Dancing With the Stars – An emotional night brings out the best in everyone

Okay, time for a little horn-tooting before we get started. I correctly called Elisabetta as the eliminated star last week, even though she was in the middle of the pack. A lack of fan base and, for me, her too-aloof demeanor did her in. Could Val’s lack of skin also have hurt? Skin = votes, and white tie and tails just isn’t sexy.

On to this week’s Dancing With the Stars … it was a very emotional week for the stars as they chose songs from their most memorable year. Some were happy, some were sad, and some were uplifting, and the theme did wonders for the dancing after last week’s unspectacular showing. Let’s have a quick recap of what the judges, and I, thought of the dances.

Rob & Cheryl — Rob chose 2003 as his memorable year, the year his dad passed away from cancer. Danced the Foxtrot to Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” because that was the song that reminded him of his dad. To me, it was a little stiff here and there, and he seemed to be relying on Cheryl a lot, but not bad overall. Len: “You just put the dash into Kardashian.” Good hold, posture and footwork. Bruno liked the way he started to toy and play with Cheryl. Carrie Ann likes watching him dance, he was debonair and charming, and shows real progress. Score: 24

Chynna & Tony — Chynna chose 1990, the year “Hold On” was released and she met her future husband. Danced the Rumba to “Hold On”: For me it was graceful and sexy but not a lot of dancing. More posing and a few leg movements, but not a lot of use of the floor. Bruno said Chynna was a smoldering siren. Carrie Ann: she gave more than last week, stunning to watch, and Carrie Ann heard the song in a new way. Len said dancing like that will keep her there for weeks; has taken the competition to a new level. Score: 26, first 9s of the season. (Am I watching the same show?)

Chaz & Lacey — Chaz danced the Rumba, celebrating this year of his true happiness, to a Sonny Bono song (of which I did not get the title). He actually seemed more at ease this week, nice movements, more dancing than Chynna. Carrie Ann was impressed by his courage, but not his best performance, he looked distracted, not enough dance. (Oh, come on!) Len said it was his best dance yet. (Thank you.) Bruno: very endearing, looked lost but it is a very difficult dance; but has done very well. Score: 18, his highest score so far.

Kristin & Mark — Kristin chose 2005, the year she graduated & moved to LA, danced the Samba to “Crazy in Love”: fun and energetic, stood in one place a lot, and no samba rolls? That’s my favorite part of the dance! Len didn’t like the Beyoncé stuff but the rest was fabulous. Bruno said she was crazy in lust. Carrie Ann thought Kristin was pushing herself to the limit, and filled Beyoncé’s shoes well. Score: 24

Carson & Anna — Danced the Tango to “It’s My Life” from 2003 when Queer Eye for the Straight Guy premiered. The dance had nice hold, great kicks, lots of fun and energy. Big improvement from last week. Bruno: insanely brilliant, arrogant, strong. Carrie Ann: drama, enthusiasm, fun, excitement, craziness, sassy, strange, good technique. Len: “You put the boy in flamboyant.” Dance had merit, right attitude, Carson attacked the dance, and he enjoyed it very much. (Okay, now we’re finally on the same page.) Score: 23, best score yet.

J.R. & Karina — J.R. chose the year he was injured at 19, chose “If You’re Reading This” as a tribute to those who didn’t make it home, dance was the Rumba: breathtaking, beautifully expressive, very emotional, made me cry, got a very long and well-deserved standing ovation. Carrie Ann could barely speak, said the dance was very emotional, that he did something extraordinary, profound and honest. Len: totally unexpected performance, needs more musicality in the arms, but wonderful and poignant. Bruno could feel every emotion, stretched his foot properly, a great achievement. Score: 26

Nancy & Tristan — Nancy chose “Moon River,” the song she walked down aisle to, and the first lullaby she sang to the twins; danced the Waltz: to me it was a little stiff, some holds obviously difficult because of height differences, didn’t have that glide you see in a waltz. Len said there was no messing about at the start, which he liked, but she needs better posture; she showed the emotion of the dance. Bruno also said that she needs better movement. Carrie Ann loved the emotion that came through in the dance, compared the dance to something from a Disney princess movie. Score: 21

Ricki & Derek — Ricki chose 2010, the year she lost her home to a fire and had given up on love, but it was also the year she met Christian and found love again. Danced the Rumba to “Gravity”: now this was a Rumba with great movement, depth of emotion, really used the dance floor, terrific all around! Bruno said every step was expressive, every movement essential to the story. Carrie Ann called the dance fabulous and breathtaking. Len said Derek choreographed a great routine and Ricki danced it very well. Score: 27

Hope & Maks — Hope chose 2011, the year her team went to the World Cup and learned that winning wasn’t everything. Danced the Cha-cha-cha to “Tonight.”  In the package, Maks says she needs to learn to be sexy — and she did find the sexy with fluid, fast movements, even if the hands and footwork were a little sloppy at times. Carrie Ann said she was very sexy and hot, but needs to work on her walk, but excellent execution of the dance. Len thought the costume and some of the dance was a little too provocative; needs sharper action, but Hope’s best dance so far. Bruno: “The sexy minx is out of the cage.” She’s embracing her gorgeousness, but needs work on walk. Score: 24

David & Kym — David chose 2010, the year his marriage fell apart, and he slipped into alcohol to deal with it, but learned to put his daughter first. Danced the Rumba to “Ooh Child”: nice, controlled movement and good partnering, major improvement from last week. Len said David showed a mix of motion and emotion, and was very good. Bruno said he was sensitive, vulnerable, and romantic. Carrie Ann saw a nice comeback, raw emotion, and pure joy. Score: 24

So, with Chaz at 18 and Nancy at 21, I hate to say it, but I think it’s Chaz’s week to go home. His injuries aren’t helping him improve and his size makes some of the holds very difficult. A waltz or a quick step could be disastrous for him. Nancy needs to loosen up, but I don’t know that she has that in her. It was nice to see her show some emotion when talking about her near death experience, but I don’t think her rigid TV persona will ever really let her cut loose on the dance floor. Consistently low scores, however, will probably send Chaz home. Who do you think will end up burning their dance shoes on Jimmy Kimmel’s show? Leave your comments below.

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on Oct 03, 2011 @ 23:36 EST5EDT