112 replies to this topic

[PBGamer89]

So excited for Aly! She's gonna be so exciting to watch. Hopefully Mark will be able to tap back into his genius with her.

Hope you all like my thread title.

[spanana]

Not a fan of Mark, but intrigued to see Aly, even if we've been to the Olympic gymnast well already. Said this in the main thread, but while I know a lot of people think Aly is a bit of a personality void, I can't help but like her. For whatever reason she tends to go monotone in interviews and etc., but I think she's totally fine when she is just shown interacting with people/friends in normal settings, which is what a lot of this show winds up being. I'm sure she will be fine in the rehearsal footage. It's more the canned interviews where she clams up.

[sintin]

But will the producers force her to dance to Hava Nagila?

[tip and fall]

For whatever reason she tends to go monotone in interviews and etc., but I think she's totally fine when she is just shown interacting with people/friends in normal settings, which is what a lot of this show winds up being.

From what I've heard, it sounds like she might just be shy or introverted. So she's not a black hole of personality or anything, but at the very least she doesn't have a tv-friendly personality.

[CPP83]

I hope Aly will show more grace and rhythm than she does in her floor programs. Of course that isn't a dance floor, but it is still a place where girls can show grace and style of movement, rhythm as well, and Aly's performances haven't shown much of that to me.

But she has Mark, who's had Shawn already so he knows well how to handle a gymnast, and win with one as well. I am sure he feels lucky to have gotten her, or he should I'd think.

And I believe she is a very nice young lady. I watched her throughout the 2012 Olympics and she did seem the more mature of the Fab Five, being the eldest I expected that, and handled the pressure very well so I think her personality is one of the things going for her. She doesn't show outward signs of being too excitable or overwhelmed, imo, so that should work in her favor also.

[PBGamer89]

Well, she earned gold in floor exercise last summer, so that's gotta help for something.

I'm sure Mark is happy to have a gymnast who can train as much as they want. He loved Shawn, but I read in her book he often got frustrated with her mom as a chaperone and shorter training.

I don't think she's void of personality. I've seen her as sweet, shy 18 year old.

She's definitely one of the frontrunners to make the final.

[CPP83]

Well, she earned gold in floor exercise last summer, so that's gotta help for something

Not for quality of movement, but quality of performing the tricks, and I will say she did earn her gold but there were other ladies on the floor who were much more accomplished with the dancing portion of the routines, which I always thought should be upheld just as much as the tricks and flips and tumbles, which now seem to have taken over in the sport.

But I digress, if she can loosen up on the dance floor, and can move well I think she and Mark will have a nice enough partnership. I just hope he tones down the mugging, especially if Aly's personality is quite laid back and quiet, I think that's when Mark is at his worst because he feels he has something to "make up" for on the part of his partner.

[OwlsGo]

She so would be paired with Mark.

[likeacarcrash]

He deserves it after getting Bristol again, IMO. And she's only 5'2", so it makes sense she would get the shortest pro.

I'm interested to see how well she dances, because her success on floor was due entirely to her amazing tumbling. She's never been much of a performer; I don't think I've ever seen her smile in a routine! Hopefully Mark can bring that out of her.

[PBGamer89]

She couldn't have gone to anyone else really. Zendaya is tall and needed a pro tall enough but young enough so she got Val, Derek just had Shawn and Tony and Tristan are too tall for her.

Yes it's Mark's second gymnast, but he had Shawn 8 seasons ago. Kym and Cheryl have both had 2 footballers already.

Edited by TWoP Lockley, Feb 27, 2013 @ 7:02 PM.
Fixed double posted content

[QueenL]

She couldn't have gone to anyone else really.

Yeah, she could have. They could have given Picker to Mark, Disney girl to Derek, and Aly to Val or Tristan.

They also could have done something different, like given Dorthy to Mark.

It's not just a product of height.

They put Aly together with Mark for reasons beyond that. Like I always say, this show is interested in putting on a good show first and foremost, and that's why they do the things that they do. They don't care if it's unfair that she's another "ringer" for Mark or whatever. The reason he has so many ringers is purposeful, just like it's purposeful that Cheryl usually gets hot guys or athletes.

