Episode Report Card Kim: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Jump, Jive and Wail
By Kim | Season 7 | Episode 10 | Aired on 10.20.2008
Lance and Lacey are dressed in black pants and white shirt. Lance is wearing a tie while Lacey has on a button down shirt over a bustier. She looks like Lisa Marie Presley, if she dressed up as Elvis for Halloween. I don't think I understand this dance. When I heard West Coast swing, I was imagining something out of Swingers, and this is... not that. But I don't know enough about it to recognize if I'm off or they are. Anyway, the dance doesn't feature much time spent in hold, which is part of what's confusing to me, and there don't seem to be a lot of actual steps. It seems more hip-hop to me than anything else, with a lot of body waves and whatnot. At one point, they run towards camera and then are supposed to slide, but Lance's foot gets stuck and he falls down. He recovers well though. I thought Lance looked decent, but since there was so much solo work, it was really obvious that he's not a great dancer. Let's see what the judges thought. Len tells Lance that he has proven that he can dance, but he thinks Lacey needs to show off her partner more. I totally agree! And I didn't realize it until Len said it. Bruno says it seemed like "dancing around the stars," and that Lacey is holding Lance back. But then he says that Lance needs to rise up to Lacey's level. Carrie Ann compliments Lacey's work, but agrees with the others that Lacey is showing off too much and not letting Lance shine. She says it a little more nicely, but that's her point. Backstage, Lance pretends like his fall was part of the routine. Samantha asks Lacey how she felt being picked apart by the judges and she compares it to hazing. Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7, and Bruno 7 for a total of 21.
Toni and Alec are the other couple doing the West Coast swing, so they are up next. Last week, Toni's samba was not very well-received. Toni worries that she started strong in the competition but she's fading. She knows that she has to raise her game, and she hopes to get the encore dance as well as get high scores from the judges. Alec works with Toni on her posture and other more technical aspects. Toni announces that the stakes are high and she has everything to prove.
I don't know why but I'm always totally surprised when people have long hair one week and then short hair the next week, which Toni is sporting right now. It's like I forget that wigs exist. My first reaction was, "Whoa, Toni cut her hair." Ooh, right in the middle of their dance, they do a big, gigantic lift where Alec swings Toni around. I don't know if they lifted (no pun intended) the restriction or if they're just flouting the rules. They're dancing to a Michael Jackson song and Toni actually does the moonwalk, while wearing heels. That's a high degree of difficulty, right there. Remember 1983? When everyone thought they could breakdance and moonwalk? I actually bought a book that came with breakdancing instructions. I know this is going to be a shocker, since I was a preteen white girl from farm country, but I wasn't very good. Anyway, Toni and Alec's routine is a little more traditional and a little more like what I was expecting from this dance, but it lacks a little spark. Do the judges agree? Toni looks quite out of breath as she waits for her judging. Bruno tells her that she really delivered, but he didn't like the moonwalk. Carrie Ann thought the level of difficulty was high, and they kind of overdanced. I don't know what that means. Len tells Toni that she has all the credentials but she's not breaking through. Somehow the excitement is missing, but he's rooting for her. Backstage, Samantha asks them what they need to do to break through, and Toni and Alec say they don't know. Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7, and Bruno 8. Looks like 7 is the new score for saying, "We like you, but it wasn't great."