Dancing with the Stars recap: Famous Dances

Dancing with the Stars Recap: Famous Dances —

You can probably guess that Disney Night is one of my favorite genres of Dancing with the Stars. Famous Dance Night comes in a close second. It’s my jam. In fact, to quote Kimmy Schmidt, “It’s my deaf comedy, space, and grape jam.” Although one of the selections didn’t land anywhere near a “famous” category in my tiny little world, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Of course, I’m hopped up on antibiotics that make me wonky. Val could have read my morning Skimm news and I would have applauded like a proud Ukrainian mother. And a big Happy Birthday to Len Goodman, you ole curmudgeon, you! I’m so glad the day of your birth didn’t sway you into a good mood. I like my Len crusty, and you did not disappoint. Let’s recap this biz!

Sasha and Kim
“You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray
Jive
Famous Dances allow our JV team to shine. In fact, producers had to dip into some of the current kids’ phones to see if old So You Think You Can Dance kids were around to help out! There were SO MANY JUNIOR VARSITY PEOPLE. Sometimes I think this isn’t fair, but for this particular theme, the extra bodies felt okay. Especially when your star is hurt. Sweet Kim ignored the doctor’s orders and kept dancing on her stress fracture. She demanded that Sasha keep his original Hairspray vision. Kim was darling during the dance, but there was an entire 20-second lift by the backup boys. I can’t help but think that was modified choreography. They performed the dance with lots of energy and spunk. Even Marissa Jaret Winokur (from the original Broadway play) who clapped enthusiastically from the audience seemed thrilled. However, the scores didn’t reflect the hype.
SCORE: 24

Von and Witney
Michael Jackson’s video “Bad”
Jazz
Witney is overtired. Witney also thinks she’s cursed when it comes to switch-up week. Witney bugs. Did she ever consider to be happy that her bestie just helped her partner get a higher score? After reuniting with Von, they learn that their dance is from the video “Bad.” Von is thrilled. He’s super nervous to perform the iconic number. Had I been there, I would have instructed him to calm down. Sure everyone from the 80s knows “Bad,” but the dance we chose to memorize was “Thriller.” He’s got this. Witney brings in JV dancer Shannon (who was all over the place last night) to help explain the small intricacies of the King of Pop. Shannon knew Michael Jackson. Consider Von’s mind B-L-O-W-N. The first half of their number was, obviously, in a makeshift train station. Witney had a mohawk. Von had a grimace on his face the entire time, but they sold it the best they could, considering they were channeling MJ. The judges loved it.
SCORE: 24

Jodie and Keo
Pink’s music video “Try”
Contemporary
Seriously? Once again, I feel like Jodie has drawn the short stick here. I like to think that I’m sort of with it when it comes to pop culture. I know I’m supposed to drop the words “Lemonade” and “Jon Snow” into conversations and posts this week, just to remind y’all that I’m hip and with it, but I have neither seen nor heard of this song. Perhaps it is iconic in some young Millennial worlds? Or maybe I’m not as cool as I think (lemonade)? You have to give me this — there’s no way this holds up to Footloose or the “Bad” video or Jim Carey’s Mask, right? Shouldn’t I have at least heard of it even if Pink is not my jam? Moving on. Leo whacks Jodie in the face, which gives her a black eye. Then they try to recreate one of the more difficult acrobatic moments from the video and she practically breaks her foot. She dances through the pain, flailing about on a dresser that nearly tips over and mattresses that have yellow dust that billows up with every touch. The struggle was real. Carrie Ann said Jodie and Keo changed something ugly (cue the hate mail from Pink) into something artistic. That’s code for, “I hated it but appreciated what you did with what we gave you. Go get ‘em next time, kid.”
SCORE: 25

Paige and Mark
Opening dance sequence from Austin Powers
Jazz
Poor Mark’s song got pulled from the list due to legal conflicts. I feel like this happens to him all the time. Now he has to start over and life sucks in his world. He persevered, but a little bit differently than usual in my opinion. I felt like Mark put on more of a production and got wrapped up in the set and costumes. Yes, he always does this, but the dance is typically great too. This time, it felt very junior high-ish to me. There was even a cheerleader basket toss. It was fun and quirky, but I thought Mark loved portraying Austin Powers more than giving Paige some fun choreography. He definitely pulled focus from her. The judges loved it.
SCORE: 28

Nyle and Peta
Big dance number from The Mask
Quickstep
Peta, on the other hand, made her dance all about Nyle. He looked EXACTLY like the movie character. It was so weird. Even Tom wondered if that was really Nyle under all the makeup and prosthetic teeth! Unfortunately, Nyle is a little too big for his britches now that he is the top of the leader board. Everyone knows that if you are a “star,” you NEVER talk about how you can dance and you NEVER talk about how you don’t have any competition. Voters don’t like that. Judges don’t like that. I don’t like that. I fully expect him to fall next week with voting. You can WANT to win, but you can’t say that your only competition is Val. I bet Ramon hated signing that sentence. Lord knows Peta is going to have to do some damage control. Cocky, cocky, cocky. The dance was fast and entertaining for the audience. But the judges attacked his posture, his hold, his mistakes, and his attitude. Len even called him annoying. Whoopsie.
SCORE: 25

Val and Ginger
Janet Jackson’s music video “Nasty”
Jazz
It is with great love and affection that I share with you that Ginger is the opposite of nasty. She’s not harsh, hard core, or mean. She has very little attitude and seeing her parade around a bunch of dudes in shoulder pads was more of a delight than sexy. Why so much walking? And why does she look so much like Karina? And why did she rip Val’s shirt off at the end while he had a jacket on? So many questions. So little time.
SCORE: 24

