Dancing with the Stars wk. 10

Posted By: admin On: May 12, 2009 Comments: ( 0 )

We’re down to our final four: Ty Murray, Shawn Johnson, Melissa Rycroft, and Gilles Marini. But first Louis Van Amstel is back dancing with his gang to start us off. I was unclear when I read his MySpace blog about whether he choreographed this or not. Dmitry Chaplin, Chelsie Hightower, Karina Smirnoff, Alec Mazo and an unknown blonde girl are also dancing with Louis. They dance to “Should I Stay Or Should I Go.”

Samantha is wearing a VERY low cut gown with some type of circular design on it. I’m not digging it. Now first impressions: Gilles is wearing a gray suit with white satin tie and hair slicked back. Cheryl is wearing a white sequined/beaded gown and hair pulled up and back. They are both looking very suave. Ty Murry has on a tux with white bow tie and Chelsie is wearing the outfit she just danced in which I’m guessing isn’t the one she will dance in with Ty. She looks hot none-the-less. Mark Ballas is wearing a black suit with awesome purple satin tie and Shawn has her hair pulled back wearing a purple/black number. She looks very sophisticated and old tonight. Melissa is wearing a black and white sleeveless number with lots of sequins and Tony a suit without the jacket and black bands around his upper arms. Everyone looks really nice tonight. Mark Ballas looks like he is sportin’ some guyliner aka eyeliner for guys. Perhaps it is his hat casting a shadow on his eyes. I’m not sure - no, it sure looks like guyliner.

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani take us back to week 3 and talk through their foxtrot which they feel is their breakthrough dance. So we get recapping and them talking about it. Now they switch gears and talk about their Samba. Tonight they are dancing Cha Cha.

Now Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke give their commentary. They also talk about their foxtrot. And finally they talk about their Paso Doble. Tonight they have the Waltz.

Next couple to discuss their 2 favorite dances are Shawn and Mark. They choose the Quickstep as their breakthrough ballroom dance and the Paso Doble as their breakthrough Latin dance. Tonight they dance the Argentine Tango.

And finally Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower discuss their breakthrough ballroom dance of Quickstep from week 2 and their breakthrough Latin dance of Lindy Hop.

And are we gonna finally get some dancing tonight? It is already 30 min in and all we’ve got is recaps. Anyways, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani are up first dancing the Cha Cha Cha. They also have the Quickstep tonight as well. We get to see them practicing both. They focus a lot on her footwork especially the heel leads. They have the Quickstep first. They have really nice footwork, but it isn’t too quick to me. The music isn’t very fast either which I can understand why they aren’t dancing very fast either. Their ending was great with the swinging tricks. I thought it was very cute and well done - not your typical Quickstep. Len starts us off - loved phrasing, musicality, feet much improved, thought the whole thing was a delight. Bruno thought it was good, but wasn’t as exhilarating as it could be. Carrie Ann agreed with Bruno - very  nice and pretty, but didn’t feel like it was connected to her soul. She also had problems with the space in their hold. I agree with Bruno and CA - seemed like something was missing. Scores were 2 9’s and a 10 from Len for a 28 out of 30.

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke are waltzing next. Cheryl brings in Jonathon Roberts to help Gilles with the classiness. Gilles is sitting on a chair and Cheryl floats over to him. She has feathers at the bottom of her dress. Gilles looks like a gentleman - a skinny gentleman in that suit. They had nice rise and fall and glided nicely and elegantly. It was nice, but wasn’t exhilarating either in my opinion. Just nice. Bruno loved it as he is up screaming his critique. I take it he loved it. Carrie Ann thought it was breath taking. Len is giving him a sitting down standing-o. Wow - wasn’t THAT great. I bet he gets all 10’s. Scores were all 10’s for a perfect 30. Gilles is crying and states he loves dancing with Cheryl and wanted those perfect 10’s for her.

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas are dancing the Argentine Tango first. They also have the jive. They are doing a trick in the tango that she is fearful of as far as when to jump and when to not jump which further adds to the suspense of it all. They are very precise in their movements and she has on her Paso Doble angry face. They did the lift like a pro and there was no jumping unless that was a different lift. Loved all the lifts and her character. I loved the footwork and the preciseness of it all - it was pretty intense. Carrie Ann thought she delivered! She loved the precision. Len thought this was a fantastic semi-final - honestly was her best performance according to Len. Bruno called her Catherine Zita Shawn - he loved it! Scores were al 10’s for a perfect 30. They are happy!

