Olympic speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, have survived two more results shows on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Ohno, the Season 4 winner, is among the All-Stars competing for the Season 15 title. Out of the original 13, five have been eliminated, including actress Pamela Anderson and singer and actor Joey Fatone.
The show airs Monday and Tuesday on ABC. In addition to the judges’ scores, votes from viewers determine which dancers are allowed to continue.
Last week (Week 3), Smirnoff started out the dance in statue form before coming to life and falling into Ohno’s arms as they did a foxtrot to Michael Buble’s version of “Fever.”
Judge Len Goodman said he liked the fluidity, though he would have liked a tad more in holds. Still, he thought it was great overall. Judge Bruno Tonioli said it was classy but felt Ohno tensed up at times. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said it was a memorable dance that will live on for a long time. Scores of 9, 8 and 8.5 gave the couple a score of 25.5 out of 30.
The third results show of the season ended with two celebrities eliminated, singer and actor Drew Lachey and Indy 500 driver Helio Castroneves.
In a first for DWTS, the teams were asked to pick the type of dances their competitors must perform in the next show. It was decided that Ohno and Smirnoff would do hip-hop.
This week (Week 4), the couple dressed for the part and danced to Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison.” Ohno tossed away his mic pack during the dance, but managed to do it to the beat. Smirnoff slipped during the routine and was in tears by the end of it.
Inaba assured Karina that she did not mess up the whole routine and noted that all of the dancers were outside their comfort zone. Goodman said Ohno was fantastic. Guest judge Paula Abdul (“The X Factor”) and Tonioli agreed that the couple did a great job despite the misstep. Scores of 8.5, 9, 8.5 and 8.5 gave them a total of 34.5 out of 40.
During the results show, Ohno was “in jeopardy” along with actress Kirstie Alley and reality TV star Bristol Palin. In the end, Ohno and Alley were declared “safe” and Palin was sent home.
Next week, the competitors must take part in a freestyle dance (two teams of four couples each) in addition to their individual routines. Ohno and Smirnoff are part of Team 2, which will dance to “Call Me Maybe.” Team 1 will dance to “Gangnam Style.” (Source: ABC.com)