Dancing with the Stars Fall 2011

Cafe Society
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Hope seems like the only candidate for leaving this week. Rob did so well that I’d be flummoxed if the voters didn’t support him.

J.R. and Ricki are a given. Or at least they should be.

I’m really worried about J.R.'s chances next week. I bet that ankle will be the size of a football tomorrow morning. His rehearsals this week will be so limited.

The dances tonight were pretty good. It helped that we finally got traditional ballroom & Latin music. That makes a huge difference in how well they can dance.

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I gave all my votes to JR – it would be so unfair if he didn’t make it to the finals.

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Rob came on strong tonight, and good on him. The Samba isn’t easy and he made it fun, even if it was pretty basic choreography, and the argentine tango was pretty good, again we don’t see as difficult sequences as we did with Ricki bit I give the guy a lot of credit. JR had a rough night, but his fans will carry him to the finale. I thought Ricki finally was having fun and it showed…here is a fun fact…that Samba is Derek’s first 30…even with Jennifer Grey and Nicole and Brooke…none of them got a perfect Samba. Maks and Hope were acting like brats…“what’s a freestyle.” Really Hope, do you hate this show that much? They are pretty much toast with their score.

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Poor J.R. That seemed so surreal. Everyone was cheering, clapping, and happy after J.R.'s first dance. Meanwhile he’s standing there about to scream from the pain. It took a minute or so for people to realize just how badly he was hurting.

It really impacted his other two dances. I was surprised the taping didn’t protect J.R.'s ankle. Usually they get it tight enough that your ankle can’t turn a second time. His ankle must have been pretty unstable from Sat. injury.

Isn’t it insane that Rob may actual steal a win from RIcki? He clearly out danced her and the wonder boy Derek tonight. With J.R. unable to rehearse this thing may go Rob’s way. That’s just crazy. But, I have to admit Cheryl has worked wonders with this kid.

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I don’t see Rob winning this thing, yes he did well tonight, but he is still somewhat stiff. it is still Jr or Ricki who will win

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I am completely done with the (Hope vs Maks) vs The Judges drama. Mercifully, it should come to an end tomorrow.

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Oy! - Look, it wasn’t my idea, all right? Trust me, if I had any control over the TV that time of day, I’d be glad to leave it on the Golf Channel.

Frankly, I find the idea that I’m completely addicted to horrendous hammy judging, howling audiences, and an increasingly nonsensical elimination system downright insulting. It’s just that for the most part it’s been at least, well, kinda tolerable, and this season just happened to take a nosedive. And I don’t see it going back.

I don’t recall ever saying that I was never going to be in one of these threads again, but heck with it, I’m saying it now. This season is the last. I’m done. Never, ever again. Don’t have the time, don’t have the energy, just don’t like a single thing about this show anymore. I’ll ride this out to the end, and then that’s it.

And you know what, I’m so sure of it that if you ever see me posting on a future DWTS thread, I give you free rein to flame and blast and ridicule and mock and spit on and throw rotten vegetables at me for the next thirty years. Heck, I’ll personally write the mods and tell them it’s cool.

Anyway…

It looks like Hope is finally going, but you can never be too sure. I’d say it’s about 80% right now. JR is a slight favorite at this point, but he knows as well as anyone that he’s won nothing yet and will be working hard as humanly possible for the final. Ricki’s still a lock for the final but has an uphill battle…she’s the de facto sorta-ringer, meaning she’ll have to pull out something truly impressive.

As for Rob…it’s funny to say this, but he seems to have followed the perfect strategy. Start out by getting comfortable with the moves and building a rapport with the pro. Don’t go all-out in the early stages; improve gradually and fly under the radar. Don’t worry too much about the steps, just make sure whatever cheesy theme skit you’re doing that week is entertaining. Stay healthy, even if it means being less than impressive; as long as SOMEONE is even a shade worse, you’re golden. Then, when the themes are done with, the also-rans are out, and you really need to perform, do the most complicated routine you’re capable of with the skills you’ve learned. Do not be shocked if he wins this. It’s slim and none, yes, but slim has most definitely not left the building.