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower are pulling up the rear with the Samba (Ty refers to it as a “pain in the ass with a whole lot of steps in it”), but first they have the Viennese Waltz. Chelsie has on turquoise by the way with white at the top. Ty is excellent in ballroom - he has nice rise and fall, lines, arms, hold - that is where he is best. Sadly though one has to be good in Latin as well which that isn’t his forte. Bruno is leaning over the judges table to check out the footwork. I’m surprised Len isn’t doing that.  The audience is up on the their feet and Jewel salutes - guess she liked it. Len said that he doesn’t think anyone has worked harder, struggled harder, or tried as hard as him. Len thought he has worked so hard - pointed out the little issues, but thought it was fabulous overall. Bruno thought it should be smooth and effortless and he thought it was like chasing flies. Len HIGHLY disagrees and tells Bruno so! Carrie Ann loves how he gets the whole room to support him - but she said he struggled on the turns. Len is arguing again with both of them especially Bruno. Len is NOT happy. Scores were 2 8’s and a 9 from Len for a 25 out of 30.

Ballroom Round Leaderboard:

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke 30 out of 30

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas 30 out of 30

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani 28 out of 30

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower 25 out of 30

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani are doing their final dance of cha cha cha. We take a trip to Dallas, Tx where Melissa grew up. Melissa’s family are finally seen (they didn’t want to be on the Bachelor) and they talk about how she is persistent. We get to see more Bachelor stuff and Melissa’s heartbreak. She talks about how she went from her lowest point in her life to her highest. I love Melissa’s story and spirit.  They both start out with some cute hats and they continue to wear them all throughout. I thought they were so cute in this dance. Nice hips - but again something did seem a bit missing again tonight. perhaps it is nerves. Bruno thought at moments she were sensational and said she didn’t sustain it at all times. Carrie Ann thought she was more emotional this dance, but the size of her steps seemed unsure. Len didn’t think it was up to the standard of her Samba, but he still liked it. Scores were all 9’s for a 27 out of 30.

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke have the Salsa as their last dance. First we go to Cannes in France. We get an interview with a guy who speaks French and I was so into listening to him speak French that I totally didn’t even see who was talking about him - could be brother??  They are decked out in purple and his pants don’t really match in my opinion. He does have nice hips though. He is definitely having fun and not over thinking the dance. I liked it - fun and cute! Tom loved it and so did the audience. Carrie Ann is up on her feet dancing around making strange noises. Carrie Ann sad that was Gilles Marini at his best and wants him in the finals. Len is almost speechless and wishes he had an 11 paddle. Bruno said something about something is hiding in Gilles pants. Bruno thinks he deserves to be in the finals. All 10’s? - yes!

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas are dancing third. They have the jive which should be fun We see baby pictures of Shawn as well as old videos of her doing gymnastics.  They have on polka dots and Mark looks like he is going through high water or borrowed his pants and socks from Michael Jackson. This was high energy, not sure how she kept up, but they ended up on the judges table holding 3 10’s. She is sportin’ pigtails which are so darn cute. Len commended the band for the great music! Len thought it was fast - liked the feeling of it, but thought there was too much messing about dancing going on, wanted to see more traditional jive. Bruno liked her when she goes wild and they sold it 110%. Carrie Ann thought they lost a little steam, but thought it was still a wonderful performance. Scores were 2 9’s and an 8 from STINGY Len for a 26 out of 30.

Last up for tonight is Ty Murray dancing the Samba which is more than likely not going to be his dance. We see Ty’s parents, Butch and Joy. Ty was a cute little boy - the audience is awwing and clapping.  Jewel talks him up really good about how he is so determined. He is in all black and Chelsie is in pink, yellow, and turquoise. He starts by playing drums or bells on her bum. He is off on his steps. Anytime he is close to Chelsie - he does well. They do a close-up of his shaking rear. LOL! He tries to shake his upper body and it is so stiff, but man you have to give him props for trying and looking as cute as he does. Bruno said he has determination and resilience - he points out the footing loss. Carrie Ann votes her most valuable player of season 8 - points out his hard work and determination. Len calls him Arthur Murray in ballroom, but in Latin dances he is Murray in a hurry. Len commends Chelsie for doing a fantastic job with Ty. I agree! Scores were 2 8’s and a 7 from Len for a 23 out of 30.

Latin Round Leaderboard:

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke 30 out of 30

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani 27 out of 30

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas 26 out of 30

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower 23 out of 30

Final Leaderboard:

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke 60 out of 60

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas 56 out of 60

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani 55 out of 60

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower 48 out of 60

Well I think Ty might be in trouble this week and might not make it to the finals - which is fine. He rode the wave as long as he could. As far as I’m concerned the three best dancers are left: Gilles, Shawn, and Melissa. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.