Last week, Priscilla went home and Sara M kicked ass on the results show. I, on the other hand, was in an airport in Cincinnati on a layover while the show was airing, so...who's the winner there? Anyway, this week will be the group dance -- my favorite! And it's all LIIIIIIIIIVE!
During their introductions, Kristi and Mark both put their finger on the end of their nose. I wonder who that signal was for? Samantha struggles to explain that this week, each couple will do a dance they have not yet attempted, and then they'll do a group dance.
First up this week are Jason and Edyta. Last week, Len said he wants to see Jason do more than just stand there. As they rehearse their cha cha, Edyta says that Jason needs to use his own moves and personality, since they won't be in hold the whole time. So Edyta takes Jason to a freestyle dance class, where there is a dance off! Awesome! They didn't show nearly enough footage of that. What, you'd prefer more time at SeaWorld?
I don't know if Edyta or Jason is in charge of choosing the songs, but they always have the best choices -- this week it's "Best of My Love." Jason is doing a lot of pelvic rolls. For some reason, I also find it endearing when he sings along, even though I normally find it annoying. Jason is back to looking at his feet though, and sometimes at Edyta's feet instead.
Len thinks they had enough content this week, but he went off time in a few instances. Overall, though, Len liked it. Bruno thought Jason was a little cheeky and flamboyant this week, but his footwork wasn't as great. Carrie Ann thought there was a little awkwardness in his arms, and advises Jason to dance bigger, which I think is a good point. When you're unsure of the moves, you tend to do very little, lest you mess up. If you're going to mess up, mess up big. Backstage, Jason admits that he has trouble when he's not in hold. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8. Jason admits that it was a tough week for him, so he's happy with those scores.
Last week, Derek and Shannon didn't do very well, and it wasn't even due to Derek's bout of food poisoning earlier in the day. And then they were totally photographed by the paparazzi making out on the beach! And guess where they go to rehearse -- that's right, the beach. And Derek takes his shirt off for no apparent reason. He reminds Shannon to remember the romantic mood at the beach while she's on the floor doing the rumba. I was kind of hoping the tabloid photos were just a setup for the show, but I guess not. Especially since allegedly Derek has/had a girlfriend and Shannon has/had a boyfriend. Is it sad that I'm this wrapped up in showmance gossip? It kind of is.
Shannon does much better at dances where she doesn't have to have hip action, and where she can just stick her long legs and arms out like a baby giraffe, but more graceful. There's a lot of chemistry there as well -- Derek definitely has more chemistry with Shannon than he ever did with Jennie Garth, whether it's real or put on for the dance.
Judges? Bruno thought it was "sizzling" but he thinks Shannon needs more hip action. Shannon looks confused. Carrie Ann thinks Shannon is what the show is all about, because she has potential but she's not living up to it yet. Len compliments their chemistry and thought it was a good job overall. Shannon looks devastated at any little bit of criticism. She really needs to develop a tougher skin. Hey, Tom just announced that Julianne and Apolo as well as Mel and Maks are coming back in two weeks. Yay! I literally just clapped.
Backstage, Samantha tries to get Shannon and Derek to talk about their showmance. Like, she totally grills them, to the point where it's a bit uncomfortable. Shannon and Derek have nothing to say other than that they have been working hard on their routines. Derek finally admits that they are so committed to the dance that they went to the beach and got into their characters, sort of tacitly admitting to making out on the beach. I don't know why they don't admit it -- if they spin the relationship right, it would totally get them votes. Oh, but I guess they don't necessarily want to exploit their personal lives that way. Hmph. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8.
Marlee Matlin is looking HOT this week, with a tiger print dress that's barely there. They struggled last week, and Marlee was very upset, but this week they are doing the mambo, and Fabian was the World Mambo Champion in 2006. So who shows up to help out? THE FONZ! Okay, he's Henry Winkler, and he's there to give her a pep talk, because they are friends. It's a little weird seeing the Fonz give this intense speech about Marlee's spirit. Because when I'm not seeing him as the Fonz, I'm seeing him as Barry Zuckercorn from Arrested Development.
It's weird because in the first few weeks, Marlee's deafness didn't seem to affect their dances all that much. But the last two weeks, it has become really obvious that she can't hear the music and her moves seem very tentative. It's not that good this week, and I want it to be really good. Carrie Ann points out that Marlee looks amazing. She adds that the mambo is about your connection with the music, so obviously it's going to be Marlee's toughest dance, and it showed. Len thinks Marlee is an inspiration, but this routine looked uncomfortable. Bruno thinks the timing is crucial in the mambo, and she messed up a few times, but he thinks that she should be proud of what she's accomplished. The judges really went out of their way there to make it look like they weren't picking on the deaf girl, didn't they? Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7, Bruno 7. That's about right, if not a little higher than I expected. Backstage, Samantha points out that the group dance is still coming up, and the judges won't be scoring that. Marlee smiles and says that it was fun to work on and she's looking forward to it.
Christian and Cheryl lacked polish in their rumba last week, and they ended up in the bottom two. This week, they are dancing the foxtrot, and Christian struggles with the arm movements. Cheryl has him practice his arm movements in the pool so he can learn the flowing movements. He claims that he's going to be known as "Christian de la Foxtrot" after this.
Christian's footwork is amazingly light, but he's a little ahead of the beat. His facial expressions are a lot less crazy and intense, but he almost looks asleep at times. He also seems to be counting in his head during certain sections. But overall, I liked this routine better than his Latin dances.
