Season 17 - Week 9

So, the trio dances are back.  When they were first announced, I thought it was a weird idea, but I've really grown to enjoy these dances a lot, so I'm looking forward to that.  Two full dances for everyone tonight.  Here they are:

Leah and Tony
Argentine Tango
Jive Trio with Henry Byalikov

Derek and Amber
Quickstep
Salsa Trio with Mark Ballas

Elizabeth and Val
V. Waltz
Salsa Trio with Gleb Savchenko

Jack and Cheryl
Waltz
Samba Trio with Sharna Burgess

Bill and Emma
Charleston
Salsa Trio with Peta Murgatroyd

Corbin and Karina
Waltz
Jazz Trio with Whitney Carson

Should be interesting.  I think Leah will do well with the Argentine Tango - maybe not the lift part of it, but I think she should do well with the character of the dance.  I'm not expecting much from her trio jive - I don't think the jive will suit her well.  I think Amber will struggle with the Quickstep.  That's hard on the knees and on the stamina.  I expect she'll do better with the Samba.  I'll be amazed if Elizabeth doesn't absolutely nail the V. Waltz.  That should be a really good dance for her.  The salsa will probably be the weaker of the two dances, although she does seem to be better at loosening up.  Jack should do a beautiful waltz.  Samba probably won't be technically good, but I expect it to be a lot of fun.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Bill do the Charleston.  I think it's a given it won't be technically good, but it may well be the most fun dance of the night.  Salsa should be fun as well.   I'm expecting this to be Corbin's night.  Their waltz should be gorgeous, and I expect he will do well with the jazz.  Too bad he's stuck with Witney, but you can't have everything, I guess.    I have absolutely no idea who might be going home tonight.  Not a clue.

I'm so angry I could spit nails.  SO...despite the fact that Corbin and Karina had the VWaltz last week, they get another waltz.  While Bill is relegated to this week's screwball dance?  Why not just give him Bollywood????  He has been assigned the "off the wall" dances the last few weeks while his strong suit is ballroom.  And Emma has taken these strange choices and turned them into comedy acts - which makes him look pathetic.  Sorry, I can't vote for him anymore.  I see no further improvement in that he isn't given the chance to excel at straight dancing.

Corbin needs to be hired as one of the pros on this show.  God knows, he pitched in on the choreo for the triples dance.  I'm frustrated and disgusted.  Elizabeth's salsa was fabulous and she didn't deserve to go.  Amber did.  She's wrecking her knees and her performance is suffering for it.  She's dynamic, but limited at this point.

Leah looked great and I agreed with Bruno about Jack throwing his arms.  It's ALWAYS bothered me.

Sorry to be so negative.  Corbin's number could've been on Broadway.  More and more they're revealing just how much professional experience he has.  A sure winner this season.  Head and shoulders above the rest.  I was beginning to think Elizabeth was his only competition.  At this point, he has none.

I don't blame you for being angry.  I was too but for a different reason.  Elizabeth is a beautiful dancer, and this week's dances were just gorgeous.  Her dance absolutely deserved that 30, and I said so to my DH as soon as she finished it.  Her trio dance was great as well.  She really handled both guys very well.  I love Bill Engvall, but he has not been improving for several weeks now.  I didn't mind when he knocked off Snooki and then Brant.  I don't think either of those had a shot at winning.  But I thought Elizabeth really did, and she absolutely did not deserve to go last night.  That was a travesty, and from the expression on his face, Bill knows it and feels terrible about it.  I too wish they would give him a straight ballroom dance, but I can't remember what he hasn't done yet.  He's done the waltz and the foxtrot both, I think, and they were good dances for him.  But he hasn't done both styles of waltz yet, I'm sure.  Honestly, though, I'm not sure he'll improve beyond what he already has.  He just doesn't seem to have any desire to really work on his technique.  By now he should be crisper and smoother on the dance floor, but he always seem to "jerk" in time to the music (when he can find the time).  I know he's got fans, and it's great that they support him, but at some point I wish they would stop and realize that he's gone further than he should have, and they need to switch to rewarding dancers that are really improving.  Jack and Leah continue to show progress, but Bill plateaued several weeks back.  It's time for them to stop voting for him.

