by David McAlpine

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, the stars hit the floor with a sultry Argentine Tango or a sexy Samba, slowing down the mood of the night. In addition, each pair competing in a swing marathon competition to try and earn some last minute judges points. Nothing could save Jake & Chelsie from the bottom of the leaderboard, though, as they were sent packing.

Freestyle reigned as the theme of the night, but with another added twist: the cha-cha-challenge. The six pairs left split into two groups of three, each performing their own cha-cha-cha to be judged, as a group, by the judges. The performances were:

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Quickstep
Breakdown: I always wanted to see Erin do this dance because I felt like it looked better when tall people did it. Maks and Erin spend a lot of time discussing how to please Len because he's gotten them the past couple weeks on being too gimmicky. However, Maks, being the spiteful dancer that he is, decides that he wants to do something anyway involving ripping clothes off. It comes off as a little sloppy and under-rehearsed, but they roll with it anyway. Len thought it was the best dance Erin had ever done, while Bruno raved about it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27/30

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: Never have I seen an NFL player get so involved in this competition, but Chad is really out for 10s. I genuinely don't think he wants to leave this competition until he gets one, and after tonight I believe he'll have the fight to get to that point. His dancing has clearly improved the most out of anyone here, because he actually looks graceful and, well, like a dancer. Len even gives him a higher score than the other two--shocking and sending a message right there.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8 Len: 9  Bruno: 8
Total: 25/30

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Waltz
Breakdown: I still think Nicole peaked too soon, and the fact that she hasn't been getting consistent scores proves that fact. She has certain styles of dance (i.e. the faster ones) that she's much more comfortable with, whereas the slower dances are not her forte. And tonight was definitely not spectacular, but it was still up there, especially since her and Derek tried to keep it true to waltz form. The judges were pleased with it, but it's pretty clear that they're holding her to a higher standard than everyone else, resulting in her less than perfect score.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27/30

Celebrity: Pamela Anderson
Professional Partner: Damian Whitewood
Dance: Waltz
Breakdown: I really don't see Pam improving that much, she seems to just be getting less and less nervous every week. Sure, that's good, but her dance skills never seem to grow each time I see her. The judges can't even find much to say about her dancing except very minute things, which troubles me that she may have reached her dancing potential. The lackluster performance landed her on the bottom of the leaderboard, putting her in the most danger.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Total: 24/30

Celebrity: Niecy Nash
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Quickstep
Breakdown: Now, I'm a fan of keeping in touch (for those of you who follow me on Tiwtter, you know I'm always talking to my peeps), but is it really appropriate for Louis to be texting last season's partner, Kelly Osbourne? I'm going to go with no, especially since Niecy needs the help learning how to dance the quickstep, a little bit more of a fast-paced dance than I would guess she's used to. Nonetheless, Louis valiantly takes on the challenge and it pays off, because Niecy has never looks so light on her feet. The judges also think she had her best dance of the season, giving her her first 9.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Total: 25/30

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Argentine Tango
Breakdown: After last week's samba, I was surprised these two opted for another slow, sultry dance. Evan's extremities are not exactly friendly to something where we're watching everything move and it's supposed to be sexy all around. However, the passion they bring to the dance really overpowers any mistakes made during the dance, though the dance was incredibly solid, too. It was a definite improvement over anything they have done before and definitely worth the season's first perfect 10s.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 10  Bruno: 10
Total: 30/30

The six pairs then broke into their two teams for the Cha-Cha-Challenge (I love that term): Team Madonna and Team Gaga.

Team Gaga ("Telephone") is first, which consists of Nicole and Derek, Pam and Damian and Cheryl and Chad. Like the judges' scores from the night indicate, Pam seems to be having the hardest time with the dance, but there's still a ton of energy from all of them. They look very synchronized and everyone's solos are very impressive (though Nicole and Derek's moreso than anyone else). Sure, Pam couldn't split like Nicole or kick straight like Nicole, but it was still awesome.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27

After them was Team Madonna ("Holiday"), made up of Niecy and Louis, Erin and Maks and Evan and Anna. Coming out, the three of them looked a little more awkward and little less energetic. Their dance had a little more cohesiveness between the pairs, but the solos alone were not nearly as spectacular as any of the "Telephone" ones. They also have a costume change at the end which seems really random, and definitely doesn't measure up to Gaga.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Total: 24

So, a quick look at the overall leaderboard from tonight:

Evan and Anna: 54 points
Nicole and Derek: 54 points
Chad and Cheryl: 52 points
Erin and Maksim: 51 points
Pam and Damian: 51 points
Niecy and Louis: 49 points

After the cha-cha-challenge (it never gets old), the scores seem to have evened out, putting everyone on an even playing field. Will Niecy be the third last place finisher in a row to be headed home, or will another celebrity pair be the next casualty?

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

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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