DWTS Week 7: Sexy Sweaty Skimpy Latin Night

Meryl and Maks doing a salsa. Courtesy of On The Red Carpet/ABC/Adam Taylor.

Controversies and injuries permeated this week’s episode of Dancing with the Stars. It was Latin Night, which translated to sexy, steamy, and mostly not a lot of clothes. (I thought it was wonderful!) Some others did not share that view.

Host Erin Andrews’ best move so far this season was to goad #DWTS viewers to vote (via Twitter) whether or not Tony should dance with his shirt off or on. Of course, the vote was “Off.” Sadly, the couple’s fate also ended up being “off”...the show. Although they were due to be ejected, IMHO. They were my least favorite at this point in the competition. NeNe never really got the whole complicated steps part. She definitely had the big personality down, but dance isn’t all about that, sorry.

Interesting changes this season to DWTS. As you can see, costuming is not what it once was, it’s much more modern and with the times these days. So too, the music. Much more heavy beat, club kind of music. I do think it’ll go far to bring in a younger audience, but still not sure if I like it.

Val and Danica do a samba. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

Let’s jump to the injuries. Danica broke her rib, yet still decided to dance. I do believe that if she were not injured, this dance would’ve been one of my favorites all season. But they opted not to do any of the lifts they had planned.

This dance also brings up something which I find curious about this season. Previously, the dance being judged was only the two people at hand. More and more this season, the dancers are bringing in the troupe as backup. Certainly it adds more depth to the presentation, but I don’t know that it’s entirely fair to those who only dance with two people.

Val and Danica do a steamy samba.

Also dancing with a passel of people (and no injuries!), in the dance I considered the dance of the night, were Maks and Meryl, doing a salsa. (See pic above.) I still love this pairing and what they are doing with dance the most, and want them to win.

Also on the injury tangent, we have Derek and Amy. They had an amazing rumba that they performed. Very sexy, very sensual. The pictures don’t even do it justice. It was just fluid poetry to watch.

Derek Hough and Amy Purdy do a tantalizing rumba.

But sometime after their dance, she got injured and had to go to the hospital midshow. She was unable to participate in the team dances, and they had to judge it from the rehearsal footage (which was amazing).

Here’s hoping that both injured competitors regain their health swiftly.

There were other controversies. Meryl (one half of the Charlie and Meryl ice dancing gold medal team) is knocking out 10 after 10 after 10 being paired with Maks. Charlie, not so much. Sharna, to her credit, is choreographing some amazing stuff, but I think that Charlie is his own worst enemy here. I really do think that in ice dancing (or ice skating competition in general) it really is all about the scores. With dance (and DWTS in particular), it’s about the dance, and Charlie is forgetting that. Or needs to learn it.

They were tasked to do a paso doble (which we haven’t seen nearly enough of this season yet).

Sharna Burgess and Charlie White. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor. 

This picture really says it all (why their scores were not 10s). She is totally in it, and he looks like he’s still struggling. Sorry Charlie, but I can promise you this. You are going to be voted out of this thing before Meryl is.

Now we get to the big controversy that’s blowing up social media. Mind you, these are the people who got all up in arms about Janet Jackson’s nipple, so I tend to ignore them.

In one corner, we have the Candaces of the world (who actually send her children out of the studio during Peta’s dance!), and then we have this.

Latin dances are supposed to be hot, steamy, sexy. On this night, there was no more sexy one than Peta and James’ samba. Her choreography was stunning, the concept was great. He’s a gas station worker, and she stops by for some gas. Along the way, they are stripping off each other’s clothes, and she’s dancing most of the time in skimpy lingerie. I thought it was awesome.

Peta Murgatroyd and James Maslow do a steamy samba. Courtesy of On the Red Carpet/ABC/Adam Taylor.

Now, on the other side of the spectrum... At the beginning of Latin Night, when I saw what Candace was wearing, compared to the others, I thought she looked like a nun. Certainly we knew she wasn’t going to be wearing what Peta was wearing. However, that being said, I was pretty stunned when I really enjoyed their Argentine tango. Candace seriously rocked it.

Candace Cameron-Bure and Mark Ballas do an Argentine tango.

Mark Ballas and Candace Cameron Bure do an Argentine tango. Courtesy of OTRC/ABC/Adam Taylor.

