In this episode of Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, Cheryl dives deep into last night’s Disney Night on Dancing with the Stars. The show opened with an incredible performance choreographed by Mandy Moore, setting the tone for a magical evening. Cheryl offers her unfiltered thoughts on the competition, breaking down the judges' scores and critiques with no hesitation. She also shares her expert insights, giving valuable feedback not only to the celebrities but to the pro dancers as well. This recap is packed with sharp analysis and constructive criticism—definitely one for the books!
This is Sex Lies and Spray Tands with Me Cheryl Burke and iHeartRadio podcast. Hey guys, welcome back to Sex Lies and Spray Tans, your favorite dancing podcast where we cover all things Dancing with the Stars. It's Disney Night. This is your recap for Dancing with the Stars Season thirty three, and I cannot wait. I've been seeing a few of these pros getting ready for the opening number, so I'm happy to see that there's going to be a big opening number. I think it was choreographed by Mandy Moore, who is the best and if anyone knows how to handle us pros, it is that woman for sure. But I see that all the pros are back, and I think it's going to be a big night, as it is always the history of Dancing with the Stars. Everyone always waits for Disney Night because it is spectacular. There's also going to be team dances, which I'm excited to see. I think we've got a couple of team captains here with Dwight and Daniella Team Roar and Team Goof's team captain of that team is Alona and Allen. Wow, what a spectacular opening number that was. I mean Honestly, I loved Michael. He really killed it. I could tell it was jam packed. It was exhausting. You know the thing when they do these opening numbers, they actually do it twice, so they you know, meeting the pros so or the whole cast, whoever's in that opening number. They do one round like just a run through, full out, right before you go live. So that's why maybe you could see some fatigue happening. It was full of jive. It was so like, it had so much character, and I wouldn't expect anything less from Mandy Moore. She just knows how to make every number she choreographs turn into gold like literally, and he was singing live and I could tell he was kind of out of breath at the end because I'm sure they did it, you know, prior to that round they did another round, so two full like numbers, basically full out with that opening number. It's crazy, but I loved it. I mean, it was so nice to really see these dancers do what they do best, which is dance and entertain It has such a magical feel even behind my laptop here at home, Disney Night is spectacular, and I'm so happy that Mandy was available to help and choreograph this amazing number. It was just so full of what Dancing with the Stars is all about, glitter, shine and lots of fringe. And I'm speaking of fringe. I love Julianne's outfit. I really do. I was kind of I was looking at her and I was like, wait, I wish everyone was wearing that color. But I know with wardrobe. Shout out to wardrobe, they have to get everything from stock because they don't have enough time to make all new dresses. But hopefully they'll collect enough blue to do another blue number soon. AnyWho, I hope she doesn't change Julianne, but I'm so excited. It's actually nice to see that the three judges are there. Sometimes I wonder if the fourth judge is just too long, you know, so not everyone gets to talk, you know, as much as they want to, as far as the judges go. So you know, hopefully they took a few notes from Mark Ballas because he really did an outstanding job last week. So let's move on to what is happening tonight. So there's team dances. There's also going to be an immunity, So whoever is in first place is basically has immunity for next week, so you can everyone's vying for that spot so that they don't have to stress about elimination. I don't know if they're going to eliminate anyone tonight. It is Disney night. Most of the time they don't because Disney. It's Disney. You know, it's a place full of positivity and no elimination anyway, And then they also get bonus points. I believe whoever gets into that first spot tonight. So let's start with couple number one. It's gonna be Steven Netaroshik and Riley Arnold, who I didn't even recognize by the way she looks gorgeous in that red wig. I was like, who is that person? I actually had to watch the opening number twice because I just didn't feel like I caught everything. There was so much going on, but it was all organized chaos. Shout out to Mandy again, amazing job as always. Let's check out their dance now. Okay, so we have longer packages, which I love, and it starts out with Riley and Steven's package. They are doing the Charleston Hercules. I can't wait to see this. This is gonna be a great dance for them, I believe because it's similar to the Jive as far as energy goes, and we all know these two have so much an energy, enough energy for the whole freaking competition. So I love that they're going first. I'm sure they're starting out with the bang as they always do. Now that we're over halfway through the competition, you know, it's all about strategy when I believe this is all a conspiracy theory, but when it comes to the executives, you know, they now know who's getting the votes, so they like to start out strong. They like to also in the middle of the show, so no one starts to fall asleep or tune out. They want to continue that momentum. So I would say, whoever's going first halfway through and whoever's going last most likely has a lot of votes, especially the person going last might have the most votes. I kind of started to follow a pattern when I was on the show with like when I dance with EMMITTT. Smith, you know, we were always towards the end of the competition, if not last. But they like to obviously end with a bang and end with the couple who is causing a lot of I guess social media attention, et cetera. So we'll see. I don't know if that's going to be Jenna or what or Alona. Even so, I love that they're going to get a spray tan, and this was Steven's first experience with the spray tan. I think this dance is going to be great. They are allowed to rehearse in sneakers because it is the Charleston. You definitely don't want to be rehearsing in ballroom shoes when doing the Charleston. So from what I see in rehearsal, you know, Riley's really you know, strict, but yet still having fun, which is very important because about around this halfway point, you either like each other or you hate each other. Believe me, like they are now past that honeymoon phase and your partner could either be getting on your freaking nerves or you guys could have you know, just have gotten closer as friends or what ever. So I believe Stephen and rig Ley are. They have such a great relationship. I do believe they're going to be friends forever. Uh, Steven is just like I said, He's just gonna get better and better. So let's check out their Charleston to Hercules. Okay, so they had so much energy. Like I said, they started the show out with a bang. I thought it was a perfect number to start with, especially after that huge pro number choreograph by Mandy Moore. I loved their energy. I think that you can see Steven has so much more confidence out there, and he is getting better. It's slow and steady wins the race, you know. And I thought the choreography was great. They had some really memorable tricks in there. The only thing is that his timing for the first time. Actually, I don't believe he's had a timing issue until tonight. I believe that he was a little ahead of the music. It could have been a misstep actually, that he might have caused his musicality to be off a little bit. They were doing these like jazz walks down the floor, and I believe he was on the wrong foot. But I mean, mind you, the music is a lot longer. I know that much. It's most likely at least fifteen to twenty seconds long, longer than what we're used to. But and I know that doesn't sound like a lot to you guys, But I'm going to say something right now. Those added seconds, especially when you have a fast dance like quick step or Charleston that means double the steps, like quadruple the steps. Even when you have a rumba. Maybe you know, you can't really tell the difference, but like even I was like, oh my god, this song's never going to end. And I would say the packages are like a minute longer than normal as well, which I love. You know, you start to really get to know everybody. But yeah, there was a few missteps, I would say, But overall, I thought, you know, I think Riley is continuing to push him, and you know, again, it's not about how you start, it's how you finish. And these two are not going anywhere. So as long as they continue to prove and just keep their eye on the prize, they should be just fine. I think the thing that they have to work on moving forward is how do you control adrenaline? How can we This is what I would work on. How can we still use the benefits of the adrenaline running through your body and how can you control it? Like, what is something that you can do? And because Stephen meditates, I would use this meaning when you meditate, your present for the most part, even if you're not, at least you're trying to be. I think it's important