Scootman I have nothing against Stacy's looks it's just she is good but not as good as the marks she has gotten. Also Stacy is a very nice girl but it's not about who's nicest it's about who dances the best and last night Drew and Cheryl deserved higher scores than Stacy and her partner.

I have a feeling that we got a full recap last week on Friday's show because ABC decided at the last minute to expand it to one hour and had to fill it. I'm not sure about tonight, because Tom announced there will be a breakdancing (!) demo as well as the pros doing the Paso Doble exhibition (finally!) Plus..Tom said they will start the elimination in the first half-hour. It's obvious that ABC is still experimenting with their Friday night format.

Well ok. I was trying to be a bit snarky in my question, but thanks for all the detailed explanations. What I am kind of getting at is that it seems that musicality can't be 'learned'. Like someone being tonedeaf...contestants are either able to either move fluidly to the music or not (looking at you Jerry, although I love ya). To me, it sounds like it's being used as a comment on the ability to perform choreography as instructed mixed with an inherent ability to interpret/feel music.

Colonial Philistine, ITA. I used to dance ballet (just recreationally) and I find now that I literally can't do anything else, style-wise, even though I was not the best ballerina. Sometimes the posture and carriage is transferable (like to horseback riding), and sometimes it's just annoying (like club dancing or aerobics- don't ask- it ain't pretty).

CatLady, I also agree that's what they meant about the posture. From my experience it's an unfortunate result of ballet training, they are always telling you to put your shoulders back, and you do, and you have to keep your hips in a certain place too, but don't realize that you're curving your back so much, and you keep doing it because you're supposed to in ballet class, and then you grow up and join the marching band and go to physical therapy because your back hurts from standing around for hours on end in ballet posture while marching, then your therapist laughs at you when he says, "so what do you play? tuba?" and you say, "no...um....clarinet."

Nothing like that ever happened to me, of course.

That was my pronunciation too! I'd never heard of Drew or his brother before the show, or Giselle or Kenny or Master P or Stac(e)y for that matter.

I knew Jerry Rice as some sort of athlete, although I wouldn't have been able to tell you exactly which sport he was associated with. Now I'm all stressed out because he got poor marks and risks elimination. I may be more pathetic than Master P.

I did think it was funny when Jerry was trying to watch the playoffs during practice. Come on, Jerry, you MUST have TIVO. I half expected Anna to come at him with a ruler to smack him around with.

I am an example of the fact that musicality most definitely can be learned. It does, however, generally take lots of the one thing that isn't given to these people. Time.

The people who are almost instinctively able to be musical are the ones that annoy me the most, since I had to work very hard and for a very long time to get to the point where I didn't have to think about technique such that I could listen and react to the music.

And I missed it?!
Damn late night-TV.
Stupid early morning job.

Len, isn't commenting that there was too much Argentine in the Tango like saying there was too much Brazil in the Samba? I'm just sayin'...

Tia was by far my favorite of the night. THAT is what I envision a tango to look like! She and Max were so into the dance and each other that it almost felt like the rest of us were peeping... Tia is really starting to use her acting ability to portray the dance in her face the way the pros do. I could watch that tango over and over..

Giselle and Stacy seemed way to rigid in the shoulders and neck (Giselle especially), it just didn't look right to my admittedly untrained eye. Tony and Jonathan looked like they were dancing with manikins.

I think George is the reason the backstage bits seem so much more fun. He may not be athletic as the other folks, but he has a certain grace (combined with his sense of humor) that is very entertaining. Please tell me that we will get to see Zorro do a Paso Doble?

Drew had a great jive, but what I really enjoy is watching Cheryl dance...

Jerry was a little slow, but he continues to make progress. His audience popularity is going to be formidable to beat if he really starts to nail the dances.

Big improvement for Lisa, and I think you can tell she is paying attention to how the pro ladies model the dances (even if she doesn't quite hit it).

I think Len's comments re: P were spot on. Three weeks in, we should be seeing a lot more than this. Yes, this is an entertainment show, but they are trying to do the sport of ballroom dancing some justice. P still looks like he just took up dancing yesterday. Len's and Bruno's 4's were clearly intended to make it very difficult for audience votes to keep him around - and I don't have a problem with that.

