Dancing With the Stars 8: A “Bionic Booty” and a “Demented Worm”
March 23, 2009 by Lynn
[Photos: newscom.com]
What a night of performances this was! Tonight’s Dancing With the Stars gave us three couples tied for first place and perhaps a new lowest score ever…I’m not sure about that, but it’s got to be close. The injuries are continuing to haunt the Steves. Steve-O not only had a tough time with a painful back, but he also twisted his ankle at the end of the routine. Steve Wozniak still has the fractured foot, but now also has a pulled groin muscle to go with it.
There were also a couple of fantastic quotes this week too. Len told Lil Kim that she has a “Bionic Booty” and Steve Woznick did what was referred to as a “Demented Worm”.
There were some really high higs and some very low lows in the performances. Each week, it’s becoming more apparent who is going to make it to the end this season. Unless something horrible and unforeseen happens, it’s going to be one heck of a season toward the end…
Here are my reviews of the dance performances this week:
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Judges’ Scores
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| Style | Review | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Total |
| Samba | Denise Richards & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Sadly, her performance was flat and uninspiring. She lost her footing and got out of step a couple of times. Hopefully, she’ll improve next week. |
5
|
6
|
5
|
16
|
|
|
|||||
| Foxtrot | Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough - What an improvement! He was so much better this week than last week. I don’t understand the fall on the floor at the end of the routine, it seemed out of place, but that’s the choreography’s fault, not Chuck’s. Good job, Chuck! |
8
|
7
|
8
|
23
|
|
|
|||||
| Samba | Holly Madison & Dmitry Chaplain - I don’t want to be mean, but I just don’t think she has a future in the dancing world. She isn’t improving at all and seems unaware of the beat of the music. She just walks from place to place, with no musicality whatsoever. Sorry, Holly. I know you have a large fan base, but I don’t expect you to be around long… |
5
|
6
|
6
|
17
|
|
|
|||||
| Foxtrot | Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer - I was pleasantly surprised to see Steve-O do a serious foxtrot, instead of all the expected clowning around. Poor guy, he’s working through the pain and I know from experience that back pain makes dancing incredibly hard to do. But worse than that, he forgot the routine several times. If he can mend his injured back and get over the nervousness, he may improve for next week. |
5
|
5
|
5
|
15
|
|
|
|||||
| Samba | Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Slawinska - I liked his dance this week. He really worked on it, and it showed. He’s not at the top of the pack yet, but he has the determination and the coordination to keep improving. And best of all, he’s very enjoyable to watch because he seems to be enjoying himself. I expect him to become better each week. |
7
|
6
|
7
|
20
|
|
|
|||||
| Foxtrot | Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas - She was beautiful and graceful and did a wonderful job this week. No surprise. She’s going to be in the final three…mark my words. She’s terrific! |
9
|
9
|
9
|
27
|
|
|
|||||
| Samba | Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke - All I can say is, WOW! He just gets better and better! And what a hot dance! This guy can sure shake it when he needs to shake it. Great dance!! My favorite of the season so far! |
9
|
9
|
9
|
27
|
|
|
|||||
| Foxtrot | David Alan Grier & Kym Johnson - What an improvement! He was much better this week than last week. He was graceful and he managed to do all the more difficult choreography without a problem. Great dance for him!! |
8
|
8
|
8
|
24
|
|
|
|||||
| Samba | Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff - Bless his heart, he has so very much fun dancing. He makes me smile to watch. Even though he even included the “worm†he’s just not ready for the big time. He won’t be in the final three, but he is very fun to watch. |
4
|
3
|
3
|
10
|
|
|
|||||
| Foxtrot | Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani - She’s so good, it hardly seems fair to the others. She’s had the least amount of time to work with her partner than any other dancer this season, but she’s definitely one of the top three. |
9
|
9
|
9
|
27
|
|
|
|||||
| Samba | Lil Kim & Derek Hough - She really brought the moves for this dance. It was fun, lively and a great dance! She made one mistake in the routine, but it was a really good performance other than that. |
8
|
8
|
9
|
25
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| Foxtrot | Ty Murray & Chelsea Hightower - Can this possibly be the same man that danced the first week? He is sooooooo much better than he was then. Chelsea slipped once, and he got her back on track right away. He’s amazing! I am terrifically impressed with him this week! |
8
|
8
|
7
|
23
|
|
|
|||||
Dancing With the Stars 8: Tonight’s Performance Show
[Photos: newscom.com]
Tonight on Dancing With the Stars, we found out that yet another one of the celebs has injured himself. Steve-O had to go to the hospital, so poor Lacey Schwimmer had to walk down the big stairs alone. That means five injuries so far this season and this was only the second episode! We found out over the weekend that Steve Wozniak injured his foot, and Gille Marini dislocated his shoulder. I’ll write a bit about injuries and difficulty in ballroom dancing later this week, but right now I just want to emphasize how dancing is much more dangerous and difficult than it looks.
