“Classical Night” may prove to have some all-time classic moments.

It’s CLASSICAL WEEK!

I don’t know about anyone else, but this just might be my favorite of the themed weeks on Dancing With the Stars. I’ve always enjoyed classical music…but I think it’s also because ballroom dancing brings classical music immediately to the front of my mind. It just seems fitting.

Here is where things stand:

Couple	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Marathon	Total
Katherine/Mark	26	26	29	24	29	29	10	173
William/Cheryl	24	25	28	22	29	27	9	164
Donald/Peta	21	24	26	27	27	27	7	159
Maria/Derek	21	25	27	26	27	26	4	156
Jaleel/Kym	26	22	25	22	24	29	8	156
Roshon/Chelsie	23	26	25	26	26	23	5	154
Melissa/Maks	20	20	24	22	21	24	6	137

We now have a definite front-runner. Katherine & Mark have taken the overall lead pretty handily at this point. But don’t count William & Cheryl out of things – they’re hot on the leaders’ tails. In fact, don’t count anybody out. We’ve seen stranger happenings on DWTS…it’s still anyone’s Mirrorball.

Melissa & Maks have been riding the bottom of the leader board for most of the season – but there’s a really strong fan base there that’s been keeping them dancing week after week. Roshon & Chelsie may appear to have a stronger hold on staying in the competition, but they’ve ended up in the bottom two twice now – each time with decent scores. Clearly, the fans aren’t coming through as strongly.

Therefore, it’s really, REALLY important to vote for your favorite couple!

Speaking of the couples, what will they be dancing tonight?

Katherine/Mark	Rumba
William/Cheryl	V. Waltz
Donald/Peta	V. Waltz
Maria/Derek	Paso Doble
Jaleel/Kym	V. Waltz
Roshon/Chelsie	A. Tango
Melissa/Maks	A. Tango

I’m really looking forward to all of these dances. This should be a fun night.

In addition, the couples are broken into two teams: Team Tango and Team Paso Doble.

Team Paso Doble

William/Cheryl
Melissa/Maks
Donald/Peta

Team Tango:

Maria/Derek
Roshon/Chelsie
Katherine/Mark
Jaleel/Kym

The strongest men are on Team Paso Doble and the strongest women are on Team Tango. Interesting. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Again, Kids…your votes count!

The scene is set with the 36 piece orchestra…and here comes the troupe looking like Kin Louis and Marie Antoinette! How the women are able to dance with that hair is beyond me. But they sure do look pretty.

Joshua Bell was the violinist who opened the show. And Anna Trebunskaya did the choreography for the troupe.

For a change, Brooke Brooke-Charvet is wearing a dress that Mom and I both like. That’s a change.

The introduction/parade of stars begins to the amped up orchestra and singers – they sound good.

Katherine and Mark dancing the Rumba.

“You can’t spell ‘classical’ without ‘ass'” – Oh, that was nice, Mark.
“An elegant, classical Rumba” – as Mark drops her on her ass.
I’m a little worried about the costumes, but I’ll hold off for a bit.
Very odd music for a Rumba, but we’ll see what they can do with it. Canon in D? Really?
The music make it very difficult for me to truly enjoy this Rumba, but as Mom said, her form is great.
I love her execution.
We’ll see what the judges have to say.
Len: “Classical night and a classical Rumba.” “It had style and elegance.”
Bruno: “Katherine, the unobtainable object of desire.” “You could have gone further to get my juices flowing.” (Aren’t Bruno’s juices always flowing?)
Carrie Ann: “Technically, you’re unmatched.” “Passion didn’t feel genuine.”
9 from Carrie Ann; 9 from Len; 9 from Bruno
9+9+9=27
I’m good with that score. I actually agreed – it could have been more passionate. But, it was technically wonderful.

Melissa and Maks dancing the Argentine Tango.

