Jerry & Anna: Love 'em, but it really was an awfully slow jive. I mean, I love Jerry (and Anna), and love the effort he's putting into this. But it just wasn't great...or good enough (compared to what the others did).

Giselle & Jonathon: I thought that they were wonderful last night! I haven't liked her very much before this. Ironically, though? I thought that last night's dance was the first time she LOOKED appropriately rigid, and the judges criticized her for it!

Drew & Cheryl: Fantastic, as usual! These two really should win, based on performances thus far, IMO. I want to see them do a slow, sultry waltz, though. We haven't seen them do that sort of dance yet, have we?
Was that Drew's preggo wife in the audience, BTW? Sitting next to Nick?

George & Edyta: I love them. George is fabulous! And I don't care if he doesn't/can't do all of the moves that the others can...TPTB knew that when they cast him for the show, and at least he's DOING WHAT HE CAN (ahem, MasterP).

Lisa & Louis: FANTASTIC! I do NOT understand why the judges are so hard on her, I really don't. Stacy can do no wrong, but Lisa kicked BUTT on a much harder dance, with much tougher moves (the JIVE, people!) and still couldn't score anywhere near Stacy? I cry foul. And I gave my one online vote to Lisa last night because of it.

Stacy & Tony: They were good. But I really wanted to see her jive or quickstep. If she can do that as well as she can stomp across the floor, shake her booty, pose her long legs, then maybe I'll be impressed.

P & Ashly: Pathetic. I want him GOOOOOOOOOONE. He just pisses me off at this point. Effort? Very, very little.

Tia & Maksim: WOW! Terrific. Really terrific. If the judges hadn't given her such good scores, I'd have voted for them. But because I felt that the judges scored Lisa too harshly, I voted for her. If I'd cared enough, I'd have gone to the phones to vote as well, and divided my votes amongst Lisa/Tia/Drew.

Okay, I'll try.

Argentine Tango is danced in a hold that the Tangueros (Argentine Tango dancers) call the "embrace." It's closer and cuddlier and more upright than the offset european ballroom hold, so the dancers are basically face to face.

Argentine Tango is more compact, the basic moves don't travel around the floor as much. There most noticable characteristc of the Argentine Tango are the weaving in and out of the dancers' legs, with flicks and hooking each other's legs and snaking in and out between each other's feet and lots and lots of swiveling actions.

Ballroom tango's most noticable feature is that it really travels around the room, alternating stalking and fast moving attacking motions. There's also lots of sharp turns from closed position (the usual ballroom hold) to promenade (where the lady's head and feet are turned to her right, so that the couple is facing and moving in the same direction. The head snappy thing in ballroom tango, by the way, is an affectation created by a German competitive couple. Everyone liked it so much that it immediately became a characteristic of the dance!

ETA: I'm going to go and watch the Tangos again and will report back here on what they were doing that was so Argentine. Considering that competitive dancers have been appropriating Argentine Tango moves for years, I'm not sure why anyone would get upset about it. Well, I do know that some long-time judges really didn't like it -- especially the kinds of moves where the lady would put her head on the man's shoulder -- but really, why the heck not for this kind of show?

I have to say, this comment endeared Tia to me more than her dancing (although I'm starting to like her dancing, too). The fact that she has a grip on reality and is not trying to illicit sympathy through excuses speaks volumes to me, and it's really rather refreshing.

Tia also sort of deflected the new-mommy focus at one point last night-Tom said something about how well she did for just having had a baby, and she turned it into a bit of a joke (saying something about having given birth on the dance floor.) I don't recall that she made a big deal of the baby before, just that in the first episode interviews she spoke of having done so and being self conscious about her postpartum shape. There are far fewer mentions of Tia being a new mom than that Stacey is a wrestler.

Len is starting to remind me of Federation President Barry Fife. "No new steps!".

As much as I liked Tia this week, I was turned off by the fact that they used the True Lies Tango music. It made me feel like they were cheating, somehow. They even used some of the same dance steps from the movie. Now, I know that for her it was 10/11 years ago, but I just watched it recently, so it affected me in that manner.

I think Stacy is getting a bad rap for the face....I think she was coached to be detached for more impact at the end. I didn't like it...I just don't think it was a mistake, but a poor choice.

Love Love LOVE Drew!

I don't think the constant mentioning of Tia's "new mommy" story is her doing as much as it is the producers. That said, I thought she was fabulous last night.

