DWTS - Week 8

Hello everybody, here is my summary of the eight week of this season’s “Dancing with the Stars!” We started off with a look back at some of the major events from last week. We saw the injury that actor Cristian de la Fuente suffered in his Samba, tearing his biceps tendon, and the shock that brought to the ballroom. They also showed the departure of actress Shannon Elizabeth and her dance pro partner Derek Hough from the ballroom as they got eliminated, and the passing of Figure Skating Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi  and her partner Mark Ballas in the lead spot in the scores by Miami Dolphins Footballer Jason Taylor and his partner Edyta Sliwinska. It was a lot going on, as the number of couples still dancing got even fewer. The couple came out for tonight’s dancing, for another week in the ballroom. With them was actor and fighter pilot Cristian De La Fuente, determined to keep dancing despite his arm injury. Then it was on to the ballroom.

The first couple to dance tonight would be Kristi Yamaguchi and her dance pro partner, Mark Ballas. We see that Len Goodman was quite hard on the duo last week, with two eights, one for each of their dances. This week they would be doing the Quickstep and the Samba. As they are in practice, Kristi says she wants lifts in the dances. Mark doesn’t want one in the Samba because he says the character of the dance is important and he cannot see how to fit one in while respecting that. Kristi respects Mark and his decision, though she’s worried that with Jason doing the Samba also, she wants to learn to do the styling for it well. They practice for the Quickstep also, and they say they will have one lift in there. Mark says that dancing, not lifts get the “wow” from the judges.

They come out to foxtrot and she has a very nice blue ballroom outfit. He has a matching blue shirt and black suit. Whoever her “costumer” is they have a good sense with her to go with classy, cool outfits that aren’t “overboard” but work with her style very well. They move quickly and well together, with their feet mirroring very well on the crackerjack steps and the passes, as well as the sharp style and fun the dance is supposed to have. The lift at the end is a move where he lifted her onto his shoulder and she sat there as they posed. The dance was very smooth, upbeat and fun.

Tom Bergeron says “Hope you’re feeling better this week” to Len Goodman, and then it is on to our judges.

Len said he was feeling bad earlier today but that this had cured that. Mr. Goodman said that he liked the lightness and the shade, the slow and the fast that Kristi and Mark had worked into their dance. He told Kristi that she was right back where she was a couple weeks ago. Bruno praised Kristi as a “Supercandidate” with the subtlety as well as the crescendo in the dance and told her “you’re there.” Carrie-Ann said that Kristi’s technique was flawless but that her styling dragged in the middle of the dance. (Bruno disagreed and said she didn’t drag) Carrie-Ann insisted Kristi was “dragging a bit.”

Their scores came back 9 + 10 + 10 = 29. The 9 was from Carrie-Ann, I guess she didn’t think Kristi “dragged” that much after all… Kristi was happy afterwards and Tom Bergeron thanked her for putting Len in a good mood to “help all of us.”

Up next tonight were R&B singer Mario and his partner Karina Smirnoff. They would be doing the Viennese Waltz and the Jive tonight. Mario says he wants lifts and since he is going to be competing with football player Jason Taylor, he wants to pull them off correctly, because he wants to look stronger and because if he messes them up it will be bad. To practice with a bit less risk Karina takes him out to the swimming pool to practice. Mario says that this way she only has to worry about getting cold if he drops her. Then they into their Waltz steps practice, and Karina says she wants him to be elegant and kind of stiff. Mario says he wants to prove that he can do ballroom.

On the dance floor, Mario comes out and he starts with nice turning basics in a cuddle-closed position to start. Their turns and opening out moves were smooth, and Mario did a nice move where he took Karina into a lay back pivoting move to finish the dance.

We then went to the judges. Bruno said that the Chronicles of Dancing with the Stars have a new Prince, Prince Mario. Bruno commended him for elegance, polish and restraint, among other things Bruno says Mario has given the Judges everything they had asked him to. Carrie-Ann said that a lift must be done at the right moment and entered into and exited from properly with proper timing for the dance, and that Mario did it right. Len said that usually Mario’s dancing was “Like Britney Spears getting out of a car, not elegant and you see things you’d rather not” but that tonight Mario was elegant and did a good job.

Mario and Karina’s scores came back: 9 + 9 + 9 = 27. Mario said he was ready for the Latin Round and agreed when Hostess Samantha Harris said he had “tricks up his sleeve.”

