Dancing With The Stars Week 8

Posted By: Bridget On: May 6, 2008 Comments: ( 0 )

By: Bridget




I’m so happy to have a week without the whining of Shannon Elizabeth! For those who complained, I actually do like the Hough’s, the comment about Julianne being terrible dancer was a quote by Derek Hough, hence the quotation marks. However, Derek did act like a big baby and his poor sportsmanship deserved to be noted.

On to the show. Cheryl Burke looks like a peacock with feathers all around her neck. Kristi Yamaguchi’s hair is awful and Mark Ballas is wearing a hat, that will probably be a prop. Ooh, lift week, how exciting. I predict that we will see Kristi Yamaguchi FLY!

Awesome, she and Mark Ballas are up first! They are doing th Quickstep and the Samba. I am looking forward to an incredible Quickstep from th two of them. Mark is choreographing with a British accent, what’s up with that? Mark throws off the hat and does not use it as a prop, yay Len will like that. I think Kristi’s footwork got jammed up in the beginning, but she found it again. Her kicks in the end were a little low and the lift was really just a pose at the end, not as good as I expected. Len loved it, he said it had great light and shade. Bruno agreed with Len, loved it. Carrie liked that they danced towards the judges, but she agreed with me that they got a little out of sync, that it looked like Mark was dragging Kristi a little. Boring Samantha Harris backstage interview, yawn. Two 10’s and a 9 from Carrie for a 29, nice.

Quick commercial break, love that. Mario and Karina Smirnoff are up second. They really need to bring it this week if they want to stay in the competition. They are doing the Jive and the Viennese Waltz, I’m guessing he will have trouble with the waltz. They do some pool work, which I’m pretty sure is just an excuse to show some skin, ick. They do the Viennese Waltz first and it starts out very elegant, but I think Mario loses footing on one of the first turns. After that he picks it up, but Mario is thinking awfully hard about the steps. The lift they choose is amazing, Karina ran into his arms and he spun her around in the air, wow. Bruno says DWTS has anew prince, Prince Mario, he said he did everything they asked him to do. Carrie said it was nice and stiff, just the way she likes it!! Whoa Carrie!! She also loved the lift. Len said his ballroom usually reminds him of Britney Spears getting out of a car, not very elegant and you sometimes see things you don’t want to see!! HA. He then said this week was the best he had seen Mario dance. Backstage with Samantha Mario does a very bad Len impression. Three 9’s for a total of 27, that might keep him in th running next week.

Another quick break!! Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani are next. She is growing on me…I guess. They are doing the Foxtrot and the Mambo, complete with lifts. They do the Foxtrot first to New York, New York, neat. Her stage presence is definitely coming out in this dance and she actually looks fairly elegant. They end with a pretty lift, but the whole thing was a little slow motion for my taste. Carrie loved it, she said she connected with the audience. Len loved it too as did Bruno. However, Bruno thought there was not enough gliding for a Foxtrot. Two 8’s and a 9 from the over-zealous Carrie for a 25.

Next to dance are Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska. He’s a bit of a jokester I think, love that. They will do the Tango and the Samba. Edyta is excited about the lifts, no shock there, she loves throwing her body around. When he lifts her it looks like she is a twig-she is unbelievably tiney!! She makes Jason get a spray tan, that’s nuts! Their Tango is first and it begins very precise and serious. Jason is quite the leading man. This dance, is very, very good. I am even beginning to not dislike Edyta so much. The lift is incredible, he is just so tall!! Yowzers!!! Len said he thought it looked too much like a Argentine Tango, Bruno got all queenly annoyed about this and argued with Len. Bruno said it was beautiful and that Edyta had never danced better. Len looked on with an annoyed face. Carrie thought it was intriguingly great. Len & Bruno continue to argue through Tom’s comments. Two 10’s and a 9 from Len to tie them with Kristi at 29. Jason gives some props to the other competitors, what a swell guy.

