It was a breathless battle on Monday's Dancing With the All-Stars,
as our seven celebs each performed two dances, fighting to advance to
next week's semifinals. Only five stars will make the cut.
The
show opened with "technical difficulties," said host Tom Bergeron. We
didn't see what those were at home because after the crowd applauded
during the intro, the show cut to a commercial instead of showing the
stars descending the staircase into the ballroom.
The next thing
we got: The all-stars lined up, smiling, and co-host Brooke
Burke-Charvet, shimmering in silver. (She didn't mention her thyroid
cancer.)
Tom Bergeron joked that we missed an "amazing" opening ... "the space shuttle landed right here!" Har har.
The
first round of dancing recognized Veterans Day with songs paying
tribute to members of the armed forces. The second dance was the Latin
Trio round as the stars were joined by an extra pro to make it a
threesome.
Tonight's scores were added to last week's scores. Here's how it all unfolded:
Melissa Rycroft put on her shiny sailor suit to dance a cute quickstep with Tony Dovolani to The Andrews Sisters' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
It wowed the crowd. Len said it was "the bee's knees." Bruno said he
wanted to "join the Navy!" Carrie Ann said she saluted the them. "You're
on fire!" Scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30 + 39 = 69.
Henry Byalikov
joined Melissa and Tony. Henry vowed to keep them at the top of the
leaderboard with an aggressive paso doble. It meant sweet Melissa had to
turn into a dominatrix for the number and rule the guys. She did,
complete with yelling "Ha!" in the middle of the dance. Len praised her,
saying, "Of all our celebrities, you impress me the most." Bruno said
she was "flamboyantly fabulous" and deserves a spot in the finals.
Carrie Ann said she "owned" the paso. Scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30 Total: 99
Shawn Johnson
got her Derek Hough back for this week's Viennese Waltz. "His neck is
feeling better," said Shawn. Today, Derek posted a note on his blog
saying he will have to have surgery, but he'll power through the next
three weeks of the show (the finale is Nov. 27). Dressed in a brown
military outfit reminiscent of Rolfe from The Sound of Music, Derek twirled Shawn in flowing white, as the two gracefully executed the dance to Sarah McLachlan's Angel.
"It was quiet and gentle ... poignant... fabulous," said Len. Bruno
called it "heavenly perfection." Carrie Ann liked that Shawn has turned
into a "beautiful, rich, in-depth performer." Scores: 10, 9.5, 10 = 29.5
+ 38 = 67.5.
For the Trio dance, Shawn and Derek were joined by
BFF Mark Ballas for a "tribal" samba. The guys had their shirts off and
Shawn wore a sparkly, feathery, bikini-type getup for a funky Lion King -esque number.
Len seemed stunned. He shook his head. "There was very little samba
content in a very critical week. Shawn, if you go home tomorrow, don't
blame me, blame those two." Whaaaa? Bruno said the three of them were
"very naughty" and gave him "jungle fever." He said it was
"intoxicating" and "creative," but agreed there was "very little" samba.
Carrie Ann disagreed with the guys, praising their risk-taking and
saying what samba they did was executed well. Derek said they were
trying to keep the fans entertained. Scores: 10, 7, 9 = 26. The
ballroom was not happy. Total: 93.5
Emmitt Smith
sported a tuxedo to dance his Viennese Waltz with Cheryl Burke, but it
went out of control a bit during a twirl. Carrie Ann said it was
"smooth," but noticed the slip. She told him he was playing it too safe.
Len said, "This man puts the 'ooo' in smooth." He agreed about the
slip, but he "liked it." Bruno said it was "classic." Scores: 9, 9.5,
9.5 = 28 + 34.5 = 62.5.
Pro Kym Johnson joined Emmitt and Cheryl
for the threesome. "It's tricky," he said, of handling two women, but
Kym promised the salsa would "blow everyone away." Did it? Yes. Emmitt
did a lot of hip-wiggling as the girls twirled around him. Carrie Ann
said he was "red hot." Len said it was "like working two yo-yos at the
same time." Bruno raved, too. Scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30. Total: 92.5
Kelly Monaco
was shown being frustrated in rehearsals with sweetie Val Chmerkovskiy.
