Um…WOW. That is all.

Lovedlovedloved the opening group Wade number. Fun, super cool, great intro. I liked the idea of introducing us to the dancers in small groups to let us see what they do. It’s especially effective for those dancers who made the Top 20 without getting a lot of air time (though they’ve done a better job of that this year as there aren’t too many total strangers up there.)

First group: Hip Hoppers to NappyTabs routine: Fun, energetic, great kick off to the night.

Quartet of Contemporary dancers to Tyce routine: Beautiful and complex showcase.

Tap Trio: Good tappers, new choreographer and I’m glad they pointed out that this is the only dance style where they have to dance everyone else’s style during the season, but no one will be dancing theirs. I think it would have been a better intro with a more upbeat, in your face song than something as smooth and understated as A Train, but still, a good entry.

Jazz Trio - first kindasorta trainwreck for me. The tutu costumes really really did not flatter those girls At All. In fact, perhaps most unflattering evah. And maybe it was that element, but the dance looked all over the place to me and perhaps the last person who should ever be choreographing sexy is Sonja Warrior Goddess. But those were weak looking links to me, especially Mollee and Pauline, the two youngsters. Ellenore not so much.

Contemporary Quartet II: working with Mandy Moore. Tyce’s routine was perhaps more dynamic, but this one was entertaining as well. Music could have more engaging, but very strong performers all.

Latin trio/menage a tois? choreographed by Penthouse–no, that was Jason Gilikson. Pass the umbrella drinks! Whew! I liked the sense of humor they had about it though. Engaging on many levels, which admittedly surprised me with those two women. And I’m ever so certain Ryan came away with the most votes from that little number.

Tonight they start competing for reals. The judges send two home at the end of the show. (A shame one of them has to be a guy, that’s all I’m sayin…) Talk about getting this party started! I, for one, cannot WAIT! I’m glad they didn’t make us wait until next summer. For me, this just blows DWTS right out the water.

Speaking of things blowing….over on DWTS it’s double elimination night. Dancing the waltz or the jitterbug and doing a group marathon dance. Whole lotta lotta going on.

Dmitry/Mya get jitterbug and though adorable and very well executed, I got the same feeling as Carrie Ann, that is seemed very surface smooth and no real energy vibe from Mya.

Melissa/Mark get the waltz and yes, it was a bit wooden and though she tried, she seemed to be thinking the dance pretty hard as she was dancing it.

Lacey/Mark totally killed their jitterbug and highlighted exactly what was missing from what should have been the equally exuberant Mya/Dmitry routine. Lacey’s choreo and Mark’s execution were fun to watch.

Karina/Aaron get the waltz, and I know we should feel a little sorry for him, as frustrating as it must have been to have improved so much last week and get good judges scores, only to have the public hate on him again. Only I’m just not feeling these two, and not sure any amount of dancing goodness is going to bring them the love they need to stick around much longer.

Michael/Anna waltz, too, and they did a nice job, her choreo was better than it has been, possibly because this is her dance professionally. The music worked well, too (despite the bombastic singer.) But it will be up to the fans to keep him in, with two teams going home tonight.

Louis/Kelly get the jitterbug and she is too freaking adorable and I luv huh. But she was flat footed in it, and ankle possible, but more probable it’s still confidence issues. But she’s got my votes. I enjoy watching her immensely. Seeing her dance makes me happy.

Chelsie/Louie get the jitterbug, too. I didn’t have much hope for him with the fast footwork as that’s definitely not his strong suit. But it’s a dance that relies a lot on bringing the cuteness, and they are nothing if not The Adorables. And okay, for Louie? That was ridiculously good. And way to go Chelsie on the choreo. I mean, who knew he could actually move his feet? At all? It was fun and yes, it was adorable. Plus that kiss at the end? Awwww. And yowza!

Derek/Joannaget the waltz, and though the song was lovely, as were they, it was almost too ponderous. I thought the dance was gorgeous, but it was kind of boring and I blame that largely on the lethargic song. Pretty people dancing prettily though. (Carrie Ann? Whytheface?)

Kym/Donny close the show with their jitterbug and I have high entertainment hopes here. And given this is so up his alley, the alley is named after him, no surprises that it’s an super high energy, really high difficulty level, well performed routine. And I think folks forget he’s 50+. Thanks for representing, Big D! Thoroughly enjoyed it, way to close the show, you guys.

Except…oh yeah. Group Mambo. (Will this show never end???)

Mambo Marathon Man, why the hate for Michael, you know? I mean, yeah, his partner isn’t all that with choreo and he’s not Mr. Smooth, but have you seen the others out there? Sheesh. They go out first with 2pts. Louie and Chelsie are out next with 3pts. Melissa/Mark go with 4pts. Kelly/Louis are out with 5pts. Mark/Lacey go with 6pts. (Boo!) Donny/Kym get 7pts. Aaron/Karina are out next with 8pts. It’s down to Dmitry/Mya and Derek/Joanna….but Mya goes out next with 9. So Derek/Joanna get the 10pts. Kind of fun, but more for the playful hijinks going on than anything else.

Maybe it was watching all that dancing in one night, but I felt like DWTS went on forrrreeeeevvvvveeeerr. They really need to start with fewer couples next season. It’s week 6 and there are still eleventy-dozen of them out there. Tonight, a lot of dancers go home on several network channels…

Don’t forget to enter this week’s contest to win an advance copy of my February release, Here Comes Trouble. Details in Monday’s post (which is below Friday’s belated post…so scroll!) And to double your chances of winning a free book, head on over to Novel Thoughts where I am guest blogging today about my brand spankin’ new release, A Great Kisser - on the shelves right this very second! There’s an excerpt…

Also last night ~ Castle? Still rules. You? DISH!

Tags: Writing //