Dancing with the Stars: A Cinderella Story

Lance Bass was quite the Cinderella story on this week’s episode of Dancing with the Stars – he even lost a shoe.  After three not-so-great dances from his competitors, Lance and Lacey came out with a killer mambo.  And then he really stepped it up with his Jitterbug, in which he kicked so hard, he lost a sneaker.  But he kept on dancing anyway.  Even skeptical Len Goodman – who has been panning Lance for weeks – was impressed.  It was certainly Lance’s week.

And what a week to take the lead!  As hosts Samantha Harris and Tom Bergeron kept reminding us, it was the semi-finals, and it seemed that the pressure was getting to some of the contestants.

The first to feel the stress was Brooke Burke, who after a season of leading the pack, stumbled big time on her jive with partner Derek.  It was a mess – sloppy, off the beat, and with some obvious missteps.  The judges were horrified and treated her accordingly.  But at least Brooke was a good sport and didn’t put on a sour face even after her “nightmare came true.”  She received her lowest score of the season: a 21.

But after a master class with Len Goodman where he worked on getting her legs straight, Brooke returned with a vengeance for her second dance: the salsa.  The work showed, and her salsa was crisp and perfectly executed – from the splits to the death-defying spins.  That girl knows how to jump right back on the horse.  Len even gave her a ten. (Total: 28)

Cody Linley was back dancing with his partner (and big time crush) Julianne, and I was hoping for sparkle.  But the couple’s military-inspired paso doble was a flop – though Julianne’s outfit was too adorable.  Cody, however, took powerful and strong to mean stiff and robotic.  He looked like a wooden soldier up there.  But Julianne stood by her man, telling Cody he did a great job, while the judges laid into him.  Now that’s a soldier. (Total: 22)

During Cody’s master class with Len Goodman, he tried to get the skinny teen to shake his hips correctly, and it sort of worked.  Cody’s salsa was certainly superior to his paso and the lifts were pretty impressive (though I caught those push-ups in the first dance – I know you work out).  But the technique was still all over the place. (Total: 24)

Then it was up to Warren Sapp and his sexy Australian partner Kym to wow the crowd with a mambo.  The crowd loved it – after all, Warren Sapp’s quite the performer.  But the actual dance moves were less than impressive.  As Bruno put it, he’s so charming he gets away with murder.  But the judges didn’t quite let him get away with it. (Total: 24)

Warren took a gamble on his next dance with the jitterbug – and it paid off.  The big guy was hopping all over the place and throwing Kym every which way with all his lifts.  He didn’t quite take Len Goodman’s advice from his master class, and Warren’s kicks and feet were still erratic.  But the guy has pluck. (Total: 25)

Then it was time for Cinderella-man Lance Bass to kick the rest of the pack to the curb.  After three lackluster dances from his competitors, Lance and Lacey’s sharp, accentuated, and a little bit naughty mambo was like a breath of fresh air.  It was the first semi-finals quality dance of the evening and the judges rightly applauded it as one of Lance’s best dances.  Carrie Ann even gave Lance his first 10 – to which Lacey perfected her “oh my gosh” face. (Total: 28)

Lance worked hard to incorporate Len’s advice for turning out his feet, but his stellar performance on his next dance, the jitterbug, was all due to his fairy grandfather (who he affectionately called granddaddy) seated in the front row.  Lance wanted to impress him with a dance from his era, and managed to blow the audience’s socks off (if not their shoes) in the process.  Lance and Lacey, in their little sailor suits, were absolutely spunky and fresh, and Lance hit every step – even after he lost his shoe.  And the crowd went wild.  It’s no easy task to dance on that slippery stage with only a sock on one foot.  But Lance made it look easy and never lost character.  The judges were very impressed and his granddaddy shed a happy tear. (Total: 29)

After achieving the highest lead ever going into a semi-final results show, Lance was sitting pretty.  But what about the other three contestants?  Who wouldn’t make it to the big ball?

Well, the results show on Tuesday night made you work for those results.  First up, were the ballroom kids who each performed for your votes.  They were all equally adorable – though a little birdie tells me that it’s going to be brother/sister team Craig and Samantha for the win – but that result will have to wait until next week.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin showed up to sing “Chain of Fools” and later on, “Respect,” to which reigning champ Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas danced (and during which Kristi made all other celebrity dancers look like fools).  Leona Lewis turned up to sing her hit single “Bleeding Love” as Karina and Maks danced along, performing a super sultry number.  Then John Legend showed up and sang his single “Green Light,” and Dancing‘s own Julianne sang her single “My Hallelujah Song” to which Derek, Mark, and Lacey danced.  Seriously, Julianne, is there anything you’re bad at?  I just want to kick her a little.

Then finally, after much anticipation and impressive vocalizations, we came to the results.  Cinderella Lance and Bouncing Back Brooke were safe.  Who would be off?  Little Cody or Big Warren?  Turns out all the screaming teenage girls were busy trying to get Robert Pattinson to bite them and forgot to vote for Cody.  So the little guy hit the road.

But he did get one more slow dance with Julianne, which may have been all he wanted anyway.  Hey, fairy tales happen, Cody – just ask Lance.  So you keep on dreaming.

Season 7, Round 9: Episodes 18 and 19 (originally aired November 17 and 18, 2008)

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Photographs courtesy of ABC