DWTS Week 2: The Jive and the Quickstep

I was not as enthused for this week’s dancing for one big reason: why would you dance the jive or the quickstep when you can Lindy Hop?  I know, I know – there is a ballroom standard to be met here but I find that dancers end up looking like prancing show ponies (despite one of the judges, Bruno, insisting that Audrina Patridge is turning into Secretariat – and that I will agree on).

The jive and the quickstep are both difficult dances to learn, especially when you only have one week to learn and perfect the moves.  These dances are all about precision – your toes must be pointed, your footwork must be light and your kicks must be sharp and direct.

This week separated the competitors from the…well, they all tried!  Here’s my review of each couple.

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough (score: 24 pts) – Jennifer proved this week that her Viennese waltz was not just a fluke.  A very technical and complicated – but well-executed – jive.

Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani (score: 23 pts) – Audrina really stepped up her dancing this week, and she and Tony had energy and pizazz in their Quickstep.  A well-deserved score.

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer (score: 22 pts) – Kyle is a natural

performer and his quickstep (although a bit more like a jive than a quickstep) was a lot of fun.  He’s got a lot of poise for a 19 year old and he’s very dedicated to dancing and dancing well.

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas (score: 22 pts) – Bristol danced much better this week and looked much more relaxed on the dance floor.  However her quickstep lacked that certain something that would have taken it to the next level.  However she’s working hard and I think she’s going to be a serious contender in the weeks to come.

Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (score: 21 pts) – While I was impressed last week with Brandy’s elegance and grace during the Viennese Waltz, I was not impressed this week with her attitude.  Blaming her dance partner, on the dance floor, ON NATIONAL TELEVISION is just downright rude.  You’re a big girl, Brandy, own up to your own dance mistakes.  They danced a solid jive but I think the judges were kinder to her than they should have been as her dancing was nothing to write home about.  But I’ve got absolutely no respect for how she handled her criticism.

Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke (score: 21 pts) – Not only has this pair dealt swimmingly with the massive height difference, Rick (despite a foot injury) was light on a his feet and did very well dancing the jive.  And I’m always appreciative of a dancer who looks like they’re having an absolute ball on the dance floor, and Rick just shines.

Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya (score: 21 pts): I’ll admit it: I was skeptical when I saw that Rick Fox and Kurt Warner were joining this season’s cast of DWTS.  But I have to say Kurt is moving better on the dance floor than he did on the football field.  Kurt and Anna danced a great jive and yeah, it was kinda cute that he was singing along while dancing to the song Danger Zone.

Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas (score: 19 pts) – Florence danced a lively and fun quickstep and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in the weeks to come.  I hope I’m still as active and vivacious when I’m 76 years old!

The Situation and Karina Smirnoff (score: 18 pts) – I think the judges were

once again WAY to generous with The Situation.  He shuffled his feet rather than actually doing the Quickstep for most of the dance and based on the judges’ comments I expected a worse score.  He did work hard on this dance and – if he’s back for another week – we’ll see if there’s any improvement.

Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel (score: 18 pts) – I was so happy to see Margaret come back for another week and I think she danced better than The Situation.  If she can keep from making strange faces during her dance, I think she has a shot – if she can remember the choreography.

Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower (score: 12 pts) – With the lowest score of the night and Bruno’s comment that this was the worst jive he’s seen in all the seasons of DWTS (a harsh and unnecessary comment) I’m not sure that Michael is going to make it another week.  Honestly I thought his jive was no less worse than The Situation’s quickstep as each had their share of shuffling.  But Michael couldn’t seem to get a spring in his step enough to make the jive come alive.

You can watch last night’s episode here and judge for yourself.  We’ll see tonight if the audiences’ picks have matched the judging.