I haven’t seen too many DWTS over the years in its existence, but I would have to say that tonight’s round of the competition was one of the most bizarre I’ve ever seen. Ballroom dancing to songs that ‘are a tribute to America.’ At first glance this seems like a terrible combination, and as the night went on it got worse and worse. A fox trot to ‘Yankee Doodle?’ Someone hook me up with the crack the producers were smokin’ to make them think that was a good idea….
However, whether it be a classical piece or some bat shit crazy theme – our boy Hines Ward masters them all.
The Lead-in
Hines and Kym were going to dance the rumba to Lee Greenwood’s ‘Proud to be an American’ (that’s right – a sexy latin dance to good ol’ country singer Greenwood). Hines was sporting a long black head band as a way to channel some Ralph Macchio vibes. Ward said that he felt like he and Kym were like cavemen dancing – he dropped kym, they headbutted each other and she punched him in the ribs.
The Dance
I’ve never seen a rumba before, so I’m not sure what all the technical things the judges are looking for, but it did seem like Ward’s posture was a little uptight for a dance that is supposed to be a romantic one (which it turns out he wasn’t and I was wrong). He wore a white naval officer’s uniform – Tom Cruise’s Mavrick would weep with the beauty. There were no mis-steps and that trademark smile was present and in full force.
The Judges
Carrie Ann (9) – “You make it look so easy. You have the best hip action I’ve seen in a long time. The rumba is a very romantic dance which is hard to do with ‘Proud to be an American.'” (You’re tellin’ me!)
Len (9) – “It has a naturalness about it which is charming. That’s your best dance.”
Bruno (9) – “An officer and a gentleman. Musicality and just the right amount of sensuality.”
Total – 27
My Take
That 27 was the best score of the evening. Even though there’s no clear front-runner, you can tell that Hines is starting to separate from the group with his consistency. Honestly, that Chelsea girl would probably be the obvious one to beat, but she keeps getting slammed by the judges for varying the dances too far from their traditional routes. Oh well, good news for Hines. One thing that Kym said in the ‘fishbowl’ that I thought was interesting: the romance between the two wasn’t working, so Hines went home to practice on his own. The two have always seemed to have a ton of great chemistry, so I find that strange.
Even though Ward and Kym are at the top of the board, let’s hope that The Nation keeps pouring in the votes each week to keep them going.