(DWTS) Recap: Classical Night turns into a ABS-War!

“Dancing with the Stars” was going to seem like it had lost a bit of heart this week, as the likable and classy Gladys Knight had been eliminated last Tuesday. But the remaining competitors had to forge on. And week 7’s challenge was a tough one, as the celebrities would be required to do a Team Dance as well as the usual individual performances. I was looking forward to seeing the stars dance to classical music, which would for the first time add a touch of elegance and—gasp!—culture to a reality show.


Maksim Chmerkovskiy wants to make one thing abs-olutely clear: He has won the body war against rival “Dancing with the Stars” pros Mark Ballas and Derek Hough.


The bad boy dancer, who is partnered with Melissa Gilbert, shocked reporters backstage when he implied after Monday night’s performance show that he has a better body than the other two dancers.

On the show, Maks and his fellow Team Paso Doble guys Donald Driver and William Levy all took their shirts off during the group dance—but still lost in the scoring to Mark and Derek’s fully clothed Team Tango.

Maks boasted to xfinityTV, however, that his well-built team, “the meatheads,” would always win an abdominal competition. He declared, “Derek and Mark tried really, really hard for about half a season, thought they couldn’t catch up, so we’re team meatheads.
“Mark tried with my trainer. That didn’t work. So — sorry, Mark!”

When asked about Maks’ comments, Mark shrugged, “Yeah, I worked with [his trainer] a couple of times. Maks can talk all the smack he wants. Just keep talking smack and I’ll do what I do.”

With his partner, singer Katherine Jenkins by his side, two-time DWTS champ Mark said of the other pro, who has never won the mirror ball, “I don’t need to talk trash on Maks. I’ll just keep doing this.” Then Katherine confirmed, “We’ll just focus on the dancing!”

It’s not the first time Maks has been embroiled in dancer controversy. Last season, Us Weekly claimed he was locked in a bitter feud with Derek and, previously, he dissed Mark’s body in Life & Style Magazine.



Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: Rumba
Score: 27

Melissa Gilbert and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Argentine Tango
Score: 21

William Levy and Cheryl Burke: Viennese Waltz
Score: 27

 

Roshon Fegan and Chelsie Higtower: Argentine Tango
Score: 25

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: Viennese Waltz
Score: 27

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: Paso Doble
Score: 30

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson: Viennese Waltz
Score: 24

Team Tango started with all the dancers playing violins, which was very stark and dramatic. They all seemed very much in sync during the group part but curiously, Maria and Derek didn’t seem nearly as impressive in their solo team effort as they had in the individual dance. Jealeel and Kym were laboring a bit; it was just okay. Then Katherine and Mark took to the floor and she showed everyone what tango body should look like; I appreciated her fashion style, too, in the female tuxedo. I would love to see her ride a horse; I bet she’s a fearless equestrian, being from Britain. Roshon and Chelsie—this time I looked at his feet and had to agree it was a weakness for the Disney kid. Back to the four couples dancing together, which was the best part and the ABC cameraman took full advantage with an overhead shot like in those ‘30s musicals. Katherine looked the best, I thought, but Len disagreed with me, thinking Maria and Roshon were the standouts. Bruno praised the choreograpy and Roshon—“you killed it.” Carrie Ann weighed in, saying she loved the concept and also adored Roshon. Good for the youngster, even though I thought the classical singer had bested him and she was their team captain. The score left plenty of room for the next team to beat them.
Score: 27 for Team Tango

Team Paso Doble looked a lot more relaxed, even though Maks was on this team (ha). They all seemed really tired, though, which might not be a good sign. Instead of taking a group nap, they buckled down with the choreography and discussed taking shirts off our not—Melissa yelled, “team shirtless!” Maks asked if people (William?) feared Maks’s abs. Whoa! A little machismo there. IN the dance, the men dragged their red dressedwomen to the center of the floor as the musicians sang live behind them. Melissa and Maks? It still looked after all these weeks like Maks was dragging Melissa too much, jerking her around and she couldn’t keep up. William and Cheryl, by contrast, seemed more in the spirit of the paso. Then Donald and Peta did their solo with the footballer leding her in a series of spins, Donald taking his shirt off and being joined by Maks and William, who were also now shirtless! Someone sitting next to me giggled, Chippendales! Did the chests overshadow the dance? Not really; it actually worked! Maks jumped up on the judges’ table and the other two guys joined him next to Bruno, who must have been in heaven. Carrie Ann said that should be a fan favorite dance and Len said they had Undressed to impress but he loved it, interesting for the usual stuffy judge.
Score: 26 for Team Paso 

Pressed further by reporters about Maks belittling him on Monday night, Mark laughed, “I just don’t care!” And why should he? The veteran DWTS pro and Katherine earned a score of 27 for both their individual dance, the rumba, and the Team Tango performance for a total of 54 points. Meanwhile, Maks and former “Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa struggled, getting just 21 for their Argentine tango and 26 for their Team Paso Doble effort. Their total score of 47 might put them in danger of elimination on Tuesday night.

 So, who will be “Dancing” out the door on tonight’s elimination? After Monday night, Maks and Melissa are in last place (score: 21), while Mark and Katherine continue to top the leaderboard (scoring a 27) — and Derek and Maria scored the season’s first perfect score (30)!