Making it’s way back to the Glitter Dome for Season 23 of yours and my favorite
Dance Show, it's the always-incredible Eras
Night, in which, the Ballroom’s 8, remaining Couples will take a Dance down Memory Lane and
relive, through dance, a famous bygone Era from
the past or even take an artistic
“peek” at the future!
Also hitting the Ballroom for DWTS' already exhilarating Week 07 will be the Show's ever PopularTeam
Dances Challenge, during which these same 8 Couples will be divided onto 2 Teams consisting of 4 Couples each that will then face-off against one another in an
all-out and sure to be epic Team-dance,
freestyle Ballroom Battle!!
Finally, following these two elating rounds of competition,
Week 07 will wrap things up with yet another – and always dreaded! – Monday Night Elimination, after which
one more unfortunate Couple will receive the Ballroom’s Boot!
(<Ahhhhhh!!> So excited!!)
Here is a Complete List of the Round One Dances Assigned
to Each Couple, As Well As the Names of the 2 Teams They Were Divided Into For
Round Two, and Its Dances:
Round One:
Marilu & Derek – The Charleston Ryan & Cheryl – The Rumba
The famous and highly anticipated "Dance-offs" concluded
DWTS' Week 07's Eras Night. And, having received the highest judges' score of
that evening,Nastia Liukinand Professional partnerSasha Farber(filling in for an injuredDerek Hough) were duly
rewarded with a 3-point bonus, and "immunity" from the Dance-offs. The remaining 6 Couples were then asked to pair off, in turn, resulting
in two Couples per Dance-off.
The pairing off began with the next highest scoring Couple on the Leader Board choosing another Couple, at will, to compete against.
Once chosen, the opposing Couple was then allowed to select a
style of dance with which to compete. The three style options that were
available to the opposing Couple were as follows: The Salsa,The Cha-Cha, orThe Foxtrot(each of the three dance style options came with a pre-selected song, and both Couples performed the selected dance to the same
song track).
The winner of the ensuing Dance-off would then receive 2 more
bonus points to be added to their overall, judges' score ... 2 more precious
points that might have made a crucial difference for that Couple in the
night's following Elimination.
To score the Dance-offs:
Once a Dance-off
was concluded, each judge then stated, in turn, the name of the Couple
they thought did the best ... majority of judges' votes resulting in a win. In the event that the Dance-off was scored as
a Tie, the "deciding vote" rested with Head Judge Len Goodman's choice (i.e., the couple that Len had already stated as doing the dance best, would be named the
Winner).
As soon as one Dance-off was ended and scored, the next would
begin with the next highest scoring Couple on the Leader Board choosing an
opponent and so on.
Riker & Allison, Willow & Mark:
To begin the Dance-offs,Riker
Lynch, and his Professional dancing partner,Allison Holker, choseWillow ShieldsandMark
Ballasto compete
against, who in turn chose the Salsa as a dance style, and I must tell you thatbothof these decisions made me a little
more than uneasy!
First off, what were Riker and Allison doing picking on poor
Willow!? "Pick on someone your own size" is, I believe, how
the expression goes, and the only Couple of the remaining 6 that would ever fit
that directive would beRumer
& Val,notWillow & Mark!
I thought Val's face expressed his shocked disappointment with
Riker and Allison's decision as well ... "The right thing is always to
choose the strongest one standing." Val had previously instructed Rumer,
"I mean, it's the noble thing to do!". Val rather
enjoys a fair dancing "fight" ... "Fair" being the operative word
here, and Riker's decision left absolutely zero, fair competition forValentin Chmerkovskiy.
Secondly, I'd hardly had time to process these repulsed thoughts
and emotions when I heard Willow calling out for the Salsa ... "The
Salsa"!? Is sheinsane!?!
We have all seen both Willow and Riker's Salsa-ing abilities ... ...
I immediately thought, "The poor
thing will be trampled! Oh, well! I guess we'll just have to see
what happens! ... "
Riker & Allison:
Dancing the Salsa to "Temperature", bySean Paul, Riker and
Allison were the first Couple to hit the dance floor!
At first, while still beingverygood, I found Riker's Salsa to appear
slightly cautious (some delayed guilt, perhaps?), and to lack that certain
"zing" that has become the defining character of every Riker dance; but, towards the end of routine, the beat of the song seemed to have finally
gotten the better of Riker, having always been extremely musical, and shaken
him out of his perceived mental funk.
Riker's dancing took off at last, and the resulting product made
even his "slightly miffed" fans, such as I was, (concerning the matter
ofWillow & Mark) hard pressed to conceal an impressed grin!
In the end, it was an excellent showing, and Riker and Allison
retired to the sidelines to watch their opponents, Willow and Mark, perform
next.
Willow & Mark:
Following Riker and Allison's amazing performance, Willow and Mark
casually descended the Ballroom steps, that led down to the dance floor, and
immediately proceeded to blow us all away!
