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Dancing with the Stars: Week 8
10-Nov-2008
Written by: Michael Pascua
Only the strong remain. Who will falter and who will rise to the top?
Last Week: Susan Lucci couldn’t break out of the box and she was eliminated.
We’re welcomed by our hosts and the contestants walk out. No one is looking that good and all the girls seem to have those dresses that show where their love handles would be if they were fatter. Of course Cheryl is wearing a full dress. Each contestant is required to do both a ballroom and Latin dance. In the Latin dance, they have some solo time.
Len is all excited about the 15 seconds of solo time. Sounds like a short amount of time.
Round 1 – The Ballroom Dances
Cody & Edyta – Cody’s spirit is down after last week and he’s quite nervous. He should be because Disney stars don’t normally survive that long. His friends come in and basically gawk at Edyta. One even gets the chance to touch her. He has the foxtrot for his ballroom. When they dance, Cody’s grin sometimes kicks in when he knows he got something right, but his facial expression recovers. The footwork is less gawky then last week, but Edyta’s lines are amazing. It’s nice to see the two having some chemistry. Len was surprised about the routine; he liked the elegance and footwork. Bruno points out how sophisticated he’s become. Carrie Ann loved the performance and gives a plus to the partner change. She is knocking off a point, though, for a lift. The scores are: 8, 8, and 8.
Brooke & Derek - Brooke got the first perfect score of the season last week. Because of this, Derek has decided to push Brooke harder. Brooke has the tango and mambo this week. I didn’t notice until Derek mentioned, but Brooke is the only woman left. Right as they start I almost worry if there was a lift. The emotion is definitely there and the lines seem clean to me. Derek and Brooke’s kicks are sharp. Bruno says some overtly metaphorically challenged phrase and ends with “stunning.” Carrie Ann calls her phenomenal and pitch-perfect. Len saw a lack of leads and a loss of stance in different points. He claims to criticize her on a professional level. The judges’ scores are: 10, 8, and 10.
Maurice & Cheryl – Maurice lucked out from a strong group dance last week. Maurice has the paso doble which was the group dance, so they studied the video over. That’s almost like having a cheat sheet. The quickstep throws Maurice off, but he vows to do well on a ballroom. Right off the bat I’m a little disappointed. It seems like the steps are okay, in one dip it seems that Cheryl lost an earring. Cheryl ends with a cartwheel; I wonder how allowable it was. Carrie Ann liked that he refined his work. Len likes how his footwork was great. Bruno likes how he didn’t deflate in the middle of the dance. The scores are 8, 8, and 8.
Lance & Lacey – This week the two have the samba and foxtrot. Lance & Lacey have changed their strategy from being flashy to adding a little bit more technique. Although Lance has a little bit of an awkward face through most of the performance, the dance isn’t too bad. I assume it’s his character. It’s so smooth that I didn’t realize that it ended so soon. Len loves the traditional Lance & Lacey but still points out the footwork in holds. Bruno loves the play between the two. Carrie Ann likes the animated style and thought it was fun as well. The scores are: 9, 8, and 9.
Warren & Kym – Although the foxtrot was questionable, he had a strong team paso that saved him last week. He blames himself for the foxtrot problems. They have the tango and jive this week (the tango being ballroom and the jive being Latin; which both are long explanations to why they aren’t reversed). Warren does his best to kick as much as possible with the music. With the tango they practice hard. It’s funny that even before the dance, Warren is sweaty, although it may be disguised with glitter. I find the secret agent tango was a good choice for the two since he’s such a character. Most of his steps are there as well. The crowd goes wild for him. Bruno liked it. Carrie Ann makes fun of the sparkles and loves how Warren connects with the audience. Len thought it was also fantastic. The scores are: 10, 9, and 9.
Round 2 – The Latin Dances
Cody & Edyta – No little video packages for the rest of the show! Cody is still doing the funny chin face. Although the thing is quite pair-based, it seems like Cody has a lot of time out of holds. Cody uses his solo time quite interestingly with a set of moves that don’t really define a mambo. He ends by launching himself onto the table. I’m sure Bruno was smiling. Carrie Ann gives it an A for the effort, but thought that it was a little erratic and disjointed. Len is worried that Warren will lunge on the table. He thought it overall was good. Bruno liked the mambo “fever” but it was a little jerky. The scores are: 8, 8, and 8. Edyta was happy to work with Cody, but Julianne will be returning next week if Cody survives.
Brooke & Derek – Brooke emerges looking quite similar to Marie Osmond. She decides to put her solo in the beginning flattering the judges by dancing in front of the table. Derek is really quite a character isn’t he? After Cody’s dance, Brooke looks like gold. She’s not disjointed at all. Len thought it was quite ambitious; he liked the beginning, but thought some areas of legwork were a little bent. Bruno thinks that she is a great dancer. Carrie Ann liked the solo, but thought that the posture was a little awkward at points. The scores are: 9, 9, and 9.
Maurice & Cheryl – I always find it interesting when they play contemporary music on this show. The music is used well and the dancing is quite passionate. I think that Maurice got lucky because he got to twirl the cape around for his solo. Both Cheryl and Maurice were quite good in the performance. Bruno called the cape twirl a wind turbine; overall, he liked it. Carrie Ann loved how he focused and how the steps are right; she wants a balance between the power and grace. Len liked the cape part in this sense because it was in his solo. The scores are: 8, 8, and 8.
Lance & Lacey – I still love Lacey with Latin dances. Lance’s solo was placed in the beginning. His steps were a little too N*SYNC for my tastes. Lacey’s legs are actually quite fitting in the dress. The lines are nice on her end. Speaking of end, Lance ends the routine sliding into Lacey’s feathered bum. Carrie Ann called the samba a hard dance but he did a good job; she was distracted by Lance looking up at the balconies. Len saw some of the moves, but he wanted a little more samba in the solo. He wants to point out the footwork. Bruno liked how he got the audience without Lacey’s help and also the attempts of the rolls. The scores are: 8, 7 and 9.
Warren & Kym – It’s quite entertaining to see a big guy like Warren being so light on his feet. Warren’s solo is quite interesting, a little bit like a chicken, but cuter. The rest of the dance is entertaining, but not as kicky as I remember the jive was. Len loves the joyfulness in the dance, his feet were horrible. Bruno loves the fun, but the technique was flat. Carrie Ann liked how the feet were still going. The scores are: 9, 8, and 9.
The Scores:
Brooke & Derek – 55
Warren & Kym - 54
Lance & Lacey - 50
Maurice & Cheryl – 48
Cody & Edyta – 48
Who’s going Home? Brooke and Warren are easily safe, even if Brooke doesn’t have the biggest of fan-bases. I think that Lance has enough points and votes that he’s safe. I would think that Cody may get the Julianne vote still, so I’m throwing my vote towards Maurice.
Tomorrow: Lacey and Benji! We also have the return of Julianne and some country singers. I’m sure there is some more fluffer that I’m not thinking of.
Talk to other readers about this story.
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