Dancing With The Stars 4/19 Results & Live Blogging





IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR ELIMINATION RESULTS FOR 4/26, CLICK HERE!!


Dancing with the Stars Results Show April 19.

SPOILER ALERT:

LIVE BLOGGING:

The Couples In Jeopardy Were:
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin

THE COUPLE ELIMINATED AND GOING HOME IS:
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin

Video: Hines Ward & Kym Johnson Finish First On Dancing With The Stars

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson finished in second place last week on Dancing with the Stars and they wanted to reclaim their place on the top.

On Monday night, the duo danced the Rumba to God Bless the USA on a special “Americana” night. Kym said because of the patriotic nature of the song, she will tone down on the usual sexy raunchy choreography of this type of dance.

FOR A FULL RECAP OF THE 4/18 SHOW AND TO WATCH OTHER STARS’ PERFORMANCES CLICK HERE!

Hines felt like a caveman in rehearsals because he head-butted his partner twice and dropped her a couple of times as well.

During the performance Hines was dressed in a white uniform ala Richard Gere style and looked just as dapper I must say. He also did a great job of twirling the sexified Kym every which way but loose. The duo once again floored the judges and ended the night in first place. This is how the judges gushed:

Bruno Tonioli (9): “An Officer and a Gentleman. Ease of musicality and just the right amount of sensuality to make all the ladies swoon. Well plaaaayed.”
Carrie Ann Inaba (9): “Hines, you make it look so easy…You have the best hip action I have seen in a looooong time. And it was very romantic. It’s tough to do Proud to Be An American and then do the most sensual dance of the night. Good job.”
Len Goodman (9): “What I like is that it’s not false. It has a naturalness about it. It’s got an ease and an elegance about it which is charming. For me, that’s your best dance so far.”
Total score: 27

Dancing With The Stars: 4/18 Scores, Recap, Performance Videos

For the first time in three weeks, there were no falls or shoe breaks on Dancing with the Stars. Instead, it was a night of good old fashion great dancing! Well, not so old fashion. But just some amazing dancing.

On Tax Day, it was very appropriate that the April 18 episode was themed “Americana week,” meaning our duos had to dance either Latin or ballroom with an “all-American twist.”


Hines Ward and Kym Johnson finished in second place last week and danced the Rumba to God Bless the USA Monday night. Kym said because of the patriotic nature of the song, she will tone down on the usual sexy raunchy choreography of this type of dance. Hines felt like a caveman in rehearsals because he head-butted his partner twice and dropped her a couple of times as well. 
During the performance Hines was dressed in a white uniform ala Richard Gere style and looked just as dapper I must say. He also did a great job of twirling the sexified Kym every which way but loose. The duo once again floored the judges and ended the night in first place. This is how the judges gushed:
Bruno Tonioli (9):An Officer and a Gentleman. Ease of musicality and just the right amount of sensuality to make all the ladies swoon. Well plaaaayed.”
Carrie Ann Inaba (9): “Hines, you make it look so easy…You have the best hip action I have seen in a looooong time. And it was very romantic. It’s tough to do Proud to Be An American and then do the most sensual dance of the night. Good job.”
Len Goodman (9): “What I like is that it’s not false. It has a naturalness about it. It’s got an ease and an elegance about it which is charming. For me, that’s your best dance so far.”
Total score: 27

Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Foxtrot to New York, New York. Romeo was stoked because he’s already lasted longer than his dad Master P did on the show before he made his exit with a score of an 8. Yes, 8. Romeo wanted to add swagger to the choreography and Chelsie agreed as long as they would do it the ’60s kind of swagger to go with the feel of the song.  Romeo looked sharp in his tuxedo and top hat. I swear I can’t help but smile when I watch these two dance. They melt me…just like the little town blues melt in NY, NY!
Len (9): “The parts in hold had control. And the parts you weren’t together had a lot of flare about it. There’s still bits and pieces that I am not 100% happy with. But I think you are on the right road because you are a very charming chap and you always come out and do a good job.”
Bruno (8): “Yes, you did have swagger, and spank and full of flavor. I’ve never seen a Foxtrot so cheeky and so well-danced because you did all that but maintained the style of the dance. Well done.”
Carrie Ann (9): “I remember week one when you were resisting the ballroom and you did not want to go there saying ‘it’s not cool.’ That was so cool and so sophisticated. You have your own unique style. I have never seen anyone approach the ballroom like you have. Great job. Chelsie, good job.”
Total score: 26
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas did the Samba to Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. Chelsea wanted to stay on top of the leaderboard and thought she can do so by breaking every single rule for the Samba. Mark, however, desided to keep it straight for once to show off Chelsea’s good technique. Chelsea wanted to prove her first place finish last week was no accident. She accomplished her goal, coming in a close second –then again, it’s a three-way tie for second place–but this dance was by far my fave dance of the night.

