Tonight's Show will garner new expectations for the seven remaining contestants. The first round of dancing will find our contestants dancing either the Foxtrot, the Quickstep, or the Samba. In the second round, they will be divided into two teams and compete one team against the other. They did that once last year, and it really wasn't that revealing. You can be on the winning team, but still be one of the worst dancers. This week will be another double elimination leaving only five couples for next week's competition.

One special note: Lacy Schwimmer caught the flu and is being replaced by Anna just for this week.

Aaron and Karina: Jive-Aaron is BACK! That was a high energy routine with footwork that is so hard and fast. His flicks were better than some of the professionals I've seen. His movement was controlled, but bigger than life. He was sharp, fast, and fun. I loved it. Even Len loved it. They had a colorful, pink purple look also, and it was as hot as the dance.
My Score 10 Mom's Score 9 Average Score 9.5
Comparison with Show's Judges Scores of 9,10,10 Average Score 9.6

Mark and Lacey: Samba-Redheaded Anna is back filling for Lacey. I love watching her. This is a great routine, and despite what Mark has been through this week, he looks confident and is dancing very well. They put this together in 48 hours! The judges had mixed reviews for the performance, but I really enjoyed it.
My score 8 Mom's Score 8 Average Score 8
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 6,7,6 Average Score 6.3

Donny and Kym: Quickstep-The quickstep isn't my favorite ballroom dance, but I really liked this. Great choice of music. There were some mis-steps, but Donny covers them up well. The performance from a theatrical point of view was great, but there were clearly some errors. Their costuming was great, and Kym didn't hold back on degree of difficulty
My score 8 Mom's score 9 Average Score 8.5
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 8,8,8 Average Score 8

Mike and Anna: Foxtrot-Every week I expect Mike to go home, but he keeps surprising me. He gets better each week. I still think he has outlasted his actual talent. This week, he smiled, held true Foxtrot form very well, and actually performed some footwork. I'll be darned. Good for him. He also designed the costumes this week, and they were a beautifulburgandy dynamic duo.
My score 7 Mom's Score 8 Average Score 7.5
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 8,8,7 Average Score 7.6

Mya and Dmitry: Foxtrot-I don't know if Mya will ever catch a break from Len. I'm starting to think maybe it's Dmitry he doesn't like. which Mya doesn't control to a great degree. A lot of Len's remarks are about the choreography. I don't know, but it's starting to look like Len has something against this couple. Their outfits arepurple pink and cream white. Again tonight Len goes after what he calls the "gimicky" parts of the choreography. Bruno, stuck up for her thank goodness. They had great flow and footwork in this routine. It won't be super memorable, but it was respectable.
My score 8 Mom's Score 8 Average Score 8
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 9,7,9 Average Score 8.3

Joanna and Derek: Rumba-The dance of love. Gold, white, and black costuming is out of this world gorgeous. Joanna is really hitting her stride. She struggled for a couple of weeks, but she looks like a pro tonight. The choreography isn't highly difficult, but Joanna knows how to do sultry and sexy. She has a balance issue on one of her poses, but overall did very well.
My score 8 Mom's Score 9 Average Score 8.5
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 9,9,9 Average Score 9

Kelly and Louie: Salsa-In their practice session, Kelly states that this is the first time in her life that she can't talk her way out of this or dramatize her way out of it, although she gives it a good try. She knows she has to dance her way out of it and that will require discipline that Kelly has not been subject to before. Louie is gentle but firm with her. He is the epitome of a great teacher. He cares about his student, but doesn't let that blur his vision from expecting the best out of her. He gently pushes her over the cliff, so she can fly, the only problem is that she's afraid she'll fall. "Drama Queen" is the term that comes to mind. Having said that, I'm proud of Kelly. She's not giving up, even though she's afraid. Kelly starts out great, loses it in the middle of the dance, and finishes big. She still watches Louie a lot which makes her look unsure at times, but she did seem more confident and performed well tonight. She doesn't perform her movement big enough or sharp enough, but overall it was pretty good.
My score 7 Mom's score 8 Average Score 7.5
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 8,8,8 Average Score 8

The Next Judge's "Top 5 Ranking" of the contestants from tonight's show:
1st Place Ranking: Aaron
2nd Place Ranking: Joanna
3rd Place Ranking: Donny
4th Place Ranking: Mya
5th Place Ranking: Kelly

Round Two-Team Dance
Team Tango is Joanna, Donny, and Kelly
Team Paso is Mark, Aaron, Mya, and Mike

Team Paso takes the floor first-The black, red, and silver costuming has a great presence on stage. There are too many chefs in the kitchen. The choreographers should have had their you-know-what together before the team met. Competitors now become team mates. They are all depending on each other, because they're only as strong as their weakest link. Everyone did well in this performance. I think the two strongest were Mya and Aaron. Mike struggled and Mark was just okay.
My score 8 Mom's score 8 Average Score 8
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 8,8,8 Average Score 8

Team Tango is next-black and red costuming. The choreographers worked better together than the last group. The team mates are sure of one thing. They don't want to be the weak link that brings the team score down. Donny and Kelly did a good job, but the strongest couple was clearly Joanna and Derek. I thought the choreography for this routine was much more dynamic than Team Paso. Thanks to Anna Trebunskaya, Mark was able to redeem himself in the Tango. He kept his head this week and I believe that will bode well for him when America votes.
My score 9 Mom's score 9 Average Score 9
Comparison with Show's Judges Score of 9,9,10 Average Score 9.3

This will help boost Donny and Kelly up the board, and solidify Joanna's lead.

As there was last week, there is a double elimination this week. The couple with the lowest overall score is eliminated immediately. The next two couples will participate in a dance off. Based on the dance off, the judges will determine which of the two couples will remain and which will go.


The bottom three couples are:
Aaron & Karina
Mike & Anna
Mark & Lacey (Lacey was absent for last night's show due to the flu)

Sidenote: Mark and Derek did more than dance tonight. They also sang a song from their first album. It's hard to dance and sing at the same time, but they did it quite well.

Getting back to the results:
Mike and Anna are sent packing.
Aaron & Mark will dance for their lives.

I choose Aaron as the winner of the Dance Off. The judges also chose Aaron!
 
Our Top Five Couples Left in the Competition for Season 9 are:
Donny and Kym
Mya and Dmitry
Aaron and Karina
Kelly and Louie
Joanna and Derek

For comments, critiques, and scores on many talent shows, go to http//thenextjudge.blogspot.com. Check out the Jr dancer of the week.