As we get closer to the end of season 22, Dancing With the Stars challenged the couples to dance with another couple in routines created by the judges. And to make the tension even higher, the audience scored the team-up dances on a numerical scale. But these three audience members have more than just a paddle in hand; we have some things to say! Here are Angelina’s, Julia’s, and Bentley’s thoughts on the show!
[Order of the Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli]
Individual Dances
Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd
Paso Doble: Victorious by Panic! at the Disco
Judges’ Scores: 10, 9, 10 (29/30)
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I loved the look of determination on Nyle’s dance. His Paso was very strong. I felt he started out a little too stiff even for Paso but recovered quickly. I feel he was just nervous for the silent part because you could tell he stumbled a bit but he did amazing. I loved the silent part it was so in sync and just did a wonderful job. Nyle deserves a 10 not because of special treatment, I’m not like that, but because he has to work so much harder than everyone else and delivers stronger performances in my opinion most of the time.
I was looking forward to seeing Nyle do a Paso and this was a great one! He really captured the attitude needed to do it justice. However, he didn’t quite nail every move. I liked the idea of the silent bit (which, by the way, wasn’t actually performed in silence; it was just muted for the television viewers so we could get a taste of Nyle’s perspective) but I think they should have saved something like that for the finals. If the right couples get there-which I’m scared may not happen at this point but I’ll get to that later-they will all need some tricks and surprises to pull out to put themselves over the top and I feel like Nyle and peta used one earlier than they might have needed to, though at this point I still think they’ll win in the end.
Nyle is a category of his own. He brings the best out of Peta’s choreography, and Peta brings out the highlights of his unique abilities. I loved the actual Paso Doble content that seems to be missing in many routines now, especially with the level of fire Nyle hits every move with. He needs to find a better sense of his center of balance, and (even though I disagreed with the judges last time about this) his butt stuck out. The silent section was special indeed, even if it might not actually been silent on stage (but I thought it was. . . I don’t know). I was especially fond of the black-and-white effects at the beginning. As a whole, it was an energetic way to start out the night.
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 9
Antonio Brown and Sharna Burgess
Viennese Waltz: Love on the Brain by Rihanna
Judges’ Scores: 9, 9, 9 (27/30)
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I was very proud of Antonio for showing up early and becoming devoted to practice. I believe he did really well by bringing out the sweet and not aggressive side of him, and they did a very nice waltz. I think the only issue was fluidity because the Viennese Waltz is all about that. I also have to commend him on being such a good sport when it was announced that he was in jeopardy and finally wanting to take part in this experience.
I agree with Angelina that it was a good dance but lacked fluidity. It was nice to see Antonio get serious about the competition but I still wish he was the one to go home this week. Not much else to say, really. Antonio is good but is kind of obviously the weakest dancer left, and while he does have charisma, it doesn’t always translate well onto the dance floor. If America has any sanity left (which I’m starting to doubt) this will be one of the couples going home in next week’s double elimination.
Well color me impressed. Antonio has found his zone on the dance floor. He might not be quite on the same level as some of the other celebrities on certain weeks, but his effort has shone through his improving quality of movements. Yes, it could be more fluid, and his shoulders and elbows could be tucked in more, but finally, after seven weeks, my prediction of his footwork improving from week one finally came true! Sharna’s notes are working on Antonio, but Antonio is learning at his own pace. There was an obvious lift at the end there, which I really liked, but apparently Carrie Ann has thrown all of her original rules out the window. Alright then.
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 9
Jodie Sweetin and Keoikantse Motsepe Eliminated (6th Place)
Jive: Something’s Got a Hold On Me by Christina Aguilera
Judges’ Scores: 10, 10, 10 (30/30) Highest Score From Round One
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To anyone who says Keo is holding Jodie back shame on you. The amount of pressure a pro takes on themselves is something most people can’t handle. I feel so bad for Keo because he is feeling guilty when it isn’t his fault at all, it isn’t anyone’s. Though if I continue on this topic it will take up a whole page. Anyways, Jodie performed beautifully! She was happy which is important and Keo made her shine! I felt so uplifted and happy during this performance I was so glad that they did this. Technique was great for jive, no missed steps, by far my favorite dance by them this whole season!
