I’ll Be the Judge of That! – Dancing With the Stars, September 28

I was a bit surprised to see Macy Gray go last week. She certainly didn’t have the ballroom dance skills to stick around, but I thought perhaps her fan base would be strong. Also, she was fun to watch and listen to. I suppose Macy Gray fans aren’t the type of people to watch DWTS. As always, you should read Sandy’s recap of the show here. Now, let’s get started!

Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough – Jive

Since Joanna did so well last week, I was excited to see how she would do this week. First of all, her hair looked very weird. Immediately I noticed how uncomfortable she seemed with the speed. It looked like she was stumbling through some of the steps and her moves weren’t quite as sharp as they should have been. Granted, Derek’s choreography was very difficult—especially this early in the competition.

Overall, it looked kind of sloppy to me. She certainly had sex appeal going for her, though. Really, she did a decent job. Her energy was great and she didn’t screw up any of the choreography. I’m just holding her to a higher standard since she was so impressive last week. I like that the guest judge actually provided some constructive criticism. I thought 20 was a good score for them, though I thought the judges would go a little higher than that.

Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo – Quickstep

I love the quickstep! It’s such a fun dance, but also very challenging. The producers of this show always make the strangest song choices. I think, “I Want You Back” was way too slow for a proper quickstep. Natalie’s energy seemed low throughout and I’m sure the snail pace of the song didn’t help. She was concentrating way too hard and it was obvious on her face.

Yikes, she did a battement (high kick) with a flexed foot. That’s so ugly! Her splits had a flexed foot, too. The whole routine was very weird for me. I still think she has a lot of potential, but I was pretty disappointed by this performance. She got one point higher than Joanna, but I liked her routine a lot less.

Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskaya – Tango

What? I wonder why they decided to do more than two different dances in one episode. The variety is nice, I suppose. I thought Chuck should do well with the comparatively macho tango… and I was right! Wow, what a hot routine! Sexy and scary isn’t necessarily a bad combination. I thought he did the choreography well and had decent footwork.

His posture wasn’t very good, however. He should have been stretching up and back more instead of standing straight like a board. Also, it would have been nice to see more than just anger from him. It was leaps and bounds better than last week’s foxtrot. But, what did he have tattooed/painted on the side of his head? Carrie hit the nail on the head when she said some dancers dance well but don’t have impact. That’s Natalie to a tee. Chuck definitely had impact.

Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas – Jive

Why does Mark so frequently end up with such goofy costumes? Is it just me or does he wear floods a lot? Melissa’s acting background really helped her perform this dance well. It looked she got the hang of the tricks. The choreography was impressive without being ridiculously difficult. She could have pointed her feet more, but that’s about all I have to pick on about her technique. Unpointed feet seem to be becoming my pet peeve of the season. I liked this jive a lot better than Joanna and Derek’s. I was very impressed overall. I think they should have gotten at least 21.

Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova – Quickstep

I hoped that Anna would step up her choreography this week since it was so lacking in content last week. I really admire the work ethic of those two. I loved the hot pink costumes. This song seemed slow to me, too. Maybe it’s just me… Michael always looks like he’s having so much fun and he’s always full of energy.

Guess what? Michael didn’t point his feet! I noticed that he didn’t compare himself to Jerry Rice this week. That was probably smart. Michael’s frame looked nice and strong at the beginning, but collapsed pretty quickly. The choreography was great, the performance was decent, but the technique was lacking. Wow, I can’t believe they tied with Joanna and Derek.

Debi Mazar & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Tango

Debi seems to have the right personality for the tango. Wow, Maks was being really mean to her. I thought Cheryl was a tough teacher, but Maks beats her easily. Debi’s costume was super hot. Ever since I saw Moulin Rouge, I’ve wanted to see someone do a tango to this song. I thought Debi and Maks captured the spirit of the tango very well.

Something about the way Debi moves still seems odd to me. I wish I could figure out what it is. Almost-kiss alert! Her posture wasn’t very good. Her frame actually looked too stiff sometimes, if that’s even possible. Ah, it was because of the long arms. Thanks, Carrie Ann. It was a decent routine, but didn’t really excite me. Debi’s awkward movements are just off-putting. I don’t think that routine deserved a tie for the highest score of the night so far.

Oooh, they’re going to be doing bolero this season. Sweet!

Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower – Jive

I love Louie’s personality. He’s so cute. I loved Chelsie’s costume. I thought the song was a fun choice for the jive. Louie doesn’t really perform the way the actors do, but I think what he did was adequate for this routine. It was fun and he was cute and that was enough. From what I could tell, he had good technique throughout. Most importantly… he pointed his feet!!

That was a great routine and Chelsie did an awesome job with the choreography. I didn’t agree with Bruno at all. When they were dancing in the corner, it looked like they were doing a pattern called “the wheel” that’s really tricky. I didn’t notice that Louie lost the timing, but there are so many things to watch for, I can’t catch everything. This jive was my favorite of the night so far. The judges are sure being stingy with the scores tonight.