Let’s Dance (Germany) Season 16 Discussion

[Ariel1989]

Season 16 of Germany’s version of DWTS, Let’s Dance, officially begins today!  

 

Pros

Andrzej Cibis

Zsolt Sándor Cseke

Malika Dzumaev

Isabel Edvardsson

Vadim Garbuzov

Alexandru Ionel

Patricija Ionel

Ekaterina Leonova

Christina Luft

Valentin Lusin

Mariia Maksina

Kathrin Menzinger

Christian Polanc

Massimo Sinató

 

Pros returning from last season are Andrzej, Zsolt, Malika, Isabel, Vadim, Patricija, Ekaterina, Christina, Valentin, Kathrin, Christian and Massimo.  Pros not returning are Evgeny Vinokurov and Renata Lusin; Renata was originally announced as a pro instead of Malika but she just found out this week that she’s pregnant!  Her doctor has advised her to take this season off so she’s out and Malika is taking her place.  Alexandru returns for his second season after taking last season off, he and wife Patricija had a baby last year.  Mariia is a new pro as well as Ekaterina’s cousin; she was in a couple of Ekaterina’s winning Freestyles, most notably as Donkey in Ingolf Lück’s Shrek-themed Freestyle and as Gloria in Pascal Hens’ Madagascar-themed Freestyle.  

 

Contestants

Abdelkarim: Comedian

Sharon Battiste: Actress

Julia Beautx: Influencer/YouTuber

Philipp Boy: Gymnast

Anna Ermakova: Model and daughter of Boris Becker

Ali Güngörmüş: Chef

Chryssanthi Kavazi: Actress

Jens “Knossi” Knossalla: Presenter

Michael Kraus: Handball player

Timon Krause: Mentalist

Sally Özcan: YouTuber

Alex Mariah Peter: Germany’s Next Top Model winner

Natalia Yegorova: Singer-songwriter

Younes Zarou: Influencer/YouTuber

 

As winner of the previous Pro Challenge, Christian will get to choose his partner for this year; usually there’s a draw to determine which of the two Pro Challenge partners will get to choose but Christian’s partner was Renata and since she’s obviously out then Christian gets to choose by default.  He previously won the 2020 Pro Challenge with Christina and won the draw in 2021, choosing Lola Weippert and placing 6th; Ekaterina and Massimo won the first Pro Challenge in 2019 but since Ekaterina wasn’t a pro in 2020, Massimo got to choose and he chose Lili Paul-Roncalli, with whom he went on to win.  Real-life couple Renata and Valentin won the 2021 Pro Challenge and Valentin gave Renata the privilege of choosing her partner rather than doing a draw; as the reigning champion, instead of going for an obvious contender like eventual champion and much-coveted pre-season René Casselly, Renata went for a challenge and chose Mathias Mester, Paralympic athlete and the first little person contestant.  They did very well and placed 3rd, behind top two contenders Janin Ullmann & Zsolt and René Casselly & Kathrin.  

 

For today’s Launch Show, the contestants and pros will dance in groups and get scored, then the official pairings will be revealed live.  So some of the contestants and pros dancing together today might not be paired together for the season.  

 

 

Team Cha-Cha-Cha

Contestants: Julia Beautx, Younes Zarou and Sharon Battiste.  

Pros: Zsolt Sándor Cseke, Christina Luft and Christian Polanc.  

 

Team Charleston

Contestants: Sally Özcan, Abdelkarim and Chryssanthi Kavazi. 

Pros: Massimo Sinató, Ekaterina Leonova and Vadim Garbuzov.  

 

Team Tango

Contestants: Ali Güngörmüş, Philipp Boy and Jens “Knossi” Knossalla.  

Pros: Isabel Edvardsson, Patricija Ionel and Mariia Maksina.  

 

Team Slow Waltz

Contestants: Alex Mariah Peter, Natalia Yegorova and Anna Ermakova.  

Pros: Valentin Lusin, Andrzej Cibis and Alexandru Ionel.  

 

Team Quickstep (or Team Renata as Kathrin has deemed it  Renata was supposed to dance in this team and she choreographed their routine)

Contestants: Timon Krause and Michael Kraus.  

Pros: Malika Dzumaev and Kathrin Menzinger.  

 

Launch Show is today at 8:05 Germany’s time.  

[Abe1818]

Scores + Partnerships!