Len says that if Christian is in the bottom two tomorrow, he'll show his bum in the supermarket. Bruno thinks it was Christian "at his dashing best," and his footwork was excellent. Carrie Ann thought Christian was very refined, and everything was great. Christian doesn't even know what to do with himself after getting such great reviews. He's hugging Cheryl and Tom and I think he would hug the bandleader if he could. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Samantha points out that it's Christian's best score in the competition and it's the best score of the night so far.
Last week, Marissa finally got the judges on her side, so this week she's going to attempt the Viennese waltz. During rehearsals, Marissa gets really dizzy during the spins. How could she possibly be on Broadway and not know how to spot a turn? That's like the first thing we learned in dance class when I was ten years old. Okay, the second thing, after step ball change. And then my dance teacher told me to drink grapefruit juice to melt the fat off my thighs. I was ten. Anyway, enough about my damage. Marissa actually does a great job extending her legs and arms on the turns; she's no Shannon Elizabeth, but she does look fairly graceful. She kind of screws up the slide at the end, but it's a minor detail.
Bruno thought it was "light and frothy" and he liked the technical aspects. Carrie Ann is on Marissa's side too. Len enjoys seeing Marissa's confidence grow from week to week. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8, and Bruno 9. Marissa is SCREAMING backstage. She can't believe she got two nines. She can barely get a hold of herself to answer Samantha's questions, but then again, Samantha's questions usually suck, so who cares?
Kristi and Mark did a sultry rumba last week, and earned a nearly perfect score. This week, Kristi and Mark performed at Tiger Woods' charity benefit, but then got straight to rehearsal. While learning the jive, Kristi reveals that she was born with club feet, so he feet tend to turn in.
Their routine is technically very impressive, but it's just not exciting to me. I can appreciate how difficult the choreography is, but it just leaves me cold. Carrie Ann thinks it was the best routine of the season. Len loved it too. Bruno loved the performance aspect, not to mention the technical proficiency. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. The first perfect score of the season. Mark lifts Kristi into the air and nearly exposes her business to the audience.
Hey, Paula Abdul is in the audience! If she were to be on the show season, as has been rumored, I would hate to hear the cries of "ringer". Although it would be entertaining to see her stumble and slur her way through the routines.
Mario and Karina almost caught up to Kristi and Mark last week, and Mario hopes to take the lead this week. Mario and Karina rehearse their rumba. Mario takes a moment out to call his little brother, who is ADORABLE, and I want him to be on the show every week.
Their rumba starts to "Let's Get It On." Hmm. Subtle. There's a lot of them sliding up against each other, and there are a lot of moves that seem like they could be called lifts. At one point, you can see the judges in the background fanning themselves because the routine is so hot. It just seemed like a lot of grinding and not much dancing.
Len starts off by saying that he doesn't want to see them get it on in the ballroom. He thought it was too sexual and not romantic enough. Bruno accuses him of being "crusty and stiffy." I think he meant stuffy. And then during his comments he says something about eating something and gets bleeped. Carrie Ann thinks it was better than good sex, but points out the lift. Thank you! I was wondering if I had imagined that. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 10. I bet they would have had a perfect score if not for the lift. They really need to enforce that or not; it's ridiculous that one judge deducts a point for something and then another doesn't. Ri-goddamn-diculous.
Now we get to see the rehearsal for the group dance, which is going to have a Western theme. There will be two groups: the outlaws and the sheriffs. Kristi is the leader of the sheriffs, and Jason is the leader of the outlaws. They learn the routines, but then the crash mat comes out so that they can practice the lifts that they're finally allowed to do in this routine. Everyone tries to outdo each other on the tricks and lifts in order to garner votes. This could be awesome, or a disaster. Or an awesome disaster.
So here we go! It starts with all of the men fake fighting, and then the women come out and it turns into kind of a square dance. They form a tunnel. First through are Shannon and Derek. At the end, Shannon flips Derek, and then he throws her around his body a few times, which is impressive since she's like a foot taller than him. through are Marissa and Tony. He picks her up and twirls her around and then she does a really ungraceful backbend. And then all of the guys pick up the women and kind of throw them and it's really sad because Tony can barely toss Marissa while all of the other women go flying.
Kristi and Mark come through the tunnel and do like a hundred spins, and then he flips her around and loses his hat in the process. Marlee and Fabian are up . They do some weird one-legged turn and then she hops on his back and he twirls. I don't know if she was scared to do a real trick, but that was kind of lame. After another hoedown interlude, Mario and Karina are through the tunnel. Their lift is the only one that looks like dancing so far; he lifts her onto his shoulder so it looks like she's flying, and spins her around. Cheryl and Christian are ; she puts her legs around his waist while she's facing forward and then touches her hands to the ground and then up in the air a few times. It doesn't sound that exciting but it has to take an incredibly strong back on her part, because he's not doing any of the work. Jason and Edyta finally get to do their trick; she straddles one of his shoulders, facing outward, and he spins her around without holding her with his hands. It looks scary, especially when you consider how tall he is. They all end in a big pose with the women on the floor and the men standing.
Bruno said it wasn't always in perfect sync, but he loved it. Carrie Ann thought it was kind of chaotic, but she liked the women's part the best. Len thought it was fun and energetic, and he points out Jason and Mario's lifts as the best. He's totally right. I thought Shannon and Derek's trick was the most ambitious but they kind of screwed it up.
Final standings:
Kristi and Mark: 30
Mario and Karina: 28
Christian and Cheryl: 27
Jason and Edyta: 24
Shannon and Derek: 24
Marlee and Fabian: 21
So who's going? I'm torn. I think Marlee has been faltering the past few weeks, but I also think that people want to see her succeed. I would say Christian, but his scores were pretty high. I'm going to say Christian, just because he's been in the bottom two before, so he clearly doesn't have a huge fanbase. See you tomorrow night!