I’m glad they addressed that Keo has been getting a ton of crap from a lot of people all season long, and I think a lot of it has been unwarranted, but I’ll save that for the “Thoughts On” post about this couple. I loved the concept for this dance but was afraid it was going to be one of those routines with the troupe overpowering the couple. Fortunately, that was not the case (though that brieft cut to Hayley “fainting” was...strange) and Jodie and Keo danced one heck of a Jive! I found it odd that she wasn’t wearing heels but it didn’t seem to negatively impact her dancing so whatever. They did a lot of moving around to different spots on the stage but they were still jiving while doing it so it was fine by me. I feel weird scoring this higher than Paige and Mark’s Jive last week, but at the same time theirs had some timing and synchronization issues and I can’t find anything negative to say about this one...I guess sometimes it’s better to keep things just a little bit more simple in order to ensure a routine is clean.
I’ve always wanted to go to one of those church services with the people singing in robes and tambourines, and the entire audience gets into the music; it just seems like so much fun (LOL)! Jodie freakin’ killed this Jive, put it on a stick, and served it to the audience! I always appreciate hold and link steps in the Jive, and this performance was full of it, with only some of the steps being flashy. Jodie was one with Keo in this dance, and made it cohesive with her transition steps and lock steps. Bravo!
Angelina’s Score: 10
Julia’s Score: 10
Bentley’s Score: 10
Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas
Viennese Waltz: Stone Cold by Demi Lovato
Judges’ Scores: 10, 9, 9 (28/40)
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Paige never has a problem being beautiful and elegant. Her fluidity was beautiful and she fit into the character perfectly. No other words than amazing! Technique was okay and it was so powerful, I love seeing this raw emotion Paige and Mark can dig up. There were a few hiccups in the technique but overall very good.
This was another routine I really liked the theme of and I loved the emotion Paige and Mark showed while performing it. I wish I could honestly give this dance a 10 but unfortunately I did see a few small mistakes. Regardless of that it was very beautiful, smooth, and elegant. Before the season began I was scared of Paige not getting enough voter support and being sent home before her time, and I had this pegged as the week for it to happen. However, I am so happy I was wrong because Paige is absolutely killing it and truly deserves to be a finalist and maybe even winner! I’m thrilled that so many others seem to agree with me! However, I am still nervous for this couple next week because it’s a double elimination, they finished in the middle-of-the-pack on Monday night, and they weren’t called in jeopardy.
I’m still fanboying over the fact that Mark favorited my tweet complimenting this Viennese Waltz. Amazing! I wish I could have Mark’s creative brain because his concepts are always on fire. . . well, not this one because, well. . . ice. But it stunningly chilling and technically spectacular when it came to the frozen stutters and sway. Paige did, however, end up whipping herself around Mark a few times instead of gliding like falling snow around him. But either way, the mood and atmosphere along with the dynamics of fluid and steady transported me into another dimension with their countless dimensions of effort. Paige is just freakin’ adorable, so I love seeing her Christmas smile on the dance floor every Monday! I hope she survives the double elimination next week! (There were a lot of ice analogies in there. . . I hope you appreciate them, LOL!)
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 9
Ginger Zee and Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Argentine Tango: Telephone by Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé Knowles
Judges’ Scores: 10, 10, 10 (30/30) Highest Score From Round One
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Seeing Ginger portray a character she’s never had to before was awesome. She was sharp and aggressive and had a beautiful tango. It was definitely mind-blowing and that’s all I have to say.
I was surprised this routine went as well as it did considering the song and the fact that up until this week Ginger had struggled with performing with any emotion other than happiness. Somehow something clicked in her this week and she managed to deliver a sultry and hot Argentine Tango! I was also happy to see another packaged showing that, contrary to what some fans might believe, Val is, in fact, invested in this partnership. Overall I was very impressed but I still don’t think this couple deserves to be in the finale since there are still a few others remaining who I find to be more worthy of a spot than these two.
