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The final four on 'Dancing with the Stars'
This is it folks. We're one week away from crowning the champion of Dancing with the Stars but first, we've got to get through the semi-finals.
Spoilers!
Each couple chose their dance styles at random from a giant disco ball. Also, the lift allowance was temporary only temporary and we're back to the standard rules. Len addresses the couples and tells them essentially that good is not good enough, they've got to be great. But no pressure.
1. Jason Taylor & Edyta
Dance/Song: Foxtrot - "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" by Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald
Jason picked the Foxtrot and the Paso Doble out of the Disco Ball of Doom. During rehearsal, Jason's a little tired so Edyta uses football analogies and a video from Dan Marino to help keep his focus. The number was strong as his Ballroom dances tend to be. He moved a lot more than usual (not the standard 4 body positions) and there was quite a bit more personality on his part than there has been in the past.
Judges: All the judges were pleased with how much more content there was and his increased showmanship.
Score: 28 (9-10-9)
2. Marissa Jarret Winokur & Tony
Dance/Song: Quickstep - "Around the World" by Frank Sinatra
Marissa's chosen the Rumba and Quickstep from the DBoD. DWTS poster girl Stacy Keibler comes by to give Marissa some tips and the two of them poke fun at Tony. They're really focusing on refining her technique which really shows in the performance. It was a cute number, full of energy and great choreography. There was a brief hitch in one part (she missed a leap in their diagonal pattern) but overall it was good performance.
Judges: Bruno was much harder on her but they all agree that, despite a slight misstep and since it's such limiting dance since the hold must be maintained the whole time, it was a good job.
Score: 26 (9-9-8)
3. Cristian de la Fuente & Cheryl
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz - "Satellite" by The Dave Matthews Band (fantastic song, bad rendition)
Much to Cristian's dismay, he picked the Viennese Waltz and the Samba. Since he injured himself on the Samba, he's having some flashbacks of dread. After they go out and meet some fans on the street campaigning for votes, Cristian's able to get over his issues. Big ups again to Cheryl for her great choreography. The holds were solid and his posture has steadily improved. There was a one-armed turning sequence that I really liked. By the way, Cheryl's outfit is ridiculous yet fantastic. It looks like someone was trying to gift wrap her. Tom Bergeron asks if anyone's missing a weather balloon after the judge's remarks.
Judges: Nothing but positives all around. Carrie Ann states that she likes how he looks so intense and focused at the beginning of the dance but then there's a moment where he just lets go and enjoys it.
Score: 27 (9-9-9)
4. Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark
Dance/Song: Tango - An instrumental piece I don't know the name of but was appropriate for the number
Mark picks for them and they get the Tango and the Jive, which Kristi is nervous about since they got a perfect score on the latter dance. To help fine tune, Mark takes Kristi to a high-level Tango class for tips from other pros. This was definitely better than their first time around. Technically it was solid as ever but the most impressive thing was her level of intensity and that she had a range of emotions.
Judges: Bruno and Carrie Ann were impressed but Len the Tango Scrooge said it was too hectic at times.
Score: 29 (10-9-10)
Before we get to the Latin round, we get to see Len visit the semi-finalists to give tips and a specific movement they must do in the dance. He visits Jason first and gives him a footwork sequence so his Paso isn't so "pose-y." During Kristi's visit, Len corrects one of her spin positions and gives her a roundabout-through-the-arms kind of maneuver to do for her Jive. Len helps Cristian with his promenades for the Samba and gives him a one-armed turn sequence. Finally, Len helps Marissa with her hip action.
5. Jason & Edyta
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - A familiar sounding instrumental piece
It was definitely less with the static poses. He had a good intensity and Edyta gave him much more to do, which was appreciated. It wasn't perfect but it was better.
Judges: All three appreciated the character he brought to the dance and liked that it had more content.
Score: 27 (all 9's)
6. Marissa & Tony
Dance/Song: Rumba - "Just The Two of Us" by Grover Washington, Jr.
I found that the music didn't really match. Once I muted the sound, the dance came through better and I liked it. She could've used a little more hip action but it was an improvement from her last Tango.
Judges: Carrie Ann wasn't excited by it ("no wow factor") but Len countered stating that the Rumba is more about technique and he really liked it, as did Bruno.
Score: 26 (8-9-9)
7. Cristian & Cheryl
Dance/Song: Samba - "Sweetheart from Venezuela" by Harry Belafonte
By finishing and not getting injured, he's already a step above the last time. Cristian had a good energy and hip action and looked like he was having a good time. But he looked like he messed up a few times.
Judges: All the judges enjoyed his performance but it was a little flat-footed at times for Len.
Score: 29 (10-9-10) - I think the 10's were a reward for overcoming past demons and performing well, in spite of the mistakes.
