Season 22 Week 9

Here is ABC's Press Release for week 9:


Five Couples Remain as the Competition Heats Up for the Semi-Finals, on ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ Monday, May 16





“Episode 2209” – The five remaining couples advance to the semi-finals as the competition heats up,on “Dancing with the Stars,” live, MONDAY, MAY 16 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. Each couple will dance two dances – one being a style the couple has not danced to yet, and the second being a Trio Dance, in which each celebrity couple will dance with a third dancer. For the trio dance, Ginger Zee will dance with Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Artem Chigvintsev, Antonio Brown will dance with Sharna Burgess and Hayley Erbert, Wanyá Morris will dance with Lindsay Arnold and Witney Carson, Paige VanZant will dance with Mark Ballas and Alan Bersten, and Nyle DiMarco will dance with Peta Murgatroyd and Jenna Johnson.

Each celebrity will perform a contemporary, quickstep, Argentine tango, Charleston, jive, samba or Paso Doblé. There will be a double elimination, based on last week’s combined judges’ scores and viewer votes, determining the final three couples who will go on to the finals to vie for the mirrorball.

The couples will dance to the following songs (in alphabetical order):

Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess – Contemporary – “Hall of Fame” by The Script

Ginger Zee & Valentin Chmerkovskiy – Quickstep – “Fire Under My Feet” by Leona Lewis

Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd – Argentine Tango – “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors

Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas – Argentine Tango – “One Time” by Marian Hill

Wanyá Morris & Lindsay Arnold – Charleston – “Shame on Me” by Avicii

The couples plus a third dancer will dance to the following songs for the Trio Dance (in alphabetical order):

Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess with Hayley Erbert – Argentine Tango – “Mi Confesion” by Gotan Project

Ginger Zee & Valentin Chmerkovskiy with Artem Chigvintsev – Paso Doblé – “Shot Me Down” by David Guetta

Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd with Jenna Johnson – Jive – “Hit the Road Jack” - Hermes House Band

Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas with Alan Bersten – Samba – “Hip Hip Chin Chin” by Club Des Belugas

Wanyá Morris & Lindsay Arnold with Witney Carson – Paso Doblé – “Explosive” by David Garrett and Franck Heijden and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Hosted by two-time Emmy-winning host Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews (sports host and “Dancing with the Stars” season 10 finalist), “Dancing with the Stars” is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts, including head judge, Len Goodman, dancers/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

For week nine, viewers may cast their votes for their favorite couples via phone on Monday nights during and up to 60 minutes after the end of the “Dancing with the Stars” broadcast in each time zone. Online voting at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] on Facebook at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] open for 24 hours, beginning from the start of each episode on the East Coast at 8:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. PDT and closing at 8:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. PDT on Tuesday evenings.

“Dancing with the Stars” is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Rob Wade and Ashley Edens-Shaffer are executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs. “Dancing with the Stars” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG, L parental guideline.

About BBC Worldwide Productions


BBC Worldwide Productions is a key business division under BBC Worldwide North America – part of BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – which operates as a studio in the U.S. and Canada.  Based in Los Angeles, BBC Worldwide Productions develops and produces original content as well as scripted and unscripted projects based on BBC formats/brands across all platforms. The studio is responsible for the ratings juggernaut “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Getting On” (HBO), “Top Gear” (History), “You’re Back in the Room” (working title – Fox) and the upcoming limited series, “The Night Of” (HBO).

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Sounds like fun!  I know a lot of people don't seem to like the trio dances, but I do.  Some of the choreography has been really fun and inventive.

Let's hope Peta has worked on Nyle's posture issues, or the AT is not going to look good.  Not sure I want to see Antonio do a contemporary.  < lol >  Wayna and the Charleston?  I expect that to be fun . . . we'll see how he does with the footwork, but he can really sell a dance.  Ginger and Paige should be just fine.

Well, that's was a pretty good night!!  As I expected, I wasn't crazy about either of Antonio's dances.  He makes a great fork lift, but otherwise, it's pretty uninspiring.  I was a bit surprised but quite happy that he went home.  I really did not want to see him in the final.

