Let’s Dance (Germany) Season 17 Discussion

[Ariel1989]

Contestants have been announced for the upcoming season, which should start up around mid-to-late February.  Pros will likely be revealed at the end of January.  
 

Contestants

Tony Bauer: Comedian

Ann-Kathrin Bendixen: Author

Simon Brunner: Ninja Warrior Germany competitor

Maria Clara Groppler: Comedian

Mark Keller: Actor/singer

Gabriel Kelly: Singer

Lulu Lewe: Singer

Eva Padberg: Model/singer

Tillman Schulz: Lion’s Cave investor

Detlef Soost: Choreographer (yes, a choreographer)

Lina Larissa Strahl: Actor/singer-songwriter

Sophia Thiel: Fitness blogger

Jana Wosnitza: TV presenter/sports journalist

Stefano Zarrella: Food influencer

 

Theres a couple of connections to previous seasons in this year’s lineup.  Gabriel’s family, the Kelly Family, is a singing group well-known in Germany and he’s the third Kelly to take part in Let’s Dance; his aunt, Maite Kelly, won season 4 with Christian Polanc and his uncle, John Kelly, competed in season 13 with Regina Luca but had to drop out in Week 4-5 due to injury.  Stefano’s brother, Giovanni, replaced Pietro Lombardi in season 10 and danced with Christina Luft (now Christina Hänni after marrying her now-husband and previous celeb partner Luca Hänni last summer) until she got injured and replaced with Marta Arndt.  
 

I’m mainly looking forward to learning who are the pros this year.  There’s at least two empty spots for female pros since last season’s Christina and Isabel Edvardsson as well as regular pro Renata Lusin are all pregnant; Renata was supposed to be a pro last year but had to drop out at the last minute after finding out she was pregnant and Malika Dzumaev replaced her.  Sadly, Renata suffered a miscarriage around Week 3 of the season, poor woman had to reveal her pregnancy immediately to explain her absence only to have to publicly reveal her horrible loss just a few weeks later.  Glad that she was able to control the announcement of her current pregnancy, she’s pretty far along now and should have her baby girl early on in the season (her husband Valentin usually alternates between contender and middler/duffer and since he won last year with lovely Anna Ermakova, he’s due an early exit so he can spend time with Renata and their daughter).  
 

Last season’s male pros were Alexandru Ionel, Andrzej Cibis, Christian Polanc, Massimo Sinató, Vadim Garbuzov, Valentin Lusin and Zsolt Sándor Cseke.  Seven male pros are needed this year so I don’t see the lineup changing unless Valentin decides to take the season off to support Renata like Massimo did when his own wife Rebecca was pregnant.  
 

Alexandru was a pro in 2021 and 2023, likely taking 2022 off to stay home with his and wife/fellow pro Patricija’s newborn son; he’s been out first both seasons though so he might not be a priority.  

 

Andrzej hasn’t been given much of a chance despite making the quarterfinals in 2021 with middler Auma Obama; last year he had Natalia Yegorova who had potential but was eliminated early on in favor of middlers/duffers who had more favored pros like Massimo and Christina.  

 

Christian has been there the longest and usually gets contenders but he hasn’t made a Final since season 10; he even got to choose his partners in 2021 and 2023 as part of winning the Pro-Challenge but both were eliminated just short of the quarterfinals.  

 

Massimo has also been there for a long time (he first won in season 3) and is also very favored and gets numerous finalists and semifinalists, even his less-talented partners like Sally last year benefit from his recognition.  

 

Vadim was also on the Austrian version, Dancing Stars, won three times and was even part of the first same-sex partnership over there; he joined Let’s Dance after his second win, had several early exits before leaving after season 11, won his third Dancing Stars trophy in 2020 and was brought back as a pro in Germany in 2021 as Nicolas Puschmann’s partner in the first all-male partnership, reaching his first Let’s Dance Final.  He’s had some decent finishes since then and is a fantastic choreographer.  

 

Valentin, like I mentioned, alternates between middler/duffer and contender, placing 9th in 2018, 2020 and 2022 and reaching the Final in 2019, 2021 and 2023 which he finally won; he’s probably the best ballroom choreographer of the male pros, highly recommend watching his dances with Anna Ermakova before they’re removed from rtl.de (Anna is actually taller than him which makes their ballroom dances even more amazing!).  

 

Zsolt is the newest addition to the male pro lineup and so far he’s been extremely successful in only two seasons.  His first partner, Janin Ullmann, was the front-runner all season but, being a talented woman, she was subject to favoritism accusations by fans who felt she was propped up by the judges; no surprise, like fellow talented women Vanessa Mai, Ella Endlich and Valentina Pahde, that she fell short of the win and placed second to a popular male contender.  Zsolt’s second partner, Julia Beautx last year, did the worst of the female contestants in the Launch Show, which screamed putting him on duffer-duty after his successful debut but Julia blossomed under Zsolt’s tutelage and quickly rose in the ranks as a contender, ending up as Zsolt’s second-consecutive runner-up in his sophomore season.  Zsolt has become a fan-favorite pro for his successful two seasons and should likely win in the near future.  
 

Female pros from last season who are available to return are Ekaterina Leonova, Kathrin Menzinger, Malika Dzumaev, Mariia Maksina and Patricija Ionel.  There’s room for two more female pros if those five return; could be either past pros who took part in the recent tour like Katja Kalugina (last took part in season 12) and/or Marta Arndt (last took part in season 14), could also include some newbies.  
 

Ekaterina, or Ekat as she’s often called by fans, is by far the most popular pro of the whole lineup.  She’s the only pro to win consecutive seasons (three in a row) and the only pro to win the show more than twice (Christian, Isabel, Erich Klann, Massimo and Kathrin have each won twice but none have gotten a third win like Ekat). Her partners benefit greatly from being paired with her, votes-wise, and she’s notoriously a tough and effective teacher nicknamed General Ekat.  
 

Kathrin, who is often called Crazy Kat due to her often death-defying tricks included in her choreography, is probably the best dancer in the lineup along with her competition partner Vadim.  She’s also from the Austrian version like Vadim and while she’s made some Finals over there, she never won it; she won in her Let’s Dance debut with Hans Sarpei in season 8 and has had a wide range of results since then: duffer eliminated first then brought back after a withdrawal and lasted WAY too long (short of the quarterfinals with almost weekly 1s from the strictest judge Joachim Llambi), inconsistent Paralympian with the same placement after withdrawing due to injury, young musician slowly improving but eliminated early, potential contender who suffered from early running order every week and got eliminated early, real contender in Tijan Njie who lost steam in the semifinals and missed out on the Final, early eliminated duffer, biggest pre-season contender in René Casselly who went on to win and another early eliminated duffer last year.  
 

Malika joined in 2021 and had popular duffer as her first partner and mediocre second partner who placed 8th, just one spot above the popular duffer from the previous season.  She went on to win the 2022 Christmas Special with 2021 champion Rúrik Gíslason but was initially left out of the 2023 lineup until Renata was advised to drop out due to pregnancy and rejoined the week leading up to the Launch; unfortunately she was paired with the lowest-scoring male contestant and he didn’t improve like Julia so he was eliminated early.  
 

Mariia is the newest addition to the lineup, having joined last year.  She wasn't unfamiliar to Let’s Dance before though, she’s actually Ekat’s cousin and played prominent roles in Ekat’s Freestyles with Ingolf Lück (played Donkey to Ingolf’s Shrek and Ekat’s Fiona) and Pascal Hens (Madagascar-theme and played Gloria to Pascal’s Marty, Ekat’s Alex and Marta’s Melman).  She had a decent run with Mimi Kraus, getting halfway through the season.  
 

Patricija joined in 2021 and made it all the way to the semifinals.  She returned in 2022 just a few weeks after having a baby but unfortunately her partner Hardy tested positive for Covid in between the Launch and Week 1 and didn’t recover in time for Week 2, forcing him to drop out without ever dancing with Patricija.  She was paired with gymnast Philipp Boy last year and reached the Final.  She’s a beautiful dancer but tends to draw focus to herself more than her partner and has had her teaching ability called into question by fans; during the Impro-Challenge in last year’s semifinals (the couples are assigned a dance style and music during the live show and given 90 seconds to prepare), Philipp completely imploded in the Charleston, a dance style that he had just performed and received a perfect score in the previous week.  
 

