Dancing with the Stars season 32 is well underway – and we may have our first romance of the year.
Rumors of a relationship between Rylee Arnold and Harry Jowsey have been heating up the internet and the dancefloor, but as former professional dancer Cheryl Burke writes in her column this week, Rylee needs to keep her focus on the coming weeks....
Harry and Rylee's chemistry
The chemistry is undeniable between these two – and I have always said this, but there's nothing like your first dance partner on Dancing with the Stars, so enjoy every moment – and whether or not something comes of this is really none of our business. I hope they just continue to focus and focus on improving.
© Eric McCandlessYour job as the celebrity dancer is just to slowly improve every week. When you hit the midway point, the honeymoon phase goes away and suddenly you're so tired and you can't believe you still have weeks left. It's one step at a time, and don't look too far ahead or else you're just going to want to quit because you're probably exhausted.
But I'd say to Riley, it's your first season, and this will just be a very special moment so really try to stay present as much as possible.
One tip for Harry
© Eric McCandlessI was very impressed with Harry and Riley this week, because they attempted to stay in hold throughout the dance. Look, if Len Goodman was here, he would still probably get on at them – because you're not allowed to break hold except for the beginning and the end – but it would actually upset me because at the end of the day, they showed more content, more staying within frame, than any other couple doing a ballroom dance tonight, so good on them.
One thing I would suggest is for Harry to wear dance shoes during rehearsal, because when wearing tennis shoes your body isn't aligned the same way as in dance shoes. You need to get used to them, and it's important every day to wear them to create as much muscle memory as you can and that isn't going to come in when you have a live show on Tuesday.
You have to force yourself to already act the part so for example if you're dancing a quick step, and you know you're going to be wearing patent leather ballroom shoes and maybe a suit, ask wardrobe and they will bring a blazer to rehearsal.
Theme weeks need themed dance styles
© Eric McCandlessI am a fan of theme weeks – except for when you pair a Pasa Doble or a Rumba with Disney 100 night only! Lele Pons and Brandon Armstrong did an amazing interpretation for their Rumba but unless you are dancing to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme it's not a great fit.
You have to be very intense and passionate [in those dances], you have to use all these different rhythms and it's really hard to find that in Disney. With Rumba, I prefer sexier, intimate songs that have a romantic feel, and sometimes Disney doesn't do that just for me.
I think if I were the showrunner – which I'm not but if I were – I would probably limit the dance styles to each theme night, so if there was a James Bond night, I would do only tangos, both ballroom and Argentine, and then for Disney, I'd stick to more of the quick steps, jives.
Mauricio Umansky didn't impress me much
© Eric McCandlessMauricio has really improved, but he didn't really impress me last night. I don't think he was able to capture the character of the dance.
It was really challenging because it was kind of a campy Paso, and this could be a style preference but as far as I'm concerned, a Paso Doble is a man's dance – he's the matador and then the partner, Emma Slater, is the cape. I also feel like there was a mishap right in the middle of their routine when Emma was being dragged on both knees – I'm not so sure if both knees were supposed to be the floor – and then at the very end, the way he threw her was great because he showed aggression, but it has to be aggression while still taking care of your partner.
Lele is a highlight
Lele and Brandon were a highlight for me this week. There was a huge improvement, more than Mauricio, for me tonight, and I really believe that this was the type of Rumba that was appropriate for their relationship, there was a great balance of basic technical steps and performance. During her package she spoke about being perfect and always striving to be perfect in what she does, and there's no such thing as perfection – you're always going to be let down if you strive for that and I think people need to be comfortable in that.
Brandon was also very clever with his choreography and so I applaud him. Lele just needs to continue on this path of really taking these judges' comments to heart, as she has been.
How to get out of the middle of the pack
You just have to focus on you and trust the process: don't compare yourself and it's vital to trust your pro partner. Don't question them. Celebrities also forget how stressful it is for us dancers.
© Eric McCandlessOur job is to make you look good and I think it's important that they understand we always question our choreography. When I was younger, I would have to get help all the time as I would never trust in my own process but you also don't want too many cooks in the kitchen so try to limit anybody else getting involved in your partnership or speaking to your celebrity partner.
Xochitl Gomez is a final three pick now
Xochitl said in her package that it's so hard to live up to Val Chmerkovsky but this is a partnership and not a competition against the pro so with a dance like Paso Dobles let him do his thing and compliment him because then it's a partnership. I also thought they had pretty hard choreography but she nailed it.
I loved her costume, her dance shoes, and she understands the choreography and what's so beautiful about that is then you can work on the fine details. I would now put Xochitl and Val in the final three.
Jason Mraz was the weakest link
I didn't particularly love Barry Williams this week, and surprisingly I also didn't love Jason and Daniella Karagagh's dance. It was Jason's weakest dance since the premiere, and it's actually refreshing to see that he's struggling.
For a Foxtrot, I didn't see any feather steps and I didn't see the power that two people make when counterbalancing each other, especially in frame.
© Eric McCandlessAdrian Peterson blossomed too late
Unfortunately, he blossomed and really hit his stride too late in the game. I wish he and Britt Stewart would have had that connection a couple weeks prior to last night because I think his dance was one of the better dances for sure of the night but it was just a little too late.
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