Episode Report Card Kim: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Paso Doble from THE FUTURE
By Kim | Season 9 | Episode 16 | Aired on 11.09.2009
Last week, Donny made a bunch of mistakes in his routine and the judges called him on it. In rehearsals, he tells Kym that he got burned out last week between a tough routine, his Vegas obligations, and his family, and he wasn't having fun. So he's decided to start over and remember to have fun. Their Viennese waltz is to one of my favorite songs, Ray Charles's "You Don't Know Me." It's very pretty, but it's not as sexy as it could be. I forgot to watch Donny's shoulders, but he did a good job spotting his turns and as usual, he performed well. His feet were a little flat in spots, though. And since it's Donny, the performance aspect is spot on.
Bruno says it was like watching a Lifetime movie, and so entertaining. Carrie Ann was mesmerized and liked that he didn't overperform it. Len found improvement in his posture, but thought it was a bit "arty-farty." The audience boos that comment as Donny notes that he went "from airy-fairy to arty-farty." Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8, and Bruno 9.
Before we move on to Latin round, the pros are going to show us how it's done. The pros do three segments -- the first is definitely the paso doble, the second is something else (maybe the samba?), and the last one is the jive, I think? Tom explains that the competing couples need to do a Latin dance geared towards a particular decade.
So what will the judges be looking for? Donny has an '80s paso doble, and Len wants to see an action hero, and for Donny to avoid making mistakes. Mya has a '70s samba, and Carrie Ann and Bruno both want her to go wild and avoid playing it safe. Joanna has a paso doble from THE FUTURE! Bruno wonders if she has the aggression for this routine, but Carrie Ann knows that Joanna has it in her. Kelly has the jive (from the '60s?) and Bruno wants her to dance well when she's out of hold. Aaron has a '90s samba, and they need Aaron to use his youthful energy to shake it up.
Dmitry and Mya are up first with their '70s samba. Mya is happy, and they plan to incorporate some disco moves. They work on samba rolls, but Mya has a lot of trouble with them, and Dmitry feels like he's having a choreography block. So how did it all work out? Well, Dmitry has an awesome fake '70s mustache, and they look like they just walked off the set of Swingtown, which is awesome. Mya is SUPER into it -- she's showing more enthusiasm than I think we've ever seen from her, EVER. It's great. She's having fun out there and her technique is fantastic as always. See -- this is why the judges have been so hard on her; they know she's capable of a routine like this, which was excellent. She just never showed the joy of dancing before.