It was a night of breakthroughs, rumbas and one 9 from the judges.
But, really, “Dancing with the Stars” had a coasting week, even though its Mariah Carey theme offered plenty of decent music.
Fan fave Guillermo Rodriguez had the worst score of the night — a 13 — but still managed to hang on. Sent packing was Ciara Miller, who did better than before (she got a 21) but didn’t have the people’s vote. Savannah Bananas’ Jackson Olson was in the bottom three, too, but he overcame some bad press about last week’s elimination and lasted (just in time to promote a big Bananas game on ABC).
Alfonso Ribeiro, Ciara Miller, Brandon Armstrong and Julianne Hough are shown on “Dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday.
The judges practically fell over themselves, telling the contestants they could see changes BASED ON the notes they had given them the week before. Sure. Those “breakthroughs” weren’t noticeable, but that didn’t stop Carrie Ann Inaba from pointing them out.
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Longtime professional Jenna Dewan was congratulated for having the courage to stand alone on the stage before she was joined by her partner. Huh? Oh, OK. She was one of four doing rumbas and got one of the best scores — a 24. The only one to go one better was Maura Higgins, who earned a 25 for her waltz. There’s a “My Fair Lady” quality to her “story,” and Mark Ballas is her Professor Henry Higgins.
While Ezra Frech seems guaranteed a spot for weeks to come (he got a 24), there are several on the bubble, including Connor Wood, Tatyana Ali and Tyler Cameron. They’re the next ones who must weather the Guillermo storm.
Amber Glenn, Harry Shum Jr., Higgins and Dewan are solid, but Julia Stiles is just one fall away from joining the bottom dwellers.
So much depends on those training packages — where they declare their breakthroughs or challenges and name-check folks in their corner. Cameron talked about his late mother and fought back tears. Inaba said he “took what we said last week” and worked on it. What that was is anyone’s guess.
Sharna Burgess and Tyler Cameron perform Tuesday on “Dancing with the Stars.”
This is the point where the judges want to stake their claim to their jobs, but all that hype about “scoring lower” went out the window. Now, anyone can get a 21 without much effort. This is still the time to have 5s and 6s.
And the 9 for Higgins? It came too soon. Look for a 10 in two weeks.
She’s good; Dewan, Shum and Glenn are, too. But Frech’s ability to show how he’s up to any challenge despite his disability is tough to beat. As long as he keeps performing at a high level, he’s practically guaranteed the mirror-ball trophy.
Something to watch: Who’s doing a jazz or “contemporary” dance. Those don’t have rules like the ballroom ones and usually come when a contestant needs a breather or an exit strategy. That was a clue to Miller’s departure.
