Last week was another double elimination, with Michael and Mark getting kicked to the curb. Tonight, for the first time, the couples have to perform two individual routines: one ballroom, and one Latin/decade dance (I don't know). A lot of couples have hit the wall, with the flu sweeping through the cast in addition to the normal injuries and plain old frustration. The credits roll and there were people on this season that I totally forgot about already. Like remember Macy Gray? She was pretty bad. I wonder if she'll actually come back when they have the finale or if she'll beg off.
Tom and Samantha introduce the couples as they do their traditional walk down the stairs. I just now realized that Mya has an accent over the y in her name. That's weird. Also, the trumpet player in the band (male) has an awesome manicure. His nails are mad shiny.
Tom explains that in addition to a traditional ballroom dance, each couple will be doing a decade-themed Latin routine, based on either the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, or THE FUTURE! I can't wait to see who got THE FUTURE (and yes, I will continue to type it in all caps -- please imagine an echo effect every time you read it).
So what will the judges be looking for in the ballroom round? How about good dancing? I think that might be swell. The judges explain that in Donny's Viennese waltz, they'll be looking at sweeping movements and good posture. Joanna has the quickstep, and she'll need to keep her balance and not stumble as she has in the past, and keep an eye on her technique. Kelly has the foxtrot, and the judges want to see grace and elegance, and she has to show improvement in her technique. Mya has the quickstep, and the judges want to see less flash, dash, and gimmicks and more technique and traditional dance moves. Aaron has the foxtrot, and he needs to tone down his natural exuberance and concentrate on the natural rise and fall of the dance and control.
Let me say a word about Mya and Dmitry. Some feel that they have been unfairly targeted by the judges, but I totally agree with Len; Mya clearly has the talent and skill to do a textbook ballroom routine, and yet every week she falls short of her potential. I'm not blaming either of them because I don't know whose decision it has been to follow this path, but it feels like they are doing routines to impress the people at home (like me) who don't know shit about ballroom, instead of to show off their technique to the judges. I do think that dancers like Derek are overly praised sometimes, but the reason that Len really loves Derek is because he is always sure to throw in a few traditional ballroom sequences no matter what else he has going on in the routine. Dmitry needs to follow suit if he wants to get those high scores, and it's a bit disingenuous to claim that he doesn't know what Len wants. Len has made it clear what he wants -- good technique and traditional ballroom movements.
So anyway, in their rehearsals, Mya and Dmitry discuss this. They basically decide that they're not going to do what the judges want, and instead go for the wow factor. I think this is a terrible idea. Just show the judges that you CAN do the technique ONCE and they will get off your back. Anyway, the lame setup is that they went for a horseback ride. That will really help their dancing. So how does this all work out for their routine? Well, it's...nice. It's not particular flashy, so I don't know what they were talking about with the wow factor. They don't do a ton of what Len would call fussing about in the open. There seems to be a lot of traditional quickstep moves, and they're executed well. It's just kind of boring. The audience claps politely at the end, but it's not like it's a standing ovation. I think of some of the quicksteps that people like Julianne have choreographed in the past, and those were exciting. This just didn't do it for me.
Len thinks he has a different priority than this couple, because he's concerned with the technique and they're concerned with the wow factor. He goes on and you think he's going to say bad things, but then he says that he couldn't find anything to criticize. Bruno says that it was quality, like good champagne. Carrie Ann thought Mya made it look easy and graceful. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Mya looks shocked. I'm shocked. I thought it was good, but not 10 good.
Aaron and Karina got high judges' scores last week, but as has been his pattern, still ended up near the bottom when the viewers' scores were factored in. And yet, he won the dance-off, and got to stay. In rehearsals, Aaron realizes that Karina is running a fever, and he wants her to rest, but she vows that he won't be dancing with anyone but her, so they both don masks and continue practicing. I wonder how she's feeling now. So Aaron's foxtrot looks weird and I can't figure out why. I think he's trying so hard to get the rise-and-fall part right that he leads with his chin. So every time he rises up on his toes, he also points his chin up in the air. It's not very graceful, and he also gets ahead of the beat at certain points. He seems like he's in his head the whole time. That said, he doesn't miss a step, and it's a content-filled routine.
Bruno says that he can tell that Aaron worked hard on it, but it wasn't smooth and easy. Carrie Ann agrees that they're going to be looking at the details, and he showed his effort too much. Len is proud of Aaron and how hard he's worked and how much effort he's put in. That is Len-speak for "I'm not giving you a good score but I don't want it to look like I'm bullying you because I think this is the best you can probably do." Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 8, and Bruno 8.
Last week, Joanna and Derek ended up at the top of the scoreboard. This week, they have the quickstep, and you can't really make this dance sexy. In rehearsal, Derek uses footage of Mya to show Joanna what she should be doing. I find this really bizarre since Len just got done talking about how Mya has lacked technique until this week. Suddenly, I feel like the show is promoting Mya as the frontrunner when that hasn't really been the case previously. Like why did we just spend most of Joanna's segment talking about how awesome Mya is? Or are they trying to set up a final two here? Anyway, the quickstep. It's really fast-paced and Derek is selling the hell out of it, but Joanna has a bouncing problem. I don't know if she doesn't bend her knees enough (or at all) or what, but she looks like she might break. The parts where they run around the floor look good, but the parts where she's supposed to be bouncing are not so good. Derek does inject a lot of energy into the routine, though and the audience gives them a standing O.
Carrie Ann points out that the routines are longer than usual, and they had a lot of content, but she didn't point her toes enough. Len doesn't think it's the standard for the quarterfinal and Derek nods like he knows it wasn't good enough. Bruno knows it was difficult, but there were some issues with her footwork and legs, and overall it wasn't one of her best. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 7, and Bruno 8. The audience boos Len's score.