Willow & Mark's Salsa
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Willow & Mark's Salsa
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Swiveling Hips, Shoulder Shakes, and all of the bad-out Hair Flipping
one could ask for, came together to create one perfectly-spicy Salsa,
delightfully served straight up, with just the right additives!
Willow & Mark's Salsa
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Willow & Mark's Salsa
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
I mean to say, Willow's Salsa was unbelievably good! As was
duly expressed byBruno
Tonioliwhen he addressed
both Couples and said, "Both hot and spicy, but with very, very different
flavors! It's like choosing between chocolate and vanilla, isn't it?
It'ssohard! ... "
Carrie Ann Inaba further elaborated on the subject,
saying, "Riker, Allison, you guys came out ... threw in the tricks, made
it hot; made it modern, contemporary ... Mark and Willow, you guys gave us the
understated 'We're going to show we can really dance'! ... ".
Julianne Houghalso took a moment to give Mark and
Allison their propers when she exclaimed,"Oh my gosh, it was so tight! Literally, both of you guys weresotight with your choreography, it felt
like you guys were doing that as your number this week! ... "
In conclusion of the Riker and Willow Dance-off, Willow won by
unanimous decision in her favor, which I was really glad to see ... I really like Willow and Markandmaybe their victory will give back the
votes Riker surely lost when choosing Willow.
Noah & Sharna, Robert & Kym:
Up next in the pairing-off process wasNoah GallowayandSharna
Burgess. Following in the prerequisite first laid out by Val,
Noah very sportingly chose as his opposing Couple,Robert Herjavecand partnerKym Johnson, so asnotto chooseChris & Witney,
against whom he would have, almost surely, won. Although, this action did leave a
very-good-humored Chris to await his Dance-off against, none other than,Rumor & Val... Uh-oh! ...
Robert and Kym then chose the Cha-Cha as their dancing style, an
action that I found to be incredibly stupid ... I don't know if Robert has
checked out any rehearsal studio mirrors recently, but the Latin style of dance
is not exactly his forte!
And anyway, who challenges a one-armed, one-leggedman to dance a Cha-Cha? It just
seemed a little thoughtless to me. ... ...
Noah & Sharna:
First up, was Noah and Sharna, dancing the Cha-Cha to "Dance With Me" byKelly
Clarkson.
Noah & Sharna's Cha-Cha
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Noah's dancing wassoincredibly good: cool and
flowing movements, combined with some excellent rhythm and steps would prove to
be just what the Doctor (or Sharna!) ordered to make for a truly terrific
Cha-Cha!
Noah & Sharna's Cha-Cha
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Noah & Sharna's Cha-Cha
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Very well Done!
Robert & Kym:
Worst fears confirmed: That was a trulyawfulCha-Cha!
Robert's footwork was straying all over the place, there was never
a time during the performance where hedidn'tappear to be at complete loss for
where he was,andhe kept losing the beat!
Robert & Kym's Cha-Cha
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Uh ... seriously, ...what are they doing?
Carrie Ann may just have best expressed the state of things when
she said, "Okay, one was super tight and clean, didn't have a lot of
content [Clearly referring to Noah's ... Whatevs!], one had alotof content, had a lot of fun, but
there were alotof mistakes [ <coughing>
Robert!]!"
Astonishingly enough, the two Couples' scores came down to a Tie,
with Carrie Ann and Bruno voting for Robert, and with Julianne andLen Goodmanvoting for Noah.
As Head Judge, Len's vote was counted as the deciding one, Noah and Sharna won the Dance-off. ... Yesssss!!
Rumer & Val, Chris & Witney:
<Popping lips awkwardly> Well,thisshould be interesting!
Rumer & Val:
First up in this Dance-off-turned-comedy-skit wasRumer Willisand her Professional partner,Valentin Chmerkovskiy,
dancing the Foxtrot to "Orange Colored Sky" by Nat King Cole.
Oh,YES!
Rumer is back!!
Rumer & Val's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Rumer & Val's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Rumer & Val's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
That Foxtrot stands as a beautiful, exquisite example of what a
Ballroom style dance should look and feel like; and, if I were a Chef and that
dance was a Souffle, I'd kiss my fingers and exclaim, "Magnifique!".
Chris & Witney:
" ... Chris, I uh, you know, if you didn't have bad luck,
you'd have no luck at all!", a sympathetic Len Goodman would later
observe; but nonetheless, and with no small amount of pluck,Chris Soulesand his partner,Witney Carson, stepped
onto the dance floor to present their Foxtrot before the judges ...
Chris & Witney's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Wow-wee!! Chris just completely shocked and dazzled us all
with the dancing of a real wing-dinger of a Foxtrot!
Chris & Witney's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Great frame, grace, and footwork came together to make a very
admirable showing and a surprisingly close race!
Chris & Witney's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
Some of the judges thought so too, as a very pleased Julianne
expressed, "I gotta be honest, I was really impressed with you Chris; I
felt like you really kept up with Rumer and Val; and like, it was tighter than
I thought it was gonna be!".
