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Season 10, week 8, Dancing With The Stars
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (713-248-2299 | philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- May 14, 2010
Phillip Stephens Reviews
Dancing With The Stars – Season 10, week 8
Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke
Tango: Chad displayed an odd shoulder position and his head was too far forward. His body didn’t develop the lines. His butt was drooping down and his arm lines were not all that good. He seldom didn’t look at Cheryl. Not sure if that was his method of creating chemistry or not. Looked mighty awkward getting Cheryl up off the floor at the end. I'd give this 18 - 21, but let's see how generous are the "favor Chad a lot" judges.
Len – needs more polish & refinement.
Bruno – went for character, so lost some of the technique.
Carrie Ann – posture was funky in this routine and without a good base….
7+7+7 = 21, surprisingly low because the judges have been overly generous with him to date.
60s Jive: Cheryl worked WAY too hard in this routine. Since Mr. 85 can’t keep up with her, that put the whole routine out of balance. Chad seemed much more at ease here than in the Tango, but his lines were still weak, his feet were stompy looking and his posture was still funky and the routine didn't feature enough kicks to make it look like a "real" Jive. But, over all, this was better than their Tango, so I'll give it 23 points
Len – high energy and entertaining
Bruno – needs more kicks & flicks, but good
Carrie Ann – it got a bit wild now and then, but one of his better dances.
8+8+8 = 24
Note: I sure do wish these cry-babies would grow up. I get so tired of their whining. Have they not seen the show? Did they not know what they were signing up for? All that "waaa waaaa, waaaa" during rehearsals, then they come out looking ever so happy for "showtime". I guess it's part of the drama of the show, but I could get along just fine without seeing it. And they KNOW they are being filmed, so it's got to be something the producers want. Sheesh!
Niecy Nash & Louis van Amstell
Viennese Waltz: Surprisingly graceful. Head position not strong enough. Louis pushed and pulled her through parts of the routine but she occasionally created some nice lines and sometimes moved under her own steam. Her feet are gaining more discipline every week, and it's easy to see she has given 110% to every performance. 24 or so?
Bruno – Liked it overall but thought the arms were a bit wild
Carrie Ann – Thought there was too much push and pull and weak transitions
Len – Pleasantly surprised. Had a lovely flow and good posture though the arms were a bit busy.
7+8+8 = 23
90s Paso Doble: Interesting outfits for this era/dance. She got into the "drama" and did some really challenging tricks. Her timing was better than I expected. She was solid on her feet and did a lot of things on her own that required strong counting skills, but Louis still pushed and pulled her too much for my taste. A reasonably good performance for a heavy gal who had to keep control over her willful "jiggly bits". Should get 23-25.
Bruno – Threw herself into the dance, but it required control which she didn't have. I strongly disagree with Bruno's assessment.
Carrie Ann – Balance of power was off
Len – thought this dance didn’t suit her personality
This was a fast piece of music and a dance not in Niecy’s normal comfort zone and she did a surprisingly good job with it and I just totally disagree with the judges. Are they trying to get sympathy votes for her?
7+6+7 = 20, low for that rather solid performance. I love her attitude.
Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Tango: What a baby about the lift!. She looks good in this outfit, which really shows off her legs to good effect. In the end, Erin did the lift very well. She used her feet and legs well, but her shoulder line and upper body posture was too rounded for my liking. A very solid performance that should merit 26 or more points.
Carrie Ann – So hot; truly beautiful
Len – loved it
Bruno – loved it effusively
9+10+9 = 28, which is possibly a bit high for that performance.
80s Rumba: Erin looked great in that outfit. Maks looked good in his outfit, too. And it's interesting to note that all the performers are wearing more clothing lately except for Tony & Dmitri in that Paso Performance. Erin performed some nice moves and presented some good lines but her knees were far too open on walking actions and she was very unsteady in the Sliding Doors. Nice tricks. I’d give it 25 tops
Carrie Ann – she needs to stop doubting herself
Len liked the choreography but thought her moves were jerky & I agree
Bruno felt they made good music together
8+8+9 = 25, which is accurate for that routine
Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya
Waltz: Incredibly long and strong arm lines although, over all, his frame isn’t always so strong. He lost balance a time or two and looked a bit awkward in feet and legs. Otherwise, he looked very comfortable on the floor in a very powerful performance. 27 or so.
Len – Not sure if he liked it, though he did like parts of it
Bruno – Well-established story. Really enjoyed the lines he created
Carrie Ann – loves the beautiful lines, but thinks Evan needs to lose himself in the routine.
9+9+9 = 27
Futuristic Cha-Cha: Loved the outfits and the "androidy" character. This suited Evan's sometimes stiff motions and worked well with his long legs. Even his feet seemed more natural looking and more precise in their actions. His over all characterization was solid from beginning to end in a well-choreographed and well-performed routine for which I'd give 27-30 points.
Len – wanted fluidity in a futuristic and very "stiff" sounding piece of music - how silly is that?.
Bruno – liked it effusively
Carrie Ann – thought it was well suited to his dance skills.
9+8+9 = 26, which is a bit lower than I’d give this quite excellent performance
Nicole Sherzinger & Derek Hough
Foxtrot: I am so tired of her crybabyness. A bit busy with jazz and frippery, but a good routine with lots of show quality. Nice lines, good expressiveness and loads of fun. The choreography was excellent and it was performed beautifully with a story that tied the whole routine together from first note to last. I'd give this a 30, but doubt Len will be too happy with the props and other frippery.
Bruno thought it was great
Carrie Ann felt she was definitely in it to win
Len thought it was a great dance even though they used too little closed hold for him
10+9+10 = 29 – a bit more closed hold and they’d have gotten a 10 from Len, too
50s Paso Doble: A beautiful "look" that went with the music, and the character of the dance was maintained even when they incorporated actions typically associated with the 50s. Derek is quite a master with choreography and Nicole certainly does rise to the challenge of performing it. It was inspiring to see how well Derek blended these highly diverse components into a routine that was in character for the dance, the music, and the era they were assigned for this routine. This one should definitely get 30 points!
Bruno – again, very effusive.
Carrie Ann – thought it was brilliant
Len – could see nothing to criticize
10+10+10 = 30
I truly enjoyed the dance by Rita & Gary Gehkman. Such a beautiful job of showing the various dances in the ballroom style and a great job of displaying their futuristic portrayal.
DWTS Results – 5/10/2010
I enjoyed seeing Derek & Nicole dance that fantastic 50s Paso again. Derek is truly an extremely gifted person where choreography is concerned.
Tony, Cheryl, Dmitri & Kym dancing Paso as a group was nice, but listening to the voice of that "Gypsy Kings" singer was grating on my nerves.
From a skill level and performance standpoint, both Niecy and Chad should be removed from the show, but I sure hope Chad is the first to go!
UC San Diego – Samba. I enjoyed this much more than the over fancified routines generally done by the pros on this show or even the formation that Mark Ballas put together a while back. This was more real dancing with fewer gimmicks. A great job, though some lines were weak and there was a bit too much seeking of technical precision and not quite enough abandonment to dance.
8+8+8 = 24
Purdue U – Mambo. Too calm for Mambo. They need more wow in their actions. Their presentations were clean, but they were so sterile that there was no fiery connection between the dancers. Over all it was a good job, but it was a bit lackluster for my taste.
8+7+7 = 22
I was disappointed that Chad remained and Niecy got cut. What a nice attitude about her figure, her dance ability and her experience on the show. Hopefully, Chad will be the next to go.
OK - that's a wrap for my week 8 DWTS review.