That’s it for my LONG explanation of the show .  Hopefully there’s enough people interested in a Best Let’s Dance Season 17 Routines +/- Game this year!

[Ariel1989]

Simon Brunner has left due to personal reasons.  Author Biyon Kattilathu has replaced him.  Shame about Simon, he was likely going to be a contender since Ninja Warriors have done really well but hopefully everything’s okay with him.  

[Ariel1989]

Pros have been revealed!

Marta Arndt
Zsolt Sándor Cseke

Malika Dzumaev

Vadim Garbuzov

Alexandru Ionel

Patricija Ionel

Ekaterina Leonova

Paul Lorenz

Valentin Lusin

Mariia Maksina

Kathrin Menzinger

Massimo Sinató

Anastasia Stan

Mikael Tatarkin

 

 

Zsolt, Malika, Vadim, Alexandru, Patricija, Ekaterina, Valentin, Mariia, Kathrin and Massimo all return from last season.  Pros not returning from last season are Andrzej Cibis, Christian Polanc, Christina Hänni (née Luft), Isabel Edvardsson and Renata Lusin; all three women are currently pregnant and while Andrzej also welcomed a baby a couple of months ago with his wife, he’s not a very high-priority pro so it’s not too surprising that he’s out this year.  Christian, on the other hand, has been on since season 2 and is the longest-serving pro on this version but still gets favored quite a bit with partners, he seemed like someone who’d be on forever.  Marta and Paul are also returning pros with Marta last competing in 2021 and Paul in 2015; this will be Paul’s second season of Let’s Dance.  New pros are Anastasia and Mikael (who is an almost exact clone of Christian ).  

[Abe1818]

Germany is having its Launch Show Today!

[Ariel1989]

Hopefully other users are interested in a +/- game this year!  The Rurik, Valentina and Nicolas year was so fun to do, so many great dances and I think we'll be seeing some great dances this year.  Wish I was able to finish seasons 13, 15 and 16 before the dances disappeared from RTL.de (there is a source that has all the dances from those seasons but I don't want to publicly post the link and possibly get the uploader into copyright trouble), there are some dances from 15 and 16 on the RTL YouTube channel though.  

 

On the subject of +/- games, RTL is being a bit dodgy this year; when I tried to watch the Launch Show dances using Safari, it kept saying it was geoblocked but after a couple of tries on FireFox I was able to watch them so if you're wanting to watch even just the dances outside of Germany without a VPN, just a heads-up to try different browsers before giving up entirely.  

 

Maria, Sophia & Tony w/ Anastasia, Paul & Valentin (Charleston): This was a really fun group performance, they all had great chemistry with each other and no one really stuck out like a sore thumb.  Sophia was probably the weakest, she had trouble keeping up at times and finishing her movements but she looked like she was having a blast.  Tony was a pleasant surprise, he was obviously really trying to get the footwork right and he achieved a mostly consistent swivel, he's very enjoyable to watch.  Maria was probably the strongest and blended in well with the pros, she has some potential.  Maria scored 16 (6, 6, 4), Sophia scored 11 (4, 5, 2) and Tony scored 13 (6, 5, 2).  

 

Biyon & Stefano w/ Mariia & Marta (Quickstep): These two were matched well together and fed off each other's energy.  Biyon has energy in spades, very springy and quick-footed which is good for the Quickstep; sometimes he got ahead of the music and his movements got a little wild but overall quite promising.  Stefano had the right energy and decent timing and posture, about halfway through he started to stiffen up a bit but he's also promising.  Biyon scored 13 (5, 5, 3) and Stefano scored 12 (5, 5, 2).  

 

Ann-Kathrin, Detlef & Eva w/ Ekaterina, Massimo & Mika (Tango): This one I had to watch more than once because Detlef was just captivating!  Not just dance-wise but he was looking at the camera A LOT  which was a bit distracting; he's a great partner and even partnered Ann-Kathrin during a brief partner-switch before going back to Ekat, very promising.  Poor Ann-Kathrin, her nerves were very apparent and she was very reliant on Massimo and Mika; I do think once she switched to Massimo halfway through she relaxed a little and started smiling near the end (maybe she was relieved it was nearly over) but she was really struggling to keep up with the other dancers.  Eva is FIERCE: the sultry eye contact with her partner(s) and the camera, her posture, her legwork, she was breathtaking.  No offense to Ann-Kathrin but I wish that Eva and Detlef were paired up during the switching, they're both great performers.  Also, Ekat and Massimo nearly collided at one point!  Rare to see that happen with the pros, especially them!  Ann-Kathrin scored 11 (5, 4, 2), Detlef scored 16 (6, 6, 4) and Eva scored 14 (6, 5, 3).  

 

Jana, Lina & Lulu w/ Alexandru, Vadim & Zsolt (Cha-Cha-Cha): Definitely the most joyful group, lots of smiles and sass from all three ladies.  Jana is an exuberant performer, her smiling is contagious; top half and arms are solid, her footwork was a bit messy at times especially side-by-side.  Lina was a little bit cautious and awkward at times, even in her facial expressions but she seemed to let loose a bit more in the solo section with Jana and Lulu.  Speaking of, Lulu was definitely the best of the three, she had some mistakes but very clean and confident for the majority of the dance.  Jana scored 12 (5, 4, 3), Lina scored 15 (6, 5, 4) and Lulu scored 17 (6, 6, 5).  Bit surprised that Jana scored so much lower than Lina, maybe I need to watch it again and directly compare those two.  

 

Gabriel, Mark & Tillman w/ Kathrin, Malika & Patricija (Viennese Waltz): Song set a lovely tone for the performance but some mixed results dance-wise.  Gabriel was a perfect gentleman, good posture and clean footwork, he was the clear standout of the group and gave Detlef a run for the best male contestant.  Tillman's legs and feet are BAD, it's like he's so used to sitting in a chair he's forgotten how to stand up straight.  Mark wasn't as bad and he was okay in frame but his free arm near the song's crescendo was horrifying.  It was a lovely routine that included the whole group and Gabriel, Mark and Tillman each got a chance to dance with each of Kathrin, Malika and Patricija, it's too bad that 2/3 of the guys didn't hold up their end with the lovely ladies.  Gabriel scored 18 (7, 6, 5), Mark scored 13 (5, 5, 3) and Tillman scored 7 (3, 3, 1).  I don't think the highest-scoring celeb and lowest-scoring celeb were ever in the same group dance!

 

Overall Leaderboard

1. Gabriel: 18

2. Lulu: 17

3. Maria: 16

3. Detlef: 16

5. Lina: 15

6. Eva: 14

7. Tony: 13

7. Biyon: 13

7. Mark: 13

10. Stefano: 12

10. Jana: 12

12. Sophia: 11

12. Ann-Kathrin: 11

14. Tillman: 7

 

The pairings were revealed as followed (winners of the Pro Challenge are no longer given the opportunity to choose their partner):

 

Jana & Vadim

Sophia & Alexandru

Eva & Paul

Lina & Zsolt

Maria & Mika

Lulu & Massimo

Ann-Kathrin & Valentin

Tony & Anastasia

Detlef & Ekaterina

Biyon & Marta

Mark & Kathrin

Tillman & Patricija

Gabriel & Malika

Stefano & Mariia

 

Thoughts:

 

Jana & Vadim: Pretty good and expected pairing.  Jana seems like a Vadim-type but he's a great pro so they should probably get at least midway through.  

 

Sophia & Alexandru: She picked HIM up when they were paired together and he has Artem's body type and Gleb's height!    Not very confident with this pair's chances, she's one of the two lowest-scoring female celebs and unless he has some of Zsolt's magic, I don't see him getting past Week 1 yet.  

