May 7, 2007: Daddy's Girl and Jessie's Girl
Emotions ran high on and off the dance floor last night, running the gamut from sentimental dedications to insults taken too personally. Let's start with the good before we proceed to the bad and ugly. The guest we've been waiting for all season was finally in the audience:
Muhammad Ali, on hand to support his daughter.
Laila dedicated her performances to her mom and dad, and she had an extra sparkle in her eye all night. She began and ended her lovely waltz like Sleeping Beauty, and at one point blew a kiss to her dad. I was reminded of
Jerry Springer's emotional waltz last season - the waltz is fast becoming the father-daughter dance of this show.
Carrie Ann commented that she always looks for emotion in dancing, and she felt Laila truly delivered that with this performance. Next up was Laila's jive, which was fun and lively (Laila confessed she was happy she didn't have to deliver any extra-sexy performances with daddy in the audience). I did notice that both of her numbers, especially the waltz, seemed very short, and then the judges shed light on this problem when they criticized Maks (thank you, ABC, for finally spelling his nickname on the air) for having intros that were too long, resulting in dances with not enough content. Laila admitted it was her idea to add some theatrics. In addition, just last week the judges commented that this pair needed to add some more tricks. I'm a fan of Laila's and I want her to go far in this competition, but I think how high she winds up placing will depend a lot on Maks' choreography. Hopefully he'll step up to the challenge.
From daddy's girl we move on to "Jessie's Girl." Let me admit up front that I'm a total sucker for this song (and I know I'm not alone on this) - what '80s compilation is complete without it? Normally, I wouldn't think to pair it with the tango, yet it worked here. The house band was no
Rick Springfield, but that didn't detract from this performance. I loved
Apolo and Julianne's modern, pumped-up tango. Loved it - it was my favorite dance of the night. Cranky
Len had to ruin things (this is when it turned bad) and say it "lacked passion" - I have no idea what dance he was watching. His comments got the loudest and longest boos I've ever heard on this show. There was much criticism aimed at the choreographers last night, as here Len told Julianne to be "less hectic." I hope she doesn't listen to him. At least Carrie Ann and
Bruno loved their tango and gave them 10s, so they got a 28. No wait, make that a 27 - hold on, back to 28. (This time we can't blame
Samantha, but instead a computer malfunction that resulted in some uncertain scoring.) Regardless, it should have been a 30. No worries, though, because they did get a perfect score with their paso doble. Apolo was really on fire last night, and this second dance also had a contemporary, energetic flair. It was cool how his cape turned into Julianne's skirt in the beginning of the performance. If they continue like this, they're gonna win this thing.
But Apolo will have no time to slack off because always close behind him is
Joey. And just as the judges argued intensely about Apolo's first dance, they bickered about Joey's first performance as well. Again, it was Carrie Ann and Bruno against Len, only this time Len praised an area the others found lacking: no razzle dazzle. Len liked that Joey's waltz was proper and elegant. Carrie Ann and Bruno said Joey was holding back. Again I'm going to side against Len - the dance was good, but a little boring. True, Joey can go overboard with things like lightsabers, but when he's able to simply incorporate his fun-loving personality without excessive props, he gives his performances a welcome flair. By dance No. 2, he was back in top form. Len complimented his solid use of technique and tricks in his series of "clever underarm turns" and Bruno liked how he "pimped the mambo." Joey also felt the need to explain that he's "confident, not cocky." It's a fine line to walk, and so far he hasn't crossed it.
Yet
Billy Ray felt that Bruno crossed a line when he called his foxtrot "crap." This is when things got ugly - Billy Ray was really offended by Bruno's not-exactly-delicate words. On one hand, this was a cold, harsh criticism from Bruno, but on the other hand he says stuff like this all the time. By the time Billy Ray's second dance was done, he still wasn't over this, calling Bruno "so rude." As for Billy Ray's dancing.... Well, I wouldn't use Bruno's term, but he certainly didn't give the top performances of the night. Carrie Ann looked on the bright side and mentioned how much he's improved since week one, which is true. Len said his foxtrot had the "most content" of any of his dances, albeit with "all the steps at all the wrong times." Billy Ray's dances are always full of ambiguity: He manages to look like he's both bored and intensely into his performance, like he's mad and having fun at the same time. It's perplexing, yet you feel drawn to watch him. I will echo the judges' sentiments that he's always enjoyable to watch, as well as their acknowledgment that we're heading into the finals soon, so it's time for him to go.
Speaking of the finals, with the semifinals next week, it looks like the finals will be a three-contestant race, similar to the way things were done in Season 2. Will
Ian be one of those three? I'm gonna guess no, with the way he regressed slightly last night. I liked his foxtrot a lot - he seemed looser, with some old-school classiness. But Len and Bruno had problems with it, describing him as a "jumping goat" who was too "skippy and hoppy." Next was his rumba, which was really just OK. Carrie Ann pointed out that she saw passion, but "it was not authentic passion." Len summed up Ian's main problem: his dancing "lacks naturalness." Then there's Samantha backstage, who's never one to miss beating a point to death: "Cheryl's never been in the bottom two!" I'll chalk it up to her just trying to prepare Cheryl, as she most likely will find herself in that position for the first time Tuesday night. Alongside Ian and Cheryl will probably be Billy Ray and Karina, with Billy Ray bidding us adieu.
Find video from
Dancing with the Stars in our
Online Video Guide.
