Hines Ward Rises to the Top - Recap/Review - "Dancing with the Stars" - Week 3

This week, the dancers had to choose songs to dance to that mean something to them. To give everyone an idea of what the judges are looking for, the Dance Troupe started us off. Tristan and Nicole did a perfectly executed Paso Doble, while Ted and Peta danced a very sensual Rumba. Kiki and Oksana did a very lively Samba with some pretty awesome Samba rolls!

Leading off the stars was Wendy and Tony with a Foxtrot. I was a little grossed out by the story behind her song choice. Wendy explained when trying to break into the industry as a radio dj, she was travelling between D.C. and New York for two different gigs. She didn’t want to lose any time so she’d sleep in rest stops instead of at her parents’ house, and would brush her teeth in a birdbath! Despite Tony trying to show the judges how strong Wendy is, they weren’t happy with their performance. Dancing to “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life,” Wendy was stiff as a board. Or as Bruno put it, it was “like watching the Statue of Liberty.” Need I say more? Score: 15.

Chelsea and Mark’s dance, the ChaChaCha to “Chelsea,” a song written for her by her first love, was pretty good. Despite Mark being a “better girl” than her, according to Chelsea in rehearsal, she certainly was a fine girl during the dance! I thought she was sexy and adorable, and so did the judges. Bruno really ran away with himself while commenting, to the point of embarrassing Chelsea a bit. Len thought she had danced her best dance so far. Score: 23.

Team Chericho did a decent job with the Rumba, dancing to “Let it Be,” in memory of Chris’ mom who died in 2005. As he said, “the song encompasses all of my memories about my mom,” and noted he can’t hear it without seeing her face. Cheryl said they were going to go for soul instead of sensuousness as is usual with the Rumba. I thought it was a very appropriate tribute to his mother, as did Carrie Ann, who was practically in tears. Len thought Chris did an excellent job and Bruno thought Chris brought an almost naked vulnerability to the dance. Score: 21. May I just take a minute here to comment on Cheryl’s costume? While very pretty and sexy-looking from the front, girlfriend, it did nothing for your rear view!

Kendra wanted to honor her husband Hank, so she chose “You and Me” for her Rumba with Louis. She and Hank had a hard time of it when they first got together due to the multi-racial thing. The message she wanted to convey with this dance is to follow your heart and do what’s right for you. It’s sad to hear this story – that people are still too small-minded to accept a couple’s love for each other no matter what color they are. Despite her giggling throughout rehearsal, I think Kendra did an okay job. I thought she could have conveyed more sexuality during the dance. Len thought she “came out with beautiful feet and gorgeous leg actions;” Bruno apparently disagreed with me as he thought she was “teasingly erotic…it was hot and arousing, darling,” and Carrie Ann said, “it was hot, hot hot.” I guess I was watching a different dance than they were. Score: 23, and by the way, she got the 8 she wished for last week – actually two of them!

Romeo and Chelsie performed a Rumba to “I’ll Be There.” At a young age, he lost two cousins with whom he was very close and his family rallied around in a show of support. Chelsie explained, “normally the Rumba is a really sexy dance, but Romeo’s story is about love and loss, so those are the emotions we’re gonna convey through this dance.” While he was “emotionally committed,” I thought his footwork was off. According to Len, “last week, you took a huge step forward; this week there’s a huge step back.” Score: 20.

Another comment about costumes. Chelsie wore a very similar outfit to Cheryl’s and let me tell you, Chelsie looked much better in it! Sorry – I’m just telling it the way I see it!

Hines and Kym danced the Samba to “Fantasy,” by Earth, Wind and Fire. It was a song his mother always listened to. She had a hard time of it after divorcing Hines’ father, but was so proud of Hines for going to college as he was the first in his family to do that. She always wanted more for him than she had. Hines wanted to do really well tonight since his mom was in the audience, and let me tell you, he did her proud! So much so, he and Kym received a standing ovation. All of the judges had good things to say, like “Boo-ya, baby’s got bounce” from Carrie Ann; “the story was upbeat, the dance was upbeat…I’m proud of you,” from Len; and from Bruno, “this Samba was an uplifting expression of happiness.” Score: 25.

“You Raise Me Up” was the song Petra chose to dance the Waltz to with Dmitry, as it gave her courage to start her Happy Hearts Fund after surviving the tsunami in Thailand. And what a perfect song it was to express her feelings of hope and inspiration. She was elegant beyond compare. So beautiful and what a vision! Again the judges agreed with me. Len said “it had grace, it had elegance, it had fluid movements; Bruno offered up, “Petra, you’re like a vision from heaven and you danced like an angel.” Carrie Ann voiced, “…your heart was all over the movement – you’ve gone from super model to super graceful, inspirational dancer. Well done.” Score: 25

Being a baby boomer, I was in on the women’s movement when it began. As I began to find my wings, “My Prerogative,” by Bobby Brown, became a sort of theme song for me. It has meaning to Sugar Ray as well, as that’s the song he chose to dance the Paso Doble to with Anna. Sugar Ray explained, “It’s all about beating the odds – in my career, they doubted me because the odds were heavy against me and I proved them wrong…I showed them I had the determination to win and I’m gonna do the same thing with Dancing with the Stars.” Outside of his obvious fighting spirit, I was disappointed with his performance. The judges thought Sugar Ray had improved a lot this week, but only gave him a 20.

Back in the 1980s, Kirstie’s parents were hit by a drunk driver. In a three-day period, she lost her mom, almost lost her dad and got the part in Star Trek II. So she chose to dance the Rumba to “Over the Rainbow” with Maks. She explained, “the song depicts the hopefulness after the despair.” Kirstie also said she hopes “people will feel the agony and ecstasy of what happened in my life so they’ll understand me better.” Max decided to show Kirstie’s vulnerability in the dance, rather than making it the sensual dance it usually is. Unfortunately, the one being vulnerable was Maks as he slipped and they went down. Wincing with pain, Maks, ever the professional, picked himself up and somehow continued to dance. I have to give him credit for that. It was really obvious he was in a lot of pain. I thought the remainder of the dance was beautiful. Kirstie may be overweight, but she dances on air. And by the way, it looks to me like Kirstie has already lost some weight! I think Carrie Ann summed it up perfectly: “Sometimes tragedy leads to some amazingly beautiful moments and I think despite the fact you had a little misstep in the beginning, something magical happened after that.” Score: 21. In keeping with the theme of the night – personal stories – Maks took a moment out to say, “It’s my dad’s birthday today. I just want to wish him a happy birthday – to the best man I know.”

Last up was Ralph and Karina. He dedicated the song “Stay Gold” to his wife Phyllis. It’s the theme from the movie The Outsiders, which launched his career. To Ralph, the song means “to strive to hold those moments in your life that are most special.” He and Phyllis chose “Stay Gold” as their wedding song and ironically, this week is their 24^th anniversary. Ralph and Karina danced the Rumba and I thought, while not as good as last week, it was okay. I didn’t think there was enough of a connection between Ralph and Karina. But how sweet when, at the conclusion of the dance, he walked over to his wife, bent down on one knee and kissed her hand. Aww. So sweet. Karina gets my vote for most beautiful outfit of the night. Len thought the routine was “crisp and clear but needs a tad of refinement. Your hands, you have to work on those; your feet, you have to work on those….but…the overall look was very appealing.” Bruno said, “It was a very beautiful dance, but the execution – I told you about the hands – you still do this spatula thing.” Carrie Ann thought “it was a very sweet Rumba.” Len became very agitated at that comment and Tom had to step in and remind him it was Carrie Ann’s turn. She continued, telling Ralph he had to “work on your core strength, but it was very sweet and very moving.” Score: 21.

So that’s it dancing fans. I’m still rooting for Ralph, but Hines is quickly pushing his way past. And of course, there’s Kirstie. As far as who I think will go home tomorrow, it’s obvious to me it should be Wendy. What do you think? Who’s your favorite at this point? Who do you think should go home?

Don’t forget – go vote! Vote now and vote often! And come back tomorrow for my recap of “Dancing with the Stars – The Results Show.”

If you missed the show, you can catch up online at http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!