Sharna Burgess in the 4th Chair: Wicked Night

It takes something truly magical for Sharna Burgess to call a DWTS episode her “favorite” - so yeah, you might wanna sit down for this Wicked Night.

The competition is getting fierce and the judges finally gave out their first 10’s, but does Sharna think they were warranted? And not only did Danielle get her 8…she got a FOUR 9s. And what does she think of Scott going him and Andy making it this far in the competition? 

Plus, Sharna addresses an age old burning question: do pros pick music and dance styles?! All that, and so much more, as Danielle takes her seat in…the 4th Chair.

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.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
What's up, everybody, Welcome back to another episode of Shanna
Burgess in the fourth Chair. I am Shanna Burgess, and
I'm so excited to bring you this episode because last
night on Dancing with the Stars for Wicked Night was
quite possibly one of my favorite episodes I have seen
in such a long time.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
I think pretty much across the board, all couples.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Danced up another level, and the production, the opening number,
the sets for everybody, the costumes, like I was living
my best life the absolute entire time, and I really
think we saw some incredible dancing last night. Also, I
want to say out there were our troop members in

(00:46):
performances throughout the night, and the opening number, that flip
sequence that one of our newest troop members was doing,
I was like, is he one of ours?

Speaker 1 (00:55):
It was just absolutely spectacular.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
I forgive me that I'm his name is escaping me,
but he was just wonderful. I'm so impressed with their
talent and I was just overall absolutely loving this episode.
I thought John m chw was a fantastic judge. He
really knew what he was looking for, and he was
really keeping the spirit of Wicked alive throughout the dancers,
complimenting the couples on when they were keeping the spirit

(01:19):
of the characters alive throughout. It really knew what he
was looking for, and I just thought it was a
fantastic night.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
So I don't want to delay. I want to get
into it straight away.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Up first, we had Scott and Riley dancing a contemporary.
It was fantastic, so I really loved this from them,
and I really love Riley in this genre. I think
she truly shines. Let's get into what the judges said first.
So John said it.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Was giving, dreaming and yearning.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
That Scott has long arms and legs, which can make
it incredibly hard for a dancer on any given day,
and especially in contemporary, but he was doing a great job.
But did say that the transitions were a little bit off,
and we'll.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Get back to those transitions in just a moment.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Bruno said that he loved it, but it got so
enthusiastic that he lost it in places, which is interesting.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
We'll also come back to that.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Carry Anne said it was a great way to start
the show, which is absolutely true. But his arms were
in and out of character, which really means that they
were placed and they were clean, and then they sort
of have moments of being in no man's land and
weren't necessarily as specific. And I totally agree with carry
Anne's note on that. Derek was also talking about the

(02:39):
transitions and wanting him to make them more seamless, you know,
like one continuous sentence, he said, And he really put
that example into when you're doing a lift, you wanted
to go in and out of it and continue into
the next thing as one continuous sentence without feeling like
you see the prep the.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Exit and then the moving on.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
And so to further break that down, I think what
we were seeing with Scott and Riley in transitions is
they had some tricks in there. But what I noticed
was Scott's balance was a little bit off. His stability
his footwork. His feet would shuffle the touch and now
that's sometimes okay because the man should honestly shift underneath

(03:20):
where the girl is to make sure she's safe, but
it gave it an unstable feeling also in his body.
And thankfully, Riley is such a talented performer and dancer
that she's able to also take care of herself in
those moments to make sure she's safe, but there were
I don't want to say she looked unsafe, but I do.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Feel that it was a little bit wobbly in places.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
And so that's really those transitions coming in out of
the lifts, where Derek was saying one continuous sentence, they
did feel a little bit broken, and it felt like
those lifts almost took Scott out of the performance a
touch because he was worried about the lift, as he
should be, but it then broke up the fluid of
his character and performance in the dance, because we went

(04:03):
from seeing a lift all set up, all worried about
it or you know, whatever it is, and then back
into the actual dancing and the contemporary, which the contemporary
parts I thought he did quite well at I saw
them in the package, working on that stride, and I
think we saw some more of that from him in
this episode, some longer stride. There was some side by
side stuff, some passes along the floor that were really

(04:26):
showing so much growth in him than what we've seen
in previous weeks, and so I did love that from them.
We if we get into what Bruno was saying was
I got so enthusiastic that he lost it in places.
I do wonder if that could have been both those
transitions right, getting stumble ya feed and not quite being
solid in it, and also what carry Inn mentioned about

(04:49):
the arms feeling like we're so in it in places
and then clean and then it feeling a little bit
messy in other places. So I think the judges were
saying different things, but all very much on the same
page as far as what they were looking at, and
they were very much on the same page in the
way that they scored. My notes were he's a little
in between his movements and things are looking unfinished in places.

(05:12):
His arms are unfinished, his hands are not finishing at
the end of the action and the music. So kind
of like what Carrie Anne was saying. To be honest,
he would do actions with his arms. With the ends
of his hands, I felt like they didn't finish off
the action. Something felt unfinished about them, and so it
was making it feel a.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Little bit in between and a little bit messy.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
So finishing off those details on the very ends of
his extremities I think really would have helped. And speaking
of extremities, to go back to what John said, Yeah,
when you have a human that is long and lanky,
it's it is harder for them to control their limbs,
to fill out the music, to fill out the space,
to make it look good, to be as fast. They

(05:56):
come up against all sorts of challenges with their dancing,
and so Scott was definitely up against that, and that's
what John was referring to, and I believe we saw
him grow with that throughout the competition. I also wrote,
transitions in and out of lifts is very bumpy, fabulous routine,
just messy and stumby. With the lifts, I wrote he
was living his best life, which I think he was,

(06:19):
and then, having already had the spoiler alert that he
was the one that went home, I wrote, what a
beautiful night to go. Last week we saw him dedicate
something to his husband, announce his pregnancy. This week he
gets to dance to Wicked, which he had said was
one of his absolute favorite movies, loves the soundtrack had
even moments with Cynthia and Ariana. So what a spectacular

(06:41):
journey for him that he got to have those two
weeks as his last two weeks on Dancing with the Stars.
I feel like Riley did a wonderful job with Scott
this season. It was a hard task again him being
so tall, lots of new challenges for her as a
new pro to learn how to teach, coach, and choreograph.
I think she rose to the occasion, and I think
Scott did a fantastic job growing.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Look where he started and look where he ended up.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Was he good enough to get all the way to
the end in this season, Let's be honest and say no.
But the fact that he made it to this point
and had so much growth, I think was so impressive.
And he truly was authentic himself, and I loved watching
his journey and Riley's journey. So congratulations to the both
of them on a job well done and a really

(07:27):
fantastic run. All right, everybody, let's move on to our
second couple, which is Alex and Val. They did a
jazz I listen. I wrote very few things.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
I wrote.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
I love that, I said, I love her, I love
the storytelling, I love the routine. It's crispus clean, it's fun.
Let's get into what the judges said. Bruno said it
was delicious, it was musical comedy, and it was choreography
for the character with all the right intentions.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
I absolutely agree.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Bruno's very much been on his wave of so you're
in the character and you're giving the intention of the movement.
He seems to really value that this season, we see
him talk about it often. I think Val delivered on
this routine. He kept the character, he used some of
that choreography from the movie that Chris, that fantastic choreography
that Arianna performed with the book. If they kept that

(08:18):
in and they did justice to it, it was beautiful. I
feel like he really helped Alex become the character of Glinda,
and I feel like she shone in that.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
So I really agree with Bruno. It was musical comedy.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
There was humor in there, but there was also dance,
and I think it was done brilliantly. Carrie Anne said
it was not her most difficult dance, but it was
her best dance and talked about how animated she was. Again,
I think she really came in and embodied that character
of Glinda really well, and it was very animated for her,
which we don't often see from Alex. So much animation

(08:53):
in comparison to others this season, so I really did
love seeing the animation in her face, and then also
the connection with her and Vow, which I thought was
really great in the storytelling of it wasn't her best dance.
I mean, I think it was really good. I agree
it wasn't her most difficult. I think it was done
and executed really well, and I loved it. I honestly

(09:15):
got to the end of this and said, wow, and
I think.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
It was up there with one of her best. Derek said,
the storytelling was fantastic. Oh my god. Yes, the part
of Beret.

