Cue that theme music...

It's Episode 200 live from Hollywood!

I've really been looking forward to this week's show.  I'm expecting excellence from our remaining six pairs, from their individual dances to the team challenge.  Some returning celebrities will judge the dances, and our team captains are Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ohno, former champions from Season 6 and Season 4, respectively.

First up, it's pros from all 11 seasons dancing to the very first song from the very first show.  I won't try to name all the pros, but I recognize all of them!  Excellent!


Kristi's team is Rick & Cheryl, Bristol & Mark, Kyle & Lacey.  Apolo's team is Kurt & Anna, Brandy & Maks, and Jennifer & Derek.  At first glance, you might say Apolo's team has the edge here.  

Kristi's Team Cha Cha Cha is up first.  Each team will have a solo during the routine.  Bristol is in trouble during the opening group section, as it looks like she had a moment when she forgot her steps.  Rick looks really good in his solo section.  He's got his shoulders pulled back and he had the hips working.  Bristol has a few solid moments, but I didn't think she was strong enough through the entire solo.  Kyle worked it and I thought he had the best solo section.  I'm a little concerned with their synchronicity as a group though.  I thought Mark stood out, and it's never a good thing for one pro to out-dance the rest of the group.  On the positive side, their energy was outstanding and they all looked like they had a great time dancing together.  I enjoyed the performance, and I think they laid down the challenge.  Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.  That's solid and won't be so easy to beat, since this is about coordination as much as it is about individual ability.

Apolo's Team Cha Cha Cha is up.  For this group, I'm starting to worry about Jennifer's physical well being.  She's looking stiff and uncertain in rehearsal.  Right off, this group's synchronicity is outstanding.  Kurt looks very relaxed in his solo section.  His personality is really shining.  Brandy is in the zone and on point right now.  She looks very comfortable despite the drama she's still having with Maks in rehearsal.  Jennifer looked fantastic and much more in control, right until a little footwork bobble at the end of her solo section.  This was a great dance.  Their coordination was terrific.  I think Brandy and Maks were the strongest of the three, but each pair added their own unique strengths to the whole.  They also had some difficult pattern work that they pulled off really well.  Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.


I liked both dances equally.  But I do think Team Apolo was stronger by that 3 points.


Now we've got celebrity judges for the individual routines.  This should be interesting as our couples recreate a dance from a past show, which will be judged by the celebrity who originally danced it.

Mel B is back to judge Kyle and Lacey, recreating her Paso Doble from Season 5.  This is a tough challenge for the kid because he isn't matching the celebrity role, but the pro's.  Give him props though.  He is on his game.  He looks like he's in control.  This is his best effort to date.  He even slammed the jump.  He's not Maks, but he nailed it by being Kyle.  He had the technique, the attitude, and always the performance.  And dare I say it...there was some sensuality in there too.  I really liked that dance.  His posture was so good.  Well done young man!  Judges say 10,9,8,8 for a total of 35.  Is that a trend with the celebrities throwing 10's?  It wasn't perfect but it was the best Kyle can do and that's pretty good.

Emmitt Smith is back to judge Kurt and Anna, recreating his Tango from Season 3.  Kurt also has a tough challenge, but at least he gets to mirror the celebrity part and I think the Tango might suit him.  He's doing a very credible job here.  He's got Anna in close hold and he's able to sustain it through the movement, which makes him look like a strong lead.  I liked that he found his own character for the dance, and maintained it throughout.  He made the dance his own.  I liked how he moved in this dance.  It was elegant and sophisticated.  I don't think he put a foot wrong.  This might have been his best performance.  Well done Sir.  Judges say 10,8,8,8 for a total of 34.  Nice.

Kelly Osborne is back to judge Bristol and Mark, recreating her Viennese Waltz from Season 9.  This was one of my all time favorite moments across every season.  There is potential here for Bristol to have a moment, just as Kelly did with it.  Bristol is a little heavier on her feet than I would like in a Waltz.  She looks very uncertain and I don't know why.  After all these weeks, she should be confident that she can do this.  I don't think that was as well as she can do and I'm disappointed for her.  If this was the first or second week, that performance would have been something on which to build.  But at this point, with the finals right around the corner, it just wasn't good enough, particularly when measured against how Kelly danced it, and compared to the rest of the celebrities still in the competition.  Judges say 9,8,8,8 for a total of 33.  Good...they didn't only give the celebrity judge a 10 paddle.

Helio Castroneves is back to judge Rick and Cheryl, recreating his Quickstep from Season 5.  Rick is not wearing the flying yellow banana suit from the original dance, but I'm still worried about this one.  They've taken it to a slower tempo, I think so they can control it better.  It's working for me to start.  He's doing fine with his enjoyment of the dance.  But the technique is a bit of a problem.  His posture eroded throughout the dance.  It started pretty well, but his shoulders gradually hunched and then swayed.  He should have held his upper body a little more still.  Even so, I enjoyed the performance.  His personality came across and that relaxed him, so although the technique and footwork wasn't great, the whole of the dance was very enjoyable.  Judges say 10,9,9,9 for a total of 37.  I think that score is a little high, but nice job Rick...even though you're wearing Celtic colors.  What's up with that anyway????  Get some Laker purple!

Gilles Marini is back to judge Brandy and Maks, recreating his Foxtrot from Season 8.  I think this dance could be made for Brandy, although she has to really embrace Cheryl's role.  This is quite a sensual Foxtrot.  And she is working it.  She's come a long way to where she's connecting every movement, extending through her arms, and making wonderful lines.  She's gotta be the front runner now.  I can't find anything wrong with this performance.  That was outstanding.  I'm overlooking the problem with the dress.  It took nothing away from how good that dance was.  Yes Len!  He called Carrie Ann and Bruno pedantic for pointing out the dress bobble.  It was so minor that I nearly missed it.  She broke character for a moment, but then came right back to her place and owned the rest of the dance.  It was sensual, but also classy and sophisticated.  Well done my dear!  Judges say 9,9,10,9 for a total of 37.  HA!  Len is the one to go perfect despite the bobble, and he never does that.

Drew Lachey is back to judge Jennifer and Derek, recreating his Tango from Season 2.  If Jennifer's body holds up, this is a definite advantage because she's already danced a fantastic Argentine Tango this season.  Let's remember that she's 50 years old.  She wants to ignore that, but it's catching up to her and she's starting to break down.  I respect that she's going for it.  She needed this dance to slow down and focus on what she can do as opposed to what she wishes she could do.  And what she can do was wonderful.  I'm amazed that she can put the pain aside and do what she just did.  She kept pace with Brandy on this dance.  It had technique, performance, attitude, passion, drama...plus it was elegant and classy.  I don't know what the rest of her journey is going to be, but with this dance she proved that she deserves the accolades she's getting.  Judges say 10,9,9,9 for a total of 37.  Baby isn't going out without a fight.


Here's our leader board, with the team and individual scores combined:


64 Brandy and Maks
64 Jennifer and Derek
61 Kurt and Anna
61 Rick and Cheryl
59 Kyle and Lacey
57 Bristol and Mark

Brandy or Jennifer?  We're OK with either one actually, but our votes went to Jennifer.  


It was a great show!  I hope you took the time to watch it.  But if you didn't, come on back tomorrow and you just might find all the dances posted right here.

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November 4, 2010