Pop Culture Kitty

Dance Your Ass Off – Week Four

Aired 7/20/09

The episode began with host Marissa Jaret Winokur visiting the 9 remaining contestants at their loft with a big announcement.  This week there would be a double elimination.  Ruben and Miles responded to the news with confidence bordering on cockiness – which is usually the reality show kiss of death.

The good news of the week was that Brandon has lowered his blood sugar by over 100 points.  He’s one of the people with the most serious health problems so it was good to hear he had things going in the right direction.

As usual, the two contestants with the lowest percentage of weight lost for the week danced last.

Miles & Michelle:  This pair has been using a camcorder to record their rehearsals so Miles can study his technique.  He really is more of a character dancer and he looked challenged this week because the Latin style demanded more real dancing.  He did well on the lifts but looked awkward on the relatively simple steps and hesitant on the transitions.  Judge Mayte Garcia gave it a 6 saying she wanted to see more strength from Miles when he’s partnering.  Lisa Ann Walter thought Miles did well with a style he wasn’t used to and gave it a 7.  Danny Teeson said they could have made better use of the dance space and gave it a 6.  Average:  6.3.  On the scale, Miles lost 4.3 pounds for a total of 1.75%.  Total Score = 8.05.  Yikes!  Miles may be in big trouble.

Trice & Jesus:  The show’s nutritionist (Meg Werner Moreta) had Trice drinking anabolic shakes to reduce the lactic acid in her muscles so she wouldn’t get so sore from working out.  Trice was also being careful about her calories because of the scare she got when she was almost eliminated the previous week.  They showed her reducing her serving of chicken from 4 ounces to 2.  Ummmm.  I’m not sure that is the healthiest message to send.  One can get too carried away with the calorie cutting.  I really like Trice because she never seems to doubt that she is hot stuff when she’s dancing.  I thought she was really working it through the number.  Mayte gave Trice a lot of compliments on her strength and technique but only scored it a 6 because of a mistake in the choreography.  Lisa Ann gave it a 7 saying she was pleased to see Trice doing steps outside her comfort zone.  Danny would have liked more hip action but also scored the dance a 7 because Trice went for a new style.  Average:  6.7.  For the week, Trice lost 5.9 pounds for a total of 2.29%.  Total Score = 8.99.

Alicia & Italo:  Alicia was excited for Latin week because her partner is a top Latin dancer and she’s part Chilean.  They spent the week focused on technique.  I’ll admit that I can’t really judge that part (I couldn’t tell you if Alicia lead with her heel or toes) but it seemed that the speed of the dance reduced the sharpness of her moves.  Mayte gave it a 6 saying that she liked the sensuality but thought the footwork could be sharper.  Lisa Ann thought the hip action was good but that Alicia needed to extend herself up so her upper body movements could be bigger.  She also scored it a 6.  Danny didn’t care for the lift saying they weren’t ready for it, but he liked the progress he was seeing and gave the dance a 7.  Average:  6.3.  On the scale, Alicia lost 6.4 pounds for a total of 2.61%.  Total Score = 8.91.

Ruben & Hilary:  Ruben was very proud of having lost the most weight so far.  He said that his calorie minimum was 1,735 which struck me as a healthy and realistic number.  The difficulty I have with Ruben is that, since I know he was a professional dancer, my expectations for him are always high.  Once again, I didn’t feel like the dance really challenged him.  The moves he did, though, were sharp and confident.  Mayte thought the whole thing was great and “hot, hot, hot” and gave it an 8.  Lisa Ann thought the technique was spot on and scored it a 9.  Danny also gave it a 9 but added that Ruben had to warm up a bit at the beginning and needed to work on being ready right out of the gate.  Average:  8.7.  For the week, Ruben lost 4.7 pounds for a total of 1.63%.  Total Score = 10.33.

Shayla & Mario:  Shayla hurt her ankle during practice and was told by Dr. Huizenga that she could only walk through her routine for the rest of the week.  Her regular workouts were also changed to include more work in the pool.  Shayla’s goal was to not have the injury show on the dance floor and I think she accomplished that.  It was a smooth and stylish Salsa.  Mayte gave it an 8 saying the dance was on fire and she also couldn’t tell there was an injury.  Lisa Ann loved everything about the number and gave it a 9.  Danny said it was a perfect mix with an unbelievable performance.  He also gave it a 9.  Average:  8.7.  On the scale, Shayla lost 4.3 pounds for a total of 2.19%.  Total Score = 10.89.  Shayla was in first place with Miles and Alicia in trouble at the bottom of the scoreboard.

Mara & Paul:  This partnership was running into some personality issues – meaning two big personalities were trying to run over each other.  The background clip made it seem that Mara was trying to work things out while Paul was being intractable.  I think it was Mara’s weakest dance so far but that probably had more to do with the style than from any conflict going on between her and Paul.  Mayte gave it a 6 saying the footwork and the connection between the pair could have been stronger.  Lisa Ann said it can be difficult for a strong, modern woman to let the man be the boss but, on the dance floor, that’s the way it is.  Mara still had to learn to let Paul lead without fighting it.  She gave the dance just a 5.  Danny saw it completely different and thought the tension made it more interesting.  He gave it a 7.  Average:  6.  On the scale, Mara lost 3.5 pounds for a total of 1.40%.  Total Score = 7.40.  Oh, oh!  That put Mara in last place!  It also made Alicia safe from elimination.

Tara & Michael:  Tara was thrilled because she’s already down two jeans sizes.  As for the dance ….. I felt bad for her.  It was all quite awkward and unsure.  To top it off, she almost fell on the final move.  Mayte gave it a 4 saying the footwork and technique weren’t there.  Lisa Ann gave it a 5 saying Tara’s more of a rocker chick.  Danny said it was clear at the start that Tara didn’t believe she could do it.  He also gave it a 4.  Average:  4.3.  For the week, Tara lost 4.2 pounds for a total of 1.85%.  Total Score = 6.15.  Oh my.  I think Tara is toast.

That left Brandon and Pinky in the bottom two.  It was Brandon’s third time in that position!

Pinky & Mr. Lucky:  Because Pinky hasn’t been losing much weight, the show’s nutritionist dropped her calorie intake from 1,089 to 951 per day.  I know Pinky’s one of the smaller contestants but come on!  That’s too low for someone who is sedentary.  It’s ridiculous for someone who’s doing intense workouts.  Bob Harper would have a fit over this.  I think Pinky is probably the best overall dancer in the cast.  While this may not have been her best number, she still did very well.  Mayte said it was obvious that Pinky wasn’t use to dancing in heels – but she loved the ending backbend.  Lisa Ann thought it got a little “stompy” in the middle which was either caused by the heels or by Pinky reverting back to her normal hip hop mode.  Danny liked the choices that were made with the choreography.  On the scale, Pinky lost 1.4 pounds for a total of 0.78%.  I’d bet money that if she got her calorie intake up to 1,300 per day she’d lose a lot more.

Brandon & Yesenia:  Brandon’s setup clip made it sound like he was feeling good about the calorie intake and workouts for the week.  But, given the extreme plan that Pinky was on, I’m a bit concerned that they had Brandon at too low a daily calorie allowance as well.  Yesenia gave Brandon some really challenging choreography this week and I thought he did a solid job with it.  Some of the moves were very slick.  Mayte thought it was a good performance but said Brandon still needed to go full out through the whole number.  Lisa Ann loved the tricks but Danny wanted more of the basics.  For the week, Brandon lost 1.7 pounds for a total of 0.77%.

Pinky, Brandon and Tara lined up for the final results.

Pinky:  Mayte – 7, Lisa Ann – 8, Danny – 8 for an average of 7.7.  Total Score = 8.48.  Pinky was safe and Tara was the first to go home.

They then brought Mara out to stand next to Brandon.

Brandon:  Mayte – 6, Lisa Ann – 6, Danny – 6 for an average of 6.  Total Score = 6.77.  Brandon was also going home.

Tara was the picture of composure but poor Brandon was quite tearful.  Bless her heart, Mara also got teary but it was obviously out of support for Brandon.  She kept telling him to remember everything she’d told him.  She certainly didn’t seem to take any joy out of beating him.

Next Week:  DYAO goes to the movies with Hollywood themed dances.  Yes, someone is wearing a torn sweatshirt.