I enjoyed having the extra judge on Monday. I think Donnie Burns had some good insights and a fresh perspective on our celebrities. I think some of the scores he threw were a little questionable, but he's entitled to his opinion.
So what did we like from Monday's performances? Well I'll tell you of course!
And YAY! The embed button is back!
Well, actually...I didn't realize you had to click the "share" button now to get the embed code. Color me embarrassed.
We liked the Paso Doble from Chelsea and Mark, despite Len being confused by the contemporary theme and innovative choreography. Even as a concept piece, I thought it had more than enough traditional content to get by. Click here if the video doesn't play.
You be the judge of the Tango from Hines and Kym. I thought Hines was off. Pam thinks it was a little better than I thought at first glance. Watching it back just now, I have to admit I was off with my comments. I still don't think it deserved a 10, but the performance was better than I initially gave credit. Click here if the video doesn't play.
Dance of the night...finally Ralph and Karina have another performance that is worthy. This Quickstep wasn't perfect, despite getting one 10. It was more of a re-statement that Ralph isn't quite ready to let the Latin styles do him in. Click here if the video doesn't play.
Good stuff.
Here's a quick recap of our leader board after the Team Dance scores were combined with the scores from the individual dances on Monday:
66 Ralph and Karina
66 Hines and Kym
64 Chelsea and Mark
61 Kendra and Louis
60 Romeo and Chelsie
60 Kirstie and Maks
Now lets get some results, shall we?
But first, it's the judges' encore...Teach Cha Cha Cha consisting of Chelsea & Mark, Ralph & Karina, and Romeo & Chelsie. Wanna see? OK!
Results...Hines and Kym are safe.
Nicki Minaj is in the ballroom. Sorry gang, I have no idea who this is. Ah...rap/hip hop. This is not the kind of music I like. But I'm impressed that DWTS would invite this kind of artist to perform. You know what? I didn't dislike it. It was nice to see our pros get down with a little hip hop too.
We have a feature about ballet dancer Patricia Zhou. She's 14, started ballet when she was 9, and people who know say she is a prodigy and well on her way to becoming a prima ballerina. Singer/songwriter Priscilla Ahn provides live accompaniment. That was a lovely combination of music and dance.
More results...Ralph and Karina are safe.
Macy's Stars of Dance is a tribute to James Brown, featuring Wayne Brady. James Brown would have been 78 today...I mean yesterday. I knew Wayne could sing, but I did not know he could move like that. He held his own with the dance chorus. That was a great show. Outstanding! This was one of the rare times when neither Pam nor I caught the name of the choreographer for this performance. That's a shame because it was really well done.
One more guest, singer/songwriter James Blunt, accompanied by Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Daria Chesnokova. I've never heard this guy, but I like him.
I'm so pleased to be in on the seekrit of embedding videos again. Let's watch Val and Dasha.
Final results...Romeo and Chelsie are safe. Kirstie and Maks are safe. Chelsea and Mark are safe.
That means Kendra and Louis are out.
I think it was time. She improved so much over the last three weeks, but I think the rest of the celebrities are either better dancers or have stronger fanbases.
Now it gets really tough. Next week our 5 remaining pairs will dance two individual routines each for a spot in the Final Four. And then it's on for that Fabulous Mirror Ball Trophy!
Later gang!
