DWTS 23 Week 6 Live Blog and Performance Videos

DWTS Dancing with the Stars 23 Key Art

Welcome to week six of season twenty-three of Dancing with the Stars. We are now at the midway point of the season and this evening’s theme is “Latin Night.” The remaining nine couples are tasked to perform an unlearned latin routine. After last week’s non-elimination show, a fifth couple will get the boot tonight and we have Pitbull on board as a guest performer and judge.

Let’s take a look back at last week’s poll results. James & Sharna took the lead in the favorite partnership poll with 39% of the vote. Laurie & Val had 24%. As usual, the rest of the couples are in single digits. The tango performed by James & Sharna was the favorite routine last week with 41% of the vote. Laurie & Val‘s paso doble took 17%. Jana & Gleb were able to earn 12% and Marilu & Derek had 10%. Turning to least favorite dance, Amber & Maks are way ahead with 51% of the vote. 20% voted for Ryan & Cheryl. Those are the only two couples who’s routines received double digit percentages.

Last week’s episode scored high. 50% found it to be an above average show and 38% graded it with an A. With such a strong show, let’s see who guys feel could be on the chopping block this week. 65% of you feel Amber & Maks are toast. 17% voted for Ryan & Cheryl and 9% for Maureen & Artem. I think you guys are absolutely on point with that. Since I have a hard time seeing a fifth consecutive male dancer eliminated, I look to the females of the season. Amber & Maureen’s standing seem to be the most fragile. I’ll say Amber & Maks have come to the end of their journey.

Last week’s show proved that Laurie may not be the shoe-in for victory as many thought when the season began. She has some real competition from the likes of James, Calvin, Marilu, Terra, and to a much lesser extent, Jana. I would say James and Calvin are the two who could very well end up in the finale with Laurie and give her a run for her money. But we will see how the second half of the season shapes up.

In terms of tonight, I am looking forward to seeing how these couples do with their latin routines. Ballroom dances are arguably easier to perform and have less content generally. A latin routine can expose weakness and musicality becomes very important. I am not really looking forward to Pitbull. It seems that not a single reality-competition show can go by without him appearing. And he proved useless as a guest judge the last go around. He will probably end up matching the scores of the other judges.

Of course, Latin night starts off with a performance by our guest judge, Pitbull. Some of our regular dancers are joining Pitbull’s dancers. Catchy tune but I will be more than satisfied if this is the only performance by our guest this evening. By the way, that song was titled “Greenlight” and Pitbull was accompanied by Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis. – Watch Performance Video

And…we have some RESULTS to start the night!
Ryan & Cheryl ARE SAFE

Ugh, I hate when they do the results before the couples dance. It makes those in jeopardy all nervous before they go out to perform. Doing it like this is just unnecessary.

Ryan & Cheryl – Salsa
Ryan was pleased with his performance last week but Cheryl notes they are still at the bottom of the leaderboard. Cheryl loves latin night but Ryan is finding it quite confusing. Cheryl says the steps aren’t that hard but it is indeed fast. Oh boy. Alright, let’s start with some positives. That had a lot of content. Nice to see a proper old-school salsa. Ryan looked like he was having fun partnering Cheryl here. Unfortunately, the positives end with that. Ryan is just not capable of pulling off these super sexy moves that a salsa requires without looking very awkward. Taking the bells and whistles (shirt off, pants off, glow in the dark colors) out of it, and you have a guy with not a whole lot of musicality trying to be hot. It didn’t work. I appreciate the attempt, and while I will say he didn’t go off terribly or make any glaring mistakes, this wasn’t at all a salsa I can really compliment. – Watch Performance Video

Pitbull enjoyed the neon color section. He actually tells them he is going for an 8, more than likely revealing his score before he was supposed to. *bangs head against my keyboard* Julianne loved the commitment. She wants to go to the club. Bruno calls it a vibrant salsa. He mentions Ryan lost timing a couple of times. Carrie Ann felt the musicality wasn’t great.
Carrie Ann- 7
Pitbull- 8
Julianne- 8
Bruno- 7
Total- 30/40
You can vote for Ryan by calling 1-800-868-3411 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

I have no idea why but they have a mirror ball pinata backstage which Erin gets Ryan to take a whack at. I assume all the celebs will hit it. Okay…

More results

SAFE… James & Sharna, Marilu & Derek, Terra & Sasha
IN JEOPARDY… Amber & Maks

Terra & Sasha – Paso Doble
Terra says she is bringing the heat this week. Sasha wants pure aggression. Terra doesn’t find that to be very natural for her. Sasha decides he needs to piss Terra off in order to get her in the right mindset. He does it in a playful way. Much longer dances tonight than usual, at least from my perspective. The paso was a dance I was really worried about with Terra due to the height situation. But she really did pull it off very nicely. Sasha was able to choreograph a passionate salsa and Terra hit all her marks. I’m not sure I totally bought the “angry” that the dance requires but this had good choreography matched with some fine dancing. – Watch Performance Video

