Johnny Weir on Dancing With the Stars

[b-man]

To all the Tonya bashers: she placed third, higher than Mirai, much higher than Kerrigan.

It was fixed, you know.

 

[Mathman]

It was fixed, you know.

Mirai was better. It should have been Mirai against Adam.

I think that Tonya benefited from a wave of sympathy in the wake of the movie I, Tonya. I think that there was a general feeling that Tonya was sort of a victim, too, of Tonya's husband and his band of thugs, not to mention her mother.

Considering her age, though, she actually danced pretty well. Also, the figure skating vote had to be split up among Mirai, Tonya and Adam, which played to the benefit of the football player. (Who also wasn't bad.)

 

[heyang]

Figure skaters, for obvious reasons, typically do well on DWTS, even if they don't win.

I think Johnny is a perfect choice. His personal style is perfect for this kind of show. And he is television savvy and will give the backstage portion of the show what they need and/or want for viewers.
Also, his musical sense and style, which if he is shown to advantage, could work very well. :thumbsup:

I don't know if this DWTS in the US will field a same sex couple. This question comes up every time an openly gay contestant is cast, but they have not done so yet.

Technically, Steve Guttenberg and Jonathon Roberts did a Mango - 2 males performing a Tango. Steve was paired with Anna Trebunskaya who became ill. So her husband Jonathon stepped in to train Steve and they performed on the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJZqk2eObFk

 

[heyang]

I thought Tom was always one of the highlights of that show! I will miss him. Just saw where Derek Hough will be replacing Len as a judge. I think this is an excellent move. Len got a little cranky and stodgy. Derek will bring a more modern approach to the ballroom and he's such an accomplished dancer and choreographer in his own right.

I believe Derek is replacing Len because of COVID situation in the US. Not sure if it's permanent.

 

[heyang]

What I liked about Derek as a pro on the show was that he didn't try to out-dance his amateur partner. It always seemed like his mission was to teach and to present his partner's abilities in the best possible light.

YES - I 100% agree. Derek highlighted his partner's strengths. Several of the other pros dance around their partners to cover that their partner isn't dancing. Derek usually came up with something that his partners would be comfortable performing.

- - - Updated - - -

Wow - no more Tom Bergeron. No more Len.

I haven't watched DWTS in a long time (although I did watch the abbreviated version with Adam, Mirai, and Tonya Harding).
But I always thought that Tom Bergeron and Len were an integral part of the show.
Too bad.

Len's out because of the status of COVID In the US.

 

[heyang]

Mirai was better. It should have been Mirai against Adam.

I think that Tonya benefited from a wave of sympathy in the wake of the movie I, Tonya. I think that there was a general feeling that Tonya was sort of a victim, too, of Tonya's husband and his band of thugs, not to mention her mother.

Considering her age, though, she actually danced pretty well. Also, the figure skating vote had to be split up among Mirai, Tonya and Adam, which played to the benefit of the football player. (Who also wasn't bad.)

I think Mirai also might've gotten some backlash. Just after comp started, I think the news reported that she didn't push herself in the individual competition vs the team competition.

 

[Mathman]

Here is Johnny's music for his first dance (cha cha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo2Mxl0CjeY

 

[ManyCairns]

I agree that Derek presents his partners very well, but I think he's the king of doing most of the dancing while his partner kind of just stands and poses, or moves from one pose to another. That's not to say I'm a "hater" by any means, and of course his more skilled partners do more, and he does his best to ensure they all do well. Look how often he has won! It's amazing. And I don't find him obnoxious or stuck on himself or egotistical or anything like that -- but I remember in the past just watching his partners only, and noting how little they did, but how well Derek does at making it appear they did/do a lot. But I haven't watched a full season in a couple of years, so my observations are kind of older now.

Will be there for this season because of Johnny! Starts Monday!!!

 

[mrrice]

Just saw a commercial for the new season and it was all Tyra baby. She is looking Fierce......

 

[Mathman]

By the way, they are advertising Johnny's partner as the first Black pro dancer on the show. What was Cheryl Burke?

 

[el henry]

By the way, they are advertising Johnny's partner as the first Black pro dancer on the show. What was Cheryl Burke?

I was curious so I did some research, she is of Filipino descent, her mother was born in the Philippines.

https://patch.com/california/lagunaniguel-danapoint/famed-dancers-mom-a-star-in-her-own-right

 

[Skatesocs]

By the way, they are advertising Johnny's partner as the first Black pro dancer on the show.

Keo Motsepe was also on the show. But he was South African, maybe he doesn't call himself black. (And I haven't seen this announcement, so maybe they said "African-American" instead of black, then there's nothing to see there at all).

 

[ManyCairns]

They said black FEMALE pro, I think.

I can't believe it, but Tyra needs to be a little "bigger," but I'm sure she'll get there.

Good first dances so far! The opener Back Street Boy (sorry, don't know name) was good. Anne Heche not appealing to me in her package, but I liked her dance quite well and her partnership with Keo looks strong.

eta later: wow, lots of really nice first night dances! Loved Skai, loved Justina. Vernon's foxtrot created a lovely mood -- and Nev's even more so! The Way You Look Tonight is one of my favorite songs ever. Many great numbers!! Too many to mention. Few "stinkers" or letdowns. A strong cast. Johnny will have an uphill battle with a new pro who won't have had a chance to build a fan base yet. I enjoyed their partnership though.

 

[Xena45]

I can't believe they gave Johnny 6's! He was robbed, for sure! He was so good!!

 

[b-man]

I think Mirai also might've gotten some backlash. Just after comp started, I think the news reported that she didn't push herself in the individual competition vs the team competition.

Adam, coming off as a popular figure from the Korea Olympics, was initially announced as a contestant against Harding, who the producers thought would give good ratings after the "I Tonya" movie. Thus Adam vs Tonya was hyped from the start. Other contestants were added later. Mirai badly wanted to be on the show, publicly lobbied for it, and was probably the last selected. Mirai created a problem for the producers. She danced as well as Adam, far better than Harding, and was an obstacle to the preordained Adam vs Tonya final. How to get Mirai out and Tonya in? In the penultimate show, the producers arranged a phony Adam vs Mirai skateoff to reach the finals. Tonya, well past her prime, had no skateoff requirement, with the skids greased for her advance to the final show. I am sure Mirai got her pride hurt, not reaching the finals against lesser dancers, but picked up a nice paycheck to soothe the loss. It's likely all contestants sign non disclosure statements, so the real story never comes out.

 

[YuliaLipnitskayaFan1]

I can't believe they gave Johnny 6's! He was robbed, for sure! He was so good!!

I definitely agree! He looked so comfortable out there, he could’ve been one of the professional dancers Also, I thought his outfit suited him very well! Hopefully he will get higher numbers next week!

 

[Mathman]

I thought the judging was pretty good tonight. My favorites were the Disney girl (youth must be served) and Justina Machado (sell it, sell it, sell it! ), and the judges agreed. I also thought that the Catfish guy (whatever that is?) brought a unique style.

Johnny could have been scored higher -- he knew how to point his toes and had a technical edge in other details. But Bruno nailed the most telling criticism -- hips, Johnny, hips; get your hips into it!

 

[skylark]

^^^^ Hips! Yes, that's the problem all the figure skaters have had, or at least I remember Kristi and Evan both saying that in figure skating, keeping the hips stable is vital, so it required a complete turn-around. I didn't watch Adam's season, so I don't know whether he had to make the same effort/adjustment or not.

I was working and missed it tonight ... will have to rely on youtube.

 

[Supernovaimplosion]

I though the first episode was pretty good. I wasn't expecting much, but I liked a lot of the dancers. Anne Heche surprised me, and so did the catfish guy (who I didn't know before hand) Johnny was good too. I hope they don't try to make him into the next Adam though.
I was also happy with fake cheering I don't know why, but I was imagining them just dancing to complete silence (except the music, of course) Maybe figure skating needs that, it might be weird to watch a program with no clapping

 

[ManyCairns]

Well, having some fun rewatching the dances on Youtube. Remain impressed -- strong season! I do think Johnny was underscored -- one or two 7's would have been fair, I think.