Speaker 2 (09:27):
Into a double pirouette, Like, come on, that is not easy.
I know, she said she did theater when she was younger.
I don't know if she has any dance experience to
have learned that. I tried teaching a pirouette to James
Hinchcliffe one season, and he managed a man with all
the balance in the world managed to get a single
pirouette in there. So the fact that Vow was able
to teach her a part of Beret into a double

(09:49):
I found very, very impressive. She almost landed it perfectly.
She was maybe a little under a quarter of a
turn behind and stopped short.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
But I wouldn't dock a point for that.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
The fact is she did did a whole double pirouette,
which was very, very impressive, and again agreed with Derek.
The storytelling was fantastic and it really was jazz. Guys,
what we were seeing in here was jazz.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
And John said the dance.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
Disappeared and he was just watching the story, which from
the director of Wicked, I think is an incredible compliment.
And he said that he was so fun and he
just absolutely loved it. I agree with all of the
judge's comments. And then I also like, I'm saying that
I love it, and I'm looking at it and I
love it, and then I'm going to give my score,
and I was like, why am I.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Not a ten?

Speaker 2 (10:35):
I don't understand why I'm not a ten. I don't
even have an answer for you at this point. There
is something in the projection of it, something in the
extent of where the moves are finishing. I think I
feel like there is just a bit more squeeze in there.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
And it's tough to.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Say that because she did such a brilliant job, but
I had I.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Ended up landing it at a nine. Now.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
I was actually shocked to see that the judges gave
it a nine to nine to eight.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
I was surprised to see the eight.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
I think John looked around here was like, oh, I
missed the memo and the nines. I'm not sure, but
I was surprised to see the eight because I thought
it was a really fantastic dance and I ended up
landing on a nine. But I actually felt like there
was something about it that I wanted it to be
a ten and I couldn't quite put my finger on
it just yet what it was that made it fall short.

(11:22):
Because I love the choreography, I love the performance from her,
and I literally said wow at the end of it.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
But I think and feel that there is just a
bit more that we.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Can squeeze out of Alex as far as the presence,
the conviction, the eyes shooting like down the lens or
just forward in focus, and that body presentation of really
geest stretching to the ends of the movements and past
the point.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
I feel like there is a little.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
More resistance, a little more moving through quicksand and a
little more presence that we can get out of it. However,
I am deeply obsessed with this dance and I loved it,
and I thought it was again one of her best
performances yet, and I gave it a nine. Well done
to Alex and Vao, and well done to vow by
the way in the way that he is teaching Alex

(12:08):
throughout the season. I know I said that last episode.
It is truly a testament to how great he is
as a pro to watch her grow so much from
that week one, Whereas to be honest, I was not
that invested in her as a competitor to be here
now in week six, I think we were. I am
fully invested in her as a competitor, and now I'm
putting notes on it, like there's that little bit more

(12:29):
squeeze I want, because I feel she's capable of it.
That's a testament to him, his teaching and the way
that he's progressed her journey. He really is an og
and an absolute beast at his craft. So well done,
you guys. All right, Moving on to another fan favorite,
and of course another favorite of mine, Robert and Whitney.
They did a jazz and let's first of all get

(12:51):
into I think it was Dancing through Life was their song.
Let's get into what the judges said first. Carrie Anne
said it was such an ambitious routine, stunning choreography. It
was powerful and she just generally absolutely loved it. We
have Derek that said he was meant to be on
stage and he needs to trade in his hiking boots
for some dance boots, which, to be honest, I see

(13:14):
that this Irwin family just has some sort of gift
about them.

Speaker 1 (13:18):
Between Bindi and Robert.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
When they come out and perform, it quite literally blows
you away in how are they they doing this? This
guy wrestles crocodiles and is a wildlife conservationist and then
he can come out there and do things like this.

Speaker 1 (13:30):
It is so impressive.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
No notes, no dance notes necessarily coming through there yet.
From Carryan and Derek, John said it was so fun
to watch. Props never stopped him listen. As someone that
has used props before and it's gone horribly wrong, it
was very impressive to see them use those props and
him to learn how to use them and probably be
nervous about it too, because sometimes the unknown just happens,

(13:55):
like in my case an umbrella breaking.

Speaker 1 (13:57):
I digress.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
They did a fantastic job with you their props. I
loved the choreography from Whitney. I really think she made
him shine. John also said his range from honesty to
joy what we saw from him last week into this week.
I totally agree. I feel like the rawness that we
saw last week in him to then there's absolute character
performance from him this week of truly, from the very

(14:20):
first moment we came to him, from the package he
was in it. You know, he was no longer Robert.
He was playing that role and I am so obsessed
when people do that. And John just basically absolutely loved it.
Bruno said it was a theatrical treat, handled all parts
of it brilliantly. He commanded the performance, the commitment and

(14:42):
said it was incredible. So by handling all parts, as in,
he wasn't just dancing in this right, It wasn't just
him and Whitney. It was interactions with troup members. It
was much more of a theatrical performance with the acting
involved and all those sorts of things.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
So he really did handle that beautifully.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
As far as taking on a character, committing to the movements,
committing to the story, never missing a beat once again,
his musicality being amazing. It really was impressive to see
him step into a number like that was so much
more going on than just he and Whitney, and he
really did handle it well. I thought it was so
cute in his package, seeing him say he's such a

(15:23):
big fan of Wicked that he literally rented out a
theater to watch it with all of his friends for
his birthday. I thought that was adorable and very unexpected.
I wrote. His character commitment was incredible as also. The
judges said musicality once again fabulous. His dynamics were really beautiful,
and everything was readable from him, so it was clean,

(15:45):
it was crisp, and everything was readable. Nothing blended into one.
All the movements you knew what they were. All the
movements had, as Bruno says, an intention and a story
to it, and I really found that wonderful to watch
from him.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
I did say he was a little flat foot throughout.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
You'll see when you watch him his movement is dynamic,
but oftentimes he gets caught between two flat.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Feet that are a little bit shoulder with the part,
and that just what it means. You're in no man's land.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
They should be somewhere a little more broad, or they're closed,
or they're placed one hell is up. There is a
pressure coming through the floor through the body into the
tip of the head. There needs to be just a
little bit more connection to what's happening in the feet.
I did say this week one for him, he is
a bit flat footed. We've got some work to do there.
And I see that we are masking it really well,
or he's doing so well in other areas that we're

(16:31):
not noticing it as much, but it is still happening.
I wrote big, shouty capital letters his dolphin dive when
he leaped into the sky and dove down to the ground.
Very impressive, lots of upper body strength to do that.
I have seen some of our male pros back in
the day try that in a room for a group
number and damn near smash their teeth out. So just

(16:51):
know that move is incredibly hard and athletic, and he
did a very good job doing it. Side by side
section he was very much in between his feet and
flat footed.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
So if you go back and you have a look
at it, you'll see it.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
Again there and you'll notice that Whitney isn't or if
she's in two flat feet, her knees a bent, but
her weight is shifted more to one side. When I
say she is on two flat he is on two
flat feet. It really means that he's just stuck in
between them in that no man's land. So we just
need a little bit more of a stronger choice. And
where our weight is in our feet, where our feet
are is there a toe up and where the pressure

(17:23):
is pushing down into the floor, And we are coming
up against a couple things with his arms on line,
So let's really look at it here. He did phenomenal work,
a phenomenal routine. He hit all the points, he hit
all the music. Now, even more so than what I
was saying about Alex, he can push these lines further.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
I think some of them cut a little bit short.

