Dancing with the Stars – The Double Rounds Begin

So, we’re down to six stars, but we still get twelve dances.  Each star will do a Ballroom dance and a Latin dance.  It’s a crowded night, so let’s things going with the Ballroom round.

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Tango – Maybe it’s Helio’s Latin roots showing, but that was the most Latin Tango I’ve ever seen.  It was fine, but it didn’t have the drama that I associate with the Tango.  I missed the technical stuff that the male judges picked on, but I didn’t like it as much as Carrie Ann did, either.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 25  Considering the comments, this is the score I expected.

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Quickstep – I love a good quickstep, and this was definitely a great two step.  When a couple gets the timing right, it is a thing to behold.  And that ending with her leaving the lip prints on Len was absolutely hysterical.  I agree with Bruno "When you get it right, you get it right." 
Scores: Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 28  I think they should have gotten at least one more 10.  That was a strong dance, and the strongest we’ve seen from Marie in several weeks.

Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Fox Trot – This is where I often feel at a loss trying to understand the judges.  I liked that dance.  The judges found technical stuff to pick on, but I missed it all somehow.  I certainly thought it was better then they did.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24  I thought it deserved at least one 9.

Jane Seymour & Tony Dovolani – Quickstep – I never would have considered "Walk the Line" as a two step, but it worked.  Not the best quick step of the night.  In fact, possibly the weakest.  But it was still enjoyable.  I agree with Carrie Ann that Jane needs to start exciting us more then she does.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24  A solid score, but it still puts them at the bottom of the board after the ballroom round.  That had plenty of company down there, however.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Viennese Waltz – I thought that was a great dance.  It was smooth and fun.  Bruno called it fluid, and I think that’s a perfect way to describe it.  I don’t know enough to know if Len was right about the dance not having enough Viennese Waltz or not.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 9 Total – 25  I wasn’t surprised by anyone’s scores, but I fall on Bruno’s side then the other two.

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Slivinska – Quickstep – This is the third quickstep of the night, and it was the most high energy.  And ending was unique and fun.  However, I sure thought they got out of step in the middle.  And I wasn’t crazy since all three of the judges commented on it as well.  I sure don’t get this comment on the dance being too much.  I thought the energy level was great.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24  Considering the missed steps and the judges comments, I think that’s a good score.

And thus ends the Ballroom round.  Let’s not waste any time getting to the Latin round, shall we?

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Samba – Helio is always strong on his Latin dances, and this is no different.  And the smiles on both their faces made it obvious they loved it.  In fact, they were laughing at the end.  And I’m going to leave Len’s joke completely alone.  Considering the point he was trying to make, you almost wonder what political point he was trying to make.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27  With the comments, I was expecting at least one 10, but with how hard the judges have been tonight, this is a strong score.

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Cha Cha – The judges seemed to enjoy it more then I did.  I felt that Marie was trying to show she could be sexy but was going too far.  It’s funny because I haven’t felt that way about her Latin dances in the past.  I will agree that they were doing more playing around then true dancing.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24  Perhaps a tad higher then I would have given it.

Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Paso Doble – That was interesting.  Seemed more like a freestyle then anything else they should have been seeing.  Of course, I still don’t get the Paso Doble, so maybe that’s why I didn’t seem to care for it but the judges loved it.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 10 Bruno – 10 Total – 30  And a second perfect score in two weeks.  I never have fully grasped what the judges look for here, but I’m glad they saw because I didn’t care for this one.

Jane Seymour & Tony Dovolani – Cha Cha – Now that’s the kind of Cha Cha I would have enjoyed from Marie.  Classy and yet plenty of Latin to it.  Best dance I’ve seen from Jane in several weeks.  Len is right that it could have used more wow factor, but that’s a minor point.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 26  You know, if anyone was going to rate a step lower then the others, I expected it to be Len.  But that score is about where I thought it would be overall based on the comments.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Rumba – Well, that’s the sexiest dance we’ve seen so far tonight.  I noticed a very slight stumble at the end, but that’s a minor point.  It was hot and passionate from the get go.  This was the dance of the night that made me need a cold shower.  I agree with Bruno that it was perfectly paced.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 10 Total – 28  I’m glad it got at least one 10.  Definitely got one from me.  As far as I’m concerned, this was the best dance of the night.

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Slivinska – Jive – You know, I don’t care how often they put this in the Latin round.  I still consider this a Ballroom dance.  Looks like a swing to me.  I’m not sure they needed to do the jump over Edyta things twice, but it was fun.  I didn’t notice any missed steps and it had much better control then the quickstep. 
Scores: Carrie Ann –  9 Len -9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27  That seems about right to me.  It was strong, but not a perfect 10.

It’s funny.  Almost everyone did better in the Latin round then the Ballroom round.  And Marie, the strongest dancer of the Ballroom round, did worse in the Latin round.  While the stars always seem to be better at one style then the other, this is the most pronounced it has ever been.

Standings:
Even with two dances, we still had one tie.  The standings are:
1. Mel – 54
2. Jennie – 53
3. Helio – 52 (tie)
3. Marie – 52 (tie)
5. Cameron – 51
6. Jane – 50

This season has become so unpredictable, I’ve given up predicting anything.  I’m just going to tune in tomorrow and brace myself for the unexpected.  Yes, it’s me chickening out.  But honestly, I can’t imagine predicting anything and being close to accurate.

I am going to try predicting the encore.  If it were up to me, it would be Jennie’s Rumba.  Something tells me I’ll be wrong, but that’s my guess.