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Health & Fitness

Fred Astaire Reviews Week 6 of 'Dancing With The Stars'

Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Menomonee Falls Owner Tim Brooks reviews week 6 of Dancing With The Stars

Week 6 of Dancing With The Stars, reviewed by Tim Brooks the owner of the new Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Menomonee Falls.

This week was Stevie Wonder night and the couples celebrated reaching the half way mark of the competition. There was also a group number tonight where there were two groups competing for extra points from the judges.

First up is Zendaya and Val doing the Cha Cha Cha. A great confident to the show, the routine was executed very well and had neat, accurate placement of the feet and good presentation. I would have liked to see a little more contrast between the bent knee and straight knee action but overall this was a powerful statement from Zendaya that she intends to continue the form she has been showing during this competition.

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Total judges score 29

Up next was Andy Dick with Sharna dancing the Samba. This was a fun number that was entertaining but was lacking in technique but impressed the audience anyway. Samba is unique because of the bounce action and the different rhythms that can be danced in the body. I didn’t see any man / woman relationship in this dance and this is caused by an inability to use space to create a sense of presentation.

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Total judges score 18

Trying to follow up on last weeks impressive quickstep was Sean Lowe. Also dancing the Samba it was an opportunity to show a better understanding of the dance than Andy Dick. By taking his shirt off I’m sure he got the ladies vote! Purely on performance this was a good number but is was lacking in musicality. In dancing the feet are responsible for the timing where the rest of the body has to show rhythm and musicality. The ability to isolate the body to do this takes time, unfortunately by removing his shirt it only highlighted the lack of action in his body.

Total judges score 21

Distracted by the recent events in her home town of Boston was gymnast Aly Raisman. She was tasked with dancing the Foxtrot and demonstrated good performance. Her posture and poise needs to be addressed to enhance the frame. A good ballroom dance frame should look a little like the shape of a Martini glass so the lady can be shown off. Doing this correctly requires the body to be aligned in an unnatural way to remain on balance.

Total judges score 27

Celebrating his birthday by dancing the Tango was Ingo Rademacher. I thought this was Ingo’s best performance to date. Showing a very good frame and capturing the character of the dance Ingo impressed the judges and his appreciation of this dance was obvious. There was a slip that looked li it occurred because of a mistake in the choreography but if you never push the boundaries of your ability you never improve. This was a big improvement and as someone who sees ballroom dancing being taught every day at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Menomonee Falls I can tell by the professionals feedback whether the celebrity is putting the effort in required to be on the show. I think this is the case as Kym seemed very upbeat and was using a lot of positive reinforcement during the practice with Ingo.

Total judges score 24

Quickstepping her way to a very accomplished performance was Kellie Pickler with Derek. The Quickstep is very difficult to maintain body contact during the rotations and fast change of directions that are typical in this style. I would like to see a little more foot articulation to give the dance a lighter look but for such a structured and difficult dance this was very good

Total judges score 29

Hoping to beat the opposition to a pulp was champion boxer Victor with Lindsay. Fighting to stay in the show I thought there was a lack of content in the choreography. There is a requirement to produce rhythm and movement in the body to the music and this could have been increased. For someone who does not have any experience in acting or expression I saw a softer action than I expected which is good in this sensual dance.

Total judges score 18

Jacoby Jones fresh from his encore dance last week was tasked with dancing the Quickstep. The cameras had shown the effort that Jacoby has put into developing his footwork and there was an improvement in this area. It is a myth that you have to turn your feet out in ballroom dancing, the foot is aligned with the rest of the leg so I encourage turning out from the thighs to improve balance and improve the cosmetic aspect. I did like at times the frame and posture that was displayed, for higher scores in the future it is important to improve the consistency.

Total judges score 23

The two teams in the group numbers were Team Paso and Team Samba. Team Paso commenced this dance off and they consisted of Victor, Jacoby, Zendaya and Ingo. The difficulty of a group number is co-ordinating eight people using the same timing and directions. This was a little sloppy.

Total group score 22 which is added to individual score

Team Samba consisted of Andy, Aly, Kellie and Sean. This was definitely the more rehearsed of the two numbers and resulted in the higher score. It was fun and had solos that were highlighting the individual along with some interesting group number material that was well danced.

Total judges score 25

This Friday we are having a Hawaiian Luau theme party at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Menomonee Falls. Please call the studio (262) 251-2000 or visit www.fadsmenomonefalls.com for more information on how to be part of the fastest growing ballroom dance studio in Wisconsin.

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