Dancing With the Stars returned Monday night with the highly anticipated and much dreaded Switch-Up week in which the celebrities had to dance with a new pro partner. Also throwing things off balance this week was the continued absence of Len Goodman, who was replaced at the judges’ table with British singer Jessie J.
After Jessie J performed her hit “Bang Bang," Antonio Sabato Jr. danced a Bollywood routine with Allison Holker. The dance naturally had a lot of energy, and allowed Antonio to show the judges some personality. Unfortunately, despite the dance’s fun factor, Antonio and Allison didn’t have much chemistry together and were often not in sync throughout the routine. Score: 8+6+7+7=28.
Bethany Mota and Mark Ballas paired up this week to take on hip-hop. Mark tried to get Bethany, a YouTube celebrity, to bring the swag and attitude necessary for the dance style. She attempted to rise to the challenge, but while she hit most of her steps, she didn't quite pull it off. The judges commend her efforts, but weren't wowed. 8+8+8+8=32
Dancing the jitterbug this week was Jonathan Bennett and his new partner Peta Murgatroyd. Peta opted to be ambitious with the Mean Girls star, trying to challenge him and help him earn greater respect and scores from the judges. Unfortunately, the routine turned out to be a major misfire for the Mirror Ball hopeful, as he ended up messing up a number of his steps and botching the lifts. Scores: 6+6+6+6=24
Last week’s leaderboard leader Alfonso Ribeiro and Cheryl Burke were tasked with putting together a Flamenco routine this week. Cheryl, really wanting to prove she can get Alfonso some high scores, was a stern coach during rehearsals. The end result was a nearly flawless routine that broke Alfonso into a more technical, professional kind of dancing than he’s previously put on display. The two also showed some very real chemistry on the dance floor. Scores: 8+9+9+8=34
Pretty Little Liars’ Janel Parrish and Artem Chigvintsev danced Dancing With the Star’s first ever burlesque routine Monday night. Artem’s choreography upped the sex factor in the risqué routine, which had Janel apologizing to her dad watching in the audience. Though the dancing was well executed and the two had great chemistry, the judges thought it was too sexy. They wanted to see a bit more humor incorporated into the routine. Score: 8+8+8+9=33
Michael Waltrip, who has consistently placed toward the bottom of the leaderboard, danced a disco routine with Witney Carson. Sporting a ‘70s mustache reminiscent of Burt Reynolds, Michael did his best to earn points for his sense of humor. The judges appreciated Michael’s earnest efforts to improve, but noted that he barely hit any of his steps during the routine. Score: 5+5+5+5=20
Tommy Chong and Emma Slater danced a Mambo this week. After Emma got some advice from Peta about how to work with Tommy’s memory lapses, she choreographed a relatively slow routine for the Latin dance. The judges, who had been more or less on the warpath throughout the night, didn’t hold back when it came to scoring the comedian and crowd favorite. Score: 6+6+5+6=23
Dancing the Charleston this week was Sadie Robertson and Derek Hough. Derek, as expected, brought the best out of the Duck Dynasty star for the energetic dance. Sadie’s lines were consistently good and her personality really came through during the performance. The judges applauded the pair, dubbing it one of the best dances of the night. Scores: 9+9+9+9=36
Last to hit the dance floor Monday night was Lea Thompson and Val Chmerkovskiy, who danced a Broadway routine. Val devised a story for the dance in which he and the other pros were retirement community residents with gray hair and walkers and Lea was a nurse. The fun and inventive routine not only brought out Lea’s consistently good dancing, but also her acting chops. Scores: 9+8+8+9=34
Dancing with the Stars returns next week with Pitbull and an elimination based off of last week and this week’s scores.
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