On classical night of Dancing with the StarsApril 11,Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas danced the Viennese Waltz to Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams. In rehearsals, Chelsea asked Mark 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.
The judges were split: 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
Dancing with the Stars played with a “story night” theme on its April 4th episode of Season 12. As part of this theme night, each star selected a song to which he/she has a strong attachment and created a dance which conveyed what that song means to him/her. The dances consisted of a mix of Latin ballroom and the Waltz.
Here’s how our stars fared, in the order of their finish Monday, from first place to last. The individual judge’s score for each dance is in parenthesis next to his/her name.
Hines Ward and Kym Johnsondanced the Samba to Earth Wind & Fire’s Fantasy because it was a song Hines’ mother always listened to when Hines was growing up. When Hines was a child, his mom worked three or four jobs just to support Hines after his parents divorced.
The dance was meant to be a celebration and a thank you to his mom who was there in the audience to cheer him on. And Hines more than accomplished his goal. His joyful and charming and yet sexy dance left his mom (and the rest of us) with a huge grin, waving the Steelers terrible towel.
And the judges were overjoyed! Carrie Ann Inaba (9): “Booya! Baby’s got bounce! Hines you danced the Samba like you’ve been dancing it your whole life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good job!” Len Goodman (8): “The story was upbeat. The dance was upbeat. It’s obvious Carrie Ann is proud of you. Your mother is proud of you. And I tell you what, I am proud of you!” Bruno Tonioli (8): “This Samba was an uplifting expression of happiness. Bouncing butt. Shaking butt. Two for the price of one. Happy hour!” Total score: 25
Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin danced a magical Waltz to You Raise Me Up in the hopes that others would derive the same hope and inspiration she gets from this song. Before she danced, Petra spoke of her return to Thailand after the Tsunami had devastated the country. She explained that she listened to this song to ease her frustrations after meeting all the homeless children. The song also inspired her to establish her charity.
The judges were moved: Carrie Ann (8): “I think that’s what makes this dance special. Your heart was all over the moves. You’ve gone from supermodel to super graceful inspirational dancer.” Len (9): “It had grace, it had elegance. It had fluid movements. This season, it’s my favorite…For me, at this moment, you’re the one.” Bruno (8): “You’re like a vision from heaven and you danced like an angel. Your improvement is incredible. Your beauty is great but your heart is even more beautiful.” Total score: 25
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas danced the Cha Cha to a song written for her, named Chelsea of course. Chelsea wanted to be more conservative this week in the choreography and the change paid off big.
Before she danced, Chelsea told the tale of her first love, Brian. Brian wrote the song Chelsea for her as a way to express his feelings for her. And good news for Brian, it worked! Chelsea fell head over the heels. But In rehearsals, Chelsea felt intimidated by Mark because Mark made a better girl than she does. The judges ate up her routine:
Bruno (8): “Chelsea Chelsea, sexy sexy! Ooh. I could feel…I could really feel that excitement running through you. Quivering…For the bite, the bite of that delicious first taste of love. Tasty Tasty Chelsea. And a great Cha Cha.” Carrie Ann (7): “I’m a big fan of love and romance, and I am a big fan of that Cha Cha. You are so adorable. You look like a little baby Julianne [Hough].” Len (8): “I remember my first love and it didn’t look anything like you….That’s your best dance. Well done.” Total Score: 23
Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel danced the Rumba. Kendra chose You and Me by Musiq Soulchild to describe her relationship with her husband Hank Baskett. Kendra explained that when she first started dating Hank, his fans turned on them for him dating a “stripper” and she went through a rough time. Kendra wanted to send the message of “follow your heart” through her song and dance. The judges liked her efforts though she got mixed review on the sexiness of it all:
Len (7): “I wasn’t that keen on the unnecessary gyrating that went on and occasionally you were a little unstable…however, what impressed me was week one I spoke to you about your legs…but you come out with beautiful feet and gorgeous leg action.” Bruno (8): “Kendra..there is nothing to worry about. There is nothing wrong with a good stripper. In fact, I’m into it myself. It could be art and that was so teasingly erotic. It was hot and arousing darling. I tell you if it had that affect on me, can you imagine the men in the audience? They’re turning purple out there!” Carrie Ann (8): “Let me tell you something, it was not just the men who got a little excited. That was hot hot hot. What I love is you’re celebrating your sensuality.” Total score: 23
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Rhumba. Chris choose the song, Let It Be because he feels it encompasses all his memories about his mother who was involved in an accident as Chris’ wrestling career was taking off. Carrie Ann (7): “Chris Irvine, that was a beautiful tribute to your mom. This is what I love so much about dancing. And I am so glad you got to experience what it feels like to tell a story and to create a whole emotional response….Your hip action, a little strange but emotionally, amazing. Great job.” Len (7): “Choreography can cover up a multitude of mistakes and Cheryl did a great job because you virtually never used your arms, they were always on your hips and because of that it lost some fluidity through the upper body…the lines or posses you did were excellent.” Bruno (7): “You brought a great sense of warmth; an almost naked sense of vulnerability which is very difficult to do with the Rumba because it is basically a sexy dance and you made it work. But Len is right, you have to link the lines.” Total score: 21
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovski danced the Rumba. Over the Rainbow was Kirstie’s chosen tune because it depicts the most significant turning point in her life. In 1980, she had moved to LA and had given herself one year to make it in Hollywood. She was up for a role on Star Trek II but got a call from her sister that her parents were hit by a drunk driver. She had lost her mother in the tragedy. But 72 hours later, she landed the role on Star Trek which was her big career break. So, the song for Kirstie signifies hopefulness after despair.
During what would have been an emotionally supercharged piece, Maks’ “thigh gave out” and he fell to his knee, grimacing in pain for a few seconds. He did stand up and the duo were able to pick up the dance as the consummate professionals that each is. When the dance finished, Kirstie and Maks hugged for along time.
The judges were kind: Carrie Ann (7): “Sometimes tragedy leads to amazingly beautiful moments. And I think despite the fact that you had a little of a mess up in the beginning, something magical happened after that and you were just so connected to the music…to see you connected to your vulnerability like that and determined to make it through. You did a wonderful job.” Len (7): “Dancing is a bit like life. It’s about overcoming adversities and you overcame it. You got up, dusted yourself off and you bounced back stronger. Well done.” Bruno (7): “Kirstie, you can’t keep good talent down. Once you got up it was better than ever!” Total score: 21
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoffdanced the Rumba to Stevie Wonder’s Stay Gold. The song holds a special place for Macchio both as an actor and as a person. Macchio starred in The Outsiders which launched his career and he always loved that theme from the movie.
“Stay Gold” to him means to strive to hold those moments in one’s life which are the most special. Macchio also used that song in his wedding and ironically, this is his 24th wedding anniversary week. He dedicated the Rumba to his wife for the most amazing 24 years of his life and for always reminding him to stay gold (I am crying as I type…so sweet!)
Len (7): “The whole routine I thought was crisp and it was clean. But, it needs a tad of refinement. Your hand, you need to work on those. Your feet, you need to work on those. It needed a bit more hip action. But the overall look was very appealing.” Bruno (7): “It was a very beautiful dance. It’s the execution. I told you about the hand from week 1. You still do these statual things. And I know [Karina] is not your wife, but she’s beautiful. You deal with her like she’s too hot to handle. You don’t know what to do with her.” Carrie Ann (7): “I thought it was a very sweet Rumba. I think you missed the point Bruno, he wasn’t doing it for Karina, he doing it for his wife.” After Len’s outburst of “It was not sweet,” ended, Carrie Ann continued: “You do have to work on your core strength though but it was very sweet and it was very moving and you two [Len and Bruno] are kookoo.”
Total score: 21
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Rumba. Romeo chose the song I’ll Be Thereto pay tribute to the cousin he saw die in a car accident when Romeo was 9 and another cousin who died by violence. Bruno (7): “You really put your heart and soul in to it and it showed. You were connected and involved. Sometime what happens is when you put so much of yourself into something, somethings go astray and in your case, it was your foot….But I still believe you are a very fine young man.” Carrie Ann (7): “Despite the heel and the funky footwork there was something really nice about the way you committed to that dance and you kept it throughout the whole piece…And I definitely saw some refinement over last week.” Len (6): “Last week Romeo, there was a huge step forward. This week, there’s a huge step back.” Total score: 20
Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya danced the Paso Doble. Sugar Ray decided to focus his story on “beating the odds.” In his career, he felt doubted but proved his haters wrong. He said when he got back in the ring to reclaim his boxing championship, they played the song My Prerogative and he showed them he had the determination to win and he wanted to do the same thing on DWTS. And the judges loved it! Carrie Ann (7): “I think I saw a lot of improvement. I am so proud of you.” Len (6): “This competition is a bit like your fights and each week your opponent is a dance. And week one and week two you let the dance dominate you. You come out tonight stronger and you fought back.” Bruno (7): “Sugar Ray the raging bull fighting spirit got you back in business. One thing, you still have to refine your Spanish lines..thrust your hips… but I am sure you’re staying cause I think you have something there.” Total Score: 20
Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolanidanced the Foxtrot to Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. Wendy’s story involved her debut in media via the radio. She spoke of sleeping at rest stops and taking bird baths in between jobs when she first started. But all that struggle helped her learn who she is. Unfortunately, it didn’t help her on the dance floor.
Carrie Ann (5): “I respect a women who follows her dreams…But this week we took a step back and I am not sure why.” Len (5): “Your story was about hard work and struggling to achieve your goals…And I know you must have worked extremely hard. But, we need to be honest. It was a struggle. It lacked fluidity. There was no movement…and I apologize!” Bruno (5): “The Foxtrot has to be long, smooth, fluid. It has to glide and at times it looked like you put down roots.” Total Score: 15
Dancing with the Stars is in full swing and was back Monday night for the second week of the season. Monday night’s scores will be added to week one’s and one couple will be eliminated Tuesday based on the combined judges’ scores and fan votes.
Without further adieu and because there are still 11 couples to review, I will jump right into the recap.
There was a three-way tie with 23 points for first place tonight. One of those first place scores belongs to two-time Super Bowl winner, Hines Ward who flashed his signature smile and charmed his way all around the dance floor in a quickstep to the tune of Stevie Wonder’s Part-time Lover.
The judges unanimously drooled over him. Bruno Tonioli gushed: “Forget about part-time lover; it’s more like full-time dancer! You lead with ease and confidence. I particularly liked the fun details you put in there…and the chemistry with Kym is sinful.”
Carrie Ann Inaba who used to love on Season 3 champ Emmitt Smith went a step further: “I think Emmitt Smith just had to retire his title of ‘tinkle toe!’ That was amazing…your posture, your technique…I loved it.”
Len Goodman agreed: “Your frame was terrific. It is hard to maintain that but you did it. I was very impressed, well done!”
Watch the newly-crowned Tinkle Toe for yourself:
The second couple tied for first place after Monday’s judges’ votes with a score of 23 was Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke who also danced the quickstep to Ella Fitzgerald’s I Got Rhythm. Len complimented the wrestling star’s improvement over last week: “Chris, I take my hat off to you. Don’t take this personal, I don’t wanna get in a headlock or something. My expectation was, here we go, it’s going to be a big lumbering lumb, but no, it was bright, breezy and light at foot!” Bruno also admired the dance but for a whole other reason: “Chris, I like a man who responds well to strict discipline, and the dominatrix has transformed the beast into a gazelle…We even got that bum under control!” He finished, “You were sensational!”
Carrie Ann couldn’t agree more:“I’m loving me some Chris Jericho right about now. Light on your feet. Compact, great form.”
