Dancing with the Stars: Trio Week Semi-Finals
#dwts22
Season 22/Week 9
I cannot believe there are only 2 more weeks to go. For those of you that follow my blog I have many events I will be covering this summer including: Maks & Val Tour, CMA Fest, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Steven Tyler, JLO and more! Please stay tuned to this page, my IG/Twitter: @lightscmemories and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightscmemories/. I will also be announcing a BIG giveaway in the next few days so watch IG/Twitter/Blog page for that!
Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas
Trio: Alan Bersten-Samba- “Hip Hip Chin Chin” by Club Des Belugas
This trio will be amazing! They said they picked Alan because they had great chemistry when they danced together the week Mark was out with his back injury. I thought the dance was fun, creative, energetic, really allowed Paige to show off her dan
cing ability and truly be the lead. Len said BRILLANT! Bruno said she is the Queen of the Jungle. Carrie Ann said she is unstoppable! Everyone is still trying to figure out if Alan and Paige are dating…too cute! If they are I think they would make an adorable couple.
Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect Score 30 out of 30!)
Argentine Tango- “One Time” by Marian Hill
Paige told the story of her life growing up. She highlighted that she did individual dance for many years and then she decided to do cheerleading. That is when the bulling started girls that didn’t make the squad bullied her terrible. Her family moved to Reno to get Paige out of that environment. That is when Paige started to learn MMA. Before everyone starts saying it isn’t fair Paige has dance ex
perience. I can say from personal experience it’s very different taking individual dance and dancing with a partner. It might give an edge on some things like lines & musicality but, the movement with a partner is totally different. Their Argentine Tango was sexy as hell, lots of great lifts, a fun storyline and overall a great job! Bruno loved how nasty it was and said it was like watching 50 shades of Paige. Len liked it but, felt it was a little too sexy for his taste.
Scores: 10-9-10 (29 out of 30)
Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess
Trio: Hayley Erbert Argentine Tango-“Mi Confession” by Gotan Project
Sharna picked Hayley because she is super fierce! I felt they should have had Antonio highlight his ability more in the beginning
rather than just strike poses. Sharna and Hayley did a great job with the choreography. Overall they did a good job.
Scores: 9-9-9 (27 out of 30)
Contemporary- “Hall of Fame” by The Script
Antonio shared his less than ideal time growing up. His parents split up and he didn’t have that male role model and he and his Dad struggled in their relationship. His Dad said if he had it to do over again he wouldn’t have left. He was the underdog because of his size and circumstances but, he had that inner drive and motivation to make something of himself. He made it in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Many shared that the best thing about Antonio is he is a great Dad. Sharna choreographed a beautiful dance truly highlighting Antonio’s life story. The lifts were incredible, you could feel the emotion in the dance and overall I thought it was really good. They got their 1st 10 from Bruno!
Scores: 9-9-10 (29 out of 30)
Wanya Morris & Lindsay Arnold
Trio: Witney Carson Paso Doble- “Explosive” by David Garrett and Frank Heijden and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Lindsay and Wanya chose Witney because they had danced together in switch up week and she is Lindsay’s best friend. Wanya noted that he was so focused on the work he forgot to have fun. Wanya has such a humble way about him, you cannot help but want him to succeed. The dance was fierce, it was hot, precise, great choreography and was just simply amazing!
Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect scores 30 out of 30!)
Charleston- “Shame on Me” by Avicil
Wanya’s family was so cute. They saw at a very young age that he could sing. He grew up in the projects in Philly. He dealt with a lot of struggles. Wanya dreamed of becoming a star. They formed the band Boyz II Men and really hit the ground running. Wanya turned around and helped his family. I think that is why he is so humble and kind, he never forgot where he came from. His light shines so brightly. Lindsay has learned selflessness from him. Their dance was crazy high energy, so much fun, great musicality, precise and I just loved it! Carrie Ann said he is her hero tonight and said he has electric feet.
Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect score 30 out of 30)
Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd
Trio: Jenna Johnson Jive- “Hit the Road Jack” by Hermes House Band
Jenna said she was glad that she was in their Trio because she thinks they are going to win. Jenna also took a few years of sign language in school so that helped her in communicating with Nyle. It was great to show off the fun side of Nyle. They did lose s
ome timing during the dance. Overall I thought it was fun, cute, and full of energy. Good job.
Scores: 9-9-9 (27
out of 30)
Argentine Tango- “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors
Nyle will be blindfolded for the dance tonight. A lot has been said on social media about this that it’s been done before etc. Yes it has but, not by someone that was also deaf. Nyle will be relying totally on Peta’s body movement. Nyle went to school because h
e wanted to be a Math teacher and then Tyra stole him for America’s Next Top Model. Nyle wants to stay on this platform because he feels he can make a larger impact for the deaf community. He was blindfolded for part of the dance. It was beautiful, moving, emotional, and impactful in so many ways. I absolutely loved it. Nyle said he likes to challenge himself and it truly came across so beautiful tonight.
Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect score 30 out of 30!)
Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy
Trio: Artem Chigvintsev-Paso Doble- “Shot Me Down” by David Guetta
Val picked Artem because he is an incredible performer, teacher, choreographer and highlighted that Artem is more patient. Val says Artem is the honey, he is mustard and Ginger is the chicken nugget lol. I think Ginger might just be the luckiest woman on DWTS this week to be dancing with Val and Artem! I loved it, I thought it was great. It was strong, the character was on point, the choreography was fantastic and I really loved this trio together. The judges pointed out a
few balance issues they saw in the dance.
Scores: 9-9-9 (27 out of 30)
Quickstep- “Fire Under My Feet” by Leona Lewis
Ginger’s parents also divorced when she was young. She was very shy. Ginger ended up with an eating disorder because she f
elt a need to control something in her life. Her curiosity about weather developed into a passion. She started on GMA in 2011. Val said this was a fun & awesome season for him. I have loved their partnership. Their dance was light, fun, high energy, had a lot of content, and overall they did a great job. Ginger has grown so much this season as a dancer, she truly is able to get into the harder characters now and should be very proud of all she has accomplished with Val.
Scores: 9-10-10 (29 out of 30)
Elimination Time:
Wanya & Lindsay
Antonio & Sharna
That leaves the following 3 for the finals next week…VOTE! Voting will already count for the finals! We know many times it comes down to the freestyle dance. These couples all are good and unique in their own ways. I hope they almost all strip it down and focus just on the dancing, less about props, big stage sets etc. Some of my favorite freestyles since Season 1 focus on the skill, the music and truly letting the partner shine. This season was one of the most talented in recent memory and all are worthy for the win! Let’s see who brings their “A” game next week, I cannot wait!
Nyle & Peta
Ginger & Val
Paige & Mark
Just a reminder if you want to get tickets to the HOTTEST tour this summer 
go to: http://www.maksandvaltour.com/ I will be blogging on the show and their various amazing VIP Packages this summer! It kicks off in 6 short weeks! #ourwaytour
#maksandval
VOTE by phone, Facebook and on abc.com to avoid future surprising eliminations.
Until next time,
Xoxoxo
Heather
dance without hearing the music. This will be interesting. Nyle and Peta are always so amazing to watch.
s football career. He knows how to rise from being the underdog.
d choreography. It was light, elegant, you could tell Antonio put in more effort on the details. The judges acknowledged that they can tell he is putting in more effort. Len acknowledged the improvement in his footwork as well.
star shine at different times.
ch a great match as partners. Loved hearing Paige talking with confidence. I will say I cringed a bit when Mark was describing his vision for this week. I am not a fan whe
I think we are in for one red hot dance from Ginger and Val tonight. Ginger has such a fun, bubbly personality that this character was challenging. I would have the same problem being th
ver 20lbs since starting on the show. They have a fun partnership and they clearly work well together. Lindsa
y is so creative and I love that she doesn’t play it safe.
ce together. Jodie and Nyle did a very good job dancing together and it shows how well rehearsed they were. Great job! The only part that I found distracting was having the troupe involved. I love the troupe dancers I just think in this arrangement it should have the two couples because it was distracting, I watched it back a 2nd time and still felt that way.
to show off his experience and creativity as a dancer. I thought Ginger and Wanya did a good job dancing together and the part where Val opened his shirt to show off his abs and Wanya showed off the glittered ab shirt was too funny.
she brings a strong desire to do well and to learn and they are a real joy to watch. Absolutely loved their enthusiasm when their scores were announced.
I keep saying it but, Kim and Sasha are seriously the cutest partnership and you can tell they have formed a genuine friendship. I love how Sasha likes to keep things light and wants to use last week’s scores to fuel their drive for this week. This will be a fun week for them as they are dancing to a Jackson 5 song and Kim is friends with Janet.
ght a lot of flak last week because of his comment about Val being his biggest competition. He was able to clarify what he meant a bit more and he seemed to really take it to heart that people would be looking at him like he was cocky. I don’t think there is anything wrong with aspiring to be the best in whatever field it is you are in, it’s good to stay motivated by that.
glad that Antonio decided to stay in Los Angeles this week and really put everything into rehearsals. They seem to be back on track and I am glad he is taking advantage of having an amazing coach on the show.
usual humor and grace. I did wonder why Tom couldn’t have whispered something to her rather than bringing it up in such a public manner. The judges all liked it but, they noticed a few mistakes.
as such a big personality. He is very likeable and clearly works hard. I agreed with Carrie Ann that it was good but, she was wanting more. Wanya has the right attitude and you can tell he is very motivated.
eek’s scores and feedback had Ginger concerned and discouraged. Val dialed up the drive and intensity so he could help her have a breakout week. I personally love Val’s style, he wants what is best for his partner. When he said he always does this and doesn’t want to ruin the experience for her it made me sad in a way. Having a drive and a genuine care for your partner isn’t going to ruin the experience and Ginger is smart enough to see that. That is one of the things I have always admired about Val compared to some other pros on the show, you can tell he does everything out of pure love and care for his partner not for his own personal gain/credit etc.
ink Von is finally relaxing and allowing people to truly see his personality. I found myself finally routing for him the last 3 weeks. This dance should be fun and I think it’s a great idea that Witney had to incorporate lifts and take advantage of Von’s strengths this week.
hook her confidence last week being in jeopardy. It made me sad to hear her doubting herself and if people liked her and are voting for her. Paige you are amazing, be confident! You are beautiful, talented, sweet and truly kind and that is why people are rooting for you!
ppetizers they offered were very good, the auction items were a wide range of items from donations from friends of Steven’s up to rare items from Steven himself including a stay at his home in Hawaii, concert attire he has worn over the years, paintings/photos autographed, the skittles microphone stand from the commercial and more. Our gift bags were really nice too! Everyone from the staff at Janie’s Fund, Twisted J Apparel, Youth Villages etc you did a fantastic job!
om me that was a bit of a disruption. I will post pictures over the next few weeks on my Instagram/Twitter: @lightscmemories and on FB: https://www.facebook.com/lightscmemories/ and would so appreciate a follow/like on the pages.
d sport and more than likely just needed a few minutes to himself after the tough comments he received from the judges last week but, instead they made him come off like a spoiled sport/brat. Kim does have an injury, a stress fracture. Kim is tough and wants to work hard and put on a great dance.
g her up, it seemed to be a seamless routine, lots of energy, lots of smiling, fun, great footwork considering her injury, I didn’t see that is affected her and it was a great way to open the show! The judges all loved it, Carrie Ann felt it was missing a little bit of energy.
herself up over the scores last week. She is a very talented teacher and absolutely shouldn’t take that personally. This week Von seemed to be very much in the zone, the last two weeks he has been really turning it around in my eyes, he seems to be letting his guard down and I have found myself routing for him. It seems he is more in it to win it than he had been 
the first few weeks.
