Last night we had another shakeup on the leader board and a mambo marathon. Tonight, it's finally time for a double elimination to get things moving. Who will it be? We'll find out LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
Tom and Samantha do a quick introduction and then throw it right to Taylor Swift, who is performing her song "Jump Then Fall." This girl has got some seriously long legs. At first, I though the lens was distorted or something, like Mariah Carey used to do on her CD covers. She's also singing live, which I appreciate, and you can tell because she's not perfect. Two pros dance while she sings but I don't recognize either of them.
Tom reviews last night's action with clips of the dancing and the judges' comments. I can't believe I totally missed the fact that Louie dumped Chelsie on her ass in the middle of their routine last night. I guess I was watching Louie run over to the judges' table to do his flip. I had to laugh when Donny said in his confessional that he thought 24 was a good score, and Kym was like, "Eh, not so much." Blah blah blah, everyone is nervous about tonight's double elimination and the possibility that they will have to participate in the dance-off.
So who doesn't need to worry? Joanna and Derek are safe. Joining them are Mark and Lacey. They seem surprised, especially Lacey.
Yet another clip package about how people feel about the double elimination. I know this is going to shock you, so hold onto your hats. People don't want to go home. People are scared to be in the bottom two. But mostly, they want to stay and dance another week. I'm so glad they aired that clip package, because I wasn't sure if people wanted to go home or what.
Who else is safe? Donny and Kym. Donny looks really relieved -- I think when Kym told him they weren't quite safe, he got really worried. Also safe are Aaron and Karina. Karina squeals really loudly. I guess being in the bottom two for two weeks in a row makes you really happy to be pronounced safe.
A group of Cuban refugees have turned their story into a musical, and they are here tonight to perform a number. They're called Tiempo Libre. It's weird to see Latin dancing performed in what is probably a really authentic manner. I'm so used to seeing people like Derek and Mark doing it that when I see actual Cubans dancing, it doesn't look right to me. But as I said, I'm sure it's much more authentic. They don't use as much hip action, for one. Their posture is different somehow, too. The music is exciting, with lots of congas. The audience likes it anyway.
This week, the stars get to design the costumes instead of the dancers doing it as normal. They each meet with the costume designer and pick out the fabric, style, and crystals. Joanna vows to put Derek in a Speedo as payback for the tiny costumes that Derek makes her wear. Melissa wants to put Mark in heels. Louie has no clue what any fabric is, and even says that he might use wool. Yes, that would be perfect. So we'll find out how that all went week, at least for the couples that make it through.
Now they are going to reveal the bottom three. One of them will be the lowest score and go home immediately. The other two will do the dance-off. So who's safe? Mya and Dmitri are staying. Also safe are Kelly and Louis. Aw, thank God. It's her birthday, for crying out loud. She should get to relax.
So that means that Louie and Chelsie, Michael and Anna, and Melissa and Mark are in the bottom three. One of them is going home right now, but we won't find out until after the break.
Taylor Swift is back to sing "Love Story." As she sings, three couples dance: Maks and Edyta, Tony and Cheryl, and Jonathan and Anna. They start out in the balconies, since she mentions Romeo and Juliet etc. in the song. Taylor Swift has a really impressive set of fake eyelashes on. Also, Bruno is ROCKING OUT at the judges' table. Cheryl looks really different in the facial region. Like my husband and I were arguing over whether it was really her up until the moment at the end when Tom said her name.
Some former athletes (Nadia Comaneci, Greg Louganis, Bill Walton) offer up advice about what it's like to achieve the perfect performance. Does this mean that those three are going to be on a future season? Because Nadia and Greg have been rumored for many seasons. They all agree that practice is important, as is visualization, and you have to develop muscle memory.
After making the couples suffer for quite some time, they're finally going to reveal who is going to be eliminated right now, and who's going to participate in the dance-off. The couple going home right now is...Melissa and Mark. Melissa looks more sad for Mark than she does for herself. I'm not sad for Mark. He's a former champion. Let someone else win this time. I'm glad he finally got his haircut, though. Plus, she just wasn't good. She made it further than she should have. In her exit interview, Melissa gets to talk about her kids, and I'm happy that the show didn't exploit her kids to try to get her votes like some have done in the past. Tom makes a joke about Mark's yellow suit and Curious George to lighten the mood. Mark has praise for his partner, as usual, and then they're gone! I don't know that she was worse than Michael or Louie, but she was going to go home this week or regardless, so she shouldn't feel too bad.
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Backstage, Louie says that he's really just ready to go out there and dance to try to stay. Michael vows that he's going to have fun. I knew Louie was short, but this reason I'm really noticing it for some reason. I think it's because in addition to being short, he has a long torso compared to his legs and it makes him look even more odd.
So the first up in the dance-off is going to be Michael and Anna. Last night, he did a waltz that Bruno and Carrie Ann didn't like and Len loved it. So they're going to do the samba, which I think is a great choice for Michael. He always has more fun with Latin dances, and this one is to "Express Yourself." He is moving and grooving out there. There's even some hip action. I didn't see a whole lot of footwork, but man was he enjoying himself, singing along.
What did the judges think? Len thinks Michael has come into his own these last few weeks, and he thought they started out well, although Len wasn't crazy about the business at the end where Anna laid on the floor. Bruno knows it is a party dance, and Michael had a party on the dance floor. Carrie Ann agrees that it was crowd-pleasing, even if the technique wasn't quite there. I guess the judges are just going to announce who's leaving instead of giving scores, so we're moving right on.
Last night, the judges told Louie that he needed to work on his technique. Louie and Chelsie decided to do the jive, even though he scored higher on his Argentine Tango, because he just enjoyed that dance more. Man, was the jive a terrible choice for him. It requires so much footwork, which is his weak point. And he screws up the footwork at pretty much every opportunity. Chelsie seems to be watching him throughout, trying to mentally urge him to get on the beat. And yet, he really doesn't. I think it's clear that he should go home, but let's see what the judges think.
Bruno says that he had a lot of energy and he was impressed by the amount of content. Carrie Ann thought it was good, even if he lost it a little in the beginning. Len agrees with Carrie Ann that both couples failed to put enough content in for a dance that will determine whether they stay or go. Huh. I really thought the footwork was terrible. They were out of sync almost the whole time, and Louie looked like he didn't know the steps. Maybe the judges are purposely keeping their comments vague so it's not obvious who they will send home.
Finally, we're about to find out who's staying and who's going. Bruno says that neither dance was perfect but he thought one couple had the edge. He wants to save Louie and Chelsie. Really? Len thought both couples had pros and cons, but he wants to save Michael and Anna. Of course, he does. They're not going to make it unanimous. The judges should be sequestered during the break so they can't conspire. Anyway, Carrie Ann says she can't judge on the whole season, and has to judge instead on what she saw tonight, which means that she also wants to save Michael and Anna.
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Tom makes it official and tells Louie and Chelsie that they've been eliminated. The couples hug and kiss and then Louie does a twisting back tuck off the stairs. In his exit interview, Louie says it's a lot harder than it looks, and he was often frustrated and nervous, but he was proud of himself for getting out there and doing it. Tom invites Melissa and Mark back to share their final dance with Louie and Chelsie. I kind of wish Louie and Chelsie would just make out. Come on, you know they were hooking up. Right? Anyway, I am shocked that Michael got to stay another week, but he really did have the better dance tonight. So we'll see what happens week.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see who we think were the most ill-advised contestants!
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