Dive into a thrilling semifinal rewatch on this week’s episode of “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans,” where we revisit the unforgettable Season 2. Join us as the last four dynamic duos, including fan-favorites Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke, compete in a high-stakes dance-off. For the first time this season, each couple will perform two individual dances, showcasing their dedication and skill. Plus, Cheryl Burke shares an insider scoop on why she believes Jerry Rice, paired with Anna Trebunskaya, had more than just fancy footwork to credit for his advance to the finals. It’s a strategic revelation you won’t want to miss as Cheryl revisits the season that transformed her career.
This is sex Lies and Spray TNDS with Me Cheryl Burke and iHeartRadio Podcast.
Welcome back to Sex Lies in Spray TNS, the rewatch series. I cannot believe we're already at the semifinals for season two. We only have one more week until the big finale. Holy hell. This kind of went by slow yet so fast at the same time, especially this next round coming up. We've got two dances each with only four couples left for a three couple final. I don't know about you, guys, I kind of love how intimate the semifinals and finals were back in the day. I really love the fact that there was only three couples in the final as opposed to four couples in the final. That's more, I guess, equivalent to what you would see at a dance competition, like a real dance competition. So let's just get straight into it. We've got two full dances, so right away, I'm going to expect to see the level of dancing and execution go down quite a bit, because when you have two full dances each around back then, I think a minute and a half to a minute and forty five seconds per dance, you know, you only still have a few days to rehearse, so time again is not on your side on Dancing with the Stars, and with two solo routines, you just can only spend half of the time that you would normally spend on your one routine on each dance for the semifinals. So they already tried to prep us right by doing these group numbers. But I have to say this is a shock to the system. The tension, I believe, especially with Drew and I rose by a lot. You know, there's a lot of pressure that you know, I'm sure the execs wanted this head to head with Stacy Keepler and Tony Devlani. I you know, we got a perfect We were coming from a perfect score with our tango, but Stacy had also gotten a perfect score, and I know Drew just got super competitive and we both got super skinny, Like this was really just stressful time. And clearly we didn't eat through our feelings. We more like just danced through it because it was tough, Like this was not an easy week. There's so much pressure when it comes to, you know, keeping those scores up because right now you don't know the votes at all. Actually, I remember we went to Disneyland. I believe it was the semifinals, And until that day when we were at in the park, I didn't realize how popular the show was until we actually left the dance studio and into the real world. I mean, we feel and I don't know if they paid these people or if the show was truly that popular, but we like we couldn't see anything but just heads of people when we were performing, and when they set up this whole out of studio package for us to go to Disneyland and perform, and wow, I mean, as far as I'm concerned, that that was the first like jaw dropping moment for me as to like how big this show actually was when it comes to just real life, because like, we're very sheltered when we do the show because we don't have time to do much, let alone go out and let our hair down. Anyway, let's start with couple number one. We've got Stacy and Tony doing a quick step for their first dance. Tom says, can she possibly do it again? Is WWE star Stacy Keebler and her partner Tony Devlani, meaning can she come back with another perfect score? I'm assuming is what Bern meant. So it has a recap. It shows a recap of their gi that they got a perfect score on. Stacy got up in close and personal with the judges and kept her streak of perfection alive with her jive. Tom says, and a perfect score again, it's two weeks in a row with a perfect score. And Tony says, when you get two perfect scores in a row, you know, where do you go from there? You know, coming up? Tony says, it's the most challenging. We get why because we have two individual dances in the Chatcha and the quick step, and we got a decent We have to really step our game up, I keep saying to Tony. Stacy says, like, you have to pull out all the stops. Now, Wow, you got three freaking tents two weeks in a row, so shut up and be quiet.
Now.
It's so interesting here, you guys, because as I'm watching this package, the tension has definitely got to the best of the both of them. Tony is basically not wanting to hear any pointers from Stacy, which is completely understandable, Like, I hate it when my partner alludes to the fact that my choreography is basically not exciting enough or hard enough, or challenging enough, or even worse when your partner, this is where you break the trust, right like when your partner in a way without saying it, you know, straight up, but like beats around the bush and basically says, well, so and so, you know, take more risks or Derek does more tricks or this's the worst like this, This can't be more of a I guess dis and show any type of disrespect than when you do that. I feel like Stacy was kind of I can almost guarantee she was egged on by their producer to basically confront Tony and ask him for harder choreography. If you listen to my interview with Marissa Jared Monoker, you'll hear her say the same thing that they try to pin Tony against, or try to pin Marissa against Tony by asking Tony for harder choreography, or if he thought maybe it was the choreography, and it's like, look, I don't like to ever talk about other people's choreography. It's their interpretations, their art. Now, when you're doing a quick step, you have restrictions. You can't really do much more other than what you have to do and hold. Now, could the timings be changed up? Could the dynamic and like the syncopations be better or more challenging? Yes, But also let's take into consideration that they've got two dances, which means they don't have as much time to work on detail. So why don't just keep the routine clean, don't break hold, follow the rules, work on her heel leads and gliding, and work on some personality and call it a day. That's all you have time for. And Stacy remember went onto this show with dance experience. Imagine you know it's not about It's not about how hard the choreography is. It's about the execution of how the whole routine looks like one big step right like you don't want to see any awkward transitions or mishaps. And when you kind of make it challenging for no reason because a judge thought it should be more challenging, that by no means should be your motivation to make the routine more challenging when it's already challenging. In general, this show, regardless of if you have dance experience or not. Stacy goes no, But I know what pressure is because we have to be able to switch characters from one to the other at a drop of a hat. The song is angry. The girls are pissed off at the guys. When Len made a comment about her tango, Tony says how she was a cold fish. Because Stacey had some trouble expressing herself throughout the dance. I think an actress that has been through those roles would definitely help. So the producers aka Tony, thought, why not bring in an actress so that we can help bring out that personality of Stacy and bring it out onto the dance floor. So there's this actor who or actress who shows up to rehearsal. I'm pretty sure this woman, I know, I recognize her face, pretty sure she was wanting to be on the show. But basically she's teaching Stacy like how to be Lola versus Priscilla. So like for their Chascha, they're dancing to like an angry Kelly Clarkson song, I think, but I don't know. I don't And Chascha is supposed to be still so fun and cheeky, right, So like, I'm not so sure if this is going to read or not, but for their quick steps, she's supposed to be like Priscilla. So they named these two different characters that they're going to portray in their two individual dances. But let's focus on the quick step. So now it cuts to the quick step wearing two classic costumes. Tony's got a tail suit made by mister Garro and Stacy just looks gorgeous in a like peach satin gown. Their quick step was I think it was solid. Was it memorable?
