Discussion of June 1st show *spoilers!*
It's so hard for me to watch ballroom dancing--I want to be dancing again so bad!! :cry: The first couple, Joey and Ashly, were really good! I thought it was funny when he said that he'd rather wear no shirt instead of either of the two she had him deciding between. Since his instructor liked him, I don't think she would have had a problem with him wearing no shirt. :wink: They did the Cha Cha. The most points couples can get is 30 points, 10 for each judge. They got 7,7,6 for a total of 20. * I don't know why some call it the Cha Cha and some call it the Cha Cha Cha but I learned it as the Cha Cha and that's what it's called on the Championship Ballroom Dancing I used to watch so I'll call it the Cha Cha.

Rachel and Jonathan were next, dancing a waltz. So far I'm impressed by how much the celebrities learned in six weeks. I bet they're sore as heck!!! Score 7,6,7 for a total of 20.

Next up is Evander and Edyta. He's looking pretty rough in his practice footage. They'll be doing a Cha Cha. Hmm, his leg movement isn't good at all. At least he's not tripping all over her like he was in practice but he's awfully wooden legged, not fluid in his movement. The judges seemed to like him. Score 5,7,6 for a total of 18.

Kelly and Alec are next. They'll be doing the Waltz. One of my instructors was a perfectionist like her instructor was. It's difficult to deal with at the time but they really push you to be your best by getting after you for every detail. I don't understand the judges. They're saying she seemed too cold and that the Waltz is supposed to be romantic. I was taught that it was a very formal dance and you're not supposed to smile during it but look very focused on your partner. She did that. Score 5,4,4 for a total of 13.

Next up are John and his instructor, Charlotte. They're doing the Cha Cha. I could swear when they showed her face at the start while they were dancing it looked like she was counting! lol! I remember that from when I was beginner. :lol: Score 7,7,6 for a total of 20.

Trista and her partner, Louis, are last. They'll be doing the Waltz. Trista ought to do well since she's danced before. She's definitely playing for the cameras! She'll be smiling and swishing her skirt around and then it's like "Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to do a kick here". :lol: Score 6,6,6 for a total of 18. Viewers get to call in and their scores will be added to the judges' scores. The team with the lowest vote will be eliminated. We'll find out which team that is next week.

I disagreed with the judges on a lot of their comments. Joey and Ashly were okay but they were first so there was no one to compare them to. Okay, Rachel was just getting over the flu so ya gotta give her props for being able to dance at all. With that in mind, she did very well. However, she seemed to have a lot of trouble with the choreography. She looked the least comfortable of the women. Evander was the most awkward of all the celebrities. He might move well in the ring but he doesn't have much rhythm. It was so obvious that dancing isn't his thing. I don't know why this team didn't score the lowest. There is no way that Kelly and Alec should have scored worse than Rachel and Jonathan, much less Evander and Edyta. Kelly might not have been smiling throughout and posture was very erect but I thought she was very smooth. I really liked her dress. John was a hoot! He is clearly not a pro but he seemed to be having the most fun with it. His partner was having a good time as well. Trista wore pink, what a surprise...NOT! :roll: She was the opposite of Kelly in that she smiled through the whole dance. I couldn't tell if it was a "I'm having fun" smile or a "Yea, I'm on tv again" smile. :razz: The professional partners are all about equal. Of the celebrity men - Evander is clearly the worst dancer. Joey might be better than John technically but John adds so much exuberance that it makes up for not being as choreographically correct. Of the celebrity women - they all did a respectable job tonight. I would rate Rachel the worst with Trista edging out Kelly for top spot. I think the team that should be eliminated is Evander and Edyta...Evander was the worst dancer of the bunch and I didn't care for Edyta. Did you notice the slip up the host made? The first 5 teams had their scores announced right after the teams got their critiques and left the ballroom. To heighten suspense (I imagine) they waited with Trista and Louis' scores until after the commercial break. Before the judges announced their scores, host Tom Berenger(?) reviewed the scores thus far by saying there was a three way tie for first place, a two way tie for second...oops! How did he know that?? He then fumbled and mentioned the team in last place. Then the judges gave their scores and, whoda thunk it, Trista and Louis tied Evander and Edyta for second place. Can we say rigged?? Throughout the show we were told that viewer votes could change the rankings drastically. If we were ever told how much the judges' scores count vs. the votes, I missed it. Seems fishy to me.

Dang! :mad: I meant to watch this to see if it was as bad as I expected...Thanks for the recaps, though, ladies!

I liked it, but then I like to watch dance. I thought all the celebs did really well for not being professionals, of course its like the one Pro said, he can make anyone look good out there. But I think I like Evander and Edyta the best this week. Kelly Monaco did look a bit serious but didnt deserve the critisim she got for it, and Trista was too smiley. She looked kinda fake. John O'Hurly, while looking quite debonair, really didnt seem to me like he was dancing. It looked more like he was fancy walking and then striking a pose. There was one spot where he did dance a little but most of it was more like posing IMO.

I dont know anything about dance so I wasnt judging on form or moves or anything technical, I just liked what they did. Of the men, I think Evander did the most of what I would call dancing. I would have said John was my fav, but to me it just looked like he was walking and then posing as his partner danced around him. Basically I just enjoyed watching them more. No real reason. Can anyone tell me what the song was that Trista and her pro used...the last one?

I liked Joey and Ashley a lot but I agree that he needs to mprove his posture. No slumping in ballroom dancing, unless you're doing the Jitterbug. :lol: Rachel seemed to do more posing than dancing. Watching Evander, I kept thinkin of Disco more than Ballroom. I thought Kelly and Alec were way better than Rachel and her partmer. She just needed to be a little more fluid and a little less stiff. I agree with Pika about the Waltz being a formal dance. Maybe she just needs to soften her expression a bit, but I loved the eye contact. I liked John and his partner a lot because they seemed to be enjoying themselves so much. I hope they stick around and have time to improve. I thought Trista's expression was too happy. The Waltz should have a dreamy, romantic feel and I don't think she was feeling the music. The choreography was nice though.

It just occurred to me that it's too bad they didn't have all the couples do both dances. The Cha Cha is a rhythm dance and the Waltz is a smooth dance so it's possible that a team may be eliminated just because they're doing a style of dance that they're weaker at. I was better at the rhythm dances when I was taking lessons. Smooth dances are harder because they take more control and rely more on body posturing and foot position than the smooth dances. Smooth dances look very easy but they actually require a lot of control. You have to appear to be in constant motion, fluidly moving from one pattern to the next while in the rhythm dances, you get a chance to pause between patterns.

I just realized that the female stars did the Waltz and the males did the Cha Cha. Maybe they'll switch it up this week and the gals will Cha Cha and the fellas will Waltz. Id like to see John O'Hurly Waltz, I bet he is better at that. He just seems like a charmer and the Waltz would suit him.