James dances with Jenna Johnson because Sharna Burgess is still nursing her injured knee, but still manages to deliver a solid performance with his new partner.
- Nov 1, 2016
AceShowbiz - The seven remaining dancers on "Dancing with the Stars" season 23 returned with spooky-themed dances on Monday night, October 31 to celebrate Halloween. The highest scorer would win immunity, while the other six pairs would compete in a trio of Dance-Offs for bonus points. Len Goodman was once again absent from the judging panel.
Terra Jole and Sasha Farber were up first, dancing a "Beetlejuice"-inspired cha cha. Julianne Hough loved the tone, but wanted Terra to push it a little more. Carrie Ann Inaba agreed, saying it was good but wasn't great. The reality TV star earned 24 out of 30 points.
Laurie Hernandez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy danced a Viennese waltz inspired by "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Val got emotional during rehearsals as he wanted to help Laurie do her best. "I don't want to blow it for her," he said with teary eyes in a video. His dedication paid off as their dance got a perfect score of 30. Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann said the dance brought them to tears.
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough danced an Argentine tango. Derek's choreography was awesome, but there was a big flaw at the end when Marilu bumped her elbow on his head during a lift. Carrie Ann noticed other tiny missteps. Julianne and Bruno pointed out Marilu's biggest problem, which is doubting herself. Marilu earned 23 points.
Dressing as skeletons, Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold danced a quickstep. He earned rave reviews from the judges, with Bruno praising "the perfect balance of content." Carrie Ann said Calvin reminded her of "one of my favorite contestants ever, Emmett Smith." Calvin got the second perfect score of the night.
Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke danced a "Maleficent"-inspired tango. Cheryl urged him to step it up two notches. Ryan did deliver a better performance, though Julianne called it "a little squatty at times." The Olympic swimmer earned 23 points.
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko followed it up with a jazz to "Little Shop of Horrors". Carrie Ann liked the upbeat dance, but Julianne didn't like it because it didn't highlight Jana's strengths. Bruno loved the "high energy, high sparkles, very bendy." Jana earned 27 points.
Sharna Burgess, who injured her knee on last Monday's rehearsal, couldn't dance, so Jenna Johnson stepped in for her. James Hinchcliffe and his new partner danced a Viennese waltz, playing the Joker and Harley Quinn. It was amazing that James could adapt to a new partner in such short time and they even delivered a flawless routine. "James you are a pro!" Carrie Ann gushed. James earned 30 points.
James won the immunity because he has a higher total score for the season. Up next were the dance-offs. Laurie & Val were up against Calvin & Lindsay to perform a jive. Julianne noticed that Calvin did a tiny mess-up at the end. The judges all voted for Laurie, so she won this dance-off and got additional 3 points.
Jana & Gleb as well as Terra & Sasha did the salsa. Bruno voted for Marilu, but Carrie Ann, Julianne and America leaned towards Terra. She got 3 points added to their scores.
Marilu & Derek were up against Ryan & Cheryl for the cha cha. Both didn't show great performances, but Ryan was slightly better than Marilu. Ryan won this dance off.
Next, it was time for the results. James had immunity so he was safe. Ryan and Terra were in jeopardy. Despite showing improvement tonight, Ryan was eventually eliminated.
