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This is an iHeart podcast. And now, welcome to the ballroom. In the fourth judge's chair, it's Shanna Burgess. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Shana Burgess. In the fourth chair, I am Shanna Burgess. And just quickly, if you don't already know, I was a longtime pro on Dancing with the Stars and also have been a judge on Dancing with the Stars Australia for about the last six years. Uh, and I wasn't able to be in the audience this week to see the performances, but I was so excited to watch them. One of my favorite weeks that we used to do on the show was always most memorable year. Some of our OG fans will remember that one where our contestants used to get to share a year that truly changed their life or a moment that truly changed their life. And this year, I believe someone correct, correct me if I'm wrong, that this was the first time we've done a dedication to a person where they've been in the dance consistently throughout the whole show. And I. I thought it was really fun. You know, there are some versions that I think worked better than others, and I think we're sort of testing out how much we involve the friend or the de. The person the dedication was for in the dance. There were some combos that, yeah, I really loved and others where I was like, oh, it feels a little bit like a trio. And I was missing some more content of the celebrity and their partner. But we'll get into that as we go through the dances. So usually my goal here with the fourth chair is to give my more air time to what the judges say. Sometimes they get to say a critique within 10 seconds and you're kind of left there going, what does that even mean? So I want to give those critiques more air time. And of course, I'm going to give you what my thoughts are, takeaways of things that they could work on and things that I'm noticing throughout the dance. And I will give you what my score was of the dance as we go. I do feel like last night being dedications night on Dancing with the Stars, we didn't see quite as many critiques as we could have or as we normally do. And I think we have to give a little bit of grace for that because at some point you've got a 12 year old standing there or a best friend or a loved one, and it just felt like they probably didn't want to be super harsh on the people because they've got that other person standing there on the other side of the judges table, and you don't want to make them feel bad about the performance or potentially feel like it was their fault. So I totally get that. It was a bit of a love fest last night. Speaking of love fests, Mr. Derek Huff was all up in his daddy feels. You could see. He was so emotional the whole night. I thought it was so beautiful to see it land on him so many times. I mean, fatherhood is coming up very quickly for him. It is around the corner. And anything that had to do with kids and parents, he could tell. He was just so in it and feeling it and imagining himself doing it and the. The possibility of sharing a dance with his kid. I mean, I just loved that. I also cannot move forward without mentioning that I thought Kimmy was wonderful. Having her as an addition on the judges table was just so beautiful to see her there. First of all, she looked beautiful, stunning woman. And I thought she had some really sweet, informative takeaways. And I love that she was giving visuals and getting up and showing stuff. It really makes the world of difference for our contestants when they're hearing information like that and also seeing an example. And it also makes a big difference, I think, for you guys to be able to receive information and Kimmy being Kimmy. And maybe I'll just go ahead and say it's an Aussie thing, but she had a wonderful way of being sweet and kind and delivering notes without it feeling like a jab. She just. Her delivery was really beautiful and I loved it. So, okay. There were a couple moments that surprise me. Some that I. Some that didn't. Some dances weren't as great as I thought that they would be. Some were better than I thought. So let's get into it from the very, very top. We started with Andy and Emma. They were doing a salsa, which let me first tell you that salsa is actually a hard task for someone that hasn't been doing a lot of steps. And then the mission was put on him last week that they wanted more content and more steps. And salsa is just all steps, you know, it is. It's constant movement of the feet and unless you're cheating and keeping the man still. But Emma did not do that at the. On the show. She had Andy moving. She had him moving those feet. And I thought it was really sweet. I loved seeing his daughter out there with him and that relationship between the two of them. It was beautiful. She was just so cute. And I love the routine that Emma did. I love the dress that she was wearing. She looked like a Little girl. It was just. It was the cutest thing. With that being said, my man Andy reverted back to some behaviors from earlier in the season where he was off time for quite a bit of it. So getting into what the judges said, we had Kimmy, who related him to her season with Jerry Springer, which, yeah, as Bruno said in response to her, they couldn't get rid of him and you couldn't, you know. And again, we go back to. This is what the show is. Has been about for the longest time, is people like Andy. And she said that it was magic to. To watch him, which I thought was really sweet and also really sweet for his daughter to hear whilst they were standing there. Oh, and I loved her response. Wasn't it something like, how long have you been the most beautiful girl in the world? She said, forever. I love instilling that confidence in a young woman. Bruno said there was lots of steps, but they were not all on time. This is a fact. Carrie Ann said that she is seeing the improvement in him and seeing him getting more comfortable. And he's always entertaining, but however, he was off time. So I love that, you know, the compliments were given. And yes, he's always entertaining. We know that. But I also love that she's acknowledged that we're seeing him get more comfortable and that he's doing more, you know, that acknowledgement of the fact that he took on that note. He and Emma took on that note from the week before. And not only did they put in more content, they were also working with and around the theme of having the dedication and his daughter in the dance. And I thought they did a really fantastic job of that. Derek said, so precious, playful, pure and full of love. Here began the daddy feels he was all about it, and I could just feel it coming off him. Honestly, it made me emotional seeing how emotional he is. My thoughts were basically the same as the judges. There were more steps, and I love that they did that. I love that they took on the challenge. But, yes, they did run away from him, or he ran away from the timing. And it. It again, it's a tough call. Salsa is a lot of steps. It can also be quite fast. He was probably also really thinking so much more about his daughter. He was himself, and so you can kind of understand that too. I would have loved to have seen Andy really execute these steps and be on time. So my