Dancing With The Stars – Season Seven – The Winner is…

Last night’s post really got me down. You couldn’t tell by my writing that I’m a journalist. Truly I am, I have a few press passes that will argue the fact for me.  But the other part of my part in this blog is that I am a lover of dance. I trained to be a dancer, and then discovered I’m not as good as I thought I was. Definately not good enough to be a professional. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know dance. So this season of Dancing With The Stars has left me jaded.  Reading post around the internet today let me know I’m not the only one who is seeing the disparity of the judging on DWTS.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2008/11/dwts_why_the_judges_hate_lance.html

Despite the fact it’s only 9:30pm on the West Coast, 90 minutes until she is crowned as this season’s winner, I will report that

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough

have won. Why so early? Because I’m not going to watch. I may not watch ever again…but then EVER is a long time and I don’t tend to hold grudges. I read about ninety minutes ago that Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer finished third and were out of the finals, and in truth that was it for me.  How the judges could pick the abilities of Warren Sapp over Lance Bass is beyond me.

To Brooke Burke and Derek Hough (not that they will read this) I say congratulations.  To Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer (not that they or anyone else will ever read this) I say, “You had me at the Tango.” To the producers and judges at Dancing With The Stars – get real and give us a real competition, not a title nine/PC fake. Those of us who know dance, know better.

Tanglefoot

Dancing With The Stars – Season Seven – Week 10 – The Finals

Tonight’ show opened with a retrospective of each of the finalist’s best dances of the season, before the winner’s of the Ballroom Kids competition was announced to be siblings Craig and Samantha.  They danced a great Jive before the …

Samba Smack Down

The final group dance of the season featured each couple with a portion of the dance they choreographed themselves (which when you consider one is a professional dancer who has been creating dances all season long shouldn’t shock you.)  Up first…

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough.  She began the dance with an extended pause (three to four seconds) with her hand up in the air, waiting for Derek to get to the part of the dance she remembered.  Okay, that was my take on it, and seeing as how I’m the only one who noticed it must have been me.  The dance had good energy and footwork. Bruno put your tongue back in your head before you step on it.  The judges drooled all over themselves scoring them 9 – 9 – 10 for 28 points.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer. Very good, good energy, good footwork.  But I have to say it now, Len is homophobic. The judges scored them 9 – 8 – 9 for 26 points.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson.  He’s not bad, stiff in a few places, but his moves are getting better. He is no way polished, but he gives it his all.  The judges scored them 9 – 7 – 9 for 25 points.

Freestyle Round

They say who wins the freestyle round takes home the Sparkle Ball trophy. 

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough danced a great Jive.  Great Energy, great footwook, most of the tricks were pretty good, and Derek packed the dance chock full of tricks. One or two were a little off kilter but over all a good dance.  The judges favored them with straight 10s for thirty points on the round and a total of 58 on the night.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer did a hip hop.  I was a bit worried hip hop is not your traditional ballroom dance.  Very entertaining, but not enough challenging footwork for a freestyle round dance. The judges scored them straight 9s for 27 points, a total of 53 on the night.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson, well I’m not sure what the dance form was,  but it had lots of tricks, but Kym did all the work.  They were over scored 9 – 10 – 9 for 28 points, and a total of 53 on the night.

While tradition already says who is this season’s winner, tomorrow night will tell all. Until then,

Sith,

Tanglefoot

Dancing With The Stars – Season Seven – Week 9 – The Results

It was a musical night indeed with the Queen of Soul Aretha on hand, John Ledgend, Leona Lewis, and even Juliann Hough sang. Great night of music and dance.

Aretha opened the show with one of my fav’s by her, Chains.  The winner of the British X-Factor, Leona Lewis sang her mega hit Bleeding Love accompanied by Katrina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (I think this is an amazing song to choreograph.)  John Ledgend performed Green Light. And Julieann Hough performed My Hallelujah Song accompanied by Derek Hough, Mark Ballas, and Lacey Schwimmer.  The final musical number of the night was Aretha’s Respect.

