Dancing With The Stars, Season 11 Commentary

Week Five

By Natasha Oreshkina, award winning ballroom dancer

This week, the competitors danced to TV theme songs. I was looking for couples who really opened up the idea expressed in the theme song.

Brandy received the highest score of 27 for her Quick Step. Her dance showed lots of movement and was very interesting to watch.

I really liked Jennifer Grey's Foxtrot number. I saw the idea of the dance (all about love and marriage) from the beginning to the end. She had good style and a great connection with her partner.

Another dancer who showed the idea behind the dance was Rick Fox. Rick and Cheryl Burke danced the Rumba. He received a 24. I really liked the choreography of the dance. It was hot and sexy. He had nice positions and really stretched his lines.

Kurt Warner also received a 24 for his Quick Step. I still don't like his posture and I really haven't seen any improvement since the beginning of the show on that. He keeps his shoulders too far up and he leans forward too much. Although the movement of his dance was light and dynamic, he still needs to concentrate on his posture.

Audrina Patridge got a score of 23 for her Rumba. I agreed with the judges with this dance. From the hips down, everything looked nice and stable. But her upper body (including arms and the emotion expressed on her face) wasn't there. I didn't feel anything with her dance. In the Rumba, there should be some conversation between the partners but Audrina's dance had no emotion and no interaction. Technically, she did very well but she needs to bring expression to the dance.

Kyle Massey's Foxtrot earned him 20. I didn't think his dance was a Foxtrot; it looked more like a disco dance to me! The Foxtrot should be elegant, classic, flowing, and soft. There were too many jumps in his dance. He can do much better.

Florence Henderson was eliminated this week after she performed a Tango for a score of 21. The Tango should be passionate and dynamic but Florence didn't connect with the dance.

Bristol Palin came in last place with a score of 18. I think she should be eliminated next week. Her dance didn't look like a Jive. There wasn't any good technique to it. She lost timing during the dance and it just wasn't a good performance.