Dancing with the Stars Semi-Finals

Posted By: admin On: November 18, 2008 Comments: ( 2 )

By: Alyssa




Nothing to comment about on the stars first impressions ‘cept Warren is wearing a vest and a suit jacket with no shirt underneath. Looks kind of weird. And Samantha Harris was trying to shake her groove thing to the intro music and it was a bit embarrassing to watch. This week the couples will have 2 routines and one of the routines will be the new dances that was introduced this season. Ahhhh - such pressure…NOT!

Up first is Brooke Burke who is the only female star left. They have the Jive and Salsa this week. Derek is a little stumped with the Salsa b/c he doesn’t know it that well and he hates spending lots of time trying to learn it in rehearsal. Brooke wants to do the same jive that him and Julianne did last week - yeah we’ll see. She’s good, but no Julianne. First up is the jive. her outfit looks more like a Rumba outfit not a jive one. It looks like she can’t keep up with this and are they doing lifts when he spins her around? She seemed to get off at the end - not knowing what to do or the steps. I did not like it. Good energy, but not good enough. Her hubby wasn’t even on his feet.

Len starts it off saying it was a disaster with so many mistakes. Bruno said the technique went down the toilet - legs bent, etc. and he is totally shocked. C.A. said Awe Brooke, she pointed out the illegal lift and called it disrespectful (aren’t we going overboard, C.A.?). It really isn’t Brooke’s fault that she went for a lift - geez. Go take some midol, CA! Backstage Brooke said she lost her first step and couldn’t get back after that then her hair got caught or something. Hmmm. Scores were all 7’s for a total of 21 out of 30. Not Cloris bad, but not good for Brooke either.

Next couple is Cody Linley and Julianne Hough - they are reunited at last - yayy! Tom says Welcome back (without her appendix), Julianne Hough. LOL! In his taped package he is wearing a nerdy orange sweater and tie - I mean VERY NERDY. Julianne said she is back and screams out “drill sergeant”. They have the Salsa and Paso Doble and Cody is worried about stiff hips. Julianne wants to make the Paso Doble the best ever. Paso is first. I do not get this song with their outfits. I was expecting Bugle Boy, but I am getting a punk rock song - don’t match up. They did a leg kick up thing - was that a lift, CA? I’m not sure if this was a proper Paso b/c it seemed very contemporary, but Julianne looks VERY pleased with it as she jumps up and down.

Bruno said “well that was different” and he is all for innovation, but said the Spanish lines were non-existent and the timing was poor. He said it wasn’t good enough. CA says he gives him a 10 for determination, but said to watch the hands and to smooth it out. Len said it was not good and that he was going to get his marching orders - calling it stiff and wooden. Julianne hugged him and said he was awesome. Awwwww. Scores were 2 7’s and an 8 from CA for a total of 22 out of 30.

Tom says Kristi Yamaguchi will be back dancing with Mark Ballas tomorrow night as well as Aretha Franklin. Yayy! Yayy for Mark and Kristi not for Aretha. LOL!

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson are dancing next. He has the Mambo and Jitterbug. He is at his whits end in practice - yelling out Damn! He’s very tired with his travels, but we’ll see if he is truly semi-final material in a sec. Here we go. Mambo is up first. I am still not digging the red vest, no shirt, and jacket. And he just took his jacket off while Kym held a laid back position. Much better with no jacket - glad to know it was a prop. This is a pretty slow mambo, but it definitely has Warren Sapp elements in it where he shakes his groove thing Warren style. He reminds me so much of Emmitt Smith that it isn’t even funny.

C.A. starts off by saying he knows how to bring the house down, but we are looking for the finalists - he needs to up the game a bit by giving more content. Len says he goes with what he knows - performing. Len said he came out showing great personality and performance. Bruno says he gets away with murder - flat footed, but very engaging. Scores were all 8’s for a total of 24 out of 30.

Dancing last in this final first round is Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer. I will comment that Len always gets on Lance for his pigeon-toes and told him to work on that. I wish Len would understand that being pigeon-toed is not something you can work on - you are born that way. This was pointed out by my Mom and I totally agree. Anyways, they have the Mambo and Jitterbug and Lance’s grandpa comes in to show him a thing or two and it is dedicated to him. Awww. First up though is the Mambo. This should be a good one for Lance as long as he shakes his hips. What in the world is on the back of Lacey’s dress? Looks like streamers on a birthday present. Lacey does a cool move where she held a laid back position with no help while Lance did some coolio stuff. The crowd went nuts. I again see Lance being pigeon toed and I know Len will comment. They have some slick, slow moves and the crowd loves it. Judges are all clapping and the crowd is on their feet. Heck even Lance’s old grandpa is clapping at that. He knows a good dance when he sees one.

Len says he knows he’s been tough on him, but it isn’t where you start - it is where you finish calling that the best dance so far. I agree! Bruno said it was semi-final material, loved the quirky details, etc. C.A. said that was a show stopper - best dance ever. Kristi Yamaguchi is in the audience btw and we go to commercial. Scores were 2 9’s and a 10 from CA. That was their first 10 of the season and Lacey was shocked at the 10. Total score is 28 out of 30.

Leaderboard:

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer 28 out of 30
Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson 24 out of 30
Cody Linley and Julianne Hough 22 out of 30
Brooke Burke and Derek Hough 21 out of 30

Len’s Master Class is back and he is visiting the couples to give them tips. Before that, Len dances with Kym Johnson and Cheryl Burke in this cheeky type dancing. His dream is interrupted by the alarm going off and he wakes up in a tux, yet he shows up in the limo in a suit w/o a tie. He is watching the couples on the DVD. He starts with Lance pointing out the pigeon toes - well I knew it. Len comes in barefoot and he wants to help him out with the pigeon toes - yeah. So Lance seems to have worked out his pigeon toes, but we’ll see if that happens during the dance b/c I think he is born with it.

Len wants to loosen Cody up b/c he is always stiff and wooden. Len shows him how to roll his hips which is pretty hilarious. Len wants to help Brooke work on leg action - telling her she must straighten her legs b/c they are too flexed. That is the first time I’ve heard of too flexed legs. Last up is Warren and he will help him with his footwork. He helps him with his flicks, toe pointing, and kicks. Len wants to know how Warren did his solo and they do it. Len looked like a chicken - I had to put my hand over my mouth b/c I was so embarrassed. LOL!

Before we get to our pros and stars we are “treated” to a proper Salsa by two pros. Apparently they are friends of Tony Dovolani b/c he posted a bulletin about it today on his Myspace page. Check the links at the right if you want to visit his MySpace.

Brooke Burke is back now dancing the Salsa. She has on fringe and her hair looks like Pocahontas or something. Not digging it. She is wearing pants too and they did a blatant lift. CA will not be happy. Another lift - what is going on here? There was lots of hip action and again another lift - ugh! And they end with yet another trick that is once again a lift. Ick! CA will be pissed. The audience loved it though as did her hubby who is on his feet. He wasn’t on his feet the first time around.

Bruno said Brooke is back - thank you! CA said she is the lift police and said it was appropriate for the number, but she did like how she came back and rose to the challenge. Len said next week to work her strengths and not to worry about other people. Scores were 2 9’s and a 10 from Len for a total of 28 out of 30. Grand Total 49 out of 60.

Dancing Salsa now is Julianne and Cody. She turned and her earring went flying. Looks like his master class with Len paid off b/c his hips are looking pretty good. They did a trick and it too was a lift. I guess they all forgot the rules tonight. I think the timing was a bit off, but the ending trick was awesome with Julianne holding a split lift over Cody’s body. It was a pretty good Salsa.

CA said it was a lot of fun, but lacking was a little musicality and timing was a bit off. Len thought the musicality was quite good and liked the hip action and commented on his great lifts. Bruno called him a cheeky devil and said at times he looked like he was going to strangle her - told him to focus on the technical moves/footwork. Scores were all 8’s for a total of 24 out of 60. Grand total is 48 out of 60.

We are “treated” to another professional couple doing the jitterbug. I guess they are supposed to show us how a proper one is done thereby showing us how bad or good the celeb is. This jitterbug was high energy and I honestly can say that the jitterbug is one of my faves along with the jive.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson are up with their jitterbug. Warren starts off as a card dealer in Vegas, dealing cards to the judges. Kym jumps in his arms and he spins her around. Must be nice to be in a teddy bear’s arms and be spun around. This doesn’t look anything like the pros - seems a bit flat footed and I think Warren forgot about his kicks and flips that Len taught him. And I think they forgot they were doing the jitterbug b/c I saw Mambo steps in there. I think they are confused. I’m sorry but this seemed a little manic and all over the place. Didn’t look like a proper jitterbug to me, but what do I know??

Len says the audience loves it and he said he was a joyful person to watch. Bruno says he always makes an impact and said the master class did not work. C.A. loved it and was afraid of the dangerous lifts, but thought his feet were constantly going, great. CA is a little manic with her critiques I must say. Scores were 2 8’s and a 9 from CA for a total of 25 out of 30. Grand total 49 out of 60 (tied with Brooke Burke).

Dancing the final dance of the night is Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer with their jitterbug. Now Lacey is wearing proper jitterbug attire and Lance is wearing a sailor costume. This is high energy (something Warren’s lacked). Lance just lost a shoe - OMG! He was kicking so well (so not pigeon toed) and he lost it. He ended up kicking it out of the way of Lacey because it was going to cause them to fall. He has his other shoe on and I guess the show must go on, right? This was an AWESOME dance and he did it so well with one shoe on and one shoe off! Awesome. I loved it - nice kicks, flicks, energy, nonstop action.

Tom called it amazing going with 1 shoe and referring to KellyMonaco’s dress mishap from season 1 where her straps broke and she kept going. Yep Yep! We love costume malfunctions.

Bruno said it was brilliant - shoe on or shoe off - said it was a real joy! CA agreed with Bruno and said they pitched it perfect calling it magic. Len saluted him saying he danced 2 fabulous dances. Scores were 2 10’s and a 9 from stingy Len. Len - what? C’mon! Total 29 out of 30. Grand total 57 out of 60. They are in the lead.

Final Leaderboard

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer 57 out of 60

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough 49 out of 60

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson 49 out of 60

Cody Linley and Julianne Hough 48 out of 60

My favorite was the Mambo and Jitterbug out of Lance and Lacey tonight. The others didn’t do anything for me. Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer could come from behind and win this thing if they keep up what they did tonight. I’m wondering if Warren or Brooke is in jeopardy after tonight. Cody seems to have the fan base and well, these 2 might not. We’ll see.