Scores from Classical Night on Dancing with the Stars

Classical night! The band don't get the night off but they are augmented by an orchestra. I didn't like Classical Night last season. It's not as bad as Rock Night but I don't think the genre really fits.  We'll see what tonight brings!

The couples will dance once, and then perform a team dance.

To the scores:

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas - Rumba - 27 - Well. That was the strangest Rumba ever! Not saying it was bad but it was just so strange. It was like Greek Gods slow wrestling. Well, Len thought it was great. Bruno would rather have it raunchier, but technically it was superb. Carrie Ann felt it was a little false.

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Argentine Tango - 21 - Maks has a boo-boo on his foot. Melissa had to practice with Val during the week. I think Melissa and Maks are good. Sometimes I feel I'm the only one who thinks that. Bruno thought it wasn't too good. Carrie Ann thought it was like Cirque de Soleil. Len thought some of it was good, lacked some quality. Melissa didn't seem to believe what they were saying.

William Levy and Cheryl Burke - Argentine Tango - 27 - lovely, but like Katherine and Mark it had the feeling of cheap ballet. I really don't like Classical night. The judges (rightly) liked it.

Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower - Argentine Tango - 25 - Roshon was trying to be more manly and he accomplished it in the main. Good performance. I got a five second blackout on my TV so I don't know if there was a wardrobe malfunction.  After some sterling detective work I think there was a camera shot from above that looked right down Chelsie's dress.

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd - Viennese Waltz - 27 - Now that's better! A lovely waltz. It just the tango that doesn't go with the music! (For me anyway!) Bruno said thank you. Carrie Ann didn't see a lift. Len thought it was terrific.

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough - Paso Doble - 30 - Okay, so Maria has plastic teeth in and is pretending to be a vampire... She gave him a big bite at the end! Bit silly really, but a great performance. That didn't suck says Carrie Ann. Sharp as a razor said Len. Bruno wants to be turned.

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson - Viennese Waltz - 24 - Eh. Strange waltz if you ask me. Bit boring. Len thought it had a nice feel to it but no footwork. Bruno said lots of stuff. Carrie Ann said his hands were "fringy".

On to the team dances.

Team Tango are Katherine/Mark, Maria/Derek, Roshon/Chelsie, Jaleel/Kym. That Tango went with the music. I'm just a philistine I guess. Very good performance. Len said Roshon and Maria were good, Katherine and Jaleel not so much. Team Tango scored 27.

Team Paso - William/Cheryl, Donald/Peta, Melissa/Maks. Ride of the Valkyries! I have to say they looked a little tired. But I enjoyed it more than the Tango I think. The music was brilliant! The shirtless men gave Bruno a thrill by sitting on the judges table. The audience loved it. Bruno loved it. Not sure about the other two.  Team Paso scored 26. Audience wasn't happy.

Well, an entertaining evening I must admit.  Some controversy as always!  Here are the final scores for each couple:

Maria/Derek - 30 & 27 = 57
Katherine/Mark - 27 & 27 = 54
Donald/Peta - 27 & 26 = 53
William/Cheryl - 27 & 26 = 53
Roshon/Chelsie - 25 & 27 = 52
Jaleel/Kym - 24 & 27 = 51
Melissa/Maks - 21 & 26 = 47

Seven Reasons I Don't Like The Dancing With The Stars Dance Duel

Courtesy ABC

The Dance Duel has been run twice with, one could argue, the "correct" couple being eliminated both times.  Jaleel beat out Gavin last week and Roshon won over Gladys this week.

The reasons for the Dance Duel are many - the most important being to ensure good dancers are kept safe from the vagaries of the viewers.

So we have taken a system of professional judges scoring dances that have been developed for weeks, millions of viewers voting via phone/text/web, pundits and ordinary viewers putting forth their views on who will go, and added 30 seconds of frenetic dancing that was put together that morning.

