I like it better without money, whether it's for charity or not. As far as I'm concerned, all 6 of these people (including Twista), should be getting money for their charity (as long as it's not the Fireman's Bad Poetry Club).

Because there was no money, I know that Rachel crying wasn't because she lost money. It was because she was truly having fun and didn't want the experience to end. It was a very natural moment.

I thought they WERE dancing for charity?



Well, the fans who hated her on GH called her Punky Boobster.....

WHERE are Sandy Duncan and John LatinoGuy when you need them? Please, powers-that-be, get rid of these "judges" and get someone recognizable from other PBS dance shows as judges. The current judges all seemed to vote based on their personal opinions of the person and were playing somewhat to the audience in the studio. I didn't feel like they were giving good, reasoned opinions based on what they saw on the dance floor....their comparisons to previous weeks etc...was just annoying. Let's look at what is happening NOW to base their scores....how about that? Also, they had about 10 seconds each to make a statement....which means they usually made an outrageous statement to rile the studio audience.

Meanwhile, the gal backstage hemmed and hawwed and made small talk. She needs to go. Now. The time wasted on her asking inane questions or making irrelevant comments should be spent on the judges giving more reasoned opinions. Also, her dress was so horrible it was distracting. I felt like every dress she had on was somehow pinned in the back to hold it together.

I loved watching them dance, but had No Idea what I should look for. I really enjoyed Joey and Ashley. They were more entertaining than Alec and Kelly. IMO, Kelly's dances consisted of a series of shimmys and running around. Alex has a scary face and greasy hair. I was squeed-out by his bare chest, please, cover that up!

The music is horrible. There must be Some Money in ABC's budget to get some decent music? The singers are horrible lounge singer rejects (no offense to lounge singers). Next time around, something has Got to be done about them.

My vote is for John and Charlotte. Actually, seeing his interviews, and reading his comments, I think he is simply excited about the competition and is working hard to do his best. Can't blame him for wanting to win. They all do.

I agree. From what I've been watching, the judges have been more enamored with Kelly as Most Improved rather than as Good Dancer. That isn't fair. The only couple, in my opinion, who has been judged consistently (or as consistent as these judges can be) is Charlotte and John. When they've been off, the judges made note of it. When they've been on, the judges made note of it. Kelly and Alec (Kelly in particular) get the "Well, when I think back to how much you sucked week one and I see that you don't suck as much tonight, I notice a difference" type of judging.

Aargh!!!

See, now my feeling is that the male judges just didn't like Joey and were never going to give him a fair chance. I don't know what he did to piss them off. Perhaps he ran over their dog and didn't apologize but, even when they had nice things to say about the dance, their scores were always lower than when they said equally effusive things about another couple.

I must be missing something here. While I do think that John and Charlotte were the best fox trot last night, I felt that had so much to do with Charlotte and not all that much to do with John. I really do think that John has been the beneficiary of Charlotte's skill and knowledge. She makes him look so much better than he is. And the Paso dance was just laughable to me. If that is a dance that is supposed to be "all about the male dancer" than John fell really short of the mark last night. And, yet, still...9s from all the judges. I am baffled by how they score. I would like to see the judge's sheets on what they marked off on and what they gave points for because I'm just not seeing it.

Different strokes, as you say. I see it as neither pleasant or unpleasant, just neutral. And I feel that "bitchface" is a pretty harsh term when it isn't backed up with the accompanying attitude. No pity, it just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm rooting for John and Charlotte to win anyway. I like Kelly and Alec and think they deserve to get to second place. I also think that Ashly had the best dress of the evening for her Paso number. It was sexy and moved beautifully while also fitting her personality. Joey didn't look bad himself but the poor guy just can't compete with a shirtless Alec. Sorry Joey. Hate every one of Kelly's outfits. Sorry Kelly.