Couple number three in the ballroom would be Tony-Winning Broadway Actress Marissa Winokur and her partner Tony Dovolani. We see some of their dancing from last week, and hear that they captivated the judges, but ended up in the bottom two with Shannon and Derek. They will be doing the Foxtrot and the Mambo this week. As Marissa gets ready to practice, she says that she survived a bout with cancer a few years back and compared to that there is zero stress from being under the red lights last week. Tony says he is proud of her work so far on the show and that he has put a lift in her dance to show her determination. Marissa says “If Edyta’s going up, I’m going up.”

They come out into the ballroom to do their first dance, a Foxtrot to the song “New York, New York.” They do “show dance” style poses to start, throwing in a little Broadway style posing before going to the Foxtrot. They had a nice mix of turns and such in closed position and the side by side work and I felt it was smooth and flowed very well. At the finish of the dance, Tony lifted her up sideways into a final pose. After the dance, Carrie-Ann and Len were smiling, and Bruno simply had his head down on the desk.

Carrie-Ann said she loved the joy Marissa brought to the dance and said she entertained everyone individually, and said that was all she was going to say. Len said that he was amazed that Marissa was better looking in hold position than apart because he had expected the opposite. Len said that when she gets into hold she is excellent and her posture is great. Bruno said it was bold but that she needed more glide, especially with the quarter-finals coming up. Bruno said it was “Bold, brassy… but not entirely appropriate.”

Marissa and Tony’s scores came back: 9 + 8 + 8 = 25. The 9 was from Carrie-Ann. Marissa said that her philosophy on dancing now was she was just doing it. “We’re just doing it. Please vote,” she told the audience.

This brought Miami Dolphins football player Jason Taylor to the ballroom, along with his partner Edyta Sliwinska. They will be doing the Tango and the Samba this week. Edyta says that she is confident about how Jason will do in the Tango, as he has good ballroom skills, but she says that the character of the Samba will be tough for him. She also says that she wants to do lifts. To get Jason to see the fun of the Samba, she has a little fun with wardrobe, getting him a bushy wig, a frilly Samba shirt, and maracas to play with. She’s got him playing with this stuff and working it into the dance, and then decides to go a step further and get him a spray-on tan. Jason says “I have a tan. God gave me a tan.” She has him step into a spray machine anyway. Curiously, Edyta’s partner from a couple years back, George Hamilton, didn’t show up for this. Anyway, Jason is bemused by the whole thing, and then it is on to the show.

For their Tango, they start off back to back and then slide apart, both breaking in opposite directions. They come back together and do a neat move where they crouch together and she kicks one leg up and lets him caress it. Then they go to closed position for their Tango basics and move around the floor. They move well together and do the “head to head” styling with their heads bowed and pressed together as they move around the ballroom. Jason’s footwork is sharp and good. At the end of the dance, he lifts her into the air with his hands under her back, straight up and over his head. He carries her across the room like this then he lowers her to the floor and stands over her as the music ends.

Len Goodman tells Jason that the dance was good to a degree but that it was too much like Argentine tango and not enough like a ballroom Tango dance. Bruno disagreed and said it was great, and that the Tango started out in Argentina. Bruno told Jason “I hate you, you are so beautiful” and said that it was sexy and sharp. Bruno said that Edyta never danced better than this in any previous season, and that Jason was right there with her. Carrie-Ann said that Jason’s Tango strength and persona was scary and that he was developing as a performer, becoming “intriguingly great.” Carrie-Ann said that she loved the character in the dance. As he awaited his scores, Hostess Samantha Harris asked Jason how the athlete experience helped him. Jason said that the competition aspect helped. He also said that he thanked Kristi for letting him have the top spot last week but that she’d probably retake it this week.

It would be tough for anyone to do that right now as his scores come in: 10 + 9 + 10 = 29. The 9 was from Len Goodman.

We hear again that Tuesday’s results show will be the 100th episode of the show and we will see the Judges pick their Top 10 dances of all time from all the seasons of the show.