that he really stays in the moment more, whether that means him breathing like in through the nose, hold out through the mouth hold. I know this sounds very wooo, but I'm telling you it's not. If Riley were to choreograph breath in their routine, not only would we see him more living in the present moment when it comes to dancing with the music instead of on top of the music, we would see his posture also improve because he's so advanced. And I'm sure he picks up on the choreography quickly because he definitely does his homework and goes home and studies. I think it's important to choreograph breath. I know it sounds crazy with everything else that you have to do, but this is part of the details, and I think this is what's really going to make him improve, is really trying to stay as present as possible. And you know, I used to meditate right before I would perform on the show, and or I would listen to binural beats. And I'm telling you, I don't know if they're listening. I doubt it because they're so busy. But binural Beats is magical, okay, because you just need to put some AirPods in your ears, turn on this app and it will definitely, I guess, in a way get into your subconscious. So whenever I felt anxiety, as I used to do a lot, and I would get very nervous before performance, I would listen to biniral beats. I would listen to specific you know, a specific sound that was really strong, and it would really help, and it made me enjoy the moment instead of just want it to be over. Yes, I still got nervous even after, however, twenty six seasons I've done. But I think that would really help, honestly, And I think too if they work on more of the detail instead of like we already know, these two have energy. Now it's about controlling the energy again. I go back to what I said about work on the maturity between you know, the partnership, and I'm telling you it will. I'd rather have him a little off time, meaning too slow to the music than too fast in a way, just breathe, breathe, And he's very in tune with himself. If this, if he meditates, he definitely knows how to breathe. Okay, so hopefully this helps. I don't know, we'll see. Let's move on to the next couple. Oh, whoops, I have to give my score. I give Riley and Stephen an eight. Let's see what the judges have to say first before we move on to the next couple. Okay, so the judges gave Riley and Stephen all eights. I think that was fair. You know, Steven is really great with his words, Like you can tell his emotion is in it, and he really does want to work as hard as he can to get it right. And I just you know, look, I also think sometimes it's okay, you know, like I hope he is giving himself some grace because this process is really intense, and I think that perfection is never the goal, Like there's no such thing, right, So I think it's important that hopefully, in a way, he takes it easy on himself. And because like when you when you want it too bad, almost the opposite happens. So hopefully, you know, I can tell they still have a really great relationship, and I just hope that he's still having fun with the process. It doesn't work himself to death because that can actually work against you as well. Julianne changed. I wish she would have kept her costume on, but anyway, it is dizzy night after all. But I do love her white dress. Okay, let's get back to more important things. Let's move on to couple number two. Sasha and Jen doing a rumba to the Little Mermaid. Okay, how cute are these two? I mean, first of all, does Jen not look exactly the same like she did when she was a little girl? I swear to God, but a little bit taller. She's absolutely adorable. It always helps to have a personal story, and obviously these two have one, including Sasha the crab. Yep, that's how he made his mark. In Sasha's words, pretty sure that wasn't how he made his mark. But the good thing about Sasha, I have to say, he's always game to do anything. Like he'll be a tree stump, he'll be a crab, he'll even be a seashell if you ask him to. You know, like he's always down. He's such a good he has great sportsmanship, you know, and he's always down to do whatever is asked of him. And you know, especially during the earlier days, we would always just shoot the shit with him, but you know, he's got a great attitude, and I love these two their chemistry. You know, I can tell that the producers were trying to get them not to kiss, but to like maybe have some sort of romantic package happening. But I don't think you know, I know, I said that I hope that they end up being together. I really don't think that's gonna happen, which is better for their career on the show, to be quite honest, as we know, right, so, they just have a great friendship. And in Sasha, I think he was really genuine when he said, you know, you're making this season so much fun for me, and I feel like I've known you for a long time from the moment I met you. And I love how Jen just also shoots the shit with him, and so are you holding my hand? But they have a very platonic relationship and they they seem to be really good friends, and I believe they too, will continue their friendship after the season. I am so happy that Sasha is having a great season, honestly, especially with like you know, the beginning when they did the cast announcement and not knowing if he was going to be a pro or if he was to be part of the troop. So I'm just happy that Sasha and Jen you know, met one another and that they cast her to be a part of the season. I can't wait to see their rumba, so let's check it out. They also mentioned Sasha mentioned that they're going to go more for an elegant and you know, sophisticated rumba, which is obviously the way to go. I couldn't even imagine anyone doing a sexy rumba to this, but yeah, I hope that what I'm going to look for with this couple is refinement, really making sure that her footwork if it means to close your feet, that her feet are closed, that she's distributing her weight from foot to foot because, like you guys know, in the rumba, because it's slower, you see everything. So I'm hoping that they basically have a great foundation and that Sasha really worked on her trans weight transference from foot to foot, being able to fully one hundred percent put your full weight onto one leg, because when you don't do that, you look fragmented and you can't fully settle into your hip and have hip action. So that's very important in the rumba. The chemistry is already there, so there's no need to work on that. It's just about really being able to isolate your body and still do so even if you are not necessarily stepping at the same time. You know. So let's check out their rumba. Hopefully there's no cartwheels. Okay, I just want to say that I loved the music like it was a rendition I believe of that song. I don't know what the song is called, but it's from The Little Mermaid Jenn and Sasha's rumba. Okay, there's a few things. So I thought it was clean. I thought the choreography was good. I wanted to see her really stretch from her rib cage. I saw her leg action after the smoke cleared the ground fog, and I felt like you can see her front leg when she was doing the opening outs when she goes side to side. It was about halfway through the routine. Her leg her front leg was bent, and it's for international rumba, you do need to keep that leg straight. However, I don't think she was fully transferred her weight onto her standing leg, hence why she needed to in a way use the of her foot on the free leg to like create more of a I think a hip action. But all in all, I think to what is missing, it almost looks too easy, which is a good thing, right, It wasn't easy. The routine was not easy, and I don't believe she was off time whatsoever. But what like during those stretch moments, like when Sasha was in a deep lunge and she was stretching all the way up to the balconies, I felt like she could have gone a lot further, like off balance. So if Sasha were to let go, she would fall. Like you have to create that elisticity between the two people, and she in a way she manufactured, which is fine because I mean I have to say her arms are beautiful. She was really and I love her hands. Her hands look gorgeous up to her fingertips. I could tell like that detail was definitely worked on. Because her her arms and her fluidity of her arms and the coordination between her arms and legs matched. I would say for once, what was missing for me was on a performance level. It was like, even though this is a classy and elegant rumba, you can still have awareness of your partner. You can still you know, really, I guess get into it more meaning like whether that is a maybe she didn't feel it emotionally as much because it is Disney night, and I don't blame her, but she could have looked a little bit more focused, whether that's squinting the eyes if I were to try and explain this with my words, but it was like she almost was looking around the ballroom or looking out instead of being fully aware of Sasha, which I've said this before actually with Jen that she needs a little bit more awareness just to always feel his energy with her at all times, and to really push yourself, like don't dance safe. It's week six, You're heading into the finals, and it's important to push yourself. So like there was two moments, those stretch moments that she could have really