Dancing with the Stars

Last week, ABC featured the two-night Dancing with the Stars premiere event, in which we witnessed the debut performances of the 12 celebrities and their professional dance partners.  Tonight, all the teams are back again for another performance and another chance to prove to us at home why each deserves to continue on in Dancing with the Stars.  There's a lot at stake tonight because tomorrow, in the results show, two celebs - one man and one woman - will have to say good-bye.

Stay tuned tonight and keep refreshing your web browser.  I will be on hand throughout tonight's two-hour performance show to provide you with Dancing with the Stars live thoughts.

Live!  This is Dancing with the Stars!  Cue theme music!  The stars and their partners make their way down the stairs to the stage.  Wow, Edyta Sliwinska has amazing abs.  Wow, Marissa Jaret Winokur's dress is very, very pink.

The first couple up is Steve Guttenberg and Anna Trebunskaya.  In their rehearsals this week, Anna found teaching Steve the mambo very frustrating, so she brought in her mom, ballroom expert Irina Trebunskaya, for reinforcements.  Irina and Steve got along swimmingly and they were really cute together.  The good cop/bad cop approach to teaching seems to help because Steve's mambo tonight is much improved from his foxtrot from last week.  He still has that really cheesy smile plastered all over his face.  However, it still wasn't great and the judges don't mince words.  Their scores: Carrie Ann gives a six, and both Len and Bruno give fives, for a 16.  Combined with last week's 18, they have a total of 34.

Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke perform the quickstep next.  This is a very difficult dance, requiring floor-skimming steps and straight posture.  In rehearsal, Cheryl gets frustrated with Cristian's goofiness, and dresses him up in Navy whites to get him to stand straight.  In their performance tonight, he does a really good job, and his posture is much improved.  Cheryl's dress is fabulous, with a deep open back and a full polka-dotted skirt.  The judges are cautiously positive, praising his improved posture but criticizing his footwork.  Carrie Ann and Bruno give them sevens, and Len gives them a six, for a 20 out of 30.  Combined with last week's score, they have a total of 41.

Monica Seles and Jonathan Roberts dance the mambo next.  Monica has trouble finding her inner sexpot with this routine.  She clearly looks uncomfortable gyrating her hips and acting sexy, with her shoulders hunched up.  Bruno tells her that she has to find the rhythm of the music and stay on beat.  Monica and Jonathan get straight fives for a 15 out of 30, same as last week's score.  Combined, they have a total of 30.  Monica is a very good sport about her low scores, and says that she knows she's not a great dancer, but she's having the time of her life.

Next are Penn Jillette and Kym Johnson.  Omigod, they have to do the quickstep this week.  This is going to be great.  Or maybe awful.  In rehearsal, Kym puts him in a teeny tiny posture bar.  He accidentally fashions himself another one by breaking the barre from off the wall when he leans on it too hard.  Woah!  He gets back at Kym by sawing her in half!  He's my favorite of the bad dancers!  For their performance tonight, I am completely in love with Kym's glam hairdo and outfit, and I love the little magician things that Penn puts into the performance, like his mysteriously rising tie.  His footwork is obviously bad, even for a non-expert like me, but he's actually really energetic.  Penn tries to sneak off the stage when Len gives his critique, and then trips up the stairs when going backstage.  He is so funny!  Carrie Ann and Len give sixes, and Bruno gives a five, which gives 17 out of 30.  Combined with last week's 16, they have a 33 out of 60.

Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel dance the mambo tonight.  They scored 24 points last week, tied with the highest-scoring man, but this week, she's gotta show her sultry and sexy side.  She's got a fabulous leopard print dress with an asymmetric ruffled skirt, which really flatters her.  I love the choreography; it's really light and playful, and her technique is very impressive.  Carrie Ann is Priscilla's biggest fan and raves about her special je ne sais quoi.  Len also thinks that she did well, but thought she was too precise.  Is that a criticism?  Priscilla and Louis get triple sevens, which gives them a combined score of 45 out of 60.

Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough have to do the quickstep this week, and the biggest challenge that Shannon has is her cardio stamina.  Derek makes her run up hills to get in better shape.  It's kind of mean to make them dance the quickstep so early in the competition because it's such a challenging style.  However, Shannon really rocks it.  She really does just skim the floor and hardly looks winded at all.  She's definitely going to be one to beat this season.  The judges deem their performance the best one of the night so far.  They get great scores: triple eights for a 24.  Combined with last week's 21, they have a 45 out of 60.

Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska perform the mambo tonight, and he looks like he had a hard week of rehearsals.  In the rehearsal studio, he's huffing and puffing, like he's doing two-a-days with the Dolphins, and he has a hard time bringing the sexiness required for the mambo.  Edyta now knows his potential, so she has choreographed a crazy routine for him.  In tonight's performance, he is convincingly sexy and a lot looser than he was last week.  This man's got potential, and with Edyta at his side, they're going to be a true force to be reckoned with.  I'm really impressed with how far he's come in one week, and the judges love him as well.  Wow!  They get triple nines for a 27!  Those are fantastic scores!  Combined with last week's 22, they have a total of 49 out of 60.

Marissa Jaret Winokur, in her bright pink dress, and Tony Dovolani are up next.  She started off the week with a tearful apology for not being as good as the other women, and Tony just wins my entire heart by telling her that he would rather dance with her than with anyone else.  They dance the quickstep tonight, which is so her style because she has such great energy.  They are a little bit off in the their synchronicity, but overall, so much better than the awful cha cha from last week.  They get straight sevens for their dance, for a total of 21.  Last week's 18 plus tonight's 21 gives them a combined total of 39 out of 60.

Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough get their chance next to redeem themselves from last week's dismal performance.  They've got the mambo tonight.  It's kind of painful to watch him do the hip rolling action.  I don't think the audience was very impressed with the routine because they were awfully quiet during the entire performance.  Bruno damns Adam with faint praise, Carrie says they were green (in reference to their outfits) and cute, but Len manages to be more positive in his critique.  Carrie Ann and Bruno give sixes, and Len gives a seven.  Last week, they got a 15, so they have a combined total of 34.

Yay!  Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez finally get to go next.  They've got the quickstep this week.  Tonight, Marlee is wearing all aqua blue.  The choreo is really fun, and I just can't contain how much I love Marlee, except that Fabian has thrown in some moments of mambo in the middle of it, which doesn't go over well with the judges.  They get their scores backstage: eights all around for 24 tonight.  With last week's 22, they've got a combined total of 46 out of 60.

Frontrunners Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas do the mambo next.  In rehearsal this week, Kristi has a hard time loosening up her hips, which I expected.  She gets all giggly when Mark shakes his booty with a ruffly skirt on.  Tonight, though, oh my goodness, I'm really impressed with how well Kristi is able to come out of her shell and really dance sexily tonight.  I honestly didn't expect that she could do that.  Kristi really looks like a seasoned pro.  The judges again rave over their performance, and reward them with a repeat of straight nines.  They've got a combined score of 54 out of 60.

The final performance of the night will be Mario and Karina Smirnoff.  They dance the quickstep tonight, and let's see if he can do precise footwork.  He's wearing the weirdest outfit, though: it's a tux with tails, an ascot and the sleeves cut off!  His footwork is pretty good, but his movements are more vertical instead of skimming the floor.  In any case, it's a great performance.  Carrie Ann likes him as eye candy, it seems.  Carrie Ann and Bruno give them nines, and Len gives an eight.  Tonight's 26 and last week's 24 gives them a combined score of 50 out of 60.

The two judges' score as well as the audience votes from both weeks will determine which man and which woman will be eliminated on tomorrow's Dancing with the Stars results show.  Don't miss it!



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)