Dancing with the Stars returned Monday night with the celebrities back with their original professional partners following the Switch-Up. This week, they were tasked with taking on Disney-themed routines set to songs from the classic movie musicals.
First to hit the dance floor was Drew Carey and his pro partner Cheryl Burke, who choreographed an Aladdin-themed quickstep. Even though they threw the Genie into the dance that was set to the tune of “Friend Like Me,” the judges couldn’t be distracted from Carey’s lack of technique. Scores: 7+7+7+7=28
Next up was ice dancer Charlie White and Sharna Burgess. For their jazz routine, they channeled Mary Poppins, dancing to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." The routine included a cane for White and the iconic dancing penguins. Though white dropped the cane, the cheeriness of the performance along with his technical skill impressed the panel of judges. Scores: 9+10+9+9=37
Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy danced a quickstep to the upbeat “Be Our Guest.” The routine, in which the former Wonder Years actress really shone, even included some dancing dishes reminiscent of the animated film. Scores: 10+9+10+10=39
Amy Purdy embodied Cinderalla this week for her waltz with fan-favorite pro dancer Derek Hough. Again, Derek managed to choreograph a routine that allowed Purdy to look amazing even with her disadvantage. The judges also let them get a pass on the lifts in the waltz because of her prosthetic legs. Scores: 9+9+10+9=37
For their Samba, Cody Simpson and Witney Carson did a Lion King-themed routine to “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” Simpson appeared to be making a concerted effort to hone his technique, and, at Carson’s urging, his focus was less on pulling out his “cool guy” dance moves. For his effort, Simpson got one of the best scores he’s had yet this season. Scores: 9+8+8+9=34
With NeNe Leakes as 101 Dalmations Cruella de Vil, Tony Dovolani choreographed a technique-heavy foxtrot. Though Leakes was missing the looseness of her jazz routine last week, she completely jumped into the villainous character and gave her best performance yet. Scores: 9+9+9+9=36
Following Leakes was James Maslow and Peta Murgatoryd, who danced a contemporary routine to the ever-popular “Let It Go” from Frozen. As could have been expected, Maslow nailed the dance, brining a lot of intensity and emotion to the artistic routine Murgatroyd choreographed for them. Scores: 10+10+10+10=40
Taking on a Jungle Book theme, Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy reunited to dance a samba. Though Maks doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of the gimmicky concept, he choreographed a passable dance with Davis and took his shirt off to play Mowgli. Davis is clearly one of the best in the competition, but the overall routine was somewhat lacking. Scores: 9+9+9+9=36
Last up for the night was Candace Cameron Bure and her partner Mark Ballas. Bure gamely played Ariel in their Little Mermaid-themed samba to “Under the Sea,” while Ballas channeled the crab Sebastian. Once again, Ballas slipped into making himself the star of the dance. Scores: 8+9+9+9=35
In the bottom three Monday night were Candace Cameron Bure, NeNe Leakes and Cody Simpson. In the end, it was the Australian teen pop star who was sent home by voters.
When Dancing with the Stars returns to ABC next Monday at 8/7c, the stars will be dancing to party anthems.
– Chelsea Regan
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