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
Maurice and Cheryl are the other salsa couple. Last week, the judges felt that Maurice wasn't showing improvement week to week. Cheryl and Maurice head into rehearsal, and Cheryl has a really tough time with teaching the salsa. She's not even sure what she's doing so Maurice has a hard time learning the steps. They both get really frustrated, although Maurice seems to have more restraint. Because he's not getting mad, Cheryl accuses him of being lazy and uncaring. Whoa! Cheryl's kind of a bitch! She explains that she just needs to see more energy from him. I feel like there was a lot more to that conflict that we didn't see, but from what they showed, Cheryl came off as quite the brat.
The salsa begins, and they certainly have Cloris and Corky beat when it comes to speed. Maurice's footwork is pretty good, but there are a few times when he's kind of just walking across the floor instead of dancing. Cheryl does a lot of sharp twirls and a few death drops and Maurice is right there with her. His movements are sharp and precise, for the most part. And come on, compared to Cloris and Corky, it's no contest. When they finish, Carrie Ann beckons Maurice over and then gives him a big hug because she's so happy with his performance. Len says that the judges are way nicer than Cheryl, and he was really impressed with Maurice's energy and effort. Bruno wants Cheryl to keep up her antics because Maurice had great footwork and hip action. Backstage, Maurice says that he really is serious about the competition and will do whatever it takes. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Maurice is thrilled and Cheryl apologizes to him again for how she acted during rehearsal.
The final dance of the night is the jitterbug. The first couple is Brooke and Derek, who did a spicy samba last week. Len thought it was a little too spicy. In rehearsal, Derek reminds Brooke that she's the frontrunner, which can be a bad thing. Derek has his hair in a ponytail and look super dorky. Derek admits that he doesn't know the jitterbug that well, so he actually goes to the Internet and gets instructions. His big piece of advice is that it should look like a cartoon. I refuse to believe that the Internet was the best resource that Derek could find to learn the dance.
The routine itself is very Happy Days with Brooke wearing a poodle skirt and pigtails and Derek with the aforementioned giant pompadour. Derek's lack of confidence really shows, and it seems to kind of rub off on Brooke as she also seems hesitant, which is not what you want in a routine that relies on high-flying moves. Both Brooke and Derek do flips at one point; the most impressive part to me is that Derek stands behind Brooke and lifts her off the ground and then carries her down the stairs in the opening. I know Brooke is light, but Derek must be quite strong. The problem I have with this routine is that it indulges the worst of Derek's goofball ADD antics. There are some cool Hough moves in there, to be sure, but it's choppy and kind of manic overall. Len thinks that Brooke is top notch no matter what dance she does. Bruno thought it was vigorous and upbeat. Carrie Ann asks if she can nitpick, and then says that there are no nits to pick because it was awesome. I think I was biased by Derek's giant hair. Backstage, Derek keeps shaking his head around to make his hair shake. He needs to go back on the meds. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9, and Bruno 10. What? That was horseshit. That was not nearly perfect.