his hips and rounded his pelvis and it all just looked so good on him. And same think with the forward-traveling lock steps. The cute classic retro song was perfect for him in a way that a really sexy, percussive contemporary Brazilian song would have showed up his weaknesses. So good choice for Cheryl. I love him! I think he’s this season’s Helio Castroneves. Whether that means he’ll win I don’t know, but I think he has the same kind of charm as Helio.
I was a bit disappointed in Kristi and Mark’s jive. It was cute, and a damn hard routine, and she did very well with it and kept up. But the level of difficulty was so high, it sunk her a bit. It looked like she was struggling and they were out of sync at some points, and it seemed like he out-danced her. His jumps were higher, he had double her energy, his form was better and his lines and footwork more clean, and I felt like for once it showed that he was the pro and she the student. It was uneven and they didn’t look like a real partnership. But then again, with every other single couple it’s always been apparent who the pro is, so is it even fair to make that complaint about them?
Cool Stuff I Have to Miss
I’m getting ready to go on a much needed vacation (yay!) but will unfortunately have to miss the following big exciting things:
David Hallberg performing with American Ballet Theater at the Guggenheim’s Works and Process program on May 4th and 5th;
Alvin Ailey II at the Joyce. This is Alvin Ailey’s studio company. I’ve never seen them before but am dying to;
Marcelo (my favorite) guesting with New York City Ballet in Robbins’ “Fancy Free” on May 4th;
The 100th episode of Dancing With the Stars.
If anyone sees any of these, please do let me know how it went so I can experience vicariously… 🙂
Jose DeCamps and the Top 5!
So, eliminations went as I expected. I don’t really think people declined to vote for her because of last week’s histrionics; I think it was that she was just the least good left. Plus the others all have very likable personalities, each his or her own idiosyncratic strengths and charms. I’m glad Cristian is continuing, but worry about his safety. He’d just better not use that arm too much.
Very glad they changed the lift policy! Most of them were accidents anyway — e.g. Edyta’s yesterday; I think her foot was meant to trace the floor, but Jason straightened his back and got too much speed on the swing and she went too high and it came off the ground. Shows the ridiculousness of the no-lift policy anyway.
Def Leopard was such a trip down memory lane. I remember seeing them in concert, before the drummer lost his arm! And how happy am I that Jose and Joanna performed! I just love Jose; he moves like no one else. I thought the group Paso to the first song didn’t really fit thematically — the song is sexy in a kind of a laid back, stonerish way — the antithesis of dramatic Paso. The Cha Cha was perfect.
I was kind of disappointed with this season’s Dance Center. I guess there was nothing big to rib the dancers over, so they made up (I hope) that segment about Jason farting. I enjoyed the facial expressions — Mark’s and Cristian’s – -something you’d never notice if they didn’t point it out. Well, you wouldn’t have noticed Mark’s anyway… 🙂
So, the top 5 are Marissa, Jason, Kristi, Mario, and Cristian. My vote’s with Jason, despite the (fake please) flatulence.