Sharna Burgess in the 4th Chair: Disney Night

DWTS legend Sharna Burgess is taking a seat at the judges’ table - sort of.

With her 6 years of experience from judging Dancing With the Stars in Australia, Sharna is going to help you understand some of the things that happen in the ballroom. She will break down every dance, every score, and every spray tan in her brand-new companion series, “Sharna Burgess in the 4th Chair.”

She will help explain some of the technical information you’re hearing, give her own opinions and scores and explain what the word “content” means when coming to dance. 

Find out what she’s thinking - unfiltered and unleashed - starting with a magical Week 4: Disney Night!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
And now welcome to the ballroom in the fourth judges chair,
It's Shanna Burgess. What's up everybody, and welcome to Shanna
Burgers in the fourth chair. I'm so excited to be
doing this podcast for anyone that doesn't know me, I'm
Shanna Burgers. I was a longtime pro on Dancing with
the Stars. I am also a judge on Dancing with
the Stars Australia and have been since I think twenty

(00:25):
eighteen now, so I've absolutely loved that job. And the
way that this even came about was because I was
doing my critiques on TikTok and they're not necessarily they
are critiques, but they were also me trying to give
the judges just a little more airtime to what they
were saying. Sometimes they have twenty five seconds or five seconds.

(00:45):
It all depends on what's going on in the episode,
and not very often, I think, do they get to
fully express their point and go into as much detail
as they want to. Sometimes they say things that to
non dancers don't make sense, and I thought, you know what,
let me bridge that gap there and help bring more
information to those that are watching. We also have a
massive new audience that has come into the show with

(01:06):
its rise in popularity again, which is amazing. So there
are some things being said that you probably don't understand,
like heal leads and frame and sorts of things. So
I want to help you guys understand that. I'm also
going to give my opinions and critiques. I like to
give my advice on what I think could be great
takeaways for these couples and what they could work on
moving forward. And I also give my own scoring system.

(01:29):
But my scoring is definitely different to the judges here
in the States. I have my own system. We definitely
start a lot lower. It's probably going to come off
a little bit harsh to some of you. I promise
you'll get used to me, and I think when you
look at my scores overall of the whole episode, it
will end up making sense to you. But this is
going to be a lot of fun. It's just meant
to be a cool, fun place to learn more about

(01:50):
dance and get a little bit more info on the
incredible episode that you just watched. Also, back to the
way that this even came about, is that very first
week that I did my critiques on TikTok Danielle actually
commented on something that I said about her dance. I
was talking about this thing palm trees. Now I might
use some weird analogies. I'll try and explain them as

(02:11):
best I can as we go. But she was like, right,
palm tree, and she wanted to take it into her
rehearsals with Pasha, and she ended up just watching what
I was saying on TikTok. And it turns out that
a lot of the dancers do actually watch it, which
is really cool. I do again try to offer helpful,
constructive criticism, always with the respect for the hard work
that they've put in and knowing that they're doing a

(02:33):
hard job and they're giving everything they can. So with
that being said, let's get into Disney Night. What an
amazing episode. I was in the audience. Brian came with me,
and it was so fun to see everyone, so fun
to see the dancers. Disney Night always goes big, you know,
there's always a little bit more production in it. The
music is stuff that we know, and it always feels

(02:54):
feels magical as it should write it's Disney. But I
love the whole episode. I love the opening number, seeing
Mickey and Minnie and all the characters there in the ballroom.
I thought was really really fun, and I think that
the dancers up to their game. We had some phenomenal
performances on our Disney Night episode, and so let's get
into the very first one. First up, we had Dylan

(03:18):
and Danny and they were doing a quick step to cars. Now,
I thought this was a really great dance, but I
don't think it was one of his strongest. But let's
start with getting into what the judges said about it.
Derek said it was He called him the quick step King,
which I thought was really cute. Said that his left
arm was strong, but the right arm is coming in.
What he means there is that his left arm in

(03:39):
his frame was nice and strong and out, but his
right arm is curving in around Danny a little bit
too much. And in frame, we really want to think
that our elbows are as wide as possible, stretching to
the opposite ends of the room. So it really gives
him a nice big space in that frame. So I
totally agree with that. And what Derek said that his
right arm could have been a bit more further out,

(04:00):
said that he wants to have sharper head focuses and
that it just drifts a little bit too much. I
think we're going to get back to that with some
of the things that I had to say about it.
Bruno said he can see that he is working on
what the judges said, and yes, that is also the
name of the game. Something that judges love to see.
I think you as an audience love to see is
that the couples are improving and that you see them

(04:23):
taking on the critique and taking on the notes and
trying to get it better. And I think it's really
cool even as an audience member when you see the
next week, oh my god, his right arm was better.
You also then start learning along in the show with
the contestant. So yes, I do see that in Dylan,
and I've said from the beginning, I feel like he
really is trying to learn the technique of the dance,

(04:44):
and Danny is a wonderful technician in the way that
she teaches, and he's had a little awkwardness along the
way as he's been learning, but this week he was
definitely much better in his posture. We'll come back to
my thoughts in a second. Bruno said he can see
that he's working on the details and really appreciates all
that about him. Carrie Anne said, he's not just learning

(05:05):
the movements, but he's understanding the catalyst of the momentum
and the swing and that is what's really going to
take him a long way, and said, good job. So
I agree with all points. It really means he's learning
the technique, he's learning the fundamentals, he's learning where the
dance really begins from, and then he's going to grow
from there. I do agree with that. However, at this

(05:27):
point in the competition, when there's so much dancing and
he is still learning the fundamentals, and I stand by
that he's doing a really good job with that. What
I'm missing from him now is dynamics. And that's where
I go back to what Derek said about the sharper
head movements. I find that when I watch them, the
dynamics that I'm seeing are actually Danny and now that
I'm really getting into it and really seeing it, especially

(05:50):
in this quick step, it was a good dance for Dylan,
and I actually felt his head was too far left,
which meant it was pushed way too far over his
left shoulder. It gets a little bit awkward, and there
is a fine line between it being in the right position,
which should be looking over his left arm hand through
that window, and then going just a touch too far,

(06:10):
and so I felt that was actually pushing his left
elbow forward a little bit like his right elbow that
Derek mentioned. So there was that that was missing. But
what he had improved on from the week before was
that his booty was not out, he was getting down
into his power center, he was driving along the floor.
He was really doing a good job with that, and
they kept that body contact really quite well. I do

(06:34):
feel again going back to those dynamics and the thing
that Derek said about the head movements being sharper, we're
just missing some texture and some light and shade in
his musicality. Everything feels like it is very much one pace.
But then we see Danny doing the whipping or dropping
into a split, or throwing a back backwards and doing
a backbend, and I feel like we need to see

(06:55):
now that coming from Dylan, and that would be my
My take on what to where to go from here
and moving forward is to really, yes, keep paying attention
to that technique, keep paying attention to the process. All
of that is beautiful and considering he is an absolute
beginner and his learning technique like that, it's very impressive.

