May 16, 2007

Dancing With The Stars 4: May 15-16, Semi-Finals

This recap is a bit later than normal due to illness among the usual participants. I just managed to watch the 8pm show on Monday night; both MG and I were too ill to watch what for me is the 11pm show (she is on the West Coast.) Then I decided to wait until after the results were known before finishing and posting the recap. It's a disclaimer, but it's also fact. Anyway, enough with our excuses! On with the recap!

Four couples remain. They're introduced in this order: Ian, Joey, Laila, Apolo. With any luck, that is the order in which they will depart this competition: Ian first, with Apolo the winner.

Tom repeats the taglines: Olympian, Fighter, Showman and Perfectionist and say that each couple performs two new routines. Len says the four couples will select their favorite dances, meaning therefore they are not learning new dances. Rather, they are expected to devise new routines for dances they should already have some familiarity with. Each couple is expected to do very well.

ROUND 1: Ballroom

Apolo & Julianne - Quick-Step
Apolo says they're yet to earn a 10 for their ballroom dancing. During the week he and Julianne went to something called a Wango-Tango, where they performed one of their dances for an appreciative crowd. That's an excellent example of a worthwhile extra-curricular activity. Apolo says he wants to be the first to earn six 10s in one night.

Apolo runs down the steps and meets Julianne who is gabbing at the judges' table. He taps her shoulder and the dance begins. His black suit is teamed a dark emerald green shirt; her dress is sparkly dark green, with a bright emerald green petticoat or slip or perhaps lining peeping out from beneath as she moves.

I love this couple! Their footwork looks good to me with perfect and therefore lovely synchronicity. They even execute leaps in unison! He takes her by the arms and whirls her through the air as he spins, then she repeats the maneuver on him!! The dance ends with him on the floor like a teddy bear. Absolutely delightful. The crowd gives a well-deserved standing ovation. After watching all season, I have to say the Quick Step has turned out to be my favorite of the ballroom dances. I didn't even know what it was before this show.

Len: "I really expected it to be a good Quick Step. It was fantastic. There was control in the speed. Great movement."
Bruno: "The Apolo Express is off on a magic ride. I can't believe I agree with Len: light, quick, fast, sporty."
Carrie Ann: "Thank you for setting the bar way high. Fantastic. You didn't miss a beat."

That sounds to me like a set of 10s across the board, doesn't it? And, yes: 10, 10, 10! That's a lovely the way to start the show off right. That was the more difficult round for them.

Ian & Cheryl - Tango.
They obtained the services of a coach, Mike Maffia, who tries to help Ian emote more during his performances. Ian claims that, "being an actor, his emotions are close to the surface." Close to, but not necessarily accessible. He just seems perpetually on the verge of a temper tantrum to me. I've tried to like him, but it feels as if he puts up an invisible wall that allows no-one in. After the coaching session he declares his intention is to "sell it like [he's] never sold it before." Cheryl exclaims she feels like she's dancing with a whole new Ian.

Tango. He's in black with a red shirt; her dress is black with a red swath and a gauzy see-thru portion in the mid-section. I find their footwork to be messy at times. I still don't like her; she exudes an air of entitlement because she's won the competition before. Perhaps it is entitlement mixed with chagrin that she has been partnered with someone who isn't capable of winning. I'll be surprised if their Tango receives perfect 10s.

Bruno: "You went with a frenzy. Watch out. I have to say keep an eye on your footwork."
Carrie: "When you travel across the floor, make it look like you're going somewhere."
Len: "I don't know what these two are looking at. That was your best dance ever. Had passion, flair. I think that was great."

Scores: 9, 10, 9. The scores, which of course are always given in the order Carrie Ann/Len/Bruno, definitely reflect their commentary. The scores ARE high, but at this stage it would seem that anything less than perfect could cost the couple a place in the finals.

Laila & Maks - Quick Step.
They struggle in rehearsals. Uh oh. The next day Maks shows up with flowers. Laila describes having Maks over to meet her whole family and just hang out relaxing while preparing barbecue. She scolds him for burning the chicken. Chicken is a difficult meat to barbecue, I've found. It seems to burn faster on the outside than it can cook on the inside. Anyway, it's an interesting diversion, but it's not dance rehearsal.

Quick Step. Laila has chosen a Cleopatra-style outfit. It's gold with a jeweled thing on the chest area. I'm sure there are proper terms for that. She's also wearing flat shoes and later we learn it's on account of having knee problems. Kudos for not complaining, Laila. This is the first I've heard of her injuries but apparently she's been struggling all competition long. I think Maks is wearing a dark suit, but I didn't note it down so cannot say for sure. They dance to Walk Like An Egyptian, which serves quite well, but not quite as perfectly as the music Apolo & Julianne used for theirs. The first time Laila & Max insert the Egyptian-ish head bobble (on the title line), it works very well. On the repetition, however, the head-bobble movement is slightly off from the music and looks as thought they are straining to make the music "fit."

