Tom reminds us that these are the semifinals, and only three of the remaining dancers will be going on to the finals WEEK. I'm pretty excited about that -- given how many couples we started out with, and the fact that there wasn't any one star I was really behind the whole time, this season has felt looooooong. But you know what else it has been? LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
The couples enter down the big staircase and then Tom once more reviews that there are four remaining couples. Samantha adds that they will be dancing one ballroom and one Latin routine, and then they'll be doing the knockout routine they never got to use. So this is the first time ever that couples have had to do three individual routines in one show. That is a lot, although they've been working on their knockout routines for many weeks, just in case, right?
First up are Donny and Kym. Last week, they did well with their waltz, but their paso doble didn't do so hot, and they ended up tied with Aaron and Karina at the bottom. So now that Aaron's gone, Donny feels like they are bringing up the rear. In rehearsals for their tango, Kym works with Donny on getting the details right so they can up their scores. She even calls in Gilles Marini to help him out with the passion and intensity. Gilles tells Donny that his goal should be to make people feel a little uncomfortable watching the dance because of the passion. He shows Donny how to take control; Donny tries it out and it kind of works for him.
Okay, I don't know what happened between rehearsals and performance, but this routine is not working for me from the beginning. First, the music is this jazzy number that is not tango-like at all. Second, Donny's movements are not nearly precise and sharp enough, and the intensity just isn't there. It's like he lost focus. And worst of all for Donny, he doesn't perform it. Usually you can count on Donny for that, even if his technique isn't great. He seems to know, and looks really disappointed when they finish as Kym whispers something to him.
As Donny walks over to wait for judging, he sits down on the floor and then cries in agony, clearly knowing that the routine didn't work. Len says that he doesn't know why it didn't work, and Donny blames it on the fact that he saw Marie in the audience. Bruno doesn't know why Donny lost it and couldn't cover it up, which is tragic at this point. Carrie Ann says that there was no drama happening, except in Donny's head. She compliments them on making it to the end; apparently they got tangled up in each other's costumes, which I kind of missed. Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7, and Bruno 7. The audience boos, but only mildly, and Donny thinks the judges were kind. As Tom throws it to commercial, Marie is out on the floor with him and she won't shut her trap. Man, do I not miss her AT ALL.
Joanna and Derek are up . Last week, their quickstep didn't do well, but her paso doble FROM THE FUTURE (future future future) did well. In rehearsals, Derek kept telling Joanna that she was doing it all wrong. You have to remember though, that they are taking every time Derek got frustrated over many days and cutting it together. So Brooke Burke comes in to help out, and suggests that they role play and pretend to be one another. I think Brooke has been in couples counseling. Derek felt like Brooke and Joanna were teaming up against him, but he handled it okay. And of course, there is a gross threesome reference. Shut up, threesome reference.
Joanna and Derek have the Viennese Waltz to "Hallelujah". Wow, really? This song? Okay, then. There's a lot of acting at the beginning where it seems like Derek's character is reluctant to dance and Joanna kind of pouts about it, but once they start dancing together, the whole conceit is dropped. Joanna looks beautiful, with great posture and footwork, except then she has a few wobbly turns toward the end. It was nice to watch, but anything that doesn't require hip action from Joanna works out well for them.
Bruno tells Joanna that her waltz had "the grace of angels in heaven," but she had a slight hesitation at times. Carrie Ann compliments Joanna's transformation since early on, and advises her to have more purpose to her movements. Len thinks Joanna's hold is as good as any professionals, and he liked the choreography. He points out a few quibbles, but says that he thought it was beautiful overall. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Kelly and Louis got great marks from the judges last week (even if I thought their jive was kind of weak). This week, Kelly got a call that one of the dogs she was watching died, and she was obviously devastated, but Louis was proud that she was determined to keep rehearsing and push through it. Kelly vows to make their rumba more difficult to prove that she has the technique to do it, and prove how much she has grown through the competition. Their dance is pretty good -- Kelly does her extended solo in the middle and it's kind of weird and awkward, but not really bad dancing-wise. When Louis rejoins her, his hip action is way more pronounced than hers and really shows how much she's NOT doing. They end with a strength pose. It's definitely more mature than anything she's done so far this season, and the audience digs it the most.
