Last week on Dancing with the Stars, the top nine dancers performed either the very dramatic paso doble or the romantic Viennese waltz.  Adam Carolla took his interpretation of the paso doble to a whole new level, incorporating a unicycle into the performance.  Sadly for him and his partner Julianne Hough, they didn't get enough votes to continue on in the competition.

We've reached the halfway point in Dancing with the Stars, with only eight teams left.  It's exciting tonight because it's Latin night, the sexiest night of television.  Stick around as I provide live thoughts throughout the whole hour and a half of sambas and rumbas.

Live!  this is Dancing with the Stars!

The first couple to perform tonight are Mario and Karina Smirnoff.  Mario, if you remember, is not as old as some underwear that Len Goodman owns.  During their week of rehearsal, Mario and Karina paid a visit to Stevie Wonder.  Tonight, Mario and Karina dance the samba.  Karina is dressed sort of like a sexy Big Bird, and she's just so lovely to watch.  Mario is great too.  Looks like he took Stevie's words to heart.  Len deems it Mario's best dance so far, even though he still has to work on his footwork.  They go backstage for their scores: triple 9s!

Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel perform the rumba next.  If you remember from last week's Dancing with the Stars, they received the second-lowest scores last week because of an illegal lift, so they have a lot to prove this week.  Tonight, Priscilla looks like she's wearing a sheer tunic made out of chain mail.  Wow!  She immediately goes down into a full split.  Man, this lady is in great shape!.  However, this routine fails to excite me.  Color me bored.  She looks like she's thinking too much about her moves, and by golly, the judges agree with me!  The scores: straight 7s.  Not terrible, but not great.

Up next are Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani.  She finally had a good week last week, and she is anxious to keep her momentum going into the samba this week.  She is nervous about the hip action required for the samba.  This week in rehearsal, she practiced the samba with a huge Brazilian head dress to get into the mood.  In their performance tonight, there's a whole lot of shoulder-and-boob shaking, like in their cha cha cha from week 1.  Tony keeps giving her that move, and I'm not too crazy about it.  However, Marissa does a good job with the material that she's given.  Carrie Ann Inaba says that it was her best routine of the season.  And they get straight 8s - a 24, exactly the same as their scores from last week.

Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke have the rumba tonight.  In rehearsal, Cristian had a hard time being both manly and soft.  They even did their version of a little Spanish language telenovela, which is adorable.  (Cheryl just says "si" the whole time.)  In their performance tonight, I love their rose-colored satin outfits.  Naturally, Cheryl knocks it out of the park, but is it me, or is Cristian phoning in his performance?  Len says it was competent, but not fantastic.  Carrie Ann also thinks that it wasn't erotic enough for her either.  And the scores: Carrie Ann gives a 7, and Len and Bruno give 8s, for a 23.

Last week, Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez's brought Carrie Ann to tears.  This week, Marlee's and Fabian's rehearsal was interrupted by a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico with a foundation to help deaf children.  They dance the samba tonight, and the fast pace present a challenge to Marlee since she can't hear the rhythms.  Marlee is just a great performer because she keeps going even through some stumbles.  She even does a back-walkover-type thing over Fabian.  Their scores: Carrie Ann and Len give 7s, and Bruno gives an 8, for a 22 out of 30.

Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas have the rumba next.  All night, the judges have been saying that the rumba is very, very difficult dance since the slowness of the dance accentuates any errors.  Kristi had a hard time in rehearsal getting into the sexiness of the style, so she suggests that they each don alter-egos.  Mark is now Mercutio and Kristi is Kristiana.  Her husband and two adorable daughters popped in for a visit as well.  And wow!  Their routine was fantastic!  It was sexy, it was precise!  For the first time this season, I really felt the emotion that she put into it.  She really let her hair down this week, both literally and figuratively.  Len's three words are: "Fab-U-Lous."  And seriously, it's been like 16 years since Kristi won her figure skating gold medal, but her abs are still awesome.  The scores: Carrie Ann gives a 9, and Len and Bruno give 10s, for their second 29 out of 30 of the season.

Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough earned the first 10 from Len this season.  Uh oh, but earlier today, Derek was taken to the hospital for a bout of food poisoning.  I hope he's okay!  (Tom Bergeron has a bucket onstage, just in case he has to boot.)  They've got the samba tonight.  It's a good performance, but she seems overly bouncy in an awkward way at times and doesn't have enough hip action.  This is neither here nor there, but she also has absolutely no ass.  Like, it curves inward.  Wow, she is really out of breath after the routine.  Bruno tells her that she has to learn how to shake her maracas.  And for their scores: Carrie Ann and Len give 8s, and Bruno gives a 7, for a 23 out of 30.

Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are the final team to perform tonight.  Last week, their super-sexy Viennese waltz brought them 29 points to tie with Kristi and Mark.  This week, they've got the rumba as well.  What's up with his outfit?  It's a cream colored top and camel-colored pants, very sensible with nary a sparkle or sequin to be seen.  He doesn't even show any chest - what gives?  Anyway, their performance was very solid, even if his wardrobe choice isn't.  Len calls him a "bloke having a dance," and then continues with a cryptic comment which I can't really understand, but I think is generally positive.  And the scores: triple 9s for a 27.



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