Dancing With The Stars - A Teacher's Perspective on Week 5

By Debra Stroiney

I really enjoyed this week’s format where 2 dancers were paired against each other doing one of these new dances to the show. I think it was a lot of fun to see the two dances in a row to see which couple out-performed the other. It may have even of helped the judging.

The West Coast Swing:

Well, this was interesting. Seeing this West Coast Swing was a real eye opener when comparing to the way it is danced at studios, competitions and some social events. I really liked the style that Lacey showed us but I agreed with Len that it was too much Lacey and not enough Lance. It is a very hard dance to teach and learn but I think that she could have done more with him. Also there weren’t as many traditional, basic elements. If she had stuck with some of these, the judges would have seen him dancing more and maybe achieved a higher score. I did some searches as to some of the recent West Coast Swing routines performed by professionals. The routines do look like the one they performed. I also noticed that the social style of this dance is very loose and free. There doesn’t seem to be much structure to it and this is why it can sometimes be hard to teach and learn. There are a few basic moves but the rest are an amalgamation of many different elements. The one thing that bothered me a little which I would need clarification on is that I was taught the West Coast Swing is considered a slot dance. A slot dance means that all the moves must stay in a certain line of dance. If you drew a line on the floor you would never have any mores that you would go off of that line. In both routines I did not see the slot characteristic that a West Coast Swing would normally have. I do not know if this is because it was performed as a show dance or if they just were not able to take the contestants and teach them that way.

I also agree with Carrie Ann when she said that this was a dance that is foreign to many professionals. This is true. When attending regional competitions, you do not see many people competing in this dance because many instructors are uncomfortable with the dance themselves and when you are not comfortable with the dance it's even harder to teach it. I also agree when they said that this dance is a feeling. It’s something that eventually clicks: the rhythm, the character and the moves. When I first learned the West Coast Swing, I didn’t understand it at all; I then started dancing it more and with those who gave me the feeling of the dance and then it clicked. For those of you struggling to learn this dance, keep doing it; at some point, it will click for you too.

Hustle:

I think Susan did a great job with the Hustle. There were traditional Hustle moves in the routine and everything was clean. Also, she showed no sign that she was injured. But I felt like the whole dance was in slow motion. I agreed with the judges that there was something cautious and boring about the whole thing. The lifts were exciting and the Hustle can be a lot of fun. I just feel like it lacked that pizazz that you would normally see with a Hustle show.

In comparison, Warren’s Hustle was exciting, fun, and still had the traditional feel of the Hustle. I think it was one of the best dances of the night when you take everything into consideration. My husband was watching the show with me and he said: “Wow, he does pretty good for a guy his size…” and then a few seconds later he said: “No, he really can dance!” And that sums up how I feel about Warren. There is something about him that one would never expect to see from a football player in a dance competition.

Salsa:

I am going to be hard on those who were dancing the Salsa. This was the first partnership dance I learned, and I spent many nights out at Boston clubs dancing as well participating with on a dance team. As always, Corky choreographed Cloris’s performance so that it has more humor and acting than dancing in it. This suits her of course; she goes out and puts on a show. Some of the actual dance moves they performed had more of a Mambo feel than Salsa. The way I separate the two, which are very similar, is that the Salsa is more of a club dance. You will see moves that are smaller and more confined. There are more tricks and fancy turns.

Maurice and Cheryl did great with their Salsa routine. The moves looked like he could perform them out at a club. He had the right character by being a strong leader and showing Cheryl off. The only thing I did not like was when they were doing the basic steps, they were very big. You would not normally do that in a Salsa. If they were in a club they would of stepped on some people. I know they were not dancing in a club that night but again that should be the feel of the dance.

Jitterbug:

I love this dance! It is so fun and animated. I do not blame the professionals for not knowing it. This is one of those dances you go out to specifically learn for yourself or for a show. This is not usually a part of the Ballroom Dancing curriculum. Don’t think it’s unusual for a dancer or an instructor to do some research on a dance. That is a part of teaching and learning. You have to constantly improve yourself so that you can improve those around you. I think it is much more respectable to get more information on it then to make up something because you do not want to look unknowledgeable.

This is when I have a problem with the judges. In my opinion, Cody and Brooke both came out and gave the same great performance. They both deserved the same scores, and why didn’t they get it? I think that Bruno was the only one who gave a point less. But why? I could see no difference in the performances. I would have to go back and really watch them over and over again to figure out who was the true winner of that match-up. It still makes me think of what I mentioned last week - how they still consider the performances from the week before.

As an end note, maybe I also enjoyed this week because we got to see the professionals out of their element a little bit. Many of them felt frustrated or confused at teaching a dance they did not know, or had never taught before. Most instructors will tell you that they have all had situations such as these in their careers; you get through it and usually you learn something from it. I have a feeling that studios are going to be having some students requesting the Jitterbug in the near future!!