It was also interesting that Candace and Mark went to a sports psychologist as part of their package, and she admitted that she’d never been in therapy! (An actress never before in therapy? WHAT?) Anyway, it had the result of making her more vulnerable and human to the audience. She remarked that she felt like she had been letting Mark down, and I am glad she came to that realization, because her dance tonight was much better.

So, as much as I hate to admit it, Candace does deserve to stay another week. I was proud of her.

Our lovely hosts, Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. Ricky Martin, guest judge, behind.

The losing team.

As I predicted last week, Derek’s team (again) won the team dance, and someone from the losing team went home.

The winning team (minus Amy Purdy, who was in the hospital). Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

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DWTS Week 6: Maksim C FTW?

Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy do the perfect dance of the night. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

This was the dance of the night. Perfect scores all around. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, it was Party Anthem Week. Which meant, basically, this.

Women of the troupe and Redfoo getting their party on. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

...and this...

Sharna Burgess and Charlie White.

PARTY?!!!!??? GET IT?

This episode proved how hard ABC is trying to work to get younger viewers to this show. Lotsa EDM music and techno beats. Fun! When all else fails, throw in some Day-Glo®. Woo hoo!

Yeah. *eyeroll*

But in the midst of all of the neon and confetti, we also had this:

Candace Bure, Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Drew Carey. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

This photo, more than any other, expressed to me what this show is REALLY about. These, the Bottom Two couples, one certainly going home, have friends Mark Ballas and Cheryl Burke supporting each other, whatever the outcome. (It ended up being Cheryl Burke and Drew Carey departing.)

That, to me, represents the real Dancing with the Stars. It’s posited as a competition, but everyone lucky enough to be on it is a winner. Although some, heartbreakingly, go home sooner than others.

And we saw little glimpses into the jealousies behind the scenes. Some pro dancers having multiple Mirror Balls, others having one, others having none. Yet.

So let’s get back to the competition at hand.

We did have this.

Mark Ballas and Candace Cameron-Bure do a cha cha.

Candace Cameron-Bure, emboldened and electrified, finally GETS IT (in Week 6) that you do this as a character, not as yourself. And so, she’s able to let herself go more, and I have to say, the dance was better because of it. Not likely to save her to the end, but heck, I even voted for them again this week.

Not so with the emboldened in a negative way NeNe Leakes, who, after dancing with Derek, seems to have thrown rules out the window and wants to dance her own way every week. I predict she and Tony will be next to go. (Sad because I really do like Tony. He really does go the extra mile for his partner every week. At least it seems so from here.) But NeNe I’m really done with.

So now we’re down to the real final five contestants of the competition. Alphabetically: Derek, Maks, Peta, Sharna and Val. What these five do in the next weeks is what’s truly going to be interesting to watch.

Peta Murgatroyd and James Maslow, obviously having a lot of fun doing a quick step.

All of these five I just love watching, for differing reasons. Peta and James, for example, really look like they’re having fun out there.

Charlie and Sharna do too, but I really dread seeing him doing a Latin dance this week. Happy and fun are his forte. The serious “character” dancing doesn’t seem to come to him as easily.

Then we have what I hope are the three semi-finalists.

DEREK HOUGH AND AMY PURDY

Derek Hough and Amy Purdy doing a jive.

Derek creates magic with every dance. And Amy, besides having the sympathy card for her situation, also dances her butt off. They are formidable competitors. Still, Derek can’t (and shouldn’t) win EVERY season. And he just won last season.

VALENTIN CHMERKOVSKIY AND DANICA McKELLAR

Danica McKellar and Valentin Chmerkovskiy do a cha cha. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Season after season, since he became a pro on this show, Valentin has presented us with (arguably) some of the best choreography on this show. Why he doesn’t yet have a Mirror Ball surpasses my mental abilities. He has certainly deserved one, IMHO. And could deserve one this time too.

But what I found most interesting, starting from this show in Week 6, is this.

MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY AND MERYL DAVIS

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis do a tango.

I want Maks to win this season. I sure didn’t think I’d be saying that at the beginning of the season. Sure, I was glad he was back and all, but still...