My rankings:

Tia
Drew
Stacy/Lisa (tie)
George/Jerry/Giselle (tie)
.
.
.
.
P (way behind)

Does anyone know what the time length of the dances on this show are? I was just curious because last week I wondered how it was possible for them to show all nine dances in their entirety in less than twenty minutes on the Friday recap. I guess it is possible if each dance is less than two minutes. It always seems like the celebs are out on the floor much longer though.

What bothered me about Stacy's scoring last night was that even though Len and Carrie complained about her cold facial expressions and there being too much Argentinian influence in her dance, they still gave her 9s which is the same score Bruno, who waxed rhapsodic about her number, did. I just don't understand how the judges can be so divided in their opinions and then, give the same score. Personally, I would have given her an 8 and Tia the 9s.

My fave Bergeron line last night was when he said that the judges had obviously not gotten their catered meal. All three of them did seem super cranky last night.

I cannot WAIT to find out who's going to be eliminated tonight. I think that P., George, and Giselle are in the most precarious positions.

Thanks, Colonial Philistine and effulgent. I think you both pinned down what I thought I was seeing in Jerry's carriage. He looks like he's protecting a football instead of leading a partner.

Last week, someone referred to the dance as being 1 minute 40 seconds during a rehearsal interview. I don't know if that is accurate for each dance, or maybe it was just last week's. You can tell that the songs are edited and whole verses cut out sometimes, so it's entirely possible that they are less than 2 minutes. 1:40 is actually a pretty long time in the context of dancing (esp. high energy stuff, like the jive.)

I'm in the UK but Ive been able to see the dances on Raphael's site. Apart from Master P I've enjoyed all the dancing, but Tia's Tango....Wow!

They did the Argentine Tango as one of the group dances in the UK version with each couple highlighted for a few moments. They also brought in a couple who specialised in the AT to do the demonstration.

It does look very different from the ballroom Tango, but it is fantastic to watch and I think those were the elements that made Tia's dance stand out so much.

I'm really enjoying watching this and I think the host is excellent, I only wish ours was as funny! (Sorry, Bruce!)

I read everyone's post here today and I agree with everyone.

I think Tia/Drew were the best.
I was impressed by Lisa.
I love seeing Harry, Nick, and Lea there every week.

But what wasn't mentioned here was one of my favorite moments and something that I would have completely done. Was when George was speaknig in Spanish and Giselle said that she could translate and said "Vote for Giselle". I thought it was a perfect representation of the mood of the show.

I agree that Giselle wasn't her best but I think she and lisa are probably neck and lip.

Yes, this was a large part of what made last night's show particularly wonderful for me last night. I liked all three tangos, but the music of Max's and Tia's dance along with what has been described as its Argentinian elements made their's so moving and exciting.

At the beginning of this season, although I was familiar with the names of the stars participating from the entertainment press, they themselves, except for a few, were largely a blank to me. By now I've gotten to know and like all of them with the exception of P and to my horror, I had even begun to warm to him last night and found Len somewhat harsh. But then P started in with the grandma stuff and it was back to disliking him intensely.

However, although I like and enjoy the stars just fine, I find that what I am really, really anticipating and looking forward to each week the most is seeing just what new choreography the pro dancers have come up with.

Most especially to date Jonathan, Tony and Max. They seem to tell stories with their dances. I like feeling myself, suspending time, and getting drawn into whatever they have created. They each bring a different sensibility to their dancing and each seems incredibly talented.

Max has such presence, I can even see him as a great screen action hero. And Jonathan brings such energy with his talent. In fact, I think he is so thrilled and happy at the opportunity to dance that some of it spilled over into making faces at the judges scores. I was probably worrying unnecessarily but I just don't want them to get annoyed and maybe take it out on his scores down the road.

And I agree with everyone who has mentioned that the show looked and sounded great last night. I also liked that they introduced the musical director and the singers.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how on tonight's results show they will incorporate the musical guest with the accompanying dance. I thought the camera work last week was terrific during Jessie's song. There seemed to be a lot of creativity and thought that had been put into all of the angles and the editing of it. It was really exciting to see it. Can't wait to see what they've got planned next. I think there must be a lot of talent behind the scenes among the people who are putting this show together.

If you go solely by DwTS scheduling I guess you could compare George to John. But it's really the other way around. George is who's he's been for ..what? 40 years? This has been his schtick decades before the Seinfeld show and John's appearance on DwTS.

