It was sex appeal week on “Dancing With The Stars” (ABC, Tuesdays/Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET), and the contestants didn’t disappoint. The rumbas and sambas from the seven remaining couples generally left the judges happy, and sometimes wondering whether or not the on-air chemistry was aided by possible off-air relationships.
Both Willa Ford and Mario Lopez received nines and raised eyebrows from all three judges. In Ford’s case, she did herself no favors with the rumor mill by being tongue-tied at even the most gentle post-dance prodding, like a sixth grader trying to decide if her roller-skating partner is a boy friend or a boyfriend.
Ford and professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy practiced their dance on the beach, complete with the requisite romantic sunset and hand-holding walk by the waves. “I think we both got more than we bargained for when we signed up for the show,” Ford said, which is certainly not a comment she’d want to make if she were looking to quash rumors of the pair’s romantic involvement. “If you guys aren’t going out, you should be,” said judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
Ford was clumsily noncommittal about their status, saying in the post-dance interview that “We have good chemistry … no matter what we’re doing.” The crowd predictably ooohed and ahhhed at the innuendo, and her subsequent attempts to clarify the comments didn’t work.
Whatever the reason, the practice paid off and Ford had her second strong showing in a row. After a series of struggles in the early weeks, she’s hit her stride lately — in everything except the interviews. Host Tom Bergeron summed it up best: “So Willa’s dancing has improved, and her ability to dig a hole has improved.”
Another chemistry lessonMario Lopez’s week with partner Karina Smirnoff didn’t start off as promising, with Smirnoff complaining that “I have Mario overload already, and he needs to relax.” The two did just that at a friend’s pool, rubbing suntan lotion on each other, splashing around in the water, and generally acting like people on a holiday.
The relaxation paid off, as the two danced the most sensuous number of the night and cruised to a trio of nines from the judges. “I don’t know what you’re doing after hours, but it works on the dance floor,” judge Bruno Tonioli said.
Two other couples tied the Lopez and Ford pairings atop the judges’ leaderboard.
Fresh off being in the bottom two last week, Monique Coleman was determined to keep that from happening again. “There was no way anyone could have described to me how awful it was to stand in that red light,” she said, though anyone who’s ever forgotten their lines in their high-school musical could probably have done a credible job.
But if Coleman and partner Louis Van Amstel wind up back at the bottom of the standings, it won’t be because they didn’t impress the judges. Coleman was the most graceful of the stars, and the pair danced what looked to be the most technically difficult of the performances en route to their score of 27.
Emmitt Smith and partner Cheryl Burke closed the show with a samba, and the former football star continued to impress. “I’m sore in places I’ve never been sore before,” Smith complained after a practice, indicating mainly that it’s been a long time since he was beaten up by Washington Redskins linebackers 30 times a game on NFL Sundays. But after a trip to the chiropractor, he looked to be as good as new.
Whoa! What happened to my samba?Joey Lawrence was not as fortunate. Lawrence and Edyta Silwinska opened the show with a samba, but Lawrence never looked comfortable. Their dance may have set a samba record for distance between the partners; at times, it was hard to tell they were even dancing with each other. “I know you’re better than that,” said Carrie Ann, but the judges gave them a 25, good for fifth place heading into the fan vote.
That left Sara Evans and Jerry Springer tied for last. Ironically, both were praised more than they’ve been in previous weeks. Evans finally looked like she was having fun out there and not mentally counting the steps in the middle of her performance, and judge Len Goodman was enough of a fan that he said he’d bought one of the country star’s CDs (albeit from a second-hand store). Still, all that bought her and partner Tony Dovolani was a trio of eights.
Springer and Kym Johnson also finished with a 24, despite the fact that the former talk-show host is clearly just comic relief at this point. It’s difficult to find a pair of dances he is least suited to than the rumba and the samba, though he gets some sympathy votes for allowing himself to be caught on camera without a shirt, as well as filmed getting a tan sprayed on him by his partner. Clearly, Springer didn’t bring a great deal of pride onto the show. What would Jerry Springer the talk show host say about that?
The three pairs who did not finish tied for first had one thing in common; nobody who saw them dance could possibly accuse them of being romantically involved with their partners. Perhaps that’s the secret. Leak some salacious details of possible rendezvous to the media, get a few sultry moves to flow on the dance flow, and watch the rumor mill churn. The judges seemed to buy that this week. Wednesday’s results show will show whether the voters did as well.