(07:17):
But we are at a point now where we're gonna
need some texture, and we're gonna need some light and
shade and musicality and really get those dynamics in there
to make him stand out. So that means, as Derek said,
whip the head nice and fast, or hit the arms
a little bit harder and go a little bit bigger
and play with that just a little bit more to
keep it more exciting. But I did think it was

(07:38):
a good dance I ended up so he got a
seven eight seven from the judges. I ended up scoring.
I was in between a six and a seven, and
I landed on a six for Dylan, which I think
is around the same as he ended up having from
me last week for his ballroom dancers. I know Julianne
said that commented about him feeling more comfortable in the

(07:59):
ballroom dances. Agreed, but I've actually felt that he looked
better in his Latin dancers. But definitely hoping to see
more of that texture and dynamics coming in from him
so we can push up to the next level. All right,
Moving into Danielle and Pasha. They did a quick step.
It was so so fun, so bouncy, so light. Let's

(08:20):
get into what the judges said. Bruno said that they
incorporated the fun and he really appreciated that she made
and called out the mistake that she made, which she did.
Carrie Anne called out the mistake and said that she
looked like she was being tossed around at the end.
I'm going to break that down for you in a
second and what that means. Loved the body contact. It

(08:43):
was fun and it was amazing and she did a
great job. Agreed. Derek said it was wonderful to watch
quick step. The quick step content, meaning the stuff that
was in frame and gliding along the floor was great.
The Lindy Hop was out of sync. That is a
section that was in the middle of it where you're
sort of kicking you let out to the side and
your arms are also going sort of in and out
on different angles. But then he said the second half

(09:07):
was on fire, so there was I actually think there
might have been. The mistake that I saw was at
the end where she was doing these little leg flicks
where you almost look like you're about to kick your
own butt right from the knee down, your leg flicks
up and sort of backwards behind you, and so on

(09:28):
that I think she missed one or went on an offbeat.
It was harder to see with the camera angle, but
I feel like that's where the mistake was, and so
their rhythm with each other was just a little bit
off at the end, which is where I think carry
Anne was saying she looked like she was being pulled
around or her feet weren't underneath her, and that just
comes from the nature of quick step being so fast.
If that bounce gets off and you're not going at

(09:49):
the same time, it can really be a little awkward
and something looks off and you might not quite know
what it is. But they were just fractionally out of sync.
So that's sort of what happened there for me. I
think she did a fantastic Charleston at the stop. At
the very top of it, the cross swivel action, which

(10:09):
is where her feet going in and out right the
toes are going out at the same time. The heat
and the toes are going in at the same time,
and they're putting their feet backwards and forwards in front
of each other so sharp. It's actually a really hard
move for people that have never done it before and
getting that coordination. She had great energy with it, and
I love the character that she had in that, and

(10:31):
I thought her actual quick step looked really good. She
was out in the pocket, she was out in that window,
holding that frame nice and strong, and I thought she
was pretty smooth going along the floor for the very
most part. When we got to that Lindy Hop section
in the middle, something did go amiss. Now I don't
think it was a full mistake necessarily. I think the

(10:51):
arms ended up going wrong a little bit at some point,
but it felt like that bounce just wasn't happening exactly
at the same time, So just a little bit off.
I think potentially covered a little bit by fringe pants,
which fringe pants can definitely do wonders for a contestant
in hiding or even emphasizing things. But that Lindy's section

(11:12):
really wasn't quite as crisp and clean as I think
it should have been. I really think she stood out
when she was in her quick step in frame sections.
I will say the very last section, I felt like
there's a step called I'm pretty sure it's called running finishes.
They came down the floor, and they sort of just

(11:33):
kept turning around each other a little bit. As they
were curving down to the bottom end of the floor,
she started out in her window and she ended up
falling back into in front of Pasha and sort of
just looking at him and adorable because she had this
massive smile on her face and it was so cute.
But it did take away from her being in that
beautiful frame position, which then lends their bodies to not

(11:55):
being in exactly the right position with each other and
sort of interrupts the flow rotation of how they could
have moved around each other at that point. But I
did think it was a really great dance for her.
I have previously said with Pasha's dances, like I love
the technician part of it, but I was just missing
something wow. I think this had the wow. And I

(12:15):
think even though the Lindy Hop section may not have
been as clean it was, this was a very memorable
dance for her from the beginning to the end, and
so I really did enjoy it, and I think it
shows improvement and I think moving forward, it's again in
those ballroom dances, she looks beautiful out in that frame,
just really getting out there and sticking to it and

(12:36):
keep building on having more dynamics, more wow moments in there.
And that doesn't mean doing a trick, by the way,
that just means having something with a little power. And
maybe that might be something that I would love to
see from her as power. You know, everything is very
beautiful and everything moves and glides, but I want to
see something that has some power in it and some

(12:57):
bite to it and which that would then lend itself
to giving us some dynamics and light and shade in
the music. The judges gave it a seven seven seven.
I was on board with the sevens. I gave it
a seven, and I did really love this dance. Pasha
is an amazing teacher. He's another incredible technician in the

(13:18):
stuff that he teaches, and you can really see that
Danielle is learning the technique and she's growing week to
week with learning that technique, and I love that. One
of my fears for Danielle, though, is that we are
in a season where there is just so many, you know,
talented dancers that either have background in dance, dance experience,

(13:38):
performance experience. There's a lot going on this season. Any
other season, I'd say, Danielle is for sure in the final,
but this season, I just feel like they have to
find that thing that makes them fully stand out and
you turn around and go, oh my god, they're going
all the way because right now it's still awesome and

(13:58):
it definitely went up and this week, but I think
it's it just needs to go out maybe another notch
for it to fully be the standout, memorable performance of
the night. But she's super lovable and obviously so as Pasha,
and I think we're going to see them for a
while yet. Also, before we move on to the next couple,
I was actually really surprised in the scoring here that

(14:21):
she scored lower than Dylan. Dylan got some aids and
Danielle didn't, which I found interesting. I would have had
it more the other way around, if I'm honest. Even
with the few mistakes that Danielle made, and maybe that's
where that happened, the judges clocked the mistakes and so
they didn't give her the aids. But I find that
technically Danielle is currently on a different level to Dylan,

(14:45):
so I did find that interesting in the scoring. Okay,
moving on to Scott and Riley, they did a salsa.
I guys, this is my favorite routine of his that
I've seen. And yes, I know he did an amazing
jazz dance last week which I was not necessarily tough on,
but did call out that I would have loved, like
a little bit more push and drive along the floor,

(15:06):
a little more plier and a little bit more yeah
power in his legs because he's a big man. There
was a lot of armography, but still I digress. It
was an amazing routine where onto the salsa. I loved this.
I think Riley knocked it out of the park with
the choreography, with the concept. I loved the theme that
they had of high school musical and these guys, you know,

(15:26):
battling to be in the front all the time, the
energy between them, the character they held it the whole
way through. I loved it. Let's get into what the
judges said. So Carrie Anne said he was living his
confidence was amazing, The content was great. She called out
the under arm terms, which I'm pretty sure you guys
would have seen, but if you didn't, there was a
mishand connection and it got a little discombobulated for a second.