Not to say that George is a better DANCER than John (although he may have been in his younger years), but the tanned, debonair, charming, self-deprecating cut-up is original George Hamilton. He created the genre.


Tia portrayed as the new mommy is what will get her booted off sooner than she deserves. The typical viewer/voter does not equate someone who's just given birth to a sexy dancer. I realize this doesn't include most of the highly evolved and discerning posters on this board. But I'll wager that's how the majority of the American public will see her. And it's why she probably wants to downplay this now. I wonder why the producers keep bringing it up, huh?

My 2 cents....I think there is an inherent quality about musicality, but some people have to "learn" that they have it. If someone is too involved in the technique, learning, counting under their breath, or if they lack confidence in their skills, then they won't realize the musicality of something.

So when the judges comment that a performance had musicality for the first time, it most likely means that the dancer has relaxed and learned his/her steps to the point where they don't have to think about it quite as much (muscle memory, etc) and can dance to the music.

Drew is going to have that understanding because even if it wasn't ballroom, he performed singing and dancing. You have to understand musicality or you won't be able to do both at the same time (do both well, that is). Giselle also seems to have it, but isn't cleaning her technique up like she should (those head snaps last night were dreadful!).

I can't understand the argument that Len's comments against P were actually designed to KEEP HIM IN the competition by trying to get him sympathy votes for being dissed by the big mean judge. OK, the judges' scores and comments have been flaky at times but its starting to enter the area of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." When they are too lenient they are criticized for coddling the contestants in order to keep them in the contest. Frankly I think Len just got fed up with having all of his comments for the past two weeks (the shoes, the hat, showing the slightest bit of talent,etc.) ignored and finally said what had to be said.

As a fellow Baltimore native, wrestling fan and straight male let me just say GO STACY!!

Regarding times - I just looked at three clips and they're all just under two minutes.

Just about anyone can learn musicality, but it is a matter of time and effort. Concentrating on technique, keeping time, and lacking in confidence are all things that are, as long as the person is working at it, generally solved with time, which is the one thing these people don't have.

Which is why I'm glad this competition features choreographed routines and is not the type of competition I've grown to prefer. Beginners (especially leads) in a competition like that would get shredded and look horrible.

Re: Our sweety Bruno

I don't know but I don't really get any sense of Brokeback from him. I think it's just that he's animated and Italian. And all that wonderful Italian energy is trapped behind the judging table. So he comes off as over the top. Well, of course, he is over the top. And that's actually one of the nice things about him.

Raphael Pungin has a link on his site to a clip from ET with Tatum and Nick Kosovich. Bruno is also in that clip. And he is standing. Seeing him there made me realize that I had been thinking of Bruno only as a caricature. And then seeing him standing and walking around made me think. Wow. This is a real guy who has a life in real time. And guess what, self. A darned attractive guy, too! I had never thought of him as attractive before.

And anyway, didn't he and Rachel Hunter just announce their engagement? (It must be true, it's on the internet.)

I can't do the taping thing, so, I really hope they show most (OK, all) of that performance again tonight.
I'm close to being uncharitable enough to speculate that the first sentence of this quote could very well be the answer to that question.

Yeah, I have been watching AI for too long.

From a while ago:



They were the ones that did the Tango demo last night...and yowza, I felt it.

BTW, can someone repost the link to that site with the videos? I've gone back close to 40 pages but for some reason I still can't find it.




The amount of times that Simon tears into a singer on AI only to see them survive another week makes me believe the same thing could happen here again.

Here ya go:

http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/dance/entry/wttfkgqwtst/

Big fat word.

My prediction...Ashley will finally be freed as Master Pink-elephant-dancing will be eliminated. Either Giselle or George will join him in the bottom two. I'll guess Giselle. Jerry won't see the bottom two, because he has such a big fanbase.

Since Giselle and George actually tied for fourth place (and taking into consideration Jerry's fan base), P would probably need the second or third most votes to be saved. And since he finished in the bottom two last week, we can assumed he received no more than the 7th or 8th most (out of 9) votes.

Another prediction. If Tia or Lisa end up in the bottom two this week, she's gone next week. If either ends up in the bottom two, even with their top four finishes, then she doesn't have a fanbase at all.

I think with Len's comments last night P will get the needed votes to keep him on the show tonight. Jerry and everyone (but Giselle) are safe. I just have to make sure now that I watch Giselle on all the programs she will be on after!

