This week features the Mambo and the Quickstep. The Quickstep is my second favorite of the dances they do on this show.
I always find the second week interesting because this is the first time we truly see how well the stars can dance. They don’t have as much time to put this dance together (4 days instead of 4 weeks), so background and natural talent come into play here.
Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Quickstep – Later in the show, Len makes a comment about needing slow in the quickstep. It’s a shame this dance was first because it proves his point. I don’t know if that was quite the elegance she was looking for, but it was lots of fun. he comments were mostly good with just some nit picky stuff. It really was fun.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 23 Good start to the evening although it is a point lower then last week. Still, it is a solid score.
Mark Cuban & Kym Johnson – Mambo – I think I’m most interested in this dance. Between being in the bottom two last week and his recent hip replacement, this will be an interesting routine. The hip didn’t seem to be a problem. And once again he’s having a great time, although I don’t think he was singing along. Couldn’t tell for sure. Mark is definitely the entertainer this season but I agree with the judges that the technique could be a little better.
Score: Carrie Ann – 6 Len – 6 Bruno – 6 Total – 18 Ouch! A step down and a significant one. And people who are in the bottom two are often in danger of being there again. This doesn’t look good for him. He’s so much fun to watch, I would like to see him stick around for another few weeks.
Wayne Newton & Cheryl Bruke – Quickstep – Considering this is Mr. Las Vegas, the choice of "Viva Las Vegas was perfect. However, the rest of that was truly painful to watch. He seemed off to the music and was rather stiff and overly slow.
Score: Carrie Ann – 5 Len – 5 Bruno – 5 Total – 15 I hate to agree with the judges, but that is an honest score. Which is a shame because I love Cheryl. But Wayne doesn’t have the talent that her previous partners have had.
Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Mambo – I never would have guessed she had that sass in her. That was fun and just great. And the judges seem to love it, too. No real suggestions but plenty of praise.
Score: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24 The first improvement of the round, and well deserved.
Albert Reed & Anna Trebunskaya – Quickstep – It started out a little slow for a quickstep to me, but by the end it was moving at top speed. The judges really picked on him as well. In fact, I thought it was better then it sounded like they did.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 Hm. That was higher then I thought it would be based on the comments. Just goes to show you never can tell until they give the score.
Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Mambo – I’d say he’s not just a one dance wonder. That was a great Mambo. Lots of spice. And very fun. The judges loved it to, praising the difficulty of the choreography and how well he pulled it off. I definitely didn’t see anything even slightly off with that dance.
Score: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27 I was a little surprised that there wasn’t at least one 10, but at the same time you don’t want to start giving them away too early.
Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Quickstep – Okay, I was laughing at how much she was cracking up during their practices. Things were looking pretty good until he fell there at the end. The comments were very nice focusing on everything but the fall. Of course, everyone knew that was bad. I can see some of their comments about needing to relax a little more. I think I noticed more nerves this week then last week, in fact.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 Same score as last week. Honestly, that’s the best they could have hoped for after the slip. That’s really a great score.
Cameron Mathison & Edyta Sliwinska – Mambo – It was an interesting Mambo. As a couple they looked great, but if you watch closely, you could tell that Edyta was doing much more dancing then Cameron was – turns and such while he was doing the basic step. And I agree with the judges that it was a little stiff at the beginning. But he did get into it more by the end.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 Seems about right to me. He really needs to relax a little more and that will make it smoother.
Floyd Mayweather & Karina Smirnoff – Quickstep – So, will they really give us excitement? Seems more like an average quickstep to me. Lots of hopping around the floor, especially in one place for a while near the beginning. The judges, however, seemed to like to more then I did. They commented more on the hold and posture of his upper body then the steps.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 Wow, 21 is getting crowded again. Four couples with that score and three in a row. It’s about what I expected and a small step up from last week, which is always a step in the right direction.
Jane Seymour & Tony Dovolani – Mambo – The younger stars had better keep a close eye on her. That was a great dance. I am so with Carrie Ann on this one. The elegance worked well with this dance. Of course, I generally don’t enjoy the raunchier versions of the Mambo, so that may be why I liked this one so much.
Score: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 I’m surprised at this one. I expected Carrie Ann to be higher then the others. I think this is a little low, but about what I thought the men would give it after their comments. And this does make the fifth score of 21 again.
Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas – Quickstep – Now this is the kind of quickstep I like, lots of movement all over the floor. I’d say Sabrina is another force to be reckoned with. Two great dances in two weeks. Len’s comments kinda surprised me. Quick and slow needed in a quickstep? I’m with Bruno and Tom on this one. It sounds odd. However, as I said above, I think Mel B. showed how to do this well.
Score: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 8 Bruno – 9 Total – 26 So Sabrina tied her score from last week. And a score of 26 is nothing to be ashamed of. If she can keep this up, she will last a long time in the competition.
The judges standings this week are:
1. Helio
2. Sabrina
3. Marie
4. Mel B.
5. Albert (tie)
5. Jennie (tie)
5. Cameron (tie)
5. Floyd (tie)
5. Jane (tie)
10. Mark
11. Wayne
It’s always hard to tell this early on, but this season is certainly looking like the women’s season. Three of the top four this week are women. And the bottom two are men.
So who do I think will leave this week? Unfortunately, I think it will be Mark. He has the second lowest score and was in the bottom two last week. Traditionally, that spells doom. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wayne left, too, but I think his fan base will keep him going for a few more weeks. If Wayne isn’t in the bottom two with Mark, look for either Albert or Floyd to be there.
As long as I’m making predictions, I predict that Helio and Julianne will be back to do their Mambo again.