Dance Your Ass Off – Week Five
Aired 7-27-09
After last week’s double elimination, only 7 contestants remain. Host Marissa Jaret Winokur showed up at their loft to announce that the show would be assigning dance styles this week. Each person drew their style and movie song choice from a bucket of popcorn. Some were thrilled and others were panic stricken.
I have to say, I could really see a difference in the appearance of each contestant this week. Hopefully they could see it too.
Shayla & Mario: Shayla was still battling her ankle injury this week which limited what she could do physically. She was assigned a hip hop routine to “Low” from “Step Up 2″. Her partner did a great job with the choreography. The focus always stayed on Shayla and the moves were interesting. Shayla doesn’t have Pinky’s sharpness in hip hop but she did still do a very credible job. Mayte Garcia scored the dance an 8 saying she appreciated how Shayla was fighting through her injury. Lisa Ann Walter called Shayla a star and gave it a 9 adding that it was great to see her do something other than sexy. Danny Teeson gave Shayla an 8 commenting that she was starting to separate herself from the rest of the pack. Average: 8.3. On the scale, Shayla lost 5 pounds for a total of 2.60%. Total Score: 10.90. She was beyond thrilled.
Pinky & Mr. Lucky: When last we checked in with Pinky she was down to just 951 calories a day and wasn’t losing much weight. Of course not! She was in starvation mode. She met again with the show’s nutritionist (Meg Werner Moreta) who said Pinky was eating too much peanut butter and jelly. How much PB&J can someone eat on 951 a day!?! Pinky said that, this week, she was making a point of eating all her fruits and vegetables. Pinky was assigned a tap routine to “Shout” from “Animal House”. She’s a very gifted dancer but Pinky was out of her element. You could see the effort behind every step. None of it looked natural. Mayte called the performance “OK” and gave it a 6 because of the lack of connection between the partners. Lisa Ann said she did see a connection but added that there was a bit too much Latin influence which caused Pinky’s upper body to be too loose. She gave it a 7. Danny liked it but didn’t love it and gave it a 7. Average: 6.7. For the week, Pinky lost 4.2 pounds for a total of 2.35%. Total Score: 9.05.
Miles & Michelle: Miles isn’t a trained dancer (he said he’d never had a lesson) so this week’s routine was tough for him. He said he was trying to just stay focused – particularly on his eating. He was much more concerned with being sent home because of a lack of weight loss than for low dance scores. Miles had to do a Jazz routine to the theme from “Fame”. How do I say this gently? It was clearly a routine choreographed by a girl who wasn’t remembering that her partner was a man. It was all rather silly and sloppy. Mayte gave it a 5 saying it looked like a dance recital. Lisa Ann also gave it a 5 saying it just didn’t do anything for her. Danny (whose face was priceless as he watched) said he “absolutely hated it.” He gave it a 6 because Miles was at least trying. Average: 5.3. On the scale, Miles lost 6 pounds for a total of 2.48%. Total Score: 7.78. He was not a happy camper. Miles, buddy, your partner let you down this week.
Mara & Paul: Mara has a very touching back-story. She lost her brother to complications from diabetes and is diabetic herself. In just 5 weeks she has lowered her blood sugar levels to the point of not needing her medication. She was assigned a Tango to “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” from “The Wedding Singer”. Mara has a big, boisterous personality so the constrained nature of the Tango had to have been a challenge. It started off weak but, once Mara got to her solo section, it all kicked into high gear. Mayte gave it an 8 saying she loved the connection. Lisa Ann also liked the sections that had Mara dancing separately and gave it an 8. Danny gave it a 7 saying he loved the routine that Paul designed. Average: 7.7. For the week, Mara lost 5 pounds for a total of 2.03%. Total Score: 9.73.
Ruben & Hilary: Ruben was feeling very positive about himself. He was feeling healthier and could see the physical changes in the mirror. He wasn’t, however, feeling too good about his dance. He had to do a Foxtrot to “Old Time Rock and Roll” from “Risky Business”. I think they had the toughest song/dance combination. They did their best to put some appropriate personality in the routine but the traditional Foxtrot steps just looked out of place. Mayte enjoyed seeing Ruben’s obvious love for dancing and gave him an 8. Lisa Ann gave it just a 6 saying she was disappointed by the lack of passion, power and actual Foxtrot steps. Danny gave it an 8 saying he had very low expectations for the routine but was pleasantly surprised. Average: 7.3. On the scale, Ruben lost 10.3 pounds (Wow!) for a total of 3.64%. Total Score: 10.94. He’s lost a total of 41.8 pounds since starting the show!
That left Trice and Alicia in the bottom two for weight loss and Miles in last place on the leader board.
Trice & Jesus: Poor Trice. She had to do a Fosse style dance to “All That Jazz” from “Chicago”. Bob Fosse did not choreograph for voluptuous women. Supermodels were probably too curvy for him but Trice gave it her best shot. Several of the moves looked awkward (how could they not?) but she nailed the personality of the dance. Mayte congratulated Jesus on the job he did training Trice. Lisa Ann liked that Trice was still able to bring the joy and fun even while focusing on her posture. Danny said Trice made up for her flipper like feet with performance and style. For the week, Trice lost 3.9 pounds for a total of 1.55%.
Alicia & Italo: Alicia took previous criticism from the judges to heart and worked on strengthening her core. She had to dance a Jive to “Maniac” from “Flashdance” and she went for it with all the classic moves and even the torn sweatshirt. My problem with it was that she did it all with a rather angry look on her face. Mayte said she could see improvement with Alicia’s core but she needed to also focus on staying with the beat. Lisa Ann somehow saw joy (?) in the dance but noted that some of the Jive steps were not as complete as they should have been. Alicia got a little defensive over that remark. Danny was bothered by the lack of actual Jive steps. For the week, Alicia lost 4.2 pounds (which is a good number for someone in the bottom two) for a total of 1.76%.
Miles, Trice and Alicia lined up for the final results.
Alicia: Mayte – 7, Lisa Ann – 7, Danny – 6. Average: 6.7. Total Score = 8.46. She was safe.
Trice: Mayte – 7, Lisa Ann – 8, Danny – 6. Average: 7.0. Total Score: 8.55.
Miles was going home. He was sweet, gracious and funny in defeat. I’m going to miss him. Trice, on the other hand, seriously lost points with me by going crazy with her celebration right in front of Miles. Honey, that wasn’t your moment. It was his and you just looked thoughtless.
Next Week: It’s Swing dancing and the person who finishes in the top spot will get to make a call home.
Bonus footage and sneak peeks are available at Oxygen’s website here:
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