Team Cha-Cha-Cha

 Julia Beautx -10 (4,4,2)

Younes Zarou -10 (4,4,2)

Sharon Battiste -19 (6,7,6)

 

 

Team Charleston

 Sally Özcan -17 (6,5,6)

Abdelkarim  -11 (5,4,2)

Chryssanthi Kavazi  -19 (6,7,6)

 

 

Team Tango

Ali Güngörmüş -14 (5,5,4)

Philipp Boy -18 (6,6,6)

Jens “Knossi” Knossalla.  -12 (5,5,2)

 

 

Team Slow Waltz

 Alex Mariah Peter -15 (6,6,3)

Natalia Yegorova  -19 (7,7,5)

Anna Ermakova  -23 (8,8,7)

 

 

Team Quickstep 

 Timon Krause  -13 (5,5,3)

Michael Kraus -14 (5,5,4)

 

Winner of Immunity:Anna Ermakova

 

Partnerships:

Anna Ermakowa & Valentin Lusin 
Sharon Battiste & Christian Polanc 
Chryssanthi Kavazi & Vadim Garbuzov 
Natalia Yegorova & Andrzej Cibis 
Philipp Boy & Patricija Ionel 
Sally Özcan & Massimo Sinató 
Alex Mariah Peter & Alexandru Ionel 
Mimi Kraus & Mariia Maksina 
Ali Güngörmüş & Christina Luft 
Timon Krause & Ekaterina Leonova 
Knossi & Isabel Edvardsson 
Abdelkarim & Kathrin Menzinger 
Julia Beautx & Zsolt Sándor Cseke 
Younes Zarou & Malika Dzumaev

 

 

Thoughts:

Very excited to see Sharon & Christian.She did very well in the launch so looking forward to seeing what else she can do.

I think Anna could be a frontrunner if her latin is good. I think she'll be pretty solid to good in ballroom and plus she got the immunity and usually everyone who has gotten it has made it to at least 4th place.

 

Of course Alex and Alex would be paired together.Very intrigued to see how Alexandru does with her given Vanessa was too much of a disaster to accurately rate his teaching skills,

 

Phillip is one I think where he could be really good but Patricija isn't the best teacher or choreographer so this could be very up in the air.

 

Sally and Chryssanthi should be decent. Natalia could get Andrzej the furthest he's ever been.

 

Timon and Ekaterina could be a dark horse. She got Bastian to improve a lot last year and she's won with archetypes you think wouldn't have won  i.e 6,8 Pascal Hens or Middle aged Ingolf Luck.

 

Hopefully Julia and Younes can improve because it would be a shame to lose Mailika and Zsolt so early.

[Abe1818]

nA Week 5 Review + How I see the remaining couples 

 

Chryssanthi and Vadim- Charleston: BY FAR her best dance yet. Great choreography from Vadim and for the most part, Chryssanthi did great with it! She had great energy,timing,swivels and really gave it her all here.This was defnitely the breakthrough she needed after the great 1 disaster. The 23 (9,8,6) I found to be a fine total but Llambi's 6 was way too harsh. I think she honestly deserved a 25/26 and honestly this was better than Knossi's Charleston.

 

 

Sharon & Christian- Quickstep: So I was kinda shocked when I saw her score of 19  (7,7,5). Was it Sharon's best dance? No, not really. Was it as good as her past 3 dances? Also no. Did she make some mistakes and could the chemistry between her and Christian could've been stronger.  Yes but with all that being said I don't think it was a 5 worthy dance nor do I think it was only one point better than Ali (Looking at you Jorge and Joachim). But for the most part I really liked Sharon's Quickstep.She had great energy,a nice frame and travelled across the floor nicely. For me this was grossly underscored by the judges. I think a 23 would've been fairer and also I don't think this was the second worst dance of the night. Also I am Very disgusted at her being Bottom 2.

 

 

Mimi and Mariia-  Contemporary: He needed a comeback after his jive last week and I would say this was one!  Beautiful Choreography and connection between the two of them. To be honest,I liked this more than Phillip's contemporary. Like Chryssanthi I think the 23 (8,8,7) was a fine score but to me he was better than other who got higher scores (Julia,Timon,Knossi) . I think a 25 would be more appropriate imo.

