Dancing With The Stars Week 8 Review
After last week’s classic night on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ one would think that it can’t get any more difficult before they begin the semi-finals. Well, when you’ve got six couples adding an additional person to their group to go on a trio dance-offs against the others then – yeah – it still is heating up on the dance floor.
The pressure continues to build for all of the couples, but will everybody be able to keep a lid on their emotions and prove the judges wrong? Some of the couples managed to continually wow everybody with their sharp dance moves, but still there are others who can’t get enough points to be on top of the leader board.
Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd
Score: 27/30 (9/9/9)
The show begins with Donald Driver and his partner Peta Murgatroyd, a couple who have gotten close to receiving the perfect score but haven’t so far. This time around Donald is a bit frustrated over the fact that they’re dealing with the tango, but he’s determined to give it his all on the dance floor. He struggles to punch it in, show off his moves but after the first fifteen seconds he finds his groove and loosens up. The judges still dug it though.
Maria Menounos & Derek Hough
Score: 28/30 (8/10/10)
You can’t get a perfect score without being the absolute best in your dance. Last week Maria proved to the judges that she is a truly outstanding dancer when she gives it her all, and although their latest Viennese Waltz had the audience mesmerized, it still wasn’t enough to get Len Goodman to love it. He got a lot of slack from this particular decision afterwards, something that pretty much left the judge pissed off for the duration of the show.
Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskly
Score: 24/30 (8/8/8)
Well, let’s look at it this way, at least they did slightly better than last week when the judges were calling their dance pretty much an absolute mess. But for some reason they adored their Foxtrot, though Melissa still appears a bit stiff. Then again, she has to deal with Maksim. He’s not a bad guy, but the two of them keep on clashing and when that happens you can see some of that through their dance moves.
Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas
Score: 26/30 (8/9/9)
Last week the couple did fairly well with the Rumba, but this time around they decided to go with a softer dance, the Viennese Waltz to be exact. This particular dance has been done what feels like a billion times on this show, yet they keep falling back on it. This is one of those examples where the dance is beautiful, they both do a great job, but there’s not enough there to really sweep the audience off their feet. Then again, the judges gave them a pretty high score.
Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower
Score: 29/30 (9/10/10)
The adorable young couple uses their overall cuteness to their advantage by combining it with their surprisingly great moves in their own version of the Foxtrot. At one point during the rehearsal Roshon’s grandmothers came in to see the two of them practice, which was cute especially since one of them schooled Roshon on a couple of his dance moves. Judging by the scores, listening to grandma really paid off.
William Levy & Cheryl Burke
Score: 30/30 (10/10/10)
They got really close last week to getting a perfect score and this time they got it. It was a combination of their great teamwork and quick dance moves. And yes, it was a bit sweet to see William come in at the beginning of their rehearsal session with a monstrous bouquet of roses for Cheryl’s birthday.
Then we got into the trio round, a section that has each couple paired up with an additional dance partner that will help them further along in the competition.
Donald Driver / Peta Murgatroyd / Karina Smirnoff
Score: 28/30 (9/9/10)
Total Score: 55/60
We begin once again with Donald and Peta, this time accompanied by professional dancer Karina Smirnoff. Everybody in the rehearsal is having a blast, especially Karina who says, “If anyone can handle two women, it’s Donald.” He certainly knows how to handle them – constantly proving to everyone that he’s got the moves on the field and on the dance floor.
Maria Menounos / Derek Hough / Henry Byaliko
Score: 25/30 (7/9/9)
Total Score: 53/60
It’s time to spice up this trio dance, Bollywood style. Maria and Derek team up with Henry Byaliko and end up dancing a Samba with a really cool Bollywood theme. However, not everybody was in sync – hence why the judges didn’t give them the best scores. Oh well, the show must go on.
Melissa Gilbert / Maksim Chmerkovskly / Val Chmerkovskly
Score: 27/30 (9/9/9)
Total Score: 51/60
There’s something going on with Melissa Gilbert, because between her previous dance with Maksim earlier tonight and this trio round, she’s blowing away the judges. She’s still messing up on a couple of steps and still appears a bit stiff, but she’s turning into the judges’ darling.
Katherine Jenkins / Mark Ballas / Tristan MacManus
Score: 29/30 (9/10/10)
Total Score: 55/60
Now we have this trio who gets their hands dirty with a pretty cool-looking version of the Cha-Cha. It’s great because Katherine feels like this is the one dance where she’s been able to truly show off how great she can be, and the judges certainly agreed with that.
Roshon Fegan / Chelsie Hightower / Sasha Faber
Score: 29/30 (9/9/9)
Total Score: 55/60
Up until this point Roshon and Chelsie have more or less appeared to be the younger couple, and nothing more. Tonight they’ve been on fire with their previous dance and now the Paso Doble which they do with dancer Sasha. It’s a really cool dance that shows how much Roshon can be manly on the dance floor, which the judges loved to the point of where one of them commented on his tight butt. Because that’s not an awkward thing to say on national television.
William Levy / Cheryl Burke / Tony Dovolani
Score: 27/30 (9/9/9)
Total Score: 57/60
Last but never least is the fun couple William and Cheryl, who further impressed everyone with the help of Tony Dovolani. Roshon may have done great just a few minutes before these guys performed, but once this trio hit the dance floor it was all over. Their rendition of the Paso Doble may easily be one of the best dances of the night.
And there you have it! Tomorrow we’ll report on the results round where two couples will be sent home. Currently William and Cheryl lead the charge while Melissa and Maksim are at the bottom once again. Who will go home? We’ll just have to find out in another twenty-four hours.