Dancing With The Stars Elimination April 27 – Episode 10-6 Review

First up is Jake and Chelsie. They will be dancing the Samba and Jake meets Samba dancers and wears a crazy getup that looks like something a drag queen at Mardi Gras would wear.  They dance the Samba to “Comanche”. Although he has really nice teeth, he’s very nerdy and it makes it’s way into all his movements including his dancing in my opinion. Len feels his rhythm was lacking. Bruno agrees about the lack of rhythm and he adds that it also lacked bounce and that Jake didn’t wiggle correctly. Carrie Ann says he works at his max but he needs to connect to the music. They get a 7,7,7 from the judges for a total of 21.

Evan and Ana are up next. They are practicing for the Swing and Ana flips him over and he hits his head. I don’t know what she was thinking flipping him when her body is so short and his is so long. There was no room for clearance. They end up in the hospital and he has a mild concussion. They dance the Samba to “Hey Mama” and his chest looks awesome in the shirt he is wearing. Bruno says he had good lyrical lines but it wasn’t right for this dance. Carrie Ann felt he lost the battle of the Samba. Len said it was his worst dance and that the Samba didn’t suit him. They get a 7,7,7 from the judges for a total of 21. Niecy and Louis are next. In rehearsal they work on her footwork. She said she’s been using her feminine wiles to get the judges to like her but she’s realizing they don’t want that. Why would they? The show isn’t called Feminine Wiles of the Stars. I am glad she is figuring this out. They dance the Tango to “El Sonido de la Milonga” and she begins the dance biting into a rose and spitting it out. She pretends to kick Louis where it hurts. He pulls out a cookie at the end and she falls to the ground sliding along his body, tango-style, trying to get to the cookie that he takes a bite of.  Carrie Ann says “Nice to see you dancing” and that Niecy was in the zone but that the comedy wasn’t necessary. I think a lot of people enjoyed it and would disagree with Carrie Ann. Len says he liked the comedy and that it worked because the tango is about a lady of the night trying to get money but Niecy is trying to get food which worked. He says it lacked intensity though. Bruno says she put a lot of work in her feet but agrees with Len about the intensity. They get a 7,7,7, from the judges for a total of 21.

Max and Erin are next with the Samba. Erin states she is an over-thinker. Max says it doesn’t affect her learning but it affects his health. I am glad they have a thing for each other because if not, he would probably kill her. They dance to “When I Get You Alone” and basically Maks does a strip show throughout the dance. Len says she should be getting eights and nines but she’s getting a seven from him tonight. He blames Maks for his choreography with shirts coming off, etc. He seems mad and Maks in turn is peeved. I read that Maks said afterwards in an interview that Len is too old for the show. Sorry Maks Len is an integral part of the show. Bruno disagrees with Len. He said Erin’s arm placement was spot on, and that it was aggressive “like a girl who want s to be on top.” Carrie and says she nailed it. They get a 9,7,9 from the judges for total of 25.

Chad and Cheryl are next with the Tango. He interviews that he thinks the judges are hard on him. He and Cheryl travel to Cincinnati for a Bengal draft party.   They dance to a traditional arrangement of the Argentine Tango. Bruno says it was strong, powerful and demented and that Chad proved he could dance tonight. Bruno confirms he was hard on him because he believed Chad “had it”. Carrrie Ann clarifies they were hard on Chad because he wasn’t dancing very well. She says his Tango was dramatic and arrogant and she thinks he did a nice job. Len felt Chad grew tonight. They get a 8,8,8 from the judges for a total of 24.

Next up is Nicole and Derek with the Samba. In rehearsal she gets the Samba confused with the Salsa. She says the Samba is one of the hardest dances yet because it’s so technical. They dance to “Maria”. Carrie Ann starts in with one of her weird reactions, this time saying “opa” which is not an argentine expression that I am aware of. Len is giving her the most ferocious look as she does this. Carrie Ann  loves their Tango but tells Nicole to watch her facial expressions. Len says the difficulty and performance level was great but he says the line at the end was “ugly”. He calls Derek out for not including certain Samba moves and making it a “hodge-podge of sex moves and gyrations”… I love Len. Bruno says Nicole has nothing to worry about and sings out that she was “one singular sensation”. They get a 9,7,10 from the judges for a total of 26.

Pamela and Damian are last to dance. She says to Damian that she wants them to be themselves and not manipulate the audience. Thanks for taking the choreography high road Pam. They dance the Tango to “All I Ever Wanted” and she is wearing a brown wig that I think makes her look a lot like Lisa Rinna. Len says she got the flavor of the dance but it looked “scruffy” at times. Bruno says she plays and lives the part when she performs and he loves that. Carrie Ann says it’s sexy but she wanted to see more technique in her legs. They get a 7,8,7 from the judges for a total of 22.

Next up is the Swing marathon. I am not a fan of these groups dance-offs but here’s the order in which they were eliminated: Jake and Chelsie, Niecy and Louis, Evan and Ana, Chad and Cheryl, Pamela and Damian, Erin and Maks and lastly Derek and Nicole. The last couple standing gets ten points and the first couple gets four points and on down the line. To me it just seemed like a competition of which male dancer could throw their partner around the most. I think Jake goes home.