By Kristal Bailey

This week the ballroom has been transformed for Acoustic Week! It’s now a theater in the round, where there’s no bad seat in the house and there’s no way for the stars to hide a flubbed dance move. The stage is raised, highlighting the footwork and a danger if there’s one misstep of the edge. The stage is also smaller and the music more stripped down, meaning their dance numbers need to be tighter choreographed than ever before.

For each dance, the judges will be awarding two scores – one for performance and one for technique. This could shake up the leader board and knock Jennifer Grey from the top of the heap.

The pros danced a Rumba to an acoustic version of Chasing Pavements. Chelsea and Dimitri did a fantastic job with the smaller stage; it was a flashback to their So You Think You Can Dance days.

Celebrity: Kurt Warner
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya

Dance: Rumba

Breakdown: The main challenge for them during practice was Kurt getting comfortable dancing such a sensual routine with a woman who is not his wife. She came in to rehearsals to give him the all clear, and also helped him transfer the passion from their marriage into the dance on stage. Len didn’t like his pivots, but thought the performance was just right. Bruno still can’t get on board with his hands, they still look like he’s on the football field and not on the dance floor. He also thought it was more of a sibling vibe in the chemistry than a romantic one. Carrie Ann loved the performance with strong chemistry and intimacy between them, with a good balance between performing with his partner and for the audience.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 5 Len: 5 Bruno: 5
Performance: Carrie Ann: 7 Len: 6 Bruno: 6

Total: 34/60

Celebrity: Brandy
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovsky

Dance: Rumba

Breakdown: Brandy’s trouble with this routine is that she doesn’t feel sexy. She feels sexy when she’s in love, but it’s been six years since her last big relationship. So Maksim and her went out to a dinner to practice being romantic. Bruno thought they played their chemistry very well, but again has a problem with the celebrity’s hands being erratic and not having the follow through of the rest of the body. Carrie Ann has been waiting for the real Brandy to show herself and this was it! Everything was fully committed. Len loved the dance choreography and thought the performance was very well done.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 7 Len: 8 Bruno: 7
Performance: Carrie Ann: 9 Len: 8 Bruno: 9

Total: 48/60

The pros take the stage again to do the Argentine Tango. It’s great to see the professionals take on a dance without being held back by celebrities’ limited talent levels. They did some fantastic lifts and their movements are just so crisp and clean.

Celebrity: Rick Fox
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke

Dance: Argentine Tango

Breakdown: This is the first routine where they’re allowed to do lifts – this is where there size difference becomes an advantage! Carrie Ann thought it was one dimensional, she thought he was concentrating too much on the moves and the stage constraits that it took him out of the routine. Len absolutely loved the lifts. The routine started full of drama, but it faded as the routine went on. Bruno loved the dramatic focus, but saw it fizzle out too. The passes and lifts weren’t as musical as they could have been, but overall it was a strong performance.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 7 Bruno: 6
Performance: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 7 Bruno: 7

Total: 39/60

Celebrity: Kyle Massey
Professional Partner: Lacey Schwimmer

Dance: Rumba

Breakdown: Last week, Len thought Kyle’s footwork was atrocious. This week, with the technical specific score, Kyle practiced his footwork twice as heard. Len noticed an improvement for sure, but thought it didn’t flow as it should. The performance was excellent with strong chemistry. Bruno thinks he’s a natural when it comes to performance, but thought his movements were too sharp. Carrie Ann liked the tone of the dance – more innocent and less sexy. But while he paid extra attention to his footwork, his upper body became more staccato.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 6 Bruno: 6
Performance: Carrie Ann: 8 Len: 7 Bruno: 7

Total: 40/60

Celebrity: Mike “The Situation” Sarontino
Professional Partner: Karina Smirnoff

Dance: Argentine Tango

Breakdown: This is the first dance to allow lifts, so The Situation will try to put his strength to work to make this routine come out on top. Bruno says it’s a terrible mess! There were an incredible amount of mistakes that hindered the performance. They made the most out of the situation though. Carrie Ann is glad to see the abs out finally! He needs to work on getting the dance walk down first, before he should even work on the rest. Len thought it was at least consistent – consistently bad throughout. Karina is doing a great job of making the most of her poor dancing partner.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 4 Len: 4 Bruno: 4
Performance: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 5 Bruno: 5

Total: 28/60

Celebrity: Florence Henderson
Professional Partner: Corky Ballas

Dance: Rumba

Breakdown: They definitely had the most entertaining pre-dance tape, with Florence and Corky doing various moves to see if their kids thought it was appropriate or not. They definitely are not going to be toning down the sensuality because of their age. Carrie Ann is in disbelief she saw Mrs. Brady do that. They proved that age is not a reason to not be sexy, dirty, and raunchy. Len thought it was much better he was expecting. Bruno noticed they lost the timing at points and didn’t like her footwork during the turn.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 6 Bruno: 5
Performance: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 6 Bruno: 6

Total: 35/60

Celebrity: Jennifer Grey
Professional Partner: Derek Hough

Dance: Argentine Tango

Breakdown: One mistake made them drop from the top of the leaderboard last week. While rehearsing for this week’s routine, her pinched nerve started flaring up and slowing down their practice. Bruno absolutely loved it! The intricacy of the steps, the musicality, the precision – all of them unsurpassed tonight.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 9 Len: 9 Bruno: 9
Performance: Carrie Ann: 10 Len: 9 Bruno: 10

Total: 56/60

Celebrity: Bristol Palin
Professional Partner: Mark Ballas

Dance: Rumba

Breakdown: The sexiness of the Rumba is definitely going to be the biggest challenge for Bristol, more so than the steps. Bruno commends her for a technically clean performance, but she doesn’t sustain the movements all the way through to get the necessary presence. Carrie Ann wants her to dance with more intensity and thought the shirt stunt was to distract from the performance, not to add to it. Len thinks her technique is there, but her movements lack conviction.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 6 Len: 6 Bruno: 6
Performance: Carrie Ann: 4 Len: 5 Bruno: 5

Total: 32/60

Celebrity: Audrina Patridge
Professional Partner: Tony Dovolani

Dance: Argentine Tango

Breakdown: Last week was Audrina’s best week yet, but now she has the challenge of trying to stay there. She needs to get over he worries about looking pretty all the time to put some emotion in this dance – it’s full of passion and intensity. Carrie Ann notices she lacks energy at her ankle, she needs to point her toes more. The lifts were great, but the dismounts were choppy. Len thought the routine was clever, but he didn’t get transported to Argentina through the dance. Bruno thought she was an ice queen, which works but it doesn’t have the drive that’s needed for this number.

Scores:
Technical: Carrie Ann: 8 Len: 8 Bruno: 8
Performance: Carrie Ann: 8 Len: 7 Bruno: 7

Total: 46/60

This week we got our first 10s, after a wonderful Argentine Tango by Jennifer Grey. The only week link left is The Situation, and while he got the lowest score of the bunch, there’s no guarantee who’s going to go home tomorrow night. Tune in to the live elimination show tomorrow night at 9/8c on ABC to see who goes home.

(Image courtesy of ABC)

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