Watch Chris and Cheryl in action:
Also tied for first place at 23 were Romeo and Chelsie Hightower. This dynamic young duo played the king and queen of a 60’s prom. When Romeo got silly during rehearsals, Chelsea realized her task for the week prior to the performance would be to “Teach Romeo the difference between flirting and being a gentleman!” Whatever Chelsie did worked because the judges swooned over Romeo.
Len proclaimed: “THAT, was the best dace of the night. I loved it!”
Carrie Ann: “You have a certain style when you dance that stands out.”
Bruno: “Romeo you are the one to watch! Seamless, great musicality. You got everything it takes to make a brilliant dancer!”
Watch the king and queen of the ball dance to You’re the One That I Want off the Grease Soundtrack:
Ralph Macchio who came in first last week, did not fare as well with the judges this week and placed fourth for week two with a score of 21. The lower score did not mean Ralph is not damn exciting to watch. Because he is. His dancing makes me so giddy I feel like I am back in high school again. His Jive with Karina Smirnoff to Nobody But Meby The Human Beinz was seamless and mesmerizing.
In the video pre-roll, Ralph could not hide his excitement about being a part of Season 12 of DWTS. The baby-faced actor gushed about his experience last week, saying: “The crowd was amazing, we did that double turn and they just roared! It’s just one of those moments in my life and career that I –I will never forget that!”
Bruno: “You have a huge huge huge likability factor. You inhabit the character 110%…but your kicks weren’t as sharp as could be. There is work to do, but obvioulsy you are pleasing to watch.”
Carrie Anne: “You dance very well, but if you want to go further, you have to be sharper. You work at a level of 8 as opposed to 10 on every movement, but you are just so much fun to watch.”
Len: “It was OK, you over did it. You attacked the dance a little too much. You got frenzied.” When the crowd booed at Len’s negative comments, he shot back, “I liked it!”
Watch Ralph in action below:
Kirstie Alley had some trouble sustaining the crazy energy required for the quickstep but she did not lack the necessary stamina at the end of her dance to stop her from planting a big kiss on Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Who can blame her? The duo danced to KT Tunstall’s Black Horse & Cherry Treeand got a total score of 20 for the night.
Len: “Most was light and fluffy. You lost energy near the end. The posture went. It was good, but it wasn’t great!”
Carrie Ann: “You are so in your element. I love watching you dance. You’re so in tune with every movement. The connection between you and Max is gonna be unstoppable. It was fabulous!”
Bruno: “Don’t worry about weight, you don’t need to worry about that when you have talent. You started beautifully…believe in yourself. Be yourself”
Watch Maks and Kirstie below:
Louis van Amstel really wanted his partner Kendra Wilkinson-Baskettpre-roll video, saying in tears, “It’s so stressful for me. I don’t feel beautiful, I feel like a boy. Everybody thinks I’m that Playboy sexy girl that is confident. I am not that.”
This week’s quickstep to Gotta Work by Amerie obviously didn’t come as easily to Kendra as her cha cha did last week. She did not have the same ease of movement, but she was still fun to watch.
Bruno: “You tried your best, but you were very tight!”
Carrie Ann: “You’re very good at learning choreography. And I really saw you taking a step forward. There was a new found elegance.”
Len: “Your posture was a bit hit or miss…occasionally your chesticles [note: I think that’s what Len called Kendra’s chest!] were pushing into poor little Louie. Overall I think you did an excellent job.”
Watch Kendra dance like a lady below:
Disney Channel star Chelsea Kaneand Mark Ballas wanted to take a risk so they danced an “out of the box” kinky-circus style Jive to I Write Sins, Not Tragedies by Panic! Their risk didn’t pay off as they earned an 18 and landed in 7th place for the week.
Bruno loved the efforts and compared the spastastic number to “Marcel Marceau desperately seeking Lolita in A Clockwork Orange.” Pretty well said Bruno! Sadly, Bruno was the only judge who liked the antics.
