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Week 2 - Dancing With The Stars
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (Philtex44@aol.com | 713-248-2299)
- Date Published:
- September 26, 2006
Week 2 - Dancing With The Stars
Commentary by Phillip Stephens
I was out of the country with no means of watching the show and rendering these comments on September 19 & 20. After my return, I watched the recorded version of "Dancing With The Stars" and the Results Show, and this article contains my observations. The Results Show certainly does offer some fabulous entertainment, and that was the best Jive formation I've ever seen! My one big complaint about this whole setup is that they drag out the suspense of who returns the following week and who "leaves right now." That part is a bit overdone, but the rest of it is great, so I'll stop barking up that particular tree.
I was really disappointed that Shanna Moakler got kicked off the show - so early, at least. I thought she did a good job. Far better than Harry Hamlin! And what's up with this thing between Mario and Joey? Will the judges bounce back and forth every week on those two, keeping the fans voting and the ratings high? (Hey - as a dance studio owner, I have no complaints there!) Of course, we have to consider Emmit Smith, because he's one of those "sleepers" that might just end up as a front runner. Unless the Jerry Springer Fan Club kicks into high gear, which they will probably do.
To me, the ladies are all at about the same level, with Vivica A Fox edging out in front followed closely by Monique Coleman and Sara Evans. Shana Moakler has very nice legs, but we know what happened to her, don't we? That wasn't quite right, but much of who goes and who stays is based on popularity, and Harry Hamlin is better known. But I digress; so, in order of performance, here are my observations ....
Willa Ford was not over her feet at times and gave us a lot more arm and skirt action than true body rhythm. Maxim had to help her a bit too much for my taste, but she did a good job overall. I certainly don't think her performance was 2 points better than Mario's!
Harry Hamlin was much improved this week, but was still rather stiff. He messed up the choreography a few times, had too little rise and fall and his legs were a bit wild. The same score as Mario and Sara? No way he should have been above 20.
Monique Coleman gave a good, solid performance though she did get ahead of the music at times. She has a lot of rhythm in her movements. They did nice tricks in very suitable choreography, but she needs to let loose and give her performances a bit more "punch." Even with that splashy ending, I don't think she outdanced Mario, but that's another story.
Mario Lopez gave a fantastic performance with good energy, good timing and good posture with a few bad leg lines in the mix. Unfortunately, he and Karina were apart too much and did too little traditional Quickstep. Still, punishing him with low scores as the judges did was not to my liking and there is no way that Harry Hamlin outdanced him, nor did Emmit Smith and all the others that scored higher. Then again, I'm not one of the SHOW's judges, am I?
Shanna Moakler presented good leg and arm lines; her timing was quite good, and she used those lovely legs to good effect. She and Jesse used some very clever moves and it was a shame that she looked so cautious and lacking in confidence. I'm not sure I agree with her being taken out so early, but she doesn't really have a large enough fan base to keep her in there with this group.
Jerry Springer surprised me again. He is quite the performer. I was particularly impressed with how strongly he and Kim danced since her injury left them with so little time to prepare. His footwork is rather bad, but he does have good rhythm, nice posture and great facial expressions.
Vivica A Fox gave us great body rhythm in places. She has strong timing and was right on the money with her self-start entrance. The cartwheel was a nice touch, and I'd guess that only 2 out of 10 people could do that and come up as "in time" and as confidently as she did, so I'd have to say that she's a very strong dancer even though her feet and legs need a LOT of work in the Latin dances.
Joey Lawrence really was fantastic and his was possibly the best performance of the night (though I WOULD like to see him dance next to Mario for comparison). Lots of energy, lots of good "foot tricks", and nicely done, but not to the scores received. There were several baubles where he missed the choreography, and I don't agree with Bruno that the performance was "exquisite" nor with Kari Ann that it was "impeccable". Len was more correct in saying that it "MAY have been the performance of the night."
Sara Evans is another gal with good legs that uses them to good effect. The choreography was very suitable for her with a great ending, and she performed the routine with good body rhythm and was 95% in time. She needs more abandon in her performance, but got scores more in line with her dancing this week than last. She might be another "sleeper" that will pop out of her shell as time goes by and really push the other performers.
Emmit Smith was terrific on his solo parts with good showmanship, timing and rhythm. His posture is a bit too stiff at times in dance position - probably because he's working so hard not to lean forward - though he does present a nice smile and a good overall performance.
OK, now you know how I see this last group of performances.
Happy Dancing
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