'Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars' recap: Bold fusion

By Allyssa Lee

Nov. 6, 2012 12 AM PT

The big to-do on this seventh week on “Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars” was the introduction of the Dance Fusions, in which each couple mixed two different ballroom styles with one song. According to the judges, the biggest challenge would be to maintain the character of the dance. The pro has his/her work cut out for him/her, because they have to come up with a strategy that suits each celebrity’s style. Mostly, Len wanted to see decent amounts of both dances: “To win something special, you’ve got to do something special.”

To give us a taste of the routines to come, Henry Byalikov from the Troupe choreographed a crisp and clean mutant super-dance hybrid for the Troupe and that featured Anna Trebunskaya, Louis Van Amstel, Tristan MacManus(!) and Kym Johnson.

The jampacked performance show also introduced this season’s first swing dance marathon, in which all the couples took to the floor for four minutes of Harold Wheeler Band music in an attempt to impress the judges and be the last couple standing. The first couple eliminated received 4 points (that was Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy), and the last couple standing went home with the entire 10. These scores were added to the couple’s individual fusion dances.

PHOTOS: ‘DWTS: All-Stars’: Who’s been booted?

This time around, the full 10 points went to the super stamina’d team of Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, and put them at the top of the leader board. This good news couldn’t have come at a better time for Tony. His family lives on the East Coast and was affected by Hurricane Sandy, so the Albanian stallion took every spare moment from rehearsals to talk to his wife and adorable girls and to help with disaster relief. Melissa didn’t want to let her partner down, but she quickly became overwhelmed by having to fuse the cha-cha, which is toe-leads, and the tango, which leads with the heel. And she really didn’t during their fusion routine. Melissa attacked both dances like paparazzi on a Kardashian. Love that she completely changed her outfit from black dominatrix to a tight fringe number behind the steam jets. “The dark mistress of tango into a sexilicious cha-cha-cha,” crowed Bruno. “I thought Beyoncé all of a sudden came out.” “Tonight, you are a star!” Carrie Ann proclaimed. Len said the tango and the cha-cha were beautifully defined. “I loved the way that was all put together,” he said. “Well done.” Melissa and Tony got a 29 for their fusion dance and the full 10 points for their first-place finish in the dance marathon. Total: 39 out of 40.

After two weeks of stinky scores from Len, Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough were determined to make this week’s tango/paso doble fusion specifically for entertaining and pleasing the judges. But Derek’s neck vertebrae injury was still acting up, so his best friend and Shawn’s old partner Mark Ballas stepped in to dance with Shawn while Derek rehabilitated and played choreographer and coach from the sidelines. Shawn seemed truly conflicted: not just between these two styles, but between her former and current partners. She likened it to two chefs in the kitchen. But the dance she and Mark trotted out was truly a marvel, set to Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer.” I couldn’t tell where the tango ended and the paso began. “That was a fusion beyond anything I would imagine,” Carrie Ann marveled. “So seamlessly intertwined” and “not a step missed.” Len likened the routine to “a firecracker: The tango was the fuse. The paso was the explosion,” he said. As an Englishman, Len said, “I can’t vote tomorrow, but I’m voting for you.” “As fusions go, that was flawless,” Bruno confirmed “Performed to the maximum purity of the dance.” Shawn and Mark and Derek earned a perfect 30 for their fusion, but their acrobatics-laden swing dance routine only earned them 8 points, third place, and stomps of dismay from Mark. Total: 38.

For the last couple of weeks, Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy’s showmance seemed to eclipse their dancing and they spent their last two weeks at the bottom of the leader board. And while the showmance continued this week — Val and Kelly are still having heart to hearts, this time in front of a fireplace. — it didn’t overpower the dancing this time around. “What Val and I have is unexplainable,” Kelly said simply. “It just works. And so did their fox trot/cha-cha fusion routine, set to Gin Wigmore’s “Don’t Stop.” Starting with a fountain and umbrella, Kelly had on a flower garland and a cute dress that gave way to a fringe skirt and ended with Val on his knee with a ring at the end. “You captured the smoothness of the fox trot with the crispness of the cha-cha-cha,” Len said, despite the “little incident early on in the fox trot.” Bruno said there was “plenty of flash and plenty of dash” and mixed the “sophistication of the fox trot” and the “cheekiness of the cha cha” and her “control is better than ever.” Carrie Ann loved the way Kelly was all elegance and hold in the fox trot, and then “you went tight and ready for the cha-cha.” Brooke asked what the audience can expect at the finale, given the showmance and the ring at the end of the routine. Kudos to Val for his winning response, which didn’t miss a beat: “Children.” Kelly and Val received a 27 for their fox trot/cha-cha, plus 9 points for finishing second in the swing dance marathon. Total: 36.

PHOTOS: ‘DWTS: All-Stars’: Who’s been booted?

