'Dancing With the Stars' semifinal performances
Tonight, the final four couples face off on Dancing With the Stars. They'll each do two dances, one Latin and one ballroom, drawn from a giant disco ball, of course.
Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are up first -- their dances of the night are foxtrot and paso doble. They hope to show how far he's come with the foxtrot since it's been so long since he had to perform it. He also gets a pep talk from Dan Marino via tape and is told not to come home without the mirror ball trophy. Their foxtrot, to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," is graceful and cheeky and definitely achieves their goal of showing how much Jason has learned this season. He looks comfortable and like he's having a great time. Head judge Len Goodman is up first: "Honestly, ... like a dolphin glides through the sea, that's how you moved on the dancefloor. ... The whole thing was great." Bruno Tonioli says he was a showman and had great movement. Carrie Ann Inaba says he had great posture, a lot more content and did a great job. Scores: 9-10-9, for a 28/30.
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani draw rumba and quickstep. Stacy Keibler stops by to talk with Marissa about what it's like to dance and train with Tony and how difficult it is to have chemistry with him when they don't find him sexy (he doesn't look too pleased). Their quickstep is OK -- there are a couple of slow parts that seem particularly slow for the quickstep, though. Bruno says, "You missed a jete on the big run. This is the semifinal; at this stage, we look at things like that." Carrie Ann says she's turned into the unlikely contender and that she did a great, classic quickstep. Bruno says he has to take into consideration the difficulty level of this dance, but that she did a great job. Scores: 9-9-8, for a 26/30.
Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke draw samba and Viennese waltz, and they aren't happy since the samba was the dance during which he got injured. Their waltz, to Dave Matthews Band's "Satellite," has flow and elegance, and he even manages the hold fairly well despite his arm brace. Carrie Ann says Cristian looks stressed and then has this moment when he breaks through and really starts enjoying each performance. Len says it had better content and better movement and mentions, thus, "better marks." Bruno says it was a Viennese waltz with "a wow factor." Host Tom Bergeron asks, regarding Cheryl's silver dress, whether anyone is missing a weather balloon. (Cheryl doesn't find this nearly as amusing as I do.) Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30.
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas draw tango and jive. Their goal with the tango is to show more emotion since they have room to improve their 27/30 from the last time they did the dance. They definitely pull this off, especially in the love parts of the love-hate dance. There is also this one crazy footwork sequence that is very cool and not something I recall seeing in previous tangos on this show. Len says obviously the audience loved it and that she did get the drama back, though at times, he found it "a little bit hectic." Bruno: "You squeezed every single drop of drama, passion, sex appeal out of that dance, and technically your footwork ..." Then he and Bruno talk over each other. Carrie Ann recrowns Kristi the "queen of the dancefloor." Scores: 10-9-10, for a 29/30.
Jason and Edyta return to the floor for their paso doble. But first, Len Goodman gives the semifinalists a master class and teaches each one a new step that they have to do in their performances. Then, it's paso time. Their goal was less posing and more drama, and they seem to reach that, though overall, I am not totally wowed by the performance. Not that there is anything wrong with it that I can put my finger on, but it wasn't my favorite paso doble ever. The audience members giving the standing ovation disagree with me, though. Bruno says he has the strength and determination of Iron Man. Carrie Ann says there was way more content and choreography. Len compares him to the price of gas and says he is going up. (He means it in a good way.) Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30 and a total 55/60.
Marissa and Tony are back with their rumba. Their chemistry is definitely amped up a notch or two, and Marissa definitely uses her acting chops to show off the emotion of the dance. Carrie Ann says this is the semifinals, and she wasn't excited by this dance. Len says the rumba doesn't have the wow factor of some of the other dances, and it is very precise. He adds that they did show off these qualities, and it was a very nice job. Bruno says that last time, he told Marissa she didn't show enough sexiness, but this time she went for it and she sold it well. Carrie Ann interrupts to yell at them about how it was the semifinal and they have to have the same standards for everyone. Scores: 8-9-9, for a 26/30, and a total 52/60.
Cristian and Cheryl give the samba another shot, this time hopefully without injury. Their performance is fun, funny and above all, entertaining. And it ends with booty-shakes for everyone. Len says it was hotter than a chili pepper. He adds that adversity can either knock you out or take you down, but he thinks it's made him stronger. He does say, though, that it was a tad flat-footed. Bruno says he made it a party for everyone. Carrie Ann says he reminded her of "Twinkle Toes," aka Emmitt Smith, and that it was excellent. Scores: 10-9-10, for a 29/30, and a total 56/30.
Kristi and Mark close the show with the jive (which they scored a 30 with two weeks ago). Their performance is a blast (they dance to "Nutbush") and seems very on point. (Kristi's hair gets stuck in her lipgloss, which is a little distracting, but the dance is so fast, it's not like she can do anything about it.) Bruno: "For me this was the cherry on the icing on the cake of a sweet, sweet jive. Tonight, you've shown two sides. ... You can do it all!" Carrie Ann: "That was an extremely difficult routine. Tonight you were just a hair out of sync, but still fantastic." Bruno says they moved well across the floor and he loved the classic steps, but he found them a little stiff at points. 9-9-10, for a 28/30 and a total 57/60.
So that leaves the leaderboard as: Kristi and Mark (57), Cristian and Cheryl (56), Jason and Edyta (55) and Marissa (52).
I think this has to be Marissa's week to go home. Kristi and Jason have been strong all season, and Cristian has shown so much improvement in the past couple of weeks. Marissa has shown some improvement, but I think the other three deserve to be in the finale a little more.
