Dancing With The Stars Season 5

[Darcy]

I like that they mention the brother and sister relationship of Julianne and Derek (I think they are both excellent dancers AND choreographers - they are often complimented on their choreography by the judges). I though Julianne and Derek were dance partner though and they were the Latin Dance champs. She also partnered with Mark Balas for years? That is surprising as Julianne is still a teenager!

By the way, the show often points out the Hough's brother and sister relationship (maybe to clarify that they aren't married since they have the same last name) and I love it. However, I find it very odd and a shocking choice in the lost opportunity of not mentioning the marriages of the other dancers. I was disappointed that they did not mention the marriage last month of Edyta Sliwinska (partner of Cameron Mathison) and Alec Mazo (partner of Josie Maran who was voted out the first week). Couldn't they at least say "Congratulations"?!? GEESH! I was reading the new TV Guide today and they had a two page article on DWTS and was surprised to find out that Jonathan Roberts (partner of Marie Osmond) is married to Anna Trebunskaya (who was partnered with Albert Reed). They danced together tonight to Barry Manilow's second song and there was no mention of it as there has been no mention of it this season. Why do you suppose they don't let the viewers know about these two married couples? I think many of the viewers who watch the show would be interested in knowing this.

[KSlater]

OMG I just read here that Sabrina got voted off! Of course, I'd miss a show with a shocker. I thought she was brilliant! Don't know who I'm rooting for now that she's gone.

[PhoenixRising05]

That is a very good point, Darcy. The only thing I can think of is that Julianne was the breakout professional of last spring's DWTS and they are pimping her and now her brother, much in the same way they pimp Cheryl Burke who has easily been the breakout professional of this series. Perhaps that is why they mention the Hough's relationship but, other then that, I have no clue why they would handle things like that unless the others don't want those relationships mentioned for privacy reasons or something. However, if that were the case, they wouldn't say that stuff in magazines.

Now, on to tonight. I wish I could say I was shocked but I wasn't. Why? Because shows like this always have a shock. DWTS usually has some lesser ones or a bad dancer that lasts a bit longer then they should. This was the biggest shock ever for them and I knew it was coming because they kept pulling the traditional Idol "Surprising Elimination" tagline and once they announced Tony and Jane were safe and then started in with the "None of the other couples have ever been on the bottom" stuff I knew that Sabrina may be a goner.

I think alot of factors set this up. First off, I say it every year but whenever someone starts to act like they have this in the bag they go home. We saw it with Vivica Fox a few seasons ago. We saw it with Floyd earlier this season when he claimed he could do anything and that nothing would stop him. Now, we have Sabrina. While her arrogance and overconfidence wasn't as blatant, it was there. Many of her dances were self-indulgent. She had a diva-tude last night about Len's comments to her and she never really seemed to heed judge comments because her routines were always the same. That worked for fast dances but not for the others. She was determined to go do it her way and her partner didn't have the guts to stop her. We saw that the first night when she convinced him to let her add in hip hop even though the judges hate that stuff. From that night on, I knew that while she was good and should make the finals, there was always the chance that she would think she has it and then she would be ousted.

Another thing is she half-assed her dance last night. She kept whining about her schedule and how she was happy to just get through her routine. It came off like she thought she could just get through it because the fans will still vote and keep here there. What Sabrina failed to note was that her fanbase is made up of Disney Channel fans who often rely on parents to help them vote or can easily fall into the trap of thinking they don't have to vote. This is the most competitive season yet and going out there with anything less then 100% is suicidal. It seems like some can get by as long as they look like they are giving it there all, like Jane and Marie. If you don't, like Sabrina clearly did last night, you go home or end up near the bottom. Doing the fox trot didn't help because it's a boring dance and the fact that she once again did her typical "overpowering" of the dance made it look all over the place. It didn't fit, much like Jane didn't fit with the jive but she followed the feel of what that dance should be.

I also think her dance background hurt her. Unlike Mario, Sabrina has alot of competitors this season so it's not as clear cut. Therefore, more people are inclined to go with others who are learning and growing in front of the fans' eyes. Your develop a bond with those that learn the dances right in front of you and that makes a huge difference, which is why Emmitt one over Mario last year. Sabrina was top notch from day one and had a heavy dance background. That could cause rejection easily and I think many felt she was being pimped too hard, especially with the Disney situation. That may be a result of Monique (who was less cocky IMO) not winning so Disney wanted Sabrina pushed more but it could easily be a turnoff too.