My votes went to Lisa, Tia and Jerry. Yeah, Jerry had an off night, but if it's a question of him staying versus P or George, then I'm in Jerry's corner. George is getting by on charm and kitsch, not dancing. The fact that he got an 8 just bugs.

I was thrilled that Lisa finally got a good set of scores. She seems to really care about the competition (ok, maybe it's bordering on unhealthy), so it's nice to see her be rewarded for her hard work.

I just don't get the Stacey obsession amongst the judges, but maybe I'm just hating on her 42" legs. Perhaps if Bruno offered justification for his scores other than the fact that he wants to sleep with her, it'd be easier to stomach. C'mon, if Carrie Ann was like "Drew, your ass looks so hot when you bounce, here's a 9", it would be icky.

Okay, I'm mathematically-challenged, so I need some help. I understand how the celebs are given a number in descending numerical order based on how the judges ranked them, but what happens when there's a tie like with four of the couples last night? With the scores listed below, what numbers will be assigned to each couple?

Drew/Cheryl & Stacy/Tony = 27 (Will they both get an 8?)
Tia/Maksim = 26 (Then, would she get a 6?)
Lisa/Louis = 25
George/Edyta & Giselle/Jonathan = 22
Jerry/Anna = 19
Master P/Ashly = 16 (He would get a 1, right?)

What I'm trying to figure out is if there's any chance of the top 4 couples being eliminated even if they score lowest with the viewers?

I'm having a hard time with this Dancing for the Stars, because dancing aside, I actually like most of the contestants and all (outside of P.) are working really hard. I don't have an instant hatred of anyone...but in all reality, it will be a joke if P. doesn't go this week. I get that he tried for Ashly and it was cute the way they were getting along, but they are so out of their league right now it's incredible.

My favorites:

Drew--The guy is adorable. He's a good dancer. I just enjoy watching him and his partner (whose name escapes me this second) dance. They are definitely the frontrunners unless people become too lax assuming he doesn't need the votes--and stop voting for him.

Lisa--I hated her hair tonight and sometimes she can be a bit much, but I am rooting for her so badly and I don't know why. I don't think she'll win, but she seems so genuinely excited by it all that I just want her to do well.

Tia--I also don't get the judges overwhelming Stacey love. Tia did just as well last night and I kind of feel like she's the underdog because she's not getting the votes.

I like everyone else--minus P. Hopefully he will be gone this week and Ashly will be free.

As I mentioned before, there are few standards to judge Argentine Tango by. Argentine Tango can be danced to all types of tempos, rhythmic structures, and can even be danced same-sex. Tia is an actress, and she had no problem slipping into the character that she played several years ago in "True Lies". The choreography was good, clever, and fit the music well, but so much of it was pre-choreographed (i.e., the figures would have to be pre-choreographed). The Tango by Stacy and Tony could have been actually LED (although I normally NEVER use that word in Ballroom). Of particular interest were the preciseness of the links, head flicks and tics (i.e., the "stacatto" actions that Len referred to). This was noticeably lacking in Giselle's Tango.

Although American Smooth Tango sometimes has more Argentine flavor at times, Smooth Tango normally has fast open spins and catches, underarm turns, etc., where the partners are no longer in closed position. It can be lightning fast and very dramatic.

Although Ballroom Tango is incorporating some Argentinean feel, it CANNOT use the exact figures used in Argentine Tango because Ballroom Tango REQUIRES a ballroom closed position at all times. Many figures in Argentine Tango require non-Ballroom body positions.

It is VERY difficult for a lady taller than her partner to dance Ballroom Tango well. Stacy did an admirable job on its own, but it was even more remarkable that she could maintain her body relationship to her partner while performing quite advanced Ballroom Tango actions. I wouldn't be surprised if some young, tall European or Russian Rising Star pro doesn't approach her about turning pro. Just imagine what she could be like after training with someone like Lorraine Baricchi or Heather Smith!

I'm encouraged by all of you who are saying you voted for Tia. I'm worried she might go because she doesn't seem to be as popular as some of the others.

That made me laugh so hard I had to pause the Tivo!

I so enjoyed watching Drew. They look like they had a blast and I actually felt myself moving a little. And yes, his wife Lea is pregnant, and looking quite far along. I wonder what will happen when she goes into labor? I mean, what will Drew do, I know what happens when women go into labor.