No.
What I didn't love was the fact that there was just it was like almost like a come Dance with Me video where you could follow along with them, because it was like that much of repetition in the beginning. I understand like, as pros, we like to kill time because we don't want to have to stay and hold for longer than what we need to be which is literally five seconds at the top five seconds. At the end of the routine, you're allowed to not be in hold. But that's this was longer than five seconds. This was like a solid fifteen seconds. And you know, the music that they danced to is kind of similar to when Drew and I dance Star quick step. It's just kind of monotone. It doesn't necessarily go louder, there's a different musical instrument. It's just all one tone, right, So it lacked glide, like she didn't really use like the power of her legs, like the potential of what she could have used as far as gliding and say with Tony, like TONI is also her height, if not taller, he could have really driven through her, like he could have really used the floor in a more powerful, elongated way. Instead, it was just like one little hopskip hop skip pop skip, and like there was a transition at the end as well, where you know, she definitely could have added like a spin into like their ending, you know, open bit. But as far as the actual hold goes, she'd definitely maintained that. I thought that was great and consistent throughout. Stacy could have really projected more, like she could have had her posture right instead of just being upright and straight. She could have extended her her upper body back right as if someone was pulling her hair, and her chest could have been more open. Her angle of her position of her head could have changed from side to side. When doing scattered hussays, which is a basic quick step move, it just looked too happy, and almost like it just looked too careful, like they were kind of dancing on eggshells in a way, so scared not to have not to mess up, God forbid. It's almost like you wanted them to stumble, like to see something, which actually I did see coming out of these scattered schussays Stacy did stumble a little bit. Look, it's always awkward to have to like smile and put a face on when you're doing quick step because you are stuck in hold, which means you're looking opposite directions, right, Like if you look at your partner when you're in ballroom hold, you're breaking the line. So that doesn't look good. So in a way, you kind of just have to find the joy from within. And I think that if you're not an actual dancer, and you know Stacy was struggling with feeling throughout the season, it's kind of like you've heard this song now that you're dancing too a thousand times, like this is the last song you want to hear after you finish your dance, and then on top of it, you know, maybe your nerves are getting the best of you. I feel like, in a way, you know Stacey was, Look, there's a fine line of like trying too hard, meaning like putting on a fake, manufactured smile, or truly being just happy to be there from within and when you are find when you find that light from within. I know this sounds so cliche, but it's true, but when you find that light, there's nothing beats it. You can't manufacture a smile. I mean you can, like you can show teeth. That's what I would always tell my partners, especially Rob Kardashian, like show your teeth. Don't just smile like sarcastically, like show your teeth. For people like that who are not natural performers, especially like live shows, or it's in a net or isn't an athlete, it's fine, But like with Stacy, it's kind of like you wanted more. I wanted. I basically saw it, and I was like, Okay, this would have been great for week three, especially only because of what she has executed throughout her time on the show from week one. So with all of this being said, I thought it was good. There was really nothing horrible. Could have been more, could have crossed the boundaries a little bit, or crossed the line when it comes to gliding and power. Absolutely, but again, with so little time and two full dances, it's almost impossible to get that in. I give Tony and Stacy an eight. Let's hear what the judges have to say. So it starts out with len Goodman saying that we've seen in the last few weeks doing two dances is extremely difficult, obviously, So what I'm expecting this week is that they come out all guns, because you know why, this is the semifinals, and you know at the end of the day you need to get a place into that final. And basically pointing to Stacy and Tony, Lenz said, you did exactly that, Carrie, and said, well, let's just say this. You've got great articulation of your feet. I like to watch your feet and the way you extend everything out to you through your hands. I like to see, though a little bit more risk taken from you because you are so fantastic you cannot do risks. Len and the judges banter so hardcore here, it's amazing. I miss that so much. Again, I keep saying this every episode, but it's true, Carrie on goes. You know, look, you stay within, playing it safe, you know, And I know, I want to see you really kind of get on the edge. I want to feel like, oh, she's not gonna make it, or she's gonna make it. And I haven't gotten past the fact. Toom says, I haven't gotten past the fact that you're the only person in the country looking at her feet. That's funny, Bruno says, Anyway, that was a symphony of beauty darling. He's always been a great judge for Stacy. He has a huge crush on her, you can tell. Bruno goes, that was a symphony of beauty, darling, and that was it. That's all the time that they had. Anyway, So they run back to the red room to Samantha and let me just add here that I don't know if you guys remember my interview with Samantha Harris, but she basically said how they had to get their make She had to get her makeup done where we would get her makeup done the trailers, like, she didn't have her own makeup artists. And though she still looks gorgeous, I could definitely tell. Also, I mean, we danced last during this week, but my makeup, what in the world, I'll never forget. I was not only addicted to tan, I was addicted to glitter and like shiny like makeup. Because I had so much shiny white shadow underneath my eyebrows. I was like, I could see my reflection from watching this at home on my laptop. It's insanity. Cannot believe that I was allowed to look like that. Oh good times. Basically, Samy that goes. I got to tell you, every time you're out on that dance floor, you make it look so effortless. And tonight, you know, two dances this week, even for you, that must have been difficult. And Stacy goes, this was one of the most stressful weeks I've ever had in my life. Honestly, you know, it just looks so much easier than it is. And two dances this week, four days just to learn two dances. We were at each other's throat. I love her honesty, to be quite honest. She said it was stressful, but somehow the magic just happened out there and it was good. I would say the magic really was there out on the dance floor. But this week, Samantha said, Tony, you did lose your temper. Tony was not happy about that. Samantha goes and even though you know, we know that you mean well Tony Stacy, how does that feel to have him talk to you like that? Ouch? But Stacy was a champ and really defended Tony and was just like, look, I'm dedicated. I basically told all of my friends and family this week that we were going to kill each other. But you know, any relationship there is, you know, we're going to be at each other's throats. We're just so passionate and our emotions are