The leader board going into tonight’s show…

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer                57

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough                   49

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson                    49

Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough                46          

The bottom two after last night’s voting was:

Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough  &  Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson

 Not moving into the Finals next week and going home are Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough.

 Until next Monday’s finals,

Sith,

Tanglefoot

Dancing With The Stars – Season Seven – Week 9 – The Semi Finals

An interesting night in the competition, when teams should be peaking they are falling apart.  First up the couples danced the one dance they’ve not performed.

 

Round One

 

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough dancing the Jive. I wasn’t wowed, in the least, by the choreography, Derek was worried about choreographing the Salsa but his Jive was lack luster. Lifts abound and that was one ugly costume poor Brooke was wearing.  The pulled in their lowest score every with straight 7’s for 21 points.

 

Cody Lindley and Julieanne Hough danced a Paso Dobles. The music was terrible. He lost his steps a few times, his timing, and his confidence. I was not impressed. The judges scored them higher than I expected, 8 – 7 – 7 for 22 points.

 

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson danced a Mambo first.  So so performance. Better than the other dances, o missed steps. But maybe CarrieAnn said it best, “Lackluster.” The judges scored them straight 8’s for 24 points.

 

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer closed out round one with a Mambo.  Great musicality, very good foot work. The timing was excellent, great energy, great choreography (Lacey is finding her groove – and Lance is up to the challenge.) The judges loved it scoring them 10 – 9 – 9 for 28 points.

 

Round Two

 

The couples danced one of the dances new to Dancing With The Stars this season –

 

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough danced a Salsa.  Good energy, Brooke was a little stiff a few times (odd), but it wasn’t an exceptional dance.  There were a lot of lifts.  The judges scored them 9 – 10 – 9 for 28 points and a total 49 on the night.

 

Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough  Salsa’d as well. Not impressive.  He was stiff, he forgot a step or two and the lifts were awkward. The judges scored them straight 8’s for 24 and 46 on the night.

 

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson danced a Jitterbug. Well they said it was a Jitterbug. Warren was kind of all over the place, but he was having a good time.  The judges scored them 9 – 8 – 8 for 25 points, a total of 49 on the night.

 

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer closed out the night with a Jitterbug.  They were rocking. It had musicality, it was quick and quirky, entertaining, good foot work (even when Lance lost his shoe during the dance.)  The judges scored them 10 – 9 – 10 for 29 points and a total 57 on the night.

 

The leader board going into tomorrow night’s Results show…

 

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer                57

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough                   49

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson                     49

Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough                 46          

 

Tomorrow night it will be whittled down to three couples, plus the final Ballroom kids dance competition.  Until then,

Sith,

Tanglefoot

 

Dancing With The Stars – Season 7 – Week 8 – The Results

After tonight four couples will remain in the competition to move on to next week’s Semi Finals. But before all that it was an evening of sibling dance.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson are not siblings, but their Tango was the encore dance of the week.

Musical guest performer Brad Paisley offered up his hit Ticks, while sister brother duo Lacey and Benji Schwimmer performed a Western Swing that hot, incredibly hot.

The Macy Stars of dance  – designed by the viewers offered up an amazing Jive to Great Balls of Fire featuring sibling dance duo Derek and Julieanne Hough, that was hot.

 Thank you YouTube for the video and LunaCreations

Bottom two couples were Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke, and Cody Lindley and Edyta Sliwinka.

Going Home – Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke.

Next Week the Semi finals pitting

Brooke Burke and Derrek Hough

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer

Cody Lindley and Julieann Hough

 Against each other.  Check back tomorrow for the videos.

 Until then – sith

Tanglefoot

Dancing With The Stars – Season 7 – Week 8 – The Solos

This week the action and competition picks up, each couple dances two dances: one dance in the Ballroom round, one dance in the Latin round. The twist comes in the Latin round when the stars are required to dance a 15 second solo. I’ll get it out of the way now, Lance and Lacey were robbed, I know – surprising, again.