Tia blew me away. She makes me want to learn to tango again. And she looked so stunning, I couldn't keep my eyes off her face when they were talking to the judges.

George is a trip. Stacy is overrated. P needs to go. I will miss Jerry. Giselle who? Free Ashly!

What the heck was whats her face (Asian Paula) ON last night, giving Master P-U a SIX????? Really got me mad.

I voted for Tia, Giselle, Drew, Lisa and Stacy. Some of them a couple of times.....lol.

The name of that song is Por Una Cabeza, and it is one of the classic tango songs - one I think that is overplayed, actually. It was used in Scent of a Woman as well. Every time I hear it, I cringe almost as much as I do when neo-swing is played. It was chosen for the movie probably because it is so distinctive and linked to the dance, and they chose it probably as a nod to that movie.

As for some of the steps being the same, that'll happen when you're doing the same dance. But I don't remember any of the harder patterns in last night's dance being in the movie, or Max bogarting that much of the choreography.

I figured out that Kelly must have been getting the most votes about halfway through the first season. So it made total sense that the judges were giving Kelly somewhat inflated scores. They knew she was going to win so her dancing must be given some props in order for the show to not look totally stupid.

It seems to work out that someone with a fanbase, like P, can kick out someone with a lower popular rank, even though the dancing (cough P) can stink. I think the person most in danger of elimination because of this is Tia. In order for her not to go next week, she HAD to score well. Thank heaven her dancing justified her score!

I'm guessing that the popular ranking stays pretty consistent from day one. This means the producers totally know who to promote. They probably gave a huge sigh of relief that Jerry's score was one of the bottom 2. Jerry is most likely high in popularity and there is no way P can get Jerry ousted.

I'm just hoping that Stacy isn't the clear front-runner ala Kelly Monaco because seriously, whoever said that if she had danced like Tia, she would have scored 10's, is right on. Stacy is dancing the best from the waist up. Others are better with their footwork. Will Stacy's footwork improve in the next few weeks? Bring on the quickstep and jive!

Re: the alleged spoiler on "Regis and Kelly"- I hate to say this, but they totally spoiled another show (Survivor, I think) by showing the person as they said, "booted-out contestant". It turned out to be true.

No way did Stacy deserve to be tied with Drew for first place. Drew should have been in first, followed by Tia, and then maybe stacy in third...

I think the judges love for Stacey is going to backfire on her. Most of the home viewers aren't likely to phone in for her. I like her because I'm a guy but I don't think she deserved such a high score. She did okay and I'm hoping she does more complicated steps next time.

Interesting question. Partly because the tiebreak belongs to the audience votes, mathematically anyone can be eliminated, even the top couple. Of course it is very unlikely.

The WWE should pay Stacy a hefty promotional fee for her appearance here. I loathe pro "wrestling" but after seeing Stacy I have actually ventured onto that channel in the hope of catching some "diva" action.

I think Anna is hot and she can be very funny. I'm glad she is there to ease the pain of Ashly's pending elimination.

I have a theory on why top athletes don't do very well in dance. They have a high physical IQ, agility, muscle memory, training discipline, and competitiveness. Why aren't they automatically better dancers? I think the answer lies in efficiency. Top athletes accomplish what they do with an economy of motion, with no wasted energy in superfluous movement (except when showing off like doing a flashy slam dunk). This is why they are said to make it look easy. An athlete is used to having very specific goals: making a jumpshot, slipping the jab, evading a tackle. Dancing requires movements are purely for show and therefore feel useless. The athlete's body, ever striving for economy, will fight these movements.

Either that, or these jocks didn't have enough practice with dancing in their youth. Whatever.

OK now, I'm a gay male & so don't always understand these things but ... I'm not getting these comments about Tia's extra pounds. She looks perfectly fine and round and sexy to me. Stacy is stunning in that supermodel kind of way - us mortals can't compare. And Giselle doesn't have near enough meat on her bones. But Tia is the kind of woman I could flip for.

I've got a feeling she'll do just fine in the audiencer voting. Do those results ever get leaked?

I would add that many athletes (especially top ones) are good because they have so much talent that they do not need to think (and in fact, don't think some of the time) about how they do what they do, and that when they think about what they do in terms of improving technique, the control and movement required by dance is completely alien (efficient or not).