Carrie Ann says that Kelly might not be their strongest dancer, but she has "a magical quality" that brought Carrie Ann to tears. Len thinks Kelly has turned into a confident dancer, and while this wasn't one of the best, it wasn't the worst either. Bruno reminds her that being endearing isn't going to take her all the way, and she needs to work more on her technique, but he does admire that she tried such difficult moves. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8.
Mya and Dmitry finally broke through with the first perfect score of the season last week, largely because she finally showed some fire and personality. In their clip package, Dmitry and Mya have to make up for the fact that Mya kind of has no personality by making up some lame thing about having rules written on a whiteboard. Have you noticed that Mya's clip packages are the most contrived? I'm thinking it's because she's kind of a robot with no personality. If you could just make a dancer with Mya's technique and Kelly's personality, that person would win. They have the waltz this week. Their dance is really, really beautiful. I can't think of any other word to describe it than beautiful. And yet... it's kind of boring. Mya's neck is so graceful, and I can't find any flaws in her technique (although they do a lift near the end), but I'm just bored. There's no there there.
Len loved the romance and elegance, and compliments her control. Bruno calls it "love set to music." Carrie Ann thinks that Mya has the potential to get 10s every time, but they need to work on their connection when they're in hold. Agreed. They act like they're complete strangers dancing together. Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 10. Bruno is VERY EXCITED to reveal his score.
Since we've already seen one clip package about each contestant, this time we get the biographical information. Donny's been on television since he was five years old and has been performing with his family ever since. He met his wife when he was seventeen and she was sixteen. But then he went through hard times in the '80s because everyone saw him as a has-been. But he persevered and now he has a loving and supportive family. And he's here to dance the samba to "One Bad Apple." Because this is his Latin round, he has to do his solo in the middle and it's... okay. There's a little hip action but it doesn't look particularly Latin to me. I think Donny's fans will like it, but I think to win this competition, he needs to win over the neutral people like me, who didn't come into this with any one favorite and are just looking for a good performance.
Bruno thinks it was a big comeback after their first routine. Carrie Ann thought it was a little sloppy for him, performance-wise, and the audience boos her heartily. Len agrees with Bruno that it was really good. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
So we all know about Donny, but where in the heck is Joanna from? Well, she was born in Communist Poland, but moved to America with her mom when she was five. Her mom worked in a factory and Joanna helped to raise her little sister. She took ballet lessons as a kid but had to quit when they could no longer afford them. Then she moved to LA and they leave out the part where she was a Juggie on The Man Show and just pretend like she was a model the whole time until now. So how is her cha cha? She opens up with her solo with her back to the camera and her hip action is horrible. Her solo only lasts like two seconds too; it seemed way shorter than the other stars did. Joanna is wearing the fringed pants like Karina has worn in the past; in this case, I feel like they are there to disguise her lack of hip action. If the fringe is moving, maybe the judges won't notice that her hips aren't. This is some bad choreography on Derek's part, at least for Joanna, because it's really drawing attention to how stiff she is through the midsection.
Carrie Ann likes the contrast between Joanna's first dance and this one. Len liked it but was hoping it would be "a little bit more cheeky." Bruno says that she is just "natural sex" and the audience is kind of stunned into silence. But then he goes on to say that for someone who's not a professional dancer, she should be proud for what she's achieved. Were we watching the same routine? Because there was a serious lack of hip action for a Latin dance. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Boo. Undeserved.
Let's learn some more about Kelly, shall we? She was born and raised in the English countryside, but admits that she had an "alternative upbringing" and grew up on the road with her mom and dad. When she was a young teen, her family starred in a reality show on MTV, and she had to deal with people talking shit about her and the other hazards of living a public life. She ended up falling into drugs to deal with it, but she's not been through rehab and is clean and sober. She's really pleased that she's managed to stick with the show, which has been a whole new challenge for her, and has given her confidence and self-esteem. So how is their quickstep? Well, it's quick. You can see that blank look that Kelly looks when she's thinking through the series of steps, but she manages to get through them without stumbling. Louis also seems to be talking her through quite a bit. She messes up the timing on one leap but Louis tries to cover for her. Overall, the difficulty is good, but she still needs to let go and dance every single time instead of only once per night, and not make it so obvious that she's counting in her head. Louis almost drops her at the end too but the crowd loves her.
