Last night on Dancing with the Stars, we were introduced to two brand new, never-before-seen dance styles, the lindy hop and the Argentine tango. We got to watch two hours of intense, passionate drama during the tangos, and wild, rollicking fun during the lindy hops.
But tonight, it’s all about business. We have the dreaded double elimination, and the three lowest-scoring couples will have to dance off in the hopes of improving their judges’ scores. Who will be safe to dance again next week? Who will be eliminated?
There will be a lot going on tonight in the Dancing with the Stars results show, so please stay with me!
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Oh, we’re back to having encores. Len, speaking for all the judges and all of America, requests to see the Argentine tango performed by Gilles and Cheryl, which earned the first perfect 30 of the season. Once again, it is just as smoldering and passionate and dramatic as it was yesterday.
According to the judges’ leaderboard, here are the standings:
1. Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke – 30
2. Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani – 29
3. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough – 27
4. Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas- 25
4. Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower – 25
6. Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough – 22
6. David Alan Grier and Kym Johnson – 22
8. Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska – 19
9. Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin – 16
10. Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer – 15
11. Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff – 12
Oh, wait, there won’t be a dance off tonight. Tom Bergeron knows all. He also gives the great news that Samantha Harris is resting her voice, so she is not on stage with him. Yay!
The first couple who is safe is Gilles and Cheryl. Joining them to dance the rumba or the paso doble next week is Lawrence Edyta.
The first couple who is in the bottom three is Holly and Dmitry. No surprise there.
Kevin Rudolf is the first musical guest tonight. He performs his genre-defying “Let It Rock,” as Julianne, Derek, Chelsie, Lacey, and Artem Chigvintsev dance a paso doble. I love the women’s outfits, especially their latex half-skirts. Randall Christensen, the costume designer for the show whom I had the pleasure of speaking with earlier this season, is just a genius when it comes to designing Matrix-esque costumes for paso dobles.
The two safe couples, plus the couple in peril, are backstage with Samantha Harris. Dammit! I thought this was going to be a Samantha-free episode. She asks Lawrence how frustrating the competition is for him since he’s not getting the scores he wants, and he says that it’s very frustrating. Edyta is glowing about how proud she is of him, though. Holly wishes that she could have a dance-off tonight since she loves the Argentine tango and would really like to perform it without making a mistake.
The camera cuts back to the stage, where Tom and Bruno Tonioli are making eyes at each other.
Alrighty. The next couple who will be back next Monday (“And hopefully, not in that outfit, Mark,” says Tom Bergeron) is Shawn and Mark. Ha! I wonder if Tom saw Mark’s hard-on too?
Showcasing a beautiful rumba (which will be one of the featured styles on next week’s Dancing with the Stars), three pairs of world champion dancers dance a performance choreographed by our own Louis van Amstel. The rumba, I think, is one of the most difficult styles because it’s slow, but intense. You have to be in complete control, and it takes enormous strength to perform it because all the little mistakes are so apparent.
Now, time for some filler about the teams’ anxiety about double eliminations. Everyone is nervous, except for Ty, who is scared of neither eliminations nor snakes. Steve-O, however, is very Zen about the whole thing.
In no particular order, the next couple safe is Chuck and Julianne. now, the next couple in the bottom three is Steve-O and Lacey.
After the break, we have the next musical guest act, Boys II Men, with a medley of their classic hits. Joining them on the dance floor are Cheryl, Dmitry, Tony and Kym.
After the performance, Samantha is backstage with Chuck, Julianne, Steve-O and Lacey. Chuck is jazzed about the standing ovation that he and Julianne got last night. Steve-O says that he’s not used to dealing with high-pressure situations without the help of drugs and alcohol, and Dancing with the Stars is really high pressure. He feels like a winner because he hasn’t gotten loaded once! Not once!
Now, we see a little montage of judges’ comments about what they think of each couple. Carrie Ann likes Shawn’s technique, but Bruno says that Chuck has to step up to keep up with Julianne. Len wants more passion out of Holly, and everyone thinks the Woz is charming and fun. Melissa is just great, but Lawrence has to learn how to sell it. Argh! I can’t keep up with all the comments. It’s hard to type fast, y’all!
Again, in no particular order, here are two more safe couples. The next couple who is safe is Lil’ Kim and Derek. Also coming back next week: Melissa and Tony.
After the commercials, there is a reel of the contestants talking about how they try to impress the judges. What’s funny about this is that the music underlying this video is the same kind of music in ads for especially lurid segments on Access Hollywood or other tabloid shows. Then, Holly Madison explains the math behind the voting process. I get that she was probably singled out to do the ‘splaining, because she’s, you know, blonde and stuff, but if I were her, I’d be a bit offended. I’m sure she is smarter than people make her out to be.
There are only eight minutes left to the program. Ty and Chelsie are safe (and Chelsie kind of yells in a growly way, which I find absolutely endearing.) Steve and Karina are in the bottom three, which means that David and Kym are safe.
And finally, the results. The two couples with the lowest combined total of judges’ scores and audience votes, and therefore leaving the competition immediately, are: Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin, and Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff. Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer live to see another day!
-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