Cheryl Burke made her samba/rumba extra difficult for NFL star Emmitt Smith, switching between dances every 10 seconds. But despite having to learn the additional dance and shuttling back and forth between Los Angeles and his family in Dallas, Emmitt told his wife was “gonna get it.” And you knew from his cool-cat smile at the beginning of the routine that he was all over this samba rumba like pink on a princess. Bruno said the routine was “a smooth and balanced blend … you went in and out of it seamlessly.” Sure, his shoulders sometimes went up, but “that was wonderful.” Carrie Ann was seeing things again. While she said the routine was very well done, “what was lacking was your upper body … in the middle there, it got a little internal.” Fellow pink-wearer Len said he was ready and available to step in for Emmitt in case the ex-football player had cramps. But he’s glad he didn’t, because “I don’t think I could have done as good as that.” Emmitt and Cheryl received a 27.5 for their samba/rumba, plus 7 more points for the marathon. Total: 34.5.

Gilles Marini is intense. This perfectionist and his pro partner Peta Murgatroyed have yet to achieve a perfect score this season, and the trickiness of combining the Argentine tango and the samba have him feeling frustrated and flying fast and loose with the expletives. So naturally, he blew off some steam at a photo shoot with his dearest friend, mixed martial artist Cheick Kongo. Kongo told Gilles never to give up, or else he’ll get a beatdown. With friends like that, who needs enemies? With that new-found encouragement and vigor, Gilles resolved to fight with everything he’s got. He wants judges to feel and smell the sensuality. He started off conducting the Harold Wheeler Band on Robin Thicke’s uptown take on Beethoven’s 5th. Could the judges smell what Gilles and Peta were cooking? Len sure could. Len thanked Gilles for the tour of South America. “You went to Argentina then you nipped seamlessly to Brazil.” Bruno said it was “sultry intense in the Argentine tango, sultry and exotic in the samba.” Carrie Ann said she thought it was “a fantastic fusion,” though was still bugged out with “those little arm thingies.” Gilles and Peta received a respectable 28.5 for their fusion, though swung off with just 5 points and a disappointing 6th-place finish in the marathon. Total: 33.5.

Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff were the first to perform their fusion routine, a cha-cha/paso doble hybrid. The rehearsals showed Apolo having a lot of trouble marrying the two dance styles. The cha cha is cheeky, the paso is strong, and being able to switch back and forth without hesitation has got Apolo feeling frantic. And while I thought the song was a bit too loosey goosey to suit a paso doble, the judges thought Apolo handled the transition and the two characters with aplomb. Perhaps also because he took his white jacket off and went shirtless for the first time in “DWTS” history. “It’s like looking in a mirror, seeing your body there,” said Len. “Apolo Ohno, I’m saying Apolo oh-yes.” Bruno thought Apolo could be a shapeshifter in “Twilight.” “I loved the jete you did on your knees.” Carrie Ann was grateful Apolo continued to push himself at this point in the competition. And for the bare chest: “Thank you, it’s about time,” the judge hollered. “It started off strong and ended stronger.” Apolo and Karina received a 27 for their fusion routine, and 6 added points from the marathon. Total: 33.

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Kirstie Alley’s got other things on her mind this week. Namely, drumming up support and supplies for Sandy victims. Love that Kirstie feels like she has a valuable place on the show, and wants to make people feel better about their lives. Love that Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Tony are helping to organize this relief effort. And Kirstie looked fantastic shaking those hips during rehearsals. Though the fact that there’s no elimination this week will not only give her more time to devote to Sandy victims, but also give her more time make up for her less-than-stellar quickstep/samba routine on Monday night. Maks was the king on his throne, while Kirstie served as the chambermaid dusting the knights in armor. But after her long skirt was unraveled, the routine was, too. “The quickstep was nice, but the samba fell apart,” Carrie Ann said with a sad shrug. Len thought it was “an admirable effort … the quickstep had go, the samba had show.” Bruno thought the quickstep “wasn’t bad at all,” though she lost timing when she went “into stripper mode.” As Kirstie said it, “we had a lot of incidents – I love incidents!” Kirstie and Maks received a “generous” 24 for their fusion routine, plus 4 points and last place in the marathon. Total: 28.

Since there’s no elimination show this week, we were treated to an AT&T; Spotlight Performance, featuring the dancers of Utah. Some of the brightest stars in the ballroom world hailed from this state, including Chelsie Hightower, Derek and Julianne Hough. Mark Ballas and Louis Van Amstel both teach there. And Mark choreographed a modern spin on ballroom to introduce the newest crop of dance stars from this talented state (which I believe included Witney from this past season’s “So You Think You Can Dance”). Or, as Tom described it, “Mark, Chelsie, the future stars of ballroom and of course, a glacier.”

And to poke a little fun at all the election mudslinging, the clever “DWTS” cast and crew came up with their own negative advertising before the votes go out for the Mirrorball trophy. So the committee for actors, not athletes offered a spot demanding, “Haven’t Apolo and Shawn won enough already?” And Kirstie Alley endorsed a message for contestants who actually wear clothes (this super PAC is pointing fingers at you, Gilles and Kelly!). And the women of the “DWTS” cast backed an ad threatening that Kirstie Alley is just out to “steal your man.” (“Don’t let this bombshell steal your votes!”)

What did you think, ballroom fans? Should the fusion dances continue in future seasons? Did you enjoy the political ads as much as I did? Who do you think are in danger of being eliminated in the double elimination next week? Don’t forget to cast your vote!

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