While I will agree that Kelly has improved immensely, one of the reasons that I find her so difficult to watch is because of the completely graceless, stiff way that she holds her hands. Someone mentioned above that she took ballet lessons and I cannot believe that before teaching her a simple plie an instructor would not show her the correct way to present her hands. She's like a five year old trying to play "ballerina" with her fingers all glued together and her hands board stiff. I can't believe she hasn't incorporated the-index-finger-to-the-top-of-the-head twirl yet.

Possibly. At the beginning they all seemed to have it in for Kelly but I guess she didn't give them the crazed psycho eyes that Joey did and then actually had the audacity to improve so now they're all about her.

Joey's been pretty much the same and still gives them the crazed psycho eyes when they offer a negative statement.

Or maybe they just didn't like 'Hangin' Tough.'

It is a good thing, however, that none of the stars danced with each other as any part of the gimmick. If Joey had danced with Rachel I think Bruno's head might have exploded over the inner battle between kissing Rachel's ass and spewing venom at Joey.

Although that would have been some entertainment right there. "I LOVE you... I HATE you... you are a LOVE GODDESS... you flail about with NO ELEGANCE... LOVE... HATE..." Kaboom.

Well, learning how to hold your hands is going to take a lot more than a week's worth of ballet to a) really learn how to do it and b) make it second nature. Of course she's like a 5-year-old playing ballerina-- that's exactly where she is in her ballet education, as it were. I don't like Kelly's dancing much, but I can't fault her for not having hands like Julie Kent after one week of ballet.

ITA with everyone about the inconsistent judging. I would love to see this done with all ballroom judges, or at least all judges with ballroom experience. Is that how it is in the UK and Aussie versions? I know that the show is not exactly about educating the public about DanceSport, but it's just completely inaccurate to have the judges raving about Kelly's "Paso" when it wasn't a Paso at all. Plus the feedback from more knowledgable ballroom people would probably be more helpful and then the "Stars" (hee!) would end up being even better by the end, which would make for a better competition. Of course, they all have their coaches, but having knowledgable judges couldn't hurt.

Can someone here who knows about dance please answer this question? When dance partners are dancing side by side and doing exactly the same steps, are they supposed to be completely synchronized, or is it okay if they are totally out of synch, with each just doing the steps their own way and in their own rhythm? Because I have to tell you, Kelly and Alex were utterly and completely out of synch when they were doing the same steps side by side. I was sure they'd get hammered by that.

I really cannot stand Peterman. His "dancing" is comprised of striking poses, stomping about and exhibiting over-the-top expressions. Agree with all who've said he is benefitting from the obvious expertise and talent of his partner.

Why have they never revealed the audience voting results? Something smells fishy with that.

I've enjoyed Joey and Ashly the most and I'm happily sitting atop the Grassy Knoll with my belief that the judges have rigged this against them and in favor of Peterman and Charlott-AH.

This show needs better hosts, better judges and a more fair, out-in-the-open scoring system.

Oh and Shut. Up. Lisa.

Just speaking for myself, the audience participation nonsense is what I hate about this show. (Okay, that and the co-hosts.) I love watching the dancing but I've never danced in my life and I don't have any illusions about being qualified to judge the contestants. I don't like the idea of somebody sticking around in a contest longer than they should due to the viewing audience thinking they're "nice" or "a real trooper" or "put-upon" or because of any reason that has nothing to do with their performance. I hated that nonsense on "American Idol" and I hate it on this show. I put a lot more stock in the opinions of the professional judges than I do in that of the Pavlovian studio audience ("Praise? Yay! Criticism? Boo!") or in the opinion of the average shmoe off the street -- and remember, I'm including myself as one of those shmoes. Of course, even the judges' opinions are debateable, but I'm learning that from other people who are knowledgeable about ballroom dancing. That said, I have to agree with the posters who are guessing that without the audience factor, there wouldn't be a show at all. And I wouldn't want that!

Are they? I can find no mention of anything but a trophy on the ABC site. And I can't recall anything mentioned during the episodes I've seen about any kind of charity connection...