 

Eva & Paul: Kind of expected pairing given their heights but still a very exciting pairing!  Paul hasn't been on Let's Dance in 9 years so IDK much about his skills but Eva looked promising so I'm looking forward to how they do this season.  

 

Lina & Zsolt: Another young one for Zsolt but he worked wonders with similarly-nervous Julia so I think he's perfect for Lina.  Like Julia, she'll probably feel more comfortable continuing to dance with the same pro as she did in the Launch (Julia's reaction to the reveal of Switch-Up Week was hilarious, she was holding onto Zsolt like he was a life raft) and who knows?  Maybe she'll also transform into a confident contender.  

 

Maria & Mika: A good first partner for newbie Mika.  Maria showed natural ability in the group dance so we'll see how she handles Latin and Ballroom and how Mika handles teaching and choreographing as a pro.  

 

Lulu & Massimo: This pairing is controversial on social media.  Massimo has been very privileged with his history of talented and YOUNG partners despite not always rising to the occasion and fans are really not happy with him getting yet another one in Lulu at the expense of Alexandru for example, who's been out first in both of his previous seasons.  Apparently, Lulu didn't look as thrilled compared to the other celebs when they learned of their partners so we'll see how she and Massimo get along.  

 

Ann-Kathrin & Valentin: He was guaranteed to get a non-contender this time around since every other year he gets a contender and he finally won last year.  He and Renata are also expecting their baby girl VERY soon so all the more reason to give him an early-exit.  Ann-Kathrin is in good hands with Valentin though, he's just as invested in his non-contender partners as he is with contenders like Ella, Valentina and Anna (more than I can say for Massimo) so he can probably help her with nerves.  

 

Tony & Anastasia: Another expected pairing based on height, they're both the shortest of the male celebs and female pros.  I think they'll be fun though, Tony is very enjoyable to watch and Anastasia seems like a fun personality as well so they're well-matched in many departments.  

 

Detlef & Ekaterina: Their reactions to their pairing up were epic, they were PSYCHED!  The audience was pretty psyched as well, this is THE dream couple for Let's Dance.  He probably would've had an uphill battle with his past dance experience but with a fan-favorite pro like Ekat, Detlef is heading right for the Final, possibly even a fourth win for Ekat!  I can't wait for their dances, with his ability and her teaching skill (they don't call her General Ekat over there for nothing!), they are going to be hard to beat.

 

Biyon & Marta: Social media was also disappointed with this pairing but for different reasons than Lulu & Massimo.  Biyon has a very, shall we say, complicated reputation due to his feud with Oliver Pocher, a similarly controversial figure in German media; one notable incident was when Pocher accused Biyon of having an affair with his wife, Amira (who was a contestant just two years ago), following their separation last year, both Amira and Biyon denied it.  I don't know all of the details surrounding the negative reception towards Biyon but overall, he hasn't been very well-received since his participation was announced.  Marta, on the other hand, is a very unlucky pro whom fans are sympathetic towards due to her history of bad partners.  They always want Marta to finally get a realistic chance at winning and they're disappointed with her getting someone they find unlikable.  Biyon seems to have some potential though so hopefully Marta will make him more likable for the German audience and they'll support like they're always claiming to be doing.  

 

Mark & Kathrin: A little disappointed that Kathrin got another duffer, she usually alternates between contenders and duffers like Valentin but not this time around.  She always brings out the tricks and flips when she gets a contender (if Ekat is "General Ekat", Kathrin is "Crazy Kat" due to her often iconic and death-defying tricks).  Probably another early exit for Kathrin, I can't see Mark improving much.  

 

Tillman & Patricija: And Patricija FINALLY gets THE duffer of the season.  She's a lovely dancer but she's not the strongest teacher or choreographer, she tends to place focus more on herself than her partners.  Don't see her or her hubby Alexandru lasting very long in this season.  

 

Gabriel & Malika: The way I pumped my fists when I saw this pairing on IG!  Finally, Malika gets a well-deserved break!  Gabriel was a great partner in the group dance and he particularly seemed to gel with Malika when he danced with her.  Malika has had quite the journey on Let's Dance, from the cringe that was Mickie, to the mediocre Timur and Younes, to winning the Christmas Special and getting cut right afterwards until Renata had to drop out and needed someone to replace her, to winning the Pro Challenge with partner Zsolt, a roller coaster indeed!  She's a fabulous dancer, evident by this season's opening number which she and Zsolt got to choreograph as the reigning Pro Challenge winners, and it's going to be so great to watch her be able to dance more full-out with someone as capable as Gabriel.  

 

Stefano & Mariia: It's funny how so many pairings were made from the group dances, not a lot of mix-and-match this year.  Intrigued by this pairing as well, Stefano is already being compared to his brother, Giovanni, who took part in 2017, and Mariia will no doubt still be compared to her cousin, Ekat.  I think they're well-matched though, we've seen them work well together in the group dance so we'll see how they do in the long run (and in Latin).  

 

Should be a fun season!  Some potential underdogs and some very probable finalists.  Hopefully the dances will be available to watch for everyone on this forum who is interested in watching.  

[*Wallace]

You do some epic/amazing reviews of the LDG shows, Ariel!  Hmm is there any place to watch the dances? I am undecided if I'm gonna watch because I have so many shows on my plate and not sure if I can fit another. But I def have interest in checking it out - as I did enjoy Season 14.

[Ariel1989]

2 hours ago, *Wallace said:

You do some epic/amazing reviews of the LDG shows, Ariel!  Hmm is there any place to watch the dances? I am undecided if I'm gonna watch because I have so many shows on my plate and not sure if I can fit another. But I def have interest in checking it out - as I did enjoy Season 14.

Thank you Wally!  The dances are on rtl.de but being able to view them might depend on the browser.  They were geoblocked when I used Safari but available with Firefox (some were geoblocked on there at first but after refreshing the page a couple of times I was able to watch).  The Charleston, Tango and Viennese Waltz groups are on YouTube as well, on the RTL account.  

[Abe1818]

I watched it on Chrome and it was fine for me.

[Abe1818]

The Germany Week 1 Dances have been revealed!

 

Tony Bauer and Anastasia Stan dance a cha-cha-cha to "Stuck In The Middle" by Michael Bublé

Maria Clara Groppler and Mikael Tatarkin perform a cha-cha-cha to "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston

Sophia Thiel and Alexandru Ionel also perform a cha-cha-cha to "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson

Stefano Zarrella and Mariia Maksina dance tango to "Perro Viejo" by Ostros Aires

Biyon Kattilathu and Marta Arndt dance a jive to "Rockin' Robin" to Bobby Day

Eva Padberg and Paul Lorenz float across the dance floor with a slow waltz to "Waltzing Matilda" by Rod Stewart

Ann-Kathrin Bendixen and Valentin Lusin perform a jive to "Runaway" by P!nk

Detlef D. Soost and Ekaterina Leonova dance a slow waltz to "With You I Am Born Again" by Billy Preston and Syreeta

Lina Larissa Strahl and Zsolt Sándor Cseke show a quickstep to "Just A Girl" by No Doubt

Lulu and Massimo Sinató want to convince with a tango to "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmin Sullivan

Jana Wosnitza and Vadim Garbuzov perform a jive to "Can't Tame Her" by Zara Larsson

Tillman Schulz and Patricija Ionel dance tango to "Caminito" by Julio Iglesias

Mark Keller and Kathrin Menzinger dance cha-cha-cha to "Loco in Acapulco" by The Four Tops

Gabriel Kelly and Malika Dzumaev show a quickstep to "Stay The Night" by James Blunt

Edited February 29 by Abe1818

[Ariel1989]

10 hours ago, Abe1818 said:

The Germany Week 1 Dances have been revealed!

