Dancing with the Stars Performances Season 9 Week 2

Week 2 of Dancing with the Stars finds the stars learning1 of 3 possible dances for the competition: the jive, quick step or tango. With only 4 days instead of 4 weeks to learn the steps, this week will separate the dancers from the deadwood.

Tonight, DWTS invited Australian-born director Baz Luhrmann to fill the chair usually seated by head judge Len Goodman. Luhrmann is most noted for his direction of Strictly Ballroom (his mother taught ballroom dance), Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet and Australia.

Couples Dancing the Jive

Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower- I enjoyed this peppy number. It was full of energy, fun and crisp. Louie seemed to get ahead of the dance a couple of time and then paused for a second waiting for Chelsie to catch up. The judges felt he did too many tricks and didn’t include enough content. Score 19

Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas – Mark out danced his partner dramatically and made her look bad, in my opinion. He loves to jive and he went over the top, leaving her looking slow and less energetic. Overall, Hart showed some improvement from last week. Score 19

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough –This number lacked crispness in the flicks and kicks making Krupa’s feet look spastic. It was full of energy but lacked connection between the partners.

Score 20

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson – Again the crowd favorite, the 2nd oldest star turned in a stellar performance. The routine was well-executed, saucy and fun. Osmond eased up on his theatrical showmanship and proved he could not only keep up with everyone else but surpassed many of them. Score 25

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin – This was original, exciting and vibrant. The routine was so well done that Mya and Dmitry blended into one dancing machine. The jive was the real deal loaded with speed and accuracy. Score 27

Couples Dancing the Tango

Debi Mazar and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Beautiful posture was not enough for this pair. Even though Mazar moved her upper body correctly, it was her lower half that was shaky and needed more work. Score 21

Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel – Following a knock-out performance last week, Osbourne let the pressure of sustaining that level get to her. Her kicks weren’t in sync with her partner’s kicks. After one mistake she broke into giggles on the dance floor and completely muffed the ending of the number. Her distress was apparent during the dance. Afterward she remarked to Samantha Harris that she simply “freaked out”. Score 19

Chuck Liddell and Ann Trebunskaya –Liddell’s aggressive nature is more suited to the tango but he was still too stiff. He came across as scary and frightening rather than sensually strong. His dancing showed improvement but his fans will have to keep him in the contest. Score 19

Tom DeLay and Cheryl Burke – With a great frame, distinguished and determined Delay danced with dignity and grace. Unfortunately, he stumbled at the end and nearly lost his grip on his partner, almost dropping her to the floor. A fractured in his foot is to blame but that can’t be adjusted for in the scoring. Score 18

Couples Dancing the Quick Step

Mark DaCascos and Lacey Schwimmer – A slip skewed the dance in spite of DaCascos making a stellar recovery. The judges called the dance ambitious and tight. He has great potential and will be around for a few weeks. Score 20

Kathy Ireland and Tony Dovolani – Though clean and smooth, this was not a very quick Quick Step. Ireland is still playing it carefully, not letting go when she dances. It’s very rigid and safe. This performance was anything but exciting. Score 27

Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mezo – This was a technically correct performance but it lacked pizzazz. Coughlin’s ability to hold her breath underwater works against her on the dance floor. She holds her breath taking the fluidity out of her movements and making her look stiff. Score 21

Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova – Irvin and his partner put in long rehearsal days and the improvement showed immensely. He displayed natural ability and delivered a proper quick step. He just has to learn to keep his tongue in his mouth while dancing. Score 20

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff – My personal favorite of the night was the Muppet-infused dance this pair did. Carter in Green to represent Kermit and Smirnoff in pink to channel Miss Piggy, the pair gave an inventive, spectacular show. Their contact in hold was excellent causing Bruno to remark that Carter was a young Fred Astaire. Score 27

Tomorrow night’s results show will have The Macy’s Stars of Dance number will include music from KC and the Sunshine Band performed by the USC Trojans’ Marching Band and a dance routine choreographed by “Stomp the Yard’s” Chuck Maldonado. Singers appearing will be Selena Gomez performing her single, “Falling Down and Joss Stone. Rumor has it DWTS pros Derek Hough, Karina Smirnoff, Cheryl Burke, Dmitry Chaplin, Anna Tebunskaya and Louis Van Amstel will perform a group number during one of the songs. If I had to pick who’s going home, I’d bet on Ireland. Check back tomorrow to find out if I was right.