The fact that he's already won with an Olympic gymnast before, makes it even better in their eyes. They can play up that "can it happen again?" angle.

My reaction was pretty much that of OwlsGo, when I heard the cast list leak. It just seemed like an obvious pairing that TPTB would do. It's definitely not a "that's the only partner one can have" situation, as it almost rarely is that, IMO. I actually think that TPTB thinks about pairings as they're casting the thing. I think they sometimes go after specific celebrities with a certain pairing in mind.

Wouldn't surprise me if they did the same with Pickler & Derek.


I do think that Aly seems like the most mature of the Fierce Five. Will be interesting to see how her competitive spirit comes out.

[spanana]

FWIW, Aly already has Olympians galore tweeting about her appearance, including Michael Phelps. Shawn too naturally. I expect that to continue throughout the season and I also expect to see a whole slew of London athletes cheering for her from the audience.

I think why I took to Aly at the Olympics was her maturity on display. Yes, she was the oldest on her team. But she also came across as calm and rational and was the captain of that team, both officially and otherwise. That said, I don't expect her to be naturally graceful. She's not that kind of gymnast and I think she might have some trouble loosening up. But I'm sure she will work hard and obviously has enough assets that Mark should be able to put something together for her that will at least get her deep into the competition.

As for smiling during routines, are gymnasts supposed to smile during routines? I would imagine there would be a difference between her competition game face and what she puts forth here, though it might not be a natural transition.

[PBGamer89]

No doubt she'll be able to physically be a good dancing, but she'll probably suffer from the same thing Shawn did in her first season, which is just performing each dance.

I'm excited for this pair and can I just say how happy I am that Mark grew his hair back.

[likeacarcrash]

As for smiling during routines, are gymnasts supposed to smile during routines? I would imagine there would be a difference between her competition game face and what she puts forth here, though it might not be a natural transition.

They aren't necessarily supposed to, but it's pretty common during floor routines. Aly's generally a very stone-faced competitor.

[smiley13]

This is the most exciting pairing to me, Aly and Mark. I can't wait to see what they do on the dance floor.

[ByaNose]

For some reason, I wanted the girl who did the smirk instead of Aly. She is way cuter. IMO. Also, no matter what she was either gonna be paired with Mark or Derek. It's DWTS ammo & they rarely derive from that. They always get the young ringers. I just hate the part where Mark always kisses their forehead and he professes his love for them. It gets kind of nauseating. IMO!!

[spanana]

I think they went with Aly because she is already 18. The rest of the gymnasts, including Mackayla Maroney, are younger. They already have one 16 year old in the cast this season and I don't think they would include more than one minor at a time. Plus to a degree I don't think the show cared which of the Fierce Five they cast, as long as one agreed to do it, and Aly's age makes her the most obvious candidate.

Though I will argue that I think Aly is extremely good looking. Different strokes and all that. I mean she's not a model or anything, as most of us in the real world aren't, but I do think she has a very striking look. The gymnast I always found a little odd looking from this group is Wieber.

Watched a couple of the interviews with Mark and Aly. She's clearly excited. Mark said the biggest issue she's having at the beginning, at least in the first two days of practice, is learning to count to music.

Edited by spanana, Feb 27, 2013 @ 12:07 AM.

[legaleagle44]

I'll just be interested to see her parents rooting for her in the audience each week. As I recall, they put on quite a show during one of Aly's routines in London that actually went viral.

[SiobhanJW]

Just watched her interview with Mark on Access Hollywood and she was actually pretty relaxed and not soo stiff as she has been in pervious interviews I've seen with her. I think the two of them are going to be a lot of fun!

[QueenL]

What I loved about her On the Carpet interview, is that she said that her goal for this season is to be "really, really, sassy." I love that she understands that she has to turn it on and make it a performance.

I figured she'd be great from a technique perspective, but of course wondered if she'd be able to give a performance, and bring a bit of personality. It's a great sign that she's already zoning in on presentation.

She also later goes on to say that she just wants to be really expressive when she's dancing.

Seems like she has the right focus, and is not into allowing any of that "robot" type of criticism, which is inevitably what will probably be thrown at her anyway.

