by David McAlpine

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, it was passion week as the stars attempted the rumba or the tango. Former TLC Reality Star Kate Gosselin fell to the back of the pack yet again, but that didn't prevent her from continuing on in the competition. Instead, All My Children Star Aiden Turner was booted off the show, leaving 8 pairs to compete for your votes.

Last night, the theme was "movie night," where the pros and the stars were given the challenge of bringing classing film favorites to the dance floor. The performances were as follows:

Celebrity: Niecy Nash
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Jive - "La Bamba" from "La Bamba"
Breakdown: I was so excited to see Niecy get back to her sassy self, especially with an upbeat dance. And, to her credit, it was a lot more upbeat than we've seen her in the past couple of weeks. However, the jive seemed to be a little fast for her. Well, very fast for her. Her feet seemed to be lagging behind her head, leaving her dance to look fairly sloppy. Len and Bruno talk about the sharpness of the dance, while Carrie Ann was happy that Niecy was having fun.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 6  Bruno: 6
Total: 18/30

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Quickstep - "Bear Necessities" from "The Jungle Book"
Breakdown: Was I the only one who thought it was ironic that the NFL player was doing the dance that the bear did in "The Jungle Book"? And tossing in the quickstep...well, I wasn't very confident in Chad. He comes out with a ton of energy and he and Cheryl's feet are moving at lightning speed. However, if you look up, he's not even holding right once the entire time and their arms are flailing everywhere. The judges came down on them hard for the lack of a hold, but it was still better than his foxtrot.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 6 Bruno: 6
Total: 18/30

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Jive - "You Never Can Tell" from "Pulp Fiction"
Breakdown: Again, props to the pros for picking really good characters that the celebrities and themselves can portray. Their Uma Thurman/John Travolta pairing was great. The jive however, was a little rough because of how fast it was. Erin already looks really lanky when she dances, but she looked like she was flailing a lot this week. She was always a step or two ahead of Maks, but she still managed to make it look very put together. Len thought it was hectic, but still overall a good job.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 7  Bruno: 8
Total: 22/30

Celebrity: Jake Pavelka
Professional Partner: Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Cha-Cha - "Old Time Rock and Roll" from "Risky Business"
Breakdown: How Jake thinks he ever looked or remotely resembled Tom Cruise is beyond me. But apparently people told him so. Perhaps blind people? Hating aside, Jake comes out in a white button-down and tighty whities, just like the scene in the movie. I'll be the first one to say it was kind of awkward with him half dressed on the dance floor. He gets some pants back on, but he can never seem to get the rhythm that Chelsie has. It's like he was undoing what Erin did--he was always a step or two behind Chelsie. The judges still liked it, though, and appreciated his effort.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 7  Bruno: 8
Total: 23/30

Celebrity: Pamela Anderson
Professional Partner: Damian Whitewood
Dance: Quickstep - "9 to 5" from "9 to 5"
Breakdown: I never thought about how much Pamela looked like Dolly Parton. But last night I thought about it when they were introducing the dancers and I realized that it actually makes sense. The two of them absolutely own their characters and their dance is actually very entertaining, albeit a little gimmicky, which I could see in Len's face after the dance. Carrie Ann and Bruno really enjoyed it, but Len gave his sourpuss "it took too long to set up," grading them down for it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 6  Bruno: 8
Total: 21/30

Celebrity: Kate Gosselin
Professional Partner: Tony Dovolani
Dance: Foxtrot - "Don't You Forget About Me" from "The Breakfast Club"
Breakdown: I still want to root for Kate, I really, really do. But the producers have to stop picking all these songs that are just making her look like a camera whore. I mean, she probably is at heart, but at the same time, do we need to be reminded of it all the time? Kate and Tony have the usual fight, though at this point I'm wondering if Tony would ever even come back to the show. Kate doesn't dance (again), but instead walks around on stage, and the judges make the same generic "at least you're trying" comments. And yet I'm still probably her #1 fan.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 5  Len: 5  Bruno: 5
Total: 15/30

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Tango - "Pretty Woman" from "Pretty Woman"
Breakdown: It's an absolute explosion compared to the rest of the competitors and it's clear that Nicole is heads and shoulders above everyone else. Is it that no one is learning how to improve at their dancing, or is Nicole just this good? Every move was entertaining, her and Derek were totally in character, I couldn't stop watching it--everything was great! It wasn't Len perfect, but it was close.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 9  Bruno: 10
Total: 29/30

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Rumba - "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" from Armageddon
Breakdown: Given Evan's track record with slow dances, I would have opted for a fast dance, because I think he's like Nicole in that he's much more engaging to the crowd when there's a ton of energy in the dance. Add in his practicing for Stars on Ice and you've got a cram session. But when they hit the floor, you couldn't tell at all that they were pressed for time. It was definitely Evan's lack of hip action (which isn't something you realy need while skating) that doesn't give the rumba that extra oomph, but it's still technically tight and very clean. The judges praise Evan's artistry and musicality and said he's getting better by the day.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27/30

Tune in tonight to Dancing with the Stars' results show at 8/7c on ABC to see which celebrity is the next one to go!

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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