This leaves one couple left to dance in the fifth and final spot of the ballroom round. That will be actor and Chilean Air Force pilot Cristian De La Fuente and his partner, two time “Dancing with the Stars” champion Cheryl Burke. He talked about how he was injured last week with a biceps tendon tear and said that he had done lots of crazy stuff in his life but he never thought that he’d get his first serious injury from dancing. He says the doctors have said he cannot put force on his Bicep but that otherwise he can keep going for a few weeks if he wants to postpone the surgery his injury will eventually require. He will be doing the Tango and the Mambo with Cheryl tonight. Cristian says that he can hold a frame with his one arm, though other things are going to be difficult. He says that since it is the first night where lifts are allowed, he wants to do them. She worries about this, as well as worrying about him going out there at all. He looks at her and says “One hand, two hearts.”

They come out to the floor to do their Tango to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” They start off with slow stalks, and their footwork is very tight with each other and the “feel” of the Dance is there. Cristian moves like a person doing the Tango should and has the expression of it, there seems to be no distraction as they move around the floor. He wears a single glove on his right hand a la Michael Jackson, perhaps to draw attention to his uninjured arm as well. Then near the end he flips her into the air using his body and leg, catches and holds her up with his uninjured arm, and puts his one gloved hand over his face to finish the dance.

Bruno tells him that in spite of the injury, the judges have to judge on what they see.  Bruno then calls him the man with the Golden Arm, convincing in his dancing and with a touch of arrogance: That his dance was what a Tango should be. Carrie-Ann agreed saying there was nothing wrong with it. Len Goodman said that as much as he’d like to praise Cristian, he wanted to praise Cheryl for her choreography and how well she worked around and covered any problems the injury would be causing Cristian. Before the scores came in, Cristian agreed with Len and said Cheryl was “The best choreographer I could have.”

Their scores were 10 + 9 + 9 = 28. The 10 was from Cheryl. Cristian cheered when he heard this and hugged some of the other people waiting in back.

With the Ballroom round complete, this meant that the Latin round was next. With the training videos and so on being covered in the first portion of the show, this time we went straight to dancing.

First up again were Figure Skating Champ Kristi Yamaguchi and her partner Mark Ballas, to do the Samba.  He comes out in red and Kristi comes out in a Yellow and Red fringed outfit. Their footwork is sharp and quick and then Kristi starts really shaking her fringes. Kristi demonstrated her flexibility and some of the spinning grace she has as a figure skater with a couple neat spins on one foot. She proves to be flexible and works that into the dance with the appearance of being effortless. (It must be difficult but she makes it look easy.) Then we go on to the judges.

Carrie-Ann says she just didn’t care for it. Bruno says it was beautiful. Len seems to dig it too.

Kristi and Mark’s scores come back as 8 + 9 + 9 = 26. (29 + 26 = 55.)

Then Mario and his partner Karina Smirnoff return to the ballroom for their Jive. Their dance is nice and peppy, and at the end she jumps in his arms and he spins her around, flips her all around his body and over on his shoulder.

Len tells him that while he had a roughness to him on the dance it was alright, but he has “bloody big ugly” feet. Bruno disagrees with Len and tells Mario that his dance had the spirit of Rock and Roll to it and that was what the Jive should be. Bruno told Mario that he’s not sure what’s wrong with Len. Carrie-Ann told him that the Jive was the one dance where his wildness works, and that he did great.

Mario and Karina’s scores come back: 9 + 8 + 9 = 26. (27 + 26 = 53.) The 8 is from Len Goodman.

Dance number eight tonight, the third of the Latin round, will be from Tony Award winner Marissa Winokur and her partner Tony Dovolani. They will be doing the Mambo in the Latin round, and Tom Bergeron reminds us that they had the lowest score of the ballroom round, so he says they need to do well. They come out dressed to dance, in bright red outfits, and they head right into their Mambo with some shimmying and Marissa putting in some sharp footwork to hang with Mr. Dovolani. Then we go to the judges to get their take on it.

Bruno Tonioli says “Marissa, you can do sexy and I want more.” He said she did well in the dance as the girl who “knows what she wants and goes out and gets it.” Carrie-Ann Inaba told Marissa that she loves that Marissa goes for it in the dance, though she says it hurt her that she didn’t nail a type of turn she went for, especially dancing so soon after Kristi, who did. Len said that he was pleased that Marissa performs like that now, though he says he wanted it “raunchier.” (At this point, Bruno asked Len to calm down!) As they waited for the results, Tony Dovolani asked the fans to please vote, and Samantha Harris asked Marissa if people will still be partying tomorrow for the 100th episode, knowing that one couple will be leaving. Marissa says that they will all have a good time regardless.