 

 

Sally and Massimo- Charleston: I'm a bit surprised  she's gone to be honest. I thought the Massimo bonus would've kept in longer. That being said it was Sally's best dance so glad she could go on a high note. I think Sally was the most confident she ever was on the floor.I did notice at times she did lose her swivel and there was sync issues.That being said it was her best dance and I agreed with the score of 22 (8,8,6). Probably would done 2 7s and one 8s but its fine.

 

 

Ali & Christina- Samba: Well at least this week Christina gets to be free of the clutches of Ali. Well Ali's Samba was better than what I was expecting but it still wasn't great.I give him credit for getting the samba spirit down but it was very stiff,stompy and messy.The footwork was a bit off and overall it wasn't great. I agreed with the 15 (6,5,4)

 

 

Timon & Ekaterina- Slowfox:  I don't really have much to say about this one except that it was really nice and choreography from Ekat was good. Also I did notice some footwork mistakes. The score was 24 (9,8,7) which I don't think he should've scored higher than Mimi or Chryssanthi. For me Timon was equal to Sharon and she got a 19 and he gets a 9 and one of the higher scores of the night.

 

Anna & Valentin- Quickstep: I have had some issues with he judges slightly overscoring/overpraising her at times but this was her best dance yet! Lovely choreography from Valentin and Anna handled amazingly. I agreed with the perfect score and this is my favorite dance of the season so far!

 

Knossi & Isabel- Charleston: Was it good? Yes Was it Knossi's best dance? Absolutely. Was it better than Chryssanthi & Mimi though? Nope. Don't get me wrong it was a good dance but he did lose some steam and SWIVEL which Chryssanthi didn't do. I wish the judges could stop being so benevolent with him. Score was 26 (9,9,8) which should've been all 8s Imo.

 

 

Julia & Zsolt - Paso Doble: I think the same thing I said about Timon applies to Julia here. Good dance,good choreography but a bit overscored. Her steps were a bit too big and some movements lacked power and punch. I do think Julia is improving though and has come a long way since the Launch Show. The score was 25 (9,8,8) and like said similar to Timon she was around the same level as Sharon so I'm a bit confused why she got a 9. I would've probably given her a 23.

 

Phillip and Patricija- Contemporary:  Hmm it was very good but I felt Mimi had more genuine emotion in his contemporary than Phillip did. For me it was one of the best dances of the night but it wasn't as good as Anna's quickstep. The score was a perfect 30 which I think was undeserved. Sharon's Cha-Cha last week that got 28 was better than this. For me this should've been a 27 or 28 not 30.

 

My Rankings

1.Anna & Valentin

2.Phillip & Patricija  

3.Chryssanthi & Vadim

4.Mimi & Mariia

5.Knossi & Isabel

6.Sharon & Christian

7.Julia & Zsolt

8.Timon & Ekaterina

9.Sally & Massimo

10. Ali & Christina

 

So the Bottom 3 ended up being Ali,Sharon and Sally. Sharon and Sally were the bottom 2 like I said earlier I'm not happy that Sharon was bottom 2. Out of the 2 Sharon is easily one of the best dancers this season so it would've been a shame to lose especially when she's delivered some of the best dances this season IMO. So Iwas fine with Sally leaving if I just had to choose between her and Sharon. Although I would've eliminated Ali based on track record + this week. Also next week is Germany's Very first Switch Up Night! Very Interested to see how it plays out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Abe1818]

The Switch-Up pairings have been revealed! : https://www.instagram.com/p/CqPw6fjoN6x/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Ali & Patricija
Anna & Christian
Chryssanthi & Zsolt
Julia & Vadim
Knossi & Mariia
Mimi & Ekaterina
Philipp & Christina
Sharon & Valentin
Timon & Isabel

[Ariel1989]

The final three are Anna & Valentin, Julia & Zsolt and Philipp & Patricija!  I think that will be the finishing order as well.  Really rooting for Anna & Valentin, she’s lovely and an incredible dancer and he was robbed with Ella and Valentina.  I wouldn’t be opposed to a Julia & Zsolt victory though, she’s improved so much since the Launch and he has proven to be one of the best pros in only two seasons.  I’m glad that Philipp & Patricija made the final since they are one of the best but I’m not wild about them winning nor do I think that will happen.  Should be an exciting Final!  I don’t know what Anna will choose for her favorite dance as she’s had so many highlights but I can see Julia picking her Samba and Philipp picking his Jive.  