Speaker 2 (17:43):
And that goes back actually to something that carry An
said a couple weeks ago about him taking snapshots like
he's posing for photos and locking all of his muscles.
I find we're still getting a little bit of that.
So I really want him to find more stretch. I
want Robert to take up more space now when he's
hitting those lines. Get bigger in the chest, extend them out,

(18:03):
lengthen out the elbow just a little bit more when
when meant to for the line. But I feel like
there's more space we can take up here and finish
things a little further out and go bigger.

Speaker 1 (18:13):
We're also looking at paddle hands.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
Now, so when his hands are moving around, we've got
no real like style or anything happening in them. They're
just paddle hands, fingers sort of stuck together. We need
it needs to be a little softer, a little something,
a little bit more of a gesture, a humanness to them,
but also a danceness, so they have a flare to
them as opposed to a paddle hand, you know what
I mean. And so I feel like we were looking

(18:37):
at that too fantastic dance from them.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
The judges gave this.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
A nine nine nine nine nine nine nine four nines.
I had actually written this one down as an eight.
I felt it was incredibly strong and I loved this
from him, did I? I didn't feel it was quite
as strong as Alex's. So I landed on an eight
for this one, And does not mean I didn't love it,
does not mean I disagree with the nines.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
By the way, I can totally see how people got.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
There and what You're also looking at someone that has
zero dance experience stepping into this, which also makes it very,
very impressive.

Speaker 1 (19:13):
So I can see how they.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Landed on all of those nines, especially John looking at
the character and the storytelling of this one. But I
did land on an eight for this However. I'm a
super fan of these guys, and I still think that
Robert is the one to beat for actually winning it
because of all those reasons.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
He's incredibly talented. He's got enough.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
In perfections that you believe he wasn't a dancer, but
he does enough right that you believe he could be,
if that makes sense. He's sort of in between that
world where we've got other contestants that people are enraged
that they have dance experience, you know. So I feel
like Robert is kind of the whole package this season
that everyone else is going to be fighting to beat,
and Whitney's doing a stellar job with him with her

(19:52):
amazing choreography.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
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Speaker 2 (21:00):
Let's move on to another massive favorite, big favorite of mine,
Mark and Whitney.

Speaker 1 (21:07):
Doing a quick step to Popular.

Speaker 2 (21:10):
I mean, this was just another fantastic routine from them,
so getting into it. Derek said he feels like he's
discovering a star before his eyes. A very complicated routine,
jam packed on the content and was just so advanced.
Absolutely agree, jam packed on the content as far as
not just the quick step content, which is when they're

(21:31):
in frame running around the floor, but also the musicality
of it, the storytelling of it, the layers that were
in this routine, the ground that they covered. There was
so much in this that they took on and absolutely
nailed it. John said he got lost in it, which
again beautiful compliment from the director of Wicked. Perfect blend

(21:53):
of art and technical prowess and floating on air. And
it was just so good. It really was, and I
feel like Mark does this really well. It was that
beautiful blend of the technician side of it that we're seeing.
You know, they've worked on it. You can see the
details in there that you can see the technique that
is true to the style. But then there is also
this other flair that is on the other side with

(22:15):
that very unique musicality that Mark Ballas has when he
choreographs his very own unique way of storytelling and animating,
and Whitney matches his animating, which is also very rare
for Mark to have a partner that can match him
like that. So this is just a very special partnership
in that sense. And I feel like all of it
was just a beautiful balance in this routine.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
I loved it.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
Bruno said it was insane, it was fast, it was camp,
it was funny, and it was magnificent and there so
no dance notes, but I agree on all points. Carrie
Anne said it was unhinged, but in the best way.
She started great as a dancer in this competition, but
she is getting better, which is also something that's really
important to note because she did start with the dance background.

(23:02):
She did start very high up as far as her level,
but she is getting better.

Speaker 1 (23:07):
You know.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Earlier in the season we would talk about nose overtes
and her spot being off, and I am not seeing
any of those things. She is very much nose over toes.
She has fixed her spot, her turns are much better.
She has remained as charismatic and animated as she always was,
but her technical ability is growing. So I'm very very
impressed with her growth in it.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
I said.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
First thing I actually wrote was her animation is just phenomenal,
especially her in that whole opening and then as she
was like basically telling the story and being Glinda before
they got down inter frame, so perfectly animated. I wrote,
she is the perfect match for Mark on this dance floor.
I also wrote, beautifully, pushing along the floor, it didn't

(23:52):
feel skippy or bouncy. So one of the risks with quickstep,
because it is so bouncy and jumpy, is that it
looks bouncy and jumpy and it's not supposed to. It
basically runs and jumps, but you want it to look
like a duck on water. So underneath the waist everything
is going one hundred mile an hour, but then above
the waist, which is above the water line, everything needs

(24:13):
to look absolutely smooth, like there's nothing going on.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
And I feel like they did a very very good
job of that.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
It was smooth on top, and it was fast and
furious down below. The footwork that was very very clean,
the scatter chassets, the everything that they did all beautiful
quickstep content, executed phenomenally and on time and nice and smooth,
and you can see, I wrote, you can see in
the package that it was hard for her to learn.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
It was awkward.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
There were moments in the package where I was like, damn,
that it's not looking good. And then to see where
it gets to at the end of that week is
a testament to how hard they've worked and how much
Mark has taught her in that week beautiful footwork, and
I almost wrote beautiful frame, but then I came back
to actually having a note on it. Ah phenomenal quality

(25:02):
in her performance, her musicality, and her texture. She is
genuinely unmatched in this when when we look at the
overall package as far as a dancer on that dance floor,
I believe that Whitney is unmatched in her musicality and
her texture. When she does things, when she moves, there
is layers to it. There is the overall movement of
say she's pointing her finger, but then there is the

(25:24):
underlying layer of where is it coming from in her body?
And then there is the layer on top of that
is when she points that finger, where does it stretch
to at the end of it? And that's just an
example that happens in all of her movements. Everything is
coming all the way from the ground, all the way
to the tip of her head, and all the way
out to the ends of her fingers. There is not
one single part of her that is not used or

(25:45):
not engaged at any given point when that music starts.
And that truly is dancing. It is not the moves
that we do. It is how we get from A
to B and what we do on the in between
that truly sets you apart from the rest. And she
is absolutely unmatched. Okay, so when I am talking about
their frame, it was lovely. It was lovely, but I

