Dancing With the Stars 8 -- Week 4

Two new dances!! The Lindy Hop and the Argentine Tango are this season’s new dances, thrown in to add a little variety and maybe shake up the pros.

Thankfully, whoever picks the music did a much better job this week. The lindy hop songs had great upbeat, jitterbug style and the Argentine tangos actually sounded like tangos.

The new dances were so good that they helped distract me from some of the odder elements of the night, like Samantha’s lame attempts to joke about her imminent laryngitis. And Bruno being orange! Orange! Seriously, man, lay off the spray tan.

At least Samantha’s cold gave Tom a chance to quip, “Samantha’s voice is disappearing faster than my 401K.”

Now to the dances:

* David Allan Greer and Kym Johnson
Lindy Hop: 22

Great way to start the night! DAG and Kym were having fun and they couldn’t have been given a better song for the lindy hop. They were still a little off at times and I’m not sure David will improve much more. Carrie Ann’s “not the youngest cookie in the bunch” comment (youngest cookie?) made me realize that DAG looks like he’s barely aged at all since In Living Color.

* Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough
Argentine Tango: 27

There’s a reason Derek is my favorite choreographer. I get Len’s point about the type of sensuality he was looking for in an Argentine tango, but this dance was hot. Lil’ Kim completely won me over this week. Her dancing is getting good. Plus, she looked so pretty!

* Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough
Lindy Hop: 22

Fast music, tricks, wildly flailing arms and legs -- it’s all just fun to watch. It doesn’t hurt that Chuck and Julianne made such a cute all-American couple in their glittery waitress and soda jerk outfits. Somehow this didn’t wow me though. It was really, really good... but something was a tad off and I’m not sure what.

* Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska
Argentine Tango: 19

Edyta’s nearly nude posturing strikes again. Yes, she has a lovely body. Yes, she knows how to move it and hold some impressive poses. But all her fancy moves and near-nakedness do not hide the fact that her partner has again become a walking pole for her to flip around. I think LT is capable of more than Edyta gave him in this dance.

Update: On a rewatch I realized that Edyta was actually surprisingly covered-up in this dance. I've gotten so used to her usual nearly nudeness that I didn't even notice. Oops. But, the dancing portion of my review stands still (much like LT).

* Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower
Lindy Hop: 25

I did not see that coming! After watching the rehearsal footage, I expected some good lifts, but this dance was so far beyond my expectations! Chelsie’s choreography really highlighted Ty’s strengths and kept him from doing anything too intimidating out of hold. And I love seeing Ty gaining confidence in his dancing.

* Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff
Argentine Tango: 12

Steve is such a teddy bear. Watching him tonight I had two thoughts: 1.) Steve could be a kid show host and he wouldn’t need to wear a purple dinosaur suit. And 2.) If I had co-founded Apple, would I have a 1,000 watt perma-smile too? (probably!)

* Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani
Lindy Hop: 29

I think Tony is loving his partner this season! (not one, but two face-to-crotch flip-throughs?!?) They nailed this routine, not just in the tricks but throughout the entire dance. But how did Melissa see to dance with those pink butterflies perched on her eyelashes?

* Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin
Argentine Tango: 16

I’ll go out on a limb and say Holly’s going home. They hit that one big trick, but for the most part it was a lackluster tango. Halfway through, I found myself wondering what’s so new about the newly designed Swiffer and if it’s worth buying yet another Swiffer starter pack to try it out.

* Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer
Lindy Hop: 15

Eh. I know he’s had it rough over the past few weeks, but I thought Steve and Lacey would really take to the lindy hop. Maybe it’s because of his earlier injuries -- I do not want to see him push and get hurt again! -- but this dance felt so timid and much too forgettable.

* Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke
Argentine Tango: 30

The perfect 10 gets a perfect 30. I have a growing love for Cheryl and a deeper lust for Gilles. Her choreography is so effortless and right that it’s almost easy to overlook it. His, well, everything is so right that... hmmm. Let’s just say there’s no overlooking Gilles!

* Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas
Lindy Hop: 25

What’s with those outfits?!? Oh, Mark, birth control glasses, tube socks, and a headband! Okay, that said-- Great dance! Yeah, it was light on the dance and heavy on the tricks, but it’s hard to care when the tricks are that entertaining. (or maybe Gilles’ dance just turned me into a limp puddle of uncaring ooze -- yeah, he’s that hot)

Leaderboard:
30 -- Gilles and Cheryl
29 -- Melissa and Tony
27 -- Lil’ Kim and Derek
25 -- Shawn and Mark
25 -- Ty and Chelsie
22 -- David and Kym
22 -- Chuck and Julianne
19 -- Lawrence and Edyta
16 -- Holly and Dmitry
15 -- Steve-O and Lacey
12 -- Steve and Karina

There’s a double elimination this week. My prediction is that the dance off will be between Holly and one of the Steves. It will just depend on which Steve has a bigger fan base voting.

Think Boys II Men will sing Motownphilly tomorrow night?