Sharna Burgess in the 4th Chair: Dedication Night

Sharna is back to dive deep into an emotional week of dances and give her educated critiques on the night's festivities. 

Find out who she thinks was scored a bit high and which celebrity has been impressive since week one.

And why is the internet up in arms about the scores? Sharna knows why - and is ready to explain!

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? Welcome back to another
episode of Shanna Burgess in the fourth Chair. I am
Shanna Burgess and just quickly, if you don't already know,
I was a long time pro and Dancing with the
Stars and also have been a judge on Dancing with
the Stars Australia for about the last six years. And

(00:24):
I wasn't able to be in the audience this week
to see the performances, but I was so excited to
watch them. One of my favorite weeks that we used
to do on the show was always Most Memorable Years.
Some of our OG fans will remember that one where
our contestants used to get to share a year that
truly changed their life or a moment that truly changed
their life. And this year, I believe someone correct me

(00:47):
if I'm wrong, that this was the first time we've
done a dedication to a person where they've been in
the dance consistently throughout the whole show, and I thought
it was really fun. You know, there are some versions
that I think worked better than others, and I think
we're sort of testing out how much we involve the
friend or the person the dedication was for in the dance.

(01:09):
There were some combos that yeah, I really loved and
others where I was like, oh, it feels a little
bit like a trio and I was missing some more
content of the celebrity and their partner. But we'll get
into that as we go through the dances. So usually
my goal here with the fourth chair is to give
more airtime to what the judges say. Sometimes they get

(01:30):
to say a critique within ten seconds and you're kind
of left there going what does that even mean? So
I want to give those critiques more airtime, And of
course I'm going to give you what my thoughts are,
takeaways of things that they could work on and things
that I'm noticing throughout the dance, and I will give
you what my score was of the dance as we go.
I do feel like last night, being Dedications night on

(01:51):
Dancing with the Stars, we didn't see quite as many
critiques as we could have or as we normally do,
And I think we have to give a little bit
of grace for that, because at some point you've got
a twelve year old standing there, or a best friend
or a loved one, and it just felt like they
probably didn't want to be super harsh on the people
because they've got that other person standing there on the

(02:11):
other side of the judge's table, and you don't want
to make them feel bad about the performance or potentially
feel like it was their fault. So I totally get
that it was a bit of a love fest last night.
Speaking of love fests, mister Derrek Huff was all up
in his daddy feels. You could see he was so
emotional the whole night. I thought it was so beautiful
to see it land on him so many times. I mean,
fatherhood is coming up very quickly for him. It is

(02:34):
around the corner, and anything that had to do with
kids and parents. You could tell he was just so
in it and feeling it and imagining himself doing it
and the possibility of sharing a dance with his kid.
I mean, I just loved that. I also cannot move
forward without mentioning that I thought Kimmy was wonderful having
her as an addition on the judge's table was just

(02:56):
so beautiful to see her there. First of all, she
looked beautiful, stunning woman. I thought she had some really
sweet and informative takeaways, and I love that she was
giving visuals and getting up and showing stuff. It really
makes the world a difference for our contestants when they're
hearing information like that and also seeing an example. And
it also makes a big difference, I think for you

(03:16):
guys to be able to receive information and Kimmy being Kimmy.
And maybe I'll just go ahead and say it's an
aussy thing, but she had a wonderful way of being
sweet and kind and delivering notes without feeling like a jab.
She just her delivery was really beautiful and I loved it.
So Okay, there were a couple moments that surprised me
that some that didn't Some dances weren't as great as

(03:38):
I thought that they would be. Some were better than
I thought. So let's get into it from the very
very top. We started with Andy and Emma. They were
doing a solsa, which let me first tell you that
soulsa is actually a hard task for someone that hasn't
been doing a lot of steps. And then the mission
was put on him last week that they wanted more content,
more steps, and soulsa is just all steps, you know,

(04:01):
it is. It's constant movement of the feet and unless
you're cheating and keeping the man still. But Emma did
not do that on the show. She had Andy moving,
She had him moving those feet, and I thought it
was really sweet. I loved seeing his daughter out there
with him and that relationship between the two of them.
It was beautiful. She was just so cute. And I

(04:22):
loved the routine that Emma did. I loved the dress
that she was wearing. She looked like a little girl.
It was just it was the cutest thing. With that
being said, my man Andy reverted back to some behaviors
from earlier in the season where he was off time
for quite a bit of it. So getting into what
the judges said, we had Kimmy who related him to

(04:44):
her season with Jerry Springer, which, as Bruno said in
response to her, they couldn't get rid of him, and
you couldn't, you know. And again we go back to
this is what the show has been about for the
longest time, as people like Andy, and she said that
it was magic to watch him, which I thought was
really sweet and also really sweet for his daughter to
hear whilst they were standing there. Oh, and I loved

(05:07):
her response wasn't it something like how long have you
been the most beautiful girl in the world? She said, forever.
I love instilling that confidence in a young woman. Bruno said,
there was lots of steps, but they were not all
on time. This is a fact. Carrie Anne said that
she is seeing the improvement in him and seeing him
getting more comfortable, and he's always entertaining, but however he

(05:29):
was off time. So I love that, you know, the
compliments were given, and yes, he's always entertaining, we know that.
But I also love that she's acknowledged that we're seeing
him get more comfortable and that he's doing more. You know,
that acknowledgment of the fact that he took on that note.
He and Emma took on that note from the week before,
and not only did they put in more content, they
were also working with and around the theme of having

(05:52):
the dedication and his daughter in the dance. And I
thought they did a really fantastic job of that. Derek said,
so precious, playful, pure and full of love. Here began
the daddy feels he was all about it, and I
could just feel it coming off him. Honestly, it made
me emotional seeing how emotional he is. My thoughts were
basically the same as the judges. There were more steps,
and I love that they did that. I love that

(06:13):
they took on the challenge. But yes, they did run
away from him, or he ran away from the timing.
And again it's a tough call. Salsa is a lot
of steps. It can also be quite fast. He was
probably also really thinking so much more about his daughter
than he was himself, and so you can kind of
understand that too. I would have loved to have seen

