It was a historic night on Dancing with the Stars! Why, you ask? Because of Julianne Hough being a guest judge? That too, but also because the judges agreed all night!
For perhaps the first time in history, all of the judges’ scores were unanimous! But everyone was most excited about Julianne as guest judge, and she did not disappoint! The former champ gave critiques that were direct, helpful, constructive, encouraging, and funny… in short, she was a perfect judge.
All the hoopla surrounding Julianne did highlight something interesting: how lucky Dancing with the Stars is to have a steady panel of judges, so the focus can be on the contestants. American Idol, X Factor, and the zillion other singing competitions place all their emphasis on the judges, to the point where no one knows or cares about the contestants. But Dancing with the Stars has stuck with our three judges, such as they are, from the beginning, and therefore they’re no big deal. That is very much a good thing – and makes it even more special when we get a guest judge.
All the judges were front and center tonight, even dancing in the really fun opening number (the celebrities, meanwhile, were wisely relegated to standing in the background ready for their close-up). After the opening, Julianne addressed the speculation about her nepotism head-on, saying she would give no preferential treatment. And displaying her knack for honesty, she said that if she loved something she’d just go all Carrie Ann on us – alluding to the fact that Carrie Ann is usually not much more than a cheerleader.
The couple eliminated tonight is… Valerie and Tristan! Yeah, it was pretty much time; as much as we all love Valerie, her dancing was no longer on par with the others. Her exit was gracious, and Tristan really seems to have been affected by their partnership. Every last person in the ballroom looked heartbroken as they were eliminated. Truly, in all the seasons and all the sob stories, few have been as inspiring and as classy as Valerie Harper, and I am sad to see her go. Though imagine the waterworks we would have had with her around for Best Year of My Life Week next Monday!
I was surprised by the elimination, because she was such a national treasure that it seemed certain people would vote her in. I found Peta’s behavior very telling – when she and Brant joined Valerie and Tristan in “not necessarily the Bottom Two,” Peta seemed to just utterly despair. I’m guessing it’s because she thought for certain she was about to be eliminated, convinced Brant’s Pretty Little Fanbase was no match for America’s burgeoning love for Valerie.
This is the third disappointing finish for Tristan in a row, after being the first eliminated the last two seasons (technically he and Dorothy withdrew last season, but still). One of these days he’ll get a partner he can win with – Tony waited fourteen seasons, so Tristan may have a way to go! Now, let’s welcome our stars!
First Place (tie), 27 points: Corbin and Karina (Paso Doble). Before I say anything about their dancing, let it be noted that Karina calls Corbin “Wildcat.” Squeee! This dance was incredible – no gimmicks, just great dancing with a ferocious intensity. Karina’s going nuts this season, making routines of the absolute highest caliber (something Julianne remarked on). This dance was so good, I thought it might get the first ten of the season. All the judges seemed to really want to give it a ten, but there are still a few things to be refined, so nines it was. I give Corbin major props, because unlike other hip-hop dancers we’ve had, he seems genuinely eager to learn ballroom and not coast by leaning on hip-hop.
First Place (tie), 27 points: Amber and Derek (Tango). After two weeks faltering, Amber is back with a vengeance! Despite a severe knee injury that cut rehearsal time in half, Amber’s dancing was superb, with great footwork. What I loved best was how much of a unit Amber and Derek seemed to be, as if they were of one mind while dancing. What a showing! After the dance, Derek tried to bribe Julianne with $10 (for a 10 – makes sense), she said it didn’t make up for some Barbie, and Bruno shamelessly took it.
First Place (tie), 27 points: Elizabeth and Val (Argentine Tango). A glorious dance, with incredibly sharp movement on Elizabeth’s part. Every move looked so deliberate and dramatic, and it wasn’t just Elizabeth being yanked around by Val, she was doing it on her own merit. My only complaint is why were there no lifts? It’s Argentine tango, and Elizabeth’s body would make some gorgeous silhouettes in the air! This couple’s chemistry is really growing on me – their whole staring contest was hysterical, but I guess it worked! I don’t know quite when this couple became one of the frontrunners, but here they are. Could this finally be Val’s season, or will he fall just short again?
