Tia kicked all sorts of ass tonight. That was the same music she used in True Lies - I watched it just last week. Nice to see that they used real Tango music and not "Toxic".

Giselle is missing the passion - some people have it and some don't. Stacy lacked it through the first part of her dance.

George is just fantastic. He's rather light on his feet too. After tonight I hope there are no comparisons to JOH. George is lightyears ahead of JOH.

Lisa was fantastic as well. She looked like she was having a great time out there. Everything was really sharp and I want my very own Louis for a best friend. He was done such a disservice by having Trista as a partner last year.

I think this show would benefit from removing the elimination format and turning it into a straight competition where you dance for 10 weeks and are scored cumulatively by the judges (weighted 75%) and the audience (weighted 25%). I find the elimination format so unfair to the pros who work their asses off every week and are fabulous every week. They don't get enough credit (my poor Ashly!).

That said, I loved everyone but P, Giselle and Stacy tonight. Len and Carrie-Ann were right; Stacy was lifeless and plastic-faced in that tango. And as a dancer myself, I see why Giselle's father refused to teach her. P...is just not even in the game at this point. That was a week 1 or pre-week 1 performance. Too little, too late Percy. Jerry also didn't do very well, but at least he tried. I gotta say, just about everyone brought their A-game tonight!

And I love Tom Bergeron. He reminds me of the announcer guy from those Cleveland Indians movies with Charlie Sheen. You know, the one who gets drunker as the season progresses, bringing the increasingly honest and snarky commentary.

Stacey may have been dramatic - but they essentially stalked the dance floor for the first 90%. Where were the moves? Tia's routine, in both choreography and performance, totally kicked Kiebler ass.

I was motivated to pick up the phone and vote for the first time. Drew and Cheryl got all my votes for being so energetic and terrific.

I suspect the producers let George do the tango, because his knees could never have jived as well as Drew and Jerry's. It did give Lisa a good push out of her nervous zone to do something so peppy and fun. Yes, her lips are scary, but girl did good.

P is lucky to have such a little sparkplug for a partner. That's all I'm sayin'.

I forgot to mention how wonderful Drew and Cheryl were. He's so far above any of the other guys on the show. He's a natural.

My mother was actually motivated enought tonight to get up and vote. She gave a vote to George, a couple to Drew, and the rest to Tia.

I split my votes between George, Drew, Tia, and Lisa.

I just put in a vote for Giselle. I know it won't do much but I am hoping that she will be able to outlast P. I have to say when Samantha(the female host) asked Tia how much weight she had lost it was kind of unprofessional. My mom was pissed when she asked her that question. Also I have to say Carrie Ann is getting on my nerves with her comments and voting style!

I didn't know there was a time limit to vote. This was just my first time to actually vote. I only got to phone in twice tonight and they went to Tia.

Tia's phone line was jammed, even before she started dancing. I got all my calls in - no problem - during the show, but when it came to Tia, I sarted having all sorts of problems getting through. I hope it's a good sign.

I might throw my internet votes to Giselle because now I'm getting worried that she might need some help.

I don't know anything about dancing. All I can go by is what I feel when I see them dancing. Going by that, Tia and Maksim wowed me. They had an excellent connection. Tia is gorgeous. Drew and Cheryl entertained me. George and Edyta amused me. I thought Lisa and Louis were fine but I keep thinking he looks like Hamlin Lite, which is just weird. Everyone else kind of left me "meh" for the evening.

I love Drew. And his "Ed Harris" gentle-sexy vibe. That is all.

I'm with Carrie Ann. Tia and Maksim's Tango gave me goosebumps. I loved the choreography and their chemistry. Tia's doing a great job and she deserves to stay in this competition. I gave her half of my votes tonight.

I split the other half between Drew and Lisa who both did amazing Jives. I do think that Drew has been the most consistently good contestant on this show so far and I predict that he'll be in the Final. I would like to see him expand his horizons and do a slow dance though. Do we know what the two dances for next week will be? I think Tom might have said something about the Paso Doble.

