Dancing With the Stars - Season 8, Week 11

File Under: Television Obsessions

Tonight’s finals round includes a Paso Doble faceoff, plus the ever-popular freestyle. Both dances will be scored, total possible points for the night are 60. Let the competition begin.
Ahh…pretty as ever, there’s Belinda. :)

So tonight we’re seeing Gilles and Cheryl, Shawn and Mark, and Melissa and Tony. I see Melissa raided Edyta’s closet for tonight’s outfit. She’s in a bra and panties and a cape.

Oh my…Bruno in a banana hammock. I really didn’t need to see that.

First up, Shawn and Mark – coached by Bruno who told Shawn to bring more sharpness and aggression to the dance.

Next up, Melissa and Tony – coached by Carianne, who has told her to stop referring back to her cheerleader and ballet days.

Finally, Gilles and Cheryl - coached by Len. He danced with Gilles to show him how to sharpen his moves and work his “bum.”

It’s a group faceoff, so they’re all taking the floor so we can see their skills side by side by side.
Shawn looks good, a bit nervous but her footwork is nice. I’m not seeing the aggression though. Len said her chin dropped a few times. Bruno said she was strong. Carianne didn’t see emotion but said the dance was beautiful. 28 (10 from Bruno)

Melissa looked a bit off at the very start. Oh look a cheerleader kick. Nicely done though. Len noticed some minor errors but said it was nice. Bruno commented on her confidence. Carianne said it was great. 29 (9 from Len)

Gilles exudes confidence and power. Lots of power in his steps, good posture, nice arm moves. Len said it was not hectic like their last one, full-on and intense. Excellent. Bruno called him a leading man, self-assured and fabulous. Carianne said it met up to her expectations, flawless. 30

Time for the freestyle!

Ew…Shawn and Mark are starting it off in sparkly black jumpsuits with white sparkly masks. Creepy. Oh good they came off. I don’t quite get it, it’s supposed to be elements of dances from previous weeks as she said it would. It’s fun and wild but it’s a bunch of bouncing and spinning and gymnastics. Audience liked it though. Bruno liked it. Carianne liked it. Len pointed out the jive elements at the start, he lived it. Okay…guess I was wrong. LOL 30 (Bruno screamed “ELEVEN!”)

Melissa and Tony are up next. Oh grand…a hip hop number. Lame beginning. Quick footwork though. Hey, did you know she could do high kicks? I didn’t. Neat little trick where she went over Tony’s back then under his legs. A couple moves seem a little out of sync. Not fantastic. But I’m probably wrong. Carianne called the choreography disjointed. Len didn’t “get it.” He called out the cheerleader stuff. Bruno agreed with Carianne. Tony’s chest is really nice! 27 (I guess I wasn’t wrong)

Gilles and Cheryl…Gilles considers himself the underdog since he’s neither a gymnast or a dancer. Hey, it’s Flashdance! It’s sexy and fun, there’s dancing, and some pelvic thrusts. And lifts. They’re definitely in sync. Nailed it! YAY! Len said Gilles is a real dancer. Bruno said there should have been a bit more dancing. Carianne said she wanted more dancing too. Hmm… 28/30 (10 from Len)

The final tally is:

Shawn and Mark – 58/60
Melissa and Tony – 56/60
Gilles and Cheryl – 58/60

Tomorrow night is the 2-hour finale. ALL of the performers from this season will return to dance again. Yes, Belinda too. I believe she will reprise her Waltz. No handstand!!

My prediction is:

1st – Gilles
2nd – Shawn
3rd – Melissa

STAY TUNED…

Dancing With The Stars - Season 8 - Week 1

(I have edited this post to correct one of the dances. They danced a Waltz last night, but not a Viennese Waltz. Apparently those are two different dances. Oopsie)

File Under: Television Obsessions (-a-Go-Go)

Tonight was the premiere of Season 8 of Dancing With The Stars. Exciting on its own, this season brings more excitement with Belinda Carlisle as one of the Stars. Not sure if you've figured that out, yet. :)

Season 8 starts out with 13 celebrities. The first episode had them each performing one dance, either a Cha-Cha-Cha or a Viennese Waltz. Below are my performance reviews summarized in a few words. I'll try not to be biased. Mind you, I don't know all the technical stuff I'm supposed to watch for, I'll save that for Joy to discuss on her blog, here!

Lil' Kim, partnered with Derek Hough
Cha-Cha

The very first dance of the season has got to make anybody nervous, but you would not have known it watching Lil' Kim. I don't want to like her but she was good. It'll be interesting to see how she performs the ballroom dances as opposed to the rhythmic Latin numbers.
Judges scores 7/7/7 = 21

Belinda Carlisle, partnered with Jonathan Roberts
Waltz

Belinda held back and looked nervous but her performance was definitely respectable. In her preview tape, she mentioned that she has issues with spins and this number opened with one. It was a nice dance but it lacked some wow. She's got potential.
Her number for voting is (800) 868-3402. Voting continues for 30 minutes after the show ends in your time zone. Just saying...
Judges scores 6/6/5 = 17

Lawrence Taylor, partnered with Edyta Slwinskaya
Cha-Cha-Cha

Unlike previous football players, Lawrence looked clumsy and unsure of his footwork.
Judges scores 6/5/5 = 16

Steve O, partnered with Lacey Schwimmer
Waltz

Clunky, had a couple OK moves.
Judges scores 6/5/6 = 17

Gilles Marini, partnered with Cheryl Burke
Cha-Cha-Cha

Totally played up the sex appeal and it worked. He's got good moves. He'll be interesting to watch in future weeks.
Judges scores 8/8/8 = 24

Chuck Wicke, partnered with Julianne Hough
Waltz

He had wobbly knees and bad posture.
Judges scores 6/7/7 = 20 ???

Holly Madison, partnered with Dmitry Chaplin
Cha-Cha-Cha

Trained for 5 days, wasn't terrible but has a lot of ground to cover if she's going to last. Not very delicate with her feet. Perhaps it's because she's top-heavy. ;)
Judges scores 6/6/6 = 18

Ty Murray, partnered with Chelsie Hightower
Waltz

He was stiff and shaky, definitely nervous. He lost his way during the routine.
Judges scores 5/4/5 = 14

Shawn Johnson, partnered with Mark Ballas
Waltz

It was really good.
Judges scores 8/8/7 = 23

Steve Wozniak, partnered with Karina Smirnoff
Cha-Cha-Cha

Two words: Pink boa. Three more words: Oh Dear GOD!
Judges scores 5/4/4 = 13

David Alan Grier, partnered with Kym Johnson
Waltz

He seemed unsure of his feet.
Judges scores 6/7/6 = 19

Denise Richards, partnered with Maks Chmerkovskiy
Cha-Cha-Cha

She cried in her preview tape. She looked like she was going to cry after her dance. Uninspired performance, like she phoned it in.
Judges scores 6/6/6 = 18???? SERIOUSLY????

Melissa Rycroft/Tony Dovolani
Waltz

Melissa's claim to fame is being dumped by The Bachelor on TV one week prior. She was a last minute replacement, stepping in for Nancy O'Dell. Elegant performance, lots of ballet moves. Bitch better not get the sympathy vote.
Judges scores 8/7/8 = 23. Hmmm

There will be no elimination show tomorrow. They will return in a week to perform a second dance. Combined scores from both weeks will determine a bottom two, and they will have a dance-off to claim their position to stay in the competition.