Dancing with the Stars Week 4: The women bring it!

October 12, 10:41 PMDancing with the Stars ExaminerEvelyn McCormack

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Melissa Joan hart brought home one of the night's top scores

This week, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars introduced four new dances to the show – the Bolero, the Charleston, the Country Two-Step and the Lambada – producing performances from the couples that were the most entertaining yet.
Although no one scored a perfect 30 this week, the women were generally on top of their game, leaving many of the male celebrities behind in the dust. Melissa Joan Hart finally emerged with one of the night's two top scores, tying with singer Mya. And they were followed closely behind by swimsuit model Joanna Krupa.
Meanwhile, some of the men seem to be crumbling. NFL great Michael Irvin remains among the weakest competitors and earned one of the night’s lowest scores -- a 16 -- from the judges. Snowboarder Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower, and Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya, also turned in low scores of 16 and 17, respectively.
We expected cool costumes, especially with the Charleston and the Country Two-Step, and we got them on Monday. Pro Louis Van Amstel wore false eyelashes and lipstick. Mark Ballas sported a fake mustache, Kelly Osbourne and Hart wore 1920s flapper dresses, and there were numerous cowboy boots scuffling their way across the dance floor.
Liddell was up first,  doing the Country Two Step. Head judge Len Goodman told Liddell that “your quality of dancing isn’t there.” Judge Bruno Tonioli said, “You bring carnage and mayhem to everything you do. It still managed to look somehow like a two step.” Carrie Ann Inaba was more positive: “I could see myself walking into a bar and see the two-step working. You never let the dance beat you.”
Hart and partner Ballas were next, performing an outstanding Charleston.
Bruno told Hart, “You brought the 1920s back to life. You handled the role 110 percent.” Carrie Ann said: “That was your dance. It was fantastic.” Len said that the Charleston has three characteristics -- energy, excitement and entertainment. “And you ticked all the boxes.”
Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin and her partner, Alec Mazo, danced a challenging but sexy Bolero that got mixed reviews from the judges. Carrie Ann said she was “kind of on the fence. I definitely appreciate that you went for the difficulty.” Len said, “I thought it had a most beautiful, lyrical movement to it. But I would have liked a little bit more romance between the two of you.” Bruno told Coughlin that he was “very, very happy to see that you’ve found your basic instinct,” comparing her sexiness to actress Sharon Stone in the film, “Basic Instinct.”
Aaron Carter, who wept after messing up his performance last week, and partner Karina Smirnoff danced the Lambada, a frenzied Afro-Cuban dance that looked a bit overdone from my vantage point on the family room couch. But hey -- I was right, according to the judges.
Len told Carter that he should have spent more time concentrating on “the rhythm of the dance.” Bruno agreed, saying that the Lambada has “the character of a Gilles Marini.” And Carrie Ann had the harshest critique, saying: “You have to chill out basically. You’re trying too hard. You’re going way over the top. It makes people turn off to you.” Ouch.
“Iron Chef” star Mark DaCascos and partner Lacey Schwimmer danced a Country Two-Step that looked a little sloppy around the edges, but the judges were somewhat positive. “You should have a roll in the hay more often,” said Bruno. “Your confidence was much improved.” Carrie Ann agreed, saying, “Finally, the confidence was there. You were connected with Lacey.” And Len complimented Schwimmer for her “great choreography.”
Kelly Osbourne and partner Louis Van Amstel danced the Charleston next, to the theme song from “Cabaret," which delighted Osbourne, who is a Broadway fan.The dance was super-fun, not to mention the flapper costumes.
The judges agreed, with Carrie Ann gushing: “Watching you dance is like watching a little bird get her wings and start to fly.” Len told Osbourne: “You came out with confidence and you performed the dance.” And Bruno said, “It was a very good performance. You should be happy.”
Joanna Krupa and a shirtless Derek Hough danced the Lambada, which Hough described as “a lot of grinding and a lot of thrusting.” The judges were ecstatic about the dance, with frequent references to the dance’s sexiness. “I know what I want for tomorrow night’s encore,” said Len. Bruno said: “Don’t try this at home. The sxxual energy! I’ve had enough now for the next six months.” And Carrie Ann said, “I hope that the children were in bed,” noting that the Lambada is “fueled by the crotch area.”
Next up were Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson, dancing another terrific Charleston. This dance – I just couldn’t get enough of it. The judges were also complimentary, with Bruno saying, “This really shows a showman in his element.” Carrie Ann said the dance “was excellent because it played to your strengths.” And Len added: “You looked good, you danced good, and watching you does us good.”
Irvin and partner Anna Demidova, who were in the bottom two couples last week, performed a Bolero that featured Demidova dancing around a fairly stationary Irvin. “There wasn’t enough dancing,” said Carrie Ann. Len agreed, saying the dance “was slightly economic with the movement." Bruno compared Irvin’s dancing to the economy. “Every week, it’s supposed to get better. But nothing happens.”
Vito and Hightower danced the Two-Step, and visited Season 8 semi-finalist and true cowboy Ty Murray for inspiration. That didn’t help. The cutie just looked like he was having no fun on the dance floor. “It was just a series of walks,” said Len. “It didn’t have enough going on.” Bruno said, “For a two-step, it was slightly dazed and confused.” And Carrie Ann said there was “a little too much shuffling going on.”
Mya, the pop singer who emerged as the clear leader in week 3, turned in a Lambada that once again looked effortless. “That was an erotic, exotic roller coaster,” said Bruno. “You would want to ride that over and over and over again.” “Mya’s on fire! That was amazing,” said Carrie Ann. But once again, Len seemed underwhelmed: “I never find your routines boring," was all he could muster.

Here is a recap of the dances and scores for Monday night’s show:

Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Country Two-Step
Scores: 6, 5, and 6, for a total of 17.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3402

Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas
Dance: Charleston
Scores: 9, 9, and 10, for a total score of 28.
1-800-868-3410

Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo
Dance: Bolero
Scores: 8, 8, and 8, for a total of 24.
Phone number: 1-800-858-3413

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff
Dance: Lambada
Scores: 6, 6, and 6, for a total of 18.
1-800-868-3401

Mark DaCascos and Lacey Schwimmer
Dance: Country Two-Step
Scores: 8, 7, and 7, for a total of 22.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3403

Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Charleston\
Scores: 8, 7, and 8, for a total of 23.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3416

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough
Dance: Lambada
Scores: 9, 8, and 9, for a total of 26.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3415

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson
Dance: Charleston
Scores: 8, 8, and 8, for a total of 24.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3405

Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova
Dance: Bolero
Scores: 5, 6, and 5, for a total of 16.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3407

Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Country Two-Step
Scores: 5, 5, and 6, for a total of 16.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3406

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin
Dance Lambada
Scores: 10, 8, and 10, for a total of 28.
Phone number: 1-800-868-3411