What is this ephemeral thing that causes people to win? What is it that pushes them to the top? Maks has been so close. He thought he should’ve won (and publicly said so) with Kirstie Alley. I thought he should’ve won with Erin Andrews.

But this time, this show, just before he goes on to do a mind-blowing, perfect-scoring tango, he talks very vulnerably about how much he wants to win, and how humiliating it is to have danced all these seasons and not yet won. And you know? He’s right.

Maybe Maks finally realizes that it was himself getting in his own way previously (with his arrogance), and that’s why he’s toning it down and actually becoming vulnerable on camera. No, I want this, he says to us. It’s certainly a strategy he hasn’t tried before. This time, it just might work.

When these two ice dancers with gold medals came on this show, it appeared certain that one of them would win this. After all, America loves them.

I am really hoping beyond hope that the one who wins is Meryl. With Maks, the chastened fallen hero, returned to vanquish and get that Mirror Ball finally. It would be a great ending to this season.

Artem Chigvintsev in the Macy’s Stars of Dance segment.

There was also this. Thank you again to Macy’s for letting these Stars of Dance segments return, and also to ABC for letting Derek Hough drive the creative on them.

Also, every week for several weeks now, they’ve been having guest judges. I haven’t been mentioning it (like last week’s Donny Osmond, this week’s RedFoo) because I mostly see it as a stunt thing. The DWTS judges are Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno, to my eyes.

What I am suspecting is happening is that Len is going to step down, and one of these “guest” judges will then take over his spot. So far this season I haven’t seen one I’d want in his place, though I suppose Donny Osmond comes close, cause he has seen a lot of dance over his career, and he was fair and honest in his judging. And certainly we need someone somber to keep the air in the room (between Carrie Ann and Bruno, sheesh). Julianne Hough is a little too mean (and not in the Len kind of way). Plus, I think someone with some distance from the participants would be better.

Robin Roberts? No, too easy on everyone. RedFoo? Heck no. Way too much wackiness in that scenario. Plus, he doesn’t really seem to know dance.

This week is Ricky Martin. Well, he does know dance, and Latin dance in particular, so we shall see.

Also coming up this week? The Team dances. In the history of Team dances, Derek’s team has always won, and I promise you, will win again. Bet me. (Also, in DWTS history, the losing team is always the one with someone going home. That will be true again tomorrow. Bet me on that too.)

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DWTS Week 5: Every Week Is Disney Week at ABC... Oh, Wait...

Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Danica McKellar. Courtesy of ABC.

Normally, product placement in a show bugs the crap out of me. Devoting a whole episode to variations of things done by your corporate parent could get real tedious, real fast. However, with Dancing with the Stars on ABC, we are talking about corporate parent Disney, which, like it or not has some great iconic images under their domain. And the opposite side of blatant product placement is that they can do things (because they own all the characters) that no one else can. And so we have: Disney Week.

Like Val and Danica, above, being our guests with a lovely waltz. Val and Danica, btw, were my favorite couple from this week. Just wonderful to watch them dance. So perfect. Val looked so elegant in that suit. I realized later that he was going for the genie look (with his goatee and pulling his hair up straight in the middle). So sue me, I don’t have kids. Many of these movies were lost on me.

But I really enjoyed their dance, and Val’s choreography.

Danica and Val just look so “Disney,” don’t they?

We seem to be going in reverse order this week, with the couples I loved the most first.

Charlie White seems to have found his (and our) happy place, staying on the side of happy in his dances. And you can’t go wrong with Dick Van Dyke and Mary Poppins. Charlie and his pro partner Sharna recreated “Supercalifragilisticexpealidocioius” with a wonderful dance sequence. (It appears now that the DWTS “jazz” category essentially means: “whatever we feel like dancing which doesn’t fit in any of the other categories.” So, too, was this “jazz” dance.) Ah well, it was tons of fun.

Charlie White as Dick Van Dyke and Sharna Burgess as Julie Andrews. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

And it’s so good to see (most of) these couples back together again. There was a fire in their dancing this week.

Meryl and Maks, for example, did a wonderful Jungle Book samba, complete with samba rolls! Not sure what was up with the pants Maks was wearing, but certainly a half-naked Maks elicits a huge “Yes!” from this peanut gallery.

