I was a Dancing with the Stars-Disney Night nay-sayer, but just like they always do, they made a believer out of me. However, I'm not interested in watching Mickey and Minnie dance together for the opening sequence. Oh, whatever, you know I'm going to be talking about how spectacular Mickey and Minnie's performance is next season. Zendaya was guest judge. She was fine, but I have a hard time putting much stock in her critiques. Is she even 20 yet?! (I checked. No, she is not.)
Antonio Brown got to dance Jive to "Never had a Friend Like Me" and he knocked it out of the park! He had four male back-up dancers and never missed a step. His chemistry with Sharna Burgess was perfection. His best dance to date and a spectacular way to start the show. 35.
Marla Maples performed a lovely Waltz to "Part of your World." She's very good, but her Waltz needed a little more flavor. Len called it "solid" and I have to agree. 28.
Nyle DiMarco makes me want to cry EVERY WEEK! And not because his performance is touching and moving, because every performance is literally unbelievable to me. He and Peta Murgatroyd rocked a Samba to "Trashin the Camp" and it was a show-stopper. I cannot believe his ability to keep time. So. Much. Fun. 34.
Doug Flutie's Jazz to "Spoonful of Sugar" was action-packed and lift-city. Karina Smirnoff is still dancing circles around him. It had potential, but Doug didn't follow through. 24 for Doug. He can't seem to get past the 6s.
Kim Fields' Quickstep with Sasha Farber was adorable. I loved every last second of it. Kim and Sasha radiate pure joy, and their chemistry is second to none! The only thing more fun than watching her dance is seeing her reaction to positive feedback. I could watch her all day. 32. Can't believe there wasn't a 9 in the bunch! Robbed.
Jodie Sweetin performed a somewhat reserved Cha Cha. She came across as a bit self-conscious. At some point, she lost the choreography. She eventually bounced back and through it all had a smile on her face. 27. She took it in stride.
Von Miller's Waltz with Witney Carson was sweet and traditional. Von totally upped his game and lived up to his role as Prince Charming. It was beautiful. 32.
Ginger Zee had the distinct honor of performing a Foxtrot as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." She was radiant. Val Chmerkovskiy created quite the scene, the dance floor looked like it was straight out of the movie. If I had one beef with Disney Night, this might be it. You can create a totally relatable story or effect with a scene from a well-known movie. But Jodie Sweetin gets stuck with a song from "Zootopia" and can't possibly match the showmanship of "Beauty and the Beast." Advantage, Ginger Zee. And she doesn't even need it! She's such a pleasure to watch. 36!
Wanya Morris rocked. My. World. I'm not kidding when I say his Samba to the theme from "The Lion King" brought tears to my eyes and it was so not an emotional performance, but it was powerful. Wowee. Lindsay Arnold is a fantastic choreographer and I'm glad she has a partner that she's able to showcase it with! They had a tribal theme to the techno-version of the song and it was just fantastic. Dude would have gotten a 10 from me! 35, with the only 8 coming from Carrie Ann Inaba.
Paige VanZant is so great. I love watching her perform! She and Mark Ballas did a Quickstep to "Friend in Me" from "Toy Story" and they were borderline perfection. I predict finals for Paige. 36.
So very disappointed that Marla Maples got the boot! I hope this doesn't turn into one of those situations where a poor dancer goes farther than s/he should because of the fan base. I'm looking at YOU, Flutie. I'm hoping Flutie is the next to go, because I think DWTS is good for Jodie Sweetin and I want her to stick around.
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