(06:34):
Andy really execute these steps and beyond time. So my
takeaway and my note for moving forward, if I had
the chance at that table, would have been to say,
love that you're growing, Love the commitment, love the pushing
for more steps. Now let's really lock in on those timings,
you know, making sure our foot placement and our foot
timing is absolutely crisp and perfect as we're still growing

(06:58):
and getting more comfortable. You can see that from them.
I think they did a really good job. The judges
are pretty consistent on their scoring for him. They gave
him all sixes. I am sitting the same inconsistency of
my scoring from past week, so I was in between
a four and a five I probably should say a
four because the timing was off for pretty much most
of the time, but I ended up landing on a five,

(07:20):
giving it a little grace because I do think that
Andy's mind was on taking care of his daughter and
making sure that she was good, and probably not so
much his steps. So I really love them, Andy and Emma,
well done. Big fan of you guys. I think we're
going to see them for a very long time moving
forward in the competition. He is just that guy, like
Kimmy said about Jerry Springer, and I do think having

(07:44):
the balance of him in the season, when you've got
exceptional dancing and stories like later on, you have this
man that is also showing us what the show has
been about, and that vulnerability and getting out there and
doing something that's kind of a little bit scary. So
I love the balance of having both. I hope keep
him around for a while, and I think that's happening
because I see those voting parties on TikTok of women

(08:06):
of girls that are in like their twenties, that are
banding together at sleepovers and watching at the television with
baited breath making sure Andy gets through and quite literally
crying with tears when he does, which I think is
pretty fantastic. So keep it going, you guys. All right,
we are moving on now to the second performance of

(08:26):
the evening. The first thing that I wrote down, might
I say, I think it was five seconds into the package,
was I'm already crying. I don't know if anybody else was.
I was prepared with the tissues for this episode because
I knew that it was going to be coming, But
when he dedicated it to his mum, and I guess
being a MoMA myself, now, I was just like, you
know what, Yeah, yeah, I'm done. That's a wrap for me.

(08:48):
I've already started crying. So the judges said, Bruno looked
very emotional actually in this obviously hit something personal for him,
which was really beautiful. He said it was a true
expression of everlasting love, and I think that was a
beautiful thing to say. Carrie Anne said he's an amazing
young man. If she was to ever have kids, she

(09:09):
would want them to be like Robert, really complimenting Terry
on her parenting in the way that she's raised both
Bindi and Robert, and she said it was so honest
and open from him, which I truly felt that in
his performance. Derek said, and he was very emotional. I wrote,
very emotional, making me cry. Just said that he was
really proud of Robert. He obviously has a very deep

(09:29):
personal connection to them from his season with Bindi when
they won, and they are very close. And he said
that the world needs the Erwin family, and I think
that that couldn't be, you know, more true. I think
we do need the Irwin family and people like them
and that joy that they spread and that positivity that
they spread, and the good work that they do. And

(09:51):
Kimmy said she complimented Terry's parenting, and you could tell
she was really trying to get in and say her critique.
But then that music came in, Like at the Oscars,
that music start and they were like, no more speaking,
and they sent the guys up to the skybox to
speak with Julian. So I thought it was a really
great dance. Let's get into my thoughts. First thing I
wrote was he's getting texture in his contractions. So he's

(10:14):
starting now to get a little bit more texture in
his body, and that means his body is moving with
a resistance, it's not all moving at one pace. He
contracted through his middle, then his arms followed, and it
all extended out and it didn't all happen at one time.
It actually never stopped moving. It happened, and it felt
like it was moving through quicksand and I thought it
was really beautiful. I loved the routine that Whitney did.

(10:36):
I loved the way that she brought in Terry at
the end, really symbolizing that she was playing Terry's role,
and there Terry was at the end of it. And
I loved that he had pointed feet in his jumps,
just reminiscent of his opening very first dance and his jive.
He has fantastic musicality always, I wrote, it felt beautifully

(10:56):
honest from him. And what I loved about that was
some of the performances that we'll talk later in the show.
You could tell the emotion was overriding the contestant, and
it was really kind of controlling them. They were a
little bit wobbly on their feet, they won't eat really
totally in it, like Andy, for example, being more concerned
about his daughter. Here With Robert, you could tell he
was letting the emotion become a part of the dance,

(11:17):
and that I think is his vulnerability and openness, and
also Whitney's teaching and the moment that she created. I
think it just came together beautifully and I really did
enjoy it. My only thing about it was, honestly, I
wish that the music went somewhere a little bit. I
wish that the music like I wanted to be crying
my eyes out at the end of this number. And

(11:38):
it's not that the movement wasn't great. The floorwork was beautiful,
Robert did a barrel turn that was spectacular. All of
that was amazing, but the music didn't go anywhere for me.
So you know how strings and music can just make
you cry all on its own, or at least it
does that for me. I was missing a build musically,
and that's that's nothing that anyone can do about it.

(11:59):
That is beautiful song that was chosen, and I loved it,
but I felt like it could have been taken to
a whole other level if the music had a bit
of a swell and a crescendo to then take us
back to Terry being there standing with Robert. I freaking
love this dance, you guys. I loved it. So the
judges gave it an eight nine to nine to nine.
Here we see the nines are coming out for the

(12:20):
season now, and you know makes sense. It's a It's
a beautiful, personal and emotional night. I had first written
a seven slash eight because I was unsure, but I
landed on an eight. I felt like his content was
beautiful and he executed things really, really well. I was
just trying to make my decision on where I actually
sat with it and feeling out the evening, But yes,

(12:42):
I landed on an eight for him. I thought that
I could have gone a nine and nine or two.
I think three nine and an eight. I think that
was high. But I also totally see where it's coming from,
because I bet being in that room it was really
emotional and really beautiful to connect to and seeing Robert
that way, And I have no doubt that if I

(13:02):
was in the room, I may have gone the same
way in being energetically affected by it. But sitting at
home on my couch watching it, I landed on an eight.
Spectacular dance from them both. I only gave that one
nine for the whole night, by the way, so it
is still my second highest score, but at fantastic dance
by the both of them. Whitney always crushes it on
the choreography. It was beautiful, it was memorable, and I
think it's a moment they'll get to remember forever. Okay,

