Dancing with the Stars, Episode 4: Samba Mama

Last week on Dancing with the Stars, our celebrities Kelly Monaco, Evander Holyfield, and Joey McIntyre danced the jive, while Rachel Hunter and John O’Hurley did the tango. After the viewers’ scores from the previous week were added to the judges’ scores for that evenings’ performances, Evander and his partner Edyta Sliwinska were eliminated. Tonight, we’re down to four couples as the competition intensifies and we come one step closer to finding out which celebrity will take home the coveted first place trophy.

Usually, at this point in my recap, I throw out some information about the show that I learned during the past week; however, I’ve recently picked up several fascinating facts about our favorite new program, so instead of inundating you with them early on, I’m going to share these “tantalizing tidbits” throughout the recap. For example, according to the bio section on the show’s web site, Evander actually owns a dance studio. (If this information ever helps you to win a million dollars in a trivia contest, just remember who shared it with you.) Now let’s get on with tonight’s highlights (and possible lowlights).

Cue the opening, introduce the celebrities and their partners, and bring on Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning. (I hope he doesn’t rush people too much and that she asks more thought provoking questions.) Tonight, the couples will be performing two dances. First, each couple will do the samba. This is a party dance, and should incorporate the volta or a bouncing step and the samba roll. Next, the couples will perform the Viennese waltz at the same time on the dance floor. This dance is physically demanding and features elegant, sweeping turns.

Our first performers of the evening are Ashly Delgrosso and Joey McIntyre. Ashly says that she is a perfectionist and doesn’t want to let Joey down in this competition. To help her relax, he takes her to Boston to have a barbecue with his family. Joey’s dad tells us to vote for his son.

Tonight, the couple is performing the samba to “Tequila.” Ashly and Joey do several crossovers with their feet. There are also many rolls and a lot of hip action in the routine. Joey continues to keep his nose in the air, which shows that he takes the judges’ critiques seriously. The performance is fun and energetic.

Tom says that Ashly and Joey move faster than Tom and Katie. After we all have a hearty laugh, the judges are ready with their critiques. Len Goodman states that there wasn’t enough technique in the routine and that it was disappointing. Ashly truly looks hurt by his comments. Next, Carrie Ann Inaba says that the performance had a party feeling to it and that Joey found the right balance between fun and elegant. Bruno Tonioli finishes by saying that he noticed Joey’s stance with his nose in the air (hey, I could be a judge), but that his rolls were a bit stiff and he needs more Ricky Martin in his hips. (I’m not going to touch this one.) After heading backstage, the couple receives their scores. Carrie, Len and Bruno give the performance a seven, six, and seven respectively. Joey has 20 points out of 30.

Next up are Rachel Hunter and Jonathan Roberts. He states that he wants no inhibition or self-consciousness from her and that she’s going to shake it. Because she feels like a goofball, she watches a samba queen so that she can learn exactly how “it” should be shaken.

The couple will be dancing to an instrumental piece from the Austin Powers movies. To begin, Rachel goes into a handstand and then does a split. At the end of the routine, Jonathan blows her a kiss and she “faints” in his arms. In between, Rachel shakes it just like Jonathan said she would. The routine is enjoyable, but it is very slow compared to the previous performance.

Bruno is ready with his comments. He says that Rachel is a sultry and exotic bird of paradise; she could be in Vegas. Carrie disagrees and says that while Rachel had some great moves, the performance was boring. Bruno grins and says he didn’t find it to be boring at all. Len says that he loved everything about it. While waiting backstage for her scores, Rachel is asked by Lisa how important the judges’ votes are. Rachel has no idea how to answer, so Jonathan jumps in to help. Chances are, she was thrown off by the stupidity of the question. Come on, the person with the lowest score each week gets eliminated. Since part of that score comes from the judges, I’d say their votes are extremely important. Yikes! I’m starting to stress. Finally, Rachel receives her scores. She gets a seven from Carrie and a nine from both Len and Bruno. This gives her 25 points for the performance.

The next couple to perform is Charlotte Jorgensen and John O’Hurley. He admits that when they performed the tango, he missed a step and it is bothering him. While he and Charlotte practice for this week’s performances, John says something and has to be “bleeped.” He also says that he has to get to same level as the professional dancers if he wants to remain in the competition.

Tantalizing Tidbit: According to an article at www.usatoday.com, John O'Hurley is an accomplished pianist, who is releasing his first CD called Peace of Our Minds this week.

Charlotte and John will dance to “Just the Two of Us.” Their routines are always so fun to watch and tonight is no exception. The performance starts with John waking Charlotte. All throughout the number, both appear to have fun. At one point, he does a move that involves spanking her. It is truly an energetic and entertaining performance.

Carrie says that the couple has great chemistry, but that the routine was off for him. In fact, it appears that he forgot some of the choreography. Len says, “I don’t know what you’re looking at.” He goes on to say that John’s dancing is fun with an edge to it. Bruno says that there wasn’t enough hip work and that John’s footwork was messy. This translates into a seven from Carrie, an eight from Len, and a six from Bruno. John now has 21 points.