 

Tony Bauer and Anastasia Stan dance a cha-cha-cha to "Stuck In The Middle" by Michael Bublé

Maria Clara Groppler and Mikael Tatarkin perform a cha-cha-cha to "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston

Sophia Thiel and Alexandru Ionel also perform a cha-cha-cha to "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson

Stefano Zarrella and Mariia Maksina dance tango to "Perro Viejo" by Ostros Aires

Biyon Kattilathu and Marta Arndt dance a jive to "Rockin' Robin" to Bobby Day

Eva Padberg and Paul Lorenz float across the dance floor with a slow waltz to "Waltzing Matilda" by Rod Stewart

Ann-Kathrin Bendixen and Valentin Lusin perform a jive to "Runaway" by P!nk

Detlef D. Soost and Ekaterina Leonova dance a slow waltz to "With You I Am Born Again" by Billy Preston and Syreeta

Lina Larissa Strahl and Zsolt Sándor Cseke show a quickstep to "Just A Girl" by No Doubt

Lulu and Massimo Sinató want to convince with a tango to "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmin Sullivan

Jana Wosnitza and Vadim Garbuzov perform a jive to "Can't Tame Her" by Zara Larsson

Tillman Schulz and Patricija Ionel dance tango to "Caminito" by Julio Iglesias

Mark Keller and Kathrin Menzinger dance cha-cha-cha to "Loco in Acapulco" by The Four Tops

Gabriel Kelly and Malika Dzumaev show a quickstep to "Stay The Night" by James Blunt

Some great dances and songs!  Really looking forward to Detlef & Ekat's Waltz, Lina & Zsolt's Quickstep, Lulu & Massimo's Tango and Gabriel & Malika's Quickstep.  The couple with immunity always goes last so that's at least one running order placement for certain with Gabriel & Malika.  

[*Wallace]

I did decide to watch the Launch Show dances. Not sure if it was a good idea or not because I didn't educate myself on the contestants and I have no idea who is who. I'm also not sure if I will be able to keep up with the season each week but again, I WILL TRY my best (especially for @Ariel1989 ).  

Tony Bauer, Maria Clara Groppler & Sophia Thiel - “Puttin’ On The Ritz” (Charleston): This was a really cute, fun Charleston. No one stood out as really bad to me. The guy Tony seems fun. I don't know which one is Maria or Sophia of the ladies, lol. But LOL Dangg that last judge that gave out 2's. I know it's like that with the last judge but I kinda forgot, lol.

 

Stefano Zarrella & Biyon Kattilathu - “Let’s Get This Party Started” (Quickstep): Okay this dance is a duo, so it's a little easier to tell who is who here. Omgg the version of the song was a bit distracting here, lol. This was fun and both did decent. They both had good energy and had moments of getting a little messy. But it was a fun dance. I think I did prefer Biyon here.

 

Eva Padberg, Ann-Kathrin Bendixen & Detlef Soost - “Habanera” (Tango): This did have moments of being a little slow at times but other than that, this was a really good and authentic passionate Tango. This was a really good routine and the celeb dancers did well with this. I did notice one of the girls that was kinda weak in this... and with looking at I guess that was Ann-Kathrin as the weak link? She did seem nervous. Eva and Detleft looked and danced this really well.

 

Lina Larissa Strahl, Lulu Lewe & Jana Wosnitza - “Sax” (Cha-Cha-Cha): I'm always here for a "Sax" routine! But oh goodness how am I supposed to tell who these three women are? That's not so helpful. They are all really gorgeous and match each other well. I think the one in the purple dress is probably the stiffest and has the least energy of the three ladies. The girl in the blue and girl in pink seem to stand out to me at different times. The one in the blue was probably the best one to me. But this was a really cute, hot and fun dance. Oh... girl in the blue scored lower than girl in purple which surprised me - I thought blue girl was better. Pink girl scored the best, who I see is Lulu.

 

Tillman Schulz, Mark Keller & Gabriel Kelly - “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Viennese Waltz): And a routine with 3 men is certainly NOT gonna help me out either. This is a really pretty and lovely routine. The short guy with his hair in the bun stood out as the best and was really good. So I'm guessing that's Gabriel. I was drawn to watching him the most. The guy with the brown hair was okay. The blond guy sadly wasn't too good but he tried. Yikes at him getting 3s from the nice judges and a 1 from the mean judge. I don't think I really noticed that much of a difference from the two weaker guys for such a big score gap.  
 

It was a nice and fun show to watch. 5 dances to watch was easy but not knowing who people are is not easy. So it will be better watching the dances as individual couples to get to know them better - but watching 14 dances will be tough, lol.  

[*Wallace]

On 2/29/2024 at 11:18 AM, Abe1818 said:

The Germany Week 1 Dances have been revealed!

 

Tony Bauer and Anastasia Stan dance a cha-cha-cha to "Stuck In The Middle" by Michael Bublé

Maria Clara Groppler and Mikael Tatarkin perform a cha-cha-cha to "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston

Sophia Thiel and Alexandru Ionel also perform a cha-cha-cha to "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson

Stefano Zarrella and Mariia Maksina dance tango to "Perro Viejo" by Ostros Aires

Biyon Kattilathu and Marta Arndt dance a jive to "Rockin' Robin" to Bobby Day

Eva Padberg and Paul Lorenz float across the dance floor with a slow waltz to "Waltzing Matilda" by Rod Stewart

Ann-Kathrin Bendixen and Valentin Lusin perform a jive to "Runaway" by P!nk

Detlef D. Soost and Ekaterina Leonova dance a slow waltz to "With You I Am Born Again" by Billy Preston and Syreeta

Lina Larissa Strahl and Zsolt Sándor Cseke show a quickstep to "Just A Girl" by No Doubt

Lulu and Massimo Sinató want to convince with a tango to "Bust Your Windows" by Jazmin Sullivan

Jana Wosnitza and Vadim Garbuzov perform a jive to "Can't Tame Her" by Zara Larsson

Tillman Schulz and Patricija Ionel dance tango to "Caminito" by Julio Iglesias

Mark Keller and Kathrin Menzinger dance cha-cha-cha to "Loco in Acapulco" by The Four Tops

Gabriel Kelly and Malika Dzumaev show a quickstep to "Stay The Night" by James Blunt

Good set of songs/style combo.

 

But I am STANNING the Quickstep to "Just a Girl" because I have been picturing that song/style combo for YEARS (probably over a decade now) and I'm sad it's never happened.... specifically on the main DWTS shows I watch.

[Abe1818]

3 hours ago, *Wallace said:

Good set of songs/style combo.

 

But I am STANNING the Quickstep to "Just a Girl" because I have been picturing that song/style combo for YEARS (probably over a decade now) and I'm sad it's never happened.... specifically on the main DWTS shows I watch.

Well the person whose doing that dance is "The Girl In Purple" so ready for you to hate on that dance and say "The Girl In Blue"'s Jive was better

[Ariel1989]

58 minutes ago, Abe1818 said:

Well the person whose doing that dance is "The Girl In Purple" so ready for you to hate on that dance and say "The Girl In Blue"'s Jive was better

To be fair, Blue Jive was better than Purple Quickstep but the judges screwed her over yet again.  

[*Wallace]

LMAOO I'm dying that the Blue girl and Purple girl nicknames are catching on here.  

[Abe1818]

Week 1 Scores + Elimination 

I'll put Wallace's Nicknames by the contestant's actual name so he  knows who they are

 

"The Girl In Purple" Lina & Zsolt: Quickstep- 14 (5,5,4)

"The Girl In Blue" Jana & Vadim: Jive- 12 (5,4,3)

Detlef & Ekaterina: Slow Waltz- 18 (6,6,6)

"Weak Link" Ann-Kathrin & Valentin: Jive- 7 (3,3,1)

"The Guy With Brown Hair" Mark & Kathrin: Cha-Cha - 13 (5,4,4)

Eva & Paul: Slow Waltz- 11 (5,4,2)

Tony & Anastasia: Cha-Cha-Cha- 16 (6,5,5)

"The Blond Guy" Tilmann & Patricja: Tango- 7 (3,3,1)

Biyon & Marta: Jive- 17 (6,6,5)

Sophia & Alexandru: Cha-Cha-Cha- 11 (4,4,3)

Maria & Mika: Cha-Cha-Cha- 10 (4,4,2)

Stefano & Mariia: Tango-  18 (7,6,5)

"The Girl In Pink" Lulu & Massimo- 19 (7,6,6)

"The Short Guy with the manbun" Gabriel & Malika- 21 (7,8,6)

 

Leaderboard:

1: Gabriel & Malika - 21
2: Lulu & Massimo - 19
3: Stefano & Maria - 18
3: Detlef & Ekaterina - 18
5: Biyon & Marta - 17
6: Tony & Anastasia - 16
7: Lina & Zsolt - 14
8: Mark & Kathrin - 13
9: Jana & Vadim - 12
10: Sophia & Alexandru - 11
11: Eva & Paul - 11
12: Maria & Mika - 10
13: Tilmann & Patricija - 7
13: Ann-Kathrin & Valentin - 7

 

Elimination: 

The Bottom 3 were Tillmann & Patricija, Maria & Mika and some other random unknown couple that I don't know.

