Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Probably out dancing at the nearest club with partner Chelsie Hightower after the two were eliminated on week 8 on “Dancing with the Stars, even though they did not have the lowest score from the judges after Monday night’s individual dance and instant dance. Maybe it was his continual grumpy look that turned off viewers.
“Anybody can go at any time,” Romeo told host Tom Bergeron. “It changed my life … anything is possible if you try.”
Then turning to Chelsie, he said with a tiny smile, “You know, we can still dance after this.”
And then with a real touch of class, Romeo shook hands with each of the judges before heading to the floor for his last dance.
All in all, it was a typical week on “DWTS” — there was a theme (instant dance week); tension and turmoil as rehearsals turned ugly at times (Kirstie Alley got into it with Maks Chmerkovskiy and he ripped off his microphone before storming out of the room); and injury. Although Kirstie was the one who seemed to be taking all the tumbles, it was Ralph Macchio who came up hurt with a ruptured cyst in the back of his right knee that he described as “like being stabbed with a knife.”
Oh, the drama! Ralph and partner Karina Smirnoff didn’t even rehearse for their instant dance, relying on the steps from the team cha cha of the previous week. After their score of 25 for the Viennese waltz, he looked at her and said, “It can’t end this way.” And it didn’t. Even his poor instant cha cha and their spot at the bottom of the leaderboard with 46 couldn’t stop the viewers from saving him.
As for the other three couples heading for the semifinals, Chelsea Kane and partner Mark Ballas were on top this week, with an almost perfect waltz (29 out of 30) plus 26 for a good instant salsa. Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward and Kym Johnson used all the “cheesiness” he could dredge up to score 28 in the foxtrot, and kicked and flicked their instant jive for 26 points for a total of 54, one point under the top spot.
And the surprise of the week was Kirstie and Maks. Not only did they torch the floor with a torrid tango that scored a 28 from the judges and showed off her diminishing figure, but they managed a good instant salsa for a total of 53 to land third on the leaderboard.
Elimination night brought Michael Bolton back to the dance floor … to sing, not dance. And co-host Brooke Burke has cornered the market on off-the-shoulder dresses, balanced by her hand on her hip.
What’s going to happen in the semis? Will Mark overact and turn the judges against Chelsea? Will Hines keep his hips in motion and make it to the end? Will Kirstie stop falling and stay upright long enough to impress the judges with her fancy footwork? Will Ralph recover in time? Who will take home the mirror ball trophy?