(15:49):
I don't know that he necessarily missed a beat, but
it definitely wasn't inflow of the routine and it was
definitely a mistake and a mishand connection. Derek said, so good.
Loved the confidence, loved the Correo said, it was a
proper sulsa and it was amazing. It was a proper sulcer.
We had proper sulcer technique in there, which I truly
appreciated to mixed with just enough other stuff to make

(16:12):
it fun and something different. Bruno said, the showmanship was great,
the content was great, and he did call out the mishap,
which obviously all the judges saw it. So what did
I say, misshand connection? Right, he didn't miss a beat,
it was and he made it his own. I said

(16:33):
it was a great routine for him. Loved the content.
He has rhythm in his body. Yes, he had rhythm
in his body. He was not stiff. So going back
to his chutch, I think two weeks ago, one of
my critiques for him that was that he looked very,
very stiff and a little bit robotic. This was not
any of that. He had flow and rhythm in his middle,
in his core and his body. And yeah, he made

(16:54):
it his own but he didn't miss a beat in
the steps I could have I could say that I
wish he was a little tidier in his footwork. There
were definitely probably three or four places where I felt
his feet should have been closed, and they weren't. They
were sort of just shoulder with the part that crispness
in the footwork. I would love to see moving forward,
like a more attention to that detail, but then it

(17:15):
would just give it another level of cleanliness. But the
top half was fantastic, very clean, and I thought this
was such a great dance for him. I do think so.
I think this week we saw him go a little bigger.
My thing with Scott is that, and I think Carrie
ain't even said this in one of the weeks. He
needs to take up space. He is a tall and

(17:38):
long man and keeping everything small and in does him
no favors. So he needs to think of going big
and opening up that chest and stretching his arms out
to their fullest length and pushing past that length ten degrees,
like really reaching for the walls of the room. Use
the power in his legs. Go big, and Riley is

(18:01):
for sure amazing enough to keep up with that. So
there is no need for him to keep anything small
but here when we're looking at ballroom and Latin dancing,
we want to go big. We want that air underneath
the armpit, through to the elbow, through underneath the wrist,
and everything is stretching for days. You want to feel
like it stretches beyond its point and it never stops

(18:22):
until it comes back. It doesn't go out and gets stagnant.
It always has life to it. All in all, that
was one of my I think, actually my favorite performance
for Scott. I can really see the growth in him
and I'm excited to see what they're going to do
next week. For sure. The judges gave it a seven
seven seven. I was in between a six and a
seven I think, to be honest, I'm leaning towards a

(18:43):
seven for him on that one because I love the execution,
I love the attention to detail, I love the choreography,
and I love that we really see him coming out
of his shell and going just that little bit bigger
and can't wait to see more of that. Okay, getting

(19:05):
into one of I think for a lot of people
was the standout performance or one of the standout performances
of the night. Was Alex and Val doing a Vienies
waltz and she was maleficent. Let me just say it was.
It was definitely my favorite dance of hers so far.
And I thought the theme, the costume, everything, it was
just so beautiful to see something a little dark like

(19:26):
that in the middle of a Disney night. I loved it,
so Judges said. Derek said, mesmerizing, spellbinding. The opening manipulation
of vow takes great awareness of the body, and he
called out the pivots being beautiful, said it was her
best dance. I agree, so the awareness of her body.
What I loved is the manipulation of vow with her

(19:48):
arm movements and the way her body was involved with it.
It wasn't just her hand moving, It was coming from
her body, which means there was an intention behind it,
there was a story behind it. She was truly feeling
what that was to be maleficent and manipulating this human
in front of her. And to that end, I love
that Val added in the accents to the music. I

(20:11):
don't know if you picked up on that bit he
added sound effects and he would have absolutely asked Rachu,
who does the band? Who is our MD on dancing
with the stars to add in those accents to really
emphasize the effect of that, and I thought that was
very very smart by him. I loved it. So Bruno
said every move had a clear intention dance as storytelling,

(20:36):
which absolutely, and she became someone else. So again we
go back to that every move had a clear intention,
which was very much that beginning even coming down when
she was on the floor and they'd go to each other,
and I think the words were I know you, I
once upon a dream. Like the way she looked at
him and held his face. There was so much story
in it, and I think the most connection that we've

(20:57):
seen from them yet, and I love seeing that in them. Sorry.
Derek also said he was calling out the pivots. The
pivots are when you basically are spinning very very very
very fast around each other as one right and you're
traveling along the floor while doing it. They were good,
They were very fast. She came out into a very
strong rondez, which is when her right leg whipped around

(21:20):
up high end behind her, and I thought she executed
that very very well. She came in a little bit
on her frame, if I'm honest, which meant she was
holding in and not really anchoring herself to the outside
energy the centrifugal force of that move, which I would
love to see her do allow herself to go with
the momentum. But I do think she held up her

(21:41):
own in that and she did a really good job.
Carrie Anne said she is on a roll. This partnership
is amazing, and she said that she is allowing vow
to lead her. I would say yes in places I
agree with that. I agree she's on a roll, but
the leading her things saying. I actually found that there

(22:01):
was a section coming back from downstage heading back up
the floor before those pivots in the rondeus that we
just spoke about that were very good where they had
a lot of gapping, which meant that she wasn't locked
in in her body in the way that she's meant to.
It means that her hips were going backwards instead of
her hips being forwards. So we very much have to

(22:24):
connect through our groin area, our upper thighs, and the
middle of our body, right that is in our ballroom
dances where we connect. So what was happening is because
she wasn't connected in that lower part of her frame,
her booty was coming out. She was holding on with
her arms and her chest was towards Val, but we
started to see that gapping in her body, and then

(22:45):
at one point they sort of bounced off of each
other and it was very subtle, but it was there.
So I would actually love moving forward to see her
leaning in to allowing Val to lead her more, not
because he's pulling her around with his arms by any means,
but because she is locking in in the correct way
with all those points of connection in a ballroom frame,

(23:07):
and allowing him to then lead through that way. And
I think that will eliminate some of the jaultiness that
I saw in it, and it will eliminate some things
that felt a little bit disconnected. For sure, the top
part of them, the connection, the chemistry, the story, all
of that very very connected. And I feel like maybe

(23:28):
it was the understanding of how to use her body
for the manipulation parts, but I feel like we really
started to see texture from her. And texture what I
mean is it's not like her arm just throws out
to the side. There is a resistance to it. There
is I like to say when I'm teaching that all
arms and movements need to feel like they are moving

(23:49):
through quicksand so there is a resistance to it that
you have to push through, which keeps the energy alive,
which keeps the body involved. It becomes a whole body experience,
not just an arm experience, and we very much saw
that from her in the beginning. In the end, I
think we lost it a little bit with some of
the parts in the middle, the arms got a little
bit throwy, but it was definitely the beginning of texture.