Chelsea is such a great dancer and so beautiful to look at, I sometimes forget to also check out Mark’s moves. But I made a point of paying attention to him too Monday night and he just floored me once again. He’s such an amazing talent and is simply mesmerizing to watch–there is a reason he’s coached two of his partners to winning the mirrorball trophy. OK, back to Chelsea. Here is what the judges had to say about her:

Bruno (9): “You had all the go for it, positive energy of America. And the sizzle and excitement of Brazil. The best of both worlds. And you are so clean. Your placement is so good. You are so tight. You are really really such a good dancer darling, you really are.”
Carrie Ann (9): “You guys dance so well together. Your attributes match perfectly. I think this was fantastic, again.”
Len (8): “Yum yum what a bum. Honestly. This was a party and I’m not talking a Tupperware party. This was real good fun….well done!”
Total score: 26

Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Viennese Waltz to America The Beautiful and Chris said his mission was to get higher than a 7 from Len –the score he said he’s received 3 weeks in a row. Chris looked oh-so-handsome in his military getup and rocked the ballroom dance, thanks to his stellar posture and form. The duo put on an elegant and effortless number.  Chris then did his best impression of Len and announced he got an 8! Did Chris get a good score out of Len? Here is what went down from the judges panel:

Bruno (9): “Big, yet graceful. Strong, yet delicate of touch. With a sweeping sense of romance. It was absolutely wonderful!”
Carri Ann (9): “In some weird way, I feel like we have underestimated you. You are so good. Your technique is so amazing. You are a contender my friend.”
Len (8): “American week and it’s so nice to see Cheryl showing off the rocky mountains there.” Cheryl chuckles, turns beat read, covers her chest and turns her back and says, “I feel violated!” Len continues, “Let me tell you Chris. Week 1 you got a six [ouch!] And when you deserve an 8, I will give you one. It was a little flatfooted. Your hold and your posture was good. But you will get an 8 when you deserve an 8.”Oh Len…you had us all going! The big grump did make Chris’ day and gave him an 8!
Total Score: 26

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the Foxtrot to American Woman. Kirstie said in rehearsals, “Everyone says there is no front runner,” and then continued with a pout, “I want to be the front runner.” Because of the mishaps this duo have experienced on the main stage the last two weeks, Kirstie enlisted the help of a “Dance Doctor,” John Travolta.  
Dr. Travolta was more of a cheerleader than a physician. He told Kirstie to wear tennis shoes and get romantic with Maks because the public can feel the non-romance between the two. He finished his prescription by advising Maks to tell Kirstie he loves her more often. I gotta admit, I kinda like Dr. Travolta’s regimen. Kirstie was dressed all I Dream of Jeannie style during the dance and Maks was his usual shirtless hot self, but clad in black leather pants on the bottom. Well, except he had an American flag painted on his body. There were lots of gyrations and flirtations and a whole lot of sexiness.
Carrie Ann (8): “Now, that was a different take on the Foxtrot. But it absolutely suited you. It was bold. It was ambitious. It was a little borderline crazy. It was magical. I think it was your best dance ever.”
Len (7): “Well it had attitude. There were lots of basic steps which I like to see. But the overall feel of it wasn’t my cup of tea. We are looking for excellence and there was little excellence about it.”
Bruno (8): “Oh the American woman and the Russsssssian gigolo.  The cold war is definitely over. I didn’t know you were so dirty. And I loved it. Yes, both of you. Are you taking direct bookings by the way, or do I have to talk to an agent?” Maks says, “I’m expensive!” Bruno shoots back, “I can afford it! And give me that doctor by the way. Loved it!”
Total score: 23
Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel danced the Foxtrot to Yankee Doodle Dandy! In rehearsals,

Kendra says she’s not “f—ing afraid of elegance” and that Carrie Ann made her “feel like trash” when Carrie Ann said last week that the Playboy bunny is afraid of her sexy side. Quite frankly, I am tired of Kendra crying and complaining all the time and I don’t find her whining sexy. Then again, I am not a man, so, what do I know.

Louis patiently convinced Kendra that the judges provide harsh critiques because they want her to be at her best and to develop the necessary confidence to advance in the competition. Kendra finally said she saw the light.
These two had the honor of performing the show’s 1,000th dance and with that came a crap load of confetti strewn all over the place. Kendra promised America that she will put her “heart and soul” in the dance since we saved her from elimination last week. For the performance, the two were decked out in more red, white and blue that any two sane people should ever wear at any one given moment (boo hoo on me for sounding unpatriotic possibly). But Kendra did rebound from last week’s fiasco: She was more fun to watch and had more sass and flair, though she still ended up tied for last place anyway.  Here is what the judges said:
Len (7): “Good news. It’s much better than last week. You came out and enjoyed yourself. It was fun and it was entertaining. Well done.”
Bruno (7): “Sweet as apple pie and much more in character. When you perform on stage on camera, you have to be in it…I can still see you thinking it. You have to stop that.”
Carrie Ann (7):  “This is the most confident I’ve ever seen you. I know these comments are hard to hear. But whenever we are commenting, we’re always trying to help you. And look what it did. You were confident. You were a fighter. Most patriotic dance of the night.”
Total Score: 22

Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: Danced the Samba to Sweet Home Alabama. Ralph chuckled, “I’m a New Yorker. Karina is Russian. We’re dancing the Samba about Alabama. It’s perfect!” Ralph looked cute all Howdy Doody’d up. The judges placed my adorable Daniel-San in the bottom tonight – I never understand why they are so harsh on him. Perhaps they wanted to punish Karina for posing in Playboy earlier this week. Here is what the judges had to say:

Len (7): Called Ralph inconsistent saying he’s great one week and not so much the next. “You got to get hip. You got to get rhythm. It’s not terrible but lacked a lot of the qualities we’d like to see.”
Bruno (7): “Yes, It’s American night. And the line dance and the two-step was very very good. But we’re looking at a Samba. It needs fire down below man [As Bruno looked down at his own crotch]. You have to get these hips going. Get the lines going. You have to get the loins going [As Bruno slaps his own butt].  You do a character really really well. But we need to get a Latin feel. Give me sex man. Give me sex.”
Carri Ann (8): “Excuse me you two [looking at her fellow judges]. It’s Americana week. OK, mixing the Samba element with the celebration of Americana to Sweet Home Alabama is a crazy concoction and it’s a tall order but I think that was a great entertaining performance…It was probably your most vivacious performance ever.”