All those factors led to this for me. One thing this does is open the competition right up because I only see Helio as a lock for the finale now. I also think the chances of Julianne and Derek meeting skyrocketed tonight.

Now, as for the dancers and their performances (ranked by how I view them right now):

1.) Helio and Julianne: My faves. He is nice and you can't help but loves him. Reminds me of NY Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Great chemistry and love that he was back to himself. They are the favorite now and were solid this week.

2.) Mel and Maks: They are getting better each week. Love Mel and Maks has been much better this year. His history of arrogance could hurt him but I think her talent may be able to overcome that like Laila's did last year for him. They were superb this week.

3.) Jenny and Derek: Jenny is just so sweet. She is like America's sweetheart. She has improved immensely and I think Sabrina's ouster may open the door for Derek to meet his sister in the finale, especially if Jenny continues to improve weekly. Loved her and her dance this week. Lots of fun it was.

4.) Marie and Jonathan: The judges were wrong. Her dance this week was fine and was just as it should be. She went back to her campy self to and it worked. She is so entertaining and has a huge fanbase. She won't win due to some physical restrictions but I can see her sneaking in to the finale with her fanbase and the fact she can dance. She will have women her age pulling for her too.

5.) Cameron and Edyta: This is mostly because I adore Edyta and I am so glad she has a good chance at this again with a decent partner. Cameron can dance and has improved alot. Their dance this week was a good dance but the theme of it was too distracting and took away from the dance. I am also sick of Cameron mentioning his schedule. IWTBASS is over so he only has AMC and this. The fact that he asked the judges during the ask the judges segment about getting points for work put in and so on was almost enough to make me root against him despite Edyta. Everyone has schedules that are busy so he needs to get over it or get out. He took this on knowing full well what it was yet he whines about his schedule. He can go with Sabrina if he feels that way. They can talk about how they messed up.

6.) Jane and Tony: She is class and elegance personified. I love them but the jive was all wrong for her this week. She gave it her all and that helped and her performance in the group dance was impressive and I think that saved her. I feel bad for her with the food poisoning. She's been through alot and I wish Tony could have a partner that doesn't bring drama. He hasn't had one not like that since Stacy. I do think they are next out because Jane has shown many weaknesses of late but who knows. I do like them though.

I loved the group dance this week. Jane impressed me the most along with Helio, Jenny, and Marie. Mel didn't do much. I also liked Sabrina's little lift of Mark. That was cool. Tony dancing alone in the encore looked awkward though .

I like Barry Manilow but they need to stop bringing him back. He is on all these shows and I am getting sick and tired of the same songs over and over . It's nice to see Louis and, boy, does DWTS and ABC prove how much they love Cheryl. Looks like they will do anything to keep her on the show in some way so I guess they queen professional will be performing on every results show . I like her but it's obvious pimping.

I am interested in the Dance Wars show with Bruno and Karrie Anne. I like Drew hosting that (wish he would save us from Samantha "I will cut you off" Harris, who has improved but still sucks).

OK. End of long post, which made up for not posting for a bit.

[PAsoapfan]

WOW I still can't believe Sabrina is Gone should have been Cameron damnit.

[alwaysAMC]

I'm still shocked - what a horrible way for Sabrina to go - so early!

[PAsoapfan]

Here'a an article from TVguide online.

Backstage at Dancing with the Stars: A "Recount" Is Demanded!

by Deborah Starr Seibel

Talk about this week's shocking exit in our Dancing with the Stars recap blog.

"I think there should be a recount," says Mel B., who, like everyone else, was shocked that the Cheetah Girls' Sabrina Bryan was knocked out of the competition. Says Mel's pro partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, "It's crazy."

It was, in fact, the first time in five seasons that the audience erupted in anger over an elimination. There was loud and prolonged booing after Bryan's name was announced. "I couldn't believe it," says Helio Castroneves, who got down on the dance floor on hands and knees along with Cameron Mathison to do the "we're not worthy" bow to Bryan after the cameras stopped rolling. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to envelop Bryan in their arms to either break down in tears or tell her she was robbed: Friends, stars, pros, wardrobers. "It wasn't right," says season two's Lisa Rinna, who was in the audience with her hubby, season three's Harry Hamlin. "It wasn't the right time for her to go. This season's all messed up."

