DWTS 23 Week 4 Live Blog and Performance Videos

DWTS Dancing with the Stars 23 Key Art

Welcome to the week four of season twenty-three of Dancing with the Stars. It is Cirque du Soleil Night, which means all of tonight’s routines will be based on Cirque shows such as The Beatles LOVE and Michael Jackson ONE, among others. We can expect a lot of extra dancers, flying around above the ballroom, and all the bells and whistles one would come to expect from Cirque.

After last week’s elimination of Rick & Emma, we are now down to eleven couples. Those that really need to hit their routines out of the park this week are Amber & Maks, Ryan & Cheryl, and Maureen & Artem. Those three have been the most consistently lowest scoring couples and they have all been in jeopardy already. This would also be a good week for the likes of Babyface & Allison and Vanilla Ice & Witney to break out of the middle of the pack.

Tonight’s 2-hour performance show will be followed tomorrow night by a 1-hour result show airing before the Vice Presidential Debate. I for one am glad we do not need to deal with another week of rushed face-off’s and too much power in the hands of the judges. With all that being said, let’s get week four started!

Tom and Erin welcome us. And here come the stars. Looks like a very busy ballroom tonight. But everyone id decked out in awesome costumes with lots of makeup. Len is not here tonight. We only have three judges. I’m glad there’s no guest judge. Bruno says the judges want to be transported into the world of Cirque.

OH- a DOUBLE ELIMINATION tomorrow night! Wow. Did they just spring that on everyone tonight? Voting and judges scores just became more important than ever.

Calvin & Lindsay – Charleston
Calvin was shocked to be number one on the leader board last week. Calvin’s wife joins him in rehearsal for some support. Lindsay says they have to do some pretty insane lifts this week. Fabulous! Wow. What a way to kick off the night. For me, Calvin Johnson just arrived in the competition. An explosive charleston mixing old school dance with modern lifts and quirky choreography. Lindsay did Calvin proud here and he was more than up to the challenge. Great entertainment quality and impressive from start to finish. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Julianne says Calvin was so light on his feet. She thought Calvin nailed it. She felt sometimes, the energy was lacking toward the end. Bruno loved the lifts and he says Calvin’s performance level is so good. He wants him to watch his kicks- his feet need to be more tense. Carrie Ann will let all the lifts go tonight. She was impressed by how seamless the lifts came off.
Carrie Ann- 8, Julianne- 7, Bruno- 8= 22/30
You can vote for Calvin by calling 1-800-868-3403 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Maureen & Artem – Argentine Tango
Artem wants to push Maureen more this week. Maureen and Artem are having their first little spat in rehearsals. Maureen is in tears and Artem is frustrated. Well, after all that drama, Maureen pulled off quite an adequate argentine tango. No obvious mistakes and some wonderful lines. I love that she was all in it from a performance perspective. We have seen better routines in this style with flashier choreography but I think Maureen needed something like this where she just nails the routine and looks confident in doing so. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Bruno loved the purpose, intense, and focus. He thought the lines were so good. Carrie Ann was worried a bit. But she says Maureen retained the focus and she felt like Maureen had great posture. A bit more intensity in the footwork is noted. Julianne doesn’t have more notes so she says that the package was hard to listen to. She wants Maureen to trust her partner.
Carrie Ann- 8, Julianne- 8, Bruno- 8= 24/30
You can vote for Maureen by calling 1-800-868-3409 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

*That was a good routine from Maureen but there’s no way she should have 3 8’s while Calvin was stuck with a 7. Hmm.

