Smooth.

Since I've known the results of this year's Ohio Star Ball for some time, simply repackaging it as "America's Ballroom Challenge" did not fool me into being surprised by Ben and Shalene's victory in the American Smooth division tonight.  However, I was pleasantly surpised by Tomas and JT, who made it into the top 6 and were a joy to watch, since they were obviously having the time of their lives.  When it comes to Standard and Smooth ballroom, there is often an odd contrast between the smoothness (hey, guess that's why they call it that, huh?) and the hard edges.  In Latin and Rhythm, I feel the sharpness of the movement, but that's not what I feel when watching Standard/Smooth - hard is the only word I can think of to describe it, or possibly, severe (I still love it; don't get me wrong!).  But it's funny, you don't see that in the very best (like Ben and Shalene, who are always so in sync and draw you right in with a light hand) or those not considered contenders for the top spot, like Tomas and JT.  I guess some of those hard edges - the stylized hands, the rigid posture - are what judges are looking for, but when I watched Tomas and JT on the floor, I felt less like I was watching a competition and more like I was watching two people just dancing.  It didn't win them the title, but I sure liked the feeling of it.  A couple to keep an eye on, for sure.  I also did enjoy their Showcase dance, to "Ramalama Bang Bang" by Roisin Murphy, one of my favorite artists.  For those SYTYCD fans, Tomas and JT definitely styled themselves in the same vein (Victorian zombie goth chic) but so interesting to watch it as a tango instead of a group contemporary/hip pop number.  Looking forward to next week and the American Rhythm competition (go Emmanuel and Joanna - can't wait to see if your showdance lives up to "Teach Me How to Shimmy" from last year!).