(24:10):
So I'd love to see her diving down into that
even more, bring that texture, because certainly we're seeing a
lot of that in some of the other performers, and
if we want to see Alex go all the way
to the end, which I think she is very capable
of doing, I would love to see more texture happening
in her as well. But very strong performance. I absolutely
loved it. If I haven't already said that enough, judges

(24:31):
gave it eight eight eight. I also gave it an eight.
I almost would have come for me. I almost gave
it a seven because of that gapping and that bumpiness
that I saw in the middle, but I decided that
the beginning of that and what happened after that was
so strong that it wasn't worth me taking a whole

(24:52):
point off of and it really was her strongest dance
yet and so I'm definitely thrilled to give it an
eight and definitely on board with the judges all of
their aides. Okay, we are moving on to the couple
that was eliminated for the night, Miss Laria Baldwin and Gleb.
They did a quick step, an incredibly fast quick step,

(25:12):
if I may say so. We had to led something
to note to like, we had a lot of quick
steps on Disney Night and all of them were different
paces and different speeds, and with this one with Gleb
and Alaria, it was exceptionally fast, which also made it
exceptionally hard. And I think it must be and I
would guarantee, knowing the how hard it is to clear

(25:36):
Star Wars music, Star Wars themes, it's damn near impossible.
And I would say that George Lucas, who was across
all things Star Wars, wouldn't allow them to slow the
tempo down because it is absolutely the first thing you
do as a pro is play with the tempo a
little bit based off of what your pro needs and
keeping it within the bounds of what is correct, but

(25:57):
often quick steps get slowed down a little bit, and
this one wasn't even just at regular speed. This was
faster than regular speed, or at least it felt that way.
So I have to give props to her for somewhat
keeping up with that speed, because that was really difficult. Okay,
let's get into what the judges said first, and then
I'll give you my thoughts on it. Bruno said he

(26:20):
was looking really really hard on it attention to detail,
and he was looking for mistakes and he didn't see any.
Carrie Anne said that she really spoke on the female
experience and talking about women having to prove themselves all
the time, and connected with her on that, but she
told her ultimatelyly she told her that it was a

(26:41):
beautiful dance and that she's a real contender in the competition.
Derek said he wanted more quick step in it, and
that she needs to find what sets her apart. So
there's no real dance notes for me to break down
in there. I will say, whilst I'm generally on board
with everything Derek says in this one, and it baffled me.
So I went back and watched it a couple times

(27:02):
to figure it out, and I see where it landed here,
but he said he wanted more quick step in it.
Now there was a lot of quick step in there,
and a lot of quick step in hold too, for
really decent amounts of time, with complicated and intricate quick
step footwork and positioning and movement. But I think what

(27:23):
did them in is at the beginning there was a
definite music change, a phrasing change, and I feel like
they probably should have gotten into quick step right at
the top of that instead of doing the extra little
bit of side by side stuff. And then they came down,
did a great quick step pass go around, they went
into this contra check thing, which is where they were
in front of the judges, and they sort of bounced
up and down twice and he spun her out. Then

(27:44):
we were out of frame for quite some time, and
I think that is the part that hurt them. I
actually think they had more in hold content than some
others from the evening. However, I think that a little
bit of a lag time in the beginning to get started,
and then that really big chunk in the middle of
having no hold, I feel like that's what burned them.

(28:06):
A little bit, and had they have just done the
little bit, the little section in front of the judges
and got back in hold and kept it moving, I
don't think they would have been called out for it.
Is it a little bit unfair, sure, But I can
also see how the judges saw it that way, because
in the moment when you're watching it, you're probably thinking, God,

(28:26):
they've been out of hold for a really long time.
After you've been thinking God, it took them a while
to get started, So I see how Derek got there.
In the moment, I was like, that was a lot
of quick step, But now I totally understand how he
arrived at that opinion. There was actually a mistake or
two in the very beginning. She started a little half
beat off and then she caught up and then there

(28:49):
was a footwork thing. You actually see Bruno react to
it on the side, but I found it interesting that
he didn't call it out. She went to start on
the wrong foot. I was there and I remember seeing it.
I was like, oh, that was a mistake. So something
was a little bit out of sync, but testament to
her being very good at what she does, she was
able to pick it up and get back into that
quick step routine. I feel that, not that it really

(29:13):
matters now because Alaria did go home, but what was
missing for me with Alaria and Gleb is first of all,
some connection between the two of them. It didn't look
like and even a dance like this, it didn't look
like it was fun for them to be out there
doing it. There was smiles, but there wasn't really enough
smiles towards each other, or connection or chemistry or something

(29:36):
to make it feel like you believe it right. And
so I found that that was in a quick step,
you really want the fun, and a quick step with
a Lindy Hop vibe like that, you really want to
bring the fun and the chemistry with it, And so
I was really missing that. I also found she wasn't
really in her window enough. But I do wonder if

(29:58):
maybe it all got a little bit too chaotic and fast,
one thing after another after another after another, and she
just couldn't find her window and sit in it. While
she has experience in Latin the five Latin dances Chachasamba, Passadobla,
rubber Jive, she has zero experience of the dancers inframe.
So while she has a good understanding of her body.

(30:18):
This has all been very new for her to learn
how to do, and the quick step is a hard dance.
It wasn't her dance. And I feel bad for her
because she certainly had the talent to stay longer. And
I feel that I would have loved to have seen
a little bit more from her. I would have loved
to have seen her break out of that being so

(30:41):
worried about what other people are saying and just do
it for her. And I think she was probably really
affected by the stuff that's online. I wish that I
got to see her fully let go and just do
it for her. And even if she was only there
for this many dances, anyway, she at least would have
had that experience of it wasn't for anyone else. It
wasn't about people taking the piss out of her online,

(31:04):
It wasn't about anyone else's opinion. It was just about
her getting to do it for her. Yeah, it's tough
to see anyone go home, and I don't know who
else I would have wanted to go home instead of her.
I certainly wouldn't want it to be Andy, because I
love Andy and we'll get to him. But it was
a tough elimination to watch, and maybe just because I

(31:24):
was in the ballroom and I saw the reaction from
her family. But I think she did a good job.
I think her and Gleb did a great job. I
always enjoyed their dances, and I'm sorry to see them go.
They got an eight seven eight. I thought it was
interesting that she got a seven. I think she should
have been eight simply of her execution of how well
she does an incredibly complicated routine. Yes, there were tiny

(31:46):
little things, but no more than other people that have
gotten those scores. So I think the seven was I
was not necessarily aligned with. But I know that that
was Derek feeling that way about the content, so I
totally see how he got. But yeah, sorry to see
you go, Alaria, And I hope one day you look
back on this experience and you see it for all

(32:08):
the good and you actually love it because you did
a really good job. Oh. Moving on, actually to Andy
and Emma. I mean, listen, I've raved about him every week,
and not for his dance skill, but for the simple
fact that I just love watching him. He is like
there's a toddler and a grown man all in one
body and you just want to hang out with him.

(32:31):
And we did see him after the show because he
knows my fiance Brian, and I got to meet him.
He is an absolute sweetheart. He is who he is.
That energy that radiates around him is spectacular and watching
him on the floor is such a good time. And
I have absolutely seen numerous watch parties of multiple groups
of different people that are rallying with voting parties for Andy,

(32:53):
that are watching with baited breath the eliminations and cheering
and crying when he gets through. It is just amazing
and it's really beautiful. The power of the people. Man,
when you band together and make a choice and do
something like that. I mean, that's how I got my
win with Bobby. You know, he won so many people's
hearts because of the way he was approaching the show

(33:15):
and what he did by no means the best answer,
but the heart that he put into it. And Andy
is honestly like that, and people want to see him
go as far as they can possibly get him. With
that said, let's first get into what the judges said.
Carrie Anne said that he is so memorable, she sees
a transformation in him, but she wants more content. She

(33:38):
wants him to lead with the body and not with
the arms. Fully agreed fully on board, and I really
appreciate that. You know, she was trying to really get
it in a critique there, because I feel sometimes we're
just really nice to Andy. We love it, you're the heart,
You're the this, so just all the praise and then
moving on, whereas I think we really need to start
critiquing Andy for what it is. It's not the judge's

(34:01):
job to keep them in. That is your job at
home to vote to keep him in. As evident in
what I'm seeing on social media platforms, it is the
judge's job to call it as they see it on
what was lacking, what was great, and what should happen
moving forward. So loved that compliment from carry In, and
Derek also gave a note. He complimented him on the

(34:21):
performance as always because he was memorable and wonderful, we
love watching him, but wants him to stretch in his
arms bigger and do a bigger frame. And he did
a little take up frame and do all the things
and it looked way better. And Emma stepped into frame
and everyone was like, that's the thing. And then Bruno
said he complimented the costume and set, so no real

(34:42):
dance notes. So Emma and Andy have done videos that
I've seen on TikTok where should be like, these are
the things to watch out for the dance. So this
is to say Emma is working on all of these
things right, keeping the elbows up nice and wide, keeping
the frame out leading with the body, not with the
arms bending into the legs, clean footwork, timing which was
a problem earlier on. He's better at that now. She

(35:04):
is working on all of these things and you actually
see them in the videos that they post on TikTok,
but then when it comes to the live show, we're
not necessarily see them actually come into fruition. And so
I wonder what that is. He's getting the information, but
it's not retaining or it's not coming out when it's lights,
camera action and the pressure is on. But I would

(35:27):
love to see some more of that information, more of
that technique, more of that focus on the fundamentals really
coming through. And I do agree with carrying in. We
do need more content now, and because we are just
at that point in the competition and it's time to
push it up a notch and to do more. And

(35:47):
I don't mean for Emma to do more around him,
but let's figure out how he can do more. And
if you can't, then it is what it is. And
you guys either vote him through or you don't. But
we are at that point now where everyone is pushing
it up a notch and we need to see that
also happen from Andy. Again, he's doing the work, he's
trying to do it, but we need to see it

(36:08):
come into fruition in the ballroom on a Tuesday night.
So I hope we hopefully we see that from him,
and I appreciate that carry Inn and Derek got in
there and gave a solid, strong critique. Derek's critique, by
the way, the stretch in the arms needs to be bigger.
I think he demonstrated it. But it means that the
stretch in the arm needs to come from the body.
And we mentioned this a little bit earlier, but it's

(36:29):
got to start from somewhere, which it starts from the body.
It stretches all the way through to the elder to
the sorry, to the shoulder, to the elbow, to the wrist,
to the fingers. So you want I want to see
his stretch, come from somewhere and mean something when it
gets there, and never ever stop and then come back
at the very least if we can get bigger and
fuller on our stretches and whatever dance he has next,

(36:51):
tidy footwork must just go on tidy footwork and staying
on beat and see where we land with him. Well,
this gets a little sticky for me every week is
the judges gave him a six sixty six. I find
that really hard because I think what was a seven
and what was an eight was definitely more than one
to two points different. But that's where my scoring system

(37:12):
is a little bit different, just because I come from
a platform in a different country and I've been doing
it my way. I have learned a lot from being
next to the likes of Craig Revell Hollward, who is
the longest running judge He's been over on Strictly Come Dancing,
the mothership of Dancing with the Stars. He notoriously will
give out ones and twos. I am considered the nice

(37:32):
judge in Australia in comparison to him, and of course
the other judges that I share that table with that
have been doing it for a long time, so we
start lower. All I'll say is I gave this a four,
and Andy's pretty much been in the threes and fours
ranged for me. Does that mean I don't love him? No,
I love him. I'm actually obsessed with him and I
always want to see him. My notes as I wrote them,

(37:52):
actually right here, no actual Vieniese World's meaning naturals or reverses,
which means he was not actually ever in frame doing
an actual vnies waltz. It was all running finishes, which
is a different step where you're running through and don't
have to worry about the closes, lots of gapping, sloppy arms,
and then my next words, I don't care because that's

(38:13):
the thing in the way of Andy here is what
this show was built on, you know. And it's so
nice to have an Andy in this competition when you
are looking at so many talented dances that have got
so much dance experience or talent and they're coming out
here bringing it in spades, but you're kind of like, ah,
but they've done this before. And then you look at Andy,

(38:34):
who we used to have ten of those a season,
and one or two that was a gymnast and maybe
had dance experience when they were twelve. That's how Dancing
with the Stars started. Now so many more people have
dance experience. And has it elevated the show? Absolutely? Has
it elevated the dances that you see now. You can
do viral dances on TikTok, for sure, but it had

(38:56):
This is the reminder of this is where Dancing with
the Stars started, and what it's about a human being
that has never ever done this thing in their life
doing it on national television, being completely vulnerable and sharing
that experience with you, and you getting to cheer them
along when they get better and better and better. And
so I love Andy for that reason, and I hope
we do see him for a little bit longer. But yeah,

(39:18):
and Emma's doing a really wonderful job with him too. Okay,
moving on to a definite fan favorite and a fellow Ozzie,
mister Robert Irwin and Whitney. They did a chacha so

(39:41):
that I've loved a lot of Roberts dances, And I'll
preface this was saying, I still think he's going to
be near the end, and I still think it's probably
going to be hit between him and Whitney Levitt, but
this was not a great dance for him. So getting
into what the judges said, Derek said in the Irwin Aura,
I fully relate to this, so that whole family just
has a thing about them. It's magical. They're amazing and

(40:06):
I love knowing them and being around them and seeing
Robert do this out there on the floor is just
really spectacular and fun to watch. He called out some
weird arms. I was trying to find those for you.
There were some that were a little bit weird, but
they were sort of moving in the vein. But what
he did call out was the rondeus needing a leg extension.
So basically what that means is one of his legs

(40:29):
was swinging in a somewhat semi circle out wide and
around him, and sometimes it drags along the floor, sometimes
it gets a little height, but at rondeai it goes
around the body so to speak, and swings backwards. Yes,
when he was doing those, he was not only bending
in the knee, but he was bending at the hips.
His headweight was going really far forward and then his

(40:50):
leg was swinging around. But it was a bent knee
and a bent ankle, so we still had a flexed foot,
and he definitely wants to work on that, stretching at
the hip, stretching at the knee and pointing the foot
as it goes around to really get that extension and
length when he's swinging it. I would love to see
that from him too. Derek complimented his performance every week,
every week, even if the technique isn't great. I didn't

(41:11):
love his soulsa last week, but his performance quality is
still great. And again he hits things, he sticks them.
He's very very clean, doesn't miss a beat. Bruno said
he was clean, clear, sweet, timing was great and play
in different parts. I've lost what that means, but he
basically said it was really great. Carrie Anne said, yes,

(41:33):
I loved this critique from her. His movements look like
they stop too short and they basically need more flow
instead of flex and I think she got cut off
before she could fully finish her comment. So yes, you
can see that Robert has been taught to hit positions
right and taught to get to them. Unfortunately, it does
look like, as Karanne said, you're posing for a photo.

