Dancers drew inspiration this week from famous movie scores. That meant lightsabers, suspension cables, swords, whips and lots of other flashy props.
Oh, and there was some dancing, too. Unfortunately, a few dancers lost focus on their actual choreography — perhaps distracted by all those extra props.
Best dancing: Ricki Lake’s and Derek Hough’s tango to “Psycho.” The technical execution and acting surpassed all others of the night. They were just 1 point shy of earning three perfect 10s from the judges. (Len Goodman gave them a 9.)
A close second: J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff performed a suave and stylized foxtrot to “Pink Panther.” As his partner Karina Smirnoff points out, J.R. reveals a new side of his personality and talent each week. There was style, substance, some comic relief, jazzy pink costuming (even a top hat) and plenty of finesse.
Most unexpected: Chynna Phillips forgetting her choreography during a “Mission Impossible” tango with Tony Dovolani. Most unusual for someone who’s been so strong in the previous weeks. Overall, the performance felt stilted.
Most fun: David Arquette pulled off an entertaining paso doble to music from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Confidence he seemed to lack in previous performances came through from the moment he swung onto the stage via a hanging vine and cracked his whip.
Most improved: Having his mom, Cher, in attendance seemed to bring a lot more spunk out of Chaz Bono. His paso doble to “Rocky” was his best performance of the season.
180 from last week: Hope Solo’s foxtrot to music from “Toy Story” was sweet and innocent — vastly different from her cheeky and half-naked cha-cha last week.
Most in-character: Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya’s sword play and Viennese waltz to music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” What at first looked to be a major stumble, I quickly realized was an extra-piratey hop and a skip inserted into the traditional waltz step.
Ever-improving technique, but less memorable stage presence: Nancy Grace’s paso doble to “Flash Gordon” and Rob Kardashian’s paso doble to “Superman.”