Also, one of the key skills in dance is something you really don't learn anywhere else - haptic communication. That is something that takes a lot of time to learn, much less master, and requires sensitivities that, frankly, are taught by no other discipline, except, perhaps, pro wrestling (of the experience in this group), and Stacy is actually not good at all when it comes to in-ring performance. Most women wrestlers aren't.

Can someone explain what the judges mean by "musicality"? Is that a fancy way of saying "you actually kept the beat? Thank you.

That's an interesting point...if you said to someone like Jerry Rice, "move from here to the other side of the room," he wouldn't think of doing anything that wasn't related to just getting over there (and quickly at that). But if you said that to a dancer, they would very likely waltz or cha cha on over there. I guess for people who were trained to achieve a measurable goal (like "make that jumpshot"), it's more difficult for them to get into the groove that their movements are about expressing the music and emotion, and don't actually serve any measurable goals. The movements feel useless to the "goal-oriented" athlete, but are essential to the dancer.

Interestingly enough, both the star athlete and the highly skilled dancer seek to do whatever it is the are doing as efficiently and organically as possible.



Keeping the beat is definitely a component of it. But there's more than that. It's being soft and flowy when the music is soft and flowy. It's being sharp and crisp when the music is sharp and crisp. It's letting the whole body "breathe" during any pauses or holds in the music. It's doing interesting things right in time to interesting things going on in the music, like if there was a big musical build up and then a crashing finale, or some interesting break down before the chorus of a song.

Has anyone noticed what no one has mentioned? The directing. It didn't suck! It finally did what it was supposed to do, which was be unobtrusive and help us see what was going on better than we could have if we were present. Well, mostly. Kudos for that.

And it sounded like our orisons to ABC finally paid off in the music department. Thank ghod they finally realized not every song has to have lyrics and that decent songs make for a better show.

I'm glad more of you are feeling the Bergeron love.

Oh, and Len? Arthur Murray called. He wants his headshot back.

Many thanks to both ziglettospal and bornonce
for their detailed and illuminating posts on the Ballroom vs.
Argentine Tango differences.

I love the education I get here.

I was annoyed that he got an 8. I also think the 'hood shtick was hilarious last week, but got old and tired and overdone this one.

He and Edyta are very entertaining and charming together (and its great to see Edyta laughing and having great fun with a partner), but his tango just didn't deserve an "8".

Usually I think Stacy is overscored (if you can 'model' a dance, she does). But last night, she actually tangoed well. They were right that her staring blankly up, at that unusually high angle, made her look like a mannikin or robot, but I think she was just trying to keep her concentration to stay serious. Couldn't understand why that was such a focus, rather than the steps.

I loved Tom's comments to P (including the "holy cr*p"). In spite of the negative comments from the judges (and public), P got rid of the chip on his shoulder for the night, made his best effort, and hopefully will go out gracefully...uh, graciously..today.

DWtS should give Ashley a bonus for working with him in such a positive and enthusiastic and friendly way. It's worked wonders.

ETA: re musicality. You can notice the presence or lack of it, like with dancing, when you play an instrument. There are newcomers who may not have studied a fraction of the time you have, but you can hear/see something special with their performance. Some people just have an apparent -instinct- for keeping the rhythm and intensifying the feeling of the music in just the right way. A person could be technically perfect in execution and still have less musicality than someone who didn't, technically, nail every note (or every dance step). They -feel- it better and somehow can make the audience feel it better, too.

Can any of you ballroom experts tell us a bit more about costumes? I didn't like Stacy's dance last night, and I think part of the reason was that in that long black swishy skirt, I had no idea what her legs were doing. Color, coverage, etc? I mean, Stacy's lace top was so pretty, and it was nice to see her covered up for a change, but I thought her legs were too covered up.

No, because "musicality" means a lot more than that.

It means modifying your movement or your chosen step to mirror, reflect, complement, or otherwise "fit with" something the music is doing at that point in time and throughout the song. Someone could choreograph a technically perfect dance to one song, making sure to that it works with the music, but if that routine is danced to another song (even at the same tempo), and the music is different, the routine will no longer be "musical" even if the performers never miss a beat.

Whether it's hitting a break (easiest example), or moving a particular way because a saxophone does this, or a trumpet does that, or a guitar does that, or the piano got plinked then, or the drums are doing that, musicality means dancing with the music, not just staying on beat.

Speaking as a dancer, no, I wouldn't. I'd walk. If music were playing, I'd still walk. If I were dancing with a partner (or just dancing by myself), then I would walk to the music and/or add movements/patterns/steps that match the music.

