What exactly is a “Ballroom GreatGreat?” I have no idea. Thank goodness we get to find out during Ballroom Greats Week on Dancing with the Stars!
DWTS is down to only six couples this week. With the depleted stock of stars, it’s high time for the double-dancing: this week, each of the couples will participate in a group dance in addition to their own performances. The group scores will combine with the individual scores to determine this week’s rankings.
So it should get interesting, to say the least.
While some of the stars have definitely outshone the others in recent weeks, we’re still looking at a very tight race to the Mirror Ball. The overall scores, going into Week 7, are:
- Hines and Kym: 148 points
- Chelsea and Mark: 142 points
- Romeo and Chelsie: 139 points
- Ralph and Karina: 137 points
- Kirstie and Maks: 135 points
- Kendra and Louis: 125 points
How did they get these stars? Remind yourself with BuddyTV’s Week 6 Recap (chock-full of guilty pleasure)!
Will the group cha-chas make a difference? Can anyone catch up to Hines and Kym at this point? What is a ballroom great?
Let’s find out!
OK, from the walk-in alone, I’m going to go with the Hines-Kirstie-Kendra team for costumes. I like pink.
Apparently, the whole “Ballroom Greats” thing means that famous dance teachers will coach the group dances. Also, there’s a Latin champion named Donnie Burns (they didn’t give me a spelling). He seems to be judging tonight.
First dance! The black team (Chelsea, Ralph, Romeo) is up first. Seriously, Hines picked Kendra over Romeo? Weird choice.
The Black Team (aka Team Chelsea)
Dancing the cha-cha
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I thought you did a terrific job and well done to you all.”
Bruno: “I do love that ga-ga-cha-cha-cha!” “You lost sync so many times.”
Carrie Ann: “I thought they were very much in sync.” “Ralph, I’m really impressed. Because this is obviously the young, edgy group and you held your own.”
Donnie: “I think they did a great job.” “You fluffed a few of the footworks there.”
My Comments: Stress! Tension! Fighting! And stuff like that… Interesting poses to begin. They aren’t perfectly in sync, but it isn’t bad. Very fast and cool looking though. This is also super-modern, so it could be a problem for Len. Romeo kept his cool thing going throughout. Ralph isn’t as cool, of course, but he does look like he’s having a great time. Chelsea, of course, kind of looks like one of the pro dancers. Her dance might be a wee bit jerky, but otherwise very good. I’m honestly love the choreography here. They all look pretty awesome.
Scores: 8+8+7+7 = 30
The crowd boos. The dancers all talk at the same time and say something-or-other.
The Pink Team (aka Team Hines)
Dancing the cha-cha
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I know which team of girls won the boobie prize.” “Kendra, you were like a James Bond martini — you were shaken, I was stirred.”
Bruno: “A little bit of extra butt doesn’t hurt, especially when you do it that well.”
Carrie Ann: “This is the fun bunch, obviously.” “Hines, you had a little boo-boo.”
Donnie: “I know I’m going to be like Osama’s-been-dancing…” “Some of the spacing between couples wasn’t just right.”
My Comments: This gets to be the happy group this time? Probably because of the colors. Pink is happier than black. Uh-oh, Kirstie and Maks are bad. And Kendra farts. Is Maks in the same costume as last week? This dance seems a little slower than the other, but still good. Kendra has the first solo. They’re going with a lot of shaking, naturally. Kendra has her scared-face on. Kirstie doesn’t seem to be having as much fun as in that first cha-cha, but it does look pretty technically competent. They wisely choose to end with Hines. He looks like he’s having as much fun as ever. Maybe a little too prancy in the steps, but only maybe. It’s still cool. Overall, I like this choreography less, but it has more of a classic-ballroom feel that might appeal to the judges.
Scores: 7+7+8+8 = 30
And the judges reverse themselves. So much for the group dances having any meaning whatsoever this week!
Now, before we get to those individual dances, we get to see some real dancers put everyone on this show to shame. Yeah, they’re kind of good.
OK? Enough news now? Back to the dancing and stuff.
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Dancing the paso doble
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I get confused, which at my age is understandable. I watching and I’m thinking, ‘I like that,’ and then ‘What’s that?'”
Bruno: “Chelsea, lady lace, mean, the ball-breaker!” “It was like a Quentin Tarantino paso doble.”
Carrie Ann: “Out with the old, in with the new!” “Pushing the boundaries, pushing them wide open!”
Donnie: “You definitely have what I think ballroom dancing is about, that is one plus one equals one.”
My Comments: So Mark’s legend is his mommy? No pressure there. Well, they got angry from the opening. It’s maybe a little too techno for the paso doble. But what do I know. The combination of the weird techno and weirder costumes is making this seriously not pretty. I honestly have no idea of how I feel about this dance. I think it was good, but I just don’t know.
