Dancing with the Stars returned Monday night with the first team dances of the season and a Spring Break theme.
Patti LaBelle and Artem Chigvintsev kicked off the performances with a lively Quickstep to “Heatwave” by Martha And The Vandellas. The hotel pool-themed dance once again capitalized on Patti’s stage presence and personality. The routine was fun, but still exposed the legendary singer’s poor footwork. Scores: 8+7+7+7=29
Dancing a Tango this week was Nastia Liukin with her pro partner Derek Hough. Knowing that he has a potential winner on his hands, Derek choreographed a difficult routine that challenged the Olympic gymnast. The judges, who’ve criticized Nastia’s lack of emotion in her dancing, thought that her tango with Derek lacked chemistry and was disjointed. Scores: 9+8+8+9=34
Mark Ballas, dancing with the 14-year-old Willow Shields had to choreograph a G-rated Salsa set to “Tequila” this week. It was a difficult task that ended up turning the Latin dance into something that looked a bit more like a jazz routine. The judges took issue with Willow’s leg movements, but were overall okay with the performance. Scores: 9+8+8+9=34
Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson had to dance a Jive following their poorly received Quickstep last week. Wanting to return to the judges’ favor, they went back to the romantic theme of their past dances for the jive. Unfortunately, Robert has a hard time keeping up with the footwork, though the dance is an improvement on the Quickstep. Scores: 7+7+7+7=28
Sharna Burgess wanted to push Noah Galloway even further with his dancing, hoping that a bit more content in their Rumba could help they achieve some higher marks from the judges. The grueling rehearsals take their toll on Noah, who starts to feel like Sharna is pushing him too hard, but it pays off in the end. Despite a hiccup in the middle, Noah puts on a respectable Rumba performance. Scores: 7+7+7+8=29
Dancing a Jazz number this week was Rumer Willis and pro Val Chmerkovskiy. In a surprising choice, the two danced to Destiny Child’s hit “Bootylicious,” and tried to give the routine a sexy vibe. Though the dancing that was in the routine was well done, the judges wanted more dancing and less walking. Len Goodman also thought it was too raunchy. Scores: 8+8+7+9=32
Chris Soules and Witney Carson danced a romantic Grease-themed Viennese Waltz this week, complete with a pink tuxedo jacket for the Bachelor star. The routine definitely played to Chris’ strengths and he was graceful moving across the dance floor. The judges agree it was by far one of his better dances. Scores: 8+7+8+8=31
Riker Lynch and Allison Holker once again brought the energy to Dancing with the Stars, doing an up-tempo Samba. Holker, who continues to not be afraid of giving Riker’s routines some edge, choreographed a memorable routine that pleased all of the judges except for Len, who longs for more tradition. Scores: 10+8+9+10-37
Team YOLO: Nastia and Derek, Willow and Mark, Noah and Sharna, Robert and Kym danced a routine to “Wipeout” that had the guys play a spin on the Beach Boys and the girls playing their bikini-clad groupies. Scores: 10+9+10+10=39
Team Trouble: Rumer and Val, Riker and Allison, Patti and Artem, Chris and Witney appropriately danced to Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Hudson’s “Trouble,” with each couple playing high school stereotypes and Patti as their teacher. Scores: 10+9+10+10=39
In the end, it was revealed that it was Patti LaBelle’s last night on Dancing with the Stars.
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