Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 10: 24-Hour Fusion

DWTS Season 20, Week 10 -

24-Hour Fusion

REVIEW:  Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

Making their final competitive turn around the Ballroom <sniff!>, Riker Lynch and his Professional dancing partner, Allison Holker, danced a Salsa/Quickstep Fusion to "Classic" (love that song!) by MKTO.

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

Wow-wee!!  (Talk about getting your "Hough" on) Riker positively killed it! ... And with only 24 hours to learn it, too! ... INCREDIBLE!!!

What an absolutely fantastic way to go out!

And, of course, I'd be completely remiss not to mention that Allison's choreography was 100% perfect for this final routine!

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

"Okay, okay, I just wanna say, I cannot believe you guys had 24 hours!", shouted an exuberant Julianne Hough when the dance was over,  "I mean, it was sharp.  It was clean.  It was everything you wanna see in a dance that you would have had a week to do! ...".

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba also added, "Riker, ... you're just a superstar!  Every time you get out there, I cheer.  Your dances are innovative,  They're incredible.  You're just ...  <looking for right words > you're something so special; and, I loved every minute of watching you dance! ... I'm happy, <turning to Len Goodman> he's a happy dancer!".

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

Riker & Allison's Salsa/Quickstep 

24-hr Fusion Dance
DWTS Season 20, Week 10 - The Finals

Riker absolutely killed it

This fabulous Fusion went on to receive a perfect scoring of all 10's from the judges, and served as quite the terrific exit for Riker from the Ballroom dance floor!

See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Riker & Allison's Season 20, Week 10, 24-hr Fusion Dance!

Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 10 Freestyle

DWTS Season 20, Week 10 -

Freestyle REVIEW: Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

Next up in DWTS' Season 20 exciting Freestyles Round was Riker Lynch and his partner, Allison Holker, dancing a simply smashing routine to "I Won't Dance (Step Up 3D Remix)" by Fred Astaire (Who doesn't adore a little - or a lot! - of Astaire, now and then?!!).

You know what Riker?  Your dancing's lovely!  You know what?  It's LOVELY!!  And oh, what this choreography does to me!  (Get it?)

Riker & Allison Puttin' On The Ritz
for their glamorous Freestyle!
DWTS Season 20 Week 10 - The Finals, Day 1

Puttin' on some serious Ritz for this fun-filled and glamorous routine, Riker and Allison's Freestyle was chock full of Punch and Pizazz!

Riker & Allison Puttin' On The Ritz

for their glamorous Freestyle!

DWTS Season 20 Week 10 - The Finals, Day 1

Classy, with a perfect amount of Savoir Faire, this exhilarating dance "spared no expense" when it came to its "Wow!-Did-you-see-that?!" moments!  Take, for instance, the moment when Dancing With The Stars Pro, Emma Slater, and Troupe Member, Jenna Johnson, (who were both joined by other Troupe dancers for the polishing off of this incredible performance), could not get their cart (on which Riker was dancing) to move acrss the Ballroom alongside Allison's, as was obviously planned; so, ever the consummate live entertainer, Riker simply improvised and leapt off his stubborn cart and ran ahead to take his part in the big finale that wrapped up the whole exciting affair!  And the best part?!  Riker, musically-minded such as he is, never missed a beat!  Talk about "grace under pressure"!

Just call me an "Ocean Wave" and consider me bumped on that shore; because, that dance was A-Ma-Zing!!

Riker & Allison, Puttin' On The Ritz
for their glamorous Freestyle!
DWTS Season 20 Week 10 - The Finals, Day 1

"It was like watching Fred Astaire:  Reinvented - repackaged and represented for a new generation!  Awesome!", exclaimed Bruno Tonioli; and, Head Judge, Len Goodman, further added, " ... You have brought the past into the present, well done!".

This routine very naturally received all 10's, allowing the team of Riker & Allison to finish out their night with a perfect scoring of 80 out of a possible 80!

See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Riker & Allison's Season 20, Week 10, Freestyle!

Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 10

DWTS Season 20, Week 10

REVIEW:  Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

For their Week 10, Celebrity Pick performance, Riker Lynch, and his whirling Wench of a Professional Partner, Allison Holker, chose one of me absolute favorite dances from Season 20:  Their Disney Night, "Treasure Trove" (to quote Bruno Tonioli) of a Paso Doble to "He's a Pirate" by Klaus Badelt from Disney's The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

Ahoy, me Mateys!  Some Ballroom timbers were certainly a- shivering with this next dancing redux! ... CAPTAIN JACK IS BACK; and, he is (unbelievably!) better than ever!!

Captain Jack is back!
Season 20, Week 10 - DWTS Finals, Day 1

Raging, violent, and as powerfully-passionate as ever, this delicious second serving of a Pirate's Paso was every bit as amazing as the first time, "Savvy?"; and, Riker's dancing Lines, which needed very little (if any!) embellishing, were all the more clean and extended, prompting Head Judge, Len Goodman, to actually interrupt the other judges' raving in order to bestow upon the dance his highest and most sought-after form of appreciation: A standing ovation ("I don't think I've ever seen you do that out of [turn]!", laughed DWTS Host, Tom Bergeron)!

"It was absolutely a swashbuckling performance," Len continued animatedly, "It was flamboyant, Riker, <standing again > that - was - EPIC!  I loved it!!"

Could not have expressed it better meself, love!  This charismatic and personal favorite re-danced routine went on to receive a perfect score of all 10's from the judges! ... Well, of course it did Mate ... He's Captain Jack Sparrow!

Captain Jack is back!
Season 20, Week 10 - DWTS Finals, Day 1

See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Riker & Allison's Season 20, Week 10, (Pirate's) Paso Doble!

DWTS GALLERY - Riker & Allison - S20 Wk05

DWTS - 10th ANNIVERSARY

SEASON 20, Week 5

GALLERY:  Riker & Allison

Riker Lynch ... is fixing to kill it!

Oh yeah!  Here he comes!

Riker Lynch killing it
in The Paso Doble!!

Riker & Allison in their Pirates Paso Doble

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison - The Paso Doble

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison dance a Paso Doble

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison dancing to "He's A Pirate"
from Pirates Of The Caribbean
DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night 

Riker & Allison's Paso Doble

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison performing their Perfect Pirates Paso Doble!

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker Lynch as Captain Jack Sparrow

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison S20 Wk05
Dancing one of the best Paso Dobles ever!
 Disney Night

Riker & Allison as
Capt. Jack Sparrow & Elizabeth Swann 

Riker Lynch as Captain Jack Sparrow and
Allison Holker as Elizabeth Swann...
I love Disney Night!

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison's Paso Doble

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker Lynch & Allison Holker

DWTS S20, Wk05 - Disney Night

Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 08

DWTS Season 20, Week 08

REVIEW:  Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

Up next for America's Choice Night, the ever-talented Riker Lynch, and his Professional partner, Allison Holker, dancing a Viennese Waltz to "What Now" by Rihanna!

I absolutely adored this next performance!

Riker & Allison's Viennese Waltz S20 Wk08
America's Choice Night

I mean, honestly, how could I not?  Riker's dancing was nothing less than exquisite, and he led the dance so beautifully!  And his Frame! ...  I mean wow, his Frame in Hold was positively stunning!  Not to mention, Allison's riveting and gripping choreography, definitely left you wanting more!

A dramatic pause in Riker & Allison's Viennese Waltz
Season 20 Week 08, America's Choice Night

I mean to say this Viennese Waltz was amazing:  Graceful, elegant, and flowing footwork was set to a raw, passionate, emotional, and intense setting that seemed to reach out and smack you upside the face in unapologetic demand for your attention and approval!

Riker & Allison's Viennese Waltz
DWTS Season 20, Week 08 - America's Choice Night

The judges obviously loved this routine as well, as was first voiced by Bruno Tonioli when he exclaimed, " ... Wow, what intensity, and yet such control of execution!  It's so difficult to maintain a Viennese Waltz with such power and yet keeping your Frame ... you were giving it so much guts, WOW!".