If Master P doesn't go tomorrow night, I'm going to be very disappointed in the audience. I get that he has fans who love him and want to support him, but it will be completely unjust if he takes the spot of a celeb who's actually dancing.

I adore both Jerry and George and think that they're great showmen, but I don't see them staying in the competition much longer since they're not dancing at the same level as the others.

Has anyone had problems getting in more than just a few votes? I read that people are having trouble getting in more than 2 or more than 5 votes.

Last year, the next 2 dances were the Samba and the Vienesse Waltz. All the couples had to do both dances, with the VWaltz being a group dance.

Ed Harris. *shiver*

I disagree. The Cellblock Tango is all about HATE! Passionate, I used to love you but you fucked with me so YOU MUST DIE! hate. That's hardcore emotion. Detachment does not cut it. There should have been agression and passion and oogly faces going on there. Instead we got Wrestler Barbie. Even if I'd ever been on the Stacy bandwagon (which I never was) I'd be so over her by now. It's one thing to be dance-trained, and quite another to be a dancer.

Oh I love me some Ed Harris. Everyone thinks I'm weird.

Anyway, I thought Drew and Tia did an outstanding job tonight. I was disappointed with Jerry's routine. (Note - the routine, not Jerry).

I didn't have any problems getting through on the phone lines. I voted for all except Jerry and P. I gave my extra two votes to Drew and Tia. I gave my internet votes to Drew and Tia.

My thoughts exactly, neptune42. I want to see Stacy do the Jive or the Quickstep, something where she'll have to do more than stalk and pose.

No problems here. I got my votes through for Lisa and Tia.

Was I seeing things, or did P have dancing shoes on when they were playing basketball?

I got all my votes through although I did get a few busy signals.

I forgot to mention earlier that the music tonight was a MAJOR improvement. It actually sounded like Jive and Tango music. Keep up the good work, Musical Director Guy.

WTF is up with us getting a "breakdancing" exhibition tomorrow night? When did breakdancing come back in?

No kidding. She's had it easy so far, just like Rachel. Rachel faltered a lot during the Samba because her grace worked against her. I wonder if Stacy had the same problem. I agree that her Tango called for more passion and more aggression because it made the transition into the choking kind of awkward and choreographed instead of coming naturally out of the feeling of the dance.

Edyta rocks my world. She's just fantastic and her dress was to die for tonight.

Tonight's phone votes: 3 for Jerry, 4 for Drew, 1 for Tia.

I knew Jerry was screwed when I saw him up first. He seemed slow to me, and bless-me-Internet-for-I-have-sinned -- I kept noticing Anna's panties beneath her little dress. She's cute. And I'm female, too. I hope he stays around.

I love how Drew's eyes light up during his performances...like he 'gets it.' I think this is his to lose unless he starts getting cocky. And I love seeing Nick and Lea in the audience! Drew = love!

Giselle does nothing for me. I think she poses just as much as Stacy is accused of doing. I softened a bit toward P when I saw Ashly's "A" hat...too cute! Gee...think that Len and Bruno dislike P any? That was scathing.

Lisa did really benefit from George's choosing the Tango over the Jive. Just like I don't think he'd be able to do the jive...I don't think she would have done well at the Tango. She's pretty high-strung.

Mad props to Tia for pulling off the tango. She wrenched that 1 vote from me that would have gone to Stacy.

It's sick how much I like this show.

Drew and Tia were the best tonight hands down. All my votes were split between the two.

They're both so gracious and seem normal.

And how come Percy can move fast and easy on the basketball court but is such a lead-footed blockhead on the dance floor?! What a fool.

I'm not getting the Stacy nor the perma-tan George love.

And Lisa? Lay off the collagen for the love of God.

I had no idea Faith Ford and Debra Messing were doing a series together!

