Jennifer Gray and Brandy Look like They Should Make the Finals on "Dancing with the Stars" (11/8/10)

The evening on "Dancing with the Stars" was made unusual by not just the regular dancing portion, but the "Instant Dance" part, where contestants had only 20 minutes to prepare before dancing to a song they plucked from a large container.

By the end of the night, Brandy and Maks (who performed a brilliant set early on, attired all in white) had 57 out of 60 points, to tie with Jennifer Grey and her partner Derek Hough.

The "instant dance" portion featured Jennifer and Derek dancing to the song "Waiting for a Girl Like You." Jennifer had on a great dress for this dance, draped to one side and slit. At one point, she placed her leg over Derek's shoulder and held it there and, at another, she did the splits, all the way to the floor (in other nights, she has done the splits, but not totally horizontal with the floor). Bruno called it "breathtaking, absolutely superb and flawless." Carrie Ann, for once, agreed, noting that Jennifer was "reclaiming her power" and that the lyric "waiting for a girl like you" coincided beautifully with the lingering leg in the air bit. Len said, "Great dancing. That's what we've just seen." The pair scored three perfect "10's," a first this season.

Brandy and Maks also did well in the Instant portion, with Bruno declaring that it was "more than a dance. It was an exquisite symphony, a poem. Absolutely beautiful." Carrie Ann said she was "spellbound" and found the dance "riveting." Len said he was "overwhelmed by the whole performance." The couple received 10's from Len and Bruno, but a 9 from Carrie Ann. Nevertheless, the 29 out of 30 points they got on their Instant Dance put them in a tie with Jennifer and Derek for the night.

After that, things dropped off: Kyle and Lacey Schwimmer, dancing "the jive" to the song "Good Golly, Miss Molly" also received 2 tens and a 9, scoring 56 out of 60 for the night. Bruno said, "I loved every second of it." Carrie Ann declared it to be "the most fun as a viewer and a judge." I don't get it. Kyle has not been that great any night during this entire season, but Carrie Ann seems smitten.

Kurt and Anna, as usual, came in for criticism, although, with 57 points out of 60, they topped Kyle and Lacey. The green outfits they wore were unattractive because of the hue and Kurt seemed to do a lot of "jazz hands" motions. Carrie Ann began her comments by saying, "Musicality has never been your strong suit," but Len said, "Well done. You performed well." He then added, "Straighten your legs a bit." Bruno felt the performance was "good." They got 8's across the board and ended up with 48 out of 60.

Last, and certainly least, were Bristol Palin and her partner Mark, dancing a samba. Bristol and Mark did a lot of shaking of their upper torsos, even dropping to their knees while continuing to shake their shoulders. Bristol was wearing a good dress adorned with fringe for do this style of shaking. The announcer said, "You've come a long way since September." Len, commenting on the difficult changing rhythms of the samba said, "Overall, you coped very well. Bruno kept commenting on Mark's dance move, which he dubbed "the pencil grinder," and declared the obvious: "You can shake it." Carrie Ann's was the only negative voice, saying, and "I don't think you were that connected with the music." She commented on the couple being out of synch and off the beat. They scored 23 to give them a 47 (out of 60) for the night, the bottom on the leaderboard.

When Maks and Brandy danced in the "instant dance," he got into a verbal spat with Carrie Ann, and said (of her criticism), "It's all on me. I take the blame." It had to do with the couple not instantly beginning their routine. Carrie Ann replied, rather archly, "I'm glad you do." The other judges were kinder and gentler, with Len saying it was "full of flair and a rhythmic performance that was well done." Bruno said, "I love the fabulous performance. I love all of it." The couple ended the night with 57, having scored 2 nines and one 10 in the instant dance portion, with Brandi clad in a periwinkle blue outfit that looked like it was designed for Princess Jasmine in the "Aladdin" movie from Disney.

Elimination night tomorrow.