The Olympic gymnast earns the first perfect score of the season for her jazz routine and tops the leaderboard, followed close behind by James Hinchcliffe with 28 points for his quickstep.
- Oct 4, 2016
AceShowbiz - The remaining contestants on "Dancing with the Stars" season 23 step up their game in the fourth week. On Monday, October 3, the 11 pairs performed dances inspired by Cirque du Soleil shows, while Cirque du Soleil acrobats, aerialists, dancers and fire stick performers performed alongside them.
Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold danced first, performing the charleston. It was energetic and had big lifts, but slowed down toward the end. Julianne Hough called him "twinkle toes" because he was so light on his feet. Bruno Tonioli liked his energy, while Carrie Ann Inaba praised his footwork and loved that it was fun. The judges, minus Len Goodman who was absent this week, gave Calvin 23 points.
Maureen McCormick and Artem Chigvintsev danced the Argentine tango. Julianne said she had no notes because they did a great job with the footwork. Bruno loved her lines. Carrie Ann said she had "such an incredible connection to Artem," but agreed with Bruno that Maureen needed more intensity in her footwork. The actress earned 24 points.
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko danced the foxtrot. Carrie Ann said she loved the choreography, but noticed that "every once in a while you come out of it and you look a little lost." Julianne and Bruno had several other notes about the performance. They gave the country music star 23 points.
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough danced the paso doble. Julianne said she was a little bit stiff and suggested that she relaxed. Carrie Ann thought that Marilu seemed "to force the dance next to Derek instead of with Derek." Marilu earned 21 points.
Amber Rose and Maksim Chmerkovskiy took the stage next, dancing a steamy Argentine tango. Julianne explained her comment last week that caused some drama before commenting on Amber's latest performance. She loved the energy and said it was "authentically you." Bruno and Carrie Ann were also raving about the performance. They gave her 24 points.
Up next were Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke who danced the Viennese waltz. Julianne praised Cheryl's choreography and appreciated Ryan's efforts to follow the judges' advice. Bruno said it was Ryan's best dance to date, while Carrie Ann saw improvement. Ryan earned 22 points.
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Allison Holker danced the tango. The routine was messy as Bruno compared it to "Poltergeist". Carrie Ann wanted to see him "a little stronger" and "more definite." The singer earned 18 points.
Terra Jole and Sasha Farber danced a sexy samba. Julianne gushed, "You need to give yourself a break and start thinking that you are a dancer, because you are!" Bruno noticed that she missed "a couple of passes," but appreciated her attempt anyway. Carrie Ann said Terra "killed it." The reality TV star earned 25 points.
Laurie Hernandez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy raised the bar higher following their fun jazz dedicated to Michael Jackson. Julianne declared her "the Queen of the Ballroom," while Carrie Ann said, "A star is born!" The Olympic gymnast earned 30 out of 30 points, the first perfect score of the season.
Vanilla Ice and Witney Carson followed it up with their Viennese waltz. Vanilla made several mistakes, but Julianne said it worked for the circus theme, because "if you were doing a proper waltz, it would have been a bit stompy." Bruno and Carrie Ann saw improvement. The rapper earned 23 points.
Closing out the performance show, James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess danced the quickstep. The IndyCar driver captured the old-school Hollywood theme. Carrie Ann noticed "one teeny tiny mistake," which James admitted. Bruno called it "a rousing and pure performance, absolutely fantastic." James earned 28 points.
"DWTS" returns Tuesday, October 4 at 8 P.M. ET on ABC with the results show.