(41:54):
There's no real stretch and no real flow to it.
It's not continuing to move into somewhere. Even if something
it still has a life in it. It doesn't just
jump from position to position. And I think we really
need to start seeing that from him. I would love
to see texture coming into his performance. So that comes
with not having those stop start movements and really finding

(42:15):
what joins the moves, what happens in between them, what
is that space? How can he keep stretching, how can
he keep doing more and getting more stretch in his body.
I would love to see that from him. So my
thoughts were his locksteps were really rough, which is a
key significant chuch our step, and it was a pretty

(42:36):
rough technique. Both bent legs. I think both feet might
have been flat, but it was not great. The body
action was weird. We weren't pushing from the back leg
to get any power. It was sort of underneath the body.
He was pretty flat footed through a lot of it,
meaning when in he was in his lines. There were
a couple where he lifted his heel to get some stretch,
but for the most part it felt very flat footed.

(42:56):
He had really good Cuban breaks, which is where one
leg was coming back in front of the other and
then crossing back to where it came from. Hard to explain,
but you could google all these steps. Actually look up
Cuban brakes and you'll see them. He had really good
ones of that. His back foot was lifted onto the toe,
and I thought that was really nice, fabulous presence, bent
rondais and legs. I said the same as Derek, and

(43:17):
just overall that he's very stiff and everything cuts very
very sharp in a dance where I would have loved
to have seen rhythm and fluidity, and it just didn't
have the magic for me. I felt it was very
very staccato like it could have been. It was a tango.
Energy would touch our steps in a sense, and so

(43:38):
I definitely want to see the rhythm. It lacked the fluidity,
and I want to see more opposition in him in
his line. So when he's stretching one way, he's got
to have energy shooting the other way. We are not
always just going one direction. Energy has to be coming
from all parts of us. So when I'm stretching out
to my left, I still have energy in the toe
on my right that's pushing into the floor. That helps

(43:59):
us feel grounded and also helps us take up space. Yeah,
I look it wasn't a great dance for him. I
scored it a six. The judges gave it a seven,
seven eight, which I you know, I definitely don't think
it was up there with some of his better dancers,
so I felt that was pretty high. I gave it
a six just simply because it was very, very stiff

(44:21):
for a Chutcha and some of the key elements of
Chutcha technique were missing, which I would love to have seen.
Moving forward, He's not going to have a problem. People
love Robert Owen, they love Whitney. Her choreography is amazing.
I'm a big Whitney fan, and I'm excited to see
what they do next week. And I think, honestly, they
got Chutcha out of the way. They survived that elimination.

(44:42):
They're never going to have to do this dance again.
They must They may as well just move on to
the next one and not worry about this one. And
you know, I don't think anyone's going to be voting
them off. I think they're going to be here till
the end. I honestly think it is going to be
between him and Whitney, so we'll just see him get
better and better but I do think and what kind
of happened with Robert is he started so strong in

(45:03):
week one when he had that jive and everyone was like,
oh my god, he's just spectacular, and then I think
he had another pretty decent dance after that, so we
forgot that Robert Irwin has zero dance experience. He's been
wrangling crocodiles his whole life. He's never done a salsa
or a chatcha, and we have now pretty high expectations
of him, and so I find we're actually watching him

(45:26):
now learn the technique and learn how to loosen up
and learn how to be a dancer, whereas maybe we
didn't see that in the first couple episodes. So we'll
see where it goes again. I still think he's a
fan favorite. I don't think he's going anywhere. I think
he's so lovable and we're going to see him in
the end. But this wasn't the best one from him,

(45:46):
all right, Elaine and Alan, let me just start with
saying before I get into it, to the judges said, which,
by the way, I think they pretty much were like
no notes and just loved it. I love her. I
love Elaine. I think she's so beautiful and she's a
fantastic dancer. She, of course, as Bruno says, every week,
hits all the character points. I think her partnership with

(46:08):
Alan is wonderful. I love seeing her out there doing it,
and I just really enjoy watching her performances. I think
Alan's done a really great job this season with all
the choreography that he's been doing for her. I think
we're seeing her grow throughout it too. The judges, Okay,
Bruno basically said that it was wonderful, raved about it,
carry Anne raved about it, had zero notes to share

(46:30):
with her. I think she talked about being a sexy,
powerful woman and relating to her and those sorts of things.
Love that too. And then Derek talked about it being
a complicated routine that she handled well and she loved it.
I agree on all of this. I mean, listen, she
was great. I said there was a little bit of gapping,
and I do feel like she is still sometimes lifting

(46:54):
up her shoulders that are getting a little bit shoulders
as earrings, and it happens in these fast dances, and
I feel she needs to go back in and lock in,
like we said earlier about someone with that connection being
in the groin to the upper thigh area and really
allowing the energy to happen in the feet, so the
top half can relax very much. Has to look like

(47:16):
a duck on water. Underneath it's going one hundred mile
an hour, but on top, you would never know that
was happening. And I felt we could see a little
bit of the chaoticness, especially as the routine went on
a little bit. But again, I loved this dance from them,
and I love this dance from her. She's an amazing performer.
So I've said previously for her, I would love some

(47:37):
more core strength. I think that is going to help
her sustain the energy from start to end and also
help with that shoulder problem. So if she's connecting into
the core and the shoulders are pushing down and we're
connecting to elevators, right, the shoulders are pushing down that
we're put from the floor, we're pushing up, and everything
is meeting in the middle in the core, and that

(47:57):
is our power center. Now everything on top, being our
shoulders and our arms and our frame, all of that
can just relax and sit on top of that power center,
and everything that is underneath is engaged. Has resistance, and
it is we're using our shock absorbers, which are our
ankles and our knees, and so everything is looking smooth
even though it's going fast. It all comes from the core,

(48:18):
and when we disconnect from our core, things can start
to look like they're moving independently from the other part
of our body. And I find that's what's happening with
her shoulders. When she gets into her frame, it's really
lovely and she can have a beautiful stretch. When the
shoulders come up, the neck is shortening in the space
between her and Alan gets smaller, so you really want
to keep that space as wide as possible. That being said,

(48:40):
fantastic dance, and I gave it an eight. I gave
it an eight because here's here's what I think and
my personal opinion on some of the songs that we
had for Disney Nights. So it seemed that Disney went
we went really niche with some of the songs. Some
of that like they had space Mountains, Space Race Mountain,
It's a Ride, And then other people had songs that

(49:04):
are famous Disney songs like the Genie, Oh My Gosh,
Aladdin or Hamilton or highly animated maleficent things that tell
a story that we as an audience can connect to
and already know how we feel about it as a song,
already have a built in story into our head of
what it is these guys and bless them, bless Allan

(49:28):
and of course Elaine in doing it with him. They
had Space Mountain and so they're like, what do we do? Like,
what's the set that you build for that? What is
the story? What are the characters? What are you going
to do? Also, it's a song that has no words,
what do you do with that? Like? What are you
getting people to connect to? Bless them? They went full
alien and Alan got in this get up, which by

(49:48):
the way, he had to get into at seven am
and was probably suffocate couldn't get wait to get it
off him by the end of the night. But I
just think they really held their own when they had
a song that kind of feel somewhat like a handicap
in comparison to other songs. And I was a big
fan of what they created to it. I think you

(50:09):
have to really think outside the box and do something
fun to make it memorable, and this was memorable for me,
And I think they did a really good job at
that eight eight eight from the judges, I was on board.
I loved it. Okay, here we get to for sure
the standout performance of the night, if not of many

