A Teacher's PerspectiveBy Debra Stroiney
Shawn:
It is too bad that she was marked down for her Quickstep; otherwise I think Melissa and she would have been tied for 1st this week. Her Quickstep was excellent, and everything fell into place. I liked her Paso Doble, and I think what it was lacking was a good song. She really has a skill with learning technique and body mechanics, which we have seen with many of the athletes on the show.
Ty:
Ty has such a great attitude about this competition. He could have been horrified by some of things in the ballroom world but he has taken it in stride and has tried to improve each week. He is definitely the most improved. He encompasses what a ballroom student would look like at any studio in the U.S. who comes in with no dance experience. His determination to learn has gotten him this far. This also gives more evidence to what Fred Astaire once said which is: anyone can learn to dance with the right method. I could be completely wrong but he will probably be eliminated this week. Since this may happen, I am really glad he did his sexy walk up to Jewel and gave her a kiss! She has been there every week watching and supporting him. Although he won’t be a match for the others in dance ability, I would rather see him in the semi-final than Lil Kim.
Lil Kim:
She has done some good performances throughout the show. She has had solid dances and added her own flavor to it, which made them stand out. But I do not think she is as good as some of the others on the show. There was something lacking this week. I was watching her feet and technique in the Waltz. Her dance hold look uncomfortable and she never did a heel lead. The true essence of ballroom dancing was not there but again she performed well, making up for what was lacking. I felt her Salsa was also lacking. It wasn’t a great choreography; she was using too much of her ability to shake it, and some of her Salsa combinations didn’t have the technique it should have. She will probably make it to the semi-final but I don’t think she belongs in the final.
Gilles:
I feel that he has not performed as well as he had in the first half of the season. I think the dances that he has to perform are harder for him and therefore we are not seeing the same success. He has a natural talent for the Latin dances. He has not had enough time to perfect his Ballroom dances and spend the time on them that he needs. If you don’t connect with Ballroom dancing at first, it does take a while to make it click. You really are good at one or the other in the beginning, and it doesn’t always mean that is the one you continue to have success with. I liked his Foxtrot. It was not an exciting song so he really had to be a lot smoother with it, and that is why Len commented on his technique. His Rumba was very good but, as they said, you could see he was trying too hard. Still, it was probably one of the best Rumbas by a non-professional because he actually used his hips correctly!
Melissa:
Although her Viennese Waltz was very light and fluid, I found it slightly boring; again, I feel this was because of the song. The music really does dictate the dance. I agreed with Carrie Ann when she said it was lacking, not only because of the music. The body and arm extensions were also not there. Again, she is similar to Gilles; there hasn’t been enough time for her to learn some of the things that would make even a boring song look great. Her Samba was great; it had a lot of the elements it needed to have. I believe she is the first non-professional who did Samba rolls that didn't make me cringe!! I still felt there was something lacking to this performance, just not bouncy enough or something. But it was similar to Shawn’s the week before who also received 10s.
I already said I think Ty will be eliminated this week; regardless of who makes it to the semi-finals, I think the finals in 2 weeks will be what it comes down to. I would really like to see Melissa, Gilles, and Shawn. They have been solid through the whole season. They are the 3 best dancers on the show. And it will be a very exciting finale!
Shawn:
It is too bad that she was marked down for her Quickstep; otherwise I think Melissa and she would have been tied for 1st this week. Her Quickstep was excellent, and everything fell into place. I liked her Paso Doble, and I think what it was lacking was a good song. She really has a skill with learning technique and body mechanics, which we have seen with many of the athletes on the show.
Ty:
Ty has such a great attitude about this competition. He could have been horrified by some of things in the ballroom world but he has taken it in stride and has tried to improve each week. He is definitely the most improved. He encompasses what a ballroom student would look like at any studio in the U.S. who comes in with no dance experience. His determination to learn has gotten him this far. This also gives more evidence to what Fred Astaire once said which is: anyone can learn to dance with the right method. I could be completely wrong but he will probably be eliminated this week. Since this may happen, I am really glad he did his sexy walk up to Jewel and gave her a kiss! She has been there every week watching and supporting him. Although he won’t be a match for the others in dance ability, I would rather see him in the semi-final than Lil Kim.
Lil Kim:
She has done some good performances throughout the show. She has had solid dances and added her own flavor to it, which made them stand out. But I do not think she is as good as some of the others on the show. There was something lacking this week. I was watching her feet and technique in the Waltz. Her dance hold look uncomfortable and she never did a heel lead. The true essence of ballroom dancing was not there but again she performed well, making up for what was lacking. I felt her Salsa was also lacking. It wasn’t a great choreography; she was using too much of her ability to shake it, and some of her Salsa combinations didn’t have the technique it should have. She will probably make it to the semi-final but I don’t think she belongs in the final.
Gilles:
I feel that he has not performed as well as he had in the first half of the season. I think the dances that he has to perform are harder for him and therefore we are not seeing the same success. He has a natural talent for the Latin dances. He has not had enough time to perfect his Ballroom dances and spend the time on them that he needs. If you don’t connect with Ballroom dancing at first, it does take a while to make it click. You really are good at one or the other in the beginning, and it doesn’t always mean that is the one you continue to have success with. I liked his Foxtrot. It was not an exciting song so he really had to be a lot smoother with it, and that is why Len commented on his technique. His Rumba was very good but, as they said, you could see he was trying too hard. Still, it was probably one of the best Rumbas by a non-professional because he actually used his hips correctly!
Melissa:
Although her Viennese Waltz was very light and fluid, I found it slightly boring; again, I feel this was because of the song. The music really does dictate the dance. I agreed with Carrie Ann when she said it was lacking, not only because of the music. The body and arm extensions were also not there. Again, she is similar to Gilles; there hasn’t been enough time for her to learn some of the things that would make even a boring song look great. Her Samba was great; it had a lot of the elements it needed to have. I believe she is the first non-professional who did Samba rolls that didn't make me cringe!! I still felt there was something lacking to this performance, just not bouncy enough or something. But it was similar to Shawn’s the week before who also received 10s.
I already said I think Ty will be eliminated this week; regardless of who makes it to the semi-finals, I think the finals in 2 weeks will be what it comes down to. I would really like to see Melissa, Gilles, and Shawn. They have been solid through the whole season. They are the 3 best dancers on the show. And it will be a very exciting finale!
No comments:
Post a Comment