Las Vegas Weekly

October 12, 2009 · 6:54 AM

Our hometown DWTS favorites face two untested dances

By Robin Leach

Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel on Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

In the first three weeks of ratings winner Dancing With the Stars shows, the judges have critiqued the celebrity contestants based on the more traditional salsa, rumba, foxtrot and Viennese waltzes. Tonight, our hometown favorites Chuck Liddell, Donny Osmond and Kelly Osbourne face a totally out-of-the-box challenge.

Even Donny, our Flamingo headliner who rehearsed all weekend long, says, “It’s a difficult dance.” Donny hosted late producer friend Danny Gans’ Run for Life Champions 5k Walk & Run over the weekend, and after his 9:30 a.m. awards presentation, raced off to resume yet another five hours of daily dance rehearsals.

Contestants will have to create a dance style from the Bolero, the Lambada, the Charleston or the Country Two-Step. Chuck faces the toughest challenge with partner Anna Trebunskaya who, being Russian, has to create a spin on the all-American Two-Step. Donny with partner Kym Johnson and Kelly with partner Louis Van Amstel will dance their separate versions of the 1920s Charleston.

Photo: ABC TV

Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya on Dancing With the Stars.

Front-runners Mya with Dmitry Chaplin, Joanna Krupa with Vegas Academy professional Derek Hough and Aaron Carter with Karina Smirnoff will dance the Lambada, while Natalie Coughlin with Alec Mazo will tackle the Bolero.

For those who know of such things, the Lambada also is known as the “forbidden dance” because the steamy, sexy, sensuous and sizzling routine includes the world’s shortest and tightest skirts. It’s interesting that three of the front-runners have to perform head-to-head, while Natalie, in the easier Bolero, goes against low-scoring Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova.

DWTS continues to be a ratings juggernaut. Last Monday for the second consecutive week in primetime, ABC topped its CBS broadcast rival by 2.8 million viewers, and in the 8 to 10 p.m. block, DWTS was the most watched show of the night, with a jump to 16.6 million viewers in its second hour, beating Fox and NBC. It won in the adults 18-49 demographic and women 19-49 and 25-54!

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

Kym Johnson and Donny Osmond on Dancing With the Stars.

I’ll be watching the live satellite feed at 5 p.m. for the two-hour broadcast with real-time tweets and then have a spoiler alert story shortly after 7 p.m. with judges scores right here at Vegas DeLuxe. Click HERE our video coverage yesterday of the star dances to date.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

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