(26:08):
feel like it could be wider.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Now.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
I know their height is really close, so maybe that
has something to do with it. And maybe what I'm
saying isn't fixable. I'd have to have a bit of
a closer look. But I feel like her right arm
that rests on Mark it either doesn't have enough arm
to fully stay up and go out and get her
even more in her window, or she's sort of just
into close. It was hard to tell. Her hand looks lovely,

(26:33):
it doesn't look like it's heavy or grabbing. I just
feel like I want them to get more space from
each other. I want her to be more in her
window and him to be more in his window. And
really I call it the palm tree. Really like fall
backwards and away from each other and head out into
that window.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
And I'd love to see that from them.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
Again, I don't know if it's a height and whip thing,
so maybe they are at their absolute maximum. But that
was one thing For me as I was watching it,
I just wanted more width and more stretch in that frame. Now,
her head position.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
Was lovely, their body contact was stella.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
There was zero gapping in all of that fast quickstep,
and I was very, very impressed with that. I will
say that quickstep is not an American smooth style, and
so once you take up frame, you are not supposed
to break frame. Now, I know that they broke frame
in the middle of it, but didn't let go of
both hands. I don't know if that's a technicality that

(27:29):
I've just forgotten, but for me, they did break frame
down in one of the lower corners, and they did
do a little Lindi section. Now, as a spectator, was
I obsessed with it deliciously? Yes, absolutely loved it. The
musicality wonderful and I'm entertained for days. However, as a
judge on it, I would personally say, but you broke frame,
so that would be for me.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Now.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
It was a moment, and they didn't let go of
one of the connecting hands. So again, maybe there's a
loophole there that I'm unaware of, but from my understanding,
we're not supposed to break frame at all. And I
feel like I swear. I think I said it was
Nick Carter season, but it wasn't. But I swear to
you there was a season. There were so many so
MP's blurry where our good old Len Goodman, God love him,

(28:12):
damn near yelled at me for separating in hold and
still holding onto that one hand doing a bounce action
thing like a KICKI thing in quick step. So I
don't know, I don't know. I don't have the answer
for you on that. Things may have evolved. It's been
a couple of years since I actually danced on the show,
and I know things have progressed, and as they should
for entertainment value too. But if I was sitting on

(28:33):
that judge's table, I would have been like, oh, just
like carry Anne is with her lifts, I would have
raised an eyebrow at the break in hold. However, it's
a risk that pays off for Mark because where are
they going to go? And it was absolutely a fantastic, phenomenal,
perfect routine. Judges gave it a ten to nine ten ten.
I gave it a nine simply because of that break

(28:55):
in hold and where where I sit with those rules.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
Totally see the ten. It was perfect. What more would
you want from it? For as a dance?

Speaker 2 (29:02):
What more could you possibly want from it other than
from me a little more stretch in that frame and
a no break in hold. I'm a huge fan, as
you guys know, of Mark's work. I thought was fantastic.
I love the arrangement. I love what he did to
the song to make it a little bit more quick step.
I thought all of it was just beautiful And if
they didn't break hold, I would have given it a ten. Okay,

(29:23):
moving on, Oh gosh, we're moving on to a rumber now.
Rumber is one of the absolute hardest dances to do
on this show because it's so slow. We have Danny
and Dylan doing a rumber. It was a stunning set.
Everything looked absolutely beautiful. Again, this is a very hard
dance and it's also very hard for the men. There's
just not a lot of steps in it. It goes

(29:46):
slow right, and there's a certain rumber timing that you
have to do, and all of these big dances are
happening throughout the night, so it might have felt like
it fell a little bit flat unless you're solely watching Danny,
who is, as Derek described, a Ferrari out on that
floor and watching her as ridiculous no matter what she's doing.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
But let's get into what the judges said. First. John
said it was so connected. He was so impressed.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
It was the kind it is the kind of masculinity
that is needed in dance.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
I totally agree.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
I think we're really seeing this, and I think this
was asked of him early in the season. I think
I even asked, we're really seeing a beautiful masculinity come
out in Dylan. I felt like he's so comfortable with Danny.
You can see their connection and their bond that they've built.
He's really trusting her with everything that she's teaching, and

(30:37):
it truly does pay off.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
He learned listen.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
I will remain to say that I actually prefer him
in the Latin dances to the ballroom dances, even though
again he said in the package that he's not as
good at them. My personal opinion, I was really obsessed
with the way that he did his technique in this,
and we'll get back to that. Bruno said it was
a wonderful frame for the girl. It got jagged in

(31:00):
his hips in the middle, and it's the hardest dance
for men. So it was a beautiful frame. So back
when we saw his chatcha was this week one, week two.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
I don't know. His elbows were a little lower his
actual frame.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Even though it's not a ballroom frame that's fully in hold,
it still has a frame to it. It still has
to feel like the arms are stretched out and around
a massive beach ball.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
There is a curve, there is a strength, there is
a resistance. Those elbows were not droopy this night. They
were up, they were strong. He was pulling from them,
he was leading from his back. I really felt the
strength in him in his frame. That's also why John
was saying the kind of masculinity you're seeing that masculinity
because the posture is changing, the frame is changing, the

(31:45):
way he's leading is developing. And I really agree with
this comment. It was beautiful to watch Danny be able
to be in a frame like that and dance and
live her best life.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
The jagged hips in the middle I didn't see.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
I know there was a sinker page in a hip timing,
and I'm wondering if that's what Bruno was looking at
because it did get a little sharp for a moment.
But I know that was a playfulness in dynamics and timing,
and I actually didn't mind that, but there might have
been something from their angle and my TV camera angles
that I didn't see, so I totally trust Bruno that
he saw something there. Derek said, he is growing and progressing.

(32:23):
He's paying attention to the details. And Danny is a Ferrari.
But you are not being overshadowed by her power. You're
being stronger, being intentional, turn the front foot out a
little bit more so. All wonderful words from Derek all agree. Yes,
I don't think he's being overshowed shadowed by Danny. I
think we saw more dynamics from him in the last
two weeks and he was a beautiful frame for her.

(32:45):
And listen, Rumber really is the woman's dance. It really
is about framing her and doing these beautiful things and
these walks and these backbends, and it's I know, later
Ezra said, it's the dance of love.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
It's truly to me, the dance of lust.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
It was always explained to me by my coaches that
Rumber is the one night stand and Waltz is the
forever dance, is the true love dance, and that always
sat with me, rumber is very passionate and sexy, and
you could think of it as lustful in a one
night stand. And I feel like because of Danny and
Dylan's relationship, we could get some of that energy, you know,
that character play and intention between them. The turn your

(33:19):
front foot out a little bit more so, Dylan was
doing a really good job with the footwork. He's sliding
that leading foot in on a toe and into a
flat foot.

