Don't apologise for not liking the programme, belgiumvote. A few posts back I said that normally I can't stand DWTS - I certainly wouldn't be able to cope with watching it as an episode. The Youtube clips I can just about cope with. I find the American dances all rather showbiz and lacking content but I am somehow fascinated by the difference of opinions on dance between America and the rest of the world!

I enjoy reading this thread, as you all seem to know your dances.I do not believe, however, that DWTS pretends to be the definitive view of "American Dance". This show is really largely entertainment only with a ballroom dance backdrop. It is highly rated (in the US), it has a prime time viewing slot and commands top revenue dollars (which allow it the production value it has) with two seasons per year.

I have seen SCD and it is, in its own right, a very good program(me) highlighting ballroom dancing. But the two shows are very different from each other style wise and production value wise. "I" am the target audience for DWTS: Someone who knows very little about dance. Someone who sees a "celeb" who is familiar and wants to see them or learn about someone new . Really, someone who just wants to be entertained each week after a busy day at the office. Nothing wrong with that. As someone said from DS on another thread far back, "America does pizzazz". And that is what is is. A more dance rule structured, high brow and prim show would probably not do so well during prime time. We do see those types of ballroom dance competitions on PBS channels (Public Broadcasting ).
Long live both.

Aloha, Aerick - you're very welcome here .

I think it's inevitable that people will make comparisons between their homegrown and much-loved show and the overseas interloper (whichever way round that works ).

I love, love, love SCD and don't watch DWTS with the same passion, but I do enjoy it - especially as we have our 'off-season'. I have - in the past - got my knickers in a twist about DWTS' ... how shall I put this? ...lack of rigour... but now I try to enjoy it for what it is - frothy, dance-related entertainment, and not be too worried about the comparisons with my beloved Strictly. There are plenty of knowledgeable folk out there who dismiss SCD in the same way and the show is always treading a line between out and out light entertainment and maintaining some degree of dance credibility. It never satisfies everyone!

I have zero qualifications to critique the dances (other than what has rubbed off watching SCD) but I think it's fun to comment and inevitably one sees it through Strictly-tinted glasses - but I agree with you - long live both shows

Hi Aerick!
I liked your post, I think it´s interesting with the different aspects of SCD and DWTS.
I´m from Sweden and like to follow danceshows and I think that SCD and DWTS have more in common than differences. The swedish and danish dancing shows are more similar, the productions here are close.
I only see clips, not the whole show so that also influence my opinions.
As you said: long live both (or three, four .....)

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend the DWTS American audience. I've actually been pretty impressed with some of the choreography on show in this series. A lot of routines so far have had some recognisable dance figures in, more than the UK show last series. I guess the show will always vary according to the viewing demographic.
I wouldn't manage with a whole episode of DWTS because the ad breaks would do my head in! Over here we've just finished a series of Dancing on Ice, which is an ice skating show. As it's shown on the commercial channel it had ad breaks, and by the end of the series I was ready to throw something at the tv because of the number of interruptions to the flow of the show from the breaks.
DWTS also treats its dance troupe far better than the trial UK one last series did.

Kirstie and Maks on Oprah yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdirnKuC2g4

Thanks for that DWTS! I need to get my homework in for this week! It's late over here now, nearly midnight, so maybe I'll get to it tomorow!

See you in June!

Here's my late DWTS homework for this week!

Romeo and Chelsie A bit of an improvement, but still not quite right posture for paso. He needs to throw his chest out better and strangely, I thought he needed a bit more overt arrogance in his face. A bit stompy at times. I would be happy to see him go even if he's not the worst dancer!

Kendra and Louis I didn't mind her before, but she just grated on me a lot this week! Crap attitude! No grace, dodgy tricks. She seemed scared of it. Just too jerky for me. Another one I wouldn't miss if she went.

Sugar and Anna Lots of faffing about! Was there any VW in there? A waste of good music is all I can really say! He's a nice character though.

Petra and Dmitry She was just too floppy for this dance. I sensed she tried to get into character, but it wasn't really convincing, a bit like Ali B. Just too nice a character to portray agressiveness in a dance.

