Where did the time go?
It seems like just a few weeks ago the Dancing with the Stars cast was being revealed for Season 23, and now we're just weeks away from the finale. But just like Pumpkin Spice Lattes kick your Holiday time line into high gear - one thing is for sure.
The finals are coming.
Dancing with the Stars 23 Semifinal Recap and Results
The Dancers: Calvin and Lindsay The Dance: Tango
How They Danced
Sometimes your effort can get the best of you. Calvin Johnson knows full well how getting hyped up can sometimes evaporate your focus, can add more adrenaline to your movements, and occasionally cause you to lose control.
Calvin was hyped. Calvin had adrenaline. Calvin lost a bit of control.
Granted, he was dancing the Tango - which brings out the animal in most people, he was performing to 7 Nation Army by the White Stripes - which could make members of a PTA meeting want to sign up for MMA, and it's the semifinals of Season 23.
So he gets a pass.
Moving Forward
Lindsay keeps pushing Calvin, and in doing so is challenging everything from his footwork to his dance frame. Anything that rotates a lot, or has multiple layers of dance information will set his dance frame back. For that to get under control he's got to practice at the same intensity level as his performance - and that won't get any easier as he gets closer to the championship.
Quote From Last Week
While Calvin did show great movement in his Waltz, he lost some of the tone in his dance frame. This is, by the way, perfectly normal when you are executing dance material that involves rotation, vertical changes (aka "Rise and Fall"), and.... you know, breathing.
The Dancers: Jana and Gleb The Dance: Quickstep
How They Danced
"Ombre" in French literally translates to "color shaded" (Thanks Wikipedia). While Jana and Gleb wore some fantastic Ballroom Costumes with a little "Ombre" effect, their season thus far has taken quite the "Ombre" effect.
What started out as a beautiful, model worthy contestant paired with a handsome, model worthy professional turned into a consistent theme of playing the sex appeal card - with an exclamation moment where they literally took a shower together on stage.
Then the Ombre happened.
They danced a gorgeous, classy Waltz that changed the shading, and continued on that path this week with a sophisticated Quickstep.
Moving Forward
Color-wise, just imagine their ballroom costumes from this week's Quickstep in reverse, and that pretty much sums up their season.
Quote From Last Week
Despite landing in the bottom two, Jana and Gleb have a great chance of squeezing their way into the Top 3 with their ability to go beyond the easy and obvious chemistry.
The Dancers: Laurie and Val The Dance: Foxtrot
How They Danced
This was the Foxtrot you'd expect from a young, excited, Olympic athlete. It had quick transitions, oversways, and other dips of all kind. It could best be described as "athletic", but that probably isn't the adjective you'd use to describe the dance that most professionals believe to be the equalizer in a competition.
You see, the Foxtrot is smooth, sophisticated, and interpretive. If you imagine how Frank Sinatra sang any of the old standards, he sang them like a great Foxtrot dancer. He took his time, he used light and shade to add his own interpretation, but always payed his respect to the song's original architecture.
Laurie and Val, as talented, and favored as they are to win this season, had an opportunity to showcase Laurie's dance development with a standard Foxtrot, and instead presented an athletic interpretation of Foxtrot that was closer to a Rumba in Ballroom clothing.
Moving Forward
Being the wire to wire favorite is difficult. If you're wondering just how difficult, ask the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors. They set new records for regular season wins, only to lose the championship in their final game to decide the new champion. Now, if this competition were based solely on something as finite as the outcome of an athletic competition, many of this season's competitors would have forfeited to Laurie.
But this competition is about the voting public.
Eventually, fatigue sets in, and this has nothing to do with Laurie. The voters get tired of seeing the frontrunner. Harvard Business Review shared it beautifully with their article on lovable losers- people would rather rally behind the underdog, over going with the odds on favorite.
If Laurie is going to win this, she can't keep playing the athlete card, and if for some reason she ends up losing this, it will have more to do with voter fatigue than this one athletic Foxtrot.
Quote From Last Week
Laurie is continuing to evolve as a dancer and any speculation on whether she'll continue to compete when this season is over is well deserved, and spot on.
The Dancers: James and Sharna The Dance: Tango
How They Danced
Sharna's back, but don't freak out. That wasn't the reason why Hinch wasn't himself last week, and it wasn't the reason everyone is picking him to win it all this week. The guy is showing America that he is wired for ballroom dancing.
Their Tango, by the way, didn't need a blindfold and unbelievable chair handstand to be remarkable, but this pair isn't settling for remarkable - they have a strategy to take their dance content viral, and it's working.
Moving Forward
James Hinchcliffe has gone from "surprise performer" to "potential finalist" to "legitimate potential champion". Yes, if there is one couple poised to unseat Laurie and Val from their mirrorball moment, it's James and Sharna.
Quote From Last Week
While it would be easy for the masses to point out that he was dancing with Jenna, Sharna's very capable replacement while she is dealing with her injury, and blame her for this. From our point of view, this was a Jazz routine that was facing the audience without a partner for 95% of the time.
The Dancers: Terra and Sasha The Dance: Rumba
How They Danced
Terra and Sasha went back to the well of inside-out, emotionally charged storytelling for their Rumba performance. The not-so-subtle well message of public acceptance, however, seems to have gone dry. Telling a story is great, but telling the same story triggers an eyeroll that, unfortunately, took away from the fact that this Rumba was danced well.
Quote From Last Week
Dance-wise, there were some fun moments that really showcased Terra's acting ability. There were not, however, many areas that showcased any new facets in her dance ability. Granted, she has outperformed the majority of her competition, but this week seemed to feature a collection of familiar choreography, with great personality moments to glue it all together.
The Result
While both Terra and Sasha and Calvin and Lindsay ended up in the bottom two, Terra's time on the show came to an end. While for Terra, the unlikely tough DWTS competitor with an incredibly inspiring story, may be dismayed by this decision - she still accomplished her mission. She shocked the viewing audience, she worked the camera like a seasoned pro, and developed into a beautiful Ballroom and Latin dancer. She showed, week after week, that body type has no bearing on someone's ability to learn and perform as a dancer.
She made a statement, and doesn't need a mirrorball trophy to make it any clearer.