Scores: 8+9+8+9 = 34
Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel
Dancing the tango
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I thought the steps were clean and clear.” “As much as I hate to say it, Bruno’s correct… You’ve got to get more tension.”
Bruno: “You’ve never looked more elegant and ladylike, and still sexy.” “You don’t want to smell his armpits.”
Carrie Ann: “Kendra, I am so proud of you. Nothing but sophistication, elegance, confidence.”
Donnie: “The content of the choreography that you tried was difficult… and I thought you did a bloody-good job.”
My Comments: They get the Luca guy. He’s pretty. Kendra is surprisingly good at the expressions here. I’m not sure she’s quite keeping up with Louis, but he’s so good, that might be why. This is a weird tango song — kind of upbeat and bubbly in sound. I don’t think it added much to the performance. Still, that was one of the better dances I’ve seen from Kendra.
Scores: 8+8+7+8 = 31
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the jive
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “You’re an actress, so you come out and you act every dance beautifully.” “I could find very little to commend it.”
Bruno: “I don’t put out on the first date… Unless you really, really want it.” “Your musicality and your instinct is absolutely on the money.”
Carrie Ann: “It wasn’t quite enough of the jive. When you guys were side-by-side, you went out of sync.”
Donnie: “Kirstie, I really like it. I’d buy it.” “In dancing, the talent is in between the steps.”
My Comments: Ah, fighting Maks rears his ugly head! He had to show up at some point, right? Ooh! “La Bamba!” Fun song. OK, this is funny. I have no idea how this dance is going, since I can never keep up with the jive, but this is the most fun Kirstie has appeared to have since the first week. Honestly, the dance may not be the greatest, but at least it’s a lot of fun.
Scores: 9+7+6+8 = 30
That’s a little variation in scoring…
The professionals are back now. They’re tangoing. I like pretty tangos like this.
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff
Dancing the quickstep
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “I like the energy… Your footwork was very, very good… Your upper body was a little bit loose.”
Bruno: “It was more the quickstep, it was how to grab a quick one at the speakeasy.” “Once you are in the zone, you sell it like nobody else can.”
Carrie Ann: “Booyah! You’re back!” “This is the way I want to see you attack this competition.”
Donnie: “You started off vertical and ended up horizontal, so it had to be good.” “Your footwork … was fabulous this week.”
My Comments: Are they going to get drunk during the dance? That would be different. Ralph always fits into his character so well. I figured that the quickstep would be an excellent dance for Ralph and Karina, and I don’t think I was wrong. Ralph appears to be keeping up and looks like he’s having fun. I don’t think this dance can be good if you don’t look like you’re enjoying it. Plus, any trip to the audience and flips over the bar are a plus.
Scores: 10+9+8+9 = 36
I thought Len liked the dance. Oh well!
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Dancing the tango
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “It was a mixture for me. Some of it was full of drama — you were a tiger stalking his prey… Then it all goes into like a fairy mode, and it was all too dainty for me.” “Overall, I liked it very much.”
Bruno: “I like light and shade, and I like the way you play it!” “You managed to retain this slinky, smooth … action of a panther going for the kill.”
Carrie Ann: “You take command of every dance.” “There was a few, I felt like you were just a little off-balance at moments.”
Donnie: “Dance from your heart but use your head. And I think you do that.”
My Comments: Hines gets even cuter around big football players. Awwww… I’m not sure Hines looks angry, but he sure does look good. I don’t think he’s quite as emotionally-connected to this dance as he has been to some of the others. Technically, it seems good, and I’m enjoying it, but the emotions seem a tiny bit off. Only the smallest bit though, since otherwise it’s a great dance.
Scores: 9+9+8+10 = 36
Bruno really did like it.
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower
Dancing the samba
Judges’ Comments:
Len: “The hottest thing about that dance was the fire.” “You’ve gotta up your game.”
Bruno: “There’s plenty of fire there.” “You’ve got to get this bounce in the leg correctly.”
Carrie Ann: “There was a lot of bounce going on, but I don’t know if it was sending the samba message. I think it was sending another kind of message, if you know what I mean.”
Donnie: “You might have a party in your pants, but you have an earthquake in your shoes.”
My Comments: I don’t know what Romeo is talking about. Does that make me old? Or just nerdy? Possibly both. Um, is she referring to what I think she’s referring to? Oh my. Can we all fit into Romeo’s pants? What’s with the tiki totem pole? The dance looks awesome, but Romeo needs to do more — Chelsie is dominating, especially at the beginning. For a guy who was terrified to look silly at the beginning of the season, Romeo is definitely rocking the shimmy at this point. He looks really, really good.
Scores: 7+8+7+8 = 30
The judges can change their scores? That doesn’t seem right. Silly guest judge.
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Who was your favorite dancer tonight? Did you agree with the judges? Which stars might be in danger tomorrow night? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
