DANCING WITH THE STARS Rock Week Recap

DANCING WITH THE STARS did away with the ball gowns, the glitz, and laid on The Edge with leather costumes and daring make-up for designated "Rock Week." Featuring a performance by the titans of theatrics, Kiss, this week's performance show laid out the theme right from host Tom Bergeron's opening monologue. The typical DANCING broadcast this was not.

Sherri Shepherd & Val Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Tango 
Score: 21/30
Shepherd used the tango to Quiet Drive to get back at Chmerkovskiy for his critiques, his jabs, and his relentless attitude in rehearsal, she said in an interview. And though it was oddly clunky for a tango - perhaps even a bit laggy - this week's routine gave Shepherd the chance to hone her overflowing storage of sass and attitude, and funnel it into her performance instead of just the following interviews. It was praised all around by the judges, with the exception of Judge Carrie Ann Inaba commenting on Shepherd's emotionless face - a first, she also noted.

Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas
Dance:  Paso Doble
Score: 24/30
Partner Mark Ballas instructed Katherine Jenkins to bring out her inner fighter. To find her apparently nonexistent aggression, he threw her into kick-boxing classes, in hopes of finding that "Welsh Warrior." Regardless of her apprehensions, Jenkins, with her wildly sharp routine, solidified her dedication to versatility and spot as frontrunner for the current DANCING season. Though she was critiqued for being too "X-Men" by Bruno, and her feet were a bit off according to Carrie Ann, she was praised by Judge Len Goodman as being an overall "wonderful dancer." This was Jenkins' lowest scoring routine thus far.

Jaleel White & Kym Johnson
Dance: Tango
Score: 22/30
Amidst the rumors of personal problems between the duo, rehearsals portrayEd White and Johnson as total dancing pals. And it translated to the stage. With a romping, inspiring tango to "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," it seems as if White had managed to rekindle the energy he had the first week of the season. It was "funky and weird" according to Carrie Ann, who overall loved the performance. He was humorous, sharp - though both Len and Bruno called for more attack, drive, and aggression in the footwork.

Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Paso Doble
Score: 22/30
Gilbert has neither passion or power, according to partner Chmerkovskiy. Though Gilbert maintains she has a suppressed bad girl, after a tension-filled rehearsal week, she certainly didn't bring it to the routine. It was, as usual, flat, forced, passion-less (Chmerkovskiy's word.) "You attacked it," said Len, who, uncharacteristically, dismissed her slippery footwork. Bruno said she "messed up the ending," and continuously "running for the dance." Carrie Ann, however, said it was her best performance by far.

Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd
Dance: Paso Doble
Score: 27/30
Surprisingly, Levy wasn't the first contestant to perform entirely shirtless - Driver was, in a Jimi Hendrix inspired Paso Doble. With impressive hanging spins, Driver and Murgatroyd's performance this week was perhaps the highlight of the season to watch. It was inconceivably edgy, saturated with angst and attitude - and the finale of the routine? Check it out on Youtube. Or on your DVR. Find a way to witness Murgatroyd's solo back-spin. Unsurprisingly, Bruno had a plethora of comments on Driver's physique - though Carrie Ann hit the proverbial nail on the head, exclaiming "What the heck did I just see?!" It was "bizarre, sexy, raunchy, hot, damn!" she said, adding it was going down as one of the most spectacular dances of the season.

Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus
Dance: Tango
Score: 20/30
"I'm gonna be a real slut!" the empress of soul, Gladys Knight, proclaimed going into this week's performance,"I'm the grandma of rock and roll." With arguably the most awkward introduction to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in all of history (a Bergeron, Len, Bruno, and Carrie Ann floating head montage of the opening lines,) Knight and MacManus were unable to show that monstrosity up. Unfortunately, it was bit on the lackluster end of the performances tonight. "It didn't quite all come together," Carrie Ann said, with Goodman praising her ability to cope with the difficult song. "It wasn't your best dance," Goodman said, "but it wasn't your worst."

William Levy & Cheryl Burke
Dance: Jive
Score: 22/30
A few members from an erroneous 80s metal band glammed up Levy while praising his thighs (just as every other person Levy comes in contact with in this competition) for this week's performance. Following up his previous salsa routine proved to be a task too great for the inexperienced dancer. With imprecise footwork and timing, Len proclaimed "it is what it is," and hinted that Levy may not be able to rely on his good looks and attitude to dazzle audiences each week. 

Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Score: 26/30
Roshon struggled through rehearsals this week, though managed to, through the help of Hightower, create a free-flowing, yet simultaneously controlled rendition of the waltz. "Everything was linked in such a beautiful way," Bruno said, "it elegant, romantic." Carrie Ann even went so far as to label Fegan as the best dancer out of the men's pool of competitors. The three little words Fegan had been dying to hear fall from Len's mouth, were finally said: "Good job, dawg." Though, not being able to leave it there, added that he had style and panache.

Maria Menounos & Derek Hough
Dance: Tango
Score: 26/30
Menounos, who previously broke two ribs early in the DANCING competition, also danced this week with a new addition to her list of injuries: a culmination of stress fractures and bruises on her left foot. Injuries abound, Menounos maintains quitting the competition is out of the question. Though this week's performance lacked the signature steam Menounos had managed to infuse into former routines, Carrie Ann praised the chemistry she held with Hough. Goodman claimed the aggression overwhelmed the control, though said she had the best posture of the ladies.

Gavin DeGraw & Karina Smirnoff
Dance: Tango
Score: 23/30
DeGraw, in each results show, has been in jeopardy of being eliminated. "Rock and roll is definitely my element," he said, and should he hope to remain in the competition, he had to show it. Bring in the womp-womps, because, alas, DeGraw did not deliver. "It had flair and it had attitude," said Len, but continuously criticized his posture. Bruno echoed Len's critique on his messy frame, liking DeGraw's shrinking shoulders to a turtle. 

In the closing credits, host Tom Bergeron announced that contestant Melissa Gilbert had suffered an injury, and was being taken to the hospital. No word on the type or degree of her apparent injury have been reported. Be sure to check out BroadwayWorld's recap of tomorrow's results show and continuous coverage throughout DANCING WITH THE STARS' 14th season as it progresses.

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