One reason I loved watching Championship Ballroom dancing back in the day was the amazing outfits. Those twirly whirly skirts were so beautiful. 10 yards of marabou spinning like pizza dough in the air... (although I will admit, I always hated the ban de soliel tans on the dancers!)

So, I was really disappointed in both Kelly and Ashly's foxtrot outfits. No marabou! No twirly whirly goodness.

However, I watched the show with my daughter (she's 4 so she stayed up way past her bedtime!) and we had to dance to every song. And that was pretty fun.

There are 2 answers to this: yes and no. If, as Alec & Kelly were doing (sort of) last night, you are performing the same steps, then they should be as perfectly synchronized as possible, including angles, arms, hands, heads, timing, body ticks, etc. If you are not doing the same steps, but complimentary steps, then it would preferable to show a relationship between the partners by looking at each other and having a more action/reaction type of movement.

For those of you who are suggesting that the show would be better with all ballroom judges, a word of warning. Ballroom is a subjectively judged sport; worse yet, it's an incredibly policital insular world (see "Strictly Ballroom"). The judges, while more qualified in ballroom than Bruno or Carrrie Ann, would not agree about performances any more than these judges do. I agree that in America, where the couples are asked to/allowed to do American Style (think Fred & Ginger) dancing, the show should have judges who are conversant with American Style. At least the judges shouldn't dismiss it as "not being foxtrot." That only shows THEIR ignorance.

At 'legit' ballroom competitions there are always an odd number (greater than one) of judges on the floor. This is to average out their baises and preferances. I know a number of american judges who were approached about the show, and I don't think there would be any greater consensus among them than there currently is; worse, then the politics of the competitive scene would be brought into the show without the celebs or the viewing public being aware of it.

They got paid a lump sum for appearing but it's about pride, baybee! And a trophy.

Hee, I actually taped last night's episode to watch it again tonight.

John & Charlotte: I thought they were awesome in both dances with their foxtrot being right up there with their quickstep. He is obviously made for ballroom. I could totally see them as Fred & Ginger. They are just so smooth and elegant together. And she has an incredible body that I would kill to have. Long, lean, and muscular nonetheless. If ballroom dancing will get me that body then here I come. Screw Pilates. They always have the best costumes and the best music for their dances. As to whether this is favoritism from the producers or Charlotte working hard to get the best she can get, I don't know. I hope it is the latter.

Kelly & Alec: Their foxtrot was okay. No Fred & Ginger there, I'm afraid. Their paso doble didn't seem as paso doble as John & Charlotte's. I really don't like her costumes. Charlotte never seems to be in danger of a wardrobe malfunction, why does Kelly? I appreciate the fact that she is doing all this while holding down a full-time job which makes her determination all the more admirable. But overall, she isn't graceful. In regards to her so called "bitchface", I don't see it. It seems neutral overall. Alec, even with his fine ass, I find his eyes completely dead. He seems to be staring off into nowhere.

Joey & Ashly: It didn't very much like a foxtrot but I figured that was due to the music. I would imagine it would be rather difficult to choreograph a Fred & Ginger-style foxtrot to "Hey Big Spender". But I really enjoyed their dance performance overall. Then they got stuck with "Eye of the Tiger" for their paso doble. They don't seem to have stood a chance this week. I was glad to see that she finally put her foot down with Joey. She is the professional here. She may not have the competitive and teaching experience of Charlotte but I'm sure she is no slouch.

If this show continues for another season, they need to get better judges, clearer rules on what to do in the dance, and better music. In some cases, I think the couples have been sabotaged by their musical selection. Even if given five songs to choose from, if all five are all wrong, the professional is only going to be able to do so much. I understand they are attempting to use pop music, but dancing to "I've Got You Babe" or "Toxic" is just plain wrong.

