March 30th, 2010 by soullldiva

Oh, it was SUCH an interesting week on Dancing With the Stars. And we’re only in week two! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much drama from both stars and pros. Tears, walking out, and little pouting rounded out the week. Frankly, it kind of exhausted me to just watch it.

In these early weeks with so many stars, I like to look back at all the dances and think who I am going to vote for. And THAT’S who I’m going to highlight in my post. We’ll see if that surprises and intrigues you. Hopefully so.

Once again, I was surprised by Shannen Doherty. She can dance, even if she throws hissy fits every once in a while. It’s good for her partner Mark Ballas to push her into doing the harder stuff, and it shows in the performance. Their Jive was super hard, and she had fun doing it and really engaged the audience. Plus I loved her outfit. She just needs to be a little sharper in those flicks and kicks. Judges’ scores: 7-6-7

Nicey Nash did not fail me, she is still my favorite star on the show. Her ability to handle everything with charm and humor really helps her get through her rehearsal time (“When did I become a white man?” she quips when partner Louis Van Amstel tells her he wants to be her “mirror”). Could she do as well in her Foxtrot as she did in her Cha Cha Cha? Their performance was light, airy, used a great song (“I Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls), had great choreography and was just lovely. Carrie Ann made the comment that Nicey knows why she’s moving. It’s the difference between “I’m pointing right at you!” versus “this is the part where I lift my arm up because my pro told me to.” A++ in my book! Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

It seems that Erin Andrews has real dancing talent and ability. Her solo moments in her Foxtrot with Maks were so really amazing, I almost couldn’t believe it. For someone with no prior dance experience, for her to turn with those lovely arms is a testament to natural talent (and I will give credit to Maks, too). Usually someone does well in the beginning, but the arms are limp, or the toes not pointed, knees bent, that sort of thing. She was really stunning, and their Foxtrot was sweet. Judges’ Scores: 8-7-8

Pam Anderson–darn if she doesn’t know how to get a character (and I’ll grant you Marilyn Monroe isn’t a stretch for  her) and keep it in, even after the dance and getting her scores. First of all, you will probably never see one moment of drama from this woman. She really knows how to just try things, do it or mess up and go on with a little giggle. She looked lovely and like a dead ringer for Monroe. Their Foxtrot was solid and very good. Smooth, easy, sexy and smashing. I loved it. And Tom Bergeron said her Marilyn was so good that “a bus load of Kennedys just showed up.” Judges’ Scores: 7-7-8

And those were my votes for the night. Needless to say, I don’t care for drama very much and found myself rolling my eyes a little bit. Of course, I am not in their shoes and putting it all out there for the world to see on the dance floor. But some of it’s just necessary. Yes, I’m hinting at Kate and Tony. Tony was the big man there and accepted responsibilty. But really, no more, please.

You may ask “But why is she not talking about Nicole and Derek’s Jive?” Yeah, wow! Two 10′s in the second week! Technically well done, sharp, sexy, and the audience loved it. For me, though, it wasn’t really exciting. It was unbelievably fast, in my opinion almost too fast. Too frenetic, too pushed. I dunno, I just didn’t get it. Nicey’s Foxtrot was so much more enganging than Nicole and Derek’s Jive. But that’s just my opinion, let me know what you think!

Who will be leaving the ballroom in the first elimination? We’ll all have to wait until tomorrow!

March 12th, 2010 by soullldiva

It’s happened. Someone has been injured in rehearsals for Dancing With the Stars, officially ringing in the new season.

No worries, it is a minor one. It seems that Nicole Scherzinger kicked her partner Derek Hough in the side of the head (one can only imagine that move–can you tell I’m foaming at the mouth with excitement? Mar. 22 can’t come soon enough). It doesn’t even look that bad. I can only hope that this will be the  worst of the injuries this year (please no stress fractures!!).

Poor Derek, she mussed up his pretty face!

I think he’ll recover in time for the premier, though. Their rehearsals are looking pretty spiffy!