Chris & Witney's Foxtrot
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Dance-offs
But, however praise-worthy Chris' efforts might have been, in the
end, " ... there was one, hands down, that stole the show! ...
", as Carrie Ann voiced it, and Rumer & Val were named the winners by
unanimous decision!
See all three videos (below) of the "Dance-offs " from Week 07 on Dancing With The Stars, all from ABC's great DWTS YouTube channel!
Sparks flew whenRobert
Herjavecand his dancing
partner,Kym Johnsonlit up the dance floor (and re-ignited more than a few "Showmance" rumors)
" ... Robert Herjavec and his dancing partner, Kym Johnson lit up the dance floor (and re-ignited more than a few "Showmance" rumors) ... "
with their passionate,
1980's-styled Argentine Tango to Word Up! byCameo.
Robert & Kym's Argentine Tango - wk07
Robert "the shark" Herjavec is back! It thrills me
to able to report that Robert seems to have finally been able to pull himself
out of his recent dancing-funk, as was made evident in this dance by his great
rhythm and frame, and his ability to just relax and "get into" the
dance, instead of appearing so uptight as though, with every step, you are
frantically trying to remember the next one!
Robert Herjavec - Argentine Tango - wk07
Robert & Kym's Argentine Tango - wk07
Granted, therewerethose one or two "missteps"
throughout the dance, when Robert would re-position a badly placed foot but,
otherwise, it was a very-well-executed number! And it must be said, kudos
on the seemingly-effortless lifts, as well!
Kym's choreography also took more than a few steps in the right
direction, although there was that one, squatting moment on the small, white
table during the routine that was a little uncomfortable ...
" ... there was that one, squatting moment on the small, white table during the routine that was a little uncomfortable ..."
Overall, Ireallyenjoyed the performance, and found the
"8"s given to it by three of the four judges to be a fair-ish
scoring, but I think that a couple of "9"s thrown in the mix would
have been much more appropriate ... the "7" was far too low,Carrie Ann!
See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Robert & Kym's Season 20, Week 07, Argentine Tango!
For their Eras Night performance,Noah Gallowayand partnerSharna Burgessdanced a cool and hip 1970's Jazz
number to "Super Bad" by (the one and only)James Brown!
Noah & Sharna's 70's Jazz DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night
Far out! Over-sized lapels, hair and pant legs never looked
quite as groovy as they did in this routine!
Noah & Sharna get their funk (and wigs) on for this 70's-inspired Jazz. DWTS S20, Wk07
I mean to say Noah was absolutely kicking it, and Sharna's fun and
funky choreography was characteristically genius!
Noah & Sharna's 70's Jazz
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night
"Up and down, and around and around ... ", Noah's
dancing was so on the beat and "Super Bad" in the best way! ...
CausingCarrie Ann Inabato exclaim, " ... What wasthat?! That was insane! ... You
gave us all of it; you gave it attitude ... it was fantastic!"
Head JudgeLen
Goodmanwas appropriately
met with uproarious cheering and applause when he commented, " ... I gotta
say, you may have half the limbs of most guys, but I tell you, you're twice the
man! ... ", but then went on to ruin the insightful observation by adding
about the routine, " ... I can't go overboard as much as Carrie Ann
because some of these dances are becoming like 'Group Numbers' [Referring to
the addition of backup dancers, by Sharna, to the dance], ... and as good as
that is to watch maybe on TV, I wanna ... [interrupted by loud Booing ...
"That's the other dancers' Agents!", joked Host Tom Bergeron] ...
It's as good as any dance I've seen you perform, so, well done!"
Well! I just want to take a moment and insert a few comments
of my own:
First off,BOOOOooooooooo!!
Secondly, these10th
Anniversary-inspiredinclusions
of backup dancers to some of the dances arepurposefullyflashy, and are "GREAT" to
watch on TV, not just "good" ...
What a groovy number!
TotallyTubular and Terrific Choreography, Sharna!
Noah, Dude! Far out! Far fig nugen! Fabulous!
Noah & Sharna's 70's Jazz
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night
What a groovy number!
TotallyTubular and Terrific Choreography, Sharna!
Noah, Dude! Far out! Far fig nugen! Fabulous!
Noah & Sharna's 70's Jazz
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night
And finally, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?! While I've
certainly enjoyedallof Noah's dances as much as the next
fan, this particular dance was, unarguably, his best one yet!
In the end, I thinkJulianne
Houghsaid it best when
she gushed, "I mean, I'm pretty much obsessed with you both right now! ... You had swag, you had groove; I think in the last like few weeks, you know,
we've seen you improve each week, but this one wassodifferent ... awesome!".
Noah & Sharna Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night
Although this amazing performance was deserving of a perfect
"40" scoring, the judges scored the dance with a "10" from
Carrie Ann (Noah and Sharna's first "10" of the Season ... Thank you,
Carrie Ann!), two "9"s from Julianne andBruno Tonioli, and an
"8" from Sourpuss, er, I meant, Len!
See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Noah & Sharna's Season 20, Week 07, Jazz!