First let me say that I have never voted on any of these call in shows, not once! But I am tempted to vote for Tia simply because I don’t think she is a fan favorite and I think she is great. Her dancing and her attitude out shine at least three of the other pairs. I hope she stays.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, don’t try and manipulate the vote with your tears and daughters and sad stories of dog’s dying, just dance and be gracious. Learn something from Tia.


She sure is. How old is Giselle? She has been around for a while. My guess is 40ish.


I thought quite a bit of his tango looked like his quick step.


Or his number and of course without one’s glasses a 07 can look like a 01. If P is back next week we can blame George.

Giselle is 45 yrs old. I also have to say all the ladies(minus Lisa) looked awesome tonight in their dresses!

I finally believe that TPTB want certain celebrities to succeed and others to fail, and that the judges are urged to score and comment accordingly. First Tatum fell last week after getting such harsh criticism that you would have thought she'd murdered someone's child rather than dance a rhumba that didn't quite sizzle. Now this week we see Stacy - who I generally like quite a bit - getting praised to the high heavens and scored as highly as Drew, while Tia, who did a beautifully sensual and tough-minded tango, is somehow less worthy than Stacy.

And the Mystery of Master P's presence continues, though I do credit him with trying this week.

Free Ashley!!

I didn't realize until tonight that Drew and Cheryl are so short compared to the rest of the dancers. They are mad cute though. And Cheryl's body is sick. I loved that outfit.

Originally I had no idea what George Hamilton was doing on this show. But tonight, when they showed him trolling for votes at a Sunshine Assisted Living Center, and then talking about his Spanish soul because his grandfather was from Madrid and breaking into Spanish - damn, I was laughing out loud. It would be nice if he could, you know, actually dance, but he got a couple of my votes anyway. He's just fun.

I do not understand the Stacey love. Just like last week, she walked and posed, walked and posed. Hopefully she'll have to actually try to dance before this competition is over. Then we'll see.

Lisa was great. She finally found a dance that fit her personality. And she looked so much better in tonght's costume. I mute a lot of the stuff that's not actually dancing, so I don't know whether she was trying to get sympathy votes, but I did give her a vote.

Drew, oh I love Drew. It's only the 3rd episode and already I look forward to his dance every week. But please don't tempt fate by saying it's his competition to win or lose. Too much Stacey love by the judges for my comfort level.

Are we sure she hasn't?

I have a question. How do they measure Stacey's 41 inch legs, seriously? From where to where?

BeingNicer this is EXACTLY what I've been asking myself!

The fact that somebody actually measured them disturbs me.

I split my votes between Giselle for having some talent I'd like see develop, Lisa for having the right spirit a bubbly personality and really wanting it, and Tia for being the most underated contestant ever. That Tango was fabulous and last times dance was really good and got only faint praise. I voted for those three because I figured they were the ones who don't have the huge fan base of a pro football player, and ex teen idol and an overly praised wrestler. No way did Tia's tango diserve a lower score than Stacy's theres' just no way. If Stacy had done the exact same moves the judges would have given her straight 10's. All that being said...I think Giselle will leave because Master P sold his soul to Satan in exchange for success. Not since the likes of David Hasselhoff have the undeserving triumphed so easily. Has anyone considered throwing holy water at him and seeing if he disolves?

I am loving all the backstage playfullness with everyone. It's so much fun. I loved the way that everyone descended on Jerry after they got their scores and were giving him support and all. Very nice.

I'm thrilled that Lisa finally pulled it together. I'm very happy for her. And the big audience "awwww" when she broke down and he had the 'I was so happy I could be there for her' voiceover and hugged her... adorable. They're so much the BFFs now.

I think Jerry and Anna could have done better. I think they're adorable but this wasn't their week at all. Jerry did all right but it lacked a certain something.

I have got to hand it to Cheryl. She is doing a bang-up job choreographing her dances with Drew. She seems to be able to work to his strengths very well, keep it interesting and challenge him. They're my favorite couple, easy.

Is it me or does Edyta look like she's having a ball with George?

I would love this. It would make things so much simpler. Just vote for the one you can't stand to look at another week and be done with it.