Total Score: 22

Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin danced the Quickstep to Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas. Petra admitted she had no idea who Elvis was when she was growing up in Czechoslovakia, under a communist influence. Petra felt like a kangaroo in rehearsals but said with the Quickstep she’d like to thank America for the dreams she’s been able to accomplish here. AW, can she possibly get any sweeter??
Their routine is way too fast for Petra and she has a couple of minor slip-ups. But as usual, she brought her smile, her charm and her unending grace to the dance floor.
Carrie Ann (7): “Petra I love watching you. You have come so far. Your confidence has grown. But tonight I feel like you took a bit of a setback. Only because you had some stumbles. You guys got out of sync. It’s a tough dance.”
Len (7): “It’s a very fast dance and I think you coped very well with the speed of the music. Your head…you have a lovely neck. Your head sometimes gets a bit cranky. Too forward to the left. You just have to refine the dance. But you have quite the potential but you have to work on a few things.”
Bruno (8): “I disagree with the two of them. First, this was very very difficult and very very fast. You were like a golden goddess of speed. You had lines that could rival Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini put together. Obviously the handling was sometimes a bit dodgy…there were a couple of foot faults but the quality was very good.”
Total score: 22

AND, here is the leaderboard:

Hines Ward & Kym Johnson: 27
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 26
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 26
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 26
Kirstie Alley & Maks: 23
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel: 22
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 22
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 22

Spotted In The Hot Afternoon Sun: DWTS’ Hines Ward & Kym Johnson (Photos)

Hines Ward Kym Johnson

SpottedHines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and his partner Kym Johnson took time off from rehearsals for Dancing with the Stars to bring some afternoon ‘love’ and Hines’ signature smile to The Grove Friday April 14 for an interview with Mario Lopez of Extra.  Enjoy the pictures! Continue reading

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Results: Live Blogging 4/12

SPOILER ALERT:


Dancing with the Stars results show is Tuesday April 12. The live results are as follows:

Safe:
*Ralph Macchio And Karina Smirnoff
*Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
*Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke
*Romeo and Chelsie Highwater
*Kendra And Louis Van Amstel
*Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy

Bottom Three:
*Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
*Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin
*Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya

Sadly, it was Sugar Ray Leonard who was eliminated and voted off.

Video: Hines Ward Electrifies With The Paso Doble

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson perform the Paso Doble on DWTS

On Classic night episode of Dancing with the Stars, Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson danced the Paso Doble to Bond’s Explosive.

In rehearsals, Hines expressed his concern that dancing to a song without lyrics will pose difficulty for him because he times his steps to the words of a song. But he certainly had no problem when it came time to perform. He delivered a manly, confident and electrifying Paso. And the judges agreed! Continue reading

‘Dancing With The Stars’ – Performance Videos & Show Recap

April 11th episode of Dancing with the Stars marked the show’s first-ever classical night. Here are the scores, recap, judges’ comments and performance videos from episode 4 of Season 12:

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas danced the Viennese Waltz to Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams. Chelsea asked Mark during rehearsals to push her harder than ever because she did not want to be in third place anymore but instead be “seen as the team to reckon with.” And Mark complied and pushed Chelsea straight into first place Monday night.
Len Goodman (8): “Mark, there is no doubt about it. You are a marvelous teacher and a great choreographer. Chelsea, you are a fantastic dancer. So why is it that every time I see you, there is something that I don’t like that jars me. This is the Viennese Waltz. It’s 300 years old. It is the most traditional of all ballroom dances. Mark, it is your job to help her interpret it and not distract her by creeping all over the floor. Overall I liked it because this girl is a really good dancer.”
Bruno Tonioli (9): Listen to me. It was magical, fabulous beautiful and bewitching. Technically speaking, it was the best dance of the night…Be happy because I am.”
Carri Ann Inaba (9): “Sometimes I agree with Len that choreography can be distracting, but tonight I agree with Bruno….Chelsea, you’re in your stride.”
TOTAL SCORE: 26

Watch the couple for yourself:


Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff exploded back to near the top of the leaderboard with a Waltz set to a contemporary Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky. Ralph wanted to work on his “Dracula” hands that Len has frequently complained of. Their dance was simply breathtaking!
Bruno (9): “Achingly romantic. Totally heartfelt. Brilliant storytelling through dancing. And thank you very much for continuing the lines.”
Carri Anne (8): “What I love about you is when you dance, you’re so honest. There’s such an honest connection to the emotion so I believe you….normally I might say that was over dramatic. But when you do it, I was swept in. I was carried through the story. I was right there in the tragedy. It wasn’t a tragedy, it was glorious.”
Len (8): “You’ve been int he wilderness for two week. You’re back!”
TOTAL SCORE: 25
Watch the romantic performance:



Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson danced the Paso Doble to Bond’s Explosive. Hines expressed in rehearsals that dancing to a song without lyrics will pose difficulty for him because he times his steps to the words of a song. But he certainly had no problem when it came time to perform. He delivered a manly, confident and electrifying Paso. And the judges agreed!
Carri Ann (9): “You were in the zone my friend. Touchdown on the Paso! You nailed it. You were in control! You were twirling her. You were stomping.”
Len (8): “You are the most determined of all our celebrities. You come out every week 100%. Work, hard because you are doing great.”
Bruno (8): “You have the killer instinct. As the song says, truly explosive.”
TOTAL SCORE: 25
Watch the duos’ Paso Doble:

Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Paso Doble to In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. Chris said this week Cheryl helped him go from Charlie Brown to Charlie Sheen. The judges said:
Bruno (8): “Chris, you got the accents so well. Excellent.”
Carri Ann (8): “That was a really hard dance. You were so connected to the music. I love your form. Watch out for this guy.”
Len (7): Chris, The dance wasn’t bad. It starts out quiet. It’s got menace. And the first part you got right. You had that menacing look. But the music grows, and it gets more and more loud and it gets more powerful. And that’s what you didn’t do. The music conquered you. You didn’t conquer the music.
TOTAL SCORE: 23
Watch the bull dance below:

Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin danced a fierce Paso Doble for the usually sweet Petro to Les Voici! Voici La Quadrille! by Georges Bizet.
Len (7): “I would have liked a bit more authority through your feet and through your legs. It could have done with being more crisper. Overall, I am more impressed thann I am depressed about it because my expectations were that it wasn’t going to work but you really came out and tried to show the emotion of the dance.”
Bruno (8): “It is not Petra, it’s Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarmen, the Femme Fatale [And Bruno took his jacket off and started gyrating and touching himself while commenting]. The deadly beauty. A woman that knows what she wants and how to get it. and by the look of it, you’re going to get plenty of it. And that ending, oooh my God.”
Carri Ann (8): “Is it over??? Bruno, put your clothes back on. Petra, you’re on a roll. Last week your Waltz was incredible and this week your confidence has shown through. It was absolutely gorgeous. Your lines were strong. You still need to work a hair on your core strength but all of your lines were gorgeous. It was powerful, passionate…a new Petra!”
TOTAL SCORE: 23

Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Paso Doble tonight to Palladio, First Movement by Karl Jenkinsand. Romeo ripped his shirt off during the performance. It was hot. But it didn’t sit well with Len.
Len (8): “Romeo, have a bit of decorum dear boy. You know. Exposing yourself like that in front of us…that It’s classic week. You don’t see me flaunting myself in front of everyone….the dance was full of passion. It was full of attack and intensity and that I love.” Though he did tell Chelsie to get the whip out and shape the “colt” Romeo into finesse and better technique.
Bruno (8): “Focused, powerful, action packed and six packed as well! You have the look of a rising star.” He also praised the couple on dancing to such a difficult song.
Carrie (7): “Unfortunately..there was a little bit of lift, so, I had to deduct for that…but that was the first time I saw a Paso with swagger…That was fantastic. Powerful. Fully confident and very passionate.”
TOTAL SCORE: 23

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the Waltz to The Flower Duet by Léo Delibes’ Lakmé. Last week, it was Maks who got injured during their performance. This week, it was Kirstie who injured her hip during the rehearsals. But she fought on and told Maks do the same choreography that you would do for a 25-year old even if it kills me.  Well, the choreography didnt kill Kristie, but it did kill her show which came off half-way thorugh the dance and made her struggle with it for a few seconds. Here is what the judges thought:

Carri Ann (7): “Kristie, you are the queen of the unexpected mishap. I mean, whose shoe comes off? You didn’t miss a beat and you have to get credit for that. However, this one was kinda strange. It felt like you weren’t in the number and it looked like you were waiting for it to be over. And oddly, when the shoe fell off, and you out it back in, you had so much more joy dancing.”
Len (7): “Everything was OK about it but everything needs to be improved. Your posture is OK, but it needs to be stronger. Your footwork is OK but it needs to be cleaner. And your movement is OK but it needs to flow more.”  
Bruno (8): “I thought you did amazingly well. You’re light on your feet and you have great musicality.”
TOTAL SCORE: 22

Watch the dance and the shoe mishap for yourself:

Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya danced the Viennese Waltz to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of The Flowers.
Carri Ann (7): “I don’t think I have ever smiled that much watching somebody…Sugar Ray you have this sparkle that is unbeatable…but there is something so entertaining and I absolutely fell in love with that dance.”
Len (7): “Sugar Ray Leonard turns into the Sugar Plumb Fairy. The more I got into it, the more I smiled, and the more I realized as much as technique and performance are important, so is entertainment and I was throughly entertained from start to finish.”
Bruno (7): “Len is right. It had a wonderful cartoonish charm. Instead of playing Prince Charming you played it like Mickey Rooney in The Ballerina, but it was so effective. As entertainment, it was excellent.”
TOTAL SCORE: 21

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel danced the Viennese Waltz to Conte Partirò by Andrea Bocelli. Kendra said she was “screwed” because she had to be ladylike during the performance. But then she decided to dress gangster and make it into a mafia Waltz. She also has been talking all week about having three tricks into the performance and says she’s scared about being able to pull them off.
Bruno (6): “Kendra, you messed it up and you know that. Technique is very difficult to achieve and there were a lot of technical issues…This is a song of heartbreaking longing and you should transform yourself, become one with the music. Become the character, become the Black Swan.”
Carrie Ann (6): “I see that you are trying very hard. That is no easy choreography….I want to tell you something. Elegance is no different than sexy. It’s like you’re afraid of elegance…You were holding back.You are a very beautiful dancer. You just need to have more confidence.”
Len (6): “Bruno sometimes forgets you people are beginners. You haven’t had a life in dance. I am not saying it was fantastic because there were a few incidences there. But you came out, it had flow, it had good movement..don’t forget Bruno, these people are beginners, don’t be cruel!”
TOTAL SCORE: 18

Here is the leaderboard scores:

Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas: 26
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson: 25
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff: 25
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke: 23
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin: 23
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower: 23
Kirstie Alley & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 22
Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Trebunskaya: 21
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis Van Amstel: 18

Video: Hines Ward Samba Makes His Mama Proud!