Up last in the first round are Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke. DWTS milks the injury a little more and he shows up to practice with his arm and a sling. Looks like lifts will be impossible for him. Cheryl is trying to choreograph a dance that will disguise the injury, including a lift. They are doing their Tango to “Beat It!” Cristian is wearing one white glove, cheesy!! They dance is ok, Cristian’s injury is hardly noticeable. The lift is pretty dumb and probably should have been left out. It was more like a hug with Cheryl’s legs wrapped around Cristian. The feathers were annoying and in Cheryl’s face most of the time. Bruno said it was exactly what a Tango should be. Carrie said she saw nothing wrong with that Tango and Len congratulated Cheryl on the great choreography. Two 9’s and their first 10 from Carrie. Cristian is jumping up and down, like a 10 from Carrie means that much. Tom Bergeron says that Cheryl looks like she is peering at us through a feather duster, hahahah-love him!!

To start the second round Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas are doing the Samba. As expected, it is fabulous. Kristi does some amazing spins and shakes it like a professional. I think this dance was perfect, fun and full of excitement. Wait a minute…Carrie says she did not care for it…she said it was a bit awkward and out of control. What????? Len thought that it had great speed, energy, and spins but lost bit of the dance because of it. Bruno liked it, saying it was technically the most difficult dance in the competition. Samantha Harris is horrible, her question goes on and on winding into nothingness. Scores are two 9’s and an 8 from Carrie for a total of 26. I think they deserved much better than that!

Doing the Jive next are Mario and Karin Smirnoff. It starts out with Mario doing something that looks like it was supposed to be a cartwheel, but it wasn’t. I love the dress Karina is wearing, it reminds me of Cha Cha in the movie Grease. They try another cool lift, but I swear Mario almost dropped her!! Len said the whole thing had a roughness to it, I sort of agree with that. He said there was no technique in the footwork. Bruno called it the spirit of rock in the Jive. Carrie thought his wildness worked in this Jive, but that the footwork was a little off. Two 9’s and an 8 from Len for a 26. The same score as Kristi and Mark…that’s crazy right???

Next to dance the Mambo are Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani. They are all decked out in red, which is fun. This Mambo is slow, too slow for me. It is fun and all, but is like a teeny bopper Mambo, not what I was looking for. Marissa does do a mildly entertaining spin. Bruno thought it was a great Mambo, calling it really nice. Carrie loves the way she goes for it, but noted some messy footwork. Len liked the performance but thought it was more careful and not down and dirty and raunchy!! Who knew I would agree with Len so much?? Backstage Marissa says she is never going to be raunchy enough. Two 8’s and a 9 from Bruno for a total of 25.

Jason and Edyta are up next doing the Samba. He looks incredibly hot!! Edyta is naked. Well, almost naked anyway! I can’t take my eyes off them. This is what Jason has, he’ s so tall and handsome and can actually dance and look sexy doing it that you are glued to the screen!! The lift at the end is scary, he wobbles a bit too much for me. Carrie did not like it, she said the musicality was muddy and his head was down most of the time. Len did not like it he said it was not good enough for the semi finals. Bruno called it a turkey, yikes…I guess I was wrong about Mr. Taylor’s dancing chops! Backstage Jason said they did not cuss at him so it was no big deal, tee hee. Whoa, two 8’s and an astounding 7 from Len. Big shocker, the leaders are a mess this round!

Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke will close out the show with the Mambo. Cristian is wearing a sequined band on his arm brace, talk about milking it. Would it have killed him to just wear sleeves? The dance is fun, but his injury shows a bit more than it did in the last one. They end in a clever one armed lift pose and get a standing ovation. Len said it was full of energy, fabulous. Bruno is amazed at the things Cristian can do with one arm. Carrie says the two of them are on fire, looks like they will top the leader board this week-what a crazy turn of events. Two 10’s and 9 from Carrie for a 29, that puts them at the top of the leader board. This injury is really paying off!

My favorite was Jason and Edyta’s Tango and my least favorite was Marissa & Tony’s Mambo. I’m betting Cristian and Cheryl will dance an encore tomorrow, if his injured arm can take it.