left all out on the table, So there's always going to be conflict, you know, But it's always it always works out and it always pays off. Let's get the judges' scores. The judges gave Tony and Stacy three nines, which leaves them with a total of twenty seven out of thirty for their quick step. Now they're going to go change into their Latin costumes for their second round, which I believe is a chacha. Let's move on to couple number two, Jerry Rice and Anya Trebunskaya. Tom basically says, you know, he's had a tough run during this whole competition. You know, the hard working man who still is at odds with our judges. Last week, your vote saved him to dance again. NFL great Jerry Rice and his professional partner Anya Trebunskaya. Last week, Jerry Rice filled his paso doblay with passion. I thought it was a great passo. The judges weren't generous, but the fans had his back, and you hear people chanting Jerry, Jerry, and then Anya basically says, I'm so proud of Jerry because he's definitely the most improved dancer in this competition. No matter what we do, we cannot place the judges. We cannot place with the judges, but as long as we can place with the crowd, we can hear them just continueing to shout Jerry, and we are just so happy. We'll have to learn a tango and the rumba and have two fool dances, and Jerry goes there's a lot of pressure there. I need to push Jerry harder. On Ya says, so I have a special master plan. This is amazing. See, this is why I wish there were mentors on the show, because it is visually entertaining to see like Jonathan Roberts. So basically her master plan was to bring in Jonathan Roberts and her mom both obviously are dancers, right, And you can hear my interview with Anya Trebunskaya. We talk a lot about her mom and how she's been a huge influence in her life. She started out as a dancer. Jonathan, her ex husband, was not only my one of my first teachers ever that I had danced pro am smooved with, but also they were married, right, and he had been a part of the earlier I think season one, and he was dancing with Giselle Fernandez in this season. So the reason why he was able to help is because he already got eliminated. However, see, when you're already at the semifinals of the competition, you got to be careful with having too many cooks in the kitchen because your partner is so used to just getting feedback and coaching from you that when you start to add more people to your circle, especially when it comes to trying to get Jerry to execute, only you the pro partner at during the semifinals. Only you know how your partner works and the teaching style that he really adapts to, and whatever style that is that he can retain is the best. And he even said he felt super overwhelmed during their rehearsal. They show clips of them rehearsing in my parents' ballroom and then really everywhere, and basically, you know, you see Jonathan Roberts basically going up behind Jonathan as he does like that tango head flick, and what's so funny because he basically gives Jerry almost whiplash. He's like, oh my god, that's so intense. But I'm not so sure how comfortable Jerry felt with Jonathan behind him like that, but who knows. And then you see you know, Anya and her mom dancing, and he's like basically trying to teach Jerry human touch and like, how would you really touch a woman if you were to go up to her, you know, And that type of stuff helps, especially when trying to translate the visual of what we want and what we want our celebrity to look like into pedestrian human language. It's always harder because we as competitors, we know that the technical terms, what we don't necessarily. What was hard for me back in that day and time especially was really translating what I really wanted into basic language of the English language. It wasn't easy, right, So and then Anya goes, you know, my mother is going to work on the performance side of things. You know, my mom, you know, basically has the sensitive side. And Jerry go at this moment, I am really confused. You know, this is the toughest week by far. I mean, if we can make it great, but if not, you know, we can't. It's just never been easy for me. And Jerry goes, look, I am worried and I'm not a natural born dancer. Anya goes, He's been a football player for all of his life, you know, and at the end of the day, he can get this. This is like halftime. You know, he can do this. He has this. It has to get better, Anya says. And Anya continues and says, it's going to be the toughest week we ever had, and it could be a little overwhelming for Jerry, but he's a strong man. He can handle anything. And then you see her give a positive affirmation after they rehearse a certain section. She tells Jerry how good it was. Jerry says, I'm tired and frustrated because you know things are not coming together. You're gonna be fine, Jerry said, Or you're going to be fine. Anya said, to Jerry and he says, you know what, I just I'm going to keep working on this all I can do. It's like the fourth quarter of a super Bowl right now. If I'm tired, I got to suck it up. My back is against the wall, even though things are not going right right now and I'm frustrated, But when I step onto that dance floor, I have to be able to put that all aside and just go out there and perform. Okay, so let's take a look at their tango. So what is kind of odd for me when I watch this dance is the fact that they use a broom right, and look, brooms are used for celebrities who have bad posture because the stick of the broom, if held like, if held straight across your body, your elbows actually should be at a ninety degree angle, which is definitely what you need to do in the tango. Now, when they finally get rid of the stupid prop, like you know me, I don't like props at all, especially when it makes zero sense. But this is another ballroom dance where you cannot break hold, so I'm sure they were actually trying to eat up the time as well. Kind of like what I said about Tony and Stacy. However, even if I didn't understand the broom, I prefer their opening versus Tony and Stacy's. At least they turned theirs into like a story, right, but a story that for me, as far as tango goes, it's a passionate hot dance. However, their song was a little bit campy for my taste. They danced in one way or the other and it was just a hot mess. To be quite honest, It's one of Jerry's worst dances. I love Jerry and I love everything he stands for as a person, but like as far as dancing goes, he just it was too much. It was too much to retain. I always hate getting any type of closed hold dances towards the end of the competition because the music just extends longer and any misstep you can't really cover, especially when you're glued together and have body contact. But their story didn't really read, you know, Jerry's posture. They weren't supposed to have rise and fall the very bouncy He just looked super uncomfortable. They looked like they were kind of tripping over each other. But on a positive note, you know, he didn't quit. He just got through it from beginning, middle end end, and he actually showed a different side of him. He showed the fact that he, you know, was willing to act it out. If I just paused right now before hearing the judges' scores or comments, and they look so confused and disappointed. Anyway, let's hear what the judges have to say, but first I want to give Jerry and Anya a seven. Bruno goes, what did I just see here? You know, I really respect the effort as always in commitment you put into this competition, but this is the semi finals, and I don't get it. Is there a shortage of brooms in America?
You know?