stretched her ribcage to where her core should have been, her abs should have been really sore because of it. Other than that, though, she was I would say grounded, but also there was a little bit of a happiness. I don't know if it's the wig, because those wigs are heavy. I've worn a few in my day. I don't know if it was hard for her or if she was scared it was gonna fly off. But her turns weren't as slick as what I've seen before. But also there was a weird bouncyness to it, and I think again, kind of like Dwight. I'm not comparing her to Dwight. She's way better, okay, but there is there was a bouncy There's bouncy movement in his rumba as well, and I believe and I do see this a lot with celebrities because they don't feel like they're doing enough, so they add, you know, whatever they hear in the music, which is maybe a bounce. I don't know, but there was there wasn't like the dancing through the music that you do in the ramba. It was a little it was a little off putting. But I have to say I don't believe it was their best dance, but it was a strong dance. And like I said, the ramba is very hard, especially as a celebrity woman, to make entertaining yet still include the technique as well. I give Sasha and jen an eight. Oh. Another thing I want to say is well the judges have to stop acknowledging the booze because you're taking time away from giving notes to these couples, like, okay, who cares if they boo. I think it's important to get everything out like now that they have the time to talk, because everything has been longer, the packages, the dances, and for sure the judges each have a lot more time than what they've been used to the past few weeks. So it's just annoying, you know, I don't know, what do you guys think. Let me know. Let's see what the judges gave and Sasha. Okay, the judges gave Jen and Sasha all eights. It's so funny. You can tell the camaraderie is great because you know they were all egging Sasha on to kiss the girl. It ain't happening, Okay, so stop it anyway. Love it, love their chemistry, love the season, and love the cast chemistry. I think it's very important and I think we're about to see this competition get started because the next couple is Joey and Jenna looking hot as ever. I don't know about you can tell Joey's a little embarrassed about his wig, but I'm telling you, I don't know. I'm interested to see their samba samba isn't easy. I have a feeling though it's going to be great as they always have been. But either the hair is gonna make him feel good because there is like hair is like fringe, right, it moves with you. This is why I used to have that short bob, because there's nothing like your hair after you spin, having it like rebound, you know, it's like a reaction from your spin. It just makes you look faster and sleeker if used the right way. Hopefully he doesn't distract him. Let's check out their package first before we see their samba. Okay, so their package was them just or Jenna for sure being a task master. This is what they used to do with me. They're like only little like you know, short and direct sound by its whether it's like point your foot, straighten your legs, you know. But obviously that's not really what happened. However, I do love how Joey can handle it like he doesn't seem to his ego doesn't seem to be bruised when Jenna, you know, is strict. But they also still have that friendly chemistry and have the utmost respect for one another. I'm interested to see their samba. I don't know. It could either go amazing or it could, you know, maybe slowly go downhill. But we'll see. From what I saw during their rehearsal, I appreciate them wearing dance shoes, and I can tell that they're really trying to see. It's hard because when you've been at the top spot, there's only one way to go Tarzan, and that's down. But let's see. Hopefully that's not the case. They're trying to get a Disney ten, so let's check out their samba. So I have to say I'm a little disappointed. There were some moments of greatness, the rhythm, the rhythmical moments, like when he was playing the drums on Jenna. I loved that, by the way, when she was like crawling back and like she was like contracting, and it was amazing. When she was on her knees and all fours basically, and he was like definitely holding back. There could have been a lot more coming from his center, from his definitely from the rhythm of his core right cause samba, yes there's samba bounce, but some sometimes there isn't, like when you do promenade runs. Also his frame, so it was the arm that was on Jenna's back. His elbow got behind him. So when your elbow gets behind you, you can't dance. You're with and you've broken the frame. So I believe that some of their steps were so long it was almost impossible for him to create samba rotation, not so much bounce. Now, as far as his shoes go, they could have gotten ballroom. I swear to god it would have helped. It just looked so clunky, like I could not stop staring at his feet even when I tried to watch it a second time. His feet just were standing out, which means that his legs, his bottom half was standing out, and he was dancing all on bent legs. There was a there's one samba walk where he did attempt to straighten that back leg. But in samba it's a different type of hip action. Okay, it's your pelvis. Your pelvis has to rotate and open up to the side as your foot. When you do samba walks, your standing leg is facing front right, so it's a it's really about rotating your pelvis from side to side or rotating your pelvis outwards on both sides, and it's just a totally different technique. And it's really hard to make it look natural when his steps were so large and so long. I appreciate because samba also travels. It's a traveling dance, but it was almost like he had to sacrifice the rhythm that he could have used because I know he has musicality. Because his steps were so long, it was almost impossible to rotate his pelvis, and when he was doing these samba walks, his back leg became squatty. So he looked squatty because both legs were bent, and instead of the samba bounce coming from his ankles and you know, slightly straightening to bend and kind of creating that bounce, instead it became so out of control in a way that there was just no It just didn't look like he was comfortable. And I'm not trying to say that that's the goal, but you can tell like he could have gyrated his hips more. He could have really played Jenna as you know, the drums, but there was something. I don't know if it was because his shirt was off or if he was a little self conscious. I always say, look, if your celebrity feels any type of any insecurity happening with a wardrobe, that can be easily changed and fixed on the day, right, So hopefully that wasn't the case. Sambo is really difficult because it depends on how you teach it. Jenna is a brilliant teacher. However, you know, sometimes you have to kind of adapt to your partner's ability and strength. Like there was something with his arms as well, where you know, again he had his palm of his hand or his fingertips on his ribcage. This man is so flexible that he doesn't ever have to do that like we do that with our celebrities, like put your hands on your ribcage when there's no coordination right, And it's almost too hard to teach because you don't have a lot of time to work arms if your celebrity, for example, is still trying to learn the steps. And I don't think that's the case. I don't think it was. The choreography was great. It was just there was moments like when he did the whisk on the stage, right when after he broke the plate and there was there was the whisks alone. His bass was so wide. Definitely not his best dance. I almost didn't I just wanted to see him go for it, like go crazy in a way and really work his wig and you know, have the wigs slap him across the face because he was just gyrating so much. Because there were definitely those moments like I loved the music, I loved everything the whole, you know, lighting, the creative, the choreography. It was just the actual substance wasn't there for me. And you know, again, it's really hard to not dance, to not dance in Latin shoes when doing a Latin dance. He could have been in a Cuban heel and they could have just dyed the shoe that cream color. It didn't do any favors, like you can tell. Also, there was his weight that he wasn't transferring his weight correctly as well, hence why he was squatty. I almost think the floor was too sticky for him. I don't know, I just felt like he was holding back and you can tell that this was not his favorite dance. Put it that way, I give Jenna and Joey an eight. Let's see what the judges have to say. Okay, so the judges gave Joey and Jenna eight eight nine. The nine was a little much in my opinion, let's move on to the next couple we've Chandler and Brandon. Can't wait to see this one. I hope this is her breakout dance. They're dancing to Zombies two of Pasa Dobley. Let's check out their package. Okay, so, first of all, I didn't realize that was Milo. I was wondering who they were panning to in the audience towards the beginning of the show. Now when it comes to Pasa Dobla, this is what I'm going to look for. First of all, though, let me just talk about the beginning of their package, where Chandler expressed discouragement about Carrie Anne's remarks. And I don't know why she