Thank you. Finally, I got to see the Lindy Hop performance my TiVo didn't catch. And boy, was that music baaaad. It didn't swing. It wasn't lindy music. It was, however, what I've come to expect whenever ballroom dancers put on what they call "lindy hop" music.

The routine wasn't as sharp as I've seen Ryan dance before, but the tricks were very well done even if they weren't representative of most of the dance. I saw one swingout, maybe.

You guys want to see good lindy? I can probably find clips, but that wasn't the best showcase of it. Also, I think we do much, much better when we're improvising. My favorite competition format is when you have couples dance 2 phrases unrehearsed twice in the spotlight, then all-skate to a live band that's really cooking.

Am I the only one out there wishing that when they do the Paso Doble tonight to "Rocky" that Joey will surprisingly come back and dance it with Ashly? I would love to see that happen because I miss those two dancing together.

They may have changed the rule or how they are enforcing it. Generally, at most ballroom competitions a "lift" is when one partner is supporting the other so that both feet are off the floor no matter what the height which Jonathan/Giselle's lift clearly was. It's a pretty common distinction, so I'd be surprised Jonathan wasn't aware of it.

Conversely, as long as the supported partner keeps a foot on the floor, even if it's barely one pinky toe, it's not a lift, which I noticed one of the other couples doing (man supporting the lady's weight as one foot barely skimmed the floor). I can't remember which couple it was, though.

As much as I want P gone, we have to consider his "fanbase." Rapper types may not normally watch the show, but you can bet your sweet bippy that they would be voting for him. And he would be splitting the vote either! Much like Jerry, he has a monopoly on certain people who are voting for their homies, rather than based on performance. The longer P is in this, the more money he makes, right? That's what he's talking about doing this for Katrina relief, etc...I'm assuming he's donating to that.

Also, for those who slammed Lisa for the dead dog comment (yeah, so unecessary), P adds in that his Grandmother's sister is in the hospital blah blah fishcakes! So THAT'S why he danced badly this week....

That idiot Cojo was just on the Insider and he was slamming all the Rhumba dresses. Hey, dumbass, they are costumes, not for the red carpet.

I didn't see Tia tango, but I did see "Scent of a Woman" and isn't that the same song that was being played in the beginning of "Schindler's List" when Schindler was courting the Nazis in a restaurant? If so, does anybody know the name?

I can't believe how much I'm enjoying this show. This is not the kind of show I would typically watch, but I caught part of last week's show and I was totally hooked.

I'm not nearly as impressed with the celebrities as I am the dancers (though I really like Jerry and Tia.) The dancers are all so great. I can't imagine the patience it must take to deal with their celebrity partners. I really like Anna and Ashley. They're both so adorable. And I am totally in love with Max. Please tell me he is not gay. Give a girl a chance to dream.

I hate that this show has so totally sucked me in.

Jonathan used to compete professionally in the American Smooth division. They have a no-lifts rule there (otherwise people would be getting kicked in the teeth all the time.) However, it is not strictly true that a foot has to be on the floor at all times. I have seen some things that can best be described as "assisted jumps" done in Smooth, particularly in Viennese Waltz (David Weise & Valetina Kostenko and her massive leap done to canter timing, for those who watch such things). There's some component to that lifts/assisted jumps thing that relates to how many beats of the bar the movement can last. I could look it up but that would be boring. Suffice to say that perhaps Jonathan thought he could get by with what he & Giselle did as an assisted jump? Well, it's an idea :-)

I can't watch tonight, so counting on you east coasters to hurry with the news of who gets booted.

My money is on P. I think he wants to be gone, and the judges want him gone. In a small twisted way I'm glad he made it this far. I hated him the first couple weeks. He came on arrogant, ignorant, and rude. This week he tried. And sucked. And looked so damn vulnerable out there that my hate is gone.

My take is that he agreed to the contest for misguided reasons [the exposure, or as a lark, or maybe it all really was for the Ninth Ward]. He signed the contract, changed his mind, but was stuck with it. At this point he's not Scotty Savol. He's John Paul Stevens - the kid who wants to go home even though his fans keep voting him back week after week.

So no more hate. But I still want him gone.

Tom just announced this week is the last week that they will replay the dances in their entirety on Friday's show. Boo. I guess the network has been reading this board, lol.


