Switch-up week on 'Dancing with the Stars' brings season 22's first 10
LOS ANGELES -- It's a wacky week on "Dancing with the Stars," and it's all your fault America. Fans voted on who would be paired together for "switch-up" week. It's like everyone got tossed into a big pot, Tom Bergeron stirred things around, and plucked out different pairs. The big news: no one is getting eliminated. The scores will be carried over to next week. And we see the season's first 10, and believe it or not it was from Len!
Sitting in as guest judge this week: Maksim Chmerkovskiy!
Here's a recap, from highest score to lowest:
Nyle DiMarco- 37 out of 40
Nyle swapped Peta for her best pal, Sharna, and it was another magical routine. Their Viennese waltz had judge Carrie Ann Inaba in tears. She told Nyle he was born to dance. Maks said he can't comprehend how Nyle is able to do this but called the dance the best of the night. Bruno thinks the magic of dance is alive in Nyle, and head judge Len Goodman gave Nyle the first 10 of season 22.
Jodie Sweetin- 35 out of 40
Jodie got out of her own way after last week's mini meltdown and nailed the paso doble. She has Val to thank for getting her back on her feet. They also have an adorable history. Val says he learned English by watching "Full House." He definitely put her through her paces in rehearsal. Jodie says Val's teaching style is more intense than Keo's. The judges were all thrilled with Jodie's turnaround.
Ginger Zee- 32 out of 40
Ginger was assigned her fastest dance yet and it's Mark Ballas who got to teach her the salsa. She quickly showed him she can shimmy with the best of them, and has the personality to carry an over-the-top routine. The judges were practically joining in, they were having such a good time! Len called the dance fantastic. Carrie Ann said Ginger was liquid sunshine, and Bruno said they were hot, hot, hot!
Paige VanZant- 31 out of 40
Paige had quite a challenge because she had to do the super sensual rumba with her brand new partner, Sasha. She says she finds it hard to channel sexy and it takes her a long time to build trust. Bruno and Carrie Ann loved the routine, calling it romantic, fierce and feminine. Len wants her to work on performance and selling it a little more, and Maks, well he just plain didn't like it. He thinks she has potential to win it all, but didn't think Sasha put any real rumba steps in the dance.
Wanya Morris- 30 out of 40
The switch-up gods played a trick on Wanya and paired him with Witney, who is his real partner Lindsay's best friend. He got a taste of her drill sergeant mentality as they got to know one another while learning the tango. The judges uniformly agreed that this wasn't Wanya's best routine. Len thought it was hectic with too many moving parts and Maks complained about their frame.
Von Miller- 29 out of 40
Von brings joy and fun to every routine. He had the jive this week with Lindsay and they were praised for their performance, style and creativity. But again (recurring theme this week!) the judges want to see more actual content and not just energy.
Kim Fields- 28 out of 40
Kim gets paired with Keo in place of Sasha and, like all the celebrities, has a bit of an adjustment. He choreographs a lovely, fluid Viennese waltz. Or maybe not. Both Len and Maks came down hard on Keo for not putting in much Viennese in that waltz. They felt she simply moved beautiful around the ballroom but without the real intent of the V.W. Keo tried to explain why he did what he did (height difference), but the judges would have none of it.
Doug Flutie- 28 out of 40
Doug definitely earns the most improved trophy this season. He's gotten better week by week, and his partnership with Peta helped in different ways. He has a problem with memory, and confidence, and Peta focused on those and it paid off. Doug got his highest score yet. Len called it his best dance so far.
Antonio Brown- 26 out of 40
There was no celebrating in the end zone for Antonio this week. He was paired with Karina for the switch-up and they were given the Cha. The routine starts with a mini-trampoline flip onto the dance floor, and Antonio's smile and charisma kept the crowd on their feet. But the judges, again, thought there wasn't enough content or technique. All flash, not enough substance.
Last week's scores and this week's scores will be combined and we're back to the elimination game next Monday. And the theme for week six: iconic or famous dances from history.