Jana & Gleb – Foxtrot
They met wit the artistic director of the show in Vegas. Jana played some shows in Vegas and then took a red eye to Georgia. The lack of sleep and traveling has both of them very tired. Gleb says Jana needs to push herself some more. Jana says she is very fortunate to have Gleb as her partner. That was sweet. I think Jana needs to be cautioned about how important rehearsal actually is. She has all the tools but if she doesn’t give it all during rehearsal, we get some sloppy movements in her dances. It has happened a few times now. I saw some moments of unsteadiness in that. The majority of it was nicely done, despite some odd choreography from Gleb at times. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Carrie Ann compliments Gleb’s choreography. She loves Jana’s expressiveness. But she thinks Jana looks a little lost at times. Julianne wants to see them break out of the middle. She agrees with Carrie Ann. She thinks Jana gets a little stiff and needs to work on “spotting.” Bruno says some amazing fluid passes were on display but he doesn’t want the tension to rise to Jana’s shoulders.
Carrie Ann- 8, Julianne- 7, Bruno- 8= 23/30
You can vote for Jana by calling 1-800-868-3406 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Marilu & Derek – Paso Doble
Marilu was disappointed in last week. Derek wants her to be consistent. She has an amazing memory but it is actually hurting her retaining her steps and dances as opposed to being helpful. Some wonderful choreography here. If I had the chance to talk to Marilu, I would simply tell her to be more confident while dancing. She doesn’t make mistakes and she doesn’t lose her steps in this but something seemed…hesitant at times. It was almost as though she was expecting to mess up and treated the dance carefully as a result. But with Derek guiding her and great choreography, she should worry less. Nice performance quality in this one. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Julianne calls it beautifully done creatively. She says that Marilu is in her head too much and she needs to feel more and think less. Bruno thought it was a hard routine. He wants Marilu when she is left without Derek, to own the stage more. Carrie Ann senses a lot of ambition in Marilu. She believes Marilu has everything it takes but she is trying to force the dance with Derek instead of dancing with Derek.
Carrie Ann- 7, Julianne- 7, Bruno- 7= 21/30
You can vote for Marilu by calling 1-800-868-3408 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Amber & Maks – Argentine Tango
Amber felt shamed by Julianne last week. I heard about this “controversy” during the week and it is totally ridiculous. Julianne was not shaming Amber for the dance. Amber took the comments very seriously. Maks feel he made a mistake last week and thinks he needed to push Amber even more. Amber says tonight’s dance will be risque. LOL. Len would HATE this. Fortunately, he isn’t here. Okay. So, that was sexy and yes, it was probably Amber’s best overall routine. Some of those kicks needed to be sharper and I would have appreciate a little more recognizable argentine tango steps. But for sure, Amber has improved. I still think her comments about Julianne though were really off base. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Amber apologizes to Julianne if she misunderstood what Julianne said. Julianne gets up to clap and responds that she loves that dance is a universal platform. She says that she is solely judging for the dancing, nothing else. Okay- now we can get to judging the routine. Julianne found the dance to be Amber’s essence. She is all raves for Amber. Bruno loved the presentation and content. Carrie Ann loved that Amber was herself.
Carrie Ann- 8, Julianne-8, Bruno-8= 24/30
You can vote for Amber by calling 1-800-868-3401 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Ryan & Cheryl – Viennese Waltz
Ryan was so happy that he didn’t go home last week. Ryan had the chance to get in the water this week. He hopes to bring that grace to the dance floor. Ryan’s game plan this week is to just crush it. And Cheryl wants to work on character this week. Not bad. Not bad. I think this routine had the most content Ryan has had to do on the show. That being said, it was a very by the numbers viennese waltz. But it did have rise and fall, some nice posture, and a few movements of elegance that surprised me. A few unsteady spots during those arm passes and as usual, Ryan could use more precision in all of his steps. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Carrie Ann saw improvement tonight. She thinks Ryan should keep going in this direction. She wants Ryan to be even more expressive though. Julianne loved the choreography. She comments that Ryan is trying really hard and she feels Ryan is on the right track. Bruno enjoyed the light and darkness. He thought it had a lot of content and he loved the connection with Cheryl. His best performance to date, according to Bruno.
Carrie Ann- 7, Julianne- 7, Bruno-8= 22/30
You can vote for Ryan by calling 1-800-868-3411 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Babyface & Allison – Tango
Babyface loves that he dancing to The Beatles. Allison comments about how the spotlight is going to be right on them- without any added effects. Babyface wishes they had more time to hit the correct spots. Hmm. That was…odd. I’m not sure if Babyface missed a step that ending up throwing off the dance but the majority of that looked really sloppy and off. Maybe the whole spotlight idea wasn’t the greatest for this tango because each time I concentrated on the two of them, it just didn’t look all that good. I’m at a loss with this one. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Julianne loves that Babyface is smiling. It wasn’t his best dance but she loves his optimism. Bruno agrees and says Babyface will be better next week. Carrie Ann wants to see Babyface a little stronger. She wants him to stop being soft in his moves.
Carrie Ann- 6, Julianne- 6, Bruno-6= 18/30
You can vote for Babyface by calling 1-800-868-3402 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Terra & Sasha – Samba
Terra is excited. She says the samba is the hardest. She is struggling in rehearsal. Sasha is being hard on her because he feels like she can do it. Terra was better here when she was alone as compared to in-hold. While with Sasha, it looks like he is basically pushing her around the floor. While she is at her own devices, she brings out the fun of the salsa. Overall, a solid and fun routine with everything you would expect from a salsa. I just think she needs to be careful that when dancing with her partner, she doesn’t let him lead to the point of doing all the work. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Bruno loved the fire. He loved the difficult steps. Some passes were missed but he praises Terra on the difficulty. Carrie Ann says Terra is in a league of her own. She loves that Terra dances beyond her body. Julianne says Terra is sexy. She feels Terra makes everyone feel free.
Carrie Ann- 9, Julianne- 8, Bruno- 8= 25/30
You can vote for Terra by calling 1-800-868-3412 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Laurie & Val – Jazz
Laurie loves Michael Jackson and is very excited. Val though, is actually playing MJ this week. Val says they cannot get away without giving it their all. Due to Laurie’s schedule, they only have three days to train. She has been studying on the road. She wants to make sure she hits all the right beats. YES! A stunning jazz routine. To think Laurie and Val didn’t have much rehearsal time is crazy. Great use of MJ moves mixed with some newer choreography had Laurie as the stand out from beginning to end. Without question, the best routine of the night so far. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Carrie Ann says Laurie killed it. She loved the maturity. A star is born, Carrie Ann says. Julianne is speechless. She calls Laurie the queen of the ballroom. Bruno says it was like watching Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson, and Paula Abdul. He called it stunning.
Carrie Ann- 10 ,Julianne-10, Bruno-10= 30/30
You can vote for Laurie by calling 1-800-868-3407 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Vanilla Ice & Witney – Viennese Waltz
Witney says the dance needs to be perfect. Vanilla Ice is going to be a clown. This is going to be a rough week because he has a lot of concerts. He is actually not even showing up to the show until Monday. Rehearsals are tough because of that. He wants to survive. Again, a lack of rehearsal did not show here. That was a really solid routine. Witney was smart with the choreography here. She is perfectly matching the dance to the theme. Doing all the technical things required while still making it lively and fun is the way to go with Vanilla. He continues to show a consistency on this show and that will go a long way. Who knew Vanilla Ice could have such good lines? Cool! – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Julianne felt everything worked for this number, including his pancake hands. Bruno saw improvement but wants Vanilla Ice to be careful of his hands. Carrie Ann sees who Vanilla Ice could be and loved the elegance. She says it was much improved on all levels.
Carrie Ann- 8, Julianne- 7, Bruno-8= 23/30
You can vote for Vanilla Ice by calling 1-800-868-3413 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

