[MrWookie]

Dancing with Wookie 11/5/2007

Edyta once again wins the costume award, at least for round one. I've got got give hair and makeup props for Marie Osmond of all people, though. Her costume is modest (justifiably so), but I dug her look.

Helio is kicking things off this week rather than closing out the show. I have faith in Helio's samba. I love the dance, and it's from his homeland. He starts with tango. Man, I hadn't seen the bottom half of Julianne's dress when she was coming down the stairs. She's looking great tonight, too. Helio was on his toes the whole time, and it's critical to be down and stepping on your heels. The detail the judges missed was that he needed to close the fingers of his right hand. Spreading them out looks funny, especially in tango. I didn't like the song at all. Tango doesn't work to swingin' music. I've been cheering for Helio, of course, but this wasn't his best dance. His 25 feels a little low, but I don't think he deserved a 27. He'll need to step it up in the samba.

Marie is going second with quickstep. I didn't so much care for her posture in this dance, but her footwork was very good. Honestly, I don't think this was Jonathan's best dance. I didn't think his posture and frame were as great as the other pros. Their Charlestons at the opening of the dance made me die a little bit inside -- the style was so far removed from the authentic style of the 20s that it should be illegal in most states, or at least South Carolina. Now that I've chewed her out, I need to go back to the opening. Her footwork was very good, and while I did knock her posture, it was still better than it has been. This was probably her best dance yet. Wow. I never thought I'd see Marie earn a 10, but I can't say she didn't earn it. I think a 28 was a good score for her.

Mel got foxtrot for her first dance, and I think she took a step backwards this week. She looked tense and nervous. In her solo step, it felt like she should have extended her arms more, her footwork was off, and it wasn't as clean as it needed to be. I'd like Mel's ballroom, but this might have been one of her worst dances so far. Yeah, one of her lowest scores. She also really needs to step it up in her second.

A re-healthy DQDW is up next. I'm still shocked she wasn't axed. She again has quickstep. This is a tough dance, but the better of the two for her. I'm skeptical that a Johnny Cash song will work well for quickstep. Yeah, I didn't like that routine as much as I should have because of a bad version of a song that wasn't a great fit for quickstep anyway. A lot of her footwork was very difficult in this dance. I would have liked to see more body contact, like Len said. I think Carrie Ann's criticism was the most apt, actually. This wasn't an exciting routine. Part of that is the fault of the music, and some is the choreography, neither of which is Jane's fault. Still, it ultimately comes down on her anyway. I think that she danced better than Mel here, even though she got a worse song. I think she should have gotten a 9 or two here.

Jennie continues with Viennese waltz, and her second dance is rumba. That's a tough combo for her. She needs to be in very different characters for each, and neither is like the serious character she's mostly shown us. Smile, Jennie, smile! Seriously, smiling would add 2-3 points to her score. Bruno is right that she had some wonderful fluidity in her movement, especially in the beginning. Then later, like Carrie Ann said, she had some broken lines through her arms. There were a couple footwork stumbles. Derek was justified in his confusion about American vs. International style Viennese waltz. Really, the judges never seem to specify American or International styles for any dance. The two can have very different rules. But when it comes down to it, International style Viennese waltz is a very dull dance in which you're allowed to do exactly four steps, no more. Mixing in some from the American style will generally be more appealing to the audience.

Cameron gets the last spot with quickstep. He definitely got the best song, but he had some cringe-worthy synchrony problems all over the place. I did love his energy, but he needs to get the steps right. I'm sorry to see Cameron slip a bit tonight, too. I guess the schedule and having to do two dances is wearing on everyone tonight. Ooph. I kinda think Cameron got lucky getting a 24 here. I thought he might get a 7 (maybe 2!) for that. Hopefully he brings it for the jive.