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Wk 9, Season 12, DWTS
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- May 18, 2011
Dancing With The Stars Semi-Finals
Season 12, Week 9, 5/16/2011
Brooke’s outfit, though nice, is not the best style for her. Her legs are so thin at the knees and her hips are rather wide, so “clinging to the hip” styles are not the best choice for her.
All the contestants looked nice, even Mark Ballas – though I wish he had shaved – and Kirstie has a waist now. Maks has worn more upper body clothing this season than in all previous and has looked very nice and very sexy throughout!
Ralph Machio & Karina Smirnoff
Argentine Tango – Entrance took a long time but their timing was very clean. Karina’s outfit makes her look like she has a large rear end. Quite a nice routine once they got going. Lots of dynamic actions, good clean lifts, nice lines. A bit on the cautious side, but still, it was good. 26-27.
Len – liked the setup even though it lacked passion; Bruno – Too flat; Carrie Ann – Agreed with Bruno, it needs connection to music and emotion. 8+9+8 = 25
Salsa – Gets into the character of the dance, though I’m not sure he needed the butt boost. Not quite sure what to say about Karina’s outfit. Ralph did quite a nice job on some things, but his New York (cross-over) action was wild and some of his steps were a bit clunky. Overall, a solid performance. 27
Len – Too wild, not enough rhythm; Bruno – needs language lessons; Carrie Ann – Liked it though she noted his technique went out. 8+7+8 = 23, which is lower than I expected.
Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Viennese Waltz – Kirstie looks nice, but needs to do something with that hair. A nice top line and good movement, although her arm lines are not always finished and she looks down too much. Still, a good solid performance. 27?
Bruno – Raving and raving (Like that’s something new?); Carrie Ann – Feels Kirstie transforms the ballroom; Len – Good posture & movement. 9+9+9 = 27
Paso Doble – Solid solo entrance. She looked a bit like a macabre Wonder Woman in that outfit, but her dancing was strong, on time and quite solid with an unexpectedly exciting ending. 27-28
Bruno – Raved and raved (again) while noting that Kirstie was strong to the end; Carrie Ann – The Queen of Paso Doble; Len – Had the two toughest dances and came out and danced fabulously. 9+9+9 = 27
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas
Argentine Tango – A unique and very different look for Chelsea but that big red flower did nothing for her outfit. Mark’s shoes looked odd and he should have shaved. Definitely an intense routine. Some nice lines. Mostly fancy flicks and kicks with a couple of nice lifts and then just rather bland intensity. It seemed that Mark’s attitude during practice took wind out of Chelsea’s sails.
Carrie Ann – Found the routine not up to par (I agree); Len – Legs lacked authority throughout. Clean and precise; Bruno – Fascinating and intriguing (and then just more raving). 9+9+10 = 28
Rumba – Her opening look reminded me of Arabian Nights. A nice emotion-filled performance that looked a bit on the “modern” side for Rumba. I wanted to see more softness and more hip action and more of a Latin feel. This was too contemporary for my taste, but the music may have invited that construction. Good, so I’ll give it 27-28 points.
Carrie Ann – Saw a full range of passion and emotion; Len – Thought she fulfilled her potential; Bruno – Saw romance and eroticism perfectly pitched. (I don’t agree with any of THAT, though I do think she danced well) 10+10+10 = 30
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson
Argentine Tango – Great entrance. Good tricks and lots of “kissy-kissy” stuff. Great job and soooo dynamic. This was by far the best Argentine Tango I’ve seen in a long time. 30
Len – He raved more than Bruno normally does; Bruno – Saw the story (and tried to retell it in full); Carrie Ann – Could see the personal connection beyond the normal partner connection. 10+10+10 = 30 and WELL deserved.
Salsa – I just like Hines story and the outlook on life that it has given him. He has a good sense of rhythm and timing. It is amazing that he has such power and control out on the floor and that he acts so well into the character of each dance. Another strong performance that was dynamic from start to end filled with lots of good dancing. I’d give that 28-30.
Len – Loved it; Bruno – Offered heartfelt praise; Carrie Ann – Sees the joy of self-expression when he dances. 10+10+10 = 30
Winners take all Cha Cha – Hines & Kym VS Ralph & Karina.
H&K were very solid and in sync; R&K were also solid and more dynamic than expected.
Len liked Hines & thought Ralph was fully committed; Bruno – Hines was solid as a rock & Ralph was very “on”; Carrie Ann – Liked both of them
Winners: Hines & Kym.
Kirstie & Maks VS Chelsea & Mark. Was that a Peewee Herman look Mark was workin’ on? A dynamic routine & Chelsea performed very well. Cha Cha may be Kirstie’s dance. She is very solid and has extremely good timing in this dance with good hip actions and strong foot placement
Bruno - Liked both couples; Carrie Ann – Tough to decide; Len – liked them both
Winners: Chelsea and Mark won. I not sure they deserved it. Did the judges go for young, slim and “cute” over mature, thick and not-exactly-lithe?
Hines & Kym VS Chelsea & Mark
Two very dynamic performances. All judges gave terrific comments
Winners: Chelsea and Mark. Not sure I agree with that.
The male pros were grumpy yutzes this week. I’m sure they are all tired, but carrying on the way they did will not result in their partners being able to dance better. Instead of Mark telling Chelsea she was just dead weight, he could have tried teaching her how to carry her own weight. Maks could at least let Kirstie finish her question and take a moment or so to answer her. What good is it to have her upset or not even in the room? How is that productive? Grrr.
Results Show – May 17, 2011
I had many comments prepared for the Results show but, due to an accidental loss of power to the computer, all that got wiped. I do recall that Michael Schedler and I had a discussion about how some singers today should take their cue from Beverly Sills and retire before their voice goes to pot.
We said good bye to Ralph Machio. I’ve heard some people disagree with that turn of events. I like Ralph and was impressed with him from the very beginning, but his dancing was too consistent. He never really improved while Kirstie did, so she deserved the chance to go on while he did not. My prediction is that Hines will win if the decision is based on interpretation, partnership, performance, musicality and technique. If they go for young, cute and lots of promise, Chelsea will win.