[Abe1818]

4 hours ago, Ariel1989 said:

The final three are Anna & Valentin, Julia & Zsolt and Philipp & Patricija!  I think that will be the finishing order as well.  Really rooting for Anna & Valentin, she’s lovely and an incredible dancer and he was robbed with Ella and Valentina.  I wouldn’t be opposed to a Julia & Zsolt victory though, she’s improved so much since the Launch and he has proven to be one of the best pros in only two seasons.  I’m glad that Philipp & Patricija made the final since they are one of the best but I’m not wild about them winning nor do I think that will happen.  Should be an exciting Final!  I don’t know what Anna will choose for her favorite dance as she’s had so many highlights but I can see Julia picking her Samba and Philipp picking his Jive.  

 I think Anna will win as well although I think some of her dances have been very great although missing that wow factor. Still think she's a great dancer and Valentin would  definitely  deserves this after not winning with Ella or Valentina. I would actually be really happy with Julia winning! Going from wors to first is a great journey storyline and I think this might be the first time I root for the journey contestant over the big ringer. Zsolt has done a great job again and has  proven to be one of the best professionals in just two seasons. Phillipp is one of the best this season and one of the best males the German version has ever had but I find him a bit overrated. Majority of his perfect score could've easily been in the 28 or 29 range. Unlike the other top male contenders of previous seasons I don't think he pushes the big female ringer (Ie Tijan/Luca & Lili, Pascal/Ella, Rene/Janin & Rurik/Valentina). I think this has to do with Patricja and him both being boring together and her not really giving exciting choreo or pushing Phillipp. 

 

I honestly think Sharon was a better performer and much more interesting to watch than Phillipp. She was never going to make the final though after the tabloids basically painted her in a very bad light and her and Christian didn't really have any chemistry as a result. I actually think if she was with Valentin and Anna was with Chistian. Anna still would've been the frontrunner,Christian probably gets a last hurrah & Sharon challenges Anna and Valentin pushes her.

 

I think the finale will be very exciting. As for the redemption dances go, I'm thinking Anna either gets the Tango or Paso Doble. Both were earlier dances and some of her weakest dances. I would've said the Jive but she just did it very recently so. As for Julia, I think she could most likely get the Rumba. Besides the Launch show, the Rumba was her worst dance and the judges will probably want to see an improvement. For Philipp, I can see him getting the Rumba, Cha-Cha or the Viennese Waltz. All early dances that went well but he can still make an improvement on. I'm also thinking that they could do the switch up as the redemption dances as they didn't get to do that with their original partners.

 

For the Favorite Dances, I think Anna will either choose her Quickstep, Charleston or her Foxtrot. Julia will probably choose the Charleston or Samba. Philipp  will most likely either choose his Jive or Contemporary.

[Ariel1989]

Finale Dances

 

 

Anna & Valentin

Judges Dance: Tango

Favorite Dance: Waltz

Freestyle: Alice in Wonderland

 

Julia & Zsolt

Judges Dance: Rumba

Favorite Dance: Tango

Freestyle: Frozen

 

Philipp & Patricija

Judges Dance: Viennese Waltz

Favorite Dance: Jive

Freestyle: Ken & Barbie

 

Really looking forward to all the dances, especially these Freestyles!  

[Ariel1989]

Finale Spoilers:

Anna & Valentin won!  Julia & Zsolt placed 2nd while Philipp & Patricija placed 3rd.  This is Valentin's first win after six years on Let's Dance!  Anna was a very worthy winner, just a gorgeous dancer and seems like an absolute sweetheart; she also broke the record for most perfect scores earned by a celeb!  She earned a total of ELEVEN perfect scores (Foxtrot, Quickstep, Waltz, Charleston, Magic Moment, Bachata dance-off w/ Sharon, Rumba Trio, Contemporary, redemption Tango, Waltz reprise and Freestyle), the previous record was 10 perfect scores by season 12's runner-up, Ella Endlich, who also danced with Valentin.  Anna broke the record with her enchanting Freestyle to Alice in Wonderland, starring Anna as Alice, Valentin as Mad Hatter, Christina as White Rabbit, Andrzej & Christian as Tweedledee & Tweedledum, Mariia as March Hare, Massimo as IDK what

 and Renata as Red Queen (she and Anna even danced together!).  