Their official partner pic from ABC also looks pretty cool. I always think it’s so interesting that the style for male ballroom dancers is to have the shirt open ;o).

Only TEN more days until the premier! I’m biting my nails as I type (which is pretty hard). More soon!

Pictures courtesy of ABC Television

February 25th, 2010 by soullldiva

This dance doesn’t have any stars in it (well, so to speak). This is one of my all-time favorite dances on the show and it really illustrates what dance is all about for me: fun, joy, spirit of play, excitement, energy and enthusiasm. Back in season 7 DWTS did the first Macy’s “Design A Dance” contest, where the viewers chose the pros they wanted to see dance together and even designed the costumes they would wear (gosh, my memory faults on this, but I think they picked the song and dance style, too).

The viewers spoke: sister and brother Julianne and Derek Hough would perform a Jive together to “Great Balls of Fire”. Now, I thought in the beginning that it might feel odd to watch a brother and sister do a partner dance together. But in all probability, they have been dancing together since they were toddlers (what, 12 years ago??;o). Let me tell you there was absolutely NO oddness whatsoever. All you see is their huge love and admiration for each other, and that they really LOVE playing together. What’s even better is that Julianne can keep up step for step with Derek’s tendency to really ham and hog it up (don’t get me wrong, I adore it).

This Jive was amazingly hard and full of stunts and jumps. And it went on forever. Every second of it is good. Plus–Julianne’s outfit designed by viewer Kelly Keelie Maitin (sorry if I’ve spelled it wrong) was amazingly cute with that big red bow perched on her behind and little skirt with the piano keys. And I WANT a pair of those spectator T-straps!

They’re simply two really fine dancers and this dance is a joy to watch. Enjoy!

Oh, and countdown to Season 10 cast announcements: only FOUR days away! Can’t wait! ;o)

February 18th, 2010 by soullldiva

I apologize heartily for my absence, but I realized as I got to my lovely, little old 92-year old Grandmother’s house on Monday that I did NOT have internet connections! So, a tiny break for me ;p

I always like a little tongue-in-cheek with my dancing on occasion. And in season 8, Lil Kim and Derek Hough dished that up with their “Jailhouse Rock” Jive. If you’re not familiar with Lil Kim, the rap artist had been in prison in 2005 for perjury and conspiracy.

So, imagine how much I giggled when the roles were reversed and Kim was the prison matron and Derek the inmate!

How cool is it that they went to the Hot Rod show at Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake, CA (practically right around the corner from me)? Awesome.

I thought Lil Kim looked so cute in her outfit and she danced well. The jive is all about speed, kicks and flicks and she delivered. And the judges loved it with a 10-8-10.

Derek and Kim were very well matched, not only in stature, but with personality. Kim and Derek are both boisterous, dramatic and larger than life. I really didn’t think that Kim lasted as long as she should have. Here’s Kudos to her!!

November 17th, 2009 by soullldiva

This is it!  The final performances before the finale next week on Dancing With the Stars.  The final four couples are really exciting this year: Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson, Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough, Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel, and Mya and Dmitry Chaplin.

I was super super sad to see Aaron Carter go, I felt he could have really stuck it in there for the long run, but unfortunately his fan base was just not as strong as some others.  But big kudos go out to him for his big heart and enthusiasm, and penchant for tremendous improvement in his dance technique.  He entered the show a boy, and exited a man.

Tonight for the first time in Dancing With the Stars history, the final four couples perform three times for the audience.  They finally get a chance to perform that “last chance dance” they’ve been working on for the past few weeks in the event they landed in the bottom two.  Needless to say, these dances are so short (geeze, I think about 30 seconds), that I don’t really even consider them more than a post script for their other two dances.

