DwtS 3 -- Performance Show Week 4

After a spot near the top of the leaderboard last week, Sara Evans fell back to the bottom with a gloomy Paso Doble. And the Waltz brought several contestants to tears.

Monique Coleman & Louis van Amstel - Waltz
Louis' goal for this week was to get Monique in touch with the beauty of the Waltz. He told her, "It's much easier to wow people than to move them."

Their hard work resulted in a beautiful and restrained performance -- much less frantic than the energy they showcased in last week's Jive. They tried to evoke romance through their dancing, and there's nothing more romantic than a man dragging a woman across the floor. By the end, Monique was overcome with emotion and started to cry.

The judge's were impressed. Len said, "You've proved tonight that you can Waltz, although three splits was a bit over the top." Carrie Ann said, "You were moving together as one. I was absolutely moved."

And, in a description that surely had nothing to do with today's release of The Little Mermaid on DVD, Bruno said of their performance, "It was like a little mermaid floating above the reef looking for her prince." ABC would never stoop so low as to allow their parent company, Disney, to plant product advertisements in the judges' comments. Would they?
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...8, Len...8, Bruno...8 = 24/30

Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke - Paso Doble
Though he's one of the non-actors in the competition, Emmitt did a great job staying in character as the strong bull fighter. It also speaks to his abilities as a dancer that Cheryl didn't have to choreograph around Emmitt. There were no cutesy moves to disguise what he wasn't able to execute; it was just a solid, quality Paso Doble. They were all smiles after their dance.

After last week's low scores, Bruno encouraged Emmitt: "This is the performance you can do." Carrie Ann told Emmitt, "You are a beast. It had moments of brilliance." A surprised Len asked, "Did you do some twist turns? It was great!"
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...8, Len...8, Bruno...8 = 24/30

Willa Ford & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Waltz
Willa was feeling more confident about her chances after avoiding the Bottom Two last week: "Max says I can win it. He believes in me. Maybe I am a force to be reckoned with." She also looked forward to that chance to tone down the sex appeal for a more ladylike dance, especially since her grandma was in the studio audience.

They danced to "You Light Up My Life." Everything about the performance, from the routine to the costumes, was pretty and classy. Willa really nailed some of the exaggerated poses that professionals execute to make the Waltz look polished.

Carrie Ann said, "You swept me away. Gorgeous. Elegant." Taking over Bruno's traditional nicknaming duty, Len called Willa "Willa the Thrilla." He added, "If you'd have done a few more heel leads, it would've been a 10. Absolutely delightful." Bruno called it "an exquisite expression of love and romance. Perfect."
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...9, Len...9, Bruno...10 = 28/30

Sara Evans & Tony Dovolani - Paso Doble
Sara had difficulty practicing the Paso Doble. Tony insisted on staying in character during rehearsal, and his aggressive attitude made her wonder if he was angry with her.

Sara & Tony were assigned one of the worst songs of the night: the title song from Phantom of the Opera. The song was distracting and gave the whole performance a gloomy feel. Sara didn't look confident at all, half-heartedly executing her moves while repeatedly tripping on her dress. For the routine's finishing move, instead of falling into an easy spin, Sara hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Len tactfully said, "Certain dances don't suit certain people. The Paso Doble doesn't suit you." Less tactfully, Bruno told Sara, "It was like you were Marie Antoinette going to the guillotine." Carrie was more diplomatic: "I thought you embodied the character. But you need to use the floor and stomp."
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...6, Len...7, Bruno...7 = 20/30

Jerry Springer & Kym Johnson - Waltz
Everything Jerry's done on the show so far has been leading up to the Waltz. In December, he'll dance it with his daughter at her wedding. He had to stop at least one practice session this week because he was moved to tears.

Jerry sang along as he and Kym danced to "Tennessee Waltz." His technique was very good -- way better than you see in a typical father-daughter dance. When the routine ended, Jerry found his daughter in the front row and hugged her. Kym wasn't the only one in tears.

Bruno told Jerry, "Another wonderful performance. Your best dance to date." A teary-eyed Len, who also admitted to crying at the movie Bambi, said the dance had "great style, beautiful movement." Tom Bergeron clarified that, when Len cries during Bambi, it's because he was rooting for the hunter.

In regard to Jerry's appeal to fans to stop voting for him after he'd performed the Waltz, Samantha Harris asked him, "Is your work here done?" Jerry said that his daughter has increased her demands to two wedding dances, so he'd be happy to stay another week. Plus, he's already paid for wedding band, so he wants to get his money's worth.
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...7, Len...7, Bruno...8 = 22/30

Vivica A. Fox & Nick Kosovich - Paso Doble
Vivica was the other big loser when it came to song assignments: Bon Jovi's "It's My Life." Something about the performance just didn't work, and the bad song played a big part in it. But Vivica and Nick didn't do enough to put the focus back on the dancing. They ended the routine by raising their fists in the air, in their tribute to Bon Jovi.

Len said the routine had "lots of 'oles' and some 'oh nos'." Carrie Ann said, "You rocked the house, especially with your Power Ranger ending. But you need to bring back a little of your femininity." Backstage, a clearly drunk Samantha told Vivica and Nick, "Bon Jovi would be proud to be rockin' the ballroom tonight!"
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...8, Len...8, Bruno...8 = 24/30

Joey Lawrence & Edyta Sliwinska - Waltz
Joey was nervous about doing a slower, more controlled type of dance. "Hopefully it'll be a first class Waltz," he said. "It may be coach. It may be business class."

Edyta looked beautiful, wearing the prettiest harem girl costume ever. Joey looked perfectly relaxed, executing the Waltz as well as he's done his previous dances.

Carrie Ann said, "That brought tears to my eyes. You really, truly led Edyta through the Waltz." Len said, "The Waltz doesn't normally have the wow factor of the Paso, but that was a wow of a Waltz." Bruno called the performance "a heavenly symphony of beauty." After hearing such positive comments, Joey and Edyta couldn't stop grinning.
Judges' Scores: Carrie...9, Len...9, Bruno...9 = 27/30

Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff - Paso Doble
In keeping with their song, Mario & Karina tried to evoke the feel of the movie El Mariachi in their performance, right down to the details of Mario's suit. It worked, and they performed the best Paso Doble of the night. And most importantly, they played by the rules.

Bruno said Mario was, "El Superbo -- the embodiment of Latin pride." Carrie Ann thanked them for following the rules, and then said, "You two are too hot to handle." Len said he'd been prepared to spank Mario if they broke the rules again this week, and was relieved that he didn't have to. He had a couple of criticisms about the performance, " It didn't have a lot of posture and had a bit of wildness about it." When the crowd booed and his fellow judges objected, Len said, "Watch the video."
Judges' Scores: Carrie Ann...10, Len...9, Bruno...10 = 29/30

Leaderboard:
1 - Mario & Karina
2 - Willa & Max
3 - Joey & Edyta
4 - Monique & Louis, Emmitt & Cheryl, Vivica & Nick
7 - Jerry & Kym
8 - Sara & Tony

My vote went to Joey & Edyta, for performing the prettiest dance of the evening. Plus, I love seeing Edyta so happy this season. Her giddiness is infectious. Too bad her abs aren't.

Tomorrow night, Nick Lachey and Los Lonely Boys perform, though not at the same time.