Tag Archives: Romeo
Dancing With The Stars: 4/18 Scores, Recap, Performance Videos
For the first time in three weeks, there were no falls or shoe breaks on Dancing with the Stars. Instead, it was a night of good old fashion great dancing! Well, not so old fashion. But just some amazing dancing.
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Foxtrot to New York, New York. Romeo was stoked because he’s already lasted longer than his dad Master P did on the show before he made his exit with a score of an 8. Yes, 8. Romeo wanted to add swagger to the choreography and Chelsie agreed as long as they would do it the ’60s kind of swagger to go with the feel of the song. Romeo looked sharp in his tuxedo and top hat. I swear I can’t help but smile when I watch these two dance. They melt me…just like the little town blues melt in NY, NY!
Chelsea is such a great dancer and so beautiful to look at, I sometimes forget to also check out Mark’s moves. But I made a point of paying attention to him too Monday night and he just floored me once again. He’s such an amazing talent and is simply mesmerizing to watch–there is a reason he’s coached two of his partners to winning the mirrorball trophy. OK, back to Chelsea. Here is what the judges had to say about her:
Bruno (9): “You had all the go for it, positive energy of America. And the sizzle and excitement of Brazil. The best of both worlds. And you are so clean. Your placement is so good. You are so tight. You are really really such a good dancer darling, you really are.”
Carrie Ann (9): “You guys dance so well together. Your attributes match perfectly. I think this was fantastic, again.”
Len (8): “Yum yum what a bum. Honestly. This was a party and I’m not talking a Tupperware party. This was real good fun….well done!”
Total score: 26
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Viennese Waltz to America The Beautiful and Chris said his mission was to get higher than a 7 from Len –the score he said he’s received 3 weeks in a row. Chris looked oh-so-handsome in his military getup and rocked the ballroom dance, thanks to his stellar posture and form. The duo put on an elegant and effortless number. Chris then did his best impression of Len and announced he got an 8! Did Chris get a good score out of Len? Here is what went down from the judges panel:
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the Foxtrot to American Woman. Kirstie said in rehearsals, “Everyone says there is no front runner,” and then continued with a pout, “I want to be the front runner.” Because of the mishaps this duo have experienced on the main stage the last two weeks, Kirstie enlisted the help of a “Dance Doctor,” John Travolta.
Kendra says she’s not “f—ing afraid of elegance” and that Carrie Ann made her “feel like trash” when Carrie Ann said last week that the Playboy bunny is afraid of her sexy side. Quite frankly, I am tired of Kendra crying and complaining all the time and I don’t find her whining sexy. Then again, I am not a man, so, what do I know.
AND, here is the leaderboard:
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 26
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 26
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 26
Kirstie Alley & Maks: 23
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel: 22
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 22
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 22
‘Dancing With The Stars’ Results: Live Blogging 4/12
SPOILER ALERT:
Dancing with the Stars results show is Tuesday April 12. The live results are as follows:
Safe:
*Ralph Macchio And Karina Smirnoff
*Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
*Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke
*Romeo and Chelsie Highwater
*Kendra And Louis Van Amstel
*Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy
Bottom Three:
*Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
*Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin
*Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya
Sadly, it was Sugar Ray Leonard who was eliminated and voted off.
‘Dancing With The Stars’ – Performance Videos & Show Recap
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
‘Dancing With The Stars’ Recap, Scores & Videos 4/4
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.
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
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
“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 There to 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 Dovolani danced 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.
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
Video: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Performances & Recap
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.
Watch the king and queen of the ball dance to You’re the One That I Want off the Grease Soundtrack:
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!”
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.
Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane and 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.
Here are Mark and Chelsea clowning around:
Len: “Short skirt, long legs, bad technique. But I must say, she did it beautifully!”
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: “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.”
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.
Bruno: “It was good to see a little of who you really are. You’re sexy.”
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.
‘Dancing With The Stars’: Sneak Peek Of Week 2
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.
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.
‘Dancing With The Stars’ Results, Recap, Performance Videos!
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.
Spotted: ‘DWTS’ Romeo & Chelsie Hightower – EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS & VIDEO
Spotted: Chelsie Hightower and her Dancing with the Stars partner, Romeo (formerly, Lil’ Romeo), were at The Grove in Los Angeles Monday in between rehearsals for an interview with Mario Lopez of Extra.
Good news ladies, this handsome Romeo is single! He told a fan Monday: “I am single. I have had my heart broken before and now, am looking for my Juliet.” Continue reading
Dancing With The Stars Couple Pairings Unveiled
ABC just announced the pairings for the 12th Season of Dancing with the Stars and here you have it:
- NFL Wide Receiver Hines Ward and Kym Johnson.
- Actress Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
- Radio personality Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer.
- WWE star Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke.
- Disney star Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas.
- Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya.
- Karate Kid Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff.
- Rapper-actor Romeo and Chelsie Hightower.
- Reality star Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel.
- Talk show host Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani.
It did not take long for Mark Ballas to TwitPic this photo of his new team with Chelsea Kane, calling themselves “Team Kanenball!!”