Here is my review of the dances on tonight’s show:
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Judges’ Scores
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| Style | Review | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Total |
| Quickstep | Holly Madison & Dmitry Chaplain - She’s a fair dancer, but seemed about a half of a beat behind Dmitry most of the time. She did have less time to prepare than most of the others, and she still hasn’t caught up. |
6
|
6
|
6
|
18
|
|
Last week’s score:
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18
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||||
| Salsa | David Alan Grier & Kym Johnson - He’s a lot of fun to watch, but he still needs to work on moving his hips. A Latin dance needs hip movements. But he’s still in need of improvement. I hope he stays for a while longer, though. I like him. |
6
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5
|
6
|
17
|
|
Last week’s score:
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19
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| Quickstep | Denise Richards & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - I think she improved quite a bit since last week. This was a pretty good quickstep. It’s clear that she has been working hard. |
7
|
7
|
7
|
21
|
|
Last week’s score:
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18
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||||
| Salsa | Belinda Carlisle & Jonathan Roberts - It was a very fun dance, but didn’t seem all that salsa-ish to me. I really like Belinda a lot and want there to stay around, but her hip action and musicality needs to improve just a bit. She’s better this week and will most likely keep improving. |
6
|
6
|
6
|
18
|
|
Last week’s score:
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17
|
||||
| Quickstep | Ty Murray & Chelsea Hightower - Tonight’s dance was a ton better than last week’s for Ty. Thank goodness, he didn’t have the case of the nerves he had last week. And the Quickstep is a much more difficult dance. Good for him! I actually think he may have potential as a dancer. |
7
|
6
|
7
|
20
|
|
Last week’s score:
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14
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| Salsa | Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas - She’s a wonderful dancer. And for someone who has never been a booty-shaker, she’s really improving! I think she will be around for a long time. Great job! |
8
|
8
|
8
|
24
|
|
Last week’s score:
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23
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||||
| Quickstep | Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff - He looks like he has so much fun that he’s fun to watch! And I love it that Kathy Griffin was there to cheer him on. I saw him favor his foot a couple of times and then he lost the beat a few times, but he sure does make it look like fun. I like The Woz and hope he makes it through somehow so I can watch him again next week. Sadly, he may not make it much longer, though. |
6
|
5
|
6
|
17
|
|
Last week’s score:
|
13
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| Salsa | Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough - Chuck really did learn to move his hips, but he was a bit stiff in a few places and there weren’t a lot of steps for him. I think he could do better if the choreography was better. |
6
|
7
|
7
|
20
|
|
Last week’s score:
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20
|
||||
| Quickstep | Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Slawinska - I think he did terrifically! He was relaxed and light on his feet. We have another big guy that can dance! Much better than last week. |
7
|
6
|
7
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20
|
|
Last week’s score:
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16
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| Salsa | Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer - Since Steve-O injured his back and had to go to the hospital after the dress rehearsal, we were shown that performance and told that his scores would be based on that. Sadly, it was clear that he was in pain and not moving fluidly because of the back. It really didn’t resemble a salsa at all, but I know he and Lacey must be heartbroken. I hope he recovers and can be back next week. |
5
|
4
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5
|
14
|
|
Last week’s score:
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17
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| Quickstep | Lil Kim & Derek Hough - Fabulous!! She was great! I think we are gong to see her go all the way to the end. She has the style and the musicality and even though it was a very difficult dance, I think she was the best of the night so far. |
8
|
7
|
8
|
23
|
|
Last week’s score:
|
21
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| Salsa | Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani - She’s a really wonderful dancer! She learns so fast and is my favorite so far!. She needs a little more practice with the movements, but for a person with less than two weeks practice in partner dancing, she’s amazing! I think she’ll be here all season too. |
9
|
8
|
9
|
26
|
|
Last week’s score:
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23
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| Quickstep | Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke - Cheryl was telling him not to be sexy, but girls, you know what I mean…there’s no way he isn’t sexy. But as far as the dance is concerned, he is a really good dancer. His dance was terrific! |
9
|
9
|
9
|
27
|
|
Last week’s score:
|
24
|
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They saved the best three dances for last and the way it looks right now, they are the three that we may see go all the way. The others had better step it up. And tomorrow night on the elimination show, we’ll get to see the bottom two pairs do a dance-off. It’s a brand-new feature this season and it should be interesting to see how it affects the results.
Dancing With the Stars 7: Cody Goes Home
November 19, 2008 by Lynn
Last night’s Dancing With the Stars results show was both fabulous and predictable. I just knew that even though we all like Cody Linley, it was just bound to be his week to go home. He seemed to have really gained a new level of emotional maturity from the tough schedule and the new challenges of the season and it was great to see the recap of his season’s journey. I know we haven’t seen the last of him…not by a long shot!
We also got to see some wonderful performances by Aretha Franklin (WOW!), Julianne Hough singing, Leona Lewis and John Legend. And it was great to see Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark Ballas dance together again.