Speaker 1 (33:28):
He was really trying to use the floor.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
What was happening is his feet were staying dead straight,
and what we do in ballroom dancing is our feet
have to slightly turn out, which gives us more ground
to cover, which gives us more balance, and at the
same time, our knee tracks forward much unlike ballet dancers
who turn their foot their foot out and also turn
their knee out. We track our foot out but track
our knee forward. It's really not great for your joints,

(33:51):
but that is what we do. And so what was
happening was when Dylan went into a step called a
sliding door or some of his forward basics, his foot
was coming in dead straight, which can make it feel
a little bit like you're walking a tightrope, and it
can also make it look slightly pigeon toed at times.
So yes, he definitely needs to work on turning out
those forward feet, those front feet just a little bit

(34:11):
more when he's hitting in those check forward walk positions
where he's changing his direction, we always use a turned
out foot, so that can help us change our direction.
I hope that makes sense. I know that got a
little bit wordy. I said it was a stunning set.
His free hand sometimes looked a little bit lost, So
just making sure that there's always a detail and something
for his hand to do instead of waving around in

(34:33):
no man's land. Lovely strong elbows and lines. We talked
about that. Yes, no momentum in the drag turn, which
is something that carry Ann spoke about. Oh, carry In,
I missed her notes. She said the partnership is magic
and the foot got stuck on the drag turn. The
drag turn was when Danny was running backwards in his
arm and he was supposed to be rotating on the
one foot with his leg out, but you could see

(34:53):
that it was sticking and so he wasn't getting the momentum,
which meant he wasn't leveraging himself and Danny the right way,
and so that he was almost trying to do it
himself instead of allowing that centrifugal force, that outside edge
of the energy and the momentum that they have to
then pull him around with him being the axis point.
So yeah, that did get a little bit dodgy in

(35:14):
there on that point, which was such a shame.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
Slighting doors.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
I absolutely loved them in the stretch of the movement,
but yes, turning out the front foot would have helped.
There was some beautiful technique in there, but his feet,
I said it, his feet needs some more turnout for stability.
They're looking turned in. So overall, I thought it was
a great attempt at a really hard dance. You could
really see him learning the technique. You can really see
how much he's grown, just has evident in that frame
and the posture that he had with her, the masculinity

(35:40):
that we're starting to see. And I really really loved
his dance From them, I genuinely loved their Latin dancers.
I think it sounds like they're heading into another ballroom dance,
heading into Halloween, so we'll see how that one goes.
The judges gave it an eight eight, eight eight. I
also gave it an eight. I almost gave it a seven,
and I felt like he really did so well on

(36:02):
some of the key technique parts here that are really
hard to nail. And this is genuinely a hard dance.
This is much harder than doing a jazz with all
the character bits in it that tell a story and
give you distraction, distraction. No, this is a slow moving dance,
all eyes on him. You can see every single little
wobble and you know if it's missing any of the techniques.
So I thought he'd delivered it really really well. Well

(36:24):
done you guys and Danny, you are such a beast.
I want to be you when I grow up. Okay,
moving on to Andy and Emma. They did a jazz.
Let's get into what the judges said. Bruno said, you
were on time. It was a miracle. Loll He was
on time. That was the very first thing I wrote,

(36:44):
because last week, if we remember, he was not on
time for pretty much the whole routine. Carrie Anne said
it was really good and he is proof that dance
is for everybody, and she complimented the choreography by Emma,
which I totally agree.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
I think Emma did a fantastic job on this.

Speaker 2 (36:59):
Choreography for him, it really allowed him to shine, have fun,
and also show some growth. Derek said he's really proud
of him, loves seeing him embrace dance, and he's made
it to the halfway mark. But now we'll see what happens,
but commended him on a job well done. I think
Derek might have thought that potentially Andy was going to
go home, certainly on danceability and level. Yes, it is

(37:23):
his time, but as we know about this show, people
will vote for their fave, not necessarily always the best,
and Andy has voting parties. As we spoke about it
is reminding me. It is giving me Bobby Bones feels.
I think you all need to prepare yourself for how
long this man may last, and also prepare yourself with

(37:43):
grace because he is also what this show is about,
and it's beautiful having him there for balance alongside some
of the others that have major dance background and experience.
So I love seeing him in there. John said he
loves watching him. Wicked is about being the un dog,
and he's so proud of him for being that and
working his absolute butt off to get there. I agree,

(38:07):
I think you can see that he's working his butt off.
He's giving it absolutely everything that he can.

Speaker 1 (38:11):
For my notes, I quite literally wrote very little.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
Because what is there to write at this point. What
I wrote was timing good with lots of exclamation points,
because the timing is the number one thing I was
looking at. And he did really good. He definitely did
more steps this week. Again, he definitely kept up with
everyone in his own unique, special Andy way, and for him,
it was very, very clean, And you know what, I

(38:37):
loved it from the moment it started to the moment
it ended, and all the moments in between. I love
watching Andy and Emma out on that floor. And I
will say again as second the judge, as she's doing
a fantastic job and the choreography was wonderful for him
and we are seeing.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Growth in him.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
So I was super impressed and I absolutely loved it.
Now the judges gave this a seven six seven seven.
I have been in between a four and a five
and landing on a four for Andy four pretty much
the whole season. I felt like he did great and
his timing was really crisp, so we made it to
a solid five from me this week. Super impressed with
the growth in him, and I guys, he's through to

(39:16):
the next round. You all saw him like cover his
face with his hand. I don't think he was expecting
it either. It also breaks my heart every time they
get through where I see EM's go over to the
eliminated couple and start apologizing and that I just I
know that position. I know how she feels in that,
and I feel for her because they didn't ask to

(39:37):
get through.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
They are simply doing the absolute.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
Best that they can and they're obviously reaching the hearts
of millions of people at this point, and people are
voting for them, so they are doing their job and
doing it beautifully, and so we get to continue seeing
them every week.

Speaker 3 (39:57):
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(40:19):
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(40:42):
to talk about the ballroom, the leaderboard and more. Listen
now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcast.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
All right, it is time to get into one of
the most talked about I think I've seen since last night,
which is Elaine and Alan doing a contemporary and so
I want to start this one where she's shared in
her package and I'm so glad that they showed this.
I'm so glad that I got to see this. She
has titanium in her foot and I think she may

(41:18):
have talked about it before, but there's a shoulder thing
that she's experiencing from a car accident that.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
She was in.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
I didn't know that information, whether that was in a
package or not. I may have missed it, but I
people online have since shared that with me because I
was always talking about her shoulders and so knowing that
and knowing the things that she's battling against. As Derek
mentioned when he was talking to her, that's really impressive
that this is where she's at and this is what
she's creating and doing, and how much she's growing whilst

(41:45):
she is battling those things, and they are obviously working
around them and with them as the absolute best that
they can. I will just say I was very emotional
through this whole performance for her, and I yeah, and
I think everyone was. There was something about it that
just reached Carrie. Anne was emotional. She could barely get
her words out and she waited for Elaine to come

(42:07):
over because Alane obviously had to get off the rig
and out of the skirt. She said it was something special.
She burst into tears watching it, and she was just
so in the moment. It was beauty and it was elegance,
and she's so proud of her.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
I agree with all of that. Like I was.

Speaker 2 (42:23):
Emotional watching it. It was just beautiful from her and
I loved. I loved all of this. So Derek had
a chat with her about what she's pushing through and
acknowledged that she had shared that with him last week.
And this is why I think it's so important for
us to see these things in the package.