But their Viennese Waltz was fluid. The two wore yellow and swirled
quickly to Edwin McCain's I"ll Be. Len thought it "flowed
nicely," but said sometimes the movements were a little too sharp."
Bruno called Kelly a "twinkling twirler." Carrie Ann loved that Kelly is
"growing every week," and is really capturing the spirit of the show.
Scores: 9.5, 9, 9.5 = 28 + 36 = 64.
Kelly invited Louis Van
Amstel to join her and Val for their trio jive. The two guys were
shirtless and fighting over Kelly, who was spilling out of her top, in
the dance. Kelly ended it by kissing Len. Did the sucking up work? "I
like the end," cracked Len, but he went on to praise the whole dance.
"What a swinger," said Bruno. Carrie Ann said it was "amazing," but
added that Kelly could have pointed her toe "a little bit more." Scores:
9.5, 9.5, 9.5 = 28.5 Total: 92.5
Gilles Marini,
who has been sliding down the leaderboard, was hoping for a "perfect
score," he said in rehearsals. To get there, partner Peta Murgatroyd
duct-taped him to stand up straight for his quickstep. Did the trick pay
off? Their dance to Danger Zone from Top Gun was fast.
They wore black jumpsuits and zoomed around the ballroom. Bruno loved
it. "Definitely top gun." Carrie Ann said there were "a few little slips
in his feet." And the crowd booed. "But it was so good." Len loved it,
calling it "thunder and lightning!" Scores: 9.5, 10, 10 = 29.5 + 33.5 =
63.
Gilles and Peta invited Chelsie Hightower to join them for a
salsa. In the dance, the fiery females were fighting over Gilles, who
loved it -- and so did the audience. Bruno said, "Menage a trois seems
to come natural to you." He praised him for "taking care of the ladies,"
but said he lost timing a bit. Carrie Ann agreed, but she loved how he
"took control" of the dance floor. Len liked that he wasn't hiding
behind the women. "Well done!" Scores: 9.5, 10, 9.5 = 29. Total: 92
Apolo Anton Ohno
ziplined his way into the ballroom to spice up his tango with partner
Karina Smirnoff. The two danced up and down the steps to Holding Out for a Hero.
Bruno raved: "That was a daredevil of a tango!" Carrie Ann shrieked: "I
loved it! Wow! Phenomenal!" Len was also wild about it, saying,"It was
full-on attack and it was great." Scores: 10, 9.5, 10 = 29.5 + 33 =
62.5.
Apolo and Karina were joined by Sasha Farber for a jive that
was high-energy, with somersaults and jumps. It was a risk choosing a
male pro, but Bruno praised how well he kept in sync with Farber. Carrie
Ann said it was one of his most "vibrant" performances. Len said it was
"sharp" and "together." Scores: 9.5, 9.5, 10 = 29. Total: 91.5
Kirstie Alley wore a green military skirt outfit for her Viennese Waltz to Hallelujah
with Maks Chemrkovskiy, who wore matching green pants and a white
T-shirt, his dog tags flung over his shoulder. "Hallelujah for our
military," said Kirstie. Carrie Ann thought it was one of her "best
dances." Len raved, "Your best dance. Well done." Bruno said it was
"stylish" and "elegant." Scores: 9, 9, 9 = 27 + 28 = 55.
Kirstie
joked that she needed "double" help and loved dancing with two men --
Maks and Tristan MacManus -- for a winged paso doble. Barefoot and
wearing a nightgown over black leggings, Kirstie seemed to enjoy it. The
crowd? Um, not as much. Carrie Ann liked the theme, costumes and
presentation but said it was "a little sloppy." Len liked the attitude,
but said it lacked "finesse." Bruno said it was like watching The Valley of the Dolls." Scores: 8, 8, 8 = 24. Kirstie sent herself into a fit of giggles saying she expected "the first 10.5." Total: 79.
On Tuesday, two stars will go home. Who should be sent packing?
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