You’re a great dancer, Derek, but why’d you have to borrow the steps?

What with all the trouble we’ve been having lately, what with the elections, the economic crisis, my on-going health issues, and all those depressing photos and videos of the poor abused Chinese gymnasts, I needed a bit of a break. I was in desperate need of some escapism! Naturally, it being Monday night, I turned on the TV to find Dancing With The Stars. Nothing says escapism quite like crazy glittery outfits, silly dancing, and B-listers hamming it up for the cameras. That should prove to be sufficient escapism, right?     Wrong! I can’t even watch stupid television now without overdosing on my naturally inherent righteous indignation! What amidst the garish glitz and glam so ignited my ire tonight? Plagiarism. Outright plagiarism. Shame on you, stupid television!     Worst of all, the plagiarism of which I speak reared its ugly sequined head during the performance of one of my favorite couples – Derek Hough & Brooke Burke. They were assigned the samba this week, but unfortunately, the samba steps belonged to someone else.

    It seems Derek decided to borrow those steps from a ballroom dancing couple that I happen to be a fan of: Max Kozhevnikov & Yulia Zagoruychenko. Not only do Max & Yulia have amazingly impossible names, but they also happen to be insanely spectacular ballroom dancers. They’re absolute legends, they’ve won all sorts of competitions and titles, and they truly kick some ballroom butt.

    Now, I’m no ballroom expert. It’s not like I can spout off names of ballroom couples at the drop of a ruffled hat. I’m only aware of Max & Yulia because I happened to come across America’s Ballroom Challenge on PBS a few years ago while channel surfing late one night. I was transfixed by a routine they did to the very same song used by Derek & Brook. I liked it so much that it even spawned a blog entry about the beauty of dancing and how freaking awesome the song was that they danced to.

    Apparently, Derek Hough saw the same dance and he thought it was pretty amazing too, because he incorporated many of the same creative moves into this week’s dance with Brooke Burke. I’m not talking about the basic samba steps, I know those are used in just about every samba. I’m talking about creative arm movements, the timing of certain steps, new ways in which he would hold his dancing partner; all the creative little touches that turn a basic samba into something uniquely beautiful and compelling.

    Unfortunately I don’t have any video to prove my point at the moment, but believe me, it’s in the works. It takes time for video files to transfer from my tivo to my computer, but as soon as I can, I’ll edit together the dances done by Derek & Brooke and Max & Yulia, comparing the specific moves in question. Then you can decide for yourself.

    In the mean time, I’d love to hear from other fans of ballroom dancing and Dancing With the Stars to see if there are any other acts of plagiarism that I’ve missed. If you know of any, please, speak up!

    Also, I’d be curious to hear from Dancing With the Stars – naturally, if Max and/or Yulia are somehow working with Dancing With the Stars to help with the choreography, that would be fine (although, of course, it would be nice if they actually received some credit.) If they aren’t on the payroll, then hey, I’m crying foul right here, right now.

    But for now, don’t stray far – video evidence is coming soon! Also, some new developments have come up with the Chinese gymnast scandal that I’m just itching to share with you! Some friends of mine have been doing some digging and ooo, we have a surprise for you. Stay tuned, there’s intrigue afoot! 🙂