Dancing with the Stars: Week Six All in One

I hope you had a good Easter weekend. I’m finally back in town after extended time with family. That means I will be cramming both nights of dancing into one post. Hang on, this is going to be fun.

Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower – Jive – During rehearsal, Ty and Chelsie really worked hard on loosening him up. It didn’t work. I like Ty, but he’s still stiff as a board. He did get into it and really start to move, but it was still stiff. Of course, I did still love it since I love the Jive. But I think Ty has hit his peak. Len praised him for trying, but said he took too long to get started and it wasn’t that good. Bruno said the line dancing was good, but then the Jive started. Carrie Ann said he didn’t find his footing in this dance.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 6 Len – 6 Bruno – 6 Total – 18

Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas – Rumba – Mark threw Shawn a prom this week to help her get into the romantic dance. I was a little worried about this dance being too sexy when I saw she was doing the Rumba. It is absolutely hot. But it didn’t go as far as some of the Rumbas go. I would have been more uncomfortable with that because of her age. But this one worked quite well. Bruno said it was almost angelic with a hint of the devil. Carrie Ann said she saw how difficult this was for Shawn at the beginning, but it got better as it went along. Len thought it was just right as far as hotness goes and he enjoyed the whole thing.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 26

Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Sliwinska – Jive – Warren Sap showed up to give Lawrence some encouragement since he was struggling so much to get the Jive. As a result, he’s saying he’s going to let it go. I think Edyta forgot which dance she was doing this week. That looks like a Rumba costume. Not that I’m complaining. This Jive seems to be about half speed to me. There was something awkward about those steps in the middle. It’s better than Ty’s, but not by much. I did like that under the legs flip they did at the end. Carrie Ann said it was enjoyable to watch, and she picked on the lift. Len liked the style and seeing his lighter side if his footwork wasn’t quite light enough. Bruno said that Warren really made a difference and Lawrence never lost the timing.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 8 Total – 22

Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani – Rumba – She worked hard to get into the character of the dance to make a comeback. I can’t believe I am going to say this, but I think Shawn’s dance was hotter. Not that I am not enjoying this one. It doesn’t have the steam promised, but it is quite enjoyable. That pause near the end was great. And Melissa pushing Tony away at the end was funny. Len said it was clean, precise, and had interesting choreography. He did say that he thought it was a bit too balleretic. (Is that even a word?) Bruno praised her amazing arm movement (and almost wacked Len as he demonstrated). Carrie Ann praised the emotional quality of the dance but did say she needed to work on her hip movements.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27

Lil’ Kim & Derek Hough – Jive – They went to a drive in diner to get into the character of the 50’s. Suddenly, I want burgers. They danced to “Jailhouse Rock” with Kim as the jailer. Now this is the Jive I love. It was fast and furious the entire time, yet very precious. There were a few times they broke to add some fun stuff, like Kim shooting Derek, and I love those, too. I think I just saw a missed couple of kicks by Kim, but it was hard to tell for sure. She is going to be hard to beat if she keeps dancing like this. Bruno was too busy shouting to say much more than “You rock.” Carrie Ann also got up and screamed, praising the choreography. Len was more serious and said that it was too theatrical and lacked a bit of the Jive. However, she said what they did was good.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 8 Bruno – 10 Total – 28

Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer – Rumba – The two of them had a hard time getting the romance of this dance down. And that’s all I am saying about that. And Lacey’s costume? A little more would have been better, if you ask me. I feel sorry for Lacey this week. She is out there dancing and acting her heart out. Then Steve is out there as stiff as a board with one look on his face the entire time. Steve-O has surprised me so far in this competition, but this was a bad dance. Carrie Ann called it oddly mesmerizing, but she said the technical stuff, while better, still needed work. Len was much harsher, saying there was no hip action, or footwork, and it was no good. Bruno said that racy Lacey was the only good thing about it.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 4 Bruno – 5 Total – 16

Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke – Jive – We’re going to see a different side of Gilles tonight. He had some trouble getting it down during the week, but he’s got it now. Absolutely fun and fast with incredible footwork. I’m not sure if it was better than Lil’ Kim’s or not, but it was certainly right up there. Len found the whole thing a bit too frantic and said he missed a step, but gave it mostly praise. Bruno said it was good but was too fast to show the precision. Carrie Ann said it was good showy but the arms weren’t quite as good as normal.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 8 Bruno – 9 Total – 26

Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough – Rumba – The fact that these two are dating in real life has put extra pressure on Chuck to show their chemistry. And this is the week that they hit a wall in their relationship as far as her being the instructor goes. So they went back to their first date on the Santa Monica Pier. Now, on to the dance. Um, what is that shirt he is wearing? Chuck, netting does nothing for you. That aside, this is a hot dance. Chuck still seems a little unsure of himself, but he is improving every week. And as the dance got going, he seemed to get into it and get better. Bruno and Carrie Ann liked the heat, although they said it still had some way to go technically. Len, thought it was too sexy, however.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 7 Bruno – 8 Total – 23

So here are last night’s rankings:
1. Lil’ Kim – 28
2. Melissa – 27
3. Shawn – 26
3. Gilles – 26
5. Chuck – 23
6. Lawrence – 22
7. Ty – 18
8. Steve-O – 16

So, that was last night. Here’s what that meant tonight.

Encore: We started right out with Lil’ Kim and Derek’s Jive a second time around. I can see Len’s point that it could have used more true Jive, but it is absolutely lots of fun.

So apparently there is no dance off tonight. (Is this permanent or just for tonight?) Instead, they called two couples at random to come down the stairs and find out if they are safe or not. Um, okay. I’m unclear what was wrong with the old format of random telling couples with all of them on the floor. I hope that this is the end of the dance off, however. So far, it’s done nothing but make me watch more of the results show. (Wait, maybe I shouldn’t admit that. Maybe that’s why they have it.)

We didn’t have a bottom two tonight. They took the couples down to Ty & Chelsie and Steve-O and Lacey, telling us that one of them had the lowest score but the other wasn’t necessarily also in the bottom two. After getting some comments from the judges, they told us that the couple going home tonight is Steve-O and Lacey.

I must admit I am a bit shocked. I honestly thought after I watched Monday’s show it would be Ty. I figured Steve’s fan base would keep him around yet again. I guess we’re getting to the point where fan bases are pretty much equal. Maybe? I guess we’ll see how it shakes out next week.

Speaking of next week, not only do we have seven individual dances, but we have a 60’s themed group dance. Plus the stars are designing the costumes. That should be good for a laugh if nothing else. See you then.

Mark