Carrie Ann: "People are expecting you to be as good as the professional women. You bring a vibe that is sophisticated."
Len: "This was a little more basic than the other one we saw." Maks argues a bit, Laila apologizes for Maks, but in the end it won't matter a jot.
Bruno: "Cleopatra Ali. Magical!"

Scores: 10, 10, 10. Oh my. I truly did not expect them to receive a perfect score. The dance was good, but perfect? Not in my view.

Joey & Kym - Foxtrot.
Last week the couple was devastated to find themselves in the bottom 2. Kym says Joey means business this week. Once again they took time to go out and "meet the fans." At least this time they also put on a dancing display.

Foxtrot. They dance to My Guy wearing white. Kym's dress is mostly see-thru and she looks like she's wearing a 50s two-piece bathing seat covered with a gauzy backless shimmy. Joey's all white suit features long tails. It's a lovely enough dance, I suppose. Perhaps I am beginning to tire of dancing that is merely good and not spectacular. At the end they twirl each other twice through the air. It's quite amazing to see Kym holding Joey up two times in a row. There must be a trick to that move, which allows a small woman to appear to be wheeling her much larger partner through the air.

Len: "I like to see you portray the people in each dance. You blended so well. That was American Smooth." Has Len taken a sip of Bruno's drink?
Bruno: "Mr Showbiz at his best. You two are like two movie stars of the '40s. I was enchanted."
Carrie Ann: "What is amazing about you, Joey, is you do have what it takes to win. A winner bounces back. Just now, you won the ballroom round."

Say what? Not for my money, he didn't. Does Carrie Ann only remember the most recent dance she's seen? Apolo & Julianne were the stars of this round, even if three couples received perfect scores.

And oh yes, Joey & Kym do receive 10, 10, 10. And who's the only one who didn't get perfect 10s? Why, Ian, yes. Still, he did get one 10, and from Len too, so he's happy.

BREAK
For our break this week, Len visits each couple to provide pointers for the Latin round. He tells us his dancing specialty was Latin, so it's quite a good segue. He instructs Ian on the fine art of kicking. Apolo is helped to overcome what I thought I heard Len call "Apolo's sickle feet" syndrome. Laila needs to work on her arms, and Len suggests she focus on "placing her hand" and then her arm will follow naturally. Joey's butt still sticks out but I don't know if one session with Len will be enough to correct that problem. What I do know is that Joey took the opportunity to quip that Len has good advice, which is no surprise since "he's been dancing for 95 years."

ROUND 2: Latin.

Apolo & Julianne - Cha Cha Cha.
He's in a blue shirt and black pants; she's in an electric blue gown. The song is Push It. As was the case with almost every one of their dances all season, I find the routine delightful and highly charged. I'm a fan of course. I didn't realize the Cha Cha could look like this. But it is a little bit like watching two people have stylized sex on the dance floor. It's kind of hard to watch some of the moves.

Bruno: "So energetic. Shot of adrenalin."
Carrie Ann: "You sold it. I felt dirty watching it."
Len: "Your feet were much better. For me, there was a lot of gyration and raunch, with only a few basic steps. Too much of one thing."

Actually, I do kind of agree with Len on this one, even though I know it will mean losing a point and missing out on the perfect 60. With so much that was let slide in the Ballroom Round, at first I was piqued that Len got tough on Apolo in this round. However, with any luck this will only galvanize the couple to do even better in the finals.

Scores: 10, 9, 10. (Bruno knocks his head on the desk after Len gives his 9, which is funny if a little melodramatic.) Their total for the night is 59/60.

Ian & Cheryl - Jive.
He's wearing an Elvis outfit complete with overdone pompadour. He does not look at all like himself. Their song is All Shook Up, one of my few Elvis favorites. He's in white with a red scarf. She's in a red bikini top and short red skirt. The routine is cute but the whole Elvis get-up is distracting because it just doesn't look like Ian at all.

Carrie Ann: "Hallelujah. Who'd have thought a wig would help you break through?"
Len: "Technically I've always thought you were the soundest. Tonight you came out and done the lot."
Bruno: "Somehow it works. The breakthrough is there. You've done it."

Scores: 10, 10, 10. They finally get a perfect score. Ian is so excited he runs over and hugs… Joey? OooOooo.

Laila & Maks - Cha Cha Cha.
They dance to She's A Lady. She's in a hot pink dress, he's in a mauve top with hot pink vertical stripes and black pants. It's a nice routine but is it worthy of perfect scores? Somehow I think it doesn't matter. They even throw in that strange hip/thigh waggle thing that Laila loves so much, and which I think she calls "the butterfly."

