“Dancing” (Just not in the traditional sense of the word, I guess!) the Cha-Cha to “Pata Pata”
by Miriam Makeba, it’s Mischa “It’s not MY fault!” Barton,
and her poor, poor (poor, POOR!) Professional partner, Artem Chivintsev!
Mischa & Artem
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
It was Artem’s
“strict” Teaching Method; it was the lack of Music in Rehearsal; it was the Live Music during the actual
Performance; it was the too-difficult, Choreographed Steps; it was the
uncomfortable (given the way she was constantly slouching in it and tugging at
it) Dress … Oh, heck! It may have even
been that non-existent Fly buzzing
‘round the Ballroom! … It was ANYTHING
(… anything, anything, ANYTHING!) but
Mischa’s own fault that that
Dance was so (Oh, what’s the word?) … HORRIFIC!!
Well, make no mistake, “Blues” Barton, (and don’t kid yourself now) that was all you,
Sad Sack!
Mischa & Artem
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
… And let me tell you that
the ensuing outcome was sooo much
worse than you had feared.
(But, hey!Cheer up (if that’s possible), not ALL is so very bleak!
… Now we (the Fans) can all dread next Week’s
Routine with you!
Mischa & Artem
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
I mean, after all, what’s that saying about Misery
loving company?…
Mischa & Artem
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
See video (below) to watch Mischa & Artem's Cha-cha on Week 02 of DWTS, Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
Coming out on Latin Night with (The one and only) Gloria Estefan cheering them on
(#Whaaaat?!), Kim Fields and
her Professional partner, Sasha
Farber, danced a Super-fun Salsa to “Conga” byMiami
Sound Machine!
Kim & Sasha
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
A fantastic Performance overall, this next Routine,
while maybe not quite as amazing as
some of its other piers on Monday night, most notably and COMPLETELY held its
own against some truly incredible
Competition!
Kim & Sasha
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
Wonderful Lines, Great Footwork, and that
all-important FABULOUS sense of Rhythm, all came together for Kim during this Dance, ...
Kim & Sasha
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
... but was
tragically cut short when, near the end of the Routine, Kim suffered the
Ballroom-dreaded “Misstep”!! … “My foot got stuck”, as the Actress would later
explain, which in turn, produced a somewhat awkward ending to an otherwise
terrific Performance!
Nonetheless, this same seasoned Performer pulled it
all out beautifully, attempting to finish out her Number as though nothing had
gone wrong!
Kim & Sasha
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
… Not that the show’s Panel Judges could be called
upon to give her any credit for it, choosing rather instead to point out and
critique what was already plain for all to see, without even once mentioning
her quick thinking in trying to conceal her error while still dancing … with
Judge Bruno Tonioli going as far as to stupidly advise Fields to try and
cover it up next time!
Well, while it seems redundant to say that I dunno
WHAT the Judges were talking about ... I dunno WHAT the Judges were talking about!
That Dance was great, overall; and, it most certainly
did not boil down to one, tiny mistake at the close of the Routine!
Kim & Sasha
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
See video (below) to watch Kim & Sasha's Salsa on Week 02 of DWTS, Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
DWTS Season 22's Troupe Members, (L-R:) Kiril Kulish, Hayley Erbert, Shannon Holtzapffel, Dennis Jauch, Jenna Johnson, and Alan Bersten
Season after sequin-bedecked Season, Dancing With The Stars’ beloved Troupe Members can always be
relied on to spice up its already fantastic Weekly shows or beef up a Celeb’s
Routine in all the right ways!
This Season, DWTS’
endeared Troupe Alum Brittany Cherry seems to have officially
danced away from the Ballroom (for now at least!); and the sensational Sasha Farber has once again been
“Bumped Up” to the well-deserved status of “Pro” (!!), an exciting event which has only ever taken place
one time in the past when, in Season
17, Sasha was paired
up with Nicole “Snooki” LaValle
as a first-time, newly instated Pro.
The ensuing partnership resulted in a rather successful
turn around the show’s Ballroom Dance Floor, the duo having been the 5th
Couple to be Eliminated that Season, landing them in 8th Place overall!
Given the state of the Troupe’s now lacking ranks,
brought about by its greatly missed absentees, it seems that DWTS has officially deemed this a most
appropriate time to introduce some new faces (and arms, and legs, and feet!)
into its all-important Dancing Troupe!
…
Dennis
Jauch:
This German Dancer is also a well-known
Choreographer, and has - perhaps most notably - won his own native Country’s
version of So you Think You Can Dance
in 2010.