James & Sharna – Quickstep
Sharna and James go see the show they are dancing to. James is excited while Sharna is thrilled. They are working with acrobats. Sharna notes that the two of them have dropped a bit since week one so she wants to work hard. Such fun! Of course, if Len were here, he would remark that it needed more quickstep. I thought Sharna did enough where I could say without a doubt, it was a quickstep. But it had enough added material that it perfectly suited the theme and James was in it from start to finish. For a non-dancer and non-actor, he has certainly taken to both the dance and the acting in great fashion. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

Bruno loved the performance. He found the sections/hold to be pure Fred and Ginger. He is all compliments. Carrie Ann calls it an incredible way to end the show. She mention one tiny mistake but says James handled it like a pro. Julianne also mentions the mistake but says that James could change careers and be an actor. She calls him the real deal and says it was amazing.
Carrie Ann- 9, Julianne-9, Bruno-10= 28/30
You can vote for James by calling 1-800-868-3405 during the show and for 60 minutes after the broadcast in each time zone. You can also vote online at ABC.COM and/or on FACEBOOK (voting is combined via this method) from the start of the East Coast show till 11AM Eastern Tuesday.

Leader Board For Week 4
Laurie- 30
James- 28
Terra- 25
Amber- 24
Maureen- 24
Calvin- 23
Jana- 23
Vanilla Ice- 23
Ryan- 22
Marilu- 21
Babyface- 18

And so ends a night of Cirque. Did you guys enjoy the magic? The acrobats? The theatrics? Did you think anyone stole the show? Have any of the middle of the pack contestants made breakthroughs? Did Laurie cement herself as a possible winner? And what about this dreaded double elimination tomorrow night? Who needs to worry?

I’ll be back with a brand spanking new POLLS thread in just a few and remember, tomorrow night will be a special one-hour result show @8 Eastern. I hope you guys had fun tonight and enjoyed the show. :D