 

Maria & Mika were eliminated which is a shock because she showed great potential in the launch show

[Abe1818]

Not Lulu still managing to slay even with Massimo's choreography of hair flips,her being shaken up like a rag doll, graceful lifting figures and high kicks that have nothing to do with a Tango! Queen!

Edited March 2 by Abe1818

[*Wallace]

1 hour ago, Abe1818 said:

Week 1 Scores + Elimination 

I'll put Wallace's Nicknames by the contestant's actual name so he  knows who they are

 

"The Girl In Purple" Lina & Zsolt: Quickstep- 14 (5,5,4)

"The Girl In Blue" Jana & Vadim: Jive- 12 (5,4,3)

Detlef & Ekaterina: Slow Waltz- 18 (6,6,6)

"Weak Link" Ann-Kathrin & Valentin: Jive- 7 (3,3,1)

"The Guy With Brown Hair" Mark & Kathrin: Cha-Cha - 13 (5,4,4)

Eva & Paul: Slow Waltz- 11 (5,4,2)

Tony & Anastasia: Cha-Cha-Cha- 16 (6,5,5)

"The Blond Guy" Tilmann & Patricja: Tango- 7 (3,3,1)

Biyon & Marta: Jive- 17 (6,6,5)

Sophia & Alexandru: Cha-Cha-Cha- 11 (4,4,3)

Maria & Mika: Cha-Cha-Cha- 10 (4,4,2)

Stefano & Mariia: Tango-  18 (7,6,5)

"The Girl In Pink" Lulu & Massimo- 19 (7,6,6)

"The Short Guy with the manbun" Gabriel & Malika- 21 (7,8,6)

 

Leaderboard:

1: Gabriel & Malika - 21
2: Lulu & Massimo - 19
3: Stefano & Maria - 18
3: Detlef & Ekaterina - 18
5: Biyon & Marta - 17
6: Tony & Anastasia - 16
7: Lina & Zsolt - 14
8: Mark & Kathrin - 13
9: Jana & Vadim - 12
10: Sophia & Alexandru - 11
11: Eva & Paul - 11
12: Maria & Mika - 10
13: Tilmann & Patricija - 7
13: Ann-Kathrin & Valentin - 7

 

Elimination: 

The Bottom 3 were Tillmann & Patricija, Maria & Mika and some other random unknown couple that I don't know.

 

Maria & Mika were eliminated which is a shock because she showed great potential in the launch show

DYING @ the nicknames bit.  I'm feeling the pressure to come up with nicknames for everyone else now.  

[Abe1818]

After the tragedy that happened on DWTSIrl, I've  decided to post my launch show thoughts and rankings of each group.

 

Charleston

1: Maria (She was easily the best and the strongest of the 3. She showed great potential in this. Shame we won't get to see any more.)

2: Tony (He had some mistakes in there but overall he maintained a mostly consistent swivel and was enetertaining.)

3:Sophia (In Both her dances so far she loses a lot of energy, she needs to work on her stamina. However you can tell she was enjoying herself and she had blast.)

 

Quickstep

1: Biyon

2: Stefano

 

Both of them had the right energy for the quickstep however sometimes they would both lose it and get a bit messy.

 

Tango

1: Detlef (He was very captivating and had solid technique throughout.)

2:Eva (She was also very captivating as well. Beautiful leg lines, posture and beautiful facials. Her frame was a bit off though.)

3: Ann-Kathrin (Bless Her. She tried.)

 

Cha-Cha-Cha

1: Lulu (Definitely the best one out of the three, she  was probably the second cleanest out of the 3 however she had solid pressure through her feet to generate some solid hip action. She was the best performer out of the 3 as well. Though all of them performed nicely.)

2: Lina (I know a lot of people thought Jana was better but to me Lina was better. Although I think Lina was a little cautious , a bit too controlled  and she needed more pressure through her feet to generate more hip action. I still feel like she was probably the cleanest of the 3. Had she had the hip action  + the performance of Lulu + the cleanliness that she already had, I think she could've been the best one.)

3: Jana (I do think she was undermarked but I see why she was last. She's a great performer however I do think she had the weakest technique of the 3. She had more hip action than Lina however her leg action and her foot placements got kinda messy  during the side by side sections of the routine.

 

Viennese Waltz

1:Gabriel (He was not only the best in this group but the best overall. Very elegant, he led his partners nicely and some very nice footwork in there as well.)

2: Mark (He was okay but that free arm was...... horrendous)

3:Tilmann (He tried however he was moving his legs and feet like they were encased in cement. It wasn't a 1 though)

 

 

My Ratings probably would've been something like this.

 

1. Gabriel: 19

2. Lulu: 18/19

3. Detlef: 17/18

3. Maria: 17

5. Eva: 16/17

6. Lina: 16

7. Tony: 15

7. Biyon: 15

9. Jana: 14/15

9. Stefano: 14/15

11. Sophia: 13/14

12. Mark: 13

13. Ann-Kathrin: 11/12

14. Tillman: 10

[Ariel1989]

My Week 1 Review
 

Lina & Zsolt (Quickstep): I think Lina has potential but I don’t think the Quickstep was the best style to start off with doing in Week 1.  There were times when her frame and footwork were on point but she would alternate between tight and loose.  I’m not sure if she’ll be as successful as Zsolt’s previous diamond in the rough partner, Julia, but if anyone can get Lina to improve, it’s Zsolt!  Hopefully we see her in a Latin or at least a slower ballroom next week where she can slow down and really focus on the technique; she performed the dance very well, at least so she has that going for her.  Score was 14 (5, 5, 4), which I guess was fair, I’m leaning more towards the 4 given her inconsistent technique.  

 

Jana & Vadim (Jive): They have great chemistry already, not surprising with Vadim as he’s one of the best choreographers and partners.  Jana has a lot of potential as well, solid musicality and timing throughout while her technique is a little rough around the edges; her feet are a bit turned-in and at times her arms are a bit stiff.  Overall though, I’m hopeful for her to develop into a solid competitor and dancer, as well as for Vadim to go far; his season with Nicolas Puschmann was AMAZING and he was very successful on the Austrian version, I really want him to succeed in Germany as well.  Score was 12 (5, 4, 3), which felt a bit low, but fingers crossed that her scores will start increasing as the weeks go on.  

 

Detlef & Ekaterina (Waltz): These two are a dream team, their reactions to them being paired together were  just epic.  Detlef is showing some difficulty in transferring from hip-hop to ballroom, his feet didn't really close together and he could use some work on his arm movement.  His emoting is on-point though and he moves really well with Ekat, like I said, they were perfectly matched.  I’m confident in his potential to improve, given his past dance experience and his partner being General Ekat, she’ll get him closing his feet perfectly in no time.  I’m really excited to see their Latin, I think Detlef would NAIL the Paso and party Latin styles.  Score was 18 (6, 6, 6), which is pretty good considering how low the judges are going this year (10s have been given out in Week 1 before and perfect scores in Week 2, namely for Gil Ofarim & Ekat and Valentina Pahde & Valentin), I’d maybe throw in a 5 for the footwork.  