From right up where the inside of the thigh meets the hip joint socket, down to wherever you want your pants to end (typically covering the ankle bone). Tailors sometimes use a special tape measure that is stiff for the last four or five inches so that they don't actually put their hands up in that personal area.

I'm so glad Tia did so well! Go Tia! And whatever George's antics are, I love him anyway. He brings the fun. Dancesport can be so overly serious at times, it needs someone like him to camp it up and bring some lightness and silliness.

Free Ashly!

ETA:

I found out she got advice from another dance pro on that Quickstep. It was a great dance, and since the Standard dances aren't her forte', it makes sense. The Latin dances are really her thing, and it's their moment to shine. I'm really rooting for them to get into the final. Wouldn't it be cool to have a final where the two couples aren't polarizing, and you can root for both and then be faced with making a difficult choice? That might happen this time! In fact, if they'd freakin' get rid of P, it will very likely happen. I'm scared some weirdness in the Universe will keep him around until the end. (Shudder.)

Yes, it is very much "the look" right now to dance Latin bare-legged. Interestingly enough, competitions held in Utah require that ladies wear fishnet stockings and not go bare-legged.

Then maybe they are measuring her outseam, which is from the waist to the floor. Or perhaps they're doing it from her hip bone to the floor, which makes a lot of sense structurally.

Any ideas how they get to that number?

Isn't that called your inseam? I doubt hers is 41.

I am pretty sure Lisa was dancing without stockings... just bare feet in her heeled sandals. Is that a good idea? Do professionals do that?

I thought she was fabulous tonight and her husband was so happy... they are a cute couple.

Giselle does nothing for me.

Ditto. I loved when Bruno told her she needed to give Rosarita a call because tonight she was Robocop.

I've been asking myself the same question about Stacey's legs. Here's the best I can do math wise: I'm 5'8 and have long legs (my inseam for pants is about 34 inches); Stacey is 5'11, so add 3 inches (37 inches); Stacey has EXTREMELY long legs, so add 2 inches (39 inches); add on the shoes, 3-4 inches; AND viola! you have about 42 inches. It seems to me that UNLESS you add in the heels, she'd be freakish.

I loved tonite's show. Most of the dances were so enjoyable. I felt sorry for Jerry, I was so sure he was going to do better. For me, Drew is OK, but I'm too old to be into boy-banders. Tia was amazing, as was her partner (YUM!). Lisa rocked. George is "too cool" and considering his age and injuries, I think he does just fine. Giselle did well. Stacey puts on a good show, but something lacks. And Mister (Master?) P sucks.

Regarding Tatum:



That's really good news. For some reason, my cold, dark heart has a soft spot for her.

ETA:



I did notice that too. And all I could say was; "Did I JUST see some tootie?"

bagatelle1, yes it is the norm to have bare (tanned) legs. The main alternative is fishnets, usually nude, but occasionally someone cracks out the black (and usually gets negative feedback for it from judges and newspaper reviewers).

Tights look matronly or dance-recital-y. Nylons rip and get icky sweaty. Fishnets dig into your toes. Bare feet are best for grip too.

Absolutely my three favorite performances tonight, and in that exact same order.

Tia and Maksim - I thought they looked striking together and gave a gorgeous, sensuous performance. Liked the music and hats off to Max the choreograher.
Drew and Cheryl - The ones to beat if they keep bringing it like they did tonight (and, if the judging doesn't get too weird).
George and Edyta - They delight me. They actually almost look like they could be a goofy old dad hoofer out on the floor cutting up with his talented, pantherish, (though, also kinda goofy) daughter.

As for the rest, in the order of how much I enjoyed their performances:

Stacey and Tony - I guess this'll be an unpopular opinion, but despite her looks, I find Stacey to be the least sensual female left in this competition. It's one of the reasons I never thought she and Tony earned those 10s in that Rhumba last week. And, while I can appreciate her strengths (good at holding position, lovely posture/body line) I completely agree that while she did more actual dancing this week, I think all the others are taking on more challenging steps overall. IMO, though, I think the ball is in Tony's court now. He needs to step up and give her some choreography that will allow us to see if she really deserves the passes she keeps getting from the judges.