The ballroom, still full of people, was unnaturally quiet. Bryan's parents, who've attended every performance, stood on the sidelines, seemingly in shock. Her mother held both hands up to her mouth as if she wanted to stop herself from sobbing. Bryan's splendid pro partner, Mark Ballas, looked stricken. Ballas and Bryan have become dear friends, and Ballas says he felt like he let his partner down. The two were slammed by the judges for having too hard an edge to their fox trot. "There's not one time when she didn't focus," says Ballas. "It's my job to make her the best she can be. And maybe this week I didn't do my job the best that I could…."

Bryan interrupts him. "Yes, he did. Don't even [go there]. Stop it." Ballas keeps his arms around her for every interview, protective and sweet.

"I think that putting yourself out there in front of millions of people takes a lot of guts," says Bryan, 23, a highly driven and amazingly self-possessed young woman. "And there were times when I didn't want to do it, but I did it and I feel like we had some great performances. I wouldn't change it for anything."

Does she have a message for her fans? "That it's okay," says Bryan. "And this is not the last of me. You don't win everything but you work hard. This is just TV, it's not my life. My life now involves Mark and all the amazing people I've been around. And I've got a good family to go home to. I'm going to be Cheetahlicious."

Which was more than you could say about Jane Seymour tonight. In another "Dancing With The Stars" first, a celebrity was missing in action for the glamour shot of all the celebrities and their partners at the beginning of the show. Seymour's pro partner, Tony Dovolani, stood alone. Then, when the show got rolling, host Tom Bergeron announced that Seymour was suffering from food poisoning and would be out for the evening. That was on top of already feeling miserable for getting the lowest scores the previous night for their jive.

"We felt like we had failed the fans," says Dovolani, who was convinced that they would be the couple eliminated. "So then we came here today and we felt like, okay, let's go pack our bags. And then she ended up feeling a little bit ill. And safety first. Her health first. So I'm out there dancing by myself (in the group dance). And then when I stood on stage (for the elimination announcements) and they announced our names, at first I didn't know why. I looked up and it was a white light – not red – that was shining on me and I just started screaming. I was so happy. And then my buddy Maks (Chmerkovskiy) came over to hug me because I had no one to hug! It was one of those surreal moments that I'll take with me for the rest of my life."

When the show finally cut to a commercial break, Dovolani raced backstage to grab his cell phone. "I called Jane and I screamed, ‘Yeah, baby! We're in it!!'" Dovolani doesn't know where Seymour was at the time, but probably en route home to Malibu. Seymour's husband, James Keach, grabbed the phone and told Dovolani, "She's really happy. She's asking, ‘When are we going to get to practice?'" And then Keach said, "Tony, she's doing much better."

And Bryan will be better, too, after letting her hair down after the obligatory goodbye interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "The memories I have will be with me and in my heart forever," says Bryan. "I'm going to make more memories tonight with all of them, because I'm going out! This Cheetah is on the prowl."

[Sweet_VeeVee24]

Juianne and Derek were dance partners, but she also was partners with Mark Ballas for eight years as well... All three of them are very close friends and trained with one another; therefore, all eyes were on Derek, Julianne and Mark in terms of who could outshine one another, since they all have the same choreographic background.

Julianne may be only 19 but look at how long she's been dancing, so it is possible to be partnered up with Mark for a number of years; especially if she was also dancing with Derek since she was ten..... I read the TV Guide story on the two of them and it talks about when Julianne started officially dancing... She started dancing at age 10 and followed Derek to London to study dance just as he was doing already...

Mark Ballas' parents were Derek and Julianne's teachers, and the two of them lived with them. Mark and Julianne became partners and Derek has his own partner, but the siblings would dance together as well in competitions.

[Laurie]

Mel, Jennie and Helio better be the final 3. I would love it if Jennie and Helio were the final 2...that would rock

[Sweet_VeeVee24]

A part of me thought that Len just didn't fancy Sabrina from day one...the minute he turned up his nose at her hip hop moves, a part of me wondered if he would continue to find fault with her...I was somewhat surprised when he started complimenting her (but then again, Len gives points for good performances, so I can understand why she received the high marks)....In terms of haughtyness or slight arrogance, I didn't see that; but I did see that she was too over-confident and thought she wasn't going to be touched, and when she got lectured by Len, you could see her displeasure all in her face...She made some mistakes...To me, Len and Bruno know a bit more about the dance techniques than Cari-Ann does (just my opinion, because I have nothing against Cari-Ann or her judging) so they are going to see things that she may not be too focused on; and Sabrina, although danced a good performance, I agreed that her moves were too sharp and agressive, when it should have flowed a lot more.