Julianne feels like this wasn’t Terra’s best dance but she does feel that Terra gave it her all. Bruno loves how much Terra goes for it. He mentions how the song make the steps harder. He notes it wasn’t as sharp as it could have been. Carrie Ann says Terra came off a bit one-dimensional in the dance. Pitbull liked the intensity.
Carrie Ann- 7
Pitbull- 8
Julianne- 8
Bruno- 7
Total- 30/40
You can vote for Terra by calling 1-800-868-3412 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Amber & Maks – Cha-Cha-Cha
Amber says last week was really hard. She was overwhelmed. Maks doesn’t believe Amber has reached her potential. He says that Amber stands in her own way. Oh boy. Maks is getting a bit frustrated at rehearsal. Amber wants to walk out of rehearsal, and she does. Maks is pleading with her to stay. He apologizes the next day. Geez. Way too much time at the beginning spent doing absolutely nothing. Once the dance actually starts, we have some decent cha-cha-cha steps but damn, such a lack of overall energy. At various points, it just looks like Amber is walking. At other times, so reserved and careful. If there’s ever a dance to let loose and throw caution to the wind, it would be a latin routine. – Watch Performance Video

Bruno says Amber teased him. He tells her the foot placement needed work and the interplay with Maks needs to be worked on too. Carrie Ann loves Amber’s smile. She felt though that Amber can’t seem to break through the glass ceiling. Maks is nodding behind Amber as if he agrees. Pitbull loves the outfit. He compliments Amber for bringing it. Julianne gets up to show Amber how to be extra sexy with various moves.
Carrie Ann- 7
Pitbull- 7
Julianne- 7
Bruno- 7
Total- 28/40
You can vote for Amber by calling 1-800-868-3401 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

James & Sharna – Rumba
James is worrying about selling the sexy side of himself. Sharna is confident. In a funny backstage bit, James is Ricardo (the character he portrays to get into the mood of the dance). We get a little telenovela like scene. LOL. Okay, I’ll give the show credit for that piece of creativity. It was really funny. Nice! Very classic rumba with great hip action and lots of sultry moves. The rumba has a tendency to be boring if the choreography doesn’t do something different but thankfully, Sharna gave James some stuff here that was memorable and very appealing to watch. Similar to Terra with her intensity, I’m not sure I buy the sexy acting here from James completely but he is definitely able to sell the moves and Sharna comes off sultry enough for the both of them. Another really solid routine. – Watch Performance Video

Carrie Ann calls it incredible. She compliments just about everything. Pitbull says it was sexy, powerful, and it was lust. Julianne thinks James is the best male dancer the show has ever had. She does say though that there should have been more chemistry between the two. Bruno loved the continuity of the movement. He calls it pitch perfect.
Carrie Ann- 10
Pitbull- 9
Julianne- 9
Bruno- 10
Total- 38/40
You can vote for James by calling 1-800-868-3405 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Marilu & Derek – Cha-Cha-Cha
Marilu loved her breakthrough last week. Derek wants to maintain that this week. Marilu and Derek have some great back and forth in rehearsal because they are able to work together really well. Derek jokes about Marilu looking great and how weird it is to say that since Marilu is his mother’s age. Solid work here from Marilu. I’ll say something similar as I said about Amber. A bit too careful and timid at times. You take a risk when you go careful in a latin routine because what you end up excelling at (getting the steps right), ends up costing you a little when you don’t go full throttle. Still though, Marilu seems to have found her groove in the competition and is doing much better than she was in some of the earlier weeks. – Watch Performance Video

Pitbull found it sexy and he was very impressed. Julianne loved Marilu’s legs and says this is what latin night is all about. Bruno loved how Marilu was graceful but sexy. Carrie Ann loved the confidence and radiance. She mentions one moment where Marilu could look like she feels it in her body a little more.
Carrie Ann- 8
Pitbull- 9
Julianne- 9
Bruno- 8
Total- 34/40
You can vote for Marilu by calling 1-800-868-3408 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Time for some more RESULTS

SAFE… Laurie & Val, Maureen & Artem
IN JEOPARDY… Calvin & Lindsay, Jana & Gleb

Jana & Gleb – Argentine Tango
Gleb thinks this will be the hottest dance ever on the show. Jana says the dance is a bit out of her comfort zone. Gleb is pushing the sexy during rehearsal. Jana says she has to channel her inner Gleb. DAMN. Yes, that was indeed hot. A bed. A shower. Drenched in water. That’s what they did. LOL. But yes, this was an argentine tango and the dance was performed really nicely. Beautifully clean and crisp footwork throughout. I bet Len is cringing back at home if he is watching but for me, if there was ever a dance where selling sex works, it is an argentine tango. And they looked hot out there. – Watch Performance Video

