#DwtS Week 10

Chelsea and Mark's Samba: This was a really weird song to try to be sensual to. It was too staccato. I didn't like the go-go choreography. Meh.

Kirstie and Maks's Samba: A bit part of it may have been the music, but I liked it way better than Chelsea and Mark's. Nice choreography and Kirstie moves with so much fluidity on the floor. I hate Brooke Burke's stupid questions. "How does it feel to be compared to someone born in 1988?" Really?

Hines and Kym's Quickstep: Hines's mom is clearly not to be messed with. She will mess you up. I liked Kym's cute dress, but what was her with crazy maniacal expression the whole time? Loved the dance, easily my favorite of the three.

I'm always torn about the Freestyle. Unless a couple really screws the pooch or phones it in, I don't think it's a fair dance to judge because it is completely subjective in a way that standard dances are not. Having freestyle at all is just fan service, which I think would be fine if it scored by fan votes only and not by the judges.

Chelsea and Mark's Freestyle: For the first few bars, they looked like they were doing completely different dances. I thought that going in and out of the lifts were a bit awkward. I wish that in all this time of being on the show, Mark would have learned to tone down his expressiveness so he stops overshadowing his partners. It was unfortunate that Chelsea's batteries died. That really took away from the last bit of the dance.

Kirstie and Maks's Freestyle: I liked it well enough. I always like freestyles that try to incorporate the dancers' favorite parts of other dances they've done. I didn't really care for the lifts (except for the first one, which was lovely), which was unfortunate because I know they can do better. Their lifts were much, much better in the Argentine Tango.

Hines and Kym's Freestyle: Good for them for taking a risk on the style. I think they executed their dance really well and it was again my favorite dance of the three. Also, the very best lifts of the night (but they sure made me nervous after last week's accident).

I really hope that Hines and Kym win.

#DwtS Week 9

Ralph and Karina's Argentine Tango:  I liked the music and the lifts were really nicely done and well integrated. Ralph, however, wasn't that well integrated into the mood of the dance.

Kirstie and Maks's Viennese Waltz: Kirstie is lovely and they did a great job, but I really like Latin dances better for her.

Chelsea and Mark's Argentine Tango: I didn't like their kick footwork. It was kind of awkward and pendulum-ish. White satin shoes are an unfortunate choice because they made her feet look huge. I feel like Chelsea looked a little less confident than usual. I feel like it's obvious that the producers want these two in the finals.

Hines and Kym's Argentine Tango: Oh, god, that lift accident in rehearsal was frightening. That could have ended so very, very badly. They ended up doing a fantastic job and it was probably my favorite Argentine Tango of the season. I think they earned those tens even without the accident.

Ralph and Karina's Salsa: That was maybe the sleaziest salsa I've seen on this show. And I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. But maybe I do. Ralph really went back into being manic with flailing limbs. I can't believe Bruno said "You were too rough with your pussy." It was perhaps shocking and inappropriate, but hey, it was a sleazy dance.

Kirstie and Maks's Pasodoble: Great job. Loved it.

Chelsea and Mark's Rumba: I don't really like the Rumba and I don't really like Chelsea and Mark. So, meh.

Hines and Kym's Salsa: Hines and Kym are such a great pair. I love watching them and I hope Hines makes it to the end.

Winner Take All Cha Cha Cha:  I'm just going to rename this segment more accurately and leave it at that: "We Need To Give Chelsea & Mark More Points To Guarantee They Continue And Also Extend the Show Another 30 Minutes! Advertising Revenue, Yay!" That about sums it up.

I hope it's either Ralph/Karina or Chelsea/Mark to go home. I really want to see Kirstie/Maks and Hines/Kym in the finals.

#DwtS Week 8

I love instant dance!

Chelsea and Mark's Waltz: A lot of ballet influence to the choreography, I think. Some of their rhythm seemed a bit incongruous to the music. I just wasn't feeling it, but I haven't been a big fan of this couple.

Hines and Kym's Foxtrot. Love! Beautiful, exuberant, incandescently fun. Hines is fast becoming my favourite to win.

Romeo and Chelsie's Tango. I didn't like the song at all. Romeo and Chelsie were intense and dramatic and bold, and the music just didn't work with it. I really like Romeo and I like chelsie's choreography, but the music just didn't mesh this time.

