ABC/KELSEY McNEALWith new dances came new responsibilities for this season's team of Dancing With the Stars pros, some of whom had never danced the numbers they were expected to teach to their even greener celebrity partners, while others were world champions.
Find out who made best use of this injection of new bebop, who was able to hoof it out in the face of painful injuries, and whether, after a shaky start, the scores started to rise above our already great expectations.
Lance Bass: Well, we weren't exactly sure what West Coast swing entailed before Lance and Lacey Schwimmer kicked off tonight's episode with it and, to tell you the truth…we're still not sure. Is it just us, or was Lance not given much to do, other than a variety of pop video-style steps that, if nothing else, proved that maybe he really was the worst dancer in 'N Sync? Lacey's a world champion in this dance, and Lance has crazy potential, so we were expecting a performance that indicated as much.
Judges Said: 21. Looks like they won't be tying for first place this week. "It looked like you were doing window-dressing for Lacey," Bruno Tonioli said, echoing the disappointment heard from both Len Goodman and Carrie Ann Inaba at this uninspired beginning. "I don't care, it's fine," an even more disappointed Lacey said backstage.
Toni Braxton: Another West Coast swing, and this time the singer and Alec Mazo prove that there's both quite enough for the man to do in this dance, as well as plenty for the amateur partner to do. So far, we're getting sexiness, slinkiness and—who knew?—mellowness.
Judges Said: 22. Apparently this wasn't exactly what the judges were looking for, either. Bruno gave an extra point for Braxton's palpable sex appeal, but Carrie Ann pointed out that one of the keys to the West Coast swing is making it look effortless. "I felt that you were overdancing it," she told Braxton.
Susan Lucci: Not a lot of hustle in this hustle. The soap star, having been a Studio 54 fixture back in the 1970s, thought she might have had a leg up on the competition, but—maybe it was the pain from her two-week-old ankle fracture, maybe it was the pain of being forced to look at yet another Saturday Night Fever white suit—disco is now even more dead than it was before.
Judges Said: 22. "You're treating Susan like a china doll!" Len admonished Tony Dovolani. "Get out there and wow me!"
Warren Sapp: OK, now it's a party. Leave it to the roly-poly Super Bowl champ to provide the night's big bounce. Kym Johnson's choreography was great, the lifts looked effortless, Sapp wisely avoided a white suit, and he mopped up some of the technical errors that messed up his samba last week. This was our favorite hustle since Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty boogied down in Drambuie in Airplane!
Judges Said: 25. "There's a guy who really knows how to funk!" Bruno exclaimed. And it just got worse from there.
Cloris Leachman: Smartly avoiding a wig again, the Oscar winner danced what may have been the best possible salsa she could muster. Corky Ballas has really gotten the hang of playing to Leachman's strengths—which, contrary to popular belief, are not swearing, interrupting and playing the cutup. The 82-year-old actress has pretty good leg extension, she knows how to hang on when Ballas spins her around, and she appeared to be moving faster than everyone except Warren Sapp so far.
Judges Said: 21. "One thing is sure—the old girl can still turn a trick," Bruno said. "I love you because you're the first person on this show that's older than me," added 64-year-old Len.
Maurice Greene: The salsa definitely suited the Olympic track star, showing off a sense of timing and flexibility—whoa, backbend!—previously unseen. He may have been wearing what looked like tangerine silk pajamas, but Greene did an absolutely great job flinging Cheryl Burke around the floor, turning in a performance that wouldn't get him kicked out of one of those hush-hush underground salsa clubs.
Judges Said: 27. Carrie Ann actually got out of her chair to give Mo a hug. "I knew it was in you!" she raved.
Brooke Burke: Who would have known that the fierce front-runner was dancing on a severely bruised right foot? Derek Hough's Internet research paid off, and his first-ever jitterbug was full of bounce, vim, vigor and fancy footwork.
Judges Said: 29. The first 10s of the season from Carrie Ann and Bruno. "Can I nitpick? I can't," Carrie Ann teased. "That was amazing.
Cody Linley: How fun is the jitterbug?! Theirs may not have been quite as kicktastic as Brooke and Derek's, but the Hannah Montana star and Julianne Hough tore it up just the same. Lindley's arms and legs were a-flyin' and, while Julianne may not have another Apolo Ohno on her hands, the spry 18-year-old is better than Hélio Castroneves—and they both won.
Judges Said: 28. Another 10 from Carrie Ann. "If there were ever a dance more suited for you, it can't exist," she said.
So, were you worried after those first few dances that nobody was going to be able to pick up the pace tonight? Could you tell Brooke was severely bruised and Susan's sporting an ankle fracture? But most of all, who was your fave, and who should get the boot tomorrow? Do share!