8. Kristi & Mark
Dance/Song: Jive - "Nutbush City Limits" by Ike & Tina Turner
It was a fun number and full of all kinds of cool moves. I especially liked the sequence towards the end with the spins and dips and through the legs and back...really impressive.
Judges: Carrie Ann and Len both agreed that she was a touch off but commended her on the difficulty of her routine. Bruno straight up loved it.
Score: 28 (9-9-10)
Bottom Two: I'm thinking it's Marissa and Jason in a "shocker."
Who's Out: This could go a couple ways, but I'm fairly certain it'll be Marissa.
I think all couples did very well tonight, but I agree with you that Marissa should go...the other 3 are a step above and deserve to be in the finals for their consistency throughout the entire season.
Celia | May 12, 2008 9:02:18 PM | #I agree, Celia. I've been on here Marissa-bashing before... I'll save all of that and agree with you. Marissa is the weakest and needs to go home. I commend her for making it this far.
Soul Reaper | May 12, 2008 9:52:22 PM | #I thought that all four couples did a great job tonight. And there are things that I like about all of them. Of course one couple will be eliminated and I'll be sad no matter who it is. I've been one of the Marissa supporters all along and I still am. But I kind of expect to see her eliminated this week.
Melody | May 13, 2008 12:45:18 AM | #While I admire what Cristian is doing, but I also find it a sham that the judges are giving him scores that says he's dancing better than any of the non-injured contestants. There's no way you can have the fluidity nor the technical proficiency with an arm bound up like that. This only proves the show is nothing more than fluff entertainment, and the "injury" is just a selling point for it. Very disappointed.
Jason | May 13, 2008 3:34:00 AM | #Jason- No wonder he was so happy with their random picks. He got a ballroom dance to show off his lines and smooth movement and the Latin dance that uses the least amount of fast footwork and hip movement. I thought foxtrot was very nice and he did comfortablyperform' the dance more than he has in the past. The paso was just ok- he had the intensity in his face but I don't feel it in his body movement. He lacks crisp snappy movement in all of his Latin dances. One would figure it would be harder for a football player to dance too gracefully- but I feel like he does in Latin and it hurts the energy overall of the dances.
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Marissa- really liked the quickstep choreography. It wasnt too easy like it has been sometimes- which is maybe why the mistake happened. But I did enjoy this one. She did try in the rumba to bring more sex appeal than the last one but it was just ok. I love how much she loves to dance but I don't think she's up to par with everyone else- but then agam she doesn't have an injury and Marie made it to the finals last year so you never know!
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Cristian- the waltz was just ok, nothing special- like always to me he stared into space when doing a more serious dance instead of really feeling the character- surprising since he is an actor. Cheryl's really is wearing distracting costumes, possibly on purpose to divert away from his arm. The samba was much better, he looks much more natural in these dances. I can never really find myself saying anything more than 'pretty good' for him. He seems more awkward to me than the judges say. But its apples and oranges- I see where others would like him I just don't care for it. And I'm not sure how I feel about someone with an bad injury making it over someone healthy- but the show is more about entertainment than a real dance competition in the end.
Kristi- the tango was wonderful- great choreography and much more ntende than before. I liked the variety of steps- quick and slow that were used and didnt agree with Len. I'm used to the nitpicking of the best dancer on the show but so find it a litle annoying they pick at her while not criticizing Jason or Cristians actual dancing much. The jive was good too, not as much as their first, which is still the best dance of the whole season IMO. That's hard to live up to. It shows also how important music can be- their first song just worked better but i appreciate the fact they didnt reuse hardly any moves from the first jive and gave the dance a different feel.
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Marissa will probably be the one to go. I have enjoyed this season but I have to say I dont feel like their are even 2 REALLY strong dancers battling for the title like normally (ie: Drew & Stacy, Mario and Emmitt, Apolo and Joey, Helio and Mel B). I can't see anyone that is well rounded enough and proficient enough besides Kristi- so I hope she wins, I'll be voting, but if not Ive enjoyed watching her and Mark all season.
sorry about all my typos. I actually write this on my phone Internet and I can't scroll up in this text box to recheck my typing.....
Erin | May 13, 2008 6:21:55 AM | #Kristi& Mark.
I hope they win .
There is no wow factor with any of the couples comparing to the Top 10 of the past 5 years. There is no Drew Lachey/Cowboy song or E. Smith's rock n roll song. Everything is just ok - not anything to say "Wow, did you see Joey Fatone or Helio or Appllo or Mel B or Stacy or Mario's dance - this season is flat for me.
Me | May 13, 2008 6:35:50 AM | #I've definitely found this the least interesting and exciting of all the seasons I've watched - I've seen them all but the first.
Marissa CONTINUES to be distracting when she dances. I'm sorry, but all I can do is watch the way they cut her dress to absolutely ZERO in on her butt and when she gets down on the floor I always wonder if she'll get back up. I've been continually stunned that she's been in the competition this long and disappointed that she has. I'm not being mean - that's just the way she has hit me since the season started. I never really SEE her dancing because just watching her on the floor is distracting.
