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You did well Canada. You picked a good group of top 10 dancers on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
And I mean no disrespect to Claudia Primeau and Jonathan Arsenault, the two dancers eliminated on Thursday night.
I thought Jonathan's performance on Wednesday, in a hip-hop routine choreographed by Sho-Tyme, was his best ever on the show.
And I believe what Jean Marc Genereux said Thursday, that Claudia is the best female ballroom dancer SYTYCDC has ever seen.
I also loved both their solos on Thursday.
But as always, somebody has to go home each week.
"Ladies, you are all amazing dancers, but versatility in this competition is extremely important," Jean Marc said. "You need to be able to dance other genres.
"Charlene, although you had an accident (Wednesday) night (her heel caught in her dress during her salsa), you are one of our most versatile dancers, so are you Nathalie.
"Claudia, you are the best female ballroom dancer we ever had on that show, but you still have to work on the other styles. This decision is not unanimous and I'm sorry to say, Claudia, you are leaving us tonight."
The decision wasn't unanimous to send Jonathan home, either.
"Yes, Jean Marc, as you said, versatility is very important here. Edgar, Sebastian and Jonathan, but we just have to remind you that so is connection because partnership is 90 per cent of our show ... Jonathan, connection is where we feel you need more work, love, okay?
"You are a wonderful dancer, definitely versatile, you have a career from here, but you will be leaving us tonight."
Both Jonathan and Claudia noted that they had grown a lot from their experience on SYTYCDC.
"I want to thank everybody, it's the greatest team ever on this show, and you're all amazing, as a dancer and as a person, you're all amazing. I love you guys," Claudia said.
Jonathan, in tears, said, "It's been a learning experience. It's awesome, honestly ... I want to thank everyone out there, all my friends, family, it's been amazing."
So that was the sad part of Thursday. The great part is that we have a Season 3 top 10. They are:
Janick Arseneau, 20, a contemporary dancer from Bathurst, N.B.
Amanda Cleghorn, 19, a contemporary dancer from Mississauga
Denys Drozdyuk, 25, a ballroom dancer from Toronto
Danielle Gardner, 21, a contemporary dancer from Surrey, B.C.
Edgar Gilbert-Reyes, 22, a hip-hop dancer from Calgary
Mackenzie Green, 20, a contemporary dancer from
Regina, Sask.
Charlene Hart, 24, a contemporary jazz dancer from
Abbotsford, B.C.
Nathalie Heath, 23, a contemporary dancer from
Surrey, B.C.
Sebastian Mersch, 21, a contemporary dancer from Toronto
Jeff Mortensen, 22, a contemporary dancer from Edmonton.
I haven't been pointing out where dancers are from in my posts, but I have to give a shout-out to the three competitors from the GTA and the fact that Denys, my favourite dancer, made the top 10.
I also have to give a shout-out to the amazing Mia Michaels group routine that opened the show.
I've watched it three times now and every time I see something else to admire. It makes me wish routines from our Canadian SYTYCD were eligible for Emmy Awards like the ones in the U.S.
The Genies already have many, many categories. Maybe they can add one for choreography.
But I digress. We're in the home stretch now, everyone. You can see the top 10 perform Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CTV.
This is the part where I usually say you can read the recap here, except I'll be on vacation next week and staying in a place with no TV, so I'm still sorting out how I'll see the show and whether I'll be able to recap it.
But I'll have plenty more stuff for you before then, including interviews with all of the top 10 and more videos.
(The photo of Jonathan and Claudia with Leah Miller is courtesy of CTV.)
Dancers were pulling out all the stops on Wednesday's episode of So You Think You Can Dance Canada and, in one case, pulling the shoe out of the dress.
There was a lot on the line for the 12 remaining contestants: their last chance to earn a spot in the top 10.
Three of the six routines got raves from the judges, three got mixed reviews, but nobody was phoning it in.
First up was my favourite of the night: a paso doble from Denys Drozdyuk and new partner Janick Arseneau, choreographed by Natalli Reznik and Francis Lafreniere.
Ballroom dancer Denys set the stage on fire with breathtaking technique and a commanding presence, but contemporary dancer Janick didn't get singed: she responded in kind despite being new to the style.
"You were terrific, Denys, you're everything I've ever wanted to see somebody do in a paso doble. You were strong, intense, dramatic every step of the way, really in charge of the floor and your partner," guest judge Mary Murphy told him.
She also had praise for Janick "because you were delivering it right back at him with all the intensity and those little leg kicks -- woo! -- they were just going up there like that, just slicing the air, bam!"
Luther Brown called Denys "the strongest male ballroom dancer that I've seen on this show" while Blake McGrath called Denys his favourite dancer in the competition.
But Luther also praised Janick for her growth. "I've seen you climb and climb and climb, and I'm so impressed."
"I don't think you really know how good you are," Blake told her.
That would have been a tough act to follow, except that the next couple was Jeff Mortensen and Danielle Gardner, and they scored a contemporary routine from star choreographer Stacey Tookey.
The number was about a couple on the brink of a blow-up and it was beautifully, convincingly danced.
"I love the beginning. I loved, loved the middle part of this number and hated the end," said Mary, as Jeff and Danielle looked alarmed, "because it was too short. I didn't want it to end, I loved it so much.
"Jeff, you are a special dancer ... you carve your leg through the air, it's just beautiful. You defy gravity," she continued. "And Danielle, you're just an elegant, beautiful, gorgeous mover out there and I just adored watching you guys."