Shannon
Holtzapffel:
A Dutch native (according to buddytv.com) and a Dancer who was featured on Michael Jackson’s hit This
Is It Tour, Shannon is
also known for his Choreographical work on Australia’s version of So You Think You Can Dance, during the
show’s first 2 Seasons, and also reappeared as a Judge for the show’s
Final Season (S04) in 2014.
In addition, Shannon is credited as having been a
Dancer in Singer/Actress Jennifer
Lopez’s TV Movie Documentary, Dance
Again (2014), as well as having been in the Television Series, AStep
Away (2013), and in True Blood
(2012), playing the part of, what else, but a Dancer!
Kiril
Kulish:
A Singer, Dancer and Actor, this California-born
22-year-old’s ancestry hails from the Ukraine (according to Wikipedia) and
speaks Ukrainian and Russian, as well as English.
Having studied the Art of Ballet from the age of 5,
and Ballroom from the age of 8, Kiril
is perhaps best known for being one of the 3 boys cast to play the title role
of Billy in Broadway’s smash Production, Billy Elliott: The Musical (2008).
In the year 2009, Kiril, along with the 2 other boys
who had been cast in the Star part of Billy (David Alvarez and Trent
Kowalik), received the highly distinguished Tony Award for Best
Lead Actor in a Musical!
Well, an interesting and International casting, to
say the least; and, while Dancing With The
Stars, ABC, and Disney certainly have a pretty great
track record for introducing its audiences to someone or something entirely
new and then proceeding right along into making its audiences come to know
and, yes, in most cases, even love that someone or something, this seems like a
good time to mention that, personally, I’ve never been much for German Dancers … “Guten tag Hop clop”,
anyone?
Joining up with the Glitter Dome’s already
well-known and adored faces of Jenna
Johnson, Alan Bersten,
and Hayley Erbert, Dennis, Shannon, and Kiril all
made a very promising DWTS Debut, taking part in Season
22’s Fabulous Premier; and, I am very excited to find out if, and how much, these three will continue
to grow on me!
Dancing an Automated Argentine Tango to “Don’t” by Ed Sheeran, Trump-Ex,Marla
Maples, and her Professional partner, Tony Dovolani, presented their Latin Night Routine.
Marla & Tony
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
A terrific showing, generally speaking, Marla’s Lines and Footwork in
this Dance were undeniably excellent, and her Frame, better than most!
Marla & Tony
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
Her Execution, however, was another matter entirely,
hitting each and every Pose and Foot Placement with an almost tragic lack of
attack and sharpness!
Marla & Tony
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
Her general Attitude, as well, and Facial Expression
could easily be called more “Autopilot” than “Aggressive”, with her whole
demeanor seeming more or less absent-minded as she lazily went through the
Motions of the Dance.
Now, don’t get me wrong ... upon the whole I really did
love and enjoy the Routine, as well as Marla’s dancing of it overall; but, it
can hardly be refuted that, in the end, that same dancing lacked ANY kind of Passion.
Marla & Tony
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
“When you
approach an Argentine Tango,” began Judge Bruno
Tonioli, upon reviewing the Performance, “… you gotta kick @$$ … You’ve
got it, flaunt it!”; while Judge Carrie
Ann Inaba countered, that Marla’s Routine was merely a “Different take”
on the age-old Latin Dance, and furthermore praised this same “take” for being
“Sophisticated” and “Elegant” … three comments which I found to be bordering on
the ridiculous! …
The Argentine Tango is, traditionally, a
dark-flavored, passionate style
of dancing, and should, furthermore, be Executed as such, within reason.
What the Argentine Tango is certainly NOT is an “Elegant” or “Sophisticated”
style of dancing … Unless, when using the word “Sophisticated” you are implying
the word “Escort”.
There’s no “Different take” on the Argentine
Tango!You may not Grin stupidly as
though you were dancing the Jive, nor behave as though bereaved when
dancing the Contemporary!… THIS IS NOT FREESTYLE!!
This is a Ballroom Dance (and Competition) and, as
such, certain Steps and Standards must
be adhered to! … Otherwise, WHAT would be the point?!
And in that vein, you know as well as anyone, Carrie Ann, (and, in fact, pride yourself on knowing) that the Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Character
Portrayal are JUST AS IMPORTANT, and more so, necessary, within a Dance
(including the Argentine Tango) as Proper Execution and Technique!
… And if the above is, indeed, NOT so very important, Carrie Ann, nor necessary as you have so
tediously led us to believe over the many, past, trying years of Dreadful Rants and Pointed Point-docking, why then
was Nyle DiMarco’s Richly
Vibrant and Romantic Rumba so GROSSLY
under-scored?!
