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This week my review is on the night that the show actually happened so I feel good about that. Sadly, I am not so in love with the show as I once was. (Is it telling that I am excited for tomorrow night when they send two couples home?) The drama is completely unnecessary. The "real-life romance" is irritating. And I'm kind of annoyed that all these non-ballroom dances are being included in what is ostensibly a ballroom competition. I know, most people have a half-second attention span these days, always needing more! More hospital visits! Bigger! Bigger temper tantrums in rehearsals! Wilder comments from the judges! More unease on elimination night.
As you may or may not have guessed; I am not most people, more's the pity sometimes I think.

• David's lindy hop was tame in comparison to what I expected. I get that he's on the old-er side of the group so maybe it was appropriate, but he's so fun and funny usually I wanted him to take this dance to the extreme.
• Li'l Kim continues to bug me when she opens her mouth BUT the tango that Derek choreographed was in many ways better than the same dance by the country of Argentina on the Superstars of Dance show. The movements were sharp, the musicality was spot on and they did hold the character and facial expressions throughout. I will cry if she wins the competition. And not the good kind of crying.
• I really want to like Chuck. I do. And he and Julianne aren't as irritating as I expected them to be. (Don't shoot me ATL!) But something doesn't sit right with me about them. Their lindy hop was not all I wanted it to be either. Mediocre.
• Lawrence's Argentinian tango was okay. He seemed to be concentrating just a bit too hard for me. But he kept the mood and the sharpness of the dance. I loved seeing Alec in rehearsals. SO CUTE!
• What amused me the most tonight was when they ran the wrong clip introducing Steve instead of Ty. I really want Ty to do well, but I'm thinking dance is just not his hidden talent. He was cute and he does try so hard and he is improving and I love him, but it's not as...easy as it is with some of the others. Is that fair to judge?
• If you've ever considered a teddy bear doing the Argentinian tango, that is what Steve looked like. So really very cute, but there was too much of the chair. And it's so obvious when the guy just stands there and his partner does all the steps around them. That's not so good.
• Melissa's lindy hop was EXACTLY what a lindy hop should be, and what the others thus far had not been. So awesomely energetic and equally spread around for both partners. Really nice. Melissa is the one this season to change my initial impression of her.
• Hmmm, Holly's Argentinian tango was almost like an instructional video. Holly would do a step and Dimitry would do it again, and do it right. The one lift was awesome and there were times when she looked good, like those were the moments they practiced a lot of and then the connector bits just lapsed.
• Sam sounded really gravelly tonight...I wonder why, in a world that can make real things out of nothing, they can't find something for her throat?
• Steve-O and Lacey looked like what they were trying to play, I think; country bumpkins learning a new dance? It wasn't horrible, there are certainly worse, but it wasn't good. His timing was fairly awful.
• Gilles' Argentinian tango was nearly as marvelous as his other dances. He is very incredible to watch. The one detraction for me was Cheryl's dress. I didn't like it so short; the passion of the tango usually means the skirt swirls a bit and I missed that.
• Mark sure does play the nerd really, really well. And while I loved the athleticism of Shawn's lindy hop, there wasn't as much dance as there were tricks. The stuff from rehearsals this week was better than the routine I think.

This is me, with the weekly report on the dancing, or lack thereof.