Before going into the commercial, we got a glimpse of Melissa and Maks. She’s already starting on a positive note with Mom: “That’s a really pretty dress.”
So, Maks is injured. He’s fought through it before, let’s see if he can do it again.
Thank goodness for Val!
What’s with the bald mannequin?
Well, it started out well…and then that spin. That wasn’t good. Her leg just dragged.
There were some good moments throughout the dance. I thought her footwork was good.
The lifts, however, were really not that good. At all. Going into the lifts, coming out of the lifts…it was all awkward.
Bruno: Praise for dancing to Mozart. “It got messy.” (I agree.)
Carrie Ann: “Cirque du Soleil went terribly wrong.” “You went for quantity rather than quality.”
Len: “There was so much intensity that it lost some of the quality in the dance.”
Maks is really, REALLY not happy. Either that or he’s in great pain.
7 from Carrie Ann; 7 from Len; 7 from Bruno
7+7+7=21
I think if they go look at the video, they’ll see what the judges were talking about. It was a great effort, but it just didn’t click like they thought.

William and Cheryl dancing the Viennese Waltz.

Did I hear that right? They’re dancing to Jackie Evancho’s singing?
William’s ankle is a bit out of sorts, too.
They ARE dancing to Jackie’s singing….”Ave Maria”.
Cheryl’s dress is quite lovely.
The pain is showing on William’s face…but his form is very good. he’s doing a really nice job with this V. Waltz.
Overall, that was very good.
Carrie Ann: (If she can get past the screaming.) “That is what I was looking for.” “You bring the romance to life.”
Len: “I wasn’t exactly transported to Vienna, but it was close…I was in Austria.”
Bruno: “You have captured the purity and ethereal quality of the song.”
9 from Carrie Ann; 9 from Len; 9 from Bruno
9+9+9=27
That ties them for first with Katherine and Mark. Well deserved, I think.

Roshon and Chelsie dancing the Argentine Tango.

I love that Chelsie is just manhandling him through rehearsals…and calling him feminine. LOL
Val to the masculine rescue! Let’s see if it paid off.
Really? Classical Lady Gaga? Why do they get the good song?? Just because there’s no singing doesn’t mean it’s classical music!
Oh, technical problems….we got about 20 seconds of the Dancing with the Stars sign.
I’m not overly enjoying this dance…he’s trying really hard, but it doesn’t seem as sharp as it needs to be.
Roshon always seems to want to move fast.
Len: “Overall, I thought it was clean and it was confident.”
Bruno: “You have to work on your legs…you need strength in your legs.”
Carrie Ann: “Welcome back to the competition.”
9 from Carrie Ann; 8 from Len; 8 from Bruno
9+8+8=25
I thought Carrie Ann was high on that one. He put in a great effort. But it just wasn’t there.

Donald and Peta dancing the Viennese Waltz.

We know Donald has the power for the Paso…does he have the grace for the V. Waltz?
They get to dance to live singing too. Nice.
Peta pushed Donald hard during rehearsals. She’s a drill sergeant…I love it!
The live singer is probably the only reason they’ll get away with that much music without dancing.
Overall, this is a nice dance, but sometimes Donald’s footwork seems a little weird…like that skip thing and the spins.
Bruno: “You’ve got the sweeping drive and passion.”
Carrie Ann: “I love your intensity when you dance.”
Len: “Your footwork was spot on.” (I totally don’t agree there.)
9 from Carrie Ann; 9 from Len; 9 from Bruno
9+9+9=27
A little high, for me, but okay…I can live with it.

Maria and Derek dancing the Paso Doble.

Rehearsals got tense for Maria and Derek. Maria’s confidence took a hit, I think.
Dynamic relationship = Dynamic Paso Doble? I guess we’ll find out!
Oh dear… a stake and teeth! Maria is a vampire!
It’s starting out well. Maria is definitely dancing with passion and strength.
I’m liking this choreography…it seems to flow nicely.
Oh, I liked that dance!
And she just dragged the “dead” Derek to the judges’ table. EXCELLENT!
Carrie Ann: “Maria, that didn’t suck, my friend!” “Katherine has been in the lead for the girls, but she better watch out.”
Len: “Fantastic!”
Bruno: “Maria, the queen of the damned is the queen of the night!”
10 from Carrie Ann; 10 from Len; 10 from Bruno
10+10+10=30
Very deserved!!! That’s the first perfect score of the season…and the first 10 from Len this season!

