Have they kicked off just half of a couple this season?

That's the only other way they've mixed couples - Dominick went threw a few partners because they'd end up in the bottom three but the judges wouldn't eliminate Dom they'd pick another guy, but Dom's partner would get eliminated.

Have they kicked off just half of a couple this season?

not yet. i've noticed in past years it's almost like they don't want to break up the couples that early in the game.

As the seasons have progressed, the judges have become more and more reluctant to break up partnerships. I remember it used to happen pretty frequently in S2-S3. In S2, Dmitry was a partner killer, taking out his female companions and winding up in new pairings for a couple weeks in a row and I think there were partner swaps in 3 of the first 5 weeks. And in S3 you had new partnerships created two weeks in a row also (Cedric!). But by the time S4 rolled around, you only see one partner switch happen before top 10 and only once in S6. And then S7 was All Stars, so there were no stable partnerships. S5 was kind of an outlier year because you had partner switches 2 of the first five weeks (just like S3) but I think that was mainly because Nigel kept trying to save Kayla and her permanent stankface from getting eliminated.

I think I'd prefer it if they changed partners - as in pulling the partner's name as well as the dance style out of a hat. It seems like you can get a really good partnership - people who are at the same level and work well together - or you can get one that just doesn't work because of differences of style, skill, or just personality - which leave both dancers looking less than their best.

I remember in S5, they had the Power Couple of Brandon and Janette, then there was Jeanine and Phillip. Jeanine didn't begin to shine until they shed Chbeeb midway through the season.

Season 4 had some great couples, too: Katee and Joshua, Mark & Chelsie, Courtney & Gev. But by the time it hit 10, it was really nice to see them with other people.

But I guess why I brought it up to begin with was because if we're going All Stars at the point of 10, then we'll never see any of this season's dancers dance with anyone but their starting partner, as far as competition couples go. Which I feel is too bad.

I was hoping that they would go back to the weekly partner switches this year, too, but I'll still take this format over last year's All Stars all the time one. I have enjoyed getting to know this season's top 20 on their own merits.

I do wish I could've seen Ricky with anyone other than Ryan and I'd have loved to see Sasha with someone not Alex. And Alex with someone not Sasha because they just never meshed well. I think Melanie and Mitchell would be beautiful to see, or Melanie and Tadd. I would've been interested to see if Marko could pull more grounded dancing out of Ashley. So yeah, I guess especially now that I do know these dancers, I really want to see more of them together. I don't think we need the all stars at all. They will be a distraction.

Apparently, we're not the only ones who hate Ryan. Or people really love Sasha. I was shocked, because R&R nailed their routine, and that hip hop was lacking.

Yeah, that's just about what I was going to post!

Ashley is so outta here. Her solo was flat, and Nigel loves a pretty blonde writhing on the floor. I'm disappointed in Jordan's solo. She is so so much better than the pussycat dolls "sexy" thing that she does. Stop auditioning for Robin Antin.