It's it's mind. It's basically he was like miming the fact that the broom was his. No, it's yours, No, it's mine. But he said, you know, I thought the posture was okay, but honestly, there wasn't a lot of tango content. Now what I love even more is how feisty Anya is. Like she literally responds back to the judges and she goes, how can I Basically this is not verbatim, but she's basically alluding to the fact that I think she was talking to Bruno like, how can I get how can I execute or choreograph a sexy tango dancing to one way or the other? Like it is super campy, but I get it, like it was too bounty. They weren't dressed up as like witches or anything with brooms like that would have made more sense, right, like over a cauldron. It was just like he had this weird cape or like raggedy like duster over his beautiful suit and then ripped it off. I don't know, I thought that. Unfortunately, the ripoff of the actual old dirty duster he was wearing as a coat was the most entertaining and most memorable part of their routine, So that's never a good sign. Len goes, I'm sorry, but you know, at the end of the day, we're really getting towards the final it wasn't good enough, and he goes, hold on, let's let's hear it right now. Let's at the end of the day. Anya basically said to Lenn, look, George, we just took what George did and use props, and Jerry goes, You're not George. You know, Jerry is not George. Jerry has his own personal character. The trouble was for me, I didn't see a proper tango. That wasn't a proper tango. He's supposed to have no rise and fall exactly Jerry Rice. It was more like Jerry Springer, not Jerry Rice. And you know, we all know that dancing does not come as easy for you as it does for everybody. Carrie and says, but what I can truly appreciate is the fact that you took a huge risk out there. Being theatrical is not your best thing, and that was it. So they go back and they get their scores from Samantha, and I have to say it so sad to see Jerry kind of feel discouraged, right because they've really been Look, I think he was just part of a competition in that season where the quality of dancing started just to get better and better. So, you know, but I think what made Jerry last is his amazing professionalism, his attitude, always never had a bad taste in his mouth. He was always never one to give up, right like he definitely must have inspired so many people around the world. Let's see what the judges gave Jerry and Anya for their tango Carrie On gave us seven, Len gave us seven, and I believe Bruno gave us six. That leaves them with a total of twenty out of thirty. Okay, so let's move on to couple number three, Lisa Renna and Louis van Amstell dancing a fox shot. It starts out with Tom Bergeron basically saying about Lisa Rena, will her fighting spirit carry her into the finals? As you know. He also points out that these two have been in the bottom two for the past couple of weeks, I believe, And basically last week Lisa and Louis left Latin behind and danced a quick step that took them to new heights and new lows, basically pointing out again that two couples were remaining for a place in next week semifinals. And Lisa goes, you know, I feel like I was backed into a corner being in the bottom two, and you can either hide or you can come out. And then she made like this tiger sound like arar, I kind of look. It was really cute. Lisa goes, this is the hardest week because it is the semifinals, and I think you obviously feel the pressure tells Louis in scene at the dance studio, I think we need to get away. I think we need to just go relax and be quiet and get focused, get out of this whole la stuff all around us. I took Louie, Lisa goes to my hometown of Medford, Oregon. Ginger Rogers lived there for at least the last twenty five years of her life. Now we're going to practice in the barn. Is that what it is? No, it's not a barn. Lisa goes, you know. Then it cuts to footage of Louie meeting her parents and it's so cute. They are such they have team or the mom had Team rena turtleneck on. It was the cutest ever. And yeah, look, sometimes you just need to get out. Now. Was it the most convenient with such little time that they had. I'm pretty sure the producers pitched this, and I'm also pretty sure of this. Look guys like we when you want to stay into the competition all the way to the end, and let's say, you know, really, Lisa, I'm sure already understood at that point in the competition that it was either going to be her Jerry Rice right Drew or Stacy were never going to not make the final. So you have like the people's votes, which I would assume Jerry Rice had, which means that she needed to get her scores up that like so much higher than Jerry's. So I think in a way, even if let's say his Jerry Rice's dancing was better, I still think there would have been a difference in scores because in a way they're evening everything out because we work on a point system, So it's like fifty percent or five points goes to votes and then five points judge of scores, right, so or fifty to fifty sorry, And if Jerry had high votes, then even if he got like maybe a little bit lower score than Lisa, he was still going to make it regardless. Now, Lisa needed a miracle, and I'm pretty sure she must have gone up to her field producer and been like, what can we do? Should we do another out of studio package? And since her parents only live and lived in Oregon, it's like not that far away. So I love that they went to meet the parents, and I wish that they kind of in a way would have done that with all of the contestants, which you'll see in later seasons they do they do like this hometown package journey thing that they do for the semifinals. I think it was like maybe that started week four or week five anyway, So basically you see Louie and Lisa in an empty theater where Ginger Rogers performed. Lisa must have borrowed a costume from wardrobe or one of her costumes, and they performing in an empty stage. It's beautiful, like totally trying to capture the mood of the foxtrot, because when you think foxtrot, you obviously think dancing or you think Jinder Rogers. And then the producer surprised them basically with like a lit up like on the screen of the theater at the entrance, like welcome to the Criterion Theater. I think it's how you pronounce it, but basically said their names all lit up. Then it ends with Lisa basically saying it was truly magical to be able to go home and introduce Louis to my parents. You would have thought when I was a kid coming to see movies. Here, she says to Louis, as they're looking at their names lit up on the theater, that my name would be up there in lights. I'm hoping that it gives me the drive that could possibly push me to get me at ten. Wouldn't that be fabulous? Then it cuts to their foxtrot best song ever Fever Peggy Lee is the best foxtrot in the world. I love the song. I believe Drew and I actually used this song when we went on tour after season three of the show. The costume, I was hoping for more of a classical outfit for Lisa, like, definitely more leaning towards like the Ginger Rogers. It looked a little bit too like tropical Hawaiian Elvis Presley Flair. She also stumbled in the beginning, you know, Louis has a really great sense of like Fossey, Like he has definitely studied Fossy, so when it comes to isolation, he understands that. But what doesn't read is when if your celebrity has no dance experience and you're trying to teach the dynamic and the effectiveness of when you do Fosse, you need way more than just a couple of days. If I you know, currently I'm listening to I'm watching this dance on mute because I had already seen it prior to me recording this, but I have to say about forty five seconds in was when it started to get good. I still think Louie's frame is not wide enough, especially because his frame is a direct effect of what she looks like. As far as her wingspan from the back goes, I don't know. I just thought it could have been a lot better. It could have had more content and substance. Now this music is like I wish the stage was lit a little different, like a little darker jazz vibe mood. Her costume was turquoise. It made no sense she had a flower on the side of her head. Other than that, I thought they made this fox shot super sexy and sensual. However, again, same thing, like what I said about Stacy, it would have been great to see her step out of the box a little bit more. It felt like it was almost like she could do this holding her breath right. Like again, they try and do another Fossy type move and it's only effective on the professional because it may not look intricate as far as Bob Fossy choreography goes. But holy hell, it's not easy right to get that same effective movement and isolation that he was just so good at anyway, I give Lisa and Louie an eight. Let's hear what the judges have to say about Lisa and Louie's first dance out of two dances in the semifinals. Carrion said, Lisa, that was a really good performance. I thought it was strong, it was graceful, it was elegant. There's a lot of sex appeal, which was, you know great. Of course, I did see you, you know, make a few mistakes. I saw you stumble in the beginning and you have to wash your arms. It's not like the arm that's the free arm that's not in hold. It kind of just dangles. Bruno goes, well, that was a foxy, delicious fox trot. I love I love it. I love you throw him into it. This is both of you just look so beautiful tonight. You have some beautiful nuances. Lenn Goodman says, all I have to say is that you did a very good job, both of you. Delicious, very nice. All right, But I'll just say it was a free It was so great and amazing to see you move freely. It was a joy. You know, you came out and you gave a great performance. So next they basically promo me with my shiny white eyeshadow under my eyebrows, oh my goodness, and my very tan face not meshing my tan body, but basically tease the fact that Drew and I are about to do our fox trot, and I'm shocked they actually put two Fox Trusts back to back. AnyWho, So the judges gave Lisa and Louis and eight nine, nine, which gave them a total of twenty six out of thirty. You know, basically, Lisa says I channeled Ginger Rogers tonight and how vulnerable she felt. You know, I certainly have been the one that's had to really work hard to make it this far. But at the end of the day, I'm so happy I made it to the semifinals and I'm a fighter, she says. And I just ending up here. And Samantha goes, do you think tonight, with your Latin dance coming up, that you're going to be able to pull off a perfect score? And she just basically says, oh, I sure, hope. So let's move on to Yours truly, Drew Lache and Yours truly dancing a foxtrot. Tom Goes. Drew was thrilled when the judges gave him a perfect score, and then not so thrilled when they also gave one to Stacy Keepler. It's ninety eight degrees. Drew Lachhane is part of Schild Burke. Basically, they show clips of our tango, which they are so powerful. I do love this tango so much. Last week's Drew's dream of getting a perfect score came true. You see me jumping up and down, like I jumped so high as if I was Michael Jordan. I'm kidding. Anyways, Drew goes this week, we had a perfect score. So what's next, Well, we're going to Disneyland. So then it cuts to this moment, you guys, that I talk about in the beginning of this episode, where I just had no idea the how dancing was such a sensation, Like I didn't realize. I yes, you hear millions and millions of views, but then you see it and it's a whole other experience. Oh my goodness. People were holding like poster board signs up that say Drew and Cheryl number one. It's so cute, the whole like we're in front of the Magic Castle, like it was filled you guys, like you didn't see any space, you only saw heads, and like so many freaking people. And I basically say how unreal it was, and how I just didn't expect so many fans to be cheering us on. It was surreal, you know, And Drew goes, we hope this Thursday, which were the shows, I believe you'll call in and vote for us and let us get in the finals and show you guys what we can really do. And Drew goes, you know, it was great, but we have two dances to learn this week, so we really have to get back to work. I think that was me that said that, Drew goes, I am. I'm driving myself crazy. I'm mad, insane. I don't think I'm going to sleep this week. Two routines. We have the Foxtrot and the Ramba. The Ramba is all about hip action, and I hate hip action. Drew makes me hear and feel his hip that has been popping, and he blames his hip action figure eate, which is a bunch of bs. Drew, he must have had that as a previous injury because it pops so loud. I'm not sure if they used an actual like enhancer as far as like sound goes, but like or enhance the sound at all. But uh yeah, it was so loud. It just would like literally the cartilage would just pop out and pop back in. It was like dislocating the hip and then putting it back. It was grody, all right. So I just remember that, Like I became very stressed out. And when I become stressed out and my partners can sense my stress, it doesn't help because they're already stressed. This is why you need like the yin and yang. When your partner is stressed you. Your job as a freaking pro dancer is to stay calm, like you don't want to stress out with them, right. This is more about the fact that they've never done this before, not about the ego. So I was like, I did show my poker face though during this rehearsal because I was so worried, because I guess I had forgotten back then that Drew would definitely never performed in the dance studio, let alone, who was like pulling teeth to get him to perform during dress rehearsal. But he's definitely a performer. He feeds off people's energy, like for example, wasn't he wouldn't have been able to do the show during the pandemic when there was no audience, because like he would just constantly just be walking through his routine, right any who, I expressed like a little worrying concern. I asked, Drew, are we gonna make it for the live show? And he seemed to be confident. So we kind of like felt each other out. Like when I would stress or just get like random feelings of just anxiety and being so nervous, he would calm me down. But for the majority of it, I would say that it was him that was stressed. And by now I would say the semifinals, we must have already or more like, Drew must have already picked out our freestyle song, which was that save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. That one the greatest dance of all time. Watch it on the Disney special. Kidding, not kidding. Anyway, Let's take a look at our foxtrot. I'm where I used to be known for like really showing my back, Like all of my dresses would have a low V. It was kind of my signature thing. But I just wore like a basic pink tropical again. I don't know why these colors for foxtrot are like tropical, as if we're doing a samba, but the skirt is like very much an American smooth dance. I kind of hated the fact that we did a fox shot for the semifinals because it's like, it's so it's too chill, like you're supposed to be fighting into that final, right and like to have to do a foxtrot. I believe this only happened because that's like the only ballroom dance I think we hadn't done. Everyone still not, you know everyone with these two dances for the semi finals. People are you know, completely new to the technique. They haven't done this dance before. So I just remember being able to not bust out in a sweat after this dance, which is shocking, especially for someone like me who always sweats. But that's how I felt like it was almost so slow and too easy. I don't think the judges loved it either as much. But let's see here. I have to say Drew had beautiful horizon fall, except he didn't glide as much going across the floor. He just went up and down like a quirkscrew in the ocean instead of using the power of his legs to really feel like he's touching his toes from opposite ends of the ballroom. He does have a sense of charisma though, that you can't teach, and he definitely sold it, if anything. But yeah, I'm not going to score us as I don't do that, you guys know, But let's see what the judges have to say. Len basically said, Drew, you never cease to amaze me. You did lose the character a little bit with you the dance that is the foxtrot. I wanted to see you glide. I wanted to see more fluidity through your movement. But you know, when you listen to that music, there's just so much noise, and I thought you interpreted the music really well. Kirian Goes, you definitely can see how great this partnership is, she goes, I loved it. Bruno goes, Actually, Drew, I'm slightly disappointed tonight because coming from where you come from, let me speak, because Len was like totally interrupting him and basically saying how much nonsense was coming out of Bruno's mouth. Basically, Bruno says, you did such a great job tonight, but you could have done better, and he said, you looked kind of like you were doing the pasa dobla. You just looked kind of mean, and then Len just rips him a new one. Put it that way, you could tell that Drew and I were really upset and disappointed actually with their comments, like I couldn't hide it on my face. Hence why I don't know if you guys, you guys have listened to all the rewatch episodes, but I mentioned how I got a call from one of the studio owners in New York that I used to rehearse at before I did Dancing with the Stars when I was competing as a pro, who said, like, no matter what the judge is say, you have to smile it out because if not, you know, I could come across really upset or kind of like a sore loser. And this was the moment, not necessarily as she called me like earlier on in the season, but now I know what she's talking about. Like my rbfaka resting bitch face was on FAIA right now. But Drew also was just kind of disappointed as he's currently wasting away back then at least and losing shedding the lbs if you know what I mean, or LB's let's see what the judges score us before we move on to round two, the Latin round of the semifinals. Okay, so then you have a close up of my white, sparkly eyeshadow underneath my eyebrow and since my very tan face. Anyway, we get our scores. The judges give us nine to nine and eight. What the hell? That is so not right? Anyway, we're not happy obviously, that gives us only a total of twenty five out of thirty. And yeah, we basically just have to do a quick change and run. But we were not happy with those scores. See this is what I was thinking as we were getting those scores and comments. I was like, see, it was too easy. This routine was just too easy. It wasn't a semi final routine. Nor is really any fox trot to be quite honest, unless you get to you know, orchestrate the music yourself and add all these dynamic hits. It's just really hard to look like you're fighting into a space or a place in the finals when you have to do a fox shot or execute one. Basically, Samantha asks how this past week of rehearsal went and he goes, look, it was difficult to really you know, get my hips moving, the hip action in the rumba. You know, it's all about romance, sensuality. And we then beg for votes and then we run to quick change and get change for our sex same rumba. Let's get back to couple number one dancing their second dance of the semifinals at chatcha Cha danced by Stacy Keebler and her partner Tony Devalani. I remember not really shooting packages for this since they kind of like mentioned it in the initial package that we had two dances. They also showed clips of us practicing both dances, so I'm pretty sure we just cut to the chase and get straight into the second round. So you see, like Tony and Stacy already on the floor in their costume. Stacy looks freaking amazing her hard rock abs. Tom goes all right, so far in the ballroom. Round twenty seven was their score, meaning Tony and Stacy can they do better in the Latin round? Here again, dancing the Cha Cha, It's Stacy Keepler and her partner Tony Devalani. Stacy and Tony danced to Cinsia Binga that dance, and this, I guess was her of portraying like the fact that she felt it through her emotions, which they decided to play off as angry, which does not match the style of the dance. See this is why I believe we don't need freakin' themes. Like the Chacha is a fun, flirty, cheeky dance that you know you need hip action for that you need to stay as grounded as possible. She was off time in the Chacha run. She stumbled. She didn't hold the quick quick slow. She just went quickly quick and some of like I guess Tony's choice when it comes to choreography. It was interesting because like, instead of you know, maybe getting in like chacha Latin hold, they he had a two hand hold with Stacy, and like she was supposed to move her hips from side to side, and when your bass and your frame is too wide from one another, it's hard to get maximum hip action. She also could have really stayed a lot more grounded. I didn't really Oh that was amazing. I didn't really as much hip action or like her staying grounded that I would have liked, or that I liked to see in a chacha. But she did this amazing kick, like into Arabesque, all in one foot. I mean it just got stronger and stronger as the dance progress. But again, I don't understand it. Didn't like the mad facial expression because it didn't come from like a genuine place. It was definitely put on, like you could still be hot and sexy and dance at chacha. Ever, Sine just saying like, you don't have to like pretend to be angry like it made no sense in that In that sense, it wasn't organic. It didn't really come from an authentic place within Stacy. So to put on an angry face ain't gonna cut it, my friend. I give Tony and Stacy an eight. Bruno basically said that leg action was the best. You're the best. It's you are a legacy, you know, and then Leno's the most difficult thing of the chacha is getting the right hip action leg action. I felt like you were a wee bit stiff and sometimes your chatcha action for me was a little bit clipped. I have to agree with len I actually didn't understand the angry face. Carrine says, you know, at the end of the day, like I didn't. I don't. I guess I didn't believe it, you know, I feel like it was very put on. Other than that, though, I think you are a fantastic dancer. I have to say Stacy definitely claps back at Carrie Anne. I'm not so sure if I miss that, but I definitely missed the judges banter. Let us know if you agree on our Instagram page at sex Sizes and spray tands. Okay, so with that, let's get Stacy and Tony's scores for their last round of the semifinals. Carrie Anne gave Tony and Stacy and nine. Len gave a nine, and of course Bruno gave his crush the sy Keebler a ten.
Wow.
So they were pretty solid. Like sometimes with these judges, they give so much critique and then there's gores don't match right, like you're all you hear is critique, and then they're like nine, nine, nine, ten. It's like, I think they're much better at that, at least saying consistent to this day. All right, So now that's Stacy and Tony dance both of their dances. Let's move back to Jerry and Anya's rumba. Tom goes now dancing their final performance of the evening, Jerry and Anya dance a rumba, and I'd say Anya looks just drop dead freaking gorgeous, you guys, she is just stunning. She wore this mesh flower beautiful a line skirt, like, oh my god, it's gorgeous. And I have to say, Jerry Rice looks like James Bond. He has the you know, typical suspenders, high waisted Latin pant and you could tell that, like he teased this earlier, He's like, all my rumba is dedicated to the ladies. It's so cute, it's so fun. And I have to say he feels way more comfortable doing the Latin dances, for sure than the ballroom, except I have to say, like with Hango, it's interesting because you have to stay down, which means flexed, and how can you keep your rear end underneath you if you have only rehearsed a few hours. But I have to say in the ramba, he was a lot more comfortable. He even blew a kiss in a basic move that we do called sliding doors they do al amanas. His elbows could have been higher up a little bit instead of so far, like down underneath his waist, like there's still an actual frame. When it comes to Latin dancing, you don't not everything, even when moving your hips. See this is why isolation is important, because you have to learn how to keep your upper body still and let your hips, you know, in a controlled manner, have hip action by moving and switching your weight from foot to foot. I have to say, though Jerry and Anya look so hot together, he definitely man handles her. And this is like a different vibe that you hear or that you see Jerry execute. I give Jerry and Anya seven. Carrie Ane goes, you know, the rama is all about the seduction, and I just have to say, Anya, you did a great job. Jerry. That was really nice to see you move the way you did. I felt the character. You were definitely in character. It was smooth, you got a little bit off the music a little bit, and sometimes your posture just kind of lagged, but nice attempt. Bruno goes, well, again, this is a better character, strong and confident. But I agree with Carrie Anne, you lost it a little bit. You know, it's just you. I know, you really were very hard on yourself this week during rehearsals, but again it's the semi final and we have to really, you know, point things out. And then Len goes, you might not know this, but I truly admire you, Jerry right, so much as a sportsman coming out here ballroom dancing. I can only be honest and say, you know, you're the worst, and I'm sorry about that, but that's you know, what you showed me. And Jerry goes, you know what, man, I totally disagree with you. See, this is where he got a ticket into the final. He goes, that's fine that you feel that way. You know why though, because this is something completely out of my comfort zone. I come out here, I give an effort every single day every time I'm here, so I feel like I deserve to be here, and that my friend was a perfect answer to get him into the final. I mean, the judges couldn't literally have talked back to what Jerry just actually showed his sportsmanship. He showed his bravery and how courageous and hard working he was, how he was really consumed and he tried his best, and how basically said to the judges, look, this is what the show is. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm coming out here every week despite what you have to say, though it's negative all the time, and just keeping my head up and trying my best. And literally all three judges, if they could, they probably would have stood up. I'm shocked that the ballroom didn't stand up when he was like, you know, talk back to Len, but not in a rude way. I think what Jerry has mastered maybe was the way he was raised. He's always stayed calm, like, he doesn't interrupt, no matter the emotions running through his body. He's able to respond instead of react, and that's a true champion. Right there, Let's see what the judges gave Jerry and Anya for their rumba. Carrie Ann gave Jerry and Anya a seven, Len gave us seven, and Bruno gave us seven. Wow, so they must have had a lot of freaking votes because these two right here made it to the final. Spoiler alert though I should have said that before I mentioned them making the final. Let's move on to the second to last couple of the semi final round, Lisa Renna and Louis van Amstell dancing a cha cha cha. Okay, so as far as Louis and Lisa to run his Chasha goes. It was way stronger than their fox shot. And this is just the prime example of what I mean when I say like when they're pros are more confident in a certain style, they're always going to just teach it better.
Right.
Of course, you spend most of your hours and expertise in learning how to Latin dance, and you're going to be a better teacher and performer in it and have more confidence. So this is exactly what I mean. Though Louis has ballroom experience, you can tell that he just has this certain light and spark to him when he teaches Latin. I wish though, with their costumes and their wardrobe, I wish Lisa would have included or I wish wardrobe would have included more fringe and movement. It was one of her little Halter mini type dresses. It was white. The only thing moving around was this long piece of fabric, but it didn't move around much. But with that being said, I feel like she still was able to get away without the movement, which is really shows you what a great dancer, especially Latin dancer, she was. She had great leg action. I have to say, I thought there were moments of two. I think it was like two forced right. So it looked a little stiff at times and wouldn't But honestly, I thought this was her best dance so far, especially when it comes to quality of movement. Her leg action was great, her locksteps. I thought her chatcha actually I prefer over Stacy Keibler's chatcha by far. I give Louie and Lisa a nine. Let's hear what the judges have to say. So Len Goodman basically says to Lisa how they have great chemistry and once again, you were you came out here, you did a solid chatcha. It was great. It was full of content. Carrianne says to Louie and Lisa that you know, you amaze me week after week you come out here, you nail these routines, and Carrie and basically said to Lisa, you know so far, I'm just so proud of you for what you've done here. Out on the ballroom floor, Bruno goes, you know, I have to say that you guys work so well together. Louis, You've got great choreography. It had this Chasha had so much pizzazz, and basically pointing out what I've pointed out as well from week one. Just their partnership, their bond, their bond with no words needed, right like their body language, the way that they honestly look like brother and sister. And I'm going to just say it one more time, they need to be each other for Halloween. Please do that where please Louis wear one of her costumes and Lisa just wear like his white tail suit or something, and just go together, go trick or treating, get a photo or five in and send it to me. That's all I need in my life. It would make me very happy. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they're going to be very happy with their scores, So let's get their scores. They are now in the redroom with Samith. The Harris and the judges gave Lisa and Louis three nines, giving them a total for this dance twenty seven out of thirty. Let's move on to the last couple, yours truly, Drew Leche and his partner Cheryl Burkey. Just kidding Burke. That is okay, guys, not Burkie. It is not Latchie. It's Lche and Burke. We dance a rumba. Now, I have to say before I even watch this, rumba has always been a challenging dance for me to teach. I think because it is challenging, especially for men. They have not a lot of steps right. However, they still need to look like they're controlling the woman man handling at times depending on the song. This wasn't my favorite rumba song, but like this was before I think we were able to really just say, like, can we get another song? There was no themes back then, but it was very like eighties vibe I forgot. I think it was total eclips of the heart. Like that doesn't scream sensual or sexy by any means, or like grinding hip action or figure eights or like, I don't know, for me, it doesn't at least I don't know if you're an eighties baby, which I am honestly still doesn't like. It doesn't get me wanting to rumba. Put it that way, but I'm pretty sure we get a perfect score. Let's see. Okay, Well, I actually have to say now I have seen this in so long, like our rumba, the total eclipse of the heart. It was kind of hot and sexy. Now what bothered me though I can't believe I didn't tell them to The bpm was way too fast. It was more of like a rumba, like a rhythm style rumba, which is a little faster than international style. When you do a rumba in the Latin genre, it is the bpm is like almost I would say, half the speed of the actual rhythm when you're doing rumba in the rhythm category. That is right. So it just I wish it would slowed down quite a bit because then we would have been able to properly execut international Latin rumba, which is what the challenge is. So with that, I'm not sure what Len's going to say. I don't think we get a perfect score actually, now that I think about it. But I have to say, Drew looks very strong, you know, because rumba's so intimate, especially if like the guy, like for the men, they feel it more inside their body if they get there right instead of out. It's hard to exaggerate a ramba when you don't have tons of steps or like huge moments or movements. But Drew had a great base, like he had what I had taught him initially during the training period, which was all of these drills and like building that foundation that you know. Chatcha is basically a faster version of a rumba. It basically includes rumba walks like it's important to have that same technique. And what's so great the fact that we did a rumba at towards the end is that the fact that the muscle memory woke up, like he still was able to execute a solid rumba, like he executed a solid chacha in week one. He was grounded, he hit his lines. He actually looked strong like he was leading. And I think he was leading because I at that point I was a little crazy. I would really want him to lead the whole thing. That's why I was able to do like those head flicks, because that didn't come manufactured, like he would pull me in, which then I would rebound, let's say in my shaggy hair would then rebound. And that's why I was able to execute like what I was kind of in a weird way famous for were all these head whips. It doesn't just come out of nowhere. It comes from the lead of the man. Like if you notice me dancing with like d l Hughley. I know that's a huge drastic change. There was no way I could barely spin in without like elbowing his chest because again, like he needs to spin the woman, and if he doesn't do it the right way, then like it gets sloppy and people get off balance. But Withdrew, he mastered, you know, leading, And I think because he was so advanced, especially towards the semi finals heading into the finals, I made him I think the last day or two of rehearsals lead me like, meaning he had to know what my step was. And when you can get your pro partner, especially if he's a celebrity male, and get him to really lead, which is just changing your direction, which means that in a way he knows the skeleton of the women's steps as well. Wow, you're going to win this damn thing. Really, you can't beat that. Like when you get so comfortable and you've worked out the foundation, your partner knows his steps, you've worked out detail, you've done it to music, what's the next step? Lead me, like, know my steps so that he's confident in what he's doing. Like if you can teach it, if you can teach what I was teaching you're in good, You're good. That's the secret. Okay, for all you futures, celebrity people coming on Dancing with the Stars and any pro dancers, that's the goal. I can't say that I did that in every dance with Drew, but like when we would have some extra time, if he did get his routine fast enough, that's what the goal was. Anyway. I don't score myself, as you guys know, but let's hear from the judges, shall we. This is the last dance heading into the freaking finals. Holy hell, God, I've got drama during that week. I'll never forget it. I was fighting Drew, I hated save a horse, ride a cowboy. And you're just gonna have to find out next week when you hear the finale of season two the rewatch series. You won't want to miss that hashtag uh huh bts. Bruno goes, that was passionate, that was powerful. This is the Drew we like, because remember we he really low balled us in our fox trot, gave us an eight, right, but basically pointing out that this was like the Drew Liche that we like that we've been wanting to see knowing lend he likes more classical rumbas. He doesn't like too much in your face raunchy and sensual rumbus. And this is where we were different. See, I love if it's real and it's organic and like your bodies are, you know, obviously moving in organized chaos within the routine, like it should be sexy, like if you hear the music. It was like a rendition of total eclipse of the heart. But it wasn't like the campy version. It was the like if we could have used ground fog, we would have type vibe. But you know, I think he hated the raunchiness of it. But like I get it, like I get when I choreographed. I think William Levy and I we were.
We did.
It was a jeal. We rolled on top We basically rolled across the floor vertically like we were laid down. He rolled on top of me, I rolled on top of him. We danced to let's get it on. Now, that's pretty obvious, right, and goes the rumba is about romance, it's not so aggressive. Well that's me. That's totally my style. So he Carrian goes, you know, Carrianne goes, Len I have a different opinion as I am a woman, but I have to say that was so sexy, that was so fantastic. The chemistry between the two of you was fantastic. And then Karrian goes, it was such an amazing job, and then she goes sorry, Len. Then we go back to the red room and let's get our scores. We get ten from Carrianne, a nine from Len, and a ten from Bruno, giving us a total of twenty nine out of thirty four. The Latin round, our last dance in the semifinals, and the last dance of the night. The following day we would do the actual results shows, so since we don't cover that, and you guys had voted not to do it, which I'm actually grateful for because we would have still been god knows back in week three if we were doing results shows. But basically your three finalists were Stacey Keepler and Tony Devlani That's right, Jerry Rice and Anya Trebunskaya and yours truly and Drew Lasche, which meant that Lisa, Renna and Louie were short of the finals. But what an amazing journey, especially for Louie. I'm sure they I think they were disappointed a little bit, but you know, there's only one week left. Everyone comes back for the finale and yeah, just in one week, my whole life completely changed even more than it already had. Thank you guys so much. I really am enjoying all of this, like reminiscing going down memory lane, being you know, in a way, forced to watch all of these amazing routines seeing how it all comes together, because like I said, I never watched the whole show from top to bottom, as I was only watching us or whoever I was dancing with so that I can go and see what we need to improve on. But never have I watched the whole show from beginning middle end. This is awesome. It just makes me fall in love with the show even more. Thank you guys so much again. And to make sure yet tune in for our Headlines Hot Topics series, because boy do we've got some juicy headlines for you. Love you guys. Bye.
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