by Gina Scarpa

 

Tonight, on Dancing With The Stars, the couples will have to perform two routines - one that they rehearsed in advance and one that they plan in just minutes before performing it live!

 

Couple: Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Style: Waltz
Scores: 10 + 9 + 10 = 29
After last week, Chelsea is understandably worried that the judges and America see her as someone who doesn't need to follow rules or assumes that she's got it in the bag. In her performance this week, she and Mark try to bring together story and choreography and it works beautifully. Carrie Ann felt that this was a whole new side of Chelsea and says she earned perfection... well, almost. Thanks a lot, Len.

 

Couple: Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Style: Foxtrot
Scores: 9 + 9 + 10 = 28
This week, Hines is looking to have the leaderboard all to himself. The theme for their foxtrot was adorable - Hines proposed to Kym in Central Park. He has really developed into a really exceptional partner, there for Kym every step of the way. The judges were a fan and they had the scorecards to prove it. He may not be at the TOP of the leaderboard but he's damn close.

 

Couple: Romeo and Chelsie Hightower
Style: Tango
Scores: 9 + 9 + 9 = 27
If Romeo is hoping to make it to the end this season, he's going to need to show some consistency. In this week's tango, he's on an upswing. He has good posture, he danced strong, and he and Chelsie had that great chemistry that made us like them early on. Across the board, the judges commended Romeo for his convincing performance and for bouncing back from last week's samba.

 

Couple: Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff
Style: Viennese waltz
Scores: 8 + 8 + 9 = 25
Ralph's leg has been bothering him for a while now and this week, he finally decided to get it looked at. He decides to work through his injury but the rehearsals prove to be painful for him. As he hits the dance floor with Karina tonight, you have to give it to him. I don't think anyone would ever know he was hurting. They had a very limited amount of rehearsals because of it but I wonder if the scores

would have been even better if they had had more time. As Len said, it lacked polish...

 

Couple: Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Style: Argentine tango
Scores: 9 + 9 + 10 = 28
Last week, Kirstie got so caught up in her performance that she forgot about the routine at one point. This week, she'll need to really focus in order to nail the technical difficulty of the Argentine tango. If there was an award for the celeb that falls, tumbles, and stumbles the most, it would go to Kirstie. Come performance time, it's clear she's got her focus and turns out her best work by far this season. Based on her progress, she should totally get the encore performance tomorrow night.

 

Couple: Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
Style: Salsa
Scores: 8 + 9 + 9 = 26
Chelsea and Mark are the first to tackle the instant dance with a sexy salsa routine. Obviously, production didn't talk to each other beforehand because as the British announcer was introducing them, the song got started whether the pair was ready or not. Chelsea and Mark do a good job, especially considering they had less than an hour to put it all together. Bruno said that she set the bar very, very high.

 

Couple: Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
Style: Jive
Scores: 9 + 9 + 8 = 26
The jive is a difficult routine as is but then you add in not knowing your song until a little while before performing it and the stakes are raised. Fortunately for Kym, she has Hines Ward as a partner and Hines always delivers. The pair looked as if they had practiced all week and had great timing. Carrie Ann, in particular, felt it was amazing.

 

Couple: Romeo and Chelsie Hightower
Style: Salsa
Scores: 8 + 9 + 8 = 25
To prepare for their instant dance, Chelsie took Romeo to a salsa club to prove that he could dance to any song as long as he knew the steps. It paid off in their routine and this is definitely a great week for Romeo.  Bruno and Carrie Ann pointed out that they lost their fluidity during the routine but who would've thought that Len would come to the rescue, defend the dance, and give them their highest score?

 

Couple: Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff

Style: Cha-cha
Scores: 7 + 7 + 7 = 21

Ralph goes into the instant dance worried that his injury will get the best of him on live television.  It's clear that they're both taking it easy during this dance so that he doesn't end up having to leave the competition entirely by pushing too hard.  The judges appreciate that they were able to pull off the dance with little to no rehearsal but have to take everything into consideration, hence the lower scores.

 

Couple: Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Style: Salsa
Scores: 8 + 9 + 8 = 25

It's clear that Kirstie is stepping up her game this week.  Following her buttkick Argentine tango, she and Maks take to the floor for a very cute, traditional salsa routine.  They did get out of sync a few times and when Bruno points it out, ABC is right there with the censor button to be sure Kirstie's potty mouth didn't make its way to viewers at home.  Overall, the dance worked and Kirstie ends the night with two respectable performances.

 

Don't miss the live elimination on Dancing With The Stars, tonight at 8/7c on ABC.

 

(Image courtesy of ABC)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa