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October 1, 2007

'Dancing With the Stars': two hours of moves

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, it was men vs. women (sort of), but tonight, all 11 remaining stars will be performing. The dances are mambo or quick step.

Mel B and Maksim are doing the quick step to "Take On Me." They're in garish pink and coral, and, of course, lots of sparkles. Mel looks a little stiff to me, but it's probably the proper hold. Len: "I know what the B stands for: Ballroom." He says her posture was outstanding. Bruno compares her to Lena Horne and Ginger Rogers. Carrie Ann says her posture was beautiful and that they were great. Scores: 7-8-8, for a 23/30.

 

 

 

Mark Cuban and Kym are next, taking on the mambo, dancing to "Must be the Money," which makes me giggle just a tad. Mark mugs like crazy, and Kym is wearing one of the tiniest ballroom outfits ever. Carrie Ann says he certainly made her laugh, and that his face was dancing twice as much as the rest of him. Len says if there was a prize for hard work and dedication, he would be handed it (Mark nods and nods). Bruno: "It was like watching a bulldog chasing a squirrel." Scores: 6-6-6, for an 18/30.

Wayne and Cheryl prepare for their quickstep between shows all over the country (speaking of which, he will be at the Birchmere in a few days). They run all over the floor to "Viva Las Vegas," with Cheryl amusingly dressed like a showgirl, but with way more fabric on than usual. Bruno says he wasn't sure about the "air-kissing," but that it wasn't quite quick enough for a quick step. Carrie Ann says they brought Vegas to the dancefloor. Len says this was not an improvement over last week, but it was a more difficult dance to master. Scores: 5-5-5, for a 15/30.

Marie and Jonathan prepare for the mambo, including a scary death-drop move. They have a total blast, and Marie sells the heck out of it. And they both manage the drops and get a standing O. Len says it was absolutely great, but tells her to work to her strengths, her attitude and her performance. Bruno compares her to Rita Moreno in West Side Story (and says a lot of other things, but I didn't catch all of it). Carrie Ann calls her one hot cougar and said that her trust of her partner was great. Scores: 8-8-8, for a 24/30.

Albert and Anna prepare for the quickstep, which he is dedicating to his grandpa, who passed away this year. They dance to "99 Luftballoons" and are all over the place, but in a good way. Carrie Ann says he definitely made his grandpa proud. She says he needs to keep his joy and silliness even during the middle. Len says he thinks Albert is going to be the dark horse, but he says he skipped too much. Bruno says he needs to control his energy, but that his posture was excellent. Scores: 7-7-7, for a 21/30.

Helio says he's Brazilian, so he should know how to move his hips, but he says he doesn't. He and Julianne look like they never had a single problem when they get on the dancefloor. He's a dance-shark, with all that "I can't move my hips" nonsense. Bruno calls him an exhilarating hot rod. He says he never lost the beat during some very complex moves. Carrie Ann: "You're like the real deal." Len says he went into overdrive, and "that was so good," especially for week 2. Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30.

Jennie and Derek prepare for their quickstep, and she has trouble taking him seriously. They are going along pretty well (although she keeps looking like she's concentrating instead of smiling), and then during the final move, when she is being swept between his legs, he totally falls down. I can't tell if she accidentally hit him in an unfortunate place or it was a balance problem or what (even after several views, cough). Len says he loved how they got right into the dance but that she needs to work on her posture. Bruno says it was like "Leo and Kate in Titanic  ... it started out good, but ..." Carrie Ann said she was sad about the little mistakes because she has great potential and that she needs to just be in the moment instead of thinking so much. Scores: 7-7-7, for a 21/30. Derek explains it and says his foot got stuck on her dress and he slipped. Jennie looks like she is about to bawl, and her voice is completely gone.

Cameron and Edyta are also taking on the mambo. Edyta is wearing one of the weirdest outfits ever on this show (which, as you know, is sawying a lot). The fringe has tails! Carrie Ann says he hit some nice lines, but he needs to work on his musicality. Len says he got more rhythmic as the dance progressed. Bruno says he looked like Superman and sometimes he danced like Clark Kent. Overall: Relax and get on with it. Scores: 7-7-7, for a 21/30.

Floyd and Karina are next with the quickstep. Their routine definitely lives up to its name, though it seems to lack a little finesse. And I don't know that they needed the break at the end where Floyd ran around to get the crowd to clap. The crowd was already behind you! Bruno says he took on the quickstep and nearly won. He says the footwork was great, but he needs to work more on his posture. Carrie Ann says it was a great improvement and that he didn't miss a single step. Len said he thought he would like this dance, but that his hold looked like he was blocking a left hook. Scores: 7-7-7, for a 21/30.

Jane and Tony prepare for the mambo. Tony brings a snake in to help her learn how to move, but he's almost more freaked by the snake than she is. For as freaked as she was, they have a lot of fun on the floor. Len says it was an English mambo because it wasn't raunchy, it was too prim. Bruno says it was a mambo at a tea party. He says she needs to get her fangs out. Carrie Ann says the elegance worked on her behalf and worked in her favor. Scores: 7-7-7, 21/30.

Sabrina and Mark dance the quickstep, which they won't be able to work any hip-hop moves into. Her dress is longish and has this crazy feather trim, and I was in the midst of saying out loud that her shoe was going to get stuck in it when it did. But Sabrina didn't seem to miss a beat and to my eye brought the same precise footwork as last week without the modern moves that freaked out the judges. Carrie Ann says she was worried because she didn't think she was suited for the quickstep, but "I was wrong." Len says it's not all about speed, that it's about balance. Bruno says, "All bloody good. That was a blistering performance. You looked like a professional. You didn't put a foot wrong. Excellent." Scores: 26/30.

It was another fun one, but way long -- and the first full fall I've ever seen. Poor Jennie.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:22 PM | | Comments (0)
Categories: Celebreality, Dancing With the Stars
        

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About Sarah Kelber
Sarah Kickler Kelber, an editor in the features department since 1999, got sucked into reality TV with the first episode of MTV's The Real World in 1992. Then came Survivor and American Idol, and suddenly, the genre was everywhere. She started blogging about it for The Baltimore Sun in January 2006 and has logged more hours watching and writing about such shows as Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother and, of course, Idol, than she'd like to admit.
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