She says she wants to be crazy, have fun, and be really energetic.

Excited because if she can combine that focus with what should probably be pretty solid technique, she & Mark could probably give some really amazing performances.

[superdeluxe]

She so would be paired with Mark.

It was so obvious. As soon as her name popped up in the rumors, I was like, she's going to Mark. So, I guess we can pencil them in for a trip to the finals. Maybe even the win.

[KarenM]

Access Hollywood Interview.

[NicoleMN6]

You know McKayla gave her that "sassy" advice! Particularly during Shawn's visit with the Fierce Five (minus poor Kyla, always the forgotten one) last season.

[atyleung]

Access Hollywood Interview.

I like how cute and excited and Aly was in this interview. I hope she is right and that we will get to see her personality on the dance floor.

It was so obvious. As soon as her name popped up in the rumors, I was like, she's going to Mark.

Even as a devoted Mark supporter (who really wanted him to get someone with a decent-sized fanbase again), I was actually kind of hoping the show wouldn't go the repetitive route. Aly and Mark also have to live up to being compared to Team Shark. I would have actually paired Mark with Kellie, Derek with Zendaya, and then Val with Aly.

But after thinking about it, personality-wise, the resulted pairings do make a lot of sense.

Edited by atyleung, Feb 27, 2013 @ 10:14 PM.

[CPP83]

she said that her goal for this season is to be "really, really, sassy."

Oh god, I just got a flash of the Hope Solo duck lips are so sexy idea of "sassy"and "fierce". I hope that Aly understands it is most important to be herself, and have fun, and not try and make faces to keep up with Mark's incessant mugging for the cameras at every turn.

[PBGamer89]

I don't think duck lips will be a huge problem for Aly.

To me, Hope was a total disappointment as a contestant, bad attitude, and even worse that she was such an awkward mover. I'm sure having Maks wasn't a help for her. He put her in the most godawful outfits.

Mark has shown in the past that he has no issue full on doing the women's steps to show them how they should be moving and performing. I'm not as worried about her associated duck lips with sassy.

Aly knows what she's doing I think. I get that sense that she's a fan of the show genuinely and knows what she has to do to perform well.

[CPP83]

My point was that the duck lips, and other such unpleasant facial expressions, were all Hope's idea of how to be a sassy and fierce, even sexy?, woman, and Aly's words seem to indicate that she may think that she needs to be "sassy" even if that isn't her true nature, which I would not think so from how she's carried herself thus-far.

I am not even a big fan of the term, personally, as it really isn't descriptive enough to have defined meaning as in what makes one sassy or not, it is often left up to one person's interpretation alone.

My main point was that I hope she understands, as I said, that being herself is more important than trying to be something she isn't, or putting on a character like an actress might, which she is anything but.

I have no idea if Aly knows what she is doing or not being on the show, if anything I'd say it's the opposite, hence the sassy comment. She's a eighteen year old kid trying something new, which has to be scary so she might be more willing to try things that people tell her to do, or try and copy what someone else has done before her, since she has no past experience to fall back on.

And as for Mark, he has enough bad habits for the both of them. How he teaches is not how he performs, it'd be nice if it were, his face does not need to have as many ticks as his feet have toe leads. imho.

[PBGamer89]

Fair enough.

In my own opinion, Hope was an female athlete who wasn't very feminine so she did the stereotypical feminine things with the "duck lips" and what not.

Where as Aly is a lot more feminine and hopefully doesn't have to resort to the stereotypical things because she has no clue what being sassy is like Hope did.

It's still way too early to call that judgement; i'm just going off a hunch I have.

I think she's in fine form to be one the last ones standing.

[TruBrit]

Aly wasn't their first choice, McKayla turn dwts down.

[PBGamer89]

Well, I'm glad by that because Aly was my first choice of the Fab Five because she's the only adult and seems the most mature and ready for this competition.

Shawn was awesome in season 8 but as a minor, she was limited in her practice time, so I think the reason why she came back in All Stars as a much better performer and technician was due to the fact that she could now work a lot more hours, so I'm glad Aly will be able to work as much as she wants to, rather than not reaching her full potential because of limited practice, like Shawn's run in season 8.