I think this is make-or-break week for Kelly. She's never really lived up to her routine the first week. She hasn't been TERRIBLE, but she's kind of been skating by on personality. Louis shows in rehearsal how Kelly finds excuses to take time off during rehearsals, like stopping when people come by to say hello, or bringing her puppies to rehearsal, or answering the phone. Finally, Louis locks all of her stuff in a box (except the puppies) to get her to focus. Well, I for one think that Kelly has shown great improvement with her foxtrot. She's actually dancing instead of thinking about the steps, and she's performing instead of looking terrified. And her technique is great for the most part. I really liked this routine --it's my favorite of the night so far.
Len says that she brought grace and elegance to the routine, although her footwork was not great. Bruno thought she was light and ethereal, and she sustained the performance throughout. Carrie Ann says that Kelly's secret weapon is that the audience roots for her, but she needs to work on her turns and extensions if she's going to stay. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 9.
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.
Carrie Ann has to yell over the audience cheering, and she says that the samba was perfect and beyond belief. Len thinks Mya is on fire, and her hips were hypnotic. Len also appreciates that she did two great dances tonight with no gimmicks. Bruno loved how Mya channeled Diana Ross and he starts singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" while Len and Carrie Ann just die laughing. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10! So deserved, and the first perfect score of the season.
Aaron is happy that they got the '90s since it's the only era that he remembers. Karina decides to incorporate some of Aaron's moves from performing as a kid. He tries to get her to do "the Rodeo" and gets way too excited about it, for such a dorky looking dance move. Boy, this could get ugly if Karina was too sick to stand up to Aaron's ridiculous ideas. And they're dancing to "Two Princes," which is not really what I think of when I think of the samba. Aaron is back to being a try-hard during this routine; it makes me uncomfortable to watch him because he's over-dancing the entire time. He also seems like he's marching in place instead of doing the samba, although the samba does poke through at times, and it's not bad. You certainly can't fault him for lack of energy, I'll give him that. There's not much about it that's '90s until the last eight bars or so, when they do a boy-band like segment that has nothing to do with the samba. The audience loved it even if I didn't, and it probably wasn't fair to make them do their routine right after Mya and Dmitry.
Len acknowledges that it was tough to follow Mya, but he loved how Aaron sold the routine. Bruno thinks it's difficult to merge '90s and the samba, but they did it with a lot of energy. Carrie Ann knows she gave them a hard time early on, but she thinks Aaron's tamed his energy. Really? Because I found it worse than ever. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Joanna and Derek have the paso doble from THE FUTURE. So Derek starts acting like a robot, and Joanna gets annoyed, and I don't blame her. But I am looking forward to Derek getting creative with the choreography. Derek explains that their routine features them dancing side-by-side a lot, so if Joanna screws up, it will be really noticeable. So do they pull it off? Well, it's definitely different. They're dressed sort of like space traveler robots, and they move very stiffly, but because it's Derek, he also threw a lot of traditional paso moves in. It's missing the aggression of the paso; because they are robots, it's all done very unemotionally. It looks cool as hell, but I don't know how the judges will feel. It was a really difficult mixture to achieve, though and it really was a great accomplishment by Derek.
Bruno says "the replicants are taking over the dance floor," and he thought it was "a masterful reinvention." Carrie Ann compliments Derek's choreography and also notes that Joanna didn't miss a step. Len also thought it was genius, because he didn't know how Derek would even start. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 10, and Bruno 10.
Kelly and Louis got the '60s for their jive. Kelly gets into the design of their costumes, as well as being able to contribute some of the moves since she knows her '60s dances. Her one concern is being able to keep up with Louis because the dance requires so much stamina. So they're dancing to "River Deep, Mountain High," an awesome song, but they start out with a whole skit where Kelly has a rag doll and Louis takes it and she gets it back and it's not dancing and Len's going to hate it. The routine itself is good, but not great -- it lacks the energy and confidence of her first routine. Ballroom really is Kelly's forte. She ends by sitting on Bruno's lap and sucking her thumb. This could have been awesome; instead it's back to mediocre. And I love Kelly and want her to do well.
Len is impressed that Kelly has barreled through the pressure and gotten stronger every week. Bruno thought it was groovy and he makes Kelly sit on his lap again as he counsels her not to be afraid. Carrie Ann thought it was one of her best performances, even if the doll thing lasted a little too long. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Donny and Kym find out that they have the '80s for the paso doble. Donny gets really excited about the bolero jacket and wearing a mullet. He's all dressed up like Adam Ant, and they're dancing to "Right Round," albeit a slowed down version. They put a lot of '80s into the routine, right down to the smoke machines and the fans in their hair, but the high-waisted pants Donny is wearing are not working for me. He screws up the trick at the end too, and the tempo seems too slow. But it's hilarious, and he knows it, so he's in on the joke.
Len thought it was crazy and scary but he still liked it. Bruno thought it had "more camp than a drag queen's convention" and he wasn't sure if he was watching Donny or Marie. Marie is actually there in the audience so of course she has to mug for the camera. Carrie Ann thought it was hilarious, even if they did go over the line into insanity a little bit. That's true; there was a moment when I thought, "Am I watching something like Marie's crazy doll dance?" But the dancing quality was better, so I felt reassured. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8.
So who's going home tomorrow? I think it'll be Aaron and Karina because it's been shown time and time again that Aaron doesn't have the fanbase to save him even when he has high scores, and frankly, Aaron's second routine was my least favorite of the night. We'll find out tomorrow -- here are your final scores:
Mya and Dmitry: 29 + 30 = 59
Joanna and Derek: 23 + 29 = 52
Kelly and Louis: 25 + 26 = 51
Aaron and Karina: 23 + 27 = 50
Donny and Kym: 26 + 24 = 50