And I don't see the measurable goal dichotomy presented. Dance has plenty of them - correct posture, good lines, etc. Those measurable goals are simply different than those generally sought by athletes playing games - though good form in shooting a basketball, running a route, covering a receiver, etc. are things similar to the "measurable goals" of dance.

I think Stacy's costume was longer to hide her legs a bit. Since her strong point is her carriage and line, the longer skirt covered and hid her legwork.

Re: Stacy's facial expression. It fit the song but I wish she had varied it a bit.

Tia's breathlessness in her final pose. It struck me that she was so focused and into the dance, that it took everything out of her. As a person who dabbles in theater and dance, intense focus is really draining energy-wise. Just like in sports. I thought Tia rocked in that Tango!

I was expecting Jerry to do better but I think he's reached his peak unless he can teach himself to hear the music and mostly, feel the beat. Drew can have fun because he has no problem with timing - he feels it, can work off it or on it and not get lost. So all Drew has to do is the steps.

Jerry seems to be struggling much more with timing than anything else. He's clearly coordinated enough to put moves together, it's doing them with any kind of rhythm and timing that's killing him, and undermining his gift for movement. He has a gift for movement, but not moving to music.

The Survivor winner is known months in advance (or they knew she had a really good chance of winning, since her competitor was not popular with the jury), but there's no way Regis & Kelly would know in advance who was eliminated from this show.



I think they keep waiting for him to be their new O'Hurley, but it just doesn't work IMHO. Bruno even classified him as "entertainment". I hope he is the next gone after P, because everyone else left really does seem to want to dance, not play for the cameras.



We live in a society where women are considered fat if they have any sign of curves. She knows that and she was trying to tell people why she isn't stick-thin. My respect for her went way up after last night, when she refused to take a pity point because she's a new mother. I hope she's becoming more popular with the fans. She got more applause last night, but everyone got an equal amount of applause at the end. Do you think they told the audience to applaud equally for everyone? I also noticed a slight decrease in the booing.



They are making her overconfident. She seemed shocked Len even had a word of criticism for her.

I hate to nitpick but Stacy and Lisa are only separated by 2 points. That's not a great deal. I also think that Stacy holds very good body positions and did an excellent job last night. The judges are right about the stoic look on her face however, it fit the music and mood...just like the tremendous smile last week. I know a lot of people think that Stacy is all leg (and I did too the first two weeks) but I think she showed last night that she can do different dances. Will that change with more uptempo dances? I hope we get to see her do them so we can find out. But it's hard for me to fault her for the tango, especially after watching her have to hold what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position throughout.

Ah yes, the post-coital gasping for air. I mysef think it was mostly because she was out of shape, but it sure was sexy.

You mentioned muscle memory. When one trains a certain way there muscles remember. For Jerry it is running, dodging and jumping in a way that will protect his body when needed and sacrifice it when needed. His muscles remember this so when he tries to dance and be graceful his muscles naturally run, dodge and jump in a way that is great for football but not for dance. It is very difficult to retrain one’s muscles. There used to be a saying, “Practice makes perfect”. It was changed to “Perfect practice makes perfect”. Because if one practices a skill incorrectly they will perform incorrectly and it is difficult to relearn the movement once it has been learned incorrectly.

Jerry is trying to retrain his muscles to be more graceful. I actually thought he would do better with the Jive because I thought it would translate better for an athlete.


What is this?

The fact that it wasn't me disturbs me.

I agree that they're scoring her way too high -- especially at this point in the show. But I think Stacy's shock was due to her misunderstanding what Len said. Len said she didn't show any passion except at the end, and she exclaimed, "At the end--?!!" I can't recall all of the exact quotes, but it seemed to me that she didn't hear the "except" part and thought he was saying her finish wasn't passionate. She had same "WTF?" reaction I would have had in that situation. Once she realized what he was saying, it looked like she was very calm and understanding about it.

ETA: that move Maksim did, when Tia was tilted away from him and he sweeps his foot under her leg, kicking the hem of her skirt... that made my heart skip, it was so sexy. Made me wish I could have been dancing with him. Not in a dress, though. Maybe one of those bell-bottomed sailor suits. Er... I'm thinking way too much about this, aren't I?

I really don't think Bruno wants to sleep with Stacy. It's just not his style. Maybe he wants to be Stacy. Or maybe he just needs to change his meds.

