Re: Week 11 - Finals

by **kincaid53** Tue Nov 22, 2016 10:11 pm

Lesallee wrote:I know my sister won't agree with me but I was so happy to witness that AT of Jana's and Gleb's I loved it the first time, still do. I hope they had warm water for Gleb, suffering with the flu!

I actually really enjoyed it!!.....Maybe this show has gotten me in the happy holiday spirit...although I was thinking oh Gleb that's risky dancing in that water.!!

by **Lesallee** Tue Nov 22, 2016 10:14 pm

Jenna is quite prominent tonight. Perhaps that is a good omen for another pro shot for next year. I hope so.

by **Lesallee** Tue Nov 22, 2016 10:30 pm

Well James and Sharna have me choked up again. That package, sob, sob. That dance, sob, sob. When Sharna thanked James for the season of her life, sob, sob. When James gave her his racing suit, sob, sob. When James said to Sharna, "Shall we dance for one last time?" Now I'm a melted puddle on the floor.

by **kincaid53** Tue Nov 22, 2016 11:07 pm

OK I'm not happy because my choice twice has not won this month....at least Laurie winning will not lead this great country ...the USofA into total chaos and destruction.

by Oakma Tue Nov 22, 2016 11:10 pm

Although ( I believe ) she was slated to win from the beginning .... that Canadian guy sure is a great dancer !

by **Psychee22** Tue Nov 22, 2016 11:34 pm

kincaid53 wrote:OK I'm not happy because my choice twice has not won this month....at least Laurie winning will not lead this great country ...the USofA into total chaos and destruction.

I was thinking the same thing... another vote bites the dust. 2016 not the year for picking winners, I guess.

by **Psychee22** Tue Nov 22, 2016 11:46 pm

The Results:

Third Place: Calvin / Lindsay

Second Place: James / Sharna

Winner: Laurie / Val

by **suebob16** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:05 am

Watching my live West Coast airing now.

So cute to see James, Calvin, and Ryan join the guys for the 24K Magic number.

Terra and Marilu together again!

Wow, that Macy's number was gorgeous.

I forgot that it was three athletes that made it to the Top 3. Doesn't happen very often. The main thing is that we got to know them beyond their sport thanks to this season.

James giving Sharna his race suit. . . .(sniffles). That fusion dance was wonderful. Len told James he wished he could dance like him. Sharna may get her Mirrorball in the future, but I will always wish that she won it with James. King

Calvin telling Lindsay he's going to put her phone number on his phone. They're officially friends! Very Happy

Nose boop from Laurie to Val. Forehead kiss from Val to Laurie. So sweet. High five

"I wish we could give three Mirrorballs." Yes Tom!

Congratulations to Laurie and Val. It was close, but they deserved it. Congrats

by **Glittersisgld** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:21 am

I was sure James and Sharna would win. I was very surprised. I like Laurie but again this seems like patriotic voting. It's either Olympics or sports that get the votes. I'm not into either. I think the win was too easy for Laurie. I felt worse for Sharna than James that they didn't win, even though she has other chances to win. Even though Laurie is a good dancer, she wasn't as good as Meryl or Shawn. Maybe she won more with her personality.

by **suebob16** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:50 am

I thought Laurie was very good, but I wanted so much for James and Sharna to win. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle against Laurie. It did seem to become a repeat of the Olympic gymnast versus the surprise unexpected male celebrity. In the past I've often rooted for the Olympians like Shawn, Evan, and Meryl. But this time it was James who totally won me over. Like you I also feel sad for Sharna because her partnership with James was so special, and I wanted her to win with such a perfect partner.

by **DeadManDancing** Wed Nov 23, 2016 4:41 am

Psychee22 wrote:
kincaid53 wrote:OK I'm not happy because my choice twice has not won this month....at least Laurie winning will not lead this great country ...the USofA into total chaos and destruction.

I was thinking the same thing... another vote bites the dust. 2016 not the year for picking winners, I guess.

I'm glad you both went there. None of my business telling America how to vote, but I have to be honest. You echoed my feelings.

by **DeadManDancing** Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:57 am

It's been a pleasure sharing this season with all of you, although it didn't have the ending I had hoped for. Makes it easier that I am not the only one. A lot of honest, memorable, and truthful comments have been made on the various threads already. Do we really have to discuss these fusion dances technically? I don't think so. As usual, scoring was irrelevant and not meant to hurt anybody's chances. That had already happened earlier anyway.

I really don't want to come across as a sore loser, because I wouldn't do my fabulous team justice with this kind of attitude. James and Sharna have blown me away from the start, so isn't it natural I'm sad and disappointed?
Team, however, may be the keyword why I'm unhappy with the outcome. Someone pointed out we had three athletes in the finale, and for a reason. They brought their fighting spirit, work ethic, and personalities. They took the competition serious and earned their place in last night's event. Include Sharna and Lindsay, and five people held themselves like the professionals they are over the entire course. And then there was Val on the edge of losing his nerve. A gold medalist had once inspired his brother to be the best he could, so I expected the same from him when the cast was announced. Instead, he often seemed intimidated, doubtful, and discouraged. It really took a powerhouse like Laurie to fill his dances with life at times. Someone else said it like this:
Week 11 - Finals - Page 4 15048210

I think this pretty much describes it all, even if we forget her gymnastics background for a second. Calvin and Lindsay, James and Sharna worked as teams, and no setback- be it injuries or silly underscoring- could keep them from giving their absolute best. Please don't think Val is my scapegoat. I normally like him a lot, insecurities and all. But this season he needed all the help he could get, and it was Laurie who held it together for them more than once. This girl is really a deserving winner in the end. Congratulations, Laurie and Val. Get your act together, man. You still have a couple of dances to do with your little big champion.

by **Glittersisgld** Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:32 am

Maybe Sharna will get an Emmy. I don't know if that makes it better but it would be great for her. The funny thing is that I thought that last dance that Laurie did was one of her best and one of the judges said it. I thought it was partly because of Val's choreography. I wondered why they weren't at that level throughout more of the season.

by **DeadManDancing** Wed Nov 23, 2016 1:34 pm

by **suebob16** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:26 pm

Thanks for the View video DMD! Oh I wish they could have shown the entire dances of James and Calvin. James and Sharna looked so relaxed and happy--and James even gave Sharna a nose boop! Smile

by **DeadManDancing** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:41 pm

You're welcome, sue. Yes, I would also have loved to see more of them. But the consolation for us is to see how happy they are with what they've achieved. I bet it's not the last time we've seen them together.

by **Lesallee** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:53 pm

CAI on GMA this a.m. apparently said the voting was the closest ever in DWTS history. Think what would have happened if Canadians could have voted! And maybe we know why James and Sharna were unsuccessful in their efforts to get the vote available to Canadians.

by **Psychee22** Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:56 pm

That might mean that those three points he missed by tripping on Sharna's skirt in the FT cost him the MBT.

by **DeadManDancing** Wed Nov 23, 2016 3:20 pm

They scored just one point lower than Laurie and Val in total. Must have been really tight then. We'll never know exactly though.

by bailadora Wed Nov 23, 2016 5:16 pm

I'm happy for Laurie but all top 3 are charming hard workers. All leave behind memorable dances that we will watch for years to come. Hopefully some Emmy nominations will be forthcoming, particularly for Sharna's Joker dance.

For those of you that dismiss Laurie's dancing because of her gymnastics training, just compare Laurie's dances to Aly Raisman's. Aly is a more decorated gymnast than Laurie but she had an absolute lack of rhythm and even the wonderful Mark Ballas had trouble choreographing great dances for her. In contrast Laurie's dances exuded grace and charm.