Even the coaching from Gilles Marini couldn’t help Donny and Kym’s unfortunate Tango. Not only was the song selection terrible (it just didn’t scream “tango”), the whole dance just never got off the ground, and Donny’s face surely gave away the fact. Safe to say he had nowhere to go but up. Judges’ scores: 7-7-7

Fortunately, he redeemed himself with his fantastic Samba.  Donny’s solo completely smoked when he broke out in moves directly from his Osmond Brothers days on stage.  Plus, he had an absolute ball, which made up for him berating himself after his Tango. I think most people might disagree, but I really love the way that he cheers for himself when he knows he did a good job.  He likes to celebrate when he nails it. I think more artists should do that for themselves.  Judges scores: 8-9-9

Their third dance was the Jitterbug which was short but sweet.  Very energetic and fun. And surprisingly, their best scores of night. Judges scores: 9-9-9

Joanna and Derek’s first dance of the night was a Viennese Waltz.  I have not been a big Joanna fan all these weeks, but this waltz caught me completely off guard.  The beginning was really beautiful and I actually believed her when she acted the romance in the dance.  Except for one odd move where she was posed in a kind of dip with her knees bent, this was super good.  And the song was an excellent match as well.  Judges scores: 9-9-9

Second for Joanna was a Cha Cha Cha, which I was excited to see after her great Viennese Waltz.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t as “cheeky” as it could have been, although it was fun to watch her sing along with the song while she danced.  It shows just how much she enjoys herself when she dances, and that always endears me to a dancer. Judges scores: 9-9-9

Their last dance was the Salsa which was cute, but I was surprised that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Plus Derek stumbled in the hold at the end.  Shame!  Judges scores: 9-9-9

Kelly is my underdog, and I loooooove rooting for the underdog.  She has this magical ability to capture an audience with her joy and enthusiasm.  Plus she has a radiant smile.  Not a bad dancer, either! Her first dance of the night was a Rumba, and although she and Louis didn’t really capture the sensual feeling that is really needed in the Rumba, they did a really great job.  Kelly’s lines were great, and she moved with great precision and control. Judges scores: 8-8-8

Kelly and Louis busted out of the starting gate with their second dance, a Quickstep.  This is Kelly’s real forte and she did not disappoint. Their movements were super quick, super precise and energetic.  Once again she completely lit up the entire room with that smile while she glided across the floor in Louis’ arms.  Plus her dress was fabulous. Judges scores: 9-9-9

The judges onces again continued to praise Kelly for her third dance, the Cha Cha Cha, which was so quick it was really hard to get anything but just a taste. Her technique was excellent and precise, and she really put a finish on all her moves. Judges scores: 9-9-9

Mya also has not been a favorite of mine through this season, for no reason other than I never really got that she enjoyed herself at all on the dance floor. It all looked like work for her to me, and she looked kinda bored at times. However she, like Joanna, pulled it out tonight, and impressed me with her Waltz which had a good measure of feeling in it.  I believed it.  Their moves were very smooth, lines excellent and their romance was very sweet.  The Waltz has always been a ho-hum dance for me, you really have to capture my attention for me to get into it and Mya and Dmitry succeeded. Judges scores: 9-9-10

Mya and Dmitry broke away from the pack again with their Salsa, which was just excellent, excellent, crazy good. Mya did the best solo I’ve ever seen from a star in a Latin dance.  Ok, who cares about her “prior dance experience” when she gives it this good?  Her Salsa had fun, party, speed, precision, everything. Judges scores: 10-10-10

Mya’s third dance was also the Cha Cha Cha, and it was amazingly exciting and dynamic, and was full of content. Not an easy feat for a 30 second (ok, 29) dance. This was absolutely the best last dance of the evening. Judges scores: 9-10-10

SO! The leader board stands like this:

1st: Mya/Dmitry with 87

2nd: Joanna/Derek with 81

3rd: Kelly/Louis with 78

4th: Donny/Kym with 74

The suspense will be over tomorrow night when we find out who makes it to the finals next week.  My picks are Kelly, Donny for sentimental, artistic reasons, and Mya just because she’s good.  Will I be right or wrong?  Tune in and find out!!