April 27th, 2010 by soullldiva

A lot of the ladies on my forum that I chat with said last Tuesday night: “Ding dong, the witch is dead”. And with that, my least favorite contestant of all time left Dancing With the Stars. She goes on to her new TLC show where she gives people relationship advice. Hmm.

OK–ONWARD. And all of those stars that are left are real contenders for the semis and finals on season 10. Tonight are two dances, one tough and the other even tougher. The Samba and the Argentine Tango, which is my all-time favorite ballroom dance. So I will be tough tonight.

Jake and Chelsie seem to have stumbles frequently, and this week was no exception. I have to give it to him, he sure knows how to recover and there is nothing like a big stumble in your dance to bring you completely out of it, and it’s a challenge to finish (another Tom Bergeron moment: “I hope you enjoyed our salt in the wound slow motion replay”). Pretty good on the Samba, which I think is one of the toughest dances to look good in. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Next are Evan and Anna, who also have the Samba. More Hips, More Hips! More hips because Anna will smash your head to the ground if you don’t! Ouch, man. He was so lucky he’s okay, I would not have wanted my neck torqued that way. Their Samba is super good, and Evan even does the Samba rolls well, which are super hard. These two have great chemistry together as well. Bruno gets on him for his lines being too lyrical for the Samba. Carrie echoed him, and Len said it was his worst dance. Bah Humbug, geez!! Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Niecy and Louis are the first Argentine Tango of the night. And she asks “Has anyone ever done a funny Argentine Tango?” I want Louis to bust her butt on technique so she gets better scores. He does not disappoint, and I hope it can translate to the dance floor. Good girl on the develope! Keep the cookie away from her, Louis! I thought she worked hard and they did a great job, big improvement. Carrie thinks she’s in the zone, Len thought it was great and Bruno wanted her to stay away from his lunchbox. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Erin and Maks bicker like a married couple (oh, right), and he begs her to stay out of her head and just dance. Please do! I’m trying to figure out what the heck she is wearing and my husband says as he walks across the room: “when are you getting pasties like hers?” My friend who was visiting swore they were going to rip off that feather tutu and it just never happened. Maks’ sleeves and shirt came off, though. Thank you Maks. I thought their Samba was decent, but a little forced. And oh boy, Len did NOT like the non-proper Samba and Maks talked BACK! I have never seen that from a pro before. Whew! Judges’ Scores: 9-7-9

Chad drags Cheryl back to Cincinnati for the Bengals draft party in order to get energized. After they get back for rehearsals, Cheryl tells Chad to manhandle her in the Argentine Tango. She really wants him to lead. He’s strong and forceful and his steps are more precise this week. He’s worked hard and it shows. But IMO Cheryl is still leading. The only partner I think she didn’t lead with was Gilles Marini (ooh, Gilles). Judges’ Scores: 8-8-8

I’m not sure what Nicole’s deal is, but she is over over over analyzing everything and driving Derek crazy. Just dance girl, because you can. Their Samba is the partiest, sexiest, gyratingest samba I’ve ever seen. They do a fantastic job of really engaging the audience and it seems like Carnivale is happening in the soundstage. No more insecurities for Nicole, baby. Len grinds them for not having any voltas or botafogos, two essential moves in the Samba. Judges’ Scores: 9-7-10

My underdog favorite is next, Pam and Damian, doing the Argentine Tango. Pam is such a trooper and a pro, she’s been in the bottom two the last two weeks after great dances, and she just presses on. She looks great in a brunette wig and really looks like Raquel Welch, although Bruno calls her Angelina. They dance really great and do some awesome lifts. Every once in a while she looks slightly awkward on her feet, but it doesn’t affect her character. This chick really knows how to act the dance and carries it over to the interviews (“I like being on top”). Some may say that the sexy is just second nature to her and big deal. But I say that it takes skill and style to use it in the dance and make it work. And while she borders on overly bawdy sometimes, she always manages to keep it clean and put a really great humor spin to it. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-8

The Swing Dance Marathon is new, and I love that they have integrated these more realistic style heats into the show. This is what dance competitions look like. Many couples out on the floor, where anything can happen and elbows and ankles do fly. The spectacular thing about Swing is the lifts (“ooh mother of sweet baby air!” exclaims Nicole), they are always fun to watch. Chad seems to think he can strategize his way through this with x’s and o’s and while that’s cute, I don’t think so.

All the couples look so adorable in their bright colors. The guys wear suspenders and the girls halter dresses and spectator pumps. Much fun ensues, and it’s super cute. But the couples are eliminated one by one until they are down to the winners Nicole and Derek (didn’t he win last year in the Mambo Marathon?). They get to add a whole 10 points to their Judges’ Scores for the evening.

Who will be eliminated tonight? I’m biting my nails in anticipation…