Pittsburgh Steelers standout wide receiver and two-time Super Bowl champ Hines Ward danced the Samba of his life on Monday’s Dancing with the Stars.

Ward and his professional partner Kym Johnson danced the Samba to Earth Wind & Fire’s Fantasy. Hines chose that song to dance to because it was the song Hines’ mother always listened to. When Hines was a child, his mom worked three or four jobs just to support Hines after his parents divorced. The dance was meant to be a celebration and a thank you to his mom who was there in the audience to cheer him on.

And Hines more than accomplished his goal. His joyful and charming and yet sexy dance left his mom (and the rest of us) with a huge grin in the audience, waving the Steelers terrible towel. Here is what the judges had to say about Hines’s moves on the dance floor:

Carrie Ann Inaba (9): “Booya! Baby’s got bounce! Hines you danced the Samba like you’ve been dancing it your whole life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good job!”
Len Goodman (8): “The story was upbeat. The dance was upbeat. It’s obvious Carrie Ann is proud of you. Your mother is proud of you. And I tell you what, I am proud of you!”
Bruno Tonioli (8): “This Samba was an uplifting expression of happiness. Bouncing butt. Shaking butt. Two for the price of one. Happy hour!”
Total score: 25
Watch the Hines Happy Hour Below:

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Recap, Scores & Videos 4/4

Dancing with the Stars played with a “story night” theme on its April 4th episode of Season 12. As part of this theme night, each star selected a song to which he/she has a strong attachment and created a dance which conveyed what that song means to him/her. The dances consisted of a mix of Latin ballroom and the Waltz.

Here’s how our stars fared, in the order of their finish Monday, from first place to last. The individual judge’s score for each dance is in parenthesis next to his/her name.

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson danced the Samba to Earth Wind & Fire’s Fantasy because it was a song Hines’ mother always listened to when Hines was growing up. When Hines was a child, his mom worked three or four jobs just to support Hines after his parents divorced.

The dance was meant to be a celebration and a thank you to his mom who was there in the audience to cheer him on. And Hines more than accomplished his goal. His joyful and charming and yet sexy dance left his mom (and the rest of us) with a huge grin, waving the Steelers terrible towel.

And the judges were overjoyed!
Carrie Ann Inaba (9): “Booya! Baby’s got bounce! Hines you danced the Samba like you’ve been dancing it your whole life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good job!”
Len Goodman (8): “The story was upbeat. The dance was upbeat. It’s obvious Carrie Ann is proud of you. Your mother is proud of you. And I tell you what, I am proud of you!”
Bruno Tonioli (8): “This Samba was an uplifting expression of happiness. Bouncing butt. Shaking butt. Two for the price of one. Happy hour!”
Total score: 25


Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin danced a magical Waltz to You Raise Me Up in the hopes that others would derive the same hope and inspiration she gets from this song. Before she danced, Petra spoke of her return to Thailand after the Tsunami had devastated the country. She explained that she listened to this song to ease her frustrations after meeting all the homeless children. The song also inspired her to establish her charity.

The judges were moved:
Carrie Ann (8): “I think that’s what makes this dance special. Your heart was all over the moves. You’ve gone from supermodel to super graceful inspirational dancer.”
Len (9): “It had grace, it had elegance. It had fluid movements. This season, it’s my favorite…For me, at this moment, you’re the one.”
Bruno (8): “You’re like a vision from heaven and you danced like an angel. Your improvement is incredible. Your beauty is great but your heart is even more beautiful.”
Total score: 25

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas danced the Cha Cha to a song written for her, named Chelsea of course. Chelsea wanted to be more conservative this week in the choreography and the change paid off big.

Before she danced, Chelsea told the tale of her first love, Brian. Brian wrote the song Chelsea for her as a way to express his feelings for her. And good news for Brian, it worked! Chelsea fell head over the heels. But In rehearsals, Chelsea felt intimidated by Mark because Mark made a better girl than she does. The judges ate up her routine:


Bruno (8): “Chelsea Chelsea, sexy sexy! Ooh. I could feel…I could really feel that excitement running through you. Quivering…For the bite, the bite of that delicious first taste of love. Tasty Tasty Chelsea. And a great Cha Cha.”
Carrie Ann (7): “I’m a big fan of love and romance, and I am a big fan of that Cha Cha. You are so adorable. You look like a little baby Julianne [Hough].”
Len (8): “I remember my first love and it didn’t look anything like you….That’s your best dance. Well done.”
Total Score: 23

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel danced the Rumba. Kendra chose You and Me by Musiq Soulchild to describe her relationship with her husband Hank Baskett.  Kendra explained that when she first started dating Hank, his fans turned on them for him dating a “stripper” and she went through a rough time. Kendra wanted to send the message of “follow your heart” through her song and dance. The judges liked her efforts though she got mixed review on the sexiness of it all:

Len (7): “I wasn’t that keen on the unnecessary gyrating that went on and occasionally you were a little unstable…however, what impressed me was week one I spoke to you about your legs…but you come out with beautiful feet and gorgeous leg action.”
Bruno (8): “Kendra..there is nothing to worry about. There is nothing wrong with a good stripper. In fact, I’m into it myself. It could be art and that was so teasingly erotic. It was hot and arousing darling. I tell you if it had that affect on me, can you imagine the men in the audience? They’re turning purple out there!”
Carrie Ann (8): “Let me tell you something, it was not just the men who got a little excited. That was hot hot hot. What I love is you’re celebrating your sensuality.”
Total score: 23

Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke danced the Rhumba. Chris choose the song, Let It Be because he feels it encompasses all his memories about his mother who was involved in an accident as Chris’ wrestling career was taking off.
Carrie Ann (7): “Chris Irvine, that was a beautiful tribute to your mom. This is what I love so much about dancing. And I am so glad you got to experience what it feels like to tell a story and to create a whole emotional response….Your hip action, a little strange but emotionally, amazing. Great job.”
Len (7): “Choreography can cover up a multitude of mistakes and Cheryl did a great job because you virtually never used your arms, they were always on your hips and because of that it lost some fluidity through the upper body…the lines or posses you did were excellent.”
Bruno (7): “You brought a great sense of warmth; an almost naked sense of vulnerability which is very difficult to do with the Rumba because it is basically a sexy dance and you made it work. But Len is right, you have to link the lines.”
Total score: 21

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovski danced the Rumba. Over the Rainbow was Kirstie’s chosen tune because it depicts the most significant turning point in her life. In 1980, she had moved to LA and had given herself one year to make it in Hollywood. She was up for a role on Star Trek II but got a call from her sister that her parents were hit by a drunk driver. She had lost her mother in the tragedy. But 72 hours later, she landed the role on Star Trek which was her big career break. So, the song for Kirstie signifies hopefulness after despair.

During what would have been an emotionally supercharged piece, Maks’ “thigh gave out” and he fell to his knee, grimacing in pain for a few seconds. He did stand up and the duo were able to pick up the dance as the consummate professionals that each is. When the dance finished, Kirstie and Maks hugged for along time.

The judges were kind:
Carrie Ann (7): “Sometimes tragedy leads to amazingly beautiful moments. And I think despite the fact that you had a little of a mess up in the beginning, something magical happened after that and you were just so connected to the music…to see you connected to your vulnerability like that and determined to make it through. You did a wonderful job.”
Len (7): “Dancing is a bit like life. It’s about overcoming adversities and you overcame it. You got up, dusted yourself off and you bounced back stronger. Well done.”
Bruno (7): “Kirstie, you can’t keep good talent down. Once you got up it was better than ever!”
Total score: 21


Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff danced the Rumba to Stevie Wonder’s Stay Gold. The song holds a special place for Macchio both as an actor and as a person. Macchio starred in The Outsiders which launched his career and he always loved that theme from the movie.

“Stay Gold” to him means to strive to hold those moments in one’s life which are the most special. Macchio also used that song in his wedding and ironically, this is his 24th wedding anniversary week. He dedicated the Rumba to his wife for the most amazing 24 years of his life and for always reminding him to stay gold (I am crying as I type…so sweet!)

Len (7): “The whole routine I thought was crisp and it was clean. But, it needs a tad of refinement. Your hand, you need to work on those. Your feet, you need to work on those. It needed a bit more hip action. But the overall look was very appealing.”
Bruno (7): “It was a very beautiful dance. It’s the execution. I told you about the hand from week 1. You still do these statual things. And I know [Karina] is not your wife, but she’s beautiful. You deal with her like she’s too hot to handle. You don’t know what to do with her.”
Carrie Ann (7): “I thought it was a very sweet Rumba. I think you missed the point Bruno, he wasn’t doing it for Karina, he doing it for his wife.” After Len’s outburst of “It was not sweet,” ended, Carrie Ann continued: “You do have to work on your core strength though but it was very sweet and it was very moving and you two [Len and Bruno] are kookoo.”

Total score: 21

Romeo and Chelsie Hightower danced the Rumba. Romeo chose the song I’ll Be There to pay tribute to the cousin he saw die in a car accident when Romeo was 9 and another cousin who died by violence.
Bruno (7): “You really put your heart and soul in to it and it showed. You were connected and involved. Sometime what happens is when you put so much of yourself into something, somethings go astray and in your case, it was your foot….But I still believe you are a very fine young man.”
Carrie Ann (7): “Despite the heel and the funky footwork there was something really nice about the way you committed to that dance and you kept it throughout the whole piece…And I definitely saw some refinement over last week.”
Len (6): “Last week Romeo, there was a huge step forward. This week, there’s a huge step back.”
Total score: 20

Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya danced the Paso Doble. Sugar Ray decided to focus his story on “beating the odds.” In his career, he felt doubted but proved his haters wrong. He said when he got back in the ring to reclaim his boxing championship, they played the song My Prerogative and he showed them he had the determination to win and he wanted to do the same thing on DWTS. And the judges loved it!
Carrie Ann (7): “I think I saw a lot of improvement. I am so proud of you.”
Len (6): “This competition is a bit like your fights and each week your opponent is a dance. And week one and week two you let the dance dominate you. You come out tonight stronger and you fought back.”
Bruno (7): “Sugar Ray the raging bull fighting spirit got you back in business. One thing, you still have to refine your Spanish lines..thrust your hips… but I am sure you’re staying cause I think you have something there.”
Total Score: 20

Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani danced the Foxtrot to Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. Wendy’s story involved her debut in media via the radio. She spoke of sleeping at rest stops and taking bird baths in between jobs when she first started. But all that struggle helped her learn who she is. Unfortunately, it didn’t help her on the dance floor.