Last night was the first time I actually voted by phone. I got through all five times and voted for John & Charlotte. I will log onto abc.com today and vote for them again. They are the only couple who have maintained a high level of quality in their dance even on their off nights.

It wouldn't explain to me how she always seems to end up with first choice among all the competitors. It's inexplicable to me how they got the bullfight music while Ashley got stuck with "Eye of the Tiger".

When this show returns next time, I really think that everyone should have to perform to the same musical selection. They still have to do the choreography on their own. Yes, the music would be repetitive, but it would be interesting to see the different routines that each pro comes up with. And a lot easier to compare. It's not really fair to compare a traditional Paso Doble like Peterman's with one like Joey's.

UK: ?.
Aussie: Yes.

In the Australian version gives the judges more time to critique, rather than reduced to spitting out sound bytes.

Kelly's got bigger boobage.

See, this is where I think Charlotte's experience came in handy. In addition to dancing the style that played to her own strengths, she was probably savvy enough to know that, with two non-American judges on the panel, the chances of an American style foxtrot being well received were not quite as good. There's something to be said for playing to the judges' prejudices/ignorance. I wonder if the comparatively inexperienced Ashly would even think of something like this? And if she did, would she even try to convince Joey that "flashier," in this situation, wasn't "better?"

LMAO dandesun! Would you mind coming over here and helping wipe masticated lettuce off my monitor?

I agree with those who say Joey is a better dancer than Kelly. It's not fair, anyway, comparing celebrity men to celebrity women, especially in the Paso Doble. What Joey did vs. what Kelly did? Come on.

O'Hurley has GREAT on-air personality, but one thing bugs me -- Charlotte is always looking up at him with affection, she never takes her eyes off him, faces him all the time -- and he barely reciprocates. Look at your partner, John! Acknowledge her glowing countenance!

I'm guessing I'm not too different from most men watching this show. I couldn't care less what kind of dances they do or what music is used. I just want to look at eye candy like Kelly, Ashly with no "e" and Edyta. They could dance the electric slide to the theme song from Barney for all I care. What this show does for me is get me in the mood for watching G-String Divas on HBO.

From the clips I saw of the Aussie version of this show..... I need satellite, not cable!

Do you think the music is picked on who ranked in 1st? Because that would explain why J & C get the best selections first.

It can't be, because if we are to believe the scoring, Peterman was in last place last week. So he would have gotten the third pick of song. And yet he ended up with what I'm sure all the pros would have wanted as their Paso Doble song.

I felt the exact same way. Not a whole lot of actual foxtrotting. Alec---hot, hot, hot. The growth and the paso outfit were scorching.


And her outfits are A LOT skimpier. The fox trot outfit was nice, but thought when she was bending backward that she was going to share a lot more than what was called for according to the Parent's Television Council. It wouldn’t be bad if she were wearing illusion or some sort of skin tone arm bands, but really ick. Plus the skirt hindered her feet during the footwork, which was pretty shoddy. On the other hand, maybe that was why she wore the long skirt.


She certainly doesn’t need it after doing those Sprint ads.


Stop…my stomach hurts today! Owww.

Despite what I said at the beginning of the show, Tom Bergeron is actually growing on me a little with the comment about no microphone on Kelly. Lisa C. on the other hand needs to go back to broadcast school or find some other job that doesn’t require to speak unscripted or scripted for that matter! Maybe she just shouldn't speak at All.

I enjoyed seeing Louis again and it was too bad he was partnered with Trista, the reality ice queen. Eyebrow pop. Sizzle. Just waiting for the jazz hands to appear.

JO’H’s facial expressions didn’t bother me this week because the paso doble is supposed to be over the top and dramatic. I liked that he gave himself a character to play…it worked and helped carry them through the program. Also, I don’t know what the judges were talking about last week. I saw John move his hips quite well for a 49-year-old man. They do get the best music and most classic outfits. I think they are playing to a more mature (don't hate me) audience. I love it, too.

