The FIX is in for Katherine to win and it is nauseating. There was absolutely not one step of Samba in that dance and Len gives it a 9. What a freaking hypocrite. In Season 10 he took a strip out of Hough for not putting Butofogos and Voltas in the Samba. He said if those aren’t there it’s NOT a Samba and he gave Scherzinger a 7 who could move a helluva lot better than this.
Not only was there lack of content, there was no Samba bounce, no discernable Samba hip movement. Insulting that mess got a 29.
At least this week the FIX might not be so pronounced. Katherine and Mark are apparently dancing first, which sets the bar for the night, but not necessarily the highest scores, although Len’s gonna like the not too friendly Rumba. Also Team Paso Doble is going last. Three handsome men dancing the Man’s dance should be great television. We’ll see if Len is going to love it or call it “hectic” whatever the heck that means. Anyway I’m looking forward to a good show for Classical Week, along with some nice guest performances.
Best quote of the night…
Mark “You gotta have some ass to spell classical”.
Keeping it classy.
I didn’t see Katherine squeeze Mark’s butt cheeks in the performance. I guess he just couldn’t get through that icy English reserve? There’s always a little emotional distance around Katherine. I’ve never seen her really cut loose on any dance.
Katherine in that costume reminds me of one of Capt. Kirk’s doxies.
StG
When I watched Donald Driver, all I could think of was Yul Brynner in The King and I.
The difference between Derek and Mark is that, although Derek always look incredible, his attention always seems to be on his partner and making her look good. He always knows where the cameras are, but he doesn’t seem to be showing himself off to the best advantage, he spotlights her. Mark seems to see his partner as only a way to show off his dance abilities.
Also, when did Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance become classical music?
StG
Classical week was a major success. I thought most of the dances were really good. With the exception of Melissa and Maks. It may have been a mistake not letting Val sub for Maks this week.
Bottom 2? Melissa for sure. Maybe Jaleel too? People must be noticing all his deliberate boob grabs. He must think Aussies use them for handles or something. Kim finally said something during the rehearsal footage. It can’t be much fun getting felt up several hours a day.
I like Team Tango better this year. Team Paso had very good theatrics. The flaming torches, twirling capes, and floor slides. But, I didn’t see much real Paso content.
Another kind of fun evening, with a bit of bonus snark fodder. That would be a) the cod-roman costumes worn by Katherine and Mark (I find seeing him shirtless, er, disturbing somehow) and the weird musical choice for Melissa and Maks’ number (OK, one of the most familiar Mozart tunes on a night when half the couples are doing Viennese waltzes, but used instead to back an Argentine Tango?)
OTOH, after a couple weeks where they’d been outshone a bit by other couples, Maria and Derek knocked it out of the park. That Vampyre-themed Paso was one for the highlight reel, IMO. Next best for me was Donald/Peta’s V. waltz, then everyone else in a scrum, with Melissa trailing the field.
In the team dances, the Tango bunch had, I guess, the more ambitious choreography, and I suppose that would be worth extra points, but it certainly seemed as though the solo sections were a bit of a mess, pretty much across the board. The Paso crew (maybe benefiting from having one less couple to worry about) struck a considerably more cohesive and well-harmonized appearance, so I’ve got to consider them underscored a bit.
Who’s out? Gotta think Melissa.
I’m picking Melissa and Roshon for the bottom two, with Roshon saved again by his ability to actually dance.
I think you end up with some weirdness with classical week - but I’m not sure it’s weirder than any of the o
Katherine seemed very nice. But not rumba-y. There was this one extension that ended up exactly where it was supposed to be, but it didn’t seem to come from anywhere. It was just “nice.”
Melissa had a horrible costume. And her lines weren’t good. I don’t think the problem was Maks dancing.
I didn’t like Roshon’s argentine tango, but I thought his solo during the team (non-argentine) tango was one of the better ones.
Paso is Donald’s dance. Football players tend to do better on that than some of the other dances, but he really nails it.
The vampire dance was just awesome. It completely worked.
And I thought team paso should have one. Team tango’s solos were not good. And their formations were kind of messy.
I definitely liked Team Paso better. As whoever said, they had the advantage of having all men for the male partners. [cue Tim the Tool Man Taylor chimp hoots]
Jaleel is seriously skeevy.
And WTF with the Lady Gaga, and absolutely no acknowledgement that it was Lady Gaga?
Louis van Amstels blog on Classical night.
I absolutely loved William and Cheryl’s VWaltz to Ave Maria. The set, the music, Little Jackie just incredible, the costumes all “Classical” sacred, and just the right pitch for the night. William’s ability to emote, spot on.
Team Paso fun fun fun… Best was the Man Sandwich on Bruno. Team Tango… hectic and I don’t know what Mark and Katherine were doing… Argentine hooks looked pretty weird on a Standard dance.
The 30… well Louis explains it rather well in his blog. Definitely a way to keep her out of the bottom.
It would be delicious if Melissa weren’t in the bottom, but it’s pretty difficult to make up the votes at this stage.
Seriously, how the fuck is Melissa NOT off the TV at this point? How does Roshon keep getting less votes than her?
I don’t even know if I want to keep watching this season. Incredible. :-/
I was disgusted with the screw up during the Ballroom Battle judging. Why didn’t they cut to commercial and give the judges a few minutes to make an informed decision? Judging at the level is much hard than the crap dances they see from the celebrities. The differences between these semi-pro dancers is much more subtle. The judges needed a couple minutes to collect their thought and instead they get Tom jumping up and down about to piss his pants over time. All they had to do was cut to a commercial. It’s just not right for these semi-pro’s to spend months preparing and then get a rushed judgement.
Jaleel has left the House. 
I know Kim has to be happy. That Classical week rehearsal package really bothered me with all his groping.
Oh this is delicious, all of Team Paso saved. Well, it just goes to show you have to be fair or the bullshit these judges pull will come back and bite them. The absolute disrespect they’re showing Maks is breathtaking. If they didn’t want him on the show this season they should not have hired him. But he’s here. Treat the guy with respect or his fans will revolt and turn it into a circus.
What makes you think it has anything to do with Maks? Melissa is an AWFUL dancer. Most of the time Maks is just hauling her around the floor. The fact that she’s still on the show at all is a travesty - if anything, the judges have consistently overscored her.
Melissa mentioned in one of her People Mag blogs that the height difference with Maks is a major problem. She specifically mentioned one of his steps is 2½ for her. That’s why she always looks like she’s running on the dance floor. I’m sure it wrecks her timing. They did her no favors pairing her with such a tall guy. Louis would have been perfect for her. Closer age and nearly identical height.
I’ve always wondered how they pair people up. Is it a random draw?
I’ve heard Kirstie encouraged Melissa to do dwts. Melissa may have asked for Kirstie’s old partner (Maks), but I’d don’t know.
I’m pretty sure they make some effort to match personalities. I haven’t seen any total train wreck partnerships that I recall. Difficult and demanding, yes. But, not out right war between any partners.