Dancing With the Stars 8 -- Week 3

The third week of competition and everyone is dancing -- though Steve and Steve are still dancing through the pain of injuries.

The front runners haven't changed, but there is some jockeying for positions in the middle of the pack and some dancers -- particularly the men -- are stepping up their game!

Tonight is the Samba and Foxtrot night and the samba is a tough one for most couples...

* Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Samba: 16

What was with this song?!? Terrible for a samba. I know she’s trying, but I just didn’t like this dance. Denise is getting the steps, mostly, but it’s the nuances that aren’t there. Her facial expressions, her pancake hands... just not pleasant to watch.

* Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough
Foxtrot: 23

Such an improvement from last week! Julianne’s choreography really displayed Chuck well, especially in that first section when they came out of hold. Their synchronicity and chemistry was great, and they listened to -- and improved upon -- the judges criticisms from last week.

* Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin
Samba: 17

At least Holly’s samba had a better song. Watching this dance, I kept thinking that putting Holly and Denise in a blender could pour out one good dancer. Denise is better with the footwork; Holly is better with the nuance. Dmitry’s comments after the scores were rather sad, even if it did prompt one of Tom’s funniest sarcastic ad lib’s, “I’m sure Holly feels very reassured now.”

* Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer
Foxtrot: 15

This may be where the dance off comes into play. Steve-O is so clearly in pain, but capable of better than this performance. It started out so well, but once he lost a step, he mentally couldn’t pick it back up. Hopefully, he didn’t re-injure himself at the end and will be able to nail it if he ends up in the dance off.

* Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska
Samba: 20

Their best dance yet! Full of attitude and fun to watch. Lawrence doesn’t have the polish of some of the others and doesn’t quite make it look easy, but this was an easy dance to root for! He was in the groove! Both his facial expressions and body language said he was confident and having fun.

* Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas
Foxtrot: 27

Mark and Shawn glide around the dance floor so effortlessly. This foxtrot felt less theatrical than some of the others, but had an easy grace and elegance. It was beautiful to watch, though I still would like to see a little more emotional connection from Shawn. She just feels a hair disconnected to me.

* Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke
Samba: 27

Hot, hot, HOT! That’s what a samba should look like! Gilles could not be sexier. He has the dance technique, the entertainment value, and he dedicated the dance to his mother! And I agree with Carrie Ann, his strong performances let Cheryl really cut loose, too.

* David Allan Greer and Kym Johnson
Foxtrot: 24

I wasn’t sold on DAG until this performance. As Bruno said, a Fosse-esque performance -- and I love Fosse! Also, it seemed like David and Kym finally clicked as a couple. The chemistry was there and the previous awkwardness didn’t make an appearance.

* Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff
Samba: 10

Oh, Steve. He’s so endearing and he’s trying so hard. I’d hate to see him go home, but realistically he is the poorest dancer. I actually did enjoy this dance... not in the same way I enjoy watching Gilles or Melissa or some of the others, but entertaining in its own way.

* Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani
Foxtrot: 27

I love this Harry Connick Jr. song and they danced it beautifully! Tony’s choreography had both the smoothness and flair that fit perfectly with the music. Melissa truly channels the music. They moved with grace and still hit those theatrical poses right in time. But, Bruno, if musicality is Melissa’s 7th sense, what’s her 6th?

* Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough
Samba: 25

The samba that inspired a booty-shaking ovation from the other contestants. It definitely had the party feel. My tiny nit-pick is in Lil’ Kim’s facial expressions. When she’s confident in her moves, she has those great “I know I’m hot!” expressions, but while traveling in hold she sometimes loses just a bit of her fierceness. I’d love to see her stop thinking and let loose throughout.

-- Side Note: What was Karina looking at while Lil’ Kim and Derek were talking to Samantha?!?

* Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower
Foxtrot: 23

I smiled from the moment the rehearsal tape started all the way through the scoring. That slip up at the beginning took nothing away from their dance. Ty is so adorable and watching him improve and gain in both confidence and ability is truly uplifting. A great way to wrap up the night!

Leaderboard:
27 -- Gilles and Cheryl
27 -- Melissa and Tony
27 -- Shawn and Mark
25 -- Lil’ Kim and Derek
24 -- David and Kym
23 -- Chuck and Julianne
23 -- Ty and Chelsie
20 -- Lawrence and Edyta
17 -- Holly and Dmitry
16 -- Denise and Maks
15 -- Steve-O and Lacey
10 -- Steve and Karina

The night left us with a three-way tie for first place and the Woz trailing with a 10 out of 30 possible points. It will interesting to see who ends up in tonight’s dance off.