Carrie Ann (5): “I respect a women who follows her dreams…But this week we took a step back and I am not sure why.”
Len (5): “Your story was about hard work and struggling to achieve your goals…And I know you must have worked extremely hard. But, we need to be honest. It was a struggle. It lacked fluidity. There was no movement…and I apologize!”
Bruno (5): “The Foxtrot has to be long, smooth, fluid. It has to glide and at times it looked like you put down roots.”
Total Score: 15

Video: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Performances & Recap

Dancing with the Stars is in full swing and was back Monday night for the second week of the season. Monday night’s scores will be added to week one’s and one couple will be eliminated Tuesday based on the combined judges’ scores and fan votes.

Without further adieu and because there are still 11 couples to review, I will jump right into the recap.

There was a three-way tie with 23 points for first place tonight. One of those first place scores belongs to two-time Super Bowl winner, Hines Ward who flashed his signature smile and charmed his way all around the dance floor in a quickstep to the tune of Stevie Wonder’s Part-time Lover
The judges unanimously drooled over him. Bruno Tonioli gushed: “Forget about part-time lover; it’s more like full-time dancer! You lead with ease and confidence. I particularly liked the fun details you put in there…and the chemistry with Kym is sinful.”
Carrie Ann Inaba who used to love on Season 3 champ Emmitt Smith went a step further: “I think Emmitt Smith just had to retire his title of ‘tinkle toe!’ That was amazing…your posture, your technique…I loved it.”
Len Goodman agreed: “Your frame was terrific. It is hard to maintain that but you did it. I was very impressed, well done!”
Watch the newly-crowned Tinkle Toe for yourself:
The second couple tied for first place after Monday’s judges’ votes with a score of 23 was Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke who also danced the quickstep to Ella Fitzgerald’s I Got Rhythm. Len complimented the wrestling star’s improvement over last week: “Chris, I take my hat off to you. Don’t take this personal, I don’t wanna get in a headlock or something. My expectation was, here we go, it’s going to be a big lumbering lumb, but no, it was bright, breezy and light at foot!”  Bruno also admired the dance but for a whole other reason: “Chris, I like a man who responds well to strict discipline, and the dominatrix has transformed the beast into a gazelle…We even got that bum under control!” He finished, “You were sensational!”
Carrie Ann couldn’t agree more: “I’m loving me some Chris Jericho right about now. Light on your feet. Compact, great form.”

Watch Chris and Cheryl in action:
Also tied for first place at 23 were Romeo and Chelsie Hightower. This dynamic young duo played the king and queen of a 60’s prom. When Romeo got silly during rehearsals, Chelsea realized her task for the week prior to the performance would be to “Teach Romeo the difference between flirting and being a gentleman!” Whatever Chelsie did worked because the judges swooned over Romeo.
Len proclaimed: “THAT, was the best dace of the night. I loved it!”
Carrie Ann: “You have a certain style when you dance that stands out.” 
Bruno: “Romeo you are the one to watch! Seamless, great musicality. You got everything it takes to make a brilliant dancer!”

Watch the king and queen of the ball dance to You’re the One That I Want off the Grease Soundtrack:

Ralph Macchio who came in first last week, did not fare as well with the judges this week and placed fourth for week two with a score of 21. The lower score did not mean Ralph is not damn exciting to watch. Because he is. His dancing makes me so giddy I feel like I am back in high school again. His Jive with Karina Smirnoff to Nobody But Me by The Human Beinz was seamless and mesmerizing.

In the video pre-roll, Ralph could not hide his excitement about being a part of Season 12 of DWTS. The baby-faced actor gushed about his experience last week, saying: “The crowd was amazing, we did that double turn and they just roared! It’s just one of those moments in my life and career that I –I will never forget that!”

Bruno: “You have a huge huge huge likability factor. You inhabit the character 110%…but your kicks weren’t as sharp as could be. There is work to do, but obvioulsy you are pleasing to watch.” 
Carrie Anne: “You dance very well, but if you want to go further, you have to be sharper. You work at a level of 8 as opposed to 10 on every movement, but you are just so much fun to watch.”
Len: “It was OK, you over did it. You attacked the dance a little too much. You got frenzied.” When the crowd booed at Len’s negative comments, he shot back, “I liked it!”
Watch Ralph in action below:
Kirstie Alley had some trouble sustaining the crazy energy required for the quickstep but she did not lack the necessary stamina at the end of her dance to stop her from planting a big kiss on Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Who can blame her? The duo danced to KT Tunstall’s Black Horse & Cherry Tree and got a total score of 20 for the night.
Len: “Most was light and fluffy. You lost energy near the end. The posture went. It was good, but it wasn’t great!”
Carrie Ann: “You are so in your element. I love watching you dance. You’re so in tune with every movement. The connection between you and Max is gonna be unstoppable. It was fabulous!”
Bruno: “Don’t worry about weight, you don’t need to worry about that when you have talent. You started beautifully…believe in yourself. Be yourself”
Watch Maks and Kirstie below:
Louis van Amstel really wanted his partner Kendra Wilkinson-Baskettpre-roll video, saying in tears, “It’s so stressful for me. I don’t feel beautiful, I feel like a boy. Everybody thinks I’m that Playboy sexy girl that is confident. I am not that.”