The Ballroom Round

Cody Lindley and Edyta Sliwinsha opened the Ballroom round with a Foxtrot.  Very nice mood and foot work, gliding and elegant.  The judges scored them straight 8’s for 24 on the round.

Brooke Burke and Derrek Hough tango’d and did they every. Great attitude, good, close footwork. Very well tuned.  Despite being an amateur, Len judged Brooke as a pro (he said so.)  The judges scored them    10 – 8 – 10 for 28 points.

Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke drew the Quickstep of the night (often the killer dance of the competition) I think he got a late start. Good footwork, good posture, but could stand to raise his shoulders and arms a bit.  The judges scored them straight 8s for 24 points.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer delivered a very enjoyable Foxtrot.  Featured very nice footwork, good steps, and body attitude. Quirky but true to the Foxtrot.  The judges scored them 9 – 8 – 9 for 26 points.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson closed out the Ballroom round with a Tango.  Close, rapid footwork, good physical at attitude. A very nice dance.  The judges scored them 10 – 9 – 9 for 28 points.

The Latin Round

Cody Lindley and Eydta Sliwinska Mambo’d in the Latin round.  It was okay, I really don’t have a critique, the solo was basic.  The judges scored them straight 8s for 24, added with 24 from the Ballroom round, they have 48 points on the night.

Brooke Burke and Derrek Hough Mambo’d, their dance had great energy and started with Brooke’s solo. Great footwork and movement.  The judges scored them straight 9s for 27, added with 28 from the Ballroom round, they have 55 points on the night.

Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke performed a Paso Dobles.  Good dance, but his solo was cape twirling, no dancing.  Good focus, good physical attitude.  The judges scored them straight 8s for 24, added with 24 from the Ballroom round, they have 48 points on the night.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer danced a Samba, very good, great energy, good footwork. His solo was good, but suddenly she was back. The judges scored them 8 – 7 – 9  for 24, added with 26 from the Ballroom round, they have 50 points on the night.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson danced a Jive.  Well they called it a Jive, I don’t.  No a great solo, but he was happy dancing.  No sharp footwork.  The judges scored them -9 – 8 – 9  for 26, added with 54 from the Ballroom round, they have 54 points on the night.

Juliann Hough returns to the show tomorrow, to sing.  Lacey Schwimmer will dance with her brother Bengie – So You Think You Can Dance Fans – Yahoo.  Until then.

Sith

Tanglefoot

Dancing With The Stars – Season 7 – Week 6 – The Results

I got my wish and got to watch Team Paso Dobles give the encore dance of the weekend. And I must say it was twice as good the second night around.

This week the public pares the competition from six to five, who goes home? In just a moment.

Tonight’s musical guest was Lionel Ritchie who opened the evening with a performance of Good Morning accompanied by newly weds (okay they’ve been married for just over a year) Edyta Sliwinka and Alec Maso. His second number of the night Dancing On The Ceiling, had the crowd on their feet for the entire song, Maks, Cheryl, Kym, and Tony accompanied the performance. Dazzling dance.

Dance Center returned with Jerry Curl Rice and Kenny the Mayne. Not as funny as it use to be, but still somewhat entertaining.

Macy’s Stars of Dance presented a Dave Scott choreographed, magical hip hop number. It wasn’t so magical.

Team Cha Cha Cha, made up of Susan Left Feet Lucci and Tony Dovolani, Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer, and Cody Lindley and Edyta Sliwinka were the final three standing.  With Susan Left Feet Lucci going home for the week.