I don't like it and here are some reasons why:

1. I keep calling it a "dance off" by mistake
2. The split screen makes me feel slightly nauseous
3. It seems very rushed at the end of the show, particularly as the dance is so short and Tom keeps nagging people to hurry along
4. If someone trips then thats it, no matter how much better they may be than the other couple
5. It's hard to watch the judges make up nice things to say
6. The announcement of the couple going home is an anticlimax, with either Len "deciding" (if he agrees with Carrie-Ann) or Bruno choosing who is staying and Tom having to clarify who is going home
7. It's an anagram of "can delude"

Having said all that, anything that makes the Results Show more interesting is worth considering!

What do you think?  Are you a Dance Duel fan?

Who Was Mown Down By Motown?

Answer at the end of the page.

Here are my real-time notes about the results show in Motown Week.

Tonight we have Boyz 2 Men singing a new tune and other excellent acts. We'll have some behind the scenes footage (always good) and we also have the starting-to-irritate-me Dance Duel.

First off we had a Motown medley by the Harold Wheeler Band, with the Toupe and sundry professionals, choreographed by Louis van Amstel. Excellent as always.

Then we has the first four couples to learn their fate - William/Cheryl, Maria/Derek, Jaleel/Kym and Melissa/Maks.

First safe are Jaleel and Kym. The first in jeopardy are Maria/Derek. William/Cheryl are safe. Melissa and Maks are in jeopardy of course. No surprises there.

Next is the AT&T spotlight dance. A lovely girl from Sierra Leone who is also a leading ballet dancer danced to Natasha singing Wild Horses.

We then had a segment where the stars complained how tired they are.

Then we had the Macy's Stars of Dance. I'm not sure who they were but they were really good. Lots of clouds and flowing costumes and wonderful imagery.

We then had Boyz II Men. Dmitry and Anna accompanied them on the dance floor (nice to see them.)

The four couples left were up. Katherine/Mark safe. Gladys/Tristan jeopardy. Donald/Peta safe. Roshon/Chelsie jeopardy.

OK, who's in the bottom two? Melissa and Maks aren't! Gladys and Tristan are in the bottom two and are in the dance duel. Maria/Derek safe, so Roshon and Chelsie are in the bottom two too.

The two couples dance a jive against each other, that must favor Roshon!

There was more costume changing than dancing!

An unsatisfactory end for one couple.

And that couple, by a judges' vote of 2-1, is Gladys and Tristan.

The right couple left, but no one wanted to see them go.

Motown Night on DWTS Live!

We kicked off with three legends of Motown - Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves and The Temptations. Unfortunately my family insisted on singing along which spoiled it quite a lot really. But, from what I could hear, they were very good (the Motown stars.)

On to the scores:

Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus -21 - Gladys danced to The Temptations singing My Girl. Forgot a few steps, but this was a very elegant dance. Len thought she was the most charismatic performer. Bruno wanted more steam.

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough - Foxtrot - 26 - Martha Reeves sang Jimmy Mac. Wow this was excellent. Maria looked like Grace Kelly. Beautifully danced, wonderful choreography. One trip is all. Carrie Ann was picky. Len loved it.

Rishon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower -  Rumba - 23 - Smokey Robinson sang for Roshon. Very sensuous dance for a young man! Carrie Ann thought his movements were over-exaggerated and a foot came off the floor (or something). Len thought it was too jerky. Bruno thought it was a great performance. I thought he was pretty good.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas - Samba - 29 - The Temptations - very good performance as always. Len called her "The Midwife" because she delivers. *sigh*

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd - Foxtrot - 27 - Donald is a very focused person. He wants to win! Excellent performance. The judges seemed to like it too.

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Viennese Waltz - 24 - a pretty dance, competent but perhaps uninspired. The judges were complimentary.

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson - Cha Cha Cha - 29 - he did the splits! Much better than last week. Len thought he was back. Bruno said it was the biggest sizzler of the season.