takeaway and my note for moving forward, if I had, like, the chance at that table would have been to say, love that you're growing, love the commitment, love the pushing for more steps. Now let's really lock in on those timings, you know, making sure our foot placement and our foot timing is absolutely crisp and perfect as we're still growing and getting more comfortable. But I think you can see. See that from them. I think they did a really good job. The judges are pretty consistent on their scoring for him. They gave him all sixes. I am sitting the same inconsistency of my scoring from past weeks. I was in between a 4 and a 5. I probably should say a 4, because the timing was off for pretty much most of the time. But I ended up landing on a 5, giving it a little grace, because I do think that Andy's mind was on taking care of his daughter and making sure that she was good and probably not so much his steps. So I. I really love them. Andy and Emma, well done. Big fan of you guys. I think we're gonna see them for a very long time moving forward in the competition. He is just that guy, like Kimmy said about Jerry Springer. And I do think having the balance of him in the season, when you've got exceptional dancing and stories like later on, you have this man that is also showing us what the show has been about and that vulnerability and getting out there and doing something that's kind of a little bit scary. So I love the balance of having both. I hope we keep him for a while, and I think that's happening because I see those voting parties on Tick Tock of women, of girls that are in, like, their 20s that are banding together at sleepovers and. And watching at the television with bated breath, making sure Andy gets through and quite literally crying with tears when he does, which I think is pretty fantastic. So keep it going, you guys. All right, we are moving on now to the second performance of the evening. The first thing that I wrote down, might I say, I think it was five seconds into the package, was I'm already cr. I don't know if anybody else was. I was prepared with the tissues for this episode because I knew that it was going to be coming. But when he dedicated it to his mom and I guess being a mama myself now, I was just like, you know what? Yeah, yeah, I'm. I'm done. That's a wrap for me. I've already started crying. So. The judges said Bruno looked very emotional, actually, in this. Obviously hit something personal for him, which was really beautiful. He said it was a true expression of everlasting love, and I think that was a beautiful thing to say. Carrie Ann said He's an amazing young man. If she was to ever have. Have kids, she would want them to be like Robert. Really complimenting Terry on her parenting and the way that she's raised both Bindi and Robert. And she said it was so honest and open from him, which I truly felt that in his performance. Derek said, and he was very emotional that I wrote. Very emotional, making me cry. Just said that he was really proud of Robert. He obviously has a very deep personal connection to them from his. His season with Bindi when they won, and they are very close. And he said that the world needs the Irwin family, and I think that that couldn't be, you know, more true. I think we do need the Irwin family and people like them and that joy that they spread and that positivity that they spread and the good work that they do care. And Kimmy said she complimented Terry's parenting, and you could tell she was really trying to get in and say her critique. But then that music came in. Like at the Oscars, that music started, and they were, like, speaking, and they sent the guys up to the skybox to speak with Julianne. So I thought it was a really great dance. Let's get into my thoughts. First thing I wrote was he's getting texture in his contractions. So he's starting now to get a little bit more texture in his body. And that means his body is moving with a resistance. It's not all moving at one pace. He contracted through his middle, then his arms followed, and it all extended out. And it didn't all happen at one time. It actually never stopped moving. It happened, and it felt like it was moving through quicksand. And I thought it was really beautiful. I loved the routine that Whitney did. I loved the way that she brought in Terry at the end, really symbolizing that she was playing Terry's role. And there Terry was at the end of it. And I loved that he had pointed feet in his jumps. Just reminiscent of his opening very first dance in his jive. He has fantastic musicality always. I wrote it felt beautifully honest from him. And what I loved about that was some of the performances that we'll talk about later in the show. You could tell the emotion was overriding the contestant, and it was really kind of controlling, trolling them. They were a little bit wobbly on their feet. They weren't really totally in it. Like Andy, for example, being more concerned about his daughter here with Robert, you could tell he was letting the emotion become a part of the dance. And that, I think, is his vulnerability. And openness and also Whitney's teaching and the. The moment that she created, I think it just came together beautifully, and I really did enjoy it. My only thing about it was, honestly, I wish that the music went somewhere a little bit. I wish that the music. Like, I wanted to be crying my eyes out at the end of this number. And it's not that the movement wasn't great. The floor work was beautiful. Robert did a barrel turn that was spectacular. All of that was amazing. But the music didn't go anywhere for me. So I. You know how strings and music can just make you cry all on its own, or at least it does that for me. I was missing a build musically, and that's this. That's nothing that anyone can do about it. That is the beautiful song that was chosen, and I loved it, but I felt like it could have been taken to a other level if the music had a bit of a swell and a crescendo to. Then take us back to Terry being there standing with Robert. I freaking love this dance, you guys. I loved it. So the judges gave it an 8. 9. 9. 9. Here we see the nines are coming out for the season now, and, you know, makes sense. It's a. It's a beautiful, personal, and emotional night. I had first written a 7 SL 8 because I was unsure, but I landed on an 8. I felt like his content was beautiful, and he executed things really, really well. Trying to make my decision on where I actually sat with it and feeling out the evening. But, yes, I landed on an eight for him. I thought that I could have gone a nine. A nine or two. I think three nines and an eight. I think that was high. But I also totally see where it's coming from, because I bet being in that room, it was really emotional and really beautiful to connect to and seeing Robert that way. And I have no doubt that if I was in the room, I may have gone the same way in being energetically affected by it. But sitting at home on my. Ouch. Watching it, I landed on an 8. Spectacular dance from them both. I only gave out 19 for the whole night, by the way, so it is still my second highest score. But a fantastic dance by the both of them. Whitney always crushes it on the choreography. It was beautiful, it was memorable, and I think it's a moment they'll get to remember forever. Okay, moving on to Elaine and Alan. I have seen people enraged online about Elaine's scores, so let's get into it. They did a foxtrot, and she had her. Her best friend that she met on the Parent trap, Lisa, come out and dance it with her. Let's get into what the judges said first. So Carrie Ann said Alan did a great job, and it was a perfect showcase for them and a perfect showcase of their friendship. Derek said it was a joy to watch, but her shoulders still need to go back and down. He did a little bit of a. A visual and an explanation on that. And I do very much agree with Derek on the critique there, that her frame and her shoulder shoulders still creep up a little bit, and there's something going on there. And so Kimmy then said she gave a tip on the right hand being on the tricep. The placement of the. The lady's right hand, which does go. It's your middle finger and your thumb, and it basically pinches on to. There's a V in the muscle right here. It's over your shoulder. There's the muscles right on top there. And you can feel a V in the muscle. That is the V that you want your fingers to sit on, and then you fan the rest of them out. So it's like a little butterf resting on a arm. I thought that was lovely advice. And I do agree sometimes it can wrap around a little bit too much because it means that Elaine is actually trying to anchor herself and trying to use that hand to move herself and gain momentum, when really what she needs to do is push back, as Kimmy said, into Allan's right hand that is on her shoulder blade. And if she pushes back into that, that is truly one of the main leading points that Allan has while they're dancing. And so he can anchor himself there, and that's where he guides her from. So I would love to see that note put into action. We had Bruno relate her to Ginger Rogers, one of my favorite dancers from back in the day, and said it was pure glamour. If you don't know who Ginger Rogers is to my young ones, please look her up. We're talking Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, some of the most epic dance scenes that some of your favorite dancers out there on the floor right now are even inspired by. I agree with the critiques. I agree with. It was a great dance. He's one of the ones, though, where I felt like. Like, is it a trio or is it not? And so I felt like even though Alan did a spectacular job and no shade, because he's. This is a new concept. And so they're all figuring out, what does it mean to have a person in the dance And I don't know if they were given rules or boundaries or seconds or times or any sorts of things. I think they've just got to create. And Alan, obviously being a great teacher and Lisa, apparently being able to dance, came in, he was like, you're going to do some foxtrot. Very cool. I think it was a moment that makes it memorable personally, for me as a judge now, not as a viewer. I would have loved to have seen more of Elaine dancing with Alan, because that's what I'm judging. Right. That's what I want to critique on. And so I missed seeing a little bit more of that. And what I did see in that. I just think we're at a point now where I want to see Elaine drive along the floor, like, get into her standing leg, generate that power on her standing leg, and use that resistance in her knees and her butt and her quad muscles to. To drive through and create a longer stride, especially in these ballroom dances, while in a frame, you really want to create longer steps not by launching yourself like you're running, but by driving from the standing leg. And so I feel like I'm missing a little bit of that from Elaine in this dance. She's a fantastic performer. Absolutely. Still a fantastic performer. And I also agree that the frame, it still needs that more push out. And I think what Kimmy said, if we can put that into action, will help in her getting that space to be in her window and some more drive along the floor. So I did love it. Now you guys are enraged about the Sevens, I believe. I am not mad at the Sevens. I am sorry to tell you guys, I think the judges pretty much nailed it on the score for this one. I had them between a 7 and an 8, which is pretty much where the judges landed. I think I ended up landing on an eight, but I, again, over the space of four judges, I am not mad at there being a seven in there, because I think we can now push to see more growth, and. And we really want to see that frame develop into the new level of it, and it's time to start seeing that. So. Yes. But however, big fan of hers, I think Alan did a great job. And as a viewer, I loved the performance, loved the routine, and loved seeing the friendship between Elaine and Lisa. It very much reminds me of me and my girlfriends and, you know, like, Peter that I have known since we were, my God, teenagers, besties. And I hope one day that we're still besties just like that. Okay, moving right along, we have Whitney and Mark. So first of all, Connor crying throughout the whole package absolutely made me cry. And I. I thought it was really sweet to see him in there with them and how much it meant to him. And then. Then he started dancing, and I was like, oh, my God, Like, Connor could actually move. And I don't know if they want to have him on the show at some point, but he certainly looks like he could actually do a really good job. Job. Obviously, Mark is also a great teacher who did a great job with her. So let's get into what the judges said. So we've got. Derek said the dance is healing. Beautiful story in choreography, but the musicality was out of sync. And it was. It was. Unfortunately, when they got into the side by side at the end, she did go off. She jumped a beat or a half a beat too early. You could see Mark try and catch up to being there with her, or at least it looked that way. And. And that's the, you know, a sign of a great pro trying to get in and match your celebrity to help them not look wrong. But then there was another piece that I for a moment thought, oh, was that planned that way? But no, I believe they were just out of sync. Let's get into the rest of what the judges said. I didn't get to write down what Kimmy said. Bruno said there was the ups and downs and the drama. It was an ambitious routine and it was wonderful. But there was a tiny mistake. Carrie Anne said, dance can be a way to cope with our emotions. And it feels like Whitney really resonated with that Mark, she commented, complimented him on the choreography and also brought up the out of sync ness. So moving on from the out of sync, we get it right. There was the. The jump was off. There were things that weren't matching beyond that. She definitely needs to point her toes more. There was lots of moments where now you don't have to have a pointed toe in contemporary, but not a soft foot. It's, you know, it's a one or the other. It's got to be a thing. Thing, and it's got to have attention to it. And there were some places where I felt the feet just didn't. The energy didn't go all the way through to the toes. And so it was getting a little bit loose on the ends, so to speak, for me. But this was. This was one. And what I wrote was, I didn't love it. Why did I not love