Dancing with the Stars kicked off last week with some of the best first night dancing ever. Will the stars and professionals be able to keep the streak going. For the first show, the stars had four weeks to learn their dances. For tonight’s show they had only four days. Who will be up for the challenge and who will falter?

Once again we have the lovely er, I mean handsome Nick Lache filling in as co host. Though I do miss the woman’s touch to the MC duties, I must admit, Nick is very easy to look at. Well I digress, on with the show.

Tonight all the contestants will perform either the Quick Step or Mambo. Let’s see how things went.

First up are Mel B and Maksim (Maks to his adoring fans) dancing the Quick Step. During rehearsal Mel is having a hard time getting the lines right so Maks brings in etiquette coach Diana Olson to work with her. After many mistakes and looking like the Quick Step will bring down the spice girl, Maks and Mel head out to the dance floor.

I must admit surprise at the way she carried herself and maintained her posture throughout the dance. She looked good in pink and I believe she did a good job and would have given her a 7, but let’s see what the other judges think.

Carrie Ann said she was very surprised. Mel had good posture but needs to watch her shoulders.
Len said she moved around the floor beautifully.
Bruno said she had Lena Horne’s classical looks and Ginger Rogers’ twinkle toes.
The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 8; Bruno – 8 for a total of 23/30

Mark Cuban is up next with partner Kym. He says how disappointed he was to have been in the bottom two last week … I must admit I was also disappointed he was close to being sent home. Tonight he says he wants to rock the house. He wants to stay in the competition. Kym says that Mark is an exceptional man and works very hard, he flew her everywhere he went to rehearse.

They head out to the dance floor for the first mambo of the night. I am ga ga over Mark’s hip action and find it even more impressive knowing he just had hip replacement surgery. He took Kym with him everywhere and did more rehearsing than any of the other dancers. I was so impressed and thought the routine was great. I’d give Mark an 8, but once again, let’s go to the votes that really count.

Carrie Ann says that he made her laugh because his face was dancing as much as his body. She didn’t feel like this dance was quite what they were looking for in a mambo
Len said if a prize were given for hard work and desire to win, Mark would win hands down. He said Mark was great on top but not on the bottom half.
Bruno said it was fun to watch but was like a bulldog chasing a squirrel. He told Mark to work harder and he would get better.
The scores: Carrie Ann – 6; Len – 6; Bruno – 6 for a total of 18/30 (personally I think Mark got robbed)

Mr. Las Vegas (and Elvis wannabe) Wayne Newton and Cheryl Burke will perform the Quick Step. Since Wayne has a busy schedule we are taken to one of his shows where her does a little hip action for Carrie Ann’s benefit.

It thought Wayne was too stiff and a lot of the showmanship was missing. He reminded me of Master P doing the same moves to all his dances and it left me feeling I might even prefer Master P. I’d give Wayne a 4 and that would be being generous.

Bruno said the dance looked like someone walking down the red carpet. It was not fast enough.
Carrie Ann said he brought Las Vegas with him (HUH? I didn’t see it except for the song) and though she appreciated him working on his hip action this was not the dance for it.
Len said this was not an improvement over last week’s performance. It was a good job though

The scores: Carrie Ann – 5; Len – 5; Bruno – 5 for a total of 15/30


The ‘death drop’ looked like it would be the step of disaster for Marie Osmond and partner Jonathan during their rehearsal for the mambo but Marie was a trooper and kept trying and trying and trying and falling and falling and falling. However that is what rehearsals are for because when this duo got out on the dance floor they performed the ‘death drop’ perfectly. This was a great sexy performance and I would give Marie a solid 9 for her performance. But what about the other judges?

Carrie Ann said that after that dance Marie was her idol. She was so impressed at the total confidence Marie had in Jonathan with some of those tricky moves.
Len thought it was absolutely great. He told her to work to her strengths and leave the tricks to the dancers who need them. Her attitude is her strength
Bruno said Marie was a real hot Latin mama.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 8; Len – 8; Bruno – 8 for a total of 24/30


It’s time for another Quick Step. This time performed by Albert Reed and Anna. Albert is having a hard time during rehearsal. He says he wants to dedicate tonight’s performance to his grandpa who was very good at ballroom dancing. He just doesn’t seem to be getting it though. Anna gives him a video message from his grandma and that seems to lift him up and put some fire into him.

I like this performance for the most part. Albert opened the number with a slide down the banister which won me over since I loved watching Dick slide down the banister in Big Brother. His posture was very good during the dance and I was actually entertained. I’d give Albert a 7.

Of his performance Carrie Ann said his grandfather would have been proud of him. He had exuberance and did a good job.
Len said he could be the dark horse in this competition. He didn’t expect him to be good at this when he was so good at the Latin dance last week and he wasn’t expecting him to keep his posture but he did. Well done!
Bruno says it’s difficult to keep up the energy. His posture was good and he will be as good in ballroom as in Latin.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 7; Bruno – 7 for a total of 21/30

Helio and Julianne are going to dance the mambo. Or maybe they are just going to knock each other out and forget about the dance. There were so many hitting accidents during the rehearsal I am surprised one of them didn’t end up with a broken nose.