would feel discouraged, and I understand that she didn't externalize it. I just hope that instead of feeling discouraged, that she uses that note to really show carry in look at me, you know. I think it's really important that, Yeah, it's okay to get discouraged, but I feel like there is more that we can get from her as far as as emotion goes. Now, I don't I am what I'm going to look for. I don't know what the music is. I don't know if if this is more of a serious pasa doble song or if it's going to be a campy but regardless, she needs to be laser focused. She needs to really be intense and from what I saw, there should be no bounce in the pasa do blay and no smiling. Like if she really is focusing on capturing the audience's attention and getting out of that rut of scores, you know they did go down and scores, this could be a powerful dance. I mean, I'm hoping she like really yells or like screams or something. Because it's it's positobla. You can get away with it and it does help with your execution of movement. Like I always tell my partners, they always end up miking my partners during if they're wearing a shirt, that is, when they're doing a posa dooblay, because I always have my partners go like ha, you know, like it sounds so crazy and stupid, but it does help when you have to like appel or do those in Layman's terms like stomps and really lowering like a stomp doesn't isn't just about stomping. When you stomp, you're lowering your full body weight into one leg, which creates that sound. I'm hoping, like I can. I know already her shapes are gonna be great, but is she gonna be like staccato when she needs to be staccato? Is it gonna be dynamic? Is it going to be soft? And then is she going to create precision and dynamic? And it really this could be her breakout dance. I'm really excited to see it. So let's check out their pasaobla. Okay, so, yes, that was pretty amazing. They're pasaobla. I she definitely turned it up, and I think maybe it was the thing. It was just her. It was her music, and she had her posse and the audio that always helps, and she was ready to prove carry in wrong. So I thought she nailed that. She was really looking into those cameras or she was really intense, like she had laser focus. I think so much. So she forgot to breathe. You can tell she had a little fatigue at the end. But I have to say I thought, you know, there was something with her. I understand that her hands like it was like character right werewolf, but it kind of broke her lines and not in a good way. But I have to say, like, this is so advanced, right, and I'm being really picky, and I just believe that this woman, young woman is so talented. There was a few times I don't know. I believe it's because maybe Brandon may have pulled her off her foot. There was two different leg extensions that didn't look finished. One was after her appel. She was supposed to do a kick, and I know her kick wasn't supposed to just go straight out. It was supposed to be a high kick that was happening in the middle, and it was because she was being pulled off her foot. So I don't know if she should have kicked earlier, if that was a musicality thing or timing that was off. But I mean it was pretty spectacular. Not my favorite song. I wish they would have added a few like more. I wish they would have enhanced more of the instruments instead of the vocals. I believe they were dancing to track, but they still couldn't actually enhance the music even when dancing to track the band. They could have added more flamenco or more whatever instrument they use drums. I don't know it was it, but she heard dance like I would love to see them do pass DOUBLET again to an authentic piece of music. I think it would just be amazing. Her shaping was beautiful, her precision was so spot on, she was laser focused, and she was definitely not smiling, that's for sure. She was really giving it her all, yet still was able to create those soft moments as well and really stretched to her maximum, Like this is what I'm looking for with Jen in a way. She was doing everything beyond what the choreography was. Like. She was definitely stretching from her ribcage, which was beautiful to see. These two are starting to really gel together as a couple, which I mean talk about maturity. I mean, this was like ten times better than her dance last week. I have to say that there was also her attitude kick that she was supposed to do behind her and then again in front and just do a high kick, and I just I don't know if it was fatigue or if she was being pulled off her foot or what it was. I mean, I'm sure she was exhausted doing all that cape work that they did and doing it in sync with the extra dancers. Circling around them, and also the fact that she kind of danced her dancers in the beginning was pretty amazing. My only note would be just to breathe and really build, Like, don't start a routine with everything that you have. You want to be able to tell a story and breathe and find moments again, same thing with like Jen and Sasha. Just find those moments of breath and really get oxygen in your lungs so that you can kill it during that last quarter of your routine, because there's nothing you have to have. Your best movement has to happen the last ten to fifteen seconds of your routines. And for me, I just feel like she was out of breath. Mind you, of course she was like all of that cape work to create, all of that shaping and doing so towards the end of their routine. Wow, it must have taken the wind out of her and Brandon, I mean that was not easy. This was a straight up professional routine. Was it perfect? No? But was it better than anything that I've seen? Absolutely? By far. I give Brandon and Chandler a nine. Let's see what the judges gave them. The judges gave Brandon and Chandler all nines. Let's move on to the next couple, Okay, Phaedra and Val. They're doing Jazz two one hundred and one Delematis. I think this is a perfect character for Faedra, obviously coming from traders, and her being one of the traders. I can see that there's tension that's finally being shown in their rehearsal, though I believe there has been tension all along, except now with the packages being longer, there is no hiding it, right, And you can tell as well that Val is pushing her, like you know, sometimes when you get partners who you know may not win exactly, or who may not be of like Chandler's level, let's say, or of Socheese level in VAL's case. Sometimes not saying Bal does this because he's clearly not. But sometimes the pros will kind of just let things slide, right as far as not aiming for perfection and in a way kind of like feel defeated or whatever, or just say you know, it is what it is. I tried and kind of go in with that mentality, and that's something that Bal does not do, no matter who he dances with. And I appreciate that, you know. And I think he's really trying to hone down on the details with Fedra, not so much making everything more complicated as far as choreography goes, but there's a lot of detail to work with her, and she has to kind of go into this as wanting to learn that, right, And I understand that sometimes you know, when your celebrity, this is what I mean, the honeymoon phase is over, like when your pro gets very short, right. And I can see and I've been guilty of this as well. Either your celebrity gets scared of you and is so scared to make a mistake that in a way, you're kind of like dancing on egg shells. And because of that fear, it's getting in her head and she just keeps in a way messing up because she doesn't want to make because she is messing up, and she also has this feeling of like, oh my god, please don't get mad at me, you know. At the same time, I don't know, it's hard to explain in words, but I hope this doesn't show with her execution. I hope she doesn't dance with fear yet she just goes out there because Ultimately, what's more important is that your celebrity feels confident no matter what. And I heard valsay, do you want me to change it? And there's this is very sensitive to celebrities because when you change a step, whether you voice it in our vocal about changing it or not, they get they find that they take it personally. They think that they're not good enough with the choreography that was given to them, when in actuality, our job as pros is to quickly get this choreography in your body so that you can start working on the detail of the steps. It's not just about getting the choreography, as you guys know, it's about getting it and then taking the majority of the week hopefully to work on the details. That's exactly what they need to do in order to stay in the game. As far as I'm concerned, I would say the two couples that I'm nervous about as far as elimination goes would be Dwight and Phaedra. So she really does need to step it up. And I just hope that mentally she isn't scared of her partner not saying anything like oh balis scaring her or Vals intimidating her. It's just that he wants to push her, and hopefully she's able to take that passion from her partner and use it to her benefit. So let's check out their jazz number. Okay, So Val and Phaedra's jazz number. First of all, I was like, wait, why did it end? Which is a good sign. I thought it was very entertaining. And she looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous. She her waist looks snatched. She owned it. Okay, now I know what's going on. So I first, Okay, So first, when she's dancing with anybody else other than Val, she owns it. I think there is a fear that has been instilled in her, fear of messing up when dancing with Val, so much so she is. I can see it. She's questioning herself, like, for example, like she's always off a beat, she doesn't know what foot she's on. And I've said this, I sound like a broken record. I've said this so many times whenever they dance together. I think it's because she's so scared to make a mistake, and with that confidence that she has and oohs oozing just so much like you can't teach that right, she oozes that X factor, like she doesn't need to do so much in order to grab people's attention. She just needs to she's such a performer. She is like she just needs to do like a small movement with her neck or her head to camera and it'll stop people in their tracks. But then it just changes as soon as Val touches her. She did as far as partnering goes, like when they did the pivots, that was great, though I didn't see her footwork, but then she missed section the next section of partnering, which was like her hip bump, and then she just got a little bit shaky whenever she was partnering with Vowel and when this has Believe me, I've gone through this as well, where in a way my partner's scared of me and that's definitely not it's kind of like you can't go back right. And like I said, I believe there's been tension with them from like Quickstep week. I think that was like week two maybe or three. And I just don't know what advice to give as far as how you get out of that, because it's kind of like a trust not has been broken, but it's hard to also do your job as a pro right when you feel like you have to walk on eggshells and not hurt someone's feelings. And this is where it's easier for the professional women in a way to teach because when it comes to like athletes or not men not generally men in general, but most of the time they can handle it right unless they're super insecure. But with Fhedra, I feel like you can see it in their tone during their rehearsals, like there's a fear and all I can say is just know your stuff so that you can make Valve proud, because I think this is what it is. I think she's just so nervous that she like that devil in your head. I talk about it with Cody in my last interview. And your goal isn't to ultimately make Valve proud. It's to also make yourself ultimately feel confident. And how do you do that by hammering the routine in your head, knowing it forwards and backwards and forwards and backwards. I know I've said this about this couple, but that's it. Like what can you control? You can control what you study, like you have to do the homework, meaning watch your routines because we're all filming everything for a celebrity on our phone. So like know it so well that the next day you walk in and you don't have to be reminded of what foot to be on, like that's the only way. And also don't get in your head, which is so much easier said than done. But also the ultimate goal isn't to make your teacher proud. It's to feel good when you're going on that floor. Like, don't question yourself because you know what's next. I have done the same when I start to get nervous or what even me as a pro like I did it once and just well, I'll never forget it. With chatout Jasinko, I was questioning my own choreography because that devil in my on my shoulder was like, oh, are you going to mess up your choreography? And I did? I did, and then through everybody threw my partner off and it just went downhill from there. So just really know it so that when that voice pops up during the live show, you honestly can shut it up because you know your routine forwards and backwards with Vale and without Vale, and as far as Val goes listen. He's so competitive and he is a perfectionist to a fault, and sometimes with certain celebrities who may not have the same ability of memorizing choreography or executing your choreography the way that he has experienced with Zendeya and Sochi, you kind of have to, whether that is take a break, like just take five minutes, but try not to try to have Fedra have a little bit more fun and don't get on her for every little thing. Especially the first two days. I can tell that Val was asking her do you want me to change it? And that was their very first day of rehearsal because she was wearing the same clothes, so pretty sure. I mean, I could be wrong, but she was basically wearing that same sweatsuit with a hoodie over the top, and he was already questioning her like do you want me to change it? And it was only a couple of hours. I'm assuming into rehearsal kind of like you have to be very intentional with your body language and be sensitive with what comes out of your mouth, because I could tell Phatra's very intuitive and she's sensitive and if there's any type of discouragement coming from her pro partner. From Val, she starts to question herself as well. So I don't know. I don't know if he knows this or what he knows. But you know, some partners are not going to be able just to do it all, and you might have to tell him a thousand times over and over again. No, it's on the right foot, right foot, right foot, other right foot. You know, you just have to adapt to your partner. And I can see that his choreography is clever. Val is very smart with what he does. He's very intentional. You just have to maybe change your approach when it comes to teaching, especially during the early part of the week, those are the crucial moments. So whether that means I understand, Like the choreography itself was not difficult, but what made up for it was the performance. Was the actual spectacular show that they put for us. That they put on for us, That's why I wanted more. I was like, don't have this music end already? Like it was went by so fast because it was so entertaining. So he was clever in that way. But I think what's most important and the priority is to make your partner feel good, even if that means to maybe exaggerate the truth a little bit so that she starts to feel grounded, she starts to feel safe in his arms. Like the judges keep saying, trust your partner, it's hard to trust your partner when she may have a little bit of fear right of messing up to she doesn't want to let him down, and that's also not good. So until that is built, hopefully can be built, like hopefully it's not too late to create that foundation of trust, then there's always going to be that shakiness between this, between the two people dancing together. So I don't know if this made any sense whatsoever. Anyway, I give Faedra and Val a seven. Let's see if the judges have to say. The judges gave Val and Phaedra all eight little high in my opinion. Let's move on to the next couple. Okay, next couple is Danny and Whitney, my favorite. I have to say I was an obsessive fan this weekend watching their performance because it's trending on TikTok. That one move where they where Danny grabbed her ankle and she came up off the floor. I totally would do it, except I don't think my friend she can handle it. Just saying anyway. I love that these two are silent but deadly for real, Like I can see that Danny is his tapping into his athletic mentality when it comes to not like really enjoying the moment of being at the top of the leader board, Like you can tell he's starting over every week, and he's humble enough to do so, like he's not high off of his high score, like this guy knows. Okay. Here we go back to square zero and slowly build, and so I'm excited to see their performance. I think again, these two have so much potential, and they really are my favorite couple so far of the season. Not saying that they're my winners yet, but if they continue on that trajectory, they easily can be for sure. Let's check out. Sounds like it's going to be a fun number. They're Jazz number two, Deadpool and Wolverine. Bye bye bye oh and shout out to Joey Fatone. Oh my goodness, he's gone. We're all just getting older. Joey with his white gray hair. I have to say I plucked out a few gray hairs today too, So I'm with you my friend. Okay, let's check out their dance. Okay, Whitney and Danny, I love it. Okay, I'm gonna be the probably the only person in the world who has never seen the movie. However, I do know about this scene and how there's like comedic relief, right, there's some comedy within Therebye Bye Bye routine, and that to me, they didn't sell it as far as the comedy side of things, however, the actual lifts and the danger of all those fight sequence moments, and then also just like the lifts in general, like some of these lifts that honestly have never been done, go Whitney like normally, like you see Danny, you know, Danielle do all of those lifts, and I'm sure she will when they have a number where they can do it. But Whitney is really pushing out of her comfort zone and this season more than ever before, more than she did with Alfonso, more than anybody with Milo. She really is using what Danny's great at, which is partnering and what a great in a way benefit to have when doing this competition and being able to be paired with someone like Whitney who's willing to be a little daredevil and take risks like that because she trusts Danny. Anyway, I thought this was something new and different. We've never seen