Ralph and Karina I'm kind of going off Ralph. He's too intense. Didn't agree with the judges, I still thought his hands were bad in places, but maybe a slight improvement too. He was as stiff as a board with OTT acting (re Pammie in the VW!!!) Overmarked!

Hines and Kym For me, he had more of the bullfighter arrogance than Romeo. Good lines, but he seemed to struggle at times. Best so far and I thought was undermarked.

Chelsea and Mark I'm sorry, what is it with this guy??! He needs a good talking to (well done Len for once)!!! It's the same each week so far (what's with all the writhing on the floor???). He just seems to dance to show himself off. It's frustrating really, because Chelsea is easily final material.

Chris and Cheryl I'm liking this pairing more and more. Pretty good characterisation. Fair marks.

Kirsty and Maks This was a weird one. Apart from the unfortunate shoegate, she seemed for the first time to have some awkward postures and then really graceful sometimes. I hope they have no hiccups next week and can improve! I'd like to see them in the final!

How many do that have in the final of DWTS?

I really liked the classical theme to this week, but it was really wasted on some of the dancers which is a shame!

Hi Wrenny!
I like the phrase "home work"
Agree with you about Mark, I´m surprised because I have liked him and think he´s a good dancer but now he seems to overdance the whole time and he can destroy Chelseas chances
Really hope that Kirstie can bring it on: they have the foxtrot this week
Like Hines with Kym more and more, great chemistry and good dancing. They have the rumba, usual tough one for male celebs but Hines is a hardworker
Here comes a interview with them:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Codebear4#p/u/1/BVLUtXuNbYo

Wrenny: Sorry, I forgot your question about the finale.
The last season they have been three couples in the finale and they have danced two dances week 8 and 9 but maybe there are changes.
This week is also a theme week, seems that the producers like this, it´s American week!
This is the dances:
Foxtrot: Kirstie/Maks, Romeo/Chelsea, Kendra/Louis
Rumba: Hines/Kym
Samba: Ralph/Carina, Chelsea/Mark
Viennese Waltz: Chris/Cheryl
Quickstep: Petra/Dmitry

Hm, I think this could be tricky for Kirstie, I hope she's building her stamina.

http://www.tvguide.com/Celebrity-Blo...e-1031985.aspx

Maks' latest.

I just want to express my embarrassment of this week's theme. Please know that most Americans are cringing at the cheesy mess the show has foisted on everyone for this episode. I know a lot of those outside the US think we are all uber patriotic goofballs, but I swear we're not all this ridiculous.

What i posted in the other thread...

Wow, prepare for a vomit inducing "America: Ain't it great" theme. (weird choice considering a lot of the dancers and contestants are foreigners....)

Some of the outfits alone should have been banned to prevent eyesore.


Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff - Samba
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke - Viennese Waltz
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin - Quickstep
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower - Foxtrot
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson - Rumba
Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Foxtrot
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel - Foxtrot
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas - Samba

Well, I'm not going to debate my side too much but just to say that I don't have an issue with the Americana theme in general. It's clearly an American thing and, well, you know who the target audience is... No apologies from me, (and really, any criticisms on the UKs part is completely alright and not taken badly at all. I would not expect you to praise it to be honest). That being said, I am a little perplexed why they chose this theme in April. Perhaps Memorial Day week or the July 4th week would have been more appropriate and understandable. Anybody who's watched films throughout the decades has certainly seen kitschy Americana like this. The scene in Rocky IV, Ferris Buellers Day off, Uncle Sam, Stars & Stripes, Yankee Doodle dandy hats and outfits. It's all fun. Come have fun on a Fourth of July BBQ weekend somewhere in middle America! But yes, it's April. Still wondering why lol.

I believe all of the pros remaining are American/US citizens (even karina, dmitry, Louis and I think Maks) (and most of the eliminated ones as well) except for Kym and all of the remaining celebs (and eliminated) are the same minus Petra (a green card holder). So they all have some history with this country and more than likely a desire to want to remain here so it's not a stretch to get into the theme.

I do laud the producers, however, on trying out new things. Some things may not work (I don't particularly think they should introduce this theme again, but I certainly would not go as far to consider anything vomit inducing), and some themes work wonderfully (loved last weeks classical theme). Last season there were two or three weeks in a row where I did not like the theme (too gimmicky), but I considered it one of my favo(u)rite seasons, but at least they constantly look for new ways to entertain, and i know, entertainment is subjective

My question, why have they only had the Charleston on one season? Such a fun dance. Anyway, I dont take anything anyone here says personally, and I hope you feel the same.
Aloha

http://www.rickey.org/?p=62776


A shirtless Maks all the way in the Foxtrot...lol....

Ack, no need to apologise, at all. I cringe at the UK Strictly all the time - I think it goes with the territory.

I think in general the US are a more heart-on-sleeve nation, although Europe is catching up I think, and so it's a cultural difference that highlights my own stiff-upper and can cause me to squirm. But then I have a really low squirm threshold anyway and Bruce Forsythe just has to appear on screen for me to reach for the mute button.

Thanks Prime for the links. I'll hopefully get to watch them later.

Aerick - please don't think we're over-critical of the US programme, if you visit the Strictly threads you'll see that we're just as picky and appreciative about the UK version.

Thank you Prime and Kiwi for the links.
Must say that I´m speechless and not only depends the fact my difficultes with writing english today more about the dancing last night, at one of the ABC threads calling "the worst theme ever"
I felt sorry for the couples that got tough songs they must dance to. Think they really tried but noone had "the best night"
Imo my favourite couples had the best entertaining, Hines/Kym did a decent dance but maybe was a little overscored and Kirstie/Maks what can I say? "ALL IN"
Liked Romeo, Chelsea and Chris and think the bottom three are right this week.

Here comes a funny recap, I like her:

http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/dancing...-12-episode-8/


Hi Noone, missed you with a minute Hope everything is good, here in Sweden it´s sunshine and I have holiday this week see you later

Hi Susan, beautifully sunny and gorgeous here too. Isn't it always gorgeous in Sweden - snow or sun?

Fantastic links - really funny about Maks...can't wait to see him in action. *gulp*

I've just watched the clips so here is my take on the week:
The theme didn't work well in the form it took, however I think it actually could have had potential if done differently. Some dances are American in origin - foxtrot was invented by Vaudeville performer Harry Fox and the quickstep evolved from that (and a number of other dances contemporary to that period). Likewise jive evolved from lindyhop and jitterbug. There is the Charleston from the 1920s prohibition too. Therefore using many swing era/crooners tunes like those of Frank Sinatra would have produced suitable music and still been essentially American and also sticking to more of those dances listed above would have fulfilled the theme. They could have just stuck to decorating the studio in the American flag?

Anyhow to each couple.
Ralph and Karina - samba.
I really felt for them as they seemed puzzled with how to deal with the theme. Their music just could not be shoehorned to have a samba rhythm so they were immediately at a disadvantage. Karina did a great job of trying to get samba choreography in, but it was never going to look right when danced to that music. I was completely underwhelmed. I think he could be on dodgy ground this week in the voting.

Chris and Cheryl - Viennese Waltz.
This was a good attempt. I felt like I vaguely knew the music but sounding different so I wondered if it had been re-written to accommodate the VW timing. He had a good attempt and tried hard. His posture was good but he was flat footed in places. Quite a lot of true VW content which was good to see.

Petra and Dmitry - Quickstep
Petra always looks a bit wobbly when she dances and she has an odd posture. I think this is because she is too tall for Dmitry though she possibly has a wobbly core. Her dance was off in places and some footwork was untidy. However it was a good attempt to very fast music. Music was nearly suitable but the singer really murdered Elvis and it didn't quite sound 'right'.

Romeo and Chelsie
I thought Romeo's attitude was a bit better this week. He seems to be taking the competition seriously now. Frank Sinatra - New York New York is a proper foxtrot but again the band/singers murdered it and made it a little fast. However this pair were the pair where afterwards I thought I must have watched a different dance. I thought it was dreadful. The foxtrot in hold seemed very bouncy when it should be smooth and gliding. I did not like the choreography at all, and then the judges raved over it!