(13:25):
moving on to Elaine and Alan. I have seen people
and enraged online about Elaine's scores, So let's get into it.
They did a foxtrot and she had her best friend
that she met on the parent trap, Lisa, come out
and dance it with her. Let's get into what the
judges said first. So Carrie Anne said Alan did a

(13:46):
great job and it was a perfect showcase for them
at a perfect showcase of their friendshim. Derek said it
was a joy to watch, but her shoulders still need
to go back and down. He did a little bit
of a visual and an explanation on and I do
very much agree with Derek on the critique there that
her frame and her shoulders still creep up a little

(14:06):
bit and there's something going on there. And so Kimmy
then said she gave a tip on the right hand
being on the triceep, the placement of the lady's right
hand which does go It's your middle finger and your
thumb and it basically pinches on to there's a V
in the muscle right here, it's over your shoulder. There's

(14:28):
the muscles right on top of there, and you can
feel a V in the muscle. That is the V
that you want your fingers to sit on, and then
you fan the rest of the mount so it's like
a little butterfly resting on aar. I thought that was
lovely advice, and I do agree sometimes it can wrap
around a little bit too much because it means that
Elaine is actually trying to anchor herself and trying to

(14:49):
use that hand to move herself and gain momentum, when
really what she needs to do is push back, as
Kimmy said, into Alan's right hand that is on her
shoulder blade. And if she pushed back into that, that
is truly one of the main leading points that Alan
has while they're dancing, and so he can anchor himself
there and that's where he guides her from. So I
would love to see that note put into action. We

(15:12):
had Bruno relate her to Ginger Rogers, one of my
favorite dancers from back in the day, and said it
was pure glamour. If you don't know who Ginger Rogers is.
To my young ones, please look her up. We're talking
Fred Astaire, Jeane Kelly. Some of the most epic dance
scenes that some of your favorite dancers out there on
the floor right now are even inspired by. I agree

(15:33):
with the critiques. I agree with it. It was a
great dance. Here's one of the ones though, where I
felt like, is it a trio or is it not?
And so I felt like, even though Alan did a
spectacular job, and no shade, because this is a new
concept and so they're all figuring out what does it
mean to have a person in the dance And I
don't know if they were given rules or boundaries or

(15:54):
seconds or times or any sorts of things. I think
they've just got to create. And Alan obviously being a
great teacher, and Lisa apparently being able to dance, came in.
He was like, you're going to do some foxtrot. Very cool.
I think it was a moment that makes it memorable
personally for me as a judge now not as a viewer.
I would have loved to have seen more of a
Lane dancing with Alan, because that's what I'm judging, right,

(16:17):
That's what I want to critique on. And so I
missed seeing a little bit more of that, and what
I did see in that, I just think we're at
a point now where I want to see Elane drive
along the floor, like get into her standing leg, generate
that power on her standing leg, and use that resistance
in her knees and her butt and her quad muscles
to drive through and create a longer stride. Especially in

(16:40):
these ballroom dances while in a frame, you really want
to create longer steps, not by launching yourself like you're running,
but by driving from the standing leg. And so I
feel like I'm missing a little bit of that from
a lane in this dance. She's a fantastic performer, absolutely
still a fantastic performer, and I also agree that the
frame it's still needs that more push out and I

(17:02):
think what Kimmy said, if we can put that into action,
will help in her getting that space to be in
her window and some more drive along the floor. So
I did love it. Now you guys are in raged
about the sevens. I believe I am not mad at
the sevens. I am sorry to tell you guys, I
think the judges pretty much nailed it on the score
for this one. I had them between a seven and

(17:25):
eight which is pretty much where the judges landed. I
think I ended up landing on an eight, but I again,
over the space of four judges, I am not mad
at there being a seven in there, because I think
we can now push to see more growth and we
really want to see that frame develop into the new
level of it, and it's time to start seeing that.
So yes, But however, big fan of hers. I think

(17:46):
Alan did a great job, and as a viewer, I
loved the performance, loved the routine, and loved seeing the
friendship between Elaine and Lisa. It very much reminds me
of me and my girlfriends, and you know, like Peter
that I have known since we were my god teenagers besties,
and I hope one day that we're still besties just
like that. Okay, moving right along, we have Whitney and Mark.

(18:11):
So first of all, Connor crying throughout the whole package
absolutely made me cry, and I thought it was really
sweet to see him in there with them and how
much I meant to him. And then then he started
dancing and I was like, oh my god, like Connor
could actually move. And I don't know if they want
to have him on the show at some point, but
he certainly looks like he could actually do a really

(18:32):
good job. Obviously, Mark is also a great teacher who
did a great job with her. So let's get into
what the judges said. So we've got Derek said that
dance is healing, beautiful story in choreography, but the musicality
was out of sync and it was it was Unfortunately
when they got into the side by side at the end,
she did go off. She jumped a beat or half

(18:53):
a beat too early. You could see Mark try and
catch up to be in there with her, or at
least it looked that way, and that's, you know, a
sign of a great pro trying to get in and
match your celebrity to help them not look wrong. But
then there was another piece that I for a moment thought, ooh,
was that planned that way? But no, I believe they
were just out of sync. Let's get into the rest

(19:16):
of what the judges said. I didn't get to write
down what Kimmy said. Bruno said there was the ups
and downs and the drama. It was an ambitious routine
and it was wonderful, but there was a tiny mistake.
Carry Inn said, dance can be a way to cope
with our emotions, and it feels like Whitney really resonated
with that Mark. She commented, complimented him on the choreography

(19:36):
and also brought up the out of sincness. So moving
on from the out of sync, we get it right.
There was the jumpers off, there were things that weren't matching.
Beyond that, she definitely needs to point her toes more.
There was lots of moments where now you don't have
to have a pointed toe in contemporary, but not a
soft foot. It's you know, it's a one or the other.