Second Place (tie), 24 points: Christina and Mark (Foxtrot). Another very good dance from Christina – she always gives an excellent performance. Best part about her segment was Julianne’s refreshing honesty, finally calling Mark out for making choreography all about him! For this alone, Julianne deserves a medal. Christina is clearly worried she doesn’t have the public’s support; indeed, she is one of the least known and least talked about stars. Maybe she can win us over with her personal story next week.
Second Place (tie), 24 points: Jack and Cheryl (Quickstep). An excellent dance, filled with good footwork and a lot of content. Guys who are on the heavier side often look very awkward doing Quickstep, but Jack looked splendid. Their rehearsal video was perhaps the best of the night – Cheryl was PMSing, lashing out at Jack as he kept cracking jokes. I just kept cracking up. I suppose this video was shown lest we think Cheryl has mellowed out this season, since we’d not seen her in slavedriver mode yet. Talk of refreshing honesty, Jack came right out and said that Corbin is a professional dancer! He is, so let’s admit it! And the cherry on top was a shot of Kelly and Louis cheering Jack on – I love those two! Wish Louis were a pro this season.
Second Place (tie), 24 points: Leah and Tony (Cha-Cha). And this week’s Most Annoying Award goes to Leah! Her rehearsal package boiled down to her wanting nines by sitting in a chair while Tony dances around her. While her first idea (Tony pole-dancing in a skimpy outfit) has some merit, Leah needs to check her work ethic. Especially since, for all her complaining, she spent an awful lot of the routine standing in poses. Her movements weren’t the least bit sharp, and she was overscored this week.
Second Place (tie), 24 points: Snooki and Sasha (Jive). Snooki, on the other hand, is far less annoying this week! She shared the story of her high school anorexia, and was surprisingly sincere while doing so, leaving off her usual jokes. I don’t know if this was a revelation to Jersey Shore fans or not, but it was a good story for the week, tying into her working through her cheerleading demons. The dance itself was adorable. Snooki’s technique was terrible, but she actually managed to keep up with her pro, something few girls do. Her energy and speed were a match for Sasha’s, which is impressive.
Third Place (tie), 21 points: Brant and Peta (Salsa). At least Brant listened to the criticism last week and took off his shirt! This led the entire judging panel to flirt shamelessly with him, panting with desire as they tried to marshal coherent critiques. Fortunately, they were not so distracted as to ignore the glaring faults in this number. There was a lot of good stuff – the performance, the shimmying, the lifts – but the salsa itself was bad. Peta finally put content into the routine, and Brant wasn’t up for it. Brant also wasn’t up for most of the lifts that Peta was so adamant about including. Why? I don’t know, there’s never been this much emphasis on lifts in a salsa, and this was especially incongruous after a lift-free Argentine tango. I like Brant, but he needs to step up his game.
Third Place (tie), 21 points: Bill and Emma (Samba). While I appreciate that Bill is trying – Emma put in almost every basic samba move there is into the routine – this was abysmal! No bounce, no rhythm, no hips… nothing! I wish the judges would stop giving Bill “A for effort” scores, because this warranted fives, not sevens. This was certainly not better than Valerie’s dance, nor as good as Brant’s. And while I like the growing bond between Bill and Emma – it was sweet seeing how he cares about her – Bill has overstayed his welcome. If he’s not gone next week, I’ll be disappointed.
Last Place, 18 points: Valerie and Tristan (Viennese Waltz). Dammit, how does Valerie get everyone crying week after week?! This week, it was because of the song, “Carry On,” which is perfect for Valerie. She cried, and that set everyone off, from the judges to Troupe members. Valerie looked great; freeze-framing any shot of the dance looks beautiful. The issue was movement – it was all very choppy, especially her arms, and waltzes are supposed to be smooth. But a dance to this anthemic song was a fitting way to end Valerie’s DwtS journey, and perhaps now I no longer have to have tissues ready when watching this show (though next week I will, the sob stories will flow fast and hard!).
How sad are you to see Valerie and Tristan eliminated on Dancing with the Stars‘ season 17?
Who do you think will go home next week?
And, how’d you like Julianne as a judge?
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