“America’s Favorite Ballroom”

This week the couples had to learn two dances. First they have to do their individual dances which the judges evaluated. Then at the end of the show was a group performance of the swing including all of the couples.

Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson
Dance: Samba
Joey and Kym had to work on making sure Joey was not accused of looking feminine again this week. Wow Kyn Johnson is absolutely amazing. Their performance was really good and full of energy. Joey was singing along with the song which was a little odd. The judges really liked it despite a little problem with their footwork. At least they felt he was more manly this week. Len described it as “Swashbuckling” while Bruno called him a, “Randy, Fighting Cockerel”. I bet he’s never been called that before! (I’m not really sure anyone has been called that before).
Carrie Ann Inaba: 9
Len Goodman: 9
Bruno Tonioli: 9
Total: 27

Heather Mills & Jonathan Roberts
Dance: Paso Doble
Heather and Jonathon were on the bubble last week so had to work extra hard but a long trip to London made this difficult. I really didn’t like it at all and the musical arrangement from Evita didn’t help. The judges liked it especially the drama she brought to the dance (was Bruno implying she was a drama queen?) but at the same time they had a lot of technical criticisms.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 7
Len Goodman: 8
Bruno Tonioli: 8
Total: 23

John Ratzenberger & Edyta Sliwinska
Dance: Mambo
Edyta said their dance this week would be “Mambolicious!” I’m not sure I would go that far. It was a fun performance that I enjoyed, but John just can’t move his feet fast enough. Norm was in the audience (Go Cliffy!). The judges enjoyed their performance and thought he was having fun but, didn’t like their dance technically at all.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 7
Len Goodman: 6
Bruno Tonioli: 6
Total: 19

Laila Ali & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Cha-Cha
Laila wanted to put some funk into the Cha-Cha this week to show a little more of her style. The crowd totally loved it and they had a lot of energy, but it really didn’t do anything for me. (I know, I’m totally in the minority). Len also didn’t get the funk part which doesn’t make me feel any better about my opinion. Bruno and Carrie Ann totally loved it. On a side note its interesting that they cover her tattoos with makeup. It was visible during practice but in their performance there was no sign of it at all.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 9
Len Goodman: 9
Bruno Tonioli: 10
Total: 10 (Way to blow the score reveal, Samantha! She told them their score before the judges revealed them.)

Billy Ray Cyrus & Karina Smirnoff
Dance: Jive
This weeks plan from Karina was to focus on making Billy Ray feel comfortable and have fun instead of on technical accuracy. Their dance was definitely Billy Ray style but man Billy Ray is gave John Ratzenberger a run for his money for the slowest feet on the dance floor. The judges went along with the joke and even gave them some credit for a few jive moves.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 7
Len Goodman: 7
Bruno Tonioli: 7
Total: 21 (Wow, thats a good score for them. A few votes and they might make it another week).

Apolo Ohno & Julianne Hough
Dance: Rhumba
Their challenge in practice this week was that Julianne was sick. Because of their brother-sister-like relationship Apolo thought it felt weird again dancing a sensual dance with Julianne. All I can say to that is there’s something wrong with that dude. If you can’t feel sensual with her who can you feel it with? The dance was incredible. They did a great job. Carrie Ann and Bruno loved it and the risk they were taking. Len disliked their use of the chair, killing their chance for a repeat of their 30 from last week.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 9
Len Goodman: 9
Bruno Tonioli: 10
Total: 28

Ian Ziering & Cheryl Burke
Dance: Paso Doble
Ian and Cheryl also focused on the performance more than the technique of their routine in the hopes of making Ian less stiff. It turned out quite well. Still not as good as Julianne and Apolo but really, really good. The judges didn’t like his posture and didn’t feel the drama again. The all felt he has potential but has not reached it yet. Carrie Ann actually told him to take a page out of Billy Ray’s book and just go for it and dance with a little more passion.
Carrie Ann Inaba: 8
Len Goodman: 8
Bruno Tonioli: 8
Total: 24

The final segment of the show was the group swing. The practice session looked like a lot of fun. Several of the stars like Billy Ray and John looked pretty nervous about it. Heather missed the practice session completely. The perfromance was a lot of fun to watch. You could tell the camera angles were adjusted to focus on the better dancers. The two professional male dancers didn’t couldn’t really pull off the tough guy WWII soldier on leave routine. Some of the highlights included Laila lifting Apolo, Joey and Ian getting in a fight, and Joey and Kym’s lift. For me, with the couples dancing next to each other it was easy to tell which ones can dance and which ones can’t.

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