Carrie Ann said: “I love choreography like that, but there’s a time and a place for that, and I don’t think it was right now. I wanted to see your jive Chelsea, but in that choreography, it was hard to see your jive. There was so little jive in there.”
Len, who hates props during ballroom dancing complained, “Once I see doors and things, you’re on a sticky wicket..there was too much messing around. This girl has got fantastic potential, and she’s gonna go a long way but not with dances like that.”
Here are Mark and Chelsea clowning around:
Petra Nemcova complained while learning her assigned dance, “The jive is hard for taller people. What am I supposed to do, get shorter?” Petra and Dmitry Chaplin danced to Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love and landed a score of 18.
Bruno: “Oh My God! This girl can go from uptown girl to a floozie at the drop of a hat! And they’re both equally beautiful.” Bruno did give Petra some good advice: “What you have to do is work on your core strength and that will help you with your precision and your placement. But your performance was great tonight.” Len: “Short skirt, long legs, bad technique. But I must say, she did it beautifully!”
Carrie Ann: “You’re just so stunning to look at, it’s ridiculous. Your kicks were tight and sharp…I think your core you have to really work on, you get a little funky on your shapes.”
Watch the beautiful Petra go from uptown girl to floozie below:
There are three couples left to write about and all three tied for the lowest score of the night at 17. They are Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya, Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani, and Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer.
Sugar Ray danced the jive to Sweet Soul Music by Sam & Dave but the judges were not too impressed with the skills even though they enjoyed the performance.
Len: “Tomorrow, somebody is going home. On that performance, I have to be honest, you’re in jeopardy. It lacked refinement and any true dance quality. But the entertainment was fantastic.”
Bruno: “Sugar. It was definitely sweet and it was definitely pleasant to watch…it was softer on the edges. It needs some punch in the feet…sometimes you seemed stuck like a piece of gum.”
Carrie Ann: “If I just watched your face alone, it’s borderline a 10…but the whole body was too spastic.”
Watch Sugar Ray for yourself:
“Psycho” Mike Catherwood tried but he just couldn’t pull himself out of the bottom spot for the second week in a row which inspired all kinds of bug references to his dancing style from the judges. Mike started week 2 rehearsals by bringing partner Lacey Schwimmer flowers as an apology for his horrible and last-place performance last week.
Len: “Good news, it’s better than last week, but don’t get excited. You were flying about like a wasp in a picnic. Bits and pieces sliding everywhere. But I was smiling all the way through it!” Bruno: “Some moments your kicks were very very good. You looked like a fly stuck on flypaper. You can do it, maintain it. Don’t throw it away.”
Carrie Ann: “When you were side by side, I was impressed. Your technique was great. Your form was good…you have to think of the routine as a whole.”
Watch Lacey and Mike bug out to Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town:
Wendy Williams said about last week’s disappointing performance, “It was an emotional evening and an emotional flight home.” During rehearsals, it was obvious Wendy had listened to the judge’s critiques and wanted to make changes. She also was worried about the jiggling in her boobs during the jive. Tony Dovolani wanted to make sure that Wendy would not be timid again during the performance this week. Wendy did better, yet still landed in last place this week.
Len: “It’s an improvement.” Bruno: “It was good to see a little of who you really are. You’re sexy.”
Carrie Ann: “Thank you, that’s what we wanted to see, we wanted to see Wendy Williams having a little fun, showing a little sass, giving a little sauce…It got a little dull but bounced back in the end.”
Watch Wendy and Tony dance to Do Your Thing by Basement Jaxx :
Here’s the leader board showing tonight’s scores first and then the combined two-week score second. The couples are listed in order of combined scores for weeks 1 and 2, from best to last:
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: 21, 45 Hines Ward and Kym Johnson: 23, 44 Kirstie Alley and Maks Chmerkovskiy: 20, 43 Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke: 23, 42 Romeo and Chelsie Hightower: 23, 42 Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas 18, 39 Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett and Louis van Amstel: 19, 37 Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin: 18, 36 Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya: 17, 34 Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani: 17, 31 Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer: 17, 30
Tune in Tuesday to see who will be the first celebrity to leave Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars.
On Monday’s Dancing with the Stars, Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas wanted to take a risk so they danced a kinky-circus style Jive to I Write Sins, Not Tragedies by Panic!
Judge Bruno Tonioli loved the efforts and compared the spastastic number to “Marcel Marceau desperately seeking Lolita in A Clockwork Orange.” Pretty well said Bruno!
Sadly, Bruno was the only judge who liked the antics. Carrie Ann Inaba said: “I love choreography like that, but there’s a time and a place for that, and I don’t think it was right now. I wanted to see your Jive Chelsea, but in that choreography, it was hard to see your jive. There was so little jive in there.”
Len, who hates props during ballroom dancing complained, “Once I see doors and things, you’re on a sticky wicket..there was too much messing around. This girl has got fantastic potential, and she’s gonna go a long way but not with dances like that.” After all was said and done, the duo got a combined score of 18 for week 2. Combined with their score from last week, the pair have a cumulative score of 39.
Mark and Chelsea have great chemistry together. Mark told Chelsea he has a crush on her brain and Chelsea replied, “That’s a first. No one has ever said that before!”
Mark sent these adorable TwitPics of him and his partner which his mom, dad (Corky Ballas) and others had taken of the couple after the show.
Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars premiered last Monday and a couple of celebs, Ralph Macchio and Kirstie Alley, surprised us with their fancy footwork on the foxtrot and cha cha, respectively.
Week two promises to be just as exciting – here is what we can expect from our 11 celebrities:
Kirstie Alley and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy will flutter across the ballroom in the quickstep. Kirstie is one of the front-runners after her sassy and endearing cha cha last week which landed her in second place.
Also set to do the quickstep are Wendy Williams and partner Tony Dovolani. Hopefully, this style of dance will suit Wendy’s personality better and will bring out her feisty side, attitude and confidence, all of which lacked during her cha cha last week. Her unexpected nerves earned the talk show host the second lowest marks of week one.
Other quicksteppers for week 2 will include Hines Ward and partner Kym Johnson (currently in 4th place), Chris Jericho and partner Cheryl Burke (5th place), Romeo and partner Chelsie Hightower (6th place), and Kendra Wilkinson and partner Louis van Amstel (7th place).
The other dance to be featured week two will be the jive which will be danced by current last-place team, Mike Catherwood and partner Lacey Schwimmer. This sexy duo pushed the envelope on their foxtrot last week, dirty dancing it up so much that, “[ABC executives] asked them to tone down the sexual undertones,” a network source told RadarOnline. The source continued: “They know there is a spark there — everyone is talking about their amazing chemistry.” Hopefully this amazing chemistry will catapult them out of last place this week.
Petra Nemcova looked beautiful and graceful on the dance floor last week performing the foxtrot, but she still landed in eighth place once the judges scores were tallied. She will need to step up her dance moves to the jive with the help of partner Dmitry Chaplin to avoid elimination week 2.
Other contestants dancing the jive this week will be first place Ralph Macchio and partner Karina Smirnoff who blew us away last week with their fantastic showmanship and grace on the foxtrot, Chelsea Kane and partner Mark Ballas (3rd place), and Sugar Ray Leonard and partner Anna Trebunskaya (9th place).
Tune in Monday to see how your faves will perform and then tune in Tuesday for the results show to see which celeb will go home. Also, Chris Brown, who made headlines with a recent outburst behind the scenes at Good Morning America, is scheduled to perform on the results show. If you missed any of last week’s performances, click here and watch them!
After the long, record-cold winter, we welcomed in the two-hour Dancing with the Stars season premiere Monday night with wide, warm, open arms! And, so, it began, live from Hollywood: Our favorite ballroom dancing show, now in its 12th season.