I’m pretty sure I have a newfound crush on both Ginger and Val now-- they were smokin’ with this Argentine Tango! It’s a shame, though, that even on my relatively new HD screen, Ginger and Val still seemed to fade into the black with their costumes. Did anyone else notice that? Or do I need to get my eyes checked? Well one thing I do know is that I do not have to get my eyes checked to notice how powerful Ginger’s entire body was in this routine! I would have liked to see more leg hooks, but that’s just a personal preference. The sea shanty-like song was marvelous, and a nice departure to the original song. I never thought I would being saying this when I wrote my first comment about them on week one, but Ginger and Val are just simply perfection. And that’s that.
Angelina’s Score: 10
Julia’s Score: 10
Bentley’s Score: 10
Wanyá Morris and Lindsay Arnold
Jive:Can You Do This by Aloe Blacc
Judges’ Scores: 8, 8, 9 (25/30) Lowest Score From Round One
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Wanya was very good in jive. I don’t think it should be all in Lindsay because as I said earlier with props it is so much harder and that wasn’t a technical mistake it wasn’t her fault. He had some mistakes with not putting together the knees, turned out feet, etc. He was strong and they both improvised and made the best of it.
I was kind of nervous about Wanyá doing a Jive but he did very well with the technique, and I was impressed by his ability to recover from the slip with the scarf so quickly! However, there were quite a few mistakes in this routine. I do with they’d gone a different route with the theming because it was quite reminiscent of Amber Riley and Derek’s Freestyle routine back in Season 17 which was also set to this song, but I still enjoyed the performance. Despite this dance being kind of a step back for Wanyá I think this couple certainly deserves a spot in the finals but considering they’re currently at the bottom of the leaderboard going into next week’s double elimination I’m really worried for them right now.
Lindsay and Witney are always doing country/western style dances (Witney’s Cha-Cha-Cha with Carlos, Lindsay’s Jive with Von, Witney’s Foxtrot with Carlos, this Jive)! But I think Lindsay is better at capturing the wild essence of the wild, wild west! Wanyá’s Jive was very theatrical with plenty of detail to attention! His feet are absolutely insane; he moves so effortlessly that he makes it seem easy! It took him a little bit to get back into the groove of the music after slipping on the bandana, but it was a valiant effort getting back in time. I think the eights were harsh, but hey- to each their own.
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 8
Bentley’s Score: 9
Angelina’s Ranking of the Week 8 Individual Dances
1. Jodie & Keo
2. Ginger & Val
3. Nyle & Peta
4. Paige & Mark
5. Antonio & Sharna
6. Wanya & Lindsay
Julia’s Ranking of the Week 8 Individual Dances
1. Jodie & Keo
2. Ginger & Val
3. Paige & Mark
4. Nyle & Peta
5. Antonio & Sharna
6. Wanyá & Lindsay
Bentley’s Raking of the Week 8 Individual Dances
1. Jodie & Keo
2. Ginger & Val
3. Nyle & Peta
4. Paige & Mark
5. Wanyá & Lindsay
6. Antonio & Sharna
Judges’ Team-Up Dances: Scores From America
Each judge was assigned two couples to perform a routine together.
For this round, the first two scores were given by the two remaining judges not designing the dance, and the last score was decided by Rob Wade-oh, I mean, “America”.
[Order of the Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, America]
Nyle & Peta and Jodie & Keo
Argentine Tango: Habenera by Georges Bizet
Judges’ Scores:10, 10, X, 9 (29/30) Highest Score From Round Two
Judge’s Choice: Bruno Tonioli (#TeamBruno)
Though it was a little awkward for me to see girl and girl dancing and boy on boy which as a ballroom competitive dancer I never see, I admire his risk-taking. I liked that Nyle and Jodie danced together and considering they aren’t used to dancing together bravo. I especially loved that lift with Keo and Nyle!