I have to disagree about Christian - I thought he was amazing and he has NOT been one of my favorites. I love to watch Jason - well, he's gorgeous, who wouldn't. And Kristi's terrific. But I'm really beginning to hope Christian wins. I watched his injured arm and everything he did seemed to fit right in.
Of course, this season has been the hardest to predict so far, so who knows??
Jan | May 13, 2008 7:26:53 AM | #TAMARA: I enjoy your recap, as always. Instead of having the celebrities pick their two dances from 'The Disco Ball of Doom', they should have written down the names of the dances and placed them in numbered briefcases. Then the stars choose which numbers they want, while employing some of the models from Deal or No Deal to open the briefcases for them! It would have been a cute cross-over, but Deal or No Deal is on NBC anyway.
ERIN: I seem to agree with most of your opinions every week, so I won't repeat everything you just said. I agree that the judges have been nitpicking Kristi's performances all along. Jason and Cristian seem to get a pass for their mistakes, being flat-footed, easier choreography, etc.
I think part of the reason that so many viewers are bored this season (as I have been reading a lot of similar comments on different DwtS message boards) is that there is not an exciting rivalry, such as Apolo vs. Joey.
Also, I think the show would benefit if it were on only once per year (like American Idol). Then the producers would probably have a better chance at getting higher profile celebrities, and the professional dancers would have more time and energy to create some fresh choreography. At this point, almost all the pros' dances look so similar to their dances from season 5.
Most likely, Marissa will be the one eliminated this time, but I have been saying that for the past three weeks or so. :-0 However, I am happy to see that both Marissa and Cristian have improved so much over the past 8 weeks.
Well, I continue to be disappointed in the judging - it shouldn't be that someone with difficult choreography who performs it almost flawlessly is judged harsher than others who have taken the easier route all season. I really admired Christian's dancing. In my opinion, he is superior to Jason, whose arm movements look ridiculous. He is a good looking guy, but not a dancer. In the end, it all comes down to fan base, so we'll see what happens.
dancefan | May 13, 2008 8:45:44 AM | #I was so pleased last night! I liked some dances better than others, but overall it was very good quality dancing. Plus I'm finally at the point where I will feel sad for any one of them who goes home.
I'm glad that Cristian has stayed in. I have to admit, for some reason I didn't really care for him at the beginning. He has really grown on me, as a dancer and as a personality.
One area I seem to be totally off from the judges, though, is with Christian and Cheryl's chemistry. While they were dancing, I commented to my hubby that Cheryl seems to spend more time looking at the audience and the camera than at Christian. Then one of the judges immediately talked about their awesome connection. Shows how much I know!
I cannot imagine Kristi not winning this thing. The judges have lowballed their scores the past two weeks to create the illusion of a tight race, but really it's not even close when you look at the difficulty of Kristi's dances vs. the other contenders. Of course, that's just my perspective and heaven knows anything can and does happen in these shows!
Paige - I could not agree more about running it once per year. Simon Cowell is the one who put his foot down and insisted that they not do AI twice per year and he's so right - you want to make the audience miss it! Remember that show, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? It was a huge success, big viewership numbers, so the network saw dollar signs and put it on 4 times per week in primetime. The show faded immediately and went away not too long after. DWTS would be better once per year, but when the network sees so much money to be made, they get short sighted. It would take someone with real authority and strength to fight that battle.
PM | May 13, 2008 8:59:59 AM | #Kristi's jive looks technically sound to me but I don't get the sense of "dancing." Looks like she's just marching through the steps and moves.
Dale | May 13, 2008 9:22:52 AM | #The problem with Kristi is that she was so great right from the get-go but since the double dances, she's really kind of plateued. What I noticed last night (and which Carrie-Ann pointed out too) is that they're often out of sync because Mark likes to show off and so Kristi ends up looking like a small child struggling to keep up with its parent who's striding through the mall.
I thought Carrie-Ann was needlessly harsh about Marissa and I'm glad the other two told her she was full of it.
Francine Fishpaw | May 13, 2008 9:43:55 AM | #Paige- yep-definitely the lack of a real rivalry is missing like we both said. The judges were trying to push a Jason/Kristi one all season but its more forced than the usual. The best most evenly matched 'rivalries' were season 2, 4 (my favorite) and 5.
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Cristian has improved as well as Marissa which I like to see. I think Kristi has as well though in less obvious ways to the average viewer. Jason hasn't really to me except in Edyta giving him a little more difficulty in the last few weeks. Sidenote- I really like Edyta but I think her downfall has been never really stepping up the level of her partners difficulty enough.