Ralph and Karina's Viennese Waltz. Poor Ralph. I have a bad knee and I can really sympathize. He did very well and I liked the drama of the dance. Bruno Is hilarious.

Kirstie and Maks's Argentine Tango: I liked it a lot. Kirstie looked completely in control and confident. Very nice. I liked that the lifts were all understated and had great flow with the footwork. Too often on this show couples get crazy with the lifts just because they're finally allowed to do them.

Instant dance time! Woo!

Chelsea and Mark's Instant Salsa. If Michael Jackson were a French mime, he'd be dressed just like Mark. They did a really good job.

Hines and Kym's Instant Jive: Very cute dress. They were a bit out of sync, but not unforgivably so and that was really tricky footwork to nail down in 20 minutes.

Romeo and Chelsie's Instant Salsa. Len's awesome. I liked it. Of all of the instant dances, this one felt the most natural.

Ralph and Karina's Instant Cha Cha Cha: not as good as he's capable of when his knee is 100%. He just wasn't fitting into the dance, understandably so. Rest up the knee, Ralph.

Kirstie and Maks's Instant Salsa. Really nice job. Going for a nice basic routine is a smart idea to stay versatile for an instant dance. It. Wasn't flashy, but it had everything a salsa should have and they did a very solid job of it.

I'd be happiest to see Chelsea/Mark done this week, but I hope Ralph goes home. Not because I don't like him, but so he doesn't blow out his knee.

#DwtS Week 7

Team Gaga: I thought everyone was really strong. I liked it!

Team Ke$ha: They were also really good. I still think that Kendra is one of the weakest lefton the show. She just lacks the personality for it and never looks like she's enjoying herself.

Chelsea and Mark's Pasodoble: Someone should Chelsea that duckface isn't exactly serious. I didn't quite like the tone of the dance. It was a little too mean and manic. Mark's mom is kind of scary and I'm not sure relatives should do passionate dances together.

Kendra and Louis's Tango: This  may be her best dance yet, at least in terms of looking into it and not looking like she's thinking about every move.

Kirstie and Maks's Jive: Not a huge fan of some of the choreography and Kirstie really lost it on a lot of the side-by-side footwork and kicks. Which is too bad because I've been a big fan of her all season.

Ralph and Karina's Quickstep: It looked like Ralph was channelling Gene Kelly tonight. Great job, especially doing a dance like this with a bad knee.

Hines and Kym's Tango: Really nice. I liked how classic and traditional it was.

Romeo and Chelsie's Samba: Romeo's really gotten comfortable on the dance floor. It all looked easy and confident tonight.

#DwtS Week 6

Wow! The boys from Hanson look like boys now! Why did only the eldest brother dress up for the show?

Kirstie and Maks's Samba: Maks looks so weird clean shaven. This might be my favorite dance of Kirstie's so far this season. She looked great.

Chris and Cheryl's Tango: How on earth was that a guilty pleasure song? No one should feel guilty about Journey. He started off strong, and he had most of the steps even if he was a bit out of sync, but he just wasn't quite into it enough.


Romeo and Chelsie's Waltz: For someone who was reluctant and unsure of himself when it comes to ballroom dances, he sure does a phenomenal job of them.

Chelsea and Mark's Quickstep: I liked the choreography and personality, but Chelsea seemed occasionally hesitant and sometimes a little bit out of synch with some of the footwork. I don't think that it deserved a 10, though I can live with the 9s.

Kendra and Louis's Samba: It was probably one of her best performances, but I still hate her face when she dances.

Love, love, love those music video clips of Bruno. I less-than-three Bruno Tonioli.

Hines and Kym's Viennese Waltz: I like Hines more and more every week, but Len is right that he's a bit clompy in the feet.

Ralph and Karina's Pasodoble: Karina fell? Was that the slip-up they recovered from? I couldn't see what happened with the switch of cameras. Wasn't a huge fan of the choreography, and several times Ralph looked like he was in a slight panic after she fell, but mostly he seemed to be back finding his groove. I thought 8s across the board were fair.

I think maybe Chris/Cheryl or Kendra/Louis to go home this week.

#DwtS Week 5

I'm glad the show is down to 90 minutes now.

