The 'Dancing' Competition Heats Up

At the top of the heap were Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, whose Argentine tango (despite Melissa having injured ribs) earned them a near-perfect score of 29. "This is the revenge of the mamita," judge Bruno Tonioli crowed, going on to say, "I'm telling you, your legs were like magic tools in the hand of a master!" Judge Carrie Ann Inaba went as far as to say: "Wow, Melissa, that was, by far, the best Argentine tango we've seen this season."

Coming up a close second were Shawn Johnson and her partner Mark Ballas, whose cha cha cha earned them a score of 28, including their first 10. Carrie Ann said she loved it, while Bruno said Shawn reminded him of "a young Debbie Reynolds."

Hot on their heels were Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke, whose Viennese waltz earned them a 27. Carrie Ann gave Gilles the high praise: "You are just the most graceful male dancer I've seen," but she did tell him: "Watch your posture." Judge Len Goodman commented, "I thought overall it was a superb job."

Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough were tied with Gilles and Cheryl, also scoring a 27. Len commented on their samba: "Chucky -- I liked it a lot. This was, by far, your best dance to date." Bruno said, "Chuck, you must want it so badly. You were working that butt and those hips like I've never seen before." For her part, Carrie just jumped up and danced in excitement.

Right behind with a score of 26 were Lil' Kim and Derek Hough with their rumba. Carrie Ann said, "It was understated but it was also a bit underwhelming." Bruno said that Lil' Kim toned it down too much, commenting, "It was a good rumba. But I'm telling you one thing, taking the raunch out of Lil' Kim is like having a margarita without the tequila."

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower's waltz pleased the judges, earning them a 24. "Ty, this is a bigger comeback than Mickey Rourke," Bruno noted, going on to say, "Last week you were in the gutters and this week you are back in the game." Len called it "spot on," while Carrie Ann exclaimed, "My dancer is back and I'm very happy."

Sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard were Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska, with a score of 21 for their waltz. Bruno called their performance "not terrible but not brilliant." Carrie Ann said, "I actually saw more freedom in your movement. You looked like you were really enjoying it." Len gave him the biggest compliment of all, saying, "Overall, I was shocked at how well you performed."

After all the dancers had taken their turn, they all came together on the dance floor for a 60s themed group dance. Be sure to tune in to "Dancing with the Stars" Tuesday night to find out which couple will go home next!

Published 4/20/09 by