Hey All :)
Season twenty-eight of Dancing with the Stars continues tonight, as week two brings us new dances, a new twist, live coast to coast voting, and the first elimination of the season. Last week, our new crop of celebrities competed for the first time with varying degrees of success and failure.
The judges said they would be tougher this go around, and they most definitely were. In fact, this was the first season since season one that not a single couple earned anything higher than a “7” paddle. And yes, we even had some “3” paddles come out (sorry Lamar). Now that those first dance nerves are gone, will this group improve?
An elimination is looming over tonight’s festivities, as is a twist. Will it be a judges save? Will America’s vote determine the bottom two but the judges say who leaves? What we do know is that DWTS will be like American Idol with live coast to coast voting. That’s right- you get to vote tonight throughout the show with those results being factored into the results.
Remember- those of you not seeing the show live right now can still participate and vote for your favorite couples.
Voting commences at the top of the show as follows:
-You can head on over to ABC.COM or use the ABC App. A valid email is required and a limit of 10 votes per method.
-You can text the name of your choice to 21523. Example- text the word Sean to 21523 to place a vote for Sean. Again, a limit of 10 votes for this method.
Keep in mind that in season’s past, if a dancer performed late in the show, it was usually good news as folks would be more likely to remember them. This season though, dancing late means fans of that particular couple may not have much time to cast votes unless they start voting early! This should be a packed show with twelve routines and results, so let’s get it all started…
The show opens with a comedic locker room scene featuring Ray Lewis giving the contestants a pep talk- until he realizes this is not a team competition. As the stars arrive, Tom tells us about the changes this season:
– voting via text (as I mentioned above)
– at the end of the night, the judges can save one of the bottom two couples
James & Emma – Cha-Cha-Cha
Well, a nice opening routine but if I’m being honest, not as good as he was last week. Perhaps James will be better at slower routines that require more frame and in-hold action as opposed to fast stuff that requires him to dance next to his partner in sync. By no means was this bad, it just a bit under after he came out swinging last week. A little more practice could have fixed some of those issues I saw right up.
Len calls it a solid performance. He feels a few too many gimmicks were going on. He just wants dancing. Bruno calls it a very showy performance but he saw a missed step at the beginning. Carrie Ann says the lines weren’t matching at the beginning. She says he was on fire after that though.
Carrie Ann- 7
Len- 6
Bruno- 7 for 20/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7k-bNpyE3E
Sailor & Val – Rumba
Nice. A very sensual and appropriate rumba with loads of hip action. Good connection between the two as well. I appreciate the simplicity of the rumba because it can expose dancers that aren’t that good technically. You can’t mask much with this dance. Sailor did a fine job and Val showed her off very well.
Bruno tells her she is made for this dance but he wants the in between stuff to look better- more expressive he says. The acting is important he notes. Carrie Ann feels she is lacking consistency. She feels that the tone needs to be set throughout the dance. Len says with slowness, things are magnified. He wants her to keep her feet on the floor- push through the floor he notes.
Carrie Ann- 6
Len- 6
Bruno- 6 for 18/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHvGUBB40g
Ray & Cheryl – Foxtrot
FINESSE. Work on finesse Cheryl. Ray is so clunky and awkward and the foxtrot is everything but. Some of this was alright but a lot of it looked so darn stiff and I wish Ray would stop with the pulling faces throughout. He did that last week as well and it is totally unnecessary. Elegance is key here in this dance and that was not very elegant.
Carrie Ann calls him enjoyable to watch. She says there were tons of mistakes. She missed him being smooth and gliding through it. Len calls it flat footed. He feels he just walked along. There was no rise and fall and he went wrong numerous times. Bruno says he always lights up the room. He says it happens to every performer and next time, don’t make so many mistakes.
Carrie Ann- 5
Len- 5
Bruno- 5 for 15/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ6IFekj5Yw
Ally & Sasha – Viennese Waltz
Quite solid. A marked improvement over last week. Elegant with some fine lines and great posture. A little wobbly when turning but that will improve with time and more dancing. All in all, a strong choreographed number and danced very well. Definitely the strongest so far this evening.
Len calls it a very pretty looking dance. He wanted to see more rotation and she didn’t know exactly what she was doing with her feet. Technically, he says, it wasn’t so good. Bruno tells her she can dance. He tells her it was a heartfelt performance. He wants her to sustain the movement. Carrie Ann gets up to give her a hug because she loves when dancing is trans-formative.
Carrie Ann- 7
Len- 6
Bruno- 7 for 20/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWobAUEb3ko
Mary & Brandon – Cha-Cha-Cha
I adore Mary’s joy and smile. You can tell she is having a ball. Unfortunately, she missed some steps during that and it really threw her for a loop. She never really got back into the groove of it. Some of it was fun but for some celebs, once you make a mistake, it is really difficult to find your place and sustain it throughout. That’s a shame.
Bruno calls it simple and effective and he loves the fringes. Carrie Ann says a lot of little mistakes but she knows how to be a pro where she masks her mistakes. Len says it was full of freedom and a joy to see her out there.
Carrie Ann- 5
Len- 5
Bruno- 5 for 15/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgSlSsW8kWE
Lauren & Gleb – Paso Doble
Pretty good! Aside from a couple of wobbly moments (similar to Ally- core work and dancing more will help), this was a solid routine. A lot of attitude, a lot of classic paso steps, and good side by side work. I think Lauren has the potential to last a very long time on this show. She clearly has a good work ethic and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Very endearing.