This dance was so beautiful and made a big statement, even if it was sort of stagnant in a way. I loved the male/female, female/female, and male/male sections, as they all showed different sides to the performers. The same-sex dancing didn’t seem too strange to me although I understand why it might to others. But in my mind, this is a television show and they need to spice things up sometimes!
I know for a fact that this song is going to be stuck in my head for at least a month- that tune is so catchy! This Argentine Tango had Bruno written all over it: the chairs, the Burlesque moves on the chairs, the classical elegance to a ballet song- everything! Everyone captured the feel of this dance exceptionally well, and played characters that are unique to this style of dance. The section with Jodie and Peta dancing together was good to say the least, even though it didn’t really stand out to me, and the section with Nyle and Keo dancing was sharp, but could have been even sharper. When Jodie and Nyle danced together, that was when some of the minor issues kicked in. Their kicks became a bit soft, and there looked to be some communication issues between them. Overall, this was an entertaining progressive dance to symbolize equality and foolishness of judgment, while still being sexy (especially with the ladies on the chairs at the beginning) to convey such a message!
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 9
Ginger & Val and Wanyá & Lindsay
Samba: Jump in the Line (Shake Señora) by Harry Belafonte
Judges’ Scores: 10, X, 10, 9 (29/30) Highest Score From Round Two
Judge’s Choice: Len Goodman (#TeamLen)
I knew straight away that it was going to be good when I saw a huge portrait and cutout of Len. I think it was fun and done really well. I was so happy that Len made and appearance, it made my day. I also believe that Ginger and Wanya complemented each other pretty well.
Someone on tumblr referred to this dance as “self-insert crack!fic written by Len”. I’m clearly not going to top that description, but I should probably still say something about the routine. I found is very funny and entertaining but the choreography left a little to be desired. It was good, but it didn’t quite WOW me. They executed it pretty well and Wanyá really thrives with this type of dance, but once again Ginger had some trouble with the hip action. She’s improved a bit with it I still don’t think she’s quite gotten to where she needs to be with the Latin dances, and I think that dragged this team down just a bit, but in the end I still liked their performance.
The concept of this performance was absolutely hilarious, and a refreshing contrast to Wanyá’s and Ginger’s performances in round one. This dance had the most content in it out of all three team-up performances, and both celebrities handled it with ease. At first, Ginger and Wanyá might seem like an odd team, but they complimented each other’s strengths, which is impressive as people who are relatively new to the ballroom world. The parts with Val and Lindsay were just as terrific as the duet sequence with the contestants. Of course Val had to show his abs, but I’m glad they made a little gag out of it with Wanyá! My favorite part of the entire dance, of course, was the king of all dance, Len Goodman, doing his Latin American moves! I truly appreciate this number because the humorous routines usually only come from weaker contestants to hide their lack of technique, but this team actually used that to enhance their performance! Genius concept and execution!
Angelina’s Score: 10
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 10
Antonio & Sharna and Paige & Mark
Paso Doble: Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde
Judges’ Scores: X, 10, 10, 9 (29/30) Highest Score From Round Two
Judge’s Choice: Carrie Ann Inaba (#TeamCarrieAnn)
I feel all the tricks worked well for this number. It was intense but used other effects to make it more powerful and meaningful. Each dancer performed amazingly and it was definitely one of my favorite dances of the night.
This routine was excellently crafted and performed. The Paso proved to be a style well-suited to both Paige and Antonio, but I wasn’t surprised by that since they are athletes. I did notice some mistakes and out-of-sync bits from Antonio, but those were only small problems. Both stars did very well with the choreography and this was an intense and powerful dance.
This Paso Doble had an interesting, yet cliché concept. With the exception of the solo lift between Paige and Antonio, I wasn’t too impressed with this routine. I typically like Carrie Ann’s choreography, but I think she missed the target just a smidgen this time around. Besides the fact that she broke her own no-lift rule and the fact that Len would probably not given this a ten if Carrie Ann did not choreograph it because of the lack of Paso Doble content, some of the steps were quite repetitive and had awkward transitions. As for the technique of Antonio and Paige, I think that both of them could have attacked each line more as well as interact with each other more than just physically. Even with Sharna and Mark, I think they handled the choreography too carefully. But enough of being a negative Nancy. The build-up moments of ease and the implement of Contemporary motions were absolutely breathtaking, even though there was too much of it, just like in Paige’s original Paso Doble with Mark. Ultimately, this team did well with what they were given, and managed to make me feel something while watching it.
Angelina’s Score: 9
Julia’s Score: 9
Bentley’s Score: 9
Angelina’s Ranking of the Week 8 Judges’ Team-Up Challenge Dances
1. Ginger & Val and Wanya & Lindsay
2. Nyle & Peta and Jodie & Keo
3.Antonio & Sharna and Paige & Mark
Julia’s Ranking of the Week 8 Judges’ Team-Up Challenge Dances
1. Nyle & Peta and Jodie & Keo
2. Antonio & Sharna and Paige & Mark
3. Ginger & Val and Wanyá & Lindsay
Bentley’s Ranking of the Week 8 Judges’ Team-Up Challenge Dances
1. Ginger & Val and Wanyá & Lindsay
2. Nyle & Peta and Jodie & Keo
3. Antonio & Sharna and Paige & Mark
Total Combined Scores From Musical Icons Night
Ginger & Val 30/30 + 29/30 = 59/60
Jodie & Keo 30/30 + 29/30 = 59/60 ELIMINATED
Nyle & Peta 29/30 + 29/30 = 58/60
Paige & Mark 28/30 + 29/30 = 57/60
Antonio & Sharna 27/30 + 29/30 = 56/60
Wanyá & Lindsay 25/30 + 29/30 = 54/60
Other Random Thoughts We Had About Week 8
- Throughout the season Jodie has done a weekly blog on People’s website. In this week’s she mentioned how she’d sort of been training for her Jive the entire season, because she and Keo had a little Jive routine they did as a warm-up every day. I think that was a very smart idea and now I’m wondering if other couples have done something similar?
- Speaking of Jodie and Keo’s Jive, it was probably the only routine for far back as I can remember that was actually enhanced by the band’s involvement. The inclusion of the live singers and instrumentalists added to the “church” theme of the dance and Jodie and Keo really seemed to feed off of their energy!
- I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but I think that America’s scores were not the production’s scores, but were actually America’s (well, scores from the central and eastern coasts of the United States as well as some parts of Canada). It is hard to please a general audience of people, especially when several of the voters probably look at every miniscule detail to deduct a point. And besides, we all know there are those people who probably just gave a 1 to people they didn’t like. So for there to be a 9.5 average for America’s score of a 10, the routine would have to stand out like no other.
- I think so too, I was just playing around with the whole “Rob Wade” thing. (Though I do think the scores from the audience would have been altered if the producers weren’t happy with them.)
- Isn’t it just ridiculous the professional dancers are?! That opening number had a cool concept once again, and it was hot, but I tend to say that about every opening number! I think the show should have a week or something where the pros and celebrities do not look fake, because all of their appearances are obviously not real on the show. Maybe it can be something called “Stripped Down Night,” where there are not any gimmicks allowed in both the appearances and the performances. The professionals on this show have spray-on tans, teeth caps, hair weaves, heavy makeup, strict diets, extravagant costumes, optical illusions, etc. that they are required to have every week for the cameras, which is kind of ridiculous. What is that teaching its young audience?
- Can you believe that next week is already the Semifinals?! The trio dances are next week, which is one of my favorite challenges on the show! I love seeing how the professional dancers transition their celebrities between the pros, and I love seeing the troupe being showcased as well! Rumor has it that Hayley Erbert may or may not make an appearance in a trio dance! XD
- Yay for the trio round! It has been confirmed that Hayley is, in fact in a trio, and Artem, Witney, Jenna, and Alan will all be as well! I wish Keo was going to be in one since his mom is flying in to see the show live next week FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER but maybe they’ll give him a cool bumper or something to do, and hopefully she’ll get to see the finale live as well so she can watch him dance with Jodie in person!
- Also, THE WITNEY/LINDSAY PASO DOBLE TRADITION CONTINUES FOR THE FOURTH SEASON IN A ROW! And Wanyá and Lindsay’s other dance is a Charleston which is a style I’ve been waiting to see literally all season!
- So there’s another double elimination next week, huh? That makes an already hard-to-predict elimination even harder to predict! But I think that it is inevitable that Antonio will be out, making him fifth place. Then after that, unfortunately, I think Wanyá will be out as well just for the fact that the scores are so close, and he is currently at the bottom along with Antonio. But I’m not too sure about the voting spectrums of some other contestants. I don’t know. Julia is better at this than me. What do you guys think?
- All I can say with confidence this week is that I’m pretty sure Nyle will be safe. I also think Antonio will be eliminated but I’m actually slightly less sure about that. It breaks my heart that we’re even having to think about what will happen next week, because we are so close to having the finalists being all of the actual top dancers of the season for once (which is actually super rare on this show) and after last night there’s a good chance we might not get it. We have five couples remaining. Of those five, three have been working hard on choreography, execution, and teamwork all season long. However, it seems like one of them is going to be bumped out by a celebrity who just started putting the work in about two weeks ago and is expecting to be rewarded for it (and whose behaviour the producers have been enabling because they seem to think said celebrity’s pro is overdue for a Mirrorball Trophy) or, more likely, a couple which has a celebrity as a team member on the show which Dancing With the Stars gets most of its main media coverage from and a pro who only started giving said celebrity legitimate choreography a week ago. And again, they’ve been getting rewarded for it because of said celebrity’s affiliation with the network and possibly also the DWTS producers’ determination to make the pro “happen”. Usually companies don’t allow those who work for them to participate in their contests, but I guess anything goes on Dancing With the Stars.
- Honestly, if there had to be an “upset” in terms of couples in the finale I would rather have had it caused by any of the three most recently eliminated couples than Antonio & Sharna or Ginger & Val. At least Kim, Von, Jodie and their partners worked hard and achieved goals on their own merits this season. Not to say Antonio and Ginger didn’t do any of that, but I do feel like on the whole, production has been kind of generous towards them over the rest of the teams.
- You might be wondering why all this matters, since I said earlier I still think Nyle is going to win. It’s been said time and time again that this show is about the journey of the couples. Well, I truly believe three of the remaining five deserve to finish their journey at the end of the road. Paige & Mark, Wanyá & Lindsay, and Nyle & Peta are three of the biggest examples of what makes Dancing With the Stars a great show. And now we’re probably going to be losing at least one of them in favor of an undeserving couple. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since the show has done this before. I just thought we might have been done with this sort of thing since they surprisingly actually allowed Bindi & Derek to win last season despite Nick & Sharna being the obvious “planned” winning couple. But I guess I was wrong. Next week’s results have already been determined, unless they decide to count next week’s scores in for the elimination as well so we can go into the finals with a clean slate. But anyway, voting is now closed for the week so I hope we as the audience made the right choices for Monday’s double elimination. If we did, I don’t think there will even be a wrong choice to worry about when we get to the finals.
What did you think of the Quarterfinals of DWTS? What was your favorite individual dance from Monday? Which Judges’ Team-Up Challenge Dance did you like the most? What did you think of America’s scores for the dances in round two? What do you think of Jodie & Keo’s elimination? Who do you think will be eliminated next week during the second Double Elimination of the season?
Next week is the Semifinals of Dancing With the Stars, featuring the returning trio dances round! And, since only three couples can make it to the finale, two couples will be eliminated next week during the Double Elimination!
For more about Dancing With the Stars, follow the DWTS 2016 Twitter page at @DWTS2016. Also, follow Angelina Mikheeva on Twitter at @angelinarose42, follow Julia Delbel on Twitter at @juliadelbel and on Tumblr at forevertrueblue, and follow Paul Bentley on Twitter at @TheBentleyNinja!
#DWTS #DWTS22
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