So Dixieland’s Celebrity Chef, Paula Deen, has been
Eliminated and sent away, away, away down South, to Dixie!
Well, let’s face it, y’all, we all knew this was coming; but, I must say
that the ride was surprisingly fun, and it was so nice that Paula
got to leave on her best dance!
Dancing a Jazz to “Vogue” by Madonna, Paula
Deen and her partner, Louis Van Amstel, presented their
Famous Dances Night routine.
Paula & Louis
DWTS Season 21, Week 06 -
Famous Dance Week
Well, Dixieland’s Dancing Chef was certainly in vogue
for this performance as she struck a (surprisingly great) musical pose and
danced what was most definitely her best dance of the Season!
Paula & Louis
DWTS Season 21, Week 06 -
Famous Dance Week
Great Musicality, fine Form, and a delightful
in-Character Portrayal all came together on this night for Paula
to create a very enjoyable Jazz number!
Paula & Louis
DWTS Season 21, Week 06 -
Famous Dance Week
To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have believed it if I
hadn’t already seen it; but, I actually found Paula's routine to be way
under-scored by the judges!
It was Jazz, guys!! And it was Madonna’s live, VMA (Video
Music Awards) rendition of striking a pose.
And anyone (actually paying attention) could see that Paula’s routine
accomplished all of the above!
All
6’s?!!
That just wasn’t right. Not only
was Paula’s execution of this dance worth much more than that; but furthermore, this was Paula’s absolute BEST dance presented so far and her
subsequent scores should have reflected that.
Dancing the Cha-Cha to “Respect” by (the one and only) Aretha Franklin, Paula Deen and her Professional
partner, Louis Van Amstel,
submitted their Most Memorable Year performance.
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 04 -
Most Memorable Year Night
Well, the swag was most certainly there ... much, I'm sure, to the shock of
everyone watching, and likewise the Musicality was great; but, as for the actual
technical execution of this routine, Dixieland' s dancing Chef just barely passed mustard and merely tagged a halfway decent standard.
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 04 -
Most Memorable Year Night
Paula’s performance level, on the other hand, was greatly
improved, as she was clearly having a lot of fun with this dance, which in
turn allowed her audience to do so!
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 04 -
Most Memorable Year Night
See video (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Cha-cha on Week 04 of DWTS, Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
(From L to R) Alek Skarlatos, Lindsay Arnold, Emma Slater, and Raphael … er, I mean, Hayes Grier! … cheer on their fellow Season 21 competitors. – Week 03, TV Night
Bindi Irwin (Center) and her partner Derek Hough Right) share a laugh while hanging with Andy Grammer (Left).
Season 21 competitors Bindi Irwin and Andy Grammer show some Balcony support for their Celebrity counterparts. – Week 03, TV Night
(From L to R) Erin Andrews, Nick Carter, and Sharna Burgess Nick danced a beautiful and elegant Viennese Waltz on TV Night to the theme from Downton Abby. The performance earned Nick & Sharna all 9’s, tying them at the top of the Leader Board with Alexa & Mark (who had performed a Jazz routine earlier to the theme from Breaking Bad). Here, upon receiving his scores, an elated Nick accidentally dropped and broke a glass which was given to him to hold following his period piece dance, causing DWTS co-Host, Erin Andrews, to burst out with laughter!
Bindi & Derek were so great TV Night when they danced an amazing Quickstep to the theme from the Jeffersons!
DWTS Band Leader, Ray Chu, certainly had plenty of reason to smile Monday night, as he and his talented Band and Singers did a fantastic job of accompanying the the Night’s TV-themed dances!
How about a big hand for DWTS’ live Band, Ray Chu Live, who did a splendiferous job for Season 21’s TV Night! – Week 03
“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of an adorable
dance, when Paula & Louis
performed for us all a minute-long Samba … a minute-long Samba!”
Paula & Louis' Samba DWTS Season 21, Week 03 - TV Night
(If you’re unfamiliar with the theme from Gilligan’s Island, there is just no helping you!)
Dancing the Samba to “The ballad of Gilligan’s Isle”, by The Eligibles, from Gilligan’s Island, Dixieland’s Celebrity Chef, Paula Deen, and her Professional partner, Louis Van Amstel, performed their TV Night routine.
Paula & Louis' Samba DWTS Season 21, Week 03 - TV Night
And I must say, that I found this routine to be incredibly cute!
What Paula may have lacked in technical steps (which granted, was a whole lot, yet there was some improvement!), the performance more than made up for with great fun and
entertainment!
Paula & Louis' Samba DWTS Season 21, Week 03 - TV Night
(And speaking of, by the way, the Troupe members, Jenna Johnson, Sasha
Farber, Haley Erbert,
and most of all Alan Bersten- who proved to be an absolute hoot
playing the part of the Skipper! - were killing it, great job guys!)