Meryl and Maks do a samba. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Have I mentioned how glad I am that Maks is back? Hm... yes...

Then we had a very emotional moment or two with Amy Purdy, who realized, in trying to do a waltz this week, the limitations of her lack of legs. But Derek Hough, brilliant choreographer that he is, came up with a way around the limitations, and for my eyes, it looked to all the world like a beautiful, dreamlike Disney waltz of Cinderella and her prince. Bravo to Derek for that. And to Amy for persevering through what appeared to be a really tough week.

It is very interesting to me, I suppose, like most things worth having in life, how people come onto Dancing with the Stars thinking it’s going to be one thing, and it ends up being something so completely different. More of a spiritual and psychological challenge and growth period.

Derek and Amy in waltz hold. Note foot placement.

This is a bit (from what I understand) of what the traditional waltz entails. But one of Amy’s issues with dancing is wanting/needing to feel like she’s not falling, certainly moreso than people who have the use of their legs for balance.

So what seemed to have been done (for this dance, at least) was a bit of improvisation. Her feet (as you can see above) are almost nearly covered through the whole dance, whereas in other dances this season, you could see them. Also, rather than doing the whole waltz in traditional hold, Derek devised more of this:

Amy Purdy and Derek Hough were magical.

Sort of a backwards hold, which had the effect of her appearing strong, and him appearing very much in love with her. It was truly magical and awe-inspiring.

Of the other dancers, James and Peta were in another world with their contemporary dance to the Oscar®-nominated song from Frozen.

James and Peta do contemporary to the song from Frozen.

Drew and Cheryl? Eh. NeNe and Tony? God help us. (I feel sorry for Tony, but I’m pretty done with NeNe.) Thankfully, the kids (Witney & Cody) were voted out this week.

And then, there’s Candace and Mark Ballas. I really love Mark Ballas, and would love for him to win (and every season I do start out saying this), but WOW! I really can’t stand Candace. This week, in our I Don’t Care I’m on a Dance Show that Shows a lot of Skin, I’m Doing It MY Way Follies...Candace decides to show some skin. (Mark, however, is buttoned up from top to bottom, even having flippers instead of hands.)

The upside? I absolutely loved 100% every single thing Mark did (even his costume!). He was (as usual) a blast to watch. So much energy! So many great steps. So much fun.

Candace? UGH. Let me just show you. Here’s her idea of “showing a little skin.”

Mark Ballas, in his element. And Candace.

This picture really says it all. Here’s Mark, the maestro that he is, loving it, thriving, dancing his ass off. And Candace, who looks like a tired mom who just needs to go home already. So sad. UGH.

I do really want to take a moment to commend the costumers, who have to contend with people like Candace, but also for this season giving us lots of fun textures and sparkles to look at, as well as really recreating versions of every single one of these beloved Disney movies. I love the fact that more and more of these dancers are being allowed to dance in flatter shoes (men, too, seem to be more comfortable with their shoes), and we seem to be getting FAR fewer (as in we haven’t heard of any yet this season) dance injuries. Women also aren’t tripping over long ballgowns. I, for one, am grateful about all of the above.

I’m also so very grateful that the very beautiful Erin Andrews was dragged out of her black/white sackcloth and put into a gorgeous Boston Strong blue ballgown. Very nice. Also rocked the amazing updo. Kudos to her hair people. (LOVE HER. Have I mentioned that? She’s such a great addition to the show.)

Also am grateful for those, notably Peta and Maks and Val this season, who will bare skin if it’s warranted in the dance (from the characters and the scenarios). I’m sure Mark Ballas would too, if he weren’t locked down by his prudish dance partner. UGH.

Let’s end this review with a little JOY, shall we? A little happy? A little up? (Oh, and thank you, too, to whomever finally got their act together on the webpage and started posting photos again. You will notice Week 4 is completely missing still. *sigh*)

But here’s to joy and beauty and love and romance. Cause really, isn’t that what Disney is all about?

The magical Amy Purdy as Cinderella and Derek Hough as her Prince. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor and Disney.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happiness looks like. Charlie White.