Speaker 1 (42:39):
I want to see the struggle.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
I want to know that you have titanium in a
part of your body and there's nothing you can do
about it. I want to know that it's impossible for
you to straighten your legs, like there are things we
just need to know, especially as judges, because otherwise that
same critique is going to keep coming up and it's
a null and void because if they can't change it,
let's move on to something that we can change. And
so I love now that we know more things. And

(43:02):
I love knowing that now Derek and the judges all
know more things and we can move forward with that
with Elaine and giving her a critiques and advice that
are actually going to help her grow. He said that
he loved the trustful. Oh my god, that's trustful. And
she moved with grace and wisdom. There's something that I

(43:22):
said about Elaine from the beginning. She has this grown
womanness about her. There is something you cannot teach. It
quite literally comes with experience and age, and when she
is out there, she is it. She embodies it, and
she also has it like that X factor that we
talk about, the thing that you can't teach. She has
something in her that is just a beautiful gift right
of performance, and then bring to that her life experience

(43:45):
and what she's been through, and you feel like you're
watching a grown woman on the floor doing something beautiful.
And that is always the way that I feel when
I watch Elaine, and I think that's what he means
by the grace and the wisdom, two things that I
think you only get with growing and learning.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
Really beautiful to see.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
John said it was pure ascension, that it is about
surrender to your power. He felt it, and he felt it,
and he felt that Elaine truly surrendered to her power.
And I think she surrendered to it. I think we
saw her in the package have her moment of sharing

(44:22):
and surrender to the feelings and the vulnerability and just
say it and say how hard things are, or maybe
we just got to see it for the first time,
and I think she left it all on the dance floor.
And I absolutely loved this for her. Bruno said it
absolutely inhabited the character. It was fearless, total commitment, toughest
number because of course this is the biggest song from Wicked,

(44:44):
defying gravity.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
Oh, such an emotional, beautiful song.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
And yeah, yeah, when you find out you've got the
song for Wicked night, you, by the way, even as
a choreographer, go, oh my god, oh my god, I've
got to do an amazing job.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
You suddenly put so much pressure on your and I'm
sure you do.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
Is this celebrity as well, Like, oh my god, I
really need to deliver on this, and I think they
absolutely delivered.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
So for me, the notes were as.

Speaker 2 (45:10):
We talked about with the titanium foot and love knowing
these things. I was like, trustful, big shouty capital letters.
And the way that it happened it wasn't unusual, trustful,
The way that she walked and just went to the side,
and the way that he caught her. It was just spectacular.
It like hit me in the fields. I loved it
so much, and then I wrote I'm emotional, and then
we got to the end of it and I was like,

(45:31):
oh my god, Alan's emotional.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
Wait, everybody's emotional. Why are we all so emotional?

Speaker 2 (45:35):
There was just something about it that was so raw
and it was all left there on the floor. There
was so much power in it, There was so much
beauty in it, the connection between the two of them.
I think this is a very special partnership. Once again
for Allan. I loved him last season with a Loner.
I love him this season with the Lane. I'm a
big fan of where this is all headed for him
and the work that he's creating. I wrote, she is

(45:57):
so in it with big, shouty capital letters. So much
texture in her movement. Again, that texture of the move
not just being the move but the story behind it,
the intention behind it, not just the a to be that,
but the how did we get there? All of that
was in it. She was pushing past a point and
I thought it was exceptional. I said, I'm emotional and
I effing loved it, And I said, but I lost

(46:21):
her at the end. So I don't think this is
anything that they could have done about it. I think
this ended up being the nature of the idea, the production,
and then you get into it and you realize maybe
how long things take for her to get up and
have this amazing moment up there with this skirt, and
I feel like, for me to be honest with you,

(46:42):
because the dance was so spectacular. I then really mourned
it when she left the screen, and I really didn't
get the payoff as much as I wanted to when
she went up in the skirt, and I know the
moment we were going for. I know it, the ascension,
I know, and I know what it was meant to be.
But I was so deeply obsessed with the movement and

(47:04):
with the dance between the two of them that when
she was gone and it was Alan fighting off people, now,
was that fantastic?

Speaker 1 (47:10):
Was fantastic? But I was like, where n a lango?

Speaker 2 (47:12):
And then we turn around and I see her in
the skirt and she's going up, and yes, it was good,
but the dance was better, you know. And so I
felt like, ah, dang, and look if it only went
for ten seconds, who cares? But it went for Am
I exaggerating if I say thirty maybe it was twenty
five seconds?

Speaker 1 (47:31):
Someone time it and tell me.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
I don't want to say it wrong, and I don't
want to over embellish it. But it did feel like
a massive chunk of the dance that I lost her,
And again I say I mourned it because she was
just so spectacular and I was so emotional watching her,
and I probably would have been an absolute hot mess
with tears rolling down my face if I had stayed
on her and Alan for the whole time and we

(47:54):
found a different way to have that ascension moment. But
again no shade to anyone. The idea was there, We've
got to try things. I think they did the very
best that they could. I think she went up and
did a great job. I just think it took me
out of it and I wanted more of her. So
the judges gave it all nine and I landed on
a nine. And believe me when I say I wanted
to give it a ten. I wanted to give it

(48:16):
a ten. And the argument will be, but they had
no control, they couldn't do anything about it, YadA YadA.
I know, I know, And that is sometimes the imbalance
or the unfairness of competition shows and reality shows and whatever.
Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. And I'm not saying
they could have asked to not do it either.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
I'm just saying it's the way the cookie crumbled.

Speaker 2 (48:36):
This week as a viewer and as a judge, I
was obsessed with everything, everything, no notes, and then I
lost her. So I ended up landing on a nine.
But I do think that's my highest score I've ever
given her. And I'm so in love with watching her
on the floor and in love with what Alan's doing
with her. So I can't wait to see where they

(48:56):
go to next, especially now having a deeper understanding of
the physical thing is that she is pushing literally.

Speaker 1 (49:02):
Against to do what she's doing. It's very inspiring.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
Okay, let's get into Jen and Yan doing a foxtrot.
I like had a little tear come to my eye
when she was in the package and she looked at
him and she's like, am I a bad dancer?

Speaker 1 (49:17):
That really broke.

Speaker 2 (49:18):
My heart that she's feeling it this heavy and she's
feeling that way.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
She's not, you know. I actually think she's wonderful and
very talented.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Let's get into what the judges said and see how
they critiqued her. So Derek, Jen was asking in the
package to be pushed harder. I want harder stuff. I
want harder stuff, And I agree with Derek, it's not
about it needing to be harder because I wouldn't call
their routines simple ever or boring at all, but about
giving more texture to the movement that she is doing,

(49:49):
and he said that she did do that, so texture.
We've talked about texture a couple times. He found that
she was finding that in the movement more in this routine,
and I feel that that is the way to go.
It's not I think Yarn's routines are lovely. I think
the choreography that he's had has been really beautiful, but
I haven't felt as much texture and the execution of
them be quite so brilliant.

Speaker 1 (50:12):
So I would love to see that pushed further.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Just like Derek John said, loved the storytelling, basically loved
the storytelling of it, which I agree.

Speaker 1 (50:22):
I think they did great storytelling in this one.

Speaker 2 (50:24):
Bruno said, the flow of the movement is getting better,
the continuity out of it is getting better. It's not
what you do, but how you do it, and you
must be on top of the intention at all times.
He's back on this intention, which I think takes us
back to texture, which I think takes us back to
technique knowing where it begins and it ends right, So yes,

(50:47):
I agree on all points. I think the continuity in
her is getting better. I think they had a much
better flow this week than the Vinie wlts last week,
and I think we can just go for more and
more of that. More stride along the floor, more glides,
smooth between the weight transitions and the weight changes, smoother
in the frame, and allowing that energy and essence of
a foxtrot to flow more so than feeling a little

(51:07):
bit piecy in areas. But yes, so I agree with
Bruno heading into what Carrie Anne said last week. She
tapped into some more vulnerability and it got a little
bit more messy, and sometimes that is what you need
to get better.

Speaker 1 (51:22):
She's still in process, but she likes the direction.