(Edited to fixed the long-legged one's name. She doesn't us an "e" in it, does she?)

When I googled "haptic communication dancing", here was my first result.

I'm not the only one who had no idea how that name was pronounced! I prefer my pronounciation, though: Lackey.

This question has been answered by people who know ballroom, but I also found an interesting site that explains the history of the tango and some of the differences.

I actually used two different email addresses to vote for her--and my other two addresses to vote for Tia and Drew.

Both are brought up every single episode, IIRC. Both are irritating. If it was mentioned once and left alone, I'd have no problem. But every fucking week?! I find the whole "mommy" thing irritating because of the idea that celebrity moms have it so tough. Poor Tia, she's so fat and has to be on TV. Actually, no, she doesn't. She's hoping to get something out of this--whether it's to lose weight, to jump start her career, or both. I hated it when Princess Diana was on every magazine cover every time she squeezed a kid out. I'm not feeling the "poor new mom" thing for Tia. I'm tired of it, frankly. But I enjoyed her last night.

And that's another thing: She's fucking gorgeous. Stop with the "fat" thing! I put weight on after having my kids, so what? You don't have to be a twig to be sexy.

Colonial Philistine, I agree completely. Athletes in other sports do worry about technique--and not just ice skaters or gymnasts. For instance, when taking a free throw, there is a certain form that makes it easiest. Your elbow needs to be in the right position, your wrist needs to make the proper motion, etc. Now, you can make a shot without having good technique, but it's not going to happen as often. You can do dance steps without having good technique, but it won't look as nice and at times you're going to fall over. The "look" and the ability to keep your balance are the measurable goals. Also, the idea of muscle memory is as applicable to dance as to sport. A ballet dancer doesn't have to think about how to stand in fifth position or perform an arabesque. S/he practices until s/he knows how to do it without thinking, the same as the player standing at the free throw line knows s/he is performing the shooting action properly because of years of practicing the same technique.

I've wondered that, too. I actually edited a post to add the "e". I guess we need to check the website for a definitive answer.

I was just trying to find a way to understand (and nicely disagree with) Cat Whisperer's comments "Dancing requires movements are purely for show and therefore feel useless. The athlete's body, ever striving for economy, will fight these movements." I should have just gone with "huh?"

I'm so much happier with the costumes this year. And the music and the production. They've really stepped it up for Season 2. I'm not so sure about that full recap of Thursday night on Friday night's results show, though. It just seemed like they could present one of the nights without filler if they ended up basically able to replay the complete compeitition over again.

At this point I think they're pretty much being measured from coast-to-coast.

I would disagree with those comments as well, up to a point. Dancing is, if compared to "normal" walking as a means of travel, horribly inefficient and filled with useless movements designed to draw attention. But I would never compare dancing with walking, because all of the movements in dance are there to further the goals of moving with the partner, the music, and in connection with the floor that aren't as important if you're just looking at a means of travel.

Just like Shaq's free throw technique is less-than-optimal and Vince Young's throwing motion isn't orthodox, so there are different ways to accomplish certain goals. However, because the goal in dance is to look good and move with the music, those things matter more as opposed to basketball, where the goal is to get the ball in the hoop, or football, where the goal is to get the ball in the receiver's hands and away from the defender's.

As with those sports, doing things the "right" way often conserves energy and time, and improves the chances for success. As opposed to those sports, because there really isn't any "other" goal in competitive dancing, there's no reason to reward unorthodox techniques (hence, Len).

As sissykay mentioned, I think Jerry's problem may be similar to the problem ballet-trained dancers have when learning, say, swing dancing. The posture in swing dancing, the weight distribution, etc. are very different from those in ballet, and the ballet dancer's muscle memory will default to ballet positions and postures which would be wrong for swing dancing. In addition, setting aside pas de deux work (which isn't improvised, but at least involves teamwork), ballet dancers are solely responsible for their own movement - as follows, they are responsible for following (generally speaking) the leads given. That kind of "listening" is a hard enough skill to pick up, even without years of training against that type of "listening".

Jerry's muscle memory has different weight distributions, techniques, etc. ingrained after decades of football. Learning how to ignore his instincts, moving deliberately in new ways, and being relaxed all at the same time is very, very difficult. In some ways, he has it much harder than the others, because he has more to unlearn and the things he has to unlearn are more dissimilar to ballroom dance than the things the others have to unlearn.