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DWTS Week 4: Switch This

Meryl Davis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy dance the Argentine tango. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

EDITOR’S NOTE: There are some really great photos for this week, but ABC (for some reason) is slacking on actually posting them to the DWTS website. I got most of these from other places. I had really wanted to show some of the other competitors (and if they ever post Week 4, I may still add them, but at this point, just wanted to get the column up before Week 5). #ABCFail

When I first heard (during the Good Morning America segment in which the new cast was announced) about this “switch” concept, I was enthused. I envisioned a path in which favorite dancers who had been voted off could reappear with new partners. Well, that’s not at all how this happened. (Sorry, Karina! *pouts*)

I also pictured partners being switched mid-season, stuck with other partners for the rest of the season (which would’ve been interesting). That is also not what happened.

No, in the final analysis, this Switch thing will go down (like the Glitter Pit before it) as a grand failure. What is very interesting about this week, though, is why.

I knew, on some level, that the “stars” would be more comfortable with partners with whom they’d already built up a rapport. What I really had no idea about was how much like a fish out of water they really were, in the arms of other partners. No one (except Val and Meryl, above) really seemed comfortable with other partners.

Consequently, and sadly for us viewers, where we had been having really dynamic amazing dances the past few weeks, almost without exception, they were less than they could’ve been. It was, pretty much, like Week 1 all over again, except with their real partners, they also have a few weeks’ of prep time. So more like Week Minus 1 or something. Blech. Please don’t do this again, ABC. It so didn’t work.

Now, that said, we did have some interesting things happening.

For example, I was wondering who would be paired up with NeNe. (I was hoping for Maks.) It ended up being Derek. Derek, who, with his regular partner Amy Purdy, holds her tightly and close, almost didn’t touch NeNe at all. It was very interesting. Not sure I really dug it. (Although it looked FANTASTIC!).

OTOH, the pairing I was most hoping for/waiting for was to see Mark Ballas (whom I just love) with Amy Purdy. It is not easy dancing with a dancer with disabilities. It requires someone with sensitivity and kindness and a different way of looking at things. In short, if it couldn’t be Derek, it had to be Mark Ballas.

And their pairing did not disappoint. It certainly seemed to both stretch and enliven Mark and Amy. It was a wonderful salsa.

Those three were my main favorites from this night. Other things of note: Drew Carey had a gold suit (and shoes!). Sharna and Cody were revelling in their Aussie-ness. Maks and Danica did a fun jive. And Charlie should never ever ever wear his hair like that again. Whew!

Also of note, Derek Hough, DWTS resident dance genius, seems to have taken on more of a creative role with the show this season. That played out most effectively when Macy’s Stars of Dance returned.

Derek choreographing and designing this amazing dance, with other troupe members and some woman from So You Think You Can Dance. It was just brilliant and beautiful. Thank you, Macy’s. Glad you’re back to give us such stunningly beautiful dances.

Very glad Derek is in this role, too. His vision about dance is just breathtaking. They did some cool things with slo-mo in camera that were visually just amazing to watch, and about as state-of-the-art as you can get.

Derek’s sister, Julianne, was guest judge on this evening (not quite as nasty as she was last time). She mentioned that she and Derek are going to be touring with a dance show later this year. Mark your calendars for that.

Erin Andrews’ outfits (black and white each week, with maybe a pop of color) are really starting to annoy. After being spoiled every week with Brooke Burke, who always had fantastic clothes, Ms. Andrews’ wardrobe does leave quite a bit to be desired. Still really glad she’s there, though.

Worth mentioning is that one of the casualties of letting go of the entire orchestra is that this week’s music (which seemed to rely more on tapes than people playing and/or singing) was consistently off, though the dancers seemed to dance through it. It’s pretty important that the music play when it’s supposed to. Here’s hoping they can work all that out sometime soon.

Meanwhile, back to the normally scheduled Dancing with the Stars next week, with regular partners in tow. And someone again eliminated (thankfully).

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DWTS Week 3: Gut-Wrencher Overload

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

There is a week in Dancing with the Stars (usually early on) where you get to know the “stars” a little better. They dance to a “special year” in their lives, usually dedicate the song to someone, and many tears are shed. (Well, in good years, that’s what happens.) Some years, like last, we had celebs whose greatest life-changing moment was “booking Glee.” (Who shall remain nameless... AHEM.)

