Drama and Death Threats on the Dance Floor in Week 3 of Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the stars is notorious for drama both on and off the dance floor. This week the stakes were raised as one of the contestants, Erin Andrews revealed before the show that she is dealing with death threats. She was adamant that precautions have been made to safeguard her and her family and she told People"I'm not going to stop living my life". No indication was made as to who was making the threats or why. Hopefully the stress doesn't affect her performance.

Tonight, Dancing with the Stars tried something new, using the dancers, music and costumes to tell stories with each performance. Some worked well while other, as expected fell far short of the mark. It did add a degree of interest to the dances.

Olympic medalist Evan Lysacek danced tonight despite breaking 2 toes in rehearsal. He's had to perform with injuries in the past so this really didn't make much of an impact on his performance.

Erin Andrews, at the recommendation of her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, danced the waltz blindfolded for half of the routine. The effect added an element of mystery and thrill as I watched to see if she would stumble or fall. In truth she was very elegant and graceful.

Last week, professional Mark Ballas left the season when his celebrity partner Shannon Dougherty was the first star voted off the show. This week he will appear on stage but in the capacity of a musician during the elimination show. He joined guest singer Reba McEntire for two numbers, I Want a Cowboy with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Val Chmerkovskiy, Snejana Petrova and Edyta Śliwińska dancing and Consider Me Gone with Dmitry Chaplin and Lacey Schwimmer dancing. He will also play an acoustic "Malague-a" with Chelsie Hightower and Derek Hough dancing.

And had it not been for two deliberate instances of breaking the rules during the performance, Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough would have earned the highest score. They certainly had the most exciting routine of the night.

Scores for tonight's performances

Couples Dancing the Paso Doble

Pamela Anderson and Damian Whitewood - Score 21

Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke - Score 20

Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani - Score 15

Couples Dancing the Waltz

Niecy Nash and Louis Van Amstel - Score 21

Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Score 23

Buzz Aldrin and Ashly Costa -Score 13

Couples Dancing the Quickstep

Jake Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower - Score 21

Aiden Turner and Edyta Sliwinska - Score 20

Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya - Score 26

Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough - Score 23

Sources: Personal Viewing, People.com