2019 Week 8 - And then there were 7
Jenna filled in for Lindsay this week due to family situation. Really enjoyed the under the sea background and light patterns created for this dance. As to the dance itself, it says something when even Len cannot contain himself anymore. He actually got two sevens this week though, a first.
Lauren had a good outing with Elvis' Hound Dog song. She has definitely mastered the basics. Only thing now is to gain refinement. When she makes a kick it should be stronger, for example. If you watch the dancers doing the steps with her and compare the difference is still pretty noticeable. She was scored down to three eights for three errors, probably too harsh. I don't think they should grade as much on errors as on overall quality.
Kel seemed inspired by the song this week and got the first ten of the season (from Bruno). Not clear why not three tens. I suppose they wanted slightly more content/variety of steps?
Similarly, Ally got to dance to her own song, doing it with a fierce energy that was fun to see. Man did she whip the skirts of that long silver dress. As I guessed, the first perfect score of the season. Wonder how much the show had to pay her for the right to use her song...
Hannah had a fun quickstep on a country song that didn't seem appropriate for it. Only Len didn't give a ten.
Kate had more energy and animation this week, making the dance very personal. Could not exceed eight this week. Let's hope she isn't going home, as almost happened last time.
Aha, so we found out James has the dancing gene. His mom used to run a dance studio. Great contemporary this week, even if not as moving as some. But he did some amazing moves. So bummed that we won't see them dance twice tonight, as other couples will (because they have the highest score for the season). I was sure this would be a perfect score -- it was. They showed his young daughter crying over the dance, but I wonder if it wasn't the confusion that he was dancing with someone other than her mom...
The dance off between Kel and Ally -- a jive to Don't Stop Me Now -- was really difficult to judge. Both looked very good. I wish they would have men vs. men and women vs. women because there's a difference. My guess is that Kel might just have the edge for having done more kinds of steps. Men tend to have an edge anyway. And I was right -- Kel won 2-1 with Len dissenting.
Kate vs. Spicer is another male vs. female dance, unfortunately. Dancing the cha cha cha. Don't know what Carrie Ann is saying with "this is going to be a tight competition". Of course Kate will win unanimously. For one thing, she actually picked up her feet and moved them somewhere else instead of just having her partner dance around her. And yes, it was unanimous.
So this leaves Hannah vs. Lauren, really the fairest pairing. Haha, Erin still can't get over Ally's skirt twirling. Dancing a salsa. Funny how both of the guys took their shirts off. Very close. To me, Hannah did slightly more steps, though Lauren did more dancing alone, which was brave. And yes, Hannah wins it 3-0.
Only 12 points separate James and Spicer, which seems far too few. Jenna was in disbelief hearing that they were safe. Ally and Kate in the bottom two; both have been here before. All judges saved Ally, which is fair. Kate did a great job though; has been one of the best over-50 contestants ever.