Dancing with the Stars 9, October 12: New Dances All Around!

Hello again, Dancing with the Stars fans! I am almost fully recovered from a nasty head cold and looking forward to tonight’s performances. A great big thank you to Kristen for filling in for me last week when I was out of commission with a nasty head cold. Great job, Kristen!

Tom and Samantha welcome us and introduce our remaining stars. There are a wide array of outfits coming down the steps, undoubtedly due to there being four different dances on tonight’s card. One thing is prevalent though—many of our performers are showing quite a bit of skin! I’m going to go out on a limb and say those are the Lambada performers.

Tom reminds us that Tom pulled out due to two painful stress fractures last week and Debi was eliminated. Samantha reminds us once again that four new dances will be shown this week.

The pros are not used to teaching or performing these dances, so this should be interesting. And some of them allow lifts, so Carrie Ann is going to have to suppress her tendency to criticize couples who perform them.

Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskaya are the first to tackle a new dance this week. They are dancing the Texas two-step and Chuck says his mama loves the two-step so he knows it. He’s excited to be able to wear jeans for his dance this week. They practice lifts and Anna says as long as Chuck doesn’t drop her they’ll be fine.

Chuck is indeed in jeans, along with leather vest and black cowboy hat. Anna sits on the judges’ desk and Chuck lassoes her. They are dancing to “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and it’s a fun dance. Their lifts go very well and I’d say our first effort at a new dance is a success. OK, it probably wasn’t a technically perfect two-step, but it was entertaining.

Len says the lifts were very good and Chuck brings a lot of entertainment to the show. He continues that the quality of Chuck’s dancing isn’t there.

Bruno says Chuck brings carnage and mayhem to everything he does but it still manages to look like a two-step.

Carrie Ann agrees, and says he may not have a lot of grace but he never lets the dance beat him.

Tom reminds everyone of the voting procedures. 11 votes, vote online at abc.com or via text messaging, and phones will remain open for half an hour after the show.

Score time! Carrie Ann gives Chuck & Anna a 6, Len a 5, and Bruno a 6 for a total of 17.

Our next couple of the night is Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas and their Charleston. Melissa has had some harsh criticism from the judges and wants to climb up into the 20s. She wants to shake her nerves and go out and be fearless. Mark has never danced or taught the Charleston before. I like Melissa, but she looks quite awkward in rehearsal. Mark takes her to a 1920s club so she can see the moves and learn how to put them into her dance.

Melissa & Mark look very cute in their outfits. Our picture is black & white at the start, just like an old-time movie. Melissa’s acting skills are definitely coming in handy during this dance. The lift near the end is a cute addition. Melissa just pales in comparison to Mark though, and unlike some other couples, it’s a glaring difference for me. She’ll probably stick around because she has a lot of fans though, and I suspect the fact that she’s made a big improvement from last week will mean higher scores and praise from the judges.

Bruno says Melissa brought the 1920s back to life. She had the role 110%.

Carrie Ann says that was her dance. She had all the moves and they need to take it on the road.

Len says Charleston is all about the three e’3: energy, excitement, and entertainment. And she ticked them all.

Results show plug! Shakira will perform.

Melissa & Mark get a 9 from Carrie Ann and Len, and a 10 from Bruno. They have a total of 28.

Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo are tasked with the bolero this week. Natalie wants to stick around and if she has to be sexy then she’ll be sexy. Alec works on loosening her up and seems to be doing a pretty good job in rehearsal. He wants to make the choreography very difficult so they can shine during their performances. He asks Natalie what she wants to do and he tell her it’s up to her whether they do the easy option or the hard option.

Natalie & Alec are dancing to “Better In Time.” I love this song. Their bolero is steamy despite Natalie’s white outfit. OK it’s not really an outfit so much as a bra and panties with a little bit of material hanging from each to make it more acceptable for TV. Their dance flows and is quite beautiful.

Carrie Ann says she is kind of on the fence. She thought it was beautiful and she appreciates that they went for a more difficult dance but it seemed like a struggle in parts.

Len thought it had a beautiful lyrical movement to it. He wanted to see more romance between the two of them.

Bruno is happy to see Natalie has found her basic instinct. At times she was beautiful and dangerous, but her arms went into swimmer mode at times.

Results show plug! This time Tom reminds us to vote for the Macy’s Stars of Dance Design-a-Dance competition. Go to abc.com and vote.

Carrie Ann gives them an 8, and the guys do the same. Natalie & Alec have a total of 24.

Our first Lambada is up next, performed by Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff. Aaron was visibly upset by last week’s judges’ comments and then he got a hug from Michael Irvin. Karina helps Aaron work on his hip movement. She wants to bring energy, sexiness, and some risky moves to their performance. They head to a gym to work on some gymnastics moves for the start of their dance.