After all, couldn’t his Performance just have been labeled as being a “Different take”
on the Rumba?
In conclusion, the next time you are going to bend
the rules of Ballroom, Carrie Ann, based on the mere fact that a certain
Routine appealed to you “just ‘cause”, that’s fine!Let’s just chalk it up as being one of the
perks of being Judge.… But is it asking
too much then that you extend that same courtesy to ALL of the Competitors?!!
Marla & Tony
DWTS Season 22, Week 02
See video (below) to watch Marla & Tony's Argentine Tango on Week 02 of DWTS, Courtesy of Dancing With The Stars' great YouTube channel!
Alright, dwtslovers! Break out the Chips, heat up the Salsa, and brush up
on your “Oles!” because it’s an all-new Latin Night on Dancing With The Stars; and, it’s coming up next for Week 02, on March 28th, 2016!!
Here are the Dances Assigned to Each
Couple, as Revealed So Far:
Von & Witney -The Cha-Cha Geraldo & Edyta - The Salsa Jodie & Keo - The Samba Antonio & Sharna - The Rumba Kim & Sasha - The Salsa Nyle & Peta - The Rumba Ginger & Val - The Samba Marla & Tony - The Argentine Tango Wanya & Lindsay - The Salsa Doug & Karina - The Paso Doble Paige & Mark - The Salsa
Dancing
With The Stars’ Season 22 Premiere was jam-packed FULL of Celebs and familiar faces returning once more to the Ballroom for Week 01’s grand event!
Alfonso
Ribeiro and Angela Unkrich: DWTS’
beloved Season 19 Mirror Ball Champion, Alfonso,
was present with his Wife, Angela;
seated on the front row and enjoying the exciting night’s festivities!
Victor
Ortiz: This
Professional Boxer and Season 16’s 8th Place Alumnist was there to
root for his former Pro partner, Lindsay
Arnold!
Robin
Roberts and Amy Robach: The Good Morning America
Anchors showed up to cheer on their co-Worker and GMA’s Chief Meteorologist, Ginger
Zee.
Willow
Shields: The Hunger Games Actress and
youngest Star to have ever competed on the show to date (at age 14), this Season
20 Contestant was there to show support for her former Dance partner, Mark Ballas, and his new
Celebrity, Paige VanZant.
Carlos
and Alexa PenaVega: Hey, the PenaVegas are
back! This former, celebrity Dancing Duo
took part last Season, making official DWTS
History as the show’s only ever Competing Married Couple.
Finishing in 4and 6th Place
respectively, Carlos and Alexa were, of course, there and
seated ring-side in order to properly cheer for their Season 21 Pros, Witney Carson and Mark Ballas.
Danica
McKellar:Child Star and Season 18 Alum, Danica,
was present to root for her former Dance partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Season 22 Contestant, Ginger Zee.
Nastia
Liukin:Season 20’s
4th Place Semifinalist (along with her then Professional dance
partner, Derek Hough),Nastia returned to the Ballroom
once more in order to enjoy Season 22’s enthralling Premiere!
Leah
Remini: The
endeared DWTS “regular” and Season 17
Semifinalist was yet again present within the Ballroom to root for her former
Pro, Tony Dovolani, and his
new Celebrity partner, Marla Maples!
Chris
Soules: The former Bachelor and Season 20 Contestant (along
with his then Professional partner, Witney
Carson) could be seen chatting it up with All Access Host Dominic
Bowden!
Carson
Kressley: The Queer Eye on the Straight Guy
star and a former DWTS Competitor.
Kym
Johnson: DWTS’ newly Engaged and
beloved 2-time Mirror Ball Champion could be seen after the show’s Competition,
ham-ing it up with some of the Ballroom’s live, Celebrity Audience members, in correlation
with All Access Host, Dominic Bowden!
Nico
and Neal DiMarco: The Fraternal Twin (Nico)
and older Brother (Neal) of
Season 22 Contestant, Neal DiMarco, were present in the Ballroom and able to enthusiastically
cheer on their favorite Competitor when he blew away Viewers (of both the live
Audience, and those watching at home) with his incredible Cha-Cha!
Urijah Faber:UFC’s Mixed Martial Artist,Bantamweight Fighter and WEC’s Featherweight Champion (2006-‘07), “The
California Kid” was there to root for fellow UFC Alumnist, Season 22’sPaige VanZant, and her Professional
partner,Mark Ballas!