I loved George last night! His antics are endearing. That he gloms on to what has happened the week before is hilarious. First the 'hood reference, then the Espanol....I fully expect him to have a tear in his eye and talk about a neighbor's dog getting a shot next week. heh. He brings the fun to the show, and I love him for it.
My votes were split between him, Drew (because he is such a JOY to watch and I like seeing Nick in the audience) and Lisa (who is soo enthusiastic and did a great job! I Love when they showed a teared up Harry Hamlin in the audience).
I had to watch the ending of the show later....and boy was I blown away by Tia. I was too late to vote for her, but I was happy that she got such good scores, she certainly deserved them.
I was so happy when they played the music from True Lies. (That is one of my favorite movies, even though I'd forgotten Tia was in it....but anyways...) I think the music overall was really good last night.

Other than The Obvious One, this season of DWTS has Great Dancers!!! They are very enthused and really bring on the entertainment....I hope that next season, we get the same thing. People who are interested in revving up the careers, and showing us some good entertainment on the way there. I am a little worried about Len though.....hope he doesn't get a hit on him or anything. eeek! Also, I thought it was interesting that P looked like he wanted to cry when they got their scores. Made me think of the poster last week who wrote about his insecurity since he is not in his comfort zone. Still....Save Ashley!

Eme it would be just like George to come up with some crazy story next week about his dancing! I also loved when Giselle came in to translate and she translated George's words into "vote for Giselle" very funny! I have to say if Giselle goes this week I am REALLY going to miss George and Tia!

While it was the same music, as she said, she had 3 months to do the dance for the movie and even with that, at least they can call "Cut!" if she messed up a move. Here it's less than a week.

Short recap from me from watching the rest:

Jerry: as others have said, I like him, I like Anna, but I was looking for something a bit more....I don't know frantic?

George: No matter what happens with him I want him there each week to bring a bagful of snark. And Edyta to be his smashing sidekick. While I love his enthusiam and think he's a hoot, his goofiness in the tango was a bit distracting. How is he going to manage the samba?

Drew: The man must win. Or make the finals. If he doesn't, I'm calling shenanigans. Despite the "No lifts!" outcry, I'm surprised that Cheryl trusted Drew enough with the lift at the end.

Giselle: I liked the tango, and I loved her "Meep!" as she ran to Jonathan to do the lift. That said, I think she got the "you're a contender" comment stuck in her head and needs to do away with it pronto. There is always room for a slipup.

Tia: I want to take up smoking after her dance. It's not THE Suxy, but it was pretty damn close to it.

When I heard the announcement on Regis and Kelly this morning that Tia would be a guest on Monday, I was dismayed as they normally invite the expelled couple from the previous week. Please, voters...not Tia....not after her sexy tango.
Then I happened to hear the end of The View, just an hour later and that announcer proclaimed that Master P would be a guest on Monday. So perhaps all is right with the world after all.

Talk about the show, not the boards, please.

That's the feeling I get every time he emotes about it, but I couldn't put it into words. This was nice and succinct.

Len and Bruno both ping my gaydar, even with the overly effusive praise for Stacie, but the return of AI this week has really reminded me how well the DWtS panel works for me.

I like Len's old-world charm, expertise, and occasional snarkiness. Bruno's over-wrought emotionalism is fun, and keeps it from being one-note and too deadly serious. And Carrie Ann's calm, supportive attitude and generally helpful criticism provides a good balance to the other two.

I think Tom is perfect as the host and he and Samantha look good together (plus she brings personality, beautiful clothes, and an ability to sound like she's actually asking them questions she thought of--all things that Lisa couldn't regularly pull off)

That, plus the improved direction and music, are making this season even better than the last to me.

First, let me say: Non-dancer, non-athlete here. Now, my question: I've noticed that a lot of dancers seem to have an almost sway-backed posture (I'm sure that's not the correct term!) with a lot of curve to their lower spines and their shoulders down and back, where Jerry, while hardly stooped-over, looks almost roached in contrast. Is that why the judges remarked negatively on his posture a couple of times?

Drew and Cheryl were on Kimmel the other night so I doubt there is anything to worry about.

CatLady, yes, that'd be my assessment of Jerry's posture. He's all hunched over like he'd played for Notre Dame or something. He's not standing up straight, and his shoulders aren't relaxed, down and back as they should be.