Marlee Matlin gone from "Dancing with the Stars?" Surprised? Well, sure, in a way. Very much so. She and Fabian Sanchez did not put on a dancing clinic week after week, but they put on something a little better - a dancing miracle. I know this has been explained on the show endless times, and I imagine that to the hearing impaired this may come off as a slightly foolish or slightly ignorant observation - but how does one dance, or dance well, when one can not hear the music? Yet that's what Matlin did each week, and did it a hell of a lot better than I - possessed of two sound ears - could ever accomplish in my wildest or wooliest dreams.
Honestly, her's may have been one of those rare accomplishments on "Dancing with the Stars" that we'll actually remember - or at least marvel at when prompted to remember. (Heather Mills? I dunno - considering who she is, and what most people associate her with, I don't think memories of her stint on "DWTS" are especially fond.) "DWTS" - more often than not and more often this season than not - is typically a cheese factory, while who wins or who stays is of sweeping insignificance in the grand scheme of things (quick - who won last season?! Gotcha...)
But Matlin's too-brief stint here didn't feel like a gimmick on this gimmicky show; it felt like the real thing performed by someone who wanted to prove something and pretty much did. Credit goes to Sanchez, of course, and most credit to Matlin. Doesn't all this count for audience votes - even if the footwork and grace isn't always in place? I certainly thought so. Oh well - with Matlin gone, another reason to get less invested in "DWTS" this season.
Here's here mambo again; I couldn't find a Youtube of her country dance from Monday...