Another Dancing with the Stars shocker: Melissa Rycroft injured

ABC

This week’s Dancing with the Stars performance show opened with a déjà vu scene, this time with pro dancer Tony Dovolani making an entrance alone, sans his celebrity partner and one of the show’s best dancers, Melissa Rycroft.

 

In another live television save by DWTS co-host Tom Bergeron, it was noted early in the show that Rycroft was injured and would not be dancing Monday night, and then we were left to wonder what was going on for the next 45 minutes. And poor Dovolani, who already lost Nancy O’Dell to injuries before the season started, looked lost throughout Monday’s show.

 

Later, Bergeron explained that Rycroft had suffered a hairline fracture of her ribs, but was expected to continue in the competition with time to heal. Unfortunately for Rycroft, she earned the top spot in the competition last week, with her Argentine Tango, and has been consistently among the top three competitors.

 

A pre-taped segment showed Rycroft practicing with Dovolani when she suddenly double over in pain, clutching her side. “I felt a blinding pain shoot down my side,” she said. A trip to the doctor confirmed the hairline fracture.

 

Instead of judging the real dance, the judges were forced to judge Rycroft’s performance in an earlier taped rehearsal, similar to what occurred after Steve-O's back injury. In the tape, Rycroft and Dovolani are out of costume and she is clearly struggling in part of the dance, a Jive.

 

“Obviously a rehearsal tape doesn’t have the performance power,” said judge Bruno Tonioli. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba agreed. “Unfortunately, you guys are just marking,” she said, referring to the dance term in which dancers rehearse without doing their best kicks and arm movements.

 

As a result, the pair received three 7s from the judges, for a total score of 21, the lowest of the night.

 

Despite Rycroft's absence, the competition and the dancing remained strong Monday, with Lil’ Kim delivering a fierce and furious Paso Doble with partner Derek Hough, earning the couple the night’s highest score of a 28, including a 10 from judge Bruno Tonioli.

 

Judge Len Goodman, who seems to have adopted cute phrases to use in the judging, told Lil’ Kim that “I was expecting an oh no, and I got an ole!”

 

Tied for second place in the competition were “Sex and the City” star Gilles Marini and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, who both delivered strong dancing – Johnson the Samba and Marini the Lindy Hop. But viewers are wondering when and if Marini, plagued by a shoulder injury, will return to the top spot again in the show – a position he held for the first three performance shows of Season 8.

 

Turning in the lowest score Monday was sweet rodeo cowboy Ty Murray, who danced the Salsa with partner Chelsie Hightower, but not without first subjecting himself to his first spray tan of the season, a funny segment featuring him wearing a shower cap. This guy, who’s married to singer Jewel, really grows on you.

 

But the judges gave Murray a 24, with Goodman noting that “you’ve hung on for eight weeks. But maybe it’s time you hit the trail.” The truth is sometimes painful. Still, does anyone even remember Steve Wozniak or Denise Richards, now that we’re in week 8?

 

The show also featured the season’s first team dance numbers, with Team Mambo consisting of Shawn and Mark, Chuck and Julianne, and Melissa and Tony. Pro Lacey Schwimmer literally stepped in just prior to the show to replace Rycroft in the team number.

 

The team delivered a fast-paced Mambo, danced to Beyonce’s popular “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).” It culminated with  the male dancers mounting the judges’ table and stripping down to one-shoulder leotards and white stockings, finishing with some of Beyonce’s own moves from her viral music video.

 

Although hilarious and a crowd-pleaser, the men’s finale “distracted” Inaba, who added that “the music overwhelmed the dancing.” The group received a 25 for their Mambo.

 

Team Tango, made up of Lil’ Kim and Derek, Cheryl and Gilles, and Ty and Chelsie, brought the house down with their precision performance, danced to Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” Who knew that tune would be perfect for the Tango?

 

Commencing with Lil’ Kim being flipped on the arms of a bare-chested Ty and Gilles, the number progressed into a perfectly choreographed number that was praised by the judges. “You were like a pack of voracious raptors,” said the effusive Tonioli. “The end sequence gave me goosebumps.” The team received a total score of 28.

 

Here’s a recap of this week’s performances, dances, and judges’ scores:

 

 

Partner: Cheryl Burke

 

Dance Style: Lindy Hop

 

Judges’ Scores: 9, 9, and 9, for a total of 27. Again…

 

 

Partner: Derek Hough

 

Dance Style: Paso Doble

 

Judges’ Scores: 9, 9, and 10, for a total of 28.

 

Partner: Julianne Hough

 

Dance Style: Cha Cha

 

Judges’ Scores: 9, 9, and 8, for a total of 26.

 

 

Partner: Mark Ballas

 

Dance Style: Samba

 

Judges’ Scores: 10, 8, and 9, for a total of 27.

 

 

Partner: Chelsie Hightower

 

Dance Style: Salsa

 

Judges’ Scores: 9, 7, and 8, for a total of 24.

 

On Tuesday night’s Results Show, expect a performance by singer Robin Thicke, more dancing from the new professionals vying to become Julianne Hough’s replacement, and the elimination of one of the six celebrities.