Dancing the Contemporary to “Hall of Fame” by the script, featuring William, Antonio Brown and his Professional partner, Sharna Burgess, closed down
their Semifinals evening.
Antonio & Sharna
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals
Well, to be completely, albeit brutally honest, I
didn’t much care for this Routine.
Antonio’s
Dancing, although admittedly better than most nights of Competition (Thanks, let’s face it, folks, in large part to the blurred “structure” and “rules” that
make up a more Artistically Free form of Movement, such as Contemporary Dance),
was nonetheless persistently stiff, as though he were only going through the
Motions of the Routine, instead of being, as he ought, more relaxed, natural,
musical, and Fluid.
Antonio & Sharna
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals
There were,
however, those truly impressive Lifts, and more so, that mind-blowing, Running
Lift which, by evening’s end, successfully served as one of the more
“Breathtaking Moments” of the Semifinals as a whole.
Antonio & Sharna
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals
... Still, it seems only
fair to the night's other Competitors to mention that these same Lifts had been
presumably made all the more impacting, due to their stark opposition to an
otherwise Flat Showing.
See video (below) to watch Antonio & Sharna's Contemporary on Week 09 of DWTS, courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
Dancing the Argentine Tango to “Mi Confesion” by Gotan Project, Antonio Brown and his Pro
partner, Sharna Burgess, were
joined by DWTS Troupe Member, Hayley Erbert, for their
Semifinals Trio Routine.
Antonio & Sharna with Hayley
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals - Trio Round
Well, oddly enough, I loved this Dance!
…I use the
word “oddly” here because my love of this Dance has little, if ANYTHING, to do
with Antonio’s Execution of
it!
(Indeed, Antonio’s Semifinals Exhibit, as a whole when taking into account his much more Ballroom-apt Competition, would have
many wondering how on earth he had ever made this far!)
Antonio & Sharna with Haley
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals - Trio Round
No, it was simply a very natural and direct result
of the stereo-typically obvious allure of his Pro, Sharna’s, always brilliant, and more so, breathtaking
Choreography that was once again exemplified in the creation of this
Performance.
Antonio & Sharna with Haley
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals - Trio Round
And again, Hayley’s
dancing of it (along, of course, with Sharna's!) perfectly complimented this
delightfully complex, and yet, basically passionate Latin Routine!
Antonio & Sharna with Haley
DWTS Season 22, Week 09
- Semifinals - Trio Round
Antonio -o-o-o, on the other hand, with his Sloppy Footwork, his often Slumped Shoulders, and his Soft Kicks brought what should have easily served as an Immaculate Showing down to a decidedly sub-par effect.
See video (below) to watch Antonio & Sharna's and Haley's Argentine Tango Trio on Week 09 of DWTS, courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
Introducing its first ever Judges Team Up Challenge
round of Competition, Dancing With The
Stars’ three, Panel Judges each chose 2 of the Season's 6 remaining Couples
to “Team Up” in a presumably exciting Dancing Quartet with unexpected results …
Team
Bruno:
Dancing the Argentine Tango to “Habanera” by Georges Bazet, DWTS Judge, Bruno Tonioli’s, selected Team of Jodie & Keo and Nyle
& Peta submitted their Team Up Performance.
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
The better, in my opinion, of the three Team Up
routines, Team Bruno’s over
all execution of this difficult Latin Dance was surprisingly great for all the
individual parties involved.
Indeed, Jodie
Sweetin’s opening of the smooth and silky Number, with the three other
Dancing Professionals (including that of Pro, Peta Murgatrod), was exceptionally good, even byJodie’s own highly set and strictly
kept standards!
Granted, that there were one or two moments during the
Opening of the Dance, and again near the Close, when her Dancing Lines were not
quite Sharp, nor Fully Extended; but overall, I must say, a truly stellar
Performance!!
Likewise, Nyle
DiMarrco’s Strong yet Fluid Exhibition proved most excellent,
impressively holding his own when mercilessly stacked up against the Routine's
three other Male Professionals! All in all a most gratifying effort within this
novel Round, and most certainly the most successful!
Team
Len:
Dancing a Strangely Subpar Samba to “Jump in the
Line (Shake, Senora)” by Harry
Belafonte, Head Judge, Len Goodman’s, chosen Couples of Ginger & Val andWanya
& Lindsay presented their Team Up Routine.
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
<Mouth gaping wide open in horrified, stunned disbelief> Oh, good grief! WHAT a disappointment!
(What is the world of Ballroom Dance coming too?!!)
Is it just me, or did DWTS Beloved – and highly respected – Len just tragically fail, and somewhat miserably at that???
This seemingly phoned-in, total child's play of a
Performance was upsetting and (dare I say?) IRRITATING, to say the least, as DWTS' no-fuss, no-muss Judge appeared
suddenly incompetent, Choreographing what was truly one of the absolute DUMBEST Dances witnessed in the show's
adored Ballroom - at least, that I can remember – in a long (LONG)
while!
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
Honestly, Len,
just because you’re the Best in the Ballroom doesn’t mean that you don’t have to actually try … like, AT ALL!!
Even with Len making a brief - and completely UN-GRATIFYING - appearance near the end of this depressing and sickening
colorful array made this Dance feel all the more pathetic and useless!
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
(I mean, for crying out loud, folks, if endeared Grumpy Goodman’s face could not
rescue this Dance from the depths of Cheesesville, was there ever really any
hope for it in the first place??!)
Not to mention, Season 22’s Competing participant, Wanya Morris’, Dancing was only
“Pleasing”, albeit Fun, to say the very most, while recent Rising
Dancing-Force, Ginger Zee, sadly lapsed back into her Performing “Comfort-zone” consisting of
apathetic, Lazy Lines, halfhearted Charisma,and an overall Shoddy Execution!
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
… Simply dreadful.
Team
Carrie Ann:
Dancing the Paso Double to “Everybody Wants to Rule
the World” by Lorde, Judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s Dancing Duos Antonio & Sharna and Paige & Mark closed down
Week 08’s Competition.
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
An admittedly Emoting Performance overall, Carrie Ann’s contemporary take on this typically exhilarating Latin Style of Dance was oddly ill-pleasing in most stages of the Routine, as her Artistic Choreography (“Artistic”, a word that often stands for “Unique”) effectively had its participants stomping about the ballroom like slender, Taupe-clad (Ugh! Raise your hands if you’re positively DISGUSTED with the non-color of Taupe; stop embarrassing yourself if you’re not) Gorillas instead of refined, Quarterfinals Competitors!
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
Even Season Front-runner, Paige VanZant , was uncharacteristically Heavy in her Feet and Lines!
Not to mention, the seemingly evasive – and yet,
somehow, still completely necessary – element of all Four of the Dance's
participants Performing In Sync with one another throughout the whole of the
Routine proved a task much (much)too
hard to accomplish!
DWTS Season 22, Week 08
- Judges Team Up Challenge Round
It must be said, however, before wrapping up this
Post, that Antonio's Spinning
Lift of Paigewas a
little more than impressive, to say the least!
Still, in the end, I found this (what appeared
to be) ill-conceived attempt at recreating her Season 20, Noah & Sharna
Paso to be a flailing one at best, as well as an empty one.
See videos (3,below) to watch Judges Len, Bruno, and Carrie Ann's "Team Up Challenge" Dance on Week 08 of DWTS, courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
