'Dance War': It's finally on

Here we go. The first official performances by Teams Bruno and Carrie Ann on Dance War and one brings it a little bit more than the other. Challenge!

Spoilers getting served...

The teams open up with a joint number - "Spice Up Your Life' by the Spice Girls. Not only is it an odd song choice, the vocal arrangement is...off-putting. Drew Lachey comes out and finally - FINALLY! - tells us the consequences of losing each week. Whichever team gets the lowest vote loses a member. That really sucks. Yet we still don't know what the winning team, well, wins. Mystery, thy name is Lachey.

In order to give the performers time to do their costume changes, we get a nice time-wasting package recapping what/how the guys did last episode and the selection process, complete with thoughts from said guys and Bruno and Carrie Ann. It reaffirmed all the iffiness I felt last week and how I really don't agree with their assessment of certain individuals voices.

After the commercial, we get the same set-up except with the girls. Following another commercial break, we get the final three performances for both with testimonials. Having to hear Charity, Corina and Allysa perform "Survivor" again hurt my feelings and seeing Maxx, Qis and Phillip sing "End of the Road" one more time only reiterated that I'd prefer to see Maxx instead of Chris, though he may prove me wrong. And wow, way to kill a half an hour.

Bruno and Carrie Ann are now  brought out on the stage to stand next to their teams for the obligatory banter. Crap, another pre-taped package. This time it's featuring Team Bruno and their prep for tonight's performances. During the initial vocal practice, Phillip can't sing because he lost his voice. Bruno has a one-on-one with him to make sure he takes care of his throat. Phillip is then sent to vocal coach Mauli B. who tells him he has to learn proper technique or he'll be toast before he gets anywhere professionally. We're left with Phillip worrying that he won't be able to sing come show time and Drew tosses us to a commercial. Filler much?

Each team gets two numbers and Team Bruno's first is "A Little Less Conversation" - the Elvis remix by Junkie XL. Charity, Lacey and Kelsey open the number dancing in front of a curtain, wearing costumes that remind me of Saloon girls in the Old West. Zack, Phillip and Tony are then revealed with Tony doing a jump-split off the risers over Lacey's head. Great entrance. Too bad I hate his vocal arrangement. Phillip's voice held up pretty well all things considered but Zack was the most consistent vocally. This first number was a showcase for the guys and the only thing that really impressed me was this part in the middle where they had 3-part harmony. Also, the girls' background vocals lacked depth most of the time. Overall, the choreography was solid but the vocal arrangement was lacking. Not terrible, not fantastic. Eh. The Big B was gushing over the performance, as you'd expect, giving Tony a lot of props. Carrie Ann said they did really well too, but noted that the way Bruno approached his number was completely different than the way she approached hers. Color me intrigued.

We get Team Carrie Ann's rehearsal week package. She gave them music packets right after last week's taping to learn and then called the girls out to sing their parts as soon as they walked in their rehearsal/living space the next morning. Hardcore. I like that. Mariel, Elizabeth and Allysa start to sing "Call Me" by Blondie and they do well initially but Mariel skips a verse. C to the A then gives a kind warning that when she gives lyrics to learn, you learn them that night because she'll be moving on to something else the next day. She ain't no joke. Qis, Bradley and Chris also mess up their lyrics so she gives them a less wordy but similarly quasi-friendly warning.

Back from the break, Team Carrie Ann perform Chris Brown's "Run It." Bradley was a bit shaky vocally but, as Chris' headset didn't work the whole song, I attribute it partially to nerves and partially not being able to hear himself. Both Carrie Ann and Bruno compliment Chris on not panicking and performing through his technical issues. What little I heard from him sounded pretty good so I agree that it's a shame he didn't get the spotlight he needed. A few note issues aside, I liked the vocal arrangement. It utilized the girls much more than Bruno's number and in creative spots and it never seemed flat. I think the number was a lot stronger then Bruno's, which is ironic as he took a shot at her team by saying she didn't have enough choreography content. C to the A defends her group by saying they have a lot of stage presence and don't need 8,000 tricks to gain favor from the audience. Burn. Sure, the choreography had quite a few stop and pose moments, but I don't think it was excessive and I believe it was appropriate for the song.

The second rehearsal package for Team Bruno starts off with him introducing his choreographer, Kristin Denehy. The first thing they do is vocal conditioning - meaning they exercise while singing. Next, they all sit in a circle and say what they think is a the strongest thing about the person sitting to their right. Ah...the joys of team bonding. After, we see Kelsey having issues with her vocals for their number - "S.O.S." by Rihanna. This could go spectacularly wrong.

Well...they're dressed in an "Asian theme" - the girls in short, embroidered dresses with mandarin collars and red fans with dragons; the boys in quasi-martial arts uniforms, also with dragon embroidery. Again, not so much with vocal arrangement. Maybe they're having similar microphone issues because it seems that some parts drop out on occasion...or it's just that they were messing up. As much as this was supposed to be a showcase for the ladies, Lacey was the only one who's voice pushed through. There was lots of unison and, as Kelsey and Charity are not as strong vocally, I kind of feel like they were cheating the solos. The choreography was pretty good but Carrie Ann made a great point. Certainly they're all talented, but the lack of true solos made them come off like a show choir.

Team Carrie Ann's second rehearsal package starts the same way, with Carrie Ann introducing Jason Young, her choreographer. He runs them through the choreography over and over. Bradley mentions that he's having some issues with his vocals because he gets really tense. C to the A, a little disappointed and sensing the trepidation, has a sit-down with the group. Bradley and Mariel separately admit they feel like they're bringing everyone down but Carrie Ann does her best to assure them and to warn that she's really going to be pushing them. They need to be confident and make it through. She also has Mariel call her grandmother to check in on her and make sure she's okay which helps ease her mind some.

Their second number, "Call Me," is hype. I mean, I really dug it - it's definitely the best of the night. Allysa, Elizabeth and Mariel all nailed their vocals and the guys did some awesome partner work. This is the first number I thoroughly enjoyed and wasn't distracted by any huge, critical misstep. It had a great, professional girl-group-with-background-dancers vibe which I really appreciate and I think really illustrates the difference between the two - Bruno's number are very musical theater/evening show on the Lido Deck while Carrie Ann's have a much more music award performance/video aesthetic.

After a montage of the team members pleading for your votes, we get a final co-team extravaganza - "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Really? It's very Fame with a smidge of Rent. Overall it was enjoyable, with spots of not so enjoyable. With side to side comparisons, Team Carrie Ann totally wins the vocal war and quite frankly, I like her team members as a collective much better than Bruno's. So, color me biased for the rest of the series. I put my money on her team to win with Bruno most likely getting rid of Phillip first.

Alright, the show's definitely got a lot more life to it now that we've reached the team numbers. What say you? Did you have a favorite? Did you, for some strange reason, like Team Bruno better and think they'll win? Who do you think will have to leave the show? And how awesome were those silver boots the girls were wearing during "Call Me?"

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