Hated Ashly & Joey’s outfits. Ugh. Red polka dots? And really, they did more of a broadway number more than a fox trot that I saw. If it included a couple steps of the fox trot, it wasn’t enough to suit me or the judges.

To me, Bruno looks like a cross between Felix Unger and the church lady (the pursed lips), with an Italian accent thrown in for good measure.

As much as I love Alec, what he danced was more of a Samba than the Paso Doble. But he looked Damn.HOT. doing it.
It should be an interesting final given the different styles of the pros.

I think we passed that a long time ago.

I always forget that his show is on. When I do remember, I always catch K&L. One question, does K always have her midriff showing? I don't mind it to a point. It's totally going for that "she's hot" guy (or girl) vote. And it gets old if it is every time.

I don't think I've ever seen Kelly's midriff covered. Except during one rehearsal where she appeared to be wearing a nightie.

Sorry to see Joey and Ashly go. Ashly was great - she was fighting so hard! While I agree that the judges just had it in for them, at this point they were th weakest pair. It was time. But I thought their Foxtrot was fun! Joey is clearly more comfortable with theatrical dancing rather than technical.

Already logged my vote for John and Charlotte. They are clearly the best dancers all around. Both their foxtrot and paso doble were fantastic.

Kelly has shown improvement but her skill is limited to gyrating. Basically she brings the sex. And there were several points during the paso doble where she stopped dancing and just started walking as her partner led. It was very clear to me that she lost the rhythm. I hope she doesn't win.

ETA: Check out Carrie Ann Inaba in Goldmember as Fook Yu. Hee!

It came to me last night that I would totally buy Kelly as a belly dancer. It suits her strengths for both movements and costumes.

And this is one of the reasons that I love this show! They really have to want to do this or I suppose they could go through the motions & go out early with their paycheck in hand. Of course they are also getting some mondo public play, but that wasn't a guarentee.

I was kind of sure that it would be Joey going home last night, but I did like seeing Angry Ashly & the Dance of Revenge. I can't quit gushing about this show, I am enjoying it so much, I want to tell people to turn their tvs on. I feel like a reality fool. And finally, because it bears repeating, last night Alec was smokin' hot!

Long thread to catch up on!

Kelly didn't have a week of ballet, she only had one lesson.

Each pro is given 3-4 music selections from which they must choose.

I like watching figure-skating. Their judging system takes into account difficulty level when judging technical merit. Neither John (nor Rachel) had to do the jive which I believe would have challenged them far more than a tango.

I am personally convinced that only Charlotte and John were offered traditional ballroom music to dance to. That lowered the difficultly level considerably (in my opinion) and was unfair to the other couples. John and Charlotte were typecast as the "Fred and Ginger" so that is what the producers offered them in the way of music choices.

Either no one should have been allowed to dance to the paso doble music, or they all should have been permitted to use it.

When I factor in difficultly level of dealing with inappropriate music, I give the edge to Kelly and Alec. She actually managed to manage a split (close anyway) which is extremely difficult.

If they were both to continue dancing another six months, I believe Kelly would continue improving dramatically, increase her grace, ability to follow, precision, and do the more difficult moves. I think John would improve in precision, posture and ability to lead, but I don't think he could achieve the skill level Kelly would.

For those reasons, my vote goes to Kelly.

The view from my living room:

From the start, we thought that the judges would do whatever they could to keep John in the game. It probably came as a relief to them that his dances actually justified those 9s across the board. Not that we mind, mind you. The show's been leading up to a John/Kelly final since the first week, and we do love a good story. It's even better if you don't have to reverse-engineer the final showdown.

Joey gets no love from us. Nice to see Ashly finally giving him the smackdown, but pouting through the show isn't the most productive reaction. Couldn't see many redeeming qualities in their paso doble -- sure, they had the attitude, but it seemed like they just really didn't want to be there with each other. After correctly calling the judges' scores all night (plus or minus one point), we were left to wonder if they'd seen a totally different dance than us. We shrugged, figured that the judges had an advantage with being able to see the dancers' entire bodies from the same angle at all times, and went on with our lives.