(19:57):
It's got to be a thing and it's got to
have tension to it. And there were some places where
I felt the feet just didn't the energy didn't go
all the way through to the toes, and so it
was getting a little bit loose on the ends, so
to speak for me. But this was one and what
I wrote was I didn't love it. Why did I
not love it? Because I love her? I loved her

(20:18):
stuff and I love Mark stuff, and I think possibly
this is another one. We're dancing with a person that
she loved so much. The emotion in it just sort
of took over. I didn't feel like her balance was
a strong I didn't feel like her presence was as strong.
I didn't feel it was, you know, open up and
inviting us in. It definitely felt like it was for

(20:39):
them more than it was for us, and that's all
so beautiful. Look, she's not going anywhere. Her and Connor
get that moment, and that actually makes me emotionally even
thinking about that for them and knowing in the package
and seeing their story and what they've been through to
get to this point and their life with each other.
So I appreciate that, but I didn't love it as

(20:59):
much as I wanted to. And the mistakes really, you know,
it's hard. I think when someone on the show has
dance experience, the mistakes hit harder a little bit because
you expect more from them, and so the rushing of
the timing and those sorts of things sort of hit
a little harder for me with someone like Whitney because
I don't expect that from her. So yeah, I really

(21:23):
felt that it just wasn't her greatest and strongest dance,
but it might just be one of her favorite memories
that she gets to take away from it, and that's
really beautiful. So I ended up why do I feel
like you're all going to come for me this week?
On my scores, I ended up giving I was in
between a seven and an eight, and I did end

(21:45):
up landing on an eight. I almost went down to
a seven because I did feel that those mistakes and
just being out of the pocket and not as present
in it was quite a big thing. But I do
think if it was done perfectly, I would have gone
higher for her. So yeah, I did, I land on
an eight again, not my highest score of the night either. Okay,

(22:12):
let's move it right along onto Jen and Yan. They
had a Veenie Well, it's one of my favorite dances
for storytelling, and I absolutely loved this song. Loved her
mum so stink and cute. Let's get into what the
judges said. So we started with Kimmy and she said
she wants it to feel more grounded the weight, the

(22:33):
weight into the floor. So she gave a sandbag analogy
to feel like there are sand bags that are hanging
through the middle of your center and down to the ground.
So and then you also pull up through the center
of you and so that is that feeling of weight
being pulled down and weight being pulled up like I
have previously spoken about having the elevators right, the energy
connects in the middle, and then there is also the

(22:55):
elevators that ride to the top and the bottom floor.
There's it's an energy thing, and I totally get what
she's saying and I totally agree with it. It definitely
needed to feel more grounded, and we'll get into that
even more. In just a moment, Bruno said, you need
to continue the flow she's throwing things, So I think

(23:16):
that comes from a little bit of a momentum glitch here,
and we'll get into that too. I felt like there
was flow in some parts, but when it got into
the actual Viennese waltz part, it felt very bouncy, so
it didn't have the flow in it that you usually have.
And so that's what I think Bruno is referring to there,

(23:36):
of wanting the flow of it to feel like it
is just gliding and striding along the floor. Carrie Anne
said it was a most passionate stance that she's seen
from her and said, you know, something within that performance
and her connection to it was quite profound and beautiful.
Derek said it was graceful and it was beautiful and
it was a moment just for them, which I love

(23:57):
that he said that for them too, because yeah, what
a beautiful moment for her and her mum. All these
mum stories got me, I tell you, so getting into
the thing with the feeling grounded. So Vienni's waltz does
not have a bounce or a rapid rise and fall
in it. It does when you see it in things
like Bridgeton. It does in different forms. It even does

(24:20):
in ballets. It's very different. You know, there is a
key step where we do what is a foot pattern
of a balance, say in ballet, but we do it
with a very different flow and a very different stretch
and a very different momentum. And I do feel that
what was happening here is just not a fully deep

(24:41):
understanding of the technique and execution of Viennese waltz. I
actually loved the routine. I thought Yan did a great routine.
There was the beginning was beautiful with her stretching and reaching.
I could have done for a little bit more stretching
past the point, a little bit more resistance in it,
but I loved the camera angle of it. I feel
like he's probably asking for those things and that moment

(25:02):
really came across. There was a moment where they then
turned and swoshed into this big oversway, which is where
her leg and head were going one direction and his
leganhead were going the other, and they were connected in
the middle of their bodies. Gorgeous line. But then when
we got into the actual Viennese Welt, it felt very
boppy or up and down, which breaks the flow of

(25:24):
it you really want. There is a very slight rise
and fall simply because you are soft closing your feet
and then flexing through your knees to drive into a
long stride, not because you are going for rise and fall.
And then on the other side of that, what gives
it the tipping action in the top line or in
the frame is that you are stretching from the sides

(25:45):
in a thing that we call sway. So a coach
used to tell me, it's like your rib cages are
yawning on one side and then yawning on the other.
It's not because you break one side to lift the other.
It's because you simply lift one side like air has
gone in the middle of your ribs. And I like,
we just we weren't getting the proper glide, and then
we weren't getting the sway in it, and for that reason,

(26:06):
I think that's what they were all talking about with
the flow and the groundedness. We had pivots which were
very fast and wonderful, but the frame really collapsed and
deconstructed at the time, and so there was just a
couple things in there that I felt as far as
Venie's waltz goes for a judge looking for the technical aspect,
I couldn't give it a high score. Did I want to, yes,

(26:29):
because I thought the routine was beautiful. I thought even
the content was great. I loved the opening of it,
and I think they did a good job. But it
was just at this point in the competition, we're missing
that technical growth in her, and it's really something that
we do need to see. Now you can see it
near the end. They do that balance a step where
you step to the side, you cross your foot behind,

(26:50):
you replace your weight, and then you step to the side,
if that makes sense to anyone, and you can see
that their body rhythms are all a little bit different
and their shaping is all a little bit different. That's
the step that I'm talking about, which is sort of
the through line of Venie Woltzon where it was a
little bit wonky. I hate using those words, but it
just was in this one. However, I think we have

