Strong performances on DWTS semi finals night

I’m really happy that all the couples did well tonight on the semi finals of Dancing With the Stars. It would really suck if three of the couples were great and one of them was off their game or something like that. I think that all of the remaining couples gave the best performances they probably could have given tonight.

Here’s my take on the show.

Marie and Jonathan. Tonight in the ballroom round they danced the Quickstep. I got the sense that Marie was almost daring the judges to find something wrong with her performance tonight. It was a great, high energy performance that Carrie Ann and Len gave perfect 10’s to but Bruno (The Grinch Who Stole DWTS) gave them only a 9. I don’t know how he could have given them a 9 when in his comments after the performance he gave no criticisms to them that would have led me to believe they were less than perfect. In fact he compared her and her performance to some of the classic performers in Hollywood. Their second dance was the Mambo and it was a great performance as well, full of life and energy. The judges said she missed her footing in the performance but I did not see it. Marie did not think so either. Note to Jonathan: you should wear more outfits that show off your great arms. The judges gave them 9’s across the board, leaving them with a total for the night of 56 points and in last place.

Mel B. and Maks. Their first performance tonight was the Viennese Waltz and it was nice. The crowd loved it and gave them a standing ovation. I don’t know, maybe it’s just because I don’t care for that style of dance that I did not get more excited over the performance. The judges loved it, giving them a perfect score of 30. Their second dance was the Paso Doble and Mel comes out wielding a whip. Her costume also had all these strappy, leather things on the side making me think they wanted to conjure up the dominatrix references they had when they did their Paso a few weeks ago. Again, the judges gave them a perfect score, but they might have feared Mel and her whipping skills if they gave them anything less than 10’s (LOL!). They were tied for first at the end of the evening. One thing I noticed – after their Paso the crowd gave them a standing ovation….that is, everyone in the crowd except for the Osmond family. Hmmm………………..

Jennie and Derek. Why, oh why, do people choose to do the Tango? Again, a personal thing with me, I just don’t like that dance. I hated the music and found the costumes distracting. The judges disagreed with me, giving them a score of 28. Their second dance was the Cha Cha Cha. Jennie comes out in this highly beaded dress that was so reminiscent of the dresses created by Laura Bennett on Project Runway in season 3. OK, maybe I bring up this reference because I’ve been watching the season 3 marathon on Bravo today but you have to admit if Laura created a ballroom dancing dress it would have been the one Jennie wore tonight. The judges loved their performance, giving them a perfect score. They ended up in third place tonight at the end of the show.

Helio and Julianne. Watching the behind the scenes footage this week is most certainly going to stir up more rumors and speculation about a romance between those two. I’ve read all over the internet where they are supposedly a couple and this will only fan those flames. Are they a romantic couple? I have no way of knowing that, nor does it really matter to me because they are so awesome out on the dance floor. Their first dance tonight was the Foxtrot and I thought it was great. The judges thought it was fantastic and beautiful. They also did the Cha Cha Cha for their second dance and it was just amazing. Len went as far as to say that they were the standout couple for him tonight, and Carrie Ann called him a star. She also mentioned Julianne specifically, saying she was fantastic out on the dance floor. They ended up the evening with two perfect scores and tied for first place.

Tomorrow night Sabrina and Mark are coming back for a special performance. Is this like those “very special episodes” of our favorite 80’s sitcoms, or do the producers just think it sucks that she is not in the semi finals while Jennie or Marie are still there? Also Michael Flatley will perform in the stars of dance segment and Avril Lavigne will be the musical guest.

We also found out tonight in typical ABC self promotion fashion that Bruno and Carrie Ann’s “Dance Wars” show will premier on January 7th.

So, who’s going home tomorrow night? I won’t even hazard a guess.

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