(50:31):
seasons from the past, like this was spectacular. I can't
say enough good things about it. I can't say enough
of like Mark's talent in what he creates as a creative.
But we'll get into it. So we're talking about Whitney
and Mark. They did a fox trot. They had Hamilton,
which I guess is sort of Disney by default, and

(50:53):
it was guys from the very very beginning, the lighting
that is shadowed and half on them, to the special
spotlight they got in the middle, the mood around him,
the set, the musicality, the edit which if you watch
social media and Mark you know that he put that together,
the camera work in this dance like everything was money
and not only that, did Whitney execute this ridiculously Well, Yes,

(51:19):
if we were later in the season, it'd be turns
across the board, but being that this is week four,
that's just not where we're at yet. And it did
get a nine, which I fully understand because it blew
everyone out of the room. Carrie Anne said she said,
words on words on words on words, and she talked
about there's a traditional fox trot and then there is

(51:40):
Marx foxtrot, which I think Mark is just in a
league of his own when it comes to creativity and
choreography because he crosses so many parts of it right.
He's He's not just there doing the steps. He is
a seasoned pro and I very much used to do
this when I was on the show too. He is
involved with the lighting, he is involved with the costume.

(52:03):
He is involved with the edit. He is adding extra
things into that edit for what he needs. He is
involved in the camera passes, in how you see it
at home. All of that is by design. Mark absolutely
is involved with that with the creative team, as he
said in even an Instagram post that I think he
shared right after the show, of thanking all of those

(52:24):
teams for the work they did. Phil Hayes, our director,
Justin Mombardi, the creative director, like the beautiful work that
they did in collaboration with Mark, And that's where it
gets to a different level. I mean, honestly, as a dance,
what do I have no notes? I could give you
no notes on this. She was spectacular, what I will say,

(52:44):
and this does not mean I didn't like it. If
we're looking at a foxtrot, there was only broken up
in pieces, maybe two eight counts of things that hit inframe.
And I do know that we do a Maria smooth.
But what I'm saying here is I think the rules

(53:06):
have been blurred or it's just not consistent anymore, and
it's not quite as clear for all the pros to
know what rules can they push and what can't they
Now this, I personally felt Mark pushed the boundaries to
its limit and it paid off because it was spectacular.
And you have to know as a pro, when you're

(53:26):
going to push those boundaries, if only do it if
it's going to if it's going to be spectacular, Because
if you push those boundaries and it's not like for example, Gleb,
who by the way, had way more inframe content, his
wasn't an American smooth, but he got called out for
it because it wasn't executed to the tee right, So

(53:47):
then you can find all the little holes in it
and find things to say. Marx was to the t.
You know that, what can you say about it? It
was amazing? So he created a performance that was worth
pushing the boundaries. What I think here, maybe our other
pros need to know and understand is that they can
push these boundaries and to be able to take those risks.

(54:08):
So maybe know that they can work with Justin and
Phil on cool camera angles and their vision and ideas
for it and nowhere to go. Once upon a time,
that's how we created on the show. There was a
golden era of Dancing with the Stars where pretty much
all the pros would sit with a creative team and
design it from the ground up with them what set

(54:30):
pieces in this and what can we do? And then
you create that dance and you do it. It was amazing.
I don't know that our younger pros do they know
that they can do that? Is that available to them more?
Is it just because Mark knows how to do that
because he's been around so long. I don't know. I
don't have the answer to it. But I wonder if
our incredible pros, who, by the way, a vast majority

(54:52):
of them also have commercial backgrounds in dance and could
also create phenomenal routines like this with the music and
all of that, I wonder if they know that they
can push those boundaries or do they feel like they
have to keep it a little bit more safe and
play within the rules because they don't want to get
called out. I don't know, but it's interesting because I

(55:12):
do think that it is inconsistent at the moment, and
I think some of our pros don't know what to
do as far as when you can and can't break
holes and what is the ratio of a little something
extra flavor and doing the content. The word content gets
thrown around so much, and sometimes it gets said when
I agree with it, and sometimes it gets said when
I don't. So I wonder how we can make that

(55:34):
a little bit more clear a for you guys at home,
and also be for our pros and creators on the show,
so they know just how far they can push it anyway. God,
I mean going back to Mark and Whitney, I could
not say enough good stuff about this dance. She is
so nose over toes now, which is something I critiqued

(55:54):
her on a couple weeks ago. She was very backweighted
in her churtch. I felt like she was really weighting
her heels. That girl is nose over toes. She is crisp,
she is clean, her spot was way better this week. Actually,
not a single awkward turn in there. Mark really drilled
those details on her. His teaching of technique and the fundamentals.
He is amazing, and of course, I mean his parents

(56:16):
are superstars in the world of ballroom. He's had this
since he was born, and he certainly passes it on beautifully.
I think what I love watching about Whitney and Mark
is that she is one of the few partners I've
seen him have that can match his animation. The animation
in his face is always on one hundred and ten,

(56:37):
and so is Whitney. And this feels like, like I know,
Charlie was a phenomenal partner for him, hands down, and
they're dancing was amazing. But there is something about Whitney
and Mark that is also extra special, and it is
that like similar energy matching. It is that like animation
in their face and their cookiness and whatever they bring

(56:59):
to it of the act in the storytelling, like it
is very very on point with each other. Her freak
matches his freak type of thing, and I am here
for it. I don't know if she'll win. I think
she could. I think she's by far the best, especially
the best left standing. I don't know if people are
going to vote her to win or if it's going

(57:19):
to be for someone like rob It. But listen, I
don't know. I'm a big fan where I will be
shook if I see her go before the finale. I
don't think it's possible. But I did love it. Now.
The judges gave it a nine eight eight. I totally agree.
I actually gave it an eight because for me personally

(57:40):
as a judge now, speaking as a judge, not as
a viewer, I would have loved to have seen just
a touch more inframe. But then the number was so
beautifully styled and musical in its storytelling, and it had
elements of foxtrot all throughout it in shadow position and
different types of holds that you can't fully fold it.
But I would have just preferred to have seen a

(58:03):
little bit more inframe from a judge's standpoint, from a
viewer standpoint, perfect, no notes, so good, Okay. Next up
we have Jordan and Ezra. I mean I am a

(58:25):
big fan of Jordan and Ezra. I think the way
Ezra came back from having a really tough first week
and handling all those notes and making all the changes.
I just love that in him, Like he's one of
the pros that you can see when a judge says
a note, he's going to come back and have like
show you he worked on that note. And I so
appreciate that about him as evident in his Have a

(58:49):
look at Ezra dancing in this dance, like that man
is sacrificing every single thing about his dancing. He is
so low in his knees because Derek asked him last
week to maybe get a little bit lower for her
to help with her frame, that it is almost comical
in the way that you're watching him get around the floor,
but he's doing it so she can look the absolute
best that she can. And did she look great? She

(59:09):
looked great. I do think that the ballroom dances are
just going to be hard for them because of their height,
and I hope they're saving the contemporaries and the jazz
and the Latin dances until much later on Argentine tango,
because and just get these ones out of the way,
because I don't think she's going anywhere. But I think
they did a really good job at handling it with