"Jeff, you're my new favourite dancer," said Luther. "You embrace everything that you pull out of the hat. I think every dancer in the world should try to be like that."
As for Danielle, "you have this sweet thing about you, but your technique is disgusting."
Blake told Jeff, "I don't know if we've ever had a contestant that's grown as fast as you have and has so much passion and drive to actually be here, and I see you so clearly in the top four."
Jean Marc Genereux gave the contemporary dancers a standing ovation, saying, "altogether you create this beautiful symphony of steps, lines and motions, and it will be so memorable."
The next routine was certainly memorable but not necessarily in the way the dancers would have liked.
Hip-hop dancer Edgar Gilbert-Reyes and contemporary dancer Charlene Hart tackled a Gustavo Vargas salsa routine.
It was going great, very high energy, and then Charlene's heel got caught in the tail of her dress. To her credit, she managed to get it back on and keep going. Later, when she and Edgar were unable to execute the flip that was supposed to end the routine, they came up with a new ending.
"You guys figured out an ending in just a split second, bam, that's the sign of true pros, you know what I'm saying? And it happens to all of us, trust me," Mary said.
"Up until that point you were hot, both of you were hot, hot, hot."
She commended them for capturing the flavour and vibe of salsa dancing, particularly Edgar.
"I don't think Canada really understands Edgar is a hip-hop dancer," said Luther. "Like he's the most versatile hip-hop dancer we've ever had on this show and I think everybody needs to give him props for that."
Luther also gave props to Charlene for persevering when disaster struck.
"You put that shoe on so fast and, my God, that thing was off and on and then you got into that lift, that crazy, overhead lift," Blake said. "Was it the best number of the night? Definitely not, but for doing what you did and keep on going I give you all the praise in the world, so good job."
Jean Marc said Charlene was still "tabasco toes" and he had a special prop for Edgar, a bottle of "Edgar's sauce."
"You always have to read the label. It says 100 per cent natural, great with every routine ... especially Latin dance like salsa. Guaranteed to give more flavour to the routine. It's made in Canada and there is a toll-free number. Leah (Miller) knows it."
There were no wardrobe malfunctions for contemporary dancers Amanda Cleghorn and Mackenzie Green, just the challenge for Mackenzie of handling lifts despite Amanda's super long arms and legs, as they tackled a Sean Cheesman afro-jazz routine.
I'll be honest, I didn't love this routine as much as the judges did, although it was certainly entertaining. I thought the African dance part could have been a touch more emphatic.
"Well now, wasn't that just the best number of the night?" exclaimed Mary. "And for me, you're two of my favourite dancers as well. That was outstanding."
"The amount of acrobatics and cardio that went into that number was just insane and everything was completely seamless from the both of you," said Blake.
"Amanda, I can see you going very far in this competition, same with Mackenzie."
He did suggest that their upper bodies could have been looser during the African portions of the routine, which Jean Marc agreed with.
"I think both of you deserve to be in the top 10, especially you, Amanda, because for me you are So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 3," Jean Marc said.
It was back to mixed reviews for the last two numbers of the night.
First, ballroom dancer Claudia Primeau and contemporary dancer Jonathan Arsenault did a Sho-Tyme hip-hop routine.
I agree with Blake that it was Jonathan's best performance on the show to date and I was really impressed with Claudia.
"Claudia, you're really a surprise for me tonight. You know, a ballroom dancer and you were really just getting into the groove, the more you went along the more it was just coming out and coming out of you," Mary said.
But she added that she wasn't sure the routine was memorable and Luther said he wasn't sure it would keep them on the show. Blake said Claudia's performance was a bit rough at times.
Still, Tre Armstrong told Claudia she could hold her head high and Jean Marc said she transformed herself.
The judges weren't completely sold, either, on the Maria Torres disco routine performed by Sebastian Mersch and Nathalie Heath, both contemporary dancers.
They both got into the groove enough for me, but Mary said Sebastian's posture wasn't always good and the lifts were telegraphed.
Still, "a lot of good things were going on through there. You guys were having a lot of fun, we were having a lot of fun with you."
She added, "I don't think either of you are going anywhere."
"Sebastian was struggling a little bit with a couple of those lifts, but it was the cutest struggle in the whole world, so I think it worked," quipped Luther.
Added Blake: "That was fun for so many reasons. Sebastian, you look like disco like Tim Burton would do it."
He said he couldn't take his eyes off Nathalie.
Jean Marc said Sebastian didn't connect as well as he should, but "Nathalie, you earned your title of disco princess."
We find out Thursday whether the disco princess made the top 10, or the paso doble king or the pro who danced her way through losing a high heel.
Tune in at 8:30 p.m. on CTV for the results show and read the recap here.
Only one of my videos is ready to go right now, but I'll have two more ready in the morning. Here's Charlene and Edgar talking about the "wardrobe malfunction":
(The photo of Charlene and Edgar doing their salsa is courtesy of CTV.)
Well that seems kind of dumb.
Keep the guy with the bum leg who does nothing in challenges and dump the guy who's not a physical dynamo but has proven leadership skills and is good at pumping up the tribe.
That's what Espada did Wednesday night at the urging of Marty, who is looking more and more like a big old egomaniac.
And yes, I'm sorry to see Jimmy Johnson go. I knew nothing about him before Survivor but became a fan after a conference call he did with the media before the show. He seemed like a genuinely gracious and good-natured guy.
Marty, on the other hand, I am starting to like less and less, and Jimmy T. just seems like a blowhard.
Apparently both these fellows had their fragile egos bruised by their tribemates' hero worship of Jimmy Johnson and decided he had to go.
Jimmy was gracious in defeat, saying after tribal council, "I initially said, keep your strongest members. I obviously wasn't one of the strongest members.
"I think they will come together and be successful," he added of his tribe of over-40s.
I'm not so sure.
The only time the older tribe has beat the younger La Flor at challenges is when they used the Medallion of Power to gain an advantage.
La Flor turned down the chance to use the medallion in Wednesday's challenge, which involved retrieving barrels, positioning them on mats and throwing sandbags on top of the barrels.
After a slow start, Espada pulled into the lead as Tyrone tossed six bags onto barrels, but then Benry (what the hell kind of name is Benry?) caught up and pulled ahead. Jimmy T. replaced Tyrone as thrower for Espada and pulled to within one bag of the youngsters, but then Benry landed a 10th one and it was all over.
La Flor won immunity and a reward of fruit, sauces and spices to liven up their meals.
Before the challenge, we got a look at the specialness that is NaOnka.
First, as La Flor returned from the tribal council that saw Shannon voted out, NaOnka complained that "coming back to camp after tribal council was so fake, faker than faux fur ... everybody acting like they all cool with each other ... we've been divided."
The next day, she groused to the camera about Fabio, a.k.a. Jud, who was amusing his tribemates by tending the fire with a mask on.
"Fabio, I don't like," declared NaOnka. "His hair got on my nerves, such an airhead. You just knock on his head, you hear hollowness."
But could there be a method to Fabio's bubblehead act?
"My whole strategy is to be out in the open, to make people laugh, be a liitle crazy," Fabio told the camera, "but it goes deeper than just ha, ha let's keep him because he's funny," he added, interrupting his thought to announce there was a hermit crab on his foot. "I want to be kept around for more than I'm funny. I want to be kept around for my mentality, my spirit, whatever man."
Whatever may be the key word there.
Anyway, back to NaOnka. If she seemed like a charmer before the challenge, she outdid herself after. She and Kelly B. (the girl with the prosthetic leg) were about to carry the basket of food back to camp when both spotted a clue to the hidden immunity idol hidden among the bananas.
As they arrived at camp, they both scrambled to grab it, but NaOnka knocked Kelly aside, snatched the clue, crushing the bananas, and then stomped off with it.
"I can't believe that man, it's completely uncalled for," said Fabio. (It's possible, though, the tribemates were more annoyed about the squished bananas than Kelly B. being shoved.)
An unrepentant NaOnka told the camera she'd do it all over again if she had to: "If it happens again, it happens again, I'll pull you again. Hopeully I'll push you so hard that damn leg will fly off ... don't think I'm gonna be nice to you 'cause you have one leg. I'm not gonna be nice to you. You gotta be kidding. My name is NaOnka, not fool."
NaOnka later shared the clue with Brenda, who noted, "She definitely in my eyes has the power right now. I'm just keeping as tight with her as possible."
(I'm kind of looking forward to the day when Brenda decides she doesn't need NaOnka anymore and throws her under the bus. I'm sure it's coming.)
Brenda and NaOnka didn't decipher the clues, however, and didn't find the idol.
Speaking of idols, back on Espada, Jill convinced Marty to show the hidden idol to the rest of the tribe to gain their trust.
It worked like a charm on Jimmy T., who told Marty, "you just strengthened this tribe five times, hats off to you."
But Tyrone wasn't buying it: "I think Marty's shady. I think he's for sure doing his own thing."
Marty pretty much confirmed that when he told the camera, "It was not going to be a secret for long that I had the idol. Everyone knows the idol can only belong to one person and that one person is me."
After the challenge, Marty went into full-on scheming mode against Jimmy J.
"I need to remove him so people lose their daddy and they'll either shake and crumble or they'll come to me," Marty told the camera.
Jill, more sensibly, said Dan should go first because he was the weakest physically, but she agreed to go along with Marty's scheme.
"People like Jane and Holly look at Jimmy Johnson as if he were the Pope, that's just people being stupid," Marty said. That's just Marty being jealous, methinks.
Jimmy was smart enough to figure out he was in jeopardy. "I'm in trouble every single week we go to tribal council, I know that," he said.
At tribal, after Jimmy T. blathered about how there were three or four weak players on the tribe and Jeff Probst asked the castaways one by one if that applied to them, they all said no, even Dan with his bad knee, all except Jimmy J.
"I'm the oldest player and one of the weakest, too," he said.
"So the only guy here who admits to thinking he's one of the weakest players is Jimmy Johnson," noted Jeff.
Much of the tribal council time was used up by Jimmy T. to complain about how he should have been used more in the challenge and how Jimmy J. wasn't interested in him.
"I don't think me and Jimmy have had the chance to really sit down and talk," said Jimmy T.
"How is it possible after eight days of living out here you haven't had the chance to sit down and speak?" asked an incredulous Jeff. "Celebrity alone would have most people saying I'd like to talk to Jimmy Johnson."
"I am a leader where I come from. I am assertive, often speaking my mind and maybe he didn't want to be bothered with that, it's that simple," bragged Jimmy T.
Jimmy J. was asked if he felt threatened by Jimmy T. "No I feel like I have a great relationship with Jimmy T.," he replied. "We haven't had a sitdown and had a long conversation, but I always felt we had a great relationship."
Not great in Jimmy T.'s eyes, obviously, since he was still whining as he cast his ballot: "Coach, you listen to everybody, but you never really listen to me. I tried to give my input and it fell on deaf ears, so go home." Bitter much?
So Jimmy J. had his torch snuffed, telling his tribe, "Listen, win a million bucks, okay?" as he walked away.
Class act that Jimmy Johnson, which is more than I can say for Marty or Jimmy T. or NaOnka.
"In voting out Jimmy Johnson, you vote out a proven leader," Jeff told Espada. "The question is who's gonna step up and fill those shoes?"
All we know for sure is that we're in for more of Hurricane NaOnka next week, the nickname she was given in the promo. Because you know, picking on somebody with one leg just proves how "hood" you are. Whatever.
You can watch again next Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Global TV.
(The photo of Jimmy Johnson is by Monty Brinton for CBS.)
Let's get the most obvious question out of the way first: Shannon Elkins, the castaway voted off Survivor: Nicaragua last week, says he is not a homophobe.
If you were watching last Wednesday, you might recall the rather bizarre exchange at tribal council where Shannon accused tribemate Sash of being gay, noting that "New York's full of a bunch of gay people."
Shannon says it was a case of Sash getting in the way as Shannon teed off on Chase, who had been in an alliance with Shannon but switched his allegiance to Brenda.
You'll recall that Sash interjected that Shannon was digging his own grave with his remarks.
"He should have kept his mouth shut," Shannon said.
Asked if he'd had run-ins with Sash before tribal, Shannon answered: "If they really wanted to portray me as a person who was a prick or whatever, or just that type of person or a real homophobe, they could have showed that throughout the time on the air, but they didn't because I'm not."
Shannon said other tribemates had been wondering from Day 1 if Sash was gay, but nobody would ask him.
"So I asked him and what they did was throw it in my mouth at tribal council. They knew it was gonna be a big show, they threw it in there where they thought it needed to be and look, it was a big tribal, big show."
Would it bother you if Sash was gay, I asked.
"No, I don't care, I didn't care at all," Shannon said.
He did care about his betrayal by Chase, however.
"He turned his back on me last minute where I didn't even have a fighting chance out there on the beach to do anything or work anything or change anything. He changed his vote and he wasn't supposed to change his vote, and that's what went down.
"It pissed me off and I went off."
That being said, sounds like any hard feelings are behind Shannon, who's 30 and the father of three kids, an 11-year-old, a 9-year-old and a 19-month-old. He said he has been in touch with everyone he played Survivor with and keeps in touch with almost all of them.
He even wishes Brenda well, who helped engineer his downfall, since "she's the one who beat me and you always want to lose to the person who beat you."
And while he knew all about the kind of backstabbing that goes on from past seasons of Survivor, Chase still surprised him.
"I expected it, but you know, Chase claimed that he was such a good guy and I took his word for it. I'm not saying he's not a good guy. I'm just saying he went out there and fell victim to the woman, you know, kind of like Adam and Eve: she made him take a bite."
Asked if that was one of the reasons he talked about voting off the women early in the game, he said, "Exactly, it happens every friggin' season."
Shannon still feels he should have played with the older team, given the fact he was the only one on the younger tribe who was married with children, to his knowledge.
"Any time you have kids at such a young age (he was 19 when his oldest was born), you have to grow up real fast and I know when you saw my little tirade on tribal council it didn't look like I was a grown-up. I'm just the type of person that you sit there and you claim that you're this person, this person, this person and you go back on everything you said you were, you know, I'm gonna call you on it and that's what happened."
Speaking of the wife and kids, Shannon said they loved the show, although his wife isn't enjoying the backlash that's sprung up over the gay comments. "People are taking it way out of proportion," he said.
Some journalists have taken his words out of context, he said, adding he only reads the good articles.
Which ones are the good ones, I asked.
"I don't know, hopefully you."
I asked Shannon, who'd never even been camping before playing Survivor, if he'd play again given the chance.
"You see my tribal council?" he asked.
Yes, I said.
"I don't think they're going to ask me back, baby, but we'll see."
If last week's promos are anything to go by, it looks like there's more conflict brewing on Wednesday's episode of Survivor, airing at 8 p.m. on Global TV. I'll have the recap here after the show.
And don't forget, you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/realyeo
(The photo of Shannon in Nicaragua is by Monty Brinton for CBS.)
NHL all-star Brett Hull will be one of the judges when the skaters take to the ice for the first live performance show of Season 2 of Battle of the Blades.
Hull played for the Calgary Flames, the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes, scoring 741 goals in his career, third overall in the NHL (I'm taking CBC's word for all this, I'm not a hockey expert). He also has two Stanley Cups to his name and has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He'll join regular judges Sandra Bezic and Jeremy Roenick, who was just announced this weekend.
The show airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBC. You can find out more about it here.
Shavar Blackwood is a hip-hop dancer with just four years' experience; Kloe Schultz is a lyrical-jazz dancer who started when she was 4, but they managed to find common ground on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
For one thing, both were decidedly positive when I interviewed them after they were eliminated from the show last week.
"It's not that I was happy to go or anything like that," said Shavar, 25, of Toronto, who left SYTYCDC with a big smile on his face. "Having been there that long and seen other dancers and friends leave I just always had in my mind, whenever my time comes to go I don't want it to be a sad moment. There's so many great things that came from this competition so I don't want to look at the one sad fact I'm leaving and focus on that. I more want to celebrate and rejoice at all the great things that happened."
"I feel the exact same way," said Kloe, 20, who's from North Bay but lives in Ottawa. "As much as it's hard to leave, and it's such a surprise at who's going, you have to stay positive and keep your head held high.... This isn't the end of the world ... this opens so many doors, so many opportunities are waiting around the corner."
If it wasn't for the So You Think You Can Dance franchise, Shavar might not even be a dancer.
He had finished high school and was trying to decide what to do with his life when he heard about the show and started taking classes.
"I always liked to dance, if music was playing, like, I'd always want to move and I didn't know this world existed.... As I started to dance I started to feel more complete and I realized that dance is what made me happy, so I just stuck with that."
Trying out and being rejected in Season 2 of SYTYCDC prompted him to start ballet and contemporary classes, which he said he loves and wants to continue.
Kloe took a more traditional route into the dance world, starting ballet, tap and jazz classes at age 4. She later took highland dancing as well and continued training in different styles when she moved to Ottawa, where she is studying health sciences at the University of Ottawa in a pre-med program (not McGill University as Jean Marc Genereux said during last Thursday's show).
So maybe she'll be a dancing doctor some day?
"That sounds kind of hot," said Shavar.
Kloe said she'll finish her degree but wants to pursue a dance career and maybe even acting. "I do want to explore the world of dance and explore myself, just see how far I can push myself," she said.
Shavar will keep pushing himself in dance, too, but wants to explore aspects of performance beyond routines and choreography.
One of this favourite parts of doing the show was being able to play characters in his routines: the costumes, the makeup, the props and the lighting.
"The last piece, our theatre piece, was so beautiful," he said of the number he and Kloe danced on last Wednesday's show. "They put a moon in the background and stars in the sky and a light, just so many things outside of the dancing that came together to make that dance complete....
"I want to go and learn about other aspects that go into making a show a great show, just stuff about music, about theatre, about staging, about lighting, about costumes, because i really love to choreograph myself and it's a hope of mine to one day maybe be a choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance."
Kloe said she had so many favourite parts about being on the show it's hard to name just one.
"This is a dancer's dream being able to work with these world-renowned choreographers and dancing with all these talented dancers, it's amazing, but I'd have to say one of the highlights of this jouney is having the opportunity to be judged by Mia Michaels and do that routine with her (the top 18 group number).
"To me, that was special and having her talk to me (Thursday) night after I was eliminated was very lovely. I listened to everything she said and I took it to heart ... she just said this isn't the end of the road; I have so much more growing to do, and to just keep pushing and believing in myself, and to keep going."
Kloe said believing in herself was one of the hardest parts of the competition for her.
"It's hard to go out there and do something you've never done before and just want it to be great and pefect for Canada to see, but I kept telling myself, 'You can do this, you're here for a reason and just believe in yourself,' and that's what helped me get this far."
Kloe also had to dance with a bad ankle the last three weeks, which she said is "just some bones that have shifted and ... muscle tears here and there, but life goes on and that's part of a dancer's life. You live with these injuries and you heal when you can and keep dancing."
Shavar, who emerged unscathed ("I'm strong like bull," he joked), said it was tough picking up different genres of dancing "in like three days and then knowing you're gonna perform it on television for millions of people to see, to maintain your composure and stay strong through that is definitely one of the hardest things."
But for both, it was an opportunity they wouldn't trade for anything.
The journey continues for the 12 remaining dancers Wednesday and the pressure's on since they're competing for a spot in the top 10.
The show airs at 8 p.m. on CTV, with Mary Murphy joining Jean Marc, Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Blake McGrath at the judges' table, and choreography from Stacey Tookey, Sean Cheesman, Sho-Tyme, Gustavo Vargas, Maria Torres, Natalli Reznik and Francis Lafreniere.
I'll have the recap for you after the show as usual and video of some of the dancers talking about their routines. Speaking of video, here are Kloe and Shavar talking about their favourite routines and how the show made them better dancers:
You can take that title a couple of ways.
Michael Bolton, the celeb who memorably had to crawl out of a doghouse as part of his jive on Monday's Dancing With the Stars, got the boot on Tuesday's results show.
But Bruno Tonioli, the judge who gave Bolton an almost unheard of 3 out of 10 and declared his jive "probably the worst" in 11 seasons of the show, was also in the doghouse for his critique.
Len Goodman, who clashed with Bruno over the comment on Monday, had another go at him on Tuesday. And Michael made his displeasure clear, telling co-host Brooke Burke that "Bruno was inappropriate and disrespectful." (Bruno pretended to slap his own hand after hearing the statement.)
Bruno wasn't backing down from his harshness despite co-host Tom Bergeron's needling.
"So Brandy and Maks are in jeopardy and, Bruno, I would imagine with some portions of our audience you are as well," Tom said.
"Fox is waiting," retorted Bruno (I assume he was talking about the Fox network but I don't know in what context).
"I have to say in all honesty even I thought you were a little hard on Michael Bolton," Tom said.
"Me? I'm the nicest person ever," Bruno replied. "I feel Rin Tin Tin would have done a better job.
"He's a fantastic singer, he's a wonderful person, it's nothing personal, but I'm here to call it as I see it ... my job is to point out what I see."
Invited to add his two cents, Len said, "I disagree. I think our job is to educate and enlighten and to encourage (Bolton gave 'okay' and thumbs up signs as Len spoke, and Carrie Ann Inaba nodded). And as much as you can think, Tom, sometimes, that I am, you know, a harsh judge, I always try to show a little bit of positive and maybe then some negative, but just to go in negative, negative, negative, I felt it was a bit harsh. It was too harsh and then to give the guy a 3..."
As Len spoke, Bruno retorted, "He should be a politician, this is lying."
Tom cut them off before they got much further.
But "Bruno-gate" wasn't the only controversy addressed on Tuesday: there was also "Boo-gate."
You'll recall that after Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough got their scores on Monday, booing could be heard from the audience as Brooke chatted them up in the celeb-aquarium. Immediately after, Tom was seen sitting next to Sarah Palin in the audience.
Many people assumed the boos were for Palin. I thought they might have been, although I didn't go as far as some bloggers who took the story and sprinted with it; one woman even scolded audience members for the boos.
Turns out they were booing the 8's that the judges gave Jennifer and Derek for their jive.
Footage aired on the show Tuesday clearly showed the audience starting to boo right after the scores were revealed. The boos increased after the judges argued with the crowd, saying that 8's were good. As Tom introduced Sarah, the audience cheered.
So that's the end of that and it reminds me of an expression my father used to use, that to assume makes an ass out of you and me. It's a handy thing for all of us bloggers to keep in mind.
Back to Tuesday's results: Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer were the first couple declared safe and also had the honour of performing an encore of their quickstep at the request of the judges.
Len better bring his breath freshener next week because Florence Henderson vowed to lock lips with him if she made it through to another show, and she and Corky Ballas were the next couple declared safe.
Asked what she'd do to Len if she made it to Week 4, Florence quipped, "I will lock hips with him."
Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas were the next couple ushered to safety.
Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani were safe, too. Tony's guaranteed to be smoother on the dance floor next week since he vowed to wax his legs if he and Audrina didn't get perfect 8's for their quickstep. Bruno was the spoiler, giving them a 7. Audrina told Tony she'd hold his hand through the procedure.
Jennifer and Derek were also safe (seriously, was there ever any doubt?), along with Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya, and Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel.
As the show wound down, Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke, The Situation and Karina Smirnoff, Brandy and Maks Chmerkovskiy, Michael and Chelsie Hightower were left onstage.
It was no surprise when Rick and Brandy and partners were declared safe. Nor was it a shocker when Michael was sent home. The Situation will dance another day.
(Cheryl has promised that viewers will get to see Rick's butt gyrating next week and Rick gave a preview. Did anyone else chuckle when The Situation said, "I don't even know what musicality is, but I will work on that," referring to Carrie Ann's critique?)
I wondered if Michael would have more zingers for Bruno after Tom and Brooke led him in front of the judges' dais, but he held his tongue, simply replying, "Yeah, yeah" when Brooke asked if he was surprised to be going home.
"I'm disappointed. Chelsie's been awesome and I wanted her to go on and on as well and, you know, so it's disappointing this vote, yeah."
Asked about the camaraderie with the other dancers, Michael said, "You meet these wonderful people and warm, and very, very sincere, really, really great people, gracious people."
(Sounds like Michael saves his words for his songs. I wouldn't exactly call him Mr. Personality.)
Chelsie said Michael "is such a genuine person and it was honestly such an honour to work with you and such an honour to be with you this past month, and I really am so proud of you."
Then they had a last dance and everybody hugged (I noticed The Situation was getting right in there, flinging an arm around Michael's shoulder).
Also on Tuesday's show: performances by Janelle Monae and Seal, and a Macy's Stars of Dance presentation that melded ballet with acrobatics and aerialists, choreographed by Rich and Tone.
We were spared Adam Carolla's "comedy" this week. Aside from the usual clips of celebrities talking about how keen they are to compete and to win, the professional dancers shared some of their pre-performance rituals: Derek keeps his socks in the fridge; Tony and Maks play football; Cheryl puts hand sanitizer on her armpits; Louis eats chocolate cake; Lacey eats her mom's chocolate chip cookies; Mark plays guitar.
The weirdest was Corky, who gets down on his knees and smells the dance floor.
"So Corky smells the floor? I got nothing," Tom quipped.
And neither do I, at least until next week when the stars dance again. You can watch Monday at 8 p.m. on CTV.
(The photo of Michael and Chelsie doing the jive is by Adam Larkey for ABC.)
I'm not sure which was worse on Dancing With the Stars on Monday night: the sight of Michael Bolton crawling out of an oversized dog house on his hands and knees in a ridiculous leopard print jacket or the 3 out of 10 that Bruno Tonioli gave his jive.
I'm not a DWTS expert, but has anybody got a 3 before? It certainly seemed to shock co-host Tom Bergeron.
To my eyes, Michael's performance with Chelsie Hightower didn't look much worse than last week's wooden waltz, although it wasn't better either, but it really had Bruno hot and bothered.
He called it "probably the worst jive in 11 seasons."
That led Len Goodman, who had said the dance needed a pooper scooper to finish it up, to chastise Bruno: "You should keep some of the comments to yourself really because that is unfair." (Tom quipped later: "If you're just tuning in, you missed Len lecturing on how to be nicer, which has to be one of the signs of the apocalypse as far as I'm concerned.")
Carrie Ann Inaba tried to smooth things over by telling Michael she appreciated him pouring his heart and soul into the routine, but she could only muster a 4 out of 10 score herself. Combined with Len's 5, that put Bolton and partner Chelsie Hightower at the bottom of the scoreboard with 12 out of 30.
Will Michael go home? Hard to say. I would have figured Margaret Cho was an easy out last week, but David Hasselhoff got the chop instead.
Cho was still close to the bottom of the judges' scores this week as was Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, but both brought their scores up, earning 18 out of 30, up from 15.
Mercifully, Margaret decided to play it straight, leaving the gold bat wings at home and going for a straight-ahead jive with partner Louis van Amstel.
In the rehearsal clips, Margaret said she wanted to "show people that I don't have to make jokes about myself, that I can truly dance."
And dance she did, not always in synch with Louis and not with the best technique, but much better than last week.
The judges commented on the improvement while making technical recommendations such as sharpening her kicks, not leading with her shoulders and keeping her facial expressions in check ("This is what my face is like, I can't help it," Margaret said).
I may be crazy, but I find The Situation's earnestness about the competition somewhat endearing. He certainly seemed to be trying hard in rehearsals and Bruno noted that he could see him counting and focusing during the routine, but he has a long way to go before he can "nail one," as he put it.
At least Karina Smirnoff didn't make him crawl out of a doghouse during their quickstep.
Carrie Ann recommended Situation get an iPod and use it constantly to improve his musicality while also noting that he's slightly pigeon-toed.
"For a difficult dance you did a good job, better than last week, so well done," Len said.
Another dancer who improved her score was Audrina Patridge.
Audrina went from the middle of the pack to second place after a quickstep with Tony Dovolani.
We learned from the rehearsal clips that Audrina's getting grief from her family and boyfriend over her demanding DWTS schedule. She tearily confessed to Tony that "it's really starting to cause friction between" her and her boyfriend.
But she turned that angst to her advantage in her quickstep, which was technically challenging and well executed.
"The show pony is turning into Secretariat," quipped Bruno.
Carrie commended Audrina for the "huge improvement" and Len said it was the best dance of the night to that point.
But the best was still to come as Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough did what Bruno called a "killer jive."
Proving that her Dirty Dancing prowess wasn't just a fluke, Jennifer did an extremely fast and complex routine, showing off her 50-year-old body in a barely there fringe dress that made me want to run to the gym. (Also of note, Jennifer showed Derek the scars in her neck from four surgeries to excise a cancer that was pushing on her spinal cord. Since the cancer was discovered during a physical for a previous season of DWTS, the show "was a catalyst for saving my life." She now has a plate and four screws in her neck.)
When the performance was over, she and Derek collapsed to the floor, where Tom joined them.
Carrie Ann said they deserved the break after the high energy performance. "You're kind of like this sexy, hot, energizing, bionic bunny out there dancing the jive," she said.
"Jennifer Grey, there was nothing grey about that," said Len. "It was bright, it was colourful, full-on, fabulous job."
Bruno noted that "the choreography was so difficult it was beyond belief and you nailed it. That was wicked."
Colour me impressed also by Brady mom Florence Henderson, who seems so genuinely thrilled to be on the show.
Determined not to be the funny old lady of the competition, Florence really threw herself into the quickstep with Corky Ballas.
It wasn't as technically challenging as Jennifer's or Audrina's, but c'mon, the woman's 76 and she was spinning and prancing across that floor at a pace that would wind folks half her age.
Len had perhaps the best compliment when he said he pays no attention to age but to the dancing and whether he wants to see the competitor return the following week: "On that performance I'll see you next week."
That brought a kiss for Len from Florence, with Tom quipping "I wouldn't think she went for older men."
The routine brought Florence and Corky's score up a point, to 19.
Also improving her score was Bristol Palin.
And yes, we got to see Mama Sarah Palin on Monday's show, first when Bristol took partner Mark Ballas on a visit to Alaska where Sarah declared herself starstruck at the sight of him and then in the studio audience (was it just coincidence the crowd could be heard booing in the background just before the camera turned to Tom interviewing Sarah?).
"It's great to see all this courage and joy and exuberance by every dancer," declared Mama Palin, who demurred when asked to name a favourite performance up to that point (Bristol hadn't danced yet). Asked to comment on the judges, she joked "You're not going to chew out the refs before your team is up."
Back to Bristol. The teen mom did a commendable job on her quickstep with Mark.
Len said the dancing was lovely but needed a little more flair and that Bristol was being a little bit careful.
Bruno recommended she become more of an actress while praising her "fresh, unaffected quality." And Carrie Ann said she had "a vulnerable, endearing spirit. I can't wait to see you come back week after week."
The routine vaulted her into a tie for third place with Kyle Massey.
Kyle was down a point and a notch in the scoreboard from last week, but his quickstep was still impressive.
The judges dinged him for technical errors like being flat-footed and not maintaining his frame, but Bruno called him "a powerhouse of boundless energy."
He's still impressing the heck out of me.
Meanwhile, the so-called battle of the big tall athletes heated up, with Rick Fox slipping a point and Kurt Warner gaining two to put the ex-NBA star and the ex-Super Bowl champ in a dead heat.
Rick and partner Cheryl Burke opened the show with a fun, spirited jive, which was all the more impressive considering Rick's dancing with the remnants of an injury to his left foot that ended his basketball career.
For a big tall guy, he did a tremendous job. Bruno said it was like "a Californian condor trying to dance with a hummingbird, but you actually did it."
"You have become a contender here. That was really good," said Len.
Carrie Ann agreed with the contender part but criticized Rick's posture, which brought boos from the audience.
Kurt, meanwhile, sloughed off Len's criticisms of the previous week, saying "I've been booed by thousands of people before so one old guy from England, I think I can handle that."
His jive with Anna Trebunskaya was enjoyable and had a lot of musicality to it.
Len didn't hold the old guy comment against Kurt, saying, "Last week for me it was the outhouse, tonight it's the penthouse."
Bruno was impressed by how Kurt placed his hands, which "are the size of frying pans," and said he can't wait to see how Kurt progresses during the competition.
Last but not least, singer Brandy lost some favour with the judges Monday, going from a second place score of 23 to tying for fourth with 21.
Maybe she spent too much time arguing with Maks Chmerkovskiy about proper training methods.
Their jive had some complex partnering but seemed to lack energy in spots.
Carrie Ann said there were places where it got a little sloppy and Len said it was a little bit brittle.
"Okay from you is not good enough because I know you can be superb," Bruno told Brandy.
Here are the scores going into Tuesday's results show:
Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough: 24
Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani: 23
Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer: 22
Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas: 22
Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke: 21
Brandy and Maks Chmerkovskiy: 21
Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya: 21
Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas: 19
Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel: 18
The Situation and Karina Smirnoff: 18
Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower: 12
Results air at 9 p.m. on CTV and, as usual, you can catch the recap here.
Don't forget that comments are always welcome and you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/realyeo
(The photo of Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower is by Adam Larkey for ABC and no, there weren't any photos of the leopard jacket on ABC's website.)
(Theo Fleury hoists Violetta Afanasieva during lift class in a photo by Aaron Vincent Elkaim for the Toronto Star.)
Hello all and welcome to my first blog post about Season 2 of Battle of the Blades.
If you were watching Sunday night you already know which hockey players and figure skaters are paired up, but in case you weren't, these are the couples:
*Violetta Afanasieva and P.J. Stock
*Shae-Lynn Bourne and Patrice Brisebois
*Isabelle Brasseur and Todd Warriner
*Ekaterina Gordeeva and Valeri Bure
*Christine Hough-Sweeney and Russ Courtnall
*Kyoko Ina and Kelly Chase
*Georges Laraque and Anabelle Langlois
*Theo Fleury and Jamie Sale
Sunday's show was just a getting-to-know-you hour, as viewers got to watch the skaters at boot camp.
So far, Theo is looking like the hockey player to beat, although Valeri seems determined to do well and is paired with one of the greatest pairs skaters of all time under the billing, "The Russians are coming."
Actually, everybody had their game faces on.
We got to watch the guys try out figure skates for the first time and to watch them fall. We saw them do a lift class, hoisting the women with the protection of gym mats. We got to see them learn choreography and then perform a short routine for the first time. And we got to see them take a class with ballet dancer Rex Harrington to learn to look poised on the ice.
"I wanted these guys to realize that they have to hold the stage, that they can't just stand and carry a girl," said co-host Kurt Browning.
The guys also got a visit from former Toronto Maple Leaf and Blades competitor Tie Domi (during which they ribbed him about his hot pink shirt) and from Stephane Richer, who finished in the top three last season.
He described how he dropped partner Marie-France Dubreuil during the first week of rehearsals and we got to see footage of it happening, and all I can say is ouch.
"She hit the ground so bad, so hard, I thought she was dead," Stephane said. "I didn't want to listen to anybody the first week, (we thought) we were so strong," he said as a warning to this season's competitors. (Despite cracking her head in the fall, Marie-France recovered and was able to stay on the show.)
Georges, who is a giant, seemed to have the easiest time hoisting his partners.
When asked to describe the best part of boot camp, P.J. told Jamie it was grabbing the women's butts during lift training.
The resident jokester, P.J. also said, "I'm worried about dropping a woman on national television, then I toe-pick over here and fall into the first row, and take out someone's mother."
In the locker room, the guys compared blisters and sore muscles.
"I even have a greater respect for the sport now," said Russ. "It feels like the first day of training camp. My legs are on fire."
Valeri expressed his frustration that though "we know we're decent players, getting on the (figure) skates you feel like a fool."
Personally I think it's going to be really interesting to see Bure and Fleury go head to head.
Valeri was a little shaky during lift class and complained about looking like a fool during choreography lessons but seems super competitive.
Theo stayed on the ice practising the longest of all the guys and had already mastered some spins by the time they finished lift class.
"Holy moly, they're good," said Kurt, watching the hockey players do their first practice performances.
Smartly, the first show also dealt with some elephants in the room.
Theo talked about his sexual abuse as a teenager at the hands of a coach, how he spiralled out of control with drugs and alcohol, and almost killed himself, a "fully loaded pistol in my mouth."
Russ talked about how his father became depressed and committed suicide when Russ was 12 years old. He teared up discussing that on-camera and the mental health centre he and his brother raised $2 million to build, which is named after their father, Archie Courtnall.
The show also touched on Ekaterina's loss of husband and skating partner Sergei Grinkov, who died of a heart attack at just 28, in 1995.
"I think it will be competitive," the two-time gold medal winner said of Battle of the Blades. "Everyone is a perfectionist. Everyone is an athletic champion."
And everyone seems determined to skate their hearts out, meaning we're likely in for a blast of a season.
The competition starts in earnest next Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBC.
Debra Yeo can kind of dance, can’t skate, does a mean karaoke version of “Car Wash” and would never consent to eat rice and sleep on bamboo with strangers on an island for 39 days. When she’s not watching reality TV, she is the Star’s deputy entertainment editor.
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