Doug and Karina
Soundtrack from Slumdog Millionaire
Bollywood
This was all very confusing on so many levels. Everyone who ever thought about being on DWTS was on stage. They were in yoga outfits with jewels bedazzled here and there. Did their Bollywood outfits not make the budget? Could this dance be any slower? Bless Doug’s sweet baby heart.
SCORE: 21

Wanya and Lindsey
NSYNC’s VMA performance of “Bye, Bye, Bye”
Hip Hop
Joey and Lance were in the audience and this thrilled me. Don’t ask why, it just did. I understand that this performance may fall under the “Pink Category” that we discussed earlier. Although I don’t remember watching it live, I do remember the quintet dancing behind televisions. I thought Lindsey did a great job with the choreography. Wanya is no stranger to hip hop. The man can dance. I do have a very big problem with Lindsey not including the signature jump and turn, head bob bit that we all know and love from the “Bye, Bye, Bye” video. At least she put the hand waving in there. The audience loved it. The judges loved it. Two-fifths of NSYNC loved it. Wanya may be the one to beat.
SCORE: 29

Antonio and Sharna
“Footloose” from Footloose
Jive
Here’s the deal: I think Antonio deserves to be upset with Sharna. I didn’t occur to me when I was watching last week’s switch-up episode, but she did say to Nyle that he and Peta were probably going to win. That’s unbelievably unsupportive. I thought Antonio did a great job not throwing a bunch of negativity in her face. Instead, he simply told her that the comment through him off and he wishes that she would believe in their team — even if she doesn’t think they are going to win. Of course, Sharna apologized, but she also said something along the lines of, “Now I know you’re in this.” Could it be that Antonio was phoning in his rehearsals? Because his Footloose dance was so much fun! It was high energy, high flicks, and so much glitter! I loved it.
SCORE: 27

Erin announced Paige and Mark, Doug and Karina, along with Von and Witney as the couples who were in trouble. Paige looked like she was at her last day of summer camp. Witney smiled like a Cheshire cat for some reason and Doug looked perfectly at home in his red spotlight. To no one’s surprise, he and Karina were kicked off Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball Island to the chants of “Flutie!”

What did you think of Famous Dance night? Did you have a favorite? Is Paige the girl to beat? Did you feel Nyle was a little too big for his britches? Sound off in the comments section!

Photo By: ABC.com
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Cindy S.
Cindy S.
April 26, 2016 12:47 pm

Yep my boy Nyle disappointed me with his comments last night. And he wasn’t fun to look at either with that crazy mask on. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to adopt him. But I need to have a serious mother/son talk with him!

Julie
Julie
April 26, 2016 3:25 pm

I was disappointed in Nyle too. I don’t want him to be a d*ck, I want to continue believing that he’s as sweet and lovely as he’s seemed…..

Hilary
Hilary
April 26, 2016 4:41 pm

Welcome to the no appendix club! I am so glad you are on the road to recovery. I felt like Jodie did great considering what she was given. I feel like Nyle was joking about Val being his competition but it was shown out of context. That is what I choose to believe anyway. Mark’s face was priceless at the end when Tom announced the teams would be men vs. women!

Shawn
Shawn
April 26, 2016 11:19 pm

Hi Lincee. (Maybe you meant “def comedy….”?)
And I agree that many of those dances were hardly famous. And even if they were from significant movies (“Slumdog”), hardly iconic. So many cool ones they coulda chosen!
Tho I have heard of “Try”. It was all over the radio two summers ago.
Thx for your recap. Spot on – as always!

Dianne
Dianne
April 27, 2016 3:14 am

I love hearing everyone’s opinion. I’m not a fan of Nyle. His timing has been great up until this week. The song was crazy quickstep. I like Jodie. Love “Try”. I thought that everyone did so well. Those were difficult dances. Vonn and Ginger up front and looked almost perfect to me. I was shocked by Vonn. Mark can drive me crazy at times but I thought they deserved 10’s. It felt like perfect song , dance , costumes and attitude. That’s a 10 in my book. I don’t want to c anyone go home. I enjoy every dance.

Emily
Emily
April 27, 2016 4:17 pm

In regards to Sharna and Antonio: last week during switch up Karina called Sharna and said he was an hour late and then he admitted to never being punctual. That combined with just a general sense I got I was as surprised as Sharna that he cared so deeply.

Millie
Millie
April 28, 2016 3:10 am

Thanks for the recap as always!! I loved so many of the dances this week. This is the first season I truly don’t know who will win. Up until this week, I’ve thought Nyle was the no brainer. Now, who knows?? I’ve made the same observations as you have about Witney. Lindsay, on the other hand, is always super positive. I like her. This is also the first season I have several favorites! I want Ginger, Paige, Von, Wanya, and Antonio all to win!! But mostly Jodie. I guess I do have a favorite. I have a soft spot for the girl I grew up relating to for so many years.

Mollie A
Mollie A
April 30, 2016 1:53 pm

Glad you’re on the mind! I, too, was surprised at what they considered some of the iconic dances…but whatever. Von’s partner bugs me because I don’t feel like she’s playing to his strengths. I adore Ginger and Val but why did there have to be so much walking and so little actual dancing in her routine? Wanya is a blast to watch. I’m looking forward to men vs women next week!

Mary
Mary
May 2, 2016 10:18 pm

I thought it wasn’t right to make Jodie dance that Pink song. Way too difficult on the body. Pink is actually really fit and strong. I thought that was unfair. I honestly love so many of the contestants. My faves are Wanya and Paige. 🙂

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