Dancing with the Stars Week 2 of Season 13 was in full swing as our 11 returning couples performed one of two new dances, the quickstep or jive. In the rehearsal packages we saw what a rough week of practice it was, with visible frustrations among the stars and pros trying to learn and teach the new dances. Tough lawyer Nancy Grace was even reduced to tears. We also saw that Val Chmerkovskiy is very much Mak’s brother when it comes to teaching. And I’ll leave it at that. The tension in rehearsals caught on in the ballroom, thanks to Len Crankypants Goodman. Len rallied for Rob Kardashian’s jive, but then nosedived back into his miserable self for the duration of the show. He was brutal on everyone. Until Nancy’s quickstep, which made him so happy he gave them his highest score of the night.
Carson Kressley brought the entertainment in his quickstep, even though he still lacks technical prowess. Bruno compared him to Pee Wee Herman at the prom. Rob Kardashian surprised everyone with an energetic and confident jive. Hope Solo made blatant misteps in her choreography, forcing the judges to remind her that her dancing will pay the price if she splits her time between soccer and dance. Kristin Cavallari and Mark Ballas achieved what they set out to do, bringing old Hollywood glamour to the floor; but as Len says, they looked it more than they danced it in their quickstep. As is typical of Mark, he took a risk (breaking hold) and was promptly punished by Len. David Arquette was given props for his enthusiasm, but once again almost lost control in the dancing. Although Chynna Phillips gave a decent performance, the judges felt she played it too safe, and should have come out stronger after her good showing last week. Nancy delighted Len, being the first one to do a “proper quickstep” and she was rewarded with Len’s only 8 of the night.
Elisabetta Canalis was the biggest surprise of the night, coming back strong with a very elegant quickstep after a poor showing last week. Ricki Lake gave a stellar performance, but cranky Len felt it lacked jive content. Chaz Bono performed his quickstep on an ailing knee, and even though he did reasonably well, the judges called him out on not being quick enough in his quickstep. The ultimate injustice was JR and Karina’s jive, which had the audience on its feet, but they were dinged by Carrie Ann for doing a lift, and scolded by Len for dancing more of a lindy hop than a jive.
There was lots of movement on the board tonight, with some surprises. The scoring is so close in the bottom three, it’s anyone’s guess who goes home. And, depending on a couple’s fan base it could be anyone in the top 8.
Week 2 Leaderboard:
- Ricki Lake & Derek Hough 23
- Kristin Cavallari & Mark Ballas 22
- JR Martinez & Karina Smirnoff 22
- Elisabetta Canalis & Val Chmerkovskiy 21
- Chynna Phillips & Tony Dovolani 21
- Nancy Grace & Tristan Macmanus 21
- Robert Kardashian & Cheryl Burke 21
- Hope Solo & Maks Chmerkovskiy 19
- David Arquette & Kym Johnson enthusiastic; 18
- Carson Kressley & Anna Trebunskaya 18
- Chaz Bono & Lacey Schwimmer 17
Who do you think will be sent home? Leave your comments below. On Tuesday, September 27, we’ll find out who didn’t make the cut on "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show" at 9 p.m. (ET) on ABC. All male pros will be on deck for a pro dance!
Chat needs to go!!!
Please send Chat home!!
!!