Read the latest Dancing with the Stars Results

Dancing with the Stars was back to normal last night after last week's performances of brand new styles.  The top seven couples were back to the traditional styles that we know and love on Dancing with the Stars.  However, the scoring was all haywire due to the fact that Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance, was filling in for head judge and senior crankypants Len Goodman.

The evening culminated with a big group hip hop number choreographed by Shotyme.  The judges did not score this performance, and good thing too because it was laughably horrendous.  Some of these dancers cannot pull off old school hip hop, and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about.

And so, rather than just giving you a rundown of the night's performances based on the judges' scores, read on to find out my humble opinion on who was at the top, who was at the bottom, and everyone else in between.

1. Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer

Jive, scores: 9+9+9=27.  Finally, Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer have made it to the top of the judges leaderboard.  It was their night to shine.  I also happen to think that their jive was fantastic.  Lacey choreographed a traditional jive that even Len would have enjoyed without picking apart.  It was fast-paced and fun, but still precise with tons of difficult technique.  Bravi, Lancey!


2. Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson

Rumba, scores: 8+9+8=25.  You know, I'm betting that Carrie Ann Inaba has a crush on Warren because of the way she gets all giggly when critiquing him, and I can't say that I blame her.  Warren is a tremendously talented football player, but he's also quickly becoming one of my favorites on this season of Dancing with the Stars.  This rumba, while not the best rumba I've seen on the show, was very smooth and romantic.  Warren hit just the right notes and the judges awarded him with high scores.


3. Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke

Viennese waltz, scores: 7+7+7=21.  Maurice and Cheryl kicked off the evening with their Viennese waltz that started out a bit stiffly, but they managed to loosen up halfway through the performance.  I might be biased because I love how elegant and romantic Viennese waltzes are, but I thought they did a very good job of it last night, especially considering that they had to be the first performers of the night.


4. Brooke Burke and Derek Hough

Rumba, scores 8+10+8=26.  Brooke injured her foot last week, costing her and Derek days of precious rehearsal time.  This resulted in a routine that was very Derek-heavy.  Brooke looked tentative and not as assertive or confident as she normally is.  I'm not sure what the judges were thinking.  Carrie Ann and Bruno both gave 8s, which I thought was too high, but Michael Flatley?  I don't know where he pulled that 10 from.  I'm betting that if Len were there, he would have been the sole voice of reason on the judges' panel.  This was not one of Brooke's better performances, that's for sure.


5. Cody Linley and Julianne Hough

Samba, scores: 8+8+7=23.  Julianne had a rough week last week, going to the hospital for stomach pains and finding out that she has endometriosis.  She'll be undergoing surgery to remove her appendix today, but she still managed to dance brilliantly last night.  (Edyta Sliwinska, who left the competition after the first week, will be filling in for her while she recovers.)  I just wish that Cody were up to her level.  The samba is normally a very fun and cheeky dance, but Cody and Julianne made theirs extremely intense, almost like a paso doble.  The judges still scored them relatively highly, considering the fact that they did not capture the spirit of the samba.


6. Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani

Mambo, scores: 8+8+7=23.  All three judges had nothing but praise for Susan last night, and all I can wonder is, were we watching the same performance?  Week after week, I find Susan's performances to be technically proficient but just a hair underwhelming.  Last night's mambo was no different.


7. Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas

Cha cha cha, scores: 5+5+5=15.  Oh, Cloris!  Her cha cha last night left the judges speechless.  Even Michael "Grade Inflation" Flatley couldn't really find anything good about it.  And it's true, it was full of horrible, horrible dancing, if you could call it dancing.  Cloris and Corky are six whole points behind the next couple, but God only knows if her fans will save her tonight.





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