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DKW, I beg your pardon. I had no idea you would consider the idea that you were a fan of the show insulting, and I’d certainly not pit you if you were to comment on any future season. I was pointing to my own experience, and that of a few other posters. For some of us, this show is addictive, despite our frequent complaints.

Everybody stepped up last night, and gave good performances, but I am worried about J.R. It’s evident that his pain was extreme, and I was shocked at how well he did his second and third dances under the circumstances. I liked his cha-cha the best, and was surprised that the judges ranked the dancers as they did. I thought Rob was pretty good, but not better than any of the others. I think at this point, the judges are really sick of Maks, and wanted to score it to make it likely that Hope would go home.

Maks was being very careful about what he said on camera, but the way he did so showed his obvious contempt for the whole thing. I think it’s finally hit him that he might lose this gig, and the great publicity it provides for his dance studios. He’s always thrived on his ‘bad boy of the ballroom’ shtick, but what he didn’t realize is that there are limits to the asshole-ish behavior he can display on TV and retain his popularity.

Hope’s little tantrum to the press when she was subbed out of the goalie position (covered in her fluff piece), as well as the less than gracious attitude she’s shown during this season suggests she may be a bit of a Nancy Grace in the making. Certainly between her and Maks, the judges want that team gone for the finals.

Rob looked good. Not great, but good. Cheryl’s been an ideal pro for him.

The pro Argentine Tango, especially the imported couple, looked fantastic!

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Not necessary – after all, it’s a mod who starts the thread every season. :wink:

I’m with Oy! on this, though – the “god this is so stupid! how could they!” bitching throughout the season is part of the fun for me. I’m well and truly addicted, and will be back next season with gusto.

Overall, I think it’s actually been a pretty good season – we wanted to know what a ringerless season looked like, and now we know. I’d be good with another one, frankly. It’s fun to see what the show looks like when virtually everyone really is learning pretty much from scratch.

Go JR! Go Rob! He really did dance well last night, and deserves to be in the finals. fingers crossed And go Ricki! It’s great to see her having so much fun.

350

I’ve posted in past threads, but I don’t believe I’ve posted here yet this season. I’m doing so just to concur that things have actually gotten worse with the show. For me, these stars are not particularly interesting, apart from JR. I’m still no great judge of dancing, but my wife and I did remark that there really have been no dances that we wanted to go back and watch repeatedly, whereas there used to be several during a season.

Several of the dancers are less appealing. Maks has always been an arrogant douchebag, but seems worse. Mark Balas is pretty unpalatable now.

And really, I probably wouldn’t really have started watching regularly if not for Julianne Hough, and how incredibly hot she was. Yikes.

351

I’m actually kinda pissed at Maks for shoving his nastiness down our throats. No Maks, I’m not buying the attitude or the petulant child act, especially when the show invited your brother to be on as well as members of the Troupe being alumni from your dance studio as well as Tony being your business partner. It’s too bad Chynna forgot her dance and her fanbase was thin, but it is what it is. You had all the ingredients to go far, but you blew it. Anybody notice that after Maks’ rant and bullying we don’t see Val anymore? I think the powers that be have sent a clear message to the “Dance With Me” franchise. This isn’t your show to abuse.

Anyway, I am a little worried for JR. I hope he can tough it out next week, but with a double injury on the ankle I just hope he doesn’t scratch.

Call me superstitious I just wished they had made Season 13 some sort of all star thing instead of a regular season.

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Before the East Cost results roll around -

Hope & Maks: I do have to say that Hope is a better dancer now than she was when this started. But she’s still not good. It’s little things like her feet are never, ever pointed and big things like she kind of flings her arms rather than extends them. Her paso didn’t come together. Her lines in the tango were just really awkward looking. The chacha was better than her last chacha.

JR & Karina - his ankle really hurt him this week. Also, I just don’t think paso is his dance. (I love that scene from Zorro). The singer screwed up the tango music (surprise, surprise) and he looked more comfortable, but I hope he gets a chance to heal by next week and comes back for the finals.