And I agree with you on Amber too.  I love her; Mercedes was one of my favorite characters on Glee.  But with her knees, she is not only not improving any longer, but she's regressing.  Her dances lately have not had a lot of content from her.  At one point in her first dance, she was just standing there not even moving her feet while Derek danced around her, and they did some armography.  But her body wasn't moving.  Saying that she's "limited" is spot on.  I love her; I think she has great potential; but her knees are not allowing her to perform to that potential.  I initially thought she should be one of the final group, and she probably will be, but over the last couple of weeks, I've come to think that it should have been Corbin, Elizabeth, Jack and Leah in the finale.  And I think any one of them would have had a chance because a lot of folks won't vote for Corbin because he is so good.  So that left room for it to be anyone's trophy.  In a way it still is, because that still holds about Corbin.  But I'm beginning to fear that instead of a deserving winner who may not be the best dancer but has worked hard and improved over the season, we'll end up with Bill as the winner.  While he has worked hard, he has not continued to improve each week, and he would be the worst dancer/winner we've ever had.  Thatwould be a shame.

Oh, I forgot to mention - Corbin did the Viennese Waltz 3 weeks ago in week 6.  He did the Argentine Tango last week, and the cha cha the week before that.  So he didn't have back-to-back waltzes.  And this was one of those rare occasions when I agreed with the judges - that jazz number was spectacular.

I also thought Leah's trio number was great.  I loved the idea of it, and they all had some fun with it, so it was a joy to watch.  As I mentioned before (I think),  Elizabeth's trio dance was just wonderful.  Bill's was fun, but the technique was really lacking.  And Amber's was nice but again, I felt like she couldn't really move much in it becauses of her knees.

I was sorry to see Elizabeth go, too.  the judges looked really disappointed, too.  It really should have been Bill.  Yes, he's been getting all these "fun-type" dances, and that's not the point of the show - we need to see his overall ability at all dances.  I really think he's reached his max on that.  Leah is getting better, and even looks like she's lost some weight.  I see Corbin as the winner at the end.  Amber really needs to take care of her knees, and if that means leaving the show, then, so be it - a person's health comes first.  I don't mean this in a bad way, but I can see her as another spokesperson for Weight Watchers or Nutri System after this.  While she looks like she's lost a little weight, too, that extra weight cannot be helping her knees any.

I thought everyone looked pretty shocked, including Bill.  The judges kind of looked like they were going to be sick.  It was a real travesty.  It's funny - but I said the same thing to my DH about Leah - that she looked like she'd lost some weight and was looking very good.  I couldn't tell so much about Amber - at least it didn't strike me the same way it did with Leah - but I know what you're saying about the spokesperson thing, and there's nothing bad about that.  The weight really doesn't help the knees.  I know that for a fact.  I've been trying to lose weight for years, and my knees are shot.  My doctor keeps telling me how much better they'd feel if I could lose even a little weight, but I just seem to lose it and gain it right back.  Never stays off for very long.  According to my doctor, though, every 10 pounds of weight puts 40 pounds of pressure on your knees, so even losing modest amounts can really help.

I can't help but think we'd all have a better opinion of Bill if he'd been given a waltz thrown in among the comedy routines.  The dances he's had the last two weeks required the body of a younger dancer.  Yes.  He's been jerky.  Disco and Charleston.  Emma began to play up the comedy.  I wish she'd let him stand on his own merits.  As I said, it's made him look pathetic.

However....I do agree that he should have been the one to leave last night.  Followed by Jack, then Amber and Leah.

Corbin has no competition unless there's an anti-pro rebellion among the voters.  LOL.  He's a phenomenal dancer and nice-looking guy.  But way TOO professional for me to vote for him.  I'm one of the fans who wants to see potential turn into success.  It's not the same if they start out stars.  JR was the only one who ever warranted immediate attention.

I think Bill is really nice-looking for a 57-year-old guy (I think that's how old they said he was).  The problem is that older bodies just usually don't move the way younger ones do.  I wonder if he didn't get a waltz because of Emma - wasn't she the one who didn't really know how to do the waltz?

Corbin is too professional to win - no learning curve at all for him here.  I did think that the best performances last night were the ones where the star was center-stage like he was and like Elizabeth's performance.  I didn't care for the dancing of Cheryl, Jack, and Shana last night at all.

You're right about older bodies.  I can testify!!  LOL.

They seem to have ONE weird category each week whether it's Charleston, Disco.  I seem to recall someone besides Bill having those but can't recall who.  Both fine dances for somelike Corbin or Elizabeth, but not well suited to any of the others really.  Bill has always done better in "hold" dances.

When you really stop to think about it, a lot of the show is geared to the younger, more experienced celebs.  Even the jive is difficult for the older or heavier bodies.

Watching Bill learn and do well the first few weeks was a joy.  His performances were just reward for the work he put in.  He had the potential (I thought) to keep improving.  Now.... p-f-f-t.  It's "Broadway Corbin" vs. "Amber's Knees."