Speaker 2 (51:25):
I'm not fully in Carrie Anne's head to know what
she means by sometimes it needs to get messy to
get better. Maybe she means we just need to try
things and like throw it all out there and feel.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
Something different to then rein it in totally get that.

Speaker 2 (51:36):
I think that's valid, and I think they're trying things
and I think they're pushing and I think that's.

Speaker 1 (51:41):
Really really great.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
As far as my notes on this, I said, I
love the drama. First thing, that, I said, a really
beautiful oversway again from them. They also did that in
their Venie waltz last week, and I thought that was
a really nice line for them. But then once we
get in to the actual dancing, her frame breaks, you
know it does it sort of holds on. You see
the elbows go down, and you understand that she's holding

(52:03):
on with her arms and she's not.

Speaker 1 (52:04):
Truly locking in with those points of.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Connection from the upper thighs into the groin area, into
the lower abdomen area and stretching out into her frame.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
We're connecting in the wrong points.

Speaker 2 (52:15):
So I would encourage them moving forward to just practice
taking up those four or five points of connection. My
dance coach used to put a record between us, so
we would have to try and quite literally stay sandwiched
together as we moved, and it could be as simple
movement as moving forwards and backwards, starting to add rotation
into it, but really understanding that and not actually having

(52:38):
the grip between the man's left hand and the lady's
right hand, letting that one drop and letting the connection
happen everywhere else.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
In the body.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
So we can learn to follow and lead a little
bit more in these ballroom dances, because what happens is
it starts to feel a little bit disjointed, and so
I feel like if we connect that way, that's where
that flow is also going to come back in. I
do feel it was the best of her ballroom dances
that she's done, but she does need that flow to

(53:06):
come in and for it to just feel more like
it's two people moving as one, and so some parts
of it were really great, and I think we're seeing
growth in her. It breaks my heart that she's asking
if she's a bad dancer. She's actually a fabulous dancer.

Speaker 1 (53:19):
She's just in a season that is stacked with people
that are doing a phenomenal job, either freakishly good and
have never danced before or have dance experience, and so
I hate that she's feeling she is comparing herself to that.

Speaker 2 (53:33):
I hope she can take the notes on the chin.
It seems that she has been doing that. And I
really love seeing Yan grow. I've, by the way, since
now discovered some of his social media things that I've seen,
and he is very funny and I've been a big
fan of his work that I've seen online.

Speaker 1 (53:50):
In his contemporary pieces, he's created. I love the one
that he did with Jenna. I think he is a
phenomenal talent. And when we're.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
Talking about new pros, and a lot of you have
asked me online, you know, anyone's at a disadvantage or whatever.

Speaker 1 (54:03):
Look, we all started somewhere, you know.

Speaker 2 (54:06):
I started as a brand new pro at some point,
so did Val, So did everyone.

Speaker 1 (54:10):
And we all had to learn, you know.

Speaker 2 (54:13):
And Yarn is incredibly talented obviously very very fast learner
for where he is at now, and you're only going
to see him grow and grow. And with his skill
set that he has, I think he's going to be
an absolute beast out on that floor as a Dancing
with the Stars pro, and I hope he gets the
continued opportunity to explore that because I think he's a
look of personality and a talent that's worth having on

(54:35):
the show. And I think he brings something different to
it and something unique and that special, and he's.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
Going to learn. He's going to learn, and Dancing with
the Stars has.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
Evolved beyond just being ballroom it's so many other things now.
Look at our troop dancers, and so I think he
is in the right place at the right time, and
we just have to give him time to grow. I
know that's hard if Jen is your favorite and you're
her ride or die fan, because there's always going to
be you know that for someone some season.

Speaker 1 (55:03):
But trust me, he is a wonderful addition to the show.
And when I give notes.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
It's not me trying to pooh pooh on anyone and
say they don't belong there.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
He belongs there and he's going to be wonderful. Just
give it some grace. Okay, let's get into Dan Yell.

Speaker 2 (55:20):
I mean, I have my notes. I want to say
before I get into the judges. This was by far
my favorite performance for her, and I thought this was
just absolutely stunning, a very complicated routine.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
Okay. John said.

Speaker 2 (55:33):
This is the favorite part of his movie, their song,
seeing her rise, and he just he's loved her journey
and loved watching her, but he wished that the intensity
grew into something, which I do agree. Bruno said it
was sexy and full of passion, pure real Argentine tango,
which it was those Gaunt shows. The combinations, the chain
step absolutely beautiful. Bruno touched on the fact that it

(55:55):
was a difficult song because it was never really the same,
and you're jumping in and out of like what you're actually.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
Choreographing and moving to, and that is true.

Speaker 2 (56:02):
And I think they both handled that brilliantly, both Pasha
with the choreography and Danielle with being able to learn
it and being able to perform with that and adjust
to those changes and timings. And basically he loved it,
and she said that she did fantastic. Carrie Anne said
it was her breakthrough dance and called her for a
powerful woman in action and said thank you.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
I know people have felt like Carrianne has.

Speaker 2 (56:24):
Been very hard on Danielle. I have no thoughts on that,
to be honest, I haven't felt that. I feel like
Carrie Anne has been doing really great this season of
giving her notes and her critiques, and we have been
asking for something from Danielle, and maybe within those short
amounts of time, Carrianne doesn't have the moments to really
elaborate on them. But Danielle understood the assignment anyway, and

(56:47):
she absolutely delivered this week. Danielle and Pasha, I should
say delivered this week. It did look very very powerful
from her and sexy and sensual.

Speaker 1 (56:56):
Derek said it was difficult.

Speaker 2 (56:58):
The difficulty was just insaying the ganchos, the embraces, the
leg locking. It was pro level on its choreography. He
did say, don't mistake posture for constriction and make sure
that you breathe the dance. So two things I want
to add and two things that I think we really
need to see come from Danielle. First of all, again
favorite dance spectacular. Loved the choreography. I was wowed by

(57:21):
her legs and the grace in them and the movements.
Everything that she was doing was just really beautiful, nothing clunky.
It had that very smooth, sexy feel and very articulated
feel of an Argentine tango. It was beautiful. Whipped herself
into that backband. Oh my lord, I want more dynamics
like that. I need more impulses in the energy. There

(57:42):
was still a moment in the very beginning where she
sort of stepped out to the side and her arm
came out, her hand was more on her rib and
her elbow went out, and I was like, oh no,
it felt like it was going to be the same
dynamics a little bit soft, But then she got into
it and the nature of the choreography, the dance, the routine,
the song, she really lifted up the intensity and that
we saw a whip into a backbend. The legs were

(58:03):
doing the dynamics, and I really really enjoyed it. I
do agree with John, I wish it went somewhere in
its intensity and that it builds a little bit energetically
between them, that there was a little bit of a
I don't want to call it a fight between them
because it's not in Argentine tango, but a something that
is a little bit more electric and a build I

(58:23):
totally agree with that, and I also agree with Derek's
comment of constrictions.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
So I feel that we can.

Speaker 2 (58:30):
Still get more of this outward energy from Danielle. It
is not her posture, I don't believe. I believe it
is a performance that she needs to There is a
fourth wall there that I need her to break through.
I think that's what I want to call it.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
I'm choosing my words as I go here, but there
is a wall that I need her to break through.

Speaker 1 (58:50):
There is a one last barrier.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Of her energy from her eyeballs connecting to me at
home or outside of the dance floor space. I want
it to be for everyone at home and in the audience,
not just for them on the floor, do you know
what I mean?