ition. Nothing was fractured so if she can tolerate it they would allow her to dance. Jodie and Keo work so hard and really enjoy their partnership.
se, the lifts were amazing and they both truly told the story in the movement. I absolutely loved it and I am glad this partnership is back together. Jodie should be proud of herself, every week she truly improves and tonight she was brilliant. The judges all thought they did a great job!
rted out with a challenge because their original song got pulled due to legal reasons which set them back a few days because Mark had to start over on choreography. I love their partnership. This dance will be fun too because Paige will be able to show off some of her athletic abilities.
d great musicality, and Paige brings out this really fun side to Mark. I think they are doing an absolutely fabulous job and I truly think we will see Paige in the finals, she performs each and every week brilliantly and you can tell how much fun she is having on the show. Great job! Judges all loved it!
gdance
felt he wasn’t as crisp, that his frame was broken and that there was a section where they were out of sync. Len had some good/poor comments. When he made the comment that he shouldn’t compare himself to Val that it will annoy people that was a bit harsh. I am not sure exactly what the judges were trying to accomplish tonight, perhaps to rein in the confidence or something? If Nyle is striving to be as good as Val it’s good to have goals like that, I say Dream Big!
ch a fun pair this season. Ginger is just very sweet and down to earth and truly enjoys every minute of being on this show. I don’t understand how she does it most days getting up so early for GMA, flying back and forth, spending time with her sweet baby and rehearsing but, that just shows how dedicated she is to it. She took some time off this week and staye
at were backing her up. Carrie Ann liked it but, was wanting to see a bit more and pointed out how rehearsed she always is. Bruno
one you want to root for each week because you can tell how hard he is working, how much he wants to improve and he is truly on such a tough season because the talent is just crazy this season. This will be a challenge since Karina had never done this style either.
ores last week, he truly is a class act. It’s going to be fun to see him dance to an NSYNC song since he and Joey are good friends. Lindsay is such a fantastic choreographer and she is really able to demonstrate it more and more each week.
oot. Wanya is so much fun to watch, he has insane charisma and like I said above a ton of class. They both should be very happy with their performance tonight. The judges, Lance and Joey all loved it!
with her partners. I felt his attitude was unwarranted. Maybe he needs to step it up and give the experience on the show that much more.
is week.
f an eye.
nd told us what section we were in etc. At that point they take your cell phones from you and you are given a card to pick them up after the show. After that you go through a metal detector and they check your belongings. Once you are set with that you are escorted into the studio to your section and then to your assigned seats. It was such a surreal experience walking into the studio. It was much smaller than it looks on TV. We were seated on the 2nd level, front row directly across from the judges table and the interview room was directly to my left. It was so exciting to actually be in the studio and to realize I would be able to see everything perfectly from where I was seated.
night. After the 2 or 3 songs ended they asked us to take our seats.
, I was beyond excited for the show to start. A few minutes later we were told to start yelling and clapping as loud as we could and the show started live. The opening number was absolutely amazing, full of energy and just flawless. One interesting thing I noticed right away is it’s absolutely impossible for you to hear what Tom and Erin are saying in the studio because it is so loud. When they are playing the packages that you see on TV they are running on two screens in the studio, one above the stairs to the main stage and then another in the back so their truly isn’t a bad seat in the house. On the 2nd level there was only 2 rows and I am pretty sure the 3rd level was the same. Another amazing thing that you see live is the set change outs. They truly hustle to get those sets torn down and the new ones in within minutes on commercial breaks, I can only ima
gine how much more complicated it is on Disney week.
is guest spot and I will say my opinion is he was hard on some because he knows they can do better. He has won the show, he knows what it takes along with all of his years of dance experience.
ne in their heads. The beauty and pure emotion of some of the dances are just that much more intense in the live audience. Nyle and Sharna’s dance for example had me in tears because you couldn’t help but, feel the emotion of every movement. It’s a bit different than watching it at home. The studio was actually a bit warm too which was a little surprising to me, I had always heard studios were more on the chilly side but, that’s probably for the safety of the pros/stars.
