Jaime Goodwin reveals she used to harbor a secret desire to be a basketball player, despite the fact she was 5’3″ and didn’t now the first thing about the sport. Hokuto “Hok” Konishi grew up playing the violin and still sometimes plays on and off. He was sad to see Jesus go, as he had become a really good friend and taught him a lot. This week he and Jaime are dancing the waltz, choreographed by Toni Redpath. With this waltz they’ll be able to tell more of a story than the traditional waltz. Hok is dying and Jaime is his lover, wanting him to come back. Toni thinks they have actual feelings for each other outside of dancing, but they refuse to talk about it. Dancing tonight to Angel by Sarah McLachlan, they start off lying on the floor, then he carries her on his back, before they swoop in and start their waltz. He can be quite elegant, and it matches his accent.
Adam tells Jaime she has such beautiful lines and a magnificent carriage and poise. This is suited for her. He thinks her husband will have a fantastic dance at their wedding. It’s not suited for Hok, yet he still thinks he performed it beautifully. Mary tells Hok the beginning was extremely well done, but she wishes they could have seen more rise and fall across the floor. She thinks the choreography hid the fact that he couldn’t dance the waltz. Jamie’s effortless dancing made her forgive a little bit that it didn’t look like a fantastic waltz. Nigel thinks Toni’s choreography hit it, as she played to Jamie’s beautiful lines, taking our minds off the fact it was a waltz. He thinks we only saw 4 measures of an actual waltz, and blames this on Hok’s low center of gravity.
Lauren Gottlieb answers a question that has been gnawing away at me, and that’s why it said “Misha” on the screen during her original audition. She says she has been confused for being Asian before, so she created another identity, “Misha Chan,” and she sometimes auditions under that name. Last week they did the tango, and this week they are pulling jazz, choreographed by Wade Robeson. Like all the the others they walk in doing “jazz hands,” and also like the others it has no place in this jazz dance. It will be the classic story of good vs. evil with Neil playing a dark villain disguised as a suave gentlemanly type, and Lauren an innocent angel type. Everyone realizes the characters are the exact opposite of the dancers themselves. Dancing to Night of the Dancing Flame by Rosin Murphy, it almost looks like it should be contemporary instead of jazz. It’s just odd, but then again, it’s a Wade Robeson thing.
Adam says this is how dancing should be, all about acting, breathing, experiencing, having relationships, etc. He doesn’t believe Neil has ever been this good before, and it wasn’t just about tricks. He saw the same full performance level with Lauren. Mary tells them they’re scaring her tonight. When they first started, she didn’t give them enough credit and didn’t think they could pull it off, but they absolutely did. It was so intense as their legs were crawling up the stage. Nigel adds they are graced this evening by Vanessa Williams, whom he says did the song Save the Best for Last, and he believes they did just that. He loved the fact that Wade gave them characters to play. It’s like more meat on the skeleton.
Skeleton? That’s kind of an odd analogy for a dance. Then again, it is Wade Robeson. I can’t even fathom a guess at who will appear in the bottom three couples tonight. The only ones that didn’t get good marks from the judges were Hok and Jaime but he’s such a huge hit with the fans. I fully expect him to be final 10. Perhaps Lauren and Neil will be bottom three, for as good as the judges said the routine was, they just aren’t standout personalities.
Who are your favorites of the top 12? Will Cedric finally be asked to leave? Email me at LauraBelle@realityshack.com
For more on Nigel Lythgoe, see Nigel Lythgoe – aka Nasty Nigel, and for more on Mary Murphy, see Mary Murphy – Whoo! To see my reviews on other products and services, see my page atViewpoints.