anything like this. I just didn't. I wasn't one hundred percent sold on the comedy side of things, which is fine because this is not comedy with the stars, right, But I have to say I wish there was a little bit more content as far as like jazz goes. But I they definitely were in character and they they did the challenge for sure. I really believe that this couple is going to make the final for sure. And seeing Danny's strength and his strength in partnering Whitney and how safe. See that's the difference to you, guys, between how these two trust each other with all of their bodies right and mind, Like you can tell that these two definitely have each other's back versus let's say Phedra and Val for example. A big difference. Anyway, All in all, great performance. Did it get chills all over my body? No? I didn't have any this time, but I was like, oh my goodness, the audience loves them. Her jumping off that freaking walkway and some of the other lifts where she was like on his shoulder and then just straight up drop down to the floor. Kids and people on TikTok. Don't try that at home. Okay, you could literally face plan if you don't do it right. So there's got to be something else in their routine that we can make viral. Here. I give Danny and Whitney a nine. Let's see what the judges have to say. Okay, yeah, I'm with Carrie Anne, like, I have mixed emotions as well. All in all though, I thought it was a great performance, and you know, it's just this is Danny is the definition of what this competition is. He has no dance experience. He's taking it seriously. He's improving every week, you know, and he is definitely getting better and better and just taking it to a whole other level, pushing outside of his comfort zone. He's doing his homework, which you can tell he's never insecure about what is next. You can see like there are moments when they did dance and they did do jazz. They were in sync, no pun intended. The judges gave Danny and Whitney all nines, so they are tied right now at the top spot with Chandler and Brandon which is interesting. I'm pretty sure the team dances will make a difference. But what happens when you have a tie for first? Do they both get immunity? Anyway, let's move on to the next couple. I think we've got one more couple left before we start the team dances. Okay, so we have two more couples left. Excuse me. We've got Dwight and Daniella next, and then ending the last couple with Elona and Alan, and then we've got the team dances. So let's check out Dwight's and Daniella's package. And whoever corrected me on how to pronounce his name, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. I kept saying doll white two syllables, but I just realized from one of my comments on Instagram someone said I've been pronouncing it wrong. Or I think it was one of the actual reviews that I got on this podcast. Don't forget, guys, if you want this podcast to continue past this season of Dancing with the Stars, please don't forget to rate and reviewever you listen to podcasts. But yes, one of the reviews said that I was pronouncing Dwight's name wrong. I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly now, so thanks for that. I do read every single comment, so I appreciate all the love and support and the constructive criticism. I'm about it. I'm all about it, so thank you. Let's watch them next. This is my favorite package so far of Dwight's and Daniella's tango rehearsal. I was shocked when I saw that they're dancing at tango and not an Argentine tango. And I'm wondering if this was something that the executives wouldn't let Daniella change, or if Daniella didn't think about maybe we should make this Argentine tango since you know, they haven't necessarily been higher on the leaderboard. They went from the top, as they explained in their package, to consistently towards the bottom or the bottom of the leaderboard. And I can just relate to when Dwight said he is definitely having a case of fear of failure. And it's interesting because you know, like Cody, and like what Daniella said as well in their Heart to Heart that she just felt his heart pomping out of his chest during their live performance last week when they were doing a rumba and I can relate to that, and all that little voice in your head is is just the devil on your shoulder trying to psych you out. And I think it also had a lot to do with the fact that his kids were in the audience, but maybe also because he wasn't rehearsed enough. I mean, I'm sure he's putting in the rehearsal hours. I just wonder if Dwight's actually taking all of that with him home or if he's leaving it at the studio. And with a tango, as you guys know, like the quick step, there are rules you have to do it in frame. I just hope Carrie Anne doesn't say I wish you would have more body contact. Because of their height difference, it's not possible, so I hope she kind of is lenient with that. I think with Dwight, all he has to do is, again, like Fedra, know his stuff, know what foot he's on. If you were to stop the music randomly in the middle of the song, do you know what foot you're supposed to be on? Or are you split weight and unsure of what is next? Because in tango you're mirror you are mirroring your partner's actual steps, So it's crucial and vital that you don't put your weight on the standing leg that shouldn't be your standing leg. For example, you see everything, especially with their height difference. I hope to see Daniella in an actual, like full skirt so she can hide a few things. And it's really difficult when you have height difference and you're doing an international standard tango because especially since you can't have body contact, it's so easy to look squatty. And from what I saw on rehearsal and I'm hoping that's not the case tonight, his right side where the main frame is for the man, was a little bit collapsed. So I hope he still dances his height and they stay in hold, not necessarily in ballroom frame, but that they stay in hold and at the very least he doesn't miss a step, because I feel like that's what has been happening with Dwight, is that there hasn't been one routine except for maybe there salsa where he didn't miss a step. So let's check out their tango. Okay, so the content itself right there was for sure, the music's a lot longer I can see that, but Daniella really tried her hardest to instill the steps, and you can see every time they did a tango link, his expression on his face was priceless. He was like I think he was screaming, or he was definitely like ha, like he was doing all of that, and he knew when to do that in the music because that was kind of like his reset every time they would be in promenade and they did a tango link. I don't know if you guys know what I'm saying, but it's basically when they both look and do those sharp head movements, you can see his eyes just sparkle or widen, and he was definitely you can tell he was really trying his hardest more than any other week. And I would have to say the beginning when they got onto the floor, or I think they started. He started on the stairs first, but then when they got onto the actual ballroom floor, he did miss just a couple of steps, which then I think kind of threw him off, But I have to say he didn't let it like discourage him. He did his Viennese crosses and the only thing though that I have to say is that they broke hold like four times. And I think if Daniella would have just really attempted to try and at least for eighty five percent of the routine, not even ninety or like maybe even eighty percent of the routine, or just that middle chunk of the routine, if she would have just stayed in frame, because his frame is actually quite good considering their heigh difference. He's not dancing down to her like that must have that alone to teach somebody who's never danced or ballroom danced before and with the heigh difference not to like hunch over or like dance down to your partner. He really stood tall, and he consistently stayed that way. Was probably hours and hours of just hammering that into his muscle memory. I just wish they would have. I think it's all those transitions that kind of throw him off, to be quite honest, if they were to stay in that hold like for the majority of the routine, I don't think that like certain musicality moments like where he could have stayed on the beat would have happened. For instance, I think that he needs to really understand what he's supposed to do, like this is what I used to tell my partners, once you memorize your choreography, can you can you memorize it alone and dance just your steps alone to music and when Like for example, with AJ MacLean, I'm not comparing him to Dwight. I'm saying that when your celebrity starts to understand the choreography, the goal is for you and your celebrity to dance your routine, not touching each other, to music at least market alone and be able to get through it. Then you know your partner has his routine ingrained in his brain. Now. Because of their high difference, he might not feel when Daniella back leads him, but I think they look stronger when they're not breaking hold. They actually looked strong in hold. I wish she would have just kept it that way. Anyway, this was his best dance. I would say, as far as ballroom dancing goes, his salsa to me was still their best dance. However, that was more like