Hines and Kym - rumba
This music worked but was a little fast. I thought Hines picked up his feet a bit too much and I couldn't see as much hip action as Carrie-Ann suggested. There was a fair amount of content though mostly of the lady waft around the man sort, except for sliding doors which were repeated a couple of times. Maybe a point or two overscored.

Kirsty and Maks
Music This was a nightmare for Maks to choreograph. Fair play to him for trying to appease Len by putting in some official foxtrot, alas it looked so forced as it went where it would never fit. Completely unsuitable music. Kirsty looks down a lot. She needs to hold her head up.

Kendra and Louis - Foxtrot
This dance was ridiculous! It was a quickstep of sorts, there was no foxtrot content - it may have had a reverse wave (foxtrot step) shoehorned in but I'm not sure if it was or not. I think Kendra had QS before(?), but otherwise I don't know why they didn't make this a quickstep and be done with it. So little was actual official ballroom choreography anyway. She was however dancing a lot better with more confidence and better posture.

Chelsea and Mark - samba
This was so much better - the dance of the night for me. Mark's choreography is so much better when he plays it straight. The samba rhythm fitted into the song reasonably well, not perfectly but better than some during the night. Chelsea had good hip action and her technique looked quite good for a beginner.

Just one final point. A lot of the costumes were dreadful and I'm not sure it helped their cause. The American flag dresses/suits () were offputting and I really feel strongly that ballroom dances should not be danced bare chested (even if the owner of the chest has a well kept body ). Also Hines' suit probably hindered his movement for rumba.

Haha, I like both snow and sun but sadly it´s been a hard winter so now everyone seems to smile with the sun
I suggest you sit down and have a drink or two when you look at Maks a little sorry for Kirstie, it´s easy to forget her and only look at Maks. Not because of overdancing, it´s the hotness....... Second thought: don´t think Kirstie mind, they seems to have a blast

Here comes some interviews:

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video...ng.america.cnn

http://www.etonline.com/tv/109925_He...ner/index.html

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/video?id=8081019

Monday was Patriot's day which is a bank holiday for Massachusetts and Washington D.C. and a few other states but NOT the rest of the country. It commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, which were two of the earliest battles in the American Revolutionary War. It is confusing because it is not widely recognized as a holiday but it is a patriotic holiday. The Boston Marathon is always run on Patriot's which is one of US's biggest and well known marathons.

I agree no one seemed to know what to do with the crappy-inappropriate-for-the-dance music they were all given. To me that is the problem with themes, the music choices are so limited and they never seem to work.

Mark said something last week - you want to do a dance that no one has ever seen but not get punished for it. But I wonder if he is missing the point? But I think most just want DO to see the same thing over - just do a classic dance please. Do a foxtrot that is like every other classic foxtrot we have seen with foxtrot appropriate music. The public won't tire of seeing the same thing it if there is great technique and style. I think the producers and pros think the public will tune out if they don't try to make each new dance grander and splashier.

What perplexes me is that when the pros DO choreograph a great dance that is traditional it pays off in judging and scoring and also seems to be a crowdpleaser. I don't get it. Off my soapbox now

Although I will say sometimes being creative and pushing the boundaries does work. Artem and Kara's AS and Derek/Joanne's paso come to mind.

I don't think Hines is half as good as the judges seem to think he is. Really quite surprised by their marks and comments.

Full Results show

http://www.videobb.com/video/lqwwFQd4P5xr

Thank you once again Prime! for putting all the dances on the thread. Much appreciated.
I will refrain from posting any comments. Please take no offence, anyone, as no offence is intended.
See ya next week.

Patriots Day. I never heard of that but then again I grew up in California.


come on, tell us how you really feel. No holding back
We're all amongst friends here..

If I didn't explicity say so, I did not like this episode and there is one song (might have been the Kym/Heinz song) that I cannot for the life of me stand. I think each season has one or two bizzarre themes. Remeber when Pamela Anderson channeled Lucille Ball or when singer Michael Bolton came out of a dog house?

I still want the Charleston back however..!