Len says that there are two people happy: Sharon and him. Len thinks Kelly has blown him away as a dancer, performer, and person. Bruno compares her to Speedy Gonzalez, and he notes that she lost one step in the middle, but overall it was great. Carrie Ann cheers for Kelly, and says that she didn't just keep up, but she was ahead of the game. Kelly gets choked up and thanks the judges for their comments. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
And finally, it's time for Mya's biography. She grew up in DC and Maryland, and came from a humble background. She started tapping as a very young girl, and her mom taught her from a library book (!). She secretly started singing but didn't tell her parents that she could sing until she was a teenager. She lived through her parents' divorce and her mom's battle with breast cancer, and her parents think that's why she has persevered in the competition. She's had a rough life, don't get me wrong. But she still seems kind of closed off to me. Her salsa is anything but closed off, even if she and Dmitry only look each other in the eyes for a few seconds. It's very fast-paced, and features a lot of difficult moves. Her solo has this Josephine Baker feel that's really awesome. We might have another perfect score on our hands.
Bruno stands up and yells "Sen-sa-tion-al!" Carrie Ann says it was hot, and her solo was amazing, and the choreography was really difficult. Len yells out "Tutti frutti, what a booty" and then says that her buttocks mesmerized him. LEN! What? What just happened? Anyway, he thinks she should be in the finals. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. I swear, I predicted that perfect score, although I realize that all of you have no way of knowing that I'm telling the truth.
Okay, I don't really understand this third dance. So this is the routine these couples would have done had they been in a knockout round? But none of them were, so they're going to perform them now instead? I guess that's the gist. There's a really long clip package with all of the stars talking about how they get to pick what dance they do, and how exhausting it will be to do three dances. The package goes on so long that I assume that the knockout dances will be really short.
Donny and Kym are first with a jitterbug. It's kind of a slow jitterbug, but probably a good choice for Donny, since it's in his wheelhouse. It's good but not great. I'm starting to think that Donny should be the one to go tomorrow night. Carrie Ann tells him that he got his mojo back with this one. Len thought it was a winner. Bruno liked that it was upbeat. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Joanna and Derek are doing the salsa. Hmm. Why would you choose something with hip action for Joanna? Joanna really shakes what her mama gave her, and Derek is dancing his heart out. They do a few death drops but she's still got the Barbie legs and hips. And she has a near wardrobe malfunction at the end. Oops. Len says that their routine was "hot, tasty, and full of spice." Bruno calls her a dazzler. Joanna flirts right back at him. Carrie Ann thinks they generate heat. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Kelly and Louis are doing the cha cha cha to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Good song choice, but I don't know about for this dance. They waste a lot of time starting at opposite ends of the dance floor when the whole routine is like a minute long. Kelly has definitely improved from the first week, but she also has no hip action and her footwork isn't great. This was not her best and I'm glad she didn't have to do this as an actual knockout dance, because I don't know if it would have saved her. Bruno tells her that her feet were precise and she finished her moves well. Carrie Ann loved how she finished her lines as well. Len can't believe that she's done three dances so well. Hmm. Are they just praising everyone and letting the people at home decide? Because I didn't think that was great. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.
Mya and Dmitry are also doing the cha cha cha (good thing Kelly went first) and they incorporate some hip hop moves in a way that I don't love. And also the song just sort of ends and it seems like it's unplanned? And Mya does a split and then Dmitry leaps over her? Weird. Carrie Ann liked the hip action, but she didn't like the beginning. Bruno yells at her. Len spends all of his judging time complaining that Bruno yells too much, and then says he was disappointed by their routine because he wanted it to go on longer. Bruno compares it to a great movie trailer and he wishes he could have seen the whole film. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 10, and Bruno 10.
So who won't make it to the finals? Well, Donny's scores are pretty low thanks to their 21, but his fanbase could overcome it. I don't see a lot of overlap between his fanbase and anyone else's, whereas I could see Kelly and Mya and Joanna all working the same angle. So I think Mya is safe, but anyone else could go. It probably should be Kelly, loath as I am to admit it, but I'll be happy with any combination of the remaining dancers in the finals. Here are the final scores:
Mya and Dmitry: 28 + 30 + 29 = 87
Joanna and Derek: 27 + 27 + 27 = 81
Kelly and Louis: 24 + 27 + 27 = 78
Donny and Kym: 21 + 26 + 27 = 74