I'm looking forward to future projects of the Top 5. With his sharp wit, self-deprecation and likeability James should have a long career in broadcasting (I picture him replacing Len Goodman in Dance Center). Calvin is a powerful role modelm for African American youth. His personality reminds me a lot of President Obama and maybe he will decide to enter into politics (God knows that we need decent people). Laurie has her whole future ahead of her, Terra will probably create interesting projects, and I hope that Jana takes control of her life and builds a wonderful future for her daughter.

by **Lesallee** Wed Nov 23, 2016 5:34 pm

Psychee22 wrote:That might mean that those three points he missed by tripping on Sharna's skirt in the FT cost him the MBT.

You have to factor in the serious underscoring James received all season. Plus the rather tepid promotion the show gave James. I really paid a lot of attention to the FB page and in the last three weeks the support for James and Sharna gained momentum rapidly and became the majority. This happened while Laurie's face was up prominently most of the time. So really the fans had to discover James and fall in love with him on their own.

Brother DMD brings up that skinny little one point difference in total scores. Where was that 1 point? Carrie Ann's 9 for the AT. But you are right, Psychee, that trip was fatal because that dance would have been 40 points otherwise.

by **Psychee22** Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:37 pm

The final tally was based upon the scores for the last three dances -- James got perfect scores for the Freestyle and the 24 hour dance, but he only got a 37 out of 40 for his Foxtrot Redemption dance. He lost one point from each of the judges except Bruno for the trip-up. If he had those points, I think he might have won if the voting was as close as CAI said it was.

Laurie lost 2 points in her Redemption dance Paso, which is why the difference in their scores was only one point.

So can we blame the judges? Not really. But then it isn't clear if this is what they have in other times termed a wardrobe malfunction. It looked to me like James tripped on her skirt. Isn't that the same as slipping in your shoes as they have in the past ignored? I kind of think that that was where Bruno's head was at when he did not penalize it. The trip up did not seem to be a reflection on James' skill level, but rather the choice of skirt.

by GymGirlJane Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:36 pm

bailadora wrote:
For those of you that dismiss Laurie's dancing because of her gymnastics training, just compare Laurie's dances to Aly Raisman's. Aly is a more decorated gymnast than Laurie but she had an absolute lack of rhythm and even the wonderful Mark Ballas had trouble choreographing great dances for her. In contrast Laurie's dances exuded grace and charm.

That's exactly right. Gymnastics has nothing to do with dancing and your training actually works against you as a dancer. Its a totally different kind of movement. Totally. I was a competitive gymnast as a young girl and I not only had to take dance lessons just to get through my first dance when I got married, but I was so bad that my husband came close to divorcing me. Well, ok, not really, but that first dance at our wedding was not my finest hour. Lets just put it that way. I think to dance well you have to first unlearn a lot of things from gymnastics.

And Aly is a prefect example. I love her to death but she really was just not very good on DWTS. (And its not just that she is more decorated than Laurie, she is the better gymnast).

What gymnasts do have as an advantage on DWTS (and its the same advantage all the pro athletes have) is that they know how to work VERY hard physically, and repeat and repeat and repeat until they get it right. These girls are used to training 7 hours a day 6 days a week, so practising for DWTS is not a shock or a big challenge for them. They also know how to take instruction. Their coach tells them to do a skill, they do it. Period.

by **kincaid53** Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:36 pm

How long ago Jane was it that you were a competitive gymnast?

     Laurie said she want to go to the Olympics, but her passion was dancing....some that have been on dwts have gone on a few dates of the tour, but Laurie is going on the whole tour. Her passion is dancing and it has been her whole life according to her....as far as gymnastics having nothing to do with dancing...I disagree.    There are plenty of elements that some gymnasts find that dance helps them, especially in floor routines.
    Times change .....strategies in how to be a winning gymnast changes also...for some. One more question .....how long from the time you competed and you got married?
   Actually one more ......why did you not go for the gold?

by **Lesallee** Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:47 pm

I heard Edyta Sliwinska yesterday say that when she was teaching children to dance any that had gymnastic or ice skating training had a big advantage over those that didn't. Edyta's words, not mine.

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