as salsa is not considered a competitive ballroom dance, So I would say as far as ballroom dancing, like all of his dances, he's done quick step. I think he did pasa dooble. Rumba. Did you do pasadobla? I'm not sure anyway, The point is this was his best ballroom dance. However, I'm going to score him pretty low because of the fact that they broke hold and I don't think if anyone else did that. If anyone else did a tango and broke hold as many times as they did, highly doubt they wouldn't get called out for it. Just saying I give Daniella and Why a six. Let's see what the judges have to say. Okay, so the judges gave them all eights, which is so shocking because it didn't match their critiques whatsoever. So I don't know if it's because it's Disney Night, but like, again, totally off with the scoring. In my opinion, I would still like to hear what these people can do moving forward, Like, instead of critiquing so much about the dance that they just saw. They're not going to ever do this dance again. It's very rare unless they make it to the finale and have to repeat the same style with a different song in different choreography. What can they do better? Like? That's what Mark did so well last week was gave like general advice on what they can do to improve and to work on. Like, Okay, yes, it's nice to hear positive reinforcement, but what can they do better as far as a general note goes. For me, it's about with Dwight specifically, learn your actual choreography to where you don't need Daniella to dance to your routine to music. With Phaedra, it's about really understanding on her own, doing that work on her own to learn her steps. You know, I can go, I can just list everybody, but like, honestly, I think it's important for these people to really I think it's really important for them to give notes that they can take back with them into the studio or else. You know, you can't say to somebody you need to like stomp harder, or you need to be more grounded in the Pasa doblay when they're never going to do the pasaoblay again for example, or whatever it is, right, you got to give more general feedback, but yes, specific This is where it's challenging to be a judge, especially since they don't have a lot of time to talk. But I feel like a lot has been reactions from the audience, whether that's the judge is saying something to the audience because they're being booed, or you know, Derek saying something like I wish you could hear whatever him yell. And it's like this is not helping, like that, your time is like slowly or quickly going away as far as giving feedback to the couple, So please give feedback anyway, Let's move on to the last couple before the team dances, Alona and Alan. Okay, Elona and Alan, this is my again one of my favorite packages. I just love how much depth Alona has and how she's just not scared to express her actual emotions on her social media. I've been following her closely and I really appreciate her vulnerability someone coming from you know, also the world of Dancing with the Stars where you know, there was a moment a time where I got hounded for my weight, my and it really helps to be able to see someone like Alona embrace her body and continue to express, you know, her messaging about how you know only you can make the judgment and feel good in your body. I appreciate Alona's messaging when it comes to feeling confident in your own skin, and I wish that I was able to actually have someone like that when I was younger to look up to. And I appreciate her honesty and transparency on social media, her not being scared to show emotion. Even though she is a strong woman mentally, physically and everything else, she is also vulnerable and she is not. She doesn't shy away from her vulnerability, which is just so it's so powerful. I hope she knows that that, you know, authenticity and being your unique self is really all that we as individuals and humans can do. And she doesn't shy away from who she is. And we all have emotions. It's just about how or if we show it or not, and she isn't scared to show it, and she isn't scared to also do something out of her comfort zone and just show off her strength and all of the above. So I am very excited to see their jazz. Let's check it out. Okay, I don't know about you, but Alan, I'm actually shocked that production allowed Alan not to show his face the whole time, like the whole routine. Why did the troop have to show their face? I'm just wondering, like maybe I think it was like right, I would have to assume, like from my previous experience on the show, that maybe they got the okay. Maybe at first he wasn't allowed to, but it was really distracting anyway. Besides that, I thought she showed strength. She definitely felt confident in the beginning. Now it just kind of like you can tell during those jazz moments. I don't know if it was because she couldn't really make eye contact with the donkey, but it was. There was no connection because of the fact that he had a mask on or that costume on the whole time. It was really, I'm sure hard to I think eye contact is so important when you are dancing, especially with someone who doesn't have as much ballroom experience. Choreographically, I don't feel like it was Alan's strongest. I wish that there was more dancing and less lifting each other. Also, it was just really distracting. So honestly, it was hard for me to see there wasn't connection because she wasn't able to connect with him because his face was covered the whole time, which is fine, but I would have insisted if I were Alan to at least look like the Troop in that sense where his head his face was still being shown. It was kind of anti climactic. I don't know if it's because we've seen these two lift each other already in their salsa, but I think if this would have been the first time, it would have been a different reaction for me at least. But I don't think this is Alona's doing, honestly. I think that choreographically, again, we could have added more content. Now I'm no jazz expert, okay, or contemporary expert, but I do know this that pority of whatever style you're doing should have content regardless. Lifts to me and all of the nonsense in the background. And I get it's Disney Night. I mean that is great and it has to happen, but there has to be more substance than decor as far as I'm concerned, I give Alona and Alan a seven. Let's see what the judges gave Alona and Allen. Okay, I am so sorry, but the judges were on a role in the beginning of this episode. But like nothing, I don't understand the feedback and the critiques or the comments. I guess that they're giving these couples and then the score that they hold up. Anyway, I'm so confused, especially carry Anne, like what is going on? You're telling her to continue on the same trajectory, yet you're giving her the same or no, sorry, you're giving her the highest score you've ever given Alona, which is nine. However it didn't satisfy you because you felt like when you tell someone to continue on that trajectory of last week, that means this week shouldn't have been as good, right, or am I missing something that is so frustrating? Anyway, there scores nine eight eight shocking an eight even from the other two, Like you're telling her you want to see more content and that you weren't satisfied, and why are you talking to Alona? Like that has something to do with Elona? That has everything to do with Alan when you're not satisfied with the choreography or are you wanting to or like the judges, wanting to see more content? Like obviously that has to do with the pros. So Alona is only doing what she's being told to do, so if that means no content or like not enough dance moves, it's because the choreographer isn't doing it, So why talk to her? And why not talk to Alan? In so confused. Maybe it's maybe it's his mask. Who knows, clearly Derek was distracted to anyway, it's so aggravating. Okay, whatever, I'm over it. Let's move on to the team dances. Okay. So I don't think they made this very clear, but I guess Brandon and Chandler have immunity because they got the highest accumulative score through the season. Was that explained in the beginning. I thought it was just tonight's score, so I thought maybe they were going to wait till the team dances. I don't know who knows. Maybe both teams get perfect scores. But if you see the leader board is quite odd, right, Like, let's just be real. I know we don't compare, Like, there's no I honestly, you can't compare the couples. Okay, However, what you can do is give them the scores that they deserve. And as far as I'm concerned, as many couples as I see tied right now at the bottom twenty four, that's not right. You guys can blame the judges for that. Like Dwight and Jen are tied. I'm sorry, Alona is a point higher than the four couples tied for twenty four, like Phedra and Jen are tied. Like that's the judges. That is all on them and their scores that they've been giving, which hasn't been matching. If they weren't gonna do that, they should match their critiques or their comments to the score. Wow, that's odd. That would piss me off if I was still on the show anyway, Thank God, I'm not. Let's move on to team dances. Okay, so we've got Team roar rhr anyway. First of all, the chemistry between everybody is great. I love their pack. When you know Val, this is where you get to really work