by David McAlpine

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, the celebrities took their first steps onto the dance floor. Some, like Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, set the bar high, while others (*ahem* Buzz Aldrin) well, showed that they could use some improvement. Tonight, the stars take on either a fancy foxtrot or a jittery jive as they try to get as many judges' points as possible and save themselves from elimination.

Celebrity: Shannen Doherty
Professional Partner: Mark Ballas
Dance: Jive
Breakdown: Shannen, shaken up from last week, struggled to get the jive down in practice. It was really clear that the judges' criticism made her really insecure about this week's dance. However, Mark feeds into her frustration and gets her to nail move after move after move. When she gets onto the dance floor, it's a little less smooth, but good all the same. The judges liked the energy and her effort, but Carrie Ann pointed out that sometimes she'd be several beats ahead of Mark.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 6  Bruno: 7
Week 2 Total: 20/30
Combined: 38/60

Celebrity: Aiden Turner
Professional Partner: Edyta Sliwinska
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: This week, we get to see the softer side of Aiden. It's clear that he, too, is frustrated with the judges' remarks and he just wants to do better. Edyta is trying, but they get fed up with each the rand argue, but of course only to make up. You can tell that he's really trying to get the steps down, but I don't know if he has the fluidity to pull it off just yet. Granted, they look great on the dance floor, but his dancing is probably still enough to make the judges cringe. They were a little nicer this week, but Bruno reminds him to keep his focus on the dance, not just looking good.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 6  Bruno: 6
Week 2 Total: 19/30
Combined: 34/60

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Jive
Breakdown: In an all-too-scripted segment, Evan heads back to his hometown of Naperville, Illinois to get some inspiration from the fans. It was great to see how excited he was about the celebration, but it didn't seem to carry over to practice. He looks really awkward because his limbs are so long, and it doesn't seem like it's improving. On the floor, it looked much better, but there were still some points where it was really awkward and way too energetic. His footwork was definitely better this time, something the judges noticed.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Week 2 Total: 24/30
Combined: 47/60

Celebrity: Niecy Nash
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: Niecy and Louis are probably the cutest couple here, so they definitely have the likability factor going for them. She outright says she's never been considered graceful, so I'm not holding my breath. On the down side, it was a littler stereotypical that she was dancing to a "Dreamgirls" song, and he dress looked straight out of the reunion scene in Romy & Michele's High School Reunion. However, she more than made up for the gaps in gracefulness with her personality, which shines on the dance floor. Len really enjoyed it, while Carrie Ann wanted to see more.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 7  Bruno: 7
Week 2 Total: 21/30
Combined: 39/60

Celebrity: Jake Pavelka
Professional Partner: Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Jive
Breakdown: Admittedly, my least favorite part of the show is when Jake comes on. he's clearly a camera whore and he doesn't even deserve to be here. But he still is, and he's not looking too hot on this jive. Chelsie is, nevertheless, pushing him to the limit because she knows he can do it. On the dance floor, he seems to get all the steps, but he has the energy of a 4 year-old. Some of the steps are huge and way too big and he looks incredibly awkward, yet there's a quality to his dancing that is somewhat pleasant. The judges also liked his energy, but said his technique could use work.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 7  Bruno: 7
Week 2 Total: 20/30
Combined: 40/60

Celebrity: Buzz Aldrin
Professional Partner: Ashly Costa
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: The producers didn't even waste time making Buzz's montage about the dancing, instead it was about him and his wife. The fact that we barely got to see him rehearsing is not a good sign, and it showed during the dance. He was practically walking around on the floor with Ashly dancing around him, there was really nothing else to say. Sure, it was cute to watch because he can't do much more and he's doing what many 82 year-olds wouldn't do.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 4  Len: 4  Bruno: 4
Week 2 Total: 12/30
Combined: 26/60

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Jive
Breakdown: I knew this week was Nicole's week because it was a much faster dance. You could tell right away in practice, too, that she has the moves of the jive down pat. This is clearly her element and she has it, her and Derek are just worried Len won't like it because they had to add a contemporary spin to their jive (thanks to the producers picking "S.O.S." by Rihanna). I was expecting something good, but Nicole really delivers with an amazing performance that looks like final week quality. Granted, Len didn't like all of it, but he liked a good portion of it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 8  Bruno: 10
Week 2 Total: 28/30
Combined: 53/60

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: It's always a matter of time before Maks gets on his partner's nerves. This time, it only took two weeks before Erin was getting angry at Maks for getting angry at her. It's a vicious cycle--one that Maks almost seems to enjoy. It's equally hard for Erin, who's trying to turn from a tomboy into a princess. The chemistry between the two on the show is great, but she still looks a little awkward while she's dancing. It's definitely better than last week, but it's still something she needs to work on, especially her "death grip" according to the judges.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 7  Bruno: 8
Week 2 Total: 23/30
Combined: 44/60

Celebrity: Pamela Anderson
Professional Partner: Damian Whitewood
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: The theme of Pam's montage seems to be "How to Not Slut it Up on the Dance Floor." Damian is trying to get her to channel more Marilyn Monroe than "Baywatch" and pam seems to just be having a great time in rehearsal. It's great that she can take this less seriously than several other celebrities and still do significantly better just because she knows how to perform. And, even though her dancing is a little off, she brings the character of Marilyn so well that it's pretty well hidden. Props to her for not using her sexual prowess to completely overpower the judges' scores!
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 7  Bruno: 8
Week 2 Total: 22/30
Combined: 43/60

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: Maybe Ochocinco is just a flirt, but he's getting in on with Cheryl in practice. Like woah, I've never seen someone go for their partner like that. He doesn't seem to be catching on very well to the foxtrot, and his attitude that he was never meant to be graceful doesn't help. On the dance floor, it looks disastrous because the slower dance points out all of his faults in technique. In fact, he looked like a taller, younger, slightly more skilled Buzz Aldrin, and that's saying something. Len said it was just like snow, because "you're just glad when it's all over." Ouch.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 5  Bruno: 5
Week 2 Total: 16/30
Combined: 33/60

Celebrity: Kate Gosselin
Professional Partner: Tony Dovolani
Dance: Jive
Breakdown: It's the blowup of the night that we've all been waiting for! Kate's ugly "nothing is my fault" personality rears its ugly head when she tries to blame Tony for not teaching her the way she needs to be taught. The two have an absolute meltdown and Tony walks out. He walks in soon after and they make amends, but it clearly wasn't enough once Kate comes out for her dance. She forgets half the steps and looks both very awkward and absolutely petrified. It doesn't look like she's enjoying herself at all, in fact. Len's advice was best: the worst she can do is fall down, so she needs to refocus, come out and just do it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 5  Len: 5  Bruno: 5
Week 2 Total: 15/30
Combined: 31/60

So a refresher on the leaderboard:

Nicole/Derek: 53
Evan/Anna: 47
Erin/Maksim: 44
Pamela/Damian: 43
Jake/Chelsie: 40
Niecy/Louis: 39
Shannen/Mark: 38
Aiden/Edyta: 34
Chad/Cheryl: 34
Kate/Tony: 31
Buzz/Ashly: 26

Tune in tomorrow to Dancing with the Stars' first results show at 8/7c on ABC to see which celebrity is the first one sent packing!

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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