Dancing With the Stars – The Final Show
By Armando Martin
Former U.S. Champion and National FADS Dance Director
This year’s “Dancing With the Stars” finals began on Monday, Nov. 27 with the buildup and fanfare that is normal for every show that entertains and charms audiences of all ages. While the buildup was effective, in my opinion, the actual show fell short of what it could have been for the first time in DWTS history.
Mel and Maks were the first to dance, choosing a Cha-Cha. Mel came out looking incredible in a red-hot Latin dress that said, “Here I am, ready to win this competition.” Unfortunately the material she had to work with was not worthy of the finals. Her dancing was technically strong but the overall performance was weak. Maks is a purist Latin dancer and he can make this kind of material look great when he dances it with a professional partner. But I am afraid he does not build enough excitement into the choreography to make you say, “Wow.”
Their second dance was even less effective in my mind - hip-hop and Mel work well together, but Maks looked uncommitted and uncomfortable with this number. Overall they both seemed awkward and the choreography looked very foreign to them. After this performance I very much doubted they would be crowned champions. Combined score, 55
Marie and Jonathan repeated their Samba, and even though technically they were very weak, somehow they are more entertaining than the first couple. They seemed to put the right combination of steps together to create a performance that entertains, despite the fact that it’s lacking in content and technique.
Then, after having said that about their Samba, they come out with a very bad imitation of the ballet “Coppelia,” and they did not pull it off at all. Shame on Marie and Jonathan for turning this night into an advertisement for her doll collection. After that performance, “Dancing with the Stars” producers might be trying to figure out a new way to score the show to ensure better dance quality and more excitement in future finales. After the first five dances it came down to who was the best out of the worse performances of the season. Combined score, 46
Helio and Julianne then danced the Jive. I was looking forward to their dance since I had not seen anything exciting thus far, but was disappointed when he messed up the beginning of the dance so badly that knowledgeable onlookers felt uncomfortable and grimaced at their attempt. Toward the end he did get it together and finished strong.
Finally, Helio came out with his freestyle routine and rocked the house. Although he looked a bit awkward with some of the steps, the overall idea, along with the flashy and catchy choreography, made Helio and Julianne the couple to beat for the trophy. I again have to give this young lady kudos. Her imagination and choreographic abilities are way beyond her years and experience. I have to wonder how much help she is getting. Combined score, 54
The final show on Tuesday night was about one hour too long, since they made us watch the people that went home weeks ago dance all over again. A small wake-up call to the producers of the show: They went home a long time ago for a good reason. We didn’t want to see them dance anymore. Please don’t make us watch them again!
But seeing Sabrina and Mark, the fabulous professional dancers (especially Tony and Karina), and Celine Dion was a great treat. I do hope that next season America will do a better job keeping the talented stars in the show than we did this time. But then again without Marie and about five million Mormons voting for her and Jonathan, we may get a more fair result.
As in all competitions, the best person left on their feet won the crown. I believe that Helio was the best of all worlds - a superb combination of technique, hard work, perseverance, smart choices and great charisma. The only other person more deserving than him was sent home three weeks too soon - Sabrina Bryan.
All in all, another great season of “Dancing with the Stars” is over and we will all be looking for something to watch on Monday and Tuesday nights. Chances are we will not find anything as fun, entertaining, exciting and good for the whole family as DWTS.
So long,
Armando
4 comments:
"I have to wonder how much help she is getting."
Just a friendly question about your statement above. Are you implying that you don't think she is capable of coming up with this choreography on her own or is it just genuine wonderment at her talent and ability? It's so hard to tell over the internet. :)
I enjoy reading your blog each season of Dancing with the Stars. I look forward to more in the spring!
Armando:
While I agree with most of your DTWS analysis, I think Maks played a large part in Mel's defeat. He forgot that he was supposed to be the FRAME and Mel the PICTURE. Yes, he's a talented dancer(I'd love to work with him) but he actually positioned himself in front of the camera, blocking Mel. Unlike many other celebraties, Mel can hold her own and should have been showcased. I realize that the audience scores were already tallied and are based on a lot of factors other than dance skill. Nevertheless, Maks should remember who the actual competitior is in future programs.
THanks so much for all your expert commentary. I always always enjoy reading them and learn a lot about dance in the process.
I do, however, disagree that Sabrina was more "deserving" than Helio. Sabrina is a professional dancer and Helio is a race car driver. Though Sabrina may have little ballroom experience, the huge disparity in the two's dance background makes Helio's achievements much more impressive.
I don't think Sabrina would have stood out if she were dancing against other girls with a comparable background.
I think the public also tends to favor the amateurs or near-amateurs over the professional dance celebrities and that's why Sabrina, the most professional of the celebrities, was ousted so early. And that's why the athletes have won the past 3 years.
But that's just my opinion, and I still highly respect yours. I look forward to your commentary next season.
I also enjoy your reviews. It's good to hear what someone knowledgeable has to say, as opposed to very opinionated fans who know...less. ;) But I disagree about not wanting to see the other couples dance. I was very (very) happy that they got to do a whole dance instead of about eight measures of one. It was nice to see Josie looking more confident, for instance. (That being said, the two I didn't want to see dance again didn't, so maybe that's why I wasn't disappointed!)
I still think Mel should have won, but I agree that Maks's choreography was one factor against them. (His mouth was another, I think. He was right that Marie didn't belong in the finals, but he could have been more tactful about it, and I think there was probably something of a backlash against them as a result.)
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