LadyMustang65 wrote: I've been trying to lose weight for years, and my knees are shot.  My doctor keeps telling me how much better they'd feel if I could lose even a little weight, but I just seem to lose it and gain it right back.  Never stays off for very long.  According to my doctor, though, every 10 pounds of weight puts 40 pounds of pressure on your knees, so even losing modest amounts can really help.

I'm in the same boat.  I've been carrying around a few extra pounds for years now.  I used to be a runner (every day), and that really kept the weight off.  Now, I'm just a walker (all the running ruined my feet and knees), and it's just not as good as keeping the weight off.  Plus, I'm not as motivated to exercise as I used to be.  I also used to have to watch my weight for my job.  Amazingly, the first year I left that job I lost 20 pounds.  I wasn't stopping in at Starbucks all the time for lattes anymore, I gave up fast food, and I was just better overall about watching what I ate.  I think a lot of it was no more job stress!

I could stand to lose 20 myself.  I'm almost six feet tall, and all this extra baggage is in my gut.  I look pregnant.  My knees have been "tricky" for years with a week or two of pain, then okay.  Still trying to figure out if it's some barometric deal.  I DO think dancing would kill me.  LOL.  I believe it's too late to build me back up.  Now, it's just wear and tear and irritating worn joints.  Getting old sucks!

Amen, singly.  But I admit to having to lose several times 20 pounds.   No one to blame but myself, though.  Some days I can barely walk - I've noticed it's definitely a weather thing with me.  Cold and rain will make them ache. 

Anyway, I forgot to mention that I agree with you completely about our opinion of Bill being different if they'd let him do some of the ballroom dances.  He did a lovely job with those earlier.  He had a nice frame and some decent footwork.  Then somewhere along the line, they decided he did better with the "character" dances (Emma even says as much in the intro package), so that's what he's been getting.  But that may be wearing thin a bit with him.  But I would like to see him get a chance to do a more traditional dance to see if that would translate better.

ITA, mustang.  Unless the fans pull a real coup, I can't see him winning the trophy.  BUT...I would like TPTB allow him to dance with some style and grace for whatever time he has left.  When they showed Emma in the gallery, she had a "wounded" expression and was clearly crying in the bottom two.  I sensed that she felt she'd betrayed him, then feared they were leaving.  I hope it was a wake-up call for her.  BUT, I wonder if TPTB TELL her she needs to go for comedy.

Ugh.  The weight issue.  When I was recovering from jaw replacement, I dropped 50 pounds.  I looked gaunt and sickly.  Once I was able to swallow again, I made up for lost time.  Ever since (five years ago), I can't seem to get full.  It's as if that time of being deprived left me psychologically craving the whole chewing and swallowing process.  I quickly went right back to my pre-surgery weight and have stayed there.  Bummer.  Jellied candy orange slices, potato chips, and honey pretzels with cream cheese.  OMG.  I can't quit!

I think I've given up.  Partially, because of my age - "who cares."  And I  am not in the market for a mate.  The only time I give a crap is when I'm trying to dress for some occasion and every top I own clings to this huge gut.  THEN I wish I'd done some crunches - which are impossible to do with a useless left shoulder and a torn cuff in the right one.  THIS is what I mean by being too old and decrepit to care about weight.

It's been a rough year with medical issues - a cancer scare that led to surgery in January, torn rotator cuff in March.  A planned surgery for the loose jaw screw in June = all those tests, and then the doc says I shouldn't go for it.  THEN,  five months of torture with a painful problem that led to surgery last month.  That was followed by three weeks of excrutiating pain.  Whew!  NOW, my health plan is pushing for a mammogram.  *chuckle*  I'm not looking for anymore trouble right now.  I feel okay.  Tests lead to more problems.  At least, that's how it seems to me.  They've made enough $$$ off me this year.

I hope you're doing well.  I share your grief over your loss.  You've been a good friend.

Singly - I hope you're right about the wake-up call.  We might get our wish - Bill has Argentine Tango and Cha Cha this week.  If she lets him do them straight, we could finally get to see what he can really do.  I'm just afraid, especially with the AT, that they'll go for comedy again. 

Sorry to hear about all the medical issues.  I've been lucky so far that the only problems I've had with the extra weight is bad knees, but my doctor is now starting to make noises about possible cholesterol issues and, of course, the possibility of developing Type 2 diabetes.  I really need to do something.  At this point anything I lose is a good thing, but I tend to yo-yo - drop 5 pounds gain 5 pounds drop 2 pounds gain 3 pounds drop 4 pounds gain a pound.  It's all up and down, and I can't seem to break out of about a 5-pound weight range.    It doesn't help that I love sweets and carbs!