Who Went Home on DANCING WITH THE STARS?

The live show began instantly with a musical performance by David Garret playing “Walk this Way.” The DWTS Troupe provided some dancing, but I wasn’t that impressed for some reason. Am I being too harsh on the troupe? Possibly, but if the producers wanted us to know more about the troupe, I’d think that the camera would have focused on them instead of David Garrett’s violin playing skills. After their initial introduction, we haven’t heard the troupe talk much.

The elimination process began with the top three contestants in terms of points and after the commercial break Ralph & Karina and Hines & Kym were both revealed to be safe but Chelsea & Mark was still in jeopardy. Len commented that Chelsea was an excellent dancer and thought the two could make the final. They then forced the couple to perform after keeping them under the red lights.

Lieutenant Len – Though I liked Len’s attempted accent, I thought the whole routine was silly. Len thought preparation, pride, boldness, and bravery were the most important part. I thought it was interesting that the clip show didn’t focus on Kendra or Sugar Ray outside of a few small reaction shots.

Musical Performance – Jennifer Hudson “Don’t Look Down” – This was the first time I heard the song and I liked the peppy attitude of it. Jennifer’s walking was sassy and it showed her wonderful figure. Louis and Karina brought fire to the dance floor and even with Louis being openly gay, he can still portray the same sexual passion, especially when he started kissing Karina. I loved the amount of speed the couple had and the final spin sequence was beautiful. I actually loved the glitter effect even though some of the pieces got stuck on Jennifer’s face.

After the clip show, the middle point teams were up. Surprisingly there was no mention of the fact that Cheryl injured herself after the dance and had to be iced down. Chris & Cheryl and Romeo & Chelsea were safe. Petra & Dmitry were in jeopardy.

The three lowest scoring contestants talked to Brooke and Kendra admitted that she was having womanly problems last night. The pros quickly talked about how they want their choreography to be inspirational and risky.

Macy’s Stars of Dance Presentation – Swan Lake – I thought the routine was beautiful and was a good opening for the Macy’s Stars of Dance theme; I was awestruck during the whole routine. It showed that the dancers have had years of training because they made the dance look so effortless. I’m even more surprised how well the two sisters have become primary dancers in ballet.

Musical Performance – Jennifer Hudson “Feeling Good” – The extra pieces of glitter slowly poured down as Jennifer hit all the notes in the beginning of the song perfectly. I was shocked to not only see Damien, but SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE season six couple Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello performing with such gusto. One thing I always liked about Ryan’s dancing was he was so masculine in his performances and he was so confident dealing with his wife.

We got a clip of the bottom three dancers. Kirstie feels like she needs to break her cycle of weird mistakes. Kendra admitted to being out of it during the routine and Louis was trying to get her to breathe. Kendra was in tears in the background because she was so embarrassed. Kirstie & Maks and Kendra & Louis were safe. Sugar Ray & Anna were in jeopardy.

After the long commercial break Chelsea & Mark, Petra & Dmitry, and Sugar Ray & Anna were under the dreaded lights. Petra & Dmitry were safe. With Chelsea & Mark and Sugar Ray & Anna as the not-so bottom two, Sugar Ray & Anna looked like they were defeated when it was revealed they were going home. Sugar Ray thought he put up a strong fight. The two danced off to a 46-piece version of “Bittersweet Symphony.”

I’m not shocked that Kendra was safe, I actually voted once for her. I thought as un-womanlike as she was last night, she is still dancing miles above Sugar Ray & Anna. By placing Chelsea & Mark in the bottom, I’m sure the producers hoped to influence the viewers to support the Disney star.

Next week: Americana Week. I’m still hoping that Petra & Dmitry will totally bomb because they couldn’t channel their inner American.

Do you think the right person went home?