as done we all exited and got into this long line to get our cell phones back. For more on what I thought on the dances please check out my weekly blog.
at time on the show. Kim is so sweet and just radiates happiness. Nyle is even better looking in person, beyond handsome and Ginger is seriously the absolute nicest person. Her husband Ben is incredibly funny and they really are the cutest couple. I also saw Doug Flutie but, didn’t want to ask for a picture because he was with his friends and family at the time and already had quite a few people waiting for him. He seemed to be very kind to each person he was interacting with.
rgy to be a part of the audience. The dances are amazing on TV but, the emotion in person truly is palpable. I will never forget this amazing experience and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity.
time,
gic spark between she and Von this season and I think Wanya’s personality and skills will make for a fun match up. He reminds me so much of Alfonso with his charisma.
h. I thought their dance was good, emotional, passionate, in character but, not much of it was done in hold. I personally have not learned this dance style yet in the lessons I have been taking but, going off what I have seen in past seasons and on the DWTS tours I was thinking that might be the biggest comment from the judges. Maks said it was a hard one that it was a great performance but, not a Viennese Waltz, lacking frame etc. Bruno thought they were on the money on the emotion of the dance and Carrie Ann loved it. Len agreed with Maks and he wanted to know why there wasn’t one step in hold. Maks reminded Keo of the height differences between him and Meryl Davis. My opinion is that Keo felt he was choreographing the best he could dealing with the height differences and I think he will continue to grow as a pro. Keo and Kim should be proud of a solid performance this week.
nts to go far in this competition and it is very evident in the hard work she demonstrates each and every week. I will miss seeing her and Val dancing together this week but, I think this partnership with Mark has some fun potential. Ginger’s husband, Ben is such a riot. I crack up each week with what they air in the packages from Ben. This week is a classic, Mark is like a glass of merlot and Val would be a dirty martini and then later Mark is the marrying type but, Val is more the Russian love slave. Too funny!
Season 1 I also am interested to see the stories that are portrayed in the packages each week. Often I take them with a grain of salt. This week there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on Antonio being late and not putting in the work. Over the seasons a lot of celebrities have had very challenging schedules but, still put in the work it’s part of the commitment to the show and if he truly is late all the time that is not only disrespectful to the experience but, to your partner as well.
ge’s dress tonight, it was beautiful! Paige is too cute and I bet it’s hard to channel your inner sexy for such an intimate dance in a room full of people with a new partner. I felt Sasha did a great job building that trust with Paige in this week. I LOVED their dance. It was beautiful, it told a story and had such elegance. Every week I am in awe of Paige that she can be such an tough fighter and yet so incredibly graceful. If I had to pick a top 3 today I would say for sure Paige will be in this for the long haul. She is beautiful inside and out and absolutely should be proud! Maks told her she is capable of winning but, was bothered by a lack of rumba content. Bruno and Carrie Ann really loved it! I thought Maks scored it too low, I understand his comments on the content but, the overall performance deserved at min straight 8’s at least.
Taking away nothing at all taking away from Witney. I have just been trying to put my finger on my thoughts on Von all season. Some partnerships have this amazing chemistry from the start, others it takes time to grow.
we are all in for seeing magic tonight.
loved it and said it was a total eclipse! Maks said best dance of the night & of the season and he still cannot figure out how it is possible for Nyle to perform so well. Bruno loved it. OMG seeing Nyle, Sharna and Peta all in tears too it was just so beautiful.
om 2 each week but, she needs a breakthrough to hopefully keep her in the competition and I know Val can do that. He is such a strong, amazing leader and I think he can help Jodie get out of her head a bit more this week.
sion and energy. As an audience member you feel like you just went on a journey with them.
um reserved ticket in the front row – sit front and center!
premium reserved ticket in rows 5 through 20
will go down into the record books, I have no doubt as being the most successful, moving and inspiring dance tour! With these special packages fans will walk away feeling appreciated truly having a once in a lifetime experience with Maks & Val.