A testament to friendships that are built on this show: Did you see the way Katherine and Mark went absolutely bonkers for Maria and Derek? It was as if they’d received the perfect score. Katherine was even wiping away a tear.

Jaleel and Kym dancing the Viennese Waltz.

I really don’t like the cocky look that Jaleel gets on his face sometimes.
Jaleel spends a lot of time grasping inappropriate body parts on Kym. A couple of weeks ago it was her ass, this week it’s her breast.
The dance is starting out well. He looked like he had some weird hand placement when they went into hold, but it doesn’t seem overly problematic.
He doesn’t seem steady on his feet at some points…but Kym’s dress might actually block that from the judges’ view.
Len: “I liked it enough not to be cruel but I didn’t like it enough to be kind.”
Bruno: “Content-wise, I couldn’t ask for more.” “It’s not always executed as well as it should be.”
Carrie Ann: “Don’t lose your confidence.” “The storytelling was excellent.”
Did Jaleel really just say “I thought it was the Vietnamese Waltz”??? Oh, Lord. There’s something to offend each week, isn’t there, Jaleel?
8 from Carrie Ann; 8 from Len; 8 from Bruno
8+8+8=24
Again, I thought those were a little high.

That’s it for the individual dances. Now we’re moving into the team dances.

While we wait for Jaleel and Kym to change for the team dance, it looks like Tristan and Karina are dancing to a song from Jackie Evancho. Beautifully danced! Beautifully sung. Really beautiful.

TEAM TANGO: Maria/Derek, Katherine/Mark, Roshon/Chelsie, Jaleel/Kym.

They all begin with Katherine conducting them….as they play violins.
And the dance begins.
The group stuff at the beginning looked nice.
Maria and Derek looked good.
Jaleel and Kym are looking okay. There seemed to be a little bauble, but it wasn’t bad.
Katherine and Mark seem to be the strength of the team right now. Once again, they are technically excellent.
Roshon and Chelsie hit the dance floor strongly. He’s holding his own quite nicely in this tango.
More group work comes out nicely. Good precision and pictures.
Very Good.
Len: Maria and Roshon were the standout. “A mix of the good the bad and the ugly.” (Oh, Len!)
Bruno: “Over all, another excellent team dance.”
Carrie Ann: “That was incredible.”
10 from Carrie Ann; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
10+8+9=27
A little disparity among the judges. But that’s not the first time we’ve seen that. I think Carrie Ann was a bit high.

TEAM PASO DOBLE: Donald/Peta, Melissa/Maks, William/Cheryl

The dance opens nicely. Some nice group work, I think.
Melissa and Maks start out the solo dances. And I think they do a nice job.
William and Cheryl step in for their turn…again, they’re doing a really nice job.
Donald and Peta are the anchors…and they are anchoring well.
Oh, and now they are all shirtless! There’s Bruno’s vote.
Some good work with the capes. A little off synch at times, but it wasn’t bad.
Donald isn’t as good at walking on his knees.
That was a fabulous dance. Really fabulous.
This score is going to help Melissa/Maks
Bruno: “More muscle power than the Avengers.” (All of the shirtless boys run up to huddle around Bruno – they’re such suck-ups! Have you no pride?)
Carrie Ann: “That was so much fun!”
Len: “It was fire and ice.”
9 from Carrie Ann; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
9+8+9=26
I really don’t agree there. These should have been higher scores. They were better than Team Tango. Far better.

So where does that leave us at the end of Week 7?

Couple	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Marathon	Wk 7	Team	Total
Katherine/Mark	26	26	29	24	29	29	10	27	27	227
William/Cheryl	24	25	28	22	29	27	9	27	26	217
Maria/Derek	21	25	27	26	27	26	4	30	27	213
Donald/Peta	21	24	26	27	27	27	7	27	26	212
Jaleel/Kym	26	22	25	22	24	29	8	24	27	207
Roshon/Chelsie	23	26	25	26	26	23	5	25	27	206
Melissa/Maks	20	20	24	22	21	24	6	21	26	184

Maria/Derek moved ahead of Donald/Peta…but not by much. Katherine/Mark extended their lead by a point. Melissa/Maks fell further behind the rest of the pack.

Now, it’s up to the voters.