It was a magical night in the ballroom last Monday night.
The dance teams were all decked out in their Disney garb, and they brought
fantasy to their dance routines as well. There was a guest judge, Sandaya, and
guest animated visitors too – both on ballroom and hanging around. There were
many cameo dance appearances from Disney characters after the breaks. Antonio
led the celebrity dancers Marla, Nyle, Doug, Kim, Jodie, Von, Ginger, Wanya,
and Paige followed respectively. Marla Maples left the competition, to the
surprise of her dance partner, Tony, so we are down to 8 competitors next week,
and Maks Chmerkovskiy as a guest judge. Will you be watching tomorrow, as the
competition gets fiercer?
In order of final scores (out of 40), here is my synopsis of
the celebrity teams.
Ginger and Val performed a highly entertaining Foxtrot as
Belle and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. This routine brought them a tie for
highest score of the night. Their dance routine was performed to depict a scene
in Beauty and the Beast, and had traditional moves mixed in with a cast of
backup dancers (which looked like it included dance pros, Tony and Louis) set
in a French town, as if they were dancing on Broadway. I loved the end where
they were all in hold dancing around a fountain. This routine brought a smile
to my face that just won’t go away. I’ve probably watched it over 10 times,
because it is so inspiring.
Their score: 36
Paige and Mark danced a playful and lively routine with many
visits to the floor as if they were toys that had been visited by humans during
their Quickstep Toy Story routine to the song, Friend in Me. Their routine
started off in hold doing their traditional moves that had a beautifully
executed series of kicks and spins, which brought her around to a scissor kick
as he spun her in the air. At some point the 6 soldiers that were standing at
attention at the sides came into the dance. They did moves on the floor that
were interestingly interspersed with partner moves around the ballroom floor
towards the end. They deserved to be tied for first place.
Their score: 36
Wanya and Lindsay were the fiercest competitors, performing
their Lion King/Samba routine. They fell from the number 1 spot to tied for second place on the leader
board this week. I felt this team was robbed. It may have been due to his
costume, which was too baggy to see his excellent moves. He opened the dance in
full lion costume, but took off the headpiece for their dance. She looked
astonishing in her cat face makeup, wild hair, and cat fur leotard. Their
performance was entertaining and invigorating. The choreography was modern, but
also had traditional moves that were performed expertly. He will be in the
finals.
Their score: 35
Antonio and Sharna danced a jazz routine to Friend Like Me.
Antonio wore a white 3-piecesuit with sequined, gold vest, and white hat.
Sharna looked hot in a pastel blue Princess Jasmine costume. Their routine
dazzled, and held a high kick line with four backup dancers. The choreography
was an interesting mix of Antonio’s style with ballroom dance moves.
Their score: 35
Von and Whitney looked elegant and poised as they sparkled
on the ballroom floor to a Cinderella themed Viennese Waltz. This routine was
one of my favorites, and this team most certainly gets my best-dressed nod for
the night. He looked like a prince in a white sparkle tux with blue trim and
black boots. She wore a smoky blue ballroom gown that was alight below the
waist. Their routine was magical and romantic, filled with traditional steps
and a variance in speed. Bruno said it best, “I am totally enchanted.” Their
score was surprisingly low for the performance they gave.
Their score: 32
Nyle and Peta danced a non-traditional, thumping samba in a
Tarzan theme. They wore loincloth type clothes, with the most outstanding part
being his longhaired wig. Their routine was vigorous and included a lot of
movement and even had pounding on a set of pot and pan, “bongo” drums. This was
the routine that one of the judges should have called, “booming,” to quote
Antonio Brown and son.
Their score: 34
Kim and Sasha danced their Quickstep routine in a Jungle
Book dance routine to the song, I Wanna Be Like You. As much as I love Kim, I
can’t say much nice about this dance, but not based on the dancing. It was
because of their hideous costumes. They both had brown Park Ranger colored
tops, but her yellow chiffon skirt made her look awful– and she is
lovely! They had 4 backup dancers that were a nice addition, but one of them
was wearing a green sequin costume that clashed with everyone else. The
choreography was traditional, and it looked like she hit all the steps ok, but
because of the costumes, this seemed like a smoke and mirror routine.
Their score: 32
Jodie and Keo had a tough night performing their Zootopia
themed Cha Cha. She made visible mistakes in routine, and although she really
held her poise throughout them, the judges were quick to judge and penalize
her. I believe this routine wasn’t traditional enough, and they seemed to
either miss connecting with one another, or the choreography had her dancing
alone too. Jodie obviously has talent as a dancer, but I’m not sure why we
didn’t see it. I’m starting to think it’s Keo’s inexperience – and I love his
dancing. I believe he needs some tutoring from a seasoned dancer from the show
(I’m thinking Derrick). It will be unfortunate if Jodie gets sent home next
week. I was surprised to learn she was in the bottom 2 at the end of the show.
Their score: 27
Marla and Tony danced their Little Mermaid themed dance in
an underwater set. Their waltz routine was their best dance to date. This was a
beautiful routine. It contained a moment where Marla stood in arabesque while
Tony slowly spun her in a circle. There was another part where he held her
under her arms, twirled her in the air, and gently threw her swirling onto the
floor. I loved this routine, and was disappointed at her low score for the
night.
Their score: 28
Doug and Karina danced a cute Marry Poppins themed Jazz
routine to the song, Spoon Full of Sugar. I really liked this routine, but the
judges didn’t. He was dressed in a black button up, black pant, and checkered
black and white vest, and hat. She came in with a long red double-breasted
coat, which she removed to reveal the cutest white and red backless dress, and
an adorable pair of white and red shoes. Their Jazz routine had a little
illusion mixed in with some acrobatic moves as well as the Charleston and
Moonwalk. It intensified into Quickstep type moves towards the end and was
quite entertaining.
Their score: 24
Surprisingly, the two celebrity dance teams that were in the
bottom two were Jodie and Marla. It was sad to see Marla go home, but she was
gracious as she said good-bye at the end of the show.