I would have never believed who topped this season’s leader board after the debut dance if I had not seen it for myself. Ralph Macchio, the baby-faced 49-year old star of 1984’s The Karate Kid was simply adorable and full of life during his performance of the foxtrot with partner Karina Smirnoff. So much so that he ended the night atop everyone with a total score of 24.
Before he wooed us with his charm on the floor, the actor said he lost his mirror ball in the ’70s and wants to win DWTS to complete his mantle. The duo danced to Dean Martin’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head? The judges loved our beloved Daniel-San with Bruno Tonioli saying: “Great showmanship, fantastic routine, plenty of content!” Carrie Anne Inaba concurred: “Wow, Ralph, that was an amazing surprise!” Carrie Anne continued, “That was truly gorgeous. You have such elegance in your hold.” Len Goodman charged: “Best foxtrot tonight, well done!”
In a close second for the night was Kirstie Alley, who, at 60, surprised the pants off everyone with her sassy and endearing cha cha and ended the show with a bang. It didn’t hurt that she danced opposite the beautiful Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Set to Cee-Lo Green’s Forget You, the duo’s routine brought a smile to everyone’s face. “Look who’s dancing!” cheered Bruno. “I think we are just scratching at the surface at what you can do.” Len said: “It was fun, it was cheeky, it was entertaining.” “It made me feel good, you looked as though you felt good doing it. Well done.” All that adulation scored the pair a total score of 23 and landed them in second place for the night.
In third place was the duo of two-time champ Mark Ballas with Disney star Chelsea Kane. The home-schooled girl who kissed Joe Jonas and said the kiss “did not suck,” admitted her dance with Mark would be her first dance ever with a boy. Their foxtrot to Sara Bareilles’ King Of Anything was youthful and clean. Len said to the pair, “You’re a young, fresh couple, and I thought that routine had a young, fresh feel.” Bruno, who commented that Chelsea started and ended the routine on her back, said there was “one and a half minutes of pure afterglow” in the middle, but that she needed to extend her lines. The couple ended the night with a score of 21.
Tied for third place with a score of 21 is Pittsburgh Steelers standout star Hines Ward who showed us he can work the crowd on the dance floor just as well as on the football field. Set against Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me, and with Kym Johnson at his side, the duo danced “the sparkliest cha cha ever!” per Carrie Ann who also said, “You are exuberant, and your smile lights up the whole stage.” Len said: “It was clean, it was crisp, you were confident.” And then Len went there by complimenting Hines’ tush. “Your bottom’s the top.”
Former WWE champ Chris Jericho may possibly present partner Cheryl Burke with her biggest challenge to date since she usually gets the more graceful partners such as Drew Lachey, Gilles Marini and Emmitt Smith. Oh, never mind, she also had to teach Tom DeLay, so, she and Chris may do just fine. And despite lacking precise, refined movements, Chris looked like he was having a ball on the dance floor doing the cha cha against Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash. And he sure was fun to watch. “It was kind of like a Chippendales cha cha,” remarked Carrie Ann. Len liked the dance saying: “It was really, really good, but I think you need to put a little more content in your dances.” He did comment that Chris’ hips were “allergic to music, because they didn’t seem to work.” Bruno had mixed feelings: “At times messy, but always entertaining.” The duo scored a 19.
Tied at 19 is Romeo who is 10 seasons late for DWTS. Romeo came on the show this season to redeem his father Master P’s dismal performance during season 2. But even Tom Bergeron pointed out that Romeo did much more dancing in 60 seconds than his famous but heavy-footed dad had done in three weeks when he filled in for an injured Romeo on Season 2. Romeo and partner Chelsie Hightower‘s cha cha against, what else, Romeo by Basement Jaxx, was dazzling and Carrie Ann told the 21-year-old Romeo he has “sex-tosterone.” Bruno said Romeo had done “everything to do well in the competition.”
Before she stepped on the dance floor, Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett described herself as a “sexy tomboy” and promised her cha cha with Louis Van Amstel would be “Hot: Not club hot, but classy hot.” The pair danced to David Guetta’s When Love Takes Over and I personally thought she danced much better than her score of 18. Her ex, Hugh Hefner, seemed impressed as well as he cheered her on in the audience.