It depends, I would suppose, on the people who populate the dance floor, and what they’ve gone through in their lives. Soldiers/war heroes always have a good story for this evening. Self-absorbed celebrities, well, not so much.

In Season 18, we have “My Special Year” in Week 3. I shed tears watching it this year, I admit it. It was a special week.

It was also unusual for me. There were basically 10 couples left (one of whom, Billy Dee Williams, voluntarily dropped out, “on doctor’s orders”; to which I say, THANK YOU, Doctor!). So there was no elimination on this night. Not even much hooha about Billy Dee leaving (also, thank you, producers).

FIVE of the couples who danced on this night BLEW ME AWAY. FIVE! So much so that I can’t even name a TOP choice. Or even rank them in any way. I don’t think that’s ever happened, as long as I’ve been writing about this.

So, let me get the other three out of the way first.

The stunningly beautiful Cheryl Burke and Drew Carey.

Tony and NeNe and Cheryl and Drew did nice dances. I enjoyed them. They just didn’t blow me away like the other five.

And, it kills me, cause I really love Mark Ballas and his dancing so much, but the whole prude thing crossed Candace Cameron off the list for me. I don’t even care about them as a couple anymore.

Oh, and the kids (Cody whatever and Witney) danced to some Surfboard song of his. Yawn...

Now let’s get to the good...no, GREAT stuff.

Kicking off the evening with a bang was Peta Murgatroyd and James Maslow. Their dance was amazing.

And, I said it in a Tweet at the time, but I’ll say it again: the music, especially for this number, is 1000% better than it’s ever been. How nice to have up-to-date songs to dance to!

Peta Murgatroyd and James Maslow. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Man, this song was just such a bouncy blast to watch. So much fun.

And while we’re on the subject of fun songs, Sharna Burgess and Charlie White, got out of the somber tango mood they were in last week, and played to Charlie’s strengths. Remember when I said last week that he was good at the smiling thing? Well, here you go.

Charlie White and Sharna Burgess dance to “Happy.” Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

If ever there was a song tailor-made for Charlie White to dance to, it’s Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” Oh, you know? That song you can’t get out of your head? Yeah. That one. Smiley-faces all over the stage too. Way happy. Way fun.

I think it’s true of Mark Ballas, Derek Hough, and now Valetin Chmerkovskiy, that whoever they dance with, they make them look so much better because they are so talented as choreographers. Honestly, for season after season now (since he’s been a pro), Val has really taken my breath away with how stunning his choreography is. Danica McKellar is one very lucky woman, and this was one amazing dance (on Val’s birthday!).

Valentin Chmerkovskiy (on his birthday!) with Danica McKellar. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Such a wonderful dance. Amazing, incredible choreography. A joy to watch.

But it was his brother, Maksim, who continues to astonish and amaze with the depth of emotion he brings to the dance each week.

There is always a ”will they or won’t they?” thing teased with various couples during the show. Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. As far as the dance, it really doesn’t matter. But there was an almost-kiss held for a really long time in this dance, which might have been powerful if it hadn’t been so carefully choreographed that it was so perfectly placed for the camera.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis.

Remember that this was the guy who was giving Charlie White lessons in how to be a “bad boy” last week. So do with all that information what you will. Whatever it was, it was a helluva dance.

But really, the most gut-wrenching dance, the one that had me (and probably a lot of America) in tears, was Derek Hough and Amy Purdy’s dance.

It’s a pretty big deal, likely a very difficult technical challenge, to choose to dance with a woman with no legs. A woman who has overcome her challenges so much that she just medalled at the ParaOlympics. Yet, still, has no legs from the knees down.

This contemporary dance that Derek created was just stunning to watch, a poem about Amy not being able to walk, yet wanting to and how, with the help of her father (who was in the audience, and to whom she dedicated the song), she was able to. Such a beautiful and amazing dance. There truly are no words.

Derek Hough and Amy Purdy dance contemporary. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Amy Purdy and Derek Hough

It is a dance that won’t soon be forgotten. An incredible week this time, indeed.

Oh, but let’s end on a Happy note...

Seriously. Don’t you just love DWTS’ set designers? Wow.

Next week, we get the guest judging of Miss Julianne Hough (Derek’s sister). She was (I thought) a bit unprofessionally mean to Mark Ballas last time. I hope we have none of that this time around. No need to be catty here. But then, this is also the woman who wore that racist outfit for Halloween, so maybe she doesn’t have the best judgment at all?

