Dancing with the Stars Semi-Finals

Posted By: admin On: May 13, 2008 Comments: ( 5 )

By: Alyssa




Well, a random draw (drawing out little disco balls - so cute) determined what dances our couples will be dancing this week. I know ahead of time that Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani have the Quickstep and Rumba because he posted a myspace blog stating they’ve been working so hard this week.

First impressions - Edyta looks amazing in baby blue. Kristi Yamaguchi looks very pretty. I like her hair back. Cheryl looks like a gaudy disco ball and Marissa hmmm like the deep purple color, but no comment on the dress style. Jason Taylor looks handsome as does Cristian. Tom tells us that no lifts are allowed this week. Len congratulates them on the final 4 and that they are looking for some “welly” tonight - they all will need to up their game tonight. I agree.

Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are up first. This week they have the foxtrot and paso doble. Foxtrot he had at the beginning so Edyta wants him to show “them” how much he has improved. She is a naughty teacher with a chalkboard and pointer - pictures of his competitors are on the blackboard. The bit was rather cute because Edyta’s accent is so cute. We get to see Jason’s friends/colleagues tell him to step it up. He does that same pose that Kenny Mayne pointed out in his funny bit. Jason’s lines are great though. They just glide across the floor in the foxtrot. It is hard to believe he is a football player with that grace. Edyta looked like he had nailed it and his wife loved it as did Emmitt Smith who is in the audience.

Len’s welly meter thought he was a dolphin gliding across the floor. He loved every part of it and thought it was fantastic. What is up with Bruno’s hair? Messy as can be. Bruno loved it thought he was a showman tonight. Carrie Ann thought it was truly beautiful. His scores were 2 9’s a 10 from Len’s welly meter for a total of 28 out of 30.

Guess who is back?? Stacy Keibler - Tony’s season 2 partner. She joins Marissa and Tony in practice. Stacy referred to Tony as her older, meaner brother - because she doesn’t see him as sexy. Apparently, Marissa doesn’t see him as sexy either. Hmmm, I would have thought that Marissa of all people would. Interesting. This week Tony is paying attention to detail because it is the semi-finals. Well, it is about time, Tony. LOL! Ok, quickstep is first. They do the locomotion thing at the beginning - kind of cute. Her kicks are pretty fast this time and she seems very light on her feet. I think she might have missed a jump - at least Tony jumped, but I’m not sure if she was supposed to. I think she missed it. Tony seems pleased as does she, so perhaps she didn’t miss a thing.

Bruno said she started like a little locomotive, but went off like the Orient Express. Bruno said she missed something - must have been the leap that I was talking about. Carrie Ann says she is the unlikely contender, but she thought she did a great classic quickstep. Len took into consideration the difficulty/technique - he thought she did a great job. Her scores were 2 9’s and an 8 from Bruno the grouch (I think there is something to that messy hair of his). Her total was 26 out of 30.

Speaking of Bruno the grouch, this just in, I just read that Bruno and Simon Cowell might switch judges seats. Simon might end up judging on Dancing with the Stars while Bruno might end up judging on American Idol. According to Simon, who’s been friends with Bruno for many years, Bruno knows nothing about singing. That has me wondering how he could be a coach on Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann which was a show about Dancing AND singing. I know Carrie Ann was a singing pop star back in the day, but guess Bruno doesn’t have any singing talent. Say it with me - “interesting”. That is the word of the night, folks. Ok, back from commercial break now…

One armed Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke have the Viennese Waltz and Samba. Samba was the dance he got injured and that scared Cristian. He is having issues because of his fear and Cheryl told him to think of it as the a fun dance like the Mambo. They take to the streets and BEG for votes. Cheryl is all decked out in her costume and Cristian has a sign with their promo picture on it. Funny how karma comes back - he has to do with the same dances on the night he was injured. They dance to one of my favorite songs “Satellite” by Dave Matthews Band. This dance was fast and fluid and there was a nice camera angle as Cheryl spun on one leg. I didn’t think he was as graceful as Jason, but I think they did a nice job especially with one arm. Emmitt Smith was on his feet again too.

Carrie Ann said she loves his breakthrough moments where he just clicks in. Len said better marks - better mix of steps and Bruno said something about wow factor. They were pretty brief in their comments - are we short for time? Tom was making fun of Cheryl’s dress and asked “is anyone missing a weather balloon?” hahaha! It was a pretty hidieous dress for a beautiful Viennese Waltz. Their scores were all 9’s for a 27 out of 30. Samantha reminds us they got a 25 last time so they’ve improved.

Kristi Yamaguchi, who looks stunning tonight, and Mark Ballas have the tango and jive. They received a perfect score on their last jive, so are experiencing pressure this week to be perfect again. The tango last time needed more emotion so they are working on that. Mark took her to a high level dance class and they tango’d in front of the class. Looks like they got some good tips from the pros - might prove to be beneficial for them. We’ll see b/c they are doing that one first. Wow - fast and crisp already. Nice hold, nice crisp kicks, nice passion, footwork was good and the ending was awesome. This was the first time I’ve been really impressed with Kristi and Mark - seriously. I loved it. The audience did too.

Len said it was a bit hectic and Bruno goes off about it and Len makes fun of his haircut. Bruno said they squeezed every ounce of drama, passion, and sex appeal out of it - footwork was the best. Carrie Ann shut Bruno up and she stood up and said “welcome back to the dance floor” as she pulled her dress out from under the chair. They received 2 10’s and a 9 from Len for a total out of 29 out of 30. Last time they got all 9’s.

