DWTS Week 4 Summary

We start off with recaps of last night’s dancing and the opening credits, then all the remaining couples come out. Nine couples remain in the ballroom, but by the end of the night there will be eight.

We start things off with Sheryl Crow singing about wanting to have fun, and Tony, Edyta, Fabian and Kym looking to do just that as they dance to the song. They do some nice fast stuff, and have a good time. After the number, host Tom Bergeron says some ballroom dancing kids will be by later tonight as well.

Then we see a flashback to dances and comments from last night. Bruno Tonioli telling Actress Marlee Matlin “Keep lifting, keep your bum under you so your chest opens up.” Kristi & Mark, Priscilla & Louis, Edyta & Jason: Then we go through the rest, including Mario, Marissa Winokur, then Shannon and Derek getting the “Len Ten.” We also see Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough’s “Unicycle Paso” with Adam dressed up like Zorro.  Backstage, Julianne reacts to the split score (Each judge gave a different score, an 8, a 7 and a 9) by saying “Screw the judges!” Adam says that if she wants to get them better scores, that’s an idea.

Then we have commercials, including a brief flash about “The mole being there.” Weird, Cindy Crawford isn’t on the show this season. Oh well maybe next year.

Then it is time for the encore dance. “Well dressed head judge” Len Goodman says all three wanted a different couple to do the encore initially, but they settled on Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough’s Paso Doble because they agreed it had huge entertainment value. They came out, unicycle and all, and did it again. Once more, it was pretty good, and Adam transitioned well from the unicycle part to showing his stuff in the dance itself.

Host Tom Bergeron says, did the bottom two really include Adam and Julianne last week, or perhaps another couple? We’ll see tonight, while there will be no particular order for safe couples, the bottom two will be a real one. Tony and Marissa then talk about stepping their game up with Samantha backstage, and Derek and Shannon are asked about chants of “Kiss Kiss Kiss” from the backstage area during their dance last week. The other dancers start chanting again and Derek tries to shake it off. Shannon said she’d have kissed him if they got the encore tonight. Then Samantha says that even though they haven’t danced tonight, Derek is covered in Shannon’s body glitter. Tom Bergeron added that Tony Dovolani was so confident that he would be coming back that he scheduled another chest waxing.

We then get the first two Safe couples tonight:
1) Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska
2) Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas

Then we see the ballroom kids getting ready, and go to a break.

Afterwards, we get the first kid couple. Aaron and Daniella are 9 and 8 years old, respectively. Aaron says “Daniella’s a good partner because she’s a little better than me.” Daniella says that people, friends, ask if she has a crush on him or if he’s her boyfriend. She always replies he’s just her partner.

In the ballroom, they do a nice dance to “Under the Sea” with some sharp forward cha action. The crowd cheers, but it’s on to the Judges!

Tom Bergeron talks to the kids, getting on his knees to do so, an experienced move to put them more at ease. At one point as the judges talk to the kids he says he’ll hold them responsible if they cause any of the kids to go into therapy.

Len said he was disappointed, because he wanted more, the dance was so short and they were fantastic. Bruno said it was so much fun, the crowd got into that fun, and Daniella was like a “Little goldfish swimming around the reef” in her orange dress. Carrie-Ann said Daniella was a “little firecracker” and that Aaron’s smile at the end was a great touch that helped make the dance.

Tom Bergeron tells them that when he was their age, he was eating paste.

Up next were another guy named Aaron and a girl named Rachelle, both eight years old. He says they both make mistakes but they rely on each other.  They will be dancing the Paso Doble. This Aaron says that is his favorite dance and that he hopes they do well so he can come back and get famous.  They come out, do a Paso, and get cheers. They are deserved, they have very sharp lines and great speed.

After the dance Tom Bergeron interviews them. When told by Aaron they are not nervous, Mr. Bergeron says they should counsel their celebrities here.  Both the kids say they are interested in being famous. When asked if they are dating, they reply “Only in the dance.”

The judges chime in. Bruno says they have incredible firepower, with a very grown up and well acted Paso Doble. Carrie-Ann says she absolutely loved it, that it was “so dynamic” and that they do have a shot at being famous some day. Len Goodman said he liked the chasse capes and the passion of it.

After a break, the judges pick a winner. Len Goodman votes for the first couple, Aaron and Danielle. Bruno and Carrie-Ann vote for the second, Aaron and Rachelle. Aaron and Rachelle win.

Then we have two guest dancers, 2006 ballroom champs, dance while Sheryl Crow sings again. After this we hear from dance pos on the show, who say one of the great perks is getting to dance live to some of the greatest acts and bands out there. The celebrities on the show say they really admire the pros when they see them out there dancing, and then we see that they only have two hours to get ready for their dance routines with each other, after having a week with the celebrities as well. (Last week, the hip hop inspired number with Julianne had to be rewritten with a new partner in only 45 minutes when Derek’s neck got hurt.)

Then we hear from some of the bands that have been on, saying they are impressed by the precision and the quality of the dancing from the dance pros as well. Dancing Stars pro Louis Van Amstel said it was just such a joy to go out there with the other pros and get the chance to show America what they were really made of.

We then hear that the third couple safe tonight will be Marlee Matlin and her partner Fabian Sanchez.

After a break, the next two couples safe:
4) Cristian Fernandez and Cheryl Burke.
5) Mario and Karina Smirnoff

(Next year, maybe Mario Andretti? Mario from Mario Brothers? It’s working for her so far.)  After another break, with four couples left “up in the air,” it is time to find out our bottom two.

We find that Priscilla Presley and Louis Van Amstel are…. In the bottom two. (I think this is sad actually.)

Shannon Elizabeth and Derek are…. Safe.

Adam “Zorrola” Corrola and Julianne Hough are… in the bottom two.

This means that Marissa Winokur and Tony Dovolani are safe.

Before we hear who is leaving the ballroom, the judges are asked their opinions on the situation. Head Judge Len Goodman says that if Adam and Julianne go, the ballroom will lose a sense of fun, entertainment, and enjoyment, as well as the anticipation of what he will do next. Judge Bruno Tonioli says that if Priscilla and Louis go, they will lose refinement, distinction and Hollywood glamour which she brings to the show and to the ballroom. He says he like to have her back, please! Finally, Judge Carrie-Ann Inaba, asked to compare the two, says she’d like to see how far Julianne can take Adam in his dancing, but that Priscilla is the better dancer.

Then the ominous music and red lights come up, and we find out that the couple eliminated from the competition tonight is…. Adam Corolla and Julianne Hough.

After they hear they have been eliminated, Adam says he has had the time of his life, and that he lost 20 pounds of fat, and gained 105 pounds ofangel. (Julianne.) He also said he got to promote his movie “The Hammer”which is out now… then he said he recommended his experience for anyone  afraid of anything, to do it and embrace it, and not run from their fear. Asked if he was going to stay with dancing, he said “I’m gonna dance my way right to the buffet.”

As Adam and Julianne had their final dance and people came over to say goodbye, we faded out.

On to next week. Keep on dancing out there. I wonder who will be the big cutup on the show, with Steve Guttenberg and Adam now gone? (Even Monica Seles had a good sense of humor, along with Penn Gillette… then again they were the first two to leave.)

Also, with the quality of dancing on the show already so high, I wonder what’s going to happen next week? Until then, keep on dancing out there!

David here in New Jersey, U.S.A.