In related news, the Dancing With The Stars Tour  is coming to a town near you and tickets go on sale November 10^th.  You can find out more information at <a href=http://www.dancingwiththestarsontour.com/> Dancing With The Stars On Tour </a>

December 2008
17 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Sports Arena
18 – Ontario, CA – Citizens Business Bank Arena
19 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion
21 – Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
22 – Sacramento, CA – ARCO Arena
27 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
28 – Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena
29 – Las Vegas, NV – Orleans Arena
30 – Salt Lake City, UT – E Center

January 2008
2 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
4 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
5 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
7 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
8 – Moline, IL – i wireless Center
9 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
11 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
12 – Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
13 – Cleveland, OH – Wolstein Center
15 – Indianapolis, IN – Conseco Fieldhouse
16 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
17 – Cincinnati, OH – US Bank Arena
18 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
20 – Nashville, TN – Sommet Center
22 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
23 – Sunrise, FL – BankAtlantic Center
24 – Orlando, FL – Amway Arena
25 – Atlanta, GA – Gwinnett Center
27 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
28 – Raleigh, NC – RBC Center
29 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
30, 31 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena

February 2009
2 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center
3 – Wilkes Barre, PA – Wachovia Arena
4 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
6 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
7 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall
8 – Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Center

 

Celebs signed for the 37 city tour are Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Maurice Green and Marlee Matlin joined by the show’s professional dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Mark Ballas, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Lacey Schwimmer, Edyta Sliwinska, Karina, Smirnoff and Fabian Sanchez.

Until next week,

Sith,

Cele

Dancing With The Stars – Season 7 – Week 6 – Team Dances

As you can tell by the title tonight will feature Dancing With The Stars first ever team dance. And if you missed it, well thank heavens for Youtube and cross your fingers that Team Paso is Wednesday night’s encore. “Oh please, oh please, oh please.”

The night started on a very strange, wrong foot, and proceeded to just get more wrong.  What is up with the judges voting? You’ll catch my drift….

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson started off the night with a Foxtrot.  Not spectacular but definitely passable with some achy breaky sore feet for Warren, my gosh the man has a size 15 EEE foot.  The judges weren’t wowed, scoring them straight sevens for 21 points.

Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani danced a Paso Dobles. Can the woman be any more stiff? She couldn’t act her way through this passionless dance. Warren Sapp was robbed.  The judges fawned over Left Foot Lucci scoring her straight 8s for 24 points. What the heck?

Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke Cha Cha’d their way on to the dance floor.  When his hips are involved this man can move.  Maurice was robbed.  The judges scored them 8 – 9 – 8 for 25 points.

Cody Lindley and Edyta Sliwinskia danced a Viennese Waltz.  Nice, rhythmic, good up and down flow, nice lines.  The judges scored them 8 – 7 – 7  for 22 points.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer delivered a sensual Rumba. Very sensual, sexy, and smooth. Being earthy and barefoot during the dance totally ticked of Len. Robbed, I tell you totally Robbed.  The judges scored them 9 – 7 – 9 for 25 points.

Brooke Burke and Derrek Hough closed out the couples competition with a smooth Foxtrot. Beautiful, elegant, flowing, and did I mention beautiful.  The judges got something right, they scored them the first perfect score of the season with straight 10s for 30 points.

The second set of scores for the night came from the two team dances: Team Cha Cha Cha and Team Paso Dobles. This is the first time that the teams are judges on a team dance, the score from the team dance is added to each individual dance score.  Up first…

Team Cha Cha Cha: 

Left Foot Lucci (team captain) and Tony Dovolani – she was stiff

Cody Lindley and Edyta Sliwinskia – he forgot his moves

Lance Bass and Lacey Scwhimmer – the rocked the dance

As a team they were out of sync, the judges scored them 6 – 7 – 7 for 20 points.

 

Team Paso Dobles:

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson – all teams

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough – offered solid

Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke – performances

The unison was spot on, the power and attitude spotless.  The judges scored them 10 – 9 – 10 for 29 points.

 

Brooke Burke & Derrek Hough: 30 = 29 = 59 points

Maurice Green and Cheryl Burke: 25 = 29 = 54 points

Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson: 21 + 29 = 50 points

Lance Bass & Lacey Scwhimmer: 25 + 20 = 45 points

Susan Lucci & Tony Dovolani: 24 + 20 = 44 points

Cody Lindley & Edyta Sliwinskia: 22 + 20 = 42 points

Going home? Who knows, but it should be Susan Lucci. We’ll see…Wednesday night at 8pm.  Until then,

Sith,

Tanglefoot