Las Vegas Weekly

September 28, 2009 · 7:38 PM

Is a Las Vegas favorite in trouble on Dancing With the Stars?

By Robin Leach

Edyta Sliwinska, Ashley Hamilton, Anna Trebunskaya, Chuck Liddell, Kym Johnson, Donny Osmond, Chelsie Hightower and Louie Vito on Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

T-a-n-g-o sometimes spells trouble with a capital T, and for our Las Vegas hometown hero Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, it proved that he’s far more comfortable inside The Octagon than on a dance floor. It also spelled trouble for Kelly Osbourne, who admitted that she panicked at the start of the dance. The dangers of dance can be a slippery slope sometimes!

It was certainly a night of slipping, sliding and spills! For Flamingo headliner Donny Osmond, his jive caused a dress rehearsal fall to the floor that he said really hurt him. Read on to see how it affected his dance through the light fantastic!

SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read any further if you want to get the full surprise and drama of watching the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast of ABC’s top-rated Dancing With the Stars. But come back after the show to compare notes with us!

Film director Baz Luhrmann, who helmed Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge, was a good choice to stand in as guest judge for Len Goodman -- Baz is knowledgeable about the art of dancing -- and was kinder than the curmudgeon’s normal putdowns!

But it didn’t serve UFC star Chuck well. His bare-chested dance routine in and out of a topcoat confused viewers, but he was happy with his performance. Chuck and pro partner Anna Trebunskaya scored 19 points, and that tied him in the bottom as the program continued. It had him in the trouble zone for nearly the entire show, as most of the celebrity contestants were all bunched up at the 20 and 21 mark -- except for Chuck and three others couples with 19.

Kelly and partner Louis Van Amstel found themselves in the same tango trouble zone. She admitted her nervousness, and it probably accounted for another 19-point total from the judges, making her the fourth celeb of the night in the low-scoring department. Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough kicked the night off with the jive, which netted them 20 points. Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo performed the quick step and garnered 21 votes. Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas received 19 for their jive. Michael Irvin and newcomer Anna Demidova scored 20 with their quick step.

As the second hour began, Debi Mazur danced the tango with our Le Reve choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and the judges stuck at their 21 points again, quickly followed by Louie Vito’s jive with partner Chelsie Hightower. Louie’s jacket also confused the judges, but his flip off the stairs onto the dance floor dazzled. Still, the judges handed them only 19 points. Supermodel Kathy Ireland’s quick step with Tony Dovolani brought the second lowest score of the night with 18 points and might help save Chuck and Kelly for another week.

It was Aaron Carter who changed the entire tone of the show with partner Karina Smirnoff, executing a near perfect quick step, albeit odd. It was the breakaway from the pack that was the upset of the night! The judges went into ecstasy overdrive and voted them the high score of the night with 27 points. It prompted Mya to follow suit in super-dance mode, and she also scored 27 with partner Dmitry Chaplin with their jumping jive.

The so-called injury curse at DWTS struck again when pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer injured her hip muscles while in dress rehearsal with partner Iron Chef chairman, martial arts expert and actor Mark Dacascos. Lacey will have to undergo three weeks of physical therapy, but she vowed to dance their quick step even though hurt, and the judges awarded them 21 points.

So the broadcast ended with former Washington politico Tom DeLay and Donny Osmond head-to-head. It got off to a bad start for Tom and pro partner Cheryl Burke with yet another slip and spill, and no amount of arm-twisting or pork-barrel promises can help with these votes. His tango also spelled trouble, and the judges showed their displeasure giving him only 18 points, one less than Chuck, which just might save our UFC champ in the results show.

Marie Osmond had reported from her front row seat that her brother would dance last, and he did, turning up all the intensity he could muster. He totally ignored any leftover hurt or nerves from the earlier dress rehearsal fall -- and as Marie subtly put it in polite Mormon terms, “He kicked bootie.” Donny certainly doesn’t look or dance the way a 51-year-old should. His jive with partner Kym Johnson won plaudits from the judges, who awarded them 25 points.

So tomorrow night, if viewers lock step with the judges, it will be Tom and Kathy on the potential chopping block as lowest scorers. Donny is now No. 3, with Aaron and Mya just ahead of him in their quest for the disco ball trophy. We’ll have the overnight photos from tonight’s dance action posted in the morning, and we’ll be back tomorrow night with another spoiler report.

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.

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