Hey, remember last week when Melissa couldn't dance at all due to her injury? And she still didn't get eliminated? Some people were really pissed about that. I'm not one of them, especially since Melissa is obviously a better dancer than Chuck (if you think this show is a dancing contest) and more popular (if you think this show is a popularity contest). So this week, each couple has to perform two dances, including a solo by the celebrity. And it's all going to happen LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Just to throw me off, instead of opening with the introduction of the remaining couples, the show opens with a ballroom dance medley featuring Louis and Lacey, Jonathan and Anna (I think?), and Dmitry and Kym (I think?). Between the notices at the bottom of my screen about area schools closed due to possible swine flu cases and the twirling and partner changes in the dance, it was tough to tell who was dancing. Samantha reminds us that the couples will be doing two dances each tonight. The five remaining couples are introduced. I've noticed that Shawn looks totally not into it lately. Maybe she's just nervous, but her smile and sparkle seem to be gone.

Clip package about what the judges will look for in the ballroom round. Melissa has to perfect her footwork, which involves driving from the heel instead of the toe. Gilles has to find the balance between passion and technique, because he's relied too much on passion in the past. Kim has to work on her ballroom hold, which is tough since she's nine inches shorter than Derek. Shawn has a tendency to hunch over a little bit, so she needs to watch her posture. Ty needs to work on his dramatic flair and getting into character.

Last week, Shawn got mixed reviews for her samba, and now she knows that she needs to get high scores from all three judges. Mark works with her on being fun and quirky during her quickstep. Shawn has trouble with the speed of the routine, and she gets really stressed out. Mark tries to get her to calm down and focus when she starts stress-crying during rehearsal, but she vows that she doesn't want to go home. Their quickstep begins to a song from Aladdin, and their footwork is really amazing. It's so quick and yet I don't see Shawn miss a step. She even manages to put a little more personality than usual into the routine, mugging a little bit for the cameras, but not excessively. I was worried about her during the opening, but maybe she really was just nervous. The crowd gives her a long standing ovation.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Next