With no eliminations last week and team challenges forcing couples to work together, this week of Dancing with the Stars was packed with stress. The couples had two rounds of dancing, the first continued their list of unlearned dances and their second was a freestyle group dance.
Round One - Individual Dances
Elizabeth & Val - Quickstep - Elizabeth was worried about the technical issues of the dance and her frame was not up to Val’s standards. The couple gets really interesting openings as they had an alien setup. Elisabeth seemed a bit too chaotic before getting into frame, but when Val had a hold of her, she was going around in the right direction. There was just something about the dance that had a disconnect, whether it was her expression or the fact that she looked like she looked like she stumbled through a few of the steps. The judges loved the flow of the dance, though there were issues with body contact. Score: 27 (9,9,9)
Brant & Peta - Jive - Brant didn’t know much about the jive but was easily confused by the kicks and hand movements. Brant was worried that he’d look unsure so he decided to practice in his backyard. There was something really nice about Brant’s hand positioning this week and his coupling skills had a good confidence to it. I actually found Peta’s choreography to be perfect for this routine. Brant slipped on Peta’s skirt near the end, but I wouldn’t discredit them for a minor slip. The judges loved the energy and attack of the routine even with the slip. Score: 27 (9,9,9)
Leah & Tony - Salsa - Leah has been worried that she was bringing Tony down. After the criticisms for lifts in their contemporary routine, Tony decided to put in even more challenging. The opening seemed a bit like a Zumba class instead of a Salsa. I thought the lift was really good and Leah shouldn’t be concerned about her size at all with costuming. I thought that Leah had a great amount of speed and endurance that I didn’t see in prior weeks. Leah ended with a great lift and flip and seemed like she was happy with the outcome of their routine. The judges thought that the dance had great content, but Len still thought the lifts weren’t that clean. Score: 26 (9,8,9)
Jack & Cheryl - Jive - Cheryl knew on a dance level bottom three and Jack has been stressed out with longer routines and the group dance. Jack hit a mental wall and was struggling to absorb new choreography; he’s worried that it’s either fatigue or the effects of MS. Jack still looks like one of the weakest links, but he had energy. Jack also looks at Cheryl with a look of confusion instead of confidence which Brant has gotten better at in the past two weeks. I think the stairwells were a waste of time and just winded Jack at the end. The judges appreciated the musicality, but the dance wasn’t sharp enough. Score: 27 (10,8,9)
Amber & Derek - Paso Doble - Derek gave up pleasing Len, but the two were surprised that they stayed strong with the Switch-Up challenge. Amber’s knee and Derek’s back have been giving the two stress. Amber was worried about the shape of the dance which hurt her back. I liked that Amber had a bit of a solo as she danced in the beginning and I liked the juxtaposition between quick and slow movements. She showed good passion and some parts of the routine looked almost too easy for Amber. I appreciated the classic music and approach to the dance. The judges loved the layers of difficulty and passion and even Len appreciated the routine. Score: 29 (10,10,9)
Bill & Emma - Quickstep - Bill was excited that he got to dance to Elvis and since he was in Las Vegas, he got a lot of inspiration. He was worried about keeping up with the music, but wanted to work for at least 9s. The opening was cute though it had nothing to do with a Quickstep. Bill’s technique was odd to me because it just looked like he was skipping around the dance floor, then took some time to walk around as a couple. Bill didn’t seem that clean with his footwork to deserve 9s. The judges hated the hold of the dance and there were a couple of missteps, but they appreciated the spirit of his routine. Score: 23 (8,7,8)
Nicole & Sasha - Samba - Snooki wanted to be like Beyonce in the beginning of the dance, but had to transition to the samba afterwards. She was stressed out because her son had a fever and she had to travel back and forth. She said her brain was like scrambled eggs as she stressed out. Snooki started off with a good chair solo and I thought she transitioned between the two sances well, but I actually found the routine to look a bit sloppier than her previous dances, whether it was the the coupling sections or Snooki’s spins that looked like they lacked conviction. The judges thought there was a bit of a slow start to the routine, Carrie Ann suggested that she finish her movements. Score: 27 (9,9,9)
Corbin & Karina - Cha-Cha - This week Corbin & Karina had choreography issues that Karina continued to change the steps each rehearsal session. I actually liked the approach to the cha-cha this week and even with so many changes I think that Karina found the sweet spot for the routine. The break in the middle was clean and Corbin looked like he was having a lot of fun in the routine. The judges thought the routine was brilliant, and the form was beautiful. Score: 29 (10,9,10)
Round Two - Team Dances
Tom warned that someone from Spooky BomBom would be going home if the scores were to stay exactly the same. We cut to video of how the teams were formed and since Amber got the first pick, she went with strength (Corbin). Elizabeth surprised me (and possibly everyone) when she went with entertainment value (Bill) as her first pick. Tony was admittedly nervous as he knew the other team was completely stacked against them.
Team Spooky Bom Bom - The choreographers had hours of confusion as they tried to figure out a story, or even some basic group choreography. Bill decided that with Halloween right around the corner they should try a Zombie/cemetery theme. Snooki was excited to pull some cheerleading leaps near the end.
Bill began the routine wandering around said cemetery. The choreography was already silly as they plagiarized Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” a bit more than they should. Snooki’s choreography looked eerily similar to their jazz routine, though their lift was different and showed a great amount of trust. Elizabeth & Val were second as they had lyrical undertones where Elizabeth stumbled through turns again. Leah & Tony still felt too contrived as she danced with Tony, who should never touch hip-hop. Bill on the other hand was just having a fun time as he danced with Emma and she made the choreography accessible and entertaining. The final group choreography was better than the beginning and the basket toss was clean so Snooki didn’t die.
The judges were thoroughly entertained and they thought that the group played with the couples strengths. Carrie Ann thought Bill was the glue that kept the group together. Score: 27 (9,9,9)
Team Foxing Awesome - The four couples knew that they probably got the better song and knew they had to go over the top. Derek has never lost a team dance and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon. Unlike Spooky Bom Bom, the group decided there was no real “cohesive” storyline instead focusing on the energy of the routine, though I will say “foxes” is enough of a strong theme to me. The day two choreography started to go a bit too high in energy and everyone needed to remember being sharp on choreography and not be the weakest link.
Personally I find the song so catchy and laugh worthy that I appreciated the animal choreography and I always love how Derek adds transitions between the couples. Derek and Amber looked pretty standard, like if they were doing part of the Charleston or the breakdowns of the Cha-Cha/Samba. Brant & Peta capitalized on how strong their tango was last week. Corbin & Karina had the best of the choreography and I love Karina for that weird fox-lift. I loved that Jack was the first guy to be in in full Fox costume and Cheryl correctly choreographed Jack almost all in hold. The routine was all forms of hashtag worthy.
Bruno thought the routine was clever, Carrie Ann was on an acid trip, and Len found the routine irresistible. Score: 30 (10,10,10)
After Team Foxing Awesome performed, Tom revealed that everyone on their team was safe. The bottom two were Nicole & Sasha and Bill & Emma. Nicole & Sasha were eliminated and I will say I’m disappointed because the disparity of the points is growing even wider now. Snooki was actually in tears because of how genuinely she appreciated being on this show.
Week 7 Scores
High
Amber & Derek - 59 (29+30)
Corbin & Karina - 59 (29+30)
Middle
Jack & Cheryl - 57 (27+30)
Brant & Peta - 57 (27+30)
Low
Elizabeth & Val - 54 (27+27)
Leah & Tony - 53 (26+27)
Bill & Emma - 50 (23+27)