P.S. Am I right that they gave George the slower dance this week even though all the other men did the faster dance? I know George is older and injured, but still it seems slightly unfair to change things just for him. Not that I agree with the way they are giving the men the faster paced songs with the more intricate footwork.

Now that P is trying to dance..... unghhhh. Boy is that not a pretty sight! I thought the judges were going as low as they could go so the phone calls couldn't make up the difference, which I think is beneath them, but I really don't want to see him dance anymore either.

The name of the Tango is 'Por Una Cabeza'. There's quite a few versions of it available on ITUNES. :-)

I think that the pro dancers should not only teach these celebrities the dance move but facial expression as well.

Yay!!! Jerry is coming back.

Oh thank God! Last week, my Ti-Faux taped the entire hour, which I didn't even know about (what a smart little TV I have!) It was listed as a continuous 1-hour show, and it was scheduled to begin at 8:00, even as a half-hour show. So what was up with the second set of credits?! Didn't we just see these people dance the same thing two nights in a row anyway? If you didn't tune in at 8:00 to see the beginning, chances are you didn't know to tune in at 8:30 for a second credite roll in the first place....

I'll glance at it tonight, but won't start "watching" until 8:30ish, unless they change things up (like saying who's safe, etc).

I do think one advantage Stacey has is similar to Drew's - she's very relaxed following the beat. The beats she's had to follow with the ladies' dances are slower, more measured, but Stacey's ability to use the rhythm of the music means she can easily pace her movements, very naturally, work in relationship to it, like Drew does. Yeah, she's modeling the dances a lot of the time, but she's working it to the music. My main problem is I want to see her have to toe heel, pivot, do a zillion quick, quick, quick steps in unison and counterpoint and do mirror moves like Drew has had to do three weeks running. Gorgeous as Tia's tango was, and as modelesque as Stacey is, Stacey is a little bit more than just line and posing ---- even if the choreography isn't. She does move to the music better than the other women. It's not an issue for her, so her movement timing is good.

Lisa is very distracting. She's toned beyond belief, used to training, but she is the clunkiest. Her turns are awful. She looks like an arthritic hottie when she tries to dance. I can't nail it down but I feel like her limbs are dried up. Giselle also, is stiff.

Stacey's not stiff despite being so so so linear because the impulse to move does follow the music - there's a relaxation there, her facial expression aside. Tia isn't as relaxed and organic a musical mover, even though that tango was more beautiful.

Why did I have a feeling Stacey would be saved first?

Who the hell did Lisa piss off? Her hair looked horrendous last night and again tonight.

What the hell is the purpose of this break dancing? Are the celebrities would be dancing this next week?

OMFG!!!! I can't believe this. Please don't tell me George will be going?

Ugh. Will these people let Master P just DIE?

I'm glad Tia is still there. If Drew goes home this week, I swear, I'm going to have to hunt some people down.

I'm almost positive it will be between Lisa and Giselle, as they are the only two not on the stairs. Which sucks, because they are two of my favorites and the only ones I voted for last night.

I think it's George.

Nope. Wrong.

Boy, this is really, really wrong.

What the F is up with not calling Drew safe until almost the end? Drama? Or are people honestly not voting for him?

sigh

What more is there to say? I'm sure not voting for P.

Ugh.

This right here. This is some bull shit. The judges need to seriously low-ball P next week. None of this five bullshit. Ones and Twos, across the board. If not we're going to get to a point where his bitch ass is competing with Drew or Stacy. If P lasts one more week, I won't be able to continue. This is so wrong. Giselle has actually been trying and she gets sent home. Foul.

Holy mother of God! I don’t know the math, but these results clearly indicate that P is getting serious votes, BUT FROM WHO? Thanks a bunch Len for provoking his fans. What the judges really need to do is shower him with praise so his fans will be lulled into apathy. Do yall realize that he could mathematically ride the mediocrity train all the way to the finals?

Somebody run the math to figure out what has to happen to get rid of P. Clearly being given basement level scores from the judges is not working. I am almost thinking that they have to put Drew and stacy in the bottom three for P to lose because they probably have the largest number of votes.

Although the break dancing wasn’t relevant, I enjoyed. I reiterate… I want Edyta’s body.

Bullshyt. I blame the judges. The judges were responsible for this one. Their scoring led to this debacle.

What a classy exit. Tatum were you watching.