I like Nyle.  I really do.  And the first couple of weeks I wanted to see him make the finals.  But now he's one of the ones I wish had gone home last night.  I hate that Wayna got sent home.  Nyle seems like a really nice, down-to-earth kind of guy, and he's certainly good looking.  But dancing-wise, for me anyway, he plateaued at about the second or third week, and he's just not getting any better.  His posture is terrible - he's always hunched over and bum stuck out.  And his footwork is not good either.  Combine that with Peta's tendency to go the way of Allison and make everything so frantic, and it makes for one hot mess.  I didn't really like either of his dances last night.  The jive was just so out of control and messy.  It seemed at times like the girls were too close to him, so he couldn't extend his legs for the kicks.  It was just awful, and the scores were really generous.  The AT showed the posture issues.  The blindfold thing was just silly, imho.  It was on for a couple of seconds and just interrupted the flow of the dance having her put it on and take it off.  I hate that kind of pandering.  < sigh >

I loved both of Wayna's dances.  I loved the choreography for the paso and thought he did a credible job.  Could have been better technique-wise, but he sold the character and had some really nice moments.  Lindsey and Witney work well together, too.  So I thoroughly enjoyed that dance.  I also loved the Charleston.  So much fun.    I'm really sorry to see him go.  He was one of my early picks to make it to the finals, and nothing has changed my mind.

I thought Ginger did well with both of her dances.  She's not quite as memorable as some of the others, but I think she's come a long way in her technique and in her ability to sell a dance.

Paige was terrific.  I really liked that Samba.  And I really liked that AT.  Right now, I think she should win.  That's not surprising since she has all that prior dance experience, but I think she's also grown on the show in her ability to trust her partner and in her technique.  And Mark's choreography, I think, is some of his best.  Really creative and inventive, but not too over-the-top. 

I really wish that they had done a 4-person finale again this season.  Given the high quality of the pool they had this season, it seems odd that they decided that this season they were only going to put 3 into the finals.  Bad call, if you ask me.  Wayna should have been in there, too.

All things considered, I guess I'll be okay with whoever wins, but my preference would be for Nyle to come in third, as I really do think he's the weakest dancer left.

That's why they have us vote every week . . . different strokes for different folks.  < lol >  I do like Nyle . . . I just feel like he's the weakest dancer left.  And I put that on Peta.  I think he would have/could have learned better technique if she'd bothered to try to teach it to him.  But I wonder if she didn't figure out early on that he was a shoo-in for the finals, so she figured it didn't matter?

You're right, but considering how the last few differently-abled contestants have gone, having Nyle who was a pretty good dancer right out of the gate probably gave her some confidence that he was a lock for the finals.  He would have been a 'shocking' elimination.  The judges scores have been quite generous, and aside from the "Val" fiasco, he's been given a pretty good edit.  I think pretty much everyone assumed he was going to still be standing at the end.  So if she didn't assume he was a shoo-in for the finals, I'm annoyed that she didn't bother to work on his technique a bit.  It doesn't appear that she even tried to work on any of the finer points.  Maybe it was just too time-consuming getting him to learn the basics of the dance?  I don't know.  But it would have been nice to see him improve his posture at least.  :\

I'll admit Nyle can have some pretty loose hands.  And he takes the occasional awkward step.  Despite all that, he's the reported fan favorite.  His bun may stick out, but considering how much he has to rely on his brain and Peta's touch signals, I think he's doing a marvelous job.  She's unable to give him even the slightest vocal direction on the floor.  He not only has to memorize the steps, but the changing tempo, as well.  Astounding.

On that note, I think Paige is the best dancer - as she should be after years of dance training.  So.... accomplishment-wise, she goes to the bottom.  The lifts?  How scared could she be when she's someone who gets in the ring to get her head bashed?

Ginger?  Meh.  In personal talks, she seems like a nice woman.  On the floor, the facial expressions are a turn-off for me.

Best dancer?  Paige.  Favorite dancer?  Nyle.  Dat's just me.

Mark hasn't played the Mad Hatter this season, so I'm able to watch him without wanting to throw a shoe.  But...we have freestyle coming up, so I may be counting my chickens a little early.

Val has really stepped up his choreography and I'm liking what I see.

As for Peta.  Amazing.