William Levy and Cheryl Burke - Rumba - 27 - OK he's really good as well as being sexy. Not sure about the choreography, Cheryl seemed to do a lot of walking about. Very good though. "Utter filth and I enjoyed every moment of it" - Bruno. Carrie Ann wanted more dancing. Len felt it was a little on the raunchy side.

Intermission with Smokey Robinson singing Tears of a Clown - one of my favorites - with Anna and Val dancing.

The dance marathon is a Cha Cha. The first couple out gets 3 points, the second 4, and so on until the last couple dancing gets 10. Here's the order they were eliminated with their total score on the night.

Gladys/Tristan - 3 & 21 = 24
Maria/Derek - 4 & 26 = 30
Roshon/Chelsie - 5 & 23 = 28
Melissa/Maks - 6 & 24 = 30
Donald/Peta - 7 & 27 = 34
Jaleel/Kym - 8 & 29 = 37
William/Cheryl - 9 & 27 = 36
Katherine/Mark - 10 & 29 = 39

It seems to me that we will see Gladys and Roshon in the dance duel tomorrow. What do you think?

Motown Heaven on Dancing with the Stars

Tonight is Motown Night on Dancing with the Stars.  There'll be real life Motown stars singing real, live Motown hits!

Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Martha Reeves will sing throughout the evening. The three legends kick off the show with a medley accompanied by the Troupe. And then each artist will perform before each of the couples begin their dance.  Also, Human Nature will perform some Motown hits throughout the evening.

At the end of the show will be a Dance Marathon, where the couples will be dancing to Motown hits.  I really like the dance marathon so I'm looking forward to it!  (If you don't like Motown you're out of luck!)

On the results show we'll have Boyz II Men and various other distractions.  Then it's the dance duel where the bottom two couples jive at each other.

I didn't like the dance duel - mainly because of the split screen, I got confused!

Who Is Leaving In Latin Week?

Answer at the bottom of the page...

It's going to be a busy results show! We have Train, Selena Gomez and The Scene and Macy's Stars of Dance featuring Sheila E.

Plus some celebrities will be told they are safe and two couples will be told they aren't. Those two couples will have a dance off and the judges will choose the losers.

The spotlight dance was Maria and Derek with their salsa. Derek still took his shirt off, but instead of kissing each other Derek kissed Carrie Ann and Maria Kissed Bruno.

The first three couples up are Gladys/Tristan, Maria/Derek and Melissa/Maks.

Maria safe. Melissa safe. Gladys safe. (I think Melissa may have dropped an f-bomb.)

Train then sang a very pleasant song with Cheryl and Louis dancing.

Then we had Macy's Stars of Dance and then Selena Gomez. (Justin was on NBC at the same time!)

Next up are Donald/Peta, Katherine/Mark and William/Cheryl.

William safe. Katherine safe. Donald safe.

Sorta makes sense, it would be unfair to tell one couple sooner than the other.

Finally we had Jaleel/Kim, Roshon/Gavin, Gavin/Karina.

Roshon is safe. Which means Jaleel and Gavin will face off in the dance duel!

Each couple dance the Cha Cha simultaneously and the judges decide who is staying based on their performances tonight.

Both couples did really well! It was hard to watch on the split screen but they had obviously practiced!

The judges were very nice in their comments to both couples but in the end all three chose Jaleel as the winner and so Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff were eliminated.

Gavin was funny and had fun. Too bad he couldn't dance.

The Scores On Latin Night in DWTS

It's Latin week. As well as Carlos Santana we have some celebrities and their professional partners dancing Latin!

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson - 24 - Samba - very good, he seemed as though he was enjoying himself! "Your bum was going like you were chewing a toffee" - not Bruno, Len!

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Salsa - 21 - Melissa really seemed uncomfortable shaking her bits but she definitely took to the drama of the salsa! Bruno wanted her to be sharper.

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough - Salsa - 27 - great performance, really sexy. Derek seems to be really pushing her technically. Bruno licked his lips.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas - Argentine Tango - 29 - She really could dance professionally. The judges loved it.

Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff - Samba - 19 - competent dance, but compared to the others it's hard to stand out. He wasn't too good but he had fun.

We then had an intermission with Carlos Santana and the band playing Maria Maria and Louis Van Amstel and Anna Trebunskaya dancing. Very nice to see them.

William Levy and Cheryl Burke - Argentine Tango - 29 - he should hurt his ankle every week! Excellent. He is much better at this sort of dance than the jive. The judges liked it too.

Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus - Samba - 22 - Gladys needs a waltz. She doesn't really suit the more flamboyant dances. She had fun though!

Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower - - Samba - 26 - good technically but a little uninspiring to me

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd - Argentine Tango - 27 - oh my. That was very good indeed. Who was the pro?? Len thought the lifts were spectacular but he didn't like the rest.

Tomorrow night the bottom two couples will dance off to the Cha Cha and the judges will decide who will go home.

What is in Week 5 of DWTS? Latin!

It's Latin week on Dancing with the Stars and to prove it Carlos Santana will perform some of his classic hits throughout the Monday show. And the remaining nine couples will dance either the Salsa, Argentine Tango or the Samba.

On Tuesday night, we have Train and Selena Gomez and her band, The Scene, performing (not together though.) The "Macy's Stars of Dance" performance is a celebration of Latin dances featuring acclaimed percussionist Sheila E.

The big thing this week is that the bottom two couples will face off in a Dance Duel. The two couples will perform the same dance style, this week the Cha-Cha, to the same song at the same time. The dance floor will be split in half as the couples dance side by side and the judges will decide who stays and who goes home. Now I don't like this as it marginalizes the viewer votes, but I have to say anything that makes the Results Show more interesting is OK with me! We'll have to see!

Guy Gets Flooded With Dancing With The Stars Voting Calls

Egg Harbor -

Next Monday, fans nationwide will be calling in once again to vote for Donald Driver as he competes in week five of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

But for one Egg Harbor man, it will be week five of his own home phone ringing off the hook.

For four Mondays in a row now, Jeff Paschke's rural Door County home has been flooded with phone calls between 7 and 10 p.m.

"I picked up the phone and you know, 'Voting for Donald Driver!" Paschke said, imitating the caller. "And that's when I say, 'This is not Dancing with the Stars!"

The number to vote for Donald Driver is 1 (800) 868-3403.

The Paschke residence is (920) 868-3403.

The last seven digits are the same.

So when people nearby forget to dial 1-800, his phone rings.

Paschke says every season he gets a few calls, but this year, "I was watching it the first night knowing that Donald was on there, and he came out, as the third one coming out, his number was 3-4-0-3," he said. "And I'm like, 'Ohh boy, here we go. I wonder how many calls I'm going to get."

He got a whopping 76 calls for week three. He got 67 last week, all within the three-hour voting period. He knows because he has kept track of each call and its location in a notebook.

"I do have call waiting so when I am with one, all of a sudden another one comes beeping in... I hang up on one and I've got another call on the line," Paschke said.

He has gotten calls from as far away as De Pere, which means people are actually dialing the 920 area code instead of 1-800.

But Paschke is finding the humor behind it all because it's just temporary.

Though, he does want to remind viewers: "Make sure you dial the 1-800, you know?"

via wbay.com

It might be a good indicator of how well Donald is doing!

Who Got Rolled in Rock Week?

The answer further down the page...

KISS kicked off after a montage of the previous night's dances and an ambulance or two (Melissa hurt her head and had to get checked out).

In fact the first two couples were Melissa/Maks and Gavin/Karina. however Melissa was not there - the doctors told her to rest after hitting her head on Maks' shin (I could think of more interesting places on Maks).

Anyway they were both safe! Tom had hinted on Twitter that we were in for a surprise result so they are going to keep the suspense going.

Donald and Peta performed their Purple Haze Paso Doble as the spotlight dance. Those spins are impressive!

