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Dancing With The Stars S31 Power Rankings (Round 2)

Oct 9, 2022 by PowerRankings101

ELVIS NIGHT! What a fun night of dancing, and some real solid improvement all in all across the board, with very few couples actually getting worse. We did also say farewell to Teresa and Pasha, which, was fairly predictable and given the dances tonight, wasn’t too disappointing. The only qualm was that the backup singers, as good as they can sometimes be, were doing some pretty lackluster Elvis impressions which could get borderline cringe….just an observation.

15. Cheryl Laad and Louis Van Amstel- I’ll admit, while I like Cheryl and Louis better than Teresa & Pasha, I do think this was the weakest dance of the night and probably deserved to be eliminated based on THIS round of dancing. There were mistakes galore, missed steps, a struggle to keep up at times. But Louis led her well to help bounce back in those moments and pitfalls, which I admire. She has a lot to prove next week, but this also means she has SO much room to grow, and if she does, she’ll bounce back powerfully. My Score: 3

14. Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov- Teresa did go home, but honestly, I think she improved a lot! It still paled in comparison to a lot of the others tonight, but there was a playful nature to it and a sure step up in difficulty that I really appreciated. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see her grow some more, but I liked this dance well enough and honestly would’ve saved her over Cheryl & Louis. My Score: 5

13. Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten- I’ll admit, I think I liked her first dance better because it had a real energy and star power that was infectious. Here, with things a bit simplified in tempo and style, it lacked the same energy. I do think there was some proper foxtrot stuff in there, but I still don’t think Jessie has been able to break into that upper echelon of competitors. Last week had the performance strengths, this week had better actual technique. Next week, hopefully she’ll be able to blend them together. My Score: 5

12. Joseph Baena and Alexis Warr- There was a gracefulness to Joseph that I didn’t expect to see this early from him. He does still have some clunky moments due to his muscular physical presence, but I do think for week 2, this is a pretty solid grounding to build upon. My Score: 6

11. Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong- There were definitely some moves here that were a bit clunky and wobbly, but I think Brandon definitely stepped up the actual choreography and Jordin for the most part kept up, which is very admirable. Considering this was her first ballroom style dance, I was impressed, but give her a quickstep in like 5 weeks, I’m sure she’d astound. My Score: 6

10. Selma Blair and Sasha Farber- I was worried Selma would struggle with a fast paced dance style, and while this certainly lacked the magic of her first routine, I was certainly impressed that she kept up and nailed almost every step. There could’ve been a tad more precision and attack on some of the kicks, but her theatricality and character work definitely made up for any of the flaws in technique. I’m a big fan of hers, and hope she continues along this path. My Score: 7

9. Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke-Sam impressed me in his first dance. He amazed me in his second. This was a clean Viennese waltz, with some great hold and smooth glide across the floor. Was it as difficult as some other waltzes in the show’s history? No. But considering his age and the fact that this is week two, the fact that the dance was as clean as it was, in all its classic nature, is beyond impressive. My Score: 7

8. Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvinstev- I first have to say, Suspicious Minds is my favorite Elvis song. So take with that what you will… I liked this! I was tough on Heidi in week one because I think she could’ve taken bigger risks, and while I still think this routine seemed a bit easy, I do think her technique and elegance was spot on. It really was a smooth routine through and through, and a massive improvement for her. My Score: 7

7. Shangela and Gleb Savchenko- Another solid week for Shangela and Gleb. The choreography was playful but classic. I do think the moments separately were a lot stronger than the moments in hold, but for a week two dance, I was certainly impressed and still think they’re frontrunners. My Score: 7

6. Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki- Talk about MOST IMPROVED. Vinny didn’t only do better than his first dance, but KILLED his quickstep! I was amazed at how much he’s grown, and kudos to Koko for really drilling that choreography and taking the judges’ notes and really applying them. The frame was great, the synchronization was great, the performance quality was excellent. Let’s go Vinny! My Score: 7

5. Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart- I was very impressed to see Daniel step it up this week. His facial expressions were so fun, and even if there were times he went off the music a bit and his arms were sometimes flimsy, I was beyond impressed that Britt could play to his strengths and give him some difficult choreography that he was able to nail and bring so much life to. My Score: 7

4. Wayne Brady and Witney Carson- Wayne is proving now why I had such high hopes for him pre-season. His footwork here was excellent (the best of the night), though I still wish he paid a little more attention to his arms which flailed just a tad. Wayne clearly has great musicality and an ability to entertain like very few this season thus far. I think he’s in it for the long haul. My Score: 8

3. Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater- I’m really impressed by Trevor and Emma’s connection here. It was intimate, controlled, and so sincere. I do think there could’ve been a tad more fluidity between the different moves, but the emotional connection was so strong, it didn’t matter much for me. To see him go from the manic, nervous energy of week one to this passionate, mature dancer was quite the amazing turn of events. Next to Vinny, this was the most surprising improvement of the night. My Score: 8

2. Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas- Charli is just a firework on the dance floor, full of energy and some of the BEST facial expressions I’ve ever seen on the show. The choreography was fun and playful, even if it was a bit out of control toward the end. But even in the more chaotic moments, Charli managed to keep her composure and still showcase some great technique. Another smash hit dance from her and Mark. My Score: 8

1. Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy- Gabby was elegant, she was graceful, and she was in complete control. This was a refined dance, and brought the most emotionally beautiful note to an otherwise rough and rowdy Elvis night. So good. My Score: 8

As I said before, we saw so much improvement, particularly from Vinny and Trevor this week. I do think Cheryl Laad being on the bottom and almost going home doesn’t fare well for her chances next week, though anything can happen depending on the James Bond dances themselves. I will say, the field of competition is pretty stacked, and right now, Jessie is the only person next to Cheryl to not break through a 5 yet on my personal score card, so that may end up being the bottom 2. Who knows! Either way, the country vote seems a bit stronger than the Charlie’s Angels one, and should Cheryl and Louis land in the bottom, I assume she’ll unfortunately be sent packing.

MY PREDICTIONS:

Going Home- Cheryl Laad and Louis Van Amstel

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Tag me in here for these

Sent by BbDamian,Oct 9, 2022

Gabby & Charli are my faves!! Tag me!

Sent by Jameslu,Oct 9, 2022

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Dancing With The Stars S31 Power Rankings (Round 2)

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