First off, in the highly political world of ballroom, even Charlotte could use more couples to coach. She has only lived in the US for a few years and despite her accomplishments she is not part of the US ballroom mafia, so she doesn't judge nearly as much as others who have accomplished much less, and some of the ballroom bosses who parcel out their students to other politically connected coaches don't necessarily throw work her way. You'd be surprised at the dancing dolts who have more couples to coach than her, though she's not starving by any means.

That said, the pros on the show are all either current competitors or coaches of high level dancers. I can't imagine that anyone at that level would go running to Charlotte or Louis because they taught beginners on DWTS.

The competitors, alex/edyta and jonathan/anna (anna is his wife and appears on the show demonstrating the latin number each week with louis) might get themselves a few more shows from organizers who wanted to feed off DWTS, but I think that's marginal.

In other words, unless one of the pros gets discovered by some movie producer, or Wal-Mart decides to do a Charlotte line of dancewear, I'm guessing there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, though I'm sure they've had a hell of a time.

Ha, indeed, that's me with "Dancing," and "With," and "Stars." I stole my own joke! Heh. Yeah, from an efficiency perspective, I try to publish all my even remotely decent lines somewhere or other.

True, but you would think that after last week's malfunction, they would have learned to be just a tad more cautious or used some safety precautions since there don't seem to be any, but they actually went in the opposite direction! Someone said outfits are padded or they wear something underneath? Hmmmm...if I could find body garments like that.

Word. From the second week on, it seemed like the judges were saying that Joey started off at a decent skill level and were punishing him for not sucking more at the beginning.



I disagree with this. Some people are naturally flexible. Other people aren't and they work at their flexibility. You stretch your hamstrings for long enough and you can do the splits. In either case, doing the splits is not what I would deem an extremely difficult move, especially with all the help you naturally get from gravity when doing splits on the floor.

People think that these "Stars" are not real "stars". They're wrong. Mostly.

Rachel Hunter may not be as world-famous as Queen Bitch Naomi Campbell, but she does hold her own as a supermodel. And marrying Rod Stewart and popping out a few of his ten thousand rugrats doesn't hurt either. Therefore, she is a STAR.

John O'Hurley's star quality comes from his deadpan humor and television ubiquity. Oh, and that he had a role on one of the greatest shows in American television history (J. Peterman on Seinfeld) doesn't hurt either. He has more talent than most people who are in the upper echelons of popular culture, and most of them have NO TALENT WHATSOEVER.

Joey McIntyre may not be A-list anymore, but that he once was (albeit with NKOTB) and continues to have employment in this industry after nearly two decades, proves that he must be doing something right. And he can sing, mind you.

Evander Holyfield, by being the only four-time world heavyweight boxing champion ever, is therefore sports and pop-culture royalty. That makes him a star.

However...

Kelly Monaco? What the fuck has SHE done? The only reason that she got on the show is because she's, in the eyes of TPTB, HOT. If you wanted a soap star, then they should have gotten either Erika Slezak or the Eternal Queen of the Soaps, Susan Lucci. Hell, Eden Riegel would have been a better choice. She has talent, and an Emmy Award, both of which Kelly has neither.

And the less said about Trista Rehn Sutter, the better. Bitch.

Next season, they should force Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and the Federline-Spearses onto this show. They could call it "Dancing With The Undeserving Stars". Well, Angelina Jolie is the only one of the eight with any real talent. Tom and Brad are the most overrated male stars of all time.

I'm not flexible at all, and I don't think no matter how hard I work that I would ever be able to do the splits. Is it easier for women than men? Because it just seems so unnatural for a man. And painful.

