A mixed night: Dancing With The Stars gets a new leader and a few injuries

Here we go with the 4th week of competition – it’s Rock Week!  So, of course, the show has to open with KISS performing.  I mean, what other band would it be?

And it looks like everyone is getting into the spirit – the troupe, the band.  It’s kinda fun.

Even my MOTHER is getting into the spirit.  She just said:  “I do like KISS!”  OMG!  Should that frighten me?  (Probably.)

Once again, I have to wonder what Brooke  Burke-Charvet is wearing.  She really confuses me.  Does she have a stylist?  She should fire that stylist.  Yes, she should.

The stars have paraded in and there are some really interesting costumes, let me tell you!  Of course, if we’re talking about Rock Week, there has to be a lot of black.  And a lot of pleather.  And a lot of big hair.  And a lot of body art.  Well, they don’t disappoint here.

Read on for dance recaps…

Sherri and Val dancing the Tango.

• I love it when Sherri goes on a rant…she’s awesome.
• She looks really nice in that costume too.  Seriously, I like it!
• Sherri’s getting down and dirty in front of Len – MEOW!
• She’s got an awesome tango attitude…but her footwork needs some help.  She looks great in those boots, though!
• The footwork is getting better…I think her kicks are pretty good.
• Overall, it was good.  It wasn’t *great* though.
• Len:  “Be still my beating heart.”  Overall, he likes it! (Well, sure, he got the lap dance.)
• Bruno:  And of course he gets a little slutty, but he liked it too.  “I like it when you’re nasty.”
• CarrieAnn:  “It was good.”  She’s missing the “gggrrrrr” in the performance.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 7 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 7+7+7=21
• I would have expected higher scores…Sherri has a lot of class.  You know she expected higher, but didn’t show it.

Katherine and Mark dancing the Paso Doble.

• Oh, what will sweet little Katherine bring to the Paso?
• Okay, Katherine saying “Badass” and then giggling is just too adorable.
• Girlfriend is working the skirt!
• The spin on the floor didn’t look really comfortable for her (I don’t know the technical name for it).
• Overall, that was a really nice performance.  But it’s pretty clear that this was way, way out of her comfort zone. Not bad.  Not her best.
• Bruno:  Wasn’t as clean and precise as a Paso Doble should be.
• CarrieAnn:  “You weren’t on your feet.”
• Len:  “It had promise, but it didn’t quite deliver.”
• Ultimately, the all believe that she hit the passion and intensity, but she lost some of the technique.  I actually agree with them.
• 8 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 8 from Bruno
• 8+8+8=24
• Still not a bad score for week 4, but it’s not what they are used to.  Still, they haven’t scored below an 8 yet. Perhaps this will motivate for next week.

Jaleel and Kym dancing the Tango.

• Kym was having a bit of fun beating up on Jaleel.
• I’m not sure how I feel about the beginning of this tango.  It seems sort of sloppy to me.  But then, I’m not a dance pro.  So what do I know? (That rhymed…cool.)
• His kicks where good.  It did get better at the end.
• Because I thought it was “meh” the judges will love it.
• CarrieAnn:  “I loved it” (Told you.)  Though she says he’s too smooth.
• Len:  “It needed more attack.”  Aha!  Len agreed with me on footwork.
• Bruno:  He doesn’t think it has the stalking quality.  “Len is right…more drive, more aggression in the footwork.”
• (Mom:  “They better not get better scores than Katherine!  I’m telling you!  They better not!” LOL)
• 8 from CarrieAnn; 7 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 8+7+7=22
• (The judges are safe from my mother’s wrath.)

Mom’s “favorite” Target commercial just played! [snark]  She told me that it came on earlier today while she was having her treatment – she had to turn it off before she threw up. (She meant that literally too – it’s the first time since starting her treatments that she’s felt like throwing up.  Pretty powerful commercial, eh?)

For those of you who don’t know what commercial I’m referring to….here it is:

Melissa and Maks dancing the Paso Doble.

• Oh, Maks is baiting her!  Perhaps that will work for them.
• Cool mood lighting at the beginning.
• The early steps seemed a little hesitant from Melissa – almost as if Maks was dragging her around the floor because she couldn’t keep up.
• The footwork is improving…she doesn’t work the skirt like Katherine, but she’s doing okay.
• Oh dear…I think Max just fell on his ass.  It threw off the timing of the ending…she didn’t nearly step on his family jewels on the end beat.
• Len:  “Melissa, I liked it.”  He thought she came out with confidence.  Huh.
• Bruno:  Called the screw up at the ending.  Bruno agrees with me…she was running to keep up.
• CarrieAnn:  “On the whole, I thought that was your best performance.”  “When you’re in hold, you don’t consider yourself equal to Maks.”
• I’m totally in agreement with Bruno and CarrieAnn here.  It’s nice of Maks to take full responsibility for the screw up.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 7+8+7=22
• Wow!  Len is the highest score?  How did that happen? Maybe he felt he under-scored her at some point.

Donald and Peta dancing the Paso Doble.

• Missed most of their rehearsal stuff because of Mom’s phone ringing…it’s very loud.
• Well, look at the body on Donald!
• I hope her feet didn’t leave the floor on that spin thingy…CarrieAnn will call it.
• He’s doing a really nice job in this dance.  He’s got the strength to control it.
• Mom didn’t think it was that great.  I liked it.  I wonder what the judges will say.
• Bruno:  “Great guns, Donald!”  His hormones are going bonkers again.
• CarrieAnn:  “What the heck did I just see?”  I think she liked it.  She thinks it’s one of the most memorable moments of the season.
• Len:  “I never thought I would get excited seeing a man with his shirt off.”  Len calls it Donald’s best dance.
• 9 from CarrieAnn; 9 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 9+9+9=27  Highest score of the night thus far!  (He needs to be careful with the “I hoped for 10s!” shout…the judges don’t like that.)