Rob & Cheryl - I never thought I would be cheering for a Kardashian in a reality show. Rob’s samba (once they got off the float) was fun! And happy! and not only did it have the spirit of a samba, but he did a pretty good job overall. You can tell that Cheryl likes tango. But Rob doesn’t have the smolder that, say, the Gilles/Cheryl tango had. Still, again, great dance from him. And his chacha was nice and he’s figured out this competition! Go Rob!

Ricki & Derek - So, as an overweight woman who does partner dancing, I totally get Ricki’s fear of lifts. I hate, hate doing dips because even though I’m supposed to mostly support myself, a lead can accidentally over do something and pull me into a point where I’m not stable and then they have to support the extra weight and it isn’t a minimal amount and it’s just nerve wracking. I’d rather not do it. I can only imagine lifts would be 100 times worse. Still, as to dancing - she played the exact same character in all three of her dances. And it only really worked in the tango. Samba & Cha Cha are supposed to be fun, happy, party dances, and she was doing some kind of dramatic thing. It was really odd and made those dances look sad. Samba isn’t supposed to be sad. Also, I’m not sure if it’s because of her injury or not, but I could see Derek dance just so much more in their tango.

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Bye, Bye Hope. No glitzy mirror ball 4 U. Maybe you’ll get the gold medal next summer.

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Not gonna say anything about the results 'cause I’m too lazy to make a spoiler box – but good lord, could Hope have been a more entitled bitch in her clips?

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I watched Rob and Cheryl do their encore last night, and damned if I didn’t have a big grin on my face as I watched it. He knew his dance, he wasn’t worried about being scored, so he just had a real blast, which is what samba is all about. Well done, Rob!

356

Anna & Derek’s design a dance. Paso

I don’t know how Derek survived this week. Three dances with Ricki and the DAD with Anna. That’s a lot of rehearsal time.

The DAD was really good this year.

AT&T Spotlight dance with kids that had been bullied.

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I thought the DaD Paso was ok, but not as good as the Tango Derek did with the unfamiliar woman a couple, three weeks ago. Anna is a very good dancer, but I like her better in ballroom than in Latin.

I always thought that the bonus for boys studying ballet was that if anyone bullied them, they could kick the crap out of any bully. Guys have to be really strong to do ballet, especially in the legs, and the training makes them fast and agile. For Pete’s sake, Lynn Swann studied ballet while he was with the Steelers to make him a better running back or whatever it is he was. I can see a male ballet student being bullied. Once.

The Muppets have been terribly Disneyfied, it seemed to me. That song and dance number was revoltingly sweet, without any of the humor that’s a key part of the Muppets’ appeal.

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Wide receiver. Yeah, iirc there were a lot of football players doing ballet stuff. Basketball, too. Of course, now a days, grace and agility training is just part of the deal for many athletes.

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This season I got the distinct impression that every minute of camera time - both during the live show and the clips is completely scripted.

They show at the most 3 minutes of interaction between the star and dancers taken from days and days of practice. The whole Maks/Hope drama just didn’t seem authentic.

For one thing, as an athlete who has played on lots of various teams, I have no doubt that Hope has been coached by crazy tyrants who make Maks look like Little Bo Peep.

The Maks “story arc” since I’ve watched the show has been one that starts with him being the demanding task master who instills discipline in his dancers. Somewhere between week 4 and 8, he comes around and is won over by the star’s pluck and grit. Kristi Alley sold it 100%. Hope just can’t.

Maybe this is totally off base, but no way the little clips of practice they show are truely representative of the actual dynamic between the dancers and stars.

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Hope surprised a lot of people with her whiny attitude. I think because the other Olympic athletes didn’t come across that way. Evan Lysacek, Apolo Ohno, and Kristi Yamaguchi were so much fun during their seasons. Whatever negative competitive attitudes they may have weren’t on display on dwts.

I was expecting something similar with Hope. I partially blame the toxic pairing with Maks. Two very negative people just fed off each other.

Someone up thread mentioned nearly all modern athletes get some dance training for flexibility & agility in their chosen sport. It’s not performance dance, but at least athletes learn how to move their bodies with some grace. I think that’s why many athletes do well on dwts.