Las Vegas Weekly

September 27, 2010 · 11:52 AM

DWTS preview: The Situation promises incredible improvement

By Robin Leach

Karina Smirnoff and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino on Season 11 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars on Sept. 21, 2010.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

Is Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino in danger of being booted after tonight’s Dancing With the Stars with his quickstep? Or will it come down to comedienne Margaret Cho or singer Michael Bolton being eliminated? Is a romance blossoming between Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol and pro partner Mark Ballas after their trip home to Alaska to meet mum?

These are the questions more than 20 million people will be asking as tonight’s second week of Season 11 gets underway in primetime from Hollywood. Last week’s combined 35 million viewers put DWTS safely in the No.1 spot of all TV programs, and the surprising and shocking dismissal of David Hasselhoff almost guarantees an even bigger tune-in this week.

The Sitch blames a lack of rehearsals -- only three days, in fact -- for his poor performance last week that put him in jeopardy. He’s promised pro partner Karina Smirnoff and Jersey Shore fans that with seven days of rehearsals this time around, he’ll show an incredible improvement when they dance the quickstep to “We No Speak Americano.”

DWTS’s camera crew filmed him here yesterday when he played host and guest deejay at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel -- check back later right here at Vegas DeLuxe for a photo gallery of his poolside appearance.

Meantime, romance rumors are heating up for Bristol and Mark after they both flew back to Alaska. While there, he met her famous mom Sarah, who will be at the side of the dance floor tonight to root for her daughter.

Bristol and Mark, who also will dance the quickstep tonight, have denied that they’re dating but admit they’re having a good time together. He’s already posted a photograph of himself with Sarah, the one-time VP candidate and Alaska governor. He reinforced it on his personal blog: “Mama Palin sure is proud of her hard-working daughter. The family is extremely nice, kind, loving and super sweet.”

ABC cameras followed the couple to the sports bar Rumrunners, where they went dancing and Mark even performed his songs onstage. He tweeted another photo of them together, saying, “Me and my gorgeous partner Bristol,” fueling more amorous anecdotes! He added: “We have a really good chemistry -- and a lot of fun. It’s all about her being comfortable and enjoying every second of it.”

Also dancing the quickstep tonight will be actress Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas to “Suddenly I See,” singer Michael Bolton and Las Vegas native Chelsie Hightower to “Hound Dog,” actor Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer to “You Can’t Hurry Love” and actress and Las Vegas regular Audrina Patridge with partner Tony Dovolani to “Love Machine.” They were filmed here in Las Vegas all weekend long when she appeared at Rob Dyrdek’s Street League Skateboarding Championships at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The remaining couples who will dance the jive tonight are frontrunners actress Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough to “Shake It,” singer Brandy and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy to “Magic,” Margaret and Louis Van Amstel to “Dreaming,” NFL legend Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya to “Danger Zone” and NBA legend Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke to “Tush.”

ABC execs have one major surprise in tonight’s show. The Bachelor host Chris Harrison will be attending with the newest bachelor for Season 15, and online gossip has former bachelor Brad Womack returning for a second shot at love after his disastrous double rejections in Season 11.

We’ll have all the dance-floor action photos posted here tomorrow, along with Editor Don Chareunsy’s analysis of the performances, and then report the results show when Seal performs his new song “My Mistake” and Janelle Monae sings “Tightrope.”

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 at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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