Dancing with the Stars – Recap & Review – Week 7

photo: abc

Dancing with the Stars
Week 7

Original Air Date: May 3, 2010

Annette – Sr. Reviewer
annette@thetwocentscorp.com

Last week we said goodbye to the Bachelor, Jake Pavelka – and then there were six. Dances tonight included Quick Step, Viennese Waltz and the Argentine Tango. Tonight was also the return of the team dance with our stars being pitted against each other in the Cha-Cha.

Tonight, we also saw the first 30 of the season. That’s right, crankypants Len busted out the 10 paddle! So who got a perfect score? Read on to find out.

Erin (ESPN Reporter) & Maks – Quick Step
Carrie Ann: 9
Len: 9
Bruno: 9
Len told Erin it was her best dance – great posture and beautiful hold. Bruno called it “lightning fast” even though she sometimes tenses her shoulders. Carrie Ann said it was gorgeous, her best dance, great posture, beautiful hold.
My 2Cents: Len told Maks to keep his clothes on, so they did a bizarre quick change right at the beginning of the dance where they went from wearing black to red. I thought it was unnecessary, but Len thought it was cute.

Chad (Football Player) & Cheryl – Viennese Waltz
Carrie Ann: 8
Len: 9
Bruno: 8
Bruno said he was graceful and gentle and maintained focus throughout the dance, but sometimes his hands go funny. Carrie Ann thought he had beautiful lines and was very graceful. Len said his arsm were full of fluidity and that tonight he became a contender.
My 2Cents: To help Chad, Cheryl brought in Tony Dovolani to give him some pointers – which just goes to show how awesome a teacher Tony is, even if some partners (ahem, Kate) didn’t think so. In his dance, he looked so much more relaxed than he has all season. He was lovely and graceful even though his sheer jacket was very weird.

Nicole (Pop Star) & Derek – Viennese Waltz
Carrie Ann: 9
Len: 9
Bruno: 9
Carrie Ann told Nicole she was the best dancer they’ve ever had on the show but she thought the dance lacked connection between Nicole and Derek. Len loved the routine and the performance but noticed a couple little mistakes when they were dancing in hold. Bruno said that because the choreography was so difficult it caused her to make some mistakes, but he agreed with Carrie Ann about her being the best ever.
My 2Cents: Apparently I’m all about wardrobe tonight because I couldn’t stop looking at the skirt on Nicole’s dress – it was absolutely the perfect fabric – it just floated around her every time she did a spin. And of course she danced beautifully and looked gorgeous.

Pamela (Actress) & Damian – Viennese Waltz
Carrie Ann: 8
Len: 8
Bruno: 8
Len wants her to work on firming up her upper body. Bruno called it pure and demure, but agreed with Len about her frame. Carrie Ann saw huge improvement in her legs (which she asked for last week) and thought the dance was quite nice.
My 2Cents: I thought she looked quite lovely, but overall it was unremarkable. I think her time is running out.

Niecy (Actress, TV Host) & Louis – Quick Step
Carrie Ann: 9
Len: 8
Bruno: 8
Bruno said her footwork was better than ever and called it her best dance to date. Carrie Ann also called it her best dance and complimented how light on her feet she was. Len agreed – best dance ever, but she needs to work on lifting her rib cage.
My 2Cents: She always looks like she’s having so much fun while she’s dancing. This was great to watch – it didn’t have all the really fun, quick footwork moves that I love in the quick step, but she did a great job. I could have done without the feather boa on her dress though – weird.

Evan (Olympic Figure Skater) & Anna – Tango
Carrie Ann: 10
Len: 10
Bruno: 10
Carrie Ann said he has the eye of the tiger, so sexy, so refined, power, control. Len called it fantastic. Bruno said he danced like an alpha male – strong, powerful, determined, aggressive and sexy.
My 2Cents: I thought it was great – he looked very James Bond like – and Tom agreed with me! Obviously his best dance of the season, and one of the best dances of any of the stars overall.

The team dance pits two teams of three couples against each other. The judges awarded one score for the team which was then added to the individual scores.

Team GaGa: Nicole, Chad, and Pam
Carrie Ann: 9
Len: 9
Bruno: 9
Len said their formations were right on and Bruno agreed. Carrie Ann said their sexual energy was so high they’re going to be tough to beat.
ME: Nicole was awesome – considering she’d never done a cha-cha, Pam struggled a little in her solo, but the group stuff was right on, Chad did great.

Team Madonna: Evan, Niecy, Erin
Carrie Ann: 8
Len: 8
Bruno: 8
Bruno pointed out that they lost sync at the end. Carrie Ann said it was a lot of fun but also commented on the sync problems. Len applauded the bravery of the stars starting out the dance on their own without the pros and said they did a fantastic job.
My 2Cents: I think they were done a disservice with their song – it didn’t suit the Cha-Cha for me. I did agree with the judges – Team GaGa won this challenge.

Leader Board Totals with individual and team dance scores combined:
Evan & Anna – 54
Nicole & Derek – 54
Chad & Cheryl– 52
Erin & Maks– 51
Pam & Damian – 51
Niecy & Louis– 49

All season I’ve been sort of lackluster – I never cared for the cast and I didn’t have any one I was really rooting for. In fact for the first several weeks I was rooting for Kate to be kicked off. Once that happened I really didn’t have anything to look forward to. That has all changed – Go Evan! I want him to win. I think he’s a total class act, completely sweet and a great dancer. Take down the Pussycat Doll (no offense, Nicole, you’re awesome, too)!

The judges seemed less cranky and critical this week then they have all season. It was nice to see good dancing and high scores! A great week of dancing and unfortunately I don’t want to see anyone go home tomorrow night. So what did you all think? Who’s your guess for elimination tomorrow night? Leave me your two cents!

On a completely unrelated note: I want the necklace Brooke was wearing tonight – gorgeous!

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