Thus this Blog post will be a review of the "Dancing With the Stars" episode aired 4/7/08 and elimination round aired 4/8/08.
Plus a Bachelor review, London is calling and Matt Grant sends more tearful women on their way.
All with video and pics you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.
Pic of the Day
Click to see Top 12 Contenders Pic Montages "Dancing With the Stars" 2008
"Dancing With the Stars" 2008 Performance Round 4/7/08; Elimination 4/8/08
It's about four weeks into this thing in this year of our Lord, 2008 on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars". As such, the contenders have fallen comfortably into their scoring range and been tagged as to their possibility of winning.
Last season Sabrina of the Cheetah girls, who appeared to be a real contender, got sent home early on to everyone's surprise. So it could happen again and, indeed, Priscilla Presley's falling into the bottom two was one such startle.
Adam Corolla's dismissal was no surprise at all, however, for while those celebrity dancers with some promise have some chance, Corolla was not one of those people. And I'd softly suggest that cute and lovable Marissa Winokur is also one who doesn't have said "improvement" ability.
Marissa can, like Marie Osmond of last year, win over America with her charming personality, which might be why staid and rather reserved Priscilla Presley occupied one of those bottom two slots which should have been reserved for Marissa.
On the performance episode aired on 4/7/08, leader and the one to beat, Kristi Yamaguchi led off with a Paso Doble.
This dance series features a Paso Doble dance as if this rather oddly named dance is a perfectly normal routine performed on dance floors at weddings and bull roasts across the fruited plains. As in, "Come on, hon," wife will say tugging reluctant husband by sauce-covered hand, "this is a perfect tune to do that Paso Doble we've been practicing."
So okay this is a ballroom dancing competition, I understand this. But the Paso Doble, which is supposed to be the dance of the bullfight as I understand it, doesn't look much different than a tango to me and a tango looks a lot like a cha-cha. Except one of the dancers will generally enter a Paso Doble performance with great drama and fanfare, often requiring outstretched arms, capes, and in one case, a unicycle.
Kristi, a dancer who's wowed America and the judges right from the start with her grace and finesse learned on the skating rinks of the Olympia, has so far only received one constant critique and that was her failure to show any drama on the dance floor. The Paso Doble would test her on this quite well.
Curmudgeon judge Len once again said that Kristi, who will always look like she's 16, still didn't show enough drama but Bruno and Carrie Ann vehemently disagreed. Kristi and her partner were awarded 29 points out of 30 for their performance of the Paso Doble.
Priscilla Presley came up next and she and her partner were charged with performing the Viennese Waltz. As I understand it, the Viennese Waltz is like the elegant, fluid ballroom waltz except it is much faster. This dance is beautiful to watch, however fast the movements, and it is for the waltz that much of America tunes into to watch this dance rarely performed by us more normal folk, even at wedding receptions. Uncle Sam and Aunt Mary might get out on the reception dance floor to try a Jive or a happening Cha-Cha, but a Waltz? Not so much.
I thought Priscilla did a great job with her Viennese Waltz and it was obvious that Presley has dropped a few pounds since this series began.
Judge Bruno said Priscilla needs to watch her shoulder and neckline while Len and Carrie Ann swore that Priscilla's feet came off the floor at one time during the dance. Evidently both feet must remain on the floor during the entire Viennese Waltz.
Priscilla's dress with that flesh-colored torso was very attractive on her. Priscilla and her partner received 22 points.
Next came Adam Corolla, the funny guy with a mouth full of big teeth and two left feet. Corolla performed a Paso Doble and to begin the dance, Adam entered the dance floor on a unicycle.
It was cute and the audience laughed. Adam's happening Zorro outfit added to the comic effect.
The Judges were too amused at the entrance. It's obvious that the judges think Adam is a lost cause to the art of the dance but they do seem to like the guy. In fact, the following night, the night of elimination, Adam and his partner were the team asked by the judges to give an encore performance.
During the judge commentary session, Corolla explained that Spaniards came over to this country on a unicycle and hey, I giggled at this irrepressible fellow who, for all his originality, only received 19 points AND was sent home the following night.
Marlee Matlin was up next and Marlee performed a Viennese Waltz.
Marlee is one of those celebrity dancers who consistently shows improvement and who could, with the passage of time and practice, be a real contender to win this thing.
I thought the Waltz as performed by Marlee and her partner was not of a complicated choreography.
Then Judge Len immediately remarked as to the complication of the dance steps and I shrugged. So what do I know?
Judge Carrie Ann cried over this performance and I don't know what that was about. Marlee and her partner received 24 points.
It might come down to a knock-down, drag-out contest between Yamaguchi and Jason Taylor. Kristi is barely ahead of Jason in total score awarded by the judges and Jason tied with Kristi with his performance of the Viennese Waltz on this night.
Jason looked snappy in a handsome well-fitting tuxedo. As always, Jason danced well, fluid and looked every bit the natural dancer. Judge Bruno declared the performance "erotic".
Jason and his partner received 29 points, the same as arch-rival Kristi Y.
Mario should, by resume and background, be a real contender in this series. Mario's the youngest contender, he's got a musical R&B background, he has a natural rhythm to his movements.
Yet it seems that every week Mario gets chewed out by the judges for doing something wrong, especially Len, who really doesn't seem to like Mario at all.
I thought Mario's Paso Doble was well-executed. Noticeable to me were Mario's hand movements which were perfectly timed as dramatic effect to both his and his partner's dance steps.
Mario and his partner received 24 points.
Handsome Christian de la Fuente performed a Paso Doble and if looks were the barometer, native Chilean Chris would win this thing.
At the point of Chris' dance I had a few other celebrities to compare his dance moves to. Compared to Kristi's Paso Doble, even Mario's version of the bullfight dance, I thought de la Fuente looked a bit stiff and awkward.
Christian and his partner received 26 points for their performance.
Shannon Elizabeth, another beauty who'd win if looks were the benchmark, performed a Viennese Waltz and Shannon did look lovely.
Shannon and her partner had practice problems in that her partner fell and injured his neck. So Shannon had a replacement for practice but by her dance moves, particularly one segment of the dance that had Shannon waltzing about on one leg, no one would believe that the practice was not completely between Shannon and her partner.
The judges really liked Shannon's performance with Len pronouncing it the best performance of the night.
Shannon is definitely a contender who, while not as spectacular as Kristi right from the start, could move in to win this thing.
Shannon and her partner received 28 points for their performance.
Finally, Marissa Winokur entered to dance a Paso Doble.
Marissa had received disappointing scores on her prior routines and she vowed, in her pre-dance vignette, that she was going to do much better.
Marissa displayed nice, even foot movement with a dance interlude that required "walking" on her knees. Bearing in mind that Marissa is not the thinnest dancer on the venue this year, she did very well.
I thought the choreography very original and all in all, Marissa's performance was very entertaining.
Marissa and her partner received 24 points for their performance.
Below a short remix of the Dancing With the Stars episode aired 4/7/08. Featured are Adam Corolla and his unicycle, Mario and his great hand movements, and Jason of the great romantic Viennese Waltz.
1 comment:
Watching this man swap spit with all these girls is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The one who got drunk and flashed her boobs at him probably WAS the most honest woman on the show. LOL!
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