Paula & Louis' Samba DWTS Season 21, Week 03 - TV Night
See video (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Samba on Week 03 of DWTS. Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
See videos (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Rumba on Week 02 of DWTS (Night 01) and their Tango on Week 02 (Night 02). Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
Up next we have Paula Deen and her Professional partner, Louis Van Amstel, dancing the Rumba.
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 02, Night 01 -
Hometown Glory Week
Hey, y’all, that rumba wasn’t half bad!
Actually, it was really pretty good which, I must say, completely took me by surprise!
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 02, Night 01 -
Hometown Glory Week
Seriously, who knew that Paula Deen had such a sultry side?
Not to mention, her Lines were good; her turns, albeit imperfect, impressive; and, her performance level - overall - very much improved ... Well done!
Paula & Louis DWTS Season 21, Week 02, Night 01 -
Hometown Glory Week
As for her Tango, I thought that it was even better than her Rumba, with her dancing Frame being all the more improved!
Paula & Louis
DWTS Season 21, Week 02, Night 02 -
Hometown Glory Week
And it has to be said that she was totally rockin’ the red!
Paula & Louis
DWTS Season 21, Week 02, Night 02 -
Hometown Glory Week
See videos (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Rumba on Week 02 of DWTS (Night 01) and their Tango on Week 02 (Night 02). Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
Paula Deen begins her Quickstep in a very cute (very Disney!) kitchen setting. It really should be mentioned that having to do the Quickstep in Week 01 is nothing short of ridiculous! I thought that Paula held her own in the dance. She had good frame, good timing ... the actual Quickstep-ing of it left something to be desired; but, frankly, that's Louis' fault. For what she was given, I thought she did pretty well!
Paula & Louis - The Quickstep DWTS Season 21, Week 01 Kudos to the costume department ... That was a very nice dress, perfectly suited for Paula.
Paula Deen & Louis Van Amstel at the end of their Quickstep. Again ... Quickstep ... Week 01 ... crazy! Nicely danced, Paula!
See video (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Quickstep on Week 01 of DWTS, courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
Paula Deen and her ("Professional"?) partner, Louis Van Amstel, danced an under-whelming Quickstep to "Hey, Good Lookin' " by Carol Welsman ... cute, DWTS, cute!
<Long, low whistle> It ain't lookin' good, y'all, for Dixieland's Dancing Chef, Paula Deen!
Now, overall, it must be said, Paula's dancing did possess just a dash of grace that was unexpected;
Paula & Louis dance The Quickstep DWTS Season 21, Week 01
and, I did NOT agree when the judges claimed that she looked as though she were hanging on to Louis for dear life; but, in the end, that routine left a bad taste in my mouth! ... and I also think that a fair amount of the blame goes to the watered-down Quickstep choreography, that was sub-par at best!
But, hey, who knows? Given time, perhaps Paula will get as comfortable in her dancing shoes as she is in the kitchen ... I guess that we'll just have to wait for the second course to find out!
Paula Deen and Louis Van Amstel DWTS Season 21, Week 01
See video (below) to watch Paula & Louis' Quickstep on Week 01 of DWTS, courtesy of Dancing With The Stars great YouTube channel!
As a widely-popular, Southern Chef from Savannah, Georgia, Paula hosts three
different Food Network Shows: Paula's Home Cooking, Paula's
Party, and Paula's Best Dishes!
Paula Deen gets all glamoured up y'all for her Dancing Debut!
In addition, Paula also owns two restaurants, The Lady and Sons
and her recently opened Paula Deen's Family Kitchen.
It’s here, it’s here, it’s here!!!
<Clapping Hands and Squealing for joy!>
The Dancing With The Stars Pro and
Celebrity Cast Announcement!!!
And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is
with the greatest pleasure, and no small amount of shrieking ( I expect an annoyed call from my neighbors at any minute …), that I present to you our DWTS
Cast for Season 21:
Victor Espinoza & Karina Smirnoff
Alek Skarlatos & Lindsay Arnold
Chaka Khan & Keo Motsepe
Gary Busey & Anna Trebunskaya
Hayes Grier & Emma Slater
Paula Deen & Louis Van Amstel
Nick Carter & Sharna Burgess
Alexa PenaVega & Mark Ballas
Tamar Braxton & Val Chmerkovskiy
Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson
Kim Zolciak & Tony Dovolani
Andy Grammer & Allison Holker
Bindi Irwin & Derek Hough
<Rubbing hands excitedly together> Wow-wee, that is quite the line-up! ... Season 21 certainly seems like it will be one to remember!!
The fun officially kicks (and flicks!) off September 14th, 2015, so be there or be square (dancing!) !!