(27:11):
to give it grace. I think Yan is doing a
great job and learning every week. He's been thrown into
the deep end here, do you know what I mean?
And here we have to acknowledge that he's doing a
really good job with her, and he's only going to
learn more and more and more and continue to grow
and grow, and I think we'll see him be a
phenomenal pro in the times to come. But there is
a little bit of learning to do on technique. The

(27:32):
judges gave it an eight seven seven seven. I gave
it a six as far as where I felt it
landed for the night on the technical aspects and what
we're looking for at this point being the halfway point
in the competition. But I believe that it can grow,
and I believe she's got it in her and Yan
is learning fast. Okay, moving right along to another one

(27:56):
that you all have been messaging me about, my goodness,
is Dylan and Danny. First of all, seeing the relationship
between him and his sister was so stinking cute and
it was so beautiful. You can imagine him being a dad, right,
but to see the way that he takes care of
her and that genuine love, it made me emotional. And
then him and his red eyes throughout the entire package

(28:19):
just got me like it just got me, and it
made me emotional, like I wanted to hug him and
tell him it's okay, and tell him he's, you know,
doing a great job and he's such a good big brother.
It was the cutest thing you can tell there is
you can see the little boy in him, you know,
and you can tell that he is a really shy
kid when he's out there doing those things. So anyway,

(28:41):
let's get into what the judges said. The judges Bruno
said it was fantastic, complimented the lift that he did
with Danny and said that he is getting better and better.
I believe that Danny is like a lift queen. She
has just figured that out. She knows how to teach
a man how to lift her and how to keep
herself safe at the same time. And I so commend

(29:01):
her on that because it's a big deal, big deal
getting a man that doesn't know how to do lifts
to lift you over the head and trust that it
will happen in a live performance. I always think that
her bravery is astounding when it comes to those things,
and he executed it, by the way, confidently and brilliantly.
So I was very impressed with that. Carrie Anne said
she felt the story and the message. It was so beautiful.

(29:22):
She loved the choreography and that it made her night.
She rave, rave, rave, rave raved. Derek said when he
came down the floor that first pass, when he shot
down onto the floor, he was like, my guy is
a dancer, and which for real that first moment when
he shot down on the floor, I was like, Holy,
here we go. Here is Dylan. And then Kimmy said
she complimented Danny on teaching the technique basically and watching

(29:46):
him grow this season under the way that Danny teaches him.
So what Derek was talking about when he first came
down the floor super impressed, like the stride in his legs,
the power that he had. It was the most dynamics
we have seen from him season. And that's something I
was saying last week about him, was that I really
wanted to start seeing more dynamics from him because I

(30:06):
was feeling that the dynamics were actually Danny, so to
see him come down and give so much power and stride,
and of course Danny can keep up with him when
he does it, because she's a beast. And then they
had some side by side part and he had really
great musicality in it he was, and dynamics in it
he was. I think they were using the words as
the through line for them at that point. It was

(30:28):
just really beautiful to see him that way and see
him with his little sister and the performance quality. I
just thought, was it really really stepped up for Dylan.
There was somewhere I'm not remembering off the top of
my head, but there was somewhere where he started to
rush the music. I want to say it was down
in the front end of the floor and I thought, oh, bummer,

(30:50):
because it was going so well at the time. But
he did start to rush, and he was getting a
little bit out of the pocket and then he got
it back in. This is the one Dylan did A butterfly.
A butterfly is when he was holding on to Danny's wrists,
sorry arms or hands, however, whichever grip they choose to use,
and she fanned across first, and then he fan kicked

(31:10):
his legs across as well, and it was just brilliant, brilliant,
brilliant control. I thought it was a really great dance
from him. And my favorite thing is that we were
starting to see some dynamics from him, and I just
want to see those dynamics continue throughout the season. I
do think he's going to be around for a minute.
The judges. The judges gave it a nine nine nine, which,

(31:35):
by the way, why did I love it as a
viewer because seeing his reaction in the skybox was just
about worth all of it, Like Chef's kiss, It was beautiful,
It was so genuine. He was so excited to get
all those nines. They did not see that coming. I
didn't see it coming. Was this was a moment when
my eyebrows met my hairline and I was like, oh my,

(31:58):
we are we are going for the highest score of
the whole season. Which, listen, I get it. Sometimes when
you're in the room and you're seeing these things and
you're a part of the emotion of it, and he
was definitely all in the emotion of it, you can
be taken away with it. But I listen. He rushed
the music in a place so there I didn't think

(32:19):
it was all nine. Maybe I could see a nine.
I was an eight. I was an eight because I
felt it was still a really good dance for him.
He grew so much. He did great, but he did
rush the music and a little bit, not that I
would ever have given it a nine in my personal
opinion sitting at the table, I can see how some
people did, but I was, to be honest, the first
score I wrote with seven because of the music rushing,

(32:41):
and then I landed on an eight. But he is
growing man, and as Kimmy said, as we've said before,
Danny is teaching him that technique. She is a fantastic teacher.
And I've loved watching him every week and I love
seeing that he is growing. So I can't wait to
see more of what they have coming up moving forward.
I do want to see him stretch more though, before

(33:02):
we move on to the next couple. The takeaways for
Dylan for me is I want that stride that he
had coming down off the walkway and onto the floor.
I want that in all of his dances, like I
want him to bust it across the floor and show
me the power in those legs and just move and
Danny will keep up with him, and to really bring
in more of those dynamics, like more, more, more and more,
more of the same, but more and more. Okay, let's

(33:25):
get into Jordan and Ezra doing a daddy daughter dance.
I mean, it was just it was very cute. They
did another Viennie Welts. I'm a big fan of Vienne Waltz.
But let's get into what the judges said. So Carrie
Anne said the reverence was profound, uh and that she's
really blossoming into something spectacular. Derek said, and I wrote

(33:47):
here he's all in his daddy feels the tenderness and
it was so simple and it was beautiful. Kimmy said
it was a risk to have you dance together, but
she believed that it paid off. She complimented the breath
in her extension, which is beautiful. That is like how
much it continues and stretches without moving, the breath in it.