I forgot to add that I loved that split that Kelly did. If only because it gave us a glimpse at her turquoise colored panties. And I noted that they exactly matched the turquoise fringe thing on the top of her dress. I don't know if they were intended to be seen or not, but it was kind of alluring.

[small voice]I actually think that Jennifer Lopez has talent. And she would rock this competition.[/small voice]

Didn't Kelly say that she'd never done a splits move in her life? I used to be able to when I was a girl, and I'm pretty flexible overall, but I could never do it now. The pain! The terrible pain. Er ... not that I've tried it or anything.

I'd like to see the '80s Brat Pack do this show: Andrew McCarthey, Judd Hirsch, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Charlie Sheen, etc. And they might actually consider it since, you know, what the hell else are they doing really? I guess Charlie Sheen's doing some lousy show with the guy who played Duckie from "Pretty in Pink." Hey, maybe he'd be fun too.

Great article Miss Alli, especially these two excerpts:

Heh.

I don't mind that John and Kelly come off as competitive and openly mention that they work hard each week and want to make it to the finale--I would hope they do want to win. I doubt anyone enters a competition in hopes of losing. Yes, you could enter as experience or as a fun lark--but when it starts going, most people want to win. Most people have a competitive edge to them that comes out when they start doing something they really enjoy.

For the next season--which I hope arrives very, very soon---I would like to see the following changes made:
--only traditional, dance specific music allowed. I do not want to tune in and find them dancing the Rumba to "Yeah" by Usher or some awful Josh Groban song for the Waltz. ***shudder***
--no more Lisa Canning. Get Rachel Hunter or John O'Hurley or someone to talk to the competitors backstage. Anyone, as long as they can string a coherent sentence together and not ask the same damn question time and time again. Ugh.
--talk to the Pros. They speak (or so I hear) and they know what they are doing. I, for one, would like to hear from them. They aren't just arm candy to be ignored.
--fix the voting. I cannot understand the point of having the audience vote on a previous week's dance and the judges vote on the current dance and from that we get the result. It's stupid!!!
--tell the in studio audience that they are not at a WWF match. Stop with the "booing" and "woos"--it's annoying and completely inappropriate.

standard dancer, thank you for enlightening me. I don't follow the ballroom world much but have always loved watching dance or ice dancing or ballet on TV! In a way, I am glad to NOT know much about the politics in the ballroom world - it seems to - well, sully the beautiful illusions presented on the dance floor.

I have seen guys who were very unflexible (when they sat on the floor with their legs in front of them, they HAD to bend their knees to prevent pain) master doing the splits. If you do the right stretches for long enough, you can get pretty damn close. Some people are naturally flexible and can do splits without ever stretching. Two easy "tests" that some teachers use to check for natural flexibility:

(1) Bend your right wrist forward towards your inner arm, then use your left hand to push your right thumb down. If you can get your thumb to touch (or get close to touching) your right forearm, you are naturally flexible.

(2) Sitting on the floor, bend your knees until the soles of your feet are touching each other. If your knees naturally flop down and touch the ground, you are naturally flexible and will have a much easier time achieving the 180 degree turnout required of ballet.

In either case, I have known a lot of dancers who were not naturally flexible but were able to do splits and all kind of other crazy things. Stretching, yoga, all that stuff helps. Sometimes even just gravity helps - lots of dance classes have you stretch your center splits by lying on the floor on your back, extending your legs straight up in the air perpendicular to the floor, then splitting your legs to the sides. After a few seconds, your legs will sink a little closer to the floor. After a minute or so, all but the most flexible people will be supporting their thighs with their hands to keep their stretch from becoming painful.

Topic? The reason why I don't see Kelly doing the splits as a difficult move is because if you do have to work at it, it does require work (stretching) but it doesn't require skill. To me, the difference is having a job that requires you to rubber stamp papers all day (which is work) versus having a job that requires you to type, build, think, learn, etc. (use any type of skill).

I just broke my thumb. Thanks.