Speaker 1 (59:05):
And so I feel like she does that.

Speaker 2 (59:06):
Obviously she performs for everyone, but there is something in
the energy and the intensity that just needs to click
past this little barrier that it's got and it's not
a physical action, it is an intention.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
And I really really really want to see her breakthrough
that because we saw a bit of it, We saw
the dynamics. I really watched this grow. I was really, really,
really really in love with this, and I did agree
with the judges on the score wholly and completely. They
gave it all nines. I gave it a nine.

Speaker 2 (59:31):
Yes, there are performance things I wanted from it, but
you know what, the technicality of that routine, the execution
of the gancho is the difficulty in it. When I
say the difficulty, so there's a chain step. It's not
just that they were walking through it.

Speaker 1 (59:45):
She was allowing Pasha's leg to move hers and then
her leg to move pashas that is hard. She did
such a good job and it was so very impressed
with her growth in this and I cannot wait to
see what they do in this coming week. It's Halloween.
Want like big personality. I want a character. I want
something outside of herself. I want something that like shocks.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
The pants off me as I'm sitting and watching it
and just be like, what a different version of Danielle,
you know?

Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
But holy moly, I love that one. Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
Getting into Jordan and Ezra, this is our last couple
for the night. They did a rumber again, a very
very hard dance to do, but as I said, it's
really made for the woman, you know, and we really
see that come into play here for Jordan. Ezra choreographed
a fantastic routine. The judges said, carry On basically called

(01:00:39):
it perfection. Derek said, so such a stunning routine. The
quality of movement was amazing. He wants to see more
emotion from her. I get that, and I do agree
with that. John complimented how hard she works her work ethics,
so that he'd seen her in the Olympics and obviously
there's something about the the determination and that's what he's

(01:01:01):
seeing out there on the floor. Bruno said it was
gorgeous the finishes that she had, meaning her lines and
her legs, everything in her finishes. She had it performance
there was light and shade in the musicality, all of
those things.

Speaker 1 (01:01:16):
I do think that Derek even complimented her feet.

Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
I actually felt that her feet were a little awkward
at times. So my first word was oh, like big
shoudy capital letters and wow the body texture, lots of wows.
I wrote here that I was very, very very impressed
both routine execution, everything for the ankles up really was
absolutely spectacular. But there is something about her feet that

(01:01:40):
feels like her weight is so very very on the
outside edges of her feet, and so in ballroom and
in Latin. And another thing, as we talk about the
front foot turns out, the knee tracks forward. The weight
because of that is on the inside of our ankles,
the inside of our feet.

Speaker 1 (01:01:56):
That is where we want to really push.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
We squeeze our legs together like there is a band
pulling them together, and we really feel that deep connection
in energy between like ankles to knees to thighs. Right,
everything is working inward, and I feel with her everything
in her legs is working outward. And I think she
has a massive hyper extension in her knees, So there
is also a factor in that that just physically her

(01:02:18):
legs bend that way. Emma's legs also do that, and
she's had to work her legs to get beautiful leg
action in rum, but to make sure they don't look
bow legged. So I think that's a little bit of
what I'm seeing in Jordan's feet. I found that her
feet didn't have as much pressure in the floor as
I wanted them to.

Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
They sort of like slid along the floor.

Speaker 2 (01:02:37):
There was one moment after a line where it was
I wanted it to come down and touch and then
actually circle the floor, but it sort of skipped the floor.
And She's got stellar balance so she could do the
move anyway, so I feel like I need it. Oddly,
this is a weird one. I say, I want more groundedness,
but she does settle in her hips. But I want
the groundedness to also happen when she's transferring from foot

(01:02:59):
to foot. In that transition of pushing from foot to foot,
we use even though you're at a heel, we use
every single bit about foot. My coach used to make
me practice barefoot so I could feel every single part
of my foot rolling off the floor as I would
walk in my rumber walks. I'd love a little more
connection to the floor in her feet. But was this
a phenomenal dance for her? Absolutely? I was very very impressed.

(01:03:22):
I do agree so with Derek as well. So beyond
my note of the pressure and the floor and the
feet and that bow leggedness of it all, I would
love to see more emotion come into it. Now Again,
rumber is the dance of lust. I don't know that
I saw that connection now. I know it's wicked. Don't
come for me, They're supposed to be besties. I also
love that Ezra tied in the holding space finger hold beautiful.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
He's killing it this season. Then it is a.

Speaker 2 (01:03:48):
Rumber And so if it wasn't going to be steamy connection,
then I needed to see as something else in it,
an emotion in it, of something of something else. It's
very term it, it's beautiful, powerful, all of those things. Yes,
But I need another layer of emotion to come in there,
and so I agree with Derek on those points. Judges

(01:04:09):
gave it a ten to nine to ten ten.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
I ended up.

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
Giving that one a nine. Very very impressed, So no
tens from me tonight, but so unbelievably close. I almost
gave it a couple times but found we just there
was just enough reason to not. But I absolutely loved
this night of Dancing with the Stars. I love that
we had John, I love the way the whole ballroom looked.

(01:04:33):
I loved every single thing about this. I think everyone
crushed it. Everyone looked beautiful, performances were great, Julianne looked
absolutely stunning. A big fan, big fan of all of it,
and I cannot wait to see. Now we're switching into
a whole other vibe going into Halloween, and I can't
wait because you know what, these couples are growing and

(01:04:53):
growing so damn fast, improving at such high rates. I
know we saw it's got go home and super sad
to see him go. I don't know who's going to
go home on this next one.

Speaker 1 (01:05:05):
Could it be Andy? Yes, because yes, at this point
he's at the bottom of.

Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
The leaderboard, and technically as a dance show he should
as a fan favorite.

Speaker 1 (01:05:13):
I have no idea. Let me know in the comments
what you think. I did.

Speaker 2 (01:05:18):
Get asked one question that I quickly want to answer
for you, as far as who chooses the music and
the songs.

Speaker 1 (01:05:23):
Let me do this very quickly.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
I know other pros have done this for you online,
but it's really a mix of all things. At the
very start of the season, the celebrity is going to
fill out a questionnaire on songs they love and all
different questions on different genres and movies and all types
of things, so they put that in. There'll also be
some weeks where they will put out to the cast,
give me your top three of Wicked that you might love,
and you'll put them out. You can put out suggestions

(01:05:46):
and whatnot. There's dedication night where the celebrity probably absolutely
requested the song. There's a Disney Night where you might
end up being given something for a specific reason. So
it is all different reasons. And then when it comes
to the style, honestly, the show Ooh, in my experience,
has been very open to what style you want to
do as long as you're not repeating another one. And
the thing that you juggle is these pros are probably

(01:06:07):
trying to figure out how to save their stronger styles
for later in the season, so they are helping with
the production to figure out like should it be a
jazz or a quick step, should it be a this
or that? And so it's really a collaboration between everyone,
but the absolute final say comes down to either production
or celebrity depending on the week and the theme, so
it is never the pro that just downright chooses the music,

(01:06:31):
at least not in my experience, so hopefully that helps.
Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of
In the Fourth Chair. As always, if you've got any
questions or things you want to talk to me about
or me to touch on for the next episode, please
put them in the comments or DM them to me.

Speaker 1 (01:06:46):
I'd love to get into them.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
I love that you guys have been hanging here with
me and be good to one another. Comment kindly to
one another, show your love for your favorites, and I
will see you on the next one.