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PM- I agree. They like that they dominate ratings with the show so they have it twice a year. In defense of that t is only a 10 week show and that x2 is 20 weeks which is shorter than most tv shoes which have 22-26 weekly episodes a year. And they get a variety of stars due to scheduling 2 different shows a year- for example Apolo, Emmitt and Jason couldnt have done the show in the fall and Helio couldnt have done in the spring due to their sports. But when people get tired of it and the ratings/$ start to dip they will prob go to once a year.
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About your chemistry statement, i agree too. I never have thought Cristian and Cheryl have it on the dance floor. She is too showy this season and his expressions are too blank, intense or thoughtful (like he's thinking through the steps). Jason and Edyta have better chemistry though Cristian has improved more and is more well rounded.
once again, i thought Cristian was way overscored, especially on his samba. he really dragged his feet at times (flat-footed) and also was a little off at times but then gets rewarded with two 10's? the judges shouldn't be considering his injury in their scoring.
i wholeheartedly agree with Erin and others who posted that Cristian's dances don't rise above "pretty good," or ok, but nothing special.
and if i were Kristi, that would be very frustrating. i think her tango was one of the best dances of the season, but then Cristian's mediocre samba gets the same score! where's the justice?
i basically agreed with the scoring of Jason and Marissa.
my bottom 2 pick: Cristian and Marissa. and as for myself, i'd rather see Marissa go to the final than Cristian. at least i feel something during Marissa's dances (unlike Cristian's dances which leave me feeling empty).
I have enjoyed this season, even though we didn't have exciting dancers like Mario Lopez{the best},Drew,very close second to Mario L., and Apollo. My favorite dancer this season is Kristi. She is graceful,beautiful,kind,and extemely talented. All of my votes have been for her. I agree that Cristian has improved. In my humble opinion, Jason does not appear to have improved enough to be in the finals. I do not think that Edyta has choregraphed difficult routines to compare to Mark's. I have enjoyed Marissa's performances.
Trupen | May 13, 2008 2:07:39 PM | #Jason reminds me of Lurch. "You rang?"
Gomez | May 13, 2008 2:09:17 PM | #Gomez - ouch! That was harsh.
It's interesting to read the comments a lot of you have made about Jason. I've enjoyed watching him (and my husband sure likes looking at Edyta - haha) so maybe I've been less critical of him. It made me really sit back and think about his technique, progress in his dancing, etc. Maybe he hasn't come as far as Marissa....but I do think he has come along very well. His ballroom dances are excellent, latin continues to be a challenge. Christian is probably more balanced - solid at nearly everything. Marissa has come the furthest, but that doesn't mean she's better than the others just that she had the furthest to come.
Oh now I'm all confused. Thanks a lot guys. (kidding!) Honestly cannot decide who I'd want to see go home tonight - they all have their good points. For instance, Marissa may be the weak link from a pure dance standpoint, but she and Tony are so darn likable. Her enthusiasm seems 100% authentic and it's contagious.
The only thing I know for sure is I'd like to see Kristi go all the way. And for Kristi to win, everyone else has to go sooner or later.
I really like Kristi and Mark. They've been great all season.
Edyta gets on my nerves sometimes. When she was telling Jason in their segment that he couldn't be friends with Cristian that was annoying. (I know she was probably joking)
Marissa and Tony did very well. I could really see how she improved.
Cristian had two very nice routines last night.
Whoever ends up being the one who is in third place for next week definately deserves it more than Marie Osmond deserved it last season.
Penny | May 13, 2008 2:25:44 PM | #Kristi continues to amaze me with the difficulty of her routine, yet Cristian and Jason still get as high of marks as she does. Unbelievable. Cheryl and Edyta make their guys look good. Kristi has to look good herself as the woman is always the focus in this type of dance. If she doesn't win this competition - well there is no competition because she's the best and has been. Please don't think she's "safe". She needs votes! It's so much tougher for a woman to win this competition.
Valentina | May 13, 2008 3:19:04 PM | #
I agree Valentina that no one is safe and that women have a much tougher go of it in this competition than men. I Tivo'd the show and didn't see it until late last night so I couldn't vote. If Kristi gets through to finals I will be sure to vote for her!
You know I wonder if the judges got too generous with their scores too early in the season. It left them nowhere to go. They started throwing around 8s pretty early on. Then when couples showed improvement they wound up with 9s and 10s even if the routine's wasn't perfect because, hey, it's better than the earlier routines, right? I think they kind of backed themselves into a corner.
PM | May 13, 2008 4:34:08 PM | #DL- we agree with your statements, delaburke is just faking everything. burke is a pro at 'taking YOUR eyes off the real thing happening'! We would love to have Marissa in the finals, she would appreciate it more than Jason and especially cristian-he's in it for advancement,popularity, and anything else burke can get him....her brother remember-they all seem to be her 'brothers'....
so.bay | May 13, 2008 5:38:11 PM | #
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