I guess Bruno won't be referring to you (or your thumb) as a goddess any time soon! Maybe if you bandage it up with some feathers and sparkly eye shadow, he'll tell you what great lines your thumb has.

Granted, I am a fairly flexible girl, but I thought that if you took the time to stretch each hamstring every day (thirty seconds or longer), you could get pretty close to a full split with time and patience. Because I have short term memory loss, I can't remember which split move Kelly did, but for ones where the male partner drops the girl to the floor and brings her back up, it's usually gravity and momentum that bring you to a decent split and because it happens so fast, it is reasonably painless. If you've got your leg up on they guy's shoulder, I think you can even bend your standing leg a bit to make it easier. But don't listen too much to me--I'm a member of the "don't know anything" club--I just did a bit of swing dancing back in the day!



Agree completely! I think Charlotte is the only one that gets to say anything, and I feel it's awkward because she almost has to force her way into the conversation. They are doing a lot of the work, so they need some more face time! I also would like the Peggy Fleming/Dick Button factor with slo-mo instant replay. I thought Kelly's footwork during the Paso Doble was pretty sloppy and she seemed a lot stiffer than before, so I would have liked to hear play by play commentary to see if the judges/pros thought differently.

It's very difficult as an adult woman to train to do the splits in 10 weeks. She has also lost 8 pounds.

The splits was just an example. The women do far more spinning, leg lifts, dips etc. which are a serious balance problem. Both Kelly and Trista did far more intricate footwork (in my opinion).

Give the Paso Doble music to one couple and not the others was very unfair. Can you imagine John and Charlotte dancing the Paso Doble to the music offered to Kelly and Joey?

John, doing a Paso Doble to "Eye of the Tiger", he would have looked absolutely ridiculous, far worse than Joey. And trying to dance it to a samba? It would have been horrible. John doing a jive? I don't think so.

So true!

Go John and Charlotte!! I voted twice by phone last night and may cast my votes via the website as well. I don't want Kelly to win!!

Not if she is already naturally flexible. I know former dancers who no longer train or stretch but can still do the splits at the drop of a hat because they are naturally flexible. In the ballet lesson segment last week, Kelly's feet were at 180 turnout when she was at the bar, so she does have a fair amount of natural flexibility.



Yup, that makes it easier. I did notice that when Kelly did that move, her right leg (the one on her partner's shoulder) was also bent. You can also cheat a bit on that move if the man is a little farther away from the woman - the farther away the man is, the smaller the angle her legs have to be at, hence the easier the split because it doesn't have to be 180 degrees and her chest doesn't have to be right on top of her leg (the equivalent of doing the splits then bending forward which requires more hamstring flexibility).

First:Ouch....now my thumb hurts!

I agree that the splits, while requiring training and discipline, does not require skill. You don't need timing, rhythm or grace to do them. You need all three to successfully dance - and I'm talking trained dancing as opposed to freeform (dance clubs, boy bands, etc). Kelly does not have a natural grace about her, though with hard work she has indeed come a long way. But she shouldn't win this competition because, as someone said upthread, she improved from an F to a C. The person with the best dance should win it.

I think it actually was Joey's time to go, because IMO he had the same problem as Kelly, but with his experience he had already progressed to the C grade when he started....

Each person has their milleau, their special place. John is great at traditional, dignified dances. Joey is good at theatrical performances where you forgive ability for enjoyable performances. And Kelly is good at...lap dances (just kidding. sort of). Truly, the area where she is most talented is bringing on the sexy (or suxy!). But being able to sexily move your hips and allow your partner to throw/spin you across the room does not a dancer make. It just shows us how A) talented Alec is and B) that he knows what to do with Kelly. The spins she's doing are guided by her partner, she does not have to work as hard as she would if doing them freely. This is why she sizzles during the latin numbers and fizzles during the traditional numbers. Sex belongs in them and can cover up a lot.

Yes, I'd love to see instant replays next time as well! That would be cool...heh heh.