Welcome back to another week of Dancing With the Stars! The show introduced a new theme for week 5: Super Bowl Night. Every couple danced to a famous halftime performer’s song, which I thought was a genius idea to incorporate the major performance energy into the show. Joe Buck, host of ABC’s Monday Night Football and first guest judge of the season, was a fine addition. He did not have any crazy or noteworthy moments, but he also was not a complete wreck like some of the past guest judges. Now, I am not a major football fan myself, but I love the halftime show, and some of these dancers did not disappoint! Here are some of my thoughts on the episode:Â
Ezra Frech and Jenna Dewan both tied at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 36/40 (all 9s), and they completely deserved it. Jenna danced a Paso Doble to “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and absolutely crushed it! She nailed the powerful and sharp moves that are vital to the Paso Doble, but also embodied the star quality the song possesses. She is one who had a slower start – even though she is a professional dancer – but really has shown up over the past two weeks, and I know she will continue to dominate the dance floor. Ezra Frech performed a Salsa to “It’s Getting Hot” by Nelly (whom Daniella Karagach danced with during her first season of DWTS!). The costume department bedazzled his prosthetic leg, which made the dance even better. He has given it his all week after week, and I genuinely hope he makes it to the finale. He’s got what it takes to win (as do so many other contestants), but there is something about him that glues my attention to the screen whenever he dances. His Salsa had so much swag and groove; I can’t wait to see what he brings next!Â
Julia Stiles was given a Jazz to “Jenny From the Block” by Jennifer Lopez, but went a different route and performed a Ballet/Hip Hop fusion so she could re-create her viral audition from Save the Last Dance (2001). I watched her movie about two months ago, so I absolutely loved her re-creation of it. I know she has mentioned multiple times over the last few weeks that she has been wanting to redeem herself and this audition, so I am glad she got to do just that. She put her whole heart and soul into this dance; you would not be able to tell that she was nervous or hadn’t danced like this in over 20 years. The choreography was amazing, and even though there were some timing issues, I enjoyed watching her perform!Â
There was some drama this week regarding Harry Shum Jr.’s Samba to “Yeah” by Usher. After their performance, Carrie Ann Inaba (one of the judges) critiqued their dance for including a lift when it wasn’t supposed to, not having enough Samba content in it, and not being challenging enough for Harry. Jenna Johnson (Harry’s dance partner) was visibly upset and shocked at the comments, but kept it professional when asked about it. Now, I do agree with some aspects of the judge’s comments. One, the dance felt more like a freestyle than a Samba – while there were elements of it infused in the performance, it felt more like a halftime show. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but judges need to judge the technique of the dance style they are given, and I would have loved to see him complete a true technical dance without any additional gimmicks. But, I do see where Jenna was going with it as it was Superbowl Night and she probably wanted to lean towards the major performance vibe. Along those same lines, I love that Harry’s hip hop background keeps showing up in their dances, but again I want to see him do a classic dance. My thoughts are definitely a double-edged sword, but he is still one of my top favorite contestants this year, and I hope he makes it to the finale!!
At the end of the episode, Guillermo Rodriguez and his partner Whitney Carson were eliminated. I think this was his best dance to be eliminated with, because he ended on such a high note dancing a Salsa to “TitĂ Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny. I think this week was his time, but his energy is infectious, and he will be missed in the ballroom. Next week’s episode is a fan favorite: Dedication Night, so grab your tissues and come back next week to read my thoughts!Â