We shall see.

Robin Roberts was a guest judge this time, but come on. She’s gonna like everything. Please.

I like the three judges we have (Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno). These other ones just mess up the place, and cause the judging comments to run longer. Blech. But I suppose that dancers who actually know dance are better than talk show hosts, in the scheme of things.

Oh, and we also have this big “Switch” thing next week. I suspect that they were going to have it for all season, and the pros complained, so it’s only going to be one week of a Switch.

Truthfully, I don’t know how they can do it at all. These celebrities require so much coddling and hand-holding, why switch that off to someone else? Ugh.

At LEAST, we know that Mark Ballas will be paired with someone who is OK with this whole dance concept. I hope they do something really steamy and unclothed! Take that, Candace! heh

(Now who’s catty?) ;-)

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DWTS Week 2: It's Not YOU, It's the Character

Sharna Burgess and Charlie White. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

It’s been an interesting season of Dancing With the Stars so far. It’s only Week 2 of Season 18, and already we have learned so much.

The thing that I love about #DWTS (well, so many things)... is that you really do learn a lot about this art form called dance, if you really truly listen.

This dance above, for example. Sharna Burgess and Charlie White’s tango, in which all-around great guy Charlie White had to enlist Maksim Chmerkovskiy so he could truly put forth a character which is two-timing and with a roving eye. (I might add that Charlie did not achieve said aim to these eyes, but his dancing was decent along the way.)

And that is something at an advanced level of dancing, I might add. Actors, for example, in their beginning days, may think they just have to stand up and say a bunch of lines. As their learning progresses, they learn that to be a good actor, they have to actually convincingly portray someone else (someone who is NOT them). And if they are a truly sublime actor, they truly become that person before your eyes. Convince you with every fiber of their being that they ARE that person, and that the words they are saying are TRUE, that is, from their very soul. That’s tough stuff. Most actors, frankly, do not attain such heights, only a handful really make that transformation.

But we learned, if we did not know it already, in this Week 2 episode of #DWTS, that great dancing involves creating a character, WHO IS NOT YOU, to inform the dance. For example, tangos. The greatest tangos, as we have seen, involve lots of passion and drama. Those participants may or may not have such passion between them, but they have to CONVINCE us they do. They have to convey the love story, and the dance is the vehicle with which to do that.

Also, anything that gets in the way of the essential heart of the drama being played out is going to detract from the dance.

I bring all this Dance Education 101 up because of what else happened in Week 2, which we saw hints of on Week 1. Namely, this.

The oh-so-patient Mark Ballas and Candace.

Now, Miss Candace has already warned us (last week) that she’s “a mom,” who won’t be partaking in any of those skimpy costumes this show struts around. I’m sure there are those in the audience cheering this decision. (Mind you, those are also the folks who had a problem with Janet Jackson’s nipple.) AND, as if that weren’t bad enough, this week, we get to see her NIX the idea of Mark taking his shirt off.

Mark and Candace were set to dance A RUMBA, arguably the sexiest dance this show offers, and she is making them dress in sackcloth. :-0

Here’s the thing, Candace Cameron-Bure, and take this advice very seriously. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. When you are dancing, you are a CHARACTER. And it’s not that DWTS just likes to have everyone running around in skimpy outfits. Think for a moment. You have a limited amount of time (what is it, three minutes?) to convey something to an audience. You use every device at your disposal (BRAVO to the stage crafters, lighting designers, producers and others who make magic every week on DWTS). But one of those devices is also COSTUMES.

How does one convey that this romance between two people is the hottest you’ve ever seen? In three minutes? Sorry, but it helps if you have two partially unclothed people, because it conveys some kind of sexual activity between them. It’s a shorthand that everyone in the audience understands.

I don’t give a crap that you are a Mom, and you feed your kids peanut butter and jelly on lunches. In that moment, when I am a viewer watching your dance, all I want to see is the emotion, and the sexuality, that you are supposed to be portraying. That’s it. And if you don’t give us that: THE DANCE LOSES.

Poor Mark Ballas. He had to suffer through this kind of nonsense with Bristol Palin. His interview in Week 2 noted about Candace, “you are even worse than Bristol Palin.” SIGH. I really feel for him in this.