with the other pros as far as the celebrities go. And like for Danny, for example, when Val was giving him some pointers on what he can do better, you can tell that Danny was really soaking it up and really trying to digest everything that Val was saying. Because there's nothing like having, you know, a celebrity male and a professional who's also a male dancer, just to be able to pick their brain and just to visually see someone do it is you can't beat it. This is why I've always said mentors are needed on this show, I think to have a professional you know, female and a professional male. I know it's so gender like, I know, oriented, but that's just just the way dancing and ballroom dancing especially is and it's just nothing like it, right. So, I know it's not necessarily routine for Dancing with Stars to have mentors, but I really don't think it would hurt. It would only enhance the performances because clearly the judges aren't giving enough constructive feedback to where the couples can actually improve and come back better. If they were to have mentors that walked into their rehearsals twice a week, you would really be able to see the competition rise up to a whole other level. Because there's only so much your pro can do. You need another set of eyes, just saying anyway, their actual team dance was great. There were highlights, right, there were moments, was everything like in sync. No, And I don't get why would you even assign celebrities to have a solo piece, Like it's just going to be a disaster honestly, and especially with someone like who's already kind of insecure about choreography or you can tell, like with Phaedra to have her in front like we should have had We should have put Stephen in front, then Phaedra, then Danny then Dwight. Like I don't know, I understand why they did that for like esthetic looks, but she clearly wasn't one hundred percent confident. And I don't know. I just feel like put that solo challenge for the celebrities in their solo routine with their partner, not the group number. It's already hard enough to have to like be in line. And this is the thing with group numbers. Not only do you have to look like synchronized swimmers, but you don't really It's more about spacing. And I would have to say, as far as spacing goes, like were they evenly spaced out? Did it look good from afar when the you know, steady cam or the sky camera, the one that basically you see the whole floor like it? Actually it was pretty good. It was pretty spot on. There was just some moments that weren't as memorable as others, except for that last lift Stephen when he was saying in his package, my balls. It was so cute and I loved you heard Stephen after the performance, like everyone, good job, he's such a team player. Obviously this is what he does in his sport, but it was really encouraging, right to see him up, you know, uplift everybody and encourage everyone and to give you know, his positive feedback because it is a team effort. And I have to say the music was very long and they were able to steal, keep it entertaining, and keep it moving. There were some odd camera moments and then there was I think Danny and Whitney attempted to do samba. It just was a little off. I don't know what happened there, but overall, I would say it's average. I'm hoping that this other team coming up is better. As we say, we like to end with a bang. So I give Team Roar an eight. Let's check out what the judges gave them. The judges gave Team Roar all eights. So let's move on to our last team dance. Okay, so but is it Team Goof. I think it is way cleaner, way more rehearsed. Definitely had interesting formations, yet super clean. I'm just not a fan of any of the songs that were being played, but that's just me. I like to feel something when I listened to these songs and none of the music tonight got me full of chills and goosebumps. But that's just me. I know it's Disney night, and who doesn't love Disney. I definitely love me some Disney. But yeah, I look forward to next week as well, where we can get back to the competition. But until then, this team by far was the best out of the two for sure, and I just I loved the way that they integrated their solo. I remember that tango mini line that they did. We did that for Derek's number with Michael Buble during my last season of the show, except with like seventy five people. But I think that was clever because you know, there is no way of messing that up, Like there was no front person to kind of lead the pack. They were all together in the same line. So if that was very clever on the pro's part or whoever choreographed it, I think it was a joint effort. Hence their package. When Joey said there's so many cooks in the kitchen, you can tell that Joey was a little frustrated there, and I can also tell overall tonight everyone's exhausted, right, you're putting, you know, two huge numbers together. You have the same amount of time as when you were rehearsing that one number that you've been used to rehearsing, which is the solo dance with your partner. And then on top of it, these team dances can really put you over the edge sometimes, you know, they have to like get straight into the actual dance studio after that live show last week. I don't know if that was the case for them, or they have the latest like Saturday to actually get together with a live show on Tuesday, and that doesn't leave enough time. So either way, you're just exhausted and it's the halfway point. Honeymoon phase again is over. So everything just irks you and irritates you, and you're beyond tire. So you're either going to cry it out, fight it out, or laugh it out. There's only those three options. But so everyone's doing a great job. Alona seems to thrive off of the exhaustion in a way. She just has the perfect attitude for this show. She doesn't take herself too seriously, yet she does take it seriously right and is also vulnerable. That is the superpower right there. Anyway, I give team goofy or I don't know if I'm saying that right. Anyway, I give the last team a nine. The judges also gave three nines. At least they ended right as far as scores go. Let's see if there's an elimination or let's see who's getting eliminated. Okay, so unfortunately, you know, it is a competition regardless of I guess Disney Night this season, the couple that got eliminated was Phaedra and Val and I have to say, I think this goes back to my conspiracy theory. When people have tension in their package, it doesn't help, especially if you're not already at the top of the leaderboard, Like it's one thing to have tension, and you're like top three consistently on top of the leader board, and then it's one thing to have tension when you're headed towards the bottom of the leaderboard. And I think that people again, it's so transparent, like you can see it, I can see I can see it and feel it through my laptop that I would say, out of all the couples that are left, those two weren't gelling. They just weren't like it was hard for Fedra to trust Val as I said earlier, and I have to say, before I even said those comments or any of it, like watching this in real time as I'm podcasting here and doing a recap, so I had no idea that they were even in Jeopardy or going home, and I am it just proves my conspiracy theory might be right. That's why when I was on the show, I was very hesitant to I would tell my partner's off camera, let's not fight in front of the cameras, okay, because it doesn't You never want to be put in that position where you know, in a way, I think Valve kind of feels upset, and I don't know if he was on the verge of tears. I know Fedra was holding back, but like you know, it doesn't feel good to be eliminated when you've had attention. Package. You just need to always prepare that this could be your last dance, which means it's your last time together in the studio. So how do you want to come across and how do you want your celebrity to feel? Ultimately, And as much as Faedra reiterated how much she thinks VAL's a great coach and VAL's best and all of that, let's not forget. She also said how tough Val is on her, and she also reiterated that not as many times as the positive feedback, but it just doesn't help. It doesn't And I know it's hard because we're all as pro so passionate about what we do and we only are doing it because we want the best outcome for our celebrity and for the both of us. However, sometimes your teaching style has to adjust to your celebrity's personality. It just does, and that is the hard part about the show is that sometimes some people can't handle your authenticity though they ask for you to be strict. Maybe Fedra even requested Val in the beginning, But from the outside looking in, you never really know how intense this show is until you're in it. And the reason why VAL's the best is because he expects the best from his partner. However, when you have someone who isn't the best, you're gonna have to adjust. So hopefully, moving forward, Val can learn from this, and I hope Pedra all in all had a great experience. She will be missed. Sending you guys love, don't forget to rate, and review wherever you're listening to this podcast, and thank you again for all of your support and all of your amazing comments, reviews, keep them coming. You can do it more than once. Sending you love until Headlines talk soon. Good night,