 

Julia would've also made a worthy winner, her progress since the Launch Show has been nothing short of incredible.  She was a nervous mess in the Launch and tied for the lowest score with Younes but showed some newfound confidence and potential in her first dance with Zsolt and continued to cement herself as a contender every week.  She & Zsolt were a fantastic pairing and he's now placed runner-up in both of his two seasons so far!  He accomplished those placements with two very different partners as well,  Janin was the female frontrunner since the beginning and was pretty much guaranteed to make the Final while Julia exceeded expectations and got better every week; Zsolt has proven to be one of the best hires in recent years, not many low-scorers from the Launch have gone on to have Julia's level of success.  Her Frozen-themed Freestyle was stunning and powerful with Julia as Elsa, Zsolt as Olaf, Malika (Zsolt's real-life partner) as Anna, Vadim as Kristoff, Andrzej as Hans and Kathrin as Sven (both she and Malika suffered some wardrobe malfunctions near the end with Malika's cape covering her face and Kathrin's antlers falling off the side of her head  ).

 

Philipp was probably my last choice of the three to win, might have to do with Patricija not really pushing him to his full potential or utilizing his gymnastics as well as Kathrin utilized René's skills last year.  Still, they were worthy finalists and brought the fun with their Ken & Barbie Freestyle (although it got a little Patricija-heavy at times, especially that bit on the bed , she's stunning though!), alongside fellow dolls Alexandru (of course!  All of the finalist pros' real-life partners gave good luck messages on the show's IG page as well, Alexandru for wife Patricija, Malika for partner Zsolt, and Renata for husband Valentin  ), Christina, Ekaterina, Mariia and Massimo.  Alexandru's excitement at the end of his wife's first Freestyle was very cute, hope he gets a decent partner next year!

 

The annual Pro Challenge will be next week which will determine which pros will get the chance to choose their partner in 2024.  Massimo & Ekaterina won the first Pro Challenge in 2019 and since Ekaterina was left out of the 2020 lineup, Massimo got to choose by default and he chose eventual winner Lili.  Christian & Christina won in 2020 and through a name draw on the Launch Show, Christian won the opportunity to choose his partner and he chose Lola with whom he placed 6th.  Renata & Valentin won in 2021, following their top two finish that season with Rùrik and Valentina, and Valentin gave the opportunity to Renata and she surprised everyone by choosing Mathias, the first little-person contestant, and they reached the Final, placing 3rd.  Renata & Christian won the 2022 Pro Challenge and since Renata dropped out last minute due to her (unfortunately) short-lived pregnancy, Christian was given the opportunity to choose his partner and he chose Sharon, with whom he again placed 6th.  

 

The pairings for the Pro Challenge are:

 

Christina Luft & Isabel Edvardsson

Ekaterina Leonova & Alexandru Ionel

Vadim Garbuzov & Andrzej Cibis

Anna Salita & Evgeny Vinokurov

Kathrin Menzinger & Valentin Lusin

Malika Dzumaev & Zsolt Sándor Cseke

Mariia Maksina & Massimo Sinató

Marta Arndt & Artur Balandin

Patricija Ionel & Christian Polanc

 

Second year in a row that includes same-sex pairings!  Christina, Isabel and Andrzej are in their firsts while Vadim is in one for the second year in a row.  Alexandru might have a good chance with Ekaterina, a previous winner and popular pro.  Anna Salita and Artur Balandin are first-time participants in the Pro Challenge and the only dancers who have not been pros in the past; they're familiar to Let's Dance stans though, they've been guest performers before and have danced in some group numbers occasionally.  Kathrin & Valentin seem like the frontrunners, Valentin has won before and is going in as the reigning Let's Dance champion and Kathrin has been SO close to winning every year.  Malika & Zsolt are the only pro couple competing together which could give them an advantage.  This is Mariia's first Pro Challenge and dancing with Massimo gives her a good chance.  Marta and Evgeny getting non-pros as their partners isn't good for either of their chances, would be hilarious if either of them somehow ended up overcoming TPTB's roadblocks to keep them from advancing past the halfway point of every season.  Patricija is lucky to get paired with Christian, he's won twice and is a longtime pro so her chances are good too.  Renata probably would've participated as well if it wasn't for her medical issues, apparently they plan this episode well in advance and she was likely still pregnant or recovering from her loss when they started planning the Pro Challenge.