by David McAlpine

Last week on Dancing With the Stars, it was another freestyle night, coupled with the cha-cha-challenge (like I said, still not old). The scores ended up really close, so it came down to the voting and former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson was sent home.

Now that there's only five couple left, it's double duty time. Last night, each pair had to perform a ballroom dance, then a Latin dance that reflects a "decade": 50s, 60s, 80s, 90s or the future. The performances were:

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Tango
Breakdown: With Chad improving week by week, I wouldn't be surprised if this was his week  to shine because, being an NFL player, he of anyone should have the stamina to learn and perform two dances. His first dance, however, was less than spectacular thanks to his posture. Still, he and Cheryl had enough passion to burn up the dance floor and burn down the building, which definitely made the dance more enjoyable. Len points out the fact that they are doing two dances this week, so there's half as much time to perfect, but he still expected more.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7 Len: 7 Bruno: 7
Total: 21/30

Celebrity: Niecy Nash
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: Niecy's posture was much better, but her flow seemed off. She seems a little too wild for the waltz and very uncontrolled, especially with her arms moving everywhere. Len was pleasantly surprised at how she carried herself, though Carrie Ann definitely wanted more in terms of technique.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 8  Bruno: 8
Total: 23/30

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Argentine Tango
Breakdown: Maks wanted Erin to spice up their dance with a jump offstage, but, surprisingly, former cheerleader Erin was uneasy about it. Granted, she is jumping onto Maks' shoulders but he seems strong enough that I'd trust him. Just don't piss him off before you do it! The choreography was not as good as I was expecting it, but it was full of sex, which mad the audience (and the judges) go wild. Len is nearly falling over after the dance, telling Erin he wished she could do that more often.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 10  Bruno: 9
Total: 28/30

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Waltz
Breakdown: For the first time this entire season, Evan gets to perform the waltz, which is probably the closest to figure skating you'll get on this show. An easy one for Evan, right? Well, again, he has problems connecting to Anna in rehearsal (because he is an individual athlete, something I think people tend to forget). Aside from rolling on the floor, it was a very solid waltz, which the judges agreed with. Of course, Len didn't like the "roly poly" stuff, but they all enjoyed it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 9  Bruno: 9
Total: 27/30

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Foxtrot
Breakdown: Nicole's first performance this week boiled down to the same formula: she got frustrated in rehearsal because she's not perfect, she hit the dance floor looking hot and she nailed it. I was concerned Len wouldn't like the props (which were simplistic and really didn't interfere with anything, but you never know with him), but he and the other judges loved it. It still wasn't enough, though, to get that perfect 30 that she's been looking for.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 9  Bruno: 10
Total: 29/30

Next up was the Latin round, with each pair portraying a specific decade (minus the '70s, for some odd reason).

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Jive ('60s)
Breakdown: When I first heard these two were doing the jive, I was worried because it doesn't exactly seem like the dance Chad would be good at. Quick feet, smiling, lots of theatrics...just not his bag, you know? But I guess Cheryl's skimpy outfit must have convinced him to suck it up, because he had more energy than I've seen him have before. I thought it deserved a little more praise than what it got, but I guess the judges just weren't that impressed.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8 Len: 8 Bruno: 8
Total: 24/30
Grand total: 45/60

Celebrity: Niecy Nash
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Paso Doble ('90s)
Breakdown: I saw where Louis was going with it, but I feel like most, if not all, of his and Niecy's choreography ideas "telling a story" have fallen flat on their face. And this one really wasn't an exception. With the choreography comes a loss of power and battle of masculine versus feminine that's really needed in the paso doble. They each tried to put in energy, but the connection between them wasn't what I was looking for. Len said it best: the dance just didn't suit her.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 6  Bruno: 7
Total: 20/30
Grand total: 43/60

Celebrity: Erin Andrews
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Rumba ('80s)
Breakdown: Erin and Maks are the perfect couple to do the rumba because they just look good doing it. But beyond that, there doesn't seem to be anything there. It's like they're modeling bad clothes--they look good, but the package doesn't strike me. Carrie Ann thought it was because Erin was doubting herself (which I can see), Len thought it needed smoothing over, but Bruno went ahead and said Erin should be in the final. Projection, much?
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 8  Bruno: 9
Total: 25/30
Grand total: 53/60

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Cha-cha (Future)
Breakdown: After Derek and Joanna's dance last year that defied everyone's expectations of a "futuristic" dance, I think these two had a lot to live up to. Their performance is equally as fun, but much more bright (literally). Remember last year when they were wearing glow in the dark suits? This time, the stage was very lit up...to the point where you almost couldn't see them dancing. The judges liked the character, but they were a little more wary of the stiff movements that went with it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 8  Bruno: 9
Total: 26/30
Grand total: 53/60

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Paso doble ('50s)
Breakdown: Again, the formula strikes again: Derek and Nicole are frustrated because it seems like making a '50s paso doble is counterintuitive. Then, they hit the floor and it's the amazing combination of power and classic '50s moves. It's done remarkably well and pulled off in effortless Nicole form. The judges are blown away, especially Len, who even says he doesn't like to be nice about two dances in one night, but he can't find anything to criticize.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10  Len: 10  Bruno: 10
Total: 30/30
Grand total: 59/60

Tune in to Dancing With the Stars' results show tonight on ABC at 8/7c to see which celebrity is sent packing!

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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