Last season on “Dancing with the Stars” it was personal stories in the celebrity’s life as a theme week. This season it is their most memorable year. Each of the couples got to choose a dance along with their own song choice. The song reflected their significant year. It would not surprise me if the judges were being overly generous with the scores Monday night (October 3).
Ricki Lake topped the leader board again with J.R. Martinez and Chynna Phillips tied for a very close second place by only one point. I’ll have to say a majority of the stories the celebrities shared were remarkable. Needless to say, I was not able to watch the show “live” since it was preempted by a local telecast of Monday Night Football. The good news was I got to see “Dancing with the Stars” in the wee hours of this morning on a special telecast.
Here is a recap of each celebrity with their personal story, dance and score.
Rob Kardashian
He dedicated his dance to his father, Robert Kardashian. 2003 was the year he passed away was very memorable for Rob. They were very close. He has a tattoo of his father prominently on his forearm. Their dance was the elegant foxtrot to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”, which was his father’s favorite song. This was a very good score. 24
Chynna Phillips
It was fitting she danced the rumba to Wilson Phillip’s biggest hit “Hold On”, which she wrote as a teen. During the time the song was released in 1990 Chynna had come a long way from her troubled teen years and abandonment issues with her father. 26
Chaz Bono
2011 is a very memorable year for Chaz as he is the most happiest he’s ever been in his life. He dedicated his rumba to Sonny Bono and danced to his father’s only solo hit “Laugh at Me.” I loved when Chaz looked up at the sky and motioned his hand with a kiss and sent it upward to his dad at the beginning of the dance. Unfortunately his rumba was better than last week, but he needs to put more energy and motion to it. He is very much at risk in leaving, because the competition is starting to heat up intensely. 18
Kristin Cavallari
She had the most carefree memorable year of graduating from high school, going to LA and deciding to go to college or act professionally. If only all the other celebrities had it this good with their lives. At any rate she was a bit obsessed with channeling Beyoncé with her samba. It was good, though not a great performance. Their score was way too high in my opinion. 24
Carson Kressley
You never know what you are going to get with Carson. He is by far one of my favorite celebrities ever to be on this show. This week he did not disappoint his fans. His memorable moment in life was the year “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” premiered and the show won an Emmy. It was the first time Carson could be comfortable about himself and not be afraid to show it.
He talked about his childhood and how repressing it was. I must say his tango dance was truly entertaining, fun and impressive. There was one exceptional moment where Carson and Anna are doing their high kicks in complete synchronicity on this makeshift red carpet on the dance floor. I felt they deserved a higher score. 23
J.R. Martinez
Without question this was the most emotional story and dance of the entire evening. Many were reporting on message boards, forums and blogs how it brought them to tears. It was indeed tearful. Naturally 2003 was the year J.R.’s life changed forever. He was only 19 years old when his Humvee hit a landmine. While he was in the hospital he cried wanting to end his life. It was his mother who encouraged him to keep on living. From that moment on he never forgot his mother’s words.
His rumba to Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This” was dedicated to all the service men and women who never got to come home for a second chance in life like J.R. received. It makes no difference what his score was, because he was the winner of the night. 26
Nancy Grace
Another heartbreaking story about her twins, especially her daughter, when fluid was filling up in Nancy’s lungs she had to have an emergency C-section. Her twins were in intensive care for a while. Now they are healthy and watching mommy every week on the dance floor. Her waltz to “Moon River” was truly moving. 21
Ricki Lake
I had no idea her house burned down where she and her kids had to run out of. That is certainly scary. 2010 was her memorable year, because she met the love of her life. Her rumba was indeed sexy and it’s a blessing she has one of the best choreographers as her dance partner. Mostly the judges were praising Derek’s excellent choreography rather than Ricki’s dance moves. The sultry move at the very end was a bit tawdry for such an emotional show. 27
Hope Solo
This was heartbreaking to hear how hard she worked her whole life to win the Women’s World Cup in soccer and lose. I watched the finals with the USA team against Japan. I’m glad she realized afterwards it is the journey and not the win that truly matters. However, her dancing has still not improved a great deal. Their cha-cha-cha was better than last week’s disastrous jive, but her timing is off, plus Hope’s moves are still stiff. Their scores were way too high. 24
David Arquette
How sweet it was David’s memorable year was when his daughter Coco was born. He dedicated his rumba to Coco. You can see he just lights up when he talks about her. This week he improved tremendously, but I still think he is a bit stiff and tentative at times. I’m afraid he was over scored too. 24
On Tuesday night’s results show the head judge, Len Goodman, will be part of the Macy’s Stars of Dance doing the twist. That is a fun dance that will definitely get you off your couch dancing. The musical guests will be Mary J. Blige and Estelle, plus a surprise guest. Only time will tell who is eliminated.
SOURCES:
Dancing with the Stars, ABC.go.com
Louis Van Amstel, “Louis Van Amstel’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Dish: Week 3″, ABC.go.com/blogs
Annie Barrett, “‘Dancing with the Stars’ recap: Tears in Ballroom Heaven”, EW.com