It’s a TIE!! Bindi & Derek and Alexa and Mark are the High-Scorers! – DWTS S21, Wk09

Bindi & Derek are Met by

Alexa & Mark at the Top of

Monday Night’s Leader Board!!

Earning not one, but TWO perfect scores each, Monday’s 2 high-scoring Couples, Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark met at the top of the night’s Leader Board in an enthralling, <Ahem!> Showstopping TIE!!

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -
Showstopper Night

Alexa & Mark:

To begin their perfect night, Alexa PenaVega and her Professional partner, Mark Ballas, danced a captivating Contemporary routine to “Make it Rain” by Ed Sheeran.

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

A gripping, oddly-chilling performance, Alexa & Mark executed their first Week 09 routine with stunning accuracy!

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

First off, it must be said, Mark’s stereotypical, creative genius was very obviously in full-gear when choreographing this dance, as his magnetizing Ballas-spin on Bulimia made you feel almost desperate during the “victim’s” struggle for success in breaking away from her captor!

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

And secondly (I can hardly believe that I am about to say this, but) Alexa totally killed it!!

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Great Musicality, terrific Character Portrayal, incredibly-emoting Dancing; and dare I say it, FULLY-remembered Steps all came together for Alexa during this gratifying performance (that can easily be marked as her best to date), thereby allowing this Typically-Tumultuous Couple to earn their first perfect score of the Season!
 

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Bindi & Derek: 

Kicking off their Showstopping evening, Bindi Irwin and her Professional dancing partner, Derek Hough, danced an exquisite Viennese Waltz to “Roses and Violets” by Alexander Jean.

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I loved this next dance
(You know you did too)!

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Seriously now, I don’t think it’s even possible to say too many good things about this INCREDIBLE performance!

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

The beautiful choreography by Derek alone was enough to win all 10’s for the next year or so, just on leftover credit; not to mention, the added mature, elegant, and graceful Execution of this routine by Bindi was nothing less than breathtaking!

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

I loved every single, teeny, tiny part of this dance!!

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

From the emoting, passionate feeling that enveloped it, to the “grow”-ing, dramatic pause,

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

to the (BRILLIANTLY-expressed and executed) “desperate” lunge, 

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

to the effectively-sweet and charming, old-timey, no-frills “Music Box Waltz” ending,

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

this dance - no doubt - stands as one of the best of the Season, and the history of the Show!

Bindi & Derek

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

Brava (Brava, BRAVA!), that was amazing!!

Bindi Irwin

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night

 

Dance Duet:

Closing down their perfect night, Bindi & Derek were joined by Alexa & Mark back out on the Ballroom dance floor for a Chicago-themed, showstopping Charleston to “All that Jazz” and “Hot Honey Rag” by Kander and Ebb.

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

 Hold on folks, they’re playing fast and loose! … And all that jazz!

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

No doubt about it, this frisky Duet was the cat’s meow, as it wowed its onlookers with its superb, in-sync Steps, terrifically-fun choreography, and delightful Charleston elements!

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

I particularly enjoyed Bindi’s dancing during this routine with her fabulous rhythm and spot-on Movement and Lines;

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

and, of course, it almost goes without saying, Derek, Mark and the Troupe (Who, according to Derek’s tvguide.com Blog, only had “a couple of hours” on “Saturday” to rehearse this routine!) totally killed it! 

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

To be honest, I found Alexa’s execution to be sadly lacking during this performance, with her stereotypically-lazy, unfinished Lines and proclivity for forgetfulness (when it comes to the Choreography) creeping back into her dance.

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Regardless, some dances are far too great and spectacular to be marred by such comparatively-insignificant tripe like a certain PenaVega’s particular short-comings as was the case with THIS amazing routine which practically had its audience (myself included) starting to roar … whistling, stamping, stomping the floor, yelling, screaming, and begging for MORE (!), to which this Dynamite “Duet” responded with an “Okay,-fellas,-keep-your-socks-up,-‘cause-you-ain’t-seen-nothin'-yet”, slam - <Ahem!> - BANG finish!

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Bindi & Derek and Alexa & Mark

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Reeeeally nifty, you guys; I loved it!!

Carlos & Witney, Alek & Lindsay – Review of Dance Duet, DWTS Season 21, Week 09

DWTS Season 21, Week 09

Dance Duet REVIEW:

Carlos & Witney, Alek & Lindsay

For their Show Stopping routine, Carlos PenaVega, Witney Carson, Alek Skarlatos, and Lindsay Arnold danced a rockin’ Paso Doble to “We Will Rock You” by Queen.

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

I absolutely LOVED this performance!!

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

And, why not?  It practically goes without saying, that the Choreography for this enthralling routine was 100% PERFECT, 

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

combining powerful Paso Content with driving rock n’ roll elements and various, delightful nods to the live show, We Will Rock You!

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Carlos and Alek’s dancing was, not surprisingly, equally impressive, displaying stellar, in-sync Movements, terrific rhythm, excellent Character Portrayal and fantastic Frames!

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

Not to mention, the captivating performance just happened to have included one truly AMAZING Lift that effectively had its audience on the edge of their seats and chewing their nails down to nubs, yet it was so brilliantly-executed, without a hitch!

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

With the aforementioned facts, one would think it might be impossible NOT to have loved this dance; and, indeed, it would!

… Unless, of course, you happen to be the show’s less-than-bright-Judges Panel!

“ … I gotta be honest,” began Judge Julianne Hough when the dance was over, “I felt like there was such an opportunity when you guys both danced to do something that we’ve never seen on the show, with two guys dancing together; and, I could have seen SO much more energy and SO much more aggression!  I felt like it was a little bit stale.”

Well, Julianne, I gotta be honest, I feel like you have gone a little bit stale!

Honestly, what more “energy” or “aggression” could you have POSSIBLY been waiting for?!  Were you waiting for WEAPONS to be drawn, or something?  Because it is just a dance, after all, not battle; and, Carlos and Alek’s “Duet” was PERFECTLY energetic and aggressive, thank you very much; AND, I’ll thank you further to remember to keep quiet when you clearly don’t know what you are looking at!

“That’s a big song, and I don’t think you filled the shoes for that song …” Carrie Ann Inaba chimed in, “It’s an operatic song, and I don’t think you had this <banging Judges’ desk> going on in all of you movements.  They looked small, compared to the song.”

<Clearing throat awkwardly> Um, first off, the song, Carrie Ann, is not so much “operatic” as “rock anthem”; and, secondly, you did understand that the “movements”, which completely suited the song by the way, were confined to reflect the live show, We Will Rock You, NOT just the song, as the entire evening’s theme was, as you may recall, SHOWstopper Night!!!

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round 

8’s?!!  Are you KIDDING?!!  (And you went on to score Tamar Braxton’s sloppy “Showstopper” Rumba with all 9’s?!! … That is just SO very wrong!)

Good grief, you big, overblown disgraces!  Some Producer had better put you back in your places … 

Carlos & Witney and Alek & Lindsay

DWTS Season 21, Week 09 -

Showstopper Night - 

Dance Duets Round