ABC/Heidi Gutman(LOS ANGELES) — Monday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars opened with a poignant moment of silence for the victims of the Las Vegas massacre Sunday night and it was decided that this week would not be an elimination week. Instead, it was a positive and upbeat exhibition focused on dancing, enjoying some guilty pleasures and being thankful.
Tom Bergeron opened the show, saying, “There’s an old saying the show must go on. And it will. But first, all of us at Dancing with the Stars want to send our love, thoughts, and prayers to everyone touched by the senseless violence in Las Vegas. Please know that we’re doing tonight’s show with you foremost in our minds and hearts.”
The show then began in earnest with a full cast performance to “Everybody Dance Now” by C + C Music Factory, beautifully choreographed by Mandy Moore.
Property Brothers’ Drew Scott was up first with his guilty pleasure of true crime stories. After his Argentine tango with partner Emma Slater, Las Vegas resident Drew said, “I lived in Vegas for many years, and all of our hearts are with the families affected. It’s a sad situation, we’re here, our prayers are here for you guys, and we’re here for you.”
The judges loved Drew and Emma and awarded them a 23 out of 30.
Derek Fisher earned positive reviews from the judges for his guilty pleasure dance to Will Smith’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and scored 21.
Following Victoria Arlen’s guilty pleasure dance to Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping,” Tom Bergeron mentioned Victoria’s high school struggles with her affliction during which time she was in a wheelchair. He said, “We were talking before the show, I just, I’m far enough away from high school that it amazed me, you were in a wheelchair, back to school, new school, you’re in a wheelchair, and kids are giving you a hard time.”
Victoria responded, “It wasn’t easy, but I had some special people along the way, when I got knocked down, got me back up.”
Tom then turned to the camera and said, “If I could just address kids watching, if you’re going to school and you see somebody who’s different, don’t be an ass. All right?”
Her partner Val Chmerkovskiy added, “Celebrate each other’s differences.”
The judges gave her cause to celebrate with 22 points.
Highlights from the rest of the night included Vanessa Lachey’s guilty pleasure dance to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” that earned her a 23.
WWE Superstar Nikki Bella’s guilty pleasure Viennese waltz with a 50 Shades of Grey theme was a sultry performance that inspired her fiancé John Cena to appear and say, “I thought it was spicy. Sexy, fearless, every reason why I love you.”
The judges awarded her a 21
Last week’s surprise high scorer, Frankie Muniz, admitted his love of boy bands and while he didn’t wow the judges the way he did last week, he still earned a very respectable 21.
Lindsey Stirling jived in pajamas and brought in a 9 from each of the judges, for the highest score of the evening. Len Goodman said that, so far, her jive to “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! was “the dance of the season.”
Sasha Pieterse and her baking theme jazz brought her the lowest score of the night, with 19.
Nick Lachey wore a unitard for his jazz dance to The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump,” and drew a 21, a big improvement from last week’s low score of 19.
Terrell Owens’ breakdance earned him a 21, also up from last week’s 19.
In spite of Len’s comments that Jordan Fisher’s Charleston was lacking, he still brought in the second highest score of the night with 25.
Next week, the show will feature a theme of “Memorable Year.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Scores:
Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas, jive, 27
Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold, Charleston, 25
Drew Scott and Emma Slater, Argentine tango, 23
Vanessa Lachey and Maks Chmerkovskiy, jazz, 23
Victoria Arlen and Val Chmerkovskiy, quickstep, 22
Derek Fisher and Sharna Burgess, cha cha, 21
Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson, samba, 21
Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd, jazz, 21
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev, Viennese waltz, 21
Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke, salsa, 21
Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko, jazz, 19
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