This week’s quickstep to Gotta Work by Amerie obviously didn’t come as easily to Kendra as her cha cha did last week. She did not have the same ease of movement, but she was still fun to watch. 

Bruno: “You tried your best, but you were very tight!” 
Carrie Ann: “You’re very good at learning choreography. And I really saw you taking a step forward. There was a new found elegance.”
Len: “Your posture was a bit hit or miss…occasionally your chesticles [note: I think that’s what Len called Kendra’s chest!] were pushing into poor little Louie. Overall I think you did an excellent job.”
Watch Kendra dance like a lady below:

Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas wanted to take a risk so they danced an “out of the box” kinky-circus style Jive to I Write Sins, Not Tragedies by Panic! Their risk didn’t pay off as they earned an 18 and landed in 7th place for the week.

Bruno loved the efforts and compared the spastastic number to “Marcel Marceau desperately seeking Lolita in A Clockwork Orange.” Pretty well said Bruno! Sadly, Bruno was the only judge who liked the antics. 

Carrie Ann said: “I love choreography like that, but there’s a time and a place for that, and I don’t think it was right now. I wanted to see your jive Chelsea, but in that choreography, it was hard to see your jive. There was so little jive in there.” 
Len, who hates props during ballroom dancing complained, “Once I see doors and things, you’re on a sticky wicket..there was too much messing around. This girl has got fantastic potential, and she’s gonna go a long way but not with dances like that.”

Here are Mark and Chelsea clowning around:

Petra Nemcova complained while learning her assigned dance, “The jive is hard for taller people. What am I supposed to do, get shorter?” Petra and Dmitry Chaplin danced to Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love and landed a score of 18.
Bruno: “Oh My God! This girl can go from uptown girl to a floozie at the drop of a hat! And they’re both equally beautiful.” Bruno did give Petra some good advice: “What you have to do is work on your core strength and that will help you with your precision and your placement. But your performance was great tonight.”
Len: “Short skirt, long legs, bad technique. But I must say, she did it beautifully!”
Carrie Ann: “You’re just so stunning to look at, it’s ridiculous. Your kicks were tight and sharp…I think your core you have to really work on, you get a little funky on your shapes.”
Watch the beautiful Petra go from uptown girl to floozie below:
There are three couples left to write about and all three tied for the lowest score of the night at 17. They are Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya, Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani, and Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer.
Sugar Ray danced the jive to Sweet Soul Music by Sam & Dave but the judges were not too impressed with the skills even though they enjoyed the performance.

Len: “Tomorrow, somebody is going home. On that performance, I have to be honest, you’re in jeopardy. It lacked refinement and any true dance quality. But the entertainment was fantastic.” 

Bruno: “Sugar. It was definitely sweet and it was definitely pleasant to watch…it was softer on the edges. It needs some punch in the feet…sometimes you seemed stuck like a piece of gum.”
Carrie Ann: “If I just watched your face alone, it’s borderline a 10…but the whole body was too spastic.”
Watch Sugar Ray for yourself:
“Psycho” Mike Catherwood tried but he just couldn’t pull himself out of the bottom spot for the second week in a row which inspired all kinds of bug references to his dancing style from the judges. Mike started week 2 rehearsals by bringing partner Lacey Schwimmer flowers as an apology for his horrible and last-place performance last week.
Len: “Good news, it’s better than last week, but don’t get excited. You were flying about like a wasp in a picnic. Bits and pieces sliding everywhere. But I was smiling all the way through it!”
Bruno: “Some moments your kicks were very very good. You looked like a fly stuck on flypaper. You can do it, maintain it. Don’t throw it away.”
Carrie Ann: “When you were side by side, I was impressed. Your technique was great. Your form was good…you have to think of the routine as a whole.”
Watch Lacey and Mike bug out to Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town:

Wendy Williams said about last week’s disappointing performance, “It was an emotional evening and an emotional flight home.” During rehearsals, it was obvious Wendy had listened to the judge’s critiques and wanted to make changes. She also was worried about the jiggling in her boobs during the jive. Tony Dovolani wanted to make sure that Wendy would not be timid again during the performance this week. Wendy did better, yet still landed in last place this week.

Len: “It’s an improvement.”
Bruno: “It was good to see a little of who you really are. You’re sexy.”
Carrie Ann: “Thank you, that’s what we wanted to see, we wanted to see Wendy Williams having a little fun, showing a little sass, giving a little sauce…It got a little dull but bounced back in the end.”
Watch Wendy and Tony dance to Do Your Thing by Basement Jaxx :



Here’s the leader board showing tonight’s scores first and then the combined two-week score second. The couples are listed in order of combined scores for weeks 1 and 2, from best to last:

Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: 21, 45
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson: 23, 44
Kirstie Alley and Maks Chmerkovskiy: 20, 43
Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke: 23, 42
Romeo and Chelsie Hightower: 23, 42
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas 18, 39
Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett and Louis van Amstel: 19, 37
Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin: 18, 36
Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya: 17, 34
Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani: 17, 31
Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer: 17, 30

Tune in Tuesday to see who will be the first celebrity to leave Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars.