April 11th episode of Dancing with the Stars marked the show’s first-ever classical night. Here are the scores, recap, judges’ comments and performance videos from episode 4 of Season 12:
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas danced the Viennese Waltz to Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams. Chelsea asked Mark during rehearsals to push her harder than ever because she did not want to be in third place anymore but instead be “seen as the team to reckon with.” And Mark complied and pushed Chelsea straight into first place Monday night.
Len Goodman (8): “Mark, there is no doubt about it. You are a marvelous teacher and a great choreographer. Chelsea, you are a fantastic dancer. So why is it that every time I see you, there is something that I don’t like that jars me. This is the Viennese Waltz. It’s 300 years old. It is the most traditional of all ballroom dances. Mark, it is your job to help her interpret it and not distract her by creeping all over the floor. Overall I liked it because this girl is a really good dancer.”
Bruno Tonioli (9): Listen to me. It was magical, fabulous beautiful and bewitching. Technically speaking, it was the best dance of the night…Be happy because I am.”
Carri Ann Inaba (9): “Sometimes I agree with Len that choreography can be distracting, but tonight I agree with Bruno….Chelsea, you’re in your stride.”
TOTAL SCORE: 26
Watch the couple for yourself:
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff exploded back to near the top of the leaderboard with a Waltz set to a contemporary Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky. Ralph wanted to work on his “Dracula” hands that Len has frequently complained of. Their dance was simply breathtaking!
Bruno (9): “Achingly romantic. Totally heartfelt. Brilliant storytelling through dancing. And thank you very much for continuing the lines.”
Carri Anne (8): “What I love about you is when you dance, you’re so honest. There’s such an honest connection to the emotion so I believe you….normally I might say that was over dramatic. But when you do it, I was swept in. I was carried through the story. I was right there in the tragedy. It wasn’t a tragedy, it was glorious.”
Len (8): “You’ve been int he wilderness for two week. You’re back!”
TOTAL SCORE: 25
Watch the romantic performance:
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Paso Doble to In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. Chris said this week Cheryl helped him go from Charlie Brown to Charlie Sheen. The judges said:
Bruno (8): “Chris, you got the accents so well. Excellent.”
Carri Ann (8): “That was a really hard dance. You were so connected to the music. I love your form. Watch out for this guy.”
Len (7): Chris, The dance wasn’t bad. It starts out quiet. It’s got menace. And the first part you got right. You had that menacing look. But the music grows, and it gets more and more loud and it gets more powerful. And that’s what you didn’t do. The music conquered you. You didn’t conquer the music.
TOTAL SCORE: 23
Watch the bull dance below:
Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin danced a fierce Paso Doble for the usually sweet Petro to Les Voici! Voici La Quadrille! by Georges Bizet.
Len (7): “I would have liked a bit more authority through your feet and through your legs. It could have done with being more crisper. Overall, I am more impressed thann I am depressed about it because my expectations were that it wasn’t going to work but you really came out and tried to show the emotion of the dance.”
Bruno (8): “It is not Petra, it’s Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarmen, the Femme Fatale [And Bruno took his jacket off and started gyrating and touching himself while commenting]. The deadly beauty. A woman that knows what she wants and how to get it. and by the look of it, you’re going to get plenty of it. And that ending, oooh my God.”
Carri Ann (8): “Is it over??? Bruno, put your clothes back on. Petra, you’re on a roll. Last week your Waltz was incredible and this week your confidence has shown through. It was absolutely gorgeous. Your lines were strong. You still need to work a hair on your core strength but all of your lines were gorgeous. It was powerful, passionate…a new Petra!”
TOTAL SCORE: 23
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Paso Doble tonight to Palladio, First Movement by Karl Jenkinsand. Romeo ripped his shirt off during the performance. It was hot. But it didn’t sit well with Len.
Len (8): “Romeo, have a bit of decorum dear boy. You know. Exposing yourself like that in front of us…that It’s classic week. You don’t see me flaunting myself in front of everyone….the dance was full of passion. It was full of attack and intensity and that I love.” Though he did tell Chelsie to get the whip out and shape the “colt” Romeo into finesse and better technique.
Bruno (8): “Focused, powerful, action packed and six packed as well! You have the look of a rising star.” He also praised the couple on dancing to such a difficult song.
Carrie (7): “Unfortunately..there was a little bit of lift, so, I had to deduct for that…but that was the first time I saw a Paso with swagger…That was fantastic. Powerful. Fully confident and very passionate.”
TOTAL SCORE: 23
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the Waltz to The Flower Duet by Léo Delibes’ Lakmé. Last week, it was Maks who got injured during their performance. This week, it was Kirstie who injured her hip during the rehearsals. But she fought on and told Maks do the same choreography that you would do for a 25-year old even if it kills me. Well, the choreography didnt kill Kristie, but it did kill her show which came off half-way thorugh the dance and made her struggle with it for a few seconds. Here is what the judges thought:
Carri Ann (7): “I don’t think I have ever smiled that much watching somebody…Sugar Ray you have this sparkle that is unbeatable…but there is something so entertaining and I absolutely fell in love with that dance.”
Len (7): “Sugar Ray Leonard turns into the Sugar Plumb Fairy. The more I got into it, the more I smiled, and the more I realized as much as technique and performance are important, so is entertainment and I was throughly entertained from start to finish.”
Bruno (7): “Len is right. It had a wonderful cartoonish charm. Instead of playing Prince Charming you played it like Mickey Rooney in The Ballerina, but it was so effective. As entertainment, it was excellent.”
TOTAL SCORE: 21
Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel danced the Viennese Waltz to Conte Partirò by Andrea Bocelli. Kendra said she was “screwed” because she had to be ladylike during the performance. But then she decided to dress gangster and make it into a mafia Waltz. She also has been talking all week about having three tricks into the performance and says she’s scared about being able to pull them off.
Bruno (6): “Kendra, you messed it up and you know that. Technique is very difficult to achieve and there were a lot of technical issues…This is a song of heartbreaking longing and you should transform yourself, become one with the music. Become the character, become the Black Swan.”
Carrie Ann (6): “I see that you are trying very hard. That is no easy choreography….I want to tell you something. Elegance is no different than sexy. It’s like you’re afraid of elegance…You were holding back.You are a very beautiful dancer. You just need to have more confidence.”
Len (6): “Bruno sometimes forgets you people are beginners. You haven’t had a life in dance. I am not saying it was fantastic because there were a few incidences there. But you came out, it had flow, it had good movement..don’t forget Bruno, these people are beginners, don’t be cruel!”
TOTAL SCORE: 18
Here is the leaderboard scores:
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 26
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson: 25
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 25
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 23
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 23
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 23
Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 22
Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Trebunskaya: 21
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis Van Amstel: 18