By Kim
So they're going to show us how the teams were chosen. Apolo chose Derek first, and then Kristi chose Mark, because Mark was her partner. Apolo, no fool, picked Brandy and Maks , so that's how the teams ended up so lopsided. Kristi is dumb. I wonder if the producers made her do that. So Kristi's team works together to put their cha cha cha in place. Lacey kind of takes the lead because they have done the cha cha cha once and got good marks for it. I think Bristol especially warms to rehearsing with other women; she's not as self-conscious, and Lacey and Cheryl are very sweet about cheering her on. Rick is struggling, though, and looking to Kyle for pointers. When Kristi shows up, she sees that Rick is struggling and simplifies the choreography for him.
So how is the actual routine? Well, it's pretty good. Better than I expected. When they dance all together in the beginning, it looks pretty good although Bristol forgets some steps near the end of that section. Mark overdances as usual. Each of the solos are okay. None of them really wow me. Mark has Bristol in hold the whole time, but I will say that she does a good job performing. Maybe better than she's ever been. So is "better than expected" good enough to win? The judges compliment them for doing good work despite being the underdogs. Well, at least they are admitting it. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8 for a total of 24. That's pretty good! I think the other group is going to crush them.
Apolo's team gets together to figure out their routine, which is based on Apolo and Julianne's freestyle. Kurt feels a little left out, since the other male dancers he's working with are Maks and Derek. So that would kind of suck. When the group gets together for their second rehearsal, things seem stressful. Jennifer has to take a twenty-minute break every two hours, according to her doctor. Brandy and Maks are sniping at each other. Wow, do they not get along AT ALL. Poor Kurt is just confused. Apolo shows up and watches them practice. He pretends to be confident but it doesn't look great.
So how does the routine turn out? Well, first of all, the three dudes have Apolo-style chin strips, which cracked me up. And Kurt, clearly the weak link here, does a passable job. He's relaxed enough on the floor that he doesn't stand out, which is kind of the point. I actually thought Brandy and Maks's solo was the weakest because, for some reason, Maks was WAY overdancing it. Like he was taking these huge steps and hamming it up like he's Mark Ballas or something. It made me uncomfortable. Overall, it was fun to watch but it wasn't as good as some of the team dances of the past. I wonder if it's because they had to base it on Apolo's routine instead of just coming up with their own. And also, the guy trying to rap "Bust a Move" was terrible and screwed up the lyrics. Carrie Ann thinks that they didn't dumb down the routine or fit it to the lowest common denominator. Hmm, I don't know about that, but whatever. Bruno and Len also have good things to say, which makes me think that they're going to get high scores, and it was kind of predetermined. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9 for a total of 27.
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