Dancing with the Stars was up close and personal for Week 3’s ‘story night', with tales of love, loss, hope and perseverance. An otherwise beautiful night of dancing turned scary when Kirstie and Maks took a nasty spill. More details on that below. So let’s break it down:
Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani’s fox trot was meant to portray the lean, early years of her career in which she slept in her car at times. The song choice “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” was great, but the dancing not so much. The judges panned it, with Len citing that Wendy took a step backwards after her improvement last week. Carrie 5, Len 5, Bruno 5. I don't think anything can save Wendy now.
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas’ cha cha depicted a cute puppy love story complete with song written for her by a past love. They really killed it but Carrie was a downer, criticizing Chelsea’s hip action. Carrie 7, Len 8, Bruno 8,
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke’s rumba portrayed a heartfelt, soulful piece dedicated to his deceased Mom, which reduced Carrier to tears. Len and Bruno noted Chris’ emotional connection, they called him on a lack of fluidity. Carrie 7, Len 7, Bruno 7,
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis Van Amstel’s rumba was an expression of her love story with hubby Hank, and this was dance was red hot and smoking! Not just because they were dressed in red or because Kendra was so overcome by the smoke she wobbled down the stairs, but this dance was sizzling. Len claimed there was unnecessary gyrating, but gorgeous leg action. Carrie loved it and Bruno called it teasingly erotic. Carrie 8, Len 7, Bruno 8.
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower’s rumba was dedicated to 2 cousins he lost as a child. The judges noted his emotional connection to the dance but called him out on some misteps. Len felt Romeo took a huge step backward from last week. Carrie 7, Len 6, Bruno 7.
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson’s samba: a celebration of his Mom and her sacrifices. This couple was awesome as always and the audience gave them a standing ovation. Carrie was happy, Len was proud. Carrie 9, Len 8, Bruno 8.
Petra & Dmitri Chaplin’s waltz was a story of hope and rising above challenges, how her tsunami experience lead her to form the Happy Hearts Fund, which rebuilds lives for child victims of disasters; Petra danced like she was born to waltz, and received her best scores so far. The judges said she danced like an angel, noting her heart shines through her dancing. Carrie 8, Len 9, Bruno 8.
Sugar Ray & Anna Trebunskaya’s paso doble was a forceful expression of his perserverance in beating the odds in his boxing career. Complete with boxing gloves, Sugar Ray nailed it like champ. The judges agreed it was a huge improvement, with Len noting he dominated the dance. Then how to explain Len’s crappy score? Carrie 7, Len 6, Bruno 7.
Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy’s rumba represented a turning point in her life; the agony and the ecstasy of a period in her life in which she lost her mom and nearly her Dad to a car accident, and within hours was hired for her first major acting role. The dance began beautifully but quickly turned ugly. Very early in the dance, Mak’s leg gave out, causing them both to hit the floor. They stood up, and after an awkward moment of trepidation, Maks lead them back into the dance for a graceful recovery and finish. Maks was quick to blame a pulled muscle in the hopes that the judges would not penalize Kirstie. Amazingly, the judges were KIND about it in their comments by relating it to Kirstie’s personal story. Carrie 7, Len 7, Bruno 7. That fall was really tough to watch. Let's just hope Maks recovers from his injury in time to rehearse next week's performance.
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff’s rumba was lovingly dedicated to his soulmate of 24 years and ended with Ralph on bended knee kissing his wife's hand. The overall presentation was good, but the Len noted it lacked some refinement and needed more hip action. Bruno complained about Ralph’s “spatula hands”. Carrie went up against her counterparts arguing that they missed the point, that it was a sweet rumba. Carrie 7, Len 7, Bruno 7.
Petra & Dmitri and Hines & Kym top the leaderboard with tied scores of 25, while Wendy & Tony weigh heavily on the bottom with a 15. Who will be sent packing tomorrow? My guess is Wendy Williams. Find out on Dancing with the Stars Results Show April 5, at 9 p.m. (EST) on ABC. The results show will feature Selena Gomez as the musical guest with a pro dance by Mark and Chelsie.
It would be nice to see Kirsty and Maxs dance tomorrow nighton the results show. What we saw of it was great. Thanks Brenda