Gladys and Tristan dancing the Tango.

• I truly, truly love Gladys Knight…her attitude is just perfect!  Nothing phases her…and it’s clear she’s having a great time.
• Okay, the judges in the Queen pose is just wrong!  And the music is throwing ME off…it’s off key.
• I’m really not liking the dance.  I think the music really hampered them…it just didn’t sound right at the beginning.
• It’s getting better after the big guitar break, but I still think they are off.
• Credit where credit is due though…she kept that fierce look going the whole time.
• You can tell from the look on Gladys’s face that she just knows.
• CarrieAnn:  “I felt like it didn’t quite all come together.”
• Len:  Commends Tristan on the choreography.  Feet and legs need to be more crisp.  Not the best dance, but not the worst.
• Bruno:  “You’re always a class act.”  Lacked impact because of the music.
• I’m not feeling good about her scores right now…she got really bad luck with the music.  Really bad luck.  All of the judges agreed that it was very difficult music to dance to.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 6 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 7+6+7=20 Lowest scores of the evening.

William and Cheryl dancing the Jive.

• Okay, the metal heads are a little scary.  Hey, dudes…the 80s are waiting for you!
• He’s doing pretty well.  Sometimes he’s a little heavy on this footwork, but he’s keeping the beat fairly well.
• Did they just completely miss the “swinging Cheryl under William’s legs” move?  I think they did!
• There were a few moments in there when it looked like he lost the beat and maybe the steps a tad.  But, overall, it was good.
• Len:  He called out the mistakes…I knew he would.  Gotta nail the routines!
• Bruno:  “Your performance always rocks the house, but you did go off and you went wrong.”
• CarrieAnn:  Agrees with the others that he needs to nail the routines and stay focused.
• I’m with the judges on this one.  The performance was good.  But he messed up the choreography.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 7 from Len; 8 from Bruno, who is voting with the hormones again. Too high, Bruno!
• 7+7+8=22

Roshon and Chelsie dancing the Viennese Waltz

• Will people PLEASE stop voting for this kid??  He’s really annoying.  He’s totally not as cool as he thinks he is.  And if he tells the “Good Job, Dawg” joke one more time, I’ll cry.
• Parts of the dance are good.  But I’m just not sure about most of it.  He doesn’t seem comfortable during a lot of it.  He still doesn’t seem to have the frame that Chelsie was looking for.
• I think Chelsie lost some of her costume during some spins.
• Bruno:  Is overly effusive again.  He likes it.  “Elegant and romantic.”
• CarrieAnn:  “Out of the men, I think you are the best dancer.” (Oh, please!  He’s too young for you, CarrieAnn!)
• Len:  “Good job, Dawg.”  Oh, he liked it too.  At least he pointed out some of the mistakes.
• The judges really have their favorites…I really don’t agree with those favorites.
• 9 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 9+8+9=26
• ARGH!!!!  Why are they getting over-scored?
• Mom:  “I wish he’d keep his tongue in his mouth!”  (I agree, Mom.)

Maria and Derek dancing the Tango.

• Oh dear…Maria has lots of problems with the bones in her foot.  Stress fracture!  But she’s going to fight through it.  She’s Greek!  Nia Vardalos would tell her to put some Windex on it.
• Oh, the dorky costume is stripped away to reveal the sexieness underneath.  Hmmmmm.  Maria has, perhaps, the best body of the female contestants.
• Derek with a mohawk, there’s something frightening about that. But he’s still a cutie.
• For someone with stress fractures, she’s really dancing really well.
• I like this routine a lot.
• Mom thinks it’s the best dance all night.
• Oh, look!  The Greek contingent is there!  John Stamos!  Nia Vardalos!  Rita Wilson! Yay!
• CarrieAnn:  She loved it!
• Len:  Occasionally lost a little bit of control, but says Maria has the best posture of the female contestants.  He didn’t think it was her best dance.
• Bruno:  He thought it was brilliant.
• Derek is quite the gentleman…he carried Maria all the way up the stairs. Aawww.
• 9 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 9+8+9=26
• Thank you, Derek!  Called out Brooke on her stupid “How does that feel” question!

Gavin and Karina dancing the Tango.

• Rock Week should work for Gavin if it works for anyone.  Let’s see if he can pull it off.
• Well, he’s trying really hard with the attitude.  The kicks are pretty decent.  But a lot of his footwork seems a little sloppy.
• Karina is making some pretty images; I don’t know if that will be enough.
• What’s with the rolling on the floor??  That was weird.
• Over all, it wasn’t too bad. Not too great, but not too bad.
• Len:  “I liked it!”  He likes the flair and attitude, but has a problem with his posture.
• Bruno:  Calls out the bad frame.  He also called the messy footwork.
• CarrieAnn:  “I felt like I was watching Johnny Depp on this dance floor.”  WTF?  She agrees that the frame is off.  (Thank you, Tom for shutting her up.)
• 8 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 7 from Bruno (I think Bruno was the only one who was right.)
• 8+8+7 = 23

And there we have it – another week of dances in the bag.  It should be another interesting week.  The highest score this week is a 27 for Donald and Peta…the lowest score is a 20 for Gladys and Tristan.  Still, overall, these are high scores.

Who will the fans save?