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Sparkle (2)
Conspiracy theories aside, who do you think will win?
Unlike a lot of other folks, I actually called it that Brandy would exit last week. And unlike a lot of other folks, I don't think it's some huge tea party conspiracy. I think it's a continuation of a fine, but frustrating Dancing with the Stars tradition: An overwhelming urge to root for the underdog. And to take a "ringer" down a peg or two.
And let's not forget two other Dancing with the Stars occurrences that are far from uncommon:
1. The viewers' love-hate relationship with Maks settling on the hate side of the line because he takes his bad-boy image just one step too far into outright belligerent rudeness.
2. Badly timed TMI clips about the celebrities that reminds us of something we'd rather forget about them...like the fact that Brandy has actually been behind the wheel of a car that killed someone, her fault or not.
I think the confluence of all three of these things created the circumstances in which Brandy found herself last week...booted despite her obvious confidence that she was finals-bound.
That being said, and from a pure dance perspective, there's no way Bristol should still be in the finals instead of Brandy, but I also don't think it's a vast right-wing conspiracy!
There. I said it.
Now, getting back to the matter at hand: Each of the three remaining couples did two dances last night -- one dramatically called the "Redemption Dance" (in other words, a dance they sucked at earlier in the season), and the other the Freestyle, where theoretically, anything goes.
How did they do?
1. Kyle and Lacey
Their Redemption Dance was a Foxtrot
I've made no secret that I'm not on the Kyle train. I think they waited too long to describe his as something other than the "teen sensation from the Disney Channel," which made me feel a little skeeved out every time he did some sexy move or Lacey rubbed up on him. [And in case you were wondering: Since I never bought the "Bristol as born-again virgin" meme, I wasn't bothered in the same way by her sexy moves, such as they were.] Of course eventually they revealed he was really 19, but by then I was already thinking he was a hyper-sexualized 15-year-old destined to head down the Briney/Paris path of grown-up-too-fast destruction. Or. Maybe I'm overthinking, and I just don't like his posture, nor the way his "showmanship" is sometimes just inappropriate for the spirit of the particular dance style. Like with the Foxtrot. Similar to his Samba, he brought an Argentine Tango level of intensity to the Foxtrot. I think of the Foxtrot as lighter than air, frothy, fun, fizzy. He made it seems serious. It was a very good, sharp performance, and while I caught a few toe-leads, he mostly got the hang of the heel-leads required. He needs to pull his chin back and head up, but other than that he had nice carriage. He definitely improved on his last Foxtrot with a more traditional and enjoyable take on it. But he didn't make me think of Fred Astaire.
Their Freestyle was primarily old school Hip-Hop
As former Flygirl Carrie Ann pointed out to Len: There was lots of running about. There was a ton of energy. But, fuddy-duddy though I may be, I did think the booty shaking got old. Mostly because we've seen that in Freestyles a lot. It's fun, absolutely. There were even parts of it that exhibited fancy and fast footwork to be admired. But a lot of booty isn't the most challenging dance step to throw in...and a little booty goes a long way.
Bottom line: Call me a killjoy (or maybe a Kylejoy), but while I might be on the Kyle scooter, I'm definitely not on the Kyle train.
2. Bristol and Mark
Their Redemption Dance was a Jive
Who can forget the disastrous Jive in a gorilla suit that was Bristol's first attempt at this high-energy and fast-moving dance? I really did not think she could survive that week. She stopped dancing. On more than one occasion. Pretty much gave up. And yet she was saved. A few weeks can make a tremendous difference, and she was indeed a different dancer last night. That doesn't mean she was the best dancer. It doesn't even mean that