Carrie Ann loves seeing her come out of her shell. She wants her to drop her shoulders a bit. She wants consistency throughout. Len enjoyed the power and determination. He wants some more shaping and tells Gleb he wanted some more paso stuff. Bruno liked it. He likes nasty. He calls it strong and focused.
Carrie Ann- 6
Len- 6
Bruno- 7 for 19/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFfy-HMAFpw
Sean & Lindsay – Tango
Good lord. If I said Ray was clunky, stiff, and awkward- well, that goes triple for Sean. Lindsay was doing so much work here so try and make this resemble a tango and Sean was well…walking. On the plus side, he had no real steps to do so I saw no huge glaring errors. A bit of lemonade out of lemons I suppose.
Len says it was better than last week. Bruno agrees. He says it looked like a tango and he can see the effort. Carrie Ann calls it a sure footed tango. So, no mistakes. She calls it much improved.
Carrie Ann- 6
Len- 5
Bruno- 5 for 16/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bma6O93VBtk
Karamo & Jenna – Quickstep
A whole lot more focused than last week. Very quick and very strong in hold. I would tell him to tuck that bottom in a bit but other than that, it was a solid quickstep. I love that Jenna will think outside the box every once in a while with her choreography which will aid in Karamo standing out from the pack. Good stuff.
Bruno loved the flare. He tells him to work on his body contact but he thought it was really good. Carrie Ann was hoping for that. She agrees to work on the body contact. Len wasn’t thrilled with it. He says an absolute lack of body contact and his top line wasn’t good. He says it was on the hectic side too.
Carrie Ann- 7
Len- 5
Bruno- 7 for 19/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21O94NtGs9Y
Kate & Pasha – Foxtrot
You know what, that was pretty damn good. I mean, all things considered, I would actually call that one of the better routines we saw tonight. She was all in character wise and she had some decent steps throughout. It even had that foxtrot glide that you want to see. She should be quite pleased with herself after that. Much impressed.
Carrie Ann is blown away. She reminds her of Kelly Osborne because she is mastering the technique. Len liked it all. He is very happy with that dance. Bruno says well done.
Carrie Ann- 7
Len- 7
Bruno- 7 for 21/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woBnwWLpd2k
Kel & Witney – Samba
Kel has to be careful. He is clearly good at dancing hip-hop and Witney wants to put that into his routines but guess what? He can do that during his freestyle if he makes the finale but the judges are going to harp on them for content that is related to the dance. I saw very little samba in there and that’s an issue. What I did see of it wasn’t exactly great so I would caution Witney to work with Kel on the actual dances and keep his training to that.
Len saw plenty of rhythm. He saw a couple of bits he didn’t like but overall, a good job. Bruno felt it was a very cool samba and was natural and never forced. He wants him to push the bounce a bit. Carrie Ann calls him smooth. She says some of the bounces became thrusts. She saw improvement and saw more sophistication.
Carrie Ann- 7
Len- 6
Bruno- 7 for 20/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeNQpnXDmo
Lamar & Peta – Salsa
Oy. Well you know what, better than last week. It really was. More content. And more actual dancing. Now was it good? At all? No. But hey, baby steps. I honestly don’t expect Lamar to ever really do well but any improvement is good. And to be honest, this had more content than what we saw out of Sean earlier on in the show. The problem is- with more content comes an increased chance at errors.
Bruno found Lamar more relaxed with freedom of movement. He says a small step in the right direction. Carrie Ann notes a lot of mistakes. She feels Peta took too much control. Len tells Peta she is doing a fantastic job. He din’t see any mistakes and saw more confidence.
Carrie Ann- 4
Len- 4
Bruno- 4 for 12/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHlDv_Fv6Zo
Hannah & Alan – Viennese Waltz
OH. We might be getting our first 8 of the season here. That was a very good dance. A whole lot of elegance and great footwork. I have no idea about the bed at the beginning but thankfully, it was not a part of anything to the actual dance. Very solid dancing and more than likely, the strongest overall routine of the night.
Carrie Ann loved that she tells a story and finishes her lines so well. She says going last suits her. Len enjoyed the content. He wanted some natural turns though. He enjoyed the musicality. He calls it the best dance of the night. Bruno loved it and thanks her for finishing her lines.
Carrie Ann- 8
Len- 8
Bruno- 8 for 24/30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx_JTU6OX7Y
Final Judges Leaderboard
Hannah- 24
Kate- 21
James- 20
Kel- 20
Ally- 20
Lauren- 19
Karamo- 19
Sailor- 18
Sean- 16
Ray- 15
Mary- 15
Lamar- 12
Results…
SAFE– Lamar & Peta (WOW), James & Emma, Ally & Sasha, Karamo & Jenna, Sean & Lindsay (because of course), Hannah & Alan, Sailor & Val, Kel & Witney, Lauren & Gleb, and Kate & Pasha
BOTTOM 2– Mary & Brandon and Ray & Cheryl
The judges will now decide who stays and who goes.
Carrie Ann opts to save Mary & Brandon
Bruno saves Ray & Cheryl
Len (with the tiebreaker) decides to save Ray & Cheryl
Mary & Brandon are ELIMINATED.
Darn. To be real, neither of those two couples deserved to be in the bottom this fast. Both deserved another week, if not more. But America will America. I also think Len made a bad call saving Ray over Mary. Sure, neither are going to go deep in the competition but Mary has proven in two weeks to be a better overall performer than Ray. A shame a gem like Mary has to go out so early. So, that’s the end of our first live vote of the season. One couple down. Eleven remain. Polls to come soon. Thanks guys for watching with me and I’ll see y’all next Monday night. :D