Now that it’s down to the final three. I am just not convinced that Brooke Burke is going to win. Yes, she’s a good dancer, but I’m not sure her personality is enough to take her to the victory. And I love to watch Warren Sapp and Lance Bass dance. Lance really dazzled everyone this week and I expect the same from him in the finals. I’m going out on a limb and I choose the “dark horse”, Lance to win it. At least I have my fingers crossed that he does…
Who do you want to see take home the trophy? Who do you think deserves it? I’d love to know what you think!
Dancing With the Stars 7: The Biggest Music Night Ever
November 17, 2008 by Lynn
Tomorrow night’s results show on Dancing With the Stars will have more incredible music to enjoy than ever in the history of the show. Here are the singers we can look forward to:
- “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin
- Grammy Award-Winning Singer John Legend
- International Sensation Leona Lewis
- Professional Dancer Julianne Hough will sing
And if all that isn’t enough, last season’s Dancing With the Stars champion Kristi Yamaguchi will be back. You won’t want to miss this results show!! Be sure to tune in on ABC at 9:00-10:02 p.m., ET tomorrow night.
Dancing With the Stars 7: Maurice is Sent Home
I hate it that Maurice Greene was eliminated this week. As likable as Cody Linley is, he really was the one that deserved to go.
And another thing, I thought it was very rude of some audience members (mostly young female audience members) to cheer when it was announced that Maurice would be leaving the competition. Yes, I know that they are Cody fans, but they should consider how the cheers must have felt to Maurice!
My favorites are still Warren Sapp & Lance Bass. I can’t help it, Brooke Burke is just too perfect…and lacks personality.
I think both of them should be in the finals with Brooke and since they have so much more personality than she does, I hope one of them wins.
But wasn’t this week’s results show amazing? We got to see fantastic dance routines by both Derek & Julianne Hough and Lacey Schwimmer and her brother Benji Schwimmer. All I can say is WOW! to both!!
How do you feel about Maurice going home? Who do you hope will be in the final three?
Dancing With the Stars 7: Susan Lucci Goes Home
November 5, 2008 by Lynn
This week was an unusual one for Dancing With the Stars. First, the final six couples had to team up into two teams and do group performances for scores. Even though Lance & Lacey were far better than the rest of their teammates, they had to take the low score too. It was not too fair, really.
Poor Cody was dealing with a brand new dance partner with Julianne recovering from surgery. And Susan Lucci just didn’t seem to know the group dance at all.
Then, on the results show, choreographer Dave Scott, who does a lot of work for So You Think You Can Dance performed an amazing dance number. The entire number was spectacular!!
I was not very surprised that Susan Lucci was eliminated. It was just her time to go. The competition is getting tougher each week and it was the right decision.
My prediction is that Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson, Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer and Cody Linley and Brook urke & Derek Hough will make it to the final three. At least that’s what I hope. In my opinion, they are the three teams that deserve it.
What do you think of Susan’s elimination? Who do you expect to go next? Let us know!
Dancing With the Stars 7: Warren & Kym Talk About 70s Moves
October 24, 2008 by Lynn
And here’s a clip with Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson explaining how they came up with all the 70s moves they put into their dance routine this week. And Warren talks about doing hip-hop.
Dancing With the Stars 7: Brooke & Derek Talk About the Week
October 24, 2008 by Lynn
This week, Brooke Burke and Derek Hough tore up the dance floor with their amazing jitterbug. And after the elimination, they took a few moments to talk to Edyta Sliwinska about the week’s competition:
Dancing With the Stars 7: Toni Braxton is Out
Surpisingly, this week Toni Braxton & Alec Mazo were eliminated from the Dancing With the Stars competition. I didn’t expect this one at all. As much as I have enjoyed Cloris and Corky this season, I think it’s time for them to go home.
And I’m probably going to upset some Susan Lucci fans, but I’m not a fan of her dancing. She’s too timid and her movements are too measured. She just doesn’t put the emotion into her dance moves. She executes the movements, but they still seem a bit empty for me. She needs to let loose more. True, she has had an ankle and now a foot injury this season, but I think Toni Braxton is a better dancer and brings more emotion into her dance moves. But that’s just me.
I am also thrilled with the addition of the four new dance styles to the show. Swing dance is my all-time favorite style to dance and I may not be a great salsa dancer, but I enjoy doing it anyway. And the hustle and jitterbug are so much fun to watch, I think this will be great for the show. (And who can deny that the crazy hair styles the Hough siblings wore this week were fun…?)
My favorite two teams are still Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson and Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer. I am expecting Cloris Leachman to be sent hom next week.
Who are your fovorites? Who do you think needs to go home next? Do you agree with Toni Braxton being eliminated this week? Leave a comment to let us know!
Dancing With the Stars 7: Campaign Commercials
This week on Dancing With the Stars, the dancers starred in funny compaign ads to compete for our votes. They were totally to make fun of all the actual campaign ads we are bombarded with at the moment. Each one is funny by itself, but to see them all together is a lot of fun. My favorite is the one that says that Lance Bass is probably crazy… 