Chelsea and Mark lead the pack with 26 points–definitely my favorites tonight. Hines and Kym, Ralph and Karina are tied for 2nd place with 25 points. Hines probably deserved a point or two more than Ralph for his Paso (but not more than Chelea…)
Tonight’s orchestra was a nice change from the cheesy DWTS house band and vocalists. Everyone had solid performances, at minimum except for Kendra and Louis who only earned 18 points. I think they are headed home this week.
Live blog and videos after the jump.
Its’ a first-ever classical week on Dancing with the Stars. There’s an orchestra in back instead of the usual band.
First, the pros dance to some super-cheesy “classical” music, featuring the “fastest violinist in the world.” OY. Let me guess…dude has his own show in Vegas? Cath
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower – Paso Doble – Whoa. ROMEO GOES IN FOR THE KILL. That was pretty fierce. Len: Full of passion, attack and intensity. Work on getting more precision. Finesse and technique. Bruno: Powerful & action-packed. The music was difficult. You got it right. Look of a rising star. Carrie Ann – There was a little lift. 1st time I ever saw a paso with swagger. Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 8 – Bruno – 8 – 23 – 1-800-868-3405 – VIDEO
Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel – Viennese Waltz – Kendra’s stiff–you can practically see her counting off steps in her head. Lulz at her equating Italian opera to the mafia. Whatever works. Or doesn’t. She looks so relieved at the end. You messed it up, and you know that. There were lots of tech issues Become one with the music. You should live it. That’s what I want to see. Carrie Ann: I see that you’re trying really hard. Elegance is not so different from sexy. Len: It had flow, it had good movement. These people are beginners. Don’t be cruel. Carrie Ann – 6, Len – 6, Bruno – 6 – 18 – 1-800-868-3407 – VIDEO
Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunsakaya – Viennese Waltz – Anna takes Ray to ballet class. Let’s see if it helps. Sugar Ray isn’t very elegant or smooth. He’s mostly hopping and skipping around Anna – Carrie Ann: You have this sparkle that is unbeatable. Charming. I fell in love with that dance and both of you. Len: The more I got into it, the more I smiled. I was thoroughly entertained. Bruno: It had a wonderful cartoonish charm. You played it like Mickey Rooney and the ballerina. Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 7, Bruno – 7 – 21. Wow. I’m surprised the judges scored that so high. – 1-800-868-3406 – VIDEO
Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin – Paso Doble – I’m not seeing a ton of aggression here, but Petra is surprisingly good here. I thought she’d die when she had to go back to the Latin dance, but not so. Solid effort. Len: I would like more authority, crispy. more impressed than depressed. It’s Carmen..the femme fatale. Carrie Ann: You are on a roll. It was absolutely gorgeous. Powerful. Passionate. – Carrie Ann – 8, Len – 7, Bruno – 8 – 23 – 1-800-868-3404 – VIDEO
Pita and Tistan, from the troupe, dance a waltz. Opera singer Katherine Jenkins sings.
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff – The Waltz – Very pretty, romantic, well danced. Scores should be better this week Bruno – Achingly romantic, heartfelt. Carrie Ann: When you dance, you’re so honest. I was swept in. Len: You’ve been in the wilderness for two weeks. You’re back. – Carrie Ann – 8, Len – 8, Bruno – 9 – 25 – 1-800-868-3408 – VIDEO
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson – Paso Doble – I read that these practice sessions were on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Surprised that wasn’t mentioned. Hines nailing the steps–and the attitude. The best of the night so far, for sure. Carrie Ann: You were in the zone. Touchdown! You nailed it. Len: You are the most determined of all our celebrities. Keep it up. You’re doing great. Bruno: You do have the killer extinct. Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 8, Bruno – 8 – 25 – The crowd is booing. Not sure why. Hoping for higher scores so they’d top the leader board, probably. – 1-800-868-3403 – VIDEO
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas – Viennese Waltz – What the hell is that on Mark’s head? I think Chelsea is a really underrated dancer on this season. She’s nearly always deserved higher scores. She’s good tonight as well. Hope she doesn’t get screwed. Once again, it’s nontraditional choreography. Len will hate it. Len: Why is it there is something I don’t like that jars me. Her job at 22 is to interpret a dance that’s 300 years old. I liked it, because this girl Bruno: Magical, fabulous. Technically the best of the night. Carrie Ann: Tonight I agree with Bruno. Great choreography. Chelsea, you’ve found your stride. Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 8, Bruno 9 – 26 – FINALLY – 1-800-868-3401 – VIDEO
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke – Paso Doble – As a tough wrestler, I was expecting him to really attack the dance, but instead..it was kind of soft and dull. Bruno: Majestic, the God of thunder. You got the accents in the music so well. Carrie Ann – That was a really hard dance, you were so connected to the music. Watch out for this guy. Len: The dance wasn’t bad. In the first part you had menace, the music grows….the music conquered you, you didn’t conquer the music. (I’m with Len on this one). Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 7 Bruno – 8 – 23 – 1-800-868-3409 – VIDEO
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Waltz – Not again! Kirstie’s shoe comes loose on one of their tricks. This dance is all discombobulated. Carrie Ann – You are the queen of the unexpected mishap. She didn’t miss a beat. This one was kind of strange. Len: Everything needs to improve. Bruno: I thought you did amazingly well. You got the [acting] absolutely right. You are light on your feet and very musical. – Carrie – Ann -7, Len – 7, Bruno – 8 – 22 – HELLO OVERSCORED – 1-800-868-3411 – VIDEO