The dance was magnificent. The chemistry between them was awesome and Helio was a joy to watch. It’s hard to believe that the battle during rehearsal turned into such a wonderful performance. I am not adverse to giving a 10 so early in the season, so Albert gets my first 10.

Bruno thought the dance was exhilarating and he was tongue tied. He said some of the moves they did were so difficult that professional dancers would have had a hard time with them.
Carrie Ann said it was dynamic .. a great job
Len said it was in overdrive. So good. Very well done.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 9; Len – 9; Bruno 9 for a total of 27/30 (They really wanted to give him 10s but unlike me they didn’t have the nerve to give such a score so early in the competition)


Jenny Garth and Derek are up next with the Quick Step. She had a lot of trouble seeing him as a leading man and he told her to pretend he was George Clooney. She said she probably has more muscles than he does. On the dance floor their performance, in my opinion was a disaster. Unfortunately some of the biggest mistakes were on the part of Derek, who ended the performance by tripping and hitting Jenny in the head with either his knee or foot. I would give them a 6.

Len says they didn’t mess with the silly stuff and moved well though her posture needs work.
Bruno said it was like the Titanic. It moved well in the beginning and then hit an iceberg
Carrie Ann said she was sad to see the little mistakes. Jenny needs to be in the moment. Ballroom dance suits her.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 7; Bruno – 7 for a total of 21/30


The next couple up dancing the mambo was Cameron and Edyta. I was expecting a lot but felt let down. Cameron was too stiff and didn’t seem comfortable in the beginning. I’d give them a 7,

Carrie Ann said it looked great, nice lines but off beat. Visually great.
Len says he got into it as the dance progressed.
Bruno said Cameron looks like superman but dances like Clark Kent. He told him he needs to relax and get into the music.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 7; Bruno – 7 for a total of 21/30

Another Quick Step featuring Floyd and Karina. Floyd starts out having a hard time with the dance but wants to prove himself after the poor scores last week. I thought Floyd got robbed last week but will admit he showed a lot of improvement this week. He was calmer and seemed more focused on the dance rather than on the performance. I would give him a 7.

Len said that it was very light and fluffy. He got the holds right and had good lower body movement but the upper body needs work.
Bruno said he nearly won. The footwork was good. His posture needs work but he did well
Carrie Ann said it was a good improvement over last week.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 7; Bruno -7 for a total score of 21/30


Next up the English lady tries to conquer the Latin Mambo. Jane Seymore has a hard time during rehearsal getting into the Latin flavor of the dance. She is self conscious about the hip movement so her partner Tony, brings in a snake to show her the smooth way the snake moves. The charm of the snake seems to have worked some magic because Jane brings on some pretty good hip action out on the dance floor. However, she still seems uncomfortable and not willing to really let her hair down, so to speak. It looked like an upper class lady trying to move what the lady would assume to be dirty dancing. It was good as far as it went and I enjoyed it enough to give Jane and Tony an 8.

Len thought the dance was very precise and not raunchy or sizzling enough (you read right … last year he hated the raunch and this year he is asking for more of it) He said it was too prim and proper for a Mambo.
Bruno said it was like a Mambo at a tea party and she needs to bring out the fangs.
Carrie Ann disagreed with the men. She thought there was nothing wrong with a Mambo that had elegance and that Jane played to her strength.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 7; Len – 7; Bruno – 7 for a total of 21/30


The final dancers of the evening are Sabrina and Mark dancing the Quick Step. During rehearsal they agreed, though it was fun, there will be no more hip hop in any of their routines. When they got out on the floor this was a fun dance to watch. Sabrina had great lines and she performed what in my opinion was the best Quick Step of the night. I would give her a 9.

Carrie Ann said that she was worried and didn’t think she would be able to hold the lines in the Quick Step but she was wrong. Amazingly, Sabrina never missed a beat.
Len said Sabrina was the no stress express. She had control. BUT he said there needs to be lights and shades, ups and downs, fast and slows.
Bruno said the performance was excellent.

The scores: Carrie Ann – 9; Len – 8; Bruno – 9 for a total of 26/30


So the score board for the night looks like this:
Helio and Julianne – 27
Sabrina and Mark - 26
Marie and Jonathan – 24
Mel B and Maksim – 23
Floyd and Karina – 21
Jane and Tony – 21
Albert and Anna – 21
Jenny and Derek – 21
Cameron and Edyta – 21
Mark and Kym – 18
Wayne and Cheryl - 15

It looks like the voting public will be the real decision makers in this week’s competition with 5 couples tying for 5th place. In my opinion Wayne or Jenny should go home, but if past history repeats itself, with the former couple in the bottom two going home, it will be Mark.

Tomorrow will be the result show with Queen Latifah as the guest celebrity.