Next three couples up are Maria/Derek, Jaleel/Kym and Gladys/Tristan. Maria is coming back. As is Jaleel. As is Gladys!

Karina danced ballet with a really good dancer to an Argentinean band. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The top two scoring couples are next up - Roshon/Chelsie and Donald/Peta. Donald is safe. According to Tom that means that Roshon and Chelsie are in the bottom two, despite having the second highest judges' score!

We then had a routine from the DWTS show that opens in Las Vegas this weekend. Looks good!

The final three couples are up to find out who will join Roshon and Chelsie in the bottom two. Katherine is safe.

Pause for commercial break...

William and Cheryl are safe.

The final two couples - Sherri/Val and Roshon/Chelsie - descend the stairs of shame.

Sherri Shepherd has been eliminated from season 14 of Dancing with the Stars. She most definitely enjoyed it and got her money's worth.

Rock Week Scores on Dancing with the Stars

Rock Week kicked off with some old people wearing way too much make-up...and it wasn't the celebrities or the judges! Yes KISS started off the show!

And here are the scores:

Sherri Shepherd and Val Chmerkovskiy - Tango - 21 - the judges gave it straight sevens saying it was OK but not exciting. The Tango needs drama which Sherri didn't really deliver for once.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas - Paso - 24 - lots of passion but the technical part wasn't as good as previous weeks.

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson - Tango - 22 - great dance, seemed to be a bit rigid at times. The judges liked it, wanted more attack.

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Paso - 22 - lots of drama, great performance. Maks slipped a bit. Pretty good really. The audience thought the score was too low.

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd - Paso - 27 - oh my. Shirtless. And very very hot! "Hot damn" said Carrie Ann. Bruno just panted a lot. "I never thought I'd get excited by a man with his shirt off" - Len

Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus - Tango - 20 - Bohemian Rhapsody didn't allow Gladys to bring out her inner Tina Turner and was very hard to dance to. A bad song for her. The audience didn't like the score but I thought it was a little high.

William Levy and Cheryl Burke - Jive - 22 - frenetic, a few mistakes, he seemed to lack confidence. Len and the judges warned him to focus.

Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower - Viennese Waltz - 26 - lovely dance. The music wasn't very "Rock Week" but a great performance.

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough - Tango - 26 - very dramatic, easy song for the Tango. Len thought she had great posture.

Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff - Tango - 23 - eh. Posture bad, rest ok.

I don't think that Rock Music lends itself to the Tango or the Paso Doble which might be why scores are low this week.

Tomorrow the bottom two couples will have a dance-off with the judges deciding who goes home.  I don't like it but we'll see how it goes!

The second (memorable) elimination in season 14

The next couple to be eliminated is...

...further down the page.

The "Most Memorable Year Of My Life" week had a most forgettable Results Show so lets get straight to it.

The couples were whittled down to three by the end:

Gladys/Tristan
Jack/Anna
Gavin/Karina

Gladys was the first to be declared safe and the final two couples had to descend the stairway of shame (too slowly apparently).

Jack Wagner and Anna Trebunskaya were eliminated. Jack seems like a really nice guy but just too uncomfortable on the dance floor. Everyone is great this season and it's a shame to see anyone go!

Memorable Year Of My Life Week (or...Dribbling with the Stars)

As always this week has the highest potential for cheesy, sentimental dances. So here are the scores:

Jack Wagner and Anna Trebunskaya - 24
Maria Menounos and Derek Hough - 27
Gladys Knight and Tristan MacManus - 24
Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Hightower - 25
Gavin DeGraw and Karina Smirnoff - 24
Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas - 29
Sherri Shepherd and Val Chmerkovskiy - 24
Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - 24
Jaleel White and Kym Johnson - 25
William Levy and Cheryl Burke - 28
Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd - 26

Some very good performances tonight and no one was bad. Whoever goes home doesn't deserve to!

The crying was pretty irritating though - I'm not saying it was insincere but the producers just seemed to feature it anyway they could.