 

Ann-Kathrin & Valentin (Jive): Oh bless her, she’s so cute and SO not a dancer.  The nicest thing I can say about her performance is that she didn’t look scared to death like she did in the Launch group dance.  Ann-Kathrin’s technique is pretty nonexistent unfortunately, she gave a lot of kicks but no flicks and she never managed to retract her feet properly or quickly enough.  She also missed a lot of steps, got out of synch with Valentin, was flat-footed and had almost zero musicality.  She really lucked out from getting eliminated first by having Valentin as her partner because he’s not only the reigning pro champion, but also a very popular and established pro.  I really hope that these results give the voters a wake-up call and cause them to kindly put Ann-Kathrin out of her misery next week because not only is she probably not going to improve, but it also looks like Valentin and Renata will become parents any day now.  Score was 7 (3, 3, 1), which is probably the fairest score given so far, she was BAD.  

 

Mark & Kathrin (Cha-Cha-Cha): I saw before the show that Mark broke his thumb so that’s why he had his left hand in a splint.  It certainly didn’t seem to affect him that much because he really threw himself into the choreography and never looked like he was in pain.  Side note: Kathrin was absolutely fabulous in the dance, she is without a doubt one of, if not the the best dancer of the pro women.  Mark’s technique wasn’t great though and his free arm is still yikes (even the one with the uninjured hand), but he has some moves and charisma on the floor so there is potential to improve.  Score was 13 (5, 4, 4), which I guess is a fair score if you ignore Jana’s lowballed score.  

 

Eva & Paul (Waltz): First off, I have to put it out there: Paul is a beautiful dancer!  I couldn’t stop watching him, he is a great ballroom partner; I’m surprised that he hasn’t been a regular pro or even a semi-regular pro since his first season in 2015.  It was a lovely routine and choreographed very well content-wise and level-wise for Eva, it definitely showcased her well.  She wasn’t perfect though, her footwork seemed okay from what I saw but it was stronger than her top half; there were moments where her frame was beautiful in hold but it would collapse often and her shoulders would tense up and hide her neck.  Her arms also need to be softer and rounder, they were too straight and stiff when doing the arm movements.  I don’t think she’ll last very long since mature women don’t usually go very far plus Paul is a fairly new face to the pro lineup but we’ll see, maybe she’ll surprise us by pulling an Auma Obama and getting as far as the Quarterfinals!  Score was 11 (5, 4, 2), which is okay and deserved, she really needs to work on her top-line.  

 

Tony & Anastasia (Cha-Cha-Cha): Okay, Anastasia is FIERCE!  She’s giving me early seasons-Cheryl and Edyta vibes with her style and personality on the dance floor.  Now for Tony: he could be a dark horse, I’m serious.  He’s a comedian but you can tell that he’s taking the training very seriously and immersing himself in the Latin style of dancing.  He and Anastasia have a great connection when dancing together and his technique is pretty decent.  Some timing issues and stiff arms but overall, a very promising start for both the celeb and the pro; definitely the best performance so far!  Score was 16 (6, 5, 5), which, compared to Detlef, feels just a smidge low; I think Tony deserved to tie with Detlef or at least get one more point.  

 

Tillman & Patricija (Tango): Well, Patricija is a gorgeous dancer, that’s no lie.  Tillman, well, he’s not a natural judging by his Launch Show performance and the choreography she gave him this week.  It was all very blocky and stop-and-start from him, his feet didn’t always seem of where they were going and he mainly just stood in place and bent his knee for Patricija to do tricks.  It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting but I’m still not wowed or expecting to be wowed in the future if that’s what this pairing will be giving us.  Score was 7 (3, 3, 1), which was the same score that he got in the Launch; he and Ann-Kathrin are the only contestants to score in the single digits and he’s the only contestant to not break into the double digits yet.  

 

Biyon & Marta (Jive): Wow, that was a packed routine from Marta, so nice to see her back and with a partner with whom she can go full-out.  Biyon is one of the most natural dancers and performers in the cast, he’s very light on his feet and his stamina as shown in last week’s Quickstep and this week’s Jive will serve him well in the competition.  He has some technical issues to work through like pointing his feet consistently and cleanly, plus he has kind of a polarized reputation with the viewers but he’s steadily gaining some more favorable comments, likely due to fans wanting Marta to go far with a capable partner and he’s her best shot in a while.  I’m looking forward to this couple, Biyon is very capable of becoming a contender and Marta hasn’t had a partner this promising since she took over for an injured Christina as Giovanni Zarrella’s partner in 2017.  Score was 17 (6, 6, 5), a very good score for this year’s Week 1; several male contenders this year which is pretty unusual for Let’s Dance (2020 got lucky with Luca, Moritz and Tijan all being strong competition for Lili).  

 

Sophia & Alexandru (Cha-Cha-Cha): My crush of the season is officially Sophia!  She is such a naturally sexy and powerful presence on the floor.  Her technique was rough in spots but there were moments when she’d hit a pose and her lines were so good!  She has a good connection with Alexandru, who is also very attractive on and off the floor; I loved the leader and follower switches that included her lifting him like they did in the Launch when they were first paired up.  I’m so happy they got past the elimination, I was so worried for Alexandru getting a third first-boot when Sophia, like Alex Mariah last year, wasn’t the worst of the night but thankfully his streak is over!  Sophia still needs a lot of work on her technique and footwork but a decent debut.  Side note: Patricija was so cute cheering for them when they got up to the skybox and then Alexandru lifting both his partner and his wife at the same time was so fun.  Score was 11 (4, 4, 3), which is fair given Sophia’s shaky technique but glad that they are moving onto Week 2.  

 

Maria & Mika (Cha-Cha-Cha): I was surprised by this couple’s exit but I actually wasn’t surprised by the fans’ observations that they lacked chemistry; I didn’t sense a lot of enthusiasm from them when they were first paired up and they still seemed a little cold with each other during and after the dance.  It’s still a shame because Maria has shown so much potential in both the Launch and Week 1 but apparently her attitude rubbed viewers (and even Motsi!) the wrong way.  I’ve seen comments saying that Maria behaved disrespectfully and had a very joking-type of demeanor about training but I’ve also seen comments defending her and pointing out that it’s just a couple of minutes out of a whole week being shown in the package.  It certainly didn’t help that she had a brand new pro as her partner who isn’t experienced enough to help make her more appealing to the demographic.  Her Cha-Cha-Cha was pretty decent in terms of technique and choreography, her biggest problems were probably her lack of chemistry with Mika, falling in and out of character and sometimes phoning in her movements.  She wasn’t the best but FAR from the worst of the night; she and Mika posted a video of them doing Jive and she not only danced it very well but they seemed to have built up a little more of a connection between each other.  It’s a shame it didn’t happen earlier because again, she showed SO MUCH POTENTIAL.  Score was 10 (4, 4, 2), which felt absurdly low and based more on her behavior than than her actual performance.  

 

Stefano & Mariia (Tango): Holy crap.  I mean, I figured it must have gone well with that score and the comments on IG but wow, just wow.  I think Stefano might actually better his brother Giovanni’s placement (yes the same Giovanni mentioned earlier) and Mariia is giving her cousin Ekat a run for her money!  The chemistry between them, Stefano’s leading of Mariia, his posture, musicality and footwork, Mariia’s choreography, all were on point!  He likely has some things to work on but there weren’t any glaring issues so he seems to be a real contender whose journey will be very enjoyable to follow.  Score was 18 (7, 6, 5), which is fair but I’d probably score him a point or two higher than Detlef who wasn’t as technically solid.  Side note: super happy for Mariia, found her absolutely adorable l

 

Lulu & Massimo (Tango): Lulu is definitely the woman to beat, she just doesn’t have the male pro to beat.  She danced beautifully and has a great understanding of isolating her body and handling her long limbs.  She’s kind of like reigning champion Anna Ermakova in that way but Massimo’s choreography feels like he’s trying to capitalize on the judges’ fondness for Anna’s lines and extensions by doing that with Lulu, but he’s not as good as Valentin is with showcasing his partners’ strengths while balancing proper Latin and ballroom technique and content.  He even phoned it in with Lili at times, relying on her acrobatics and neglecting content but the judges kind of let him get away with it because he’s a favored pro.  Lulu is a great dancer and is capable of becoming a great Latin and ballroom dancer, but we’ll have to see if Massimo decides to teach her properly or if he’ll continue to neglect teaching and choreographing content and just lift her around to look cool.  Score was 19 (7, 6, 6), which I guess is a fair score and since so many of the women either flopped or didn’t get their flowers, that they have to prop up someone, especially if she’s with Massimo.  

