DANCING WITH THE STARS Recap; First 10s of Season Awarded

Going into the third week of ABC's DANCING WITH THE STARS after the elimination of tennis pro Martina Navratilova, the remaining contestants were given a unique assignment: rather than choose between one form of dance or another, they and their partners were opened up to any style. The catch: to center it around a personal experience, in order to open themselves up to the audience and viewers at home. Previously, it was known to create memorable routines that revealed the competitors as individuals, people - rather than celebrities and pseudo-celebrities vying for a nationally televised prize. The judges, were once again, overly gracious with their compliments, the critiques dulled.

Jack Wagner & Anna Trebunskaya (24/30)
Dance: Samba
Basing his Samba off of meeting a daughter he never knew he had in 2011, recalling the event was enough to bring him to tears - and DANCING WITH THE STARS to a whole new dramatic level. The visually fiery routine was just as adequate as Wagner's previous performances, good, but not quite exciting enough to rouse him to the top of the competition. The routine earned him middle of the kick-line scores. "[It was] your best dance," hailed Judge Len Goodman, and the emotinoal Carrie Ann Inaba, called for more of the same.

Maria Menounos & Derek Hough (27/30)
Dance: Rumba 
Menounos, who impressed the judges last week while dancing with a pair of broken ribs, sculpted her routine to reflect the financial troubles she and her family endured in the year of 1988. Dancing to a slowed-down, rhythmless "Material Girl," the routine's moves called for Menounos to be hauntingly sexy, sad. The judges' verdicts were notably high. Menounos was "breathtaking," according to Carrie.

Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus(24/30)
Dance: Foxtrot
Dedicating her routine to the late Motown legend Sam Cooke, Knight's jazzy rhythmic talents came translated as an off-tune bleating of a saxophone too many. It was dreadfully slow, and Knight's frame was "out-of-whack" according to Carrie. But Len applauded her dedication, giving her an 8.

Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower (25/30)
Dance:  Samba
Fegan's personal dance, a Michael Jackson mash-up, was more of an excuse to channel the late icon and give a flashy routine than to open himself up to audiences. In full Jackson garb, ridiculous 'fro and all, Fegan without a doubt impressed. But it clearly ignored the criteria of the assignment. Len praised Fegan's "devil may care" attitude, but questioned as to where the Samba actually was.

Gavin DeGraw & Karina Smirnoff (24/30)
Dance: Rumba
DeGraw, as of this week's broadcast, was the perfect competitor for this season's assignment. He previously seemed uninterested in the show, frequently giving a bad attitude during rehearsals. But his story-themed dance, dedicated to his father, and set to Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind," was the first glimpse of DeGraw's potential on the show. "You're getting better all the time," Bruno said, while Carrie got a "fluttery heart" for the "sexy" DeGraw. "I saw good hips, I saw more musicality," Len told him, "I see progression, week after week."

Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas (29/30)
Dance: Waltz
With tears, this season's front runner explained the death of her father and their goodbyes, setting this week's personal dance as a tribute to the man she credits as getting her to where she is. Though her routines may be more memorable when they're infused with her and Ballas' energy and spark, Jenkins' graceful tribute was far from shabby; it was, for the most part, a heartfelt testament. Through tears, as expected, Carrie proclaimed it was "magic," and seemed as if Jenkins were dancing with her late father. Len, who noted his exceptionally good mood, made it clear he could have just as easily docked their score for ignoring the ballroom aspect the waltz must incorporate. For the first time this season, two 10s were awarded to Jenkins and Ballas.

Sherri Shepherd & Val Chmerkovskiy (24/30)
Dance: Rumba
Dancing a rumba in honor of her son who was born premature, faced potentially life-threatening odds, and managed to overcome, Shepherd proved why she's become a fan favorite. There was plenty of dramaticizEd Grace - a rarity for self-proclaimed clumsy Shepherd - and showed she was capable of providing more than just raunchy sass. "I thought you did a great job," Len said, praising her hips and continuous spins; the dance was deeply felt and expressed, according to Bruno. 

Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy (24/30)
Dance: Jive
Gilbert's personal dance was dedicated to her walker - and the time she broke her back. Compared to other contestants' true testaments to lost loved ones and trying moments, her tribute was, at the very least, contrived. With a jarring stumble mid-routine, GilBert May wish to have forgone the jive in order to garner emotions from the audiences like her fellow contestants. "This was the first time you really let go," Carrie said - Len admitted, after three weeks, she'd finally come into the competition.

Jaleel White & Kym Johnson (25/30)
Dance: Rumba
Urkel, who we've all wanted to see come back, nearly took the DANCING stage. Paying homage to the moment when he shed the glasses, the suspenders, and the persona who made him who he is, White came back into the competition after last week's disappointing performance. It was stiff, according to Len, smooth according to Bruno - proving the judges, once again, can't agree on a critique, or offer anything harsher than a pat on the head.

William Levy & Cheryl Burke (28/30)
Dance: Salsa
Celebrating his immigration to the United States from Cuba, Levy finally, per Bruno's requested, took off his shirt. It's clear Levy's talents lie in channeling his Cuban roots, bringing the attitudea and energy he made famous on telenovellas to the DANCING stage. "You conquered the salsa," Len proclaimed, while Bruno simply beckoned the shirtless Levy closer (who later gave Levy his first 10 of the season.)

Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd (26/30)
Dance: Rumba
Dancing the rumba for his close friend who passed away from cancer, Driver controlled, heart-felt performance. Though it wasn't the stunner many wanted it to be after his routine from last week, it was admirable. The teary Carrie, who cried a record number of times during the broadcast, could not take her eyes off the "love I felt emanating from your body through that dance."

For the recap of last week's performance episode of DANCING WITH THE STARS, check out BroadwayWorld's previous coverage at /viewcolumn.cfm?colid=361926&preview=on. For last Tuesday's results show, /article/DANCING-WITH-THE-STARS-Sends-its-First-Contestant-Home-20120327.