Tonight was Broadway night on Dancing with the Stars and after a performance from the cast of Sister Act, the 7 remaining couples danced to songs from hit Broadway musicals. First up was Rob Kardashian’s Cha-Cha-Cha, which was set to “Walk Like A Man” from Jersey Boys, and he seemed to be lagging a bit. He didn’t seem to be moving as much as Cheryl was, and it was almost like he didn’t have enough energy to dance well. Len commented it was too stiff and lacked rhythm, and Carrie Ann said that while he danced with more charisma this time around, his performance last week was better. He earned 22 points from the judges.
Then came Nancy Grace, who was assigned the Foxtrot and “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life,” from Spamalot. She messed up the steps a few times, but her routine possessed so much more enthusiasm than we’ve ever seen before, and it was actually pretty delightful. Bruno praised her for capturing the spirit of the music and for blending it with the Foxtrot, and Carrie Ann said it was a “showstopper.” Nancy got 24 points, and her first 9 of the competition.
Third to dance was David Arquette, who danced the Quickstep to “We Go Together” from Grease. Kym was nervous during rehearsals because this whole time, David has had trouble controlling his energy, and she feared that his natural enthusiasm (combined with his enthusiasm for Broadway) would smother the dance. But David seemed to understand that it his passion for performing didn’t mean he had to sacrifice the dance’s grace, and he actually performed quite well. Carrie Ann commented they were out of sync a few times, and Len said it was “fun.” He got 23 points.
Chaz Bono was assigned the Tango to “The Phantom of the Opera,” and during rehearsals, Lacey was very frustrated because they had gotten so far into the competition that easy dance moves were no longer really acceptable. She also told Chaz that unfortunately she couldn’t memorize his dance for him. When they performed for the judges, Len said it was like watching “a little penguin trying to be a dangerous bird,” and he remarked that the character of the dance didn’t really suit him. Chaz was very disappointed with his 19 points for the evening.
Then came Ricki Lake, who danced the Quickstep to “Luck Be A Lady Tonight” from Guys and Dolls. During rehearsals, Ricki said that after her poor performance last week she wanted to really kill this week’s routine so she could redeem herself, and when she danced for the judges she had a huge smile on her face the whole time. Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno all loved it, and Bruno commented that it had “impeccable style.” She got 29 points, which is her highest score so far.
Hope Solo and Maks took the stage next to dance their Rumba to “Seasons of Love” from Rent. Hope said she was frustrated that her scores had plateaued, and explained that to her, failure was not improving. Something about Maks’ choreography was off, and that combined with the fact that Hope doesn’t move with fluidity, meant Len said it was her worst dance of the season. This sent Maks into a tailspin and he tried to list off the reasons that it was an okay dance, but Len shot back that he’d been dancing for 50 years and so he knew what a good Rumba looked like, and then Maks said that maybe he was too old to judge anymore. Carrie Ann shot back at Maks and demanded that he be respectful, and the whole thing just got out of hand (especially when Maks said DWTS was “his” show. The situation died down when the pair got 20 points.
Last to dance was J.R., who danced the Quikstep to a song from Chicago. Karina explained in rehearsals that this dance was the hardest one she’d ever choreographed on Dancing with the Stars, and it was pretty solid. I’m not sure if it was as exciting as their Samba from last week, but it basically hit the spot. They got 29 points and tied with Ricki Lake for first place.
Then came the group dance, which I thought was kind of a mess. It just wasn’t appealing, and it seemed kind of pointless. I don’t know – I feel like there’s just not enough time to do anything in the group dances, and so it’s hard for me to look at this and validate it.