it? Because I love her. I loved her stuff, and I love Mark's stuff. And I think possibly this is another one. We're dancing with a person that she loved so much. The emotion in it just sort of took over. I didn't feel like her balance was as strong. I didn't feel like her presence was as strong. I didn't feel it was, you know, open up and inviting us in. It definitely felt like it was for them more than it was for us. And that's also beautiful. Look, she's not going anywhere. Her and Connor get that moment and that actually makes me emotional even thinking about that for them and knowing in the package and seeing their story and what they've been through to. To get to this point in their. Their life with each other. Other. So I appreciate that, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. And the mistakes really, you know, it's hard, I think, when someone on the show has dance experience, the mistakes hit harder a little bit because you expect more from them. And so the rushing of the timing and those sorts of things sort of hit a little harder for me with someone like Whitney because I don't expect that from her. So I, yeah, I really felt that, that it just wasn't her greatest and strongest dance. But it may. It might just be one of her favorite memories that she gets to take away from it. And that's really beautiful. So I ended up. Why do I feel like you're all going to come for me this week? On my scores, I ended up giving, I was in between a 7 and an 8 and I did end up landing on an 8. I almost went down to a 7 because I did feel that those mistakes and just being out of the pocket and not as present in it, it was quite a big thing. But I do think if it was done perfectly, I would have gone higher for her. So I, yeah, I did. I landed on an 8 again, not my highest score of the night either. Okay, let's move it right along on to Jen and Yan. I. They had a venies. Well, it's one of the. My favorite dancers for storytelling and I absolutely loved this song. Loved her mum. So stinking cute. Let's get into what the judges said. So we started with Kimmy and she said she wants it to feel more grounded. The weight. The weight into the floor. So she gave a sandbag analogy to feel like there are sandbags that are hanging through the middle of your center and down to the ground. So. And then you also pull up through the center of you. And so that is that feeling of weight being pulled down and weight being pulled up like I have previously spoken about having having the elevators, right. The energy connects in the middle and then there is also the elevators that ride to the top and the bottom floor there. It's. It's an energy thing. And I totally get what she's saying and I totally agree with it. It definitely needed to feel more grounded. And we'll get into that even more in just a moment. Bruno said, you need to continue the flow. She's throwing things. So I think that comes from a little bit of a momentum glitch here. And we'll get into that too. I felt was flow in some parts and. But when it got into the actual Viennese waltz part, it felt very bouncy. So it didn't have the. The flow in it that you usually have. And so that's what I think Bruno is referring to there of wanting the flow of it to feel like it is just gliding and striding along the floor. Carrie Anne said it was the most passionate stance that she's seen from her and said, you know, something in. Within that performance and her connection to it was quite profound and beautiful. Derek said it was graceful and it was beautiful. It was a moment just for them, which I love that he said that for them too, because, yeah, what a beautiful moment for her and her mom. All these mum stories got me. I tell you. So getting into the. The thing with the feeling grounded. So Vienn's Walt does not have a bounce or a rapid rise and fall in does. When you see it in things like Bridgeton. It does in different forms. It even does in ballets. It's very different. They. You know, there is a key set step where we do what is a foot pattern of a balance in ballet, but we do it with a very different flow and a very different stretch and a very different momentum. And I. I do feel that what was happening here is just a not. Not a fully deep understanding of the technique and execution of Ven Waltz. I actually loved the routine. I thought Jan did a great routine. There was. The beginning was beautiful with her stretching and reaching. I could have done for a little bit more stretching past the point, a little resistance in it. But I loved the camera angle of it. I feel like he's probably asking for. For those things. And that moment really came across. There was. There was a moment where they then like turned and swooshed into this big over sway, which is where her leg and head were going one direction and his leg and head were going the other. And they were connected in the middle of their bodies. Gorgeous line but then when we got into the actual Viennese waltz, it felt very boppy or up and down, which breaks the flow of it. You really want. There is. Is a very slight rise and fall simply because you are soft closing your feet and then flexing through your knees to drive into a long stride, not because you are going for rise and fall. And then on the other side of that, what gives it the. The. The tipping action in the top line or in the frame is that you are stretching from the sides in a thing that we call sway. So a coach used to tell me it's like your rib cages are yawning on one side and then yawning on the side other other. It's not because you break one side to lift the other. It's because you simply lift one side like air has gone in the middle of your ribs. And I feel like we just. We weren't getting the proper glide and then we weren't getting the sway in it. And for that reason, I think that's what they were all talking about with the flow and the groundedness. We had pivots which were very fast and wonderful, but the frame really collapsed and deconstructed at the time. And so there was just a couple things in there that I felt as far as venies were waltz goes for a judge. Looking for the technical aspect, I couldn't give it a high score. Did I want to? Yes, because I thought the routine was beautiful. I thought even the content was great. I loved the opening of it and I think they did a good job. But it was just. At this point in the competition, we're missing that technical growth in her, and it's really something that we do need to see now. You can see it near the end. They do that balance. A step where you step to the side, you cross your foot behind you, replace your weight, and then you. You step to the side, if that makes sense to anyone. And you can see that their body rhythms are all a little bit different and their. Their shaping is all a little bit different. That's the. The step that I'm talking about, which is sort of the through line of Venus Walton, where it was a little bit wonky. I hate using those words, but it. It just was in this one. However, I think we have to give it grace. I think Jan is doing a great job and learning every week. He's been thrown into the deep end here. Do you know what I mean? And he. We have to acknowledge that he's doing a really good job with her. And he's only going more and more and more and continue to grow and grow, and I think we'll see him be a phenomenal pro in the times to come. But there is a. There is a little bit of learning to do on technique. The judges gave it an 8. 7. 7. 7. I gave it a 6. As far as where I felt it landed for the night on the technical aspects. And what we're looking for at this point being the halfway point in the competition. But I believe that it can grow, and I believe she's got it in her. And, yeah, darn is learning fast. Okay. Moving right along to another one that you all have been messaging me about. My goodness is Dylan and Danny. First of all, seeing the relationship between him and his sister was so stinking cute, and it was so beautiful. You can imagine him being a dad, right? But to see the way that he takes care of her and that genuine love, it made me emotional. And then him and his red eyes throughout the entire, entire package just got me, like, it just got me and it made me emotional. Like, I wanted to, like, hug him and tell him it's okay and tell him he's, you know, doing a great job and he's such a good big brother. It was the cutest thing you can tell there is. You can see the little boy in him, you know, and you can tell that he is a really shy kid when he's out there doing those things. So anyway, let's get into what the judges said. The judges, Bruno said it was fantastic, complimented the list lift that he did with Danny and said that he is getting better and better. I believe that Danny is like a lift queen. She has just figured that out. She knows how to teach a man how to lift her and how to keep herself safe at the same time. And I so commend her on that because it's a big deal. Big deal. Getting a man that doesn't know how to do lifts to lift you over the head and trust that it will happen in a live performance. I always think that her bravery is. Is astounding when it comes to those things. And he executed it, by the way, way confidently and brilliantly. So. I was very impressed with that. Carrion said she felt the story and the message. It was so beautiful. She loved the choreography and that it made her night. She raved, rave, rave, rave, raved. Derek said when he came down the floor, that first pass, when he shot down onto the floor, he was like, my guy is a dancer. And which for real, that first moment when he shot down on the floor. I was like, holy, here we go. Here's Dylan. And then Kimmy said she complimented Danny on teaching the technique, basically, and watching him grow, grow this season under the way that Danny teaches him. So what Derek was talking about when he first came down the floor, super impressed. Like, the stride in his legs, the power that he had, it was the most dynamics we have seen from him the entire season. And that's something I was saying last week about him, was that I really wanted to start seeing more dynamics from him because I was feeling that the dynamics were actually Danny. So to see him come down and give so much power and stride. And of course, Danny can keep up with him when he does it, because she's a big beast. And then they had some side by side part, and he had really great musicality in it. He was. And dynamics in it. He was. I. I think they were using the words as the. The through line for them at that point. It was just really beautiful to see him that way and see him with his little sister. And the performance quality, I just thought was it really, really stepped up for Dylan. There was somewhere. I'm not remembering off the top of my head, but there was somewhere where he started to rush the music. Music, I want to say it was down in the front end of the floor. And I thought, oh, bummer, because it was going so well at the time. But he did start to rush and he was getting a little bit out of the pocket. And then he got it back in. This is the one. Dylan did a butterfly. A butterfly is when he was holding on to Danny's wrists, sorry, arms or hands, however, whichever grip they choose to use. And she fanned across first. And then he fan. Kicked his legs across as well. And it was. Was just brilliant. Brilliant height, brilliant control. I thought it was a really great dance from him. And my favorite thing is that we were starting to see some dynamics from him. And I just want to see those dynamics continue throughout the season. I do think he's going to be around for a minute. The judges. The judges gave it a 999, which, by the way, why did I love it as a viewer? Because seeing his reaction in the skybox was just about worth all of it. Like Chef's kiss. It was beautiful. It was so genuine. He was so excited to get all those nines. They did not see that coming. I didn't see it coming. This was. This was a moment when my eyebrows met my hairline and I was like, oh, my, we are. We are going for the Highest score of the whole season. Which. Listen, I get it. Sometimes when you're in the room and you're seeing these things and you're a part of the emotion of it. And he was definitely all in the emotion of. Of it. You can be taken away with it. But I listen. He rushed the music in a place so it. There were. I didn't think it was all nines. Maybe I could see a 9. I was an 8. I was an 8 because I felt it was still a really good dance for him. He grew so much. He did great, but he did rush the music and a little bit. Not that I would ever have given it a 9. In my personal opinion, sitting at the table, I can see how some people did. But I was a. To be honest, the first score I wrote was seven because of the music rushing. And then I. I landed on an eight. But he is growing, man. And as Kimmy said, as we've said before, Danny is teaching him that technique. She is a fantastic teacher. And I've loved watching him every week. And I love seeing that he is growing. So I can't wait to see more of what they have coming up, moving forward. I do want to see him stretch more, though, before we move on to the next couple. The takeaways for Dylan, for me is I want that can, that stride that he had coming down off the walkway and onto the floor. I want that in all the of of his dances. Like, I want him to bust it across the floor and show me the power in those legs and just move. And Danny will keep up with him and to really bring in more of those dynamics. Like, more, more, more, more, more, more of the same, but more, more, more. Okay, let's get into Jordan and Ezra doing a daddy daughter dance. I mean, it was just. It was very cute. They did another Viennese world. So I'm a big fan of Viennese waltz, but let's get into what the judges said. So Carrie Ann said the red reverence was profound and that she's really blossoming into something spectacular. Derek said, and I wrote here, he's all in. His daddy feels the tenderness. And it was so simple, and it was beautiful. Kimmy said it was a risk to have you dance together, but she believed that it paid off. She complimented the breath in her extension, which is beautiful. That is like how much it continues and stretches without moving. The breath in it, it's never dead. It doesn't just get somewhere and land there. It constantly is extending and developing into a place and then pushing past that point. I loved that compliment from her. Said that she is a beautiful dancer and she has the determination to go all the way. Absolutely, she does. Bruno said it was elegance, it was style, and it was poise. And she just gets better and better every week. So not many major dance critiques to take away from here. So let's get into what I see. Said there was not. Except for with her dad. Correct me if I'm wrong, I only got to watch these once this week. I don't believe they went into frame at all, other than when she was with her dad. Now, do they have that right? Essentially, yes. It's a. It is an American smooth version of the dance. So it means that they can play around with what frame they're in. And I get the strategy of it because frame for them is relatively quite hard because of height difference. So they did an open hole hold or they did a shadow position, which I totally get. But me as a judge, I would have loved to have seen a little in frame as the couple. I said that it was smooth and it has beautiful power. In the first shadow position that they did, they really, like, drove along the floor in that shadow position. And I love the content that they did there. I thought that was really impressive. It felt a little bit out of the floor in places and a little bit out of her balance. And I think this, again, comes back to having someone so personal that you love in a dance, and you're probably more worried about them. Them. And I. I found that while it was tender and it was beautiful, it also felt a little bit nervous. Of course, her dad's out there. I think he even said in the package he didn't want to do it wrong. I think it was a big ask to have dad being so much of it. And I think what happened for me is it ended up. I dare say. I don't want to say it fell flat because their moment was beautiful, but as far as what I'm looking for as a judge, not a spectator, I just wanted a little bit more out of the dance and probably going to. Could have done with more of Jordan and Ezra together sweeping along the floor and finding a different way of involving their dad. Now, did I love the story, this idea of what the. The dad. The relationship between dad and Ezra. And I think there was some sort of, like, showing him how to be a dad. Am I saying that wrong? But there was something in there that was beautiful. I get why the decisions were made to do it that way, but I felt like it just ended up Missing a couple things. For me, the execution of it was good. Not her strongest. I think she felt. Yeah, a little bit off balance and unsure. She had her weight, fell back in her heels a couple of times, which means she just wasn't connected in her core and nose over toes and, you know, grounded into the floor and into her feet, which I would have loved to have seen a little bit more of that, because I think she is so powerful when she does that. And we have already seen that from her. It was sweet at times. It felt a little bit stoked. And yes, there were mistakes in the choreography from when she was dancing with dad. We're not going to take points off for that because, like, you know, why would we? I didn't agree that the risk paid off. I think the risk of them doing so much together this week maybe wasn't the payoff that they were going for. But will it hurt them? I don't think so, because that she's wonderful. Ezra's choreography has been wonderful, and I think moving forward, they're going to be just fine. And again, I go back to saying, these pros are just figuring out this new theme, I think, of how to involve these significant others or people, these special people in. In these dances and how much to do with it. Maybe some stronger suggestions on time frames of when people should come in and how much content we still need from the couple, so we can judge that, too, I think would be good moving forward. But, you know, listen, she's a great dancer. She's going to be just fine. The Judges gave it 8, 8, 8, 8. I ended up giving it a 7 because I didn't feel that she was a solid on her feet. She was. With that rocking back into her heels, a couple of balance things. It just didn't feel as strong as her strongest. And so for me, I landed on a seven for Jordan and Ezra this week, but I can't wait to see more of them. I love seeing what Ezra is creating at the moment and the way he shows her and. And creates for her strengths. It's really beautiful. Okay. Moving. I was very impressed with this next one, by the way. And Scott and Riley, is this their first ballroom dance that they did? I can't remember if they've done a ballroom dance earlier in the season. He's just grown so much since then, but I'm having the feeling that he's going to be better at the ballroom dances than the Latin dances. The man showed some stride that in this show, like, he showed some stride. He pushed along that floor, he had drive in his legs. He was using his legs instead of trying to like and using his height and his length instead of trying to shorten it. For Riley, he was going for it. Let's get into what the judges said before mine. Derek said that he saw the effort and is and saw him trying to keep that frame in a traditional foxtrot. They definitely did a lot more in frame foxtrot, more like a traditional. And that he loved the song. I tr. I do see the effort that he was putting in frame. And there's a couple things I want to point out when we get to my stuff. Kimmy said, oh, she did the ruler for the head position to, you know, to put it behind and feel like he's always pushing against that ruler because he seems to be creeping it in a little bit at times, which is absolutely great advice in wanting to keep that back straight. It also goes along with way she was talking about stretching up. You know, you don't want to think about pushing back into the ruler where you, like, lose your chin. You want to think of it. It's not necessarily just your head. It's actually like the very base of your neck that you're trying to push back into it. And then you can lift up like someone's got a string in the middle of your head going to the ceiling. But I. I do agree with that. Bruno said it was a true love foxtrot. More at ease. The lines are getting better. Agree. He's. But he's leaning forward and he shouldn't. Sure. Yes. Agreed. Same thing that Kimmy was saying. His lines are definitely getting better. He's definitely starting to take up more space, which I'm loving. And I think we're really seeing that improvement in him. Riley's doing a really good job with that. Carrie Ann said the feet were disjointed, and then when they got in frame and it was really nice. And then it would sort of collapse and crumble in a little bit. And that he needs to match Riley's lines more. Interestingly enough, Bruno said the lines are getting better. And Carrie Anne was asking for him to match Riley's lines more, so she might not have felt the same way. I actually felt his lines were getting better. I think his frame. I actually had moments in his frame that I loved. So there is a position called promenade position. PP position, which is where we are in frame and that the frame is closed and we have body contact. The belly buttons are searching for each other, but we are both. Both looking over the man's left hand, lady's right hand. And we are both looking over that into a forward moving direction. And we're both going that same way, Right. But our bodies are still facing each other. Very, very often when a guy gets into that position, or even. Even a girl, the. The back shoulder comes in, the head weight comes in. They're trying to fight their hips to move forward, to go forward. No, my man opened up into a promenade position. He, like, fanned himself out into that palm tree action like I talk about, or even a martini glass. Right. Their heads were moving away from each other, but their centers were moving towards each other. Belly buttons searching for each other. Hips facing in, but toes going forward. Like, I was very impressed with this, and he moved quite well with that along the floor. Like, it had some nice drive about it. So there were really moments in this dance where I was like, wow, he man's great grown. I'm really seeing it in Scott and I. I love that we can see the improvement in him. It's still very flat footed, and by the end, it got bumpy. We went back into a shadow position. It got very clunky and bumpy at that point, but I can really see the growth in him and. And yes, the frame did collapse again after a while, but we're seeing the makings of it. It's starting and it's coming, and they're working on all the things, which is great. I would love to moving forward, see them continue working on that. Continue pushing that stride even on longer, keeping those shoulders back and down, the elbows as wide as possible with that head and that neck feeling like it sits into the backward edge of a martini glass. The palm trees falling away from each other, but really getting the heads working away from each other, the hips working towards each other so we can get that V shape up the top. But I was very impressed with his growth. The judges gave this a 7. 8. 7, 8. I was really a 6 slash 7, 7. I learned it on a 6, even though I think it grew. And I think he showed great improvement. And I probably could have gone for the seven, to be honest with you. I'm not mad with the sevens that are there. And eight, I feel was a bit of a stretch, considering that's really like a person's second highest score of the night. I thought an 8 was high, but I. I do think that he's grown a lot. So, you know, it was a six for me, and I. I'm excited to see him continue growing in this way and to See what comes out out of him. Also, the pregnancy announcement made me cry. Can you tell that I'm ready for another baby? Oh, my God. Okay, let's get into Danielle and Pasha. Another one that you've all been messaging me about. Let's get into what the judges said. They did a jive, and she dedicated it to Boy meets World, a show that, by the way, I have not actually, actually ever seen. But I know it was a massive show and people loved it. And her dedication was beautiful, and I didn't have to watch the show to know how much it meant to her. I truly felt that in the package. And so, again, I love anything that has a true and a real story to it or a real emotion. And you could feel that from Danielle in this one. It was really beautiful. Kimmy said there was lots of jive content, which absolutely. There was passion, a great drive with great jive content in there. But she wants more weight over the balls of her feet. Yes. But it was very effortless. But it does need more attack. And then she showed the pencil in the fingers for, like, a dance hand. So some great critiques there from Kimmy. Actually, she loaded it with some great critiques. So wanting more weight of the balls over the feet, especially in jive. Like, I say nose over toes all the time, but jive is even more over the toes. The weight really goes to the bottom balls of the feet. So your heels are basically just kissing the ground because you want your ankles constantly working in that bounce and your knees constantly working in that bounce. So if you're too back weighted, it makes it feel a little bit flat and a little bit heavy. And I don't mean heavy in the image of it or the. The person. I mean, the way that the weight is hitting the floor, it hits a little bit heavy. So to pitch yourself a little bit further forward, you can use your shock absorbers, which is your ankles and your knees, so you can get a little bit more lightness in the bounce there. And I do agree I could have gone for a little bit more bounce. I have spoken before about needing that bounce to not just go through the ankles and the knees, but to also come from the. The core, which is really. It gets a little contraction. So there is a little action happening in the body as well. It's not just legs pumping and going. So I definitely agree with that from Kimmy, and I agree with that. It needs more attack. So let's come back to those notes. Bruno said she's a great performer. Performer, but she needs to Sharpen the edges more, which is, again, we're going back to the attack that Kimmy was talking about and sharper retraction on the kick. So kicks and flicks. You want to feel like you lift the knee up, the knee up, which brings the leg up, and then you shoot it straight down, and it's like your toe has touched hot coals, and you pull it straight back up. And so you want that retraction to be fire fast. And sometimes if that's a little bit slow or it doesn't do the full action and fully retract, then it can feel a little bit slow and unfinished. And I agree, we could have gone with a little bit sharper edges on the kicks, and the flicks are faster on the retraction to give us a little bit more dynamics. However, her action was nice and she did do jive quite well. Carrie Anne said it was nostalgic, and then she came in and she gave a hard critique. She came in and she said, but the dances are all feeling a little bit the same. Like, each dude stance looks the same. And why that's happening is it. She got booed for that, which she shouldn't have. And this is a fair critique. It's because we need those sharp edges that Bruno said. The attack that Kimmy said, it all comes down to that, that we need more dynamics, and we do need that. And it's not necessarily choreography. I think Posh did a great dance. I think it's learning how to attack things, how to hit things, how to create different. Different facial expressions and characters and energies and be playful with it. And maybe. Maybe something that Past could do, because Danielle is an actress, is create characters for Danielle. You know, this one, you're a. I don't know, a New York, Bronx, whatever. Like, give it energy that gives you a. A vibe and a flavor and an attitude that you can put onto it instead of it just being this beautiful human with a smile that lights up the room. But every dance is that same thing. So we're getting the same energy in every dance. Even though she's executing them really well, we need the dynamics. So I think that's double layered as far as what I'm saying and seeing. I think we need the dynamics in learning how to hit things and hit the edges and find the edges, like the judges said, how to make the body move fast and slow and hit something. And it's a. And it's a whole body experience, by the way. It's not just a hand that hits it. It's a whole body. Your whole body has to be involved in the dynamics, even to your head movements. If you watch the pros dance, their head heads also do the dynamics and their head tips. So we want to bring those in. And then I think we also need to bring in maybe some characters, you know, some different energies and. And something that's feisty, something that's sassy, something that's sensual, something that's, you know, something that is other than this sweet human that we're seeing out there. And so I appreciate that critique. We are a 7, 7, 7, 8 from the judges, and I did land on a 7 for Danielle and Park Kasha, But I really hope I see them come with that attack in the next weeks. All right, you guys, we are finally here at the last performance of the night, which, let me tell you, was my favorite. Now, I don't know if this is because I am a bonus mama, and I'm a mama of a blended family, and there was a couple stories, and maybe just because this was the last one, it got me. But seeing Alex talk about, you know, she was about to have this baby sister come into the world, and she really wanted nothing to do with it or didn't know how to feel about. About it. And then she landed in her arms, and her whole world changed. It's not similar in my instance, with my kid. My bonus babies, they were always very excited for Zayn, but in the similar way that Alex said that she became the missing piece. No, stop. I'm going to get emotional. Zayn was the missing piece for us. Zayn was the piece for us where the kids knew, oh, this is forever. Sha's not leaving. Zayn was the missing piece for just all of us to blend together. And he brings. Brings us so much joy, and the kids are so great with him. And I could see that. To take it off for me for a second and back to Alex, I could see that in Alex in the way having this little sister just changed her life and changed it for the better. And I just thought it was so beautiful. And then to move in to my favorite dance of the night. So this is for multiple reasons. Not only was a choreography absolutely beautiful, her lines were beautiful. There was an actual arabesque in there where her. Her foot and leg was perfectly curved behind her. And the finish on it was stunning. Her musicality was great. It was just so good. I loved the way that Val created it. I loved the choreography. I love the way that he balanced having the little sister in there and what that moment was. And wow, was it a beautiful moment. And we got all the feels from that moment. And then we got into the dancing, you know, and that's. That's it. That's the formula, you know what I mean? I wanted the moment to give me the story, to make me feel something, and then I want to see the amazing freaking dancing at the end of it, like, and in between it and all around it so I could be wowed at the same time. And I was wowed. Her again. Her lines were beautiful. Her musicality, her dynamics that she was doing on her own, her turns and her jumps, her floor work. Like, that was no longer Val helping her or moving her or anything that I had critiqued in the earlier part of her season. She has grown so much under Val's teaching. He's done a phenomenal job in, like, scaling up her journey on this show of, like, how to get her to the next level of dancing. And that's because he's a master of his craft. And I was such a fan of this dance. I didn't even get into what the judges said because I went on my own spiel. Let's go back to the judges. Bruno said it was a very difficult routine that she made look easy. Agreed. Carrie Ann said her arms on her turns get into a weird shape. Yes, they do. And I'm going to get into that for you in a second. Derek said she is starting to show texture in the body. Yes. Something that I wrote down as well. Texture again. The same thing I about. Was talking. Talking about with. With Robert is that her body is moving through resistance and continuing into things. And it was just absolutely beautiful. He said it was sensational choreography. And he got. He started to talk about some negativity for the evening. I think he was probably talking about a lot of the. The online negativity from the week, which there has been quite a bit of. But we can. We will just move on from that. And Kimmy said, take this confidence from this. This dance and into the rest of it, and that she was the surprise of the season. I'd say she's been a surprise for me. Big, big time. I never expected from the fir what I was seeing in the first few weeks to see this from her now. So the arms that Carrie Ann is talking about, they do get into a bit of a weird position. So when she's turning and her arms are going above her head, she's having her palms face out. Out or up, or she's connecting them. And it reminds me, you guys, it reminds Me a little bit of when you go through the detector at the airport and you have to go in and stand in the machine and put your legs shoulder width apart and your hands over your head, that's sort of the position that they get into. Now when she's turning her. Her hands should either be palms facing down and her fingers nice and soft like this above her head or maybe somewhere else. But I've seen her also do palms out, which is interesting, and then palms facing forward. A version of like. Yeah, the airport security thing. So they do get a little bit weird. That's definitely something that they should work on. But I listen, I loved it. I think keep working in the same vein. It's working on getting more and more texture, more and more dynamics, which she is bringing in spades. More and more of that confidence of her moving on her own and bringing these stories. These last two performances from her have been pretty spectacular, and I think she is solidifying herself in the finale at this point. I know she's got a really big fan, fan base, and y' all will probably vote her through regardless, or maybe some of you will, but I think her dancing is absolutely deserving. And she's growing, man. She's growing, she's listening, she's growing, and I love it. Consider me an Alex Earl fan. All right, you guys, that is it. That is my critique for this week. This is the wrap up of it. Thank you for tuning in, as always. You know, send me in some questions of things that you want to know about, especially actually right after the episode happens. And it gives me a little window to look at some of your questions. If you want me to answer some questions, send them through, write them on the social media pages or DM them to me and I'll try and get them to you. And we can address some of the things in here. Just a little housekeeping and a reminder to keep it kind and keep it nice online. As Derek tried to touch on. It's been a week of a lot of negativity online with some of the response. And I understand that when a show like like this gets a massive following, a massive online and social media following, sometimes that can come with opinions that aren't your own. Listen, all opinions are welcome, all words are not. And so I think there's always a way to share your opinion and share your thoughts kindly and nicely with still giving respect to the other person you're speaking to and the people that you're speaking about. So please move forward with kindness and love with each other. Again, thank you for tuning in to another episode of Shana Burgess in the Fourth Chair and we will do this again next week. Bye guys.