 

Gabriel & Malika (Quickstep): Gabriel was the highest-voted contestant during the Launch which granted him a free pass to Week 2; he probably didn’t need it because he was fantastic yet again.  He and Malika sailed across the floor with speed and grace, along with some complicated fancy footwork, gorgeous posture and close body contact.  Easily the most polished and confident dance of the night and performed at such a high standard not very often seen in Week 1.  Malika has finally struck gold this year after three non-contenders in a row and getting left out last year despite winning the Christmas Special, only to get called back when a pro dropped out.  They are perfectly matched and if Gabriel can keep up this level of ballroom brilliance in Latin as well, he’s going to be hard to beat!  Score was 21 (7, 8, 6), which is very well-deserved as well as the first and only score to go over 20 this season!

 

 

Leaderboard

1. Gabriel & Malika: 21

2. Lulu & Massimo: 19

3. Detlef & Ekaterina: 18

3. Stefano & Mariia: 18

5. Biyon & Marta: 17

6. Tony & Anastasia: 16

7. Lina & Zsolt: 14

8. Mark & Kathrin: 13

9. Jana & Vadim: 12

10. Eva & Paul: 11

10. Sophia & Alexandru: 11

12. Maria & Mika: 10

13. Ann-Kathrin & Valentin: 7

13. Tillman & Patricija: 7

 

My Ranking

1. Gabriel & Malika

2. Stefano & Mariia

3. Biyon & Marta

4. Lulu & Massimo

5. Tony & Anastasia

6. Detlef & Ekaterina

7. Jana & Vadim

8. Lina & Zsolt

9. Maria & Mika

10. Mark & Kathrin

11. Sophia & Alexandru

12. Eva & Paul

13. Tillman & Patricija

14. Ann-Kathrin & Valentin

 

Last two couples left standing were Maria & Mika and Tillman & Patricija.  Shockingly, Tillman & Patricija were declared safe and Maria & Mika were eliminated.  They were in a dangerous place on the leaderboard but I figured that viewers would have mercy on poor Ann-Kathrin and let her go which would give Valentin more time to focus on his and Renata’s upcoming baby.  Nope, I forgot how much power a popular pro has over a newbie.  No matter how Maria may have come off, I’m still bummed for her not getting to continue and I’m even more bummed for newbie Mika; hopefully he’s brought back next year and/or picked for Trio Week later on in the season, he’s a really great dancer to watch and it would be such a waste to let him go, especially when they insist on pampering Massimo with young contenders year after year.  

[Abe1818]

Week 2 Dances have been revealed!

 

Tony Bauer and Anastasia Stan dance a slow waltz to "Love Ain't Here Anymore" by Take That

Sophia Thiel and Alexandru Ionel perform a Paso Doble to "Rhythm Is A Dancer" by SNAP!

Stefano Zarrella and Mariia Maksina dance a cha-cha-cha to "Smooth" by Santana

Biyon Kattilathu and Marta Arndt dance a tango to "Be My Lover" by La Bouche

Eva Padberg and Paul Lorenz show a cha-cha-cha to "Strong Enough" by Cher

Ann-Kathrin Bendixen and Valentin Lusin perform a Charleston to "Scatman" by Scatman John

Detlef D! Soost and Ekaterina Leonova dance a cha-cha-cha to "Sexbomb" by Tom Jones, Mousse T

Lina Larissa Strahl and Zsolt Sándor Cseke float across the dance floor with a slow waltz to "Run To You" by Whitney Houston

Lulu and Massimo Sinató want to impress with a rumba to "Dont' Let Go" by En Vogue

Jana Wosnitza and Vadim Garbuzov perform the first contemporary of the season to "Nothin Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor

Tillman Schulz and Patricija Ionel dance rumba to "You" by Ten Sharp

Mark Keller and Kathrin Menzinger want to score a lot of points with a slow waltz to "I Wonder Why" by Curtis Stiger

Gabriel Kelly and Malika Dzumaev perform a Paso Doble to "Join Me (In Death)" H.I.M.

 

 

 

[Ariel1989]

The theme is 90s Night BTW!  

 

Lots of couples doing either ballroom (Tony & Anastasia) or Latin (Eva & Paul, Stefano & Mariia, Detlef & Ekat, Tillman & Patricija, Gabriel & Malika) for the first time.  SMH at still no ballroom for Sophia or Jana.  

 

Tony has been showing promise so far, hopefully he transfers well to ballroom.  
 

I feel like Sophia is in danger this week, I think she mainly got through because fans wanted Alexandru to make it past Week 1 and now she won’t be getting enough votes this week.  
 

I think Stefano should do well in Latin as well.  
 

If Biyon can show restraint in ballroom he could go far.  
 

Not confident about Eva in Latin, she was a bit stiff in ballroom and I can’t see her loosening up enough for Latin.  
 

Ann-Kathrin is doomed with another fast dance, let’s hope the sympathy vote doesn’t continue.  
 

Detlef’s Latin should be fire, especially with Ekat and that song.  
 

Glad that Lina got a slow ballroom this week, she should hopefully improve.  
 

Lulu should be beautiful in the Rumba, hopefully Massimo prioritizes actual Rumba content over lifts.  
 

Minh-Khai Phan-Thi did an amazing Nothing Compares 2 U Contemporary back in season 8 (2015) so Jana has some big shoes to fill.  
 

I’m shuddering at Tillman attempting the Rumba, he’s likely going to be Patricija’s pole.  
 

Hopefully Mark improves his free arms after those awful lines in the Launch.  
 

Excited for Gabriel and the Paso, if he nails it he should be a sure bet for the Final.  

[*Wallace]

Finally got around to watching the dances!

 

 

Week 1 Thoughts:

Lina & Zsolt (Quickstep): Oooh yayy this was the "I'm Just a Girl" Quickstep. I thought this was pretty cute, fun and entertaining. I get the inconsistency she had in frame/in hold because sometimes it was there and sometimes it was loose and needing to get fixed. So yeah there did need to be some improvement on a technical front. But I thought she performed with great energy and fun. A solid way to kick off the show.

Jana & Vadim (Jive): Ooooh I remember the pro, Vadim from the one series of this show I watched, haha. Jana is another celeb with really good energy and performing skills. I thought she danced and performed this quite well. Her kicks & flicks looked good to me and she did well with selling the dancing. Maybe it could be stronger on a technical level. LMAO Now I completely forgot who was blue dress/purple dress/pink dress girl from the Launch show and which one I liked more than the other. But I'm sure the first two girls were apart of that saga.  Oooof, I thought a 12 was low and harsh for this.

Detlef & Ekaterina (Waltz): LOL If I see another "With You I'm Born Again" Waltz... I SWEAR. But okay Detlef, I see you. Detlef seems like someone that would be stiff and awkward in these dances but he was the exact opposite. He was smooth, graceful, charming and a proper leading man in this dance. He had a good frame and partnered his partner well. I do think he could maybe had more graceful arms and shoulders in the dance. He sold the story and was quite emotional, which I wasn't expecting. But oh, I'm seeing he has hip hop dance experience? Wasn't expecting that but he translated that surprisingly well here.

Ann-Kathrin & Valentin (Jive): LOL I heard such bad things about Ann-Kathrin so I'm worried to see how bad this is. And ooh I recognize Valentin, as he was partnered with Valentina a few years ago. But oooof, okay this was bad and definitely not good. Right from the start, I felt like Ann-Kathrin was off beat and didn't really match the music or had the musicality of what she was dancing to. Her kicks & flicks were too soft and not sharp enough. She was dancing this quite awkwardly and yeah sadly, it was rough. LOL at that long section in the slower part of the song where Ann-Kathrin rides Valentin as a motorcycle to save her from doing more Jive content. At least Ann-Kathrin looked like she was having fun. 