"It was big, it was bold, it was full on, and yet you still kept clarity of movement!" readily agreed Head Judge Len Goodman, before adding, "I would have liked a little bit more in Hold [interrupted by loud "Boo!"ing] ... It's all losing what it should be:  It's all becoming Contemporary and Show Dance, I wanna see a bit of Viennese Waltz in there, and as great as it was, I'm an old guy and that's what I wanna see!"

Well, as much as it may grate me sometimes to admit it, I do recognize the need for someone, like Len, to point these things out and hold that firm, albeit unpopular, Ballroom line, that once Len leaves the show <sniff!>, will almost immediately and inevitably pull further and further back until the show can no longer be accurately classified as a "Ballroom Dance Competition"; so I'm glad that Dancing With The Stars has someone like Len judging ... On the flip side, I'm certainly not held to any Ballroom judging standard, and anyone who's anyone can easily see that this dance deserved all 10's, instead of the three 10's and the 9 it received from Len; and so I think I'll just play the Fan card and say, Boooo!  BOOoooo, Lenny!



See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Riker & Allison's Season 20, Week 08, Viennese Waltz!

Riker, Allison, & Brittany - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 08

DWTS Season 20, Week 08

REVIEW:  Riker, Allison, & Brittany

Riker, Allison, & Brittany:

Up next for the Trio Round was Riker Lynch and Allison Holker, who were joined by DWTS Troop Member, Brittany Cherry, to dance an outta-sight Jazz to "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" by Fergie, Q-Tip, and Goonrock!

Fast, furious, and fantastically fun, this Jazz is most definitely going up there as one of my all-time favorites from the show!

Riker & Allison in their Trio Dance with Brittany
Season 20, Week 08 - America's Choice Night

Exquisite choreography, Allison!  And great job on choosing Brittany, who totally nailed this routine!

And now for the best part of the performance:  Riker's dancing was nothing less than incredible for his second routine of the night, as he "popped it, locked it" ("hope you can keep up" girls!) all over that Ballroom dance floor, seemingly intending to just dance until he dropped!

Riker & Allison in their Trio Dance with Brittany
Season 20, Week 08 - America's Choice Night

" ... That was hot!" Exclaimed Judge Carrie Ann Inaba upon seeing the riveting performance, " ... You got the Puriettes, you got the Axles, you threw it all in the loop,You hammered, hammered, that number!  Hammered!".

"Now that was a Jazz routine!" agreed Julianne Hough, "The Double Axles, like Carrie Ann said; but the thing that I loved the most is that you were leading that routine!".

"It's 'Happy Hour' at DWTS!" threw in Head Judge Len Goodman, "We're happy, you're happy, we're all happy!".

Following its all-positive critical review from the Judges' Panel, Riker's Jazz went on to receive three, well-deserved 10's and an underscored 9 from Len, much to the bewilderment and disappointment of everyone in the Ballroom.

Well, we were "all happy", Len! ...  Right up until you threw up that stupid "9" paddle!

This tragic lapse in judgment was, I think, best commented on by co- host Erin Andrews when she subsequently moaned, " ... What kind of 'Party' does Len need!?!  I mean, that was a 10 party Len!  Get serious!".

Riker & Allison in their Trio Dance with Brittany
Season 20, Week 08 - America's Choice Night
You guys totally killed it!

See below for ABC's DWTS YouTube video of Riker, Allison, & Brittany's Season 20, Week 08, Trio Jazz!

Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 07

DWTS Season 20, Week 07 REVIEW: 

Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

Riker Lynch and his professional dancing partner, Allison Holker, kicked off Week 07's Eras Night with a 1920's-inspired Quickstep to "Wiggle" by Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox.

Riker & Allison's Quikstep
DWTS Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night

"Up next to dance is number 01, rookie Riker Lynch, who we've seen nothing but good things from all Season long ... he steps out onto the Ballroom Diamond

Heeerres the pitch!
Riker Lynch S20, Wk07 - Eras Night

 ... There's the pitch!  Oooo, WAM!  Riker slams it right outta' the gate and it's going ... going ... is it!?! 

I-i-i-i-t-t-s-s outta here!!

 It is!!  It's another dancing Home Run for Riker "The Natural" Lynch!  Whatta' Quickstep!!"

Riker & Allison Danced an amazing Quickstep!
Season 20, Week 07 - Eras Night

Hot Dog!  Riker and Allison, you've done it again!!  I mean to say, this routine was absolutely perfect! ... I loved every little, teeny, tiny detail:  The perfectly-timed "batting" that kick-started the dance, the Natural-inspired introduction of Allison into the routine,

Allison's Natural-inspired introduction
was pure genius!!

 the fun and fabulous,  rip-Roaring 20's-style choreography (Excellently done, Allison!), the superb dancing (Riker "Hough" kills it yet again!), the freakin' Tapping (where in world did that come from!?! ... It was brilliant!), and, oh, yeah! ... The incredible and yet still somehow totally "Eh!- It's-no-big-deal!"-casual catching of the in-flight-Bat that closed down the delightful performance!

A Home Run for Riker & Allison
Season 20, Week 07

For the first time in what feels like a long time, Head Judge Len Goodman clearly agreed with my marked impression of the dance when he raved, "Ah-ho-ho!  Ohh, yes! ... 'Round First Base, still going, loads of energy, fast!  'Round Second Base, onto Third!  And then, Hey!  All the way Home!!"

This rarely-given high praise of the performance was later validated, with the awarding of Season 20's first "10" from Len, a much-sought-after prize Riker had just admitted to craving for in his pre-dance, Rehearsal package!

Unfortunately, the remaining three judges did not share mine and Len's enthusiasm for the dance and wound up scoring it with 9's ... <Clearing throat awkwardly>, Um, while I hate to have to be the one to point out the obvious here, when Len scores a Ballroom dance with a "10" ... 
IT DESERVED A FREAKING "10"! ...  
just saying.

Riker & Allison - Review of DWTS Season 20, Week 06

DWTS Season 20, Week 06

REVIEW:  Riker & Allison

Riker & Allison:

Riker Lynch and his partner, Allison Holker, topped off the "single couples' " dances for Spring Break Night with their Samba to "Want to Want Me" by Jason Derulo.

Wow!  This dance was nothing less than incredible!!

Woooooo!! You go Riker! 

Riker danced this Samba like a DWTS Pro, and I've never known Allison to dance (or choreograph) better than she has these past six weeks of competition ... I think Riker really brings out the best in her!

Riker & Allison's Samba wk06
Yeah! Let's hear it for Team Rallison!
You guys are crazy good!

I mean to say, Riker absolutely killed it!  His musicality was insanely good and his body seems to have been made to dance!!

Riker & Allison - The Samba
DWTS S20,Wk06 - Spring Break Night
This Samba was amazing!  Pro level !!

Riker & Allison - The Samba 
Allison, Great Choreography! Riker, dude, you were born to dance!
DWTS S20,Wk06 - Spring Break Night

As Carrie Ann Inaba so aptly phrased it, "... You're so on the beat!  What you do when you dance is you make it music on your body and I love listening to you dance, Riker!"

Head judge Len Goodman, aka, Grumpy (sorry, Len!), made his feelings on the subject plain when he said, "... You dance like I cook:  Chuck it all in and hope for the best ... You're moving across the floor like Spiderman.  Some of the time, it was good; I can't say it was great!" ... but Julianne Hough countered, "Well, you must be an excellent chef because I thought that was fantastic! ..." (Well said, Julianne!).

Riker & Allison's Samba was
Fantastically Fun, Exceptionally Entertaining,
Furiously Fast, & Positively Perfect!  <whew!>

An 8, Len, really!?!  This dance desevred all 10's!

It was fast, it was fun, and it was 100% PERFECT !!





See Riker & Allison's dance (below) on Week 06, Spring Break Night, on Dancing With The Stars courtesy of ABC's great DWTS YouTube channel.