That said, I still enjoyed their Tango. They moved well, as usual. And, I got a laugh out of what I saw as, Angry-Mannikin-Turns-Into-Violent-Fembot-And-Strangles-Dance-Master-Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde.

Lisa and Louie - Agree with the judges that this was their best performance. And, while I'm sorry about her dog, I still could have done without the kiddies pic near the boobies/had to put down the family pet, info.
Giselle and Jon - First of all, y'all's comments about his weird hair made me focus too. much. attention. on it this week. As, it turned out, all I could think as I watched their practice sessions was, flattened sea-urchin...it looks like a flattened sea-urchin. Very disturbing, very distracting...
Their dance was kind of disappointing, too. Giselle is still too stiff and I think she's infecting Jon, too. I keep thinking this pair could be so good. But, its like something keeps blocking them from getting there. I did like that run, jump, catch, back-bend thing they did at the end of the dance.
Jerry and Anna - One of my favorite pairs but, also disappointing this week. I didn't think they were bad, but I did agree with everything the judges said about them. Tonight's dance reminded me that I wanted to mention there've been times when I've wondered if something is hindering Jerry's movements (old football injury, perhaps?). He and Anna are working so hard and I want them to stay in the competition, so I hope I'm wrong and he can continue to improve.
P and Ashley - OK, I'm gonna say it. I actually enjoyed their...whatever that was. But, I still hope they are the ones to go tomorrow.

The Three Stooges:

Miz Nitpick - For a change, I pretty much agreed with what she said about most of the couples, tonight.
Len*yawn* - I'm starting to wonder why he's even there.I'm cynical enough to wonder if Ol' Lenny didn't slam P for that purpose.
Bruno - Can someone fix him up with a blond, leggy (easy) supermodel so that he can work it out of his system before it's time to dole out the performance points?

Oh, that's why they do it. Thanks, fallaway. (I always thought the women wore a nude stocking to prevent blisters.)

Why did the dancers not appear to know about the "no lifts" rule?

Definitely the pro. When I talk about not liking Stacey's posing, the criticism is aimed at the choreography. I don't know if that's what everyone else means, but I can't remember the name of all the pros, so that's the easiest way to critique it.

To me, this makes more sense in theatrical dance than ballroom dance. Ballet, modern, etc should definitely include generous amount of posing--but even those forms of dance have more movement than the dances of Stacey & partner. It's just boring.

When she was on Veronica Mars, she had some scenes done in silhouette and some noirish scenes of just her legs, walking in high heels. That's when she was at her most beautiful. Her face freaks me out, but I dig her personality.

I loved his little mustache & the accent. It was so Zorro, the Gay Blade of him. He has been in some silly movies, hasn't he?

What I noticed with Jerry was that he kept looking at Anna to see what came next or if he was doing the right thing. When Drew looks at Cheryl, it's in the "she's-my-partner" way; when Jerry looks at Anna, it's in a "what-should-I-do" way. I hope he hangs around, though.

That's what I thought. I'm just wondering if Lisa just got drafted into being the one who got the jive or if she & Louis volunteered. It turned out to be the right thing for her, though.

The thing is, the only reason they talk about Tia's baby is that she brought it up initially. To my way of thinking, she's doing the same thing. I'm tired of hearing about it every single show. It's not like women don't have babies all the time & go back to their regular lives afterwards. As for her weight, since on that first night she brought up the idea that she'd like to lose weight over the course of the show, I don't think it was tacky to ask her about it.

