“Let’s Dance” – The big professional challenge: RTL attracts fan anger with advertising
“It’s a shame that RTL is so inflexible”: At the end of the 16th season of “Let’s Dance” the people’s soul bubbled a little after the professional challenge. But not because of the beaming winners Malika Dzumaev and Zsolt Cseke, but because of Daniel Hartwich, the grouch…
“We live for dancing”: That’s what Malika Dzumaev and Zsolt Cseke said, and the couple, who have also been linked in their private lives for years, left the floor of the “Professional Challenge”, the crowning glory of the 16th season of “Let’s Dance”. (RTL), fantastic deeds follow.
“We don’t have time for dancing,” said moderator Daniel Hartwich shortly before the highlight of the show – the announcement of the winner. The people’s soul then boiled over twice: with anger because Hartwich preferred to switch to advertising instead of appreciating the couples. And with bliss because Malika Dzumaev and Zsolt Cseke, fully deserved, were allowed to lift the trophies.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see that either, because RTL rushed out of the live broadcast to help “That’s My Jam”, the canned product of the Kaulitz twins, get its broadcasting rights. “Weak RTL performance,” mocked a user on Instagram.
Joachim Llambi: “I’m making myself unpopular on RTL now!”
And who is to blame? Joachim Llambi. And he knew it immediately. “I’m making myself unpopular on RTL now,” he announced shortly before the royal couple’s coronation. According to fan voting, the best three couples of the evening had already danced their dance-off contribution. All trill couples, Kathrin Menzinger & Valentin Lusin, Malika Dzumaev & Zsolt Cseke and Vadim Garbuzov & Andrzej Cibis, each danced a one and a half minute choreo to Michael Bublé’s “Higher”.
Now Llambi, veteran of “Let’s Dance”, was rightly so happy about the grandiose dance performances (which had been shown all evening) that he said: “I want to see that again. From all nine couples.” The fun – the audience cheered enthusiastically – would have lasted three minutes at most: all couples up onto the floor, sorting a bit, playback and everyone dances their already worked out choreos. It could have been a spectacular, colourful, happy bustle. And an appreciation of all professional dancers, without which the success of the celebrity show “Let’s Dance” would be unthinkable. >
“Let’s Dance” fans angry: no appreciation of the professionals, but more advertising
RTL had no time for this little bow to their professionals, which was heavily criticized on the Instagram channel. Firstly, because Hartwich, as soon as he had rejected Llambi’s request, immediately switched to the umpteenth commercial break of the evening. And secondly, because there was still time for self-promotion for the show series “Viva la Diva” starting next week and a guest appearance by Oliver “You’ll never get rid of me” Pocher, who was allowed to beat the advertising drum for the upcoming next travel show with his dad . Countless dance fans were furious at the bad timing.
As grotesque as the handling became towards the end of the show, it had been just as inspiring up until then. In the first round, the couples had performed so fantastically that one could have stolen the chairs from the audience: no one was able to sit down because of the standing ovations anyway. Including the jury. “Every dance brings a new wow,” said Motsi Mabuse. Even Llambi could not be contradicted: “It was really great cinema.”
Motsi Mabuse speechless: “I could hardly breathe”
Kathrin Menzinger (Dancing Star 2015 and 2022) and Valentin Lusin (became Dancing Star 2023 last week with Anna Ermakova) opened the evening with their freestyle “Swing Time” to Slowfox, Tango, Quickstep, Tap Dance and Jazz and delivered, as Mabuse noted , “the best start of a professional challenge ever.” “Be different!” was the name of the subsequent freestyle by Anna Salita and Evgeny Vinokurov. The two kept their word with cha cha cha and rumba to the music of the Italian rebel rockers Maneskin and delivered the contrasting program to their lead dancers. Mabuse judged: “You made the hall tremble.”
Ekaterina Leonova and Alexandru Ionel then danced Tango, Paso Doble, Slowfox, Rumba and Contemporary. “It was a fantastic professional freestyle,” said moderator Victoria Swarovski, and also very enthusiastic about the dress from “Ekat”, which changed color from white to red in good time in front of the Paso Doble. Patricija Ionel (placed third last week with Philipp Boy) and Christian Polanc (each winner of the celebrity competition and the professional challenge twice) went about their contemporary and ballroom styles fiery, aggressive, passionate and dynamic. “I could hardly breathe,” gasped Mabuse enthusiastically.
“Hot freestyle”: Massimo Sinato spits fire
Malika Dzumaev and Zsolt Cseke provided fireworks of sensuality and joie de vivre with paso doble and samba. As they finished, Julia Beautx (who finished second with Zsolt last week) enthusiastically cheered with the audience for ‘encore’. But the program was tightly timed and delivered the next highlight: Christina Luft and Isabel Edvardsson presented a lascivious mix of tango, contemporary and rumba. They lolled like lingerie models on a cot, where all three judges immediately took a seat to try it out.
Marta Arndt and Artur Balandin, as Marilyn and Elvis, ensured a spectacular reunion with the acting icon and the King of Rock’n’Roll and delighted audiences with Rumba, Jive, Paso Doble and Freestyle. Vadim Garbuzov and Andrzej Cibis had come up with a great story for their free program “Prize of Power”: After the death of the father, in the fight for the inheritance, brotherly love turns into a brother fight. The duel was fought with Slowfox, Cha Cha Cha and Paso Tango Fusion – Vadim survived.
Mariia Maksina and Massimo Sinató literally presented the hottest freestyle with “El Juego del Fuego!”: Sinató had learned to spit fire especially for the performance and spiced up paso doble, salsa, flamenco, samba and freestyle with fire fountains. There has never been anything like that on “Let’s Dance” – and that was exactly Sinató’s goal.
Generation change at “Let’s Dance”: newcomers are ousting real dance legends from the floor
In the end, the victory of Malika and Zsolt was absolutely fine, which was confirmed above all by the frenetic cheering in the audience and the congratulatory posts on the social channels. The triumph of the two shooting stars – they have both only been part of the “Let’s Dance” family for three years – means a small generation change. The “young wild ones” didn’t just oust real legends of the format in dance-off triels.
Malika and Zsolt, along with the three celebrity finalists Ermakova, Beautx and Boy, will be part of the autumn tour. As are many others. Maybe, according to Llambi, you’ll get to see the dance-off spectacle of the nine couples at the latest. It would be nice.
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