Ralph and Karina's Samba: I liked the inclusion of line dancing and a bit of two-step; it's not a proper Samba, but with a song like Sweet Home Alabama it pulled the song and dance together. I'm glad Carrie-Anne stepped up with the "What do you expect when we give them a theme and song choice like this for a Samba?". One thing I hate on this show when they force the performers to be gimmicky and then criticize them for being too gimmicky.

Chris and Cheryl's Viennese Waltz: It was nice. I don't have much else to say about it.

Petra and Dmitry's Quickstep: I thought they did a really good job and Petra kept up with the music very well. My complaint was with the camera angles. Very often when it would have been best on the feet, it was on their upper bodies.

Romeo and Chelsie's Foxtrot: That was a really girlie neckline on Romeo's tank top during practice. I think he found the right note of elegance and swagger except for the weird surprised duckface expression he had for much of the dance. He and Chelsie were a bit out of sync a few times. Overall it was really good and Chelsie did a really nice job on choreography to go with that song.

Hines and Kym's Rumba:  Not my favorite dance for Hines, but the caveat to that is that I'm not a big fan of the rumba in genera. I thought he lacked romance and was a bit stiff in his upper body.

Kirstie and Maks's Foxtrot: Travolta was actually kinda funny. They should've put Maks's flag tattoo on his back rather than his side; from the front it looked like he had his ribs exposed. Kirstie was great, there were no disasters, but I get what Len was saying about the feel of the dance. Bruno is hilarious.

Kendra and Louis's Foxtrot: Kendra's whining is getting on my nerves. She's still obviously not really slipping into the song and I think that's quickly going to hold her back in the competition. I didn't like the dance at all, but I think that's more because the choreography options were rather limited by the song.

Chelsea and Mark's Samba: It was really good. I don't know why Mark so often feels the need to push the envelope and stretch or break the rules when he's obviously capable of doing an amazing job within the parameters of what's standard for a dance.

I think Kendra/Louis and Petra/Dmitry are most likely to be in the bottom two, but it's getting really tough to say.

#DwtS Week 4

Glad to see Wendy go home last week. It was time.

Mmm, I like classical week. I also like seeing traditional dances done to modern pop and rock, but there's an epic quality to the big orchestra.

Romeo and Chelsie's Pasodoble: Loved Chelsie's dress. I think they found a really great intensity for the dance though could have done without the disrobing at the end. Romeo definitely gained back the ground he lost a bit of last week. He just needs some polish.

Kendra and Louie's Viennese Waltz: Hated Kendra's dress. Why so much sliding around on the floor? I know that's a thing that's done, but three or four times seems like a lot for one short dance. She didn't connect with the music and I could see her thinking so hard about every move. Didn't like it overall.

Sugar Ray and Anna's Viennese Waltz: I love watching Sugar Ray and his pure enjoyment of being there. It was very nice and I feel like he's finding his feet a little better as a dancer, but I felt like they sacrificed a little too much waltz for too much ballet.

Petra and Dmitry's Pasodoble: I think anything from the Carmen score is really big to live up to. This was probably the most I've liked Petra this season so far, she just needed a little more power and confidence.

Ralph and Karina's Waltz: I think Ralph did a really, really good job of this dance and there was a lot of technical improvement. I thought I wouldn't really be feeling the tragic love story from him, but I am happily wrong.

Hines and Kim's Pasodoble: crisp, intense, and dramatic! They fit the music very well. Maybe my favorite of the night.

Chelsea and Mark's Viennese Waltz: I was worried when I saw their outfits that they were doing something weird and conceptual again. Then I heard the Harry Potter music and thought it might just be atmospheric. Then it was like watching the dancing brooms from The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It was a good dance, but not a very good Viennese Waltz. Why does Mark keep doing this? "It was the Harry Potter music, we had to do this theme." No, you didn't. You can interpret the music without being gimmicky and weird. And an 8 from Len after his lecture? I don't get it.

Chris and Cheryl's Pasodoble: I felt like this was going to be a great dance for Chris, and he really pulled it out. I wasn't sure about the music, but I though Cheryl choreographed it very well. He had great movement and control. Loved Cheryl's dress.

Kirstie and Maksim's Waltz: what happened to her shoe?? This wasn't really her best dance, but she's still doing a really good job.

I think it will be Kendra's turn in the bottom two, along with either Sugar Ray or Kirstie.