SAN DIEGO, October 24, 2012 – Judge Carrie Ann Inaba kept her seat during performances on the second night of “Guilty Pleasures” week on Dancing With The Stars All Stars, but some fans think she lost her head with her scores.
Inaba’s opinions didn’t always match her fellow judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. She took heat over her criticism about the lack of chemistry between Apolo Ohno and Karina Smirnoff; and over what she saw as an illegal lift by Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough during their rumba.
The one couple that rose to the top among all the judges was Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel, who found themselves in the lead due to a lovely waltz that stepped right out of a Disney fairy tale, set to “So This Is Love” from Cinderella. They looked and danced the part, scoring 29 out of 30 points with a ten from Carrie Ann and two 9.5s from the gents.
The other three couples all scored 27 points out of 30 for their individual dances. Ohno and Smirnoff did a snappy samba to Rick James with more than a little Boogie Nights flavor. It seemed underscored with an 8.5 from Carrie Ann, 9.5 from Len who seemed on target, and Bruno with a nine.
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough danced a spellbinding rumba but didn’t win over all of the judges. Photo: ABC/Adam Taylor.
But they were nowhere near as underscored as Shawn and Derek, who performed a spellbinding rumba to “My Heart Will Go On,” complimented by creative staging on a circular platform. Len picked it apart, Carrie Ann griped about the lift, and only Bruno praised it. They received a nine from Carrie Ann, eight from Len, and a ten from Bruno.
At least Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovoloni’s tango was fairly scored. Their tango to “Toxic” by Britney Spears had creative, fun staging and costuming, but Rycroft’s neck and spine injuries made her a little too cautious; the dance needed more snap. Not her fault but she must be judged on execution and not intentions. They received three consistent nines.
But the individual dances will be distant memories after the train wreck of a team dance that ended the show. Was Team Gangnam Style’s performance comic genius, a hot mess, a clever bit of entertainment or the worst team dance ever? Apparently the goal was to put the fun in dysfunctional. There isn’t a doubt you couldn’t take your eyes off what was going on, but not in a good way. But why describe it when you can just watch it? Click the video above.
There are better routines in some of the parody tribute videos on YouTube. Not even Gilles in his tighty whiteys could save it. The one saving grace is that the Harold Wheeler Orchestra didn’t attempt to perform this song; the original version was used. I’m betting none of the singers could rap in Korean, yeoja.
How this crew escaped with a score of 27, I can’t say. A 21 would have been generous for as little content and coordination it contained. Compared to the excellent choreography and execution by Team Call Me Maybe on Monday, if I were on the other team I’d be offended to have only beaten Team Gangnam Style by two and a half points.
So at the end of two nights, here are the total scores for all the couples:
Sabrina Bryan and Louis van Amstel: 58.5/60
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: 56.5/60
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 56.5/60
Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff: 56.5/60
Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd: 56.5/60
Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke: 56/60
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 52.5/60
Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: 51.5/60
No one will be eliminated this week. This week’s scores will be added to the Week 6 scores, and next Tuesday, October 30, two couples will leave the show. The theme is “Country Week,” so all of the couples will perform to country songs no matter what style of dance they have been assigned.
Louis Van Amstel said on Twitter he and Sabrina Bryan will be dancing the rumba, and he seems happy with their song choice.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
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Copyright © 2012 by Falcon Valley Group
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