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'Dancing With The Stars' Recap: Alfonso Ribeiro Tops The Leaderboard; Betsey Johnson Eliminated

Dancing with the Stars returned Monday with the top 10 celebrity dancers performing routines that channeled their most memorable year. Instead of a guest judge this week, the empty fourth chair was replaced by viewer votes tabulated during each performance.

Dancing With The Stars Recap

Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy were the first to hit the dance floor, taking on a Rumba. Parrish’s most memorable year, 2002, is when her vocal coach/ second grandmother passed away while she was trying to get a break in Hollywood. Val’s choreography incorporated a lot of contemporary moves into the Latin dance. Most of the judges enjoyed the new take and Janel’s moves, but Bruno Tonioli wanted to see the Pretty Little Liars star improve her spins. Score: 9+9+9+9=36

Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker wanted to have some fun this week to remember 2004, the year Mean Girls came out. The routine is over-the-top and reliant on the gimmick. The dancing, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired, resulting in some harsh criticism from the judges and accompanying bad scores – even from the voting public. Score: 6+6+6+6=24

Betsey Johnson, who found out she was in jeopardy of elimination, wanted to dance for the year 1975 – the year her daughter was born. Taking on a jive with Tony Dovolani, Johnson at times struggled to keep up with the choreography’s fast steps. Carrie Ann Inaba praised the fashion designer for hitting her marks. Score: 8+7+7+7=29

Remembering 2009 through dance was Bethany Mota and her pro partner Derek Hough. In 2009, Bethany, tired of being bullied, started expressing herself on YouTube, which gave her a voice. Throughout the dance, aided by a live performance by Colbie Caillat, anti-bullying messages were splashed across a screen. While the judges were duly touched by the message, they weren’t too impressed by the dancing. Scores: 8+8+8+9=33

Michael Waltrip danced his quickstep in memory of 2001, the year he won the Daytona 500 and that his mentor, Dale Earnhardt, passed away. Michael showed some definite improvement with the ballroom number with Emma Slater, but the choreography started to get away from him towards the end and his frame still needs some work. Score: 6+6+6=7=25

In 2003, Lea Thompson’s amiable father found out he had cancer and had only about a week left to live and so in one week they celebrated a year’s worth of holidays. Lea channeled that year in a contemporary routine with Artem Chigvintsev that was heavy with emotion and set to “Dances with My Father.” Score: 10+10+10+9 = 39

Antonio Sabato Jr. and Cherl Burke danced a Samba for 1989, when the soap opera star got his big break in a Janet Jackson music video. Going shirtless with suspenders, Antonio delivered a mediocre performance. He’s still missing some personaility in his routines and Julianne Hough encouraged him to own the space better. Score: 7+7+7+8=29

Tommy Chong headed to jail on drug paraphernalia charges to keep his son out of prison in 2003. Tommy’s jive with Peta Murgatroyd, set to “Jailhouse Rock” proved to be an entertaining routine. However, Tommy wasn’t able to show off the same gracefulness he’s put on display in the Latin and ballroom dances. Score: 7+7+7+7=28

Young Sadie Robertson’s most memorable year was just two years ago, when Duck Dynasty made her an instant celebrity. Mark Ballas threw himself into the idea, donning an outfit similar to something the Robertson men would wear – complete with a faux beard. Their samba was tight and energetic, showing once again that Sadie is a natural on the dance floor. Score: 9+10+9+9=37

Alfonso Ribeirio’s most memorable years were the ones he spent on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996). Dancing a jive with Witney Carson, Ribeiro was in his element with his personality shining in the lively routine that Carson choreographed. The audience and the judges were alike in their love of the performance. Not only was it fun, but the TV actor was tight with his technique. Score: 10+10+10+10=40

In the bottom three were Michael, Tommy and Betsey. Betsey, despite her earlier strong performances, ended up being the one sent home this week from Dancing With the Stars.

Next week, Dancing with the Stars will have its Switch-Up Challenge.

Chelsea Regan

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