Marissa and Tony’s Mambo results come back: 8 + 8 + 9 = 25. (25 + 25 = 50.) The 9 is from Bruno. Marissa says “Love you Bruno!” and asks the people watching at home to please vote.

For dance number nine, we have NFL Footballer Jason Taylor and his partner, “Dancing Stars” stalwart Edyta Sliwinska. They will be doing the Samba, and they go into a sharp one. Jason sees to have fun out there, and to end the dance he lifts Edyta straight up into a handstand on his shoulders and holds her there to finish it. Then we go to the judges.

Carrie-Ann Inaba says she appreciates the attempt at being flamboyant by Jason, but that it didn’t work well. She says he had his head down and that his musicality was off. Len Goodman tells him that it is alright; but that next week is the semifinals and that his musicality was off. Bruno Tonioli says it was a bit of a Turkey and “…that happens to the best of them, look at Tom Cruise.” Bruno tells Jason that his Samba looked like a Rumba at times. After this, Hostess Samantha Harris asked Jason how it was being in for the “worst of the firing range.” Jason replied that as a footballer he’d had worse, and at least no one was cussing him out. Ms. Harris then asked him if his wearing a Tutu a couple weeks back or getting the spray tan this week would be more unpopular with his teammates, and he said that the spray tan would get him more grief from his mates.

His scores came back 8 + 7 + 8 = 23. (29 + 23 = 52.) The 7 was from Len. The scores couldn’t have been much fun for Jason either.

This brought up the tenth and final dance of the night, the Mambo from Cristian De La Fuente and his partner Cheryl Burke. He comes out with a glittery arm wrap on his injured arm which matches their outfits. He brings her into a quick around the world style move and then goes into a quick Mambo. He throws in a lot of underarm turns, using his good arm to lead and support Cheryl, and at times keeps the injured arm behind his back, managing to look more like a fencer doing it than an injured person. To finish the dance, he wrapped Cheryl in with his good arm, flipped her onto his hip, and bent forward to lift her and hold her up in the air, balanced on his hip. This dance really impressed me. It was sharp, had a lot of character to it, and it was gutsy as hell. Cristian seems to be determined to go even harder now that he has refused to bail out with his injury. (Sorry, that image just strikes me.) We then went to the judges to hear their opinions of the dance. As Cristian and Cheryl head over, Host Tom Bergeron tells Cristian “You made a mistake dancing with two arms, this is working for you.”

Len said that se was surprised by how many underarm turns there were and that it was a good dance. Bruno said the energy was huge, and Carrie-Ann said “Cristian, you are definitely Latin and you are definitely on fire.” She then boggled, open mouthed and quiet.

As they awaited their scores, Cheryl said that after last week’s accident in the Samba, it was nice to have a strong Mambo. Cristina said that he should have started one-arm dancing before.

The scores were strong: 10 + 9 + 10 = 29. The 9 was from Len. Their total for the night was 28 + 29 = 57. Cristian then thanked all the people who called in and supported him last week.

A little comment from me here: Once in a while, people will argue that the Judges on the show engage in “Harrison Bergeron” scoring (Named for Kurt Vonnegut’s satire of an ideal society where total standardization of results is the goal) however, by what I saw, Cristian really did dance that well, and the ability of his dancing matched the heart he had in going out there.

His effort led him to the top spot with the Judges tonight. The scores turned out as follows:

1. Cristian De La Fuente and Cheryl Burke (Tango, Mambo)        28 + 29 = 57

2. Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas (Quickstep, Samba)             29 + 26 = 55

3. Mario and Karina Smirnoff (Viennese Waltz, Jive)                    27 + 26 = 53

4. Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska (Tango, Samba)                     29 + 23 = 52

5. Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani (Foxtrot, Mambo)   25 + 25 = 50

Tonight’s results show is going to be a nail biter, as the middle and bottom are so close in point spread. As only a few points separate the first place couple from the fifth place one, no one is safe unless the viewers throw in for them.

Kudos to Cristian for turning in the most memorable one-armed TV performance since Jack Palance at the Oscars, and with lots of good dances it looks like the next rounds will bring some very powerful dancing. Whatever happens, as the show goes on, the eliminations tend to get sadder and that will surely be the case on the 100th episode of the show tonight, even if there is going to be a lot of good stuff and dancing showcased as well.

Until we meet again, your friend in New Jersey, David.