In terms of the voting; we all know how this goes, because it's the same way with all competitions where you have to call in votes...You have a large group that think their favorites are untouchable and don't bother to pick up the phone..then you have the one's that vote solely on their favorites, and not based on if their routine was solid.....Maybe some just thought Sabrina was a shoo in and didn't think they needed to vote to keep her in.

[applcin]

Okay, more comments from my peanut gallery....

I think Cheryl and DWTS pimp each other and naturally so. They're a big part of each other's fame. DWTS introduced her to an audience that fell in love with her and I think a lot of people look forward to seeing her on the show. I know I do. Julianne seems to be gaining that same momentum, if she doesn't already have it.

I don't agree with people who want recounts or a change of format of the show. I mean, it's set up to be 50% judges, 50% viewers....fair enough. People being able to participate is probably a big draw. Also, the judges have come down hard over the years on some favorites....remember the lashing that Mario Lopez got...and someone like him could have been eliminated sooner for breaking the rules. Look at all the people's cases Carrie Ann got on because of the lifts. Conversely, the viewers kept Jerry Springer in because he entertained and charmed them. They're not making the show for the judges, they're making it for the viewers. Why even have a Wayne Newton or John Ratzenberger on vs. a Sabrina or Mario if it's all about the professional judgment? A 60-year-old non-dancer would never stand a chance against a 25 year old performer, with or without a dance background, in a judges-only show. They're not dumb. They know that voting gets people invested. They know they can draw in people like Cameron's fans or Helio's fans or whomever may not otherwise watch the show. They're so not dumb that they're milking the cash cow with a Bruno/CarrieAnn/Drew fill-in in January.

But back to the competition....attitude and perception plays a big part in things. As has been mentioned, I think there is sometimes backlash against people who seem too overconfident and, conversely, more leniency towards someone who charms the socks off people. And attitude figures into how they do their dances. Like the judges said with Sabrina's last dance, she didn't have that flow, that subtleness. Her overconfidence overshadowed the nuances the dance required. Likewise, when Helio was forced to not be his usual smiling self, his performance suffered. They've said it's not just about the technicality, it's also about the performance and the attitude. That was most obvious, I think, with Mario and Emmitt. Mario was technically better but I think Emmitt came out more likeable, more relatable, less packaged and trained. Like someone mentioned, you kind of bond with the ones you see growing and learning and occasionally stumbing as opposed to the ones who are just too good right off the bat.

[JinkiesP]

Did you guys read the article that said Tony gave Carrie Ann a rule book on ballroom and she flipped him off? I like Tony better and better.

LINK to article

[David_Vickers]

I'm so glad that Sabrina got the heave-ho. She was way overrated, this & last weeks especially. Plus I think she's had some professional dance experience.

Love it. Carrie Ann has really shown herself to be quite the be-atch this season IMHO.

[David_Vickers]

She seems to really, really love herself. I just hate egotistical people.

[Cheyenne]

* Jenny & Derek. Gosh I love her, she's the sweetest. She's improved so much and I just enjoy watching her dance with Derek. They seem to have fun behind the scenes. Well done this week too!

* Mel & Maks. Ok, Maks is as everyone probably knows a fab dancer! I'm all for putting his personality aside just because of his talent. Him teaming up with Mel is a great match. They were so good this week.

* Helio & Julianne. Love love these two! Helio is just joy when he's smiling. Even though I liked their dance last week, this week they aced it! I'm sooo glad they're still here!

* Cameron & Edyta. I don't feel (like "Phoenix") that Cameron is whining about his schedule. A lot of the competitors have mentioned how busy they are (in the past too) so I don't really see what the problem with C mentioning it now.

Aside from that I liked their performance. Bruno must be stupid for not understanding why they were dressed that way. Were the h*ll does he think that dance originate from? I think their costumes were a nice brake from all the glittery stuff, and their dance was great. imo He shouldn't have been in the bottom two.

* Marie & Jonathan. It's so so wrong she wasn't sent home this week. I really don't get it. She must have gotten sympathy votes this time... again. She really is the least talented dancer on the show.

* Jane & Tony. Well, that dance wasn't very suitable for her, she can do better with other rutines. But for a 56(?) year old she did d*mn good! She should have been in the bottom two with Marie though.

* Sabrina & Mark. Of course she's a better dancer then both Jane and Marie. But I wasn't sad to see her go actually.

[Juliajms]

Does anyone know if season 6 starts in the spring or is it one season a year? TIA