Mark & Kathrin (Cha-Cha-Cha): Oh wow Kathrin is giving this 120^ and then some with the way she danced this compared to Mark. Mark was alright. He wasn't terrible, he wasn't good but he gave it a decent effort. He reminds me of those celebs with no dance experience but gives it a go, which is what I want to see from non dancers. He looked like he was having a lot of fun and his dancing.... was his own kind of special dancing for sure. Kathrin was just giving it too much and Mark's dancing energy didn't match hers so it looked like a mismatch. But it was fun and a party, so yay. Mark seems really hilarious at the judges comments lol. 

Eva & Paul (Waltz): This was a really nice, pretty and emotional dance. This was a nice routine and Paul did showcase Eva well with the dance. She danced it decently. She was sometimes decent in hold and sometimes it could have been smooth. I totally agree that sometimes her frame would collapse a bit. Her arms/hand placements did bother me as they didn't seem that well placed or graceful. But the dance had a beautiful story and intent and she sold that decently. 

Tony & Anastasia (Cha-Cha-Cha): lol I like Tony for some reason. He seems to be a really fun, engaging performer and was really into this and giving it his all here. He's a fun performer and brought a lot of fun here. He had some decent technique and footwork. He did seem a little stiff on the hip action and some other parts. Anastasia was super hot and fierce - I totally get the Cheryl and Edyta comments Ariel made on her as she was dynamite to watch. Ooh but wow had no idea Tony is a comedian but that makes me even more impressed.

Tillman & Patricija (Tango): Okay I remember Tillman standing out as really bad in his group Waltz last week. But wow Patricija was soooo gorgeous and stunning to watch in this. It was hard not just watching her in this. Tillman tried. He's not a natural dancer and the dance was quite rough on his end. He pretty much walked the dance and didn't really have that slick and gliding feel of the Tango, so that already takes you out of the dance. The footwork was plotty. I also didn't feel that sizzling passionate chemistry here. It wasn't a trainwreck, which I was fearing so yay for that. The big set of roses coming at the end did seem weird, lol. 

Biyon & Marta (Jive): Wow this dance completely exceeded my expectations. I thought this was really fun and entertaining from Biyon. And he did a dang great job with this dance. He had great energy, good kicks & flicks, good partnering skills and he handled and captured everything really well in the Jive. The robin/birds they did was pretty cute too. He was light and precise on his feet. I did think he needed to point and be more sharp on his toes with some of his kicks & flicks, but that was just something I noticed towards the start. But I really liked this and was entertained! 

Sophia & Alexandru (Cha-Cha-Cha): Sophia is a fun and cheeky performer and I like that she had a lot of fun with this.  I was thinking that she danced this a little too strong/intensely? With some harshness to it. Like it lacked some clean technique and light dancing moments. I'm not sure how to describe it but like lacking grace. LMAO I was loving and living for the gender role/partner switches they did where she would do the male parts and Alexandru would do the female parts. That was so fun and unexpected to see. She did have a few decent moments in there. 

Maria & Mika (Cha-Cha-Cha): I thought this was a pretty cute, fun and adorable dance. Maria did a decent job here but it doesn't or didn't seem like there was a lot to make it stand out. It was like nice, pleasant, fine and all of that. I'm curious about this drama/bad attitude she had that upset people? Hmm. But I thought she did a fine enough job. But I also guess with not much standing out made her forgotten by the viewers, which is a shame as I think she does have potential.  

Stefano & Mariia (Tango): LOL Well watching Stefano and Tillman both dancing the Tango is like night and day here. THIS is what a Tango should look and feel like from both partners. This was a steamy, passionate and hot Tango - where they both had and were oozing lots of chemistry together. Stefano did a great job leading the dance, had good sharp footwork and sold it performance and dance-wise. I did feel he had a few little slippery moments in the footwork but they were quite minor. At least there was just one flower at the end which didn't feel distracting. Very good Tango! 

Lulu & Massimo (Tango): Oooh yayy a "Bust Your Windows" Tango. Oooh wow Lul is really showcasing her legs in this dance. But yesss, this is another hot, passionate and fiery Tango that I really enjoyed a lot here. Lulu is a gorgeous dancer ass he danced this quite cleanly, crisp with solid technique, footwork and a great frame. She brought the passion, intensity and chemistry needed for the dance too. The dance was maybe a little too lift-eavy and I would have loved seeing her dancing more proper Tango content as she showed she is clearly capable of it. But that's more of an issue on Massimo as Lulu did everything fairly well here.  

Gabriel & Malika (Quickstep): Based on what very little I know of this season, it seems and looks like Gabriel is the frontrunner so far. This was such a cute, fun and joyous Quickstep! This dance was a joy to watch from start to end and it had me smiling throughout. <# The opening section out of hold was good and such a fun way to set up the dance! Then the actual Quickstep dancing - from Gabriel's frame, footwork, speed, precision were all really good and impressive for the first week. This dance had great speed to it. Gabriel partnered well here.  He sold the performance and had a lot of fun. I really loved the happy feet section with them bouncing their feet up and down while in hold. That was cute. This was a strong dance to close the show. 

Rankings:
1. Gabriel & Malika (Quickstep)
2. Lulu & Massimo (Tango)
3. Stefano & Mariia (Tango)
4. Biyon & Marta (Jive)
5. Detlef & Ekaterina (Waltz)
6. Lina & Zsolt (Quickstep)
7. Tony & Anastasia (Cha-Cha-Cha)
8. Jana & Vadim (Jive)
9. Maria & Mika (Cha-Cha-Cha)
10. Mark & Kathrin (Cha-Cha-Cha)
11. Eva & Paul (Waltz)
12. Sophia & Alexandru (Cha-Cha-Cha)
13. Tillman & Patricija (Tango)
14. Ann-Kathrin & Valentin (Jive)

[Abe1818]

I feel like Patricja is like Salome in the sense that they're both captivating to watch and clearly enjoy and love dancing. The only big difference is Salome can choreograph while Patricija has....... her own special way of choreographing dances that's for sure!

[Abe1818]

Anyways Week 2 Scores + Elimination 

 

Stefano & Mariia: Cha-Cha-Cha -14 (6,4,4)

Tilmann & Patricja: Rumba- 7 (3,3,1)

Sophia & Alexandru: Paso Doble-  13 (5,4,4)

Eva & Paul: Cha-Cha-Cha- 12 (5,4,3)

Tony & Anastasia: Waltz- 16 (6,5,5)

Jana & Vadim: Contemporary- 18 (7,6,5)

Gabriel & Mailka: Paso Doble- 17 (6,6,5)

Lulu & Massimo: Rumba- 21 (7,7,7)

Ann-Kathrin & Valentin: Charleston- 10 (4,4,2)

Lina & Zsolt: Waltz- 16 (6,6,4)

Marc & Kathrin: Waltz-  16 (6,6,4)

Biyon & Marta: Tango-  20 (7,7,6)

Detlef & Ekaterina: Cha-Cha-Cha- 22 (8,7,7)

 

Leaderboard

1:Detlef & Ekaterina - 22
2:Lulu & Massimo - 21
3:Biyon & Marta - 20
4:Jana & Vadim - 18
5:Gabriel & Malika - 17
6:Lina & Zsolt - 16
6:Mark & Kathrin - 16
6:Tony & Anastasia - 16
9:Stefano & Maria - 14
10:Sophia & Alexandru - 13
11:Eva & Paul - 12
12:Ann-Kathrin & Valentin - 10
13:Tillman & Patricija - 7

 

 

Elimination

Eva & Paul, Ann-Kathrin & Valentin and Tillmann & Patricja were the Bottom 3. The Viewers saved Eva from the Bottom 3 and Ann-Kathrin & Tilmann were left in the Bottom 2. Tilmann & Patricja were eliminated.