Leaderboard after Ballroom Round
Kristi and Mark 29 out of 30
Jason and Edyta 28 out of 30
Cristian and Cheryl 27 out of 30
Marissa and Tony 26 out of 30

Sexy latin round is next. Len Goodman goes undercover again with a cheesy James Bond bit. He does this cheeky move with the score paddle and I loved it. Up first was Jason Taylor and Jason hid behind Edyta. Them dancing together is HILARIOUS. Len makes the Cristian “I know it hurts” sounds as he dances with him. Len visits Kristi next and helps her with her jive. She had issues with her leg last time and he practices with her and does a nice move that she practiced with Mark - Len loved it so much he spanked his own A$$. hahaha! No joke. Cristian was up next getting all close with Len as Len pretended to be the girl. Len made some “da da” noises. He is sooo into this. Marissa was last - and he helps her with shaking it as Tony laughs on. He shows her how to rock her hips and says “Marissa, you were holding me kind of tight.” Tom was on the laptop getting the lowdown from Len. Len called him “T” haha! Kym Johnson was in the limo with him and Len puts the 10 paddle up to the camera as they get fresh - haha! Just know they didn’t really get fresh, but they made it look like they do. It was cute. Now a British Bachelor plug - Tom makes fun saying he gets a green card out of it. haha! Tom is all over it tonight.

Before the commercial we get a peek at Edyta’s and Jason Taylor’s outfit and I can’t say I’m a fan…ugh! We’re back from commerical and Jason’s final dance of the night is up first. They dance the Paso Doble - if you recall last time it was his football routine and Len said he had too much posing. Edyta did her leg up thing that Bridget loves so much. This is proper Paso Doble music, but I can’t say I really like it that much as it reminds me of speedy gonzalez. Jason certainly has the mean face down and I swear they just did a lift. Why even chance it? Edyta always does this. I don’t know - I thought it was just ok - didn’t love it.

Bruno mentioned strength and momentum. Carrie Ann said she commended them for the content - nice execution. Len said he attacked it and compared him to the price of gas - he’s going up. Hmmm…must have been no lift. His scores were all 9’s for a total of 27 out of 30 (better than his 26 last time). His grand total was a 55 out of 60.

Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani have their Rumba next. He has on large bellbottom black pants and a loose white top with the chest open. She has on black with fringe at the bottom. She’s getting all sexy on us. Will she be raunchy enough for Len? She has a chain in her hair. Don’t ask me why - but she does. Oops her fringe came off - or a piece of it did. I thought it was sexier, but it wasn’t THAT raunchy and I didn’t see a lot of hips that Len helped her with. Something happened to her dress - not sure what, but Tom is standing in front of them as they walk over - I guess her dress got stuck on Tony’s sequins. haha! Tom referred to it as becoming Siammese Twins.

Carrie Ann was down and said she wasn’t excited by that. She didn’t feel it was a semi-final dance. Len said the Rumba doesn’t have the wow factor and he thought they did a very good job. Bruno called it Sex in the City and said she sold it well. Carrie Ann interrupted and said it wasn’t exciting enough. Len kept telling her the dance doesn’t have the wow factor and that he was wow’ed for a rumba. Way to interject Len. I think Len has a thing for Marissa and wants to see her move on this competition. Good for Len. Her scores 2 9’s and an 8 from unexcited Carrie Ann for a total of 26 out of 30. Last time was a 25 out of 30. Grand Total 52 out of 60.

Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke have the Samba - the arm damaging dance. He has a blue shirt on that is not buttoned at all. The arm hasn’t affected his hips at all. I do not like Cheryl’s dress - has these big yellow flowers. I do like the blue tulle at the bottom though. They did EXCELLENT. Lots of hips, lots of fun - I loved it!! Len said it was hotter than a Chili Pepper. Len said his arm has really made him focus and help him come out stronger - but one criticism - at times it was flat footed. Bruno said he made it so exciting and fun and he was partying. Carrie Ann referred to Emmitt Smith and twinkle toes and that is what he brought tonight. She liked it obviously. His scores were 2 10’s and a 9 from Len for a total of 29 out of 30. He screamed b/c he was so excited (last time he got a 21) and his grand total 56 out of 60.

Last up, Kristi and Mark dancing their jive. Will perfection live on with this jive? She’s all decked out in pink polka dots and cute little pink bobby socks. Her hair is caught on her mouth and it is driving me nuts. She is not getting it out of her mouth either. ugh! Ok, better now. She seems a bit dizzy or something and it seemed chaotic. Nice kicks though and they did Len’s cute move really well. Bruno said this was the cherry on the icing on the cake of a sweet, sweet delicious jive. Carrie Ann said “that was an extremely difficult routine” saying she attacks it, but they were a hair out of sync, but still fantastic. Len liked the basics and had a lovely balance, but thought she was just a little bit stiff. Bruno wasn’t gonna attack that b/c it “isn’t worth it.” hehe! Her scores were 2 9’s and a 10 from Bruno. Total of 28 out of 30 and a grand total of 57 out of 60. And..perfection did NOT live on.

Final Semi-finals Leaderboard
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas 57 out of 60
Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke 56 out of 60
Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska 55 out of 60
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani 52 out of 60

My favorite of the night Cheryl and Cristian’s Samba. Least Favorite was Jason and Edyta’s Paso Doble. I think both Jason and Marissa could be in trouble. If Marissa went it would be predictable for sure.