So, in their dance, he did what he could, emoting up a storm to convey that these two people are desperately passionate in their Week 2 RUMBA, but what could you do?

The professional Mark Ballas and the prude Candace Cameron Bure.

Sorry, but this is just not selling “sexy” to me, though I can really see Mark Ballas trying hard. But they look like nuns. Horrible stuff. Eh.

Later, when the judges scored her negatively for doing an unsexy rumba, she had the balls to say, “I want to reserve certain things for my husband.” Jeez, woman, get off the stage. We are not asking you to have sex with Mark Ballas in front of us. This is a CHARACTER and it’s in service of the DANCE. If you don’t get that, well, frankly, you shouldn’t have signed up for this show.

Let me show you a contrast.

James and Peta do a salsa (also a very sexy dance). In his interview, he jokes about doing it fully nude. Now THAT would be a very sexy salsa. All 10s! Ahem... anyway... their dance was STEAMY. They were my second favorite of the week. Look.

Peta Murgatroyd and James Maslow do a samba. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Steamy, right? Sexy just dripping from this picture. Now there is also nothing in this photo that one would have to “save for their husband.” The dancer, Peta, is conveying mostly by her costume, that the salsa is one sexy dance. That’s the deal here, Constance.

And guess what? James and Peta were the second-highest scorers of the night.

Also, if you think of dance in a kind of feng-shui way, you don’t want to throw up anything which is going to block the emotion and the sexuality you are trying to convey. Taking a stance of “I’m not going to do that, and I’m not going to let you as my partner do that either,” just ruins it. There’s no other way to say it.

I am simply crying for Mark Ballas right now.

But OK, to the rest of the show, and those who DO get it.

Those voted out this week (two couples) were Diana Nyad and whoever it was she was dancing with, and Karina and her lunkhead hockey player. Hopefully we will see Karina back during that Switch Up thing at least. But honestly, I’m really glad to see both of those couples go. Will be glad to see Billy Dee Williams leave very soon too. And, as much as I love Mark and his dancing, I really hate what Constance is doing, so Goodbye to them soon too... (hopefully).

Oh, but let’s talk about what we enjoyed this week, shall we?

We had this:

NeNe Leakes and Tony Dovolani do a jive.

And this:

Cheryl Burke and Drew Carey’s jive.

Speaking of hotness, and not afraid to show it, we had this:

Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy do a hot samba.

A continuously amazing pair: Derek Hough and Amy Purdy, who did an incredible swing dance this week.

Derek Hough’s amazing swing choreography with Amy Purdy.

Derek, as always, had amazing choreography. But look at this swing move (above). He swung her whole body around, in time to the music. Incredible.

With the ice dancing couples, let’s start with Charlie and Sharna. As mentioned a bit above, one of Charlie White’s greatest challenges in this show is not the choreography, but to unlearn the concept of constant smiling (which you have to do in figure skating). Also, the tango, which he attempted this week, is about anger and volatile passion, whereas Mr. White seem like a total pussycat.

So, the steps were there, but the bubbling passion underneath (to me) was not. I hope they get a chance to do another (maybe Argentine tango) later in the season, when he’s worked on this concept a bit more.

Also, they danced to a song which said, “I’m Addicted to You,” and Charlie’s stage direction was to be looking out at other women in the audience. Clearly, if one is addicted to someone, that person is all they can think about, so the song (as far as character motivation) didn’t work at all for me.

Sharna Burgess and Charlie White do a tango.

However, bravo to the costumers who are doing more with sheer fabrics so that you can see the feet of the female dancers. This one, on Sharna, was just stunning and mesmerizing. (And while we’re talking costuming, can I just say how much I love that they are wearing sneakers much more, both women and men?)

But my favorite dance of the night was the other ice dancing couple, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis. Maks called it, “the most lift-y routine I’ve ever done.” He says he’s “way too old for this,” but I thought he looked just great out there.

Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy swinging.

And the interplay between Maks and Erin was once again golden. Love it!

All in all, some really great dances already at Week 2. I don’t know about you, but I’m still thanking the lucky stars that Maksim is back.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis do a swing. Courtesy of ABC.

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