(34:09):
It's never dead. It doesn't just get somewhere and land there.
It constantly is extending and developing into a place and
then pushing past that point. I loved that compliment from her.
Said that she is a beautiful dancer and she has
the determination to go all the way. Absolutely she does.
Bruno said it was elegance, it was style, and it

(34:30):
was poise, and she just gets better and better every week.
So not many major dance critiques to take away from here,
so let's get into what I said. There was not
except for with her dad. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I only got to watch these once this week. I
don't believe they went into frame at all other than
when she was with her dad. Now do they have

(34:52):
that right? Essentially, yes, it is an American smooth version
of the dance, so it means that they can play
around with what therein and I get the strategy of
it because frame for them is relatively quite hard because
of height difference. So they did an open hold or
they did a shadow position, which I totally get, but
me as and Judge, I would have loved to have

(35:13):
seen a little inframe as the couple. I said that
it was smooth and it has beautiful power. In the
first shadow position that they did, they really drove along
the floor in that shadow position, and I loved the
content that they did there. I thought that was really impressive.
It felt a little bit out of the floor in places,
and a little bit out of her balance. And I

(35:33):
think this again comes back to having someone so personal
that you love in a dance and you're probably more
worried about them. And I found that while it was
tender and it was beautiful, it also felt a little
bit nervous. Of course, her dad's out there. I think
he even said in the package, you didn't want to
do it wrong. I think it was a big ask
to have Dad been so much of it, and I

(35:55):
think what happened for me is it ended up I
dare say. I don't want to say fell flat because
their moment was beautiful, But as far as what I'm
looking for as a judge not a spectator, I just
wanted a little bit more out of the dance and
probably could have done with more of Jordan and Ezra together,
sweeping along the floor and finding a different way of

(36:17):
involving the dad. Now did I love the story, this
idea of what the dad, the relationship between Dad and Ezra,
and I think there was some sort of like showing
him how to be a dad. Am I saying that wrong?
But there was something in there that was beautiful. I
get why the decisions were made to do it that way,
but I felt like it just ended up missing a
couple things for me. The execution of it was good,

(36:40):
not her strongest. I think she felt a little bit
off balance and unsure she had her weight, fell back
in her heels a couple of times, which means she
just wasn't connected in her core and nose over toes
and you know, grounded into the floor and into her feet,
which I would have loved to have seen a little
bit more of that because I think she is so
powerful when she does it, and we have already seen

(37:01):
that from her. It was sweet. At times, it felt
a little bit stoic, and yes, there were mistakes in
the choreography from when she was dancing with Dad. We're
not going to take points off of that, because, like,
you know, why would we. I didn't agree that the
risk paid off. I think the risk of them doing
so much together this week maybe wasn't the payoff that

(37:22):
they were going for. But will it hurt them? I
don't think so, because she's wonderful as was. Choreography has
been wonderful, and I think moving forward they're going to
be just fine. And again I go back to saying,
these pros are just figuring out this new theme. I
think of how to involve these significant others or people,

(37:42):
these special people in these dances, and how much to
do with it. Maybe some stronger suggestions on time frames
of when people should come in and how much content
we still need from the couple so we can judge
that too, I think would be good moving forward. But
you know, listen, she's a great dancer. She's going to
be fine. The judges gave it eight eight eight eight.

(38:03):
I ended up giving it a seven because I didn't
feel that she was a solid on her feet. She
was with that rocking back into her heels, a couple
of balanced things. It just didn't feel as strong as
her strongest and so for me, I landed on a
seven for Jordan and Ezra this week. But I can't
wait to see more of them. I love seeing what
Ezra is creating at the moment and the way he
shows her and creates for her strengths. It's really beautiful.

(38:26):
Oh okay, moving. I was very impressed with this next one,
by the way, and Scott and Riley, is this their
first ballroom dance that they did I can't remember if
they've done a ballroom dance earlier in the season. He's
just grown so much since then. But I'm having the
feeling that he's going to be better at the ballroom
dances and then the Latin dancers. The man showed some

(38:48):
stride in this show, like he showed some stride. He
pushed along that floor. He had drive in his legs.
He was using his legs instead of trying to like
and using his height and his length in instead of
trying to shorten it for Riley. He was going for it.
Let's get into what the judges said before mine. Derek
said that he saw the effort and saw him trying

(39:10):
to keep that frame in a traditional fox trot. They
definitely did a lot more in frame foxtrot more like
a traditional and that he loved the song. I do
see the effort that he was putting in frame, and
there's a couple of things I want to point out.
When we get to my staff, Kimmi said, oh, she
did the ruler for the head position to, you know,
to put it behind and feel like he's always pushing

(39:32):
against that ruler because he seems to be creeping in
a little bit at times, which is absolutely great advice
in wanting to keep that back straight. It also goes
along with way she was talking about stretching up. You know,
you don't want to think about pushing back into the
ruler where you lose your chin. You want to think
of it. It's not necessarily just your head. It's actually

(39:53):
like the very base of your neck that you're trying
to push back into it, and then you can lift
up like someone's got a string in the middle of
your head going to the ceiling. But I do agree
with that. Bruno said it was a true love foxtrot
more at ease. The lines are getting better, agreed, But

(40:13):
he's leaning forward and he shouldn't sure. Yes, agreed, same
thing that Kimmy was saying. And his lines are definitely
getting better. He's definitely starting to take up more space,
which I'm loving and I think we're really seeing that
improvement in him. Riley's doing a really good job with that.
Carrie Anne said the feet were disjointed and then when
they got in frame and it was really nice, and

(40:35):
then it would sort of collapse and crumble in a
little bit, and that he needs to match Riley's lines
more interestingly enough, Bruno said the lines are getting better,
and Carrie Anne was asking for him to match Riley's
lines more so she might not have felt the same way.
I actually felt his lines were getting better. I think
his frame. I actually had moments in his frame that

(40:56):
I loved. So there is a position called promenade position position,
which is where we're in frame and the frame is closed,
and we have body contact. The belly buttons are searching
for each other, but we are both looking over the
man's left hand, ladies right hand, and we are both
looking over that into a forward moving direction, and we're