Julianne loved the chemistry. She thanks Jana for taking all the criticism and owning the dance. Bruno loved every minute of it. He calls it sensational. Carrie Ann says sexy is the easy route for them but Jana’s dancing tonight was as if she was going to take the mirror ball trophy. Pitbull gets up and says that it is getting hot in here. He wants Jana to throw the dress to him because Gleb threw his shirt to Bruno. Jana looked a little :0 by that. LOL
Carrie Ann- 10
Pitbull- 10
Julianne- 10
Bruno- 10
Total- 40/40
You can vote for Jana by calling 1-800-868-3406 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Maureen & Artem – Samba
Maureen loved the dance last week. She has confidence now. And it shows in rehearsal. Artem does note though that learning the steps is still a bit of a challenge for Maureen. Oh boy. Artem getting a bit tough on Maureen at rehearsal and she is getting upset. This is sort of an uncomfortable rehearsal package. Hmm. A few mistakes in this one. Some missed arm passes. Some messy footwork. In fact, the first half of the routine was quite sloppy. And it is pretty simple samba choreography. The second half was better. Maureen found her way in the middle and it got better. Maybe she listened to the rehearsal package before the routine and it made her nervous? I don’t know, but she has done better. – Watch Performance Video

Bruno called it a classic samba. He doesn’t want Maureen to force the bounce in the dance. Carrie Ann loves how positive Maureen is. Pitbull felt like maybe Maureen was overthinking it. Julianne loves that Maureen is game for anything.
Carrie Ann- 8
Pitbull- 7
Julianne- 8
Bruno- 8
Total- 31/40
You can vote for Maureen by calling 1-800-868-3409 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Calvin & Lindsay – Argentine Tango
Calvin notes how the 8’s he got last week are not good enough to win. Lindsay wants to bring out the sexy in Calvin. He finds it weird to have to be sexy. Hysterical attempts at rehearsal to make Calvin do sexy selfies. Geez. If Calvin let Lindsay go during any of those lifts, she would fly right into the audience. The speed is unbelievable. Another really solid argentine tango that included lots of crips footwork and sexy back and forth between the pair. I love that Lindsay knows Calvin is a strong partner and gives him a lot to work with when it comes to content. Perhaps this didn’t have the off the charts chemistry that Jana and Gleb had but it was very good. – Watch Performance Video

Carrie Ann compliments the lifts. She loved how Calvin owned the dance and was in charge. Pitbull calls it a great job. Julianne notes that Calvin took her critiques and he owned that. She wants him to point his toes though. Bruno says Calvin was in the zone. He also compliments how in control Calvin was.
Carrie Ann- 9
Pitbull- 10
Julianne- 9
Bruno- 9
Total- 37/40
You can vote for Calvin by calling 1-800-868-3403 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Pinata update- a few celebs tonight have taken a whack at it. Calvin just destroyed it. LOL

Laurie & Val – Salsa
Laurie says last week was a bit rough. Val calls it humbling last week. Laurie wants her heritage to really come through this week. She is worried about looking very feminine. Shawn Johnson gives her some tips and a pep talk. As expected, a solid and crisp salsa from Laurie. Some nice side-by-side action with the two of them. The interesting thing about this routine though- it didn’t leave as much of an impact on me as some of the earlier dances tonight. It was technically fine and Laurie was balls to the walls with the energy but perhaps as just a preference thing, it wasn’t my favorite. Maybe the expectations are high or Val’s choreography could have been more challenging. – Watch Performance Video

Pitbull thought it was amazing. Julianne is going to be picky tonight, she says. She says Laurie needs to work on her hips a bit. She wants her to be a great ballroom and latin dancer. Bruno loved the power and energy and the accuracy. Carrie Ann says Laurie had a few missteps tonight.
Carrie Ann- 9
Pitbull- 9
Julianne- 9
Bruno- 10
Total- 37/40
You can vote for Laurie by calling 1-800-868-3407 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Final result (and elimination) of the night…

SAFE… Jana & Gleb

Now, the next couple eliminated this season is…

Amber & Maks

Amber says the experience was amazing and she is really shy in many ways. She says she tried her best but her shyness showed on the ballroom floor. Maks is ready for diaper duty but he is very proud of Amber. They head to the center of the ballroom to say goodbye. – Watch Elimination Video

Tom and Erin sign off for the night, letting us know that next week is “Era’s Night” and Len Goodman is back.

POLLS will be up soon! :D