Len: "This had far more content. You won me over with the butterfly."
Bruno: "No doubt you're a knockout. You have confidence."
Carrie Ann: "Technique shines through."

My notes are getting sketchier. I apologize. I was feeling quite exhausted by the end and was doing well to note down anything at all. I shall be well-rested for the finals, I promise! Multi-Geminii also promises to be well and return for the final round of dancing.

Scores: 10, 10, 10. This means that, technically, Laila & Maks are the first couple of the season to be given a perfect 60 for the night. I don't know if they really deserved two perfect scores, but it was a nice enough set of dances.

Joey & Kym - Jive.
He's in a yellow jacket, black pants and white shirt. The performance begins with Joey striding over to the judges' table and laying himself down on it, with his head at Carrie Ann's end, naturally. Kym enters the dance area, wearing a black sparkly dress, and Joey leaps up, places his bright canary yellow boater on Len's head, gives Carrie Ann a kiss and possibly ignores Bruno completely. The dance begins. Their song is Jump Jive and Mr. AMAI immediately declares this to be his favorite song ever. Which isn't true but at least shows willingness to enjoy the festivities. The routine contains many bits of business, as Joey routines often do, but some solid footwork as well. It appears that Joey is being chastised throughout the dance for being too forward. At one point Joey goes down into the splits and then as Kym faux-taps him on the head, he bounces up and down in the split position. It's quite an entertaining routine, all round. Kym's footwork is adorable and a delight to watch. Joey keeps up admirably well.

Bruno: "More flash than Vegas, and more tricks than Houdini."
Carrie Ann: "Thank you for being the guy who comes up here."
Len wears Joey's yellow hat as he delivers his comments: "You've got something that everyone's got but yours is much bigger. (pause for the inevitable dirty thoughts) Personality! If you're not in the final, this show will be missing a great performer."

Scores, deservedly: 10, 10, 10. And that's another perfect 60 for the night. Well done, Joey & Kym.

The recap snippets aren't enough to remind me of the dances that I just couldn't get into enough to comment upon more fully. Oh, well.

Laila/Maks and Joey/Kym are at 60 each. Apolo/Julianne have 59/60 and Ian/Cheryl have 58. It's very close, and anyone's game, really. I know who I would like to see leave the competition. MultiG and I agreed a few weeks ago the order in which couples would depart.

RESULTS.
Since I missed working on the recap at all on Tuesday in order to be able to post it even by 3pm on the day prior to the hour-long results show, I figured I may as well wait and find out who would be in next week's final show.

This results show has been inconsistent in quality over the weeks. Of course, the recipient of the encore performance goes a long way to whether or not I personally consider it must-see TV worthy of watching twice in one night. This week the encore goes to Joey & Kym for their Jive. It's almost as good as the night before, but Joey doesn't quite attain the depth of splits for one thing. Apolo & Julianne still hold my award for Best Encore Performance for their marvelous Paso Doble.

There are two songs performed by the rather gorgeous yet strangely inaccessible Enrique Iglesias. He is quite a pretty young man, isn't he, yet he looks so tortured. I don't really like that song Hero, but I watch him sing for a few moments. I think Enrique's problem is he's not quite capable of being in love with anyone other than himself, so he's destined to never really be happy.

Joaquim someone-or-other, a world-famous Flamenco dancer, provides a demonstration of that dance. It is mostly quite boring, but now at least I realize where Michael Keaton got the steps for his routine in Beetlejuice.

We learn early on that Joey & Kym are through to the finals, which is very nice for them and for us, since they are entertaining. Later on we're told that Laila & Maks have also earned a berth. Tom the host says we're not going to be given a "bottom two" but rather told who is out and who is in of Ian and Apolo. Now this seems strange, perhaps, but here is how I understood it. The fact that the choice is presented as being between these two does not mean that Apolo had the third best overall score. He could have had the most viewer votes of anyone, and actually been the winner overall for the week. But for the purposes of excitement, the choice appeared to be between him and Ian.

Luckily for me and I'm sure many of you, Apolo & Julianne will be in the finals, while Ian & Cheryl join the also-rans. The band plays a rendition of Carole King's It's Too Late, Baby while Ian & Cheryl hug all the remaining contestants and the crowd cheers and applauds.

Next week the couples will dance a judges' choice and another dance. I'm looking forward to it, actually! See you then.

Thanks for reading.

***

SirLinksALot Dancing With The Stars links have more recaps and articles about Season 4 of this show.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great recap! Sorry I couldn't watch with you, but reading your thoughts was great catch-up for me!

8:22 PM  

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