This is the second week where I am suspicious of what Carrie says. Out of nowhere she ridicules Giselle and Jonathan for not doing lifts, and then she says they aren't supposed to know that. If they weren't supposed to know, then why did she try to downgrade them on national TV? Between this strange comment, and Giselle's verbal fumbles this week (she was talking too much about not having fans, and her "this dance is with a man who stinks" comments in the waiting room), I think she might be in the bottom 2 this week. I really want them to stay, because Jonathan is funny AND breathtakingly handsome (a rare combination). I voted a few times for Tia, I didn't have a chance to vote for anyone else, voting was almost over by the time I saw the show. I hope some people had a chance to vote for Giselle.

Then they dinged Drew and Cheryl for the lifts. Up to now I hadn't believed they were desperate to prop up Stacy, but now I am beginning to wonder. Anyone who has been a threat to her in past weeks was suddenly criticized this week. Drew and Cheryl had a fantastic dance, Drew puts in so much effort and has so much fun, and yet we are supposed to focus on how wrong they were to do a lift? I really was impressed when Cheryl said she has them go out and have fun as a distraction from the practice.

George seems to be passing his tan to Edyta. He looked stupid with the hat, IMHO, and was more focused on keeping that on his head than his dancing. At least he has fun, but I think he's out of his depth here.

I think P and Giselle, George or Tia will be bottom 2 this week.

Do Lisa, Harry and Louis all get their hair cut with the same Flobie? She should avoid strong closeups, but she was at her all time best this week. And Louis has really redeemed himself after his disastrous pairing with Trista last season. I was happy for them, and coming into this season, they were the couple I thought I would root against.

Yes, that's so true! When you watch Drew and Cheryl, you really can't tell who the pro is the way you can with the rest of the couples.

I agree but would add a one vote only rule.

From my (jaded) former ballroom dancer's perspective:

Drew - he was excellent, but there was some sloppiness in the foot and ankle action. We gave him "9"s across the board before the judges' vote.

Stacy - tango has a breadth of emotions, and the look from the female can be any one (or all) of detachment, opposition, defiance, passion. We felt that Stacy would have the most difficulty in Tango because of the length of her legs relative to her partner (for ballroom they are not a great match). We also gave her "9"s across the board before the judges' vote.

Tia- although we liked her dancing and the choreography, it was neither American style or Ballroom style, but mostly Argentine Tango. Nothing wrong with that, but too much Argentine makes it difficult to judge to a standard. We guessed that judges would split between "8"s and "9"s.

Lisa - she looked like she was enjoying the jive, and she did well, but something was missing (maybe the lack of a Latin look). We expected a mix of "7"s and "8"s.

George - his charm will only get him so far. We love how he doesn't take himself too seriously, but does attempt to perform when on the floor. His age and lack of flexibility is starting to become a factor, but we still enjoyed the routine.

Jerry - we were surprised how relatively lifeless Jerry looked. It could be that having to learn so much in such a short period of time is beginning to be a strain on the competitors. It certainly wasn't up to his other performances.

Giselle - we had high hopes for her Tango, but came away not totally impressed. There was a definite lack of crispness in the links and tics, and they sometimes seemed big and laborous rather than "what did they do?" and "how did they do that?"

"P" - it wasn't Jive. Not even close. He is so outclassed in this competition by everyone including George that he really should have quit, like his son before him.

The judges have stepped up their criticism and the sharpness of their remarks. Since this is the third week they are expecting to see substantial improvement in the dancers now. Once "P" is gone this competition will be incredible, because these competitors are taking this very seriously. With one exception, this is getting to be a real pleasure to watch.

Maksim so wishes he had the Suxy with Tia. Did you see all that hand and forehead kissing? So cute.

Can someone please explain the Argentine Tango to me? What steps, knee positions (?) turns (?) made the judges say were too Argentinean influenced?

Maksim said he did that on purpose to showcase Tia's strengths but what part of the routines made it Argentinean? It's not like she was using castanets or holding a flower.

Most of their regular lives aren't ballroom dancing in front of millions of viewers. IMHO she knew viewers were going to notice a few extra pounds, and she wanted them to know why.

I was surprised Stacy was talking back to the judges, that is going to alienate voters. They were right, she was very cold.

Did anyone else think the music was much better this week?