This week marked the first episode of “Dancing With The Stars” where each couple would perform two individual dances, and in case you feared that it would be overly action-packed, that panic would have been snuffed out quickly with the opening filler number introducing viewers to … the concept of ballroom dancing.
During the introductions, Melissa Rycroft, who missed last week’s performance show with broken ribs, appeared on the stairs as scheduled, so that was the first moment of note. The second was the announcement that the stars would all have to perform solos. Look out, Ty Murray; it’s just you and those unpredictable feet of yours.
First up in the ballroom round were Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas with the quickstep. The pressure seemed to be getting to Shawn for the first time in rehearsals. Working against the bizarre decision to use a novelty song from “Aladdin,” Shawn performed a perfectly serviceable quickstep. Len Goodman scolded Mark for including some breaks of the hold, but all the judges thought it was strong. They received three 9s from the judges, all of whom clearly nipped the routine a point for that form violation.
Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower are conspicuously the weakest team remaining from a technical standpoint. This week, they tackled the Argentine tango, which Ty said he likes, presumably because it has lots of stomping and not too much jumping around. There were definitely timing glitches where he didn’t remain in sync with Chelsie, but Ty’s progress remains remarkable. The judges commended him for his learning curve, and Len rather surprisingly went out of his way to commend him for capturing the spirit of the dance. Ty and Chelsie walked away with two 8s from Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli and a 9 from Len — who was Ty’s most vocal critic just last week.
Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough started off with the waltz, both assuming that ballroom was not likely to be her strong suit. Ultimately, though, while their waltz had a few moments that looked a trifle awkward, it did have some nice ones, too. The judges had noticed a few missteps, but Len was the source of unexpected praise again, telling Kim that he was impressed by the quality of the presentation. Unfortunately, Bruno put both Italian shoes right in his mouth with a surprisingly nasty-sounding “You tried to be a lady, but you’re more comfortable as a tramp,” which caused everyone to squirm noticeably until the reliably heroic Tom Bergeron came back and made it okay with a crack about “Bruno Tonioli Charm School.” Again, Len was the sole 9 for Kim, with Carrie Ann and Bruno both offering 8s.
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke started as untouchable front-runners, but it’s become a tight race more recently, and Gilles was eager to perfect his foxtrot. If you’re used to foxtrots being innocently romantic, you might have been surprised to see Gilles and Cheryl turn theirs into a sizzler, more like the tone of a tango (performed as it was to “Fever”). It was solid, though not as much of a stretch for Gilles as it might have been for him to get out of the black-on-black suit and the constant smoldering. Len saw a few technical flaws and gave them a 9, but Carrie Ann and Bruno handed out enthusiastic 10s.
And then, it was time to see how Melissa Rycroft would fare a week after her injury. Practicing the Viennese Waltz, she said her ribs were better, and her performance was lovely, though there were a few times when it looked a little stiff. When Carrie Ann complained that there wasn’t enough torque in her upper body, partner Tony Dovolani looked around with what seemed to be restrained irritation, likely wishing Carrie Ann would keep in mind that Melissa had broken ribs just last week. They received straight 9s, keeping them right behind Gilles and Cheryl.
After a break for some Latin-round-related filler, it was time to start all over again with Shawn. The paso doble is probably the dance that comes least comfortably to her, but Mark pleaded with her to put on her Olympic game face, and she promised to try. Shawn continues to have issues with her tendency to hunch her shoulders, but it was a surprisingly convincing paso doble for a 17-year-old, and the judges credited her for it. Shawn hasn’t always been able to put on a convincing angry face, but this looked appropriately intense, and she received two 10s and a 9, keeping her firmly in the hunt.
Everyone was nervous about the concept of Ty doing the rumba — including Ty. Chelsie encouraged him to take confidence from all that he’s learned, but he struggled in practice. Ty simply does not have, as he explained himself, Cuban hips. And as much as the audience cheered for and encouraged him, he is out of his depth in Latin dances. Straight 7s made it certain that he would be at the bottom of the judges’ scores for the night.
Lil’ Kim and Derek had a chance to improve their so-so waltz showing by using her “bionic booty” in the salsa. It was awkward, frankly, to see Kim look more at home with the salsa after Bruno’s earlier boneheaded remark, and her timing surprisingly seemed off at times. Other sections of the routine were terrific, however, and the right feel for a salsa was certainly there. Kim received praise for her ability to “shake it,” as they say, and she got straight 9s.
Gilles and Cheryl had a pretty easy task with the rumba, which keeps Gilles away from practically the only criticism he ever gets — about being too “frantic” — and which puts him right in the overtly sexy wheelhouse he prefers. As if you were at risk of missing the point, the dance was actually performed to “Sexual Healing.” (GET IT? It’s sexy!) The decision to literally roll around on the floor was unfortunate, but the scores were still good: straight 9s, with a little scolding from Len.
Melissa was nervous about doing a solo at the opening of her samba with Tony, but she soldiered on and learned it. There’s a decent amount of shimmy in Melissa, and it looked like she might have held back a little with the bending of her back in the earlier Viennese Waltz to reserve some snapping of her shoulders for the samba. She received high praise from the judges and pulled down the best scores of the night: the evening’s only perfect 30.
So where are we? Obviously, Ty is stuck to the bottom of the leaderboard, six points behind Lil’ Kim, his closest competitor. Absent a huge outpouring of fan support, he’s history — as he probably should be. But never absolutely count out an upset, because you never know when the voters are going to get crazy.
Linda Holmes is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com