Dancing with the Stars: Athletes Week 2 Live Blog and Performance Videos

Last week, the ten athletes gave it their all in the season premiere. Unfortunately, baseball player Johnny Damon and snowboarder Jamie Anderson were cut at the end of the show. Voting then commenced for this week and a combination of your votes at home plus the judges scores will determine which two of the remaining eight couples will be heading home.

Let’s quickly review last week’s poll results. Four couples are in double digits as your favorite partnerships. In order, Adam & Jenna, Josh & Sharna, Mirai & Alan, and Tonya & Sasha. The same result for your favorite routines from last week, though for that poll, the overall percentages are close. Three couples danced your least favorite routines- Kareem & Lindsay, Arike & Gleb, and Tonya & Sasha. We all knew Tonya would be the divisive contestant this season. Last week’s show earned a solid B rating.

You guys believe tonight’s elimination is between Kareem, Arike, and Tonya. I think Kareem and Tonya will be quite safe actually. Sure, Kareem is the weakest dancer left but he is memorable and has fans. And Tonya’s “in jeopardy” (whether she truly was or not) placement will give her a boost. I actually think someone like Jennie could be in trouble along with Arike. They are two dancers who could get lost in the shuffle if they don’t end up scoring high tonight. In a fast paced season like this, there is absolutely no room for average or forgettable dancing.

Adam, Josh, Mirai and Tonya were might impressive in their opening dances. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to score high. Will anyone else improve from last week? Can a new possible contender show up and slay? The freestyle team dances should be a lot of fun as the teams are pretty evenly paired and both have stellar choreographers on them.

Rashad Jennings is on hand tonight to guest judge which means tonight’s scores are out of forty points. So let’s see what week two brings us, shall we?

No real opening number this week, just a little of Rashad Jennings dancing. I’m not complaining. The dude is so cool. Tom and Erin welcome us to the show. We are halfway through the season (yep, in week two). Round one starts now with the individual dances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohilGCXVJ4o&t=5s

Josh Norman and Sharna – Paso Doble
Solid paso. Much of what sells this dance is the personality and acting. And Josh has that in spades. He looked the part. He danced the part. Great ferocious attitude mixed with nice technical paso steps and I will give him extra kudos for his posture in this. Celebs sometimes tend to lose that in the this particular dance as they concentrate on other things but Josh kept it all the way through.

Rashad says it was a great job and Josh took control. Len agrees that it was good- full of aggression and attack. Bruno loved the power. He thought the shaping was great too. He warns him not to throw away his hands. Carrie Ann says Josh was grounded and effective. She agrees with Bruno on the arms.
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Vote for Josh via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 7
Rashad- 7
Len- 8
Bruno- 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx9cvR-qFBo

Jennie Finch Daigle and Keo – Cha-Cha-Cha
Okay. So that dance…wasn’t great. Look, I commend Jennie for going with her values and asking for the song to be changed but I don’t think it would have mattered much to the actual dance. The cha-cha-cha needs to be sharp, with loads of energy and of course, be in-sync with your partner. This was a bit subdued for my taste, lacked sharpness, and I saw her and Keo totally out of sync on two occasions. Her routine last week was stronger.

Len thought it was competent. He enjoyed the crispness but says it lacked rhythm and she lost some timing on occasion. Bruno says the hands were a problem. He also says the timing was off. Carrie Ann applauds that Jennie changed the song but thinks that maybe held her back without having a connection to the song. She agrees with the arms comment. Rashad thought the confidence was good. He loved it. (Rashad will obviously be complimenting everyone)
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Vote for Jennie via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 6
Rashad- 7
Len- 7
Bruno- 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ZHXESFv-4

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lindsay – Salsa
I’m laughing at Lindsay being on another dancer’s shoulder to match Kareem’s height. Hey, this was a tad bit better than last week. It has a little more content. Of course, Kareem is still rather slow and careful out there but I wasn’t expecting more. I have a feeling a large portion of the audience is eating this all up. There’s really nothing about the dance one could say was amazing but I was smiling throughout and again, I give this dude all the credit in the world.

Bruno enjoyed the choreography. He compliments the performance. Carrie Ann says it was a lovely tribute to his father. She enjoyed the second half of the dance more than the first. Rashad says Kareem’s father is proud. Len says this week had more content and fun. He says Kareem brought the party.
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Vote for Kareem via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 7
Rashad- 7
Len- 6
Bruno- 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J6v1pb6mWQ

Chris Mazdzer and Witney – Viennese Waltz
That was quite good. Very elegant. Nice lines. Good posture. A little hiccup at the end which could have resulted in a major accident for Witney but all came out alright. If I could personally give Chris advice, it would be to work on the acting in his face a bit more. Sometimes he has an expression where you know he is thinking too much about the next step and he needs to be confident enough in his ability to let that go and get into the essence and feeling of the dance. But this was good.

Carrie Ann was so impressed. She compliments almost everything and is stunned at the improvement from week one. Rashad thought it was amazing. He called it organized chaos. Len didn’t like the spinning thing at the end as he calls it out of character or the dance but he admired the stuff in hold. He calls it better than last week. Bruno calls Chris a leading man. He compliments his arms as he called him out on it last week.

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Vote for Chris via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 9
Rashad- 8
Len- 8
Bruno- 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0QNPgL0L8A

Tonya Harding and Sasha – Quickstep
LOL. I love Tonya’s go for broke attitude. I still, as I said last week, want to see her do something totally latin and fire, like a samba or salsa but this definitely showed me that Tonya can go from a slow and elegant dance to something fast. She and Sasha were skipping all around the dance floor. She had good posture throughout, I saw no mistakes in the footwork, and I appreciate the humor Sasha brought with the choreography. Tonya is the surprise thus far this season in terms of exceeding expectations.

Rashad loved it. He says Tonya is showing us a new chapter of her life. Len loved that it was fast. He said the dance made him feel good. Bruno calls it great fun with high energy. He was counting and Tonya didn’t lose the timing. Bruno again tells her not to lose her neck. Carrie Ann noticed Tonya’s strength the most. She calls her poignant.

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Vote for Tonya via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 8
Rashad- 9
Len- 8
Bruno- 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0dKrbl7nRM

Mirai Nagasu and Alan – Foxtrot
Well, could the foxtrot and Mirai be any more of a match made in heaven? Her figure skating background was on full display here- being able to have those lines, that fluidity, the flow, the grace, etc… Just a beautiful dance that indeed made Mirai look like a Queen. Props to Alan for the beautiful Disney inspired choreo.

Len thought the beginning was sprinkled with Disney magic. He calls it the best dance so far. Bruno says Mirai was the embodiment of a princess. Carrie Ann calls it gorgeous. Rashad thought it was a great dance with great choreography. He felt like he was at Disney.

1-800-868-3409
Vote for Mirai via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 9
Rashad- 10
Len- 9
Bruno- 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CocqnvzPuEE

Apparently, we aren’t so strapped for time this week as Rashad & Emma get to re-do one of their dances from their season. Well, a shorter version of it.

Arike Ogunbowale and Gleb – Foxtrot
You can so tell that Arike isn’t exactly comfortable being graceful. It shows all over her face and in her moves. So stiff. A lack of fluidity and grace. I will say that I am glad Gleb didn’t go for any awkward choreography this week and just put together a normal foxtrot. However, Arike isn’t at quite the level of most of her opponents this season (with the exception of kareem and maybe Jennie thus far). She does have potential and would probably be one of those contestants would would have benefited from a full DWTS season.
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Bruno thought the posture and poise were much better. He wants her to watch the shoulders. Carrie Ann was touched by the dance. She loved seeing Arike be vulnerable. Rashad found it powerful. He compliments her beauty. Len compliments the footwork. He is all compliments. I obviously didn’t see the same thing the judges did. LOL

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Vote for Arike via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 8
Rashad- 9
Len- 8
Bruno- 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDc0MmQq1KA

Adam Rippon and Jenna – Quickstep
I am really intrigued to see if Len is going to harp on these two for the time spent out of hold. Generally, in a quickstep, you are in hold for the entire dance. Exceptions to the rule can be made, of course. Jenna is a smart choreographer because she knows how to make a dance memorable. But it could come at the expense of a point or two if the judges are stingy. This was another stellar routine for Adam. Fast, great footwork, good posture, and his face just screams happy- which the dance called for. Really interested in seeing how the judges score this one.

Carrie Ann loved how in-sync they are but says that Adam needs to watch is balance in the turns. Rashad loves the chemistry. Len thought it had so much content but so much clarity of movement. Bruno loved that it was no messing around and just fantastic dancing.
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Vote for Adam via phone, facebook, and ABC.COM until 5AM eastern (Tuesday) for phone and 10PM Eastern (Tuesday) for online methods.
Carrie Ann- 9
Rashad- 8
Len- 9
Bruno- 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgTaqIALD24

Team 1950’s Tennis (Freestyle) – Kareem, Tonya, Chris, Josh
LOL. Very smart use of Kareem. He was basically a non-player now. Everyone else sold their parts competently. I enjoyed seeing a bit of jive from Tonya. Surprisingly, Josh wasn’t exactly in-sync with Sharna. Chris was good. It was a nice execution of a fun idea and played well from everyone.

Len says it was tight and together and he loved the tennis references. He says it was a lovely job. Bruno says it was witty and imaginative and creative. He says the sync wasn’t too bad. LOL. Carrie Ann calls out Josh for being not in sync. She enjoyed how they used Kareem. Rashad says team dances are tough and he had a good time watching it.
Carrie Ann- 8
Rashad- 9
Len- 8
Bruno- 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NK3YsO070A

Team 1970’s Football (Freestyle) – Jennie, Mirai, Arike, Adam
WOW. THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE. I am kind of speechless. A week two dance routine where every single person came together and brought their A-game. It was in-sync, kept the theme throughout, had solid dancing, and was fun to watch. I am floored that they were actually able to put together something that good. Dang.

Bruno is up on his feet and trying to make sense but I am not hearing it. LOL. But he is all compliments. Carrie Ann calls it a fantastic team dance. Rashad calls it entertaining. Len loved it. He compliments both teams on doing so well.
Carrie Ann- 9
Rashad- 10
Len- 9
Bruno- 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_7V-68tIc

Elimination Time!

IN JEOPARDY- Kareem & Lindsay, Chris & Witney, Arike & Gleb
ALL OTHER COUPLES ARE SAFE.

The one (out of those two couples) who is SAFE is… Chris & Witney

Going home tonight- Kareem & Lindsay AND Arike & Gleb

Arike, Gleb, Kareem, and Lindsay head to talk with Tom and Erin. Arike says it was fun while it lasted. Erin doesn’t ask any questions and instead wants applause for Kareem for doing on the show. I thought Kareem’s fans would keep him around for a third week but it was indeed his time. And Arike unfortunately got lost in the shuffle. This is getting tricky now.

OMG. THREE COUPLES ARE GOING HOME NEXT WEEK. David Ross guest judges. Two more rounds of competition. Damn. We are just flying through this season. POLLS will be up soon! Thanks for watching with me.