Dancing's Derek Hough: I Don't Take Len's Comments Personally

Hey everyone!
How's it going? Thanks for your votes last week!
We have the Argentine tango and the flamenco, or the "Flaming Co." We haven't really started the flamenco yet, but we have some of the Argentine tango done. I want to make some tweaks to it though. I think I need to simplify the choreography in certain areas to allow Kellie to just dance it. It's like the opposite of the team dance situation in this case. Kellie is capable of doing a lot of moves and I think I'm trying to throw in too much. She can do so much, so I want to toss in more, so I have to be careful not to overdo it. I just want it to be passionate and have moments where you really feel the dance.
It's interesting that we ended up with the Argentine tango and the flamenco this week. When I think of dances, I see color.That's the first thing I think of and both these dances have a similar color. They're both passionate and intense and very moody. For the flamenco, I want to go traditional and get the rhythm going. That's going to be a big challenge. It's a really difficult dance and I think one of the reason there's hardly ever flamenco on any of these dancing shows is because it's pretty impossible to teach.
I think it was a good selection of dances they had for voting. I know no one but Aly and Mark wanted Afro-jazz, but I wouldn't have minded it had we gotten it. Afro-jazz was basically what I did last year with Shawn for the samba. I think it's funny how I've done a Bollywood routine one season and the next season it was part of the show. Now I've done an African dance and it's in the next season. And I get called out for doing them! I do it, the judges criticize it, and they put it on the show! I'm not saying this to revel or anything; I just find it's funny. But the judges and the producers are completely different.
I thought Len's critique of our paso was a little over the top. Honestly, before we even danced on Monday, I did feel like the judging was a little odd throughout the show, so I wasn't completely thrown when he went after us, but I definitely didn't take it personally. As Kellie says, "Everyone likes their coffee different." One thing I've learned is that you can't take the judges' critiques personally on the show. I've known all the judges a long time and we're all good friends. The show would not be the same without them, but you can't let what they say sit with you and you can't stew over it. You can't please everyone and as long as you please yourself, that's all that really matters. It's the routines, not their comments and scores, that are going to live on.
And for the record, Len and I are completely fine. It was funny — he came up to me afterward and said, "Aw, son, I love you." And at the end of Tuesday's show, when we were in jeopardy, he came up to us and said, "I would've quit had you two gone home."
It's crazy to think the season's almost over. I'm excited, but sometimes I forget that it's the semis. I'm a lot more fried than usual this season some other stuff I've been doing, so I've had to remind myself the past few days. I believe it's going to be a four-person finale this year, which we've never had before, so that will be cool. The only thing I think would be a little strange is when you think of a final, you think of a podium, like gold, silver and bronze. There's not usually a spot for fourth, but I think it'll be awesome to have a lot more dancing on the finale with four couples.
Thanks for reading! See you Monday!
Derek