Dancing with the Stars double elimination: Hart and Vito gone

October 27, 10:50 PMDancing with the Stars ExaminerEvelyn McCormack

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Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas
ABC

The sixth week of Dancing with the Stars ended Tuesday with a double elimination of dancing couples, marking the swan songs of Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas, and Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower.

The Results Show, which featured a dance-off between the second and third lowest scoring couples, revealed the immediate elimination of Hart and Ballas, based on the combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. But the elimination of Vito and Hightower wasn’t determined until a dance-off in the remaining few minutes of the show.

The double elimination brings the number of competitors down from an original 16, to just seven. And next week, another double elimination, the DWTS lineup will dwindle down to just five competing couples.

The first two couples declared safe in the Results Show were Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough and Mark DaCascos and Lacey Schwimmer. Krupa and Hough received the judges’ highest scores on Monday night’s performance show, and DaCascos and Schwimmer were in third place.

The second set of couples declared safe were Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson, and Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff. Carter and Smirnoff were tied for second place at the end of Monday’s performance show, while Osmond and Johnson were in fourth place. But Osmond and Johnson were the top scorers last week.

The next couples who learned they were safe were Mya and Dmitry Chaplin, and Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel. Mya was tied for second place Monday, while Osbourne was in fifth place. Still, Ozzie’s daughter continues to be a crowd favorite on the show.

That left three couples – Vito and Hightower, Hart and Ballas, and Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova – in the spotlight. Irvin has consistently received the lowest judges’ scores this season, but has been saved by viewer votes weeks after week. Both Vito and Hart have found themselves among the bottom two or three couples before this.

For the first time in DWTS history, I believe, the couple with the lowest combined score was revealed a whole 15 minutes before the end of the show. And that was Hart and Ballas, leaving Vito and Irvin to battle it out in the dance-off.

“It’s tough,” said Hart after learning of the elimination. “I was hoping to make it one more week.” Ballas, who was last season’s champion, said, “I’m just really proud of her. We’ll always have that moment with the Charleston.” The couple received their first and only 10 for a performance of the Charleston, a score that has eluded both Vito and Irvin.

In the dance-off, Irvin and Demidova performed a brief Samba that looked loose and fun. The judges generally agreed. “Overall, it was very enjoyable,” said Len. “You let it all hang out at the end,” said Bruno Tonioli. “I thought you did well on the personality part of it,” said Carrie Ann Inaba.

Vito and Hightower followed up with the jive, which looked a bit out of control. “What impressed me is the amount of content you managed to put in,” said Bruno. But Carrie Ann thought the number lacked content. “I kind of expected a little bit more content in these last-chance dances,” she said. Although Len noted the couple’s missteps, he called the performance “sharp, fast, and clean.”

The judges’ votes on the dance-off sealed the deal, with Len and Carrie Ann giving Irvin the lead and Bruno voting for Vito.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” said the likeable young snowboarder after the elimination. “I was proud of myself just for getting out there.”

Also on Tuesday’s Results Show, the super-popular country-pop star, Taylor Swift, performed “Love Story” from her platinum album, “Fearless.” Swift’s popularity has soared since September, when rapper Kanye West hijacked her acceptance speech for a best music video trophy at the MTV Video Music Awards show. Swift will also be performing at the CMAs in November and is heading out on a U.S. tour that sold out in two minutes when tickets went on sale Friday.

Tiempo Libre, a Cuban band, also performed its enormously popular Tu Conga Bach, from the band’s album, “Bach in Havana.”

Don’t forget to check back here for all my DWTS news, show recaps, and polls. And follow me on Twitter for updates.