(59:29):
that handicap of their height. So Derek said, she looked beautiful.
It was crisp, it was sharp, and the footwork was great.
Bruno said it was bright, it was vivacious, and she
is dance royalty. Carrie Anne said, you brought Disney to life,
and she is authentic when she dances. So not really
any dance notes there to give you or to work on.
Crisp and clean means everything was readable, understandable. Everything had

(59:54):
a beginning and an end point, but it continued with flow.
The details were matching. Nothing ever looked like it wasn't
tended to right or wasn't thought about. Everything was thought about.
I loved the beginning. I thought it was very cute
with their little acting moment, and I enjoyed the routine.
Definitely not their best dance that I've seen of them.
I don't think it was as impressive as their tango,

(01:00:14):
but that was such a storyline and a powerful dance.
But I do think they handled it really well. You know,
there are just things when it comes to frame for them.
She is not going to be able to get past
her right arm is going to be as straight as
straight can be so she can reach Ezra's hand. You know,
she is leaning out in her window. I think she

(01:00:35):
does that even better than most. You just don't notice
it so much because of their height. She's really giving
me as I call it, palm tree, like two palm
trees falling away from each other. And she is in
that window, and she, even with her beautiful flexible back
and neck, gets extra stretch on lines and then comes
straight back up into frame. That's something you may not
necessarily see or realize, but she does that very very well.

(01:00:56):
I thought it was musical. I thought it was very
very cute. I think we're going to see her for
a long time and no real notes necessarily on this
as far, because I think they handled everything really well.
It's just hoping that they're getting their ballroom dances out
of the way so we can see her shine with
her Latin and alternative dances. Moving forward in the competition,

(01:01:17):
Jordan and Ezra are killing it all right. We are
moving on to the final dance of the night, and
that is Jen and Yarn. They had a jazz routine,
so I listen Aladdin and Jasmine. I was Jasmine twice
on Dancing with the Stars. For those that remember, I
actually did this song with Antonio Brown. It's a big

(01:01:38):
band song. I had the blessing of being able to
have Troop in it at the time, and it was really,
really fun. I think they could have benefited from having
extra people in theirs and a little something extra going on.
But let's get into what the judges said. I don't
have written down what Bruno said, but Carrie Anne said
it just didn't hit it for her. Derek said everyone's

(01:02:02):
been great tonight and called out that she did a
backwards walkover, so I don't really have any dance notes
again to work on for you there. The backwards walkover
is I think it's self explanatory. But when she sort
of arched all the way backwards, put her hands down,
then flipped her legs back over herself, which was great.
I don't know, listen, I wanted this. I think I
had high expectations. I've been a little tough on Yan

(01:02:25):
and his chacha and other dancers, but knowing that he's
a first time pro and letting him like figure it out.
There is no shade or shame in that everyone's had
to figure it out from their first few seasons. But
this I just had high expectations because I feel like
jazz is much more in his wheelhouse, and she is
really talented and really cute. But I agree with Carrie Anne,

(01:02:47):
it just missed something for me, and that is okay.
We've had two very incredible dances right before them, so
I think it was a difficult placement for them to
be in. It was kind of flat, and that is
also because of I don't know why. I don't know
if Yarn asked for this right, Maybe he wanted to

(01:03:09):
see the dancing from head to toe, and you know,
this was a creative choice that he asked Phil. But
the camera was very still and very stagnant, and it
was you know, that opening camera shot lasted for a
really long time but didn't really move anywhere, and they
didn't necessarily come up to it or create any energy
with it or in the room. We were just watching

(01:03:31):
it flat from an angle, and I it was missing
something from me. And maybe because they were so tight
on the stairs, Phil didn't know where he could also
shoot it from or where he could go. And I
think had Yarn have pulled that further away from the stairs,
the steady cam could have run around him like it
ended up doing later on, we could have caught some

(01:03:51):
other things. But it just got stuck, and I wish
that they would have covered more ground, done bigger boulder movements,
maybe a few less tricks. It feels like there was
some time was sitting there. I don't know that I
have the right words to eloquently articulate it, but it
fell flat for me, and I think that she is
really really capable. Were they jazzing, Yes, it was jazz,

(01:04:12):
and listen, sometimes we say jazz and it's not really jazz.
They were jazzing, you know, and it was good in
that sense. And there are technical things like she doesn't
really point her feet. She sort of points with just
her toes and not with her ankles, so you sort
of get a little bit of a semi flexed biscuit.
A biscuit is a flexed foot, if anyone doesn't know.

(01:04:33):
So her toes were curling over, but her ankles weren't stretching,
so there's that. I think it could have stretched bigger,
It could have gone bigger. I think that last musical
section where the music gets really big and we were
just doing a Charleston section, I mean, I want to
run down the floor or charge at the camera or
like do us something or that's when you do the
big lift or and then that's when the steady cam's

(01:04:54):
running around. It just it missed something. And I think
that is Yaran getting used to choreographing with cameras like
Dancing with the Stars, you know what I mean, and
those oh god, how many do we have? Eleven, twelve, thirteen.
There's a bunch of cameras around that room that Phil
loves to use, but you have to be able to

(01:05:14):
put it in a place where he can use them.
And I think somehow that just didn't happen here. And
I hate saying that, and I hate being so hard
on Yarn because I think he's super talented and he's
a wonderful addition to the show. He's just in a position,
he's in a season where everyone is doing such a
great job and he's learning, you know, and again, we

(01:05:35):
got to give him grace. We've got to let him
grow and learn and he's gonna be spectacular, but this
is just a tough season for him. I agree with
Carrie and the judges gave it a seven eight eight.
I gave it a seven. They did do things, they
did execute it. They didn't miss anything. She could have
pointed her feet more. She could have given me a
little more dynamics in musicality, hit the edges a little

(01:05:56):
bit harder, gone a little bit bigger. I think we
could have had more fun between the Genie and Jasmine,
with the goofiness and the games. I think they just
got to be more ground covered. But it was executed
nice and I don't know if it makes them memorable though.
Jen is incredibly capable, and I think if they can
find that thing to break out, kind of like what

(01:06:17):
Derek said to Alaria, actually she needs to find what
separates her and what makes her stand out, and Yar
needs to help her find that that's something that is
going to blow her out of the water. I really
need like the breakout dance from her, and hopefully that
comes next week. I did appreciate that Yann also got
into that full costume and get up again at seven am.

(01:06:38):
He's such a chance for getting into that. So yeah,
and then we had the elimination and it was Alaria
that went home and you could tell that that was
really really hard for her. So that is my thoughts
on everybody now. I probably say some things that are weird.
If you have any questions, leave them underneath the comments
on the social media posts and ask them do you
want to know more about what palm tree mean, or

(01:07:01):
texture or frame or any of those things, and I
will describe them as best I can for you guys
to understand. Hopefully this gives you a little bit more
insight into what the judges were thinking and saying at
the times when they had to say them, and gave
you just a little bit more feedback from me and
what I thought. So it was an amazing episode from

(01:07:21):
Dancing with the Stars Disney always is, and this one
didn't fall short, it didn't disappoint, and I'm of course
very excited to see where we go next week. I
will be excited to sit here and do this again
for you, do more critiques and let you in on
the insight as much as I possibly can, and hopefully
along the way teach you a little bit about dance.

(01:07:43):
Thank you so much for tuning in with me today,
you guys, and I will see you and talk to
you on the next one.