Week 5, Season 23, "Most Memorable Year"

EACH OF THE NINE REMAINING CELEBRITIES COMMEMORATE THEIR ‘MOST MEMORABLE YEAR’ WITH A SPECIAL DANCE, ON ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS,’ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10

International Phenomenon André Rieu – ‘The King of the Waltz’ – to Perform
‘My Heart Will Go On’ With a Full 60-Piece Orchestra




“Episode 2305” – The nine remaining celebrities will set out to leave a lasting impression with their dances as they commemorate their most memorable year, on “Dancing with the Stars,” live, MONDAY, OCTOBER 10 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network.





Each couple will dance to a song of the celebrity’s choosing that encompasses a memorable time or truly incredible experience in their life. These heartfelt performances promise to showcase some of the most exciting choreography and emotional routines of the season yet. Viewers can expect to see Jana Kramer dancing with joy to celebrate when her daughter, Jolie Rae, was born in 2016; James Hinchcliffe re-living the moment when he almost died in a car crash while practicing for the Indy 500 in 2015; and Laurie Hernandez celebrating competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team and winning the gold, to name a few. Each celebrity will perform a Viennese waltz, paso doblé, tango, jazz, contemporary, foxtrot or samba.





Amber and Maks – Samba - (song: “Woman Up” by Meghan Trainor)

Calvin and Lindsay – Jazz –(song: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrel
James and Sharna – Tango (song: The Right Time” by Yves V featuring Mike James)

Jana and Gleb – Contemporary – (song: “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride)
Laurie and Val – Paso Doble (song: “Rise” by Katy Perry)


Marilu and Derek – Viennese Waltz (song: “Surprise Yourself" by Jack Garratt)

Maureen and Artem – Foxtrot (song: “From the Ground Up” by Dan + Shay)
Ryan and Cheryl – Contemporary – (song: “A Song for You” by Leon Russell)


Terra and Sasha – Contemporary (song: “Stand by Me” by Florence + The Machine)




In addition, international phenomenon André Rieu, known to millions around the world as “The King of the Waltz,” is set to perform. Rieu is the first artist to appear on the show along with a full 60-piece orchestra to perform a major opening number with “My Heart Will Go On.”

I'm getting my kleenex ready.

I used to hate this cry me a river week but I see it a little differently now. We get some insight into the celeb's lives that we would likely never know otherwise. Gee, I am really mellowing!

I don't like most memorable year....seems like a way for producers of the show to milk it for ratings and for the celebs to get sympathy votes........

funny... the show like to mix it up....why not come up with another theme....

hmmmmm

Thank you psychee for your updates. When done well memorable year has provided beautiful and powerful performances. It also shows that dance is more than a series of steps properly executed...it can be a way to express our emotions and provide catharsis. Disabled contestants that have a hard time with the restrictions of traditional ballroom dancing have been able to shine on their memorable year performances.

The problem comes with the assignment of dance styles that are not conducive for expressing deep emotions to some of the couples. That day should be restricted to contemporary, paso doble, viennese waltz and maybe a happy dance that allows breaking hold (such as jive) for the younger dancers that want to convey a very joyous experience.

This week Amber may suffer with the samba. It is not a dramatic dancestyle and it is difficult technically. James was not given much help with the ballroom tango. He probably has the most compelling story of all: near fatal crash just a year ago and his successful comeback. Very difficult to portray this story with a tango. Looking forward to Sharna's answer to this challenge.

I take back any disparaging words I have spoken about Mandy Moore. That opening number was simply a dream, a sweet dream.

Good grief this night is making me a crying mess. 

Still no mention of an elimination, did James get it wrong? (I hope).

Goodie, no elimination!

Great show tonight, I loved it.

Strong performances on this episode. The one that's lagging badly is amber. She deserved 6's for that tentative and low energy samba. It's preposterous that she got the same scores as maureen, much less calvin. I guess the judges are still walking on eggshells around her. The closeness of everyone's scores could mean that there could be a surprise elimination next week. I think that calvin and marilu are getting a lot of votes so I split my votes between laurie, james, terra and jana. I also used a couple of online accounts. Remember that there's still time to vote online.

I was still wondering if the pros really had any say on the dance assignment this week. It would seem strange that a savvy pro such as maks would select samba for a most nemorable year dance, particularly with the limitations that amber has. Kristyn Burtt, who usually has good inside information, says that producers selected the dances. That would make sense and would reinforce my belief that they lost a golden opportunity to give a more appropriate dancing style to the most uplifting story: james'.