Supermodel Petra Nemcova looked beautiful and elegant on the dance floor, despite having suffered a broken pelvis in the 2004 Thailand tsunami. Her foxtrot with Dmitry Chaplin set to Norah Jones’ Don’t Know Why was well choreographed and was understandably dedicated to the people of Japan. Len said the routine was charming but Petra needed to work on her posture. Bruno loved the “extreme beauty and sophistication” of the routine but said she needed to sustain her movements better. The duo received a score of 18.
Sugar Ray Leonard may not have had the best score of the night, but he sure was fun to watch in the fox trot with Anna Trebunskaya set to Huey Lewis and the News’ The Power of Love. Sugar Ray looked way more fluid during the interludes in his foxtrot and looked a bit stiff dancing in hold, but it was still an enjoyable number. “You’re obviously going to be a fan favorite,” proclaimed Carrie Ann while chastising him, “but posture, posture, posture!” Len picked up where Carrie Ann left off: “The foxtrot is fine wine and caviar, this was beer and a pizza. Energy level was high, dancing level was low.”
The buxom Wendy Williams labeled herself “too much, too loud, too fast.” So I expected a hurricane of personality on the dance floor. Instead, her cha cha set to Whitney Houston’s I’m Every Woman with Tony Dovolani shockingly lacked attitude and confidence. “You are a sultrous, luscious, gorgeous woman,” Bruno said. “Why are you marking?” Carrie Ann felt and saw fear in Wendy’s eyes and said, “You need to go way more. You are a bigger than life spirit. You need to unleash the beast.” Result? A disappointing score of 14.
And in last place was Mike Catherwood (Psycho Mike), cohost of the radio talk show Loveline. His foxtrot against Mike Posner’s Cooler than Me with Lacey Schwimmer was jerky at best, a hot mess at worst. “Dancing is movement to music. You did move and there was music,” said Len. “But there was very little dance quality about it.” Bruno said the foxtrot is a “smooth dance. It should glide. It should never ever end; it should flow” but said Mike looked “uncoordinated” and “constipated!”
Here’s how the leader board stacked up after the night wrapped up:
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 24 Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 23 Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 21 Hines Ward & Kym Johnson: 21 Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 19 Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 19 Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett & Louis Van Amstel: 18 Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 18 Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Trebunskaya: 17 Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani: 14 Mike Catherwood & Lacey Schwimmer: 13
No one will be going home this week as results from this week will be combined with scores from next Monday night’s performances and someone will be sent home next Tuesday.
You know Mark Ballas best as a two-time champion on Dancing with the Stars and as the dance instructor and partner who helped Bristol Palin catapult to the final three on this year’s DWTS season.
But what only a few people know for now is that Ballas is what you call a triple threat: He’s a dance champion, a sultry singer and boy, he really knows how to kick ass on the guitar!
While DWTS is on hiatus, Ballas has been busy in the recording studio, working on his upcoming album, HurtLoveBox. He let ET into the studio and you can watch ET’s video interview below.
Why the title, HurtLoveBox? Ballas tells ET: “Since I was a kid, I’ve always kept my memories in boxes, so for me, all the songs I’ve written on this record are things that I’ve been through. Whether it’s being happy and in love, or going through a great time, or whether you’re hurt or you lost somebody in a relationship that didn’t end up so good. … That’s where I came up with HurtLoveBox.”
The album is produced by an old friend of mine, Rich Stine,who himself is an amazing guitarist and musician. Before becoming a producer, Stine spent the better part of his 20s in the back of a tour bus clocking nearly 200 shows a year and supporting bands like The Strokes, Apples in Stereo, (my fave) Fighting Gravity and Jason Mraz. He now pours all that experience into producing music for many well known acts.
The first single will be released January 4 and the full album itself drops February 22.
, has just been released and you can watch it below.