(41:17):
both going that same way right, but our bodies are
still facing each other. Very very often, when a guy
gets into that position, or even even a girl, the
back shoulder comes in, the headweight comes in. They're trying
to fight their hips to move forward, to go forward. No,
my man opened up into a promenade position. He fanned
himself out into that palm tree action like I talk about,

(41:38):
or even a Martini glass. Right, their heads were moving
away from each other, but their centers were moving towards
each other. Belly buttons searching for each other, hips facing in,
but toes going forward like I was very impressed with this,
and he moved quite well with that along the floor,
like it had some nice drive about it. So there
were really moments in this dance where I was like, Wow,

(41:59):
he man's grown. I'm really seeing it in Scott, and
I love that we can see the improvement in him.
It's still very flat footed, and by the end it
got bumpy. We went back into a shadow position and
got very clunky and bumpy at that point, But I
can really see the growth in him. And yes, the
frame did collapse again after a while, but we're seeing

(42:20):
the makings of it. It's starting and it's coming, and
they're working on all the things, which is great. I
would love to moving forward, see them continue working on that,
continue pushing that stride even longer, keeping those shoulders back
and down, the elbows as wide as possible, with that
head and that neck feeling like it sits into the
backward edge of a Martini glass, the palm trees falling

(42:41):
away from each other, but really getting the heads working
away from each other, the hips working towards each other,
so we can get that V shape up the top.
But I was very impressed with his growth. The judges
gave this a seven eight seven eight. I was really
a six slash seven. I learned it on a six,
even though I think it grew and I think he
showed great improvement, and I probably could have gone for

(43:03):
the seven. To be honest with you, I'm not mad
with the sevens that are there. An eight I feel
it was a bit of a stretch, considering that's really
like a person's second highest score of the night. I
thought an eight was high, but I do think that
he's grown a lot, so you know, it was a
six for me, and I'm excited to see him continue

(43:24):
growing in this way and to see what comes out
of him. Also, the pregnancy in Alms it made me cry.
Can you tell that I'm ready for another baby? Oh
my god. Okay, let's get into Danielle and Pasha, another

(43:45):
one that you've all been messaging me about. Let's get
into what the judges said. They did a jive and
she dedicated it to Boy Meets World, a show that,
by the way, I have not actually ever seen, but
I know it was a massive show. People loved it,
and her dedication was beautiful and I didn't have to
watch the show to know how much it meant to her.

(44:06):
I truly felt that in the package, and so again
I love anything that has a true and a real
story to it or a real emotion, and you could
feel that from Danielle in this one. It was really beautiful.
Kimmy said there was lots of jive content, which absolutely
there was, past you a great jive with great jive
content in there. But she wants more weight over the

(44:27):
balls of her feet. Yes, but it was very effortless,
but it does need more attack. And then she showed
the pencil in the fingers for like a dance hand.
So some great critiques there from Kimmy. Actually, she loaded
it with some great critiques. So wanting more weight of
the balls over the feet, especially in jive. Like I say,
nose over toes all the time, but jive is even

(44:49):
more over the toes. The weight really goes to the
balls of the feet, so your heels are basically just
kissing the ground because you want your ankles constantly working
in that bounce and your knees constantly working in that bounce.
So if you're too back weighted, it makes it feel
a little bit flat and a little bit heavy. And
I don't mean heavy in the image of it or
the person. I mean the way that the weight is

(45:11):
hitting the floor. It hits a little bit heavy. So
to pitch yourself a little bit further forward, you can
use your shock absorbers, which is your ankles and your knees,
so you can get a little bit more lightness in
the bounce there. And I do agree I could have
gone for a little bit more bounce. I have spoken
before about needing that bounce to not just go through
the ankles on the knees, but to also come from
the core, which is really it gets a little contraction,

(45:34):
so there is a little action happening in the body
as well. It's not just legs pumping and going. So
I definitely agree with that from Kimmy, and I agree
with that it needs more attack. So let's come back
to those notes. Bruno said she is a great performer,
but she needs to sharpen the edges more, which is
again we're going back to the attack that Kimmy was
talking about and sharper retraction on the kick. So kicks

(45:57):
and flicks, you want to feel like you lift the
knee up, the knee up, which brings the leg up,
and then you shoot it straight down and it's like
your toe has touched hot coals and you pull it
straight back up. And so you want that retraction to
be fire fast, and sometimes if that's a little bit slow,
or it doesn't do the full action and fully retracted,
then it can feel a little bit slow and unfinished.

(46:19):
And I agree we could have gone with a little
bit sharper edges on the kicks and the flicks are
faster on the retraction to give us a little bit
more dynamics. However, her action was nice and she did
do jive quite well. Carrie Anne said it was nostalgic,
and then she came in and she gave a hard critique.
She came in and she said, but the dances are

(46:41):
all feeling a little bit the same, like each dance
looks the same. And why that's happening is she got
booed for that, which she shouldn't have. And this is
a fair critique. It's because we need those sharp edges
that Bruno said, the attack that Kimmy said. It all
comes down to that that we need more dynamics, and
we do need that, and it's not necessarily choreography. I

(47:03):
think Pash did a great dance I think it's learning
how to attack things, how to hit things, how to
create different facial expressions and characters and energies and be
playful with it. And maybe maybe something that past could do,
because Danielle is an actress, is create characters for Danielle.
You know this one, you're a I don't know, a

(47:25):
New York Bronx whatever, like given energy that gives you
a vibe and a flavor and an attitude that you
can put onto it instead of it just being this
beautiful human with a smile that lights up the room.
But every dance is that same thing. So we're getting
the same energy in every dance even though she's executing
them really well. We need the dynamics, So I think

(47:47):
that's double layered as far as what I'm saying and seeing,
I think we need the dynamics in learning how to
hit things and hit the edges and find the edges.
Like the judges said, how to make the body move
fast than slow and hit something. And it's a whole
body experienced by the way, it's not just a hand
that hits it. It's a whole body. Your whole body
has to be involved in the dynamics. Even to your
head movements. If you watch the pros dance, their heads

