Dancing with the Stars Spring 2008: Week Five

It was Latin Night on Dancing with the Stars as the remaining eight celebrities and their professional partners performed one of two hot dances: The Samba or the Rumba. To find out who did well and who bombed, read on.

The Dancers: Mario and Karina
The Dance: Samba
A Fact: Mario visited with Stevie Wonder this week to gain confidence and inspiration.
The Music: A Tisket, A Tasket
The Outfit: Black pants with suspenders, white shirt
The Performance: Mario showed some great hip action and moves this week. He looked loose and carefree on the dance floor, which was nice to see given that his past few performances have been lackluster.
The Evaluation:
Len - "This dance suited you. It's got a freedom about it... you came out with gay abandon, great hip action... work on your footwork a little bit more."
Bruno - "Mario, if your hips could talk we'd be censored tonight."
Carrie Ann - "What I loved about this routine was it was nice and clean and to the point.... If that's your spirit, your spirit is so smooth."
The Scores: 9, 9, 9 = 27

The Dancers: Priscilla Presley and Louis
The Dance: Rumba
A Quote: "The Rumba is a whole new ballgame. The challenge is the walk." - Priscilla
The Music: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
The Outfit: Short black sleeveless dress with shimmery overlay.
The Performance: I was impressed with the split Priscilla did at the beginning of the dance! She did a solid job of mastering the sultry expression, but it almost seemed to be too slow to me overall.
The Evaluation:
Bruno - "Priscilla, you always play well your part. Sensual but not trashy.... But the problem is... it exposes a lot of problems."
Carrie Ann - "I could tell you were definitely going for the technique" and said she missed the flow.
Len - "Disappointed." He said it was "too careful" and "lacked spontaneity".
The Scores: 7, 7, 7 = 21

The Dancers: Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony
The Dance: Samba
A Quote: "I was a stripper in my past life." - Marisa
The Music: unsure
The Outfit: Purple outfit with cut out side and sequins
The Performance: I thought Marissa had great spirit and a trememdous amount of energy. It was a really fun dance to watch.
The Evaluation:
Carrie Ann - "You were workin' it girl." She said it was her best routine so far, though she was a little off the music at the beginning.
Len - "I liked the mix of steps you put in that, Tony.... More bounce to the ounce than I've ever seen."
Bruno - "...you were bouncing like a beach ball."
The Scores: 8, 8, 8 = 24

The Dancers: Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl
The Dance: Rumba
A Quote: "It's very hard to be manly and soft at the same time." - Cristian, on learning the Rumba
The Music: If You're Not the One
The Outfit: Pink shiny shirt and black pants
The Performance: Cristian put out a solid dance, I thought, and they managed to interject some good personality into it. I don't think it was great, though.
The Evaluation:
Len - "The word I'd use to sum that up is competent.... It wasn't gruesome to watch."
Bruno - "The chemistry with you two is great.... The walks really expose the problems in the technique; you have to caress the floor."
Carrie Ann - "I thought tonight the chemistry wasn't there between you. I didn't think it was as erotic" as she'd expect from them." She told him to work on sustaining the movements.
The Scores: 7, 8, 8 = 23

The Dancers: Marlee Matlin and Fabian
The Dance: Samba
A Quote: "My goal this week is to inspire deaf children..." - Marlee
The Music: unsure
The Outfit: Red outfit with split sides, fringe and wristbands.
The Performance: I'm always impressed with Marlee's grace and her ease of movement. She wasn't always perfectly on with the music, but it's hard to expect her to be perfect, and she was very good.
The Evaluation:
Bruno - "Very very hot and sexy." But he noted that she lost the timing a few times.
Carrie Ann - "I know that was tough... but what's so amazing is... you're a trooper."
Len - "The Samba is definitely the most difficult of all of the Latin dances.... But when I realize you can't hear any of that music" it's a great job.
The Scores: 7, 7, 8 = 22

The Dancers: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark
The Dance: Rumba
A Quote: "I think we need alter egos here." - Kristi, on her desire to adopt a persona in order to successfully perform the Rumba.
The Music: Say
The Outfit: Lavendar wrap dress
The Performance: I loved it when Kristi shook her hair loose, and there were definitely moments that made me blush a little bit. I thought it had really good flow and was surprisingly emotional for a Kristi dance.
The Evaluation:
Carrie Ann - "Woo, Kristi, I have to commend you" for taking an emotional risk. She said that she'd given up some of her moves for the emotional additions, but said it was the right call to make.
Len - "Fab-u-lous."
Bruno - "It was Kristi Yummy-licious tonight." He called her a "Pacific pearl".
The Scores: 9, 10, 10 = 29

The Dancers: Shannon Elizabeth and Derek
The Dance: Samba
A Quote: "I've never been one to shake my hips because I've never had much hips to begin with." - Shannon, on performing the Samba.
The Music: Pon de Replay
The Outfit: Orange bra and ruffled miniskirt
The Performance: Overall, Shannon put a pretty good dance together - the musicality was generally there and it was fun. But, I thought she looked a bit awkward at times.
The Evaluation:
Len - "As good as that was, it wasn't, for me, really good enough." He said she needed more hip action.
Bruno - "You have to come out here and shake those maracas."
Carrie Ann - "You have this incredible fiery personality.... Sometimes you do look awkward but don't give up that attitude."
The Scores: 8, 8, 7 = 23

The Dancers: Jason Taylor and Edyta
The Dance: Rumba
A Quote: "Jason may not believe it, but there's a tiny dancer inside of him trying to come out." - Edyta
The Music: You're All I Need
The Outfit: Plain white long sleeved shirt and tan pants
The Performance: Jason once again hit those lines that the judges loved so much in past weeks. He looked solid, but I didn't think the dance had quite the romance of some of the others tonight.
The Evaluation:
Bruno - "You really have the look of a love god doing that Rumba."
Carrie Ann - "The two of you have the most insane chemistry on the dance floor.... When your arms are down, they don't seem to know what to do with themselves."
Len - "You've got a naturalness about you." But, he doesn't care for the poses.
The Scores: 9, 9, 9 = 27

I was really impressed with Kristi's dance this week. It's rare that a dance on TV will make me blush, but she and Mark really did it to me tonight! I also appreciated how Marissa pumped up the volume and really threw herself into her dance. As far as the elimination goes, I think Marlee and Priscilla will find themselves in the bottom two. I still like all of the remaining contestants so it's hard to make a call, but I think Priscilla will exit, if only because she was in the bottom two last week, and her dance tonight wasn't particularly strong. Tune in to Dancing with the Stars at 9/8 Central tomorrow night to see who goes home!