What do you think?
in Celebreality, Dancing With the Stars
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Comments
I agree that it's time for Marisa to go and leave the finals for the best dancers.
Posted by: D Brown | May 12, 2008 10:49 PM
i think Christian has been sympathetically judged .. his Samba was awkward .. i am tired of the judges having a different standard for each dancer .. it is extremely ludicrous the performances that Carrie Ann is showering with tens at the same time she is punishing Christie with 8's and 9's .. Christian should have been gone last week if anybody was truly honest about those performances ... if this was a contest about courage Marlee would be leading the pack ... but it is dance
Posted by: jim | May 12, 2008 10:56 PM
I think Marissa needs to go home
Posted by: Lenore Kessler | May 12, 2008 11:32 PM
carrie ann should be ashamed. whenever people argue on this show it's someone disagreeing with how harsh someone has judged a contestant, but carrie ann's need to argue with Len's high praise was pathetic. she now is the most grotesque of them all. here she was not only giving a lowsy review, but now she's interfering with someone else's positive review. there's someone cloyingly sacharrine about ms. inaba. is it too late to get rid of her? and i don't even think she can dance.
Posted by: Fannie Farkle | May 12, 2008 11:33 PM
Kristi's first dance was very good, it's true her last jive was better than tonights. delaburke did so-so the 1st dance and his footing was off the 2nd, but he really didn't do much dancing, except for the shaking, she did it. Funny how he hardly moved his arm when he danced, but threw the bad arm up in the air 3x's getting his score....something is fishy-kind of like her silver dress, her chest looked like a peeled back can of sardines...
Posted by: filipinos | May 12, 2008 11:36 PM
This is the week Marissa should go
home. Jason, Kristi, and Christian should be the finalists.
Posted by: Catherine L. Vinson | May 13, 2008 12:44 AM
Marissa should go home.
Posted by: Catherine L. Vinson | May 13, 2008 12:45 AM
I love Marissa's enthusiasm, but let's be honest, it's time for her to go!
Posted by: Theresa | May 13, 2008 8:57 AM
I do not agree that Marisa should go this week. Frankly I see Jason as the least able dancer on the floor. He does not feel the music and he does not move with the music.
Marisa on the other hand moves well goes with the flow of the beat and the music. Also and I think more important is the music that Marisa danced to was more danceable. Much of the music used are not good danceable tunes.
Frankly, I do not think that Carrie Ann believes a "FAT" girl can or should dance.
As to who should win, as of last night, Christian is it hands down. He will not win because you can not have two latins win in a row.
Posted by: fred | May 13, 2008 9:27 AM
I am pleased to read that someone else feels that Jason is not really that good. . I believe Marisa should stay, Jason go, and the showdown be between Kristie and Christian. Showmanship and connecting to the audience is what Kristie lacks. That may reflect too much emphasis on difficult choreography or that she is just a less open person. Good dancing requires letting yourself feel the music , telling a story, and allowing the audience to feel it and enjoy it with you, thus the connection. It is what separates the good dancers from the memorable ones. For me Marisa does have that quality, and can do it despite her different body type. That is a talent the others do not have.
Posted by: Cindy | May 13, 2008 1:19 PM
cristian should go because HE is not that good, she dances and flits around him and he ONCE in awhile does somewhat of a good step....besides he's a fake. He was pumping his 'bad' arm up and down in the air when he rec'd his scores, for a few mins. he forgot he had an injured arm? KRISTI and MARK should win it....
Posted by: kristiasians | May 13, 2008 2:03 PM
cheryl's silver dress looked like someone had peeled back a giant can of sardines on her chest......hideous. Last week her first dress looked like she had a toilet seat around her neck this week sardines on her chest.....what do you want us to know about you burke?
Posted by: chan takei | May 13, 2008 2:09 PM
frankly, i'm still shocked that priscilla prestly is off of the show... i at least thought that she was going to make it to the semi-finals... i believe that although marissa should have been long gone(i mean lets face it, she was never that good of a dancer on the show), i feel that it is time for jason to go. he doesn't get into the music, and i think that that's one of the qualities of making a performance sizzle.
but really, jason should have left last week, instead of mario going... so, my opinion would be jason should go this week, but i feel as though america is going to vote marissa off...
sad, but that's how this show works...
he has the popularity vote.
Posted by: anonymous girl711 | May 13, 2008 11:39 PM
I think Kristy and Mark are the winners.
Cristian is using his "injure'arm and his background to gain sympaty,which is unfair.
Posted by: carmen Be | May 13, 2008 11:40 PM
I consider ridiculous to say that Cristian will not win because you can not have two latins win in a row.. What? We are not voting for the dancers about nationality (Latinos, Americans, Asia, Africa etc etc) is about those who can dance nice like professionals. For me, Kristie and Cristian have to be in the final. Jason is nice person but he has made some mistakes but the judges did not see it.
Posted by: Anny | May 14, 2008 6:27 AM
i agree... i believe that Jason needs to go... and Christian is not using his crippledness as a sympathy card...
he's using it to his advantage... did you forget to notice that he danced a whole lot better when his arm was injured. he has a lot more determination BECAUSE he has an injured arm... get the facts straight, before you say he's playing the sympathy card.. and also, that's almost on the border of being racist.. he doesn't use his background, so that he can get more votes!!!! yur racist for even saying that.... nobody even mentioned about his background!!!! need to cal down with that stuff, because you don't want Jason to go home... Jason sucks compared to Christian and Mark. and if Christian gets eliminated before him, then it's because a lot more people know him, NOT because he's a better dancer. k? thanks
Posted by: anonymous girl711 | May 14, 2008 11:45 PM