(48:09):
also do the dynamics and their head tips, So we
want to bring those in. And then I think we
also need to bring in maybe some characters, you know,
some different energies and something that's feisty, something that's sassy,
something that's sensual, something that's you know, something that is
other than this sweet human that we're seeing out there.
And so I appreciate that critique. We are a seven seven,

(48:32):
seven eight from the judges, and I did land on
a seven for Danielle and Pasha, but I really hope
I see them come with that attack in the next weeks.
All Right, you guys, we are finally here at the
last performance of the night, which, let me tell you,
was my favorite. Now. I don't know if this is
because I am a bonus mama and I'm a mamma

(48:54):
of a blended family, and there was a couple stories,
and maybe just because this was the last one. It
got me that seeing Alex talk about, you know, she
was about to have this baby's sister come into the
world and she really wanted nothing to do with it,
or didn't know how to feel about it, and then
she landed in her arms and her whole world changed.
It's not similar in my instance with my kid my

(49:14):
bonus babies, they were always very excited for Zay, but
in the similar way that Alex said that she became
the missing piece. No stop, I'm gonna get emotional. Zain
was the missing piece for us. Zain was the piece
for us where the kids knew, oh, this is forever,
Shanna's not leaving. Zain was the missing piece for just
all of us to blend together. And he brings us

(49:36):
so much joy, and the kids are so great with him,
and I could see that. To take it off for
me for a second and back to Alex, I could
see that in Alex in the way having this little
sister just changed her life and change it for the better.
And I just thought it was so beautiful. And then
to move in to my favorite dance of the night.
So this is for multiple reasons. Not only was a

(49:57):
choreography absolutely beautiful, life lines were beautiful. There was an
arabesk in there where her foot and leg was perfectly
curved behind her, and the finish on it was stunning.
Her musicality was great. It was just so good. I
loved the way that Vow created it. I loved the choreography.
I love the way that he balanced having the little
sister in there and what that moment was, and wow,

(50:19):
was it a beautiful moment. And we got all the
feels from that moment, and then we got into the dancing,
you know, and that's it. That's the formula, you know
what I mean. I wanted the moment to give me
the story, to make me feel something, and then I
wanted to see the amazing freakin' dancing at the end
of it and in between it and all around it,
so I could be wowed at the same time. And

(50:39):
I was wowed her again. Her lines were beautiful, her musicality,
her dynamics that she was doing on her own, her
turns and her jumps, her floorwork like that was no
longer Vow helping her or moving her or anything that
I had critiqued in the earlier part of her season.
She has grown so much under Vow's teaching. He's done
a phenomenal job like scaling up her journey on this

(51:01):
show of like how to get her to the next
level of dancing, And that's because he's a master of
his craft. And I was such a fan of this dance.
I didn't even get into what the judges said because
I went on my own spiel. Let's go back to
the judges. Bruno said it was a very difficult routine
that she made look easy. Agreed. Carrie Anne said her
arms on her turns get into a weird shape. Yes,
they do, and I'm going to get into that for

(51:22):
you in a second. Derek said, she is starting to
show texture in the body. Yes, something that I wrote
down as well. Texture Again, the same thing I was
talking about with Robert is that her body is moving
through resistance and continuing into things. And it was just
absolutely beautiful. He said it was sensational choreography. And he
started to talk about some negativity for the evening. I

(51:44):
think he was probably talking about a lot of the
online negativity from the week, which there has been quite
a bit of, but we can we will just move
on from that. And Kimmi said take this confidence from
this dance and into the rest of it, and that
she was the surprise of the season. I'd say she's
been a surprise for me big time. I never expected

(52:07):
from the first what I was seeing in the first
few weeks to see this from her now. So the
arms that Carryanne is talking about, they do get into
a bit of a weird position. So when she's turning
and her arms are going above her head, she's having
her palms face out out or up or she's connecting them.
And it reminds me, you guys, it reminds me a
little bit of when you go through the detector at

(52:28):
the airport and you have to go in and stand
in the machine and put your legs shoulder with the
part and your hands over your head. That's sort of
the position that they get into. Now. When she's turning
her her hands should either be palms facing down and
her fingers nice and soft like this above her head
or maybe somewhere else. But I've seen her also do

(52:48):
palms out, which is interesting, and then palms facing forward,
a version of like, yeah, the airport's security thing. So
they do get a little bit weird. That's definitely something
that they should work on. But I listen, I loved it.
I think keep working in the same vein. It's working
on getting more and more texture, more and more dynamics,
which she is bringing in spades, more and more of

(53:09):
that confidence of her moving on her own and bringing
these stories. These last two performances from her have been
pretty spectacular, and I think she is solidifying herself in
the finale at best point. I know she's got a
really big fan base and y'all will probably vote her
through regardless, or maybe some of you will, But I
think her dancing is absolutely deserving. And she's growing. Man,

(53:31):
she's growing, she's listening, she's growing, and I love it.
Consider me an Alex Earl fan. All Right, you guys,
That is it. That is my critique for this week.
This is the wrap up of it. Thank you for
tuning in as always. You know, send me in some
questions of things that you want to know about, especially
right after the episode happens, and it gives me a

(53:53):
little window to look at some of your questions. If
you want me to answer some questions, send them through,
write them on the social media pages or DM them
to me and I'll try and get them to you
and we can address some of the things in here.
Just a little housekeeping and a reminder to keep it
kind and keep it nice online. As Derek tried to
touch on, it's been a week of a lot of
negativity online with some of the response, and I understand

(54:15):
that when a show like this gets a massive following,
a massive online and social media following, sometimes that can
come with opinions that aren't your own. Listen, all opinions
are welcome, all words are not, and so I think
there's always a way to share your opinion and share
your thoughts kindly and nicely, with still giving respect to
the other person you're speaking to and the people that

(54:35):
you're speaking about. So please move forward with kindness and
love with each other. Again, thank you for tuning into
another episode of Shanna Burgers in the Fourth Chair, and
we will do this again next week. By Guys