Oh, the irony of tonight's show! Li'l Kim, fresh off the block, gets the highest score of the night by wielding a nightstick and arresting Mr. Clean himself, her partner, Derek Hough. And Matron Mama Morton herself (Queen Latifah's role in Chicago) watched in delight! Kudos, Derek, on taking a risk in this jive's choreo and theatrics. The paradoxes continue with Shawn and Mark scoring their second-highest score of the season with the sexiest dance of them all, (albeit an age-appropriate one!), the rumba. Let's get to it.
Li'l Kim and Derek: Barbie again registered a befuddling range of facial expressions on the dance floor, this time during a jail escape-themed jive. Her strange snarls are enough to distract me from Derek's killer routine. Please, Kim, I know you probably don't have full control of those plastic features, but try to tone it down already! They scored the only 10s of the night, with Len holding up an 8 for the dance being too much theatrics and not enough jive — no surprise there. Judges' score: 28/30
Melissa and Tony: This rumba emanated grace and longing, unlike last week's stony-faced paso. Loved her Bachelor reference in the practice footage: Hold my hand like this? Like where's that ring, buddy? Again, the judges get nit-picky with the naturally talented dancer, with Len saying her movements were "too balletic" (it's beyond my limited dance knowledge to figure out how ballet movements are bad in a rumba?) and Carrie Ann talking about something called Cuban motion? Judges' score: 27/30
Shawn and Mark: Aw, Mark staged a prom for Shawn! How much are producers trying to make us think we've got a showmance on our hands? Seriously, did Mark really go out and buy the 2009 balloons and a pink corsage and boutonnière? Anyway, their rumba, of course, had all the steps executed perfectly, but as usual, a bit lackluster in the character of the dance and hip action. These seem to be Shawn's main points of weakness. Judges' score: 26/30
Gilles and Cheryl: Okay, if Bruno, the king of spontaneous outbreaks of wild movement, calls someone's dancing "a bit like a mad squirrel," you know you were maybe moving somewhat frantically. I don't know though; I really think it was Cheryl choreographing to the music she had, creating a difficult jive with an edge. Gilles' strong suit is basically any variation of sexy: smoldering, steamy, aggressive, etc. The jive was a stretch for him, but he still executed the million steps he had perfectly and with panache. Judges' score: 26/30
Article comments
1 - theshiz,a
nice commentary mrs. i wish and hope some day i have the pleasure of watching the show with you. :)
lil kim - facial expressions, agreed!
chuck - i was surprised at the 7s
lawrence - agreed, he is not having fun and thus, he is not fun to watch.
steve-o - i think 7s were deserved, or at least 6s. very true that he seemed vulnerable and committed and he performed his moves without missing a step. i think lacey needs to push him harder and really work on that technique.